Lightning Bugs

Tonight was a beautiful night. I'm so glad too because I took Things One and Two out to several different stores, and they were HORRIBLE! I was quite relieved to be home, and to throw them into Daddy's care. And they were more than happy to go into his care, as he had promised to take them in the pool tonight.
When it was time to get out of the pool it was just starting to get dark, and the lightning bugs were just starting to come out. First it was a twinkle here and a twinkle there (and a Thing Two telling me that she had to go TINKLE), but then suddenly the whole back yard was filled with what seemed to be hundreds, no thousands, no MILLIONS of lightning bugs. It was AMAZING!
By this point in time, Thing One had gotten out of the pool. Thing Two still had not yet made it inside because she was too busy trying (and succeeding) to catch lightning bugs. They were maybe even just as excited about all of the twinkling in the yard as I was. I think that the Hubbs thinks that I'm more than just a little crazy now because I was sooo amazed and excited by all of the lightning bugs in the yard. However, it was just one of those times that made me extra thankful for being able to see, and thankful for all of the amazing gifts from God, because, too see these beautiful, amazing specks of light sitting and flitting through my backyard, well, it was an amazing gift. It's one that I hope that I don't soon forget, as I doubt that I'll see a lightning bug fest like that again.
It was also a gift that made me think of (feel) my Dad. I don't know if it's because it's getting to be July almost or no... Things like that make me think of him though. They make me feel (him) a little closer to him. Things like rainbows, warm breezes though the woods, millions of lightning bugs in the backyard, deer running through my neighborhood (I live in Suburbia. There are very few woods left here, so it's an unusual thing to see them here.), things like that. (These are not to be confused with things that make me THINK of him.)
It was such an amazing and fun thing to see. I wish that I would have had it on video. I can only hope that it foreshadows all of the wonderfully amazing things to come this summer.

jogging

So I've found a new love of jogging. I don't -can't go very far, and perhaps I'm not the most graceful jogger on the planet, but I really LOVE it. (And I saw someone jogging the other day, and just thought, "I KNOW I look better when I'm jogging than does that person." And this was a person who jogs several miles a day.) However, when I jog, I jog barefoot. Yes, you read right BAREFOOT, as in, wearing no shoes.
I hate shoes. I do. I really, really do. I was born barefoot, and I'll die barefoot. I've been walking barefoot for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty clumsy in shoes. I just can't feel the ground underneath of me, and well, I trip over things that aren't there. Besides, there are so many positive things to being barefoot, it's amazing more people aren't barefooted.
So anyway, I jog barefooted. People laugh at me, and they think that I'm crazy. Of course, they think that I'm crazy (for a number of reasons) because I just WALK around town barefooted. Sure, I carry my shoes for when I need to go inside a building, but when I'm outside, they're in my hand.
The problem with jogging barefooted is that I need just perfect conditions. It's got to be early morning or late afternoon so that the ground isn't too hot. It can't be too cold outside because, well, it's just too cold to be barefoot. It can't be the fall because when those pesky acorns fall and break, YOWSA! Do they ever hurt! So this basically leaves me only spring and summer.

A few months ago my friend showed me an ad for these cool shoes. (She's one of the ones who thinks I'm crazy for my barefootedness.) They're called Vibram's. They about the closest you get to being barefoot without actually being barefoot. From the instant I read the magazine ad I was in love! These shoes promise to be the answer to my jogging prayers. And, when compared with other sports shoes, they're pretty inexpensive. (Only 80 bucks on the website.) I can't wait until things calm down enough so that I can go get myself a pair. Hopefully it'll happen before the acorns fall!

And thanks so much Trainer Momma for making other people aware of the fact that I'm not the only one who jogs barefoot. There's a whole movement out there leaning towards this. Perhaps it's not the BIGGEST movement, but I'm not the only "crazy" person out there doing this.... Of course, if I get a pair of Vibram's, then I guess I won't be running barefoot anymore, will I?

Happy....

Happy Birthday, Thing Two!!

You came into our lives as an expected surprise, and in the four years you've been around, things have been even more exciting than ever before. We love you more and more with each passing day.... Even if you try to send me to the insane asylum and daddy to the hospital because you've caused his blood pressure to rise too high. :-)

Your firey Independence is amazing, and when you're old enough, it will launch you to the stars!

