My super sweet, very thoughtful husband!

Yesterday was the 7th anniversary of the day Paul and I were married, 10 total years together. We were married on a beautiful autumn day in Tennessee in a little chapel high up in the mountains. All of our family and friends were there to see us start our new life and husband and wife. Marring Paul was the best decision of my life, he's a wonderful man and a great daddy! And there is evidence of this :) Yesterday morning in my inbox I received an anniversary present from Paul, my computer techy, website building, very thought, and creative husband. Yes, I received my own URL and website. He's so tricky the way he can file things I say I want away and make them happen for such wonderful surprises.
So....introducing http://asimplekindoflife.net Please remark your bookmarks and you can find me there now :)

I'm doing it so you should too!

http://www.paperbackswap.com
swap books for free! ok, you have to pay postage but you get a credit for every book you mail out. one book equals one credit. simple huh? start by listing 9 and get 3 free credits. plus you can print media mail postage right from the site. it really couldn't be any easier. the only problem, more people need to participate. especially if your going to list homeschool books! so come and play!

Pudding video

Here is the video that goes along with the pudding face picture. Skye is having a snack while Carter and his friend are playing in the other room. Skye is practicing her favorite words including Buba (her word for Carter). Enjoy :)

Vintage Carter

2 years ago, picking out pumpkins.

Pudding face

why is it that I find this so irresistible?

Bookshelves

I read about this idea and loved it. Paul and I completed the project this weekend. I love it! As you can see we are studying steam engines this week though FIAR Mike Mulligan.
Looks great Paul, thank you!

Let it be known!

That today, October 17th 2007 at 5:17 am, my inbox is EMPTY for the first time in over 3 months!
Gmail says

No new mail!

. Whew, what a relief!!

Something that spoke to me

maybe to you too....

The Mall (rants and raves)

I took the kids to the mall for the first time in forever yesterday.

THE GOOD
People were NICE, actually NICE! The lady at Lush (yes, there is now a Lust @ 12 oaks) gave me a TON of samples!
The nice guy at TCYB gave the kids two toppings on their yogurt for the price of one.
The new wing, is BEAUTIFUL.
The spot they moved the kids area has only one opening and the alluring escalator is sort of hidden (major bonus).


THE BAD
My favorite yogurt place (upstairs Macy's) is under remodel, don't know if it'll be the same when it reopens.
When did the food court become such a market place? I was just trying to get to the bathroom and I was assaulted with free samples and come eat here :) Yeeesh!
The new kids area is far away from the bathroom, not a good thing when you have kids!

All in all, a good day at the mall. Exhausting, but good!

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

This is our second week using the Five in a Row curriculum. The basic idea is you read the book, everday, then take your lessons from the book. I am LOVING this curriculum, it's been a great jumping off point for homeschooling! This week we read How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World The premise of the story is what happens if you want to make an apple pie and the market is closed? You'd have to travel the world to gather the ingredients. Italy for wheat, France for eggs, Sri Lanka for cinnamon, England for a cow (milk then butter), Jamaica for sugar cane, seawater for salt and Vermont for apples. Here is how our week went.

Monday; First I asked Carter how he thinks we make an apple pie. Here is what he said; Cut the apples. Dough, sugar and flour. Roll the dough. Put it in a bowl pan. Add the apples. Bake for 15 hours. Put in on a plate and eat it while it's warm.
Then we read the book. Later we did a connect the dots that made an apple.

Tuesday. We read the book, then.... we went to a preschool co-op with many other children at my friends house. There we sliced apples, grated cinnamon, ground wheat, made butter and finally but it all together for apple pies! The kids each got their own and one for the adults too!

Wednesday. We read the book, then.. We did math! We read 10 Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss. Apple patterns, but apples in baskets. And in the morning we went on a field trip to a cider mill!

Thursday. We read the book, then... Vocabulary. I let Carter trace the words, then we talked about the definition. Paul had the great idea to use our vocab words whenever possible during the next week or so it will become part of Carter's everyday speech. The words were; superb, locate, elegant, native, coax and ingredients.

Friday. We read the book, then... On the last day I like to let Carter help me 'read' as much as possible. Then we did a storyline activity and put up our story disc on the map.

