Just Another Day In Paradise

An afternoon at the pond.

 

To begin our study on ponds, I wanted to take a little field trip over to a nice pond area that I knew about. I wanted to the kids to see exactly what constitued a pond....murky bottom, lots of vegetation, and lots of creatures. It didn't disappoint.

 

 

 

We came armed with nets, mason jars (with holes poked in the top), and ziploc bags. We forgot our portable microscope though!

 

 

We saw lots of minnows, some frogs, butterflies, water bugs, squirrels, deer tracks, armadillo tracks, wood bees, wasps, pretty flowers, towering oak trees, and even a snake!

 

Stitch and I spent a lot of time attempting to locate some tadpoles in the pond. My intent was to catch some, take them home, and let the kids see them grow into frogs. I read that tadpoles are supposed to hatch in the spring. Obvsiously, they hadn't hatched yet because we didn't come across a single tadpole. Hundreds of minnows and a few dozen frogs....but no tadpoles. So we struck out on that front.

 

 

 

However, we did manage to catch some minnows. And we caught a frog to observe in one of our mason jars, but we released him before we left. Boo carried this little guy around like he was her prized possession.

 

 

 

 

Though our tadpole search didn't work out, it was still fun to explore the pond area. While attemting to catch a large minnow, I ran across a snake, a few feet out from the edge of the pond.

 

 

Boo was amazed at all the butterflies, flittering from flower to flower in search of nectar, and tried her best to capture a photo of them with her iPod Touch...they were just too quick for her though.

 

 

Daddy even managed to catch carpenter bee! Though it was a bit difficult to observe through the net, and we weren't about to attempt to get that thing into a mason jar, it was still neat to see up close. That thing sure wasn't happy after we let it go.

 

 

I urged the kids to grab a ziploc bag and collect a few items to tape into their nature journals at home. And I also urged them to observe the pond setting so that they could sketch it one day this week during school. Boo had a great time collecting all the colorful flowers.

 

 

 

Thumper just enjoyed the ride on my back....fast asleep for most of our adventure.

 

 

And tomorrow we get to fill out our nature journals, observe some pond water under the  microscope, and learn about the life cycle of a frog!

 

Happy half birthday, baby!

 

I honestly cannot believe that Thumper is 6 months old. How can it be that this little ray of sunshine has been in our arms for half a year now? Before I can blink, she'll be walking.

 

 

 

This kid is something else....so totally and completely different from our other two. For one, she never stops moving. She's busy, busy, busy. Stitch and Boo were more laid back. Stitch was always a high maintanence baby, but in the sense that she always wanted to be held and never wanted to nap. Boo, on the other hand, was pretty mellow. Thumper is a wake up call.

 

*For some reason, she loves getting up on her side like this.

 

I've never had a child who moves this much. Her legs are constantly kicking. We joke that she will one day run track. She always wants to be moving, reaching, grabbing. The other day at Texas Roadhouse, she darted her hand out the second they put my plate in front of me and managed to grab a whole handful of pulled pork. Baby found out it was hot! Five minutes later she pulled my glass of water into my lap. Talk about chilly.

 

 

She is totally intent on getting up and moving. At 5.25 months, she was army crawling. By the day she turned 6 months old, she had perfected it and can drag her little body around just as quickly as she can manage. She's up on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth. She's got places to go and people to see. She can very nearly get herself from all fours and into a sitting position. She's freaking me out! Slow down kid, I'd like to have a baby for a little while. Toddlers are nice, but babies are sweet and cuddly. Well, they are supposed to be anyways. Thumper has never been much into the cuddly baby stuff. It's a big world out there and there's way too much to do....sitting in rocking chair is too much of a time waster, I guess. She's got big sisters to keep up with!

 

*This is her "I-see-something-that-I-really-want-so-I'm-going-to-hurry-and-get-to-it-before-anyone-can-stop-me" look.

 

 

She's definitely a charmer though. She's quick to flash that smile at anyone who speaks to her. It's infectious and lights up her eyes.

 

 

 

Happy half birthday, baby girl! You make me smile and I love you to pieces!

