The Simple Things

Remember when all you needed for a good time was a fresh puddle and some rocks?

Fun at the Fair.

Good News

I got a letter in the mail today. It was from Emmett's Occupational Therapist. She doesn't want to see Emmett anymore. He has progressed far enough that the small challenge he has with pencil grip can easily be handled by the resource teacher at his school.

I remember when we started our therapy journey and had to pick up all these specialists on the way, and now they are dropping us off.

It feels good. I am bursting with pride for Emmett and all the hard work he has done.

Nestle Noir Mousse

Hello Regular Readers: The following is a product review I am committed to writing. If you are not interested, come back some other time. This won't happen very often, I promise.

Fellow blogger Mama Bear recently offered the opportunity to sample a new chocolate product made by Nestle. I never say no to free chocolate, so I signed up. All I had to do was eat the chocolate and then write about it. Easy!

This candy is Nestle's attempt to make a more upscale product; something you could set out with coffee for friends as opposed to something you scarf in the checkout line at the grocery store while waiting your turn.
I was given two flavours to sample: 70% dark and milk.

Upon first glance, I found the packaging very pretty--not your typical candy bar wrapper. It is obvious their design department took careful note of how Dove packages their candy. As opposed to individually wrapped squares, this candy is displayed on a tray inside the box.

I tried the milk chocolate first. The chocolate is definitely not the highest quality. I did detect a hint of waxiness that is typical of cheaper candy bars, and the chocolate did not melt on my tongue as quickly as a luxury brand. The mousse filling was smooth and very sweet. I wouldn't say I was blown away, but it was pretty good for Nestle.

Next, I popped a square of the dark chocolate in my mouth. I found I liked how the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate contrasted with the sweet mousse filling in this candy. It did not have the waxy quality the milk chocolate had, but it was missing a fullness of flavour the luxury brands have.

I served the chocolate (with a plate of strawberries) to my Grandma and Mother-In-Law. They said they liked both kinds, but did not get specific. Hubby said through a mouthful that he liked it too.

Bottom line: I enjoyed sampling the candy, but probably won't buy it. My life is too short to eat waxy chocolate!

More rambling.

Richard and I went back for a second look at one house, a first look at another house. We are happy enough with the second look that Richard is going to call the bank on Monday and see what the good or bad news is. We should also look into a home inspector, if we can find one that doesn't reek of snake oil. (Local readers: any recommendations?)

That means I need to start prepping our house for sale. I hate having a house on the market. Having people tromp through looking at my stuff is so invasive. We are hoping for a best-case scenario where the bank will let us move out before selling. It happens. Don't look at me like that.

Of course, I am preparing for the worst and envision a rented storage unit in our future. I also envision emptying the kids rooms while they are out of the house so they can't see everything that needs to be packed up being removed in front of them.
I turn into a very ugly person when my house has to be spotless all the time. I don't like the person I become.

While I am sitting over here having an anxiety attack, enjoy some signs of Spring I have noticed at my house:

This little guy showed up on our doorstep last night, probably fresh out of his nest. We fended off the neighbour's cats while he figured out how his wings work.

I have beautiful ferns growing along one side of my house. The ladybug was perfectly posed, don't you think?

Ramblings

So, a house came on the market in my neighbourhood that I have admired for all the years that I have lived here. I checked out the listing and thought the price was a little steep for us. I mentioned it offhand to Richard who promptly said "Oh THAT house? Call [our Realtor] tonight. Go look at it." Well, the day before my appointment it sold.

There is another house in our neighbourhood for sale. On a whim (and since I was out with the Realtor anyway) I asked if we could take a peek. It is quite a bit scruffier than the other home, but it is 1000 sq feet bigger than my house and is on a fenced lot that is easily triple the size of the postage stamp of grass we currently have for a yard. I see tonnes of potential. My mom said she could help me paint and yank up funky carpet. The kids would have a yard. I would have a craft room. There are a few things in the cons list, like an odd cedar-lined hole in one of the bedrooms (Thwarted attempt at adding a closet? Who knows?) and the fact that it is on a very busy intersection. I have been nagging Richard for two days to go look.

I hate being in between things. I want to know if this is a real possibility for us. I want to know what chance we have of selling our house before that one gets sold. I really love the house we are in, it is beautiful, but I feel like we are growing out of it.

