Pony Love

The outside of a horse pony is good for the inside of a man girl.

Egg Hunt, Lil Bit Style

We're going on a bear guinea nest hunt!
We're going to find a big one!



Oh look! some woods. Can't go over them, can't go around them. Gotta go through them!



Oh, look! Poison Ivy! Can't go over it, better not go through it! Gotta go around it!


Oh, look! A guinea! No eggs beside it. No eggs over it . . .

Gotta be under it!

A Post With a View (and a Soundtrack)

for Wordless Wednesday
(these are from Chris's backpacking/camping trip over the weekend)

My Little Climber

Adeline is going to give me apoplexy. She loves to climb. Before she could even crawl efficiently she was climbing stairs. (scratch that--Adeline never learned to crawl very well. she always did what I called the "skateboard crawl". She would be on her hands, and one knee, and push herself along with the other foot. It was very cute, but never very fast.) Now that she is walking her world has expanded, and so have the opportunities to climb on top of things. So far she hasn't climbed up shelves or anything like that. But she loves to stand on top of her sister's project table (a small picnic-table style). And her latest trick has been to wiggle out of the high chair restraints (the down side of having a pint-sized baby) and stand on top of the tray. So now I can't leave the room even to grab the phone--twice I have come back in to her giggling and clapping and squishing banana btwn her toes.

Memorial Day

Thank you. To all those who have served and given their lives so that I can raise my family safely, teach my children my beliefs freely, worship God without fear. Thank you for protecting each individual that resides here. And thank you to the families that gave those men and women the support they needed to be able to serve with such courage.

For all you have given I will be forever grateful. Every time Morgan tells me what she is going to be "when she grows up" I am thankful. My girls have the rare privilege of being able to choose anything they want to be. When I see Addie sleeping peacefully in the night, her little backside sticking up in the air and her wild curls falling over her eyes, I am thankful. Every time my girls lick popsicles on the front porch (or share them with the horse), I am thankful. Many children in this world wake up to the sound and go to bed to the sound of war outside their home, which doesn't allow for the carefree childhood I am thankful my girls have. Every time I go to the grocery and can purchase all types of foods, or go to the gas station and can fill my car all the way up, I know that is not a gift everyone has. Thank you for the fact that my girls can sit on their front porch and lick popsicles and feel safe. Thank you for the joy that gives me.

And it is our military that has kept us safe and preserved these things we often take for granted. Thank you to all of you who have dedicated your lives to protect us. And today, thank you especially to those who cannot read this because they gave all. Some I will never know, but my gratitude is no less. Some I miss every day of my life, but am so proud to have such a legacy behind me, to pass to my girls.

Thank you,
Meghann

My Little Streaker

A package arrived for the girls last week. Lil Bit was so excited. And Bitty Bit giggled and clapped because Lil Bit was so excited. My grandma always gets the cutest clothes for the girls, which this package was full of. And best of all (at least that evening)--it had NEW JAMMIES!

After baths, Morgan asked if she could wear her brand new nightgown. I had planned to wash it first, but thought "this is not a battle worth fighting" and late at night I make sure that it is worth it b/c the chance of her unangelic temper rising is directly proportional to how tired she is. Maybe she wouldn't have broken down in sobs and tears over the nightgown, but there was a chance. And, if we pick the battle, we must win, as any parent knows. With Morgan, this can take a while and leave us all slightly shellshocked. In her defense, she is always truly repentant afterward, and she is learning to get better control of her emotions, so the serious fights are pretty much in the past. At least until the teenage years--but I try to avoid dwelling on that, and focus on the fact that her determination and spirit will serve her well in adulthood. We call her our "world changer".

I digress.

Back to the story . . .
Morgan ran downstairs to get her new jammies out of the package, which I had left in the back hall next to the laundry room, while I finish getting Adeline ready for bed.

(Ever tried dressing a hyperactive octopus? that is kind of what it is like getting Addie into those footed pajamas and snapping them up while she tries to play a game of "catch the baby.")

After a while Chris and I realize Morgan is taking waaaay to long to have just run downstairs and grabbed her pajamas. Then we hear a noise outside.

Oh no.

Sure enough, there is my child--buck-naked--running across the drive to the car. (apparently she couldn't see the package sitting right there and was sure we had left it in the car.) Like any good parent, I shout out the window that she is not allowed to streak and to get her naked little tail back in the house. She just put her hand over her mouth and giggled uncontrollably.

Thank goodness we live in the country.

Blue Eared Pheasant--Our Newest Addition

The other day there was a strange bird roosting in our tree (ok, I think he flew up there to escape our dogs, who were definitely overly curious). You can see why I was slightly baffled by his appearance--never having seen a bird remotely similar. I searched the web for hours before I figured out what he was. (this is a good link )



Later he started hanging out with our guineas. His attractiveness stood in stark contrast to their, um, lack of attractiveness. Don't get me wrong, I love the guineas--they are a lot of fun and have beautiful feathers, but their faces leave something to be desired.

