Scout's Honor

Dear Michael Chertoff,

(or any local Homeland Security Representative for that matter.)

My son (he's four) wants to be a rocket ship for Halloween. I've been Googleing "rocket ship costumes", "patterns for rocket ship costume" and whatever else I can think of, to find a way to make him one. I'm not having much luck.

I know, I know what's this to you? I'm getting to my point, I think I have one today. In my defense, I really didn't know what I was clicking on, I read the link right as my fingers were clicking. A homem@de shou!der-f*red rocket l@uncher is never going to be made in this house, of this I am certain. See, I'm purposely trying to keep anyone really looking for such a device far away from here.

Please do not send any of your task force to my humble (albeit clean) home, you will be wasting (precious) tax dollars! Your search will only reveal a frumpy house wife and two pretty well cared for children. Possibly one very startled husband depending on the time of day.

I know you understand that accidents do happen, quite frequently in fact! Seriously, I am ignorant enough that I have never even imagined making one of the a for mentioned devices from PVC pipe. The most creative thing I've ever done with that is pretending to be in Blue Man Group.

While I have my issues with government, I'd be more likely to peacefully protest and even more likely to write to my representatives.

Thank you for your time, any help turning my four year old into a rocket ship is of course at your own discretion.

Humbly,

Frumpy Butterfly Mama

Life goes on...

With no time to blog. I've been cleaning my house like crazy for pictures etc. We had one showing but they wanted a downstairs master (it says ours is upstairs in the listing thankyouverymuch!) Anyway, this is way more low key when we don't have to get out of it like we did the last time we sold a house! I just do my best, maybe I'll even take some pictures of it to prove that the house doesn't always have some sort of clutter around!

Some pictures of life around here...

Me??!!!

The wonderful Linds has given me an award! Many thanks to you Linds (and I hope today went well!) Her blog rocking chair reflections is one of my favorites so if you haven't been over there to check her out it's worth a few hours of reading. Oh, and her youngest just flew off to university so if you pop in, say, "hi"!

Now is always the hardest part for me about awards...picking six more people to bless with them. Just six out of the many, many, many I read. Well, here goes, in no particular order.

Amy of Never A Dull Moment! She's a great mommy, they have a brand new baby and her husband's getting ready to be deployed shortly.

Ashlee of mama's nest has been one of my favorites for a long time now. I love her writing style and way of seeing the world.

Lilith of Crunchy Green Lovin' Mom is one I'm new to reading but love just the same. She's witty and fun and loves to tweet.

Mamacita Tina of Carpe Diem! She's got two great kids and sounds like a fantastic mommy!!

GreenStyleMom is another new read of mine. She's doing the mommy thing the very environmentally friendly way and yet is totally down to earth! They live in a co housing community and it is just wonderfully inspiring!

Wendy of Showered With Grace has been one of my long time reads and she is very refreshing, honest and inspiring as well.

There you have it...I wanted to list so many, many more! So many blogs, so little time! Must learn to read faster!

Since we've been fighting off the flu for the last few days our meals have been pretty much chicken and rice or chicken soup or veggie soup, in between a banana when appetites have allowed. Easy, boring and cheap I guess!

The last several days

we have all been fighting off some sort of flu. I have had a couple of interesting conversations with my son.

Son:I feel ill.

Me:Really.

S:Ill means sick.

M:I know.

S:Really, really sick.

I asked him where it hurt and he said,"My throat, tummy, chest, and arms." Yeah, I have to admit at this point I thought he was faking just to get to eat banana, drink juice and watch an extra bit of tv.

Then he kept asking for me to hold him (which he just about never does) and he did have a low fever.

Later in the day I was checking in with him,

Me:How are you feeling buddy?

Son:Like a tomato.

More Please

I love sign language!!!!

Why was I lying on the grocery store floor??

Funny you should ask. The answer is: my kids, they both seem prone to getting body parts stuck in grocery carts and other random places. My daughter reaches her whole arm into the shape sorter and gets it stuck on a daily basis.

Yes, back to the floor. I had just pulled out my baby girl's foot from between two bars just outside the proper leg hole in the cart (remind me again why all my baby carriers were at home.) I turn my back for 10 seconds to pick out some ground turkey and hear this "Mommmmmyyyyyy! ah, ah, Mooooommyyyyy!" Turn around (and I wish I had my wits about me to have taken a picture I really do) and my son is under the cart on that little shelf, you know the one you throw the dog food on, with his elbow stuck between two bars.

Yeah, I really don't know. But he was freaking out a bit so I (major ick factor) was lying there on the floor trying to get him to relax enough so that I could figure out how not to have to call the fire department - is that who you even call for such craziness?

Finally I relaxed him and had the presence of mind to ask him to straighten his arm and it loosened enough to get out. Then guess what, we got out to the car my daughter's foot was wrenched in the same spot again! Only I didn't realize it until I lifted her out and her foot stayed behind! Poor thing, but she survived, we all did for that matter. :)

So I guess I'm the only one brave enough to admit I've seen Lil' Abner huh. Or maybe I needed to include the chorus in my quote too... Anyway.

We are now just over our $300 grocery goal for the month but I'm not fretting because seriously we are spending a significant amount less than we normally do and that is the point. Plus there's just one week left and I don't think I'll have to go back to the store again!

About as political as I've been on this blog is to say go vote. And please do that in six weeks or so ok?! Right now though, I'm loosing it. I hate this part of the process, the ads, the interviews, the debates, the part where they try to convince us that they are who they are not.

Bonus points to anyone who can guess where this quote is from.

Them GOP's and Democrats each hates the other one. They's always criticizing how the country should be run. But neither tells the public what the other's gone and done. As long as no one knows where no one stands, The country's in the very best of hands.

Hint: It's a musical.

Each year before the elections I get to this point. I just don't trust what they say! I want someone to vote for not someone I dislike less than the other guy. Ugh. I've voted third party before for just that reason.

Even though I'm currently on the fence you can be sure I'll jump down before election day.

*******

Menu: Breakfast-muffins, fruit, Lunch-pb&j, dinner- Chicken soup and rice

Thought for the day

People will not always remember exactly what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel.

On the menu today was Breakfast: eggs, cantalope, banana. Lunch: Leftovers. Dinner:Zesty Quinoa and Ginger flank steak with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Also I'm finally done with the raspberries and peaches but my wonderful husband bought me some pears too. He's so sweet! I am so sick of being in the kitchen! Alas, I will probably try making some pear sauce with them tomorrow. I wasn't a big fan of just canned pears when I did it so we'll see how the sauce works.

