After six years, and my husband's encouragement, I've decided to get back into blogging. Since my son is now old enough for his blog, I figured I'd get back to writing from time to time.
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Cricket Catcher
Grandpa Tom gave Adam a cricket catcher. It is a cylinder, cardboard container with holes down the side for an insect to breathe, but ideally not escape.
Adam has been on the hunt the last week for crickets to put in his box. A few weeks ago our yard was crawling with grasshoppers and other hopping insects. Now, we can't find a single one. No matter the temperature or the weather he wants to hunt for crickets.
We noticed on our last visit to the track there were an extraordinary amount of grasshoppers. Adam came prepared with his container. He made a 7 year old friend to help him in his efforts. They spent the majority of the time tracking down bugs. Finally, they caught one! Adam was ecstatic! He had pure joy on his face. He was absolutely thrilled. Then, the other child's mother wanted to peek inside and see what they had found. The grasshopper, sensing it might be his only escape, leaped out directly toward the mom, to which she screamed and dropped the box. The grasshopper could not be found. While we have catch and release policy, I had told Adam he could take it home, study it, and release it into our backyard. That seemed a better idea to him than letting him go at the track.
Sadly, we went home empty handed. Adam was less than thrilled. The mom was so apologetic because she knew how long they had worked to capture their grasshopper. It wasn't her fault, grasshoppers have no interest in being little boy captives.
We got Adam home, with hopes that maybe there would be a cricket in our yard...somewhere. We searched as a family. There were none. This morning after breakfast, his hopes were crushed again, as alas, there were no grasshoppers or crickets to be found.
A week's worth of boy hunting effort was starting to wear on Adam.
Tonight, I was determined to give him some success. I went to the pet store and bought 6 large crickets.
Yes, I actually drove to the store and purchased crickets. Don't you judge me!
I dumped them on the back porch and called for Adam to hurry with his box. The crickets immediately hopped in opposite directions and hid. I was getting nervous. I mean I paid for crickets, where can I go from here?! Finally, we found one that Adam was able to contain. He was so happy as he went to bed tonight, so it was worth it.
(If you see him, you must never speak of how those crickets came to be, in a group, on the patio, in plain sight -- it was just a miracle ya'll!)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Little Adam
I came across this old picture of Adam age 3, and I have a hard time remembering him ever being this small.
The Pet Adoption
Our cat Sigmund, who we affectionately refer to as Mr. Sigglesworth, has been with us for 9 years. He was the last one of the free kittens we got from complete strangers driving back to our little apartment. Now that he's an old man cat, he's not really the type to want to interact and play with our children. In fact, he has only recently forgiven us for having children and bringing them into his home. Siggy is just not an affectionate cat with anyone other than Jared. If I am lucky enough to have Sigmund sit next to me, he will immediately jump down if Jared enters the room. We have a secret relationship. I can hang out with him as long as I promise not to tell any of my friends.
I've been thinking for a while now that it would be nice to add to our feline family, especially with an animal that wasn't so bi-polar in his feelings about me.
Last week we were at a pet store, and really hit it off with one of the cats. We really considered adopting her, until we heard the utter ridiculousness from the worker of the rescue center.
"Do you own or rent?" We told her we own our own home. She responded, "we will verify this." as if we had been being dishonest. I wondered, how, are you going to show up to our house?
"You will need to meet in person and get approval from the cat's current foster mom." Wow.
"We will need a vet recommendation, in addition to two personal references not related to you." While I think it's annoying, I can understand the vet recommendation to make sure you are caring for your current animals. However, I can't imagine asking two friends to write a recommendation for me to get a pet. How would one even compose such a letter? "I didn't even know they had a cat, I guess if they haven't killed the first one in 9 years it would be okay to give them another one."
"This is not a cash and carry operation, you will not go home with an animal today. It's more like adopting a child." We have a soft spot in our hearts for animals. We understand how they become like family but, at the end of the day it's a cat. It is not the same thing as a human child.
Too bad for them, because we decided that really isn't the route we want to go to pursue a second animal. We would have given a good life long home to the little fur ball, but I just can't adopt from a place that practically has a home study.
It's probably for the best for the time being. Right now we have a cat. Once we get a second one, we become cat people...and it's all down hill from there.
I've been thinking for a while now that it would be nice to add to our feline family, especially with an animal that wasn't so bi-polar in his feelings about me.
Last week we were at a pet store, and really hit it off with one of the cats. We really considered adopting her, until we heard the utter ridiculousness from the worker of the rescue center.
"Do you own or rent?" We told her we own our own home. She responded, "we will verify this." as if we had been being dishonest. I wondered, how, are you going to show up to our house?
"You will need to meet in person and get approval from the cat's current foster mom." Wow.
