just tuesday

now I am fascinated by my worm/caterpillar cocoons! I have checked several times today to see if I might be able to watch a butterfly emerge but no luck. I guess I just have to be patient! I just love the way they turn themselves throughout the day.

Just before bed last night Kirk informed me of the eclipse that was to occur the next morning. How cool I thought, then it brought back memories of the last sky watching event. The leonid meteor showers this past winter. Scenario: we put samuel to bed, I made hot chocolate and brownies, kirk layed out blankets on the lawn, it was cold out so we had on our woolly pj's with winter coats and mittens. we layed there waiting and watching and waiting and waiting and waiting.... we NEVER saw the shower so after about an hour of snow flurries and cold temperatures we decided to come in. We were disappointed but look at the memory we made (ha!!) I have to admit, it was a fun date night! Since I am an optimist at heart I decide that I want to see this eclipse. It was to start at 4:52 am. I set my alarm and ask kirk if he will be joining me (he didn't believe so) It seemed like a short night (cuz it was) but I got up and it was worth it!! the moon was half covered and a beautiful red color. here are the pictures I took:

wish they would have actually turned out! it was really pretty.

I did not stay out very long... lets be real here... it was 4:50 in the morning, but also because I found another lady yesterday afternoon on the outside of our family room window and who knows who or what else is lurking about outside. The lady (black widow)was with a nice wasp nest that was developing. The only thing I can figure is that she was enjoying some wasp eggs?! well, now they are both resting in peace.

nature preserve

so, this is the sight I saw from my window this morning. Do you remember my beautiful passion vine?

it looked full and beautiful on fri. we were gone all day Sat. and usually don't go outside on Sundays so I did not see the vine for 2 days. I could not believe my eyes when i looked out and saw this sad looking thing. I immediately went out and saw who the culprit was:

so I pack sam a snack, change clothes, pull my hair back in a pony tail and off we go to callaways nursery. I can not waste any time as these horrible looking spiky worms are EVERYWHERE in my flowerbed (and grass) (if you click on picture you can see 3 of them)

I collected 2 of them in a jar to share with the garden guy to see what I can do to get rid of these and to see if they are poisonous or harmful. (I can just see Samuel trying to play with one) The guy at the counter had never seen anything like them and gave me some worm killer of some sort and was showing the directions to me when another guy who works there passed by and said, "oh those are the passion vine bugs, that stuff will get rid of them for you." ok good!! no, they are not poisonous and apparently they will only eat the passion vine and no other plants. (good to know) so on our way home I call my mom (she also had the vine) and ask if hers were eaten or not. She shared with me a fact that the guy who she bought them from told her. He said that the caterpillars will eat all of the vine down but it will come back and these will turn into beautiful butterflies. hmmm, now that you mention it I did see about 3 funny looking cocoon like things on the fence this morning:

upon arrival back from the nursery I investigate a little further in my backyard. I now find 23 cocoon like things hanging under my fence posts and a lot of caterpillars walking along the fence. then I notice these: about 3-4 butterflies fluttering about... how pretty! ok, guess I can't kill off these worms now can I? now I need to investigate these things so off to the internet I go and found this interesting article: http://www.sasionline.org/fritillary/fritillary.html

Then I decide to check out my yard a few hours later and found 46 cocoons! WOW. Now I am so totally fascinated with these funny looking things and I want to watch one "hatch" into a butterfly. I keep watching but no such luck yet. I will keep an eye on them and hopefully I won't miss it (I do have 46 opportunities now don't I?!)

the escapee

well, yesterday was a big day. It was promotion Sunday at church. Samuel was promoted to a new room and to new teachers. It made me think wow, he is moving up to the next class, he is growing up! what will it be like when he is big enough to go to kindergarten? UGH they really do grow fast don't they? When we went to pick him up after service the new teacher said "oh, he is our escapee" apparently as soon as the door was open he bolted out and ran down the hall(thus the door was closed when we got there.) GREAT... first day and he already has a reputation! hope this is not a sign of things to come ha!

here is our first (but definately not the last) paper from sunday school!

here fishy fishy fishy

These were some pictures we took on our way out of jane and jimmy's neighborhood. would have loved to have taken more but it was very humid we were hot, sweaty and sam was tired... oh well, maybe next time.