Then we'll do apples next week. I'm sort of glad my tomatoes aren't producing as much as they normally do, I've only done five pints of sauce, hardly seems worth it, but it's more than I had last year. Having just moved and a newborn baby not much was done last year so it'll be nice to have a bunch in the pantry this year.

My son loves the book Blueberries for Sal, so he keeps saying we're canning these for the winter just like the Mom does in the story! I think it's cute! I'm addicted to exclamation points again!!!!

To market, to market

So I'm just going to get right down to it. We've decided to sell our house. It's a good thing, really.

I do feel bittersweet about it, it is the first house we purchased. We lived in it, then rented out it while we lived a few miles away. We moved back last July and now I feel bittersweet about leaving it again.

Not to mention moving again and the keeping the house in tip top shape again. Which will be nearly impossible with my little one year old tornado. I clean a room and not five minutes later it's like the Tasmanian devil zoomed through!

Seriously, it is a good thing! (I resist change so I'm still convincing myself!) We will be able to purchase something with more land, hopefully out of a subdivision without cc&r's and further away from town. Something we've wanted since we moved to the area four and a half years ago.

It's sort of funny because I really don't particularly like this house, oh it's a great home and I'm very grateful for it, now that we're selling it I'm getting all nostalgic! Which I tend to do anyway, like I said I do change kicking and screaming holding to the past firmly until I'm sure that everything will be fine.

I'm turning over a new leaf this time, or letting the leaves fall off, since it's almost autumn. I'm just going to sit back and relax and see where this goes. It's not like we have to sell so there's no need to stress!

TODAY'S MEALS: Breakfast - granola, raspberries Lunch - we went out to lunch (said with head in the sand) Dinner - quinoa pasta with pesto, zucchini, cantaloupe.

We usually go meet my husband for lunch about 3 times a month and so I'm justifying this one visit to spend time with him during his day. We have greatly improved resisting the urge to go out to eat and I am SO grateful for that!

Coming down off of yesterday's soap box...

I have the serious giggles today!

I was getting my daughter ready for bed while Adam brushed my son's teeth and I hear this little voice ask, "Why to you have hair in your nose?" I just about fell over laughing so hard, tears streaming down, through which I hear Adam answer,"That's what happens when you get old." I still can't get it together. Next thing I know this little half naked boy is at my side and says, "Mommy you have gray hair" as he runs back to Daddy. Still, I'm cracking up.

Oh, and apparently I'm going to be a spicy noodle for Halloween. Where does he come up with this stuff, really??

Today's menu, waffles, leftover fish and sweet potatoes, bbq ribs with corn, cucs and tomatoes.

Shame, shame, shame

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Shame on you food industry.

Our journey through elimination diets this year has been rough at times but very enlightening. For awhile we gave up all sweeteners you may or may not remember. And now we mostly only use fruit sweetened or natural sweeteners (honey, REAL maple syrup.) I still have sugar left from a 10 pound bag I bought in January.

No matter because many people I know say, I never use sugar. Oh, yeah...how much of what you eat to you make yourself?? How much sugar is in the instant oatmeal (even organic) that you eat in the morning? The bread on your sandwich (even the sandwich meat) probably has a double whammy of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. My point, it is in everything. I go batty reading labels and then usually just end up making it myself.

The food industry does it on purpose it's simple dollars and sense. If there is sugar in it we eat more of it and they make more money.

I can totally see this when we start to eat more processed foods, we go through more of them. If you didn't catch High Fructose Corn Syrup: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing last week it is well worth the read now! Seriously all sugars are best in (extreme) moderation but how are we supposed to eat them in moderation if they are put in everything we eat?

1/2

We've come 15 days on this 30 days of Nothing experiment and I'm drained. It could have to do with the fact that I'm in the kitchen all day lately. I'm making two more batches of jam tonight.

A friend in one of my pilates classes offered me to come pick raspberries and keep what we picked. As if I needed more work ;). But I couldn't say no to such sweet juicy goodness. Honestly, I had forgotten how much work it is to pick that many but now we've got a bunch to freeze and make yummy jam out of!

Mostly for my own inspiration I'm going to link to some of the many nonprofits I like and would love to have LOTS more money to give too.

Care has been on my sidebar for years now and I really dig what they do for women!

One that probably doesn't need mentioning here is Compassion International. Most of us I'm sure followed Shannon to Uganda last spring and will followMary to the Dominican Republic in a couple months!!

Mercy Corps is one that I found this year and I like really like their philosophy. One of their core values, "We are awed by human resilience, and believe in the ability of all people to thrive, not just exist."

This one I've always thought really cool Medicines Global. It's enough to make me want to take a backpacking trip to Nepal just to bring in needed medical supplies!

We've been eating just nothing great to post about...tonight we had taco's which are just about everyone's favorite.

Oh, and Scribbit is having a September write away contest. I can't wait to read all those entries! I'll need to learn to read faster though...so much to read and so little time!!! Off to my raspberries...

All is going well here, just feeling busy!

Please pray for this family. They are going through a heart wrenching tragedy.

Today in numbers

37 pints of peaches cooling on my counter top, plus three pints of jam.

3 jars broke while being processed (all were wide mouth is this common?)

13 sticky kitchen towels waiting to be washed.

2 soggy sticky potholders waiting to be washed.

Dinners put into the slow cooker this morning - ZERO! (We ate mac and cheese, peaches and frozen yogurt for dinner, LOL!)

60 minutes downstairs without tripping over kids.

Number of naps the baby took today: 1 (really it was quite short for her too.)

95 minutes putting the baby to sleep tonight - shared with hubby.

27 peaches left on my counter to make more jam.

6 layers of peaches in the freezer

Oh, seemingly one hundred times yelling, "Please get along today!"

2 kids that will get alot more of Mommy tomorrow than they did today!

8 sticky feet, 1 sticky floor and one tired Mommy!

Squeezy hugs

Today is one of those days that I can't help but go scoop my kids up and give them hugs and kisses a bit more frequently than usual. We remember while we keep living.

It didn't really help that my son awoke this morning telling about a dream where he was all alone in the house and couldn't find us. Hearing my son say, "I was looking for you Mommy and I couldn't find you anywhere" is just heart wrenching.

Still seven years later I, like a deer caught in on coming headlights, can't turn away. I have to dvr everything I find about it and so, CNN replaces PBS this morning as I clean up from breakfast and get ready to can peaches.

BTW, my friend that I mention in the link above who worked at the WTC is getting married on Saturday. Oh how I wish I were in NY for her special day - not to mention this is my favorite time of year back there!