I feel like I am in an in-between place. I feel like I should start sorting and de-cluttering, but how much? I really don't like moving, and I hate prepping a house for sale even more, but I feel like the time has come for us.

I told you it was dance week!

Tonight is the big show. We survived the dressing room gauntlet at dress rehearsal last night so I feel good about doing it again tonight. Char had her hair cut by another dance mom today so she got sparkle hairspray as a finishing touch. She is so excited.

Want a preview?

(Those are little puppies wagging their tails and shaking their ears to music)

Dance Week

Saturday started a four-day dance extravaganza in our house. Charlotte's dance class winds up this week with a final concert. That meant Portraits on Saturday, Practice on Monday, Dress Rehearsal on Tuesday, Concert on Wednesday. Charlotte is very excited.

I get a little catch in my throat when I see her with her hair and makeup done. She is a totally different person. So grown-up looking. I am so proud of her and her confidence on stage.

Here is a little preview:

Faces not related to me have been smudged for privacy.

In this one Charlotte is saying "Wake up Little Boy Blue!" It is part of her routine.

Darkwing Pig Vs the Food Bad Guys and the Regular Bad Guys

Emmett loves the movie function on our new camera. He wanted me to film this little story he made up and put it on the computer. He has blogging in his blood.

Warning: this movie will probably only be interesting to Grandma.

It is called Darkwing Pig--Vs the Food Bad Guys and the Regular Bad Guys.

Oh, and the picture in this post is the first dandelion bouquet of the year. Emmett picked it, arranged it, and then photographed it. I like how he has the lace curtains backlit behind the flowers. Very artistic composition.

How does your garden grow?

I live in an inner city neighbourhood.

Pros:

• Beautiful old trees shade the sidewalks and yards.
• I get to live in a gorgeous almost-100 year old character home with hardwood floors and crown mouldings and real front porch.
• I live walking distance from the grocery store, two parks, E's school, video rentals, restaurants, the library..........

Cons:

• The trees require me to have an (expensive) annual visit from the roto-rooter man.
• The gorgeous house has no closets.
• My shady yard is teeny.

I have always envied my suburban friends with their giant yards and gardens. I love the idea of a garden, but have never had the space to try it out. A few years ago Richard built a raised box for me in the back yard so I could have a few tomatoes and lettuce and herbs--and a couple of years after that a neigbour erected a shed directly on the other side of it, blocking all the sun my little garden got. I didn't know tomatoes and herbs need lots of sun, so most of my crops failed.

I am learning urban gardening requires some flexibility and creativity. The balcony off my bedroom gets full sun for half a day--my tomatoes, herbs, and some bell peppers will be growing in pots up there, if I can remember to water them! My lettuce and some cucumbers get the shady bed in the back yard.

This year, a darling friend hooked me up with a community garden plot so I can really get my hands dirty. This weekend, despite SNOW in the forecast this past week and the fact that the bird bath is still frozen most mornings, I got out my tools and my gloves and dug in. It is the May long weekend after all. It is the Official Start to the Gardening season here, even if Mother Nature disagrees.

How does your garden grow? Do you have any advice for a gardening greenhorn??

Two beds are mine. Doesn't look like much yet....

Charlotte likes to help--for the first five minutes. Then she runs off to the school playground across the street

Emmett doesn't like to get his hands dirty, but he does like taking pictures.

This post brought to you by the colour pink.

Today Charlotte turns four. Wow. How quickly they grow up! It was a very pink day. When asked what kind of cake she wanted, she said "pink". She phoned Grandma and Grandpa and asked for a pink bike. Everything has to be pink right now. I blame preschool peer pressure.

We had a very low-key day. We met a friend to play at the park. Grandpa came by with a special delivery (the pink bicycle and some new pink clothes). Grandma came by for cake--and brought more pink, in the form of a High School Musical karaoke microphone. (please let the batteries die soon......)

We need to get a basket for her bike so Twinkletoes Barbie can go for rides now.

One more thing.....

We traveled to The Big City last weekend. Emmett needed to have an MRI to check on his cyst.

Good news. The doctor saw no change from last year. That, plus the improvement Emmett has been making with his speech means he is not a candidate for surgery at this time.

Yay!!!!