What a great week! Looking forward to
Mike Mulligan next!
Apple Patterns
Apple Baskets
The Pies!
Carter and his pie

Nature Bangles

I read about this idea in several places so I'm not going to site one source. The idea is you either use double sided tape or (like we did) make a tape bracelet with the sticky on the outside. Then simply walk and collect anything you'd like! We also brought along a bigger bag to put big stuff in. Simple, and fun!

Neighborhood kids :)

I must have overpaid a couple of neighborhood kids last year for raking my leaves. Now anytime there are more than 5 leaves on the lawn or more than an inch of snow they are knocking on my door. They must see me as their sugar mama ;) HA HA, oh well!

Love it!

got a bit behind in blogging, hoping to catch up soon!

Happy Birthday Uncle Adam!!

We love you!

Free 411, no ads!

http://www.google.com/goog411/

Artificial Food Additives May Increase Hyperactivity in Children

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/562631?src=mp

September 10, 2007 — Artificial food color and additives commonly found in children's food increase the mean level of hyperactivity in children aged 3 years and 8 to 9 years, according to the results of a community-based, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge study published online September 6 in The Lancet.

"Artificial food colours and other food additives (AFCA) have long been suggested to affect behaviour in children," write Donna McCann, PhD, from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, and colleagues. "Despite the failure of early studies to identify the range of proposed adverse affects, a recent meta-analysis of double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials has shown a significant effect of AFCA on the behaviour of children with ADHD [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder]. The possible benefit in a reduction in the level of hyperactivity of the general population by the removal of AFCA from the diet is less well established."

The investigators randomized 153 three-year-old and 144 eight- to nine-year-old children to receive a challenge drink containing sodium benzoate and 1 of 2 artificial-food-color-and-additive mixes (A or B) or a placebo mix. The primary outcome measure was a global hyperactivity aggregate, derived from aggregated z scores of observed behaviors and teacher and parent ratings, as well as from a computerized test of attention for 8- to 9-year-old children.

For reasons not related to childhood behavior, 16 three-year-old children and 14 eight- to nine-year-old children dropped out of the study. Compared with placebo, mix A, but not mix B, had a significantly adverse effect on the global hyperactivity aggregate for all 3-year-old children (effect size, 0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01 - 0.39; P = .044). When the analysis was restricted only to those 3-year-old children who consumed more than 85% of juice and had no missing data, the findings were similar (effect size, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.05 - 0.60; P = .02).

For 8- to 9-year-old children who consumed at least 85% of drinks and had no missing data, there were significantly adverse effects compared with placebo for either mix A (effect size, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.02 - 0.23; P = .023) or mix B (effect size, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.07 - 0.28; P = .001).

"Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population," the authors write. "We recorded substantial individual differences in the response of children to the additives. For both age groups, no significant effect of social and demographic factors was seen on the initial level of GHA [global hyperactivity aggregate] or in the moderation of the challenge effects."

Study limitations include inability to determine specific compounds in the mix that are harmful and lack of control over when the challenges are ingested in relation to the timing of measures of hyperactivity.

"Although the use of artificial colouring in food manufacture might seem superfluous, the same cannot be said for sodium benzoate, which has an important preservative function," the authors conclude. "The implications of these results for the regulation of food additive use could be substantial."

The Food Standards Agency funded this study. The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Lancet. Published online September 6, 2007.

Clinical Context
According to the authors of the current study, artificial food colors and additives have been shown to affect behavior in children, with an increase in overactive, impulsive, and inattentive behavior, (ie, hyperactivity, similar to that seen in children with ADHD). A recent meta-analysis showed a significant effect of artificial food color and additives on the behavior of children with ADHD, with an effect size of 0.21 to 0.28.

This is a community-based, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, crossover, food challenge study designed to examine the effect of 2 types of artificial food color and additive preparations (representing typical consumption of sweets or candies) on 3- and 8- to 9-year-old children.

