Busy-ness

Sorry, no real post today. Chris and Meghann are heading out on a hiking/camping trip tomorrow morning with a group of friends and Meghann has been preparing everything for Chris's parents to come and take care of kids, horses, guineas, dogs, etc. But, there will be lots of pictures next week.

AND

Very important news for those who know and love Lil Bit. She came home today with a "Student of the Week" award for showing "the character pillar of caring". We are very proud of her.

A Bitty Bit of Independence

Remember the photo from yesterday? You know, the one with my fingerprint-y glass door that had a screaming child on the other side?

Those fingerprints bother me, by the way, I think I now need to go purchase massive amounts of Windex. Because, with two kids, I could go through a gallon a week.

Aaaand, Back to topic.
Bitty Bit was mad because she shut the door (that opens into the hall that has the stairs to the second floor) behind her and all of a sudden I was on the other side. She was really upset, actually. I would have felt sympathy, except this is pretty much a nightly thing. So, I took a picture instead. And then I opened the door.

Did she run to me, wrapping her arms around my knees, overcome with relief because there was no longer a barrier between us?

No, she did not. She did this.
Don't you love the little hand wave?

"that woman is still following me with that infernal camera." Adeline has a very advanced vocabulary for someone who doesn't talk. "Infernal" is one of her favorite words right now.

still going. you can tell how very attached to me she is, can't you?

hey! she's coming back! Maybe she wants a hug.

No, she just needed to make sure I was actually coming up to give her a bath and such. She hasn't figured out how to work the bathwater yet.

(In reality, Adeline really is very attached to me. She is completely a mommy's girl, and I treasure every moment.)

A Bitty Bit of Anger

No Longer Cute

Remember our adorable baby guineas? The cute little keets that we would carry around the house and tiptoed across my keyboard?


Well, they got bigger.
And, they started to smell bad.

And so as soon as they had enough feathers to handle not being under a heat lamp, they went outside. We kept them inside a large dog crate inside the guinea pen. This allowed them to meet the other guineas without getting killed by them.

And then they got bigger.
And I got tired of constantly changing the straw in the dog kennel because it smelled bad.
And so, as soon as they were big enough to not escape through the wire in the guinea pen, we opened the door of the crate and let them out. The transistion went well, the older guineas seem just fine with them and there have been no injuries. The "keets" are now larger than a pigeon and, while not ugly like they will be as adults, they are certainly less cute.
Here are some recent photos of them mingling with each other and the adult guineas.

See the "Pearl" colored guinea on the outside of the pen? (Pearl is gray with white pearl-like dots all over. It is the traditional guinea color.) Well, he is the alpha guinea, and is really hoping for an opportunity to pickk on those keets. Thus, the reason for him being outside the coop the first day the keets were out of the kennel.

We left one of the "Royal Purple" guineas in with them. He seems to be pretty patient with them, and they like staying close.

I believe I can fly!
Everyone sing with me now!
Ok, kidding. And guineas really can fly. Not like hawks or anything, but certainly for a hundred feet or more, and up into trees or on top of the barn if they want. Kind of like turkeys, or pheasant. Even these babies have sailed across the coop on occasion.


Here they are , planning a coup to take over the coop. hahaha. Get it? Of course you do, I am so very witty. Being married to an engineer really refines your sense of humor.

Commentating

I should have used my Media Communications degree. Not because I regret working in marketing, and then with horses. Certainly not because I would trade what I do for a career as a newscaster. Rather, I should have gone into sports commentating. Specifically, I should have gone into Olympic Sports Comentating. They apparently needed some better talent. Some of my favorites from the last few days:

Honorable Mention. During the diving, the "expert" commentator (some former female diver) made a beautiful, classy comment about another former female diver who was in the audience as a spectator. (read this sentence in the a rather snotty tone to get the true effect) "She's had two kids, it's just too much to ask for her to get back into athletic shape for this." Um, what?? I am not saying that there is not some validity to the comment. Having kids does change a body, and a woman would certainly have to work incredibly hard to get back into shape for olympic level competition in any sport. But it isn't impossible. And you don't have to be so catty about it! Geez.

Bronze Medal. Then, during the Women's 4x400m Relay, the last leg, USA and Russia are in the lead. The commentator is excited about these two women running so incredibly fast. But, "Epic battle" was a bit of an overstatement.
Epic is defined as heroic; majestic; impressively great (as in "the epic events of the war.")
was it a good race? Yes. Was it impressively great, one that we will be reliving, at least for weeks, if not for years? No. Not even close.