This is a picture of him walking in the field--his tail feathers have been damaged by something (I suspect one of the foxes that lives in the woods around us), but they will grow back. I think he had been wandering for a while and seems to have made this is home.

When People Drive You Crazy . . .

Just pin them in place using this handy German Shepherd(ish) restraint system. It is especially effective with young children.



(real story, just so you don't think my dogs are inclined to wrestle my children to the ground--Bitty Bit crawled under Pi while Pi was trying to take a nap--the dog is so gentle she just let her. and then decided Adeline made a nice head rest.)

PS the additions post will be monday. today was busier than I expected

Silly Hats

These photos are from last summer. But I just think they are cute of Morgan. Tomorrow I will be posting about the new additions to our farm (no, I don't mean human additions).

Bad Words

Morgan is my "angel baby." I have called her that since birth--and in so many ways it is appropriate. Morgan lights up a room when she enters it with her smile and energy. (She also has a very un-angelic temper at times, but we will ignore that part for now.) She is sweetness personified, and tries very hard to talk politely and treat people with respect. But, sometimes, curiosity gets in the way of the best efforts. (Just like the cheese from her taco bell got in the way of truly angelic appearance in that photo. I did wipe that off before her play.)

For Christmas, Morgan received a wonderful child's illustrated encyclopedia of horses. But, a recent conversation gave me a more reserved opinion of the book.

"Mommy, what is this a picture of?"
"That's a donkey, AngelBaby"
"Mommy, it doesn't say 'donkey'."

have I mentioned the child is quickly learning to read? just sometimes needs help pronouncing unfamiliar words.

"ok, sweetie, I will tell you how to pronounce that if you promise me you will never say it."
"why?"
"because it is a word that is often used as a bad word, even though it isn't a bad word when talking about that kind of donkey."
"Mo-om, I would use it when talking about the animal!"

I should also mention at this point that we were en route to her conservative southern-baptist preschool. I am quite sure they would frown upon any use of this word in the classroom. And Morgan has already requested, and received permission, to take this book to school to share with her friends.

"yes, Morgan, I know. but other people might be confused and not understand you are talking about the animal. So just don't say it. Promise?"
"I promise."
"The word is 'ass'."

I gave fair warning to her teacher, but luckily there were no incidents of the word "ass" during school.

Fast-forward about two days. We were meeting Chris for dinner at a pizza place in town and I had taken the girl's to the bathroom to wash their hands and such. Seemingly out of the blue, Morgan announces,
"I won't ever use any bad words, Mommy"
"I am proud of you, AngelBaby."

and then I had to ask (because mom's have amnesia sometimes, too),

"do you even know any bad words?"

you know what is coming, don't you? I didn't. Because she is my Angel Baby.

"I know 'ass'."

Wordless Wednesday

I think I will be participating in this from now on.
This picture needs no words anyways. Not sure what words you could use anyway . . .

Why Did the Guineas Cross the Road?

because they are stupid birds "who invent ways to kill themselves" (according to one article I read at least--which I would cite, but I am not sure where it was--I just remember the phrase because I thought it was so funny).
We let the entire flock (one person told me that a flock of guineas is called a "confusion", which would be appropriate, but I have been unable to confirm) out on Saturday for the first time. Prior to this, we had been letting them out by twos and threes while they were establishing this as home.

Let me set the scene. We live about 300 yards back from a main state road (just two lane, but fast speeds). There is a large field and then some woods before you get to the road. There are hundreds of acres of woods on one side of the property and behind us. There is a large field on the other side of the property. So, the guineas had PLENTY of room to wander freely and safely. What do they decide to do? Try to cross the road with the zooming traffic. Why? Because they have brains the size of peas and a propensity for doing themselves in.

We did get the guineas safely back on the main part of the farm before any of them were hurt. Honestly, I am not sure any of them even had the intelligence to be scared by their brush with death. Luckily, they kept to the woods and fields after that. Although one of them did attempt to pick a fight with Frank, our wild Canadian Goose that shows up once or twice every day. Frank was unfazed and the guinea decided to abort the mission at the last minute.

Applesauce Revisited

Sometimes God's greatest gift to mothers is their ability to forget. We let our kids get on bikes again, or jump on trampolines, or climb trees. Ok, maybe it isn't amnesia, maybe it is closer to denial: "of course it won't happen again!"

