Phot Hunt Saturday - Water

This weeks theme is Water. Water is, essentially everywhere. I love being outside with my girls, so it comes as no surprise that I have more than a few "water" pictures floating around. The real task was figuring out which ones to use.

This is a picture of the waterfall in the garden pond at my in-laws house. A frog named Maya has taken up residence in the pond along with 6 goldfish. The girls love to feed the fish and watch the different birds who come for a drink.


Here is a mother goose out with a swim with her gosling's. They are enjoying the cool water on a warm day.


This is a blackbird who decided to rest on a branch near a pond.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Empty

This weeks theme is Empty.

Last year we found these nuts (not sure exactly what they were). What I do know, is in addition to these spiky outer shell, there were also round seeds that went inside. This spiky shell happened to be empty when we found it.

On a trip to the beach last year, we found this skate egg satchel washed up on the shore. It had already hatched and was empty.

In our gardens, we have snails. Our snails actually have shells like sea snails. This particular shell found in the garden was empty.

We went on a tour of a local dairy farm. Inside the barn, we saw this rack of empty milk bucket.

Popcorn Plants

Today we went over to my friend's house for an activity. The girls painted some terra cotta flower pots and then planted some sunflower seeds inside. Then they sat down for a snack - popcorn. I walked around the corner to find Einey digging in her pot. When I asked her what she said...

"I am planting some popcorn."

It took me a moment to realize that she was putting her popcorn kernels in the soil.

Feeling Better...

The stomach bug only seemed to have affected Husband and Einey (unless of course, it shows up over the weekend in someone else). Einey went back to school the next day and all is well on the home front except...

I now have a killer sinus infection. I can't complain much because I used to get frequent sinus infections and over the last few years, I haven't had any. Unfortunately the Sudafed PE isn't working so i need to try something else (as long as I haven't used my allotted decongestant purchase for the week. What really bugs me is when you have a family of 5 (most of whom are prone to allergies and require a decongestant at the same time) but you are limited to how much you can buy. How do you pick who can get relief and who can stay miserable and snotty?

Anyway, that all that's up here.

Edit: 9:00 pm I was able to pick up some Tylenol Cold and Sinus today, but I still feel like crap. My head is pounding, my throat hurts when I talk (so the kids are going to get away with alot the next few days) and my chest hurts when I cough. I can't take anything to knock myself out either as Husband is working nights and I don't want to be unconscious if needed.

Round 4 (or is it 5, I've lost count)....

It came without warning, without pain without aches. It came very suddenly, not one could escape.

We have entered round 4 (or possibly 5) of PukeFest '07. Is it even possible to be sick that often? It seems like once a month since December (possibly November - I can't remember that far back) we have been hit with the stomach bug. Yesterday it started with Husband and moved to Einey. I may or may not have gotten it, if so it was very mild. I am not taking the kids to playgroup for at least a week because last time, we went FIVE DAYS return to school once she is feeling better, but between kids getting sick. We thought we were out of the woods, you know, the whole 24 hour thing, but nope. I will let Eineythat's it.

There is nothing worse than trying to lift a puking child off the top of a bunk bed when you can hardly reach her. Did I mention she was puking? So we all stripped and showered, threw one load of disgusting bed stuff in the laundry and tried to sleep. She slept well and that was it, but Husband was up every 2 hours and I slept lightly.

This morning, I have already washed 3 loads of puky blanket, Lysoled the entire house and am working on washing everyone else's bedding. I am minutes away from scrubbing down the entire house, floor to ceiling. However, I think that may end up being a project set out over days - one room at a time. That way I don't neglect the girls and I can get everything done. I want to clean the baseboards, wash the walls, scrub the floors and organize the toys (yes I just did this, but this is a once a week job).

Thankfully, spring arrives tonight. With it, I hope the warm weather arrives, so we can air out the house and get out in the fresh air much much more often.

I am sick of being sick!

Photo Hunt Saturday - Drink

This weeks theme is Drink.


My favorite drink is a nice, hot caramel Latte. My second favorite drink is a bottle of Ballet of Angels (pictured above), a wine brewed at a local winery.

My Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I found this via Ryan and thought is was interesting. Apparently I am an easy rider, escape artist, back to basics, touchy feely girl. Go visit and get your own visual DNA!

Real Moms let their kids watch TV...

Courtesy of Kristen's Real Moms Meme, in search of the Real Mom Truth.

Brought to me by Binky.

Real moms know the power of TV.


Real moms know that TV isn't all bad. Real moms know what it takes if they want to:
hit the bathroom in peace,
get some chores done,
spend some quality time with their husband before older kids come home,
relax by the computer, reading blogs and drinking a latte,
cook supper,
take a bath without having company.....
the list goes on....

What else can distract a toddler so that you can get things done? It can even be educational, if you pop in Baby Einstein, Leap Pads Letter factory, TMBG: Here come the ABC's and many others.

I tag:
Mrs. Chicken
Toyfoto
Mom- 101

unless of course, you've already been tagged, in that case.
Shit, I've got nothing.

Signs of Spring

Today we went searching for signs of spring and this is what we found.

A Cool Dad...

Last month I posted about the cons of being married to a painter.

This week I will post a few pictures of the benefits.

Really cool tattoos!

Einey

Meenie

Moe

The Joys of Spring...

Today was a beautiful day. The temperature topped 58 degrees so we decided to hit the playground after school. A few friends met us there and we had alot of fun.

There was just one problem.

Spring equals melted snow equals muddy playgrounds equals dirty kids equals thank god mom keeps a change of clothes in the van.

It was fun until daughter lost her shoes to the mud goddess. I fished them out and she had to walk barefoot to the van. We came home and immediately placed all of our clothes and shoes in the washing machine.

Mental note: Do not let kids wear brand new shoes to the playground when you know it is probably going to be muddy. Make sure each kid has a full change of clothes in the car (only Moe did and thankfully it was her that fell into a puddle and not one of the others or we would have had to had left earlier).

Hey Einstein...

You were supposed to turn your clocks ahead last night, not back.

Hahahaha!

They won't be winning any MENSA awards with this thinking.

As we left the house this morning, we could hear people over at the rifle range (or hunting) across the river. The girls asked "what's that". When we explained that is was gunshots, they said "what are they shooting? They're not shooting at us, are they". We explained that they were shooting at targets or animals like deer or turkeys.

A few minutes later in the car....

Meenie: "They can't be shooting animals, they won't fit."

Me: " Where won't they fit, I don't understand"

Einey: "In the guns, the animals won't fit in the guns.

After laughing for about 5 minutes, I had to agree with them.

About an hour later, we were walking into the store, and the girls heard a truck which they thought sounded like the gunshots.

"That's just like the gunshots we heard at home this morning."

Um, lets not talk about that okay, we don't want people thinking the wrong thing......

Photo Hunt Saturday - Architecture

This weeks theme is architecture. I had a tough time in that I couldn't decide what to post, so I am posting a few of my favorites!

The first two are natural architecture. We found this birds nest last summer under a tree in my parent's back yard, so the girls brought it home and placed it in a bush. They were hoping some birds would take up residence in it, but they had no takers!

What creature is better at building it's home than a spider? Here is a web with fresh fallen dew on it!


This building will always have a special place in my heart. It was standing under the stone arch, under the sunset with the waves crashing behind us, that Husband proposed to me just 9 short years ago. I have always loved walking around, admiring the stone architecture of this building by the beach!


We love to take the kids hiking in the nice weather. One of our favorite places to hike is at the local Audubon Society. It has wetlands, marshes and fields. While hiking last summer (the same trail we usually take, we discovered this old stone arch leading under the airline trail. We thought it was just a unique piece of architecture, in the middle of nowhere!

This is a picture of a local private boarding school, where some of our friends live. I have always loved driving by, seeing the ivy climbing its way up the sides of the building.

And this last photo is a shot of the dome inside the Children's Hospital where Meenie spent a week last summer after coming down with viral encephalitis. Many meals were spent under this dome, as it was the one place we could use or phones to keep in touch with family and the girls. I would often sit in the center and stare up at the dome, marveling at the architecture and could just feel a sense of calming. It was a place I could relax and forget about my sick child upstairs for just a few moments.