Silver Medal for best comment by an olympic commentator occurred during the men's Mountain Bike race. One of the cyclists was referred to as "a manimal!" Wow, a manimal? Remind me to stay away from him. And from you, Mr Commentator, because you are scary.

And the Gold Medal (or maybe we should award him a Script Writer) for worst comment during the Olympics (at least, worst one heard by Meghann) goes to the commentator who made this statement about two Chinese athletes who were fighting head to head in the Gold Medal match. "It is the Mongoose versus the Cobra!"
Exciting, no? I mean, that sounds like a true epic battle, right?

Well, I will let you decide. Here is a shot from the match.



Well, crud, that photo is actually from the women's match. But I am sure they were like a Mongoose-ess and a Cobra-ess.
Here is the Mongoose (or maybe the Cobra--I was so caught up in the match I lost track of who was who)

You can't beat Ping Pong table tennis athletes for fierceness. Or something like that.

Fail Math With Dignity

With an engineer Daddy, these better not be answers that are ever on the Bits' math tests!

There are few emails that truly make me crack up, but this was one of them--Thanks to Molly for passing it along. (If you have trouble viewing any of the images, just click on them to enlarge.)

no, the correct response is "Bond, James Bond".

This next one is a philosopher.

I think this person failed both math and art!

I hope this next person had a male teacher, or he might have failed the whole class instead of just this test!

Make sure you read the problem and then the answer. (what are his parents teaching him??)

At least the teacher saw the humor in it as well!

Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one the funniest.

Hay You!

Last weekend we finally got our hay. For those who care, these are 1000 lb bales of net-wrapped orchard grass. They are really nice quality and we are happy with them. (we also have square bales in the barn.) Lil Bit loved climbing on the hay bales and then helping push the rolls off the trailer.
She looks right at home up there, doesn't she?


And now for the real action:



Kallie and Pi hung out supervised while everyone else worked.

She Works Hard for Her Money

actually, we don't pay her. free child labor--the best part of parenting.

Cicadas

They have invaded our fine state. In the evenings you can hear them (and pretty much nothing else!). They are great fun, especially for Lil Bit (I swear this was her idea--I just took a picture of it). The cicadas have left their shells everywhere, exchanging them for their adult bodies. It is apparently very fun to attach them to my shirt while I am not aware (of course, Morgan isn't exactly the model of stealth).



and then, a short aside. A man is attempting to get the phrase "In God We Trust" removed from the US currency. Please read the article on MSNBC
and then share your opinion. Of course, this will have no bearing on the court decisions, but I think it is important that we share where we stand.

(I promise that this shall not become a blog simply to assert my political views. Although it is a personal blog and I hope you don't mind me sharing things that I think are important from time to time. Back to our regularly scheduled lighthearted and nonsensical posting tomorrow!)

Of Course I Can!

My little sister sent this to me yesterday and I cracked up because canning and freezing has consumed my days lately. And, while I haven't really been thinking along patriotic lines while I destroy my skin and nails peeling tomatoes and such, I am proud of what I have accomplished. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I just go open up my pantry or freezer and stare at what I have accomplished. So little of what I do during the day has tangible results. I vacuum and mop, but the floors are dirty again shortly thereafter. I do laundry (the bane of my existence), but people keep putting more dirty clothes in the hamper! And I parent--which is the most precious, wonderful thing I do--but the effects are, while beautiful and definite, hard to pinpoint some days.
But the food I have worked so hard to store (while my house slowly descends into chaos) is there, is tangible (at least until we use it up). And somehow, I have felt a connection again with my grandma, Mimi, who never forgot her Southern depression-era farmgirl roots. ("don't waste that! it still has vitamins in it!") And I wish she were here to help me master this, or at least that my family would find her recipe box (slackers!). (kidding of course) Either way, I am enjoying this new skill that, although a lot of work, is also a lot of fun.

Driving Lessons

I am going to be spending the entire day freezing tomatoes (if you don't believe me, you should see the piles of tomatoes on my dining room table--we haven't eaten there in days), so I am just going to leave you with a series of photos from Morgan's first driving lesson. Don't worry, she never left our driveway. Of course, our driveway is 300 yards long.




PS look at the profiles--think Morgan looks just a bit like her Daddy?

Someone Kidnapped the DR.