Study Highlights
Included were 3-year-old children from nurseries, preschool groups, and play groups and schoolchildren aged 8 to 9 years from 1 city in England.
Teachers completed a baseline hyperactivity questionnaire for all children.
Dieticians completed a food intake report based on 24-hour recall to assess the amount of food consumed with food additives and coloring.
3 drink mixes were used to represent typical daily sweet intakes for children in this area.
Mix A for the 3-year-old children included 20 mg of artificial food colorings (sunset yellow, 5 mg; carmoisine, 2.5 mg; tartrazine, 7.5 mg; and ponceau 4R, 5 mg) and 45 mg of sodium benzoate.
Mix B contained 30 mg of artificial food colorings and 45 mg of sodium benzoate.
For 9-year-old children, the total amount of artificial coloring was multiplied by 1.25 to reflect higher intakes by children in this age group, but 45 mg of sodium benzoate was used for mixes A and B.
Doses for mix A were similar to those in two 56-g bags of sweets and, for mix B, 4 bags of sweets daily.
Children were randomized to 1 of 6 sequences for 6 weeks of mix A, mix B, or placebo.
Children spent a week consuming their typical diet followed by a washout period of 6 weeks.
During this 6-week period, children consumed the challenge mix and mixed fruit juices at home, provided in identical sealed bottles.
A separate masked test in young adults showed that the 3 drinks could not be differentiated by taste or appearance.
Parents completed a daily diary of juice mix consumption.
A global hyperactivity aggregate (with higher score representing more hyperactivity) was calculated, based on 3 measures in 3-year-old children and 4 measures in 8- to 9-year-old children.
The 3 measures used for both age groups were ADHD rating scale IV (for teachers), Weiss-Perry-Peters hyperactivity scale for parents, and the classroom observation code used by trained observers.
A fourth measure for 8- to 9-year-old children only was the Conners continuous performance test II using 4 scores and visual stimuli of 14-minutes' duration to assess hyperactivity.
The global hyperactivity aggregate was a composite of the tests used with baseline score standardized as 0.
85% of children were white, 33% to 43% of parents had lower occupations, and 82% were married or cohabiting.
3-year-old children (n = 136):
Mean age was 43.5 months, half were boys, 10% did not complete the study, and 93% consumed more than 85% of drinks.
76% had complete global hyperactivity aggregate data.
The effect of mix A was significant for increasing global hyperactivity aggregate score (P = .044), whereas mix B did not increase scores.
The effect of mix B was highly variable, with substantial individual differences.
The effect size was 0.20 for mix A.
8- to 9-year-old children (n = 119):
Mean age was 106.3 months, half were boys, 10% did not complete the study, and 75% consumed 85% or more of the drinks during the challenge weeks.
The effects of mixes A and B on global hyperactivity aggregate score were significantly greater than that of placebo for complete case groups (P = .023 and
P = .001, respectively).
The effect size was 0.12 for mix A and 0.17 for mix B.
Pearls for Practice
Consumption of a low-dose mix of artificial food color and additives is associated with increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old children.
Consumption of 2 different doses of artificial food color and additives is associated with increased hyperactivity in 8- to 9-year-old children.



Medscape Medical News 2007. ©2007 Medscape

Why I gave up the Emmy's.

This is the first year in I don't know how many years that I have not watched the Emmy awards. And no it's not because I didn't know they were on. And no it's not because I don't own a tv. And no It's not because I'm not an award show junkie, well, I was.
Excess. It's too much excess. Gift bags for presenters that near $10,000, attendees wearing Millions of dollars worth of jewelry, the party's, the food, the clothing.... All this so they can applaud for each other for DOING THEIR JOB! All this while some kid (lots of kids actually) was going to bed hungry. All this while another family is loosing their home to foreclosure. All this while America's best are overseas fighting in a war and dying and not having the proper equipment. But I'm sure it's all Bush's fault. And trust me,I'm no Bush fan.
How about instead of a night of excess these fine actors these actors donate their time, money, and resources to something that ISN'T ALL ABOUT THEM! How about the give that cute little golden statue to the fine citizens of America that work their asses off to provide for their families? How about giving it to someone who is living real drama, not just playing it on TV?
I might just throw my TV out the window. Seriously.

Painting clothespins

We painted clothespins the other day for our art area above the children's desk (see Homeschooling blog for photos). They turned out really great and not too too messy!!

A story, by Carter

A big crazy chicken who is following a path to a river and the path breaks and the chicken falls in the water.

Volcanoes

Carter has been quite interested in volcanoes for awhile now. We've read books, talked about them, watched videos on youtube (what a great educations tool, who knew?), and finally made our own! Thanks for my friend Sally for her creativity in the design (are you there Sally?).

This is a disposable plastic wear, upside down, hole cut out of center, film canister placed inside. Covered in play dough (we save it and reuse it every time), then you know the trick....baking soda, colored vingear....the MAGIC happens and volcanoes erupt!!

Fun, fun, fun!

