Invasion!

So our house was broken into yesterday...the 2nd time in 2 1/2 years! And since misery loves company & all, I wanted to share w/ y'all... We have an alarm that calls us if one of the doors or windows are opened & it started calling @ 2:10 yesterday. I work 7 min from home & I was there w/ in 12 minutes of it going off & the people were already gone! I was HOPING when I got home & saw the back door open that they heard the alarm & left...no such luck. They did manage to make off w/ a few things. Electronics, ALL MY FREAKIN' JEWELRY & some of Brad's hunting stuff.

They found our alarm & tried to disable it... I'll just say it doesn't NORMALLY sit out in the middle of the floor like that...

They used some sort of prying device to get the doors open. (Notice our handy dandy warning! sticker?!)

If any of you have been through it, you know it's the most unsettling feeling. To know that people who weren't invited were in your home, roaming around & going through your stuff.

On a lighter note...

Erin was in the area & came over w/ Madelyn. She's not really into animals so she kinda freaked when Sonny came in & walked up to her. She eventually warmed up...a little. (Notice the stack of games in front of the couch? They had them piled up there to take them, I guess they didn't have enough hands...poor babies!)

Put away the knives & other dangerous objects...

line dancin' class is...is...over (sniff, sniff). The suicide watch has begun...at least until the fall! The teacher says she's gonna TRY to start it up again then. Ah, something to live for!

This is us after our last class! Me, Nancy, Lora & Sharon (she was the teacher)! We checked on line dancin' classes @ the YMCA in Corydon. They're a little pricey. It's like $56 for 8 sessions which is $7/class. We only paid $2.50 @ the Y in Salem cuz Sharon just loved to dance so much she taught fo' free!

I am excited about the prospect of showing off my skillz @ a wedding I'm going to in July. Electric Slide? Got it! Cupid shuffle? Bring it!

My kids don't like to share

Out here in the country, it's every man (or animal) for themselves. Sparky & Sonny found a house w/ cushy cushions on the chairs, a dry place under the deck & (most importantly) food fair & square & they don't wanna let anybody else partake of these luxuries.

I've always known "something" was coming up onto the porch & helping themselves to the food. I just didn't know if it was another cat, a raccoon or what. (ya never know what kinda critters are lurking around out here...)

Now I know what it is.

I saw this kitty slinking across the yard. He was VERY cautious & kept looking around for those mean kitties of mine. Right after I took this pic, Sparky spotted him, took off & chased him away.

Then Sonny was on the look out.

Then they tag-teamed it.

The kitty tried to do a perimeter check to see if there was another way in.

Nah, Sparky had him covered out back too...

I swear I didn't raise them to be this way. Obv they let the kitty eat their food @ some point through the night...maybe it's ME they don't want to share?!

Planting has begun!

I'm gonna let ya in on a little secret. Farmer are competitive. And I'm talking about ALL farmers, not just MY farmers. They watch what everybody else is doing. They compare their crops to others crops when they start growing. They watch who is farming whose ground. The check out when someone buys something new. When it's time to harvest the crops, you NEVER tell what your yields actually were. Then when you sell it, you never tell what you made. When one farmer in the community starts planting, the race is on to get into the field. Recently this has become a joke in my family because the boys are bad about wanting to get started. When they start just casually talking about "so & so" was planting today - I pounce. I pour fuel on the fire. "Ya know, if "so & so" is planting, that means you guys are BEHIND!!" You get the picture...

So Friday they saw some people planting & it was ON like Donkey Kong. So, the VERY next day, the boys started planting. I was all excited about getting pics of the planter. They started @ Brian & Lora's house & I had to go there to pick her up for the bridal shower & Brad had just pulled into the field to start. I wanted to take pics before he adjusted the planter, but I wasn't fast enough. I was yelling @ him running across the yard, "WAIT! I wanna take pictures!!!" He couldn't hear me. Duh, he was in the tractor.

This is how it is transported. Straight behind the tractor.