 

Out of the mouths of babes.

 

Stitch: Mommy, what does spoiled mean?

Me: What do you mean? Use it in a sentence.

Stitch: Like, a grandmother spoils a kid.

Me: It basically means that you get whatever you want.

Stitch: What??!! I want to be spoiled!!!

 

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Newest member of the family....

 

 

This is Stitch's fish that she named Whirlwind (Skylanders, anyone?). Boo didn't want one. She's funny like that.

 

Whirlwind is a "replacement pet." Our little dog, Marley, had to find a new home. She's young, needs lots of attention, and just wasn't getting it. I knew she would be better off somewhere that she could be showered with love. With three kids, and homeschooling, and keeping up with life, she just wasn't getting the attention she deserved. Don't worry, we are not the type to ship out our pets unless we know they will be in a good place. If it came down sending her to somewhere unknown, we were just going to keep her. But my sister took her right away. Now, Marley is queen of her castle. She follows my sister around, goes places with her, and even sleeps in her bed. I'm sure Marley wonders who died and made her queen! So Whirlwind is sort of a replacement for Marley. Stitch just wanted a pet to be able to call her own. Whirlwind fits that description and Stitch enjoyed shopping for the perfect tank accessories and choosing the perfect fish. Stitch loves to feed him (her?) and watch him eat. It works for us. Whirlwind needs much less attention!

 

Now it's just old Chase as the main pet of the house. He's been with us since before Mr. Incredible and I were even married....nearly 12 years! He was our first baby and he'll be sticking with us to the end.

 

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Today we had Chick-Fil-A school. We packed up the school books and headed over to Chick-Fil-A for a day of schooling, playing, and a delicious lunch. Needless to say, the girls LOVE Chick-Fil-A school. And thank you Chick-Fil-A for having an indoor play area, decently healthy food options, and free Wifi. Those all rank very high in this mama's book!

 

Outdoors.

 

I have sat down at the computer for the past few nights, fully intending to type up a post, and have stopped mid-way each and every time because I get so tired that I can barely sit upright. I think I need to stop going to bed so late. However, that's the time of day when I get more accomplished....everyone else is asleep!

 

Since I can't seem to stay awake in order to write my blog entires at night, I guess I'll have to move it to the daytime hours. You know, when the kids are awake, running circles, and generally pulling me in every direction. Posts during morning hours may be a bit choppy LOL.

 

Since our Florida summers are so sweltering hot that we either (A) stay indoors, or (B) swim, we try to make the most of our spring time by being outdoors often.

 

On Friday Mr. Incredible took the day off from work and we headed out to the zoo with cousins. The weather was wonderful.....a little warm but nothing like summer will be.

 

 

 

I'm not sure if it was the cooler morning temperatures or the fact that it seemed to be "cleaning day" in some of the animal enclosures, but quite a few of the animals were up and about!

 

We got to see an eagle taking a dip in its pond.

 

 

 

We saw a red fox, darting to and fro around its pen.

 

 

We touched sting rays.

 

 

 

And we heard (very loudly, in fact), as well as saw, alligators creating....ummm....baby alligators. Ahh, the joys of seeing nature at its finest.

 

On Saturday afternoon, we trekked out to a state park over in the next town. Our primary reason for hitting the park was to do a photo shoot with my sister and her fiance, who are getting married in a few short months. However, Mr. Incredible and the trio came along for the ride as well. They kicked the soccer ball around and played on the playground while I did the shooting.

 

Sneak peek for my sister!

 

 

 

Weekday evening soccer practices have also been nice. Boo plays on the playground while Stitch practices with her team. Thumper and I hang out on a picnic blanket. And after practice is over, we all hit the playground for a bit before heading home to dinner.

 

 

No paparazzi please!

 

Yesterday, after an afternoon with cousins at the children's museum, the girls came home and headed out back to the water table. This is one of the best things I've ever found at a yard sale. It is marketed to toddlers, but my 5 and 7 year olds still really enjoy it.

 

 

We are really enjoying this Florida spring weather. I hope that some geocaching is in our future this coming weekend!