I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER 9/11/01

Leftovers

Another thing I am learning (something I really already knew) on this 30 days of nothing (comparatively) project is how much our leftovers are getting put to good use. With our small family, most meals leave us with leftovers but we don't always make the most of them.

I have become less wasteful in other areas of my life but it seems like in this arena I still enjoyed leaving leftovers to become a science experiment. Well between not eating out for spontaneous dinners and sending Adam with lunch and snacks everyday it seems a lot less food is getting thrown in the trash. And my friends that is a very good thing!

Yesterday we picked peaches that cost us $25 and they are currently filling my kitchen with a heavenly aroma. The day before my grocery bill was about $25 and I think that should make us another week. Including that first $200 I spent we are at $250 on food even though the peaches will last us all winter once I spend the better part of tomorrow canning and freezing them.

Yesterday's meals: Cereal - it was a lazy morning! Lunch - (you guessed it) levtovers and grapes, Dinner - bbq steak, huge salad, rice. We did have 2 vegetarian dinners in a row and I have one more planned for tomorrow.

On today's menu: Breakfast - oatmeal with cut up peaches, Lunch - leftovers, Dinner - Cornish Game Hen (we skip the bacon), fried rice, and probably some kind of zucchini side and sliced peaches.

On Her Christmas List

Unsorted recycling.

Why do we have a million toys again???

Oh, and the plastic bags have been moved since this photo was taken!

Are we done yet??

With teething??? She only has two teeth and I am ready to be done! Isn't that terrible, I am compassionate, I feel bad that she is hurting but I didn't feel bad leaving her at the gym to be fussy for someone else while I taught pilates today. I'm pretty sure I've seen every hour of the night for the last two.

I am not trying to rush her babyhood away, I know too soon she'll be telling me that I need to call a friend's Mommy to ask if they can come to the park. When I answer that we are just riding bikes for a quick visit to the park and they won't have time to come with us he points out, "Mommy, they have cars."

Today we had muesli and fruit smoothies for breakfast, Adam had leftovers from last nights dinner and we had pb&j's and bananas for lunch. Dinner was veggie lasagna and sweet potatoes.

Before dinner I found myself secretly hoping that Adam would call and say we were going out to dinner tonight. We made it without going. I did go shopping after my class at noon with 2 hungry kids for bananas and grapes and a few other essentials. I deemed canning lids essential since we are going to get peaches and hopefully apples tomorrow. I also deemed some granola bars and it turns out $6 worth of carob chips essential. Looking back, I'm not so sure that was a need...but looking forward, it could be carob/chocolate sometimes keeps a Mom from going over the edge!

And for all of you holding your breath...

Penny is OUT! All is fine! Yippee!

As for this 30 days of nothing project, it has been wonderful and difficult this last week. I feel like I'm getting us back into a routine and it is SO very nice to know what is for dinner when (not that I 100% have stuck to the menu.) I tend to change my mind and rearranged some meals but it is so nice to have two weeks of meals to pick from and all the ingredients for each meal.

It is very nice not to be spending money every day! Since it is Sunday I'm going to share a few verses that are on my heart right now and call it a night! I think we may even watch a movie or something.

"If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." Deuteronomy 15:7 "But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish." Psalm 9:18

Meals:Breakfast- eggs, left over corn bread and plums. Lunch-leftover chili. Dinner- Stir fried veggies, bean threads and cantaloupe. It was so pretty and orange I had to take a picture, which as it turns out would have looked better if the flash was actually on!

A penny for your thoughts

Yesterday, (sigh) honestly, I felt like an incompetent parent but I rose above my feelings of inadequacy, conquered them if you will. Simply, I can only become the Mom I want to be through these moments - the ones where I don't know what the heck I'm supposed to do- these are the times when I am learning and growing into that Mom of my dreams. Right?!

Thursday night at dinner my son told us that while he was up in his room for a time out he "swallowed a coin down into his tummy." At this point he'd already eaten most of his dinner and was acting fine so I figured it was down safely and would just keep going.

My fury (kept tapped) began when I realized that he did this in his room ALONE, what if he had choked on it, he was in there for five minutes alone. At one point in the day I knew he had mentioned putting it in his pocket. Praise God for safe swallowing of said coin. At an after dinner coin line up the penny was picked out as the culprit.

Friday morning I changed my mind after he threw up. Dr said to come in that it could be blocking something. X-ray showed penny in pylorus, (where stomach enters into intestine) she conferred with a gastroenterologist on staff and he thought it would need to come out via a scope (I've seen them take many things out of dogs this way - you'd be amazed what they will eat. One golden retriever puppy kept eating socks so the family stopped wearing them one summer. - another Mom who couldn't get her kids to put the socks where they go!) Back on topic, I'm slightly freaked out about this being done to my son.

Talking with the Dr. she said that she had a call in to a pediatric gastroenterologist downtown and would confer with him. She came back in laughing because he said that in most cases even thought for now it seems like it's blocking it will go through.

My husband is still worried because tonight he was asking everyone we know if their kids have ever done anything like this but I'm convinced (still praying) it will go through.

As for nothing today that will be oh, probably about $200 -we have new insurance and I know we have a HUGE deductible so I think we will have to pay it all out of pocket. Oh, and his Dr wants to have follow up films done in two weeks to double check that it goes. Since we don't want to do that (more $ and more radiation for both of us to be exposed to) we will be watching and waiting for a penny to go kurplunk.

Fun times oh yeah, fun fun times!

Today's meals: Breakfast - oatmeal with blueberries, Lunch - bananas, carrot sticks, leftovers, Dinner - Chili, GF corn bread, zucchini

Spoiled Rotten

Today was the third day in a row I only left the house to take my son on a bike ride or to the park. The weather has been gorgeous so I'm grateful that we have had so many opportunities outdoors. I am excited about getting out to the bank, post office and to teach a pilates class tomorrow - combining errands plus a bit of adult conversation to boot!

Todays Meals

Breakfast:Smoothie and meusli

Lunch:Leftovers from last nights dinner Dinner:Falafels, baked potatoes, cantaloupe, garden salad

Dinner conversation consisted of how spoiled we are to have cravings for different types of food and act on them at will. We thought for a long while about people from other parts of the world, especially the third world where they grow one type of grain and eat it all year long. And that's if they are lucky enough to have grown enough to last the whole year!

It is Wednsesday

Not that's it's wordless but I love having a baby that naps!!!

On the menu today:Breakfast: Gluten freed blueberry waffles and eggs, Lunch:pb&j on waffles and chicken salad, Dinner:BBQ a la hubby, broccoli, fried rice.