Oh, and the doctor also said that we need to do one more MRI next year, and if that one shows no change, then Emmett is considered stable and will not need MRIs after that.

Yay again!!!!!!!

(With all the good news I can put the fact that I held my screaming boy down for an IV behind me. Yes, I am a cold-hearted nurse who has held lots of kids down for various procedures without flinching, but when it is your own baby, your heart breaks into a million pieces anyway.)

Looking Forward.

My life has mostly revolved around babies in recent history. For six years I have been looking forward to a baby coming. This year is a little different. Instead of anticipating something I know how to take care of (a baby) I am now entering the trenches of what I am considering "real" parenting. You know, the stuff that helps you grow a person. A person that will someday leave home and be a grown up and do grown up things. Don't get me wrong, parenting a baby is not easy. Their needs are simple, but meeting them requires incredible stamina and mental fortitude. I also know you parents of teenagers are laughing at me. I know my daily battles with my three year old are just a warm up to the really hard stuff.

Now my baby is closing in on two. My oldest can ride a bike and just lost his first tooth. I am navigating uncharted waters. Birthday party planning. Tooth Fairy traditions. Teaching manners. Teaching reading, counting, colours. Having conversations about things like bullies, volcanoes and why we can't eat at McDonald's every day.

Last night I felt myself grow up a little. For the first time I only had to dress ONE kid to go to the park. AND he was able to bring me his shoes and then willingly sat down while I put them on. For the first time Emmett biked to the park without anyone holding on to the seat to keep the bike pointed in the right direction. For the first time, Charlotte pedaled all the way to the park. (Dad walked alongside to help steer.) For the first time I went to the park pushing my double stroller with only one seat occupied.

Several friends are expecting or have recently had babies. I am so happy for them and look forward to cuddling the new little ones. I do not have rose tinted glasses on. My sciatica and morning sickness and multiple-day labours are still pretty fresh in my mind. I am not wishing to be back in the Newborn Club. I am busy being initiated into the Kid Club now.

Crackers Crackers in my Soup.

I am sure everyone is aware of how much food prices are climbing. This reality plus my quest to drastically reduce my family's dependence on over-processed and over-packaged food has led me to making more and more of our food from scratch. I have mastered yogurt. I have a wonderful bread machine and am also well-versed in making bread with my bare hands. I can't remember the last time a baking mix has been in our pantry.

I think my new obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder is partly to blame. Reading about how her family made everything from the ground up and considered canned peaches a rare treat (By the Shores of Silver Lake) really helped me shine a light on my consumerist ways.

This brings me to today.

Remember back in the 80s when microwave ovens were new and exciting? Countless cookbooks showed up in stores to help you make everything from simple steamed vegetables to complicated roasts and baked goods. Now we know that microwave baking comes out rubbery and spongy, and most meats need a good sear on them to really taste good. My microwave is largely used for steaming vegetables, defrosting, and reheating leftovers. Today I found that there is one more thing you can do really well in your microwave.

Crackers.

Crackers? But you can't bake in a microwave!!! Oh yes you can! Crackers don't really need baking--they just need cooking until they are dry and crisp. This is where the microwave is ideal. It is really hard to burn a baked item in the microwave -- not impossible--but hard. I spent the morning playing with a recipe from The Joy of Microwaving by the very offical-sounding Microwave Cooking Institute(copyright 1986). By my fourth batch I worked all the kinks out and am really happy with my results. The kids love them.

From start to finish, this recipe only takes about 20 minutes to make and calls for very common ingredients. Go ahead, try it!!!

Wheat Crackers

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon caraway seed*, or seasoning of choice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter (I don't recommend substituting--the texture is just not as flaky)
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
3-4 tablespoons water
corn meal or wheat germ