It's hard to tell, but it's our very own version of a "transformer". It pivots (yep, big word) to make it perpendicular (there's another one) to the tractor.
Then it's lowered into the ground & off they go! So I was griping to Brad that I didn't get good pics of the planter. And this is one of the reasons I love Brad...he said to me, "The camera has video." That's right, he's as shameless as me! And don't let him fool ya...he likes the blog too. When he was @ the house spreading fertilizer last week, he texted me, "There's some blogging stuff going on behind the house." LOL!

So here's video of our transformer!

I wanted to get a couple of him filling the containers w/ seed but it never worked out. So instead I got him putting the chain back on...

and filling the tanks up w/ fertilizer. I must say how proud I am of Brad. He works harder than ANYONE I know. It's well after dark right now & he's still out planting. He has a tremendous amount of responsibility. Now of course that's not to say that I don't totally get pissed off @ him when he's too busy to do stuff for me, 'cuz I do. I'm tellin' ya, being a farmers wife isn't easy (& I'm sure being married to me is not always daisies & butterflies!) I constantly have to deal w/ being 2nd place (& uh, hello? What chick wants to be 2nd place?!)

Working in the yard

My mom came over yesterday to help me move some daylillies that I had planted around my mailbox. They've become root bound & didn't even bloom last year. You may ask why I had my 60 year old mother help me? Well, I'm impatient & lazy & won't do it right & it's better if she's there to MAKE me do it.

As promised...I started to smile & then I thought, "dork, your mouth isn't showing!" & the masked actually served 2 purposes. #1-making sure I don't get sick from all the mold in the mulch. #2-protecting me from the swine flu if its made its way to Southern Indiana.

We also put some extra dirt around my electric pole for the ground cover flowers I have there.

It looks like I've been forgiven for the post about mom not thinking I'm funny huh?!

A story about a bridal shower & the chicken dance...

My niece, Erin, is going to be a bridesmaid in her friend Stefany's wedding in July. The bridal shower was yesterday & Lora & I were invited. I went to school w/ Stefany's older siblings so I've know her forever. Her & Erin have been friends a LONG time & even played basektball together. We got there early so we could watch Madelyn while Erin helped get everything ready.

Madelyn & her Grammy

(& I must say it didn't take too much prodding to get Lora to pose. Boy am I gonna milk this guilt thang for all it's worth!) Madelyn & Mommy

The bride & bridesmaids
We played a few games (uck). One of them had a little spinner thing that you had to spin & do whatever it landed on. There were some fairly painless categories (tell us something about yourself, tell us how you know the bride or groom), & then there were a couple that would kinda suck (sing a love song, do a famous wedding dance). So everyone was cheating & wussing out & doing the whole "tell us something about yourself". So I patiently waited my turn & thought, what the hell? I'll do whatever it lands on! When I spun, it landed on "do a famous wedding dance." So I hopped up & said, "ok, I'm gonna do a dance, but you all have to sing it for me!" So all the ladies sang the chicken dance & I got my groove on!

But I MUST thank Lora for #1-knowing how shameless I am & would WANT my pic taken & #2-for knowing my love of blogging that I'd TOTALLY want to share it w/ everyone!

A glimpse of the summer ahead...

One thing ya gotta get used to w/ the McAfee's is the fact that they. don't. plan. At all... This is hard for me to get used to 'cuz I'm a tad on the controlling side & while I don't need my whole day or week planned to the millisecond, I do like to have a general idea of what I'm going to be doing in the next, oh say, 5-6 hours. So you can imagine our (Brian & Lora's, too) surprise when after we signed all the loan papers, Ann tells us that their houseboat has to be moved before the weekend. So we stood in the parking lot trying to get 6 adults & 3 kids' schedules figured out as to when we could make the trek down to the lake to move the boat. Now you may ask, "What does this have to do w/ you & Brad? YOU don't have a houseboat.." Very true. But here's the thing. #1-moving these freakin' houseboats is a production. It may sound simple, but it's a 50' long house travelling on water w/ a little steering wheel in the front. -It takes a village... #2-the McAfee's travel in packs. That's how we roll...

So Brian & Lora came & picked us up (the kids were w/ the grandparents) & we headed down to eat @ Beef O' Brady's.

This is what the kids did while we were waiting to eat...

Check out Cole's cheeks. The food was pretty good!