Oddly enough this was my first time ever making fried rice and let me tell you it was a big hit. Joy your comment on my dinner notes from yesterday is right on! If I can extend the life of my pantry and not discard leftovers because we are sick of the same old thing my grocery bill will go down and we will be wasting less. Plus the leftover rice we all have been sick of since Saturday is now in our tummies which also satisfied another thing my hubby and I love.

We adore ethnic food. I would say 9 times out of ten when we go out to eat it is for sushi, greek, chinese, thai or some other type of food. I recently started making gyros and falafel but I'm realizing that maybe I need to start finding other ethnic recipes that we like so that by making them ourselves we can decrease those last minute, "I feel like dolmas tonight" or whatever the food of the moment is.

House arrest ;)

Well, yesterday is over and today is going much better. My hubby has today and tomorrow off so it was nice to have a very relaxing day. It's amazing how much less stress there is when I have a menu prepared!

We walked/rode to the park and Adam and I had a nice chat while one kid played and the other slept. We discussed many things but the topic kept coming back to what's the fastest and best way to get rid of our debt and start saving. Everthing from doing nothing and paying it down slowly, to selling my car and selling our house are all viable options. It just depends on how quickly we'd like to be done with it and further discussion will ensure I'm sure.

I really wasn't judging my negatives yesterday, I was mindful about the spending and mistakes are bound to happen, it's just that it was on the very first day! Today, I've hung laundry out on the line, made powdered laundry detergent and we used no gas! Oh, and my husband told me on our walk that we could replace our dishwasher for $159 as they are on sale now. It would be the same not so great model we currently have and I hit him on the arm because that would be a good chunk of the money we could potentially save this month. He said he didn't want to buy it now either I guess it's nice to know just how much I'm saving us by getting dishpan hands every day.

On the menu today was:Breakfast:Fruit and gluten free banana muffins Lunch:leftovers and peanut butter on muffins Dinner: Due to a snafu in my menu and memory (I thought there was a roast in the freezer but I must have used it) roasted red potatoes, leftover pasta mixed with lots of tomatoes and cucs from the garden to make a pasta salad and a large garden salad with leftover zucchini and chicken. It worked and used up all our leftovers.

Positive and Negative

As I sit here, the overwhelming feeling is that we failed today on the 30 day challenge. It's not the best feeling on the first official day! I'll start with the negative and work toward the positive.

I sent my husband with lunch this morning forgetting that he was working a twelve hour day. Usually on these days I pack extra snacks or one and a half sandwiches so he can have a snack at 5 o'clock or so. I didn't even give him any snacks today at all so he spent $8 on a sandwich for dinner - ugh.

I was in the neighborhood of my favorite kids thrift store and they were having a sale. Generally we accept any hand me downs for our kids and I buy what I can used both to save the expense and to reuse perfectly good items. So I spent $11 buying my son 4 sets of pj's for this winter, long underwear and 3 pair of pants. I could have waited until October to do this but it would have cost me probably $4-5 dollars more so it was worth it to me to do it today. I'm counting this as a neutral since it still saved me money. I plan to take some items in the next time I'm in the area and they give cash or store credit for used items so I'll just get the cash, enough hopefully to wash this expense.

I planned two weeks of meals and have a loose idea of the other two so I did a large grocery shop today for $200 and I have just about all of the main dishes we will need for the month. I will probably have to go back for fresh fruits but our garden should provide much of the veggies. Included in the $200 was a $20 vat of olive oil - the cheapest per pint and this will last much longer than just September.

I used up the very last drop of laundry detergent this morning and put that on my list too. Since I have made this before I looked in the cabinet and saw that I have enough ingredients to make another batch which should last us through the month.

The shopping trip seems like a lot since Mary's goal is $200 for a family 3 times the size of ours. For us though I'm aiming for about $300 or so for the month which should be doable.

It seems like I'm over analyzing everything but I think that is the point. As I looked at my cart checking out of the store I realized that there is NO way this experiment is really going to let me know what it feels like to actually live with nothing. It will show me how to live with less, still by the world's standards a bounty!

Breakthough

The weather was cooler today with a nice breeze and after spending the last two afternoons at our local water park this afternoon my son came in asking for a sweatshirt. What a relief to have an afternoon with nothing planned but productivity.

There were those dishes again, laundry, folding all those mountains and then the putting it away and cleaning a bathroom in between. Usually the putting away is my downfall but this afternoon the kids and I played dress up and put away laundry we were cowboys, superheros and prince and princesses. It was great.

There was also lots of singing and craziness and time for me to choreograph an entire dance to my new favorite song Natalie Grant - I Will Not Be Moved. It was so relaxing and wonderful if housework could be considered that.

Somewhere along the day I realized that I used to have way more days like this and somewhere along the way they became more and more scarce. Suddenly, filled with grief I realized that it was nearly two years ago when we lost our pregnancy that less and less days began to let music and laughter fill these walls.

I can be passive aggressive about dealing with life issues and I think it's hard to let go of the grief. Sometimes it's easier to hold on to things even if they are painful than to relinquish them knowing they will not be forgotten but tucked away with love. And that is what I have done.

With the memories tucked away in my heart I then had to fight the urge not to call my hubby and ask if he wanted to go out for sushi. This is the last night before the 30 days of nothing starts and I felt like one last hurrah. But what good would that do?

It's amazing how I'm telling myself we can't do something for a month and the urge to do it greatly overtakes all else. I also wanted to go buy some storage bins yesterday and Adam was like don't you think we have something you can use is it really necessary. This was a first, he's never EVER been the stingy one...so basically we are fighting the urge to have these wonderful luxuries while someone is making $2 a day in China or other parts of the world or even nothing at all. Hmmmm.

I'm determined to get organized

Anyone out there have a good way to utilize the space on the top shelf of our master closet? We need the space to be more usable other than just throwing stuff up there that doesn't get used much so I'm hoping someone more organized than I will have a fabulous idea?!?

Oh, and I wrote about Nothing. yesterday and bloglines didn't pick it up if you want to check it out!

Nothing.

Mary at Owlhaven is giving us something to think about again with the 30 Days of Nothing experiment. Two years ago I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the bloggers participating and we "sort of silently" played along, but it definitely got us talking and thinking. This year we're in and I'll be blogging about our experience.

With our diet constraints I normally don't buy many prepackaged items but lately I have been buying some gluten free granola bars and cereals. My goal is to once again make much more from scratch and use these 30 days to budget better. With my husband out of work for a chunk of this year we are still under that debt which we want to pay down as quickly as possible.