Makes around 30 crackers, depending on the size

Method

1. Combine flour, seasoning and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in butter and oil until particles are fine.
2. Sprinkle water over mixture while tossing with a fork (or with your stand mixer on low speed) until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Dump mixture out onto your lightly floured work surface and gently form into a ball' Don't worry if it is a teeny bit crumbly.
3. Roll out dough as thin as possible. Really. If you think it is thin enough, roll it a bit more--one or two millimeters thick is ideal. If you didn't overwork your mixture in the first two steps it will easily roll out. If it is getting too tough and elastic, cover the dough with a barely damp kitchen towel and go check your email. Let the gluten in the flour relax for 10-15 minutes and try again.
4. Prick the dough all over with a fork and then cut into squares. I used a pizza cutter because I don't have a fancy crimped cutter. (Yet)
5. Sprinkle a glass pie plate or pizza stone with cornmeal or wheat germ. Arrange the crackers on the plate. Don't crowd too many in the center--the crackers cook the fastest there. (Ignore the picture...I learned this lesson the hard way.)
6. Microwave on HIGH 2-3 minutes , or until dry and puffed. If you don't have a turntable in your microwave, turn the dish a couple of times during cooking. Don't worry about over baking. Check the bottoms of your crackers. If there is any moisture, or the crackers are still flexible when you lift a corner, keep cooking them, checking every 30 seconds. If you use a baking stone you will find your first batch will take the longest, as the stone needs time to preheat. My first batch on a cold baking stone took almost six minutes, while a batch on a pie plate took 2 1/2 minutes.
7. Transfer crackers to a wire rack to cool, and then try not to eat the entire batch in one sitting!!

*If you don't like caraway seeds, experiment with different seasonings. I have tried no-salt sun dried tomato seasoning mix and olive oil and Parmesan cheese and they were both delicious.

Sunday Treat.

I was sipping my morning coffee and perusing my favourite blogs, as I do most mornings. Suzanne McMinn is a regular stop on my blog reading list. I made the mistake of reading her latest post on an empty stomach. She was running through the steps needed to make home made donuts. (Click on her name if you dare.)

So, because I am easily tempted, my family had hot fresh donuts for brunch today. They are surprisingly easy to make and you really don't need any fancy tools at all. I don't have a donut cutter, so an egg poaching ring (why do I have those???) and an icing bag tip did the job nicely. Sure, they take a bit longer than making a run to Timmy's, but the result is really really worth it. Oh, and if you want to do things really old school, take a page from Ma Wilder's book, cut narrow strips out of the dough and twist them. When they hit the hot fat they will turn themselves when each side is done. Ma Wilder didn't have time to flip donuts so she didn't make the new-fangled circular ones. (She was Laura Ingall's mother in law. You learn about donut making in the book Farmer Boy)

I subbed one cup of whole wheat flour for one cup of all-purpose and used the Fruit Jam Cake glaze recipe on Suzanne's site as a topping.

Try it, you'll like it! (Well, your favourite jeans might not, but you only live once, right??)

Since we are talking about treats, the lovely and giant-hearted Kitten gave me this one. She is just the nicest person I have never met. I am happy to count her as one of my friends. She is one you want in your corner! She gave me this award because she said I add sunshine to her life. Well, the feeling is mutual!!
If you have any bloggy friends that brighten up your world, pass the award along.

Analog blogging.

My parents came to town last night. It is Spring Break so they are visiting for a few days. Mom never comes empty handed. This time she brought Char some new clothes, which she tried on all at once, some new toys for the boys and a new cookbook for me.In addition, she brought some treasures from the basement: an old Star Trek storybook for Emmett, (It was my brother's I hope he doesn't mind if we hang on to it for a while)and my diary, from 1986.

Now, we have established already that I am a big Little House Fan. This proves it. The first entry was made on my birthday, so I think that must have been when my parents gave it to me. (Mom? Is that right?) This diary had lots of empty space for me to fill in my thoughts as well as recipes from the Little House books, quotes and little bits of trivia from Laura's time. I loved it.

I apologize for the pictures. Our scanner is in the basement and not hooked up to the house network yet. If you want to read my scribbles just click on a picture to make it full-size.

Things to do in January: New Year's Day, New Glasses Came In, Space Shuttle blew up. So matter of fact. I am sure I didn't know the significance of the last one, but it is in there for posterity. I do remember watching the Challenger launch on TV .

These next two entries chronicle the tumultuous nature of pre-adolescent female friendships. (Ryan is my brother)
"....I had a nice day, no one beat me up. Not even Sharla....."



"......Today Ryan threw me in the mud, but Sharla took my side....."






This last entry is very important. It documents the birth of a knitter. I still have the pattern book the little sweater came from. This entry doesn't talk about the little purse I made first. It turns out a dolly purse has all of the basic elements of knitting in it. After that purse I was on to doll clothes.