Stanley & Brady


I was trying to take pics of the fam for the blog & Lora wouldn't cooperate. So I said, "Lora, don't you want to be on my blog?!" And she said - "no". Whaaaa? Don't wanna be on the blog?! She said it was nothing personal, but I'm not gonna lie, that hurt a little.

So I hounded & guilted her & then she smiled!

She must've still felt bad for me because when I was taking pics of us heading down the river, she didn't try to hide her face...

And don't you worry, I was right there w/ them...

Could life BE anymore relaxing?

When we got to the dock, Brian had to tie 'er down & get 'er all hooked up.

So now we're like rabid animals that attack humans. We've had our first taste of blood, or in this case, chillin' @ the lake. (Don't cha just love my analogies?!) Now we have to listen to the boys cry about how they are SO busy & they can't wait to get done farming so we can go to the lake. It's the SAME story every year.

We bought the farm -- literally

It's time for another history lesson. I mean, how else am I gonna catch y'all up on the craziness that is my life?

So Brad & Brian's (aka "the boys") parents used to own a popcorn factory. No, the boys weren't standing around popping popcorn all day. They planted it, grew it, harvested it, packaged it & sold it. It was the REAL deal. They had employees & everything. So you see how the boys have had farmin' in their blood since they were little ones. They've told me stories of how when Brad was like 4-5 years old, they'd slap him in a pick up truck w/ pillows propping him up so he could reach the pedals. They'd put it in gear & he'd drive it around the field while they picked up rock or whatever. Thank God CPS never caught on...

I won't go into TOO much detail 'cuz not everybodies as shameless as me & lets everybody into their biz-nuss, but the popcorn plant burned to the ground in 1994 right before I met Brad. Needless to say, this was the families blood, sweat & tears & major source of income & it was devastating. One thing lead to another & the boys had to purchase some of the land that they had farmed most their lives from their parents. That's how Brad & I came to own 200 acres (ok, so HE owned it, then when we got hitched, I got my little claws into it...). All of them continued to farm over the years, but things have changed & progressed (not many details, remember?!) & now it's just the boys. But their parents still owned the "barn" (the hub & the epicenter where the grains bins & scale trailer & barn are?!) & some (ok, a lot)of acreage they've kept over the years....

Well, now the boys & their wives (can't forget the wives) are the happy new owners of it ALL... One thing led to another (I hate all this lack of details...) & their parents decided to sell the boys ALL OF IT. We went yesterday afternoon to sign our lives away, er, I mean, sign the wonderul loan documents that have us all on the hook for the next 20 years!

Of course, it's great for all of us to have this opportunity. How many other 30-40 year olds can say they own 400+ acres? This is also why they have to work their booties off...to pay for it all! ;-)

Kickin' it old school - Part 5

We're @ t-minus 8 weeks until the BIG anniversary countdown & it's time for more embarrassing pics of us!

This is my very 1st McAfee Family Reunion. It was Summer 1994 & we had JUST started dating. Check out my sweet Eastlands....they were the thang back in the 90's!

This is us w/ Stanley, Erin & Derk @ Brian & Lora's. I think they had probably just moved in. This is maybe 97 or 98?

Technically I should've included this pic w/ the vacations but I forgot. Yeah, well sue me. This is @ the Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica. It's an 800' waterfall that you can "walk" up. They try to make it sound easy, but it's really not. There's moss on the rocks & you can't see the bottom & sometimes you step down & there's nothing to step on. They have tour guides & stuff but still. I know the pic is crappy (it was taken w/ one of those disposable waterproof cameras). I HOPE you can make it big to see our faces. The tour guides are like, "Yeah, go stand under that ledge!" What they DON'T tell you is how fast the water is coming down & how HEAVY & COLD it is on ya!

This is somebodies bday @ Ann & Stan's house. Again, here I go w/ the nephews ages...I think maybe Brady is 3-4 so this would be maybe 1999-2000? I think maybe it's Brian's bday?!

My mother doesn't think I'm funny. [Sniff, sniff]

So I finally convinced my mom to read my blog. Let me just say that she is a little too paranoid to be using a computer. I've told her this. She doesn't LIKE it when I tell her this, but it is the truth. She always thinks someone's going to steal her identity or credit card numbers or somehow activate her webcam & watch her.

