Round and Round

For the record, I'm now WAY too old to be going round and round on top of something that is going round and round. I felt funny the rest of the day. But it was FuN!

Mr. Turtle

I give you Mr. Turtle.





Our loving pet for 10 hours on Tuesday.

He was welcomed into our home -- make that back deck where he hid under the grill for most of the day -- by Natalie and Lindsey who showed nothing but love for him:
Providing him with plastic tubs full of azalea cuttings for shelter,
plastic planter bases full of water for hydration,
and an offering of going to get him some Turtle Food from the store.

Mr. Turtle was set free to resume his very important life of
eating the dead dried up worms in our driveway.

=)

A NEW POST!!!

Okay, Okay, Okay!

I've had enough requests to put up a new post that I'm going to do it.
I've not intended to deprive my blog viewers of the last month (and a half!?)'s activities, it's just that we've been BUSY and I'm not so good at things like taking the pictures off the camera.
So, here are some pics, mostly in order, of our busy, busy lives the last month (or so).

Enjoy and Thanks for Reading and Asking!

We've been:

Riding Bikes

Riding Mechanical Bulls

Enjoying Sisterhood

Going on Real Dates

Starting Back to School

Natalie First

then Lindsey

Dancing

Trying to Break the Paci Habit

Practicing Hand Stands

Dressing Up (a Lot!)

Playing with New Friends like Mr Worm

Transitioning to the Toddler Bed

Being A Toddler

Turning 30!

Eating Popsicles

See you soon, I promise!

=)

A Not So Lonely Goatherd

When I was (barely) pregnant with Lindsey, my mom went to London. Not being able to choose a gender specific gift for the baby, she chose this:

The Lonely Goatherd from the Sound of Music

Push a button on his left front hoof and Maria's voice yodels away
as the goat moves his head and mouth.

He's been played with on occasion, mostly by older sister Natalie.


But today, Lindsey fell in LOVE...

The pair of them have been traveling the house together with enough renditions of The Lonely Goatherd that I finally put in the movie and let the girls get their first taste of the real thing:

Naturally, they loved it.


Thanks, Mom!

=)

We Love Bubbles

Yes We Do!

We Love Bubbles!

How About YOU ?

=)

Taboo?

let's talk for a few minutes about a really difficult subject:

Post Partum Depression

let's talk about how it can hit anyone.

and how you can not even know you had it until it's over.

how you can keep functioning,

going to work,

cleaning house,

tending to children,

even managing a night or two out of the house for a date.

but all along you know

something just isn't right.

your husband knows too.

everyone tells you how tired you look.

they have no idea how tired you are.

you spend so much time in bed but never truly sleep.

you blame the "funk" on the baby's schedule and sleep deprivation.

(goodness knows it's a contributing factor!)

you blame your husband for not understanding.

you blame the children for being themselves.

but never do you think you're "depressed".

no, that's for people who just lie in bed all day and cry.

you've been functioning.

(barely.)

sometimes there are sudden BURSTS!

mania, even.

when you get a task and you get it DONE.

nothing will stop you!

(depressed people don't do that!)

unless you can't for some reason.

and then the downfall...

oh, the downfall...

the tears...

the sleep that just won't come.

you wonder if these Baby Blues will last forever.

~

then Summer arrives

and after 20 months,

20 very long months,

you find that you're you again.

and it feels SO very good.

Free In The USA

On the Fourth of July, I raised the flag,
As I spoke with love and pride:
"I'm blessed to be an American," I said,
To two friends who stood by my side.
One was my neighbor, who lives next door,
He's a citizen, like me.
The other, a visitor from a hard, oppressed land,
Far across the sea.
"My flag stays in its box this year,"
Said my neighbor, boiling mad.
"The terrible shape this country's in,
The future looks nothing but bad.
"Taxes, scandal, indifference and crime,
On our land like a giant stain."
My visitor said, "We have all that, and worse,
But it's against the law to complain.
"My neighbor looked startled, but not subdued;
Then he started in on the Press:
"There's nothing but bad news; the headlines are bleak."
(It gets me down, too, I confess.)
"Our news is all good," said my visitor.
"It's just how you'd like to be.
We know what our government wants us to know;
Our press is controlled, you see.
"My neighbor spun 'round and marched toward his house,
And here is the end to my story:
The next time we saw him, he was out in his yard,
Proudly raising Old Glory.

-By Joanna Fuchs

Beach Pics!

Litchfield Beach 2010

(some of the) Cousins!
Courtney, Sam, Lindsey, Eva, Mali, Natalie

Natalie schooling Uncle Kevin

Natalie & her Kite

Wouldn't you love to have breakfast on the ocean like this every day?
Hannah, Chase, Lindsey, Eva, Emma, Mali, Catherine, Sam, Courtney, Natalie

Playing "Puff Puff" with her green "Puff Ball and Puffer"

=)

and we're

... back.

... doing laundry.

... trying to unwind from 10 long hours on the trip home.

... tan.

=)

Off We Go!

Happy Vacation week!

Sunscreen

Swim Suit

Book & Magazine


We're off to spend 8 days in our regular family vacation spot,
Litchfield Beach, South Carolina

This year, there will be 23 family members and there's usually a teenage tag along friend or two. We do split ourselves into 3 beach houses but for most meals pile together at one big table. It's such fun. Lindsey will be the youngest at 20 moths, and the Matriarch and Patriarch for this annual adventure are in their 60s. Never a year goes by where we don't have a fabulous time!