I gave Adeline applesauce again. Because I though, "she is three weeks older--she should be able to manage it!" Well, we had a minor crisis with Kallie (our chocolate lab) eating a snack pack of oreos that someone had given to Morgan--lots and lots of tears on Morgan's part and a lot of comforting on Mommy's part. Then I come back into the kitchen to check on Adeline and the applesauce. There is no spoon anymore, there is a container of applesauce being dumped over the child, who is looking rather impish.

"where did your spoon go?"

Addie just grinned and pointed at her seat. Sure enough.

I gave her the spoon back and she did use it for most of the rest of the container.

Just Doing What I Always Do

"So, I was just doing what I always do--collecting caterpillars--and I was getting leaves for them from the cherry tree . . ."
This is how Morgan entered the kitchen yesterday and started her narrative on how she fell off the flat bed trailer. But it took awhile to get to that part, as you can see. Once we finally got to the actual accident we had this conversation:
"Did you hurt yourself?"
"It hurts a little."
"Do you want me to kiss it?"
"Well, it's my bottom."
"hmm, I think I won't kiss that."

(and just in case anyone is worried about me not supervising my child and letting her fall off trailers and such--I did actually see the "accident" but as she stood right back up and continued collecting leaves and caterpillars I didn't make an issue of it)

Piano

Tonight Morgan and mommy had a special evening. One of the top pianists in the world came to our area. Tomorrow night is the main concert, but tonight was a special Children's Concert. Even with the abridged program, the music was enough to render even me speechless.

Lil Bit was alternately mesmerized and wiggly, sitting in my lap so she could see the pianists hands. She thoroughly enjoyed it, but said her favorite part was when the pianist mimicked on the keyboard an untimely cell phone ring.

Lil Bit has a Lil Attitude

. . . But she is sweet about it.

We ran to Target this week so that Morgan could pick out something she had been saving her money for. (A messenger bag you decorate yourself.) She paid for it all by herself and was so excited to get her own change and receipt!

Morgan got a little impatient while I was bucking the five million buckles that are involved in modern carseats (yes, that was hyperbole), trying to climb into her own seat (which was currently occupied by me). I said, "Morgan--wait two seconds while I get your sister in, then you can get in." Morgan sits down on the running board and I think she is actually waiting patiently. And then I hear it.
"one . . . two . . . three . . . four . . ."

The little stinker was counting how many seconds it actually took.

Bitty Bit really is

Today we had Adeline in an absolutely adorable outfit I purchased for her last summer. Yes, it still fits--how often does that happen the first year? She is over 12 months old, but this particular outfit is for a 6-9 month old.
And the pants just wouldn't stay up. She was walking around the house with her diaper showing and her pants around her ankles. Finally, we gave up and just let her run around in her shirt and diaper.
It was a relief to have her one year appointment--she is little but is maintaining her growth curve. Which is all we really care about.


My camera is still MIA, so I apologize for the lack of new pictures. I guess I will have to get out our old video/camera combination. The picture quality isn't as good, but it is the best I can do.

Stopping Traffic

Adeline and I did our daily drive today to pick up Morgan from school. Arriving at our destination early, we parked ourselves in the grass near the classroom and waited for the preschoolers to commute in from the playground. This line of traffic soon moved past us at a reasonable pace, with relatively few collisions or delays. Until Addie decided to merge, disrupting the flow considerably. All of a sudden there were backups and collisions all down the sidewalk. The newer model just doesn't move as efficiently as those with a few years of experience--her acceleration and steering leave a bit to be desired. I did eventually guide her off the sidewalk, onto the grassy shoulder so that traffic could resume it's normal pace and the little commuters could arrive safely at their destination without further delay.

Hyperbole

During a recent visit, I was driving in the car with my friend Diana and our girls. Lil Bit was fascinated by a local individual who owns lots of land (and puts his name on it for all to see). She said, "there is more of his land!" To which my friend Diana replied, "yes, he is everywhere." Morgan is a truthful child and was slightly aghast at this blatant lie. "Not everywhere Aunt Diana, just a lot of places."
This was a beautiful point for Diana to utilize her experience as a high school English teacher. "Morgan, that was a use of hyperbole. Can you say hyperbole?" Diana then went on to explain hyperbole and give other examples. Morgan quickly grasped the concept and started giving her own examples.

I had almost forgotten this little exchange until today in the car. "Mommy, can we put lotion on when we get home? I itch all over! Mommy--I just used hyperbole because I don't really itch all over, just a lot of places!"
Have I mentioned that Lil Bit is brilliant?


(PS as soon as I locate my camera, I will share recent photos)

One Year Check Up

Adeline had her one year checkup earlier this week. She is still our "shrimpy baby," but growing (this was a concern). She is 27 inches long (I think) and 17lbs 8oz. That puts her in the 25% and 5% for heigh and weight. This is a stark contrast to Morgan, our "tank baby" who was always closer to the 90% (now she is pretty average on height and weight but man was she big as a baby!).