I saved my blog as a favorite on her laptop so she could read it @ her leisure. This is our conversation today @ lunch when she told me she read it:

Mom "I finally read your blog." (crickets...)
Me: "Ok...so did you think it was funny?" (more crickets...)
Mom: "Well...."
Me: "I take that as a no?!"
Mom: "Well..."
Me: "Do you just not get my sense of humor or what?"
Mom: "Well..."
Me: "What did you read? Everything or just the most recent stuff?"
Mom: "I tried to read it all."
Me: "Ok mom, ya know what? Lots of people thinks it's funny."
Mom: "I know... Marcia just went on & on about how funny it was." (BTW-Thanks Marcia! :-)
Me: "Well, you just don't have the right sense of humor for it, I guess."
Mom: "I guess I don't."

So this is for you, mom. These are real-live, authenicated, actual comments people have made on my blog. They are NOT altered in any way, shape or form:

THIS IS HILARIOUS!!! HA HA!!! THANKS FOR THE LAUGH!!
Hahaha! I am looking forward to the next "old" post!
Hahahaha! Too fun!
I love it! I don't know what I did for entertainment before you started blogging!
you kill me! you are out of control! i am so glad you have this blog....such entertainment!!
That is funny. We have a dog named Sparky
ha ha ha ha! that is all i have to say!! you make me laugh!!
hahahahahaha! Mudville is a good name for Salem! I grew up there.
ha ha ha ha ha ha!! though i am sorry you were disappointed! :)
Too funny! Jaime, you know you have to watch those McAfee boys! :)

I would like you to notice the over abundance of the words "ha ha ha", "laugh" & "funny". But it's ok if you don't think I'm funny, mom. I can live w/ that. We come from a different time. That's what makes us all human, our differences... P.S. I would still like to come to your house everyday & have you make me lunch...

And for those of you who DO think I'm funny? I heart you & hope I can keep making you laugh & smile! And keep the comments coming, I LOVE 'em! When YOU'RE happy, I'M happy!! :-)

I finally found it...maybe

On Saturday, Brad needed a pad of paper in the spreader. After I dropped it off, I went shopping!
I had a couple of things to get PLUS, as always, I was on the look-out for the elusive garden ornament I haven't been able to find for 3 years that's "just right". Carrie went w/ me & we had lunch. She must've been a good luck charm. We went to Old Time Pottery...& after walking through the WHOLE store...on the way to the front, we saw them.Cool, funky gazing balls on black stands. I didn't really think I WANTED a gazing ball. Aren't they like SO 1970's? But I've seen more of them lately & these aren't just the plain jane blue or green balls. After debating & trying to figure out which one I wanted, I was set. And the best part? $25 for the whole smash! I emailed Brad a picture of them to make sure they would be sturdy enough to withstand the strong winds that come up the hill (have I mentioned I heart my Blackberry?!) & he says he will probably need to reinforce the stand just to be sure.

When I got home, Brian was @ the neighbors spraying our newly acquired field.

So I sat it out. Now, while I realize it looks kinda small in the scheme of things...I have some things planted that will eventually come up & fill in the blanks (fingers crossed!).

Its got blue, white, purple & green swirled around in it.

The kids had to come over & check it out.

So I'm happy, for now (of course I'm gonna have to bug Brad to fix the stand so it doesn't fall over). But I do reserve the right to purchase something else if I think it will fit there. Uh, hello? I'm a chick--I can TOTALLY change my mind!

We are some bday celebratun' sons 'a guns...

So we went to ANOTHER birthday extravanganza last night. A guy in the motorcycle gang was turning the big 3-0...We ate @ Bravo's. It was way over in the East End. Us farmin' folk don't make it out that way very often. But it was really good.

This group just will not cooperate for good pics. Look closely, there's a couple of silly things going on...

Then I had to chastise my brother for ruining this & told him to straighten up so I could get a good one...

Of course, he listened to me (duh!) & then Odile had to ruin it...so I gave up!

After dinner we went to Oliver's (which is a pool hall). I've never played pool so I just sat back & observed.

Jeremy & Hannah

Odile sizing up his shot...

Singing happy birthday to Railing!

(Some of)The motorcycle gang...