 

 

Leprechauns!

 

Despite the fact that St. Patricks Day was three days ago, I still wanted to post about the kids leprechaun adventures.

 

For the second year in a row, those little green guys have eluded us.

 

On Thursday the kids prepared their leprechaun traps. They created alluring houses, they made signs offering promises of gold coins, and even crafted together tiny beds for little leprechaun bodies....all in hopes of capturing just one tiny green guy.

 

 

 

The spoke in excited voices, wondering what in the world we would do with a leprechaun, should we capture one. They turned to me, questioning, and I just said with a smile "I have no idea what to do with a leprechaun. I'm not even sure what they eat!"

 

 

Eyes wide and smiles hidden, we crept outside on Saturday morning to see if the traps had managed to capture anything.

 

 

But those little green men are sneaky ones, I tell ya.

 

They had managed to bypass the booby trap, steal the fake gold, and make a clean getaway. However, every good Irish person knows that if you attempt to capture a leprechaun and fail, the leprechaun leaves a little consolation prize for his wanna-be captors.

 

There, beside the trap, amidst the leprechaun dust (glitter), sat some chocolate coins and a small pony for each girl.

 

 

Those leprechauns had left a trail of glitter and fake gold all the way across the porch and into the bushes. They were surely long gone, only to venture out on the next St. Patrick's night.

 

I guess we'll have to try again next year.

 

Queen of the Recliner.

 

Mr. Incredible and I are not the only ones who enjoy our recliners. During the day, they are overtaken by our trio of girls, including this little baldie, who has been working on her sitting....

 

 

 

The Vehicle I Was Afraid To Test Drive.

 

This past weekend we purchased a new vehicle. It was my idea....it was the exact vehicle that I'd been wanting with the exact features I had in mind....and yet, I made Mr. Incredible drive it off the lot during our test drive because I was too afraid I'd take out a whole row of new cars in the process.

 

A Suburban is a lot bigger than a mini van.

 

 

After 3 days of driving it, I'm pretty comfortable now. I did, however, park further out in the Wal-Mart parking lot this afternoon because I'm still afraid I'll take out someone's bumper in the process.

 

 

We have lots of room...it's very kid friendly. All three girls fit comfortably in the second row (even with Boo's ginormous car seat). Previously, Stitch and Thumper sat in the third row where the seats were so crammed together that I had to climb back there and help Stitch buckle her seatbelt every. single. time. Not anymore!

 

I'm not sure if you can tell, but this is all three car seats across the second row. The brown one is Boo's, the pink one is Stitch's, and you can see the base to Thumper's car seat right in the middle.

 

The A/C blows a lot better and cooler than our mini van did, and our pop up camper will now feel like a feather when we're towing it. And the seats are leather so we can wipe them off easily. We're very happy with our purchase!

 

The kids are digging it because now they both sit beside windows that they can roll down. Our van did not have windows in the back that were able to be rolled down. So they've spent the past three days flying their hands out the window and letting the wind lift them up. My poor, deprived children have never flown their hands out the window before this past weekend.

 

I also have all these newfangled gadgets where I can plug in my iPhone or iPod and control my entire playlist from the steering wheel. Awesome. That means less of a chance of my taking out small cars now that I don't have to take my eyes off the road to change the song. Always a good thing.

 

Thanks.

 

Yesterday afternoon, while stretched out on a picnic blanket watching Stitch's soccer practice, Boo turned to me and said "What's thanks mean?"

 

I gave her a funny smile and said "You know what it means....it means thank you. When someone does something nice for you, you say thanks to tell them that you are happy about it."

 

She paused for a moment and then said, "No, I mean the kind of thanks that you say to me when I've done something that you didn't want me to do."

 

I think I nearly died laughing. And then I had to attempt to explain sarcasm to my five year old.

 

Earlier in the day, I had been having a difficult time getting Thumper to sleep. When I finally did, she had only been asleep about 15 minutes when Boo let out a blood curdling shriek over something that Stitch had done. Of course Thumper woke up. And I probably said something along the lines of, "Thanks Boo....Thanks so much for waking her up."