Another goal for the month will be to get in the habit of menu planning as well as having a loose weekly family schedule of activities. With a one and four year old we don't have many, still it is sure make our household run more smoothly if we know which nights Adam is going to workout or when a trip to the library will fit in.

One of my downfalls is forgetting to take something out of the freezer for dinner or procrastinating and we end up going out. There will be NO take out or restaurant meals this month. Adam usually eats out for two lunches so that will be drastically cut down if not eradicated as well. I know how much easier life is with meals planned it's just a matter of doing it - so I am!

I also can't wait to link to some of my favorite non profit organizations. Talking about them during the month will help me focus on the goal of being able to have more money left over to give to others.

Discussing and answering the hard questions, this is the great stuff. As a stay at home mom it is nice to get outside of my little routine and focus on the bigger picture of life. In the end we'll be using some of our extra cash this month for (in some minuscule way) the betterment of humanity as well as paying down our debt more quickly.

You can keep track of the other participants at Owlhaven with me in September.

Dear neighbors,

I have had good intentions (the best really) of weeding my front flower beds this summer. But intentions just don't mean squat when everything else takes priority (the garden in the back that yields food!).

Please accept this simple and sincere apology for our overgrown weedy beds. I have begun to clean them out but give me some time, I have two small kids who need me but I should have the bulk of it done in the next few days. Hopefully next year we'll do better so that the sending of another nasty note from the HOA won't be necessary!

With sincere apologies,

Heidi aka Butterfly Mama

From serious to silly

So I'm going to start with something terrible. These cluster bomb things are absolutely inhumane what part of war is humane actually but anyway. You can sign The Peoples Treaty to help them become a thing of the past, it might not be a bad idea to let your public officials know how you feel as well. Just a thought.

* * * * * * * * * *

We've had a wonderfully spontaneous day today. Remember when I mentioned that sponteneaity was lacking in my Mommy life? Well today after running an errand this morning Adam walks in asking me what I have planned for the day. After me saying laundry, dishes, yadda yadda, he asked if I wanted to take a drive up to the mountains with the kids, do some hiking and just chill. Hello, a yes...

See driving has always just been our thing. It has always been, it started after our very first argument and became something we used to do to get out of the house at night pre kiddos. It was the most fun in his trans am with the T tops down and the heat on in the San Diego winter (if you can call it that!)

We end up talking about stuff that doesn't get brought up at home with many distractions. It was a fun day to eat up a half a tank of gas (cringe) and well worth it.

The proof is in the pictures...

My son insisted on bringing his back pack (oh how I hate to admit he was calling it rescue pack, lest you know just how much Diego we are watching currently!) with his binoculars and other essentials on our little hikes.

* * * * * * * * * *

And now for some silliness, I've started using facebook (not that I really have a clue what I'm doing yet) and really like I needed something else to suck time during the evenings but I immediately found my sister and cousin and some other friends and it seems curious. The thing I find amusing is that facebook is very nosy, he seems to tell me what any of my friends are doing and who they are talking to - it all seems sort of well, at the risk of being redundant amusingly silly. Now to figure out twitter...it seems that I'm just not technical for all these things but so many others find it fun so maybe I'll get on the band wagon too. Maybe.

Just call me Queen of the Squash

My parents tell of this trip that we took across country when I was about 3, I think. They say that all I ate (just about) was cherry tomatoes and french fries. Not that I would eat one or two cherry tomatoes but bowls full.

Always a fan of french fries but there isn't much better than picking those small, gorgeous, red, juicy gems off their vines and plopping them straight in my mouth. (After a quick rub on my shirt for proper sanitizing.) Yummy! I ate them yesterday and today until my mouth hurt and I'll probably do it again tomorrow! Hey I might get on the raw band wagon yet... when I went to pick on Saturday my lunch consisted of them and raspberries and I think even my son was happy with that meal!

Here's a picture of stuff that we harvested today from our garden. Yes, the big huge white summer squash was overlooked! So not only have we been eating zucchini three or four nights a week for several weeks now but I've got summer squash coming on and the yellow guys (which I was supposed to pick smaller too.) Not to mention that still in the garden is acorn, butternut and banana squash each awaiting peak ripeness.

In the basket are some light green peppers, tomatoes and basil. Just so I remember, three basil plants does not yield the amount of pesto that I'd love to have been able to freeze. I'll need to double that for next year - maybe inplace of one or two squash hills.

Seriously, the acorn and butternut were volunteers from my compost bin and I was curious what kind they were, so I let them grow. Alas, we just might start getting a thicker green skin by the end of this growing season...even the baby girl eats zucchini now too!

Done.

I've loved the Olympics they are really the only sporting event that I enjoy. (Other than the occasional Yankee game) As much as I enjoyed them, I am currently happy they are through. Hoping that an earlier bed time will ensue. Alas, now I'm sitting here blogging instead of going to bed!

We've been getting teeth here...my daughter got one bottom tooth a couple weeks before her birthday and one more this past week. Now I think she's working on the top ones, yikes. Lots of screaming but still tons of the usual giggling and happy playing. So really it's not so bad!

My son is now four, 4 - a number he recognizes along with most others up to 20. He seems to have inherited my quest for knowledge because he seriously would rather do some of the school workbooks I got for him instead of coloring. We are working on that since I think coloring happens to be an important skill for a four year old.

Happy 4th birthday my wonderful, rough and tumble son! I love you.

Since it's been a busy week...

...some party pictures!

Unsure...

You've been holding out Mommy, this is yummy!!!

My little four year old!!

After writing about my cake obsessions I was offered the cool train pan which made the perfect cake - thanks to my hubby and to Grandma for assisting with the decorating. I also receive a wonderful easy to frost recipe from Linds thanks you guys!

You can see the cute little butterfly cupcakes in the first picture before it gets torn apart. All in all I think a successful day!

Birthday Girl in pictures...

I love you my little one year old!!!

Blue

I took a break. Imagine that, I'm editing pictures and reading blogs when I hear little feet above me. I actually thought he would nap today since we've had four late nights in a row already.

Of all the ways to word things I ask, "Why are you not asleep."

And the little almost four year old voice answers, "Because I keep going downstairs and eating blueberries."

Ah, we will survive this day - at least we've gotten plenty of antioxidants!

Opening Ceremonies

Birthday Obsessions

This weekend we'll be having a birthday BBQ for our little ones since their birthdays are eight days apart. I'll be trying my hand at a Thomas the tank engine cake as well as making a bunch of butterfly carrot cake cupcakes.