More videos (yes, I know it's sideways, turn your computer around!)

yes, more videos and stuff of the kids. I dunno, it might be boring to you, but it amuses me :) First up. Skye ate a green crayon. I'm not sure how much she ate of it (maybe all ?!?) but she had the green teeth and THAT look (see video) afterward. Another adorable, must.not.forget. moment! I have to youtube the videos as my favorite (dropshots) is having problems with the new format ???




Second, Carter learned to swing this year! He actually never liked swinging before this year. Not ever. But now he loves it and can do it all by himself! Skye has always loved to swing.

Homeschooling

Ok, the poll decided, unanimously, that the preschool blog should stay. And Paul and Julie's suggestion of making categories is already in the works.

So, now on to homeschooling. Why homeschool? Well, the answer will be different for every family. For us, it's simply an extension of what we are already doing. It feels very natural to me. I want my kids to be passionate about learning and to be able to explore and learn subjects they are interested in. All that said, we are making a year by year decision. So next year, we will see. But this year, we are all very happy with our decision. I am a newbie in all of this, but it's a learning process for me too! There are plenty of other homeschoolers out there with much more experience than me, I hope to learn from them!

FAQ's
Are you using a curriculum?

Well, mostly no. We learn in everything we do. I guess if you must label us we are unschoolers, but I hate those silly labels. We are just doing what feels right for our family, call it what you like. We learn by living. Example; we might go to a planetarium and partake in a preschool show. Then we will go to the library and check out books on solar system. Have lots of conversations about planets, maybe color a sheet I've printed off. This could go on for days, or weeks, we could put the subject away and not explore it again for a year.

Socialization?
This one always kills me. Have you met my kids? They are EXTREMLY social. They can talk to adults and kids of ALL AGES, not just their own. Just because it's called HOMEschooling doesn't mean we are at home. We are at the museum, the park, the beach, the library, the store, the cider mill, petting farm...and on and on. We aren't tied to any schedule, other that our own! This fall we are taking a tumbling class with a local homeschooling group. We are in Nature Tots and library story times (which include circle time, fingerplays and usually a craft).

So, you think public schools are bad?
No. I think that many kids do very well in schools and my kids may one day too.

I can't teach my kids, I don't know anything about (insert math, science, foreign language).
We all learn as we go. I don't think I know it all, but I do know where to find the answer!

All that said, this has been one of the most difficult decisions for me to make. Never have I been more back and forth or have written more pro and con lists in my life!

So, here is our learning room (aka, our office). I have tried to create an environment that welcomes learning in a way that is easy to do, easy to clean up and comfortable for everyone.

This is not a sponsored message

I just love Penzey's and if you have one near you, you must go! While you are there sign up for their catalog. Every few months they send me one I can drool over and it usually has a coupon for a free jar of spice inside!

Don't miss spices from Penzey's
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysfours.html
the smoky is out of this world yum!

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscrouton.html
the possibilities are endless!


Go, explore your favorites, just go!

A visit from our Chicago family!

We had such a great time :) Thanks for spending the day with us, wish we'd had more time!!

(hey Adam, you made 'the blog'!!)

Take a Poll!

I added a poll to the top of the page. Please take it.

I want to blog about the homeschool type things I do with the kids. I'm trying to decide if it needs to be a separate blog or not. So, vote and I'll let you decide!

Also, after talking to my biggest fans ;) (you know who you are!) I've been inspired, so look for some new posts and so posts of a different nature!

Big girl

ok, who gave my baby girl permission to get so big?

Blog Dump

It's been awhile so here's a couple for Carter and Skye fans out there ;)

2 Videos

First up, Skye. I just love her 'moooowwww' instead of 'no'. And picking her nose, well, that's one to embarss her when she's older ;) I don't think the 'moooww' will last long. I've caught her practicing 'no' when mooow one is watching.



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Second, is teamwork! 'It's a lot of job' says Carter. I call it free labor ;) j/k, kinda! Skye loves to clean, give the girl a wipe and she'll clean for a half an hour. What fun!


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Pictures;
We've been busy canning. To wash the tomatoes I put them in the bathtub. Carter says 'I've never seen anything like that before!'



Yes, it's true. And I've never tasted anything better! My version of winter sunshine.




Finally, the kids and I walked the Mackinac Bridge. Well, sort of. It's the mini Mac and it's at DSC right now.


and another (better) picture from that day. We love this children's museum. It's the best for preschoolers in the greater area.