 

Hence the question about the meaning of the word thanks.

 

I think I need to remind myself that sarcasm and young children do not mix.

 

Soaking up the Springtime.

 

Today was another perfect springtime day. We don't get too many of these down here in The Land of Scorching Temperatures, so I like to enjoy them when they are bestowed upon us. Usually our area bypasses anything even remotely resembling any type of springtime weather. We pretty much go straight from hot to hotter down here. That's why, on days like today when the sun is shining and the temperatures only reach into the 70's, I like to soak it up.

 

Upon waking this morning, I opened all the blinds in the house to allow the sun to stream in, opened the windows in the sunroom to catch the breeze, threw a picnic blanket onto the tile floor, and proceeded to declare a day of Sun Schooling. We did some grammar, ate some lunch, and read the Bible, all from the sunroom picnic blanket.

 

And this girl was looking all decked out for summer time, sporting her new sun hat and monster shoes.

 

 

 

This afternoon, Stitch had her second practice of the season. And if I do say so myself, my girl is looking pretty good out there! She took her first ever shot on goal today! Yes, it was only practice....and yes, it was stopped by the goalie....and I'm sure that no one else on the entire soccer field realized what a defining moment it was....but this mama did! My completely reserved little girl got control of the ball, dribbled it a few times, and then took her shot. I couldn't have been prouder. I can't wait to see what she will at her upcoming game.

 

Darn camera lens was acting up, but I just happened to be aiming at her when she took her first ever shot on goal!

 

 

And what a wonderful afternoon it was for a soccer practice.

 

The girls and I situated ourselves in the shade, stretched out on the picnic blanket on the sidelines of the soccer field.

 

Attack of the baby sister.

 

We watched sissy and silently encouraged her practice.

 

 

The playground was at our back, where Boo eventually meandered.

 

 

After practice ended, the rest of us were sure to follow. After all, there were swings.

 

And as you know, there's a brand new swing lover in our house.

 

 

**Okay, so I totally lied about putting up shots of the new vehicle today. I forgot to take them...but then I remembered as it was getting dark outside. I'll remember tomorrow!

Wild and Crazy Weekend (alternately titled No I Didn't Fall Off The Face of the Earth)

 

I'm here...I didn't get lost. I didn't go off the grid. I didn't forget that I have a blog. I've just been one busy mama who has begun to realize that homeschooling a procrastinating 7 year old, entertaining a just turned 5 year old, all the while caring for a baby and keeping up with other household duties is proving to be more challenging that I originally thought! My once clean home is not so clean anymore!

 

This weekend we hit the ground running each and every morning. It was jam packed.

 

Friday was Boo's 5th birthday. My little girl isn't quite so little anymore. I'm sad to see her baby years getting further and further behind her....but I'm also excited to see the little person she's becoming. Boo has such a kind heart and giving spirit. She's sweet, yet sassy in the same breath. She perfected the art of rolling her eyes as a mere preschooler and she believes with every ounce of her being that she really *is* a true princess. She's shy and snuggly and way too cute with those stylish red glasses that she picked out all by herself. Boo's been quite the fashionista from the time she was three years old, always preferring dresses over shorts and always pushing to choose her own clothes from the closet each morning instead of letting me choose them for her. She's every bit the opposite of her big sister, yet still her very best friend. It was cute to see Boo huddling beside Stitch while opening gifts, not wanting to be the sole focus of the show and needing her big sister to help carry the weight of the attention.

 

Boo spent the day of her birthday playing with a few of her favorite people...her cousins. That morning she awoke to our birthday tradition of a kitchen table decorated in her favorite theme and a breakfast of Sweet Sixteen donuts and chocolate milk. Of course, it was followed by a gift opening frenzy. That night, continuing in our birthday traditions, she chose her favorite restaurant for dinner....Texas Roadhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday was another full day of events.

