The Door

...is in.  

Hurrah!

Here's a look:

The only thing I don't like about this picture is the guy seems to be holding up a piece of wood and scratching his head.  I certainly hope the roof doesn't cave in once the job's done.  If so, I will submit this photo into evidence.  Exhibit A.

Once the workers left for the day things like this started to happen:

and this...

I wish I could say it stopped here...

...but, it just got sillier and sillier...

If you have young children then you have probably seen the movie, 'Ramona and Beezus'.  

Thanks, Ramona, for the inspiration.  

Baseball Dissection

My son loves baseball.  Like, A.LOT.
He loves it so much that, one day, he decided to dissect a baseball.
He wants to know all the ins and outs of baseball-figuratively and literally.

So, we start with an old baseball that was starting to come away at the seams

 By the way, I took all these photos with the Instagram app on my iPhone.  If you don't have it downloaded, do it now.  Ok?  Then come back and read the rest of my post, because, well, that would be the polite thing to do...

My son ripped the leather along the seams

 My daughter helped pose the ball.  This is very important to her.  The girl can pose.  

and inside was a ball.  A ball of yarn

And let me tell you...it smelled!  Really bad.  Like mold and mildew.  

 And, underneath the yarn was a ball.  A ball of rubber. 

A rubber ball.  

 Stinky yarn.

Baseball innards that looks like a face.  

Picasso style.  

Trash Picker

My son has an affinity for Mc Flurry's.  
The ice-cream concoctions that are blended with goodie goodness sold at that fast-food joint you might have heard of.  

hmm...really shouldn't finish a sentence with 'of'.
...of which you might have heard.  There, is that better?

So, after a particularly hot and sweaty baseball practice he politely asked (as all teenaged boys do *ahem*) if we could stop and get a Rolo Mc Flurry.  You heard it right peeps.  A Rolo Mc Flurry.  That would be ice cream blended with delicious caramel Rolos.  

Hold on, I'll be right back...
Love me some caramel.  Or, do you say, carmel. ??  I love them both.

Now, back to my story:
I graciously said 'yes' and off we went.  He finished it on the drive home and promptly threw it in the trash when we got home.  Such a good boy.

A while later we thought the house seemed particularly quiet.  


It's only when it's particularly quiet do you realize how noisy a puppy can be.  There was no scurrying across floors, no stealing socks out of laundry baskets.  It was just oh so quiet.  So, we called our little darling, just to make sure she was still in the house and hadn't snuck out to play with a goat (yes, our neighbor has a goat--that's a story for another day).  After calling out, "Virrrrr-ginnnnn-yaaaaa" this little head popped around the corner:

Did someone call me?  Pay no attention to the cup on my snout.  

It may be stuck, but I don't mind.

It's oh, so DEE-LISH-US.

Today

Today we went to the beach.

It was glorious.

We ate fish and chips.

We played in the water.

We collected shells.

We laughed and sang and ate.  

This picture has me in tears.

These are my babies.

When did they get so big?

I don't like it.

Not one bit.

Well, I love the photo.

But, not the getting older and bigger stuff.  That needs to stop.  

Anything But a Face

One of my favorite sites, I Heart Faces, is having another contest.  Usually their contests have to include a face, but this time they said no no no, anything but!  So, I immediately thought of this photograph:

It is my mother and her newest grandson.  I just love how both hands have wrinkles on them.  Circle of life.  As you may remember my mother is suffering from Alzheimer's so this photo is a little extra special.  I just love that she got to hold her grandson, even though she won't remember.

xo

Guess What Peeps?

It's snowing again.  It's late, it's dark, but I can see the snow sparkling outside.

It's beautiful.

I can't wait to see it in morning's first light.  I am sure I will take a gazillion photos.  I just can't help myself.  Every year I say, 'baby-cakes.  you don't need any more photographs of that tree covered in snow.'  But, then I see the freshly fallen snow and I am like a kid in a candy store.

Or a bull in a china shop.

One of those.

Strong like bull.

ahem...where was I?

Oh, yes, gorgeous, beautiful, freshly fallen snow.  It's reminds me of the pile of confectioner's sugar I sift when I make my famous carrot cake.  Yes, it's famous.  You haven't heard of it?  Oh...  hmmm... I could have sworn it was famous.  How many people have to like something in order for it to be famous?  oh...

I am starting to get confused now.  It's late, it's dark...

Ah, yes, as I was saying, it's snowing again in these parts.  I just can't wait to take a photo of that tree covered in snow (again).