a wii little bit of love

What a whirlwind day! Kirk's sis-in-law Amber and kiddos Calvin and Aspen were down visiting from Oregon (poor Chad had to stay home and work--- missed ya Chad!) So up to OKC we go. Samuel did pretty well on the drive. Unfortunately he won't nap-- guess he is afraid he might miss something along the highway! Poor kid was tired and ready for his nap by the time we got there at 12:30. but who could sleep now? Too many people and too much action going on to sleep!! so around the house he must go (and around and around and around) He really didn't care that there were other kids there but he had a good time pushing his 2nd cousin Brooklyn's barbie suitcase around and playing with cousin Aspen's pink my little pony! (yes, he also enjoyed throwing the balls that Ashton brought along!) I must say, sam was very good for being up for so long and for being out of his little world!

Alex has a Wii and so graciously let us play along... this was a lot of fun and makes you feel like you are really there. the boys bowled (I got to throw a couple too)

Alex Grandpop Kirk

Then kirk and I got into a pretty good boxing match--- loved seeing that KO that showed up when I beat kirk down ha! then calvin and uncle kirk went a round or two (Calvin was VERY intense~ a savage boxer! hee hee) and then he challenged Brooklyn.

Have I ever mentioned that samuel is a good hugger? He loves to give and get hugs. this is especially true when he is tired:

saying goodbye to Aspen!

We left around 4:30. sam was so tired, we were not on the road but 10 minutes before he was asleep... out COLD. (i felt I needed to help his sweet little head get more comfortable.)

(TOO BAD it only last 35 mins UGH... poor guy was not happy to be on the road and was ready to be home! makes for a long drive!)

what to do quietly?!

today samuel went down for a nap without protest, however i heard him talking to his animals in the bed and pressing his glow worm to hear the music. there was some whining but no crying so i decided he needed to stay in the crib until he fell asleep. oh but what to do, if i clean the bathrooms he will hear the water run and cry, if i empty the dishwasher he will hear the clanking of dishes and cry. so..... guess i will have to scrap!! he finally fell asleep after about 1 hour of talking at which time i then did the cleaning as planned. meanwhile here is what i produced. all i need to do is add my narration (the part that i HATE) guess i will work on that tonight or tomorrow. (such a procrastinator)

asleep with friends

Oh nap time.... he needs it, he wants it, he even asks for it, but once he is in the bed he likes to talk to his friends and play. There are days that he will do this for up to a full hour before giving in and falling asleep. Today was just that kind of day. It was about 1 1/2 hours since I put him down and I wanted to see if he was finally asleep. this is what I saw. So sweet isn't it? holding on to 2 of his favorite things... his glow worm and his "taggie" I love to see this very active and energetic little guy at peace, then i remember that it doesn't last long so if I want to get anything done around the house I had better do it now

poor opie!

I had a few errands that I needed to get done today. First stop, state car inspection, next it is off to get an oil change and then to kroger for a few items. Samuel was done running errands prior to our arrival to kroger but we still went. I was all prepared with a handful of coupons and the weekly ad, (who was i kidding... sam is not that patient ha) Sam is not really happy to be there and wants all of the other shoppers to know this. He does have a diaper rash right now, so I did have to give him a little break for his behavior. So, I gathered a few of the items that I wanted and was rushed to check out trying to push my cart that only drives sideways and with sam hanging around my neck. I am sure I was quite a site. I did get a couple of "those looks" you know the ones ~ the "can't you make that kid stop whining" and a couple from older ladies that said "been there, done that and so glad it is you not me!" So now I am checking out. I look at the bagger and asked "can I please have paper?" (I always feel so guilty for asking this... why is it such a big deal? it is better for me so that the little plastic bags don't go sliding around in the back and allow all of the contents to spill) I should have known what I was in for when I saw the perplexed look that Opie (yes, his name tag said Opie) gave me (like he had never heard this request before) unfortunately I was too busy trying to hand over the kroger card and a couple of coupons and watch to see if my items are ringing up correctly while entertaining my child who has now decided he wants to do the whirley-gig NOW! to notice what is going on with Opie. I did hear him ask at one point if i would need help taking out my groceries I politely say no thinking he is only asking me this because sam is flipping himself all over me. but eventually I look over and see that he has now filled 2 carts full (mind you I didn't even fill 1/2 of the basket prior to paying) so now I had to have help to my car. In the car it all goes (poor Opie doesn't quite understand that you shouldn't put a 12 pack of dr pepper on top of the bag of chips, but that is ok.) we got it all in and off we go.