 

Bright and early that morning, Stitch had her very first game of the soccer season. She played three seasons when she was four and five years old but took a two year hiatus from the sport. Now, at seven years old, she's decided to give it another go. We enjoy waking early, hitting the fields, smelling the freshly cut grass and feeling the early morning sunshine on our faces. It was a bit windy and chilly on Saturday morning, but we couldn't imagine spending it anywhere other than watching our girl kick around the soccer field. She may not be the most athletic out there, but she tries, and it's a great moment when her "fan club" is yelling from the sidelines and she flashes us that "I'm-shy-but-loving-every-minute-of-this-yet-I'm-trying-not-to-smile-about-it smile." Yeah, she's perfected that one.

 

 

After the game, we had a few hours before Boo's birthday tea party. Knowing that all good princesses love a good tea party, this is what she chose in celebration of her 5th year. In my opinion, it fits her perfectly. A tea party is just *so* Boo. Never in my life did I imagine that I would one day decorate a party in all pink and don a tea party hat to boot. Only for you, Boo...only for you.

 

 

Our candy bar, which went over *much* better than I expected. It was nearly all cleaned out by the end.

 

Good bags for the guests...pens/notepads for the adults and pens/pony for the kids.

 

 

Tea pots that I ordered specially for this occasion for an *excellent* price from here.

 

 

Most of the decor was purchased for cheap from places like the Dollar Tree, Michael's, and AC Moore.

 

The tea party was a smashing success. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more.....Boo, or all the grown women in attendance.

 

 

 

I mean, really, who wouldn't enjoy dressing up in their fanciest attire, sipping tea and lemonde in our sunny tea room, and talking in fake British accents while asking their neighbor to pass them a "spot of tea"? There was certainly lots of laughing, with the occasional someone (ahem, I have no idea who) foregoing all tea room manners as they waltzed in with a pot of tea and declared in their very best redneck accent "Hay y'all! Yew won't sum tay?" Yeah....no idea who that was.

 

 

Have I mentioned that I have the best family? Each and every person came dressed in their best tea party attire because that's what Boo requested. Dresses? Check! Fancy hats? Check! Feather boas? Check! Seriously....they are the very best. Every single one of them are always in attendance no matter what we are celebrating. Heck, there doesn't even have to be a celebration. They are just there.

 

 

 

They even played picture Bingo (no words or numbers since Boo cannot yet read) for prizes because the birthday girl loves that game.

 

 

Boo definitely enjoyed every moment.

 

 

Totally raiding the candy bar on the rare occasion that mommy didn't stop her from cramming in too much junk food.

 

Completely head over heels for these three girls.

Shortly after a few rounds of Bingo, we moved from the tea room and into the viewing area (aka our living room) to watch a 10 minute video of Boo that I'd made, all set to music, from the day she graced us with her presence right on up to last week. It was bittersweet to see our girl growing up on the screen, right before our very eyes.

 

Afterwards, she was generously showered with gifts once again.

 

 

 

 Publix did a wonderful job with the cake. When I placed the order, I had no clue that they could do princesses on a cookie cake. When they mentioned it, I totally went for it. I knew that Boo would love it, so I made it a surprise for her.

 

 

 

She shyly hid as everyone sang Happy Birthday. And she needed a bit of help from big sis with the candles...more out of shyness than anything. With Stitch having had two more birthdays than Boo, she's an old pro at this sort of thing and was happy to oblige.

 

 

In the midst of this crazy weekend, Mr. Incredible and I were snagging free moments to run around like mad, test driving, finagling car seats into a possible new vehicle, signing loan paperwork, and finally coming home with a beast of a vehicle right in the midst of Boo's birthday tea party. The dealership even let him bring the paperwork to me after he explained that we were smack dab in the middle of our daughter's tea party. So I signed from home and he brought them back of to the dealership. Now we're the proud owners of a new vehicle....pics of that coming tomorrow.

 

Today we managed to wake up in enough time to make it to the second service at church, then we did lunch at Chili's, and stopped by the park to play for a bit in this beautiful spring-like weather. Thumper got to experience her very first time in the swings and loved every minute of it. Smiles all around. She's way too cute for her own good.

 

 

 

While this weekend has been wild and crazy, we've had a great time celebrating our brand new 5 year old. Life just wouldn't be the same without this sweet girl!