So some of you know how much I enjoy insanity Dr. Pepper. Even though I would replace my entire caloric intake with Dr. Peppers (if that were healthy), during the course of a typical week I will only drink two to three (more on stressful or rotten weeks). I like Dr. Pepper so much that I even enjoy the Dr. Pepper impostors, you know the lot:

Mr. Pibb (I am going old school with this picture, 1990's I believe)

Dr. Thunder (for the budget conscious)

This past Sunday I got my customary Dr. Pepper but for some reason only drank a quarter of it, so I stored it away in the bottom of the fridge for later refreshment. On Tuesday evening I got home from work and for some strange reason was really craving a Dr. Pepper (I hardly ever drink caffeine in the evening). I was craving the wonderful flavor, the beautiful tingle as it slides down your throat, the prickling and tickling of your tongue. To say the least I was salivating like a dog by the time I opened the fridge…and it was missing. After a short inquisitive search I discovered who kidnapped and drank my Dr. Pepper…Meghann!?! Alas, living in the country you don't just pop over to the store to get another one...so I did without.

P.S. In Meghann's defense she had a very rotten day and needed a pick-me-up.

How Is That Comfortable??

aka Breakfast at Tiffany's with Adeline
aka How Do You Eat Your Cheerios?

I Didn't Miss You at All!

This was the greeting I got when I picked Morgan up from her first day of school. I love the tact of a five year old.


She was a little apprehensive prior to the bus arriving, and I offered (again) to drive her for her first day. "No, Mommy, I want to ride the bus, but I will miss talking to you on the way to school." So, I offered to pick her up, which she accepted. I am grateful for those moments where she is still only five and still needs her mom. The first day of school is bittersweet for all moms, and I am no exception. I will not delve into the details of it because those of you who have experienced it know exactly what I am talking about, and those who haven't probably don't really want to listen to me ramble on.

The day started out with Morgan appearing in our room while Chris and I were still groggy-eyed and sleepily pulling on our clothes. In contrast, she was bright, chipper, and fully dressed. I am not a morning person, never will be, but I fake it pretty well for the sake of my children. (Chris on the other hand finds it highly amusing to tease me early in the morning when I am rather defenseless, resulting in a slightly insolent Meghann.) Morgan had a healthy breakfast of Lucky Charms. Kidding! She had two eggs, some toast, and a glass of milk. (I promise, Mom!)

Then it was time to walk down to the end of the drive.


First she said goodbye to the horses, then we headed down to await the bus.


Morgan's cat, Charlie Chaplain, went with us. I am pretty sure he wanted to wish his girl good luck.

When the Bus came, Morgan got on it without a look back and I went for a run with Adeline (who was in a stroller, of course) and our shepherd mix, Pi. It seemed like a better alternative than moping (moping as in "feeling sorry for myself" not mopping as in "cleaning dirt and old cheerios off my floor"), and my figure could use a little extra calorie burning.

After school, I picked Morgan up and she came to the lobby bouncing and glowing and happy as she could be.
"I'm sorry, Mommy, but I didn't miss you at all because I was too busy having fun."
In all honesty, I was glad to hear those words and there was no sadness to taint it.

PS I have updated yesterday's post to answer the question of which flower it was.

Guess This Flower

And the answer is . . . OKRA! The most common guess (some of my friends and family are bad at commenting on the blog!) was squash, which also has a beautiful flower. Brinly got it right on, but Ripley F also came closer than I realized until I read this page where the Latin Hibiscus esculentus L is mentioned as a synonym for okra. Thanks, Ripley--I learned something today! One day maybe I will be able to give prizes for these games, but sadly, not yet.

I know, you were expecting some big "first day of school" post today, weren't you? Well, that will come. But not today; mostly because, if I were to wait until I had all the facts and knew how the day went, I wouldn't post until midnight. And I don't want any of you to go into withdrawals from not being able to read one of my posts, forcing your family to see your addiction, form an intervention, and then block you from reading my blog in the future. What? It could happen. OK, maybe not--but I do like to think at least a couple of you look forward to reading my posts!

So, onto the real point of this post . . .
Name this flower. I will be surprised if even one of you gets it. You can post your guess in the comments section. Or, you can email me, call me, IM me, use a telegraph, send a carrier pigeon, show up at my house--whatever means you choose. (I will warn you, if you show up at my house, you will likely be put to work creaming corn or freezing tomatoes or putting away laundry.)
Hint: it is likely a plant you are familiar with, although you might or might not have actually seen one.
Second Hint: the plant is not known for its flower, but for something else entirely. (I just happen to think it has an incredibly beautiful bloom and wanted to share it with you.)