Where to now you might ask?! why McDonalds of course ~~gotta reward sam for being sooo good ha. As I pull in the drive I see that the drive thru line is practically wrapped around the building. Hmmm why is it so busy? well, it is 12:15 of course. apparently no one else needs to get home quickly to put their 17 mo old down for a nap! then someone DARES to cut in front of me in line... I don't think so! (I won) so, we finally order sam a cheeseburger (used to be one of the only things i could get him to eat, he only took 3-4 bites today UGH) once we get home I start unloading the car. It is at this point that I realize what has occurred. Opie did not fill one bag full, in fact he did not fill one even 1/2 full. check out some of the bags... you can see the bottom of the bag in all of the bags that i brought home but one and that is because it had 2 bags of chips in it...


yes, this really is a lone jar of peanut butter in the bag by itself! (hey, when is peter pan coming back? I miss it!)

Once I started unloading I looked at what all I was able to get in my rushed shopping trip. apparently the saying "don't go to the grocery store hungry or thirsty" is true. I was thirsty:

and I guess hungry for salt: oops--- forgot I had gotten this pack of spiderman pop at wallyworld-- got it for kirk, not sure what it tastes like, but who cares... it has spiderman on the can right?!

betty crocker

so, the berries looked beautiful and yummy ~ what else do you do but get busy in the kitchen. Somehow my mom and I decided we needed to make some homemade strawberry jam. I remember the days when I was a little girl and she would can veggies and make jam every year. Now that I am a homemaker I thought it was time that I learn to do this great skill. What fun it can be.... mom and me in the kitchen, making memories and carrying on a tradition. well, it was fun, we had a good time, the jam didn't turn out as well as I thought it should, but it is good on pancakes and ice cream ha. I had bought some extra strawberries to surprise Kirk with a pie. (I have tried in the past to make a few pies-- he loves them, but they haven't turned out well, so I think i have given up) but thanks to mom and her secret crust recipe Iwas able to create a beautiful and delicious pie (if I do say so myself ~ and I am not a big fan of pies)

Mommy's little helper

Samuel is fascinated by the sweeper . He absolutely loves it when i sweep the house. He has to follow me all around as well as jump in front so that I have to stop or run all through the area that i just swept. (this is of course frustrating at times as I like the see the lines from the sweeper without foot prints... ESPECIALLY if there is company coming) Periodically he likes to go into the laundry room and play with the sweeper, unfortunately for him it is too heavy so, he will dig and grunt and groan until he manages to get the swiffer wet jet out. He then decides he needs to clean the floor. This is what I found him doing the day after Bunko. I was in the den and dining room sweeping up all the little dots and had to come out to find Samuel (he is obviously up to something when he is not under foot) This is what I found. Guess he thought he would help mommy out (he saw me doing this just the night before) He usually has either a big smile on his face or a look of determination, but loves to "work around the house! What a little helper!

computerized charting

here we go, yet ANOTHER computer class ~just what I have always wanted to do on a Saturday morning at 7 am. (at least i was among friends.) Supposedly there will only be 1 more class to go, it is next week, and the shortest class of all (only 4 hours long.) UGH! these are long classes! Why does the government want us to go to all computerized charting? Do they not understand that nurses are resistent to change and would prefer to do things the old fashioned way with pen and paper?!

Where's Sam?!

Seems we have been asking this question a lot lately ~ last night was no exception. This was bunko night and Sam and daddy had to leave the house for a few hours. They had a great boys night out, until the little one decided he was ready to go home and have his ba-ba (yes, I believe he will keep wanting these until he is in kindergarten!) Kirk took him upstairs and gave him his bottle only there was too much comotion going on downstairs to make a boy fall asleep. Once the girls left I went upstairs to a giggly little boy and a worn out daddy. We all came down and I started cleaning up the kitchen. samuel apparently decided he needed to check out the surroundings as everything has changed (toys are packed up, cage is missing, lights on in rooms that are normally dark) Kirk and i are talking, and we notice sam is missing. "Where is Sam?" we look around and don't see him so we decide to check in the dining room and den. We found him, he had gotten himself up in the chair, found the snack mix and had his mouth stuffed full. Too cute, just had to snap a memory!