This nature I can handle...

While we were playing outside this morning, the girls found some ladybugs so they put them on the rose bush :)

Nature

i went to the home depot today to get some plant related items. i did not get a cart, or i would have gotten too many things. when i got to the register i had dirt on my hands from the petunias i had been carrying. i dusted it off and commented on it and the cashier said something about how "that happens when you're in this business." "well! that's all well and good except that i do not enjoy having nature on me. i love a garden, but dirt and bugs and *shudder* grubs...oh ew." then, for some reason and i couldn't stop myself, i said "i like to cook, but i don't like to touch raw meat either." yeah, i don't know why i said that...and the cashier says "you poor thing!" heh. at this point, the lady in line behind me is laughing. then the cashier says "well, you just need to get you some gloves..." to which i reply "oh yes! i have to wear gloves! i have sensitive skin..." the lady behind me starts hollering "tmi! tmi!" ok, so i probably shared a bit too much today, but at least i made two people laugh. and i learned that after a visit to the psychofloobicologist, it is in my best interest to just keep my mouth shut!

elise is smrt

elise brought this home from school the other day. i love it! nevermind the fact that those are seeds and not "ptados", i think it is brilliant.

woohoo!

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

March 31

who knew?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
Philadelphia
Boston
The Northeast
The Inland North
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

March 27

expected unexpectedness

you go through the day absorbing all the odd things that children do, but when you hear yourself asking "why are you wearing panties as a shirt?" it's time to take a breather.

the things these children do...

March 25

ahahahahahaa

at kaely's libby lu birthday party, elise ended up with a hannah montana wig. wooooooooooo! i can't help thinking that she looks more like a young beth...

but her drama queen skills are improving; she can now dramatize in her sleep!

March 20

Happy Birthday, Kaely!

to quote someone awesome: "another year, gone"

kaely is 8 today! she got to open a present this morning before school (thanks nana!). at school today, she got a teddy bear from a friend of the boy kind and her dad brought her a balloon. this afternoon we played and opened presents and after dinner we had cake (mmmm...c.a.k.e.). dang sugar high is running full steam ahead at the moment, but they should crash soon (insert hopeful smile here). kaely is also having a birthday thing with her dad this weekend. heh...

March 16

Spring is Here

the other evening, as i was starting dinner, i heard the patter of little feet and something being set down on the counter and then more pattering. i turned around to see what was happening and i notice that the sugar canister was open and on the edge of the counter. i investigate and discover that the once half full canister now contained enough sugar to cover the bottom...and there is sugar on the floor. thoughts of dinner put on hold, i wander the house looking for the bouncing child and the mess. i find it as lillian walked out of her room with a bowl of sugar in her hand. she was sprinkling it around and shouting "spring is here! spring is here!" the carpet in her room and the hall was sparkling and beautiful and her toy kitchen looked as though it had recently snowed. oh man...when does she start school?

February 12

heeeeeeeeeee!

we made our valentines today so we are all ready for a sugar coma :)

so today i have been hearing about all the fun the girls had at their dad's house. apparently he has a "catuzi cub" that has bubbles that make elise itch. everytime she says it, i stop short and have to think about what she is talking about...jacuzzi tub...right, carry on then. i'm just glad that they had a really good time and even more importantly, that they are back home :)

February 01

snow day!

i have never been so excited to receive a phone call at 5.40 am! it snowed all morning and the girls stayed out until they were pink. we had a snowball fight and they made snow angels. and you will never believe this...i took a few pictures :) the second time we went out, it was snowing big fluffy snowflakes and we (meaning me) made a little snowman...but it looks like a skirt at the bottom, so i named it snomama. it's raining now and that is expected to freeze, so cross your fingers that school is closed again tomorrow...

January 23

it's majama day!

today at the preschool is pajama day, but lillian calls them majamas :)

January 18

bear with me...

as this is only my second winter out of florida...i love it when it gets all icy and scary! of course i much prefer looking at the icy scary from the comfort of my chair by the fire rather than being out in it, driving to appointments that were cancelled days ago...but i digress. i was also told today by the optometrist that i don't blink completely and that is a contributing factor in my dry eye issues. and here's a shocker...sit down for this one guys...incomplete blinking can be brought on by lack of sleep (*gasp*) or stress (*swoon*). lets hope that those magic drops work...

and here you go...pictures of icy things:

January 17

what age is she? and you let her pick colour?

hahahahahaha...yes, yes i did.

i would also like to report that it is cold.

that is all.

January 03

simon says...

shake your head and roll around! staples out today and he is so happy to have that e-collar off!

December 31

i'm sorry, i can't hear you...

the girls spent the afternoon with their dad. elise brought home a pair of hello kitty earmuffs. i asked her why she thought she needed them. she said (with a straight face) "i need them to sleep in because kaely likes to listen to her radio at night and it's loud and keeps me awake so i need them to sleep." oh man

December 26

simontology

he is really annoyed that we won't take off the e-collar.

December 25

merry christmas!