"We will need a vet recommendation, in addition to two personal references not related to you." While I think it's annoying, I can understand the vet recommendation to make sure you are caring for your current animals. However, I can't imagine asking two friends to write a recommendation for me to get a pet. How would one even compose such a letter? "I didn't even know they had a cat, I guess if they haven't killed the first one in 9 years it would be okay to give them another one."
"This is not a cash and carry operation, you will not go home with an animal today. It's more like adopting a child." We have a soft spot in our hearts for animals. We understand how they become like family but, at the end of the day it's a cat. It is not the same thing as a human child.
Too bad for them, because we decided that really isn't the route we want to go to pursue a second animal. We would have given a good life long home to the little fur ball, but I just can't adopt from a place that practically has a home study.
It's probably for the best for the time being. Right now we have a cat. Once we get a second one, we become cat people...and it's all down hill from there.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Can cause diarrhea...
We've had the 2nd round of strep here. Yep, three weeks ago 3 out of the 4 of us got strep. Saturday a new strand of strep, this time with vomiting, entered our house and is making it's rounds with our children.
Please don't pick me next.
After being fever free & on antibiotics for the required amount of time, Hadley and I headed to Hobby Lobby to get some paint supplies for Adam's class. We made it all the way to the paint aisle before Hadley pleads, "I have to go potty." I sensed her urgency and we RAN to the potty. Unfortunately, not before she had made an uncontrollable mess in her panties & leggings. Believe me, the panties were not able to be saved and were tossed. The leggings I was able to rescue, but there was absolutely no way she could wear them out of the store.
Then it hit me. There is mess everywhere.
I have no wipes. I have no extra clothes for her...and it's a long bare buns walk to the front of the store where I have a rogue diaper in the back of the car.
I cleaned her up the best I could.
Thankfully, she was wearing a long shirt that just skimmed her sweet, stinky cheeks. I told her, let's just walk out slowly, and we should be good with no one knowing my girl is completely commando.
We were almost to the front of the store, when we passed a male customer.
She smiled to him and proudly exclaims, "I am not wearing ANY panties!"
Ah, to be three. So much for discretion.
When I got in the car, I glanced over and noticed the informational form we were given with her antibiotics. In all capital letters it read, "ALL ANTIBIOTICS CAN CAUSE DIARRHEA."
Well, I guess I was warned.
Please don't pick me next.
After being fever free & on antibiotics for the required amount of time, Hadley and I headed to Hobby Lobby to get some paint supplies for Adam's class. We made it all the way to the paint aisle before Hadley pleads, "I have to go potty." I sensed her urgency and we RAN to the potty. Unfortunately, not before she had made an uncontrollable mess in her panties & leggings. Believe me, the panties were not able to be saved and were tossed. The leggings I was able to rescue, but there was absolutely no way she could wear them out of the store.
Then it hit me. There is mess everywhere.
I have no wipes. I have no extra clothes for her...and it's a long bare buns walk to the front of the store where I have a rogue diaper in the back of the car.
I cleaned her up the best I could.
Thankfully, she was wearing a long shirt that just skimmed her sweet, stinky cheeks. I told her, let's just walk out slowly, and we should be good with no one knowing my girl is completely commando.
We were almost to the front of the store, when we passed a male customer.
She smiled to him and proudly exclaims, "I am not wearing ANY panties!"
Ah, to be three. So much for discretion.
When I got in the car, I glanced over and noticed the informational form we were given with her antibiotics. In all capital letters it read, "ALL ANTIBIOTICS CAN CAUSE DIARRHEA."
Well, I guess I was warned.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Disney World 2012
We had quite a week at Disney World. We got really sick early in the week, so it put a bit of damper on our plans, but we still managed to irk out some fun every day! Warning, this post will be wordy, but I wanted to remember some of the experiences we had.
On Sunday, we arrived and went straight to Magic Kingdom. We got to eat at the Crystal Palace and have dinner with Winnie the Pooh & his friends. Hadley thought that was neat! After dinner we rode a few rides, and saw a musical show in front of Cinderella's castle.
Monday we went to Hollywood studios. I think this was Adam's favorite. He loved the Toy Story ride, and wanted to do it over and over. Unfortunately, that was the one ride that had over and hour wait, so we weren't doing that again! While we were there, actors would walk around the street and heckle people. When I came out of the bathroom one of them was there asking if "we felt relieved." The male actor told a boy, with a bowl haircut, that "he would give him $100 to get the rest of his hair cut by the end of the day." The boy looked puzzled, but was excited when the man handed him something. He was disappointed to find that it was just play money. The same guy kept calling Adam, "Opie." Adam had no idea who Opie was. Adam loved the Star Wars ride, and I haven't stopped hearing about it.
On Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat, but otherwise was feeling fine. We headed to EPCOT. We rode the soaring ride. It is very neat, but I don't do good with heights. I knew it was just a ride, but I had a hard time as we were flying over trees and through the skies. After lunch, I knew I was really sick, so Hadley & I headed back to the hotel for a nap. The rest of the gang did more rides for the afternoon.
On Wednesday, we went to EPCOT and had lunch at La Cellier. They had the best pretzel bread. I got tired easily and came home for a rest, but Adam & Jared played there that day.
On Thursday, I was feeling somewhat better, but Jared woke up so sick. I wasn't sure I could manage the kids alone at the park, so we took advantage of the hotel's heated pool. The water was 82 degrees, so it was actually warmer in the water than out of it! Adam went down the curvy slide probably 30 times. He loved that thing! I cracked up because most kids would just go down the slide normally. Adam would announce himself as he sliding down. I would always know it was him because he would yell out something like, "Waahhh-hoo!" or "Cannooonnn--ball." They had a park next door with sand, and the kids had great fun digging and playing on all the equipment. They had a giant shovel and bucket that kids could climb on. After we were good & tired we headed back to our hotel for lunch.
Jared was feeling well enough late afternoon that we rented some two seater boats to drive around the canal. They were very slow, perfect for relaxing. Jared is more of a daredevil and somehow managed to get Hadley soaked by driving their boat into the wake of passing boats. This would spray her every time. On the way back to our hotel room there were a group of teenage girls in very skimpy bikinis. Adam saw them walk past, did a double take, and then shouted out, "Those girls are NOT dressed modestly, right mom?!" Just in time for them to pass me. While I was proud of him, I'll admit I wanted to crawl under the nearest rock. (A big thank you to my son's Sunday school teachers...he may not act like it, but he is listening.)
Thursday night, Jared was back to not feeling well. I took the kids back to Magic Kingdom so we could see Tomorrowland. We did the Monsters Inc. Laugh factory which had interactive jokes with the audience. We rode the people mover which is just a slow moving ride through the air of tomorrow land. Hadley liked this because she had been looking forward to riding a roller coaster. It just stayed straight on a track, but that was good enough for her. We walked around some, picked out some souvenirs, and then headed for the hotel.
On Friday my dad, me, and the kids took a ferry boat to Downtown Disney. We went to the Lego store, which of course made Adam go nuts. Pappaw got them each a small lego set, and Adam a lego brick engraved with his name. I got a chocolate shake from the Ghirardelli chocolate shop. That was the equivalent of my Lego store. We were going to buy some chocolates, but the were the same chocolates you could buy here at Walmart, and they were only sold in very large clear bags that we didn't have room for in our suitcases.
That evening Jared, me & the kids went back to the pool. I didn't swim because we had after dinner plans. Adam discovered he could bypass the (seemingly to him) long commute of getting into line for the slide by heading to the deep end and climbing out of the pool. Which worked fine for awhile while Jared was in the pool. Once Adam got tired, he had trouble navigating through the water as he wouldn't swim, but would hop through the water instead. He was in the middle of the pool, and instead of coming back to where he could reach like I asked he told smugly told me, "or I could go the easy way." A few seconds later he called out, "help me!" and was promptly rescued by the lifeguard. That put an end to our pool night. Good grief son, just listen to your mother!
My parents stayed with the kids, and we saw a 9 o'clock show of Cirque du Solei at Downtown Disney. It was a little bizarre, but amazing how talented the performers were. I don't have any good pictures of that night because Jared insisted that I take a picture of him picking the nose of a nearby sculpture. When we went to take our photo, my camera battery had died. Groan. I am married to a child.
On Saturday, it was time to come home. It was a long day of traveling, and we were glad to be in our own beds. On Sunday, we still weren't feeling well, so we went to the urgent care to find out that everyone except Adam had strep throat. No wonder we felt so sick. I kind of feel bad for pushing through it because we probably unknowingly infected other visitors. Other than that it was a great trip! The weather was just perfect. The buses took us every where on Disney properties so we didn't have to drive. We had a laid back week, and got to take lots of naps. Bonus, because I had been sick, I actually lost a pound on vacation. That never happens! We will be definitely be planning another trip in a few years when Hadley is older.
On Sunday, we arrived and went straight to Magic Kingdom. We got to eat at the Crystal Palace and have dinner with Winnie the Pooh & his friends. Hadley thought that was neat! After dinner we rode a few rides, and saw a musical show in front of Cinderella's castle.
Monday we went to Hollywood studios. I think this was Adam's favorite. He loved the Toy Story ride, and wanted to do it over and over. Unfortunately, that was the one ride that had over and hour wait, so we weren't doing that again! While we were there, actors would walk around the street and heckle people. When I came out of the bathroom one of them was there asking if "we felt relieved." The male actor told a boy, with a bowl haircut, that "he would give him $100 to get the rest of his hair cut by the end of the day." The boy looked puzzled, but was excited when the man handed him something. He was disappointed to find that it was just play money. The same guy kept calling Adam, "Opie." Adam had no idea who Opie was. Adam loved the Star Wars ride, and I haven't stopped hearing about it.
On Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat, but otherwise was feeling fine. We headed to EPCOT. We rode the soaring ride. It is very neat, but I don't do good with heights. I knew it was just a ride, but I had a hard time as we were flying over trees and through the skies. After lunch, I knew I was really sick, so Hadley & I headed back to the hotel for a nap. The rest of the gang did more rides for the afternoon.
On Wednesday, we went to EPCOT and had lunch at La Cellier. They had the best pretzel bread. I got tired easily and came home for a rest, but Adam & Jared played there that day.
On Thursday, I was feeling somewhat better, but Jared woke up so sick. I wasn't sure I could manage the kids alone at the park, so we took advantage of the hotel's heated pool. The water was 82 degrees, so it was actually warmer in the water than out of it! Adam went down the curvy slide probably 30 times. He loved that thing! I cracked up because most kids would just go down the slide normally. Adam would announce himself as he sliding down. I would always know it was him because he would yell out something like, "Waahhh-hoo!" or "Cannooonnn--ball." They had a park next door with sand, and the kids had great fun digging and playing on all the equipment. They had a giant shovel and bucket that kids could climb on. After we were good & tired we headed back to our hotel for lunch.
Jared was feeling well enough late afternoon that we rented some two seater boats to drive around the canal. They were very slow, perfect for relaxing. Jared is more of a daredevil and somehow managed to get Hadley soaked by driving their boat into the wake of passing boats. This would spray her every time. On the way back to our hotel room there were a group of teenage girls in very skimpy bikinis. Adam saw them walk past, did a double take, and then shouted out, "Those girls are NOT dressed modestly, right mom?!" Just in time for them to pass me. While I was proud of him, I'll admit I wanted to crawl under the nearest rock. (A big thank you to my son's Sunday school teachers...he may not act like it, but he is listening.)
Thursday night, Jared was back to not feeling well. I took the kids back to Magic Kingdom so we could see Tomorrowland. We did the Monsters Inc. Laugh factory which had interactive jokes with the audience. We rode the people mover which is just a slow moving ride through the air of tomorrow land. Hadley liked this because she had been looking forward to riding a roller coaster. It just stayed straight on a track, but that was good enough for her. We walked around some, picked out some souvenirs, and then headed for the hotel.
On Friday my dad, me, and the kids took a ferry boat to Downtown Disney. We went to the Lego store, which of course made Adam go nuts. Pappaw got them each a small lego set, and Adam a lego brick engraved with his name. I got a chocolate shake from the Ghirardelli chocolate shop. That was the equivalent of my Lego store. We were going to buy some chocolates, but the were the same chocolates you could buy here at Walmart, and they were only sold in very large clear bags that we didn't have room for in our suitcases.
That evening Jared, me & the kids went back to the pool. I didn't swim because we had after dinner plans. Adam discovered he could bypass the (seemingly to him) long commute of getting into line for the slide by heading to the deep end and climbing out of the pool. Which worked fine for awhile while Jared was in the pool. Once Adam got tired, he had trouble navigating through the water as he wouldn't swim, but would hop through the water instead. He was in the middle of the pool, and instead of coming back to where he could reach like I asked he told smugly told me, "or I could go the easy way." A few seconds later he called out, "help me!" and was promptly rescued by the lifeguard. That put an end to our pool night. Good grief son, just listen to your mother!
My parents stayed with the kids, and we saw a 9 o'clock show of Cirque du Solei at Downtown Disney. It was a little bizarre, but amazing how talented the performers were. I don't have any good pictures of that night because Jared insisted that I take a picture of him picking the nose of a nearby sculpture. When we went to take our photo, my camera battery had died. Groan. I am married to a child.
On Saturday, it was time to come home. It was a long day of traveling, and we were glad to be in our own beds. On Sunday, we still weren't feeling well, so we went to the urgent care to find out that everyone except Adam had strep throat. No wonder we felt so sick. I kind of feel bad for pushing through it because we probably unknowingly infected other visitors. Other than that it was a great trip! The weather was just perfect. The buses took us every where on Disney properties so we didn't have to drive. We had a laid back week, and got to take lots of naps. Bonus, because I had been sick, I actually lost a pound on vacation. That never happens! We will be definitely be planning another trip in a few years when Hadley is older.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Adam's 1st grade Easter Egg Hunt
Adam has an Easter egg hunt at school this week.
The eggs were numbered and the students had to find specific numbers in order.Adam had to count by threes.
Adam & Cloey with their eggs!
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