I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Feel free to browse around the rest and take a peek at my 365 Day of random Pictures (link on the sidebar)! I promise more interesting pictures coming soon, as we exit the big freeze (aka winter)!

The Joy of Internet TV

Just this week, I have found the joy of watching LOST on my computer. Since they switched to the 10-11pm schedule, I just can't stay awake to watch the episodes (and one week, I just forgot). I wish more companies would air their episodes on the Internet once they have played!

The girls have also found joy in watching clips on the computer. While watching something last night, they had a clip of the hiccuping panda cub. I remarked to Husband that I saw it on YouTube one day so off he went. And played it over and over, laughing hysterically. Then he showed it to the girls and now they request it. Others that they seem to like are the Hippo and the Dog, and the Wii clip.

And of course this was also a favorite. Unfortunately I couldn't find the video itself, but it is the first one on the clip. Really Big Universe is great for all you since nuts out there.

So, what are your favorite clips?

In Training....

Husband introduced Einey to his favorite hobby this past weekend. He ran her through a dungeon, delve style. Capturing the treasure was the objective, which she completed with her whole party left. Her party members were a Dwarf Sargent, Elf Warsinger and Dragonmarked Heir.

They started off with her coming down the stairs into the first level of the dungeon. She decides to take the passage to the left. Through the first door, and she spies a statue in the corner.

"Mom, what do I do?"

"Do you see it moving"

"It's a statue, it doesn't move"

"Just ask."

"Is it moving?"

"DM: Roll your D20" 14. "You see it blink it's eyes".

Einey picks up the piece to inspect it.

"Use your imagination honey"

"Now what"

"Shoot it"

After two rounds, she made her first kill and defeated the Gargoyle in the corner.


Her next encounter was a Sorcerer and his "pet rat". She took out the rat first, with a little help as she tried to "target" her party members with her fire and ice spells.

Next up was some dragons? And lastly was a troll at the entrance of the Treasure Room. She defeated the troll and claimed the treasure. She leveled up her characters picking a +1 to attack bonus for the dwarf and Dragonmarked and a second cure spell for the Elf.

Some things I observed with Einey were she was adding her own dice rolls to the bonuses on the cards (much quicker than some older players we have played with), she was reading the correct information off the cards (i.e. dmg) as she went along in the game and she knew if she rolled over the AC. They both seemed to have alot of fun playing! As she walked into different parts of the dungeon, she would chant "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid"! I really wish i had a video camera to capture "her first game".

Husband made up this adventure as he went along, but has already started to plan the next one.

Photo Hunt Saturday - Salty

When I think salty, I think of the ocean. We took these pictures of some tide pools last summer (Atlantic Ocean). Whenever we go to the ocean, we always try to find some tide pools - you never know what you are going to find in them! We love just searching through the pools. These two pictures have just some sea snails and baby mussels.

Snails!

Mussels!

Miss Independence...

This week, Einey has entered a new phase in life. She is trying to carve out an inch of independence in this crazy household. She shares a room with her sister, while Moe has the room to her self. As Moe gets older and sleeps regularly through the night (she still on occasion, wakes up which is common in toddlers). Eventually ,we will probably reverse the sleeping situation, giving Einey, as firstborn, a room to herself. However, with three bedrooms and 5 people living in this house, some of us have to share.

At a friend's house the other day, Einey saw a sign on her friends door which read "Get Owt of My Room". The sign was put up to deter his two younger sisters, neither of whom were at the reading age, from entering his room. As the only boy in a four child home, he earned that single room.

This morning, after dropping Einey off at school, I noticed this note she left on the Magna Doodle:


The fact that she has to share her room has not deterred her from trying to keep the others out. The fact that she does not have a door on her bedroom has not deterred her from making a sign. The fact that her sisters cannot read has not deterred her. The fact that she told me after school, that she only one's one of her sisters to stay out hasn't deterred her.

As other friends are dealing with their children learning new words, and thus asserting their independence, we are entering the need for privacy phase.

There is a whole world to explore out there and she is one step closer to being ready to explore it alone.