Cirque du Recliner

Just Younger Brother and Big Sis (not relatively speaking) enjoying each other's company as usual.

And this is what "nice" chairs in "formal" rooms were made for, right?!

Blue

Cutie Pie

This last week has been a busy one here on the home front! Hence the reason I have not posted anything since Wednesday. Sorry, I have been slacking...at least in the virtual world anyway. However, among other things, I had a photo shoot earlier in the week (something I always look forward to.) I took pictures of this little cutie when she was a newborn, and it was time for her 3 month session. She is so completely adorable, I just had to post a few of my favorites.

I mean, seriously. How cute is she?!

Makes my job like fish in a barrel!

:)

Backyard Visitors

Our backyard Buddleia bush has been buzzing and fluttering with all kinds of activity lately!

Of course there are the normal visitors, the bees.

And always a variety of butterflies...
Monarchs and Swallowtails especially.

like this Black Swallowtail

But we were recently visited by someone completely new!

A Hummingbird Moth!

These are the coolest little creatures!
They look and move exactly like a Hummingbird, only smaller, and with a proboscis instead of a beak.
Like a Hummingbird, their little wings beat so fast you can't see them!

*

So I slowed it down for you a bit.

:)

Upon closer examination, we determined that this is a

Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

(Hemaris diffinis)

*

It graced us with its presence for five minutes or so,
(plenty of time to grab my camera and quite a few pics)
before heading on its way.

I had never seen one of these before.

Too cool!

Sunday - Take Two

If you did not see my post from last Sunday, stop. Read, Riddle Me Sunday. Okay, now proceed. :)

What do the following items have in common?

A six month supply of Bisquick donated by Grandpa G

(as seen in the form of 25 scrumptious banana pancakes)

fresh picked blackberries

and almost one entire canister of whipped cream?

They all add up to,

SUCCESS!!!

...and some extremely sugared-up children! But who cares! It's the last weekend of summer...and those were some seriously good pancakes!

Lucky Duck

There is a new generation of lovee in our house. It began back before my blog with Big Sis and "Lambie," a Gund Satinee Snug given to her by her Aunt L. It continued with Little Sis and, the perhaps most infamous, "Puppy." (For a look back at "Puppy" click here.) And it continues now with Princess Aurora and "Ducky." She loves her "Ducky!" I couldn't resist snapping a few precious pics of the two of them before moving her to her crib at naptime today (shocking I know)...

It's a tough job being the object of affection for all this bundle of sweetness!

Movin' and Groovin'

Princess A has settled into her new found mobility with great enthusiasm!

In fact, it has given her the ability to explore all kinds of exciting things that were always out of range before...

like Mommy's reflector.

Which is not just great...

It's fantastic!

Congratulations, Princess A!

Look Who's Crawling!!!

At 10:10PM on August 15th, Princess A makes her first move into the world of mobility! We could tell she was so close. So we kept her up late to see if she would figure it out while we were both at home to witness it! Great Job Baby Girl, it takes skills to hoist that hiney up off the ground! xoxo :)

Riddle Me Sunday

What do the following items have in common?

Expired Bisquick

Orange Juice

...spilled on the table, down one table leg, and across the kitchen floor.


A Bucket Of Change


A Scripture


A Baseball Bat


And a Duct Taped Doggy Door



***



Not sure? Well let me tell you.

*

J had to work a freelance job for a local church this morning, so I stayed home with the kids. I decided I wanted to make them something special for breakfast, so I thought I'd hunt down the supplies for pancakes.

I pulled the Bisquick out of the cupboard only to discover it had expired. But not before being spotted by a very excited Little Sis, who was very upset that we weren't going to get to have pancakes.
*

In the process of consoling her and explaining that we would have something else just as yummy, I did not see Younger Brother pouring...er, attempting to pour...a sizeable glass of orange juice. Which spilled and spread it's sticky goodness all over the table, down the table leg, and all over the floor.
*

I cleaned it up and looked into the prospect of making scrambled eggs.
But there were only two eggs left.
Rats!

*

Plan B
Remember that Bucket of Change donated to me out of the goodness of the boys' hearts?
If not, click here.
Well, I set it aside to recycle back to them in one fashion or another.
And it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a treat and life lesson combined.
I had them dig out several dollars worth of quarters, and was reminded of the scripture:
"Give, and it will be given to you."
Luke 6:38
*
We talked about how, just like you are never too rushed to be courteous to someone, you never have too little to be generous.
And about the woman in the Bible who gave her last coin (kind of like the way they gave from their piggy banks) and that was worth more than the wealth of a rich man.
And (while we don't give because we're going to get something in return), the Bible does say, "Give and it will be given to you."
Therefore, I was going to take what they had given, and give back to them in the form of sprinkle doughnuts!
And let it be known, when you're 2, sprinkle doughnuts are straight up currency!
(Yes, we did talk about the fact that God provides for our needs, and that probably isn't exactly referring to sprinkle doughnuts. But the moral of the story seemed to reach home anyway.)
*
So off we went to pile into the truck for a trip through the Tim Horton's drive-thru.
Well, almost.
*
As I was buckling the girls in their car seats, the boys came running out into the garage, slamming the door behind them -
the locked door...to which I did not have a key.
*
However, we do have a dog door.
A weather proofed / sealed shut dog door.
*
So I had to use a baseball bat to bust through the dog door, in order to send Younger Brother through to unlock the door and let us all back in.
***

So, what does Expired Bisquick, Orange Juice, a Bucket Of Change, a Scripture, a Baseball Bat, and a Duct Taped Doggy Door have in common?



It all adds up to doughnuts, and a normal sort of day at the M house!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLL!

Younger Brother scored 4 goals in one game this morning!

In fact, the other team did not make it past half field when he was playing.

However, had it been "real" soccer, he totally would have had a red card before he ever got to that point!

:)

Can't Keep A Good Man Down!