My husband says that once I get something in my head I obsess over it until it happens. He's never going to let me forget my obsession with baby carriers during my last pregnancy, every time he would look at my computer I'd have another style that I was looking at. I did find all different kinds of styles that I wanted even though I already had two. Ahem, I think it's up to six now but who's counting anyway! (Yes, all of them are well used.)

Back to my point, I'm now obsessing over which cakes to make, what kinds and how to decorate. I'm obsessing and I need someone to share it with since my wonderful and loving husbands eyes glaze over the instant I begin sharing details of the entire thing. Since I can't see all your eyes glazing I thought of all my dearest friends in blog land. So my friends, here's what I've found.

If I were more like Martha Stewart I'd make my son his Thomas the Train cake to look more likethis one at Glads Passion. Isn't it just gorgeous? As it is I'll be lucky to make one that looks anywhere close to this one. Which I do think is very cute!

I really do enjoy the way fondant looks on a cake, but I just don't enjoy eating it. Since taste is at least half of reason to make the cake I'm just not motivated to even try to use it. It seems like it might be fun, like working with clay so who knows, maybe I'll have to try it once.

As for the butterfly cupcakes, there are a couple of different options I've found. I really like these with the chocolate wings. It just seems like a bunch more work having to make those delicate little wings. Especially, when these would be half as much work and still very cute.

I think it will depend on time. Especially since I need to do a total overhaul in every room of our house, cleaning wise. I should be obsessing about that! Not to mention that every evening this week is vacation bible school at church - late nights, busy chaotic days and early mornings = we might just be eating plainly iced cake and cupcakes not that my kids will really care.

I put a ton of importance on a home made birthday cake. It's something I remember feeling really great that my Mom usually did for us. Last year since I had a 12 day old baby at my sons party my hubby overruled and bought a cake. (My wonderful Mom still made my son one for his real birthday!) So for me it doesn't matter whether it looks like perfectly frosted perfection. It is a challenge and work from the heart that will in some small way show my love for them.

Sunday

I enjoy several blogs who include Sundays with bible verses and or devotions. I've always wanted to start something like it but I always doubt my own knowledge. Today I started realizing that it could be a good way to increase my knowledge, imagine that, learning by doing!

So I'm not committing to every Sunday but I'm going to try for a couple a month matching up some verses to what is going on in the Butterfly home. For this week it's one I've put above my sink where I'm our dishwasher!

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, as children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:14,15

Stop, Thief!

Seriously, my dog eats the raspberries. Hello! And he nibbles away at the ones just before they are ripe enough to pick. Between him and my son I think I've eaten two!

But seriously today at the mall I parked my daughter in the stroller next to a table with folded shirts on it while I was looking at another item. I turn around and she's dumped them all on to the floor. (Mental reminder of why I usually carry her around.)

After I've unloaded kids and items from the stroller back at the car in the 95 degree heat I see this random shirt in the bottom of the stroller. Hello! I stole a shirt.

Kids were already buckled, it was nap time, and I had apparently already got away with it so I decided not to go all the way back. (terrible!?)

Good thing my hubby works just down the way so Children's Place you will be getting your little shirt back tomorrow!

Hopefully we're done with the confessions!

Zucchini coming out of your ears???

Anyone who's ever planted them in the garden knows that before long there is more zucchini coming off the plants than we know what to do with. We pick them small and tender at first eager for another years harvest. Steaming, sauteing, and then eventually they get big and huge and we stuff them and grate them into breads.

I thought others might be interested in trying some new recipes I've come across this year that my family is just loving. If we're gonna eat it all week long might as well add some new recipes in there!

Savory Pancakes (This recipe lends well to rice flour and rice milk to make it dairy and gluten free) 1/2 cup flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 2 cups grated zucchini* 2 small scallions, diced vegetable oil sour cream and salsa (optional)

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In a second bowl, whisk the egg and milk, then stir in veggies. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine thoroughly.

Add 1 T oil to a skillet over medium heat, when oil is hot, spoon the batter into the pan, about 1/3 cup per pancake for approx. 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

*Can also substitute one cup carrots for one of the cups of zucchini or 1 cup yellow squash.

My other recipe, isn't really a recipe, it's more like something I just throw together. Veggie Lasagna. Basically I just make the lasagna noodles (we use gluten free ones) and while those are cooking I make my pasta sauce. In another saute pan I add maybe 3 cups of 1/2 inch zucchini slices, olive oil, garlic (lots of it - yummy!), onions, pine nuts really whatever I have around (I've thrown in leftover broccoli and spinach too). Season with your favorite spices or herbs. Then I layer the noodles, veggies and sauce (you can add cheese if you eat it but we all enjoy it without.) and bake just for 15 or 20 minutes to let the flavors blend together.

Yummy, I was just thinking that this might be yummy with pesto sauce too. I am so addicted! We are having pesto on our homemade gluten free pizza now too and it is SO yummy!

Simply Perfect

My almost one year old is finally jumping onto the solid food bandwagon! As our weaning road begins to take shape, she nurses almost exclusively before naps and at night. Naptime is simply perfect. I never want to give up this opportunity to lie down with my little beauty.

Yes, usually I'm pestering my almost four year old to keep it down and that quiet time means Q.U.I.E.T. or impatiently waiting to do one of the million things on my to do list. Recently however, I’ve been overwhelmed and I’m finding solace in the simple. Time where I am just there with my daughter. Thinking about how much bigger her head is than it was almost a year ago. Breathing in the sweet smell of her while tucking a stray wisp of hair back behind a tiny ear, knowing it will never again be this small.

Sometimes she is so busy that she'll begin attempting calisthenics. Rolling onto her tummy, keeping her head fairly still, she’ll walk her feet up actually lifting her bottom off the bed. Softly I place my hand on her chubby, rosy cheek whispering a reminder that it's time to be going sleepy. Gently I'll pull her lower body close, letting the weight of my arm rest there, holding her still enough for sleep to wash over her.

While last week I was comforted skimming words and silently turning pages, this week I find myself scanning a gorgeous face, memorizing the exact hues of blue in her eyes and beautiful red of her lips. My thoughts wander a bit to the sandy blonde wisps of hair, curious if the hint of strawberry will fade away as more years pass.

Tiny fingers clasp my seemingly giant index finger so softly at first and then strongly they pull my finger toward her chest right below her chin. Tiny toes tickle my pale stretch marked tummy as her little eyelids do touch and goes.