I love you. Happy Birthday!

Strawberry Shortcake

Not what you think it is....



The other night Thing One was singing the jump rope song:



"Strawberry shortcake, cream on top....

How many boyfriends do you got?"



Perhaps I'm just a little too anal (okay, I KNOW I am), but this song just really bothered me for several reasons.



1.) He's a BOY.



I don't have a problem with him singing. I don't have a problem with him singing a jump rope song. I don't have a problem with him singing a jump rope song about Strawberry Shortcake, which, in this song, is the actual dessert. I have a problem with the boyfriends line.

I'm bothered because he was singing it to Thing Two, and I DON'T want to think about her having boyfriends yet -innocent song or not.



2.) It's stuck in my head. UGH! I just can't get rid of it. And when I finally do get it out of my head I see my strawberries in my refridgerator or on the front steps, or I see the Angel Food Cake in the kitchen, and the song is right back again, and lastly



3.) "How many boyfriends do you GOT?"



I know that my grammer isn't the best. I know that my writing skills (skilz) suck, but this line is like nails across the chalk board to me. UGH! Sure, "How many boyfriends do you HAVE?" doesn't rhyme, but it sure sounds a whole lot better to me. ACK!



Then take into consideration that I get this song stuck in my head all the time now, and I have the "do you got" part stuck as well.... Well, it's no wonder that my head is killing me today. It's certainly not because it's bright and sunny, and my regular and sun glasses are different perscriptions, and I've been switching back and forth all day. Nothing at all to do with that....

When do you eat?

When do you eat?

I eat when I'm hungry. (Duh.)

I eat when I'm bored.

I eat when I'm angry.

I eat when I'm sad.

I eat when I'm out with friends.

I eat when I'm full.

I eat when something is oh so yummy.

I eat and eat and eat when I'm craving something, and I don't know what it is, but eat everything in the house trying to figure out what it is.

I love to eat.

I've been lucky that it doesn't show entirely TOO much. However, I'm on my 5th year of being 28, and I know that my metabolism is all too soon to hit a brick wall. And (I'm hoping) that soon I won't have to be chasing around Thing Two as often as I need to do so now. After all, she is going to be a big four year old next week. I'm sure that once I can sit and (eat) catch my breath more that the calories won't be falling off as they normally do.

Even with summer just about here, I'm still shoving food into my mouth like it's going out of style. And unfortunately, it's NOT good food. Like today I had a nice cup of whipped, low fat yogurt for lunch. But I still wanted something, so I reached for the nachos and jar salsa. I was good though, and I poured a small amount of salsa into a bowl instead of just taking the whole bag and jar with me to veg out on the couch. Unfortunately, I didn't put the chips in a bowl, but brought the whole bag with me instead, so once my salsa was gone, I was still munching on the chips.

I blame this on watching whatever show I was watching. Had I not been so into the show, I would have noticed that I was waaaay over eating. Of course, I'm not serious, but it was nice to watch TV was was not either A.) Kid's shows, or B.) Husband's shows. And while it was nice to watch some "Mommy" TV, my belly really aches now.

And I did not clean. And I did not finish doing my "homework" for my meeting tonight. And I did not jog, and I did not shower yet. (I was planning on doing that after cleaning and jogging.) Now it's time to get the kiddos (almost), and the only thing I've accomplished is eating. -And that was NOT on the TO DO list, but still satisfying in an entirely different way.

Tomorrow will have to be filled with lots more water, lots more exercise, lots more cleaning and lots less eating when I'm not hungry. I don't care how much I love food!

And yes, of course, I'll be getting a shower after I publish this!

Cheating??? No way!

The kids really love butterflies -even Cool Dude, Thing One. They love to chase them. They love to ask questions about them. They love to watch them if they're lucky enough to catch them. They also love caterpillars, because well, all furry (or not so furry) turn into butterflies.

I thought that it would be super awesome to get them one of these caterpillar-to-butterfly kits that I hear about so often. How cool of a mom would I be to them then?! But let's not forget that I'm also a totally CHEAP mom, and I wasn't about to spend $19.99 (plus S&H) for the kit and then another $3.00 S&H for the worms themselves for a grand total of about, oh, lets say $30.00. (Don't forget that the kit itself is bigger and would cost more for postage.)