So, that's what we've been up to. Looking forward to fall. Staring new classes for the kids. Preschool home school, apples, cider, cooler days.....

Signs at (almost) 18 months

Well it's been 5 months since my last baby signs update. Here is our current list, she learned quite a bit in 5 months and added many, many more verbal words as well. Some days she'll belt out complete sentences 'I did it' she'll say. You just have to listen close, which can be difficult with a 4 year old big brother stealing the show all the time!

Blueberry
Music
Hat
Hurt
More
All done
Hot
Bath
Hi
Phone
Outside
Fish
Duck/bird
Elephant
Eat
Drink/Water
Nurse
Ice cream
Bicycle
Shower
Cow
Horse
Dog
Cat
Bear
Train
Ball
Balloon
Blow kisses
Flower
Book
Lotion
Measure me
Toothbrush
Bunny
Squirrel
Shoes
Socks
I Love You
Cookie
Turtle
Diaper Change/Potty
Peek-a-boo
Cry
Play
Banana

Points out body parts;
elbow
nose
hair
tongue
teeth
mouth
fingers
toes
foot


Her favorite word is 'MINE' and she's very much into doing it herself!
I think she knows more signs than her brother at this age, but I have no written record I can find :( so now you know why I blog about these things....it helps me remember! I'm working on video-ing this, I have very little video of Carter signing :(

I would say we are at our peak for the signing, as she starts to use more and more words the signs become less and less used. I remember two of the last signs Carter used were Thank you (on the Halloween he was 2 is when he gave that one up) and more (he still uses it when his mouth is full!). He still knows the signs and does them with Skye and with me, sometimes he'll make some up as well.

Carter is 4!!

Wow, he's 4! I wonder what sort of changes we can expect from him? He's so different from a year ago. Yet so much the same.
Curious and wonder surround him. Last night we took him to a magic show and he was the only kid asking 'how did you do that?'
He is very thoughtful, always thinking of others.
A wonderful big brother. He has such a special way with Skye. They crack each other up :)
He get songs stuck in his head (just like Mommy)
He loves books
He surfs the Internet (what Rescue Hero shall I get next)
He'll eat just about anything. And that of which he doesn't like he says 'Mom, I'll like onions when I get older'
He's a fish in the water.
He loves to do 'projects' with mommy and sis
He loves doing errands with Daddy
He loves his friends
He's an active, happy boy of 4. wow. 4.

Here is a slide show of the changes in my little boy in one year.
Last year's show

5 Things Meme

From my friend Angie's blog

I was tagged with this Five Things meme by Barb at Skittles Place.

List five things in your refrigerator:
1. Smoked fish from vacation that needs thowing away
2. Pizza from Saturday that needs thowing away
3. Hot Dogs
4. Ground beef for tonights dinner
5. Not much else, we are grocery shopping 2nite!

Five things in your purse or backpack:
(I only carry a diaper bag)
1. MP3 player
2. diapers and wipes
3. a few snacks
4. bandaids
5. complete change of clothes for 2 adorable kiddos

Five things in your car:


1. Crumbs (from food)
2. toys
3. cd cases (one for us, one for the kids)
4. 1st Aid Kit
5. Kid's emegercy kit (crafts, toys, markers, magazines, books)

Five things in the world you want to see before you die:

1. my kids having kids
2. anything
3. as long
4. as it's with
5. my family

YOUR TURN!

Carter on fishing

The first is his first impression of what fly fishing might be.

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Next we have him casting. He loved it. He really truly thought he might be able to catch a fish. We did not give him a real worm or hook, for obvious reasons. He's almost 4.

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Finally, I saw him doing this a few times. I thought it was because he was bored, but I found it this is his impression of Daddy's fly fishing.

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Our family vacation

Yes, I'm going to bore you with a slide show of our family vacation up north. We had a great time. We relaxed, rested, napped, swam, fished, played,visited with family, and just flat out had a great time! I love making memories with these kids! We were gone 6 days, 5 nights at Nana's up north cottage with one (rather large) road trip in there too. Videos to come soon!

Mid-July Garden Blog

Well things are growing and growing! I started a butterfly garden along the back fence. Only about 5 of my sunflowers took, so I started planting some very young, butterfly attracting, perennials along the fence line.