Properly Accessorizing Your Kindergartner

School isn't about your child learning or making friends or growing up. Heaven's no! Who told you that?? School is about making sure your kid is the best dressed one in the class. And what better time to show off her style than in the lunch room?

I bought Lil Bit this walmart bargain high end designer lunch bag. I mean, how cute is that??? Who cares if she reads or does addition and subtraction? The important thing is that she looks good, right? Right??

for more tips on "Fighting the Frump" visit Fussypants



Disclaimer: I am not really this shallow! We are so excited about Morgan's first year at school (I am a little sad, too). Learning is definitely the most important thing, I promise. (hey--her dad is an engineer! she must be smart!) But I did think this insulated lunch bag was super-cute. And I did get it at Walmart--I think it comes in teal and brown and pink and brown as well--Lil Bit picked out this combination because she thought it was "sharp" (a phrase she learned from Moppy).

Sunglasses

A guest entry by "Moppy" (Meghann's mom) about a recent trip to a nearby amusement park.

Here's my sister, Morgan, reading a book on the way to the amusement park. Doesn't she look spiffy in those sun-glasses!

I wonder if I could try them on. Let me see how they work.

Daddy, can you help me, please? And hold Morgan off-- I want to get the hang of these!

Is this how they go? Maybe not.

Now I have it! Wow, I look good in them, too!

Wordless Wednesday--Back to School

Reminiscing . . . School Days

Lil Bit starts kindergarten next week. As all parents are, I am blown away by how fast the time has gone. I feel like I must have somehow missed something, even though I am so lucky to stay at home with my girls and am able to be there for every milestone, every bad day, every "kicking my feet happy" moment (a "Morganism" I adore).

So, you will have to bear with me as I fall victim to the sappy, where-did-the-time-go reverie that befalls all parents. Come monday, I might need phone calls. And cafe mochas. Half-caf, skinny with whipped cream. Hey--friend -who-works-at-Starbucks, hear that? (yeah, I have a friend who works at Starbucks. aren't you jealous?? don't tell her, but that is the only reason I like her. well, that and she has the same slightly-off sense of humor as I do. and she likes the Count of Monte Cristo and camping.)

So, while I am the midst of this deep depression that can only be cured by cafe mochas and muffins, please stroll back in time with me for a moment.

Lil Bit's first day of preschool. She was only two, but so very ready--evidenced by the fact that she never shed a tear.





And here she is the last day of preschool . . .



My job is to "work myself out of a job" and I enjoy watching Morgan becoming her own little person. Next week, I will post pictures of her first day. If someone brings me that beautiful combination of chocolate and coffee.

Lil Bit of This, Lil Bit of That

Cooking with the Bits--always an adventure.


Last night we made marinara sauce from the tomatoes in our garden. It took between 50 and 60 tomatoes to make one pot (most of them were Romas). It was a lot of work, but it was really yummy!

First, we removed the skin from the tomatoes. The easiest way to do this is to drop them into boiling water for about 30 seconds to one minute.


Then pull them out and drop them in ice water. (Mommy did these steps) The skins just come right off!



How many tomato seeds do you think Adeline got in her hair?


Then, we cut the tomatoes (Mommy did this part, too) and squeezed all the juice and seeds out, so all we had left was the fleshy part of the tomato.



Meanwhile, we sauteed some onions and garlic (that garlic press can be rather difficult!)and our "top secret ingredient"



Carrots.
(Meghann here: Yeah, I know, it sounds wierd. It is something I stumbled across kind of by accident. The first year we were married, Chris's mom was battling cancer. As part of her fight, she ate incredibly healthy. Some of it didn't seem appealing at all to me, but she made this spaghetti once that honestly looked terrible. It was kind of orange. But, I tried it and lo and behold! it was amazing. So naturally sweet. The carrots gave it both the color and the sweet flavor. Ever since then, I have used them in my sauces (not to the point where my sauces are orange, mind you) and have always gotten rave reviews. And, it is obviously good for us, as "Mama" is still here with us!)

Anyway, Mommy usually dices them up pretty fine--I am not allowed to do that part yet because I can't use a knife that sharp--and tosses them in with the onions and garlic.
Then I added the tomatoes and stirred.


At this point, the seasoning is really an individual thing. This time we used a bay leaf and italian seasoning mix. Sometimes we throw in squash, pepper, mushrooms, and other vegetables. Other times we serve it with italian sausage. Mommy sometimes makes meatballs.

That is pretty much it. We didn't add any tomato paste or anything like we do when we are using store bought tomato products, so this was a little thinner than other sauces. But it tasted great!