Randomness

I took these pictures today, and despite the blinding sunshine I think they turned out pretty well. (As much as I love the "snow" setting on my camera, I will be very happy to turn the dial to something else very soon.)

My girl is a pretty little thing, isn't she?

Despite the sheer amount of snow in our yard the sun definitely feels warmer and it doesn't set until around 8:00 PM now. Positive signs that winter is on it's way out.

Emmett and I traveled to The Big City for a doctor's appointment during (hopefully) the last blizzard of the year. We had good news. The genetic testing we had done came back showing no chromosomal defects. Of course, the doctor we have is a real stickler for detail and has very high standards so he re-did the bloodwork because he felt that the hospital lab should have turned up their microscopes higher. To this doc, "good enough" by hospital standards is not "good enough" to him. In addition, Emmett's DNA is being sent off to a big University on the West Coast so a professor who is pioneering a new kind of genetic testing can have a peek at it too. I am not sure what this test will show, but the hospital already had a sample so it wouldn't cause Emmett any pain to help this person with her research.

Our next trip to the Big City will be for another MRI and another chat with the neurosurgeon.

Emmett contiues to make great progress with his speech. Nothing makes me happier than hiding in the kitchen while Emmett and Charlotte are playing in the living room and eavesdropping on their conversation. This is something at one time I thought I wouldn't be able to do. They say the funniest things when adults aren't in sight!

Life is good!

What Passes for Spring in my Neck of the Woods.

Dear Mother Nature: Seriously?

I kind of feel like I am living inside a Laura Ingalls Wilder book. Well, except for the almost starving to death and having to burn straw for heat part.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Do you know why there is a Saint Patrick??

An interview with Emmett and Charlotte

This is a meme I stole from my friend Sandy's facebook page. I typed out Charlotte's answers word for word as she told me. I don't think she understood all of the questions!

Answers by Emmett (E), age five and Charlotte (C) age three.

1. What is something that mommy always says to you?
E - Don't touch anything in my room
C - Put your boots on.

2. What makes mommy happy?
E - When we clean up.
C - I'm sorry mom.

3.What makes mommy sad?
E - Not cleaning up.
C - Don't touch your face, mom

4.How does your mommy make you laugh?
E - By making knock knock jokes.
C - It's happy funny

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
E - Baby food. (I think he heard "what did I like as a child?")
C - You might go in jail when you are little, mom.

6. How old is your mommy?
E - I don't know.
C - 14

7. How tall is your mommy?
E - 13
C - As tall as a giant.

8. What is her favourite thing to do?
E - Play Wall-E on my PSP
C - Play to eat.

9. What does your mommy do when you’re not around?
E - Read by yourself
C - Be mad, mom!

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
E - By putting on silly clothes and then they will laugh at you.
C - I can play anything I want with you.

11. What is your mommy really good at?
E - A game.
C - Jump jump jump and wiggle.

12. What is your mommy not really good at?
E - A hard game.
C - Pat my dog Lucy.

13. What does your mommy do for a job?
E - You clean up, then I clean up.
C - You do a job to eat, mom.

14. What is your mommy’s favourite food?
E - Chicken and fries.
C - Your snack.

15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
E - When the cleaning lady comes.
C - I am proud to pat my dog and brush my dog Lucy.

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
E - Star Wars
C - A cartoon baseball.

17. What do you and your mommy do together?
E - We play
C - Go in space.

18. How are you and your mommy the same?
E - By putting on the same clothes.
C - Same to go to the store in space.

19. How are you and your mommy different?
E - By putting on different clothes.
C - Girls in all cartoons.

20. How do you know your mommy loves you?
E - By hugging and kissing.
C - Play game game game play game game game play.

21. Where is your mommy’s favourite place to go?
E - McDonalds
C - My house with my dog and Emmett and Matthew and my dad and me.

More Grey Hair on the Way.

As I was getting Emmett ready for school this morning I heard some mysterious noises coming from upstairs. I went up to investigate and found out that Matthew had pushed my dressing-table stool out of my room up to the laundry chute. He was standing on it and looking down two stories into the basement.

Eeeeeek.

To soothe my nerves I have decided to re-read my Little House on the Prairie books. I have read them so often that they are old friends. Soothing. Calming. Familiar.