The vegetable garden is flourishing! One surprise was my red cherry tomatoes were actually yellow tomatoes. That's OK, the kids still love them! We ate our first green beans fresh from the garden today. Carrots and jalenpenos are growing! Paul and I spotted several cucumbers well on their way. The pumpkin is taking over! It's sort of just a learning plant for me, I don't know if it will actually grow a pumpkin! The other two squashes have several flowers but no fruit. I planted marigolds to keep rabbits away and it seems to be working! Yay!!



The herb garden has several new items; oregano, lavender (french and English) and I just planted some lemon balm today (hope it takes!). I love making salads and going out to get the fresh herbs to add to it! Yum!






The bulbs mom gave me have started to bloom! We have a beautiful red Glad and now a crisp while Lily! Can't wait to see what the third bulb was (I forgot!). And the hydrangea is growing very well!
















I noticed my morning glory has a flower on it, hope it gives me a good show tomorrow!






Notes for next year;
sugar snap peas for the kids
more stuff for kids to just pick and eat!


I have to say I love this journey of gardening! I never really thought I could be good at it. But I am, and I LOVE it!!

Making Mud Pies

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My Grandma

and her 5 Great Grands!

Guess what we did today?

MESSY PARTY!!

A bicycle built for 2

Garden Blog (mid-June)

I (almost) grew garlic. I think it was in too hot of a spot. We will try again next year. The bulbs are little, but still edible!





Good morning Pumpkin!




We have tomatoes!

Lessons learned;
must screen compost before adding it to garden, get the big stuff out
garlic does not like full sun, next to a brick house
only 1/4 of my sunflower seeds sprouted, will plant more today to celebrate summer solstice!
little rabbits can get though chain link fence, expect it.
I'm sure there will be more....

Michigan Steak Test

How cute is this?

To check the doneness of your steak, use the Michigan Test. Stretch out your hand and poke the center of the palm and if the steak feels like you're in Lansing, it's overcooked. If it's more like the area below the thumb, the steak is rare. Below the last knuckle on the pinkie finger, it's medium. Under the last knuckle of the ring finger, the steak is medium rare.

Thanks to Susan at the Detroit Free Press for that one!

Fireboat

We love the library, we really really love books. We visit our local library once a week, rain or shine,we are there. Always looking for new books to read, new adventures to go on. I saw this book Fireboat and I thought hey, that looks a lot like one of our favorites Little Toot. So we took it home. It wasn't like little toot. It a very sad book. I cried streams of tears just trying to get though it. Carter didn't understand. How could he? He wasn't even conceived when 9.11 happened. He is 3 years old. Explaining my sadness was difficult, but I was honest. And the book had a good ending. But still said. I didn't even know they made children's books on the subject, imagine my surprise! I think it would serve as a great resource for families and kids who were directly effect by 9.11 and maybe as a gentle way to approach the subject matter in an older child, a MUCH older child. This is one that's NOT going on my most wanted list ;)

Good morning!

Do you want to snuggle?

For papa

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The joke goes 'you can call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner'. Classic papa joke, reincarnated by Carter!

Questions and Answers

Wow, after so many wonderful warm days it sort of hard to go back to this cooler weather! So, we are a bit stuck inside today. Figures since we got our summer pool pass yesterday :) Anyway, I thought I'd take this time to catch up on some questions from my comments.

Angie said

You have a drinking fountain...in your yard?

I know, it's that cool! My dad salvaged it and I hope the kids like it as much as I hope they will! Paul and my dad put a lot of work into installing it!

My brother Adam said

Funny how papa took the drinking fountain OUT of our back yard when we were kids

I forgot about all that! Why is that dad? Good enough for the kids, but not for us?

My mom said

U forgot about the soon to be beautiful flowers from the bulbs I gave u.

There are no flowers yet! I think they said mid-summer, stay tuned!

Belle said about her garden

So I will email you pics.

Please do!

My mom said

This was hard. I can't even think in one word thoughts! Sorry about mistakenly compounded words.Love, Mom

I learned so much about you on this mom! Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Jane said

dreaming about newborns, huh? ;-)

I think it was my neighbor, she called me that she was in labor and I was anxiously waiting! No more newborns for me! I'm just waiting on my brother and sister now ;)

Shelly said

we had a such a fun time. sorry we freaked carter out with the sanders

It was too funny! We had a great time having you all visit!