Here is what it looked like last time it snowed:

It's just one of my favorite trees.  Makes me smile.  It's also my daughter's 'climbing tree'.  Maybe that is why I am so attached to the tree.  When she was little she grabbed hold of those branches and would not let go.  

 Small fry was determined.

And, if you please, shall we all just have a moment of silence for the diaper sticking out of the back of the pants.

Is it not delicious?  Doesn't it make you want to wear outfits with peter-pan collars?  

Why I didn't have 100 babies I'll never know...

What happens when it snows...

The trees look lovely:

The birds eat what's left on the birdfeeder:

The birds eat what's left of the halloween pumpkin:

The squirrels eat what's left of the halloween pumpkin:

Did I mention the trees look lovely?

Children wear snowboots to school:

Oh, and some people lose control of their vehicle
swerve on the road
and crash into your mailbox:

Thank you.

Thankyouverymuch.

US & OZ

Sorry I have been MIA.  Busy busy busy...  I am sure we are all singing the same tune.
However, I felt badly enough for neglecting my blog that I stopped on my way to the land of nod to sit at the computer and update it just one more time...
Who knows, maybe I will get one more post in before the end of the year!  Fingers crossed...
 

From OZ:

The girls enjoying one of the "pressies" that my mom sent them for Christmas! 

I let them open one a day early. :)

                          -Kate

From US:

My daughter taking a break from my photo-shoot in front of the tree.  

US & OZ: December 16, 2010

OZ:

The girls in their sundresses after a day of visiting Santa.

US:

Horses getting a dusting of snow.  Where are their blankets??  

SNOW!

It's finally snowing, y'all.  
I love it!  
I aint kidding--I really really really lurve snow.  
It makes me so happy when I see white falling from the sky.  


Sometimes I think I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but then it snows and a smile stretches across my face.  


It is my drug.  
It is like sunshine.  
It is better than sunshine.  
It is like sunshine without the oppressive heat.  


Who doesn't love that!?!


It seems I have passed the love for snow on to my children.  There may only be a centimeter on the ground, but they are making the most of it!

US & OZ: December 6, 2010

From OZ:

The girls were having dessert in their jammies tonight, and Lara decided to put her "cosi" on over hers. 

And her swimming cap.

                      -Kate

From US:

Bird waiting for me to fill up the bird feeder, but it was just too cold!  Sorry, chickie...

Illness

Illness has been making its rounds in our house.

My daughter was sick with a high fever and had to miss a day or two of school.  This made her very upset and subsequently very angry with me.  She said she was NOT SICK and that I MADE her stay home from school.  That's just the kind of evil mother I am....you like school so much?  Well, in that case, you can't go!!  You have to stay home!!  bwah ha ha ha ha...

ahem.

My son contracted strep throat and then kindly passed it on to me for Thanksgiving.

Then my dog (I am guessing this is how the story goes) brought a tick into the house and the next morning I pulled it out of my leg.  A bulls-eye instantly appeared, so it appears I have Lyme Disease as well.

Woe is me
Alas Alack
boo hoo hoo
wee wee wee all the way home

Anyhoo, as it is easy to get down in the dumps when one bad thing happens after another I try to focus on the positive.  I got a nice kick in the pants when I took my son to the doctor's office to be tested for strep and a young mother was there with a toddler and a 2 month old baby who was sick.  I heard the receptionist say to her (as we were leaving) 'you don't have any health insurance right now?' and the young mother shook her head no.  I walked outside and thanked my lucky stars and the God who made them that my family and I had health insurance.  Thankful that my husband is still employed in this economy when so many people are not.  It is so easy to forget this since millions of catalogs are coming in the mail asking you to buy this that and the other.  Sales flyers promoting this that and the other for Black Friday.  And then you see a young mother with a sick baby lying on her shoulder and realize things aren't always what the talking heads are saying.  There may be an upturn for some people, but there are still millions of people who will not feel that upturn for a long time, if ever.

So, I am thankful that I have health insurance, even if I have to be sick to remember to be thankful.  I am thankful that I contracted strep throat, even it was painful when I woke up Thanksgiving morning.

I mean every swallow burned.  
Did you hear me??  It burned!!  

The on-call doctor called in some antibiotics for me and I am thankful for that because when I realized the bulls-eye rash the antibiotics were already working through my system and started sweeping that lymes right out the door.

Apparently, everything does happen for a reason!