I linger a bit longer, knowing that dishes can wait for a Mommy to marvel over a miracle of life. My own breathing a bit slower, my spirit revived and my heart full, admiring the innocent look of peace sleep brings over my daughter’s face. I soften my footsteps out the door and down the stairs knowing that so much more than perfect nutrition was just shared.

Six things of randomness...

Ashlee from mama's nest tagged me to play along and share six random facts about myself.

1. I am currently addicted to reading anything by Dee Henderson. A very good friend lent me a couple of her books for our trip to San Diego last Thanksgiving and I've read at least one a month since then. And while we are on the subject of reading I'm anal about reading every single word. If I think I skipped one word, I'll read the entire sentence again...a speed reader I am not!
2. I love pesto sauce. (We make it without the parm- just a couple handfuls of basil from the garden, a couple - or more - cloves garlic, a handful of pine nuts, a sprinkling of kosher salt and about a third of a cup of olive oil blended together.) Pure heaven to me lately!
3. I am quite technically challenged. I am confident that I could learn much more than I currently know about computers and other high tech stuff but since my husband is quite proficient at it, I trust his judgment and I just learn what I need. I figure it saves time that way. Not to mention technology doesn't always like me either. We had a computer when we lived in CA that would flash an error every time I used it and sometimes when Adam would be using it and I entered the room. It was sort of freaky.
4. My Gramp taught me how to water ski when I was a kid on our annual visits. When I was in high school and dying to learn how to ski with a single he was SO patient and for probably more than an hour since I just couldn't seem to get passed all the spray in my face and make it up. He suggested a break to rest my legs and I reluctantly laid on the dock for a bit. I can remember the first time I got up he smiled a wonderful grin and drove the boat on - so much fun. Now I'm realy wanting to spend a day out on the water :)
5. The last week or so I have a vendetta against squash bugs. Three years ago they invaded my garden and were all over every plant. I'm keeping them in check pretty well this year but they seem to like just a couple plants so I go out and squish them in the evening after I get kids to bed. It's sort of satisfying for some odd reason!
6. I used to be way more spontaneous and carefree before I had kids. Lately, I've been really missing that (not that I'm wanting to go skinny dipping or anything) just doing something here or there to keep the days from being so monotonous!

THE RULES: Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. Let your tagger know when your blog entry is up.

I'm gonna break the rules and say if you feel like you want to share six random things about yourself - please do and let me know in the comments.

Enough said.

Walkin' on Sunshine!!!

I'm apparently on the other end of the parenting spectrum, the last couple of days have totally rocked. I'm starting to self diagnose with a common disorder called Teething psychosis/Mommy guilto-sleepyphrenia!

I thought I would share a few milestones from the last few days since there have been quite a few.

My son (thanks to a new sticker book from Grandma) can now sort things from smallest to biggest (and reverse) and has learned several opposites as well as the seasons. He also sat there and concentrated on the book - would ask me for the instructions - for about an hour. I think homeschooling preschool this year is going to be fun. We bought a couple of work books the other day to help us and he's already asking to do school.

My daughter has a list of fun new skills. Today she said MAMA for the first time (not counting when she's said it in a screaming fit). To ice the cake, she said it all day long - ah, it was great! She's signing all done at meals and says her da-da with an occasional wa-da sound for water. Her voice has the cutest little inflection when she says uh-oh (big brother was very proud to teach her how to say that one.) She's getting the knack of going downstairs on her tummy and (this one's a bummer for me) she can open up all kitchen (and bathroom) drawers and cabinets. Oh my goodness is she a busy little one!

Alas, I have a kitchen full of dishes to scrub - I can't believe that my Grandparents never had a dishwasher. I can remember being home from college and up at my Bobo's house and helping him with the dishes. I said to him, "I never realized that you don't have a dishwasher." He replied, "I do", he paused and I looked around again "it's me."

So now I'm our dishwasher and it's sort of fun when I can put it in perspective. At least I'm in great company. When I'm making lots of stuff from scratch there are quite a lot of dishes so it's a bit of a challenge that I'm prepared to keep doing. I really am not motivated to buy another cheap one that's not going to work for very long or very well AND I'm certainly not ready to part with the amount of money it will take to buy a nice one that will polish them to a clean mirrored shine.

Oh, and Linds...I thought I had your email, but I can't find it. I think the only thing other than teaching three pilates classes a week that's helped me to loose all my baby fat is nursing my little one on demand. No pacifiers, or bottles etc. not to mention that she's just in the last couple of months become interested in table food. I'm sure that has been the key, since I'm the smallest I've been in my adult life. As she weans I'll most likely put on a little more pudge again! After my son started eating solids(quite a bit earlier than her) I gained back a full size. So we'll see what happens this time. Sorry, I wish I had a secret that everyone could take part in!!

Can someone please tell me...

...where my baby girl went??? And how is it that she's already climbing and standing???

She is up the stairs in a blink if the gate isn't up and her brother cheers her on. (Like it's a good thing the baby can get to the top all by herself in 30 seconds flat.) I'm encouraging him to teach her how to come down safely.

She's in her last month being zero and (I know I constantly say this) but I don't know where the year has gone. It's hard to believe that last year at this time I was almost 70 pounds heavier than I am now (yikes!)

Luckily she still lets me wear her around much of the time which give us both some extra time together now that she's so busy! Even though from the set of pictures at my sister's wedding it looks like she's still very interested in what her big brother and the rest of the big kids are up to without her.

Better

It helps to write stuff out, listen to encouraging comments and talk to other Moms ...you find out that some stuff you are certain only your kids do is just not the case.

I've decided that since I am in this for the long haul, I'll need a life jacket! 'Cause Lord knows, I can't do this alone.

Oh, and today while my baby was fussing and not wanting to nap I was rocking and singing to her while my son ate a snack. He turned all of a sudden and said "Mommy, you're doing a great job." So we're going with Great today!

It's not that there's nothing bloggable going on,

for goodness sake my son told our entire church during the kids story on Sunday that our house has no dust!!! God bless that boy! I've been meaning all week to show him what it is and teach him how to get rid of it...then he'll be telling the truth!

"I planted these seeds Mommy and now they are zucchikinnis." (kinnis for short)

Dinner tonight was a new Alton Brown favorite accompanied by the first real zucchini crop and corn yummy!! We've had the last two wonderful days with Daddy home, done some housework and even got out just the two of us.

So why am I in a bit of a funk, I just don't know for sure. I do know that I'm incredibly blessed - I know it with every fiber of my being. Why then do I get so, angry/upset/hormonal about stuff? I live in a house - not a bungalow, have all the modern appliances that one needs (including a dishwasher that does nothing but bake the food onto the dishes so that's the only - by hand.) But at least that is in a sink with hot running water - not a river bed or something.