Not like this little guy who surprises me every day with new feats of daring.

You-Know-What with a Capital T

Matthew has entered a new stage of development. The "Destroy everything in his path in the quest for knowledge" stage. I hear every little boy goes through it. Emmett did, but not to the extant Matthew has. I spend every day just following Matthew around, cleaning up the mess.
As I type out this post, there are mysterious noises coming out of the kitchen. I am pretty sure he is emptying cupboards.

Look at this face! Is this the face of someone who leaves a path destruction in his wake?? (Look closely. Besides ketchup from lunch on his face there is a light sprinkling of potting soil. After having a taste he decided the soil would be better off sprinkled all over Daddy's electric piano instead of in the pot with it's plant.)

Under Mommy's jacket is the light switch. To the reader's left of the jacket is the phone. To the right is the outside door lock. This is a great place to hang out and cause trouble.

This is Mister Innocent after casually running out of the pantry.

This is what he was running away from. I am sure he has no idea how the flour bag got tipped over like that. Where was I during this? Putting the vacuum away. Sigh.

While Emmett is on the computer I usually hear "Mo-om! Come get Matthew! He's causing trouble!"

How long before they grow out of this? Am I prepared for the answer?

Paranoid

Last week I took Matthew to the Public Health Nurse for his 18 month vaccinations. While we were there the nurse started asking questions about his development. I was sent home with an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (the link shows an example...not the one I filled out for Matthew)

I don't usually do those things. I tend to listen to my gut when it comes to where my kids lay on the developmental scale. I don't even like knowing growth percentile numbers. I feel like the create undue stress on moms if the baby is in a lower percentiles and can even turn you into a Competitive Mother if your baby is in an upper range. I don't hang with the Competitive Mother crowd--they are too hard to socialize with when you are a Slacker/Special Needs mom like me.

This weekend, on a lark, I filled out most of the ASQ form with Matthew. Guess what? He failed the speech development portion.

Now, my boys have always been on the late end of the spectrum. They take their time doing things like rolling over and walking. But, having been on the Early Intervention roller coaster once, I just don't want to face it again. The doctors appointments. The waiting. The stress.

I am really not worried. Matthew has a large vocabulary of sounds. He can understand some of what I say. He doesn't have trouble with food textures and adapting to straws and cups and bottles. He can hear a chip bag crackle two rooms over so I am pretty sure his hearing is OK.

I just hate how these forms can have the ability to completely undermine your confidence as a mother and make you question your instincts.

I just need to tell that paranoid voice in my head to hush up and chill out. Oh, and that silly form is heading straight for the recycle bin.

A cautionary tale.

Facebook has turned us into lazy friends. Why bother calling someone or Heaven Forbid, meet face to face with someone when all you have to do is change your status line to update people? Facebook has turned us into stalkers. You never have to check in with someone when you can just log in and check a website.

The following is a cautionary tale--a true story of a close friend of mine and what happened when she changed her Facebook information.

Names and identifying characteristics have been changed, of course!

My friend Jane decided she was tired of being bombarded with ads on her Facebook page. She logged in one day and erased most of her personal information. She changed her marital status from married to blank. She wanted to see what would happen to the ads that she was seeing if she took this information down.

A few hours later the calls and emails started. Are you getting divorced? Are you ok? What is going on???
Admittedly, when I got the news on my feed that she had changed her marital status a thought crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed it away. Jane and I are close enough and have known each other long enough that I am sure I would have heard about marital troubles LONG before she divorced her husband on Facebook.

Things came to a head today, when a former boss of her husband emailed him to offer his support and condolences. He didn't have a clue what was going on. Husband is not on Facebook. Jane didn't think to tell him that she had changed her profile. (And really? Why would she? I know my own husband could care less about what blather I have on a social networking site.

So, is there a moral to this story? Absolutely. Don't use social networking sites as a substitute for real friendship.

Would it kill you to pick up the phone once in a while????

Snow Angels

Ok, so Grandma may be more interested in this post than anyone else, but here are some pictures I snapped of my kiddos frolicking in our front yard today.

Oh, and the last shot is less about the snow and more about the eyelashes. My boys are genetically blessed in the eyelash department. I just want to see how many women I can give baby itches to.