And before you think that I'm horrible because I couldn't bring myself to spend only $30 on my kiddos happiness, I want you to know that 1.) I wanted them for the CLASSROOMS, not for the house. Thus, I'd be spending SIXTY dollars... on things that may or may not even make it to butterflies, and 2.) I didn't have them when I was growing up, and I (for the most part) turned out just fine. Besides, I'M the one who wants them for the kids -not the kids themselves.


So what's a mom to do?

I'll tell you what THIS mom did. She went out, found herself a Gypsy Moth cocoon, pulled it out of the tree, and stuck it in a big 'ole (empty) cheese ball canister. Insect Lore, eat your heart out! It cost me a bit of sunburn (which I'm sure actually happened when we were out in the canoe -especially since the worms were in the shade), a bit of energy (which after my BLT w/ C for lunch I needed to burn off anyway), and my big plastic bottle that the kids use for lightning bugs. (Guess we'll have to eat more cheese balls.)

Again I say, Insect Lore, eat your heart out.

We brought it into school today. Thing Two was sooo excited to show his teachers and all of his classmates. Thing Two, on the other hand, had a full blown temper tantrum, actually it was more of an after effect of her heart breaking because she wanted caterpillars in her class too. And if you could have just seen her poor heart broken face you would have cried as well. She perked up a little when I told her we'd get one for her to bring into her class for Wednesday. She completely perked up when she remembered that we have a mini ant farm that she could bring in. (DON'T buy the mini ant farm from Target's dollar spot. The holes are too big for the ants, and they escape. Unfortunately, I found this out too late... *grrrr*)

So tomorrow we go on the hunt for another Gypsy Moth caterpillar cocoon. This might prove to be a bit difficult since from what I'm reading, they're not supposed to be out until June. Let's hope we find some more early risers!

Ugh! I just realized that we're going to have to eat A LOT of cheese balls tonight and tomorrow night! ACK! My belly hurts already!

Spring is here!

Spring is my favorite season. Well, that's a lie.

I LOVE Summer and the heat that comes with it. I love catching lightning bugs and butterflies with the kids. I love to be able to run through the sprinklers, go swimming in the back yard, or go to the beach on a whim. I even love the awe inspiring electrical storms that happen so frequently during the summer.

I love the Fall. I love looking at all of the beautiful colors that greet your eyes with every turn. I love the smell of crunchy leaves. I love picking apples and pumpkins. And even though I feel bad when carving pumpkins, I love eating pumpkin seeds that I've cooked myself. (I had originally typed "made myself," but even though I've made two little humans, I cannot make pumpkin seeds. ;-) )

I'm not too crazy about winter, it's cold and it's too short days. I do, however, love the snow. I love to play in the snow. I love to look at all the teeny tiny rainbows on the surface of the snow. It's beautiful. It makes the cold, short days bearable.

But Spring. Oh how I love Spring! The days get longer. The weather gets warmer. The flowers pop up everywhere. Baby animals are everywhere. Everything comes back to life in Spring. Things smell clean and fresh. It's as if all of the March Winds and April Showers blow and wash away all of the old, dead yukkiness of the previous year. It's a testament that, yes, life will go on.

Today, in a tribute to Spring, I pulled out my camera and my macro lens. I haven't used my macro in forever. I hand shoot, and, unfortunately, I don't stay very still, so my pictures aren't usually focused where I wanted them to be focused. I did get one or two good shots today. One in particular I LOVE. It's a picture of tulip buds.

And in the mean time my neighbors and anyone else driving down the street all now think that I'm crazy since I was crawling around on the ground, under the trees, in the mulch. The had no clue what I was doing. My neighbors three doors down, I think, think that I was sneaking around taking pictures of them out front of their house. They moved to the side of their house shortly after seeing me. I should go talk to them later, and let them know what I was doing! ;-)

Hope your enjoying spring where ever you are!

If you view this one full size, they're a really cool and pretty spiderweb on the bottom of the daffodil. It's glistening in the sunlight. Very pretty.... Even if you don't like spiders. :-)

Pretty maids all in a row.

My dirty hyacinths. The hubby and I were pulling out Virginia Creepers from the beds yesterday.

This one looks a lot better when it's viewed full sized. It's my favorite.