It feels fake to leave everything on this blog so happy-go-lucky fluttering up in the clouds about life when really I'm down here on the ground.. scratch that.. I'm down here in this ravine just trying to keep my head above the water.

There are days like the last two before today that I can barely tread water, I'm sinking and I have to yank out a reed to get a screeching gasp. Keeping up with the essentials seems like racing in a triathlon.

Overwhelmed is a feeling I deal with daily almost as far back as I can remember. In college, since I also procrastinate, I can remember just sitting in the library looking at a stack of books not knowing where to start. I feel constantly like I'm making the wrong decision - over analyzing, under analyzing, not researching some parenting thing enough or just not being consistent with the type of parenting from day to day.

I keep thinking someday I'll have to apologize to my son since he's the oldest for being the guinea pig. Then today I realized that while I have more tricks up my sleeve the second time around, a different child calls for even different facets of parenting. Tonight I learned that my daughter will fall back to sleep by me simply slightly bouncing her (her laying on her tummy) with my hand on her bottom. So much shorter than a huge nursing session - seriously it takes me humming just one verse of Amazing Grace! Not that I'm done nursing or anything but she's almost one (instert pathetic little cry here ;0) ) and has been waking up every hour or two and I'm sore and she's teething so we can use a few less nursing moments.

What it comes down to is encouragement and commitment and attitude and love. Among others, lots and lots of love! The days like today have there struggles, in spite of those (or because of them) we learn, grow and wonder about what tomorrow might bring. Yes, almost four year old boys are too rough and yes they push the boundaries but isn't that what they are supposed to do to learn themselves. Maybe in their own way they are telling us that if they are still making the same mistakes after many months, Mom might need to change her approach?

These times when we struggle to keep from drowning and win the parenting battles are rough but how much brighter the sun will look when find sure footing looking up at our beautiful kids growing in the blink of an eye.

Arr matie!

We have been doing some thinking outside the box with our parenting lately because some things just ain't workin' any more. Probably having so many changes - traveling without Daddy for 10 days didn't really help anything. Then coming home to no regular routine isn't helping either, late nights early morning swimming lessons, it's a lot for a little boy to take in.

Last night Adam left him in his vacant bedroom (from efforts the night before) and said, "Well honey I told him that his bed was a really cool ship and the room was the water. I told him to stay on the fun ship until morning. Then I swam out of the room" I told him that was a great idea, hopefully it would work.

About 15 minutes later we hear pitter patter of feet above our heads, Adam walks to the bottom of the stairs and says, "What are you doing out of your ship."

Our wonderful son simply replies," I pulled the plug and the water went down the drain."

Next.

Oh ME!

I am constantly visiting blogs that make me feel like mine is just a glorified picture posting board - I do love photos after all. So many people in this world have been gifted with a wonderful talent to write and I'm grateful they do.

One such blog that I have been enjoying for awhile is Green Inventions Central and the last post describes exactly what I feel when I go shopping for myself (which I generally dread) It's titled Deliver Us From Me-Ville if you want to pop on over for a read and I'll be putting the referenced book on my wish list! ;)

I used to think that I didn't like to shop because no one would ever come over to help me. Adam and I would both go to Nordstrom's say and he'd have someone help him in all of the departments. After awhile, I'd come up with my stuff giving his guy the commissions on my items too - since no one would help me.

With age I've learned that sales people can read me from a mile away. They know that I'm not going to by those $500 shoes and that nothing they say will convince me that my feet are worth it. Now I do have had a pair of $50 black flip flops that are on their fourth season, some people would say that's an expensive pair of flips. I wear them ever day - all spring and summer long (at least 6 out of 7 days seriously) that's only about $12.50 a season and they are still the most comfy shoes I've got.

My point is go read LL's version - it's way more better!

I love you more today than yesterday!

Happy anniversary, my love! It's hard to believe it's been six years! What a wonderful day it was and each one after have been. I'm so forever grateful to have found my one and only. ILYM!!!!

When you set a date it comes...

Giving Uncle Mike cuddles - the day before the big day!

She's such a beautiful bride!!!!

My Gram is quoted as saying this and it's so true but now it seems strange that it's already over. Months of planning becomes a busy weekend of fun filled memories.

When I say everything was perfect - it really was. We all had a fabulous weekend with her and her now husband. Funny thing is that in six years of them being together I had never met him. It was a nice excuse to finally do that!!!! It's nice to have my son yelling over my shoulder as I look at pictures, "That's my Uncle Mike!"

My sister looked gorgeous and the ceremony was beautiful. Both the bride and groom wanted it to be overcast so that the weather wouldn't be too hot. They got what they wanted and the rain held off until the reception was over and the band packing up. Like I said perfect - I loved all the rain on this trip- nothing like a few New England thunder storms to make the air smell sweet and the mosquitoes thirsty.

Back to the wedding..it was virtually impossible to do both bridesmaid stuff and parenting stuff the morning before the ceremony. Somehow it was done however, my daughter slept through much of the getting ready and I hurriedly gave my son a snack and got him dressed in his shirt as I got dressed. When he was ready and Melissa was getting her dress on I felt it was time for him to go out with my brother and his cousins but he was resisting me greatly. I was literally trying to shove him out of the small dressing room but he kept saying that he wanted to say something to Aunt Melissa. So reluctantly I gave in backtracking into the room and my little man got her attention and said, "Aunt Melissa you look so pretty." Talk about starting off the water works.

The timing of everything was perfect. A couple guests were late so they waited a few minutes to start, during which time my daughter threw a crying fit. Thankfully right when we started walking down the aisle she calmed down - thanks to my fabulous sister in law!

Here's a few pictures of the happy couple and the rest of us. I don't have any pictures of the ceremony on my camera - that would have taken super woman abilities. (Or at the very least Adam's tripod and remote clicker.)

Happy Fourth!!

We've returned from our adventure over many rivers, through the woods, to Granny and Grampy's, visiting aunts and uncles and many cousins, rehearsal, wedding and reception!!! Sleepless nights, tired kids, many cuddles, car ride giggles, teething, lots of playing, long days, eating lobster in a Maine thunderstorm. Altogether tons of wonderful memories - I hope I can remember it all.

My baby sis is married !!!! I'm so happy to for them - everything was just perfect.

It's late and I have about 300 pictures to go through - ahhh, I love pictures! So for now I hope all of you have a terrific holiday with your friends and families. We will begin to catch up on our sleep!