December 23

space dog and other hijinks

what a day! simon had an appointment for a snipsidoodle and a shave (cos the mats were out of control) so i had to be at the vet's office at 7...in the rain. a little boy asked me what kind of cat i had and was quite confused when the "cat" growled at him. poor simon! i left him there and went home for some coffee. then i needed to go to the bank and cash up, but that turned into a full fledged family outing complete with pouting children and no less than 2 umbrellas. off to the bank and then the mall (on the friday before christmas). oh man i lack the sailor's vocabulary to adequately describe the experience of leading my parents and my three children through an incredibly crowded mall. woot! i had to cash up again when we were done (i can't wait until the new card gets here...this whole thing of having to drive to the bank every time i need cash is really cramping my style). but i can finally say that i am done with shopping and ready for christmas so yay me.

then it was time to pick up simon. when i brought him out, lillian said "is that our dog simon?" and she was really not sure about it. and the collar...oh man...i think it should be pleated. he hates it and keeps catching it on things...teehee! oh and i had to put his sweater on him...poor little guy was shivering :)

December 21

awesome news y'all

dad's here for christmas...and he brought publix chocolate chip cookies!!!! yum-e! he also changed the locks, stopped a leak, and bought a new ceiling fan. the electrician came this afternoon and installed it so now the old fan won't short the circuit and cause the bathroom lights to go out. it was really quite exciting.

this morning on the way to school, elise and kaely were singing " we wish you a merry christmas" and they had a discussion about figgy pudding. kaely asked what it was and elise answered "it's pudding...made with figgy." clearly! and then she put her hand next to her mouth, like she was telling a secret, and said "figgy is another way of saying chocolate." which obviously makes it worth eating.

December 16

here's my plan

i've been in charlotte for a year now and i like it (pinky swear!), but there are still things i miss about florida. publix and family come to mind... anyway, the other day, while i was cleaning out a box, i came across an old button that i used to wear on my publix uniform. sweet nostalgia...i turned that bad boy into an ornament. and it looks awesome on my tree. and before i realized what i had said, i announced to mom that i was going to take a picture of it and mail it to publix with a note asking them when they might be expanding into north carolina. we both laughed, but i'm going to do it. maybe they'll send me some of their delicious, delectable, and deeeeliiiightfuuul chocolate chip cookies :)

oh, and so far, the christmas tree is still standing (woot).

December 13

we saw santa!

kaely didn't want to go, so it was just elise and lillian. they had a really good time :) lillian even sang and danced for santa.

December 07

Oh Christmas Tree

bought the tree today...cats quite excited. let's start a pool to see when the cats knock it over :)

November 30

teehee!

my mother is staying with us for a while. this evening, in all seriousness, kaely asked mom, "nana, when you went to school, did you use pencils or did you have to use quills?"

November 04

A geology lesson

Today, Mom and I took the girls to the fall craft fair at the church. As we were walking in, Lillian pointed out 2 very large tree stumps that were out in the field and said "Look Mommy...cainos!" I guess they did look a bit like volcanoes... When we left the craft fair, they all wanted to go see them. Lillian ran down to it, looked at it, and ran back to me saying "I better get away before it splodes!"

I took pictures with the cellyphone and they didn't turn out so fab, but they are the best I got :)

October 25

Hey look!

It's a woodpecker! yay :)

October 22

The Mountain

Our backyard slopes up...the girls call it a mountain (a regular reminder that I really need to get them to the mountains...real ones). So, last year when we moved in, my MIL and I were just anxious to get the bulbs and other plants that I had brought in the ground. We put 5 bulbs in the northern corner of the yard, at the top of the mountain. Spring came and nothing happened up there. I figured that, since I had seen evidence of the squirrels digging up the bulbs in the front yard, those poor little guys in the northern territory never stood a chance. Imagine our surprise today, when Mom and I climbed the mountain to plant the iris that she had brought, we found all 5 bulbs just hanging out. They were rather scraggly looking, due to the frequent invasions of Mr. Whitley (the awesome landscaper) and his mowing machine...but they were there! So we cleaned them up a bit and brought up the friends...iris and rose (boy I hope they know some St Olaf stories). We also threw in a clump or three of the day lillies and something that I don't remember...um...archeopterix...no I think that's a dinosaur. I don't think it's colonoscopy either...that's an entirely different type of digging... I'll have to ask Mom next time we talk...

October 21

whew!

Kaely went back to school yesterday (yay). She probably could have gone back Thursday, but I decided to keep her home just to be sure...of course this was before I realized that there is no school Monday and Tuesday (bah!). Nice schedule, huh? Out 4 days, go to school 1, and then get a 4 day weekend...nice. So now we wait to see who's next!

In other news, I made bread this week and I find that immensely satisfying as a stress reliever.

October 17

gonnatalkfastcosi'mholdingmybreath

lookslikekaelyhasamildcaseandsofarnooneelsehasityet.

October 15

cluck cluck

this morning, as i walked by kaely, she said "mommy, i have all of these red spots on my tummy. they aren't bug bites, but they sure do itch." woot! despite the vaccination, we've been visited by the chicken pox fairy. what's the over/under on who will get it next?

uh...

so, we've, like, been busy and stuff...

September 16

Coloring

Hooray! Lillian and I collaborated on a Dora picture :) Way fun...

There is something so relaxing about lying on your tummy and coloring to your heart's content...where your only stress is "What color should I use next?". Good times.

September 11

Just in case...

you forgot or have been living in a cave, Jen is married! And here are more photos commemorating the occasion!

September 10

WooHoo!

Lillian loves pre-school!

September 01

So I was attacked

by a vicious killer bee this morning. I was in line at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and a bee flew in the open window and harrassed me. Of course I jumped and shooed him away...during which I also took my foot off the brake (whoops!). Don't worry, I stomped on the brake in time. I would have liked to have been outside looking in at that point...arms flailing about...van rolling. Aaaaah...good times, good times! So, I guess next time, I'll have some coffee before I leave the house...to go get coffee.

Today was Elise's second day of Kindergarten (her first day was Wednesday) and now she has officially begun school. To celebrate, I thought that I would refrain from crying as I dropped her off at her classroom door. That plan was quickly vetoed, however. Elise's plan was for me to simply unlock the van door, allowing her to get out of the van in the drop off line...just like Kaely. I must say, though, it was just about the sweetest thing ever watching the two of them walk into the building together.

Yesterday was Lillian's Open House for preschool. She had a blast and is way excited about school...especially the parts of school that involve a backpack and lunchbox. She will start on Tuesday. :)