My new camera has a setting for snow!!! Look at how the skin tones in these pictures are so warm and not at all washed out. I should definitely keep up with my habit of breaking cameras every couple of years! (If Richard is reading this, I am only kidding. Mostly.)

I can't believe I missed it!

Yesterday, while I was busy taking pictures of flowers I missed something very important: The anniversary of Dr. Seuss's birthday! I have been wracking my brain to come up with a post in Seussian Pentameter to mark the event, but my brain gears are very rusty. Instead, I give you a favourite tribute of mine. I am sure it has been around since the Dark Ages of the Internet, but I still find it hilarious. I am super cool, don't you know??

So, what is your favourite Dr. Seuss book? Emmett loves Wacky Wednesday. I like the facial workout Fox in Socks gives me. Happy Birthday to you is just so uplifting and joyful to read, The Lorax is strangely prophetic.....how can you pick just one??

If Dr. Seuss wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation...

Author: Dave Fuller

Picard: Sigma Indri, that's the star,
So, Data, please, how far? How far?

Data: Our ship can get there very fast
But still the trip will last and last
We'll have two days til we arrive
But can the Indrans there survive?

Picard: LaForge, please give us factor nine.

LaForge: But, sir, the engines are offline!

Picard: Offline! But why? I want to go!
Please make it so, please make it so!

Riker: But sir, if Geordi says we can't,
We can't, we mustn't, and we shan't,
The danger here is far too great!

Picard: But surely we must not be late!

Troi: I'm sensing anger and great ire.

Computer: Alert! Alert! The ship's on fire!

Picard: The ship's on fire? How could this be?
Who lit the fire?

Riker: Not me.

Worf: Not me.

Picard: Computer, how long til we die?

Computer: Eight minutes left to say goodbye.

Data: May I suggest a course to take?
We could, I think, quite safely make
Extinguishers from tractor beams
And stop the fire, or so it seems...

Geordi: Hurray! Hurray! You've saved the day!
Again I say, Hurray! Hurray!

Picard: Mr. Data, thank you much.
You've saved our lives, our ship, and such.

Troi: We still must save the Indran planet --

Data: Which (by the way) is made of granite...

Picard: Enough, you android. Please desist.
We understand -- we get your gist.
But can we get our ship to go?
Please, make it so, PLEASE make it so.

Geordi: There's sabotage among the wires
And that's what started all the fires.

Riker: We have a saboteur? Oh, no!
We need to go! We need to go!

Troi: We must seek out the traitor spy
And lock him up and ask him why?

Worf: Ask him why? How sentimental.
I say give him problems dental.

Troi: Are any Romulan ships around?
Have scanners said that they've been found?
Or is it Borg or some new threat
We haven't even heard of yet?
I sense no malice in this crew.
Now what are we supposed to do?

Crusher: Captain, please, the Indrans need us.
They cry out, "Help us, clothe us, feed us!"
I can't just sit and let them die!
A doctor MUST attempt -- MUST try!

Picard: Doctor, please, we'll get there soon.

Crusher: They may be dead by Tuesday noon.

*COMMERCIAL BREAK, COMMERCIAL BREAK
HOW LONG WILL THESE DUMB ADS TAKE?*

Worf: The saboteur is in the brig.
He's very strong and very big.
I had my phaser set on stun --
A zzzip! A zzzap! Another one!
He would not budge, he would not fall,
He would not stun, no, not at all!
He changed into a stranger form
All soft and purple, round and warm.

Picard: Did you see this, Mr. Worf?
Did you see this creature morph?

Worf: I did and then I beat him fairly.
Hit him on the jaw -- quite squarely.

Riker: My commendations, Klingon friend!
Our troubles now are at an end!

Crusher: Now let's get our ship to fly
And orbit yonder Indran sky!

Picard: LaForge, please tell me we can go...?

Geordi: Yes, sir, we can.

Picard: Then make it so!

Copyright © 1995 Dave Fuller.

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I like daisies.

Daisies are my favourite flower. They are just such a bright, cheerful and hardy flower.

My parents sent me flowers for my birthday last week--bright yellow Shasta daisies in a yellow smiley-face latte mug.

We got a new camera yesterday. Here are some shots I took while playing with the macro setting. (Yes, there is a rose in there....there were a couple of roses tucked in with the daisies and I really liked this picture.)