Don't forget to check the flickr pictures over to the right. Click (twice) to get to my album. I'll be uploading the best of my pics there and likely not emailing them anymore. If you want one and can't download it, just drop me a comment and I'll get it to you!

The first sip

from the new outside drinking fountain! Thanks Daddy and Papa!

They grow up so fast!

Skye is already into mommies lipstick!

A summer cut

Garden snapshot ~ May

Everything is planted. The new vegetable garden looks great and quite happy with all the compost that I made last year mixed in! This year we are growing;
Jalapenos
Carrots (planted between the jalapeno plants to discourage rabbits)
Cucumbers
2 Early Girl tomatoes
2 Cherry tomatoes (Carter has claimed these plants)
Pole Beans
Patty pan squash
Summer crooked neck squash
A volunteer pumpkin (note to self, don't put pumpkin insides in to the compost bin!)




Herb Garden
Basil
Garlic (new this year!)
Lavender (new this year!)
Parsley
Chives
Mint




We practice organic gardening, which requires a lot of soil prep. It's sort of like painting, most of the work is setting up! Can't wait to see all the changes in the next month or so.

One word answers

It's only words.
You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.

No.
Explanations.

1. Yourself: tired
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): working
3. Your hair: ponytail
4. Your mother: hospital
5. Your father: stressed
6. Your favorite item: mp3
7. Your dream last night: newborns
8. Your favorite drink: water
9. Your dream car: minivan
10. The room you are in: office
11. Your ex: forgot
12. Your fear: death
13. What you want to be in 10 years? mom
14. Who you hung out with last night? kids
15. What you're not? skinny
16. Muffins: blueberry
17. One of Your Wish List Items: clothes
18. Time: 429
19. The last thing you did: email
20. What you are wearing: jeans
21. Your favorite weather: spring
22. Your favorite book: parenting
23. The last thing you ate: gum
24. Your life: happy
25. Your mood: bored
26. Your best friend: husband
27. What are you thinking about right now? fevers
28. Your car: impala
29. What are you doing at the moment? questions
30. Your summer: hot
31. Your relationship status: married
32. What is on your TV? nada
33. What is the weather like? hot
34. When is the last time you laughed? now

Your turn!

Look @ what we have here...

cabinet doors! And it only took 1.5 years! Thank you so so so much to D, S and Grandma K in kzoo for all of your hard work! And of course to Paul, you busted your butt this weekend getting everything done, Thank you and I love you!!

Blogging break

Is it that I don't have anything to say? Or maybe it's because the weather is too nice and we've been too busy playing outside and gardening and going to the park and re-meeting our neighbors? But whatever the case I've missed blogging, I will try to think up some good subject matter in the next week or so! In the meantime, here is some pics of the kids I took this weekend while we were at the LLL Conference this past weekend.





She loves to smile for the camera now!

P.S. your comments are my fuel, so keep me going ;)

Drawing mountains

Thanks Angie for this cool link! Your drawing is very nice! I wish I were so creative!


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The results of your analysis say:

You are driven and ambitious and tend to make radical moves to reach your goals.
You are a direct and forthright person. You like to get to the core of the issue right away, with few signs of hesitation.
You like following the rules and being objective. You are precise and meticulous, and like to evaluate decisions before making them.
You have a sunny, cheerful disposition.

Do you own here!

I call it Lunch!

Roman lettuce
Parsley (chopped fine)
Mint (when it comes in from the garden)
Green onions (all of it, sliced thin)
Carrots (sliced thin)
Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes (if I have them)
Chick Peas


Fresh squeezed lemon for dressing and that's all!

What is your favorite salad topping?

More on Spaghetti and Carter

Yesterdays spaghetti covered face reminded me that spaghetti was Carter's first favorite food. Here he is on his 1st Birthday, compare how much he's grown to yesterday's picture!

More on Carter

I mentioned how I love seeing life though his 3 year old eyes. So much has changed for him. Last year at this time he was just learning to ride his trike this year his 'owns it'. He is master of the neighborhood, riding that bike up and down, talking to all the neighbors. I just love him so much. He is so outgoing, such a quick learner, a charmer (all the girls kids in the neighborhood just love him). I love the way he get 'drunk' on all the fresh air he's been getting lately. He can stay outside for HOURS just riding his bike or playing in the backyard.
I don't know why I've been so reflective on Carter lately and not Skye. I think it's because while I know Skye is her very own person I've seen this age already once. With Carter it's all new to me!

That's all for today!