Tuesday, June 12, 2012

meiners hearts

Yesterday it rained.  I sent the boys out to cover the sand box in case more rain came.  Meiners flew back in the house and deposited a plant in my hand. 


"Here," he said casually before racing back out the screen door.

I looked down at my hand.  There lay a stem with three pristinely shaped heart leaves hanging breezily from its end.  I sucked a breath in and let myself smile slightly. 


Meiners.

My all American rascally athletic rugrat who throws his arm tightly around my neck and draws me in for a morning kiss but chases out the van door with a thoughtless wave backwards in the school yard.  So intent to find beauty in his surroundings and to share it with his mom, yet careful not to stick around long enough to be thought sweet or nostalgic.

Meiners Heart.


Love.

Monday, June 11, 2012

SOMEone turned FIVE this weekend!

A little bit of cuteness celebrated a milestone birthday Sunday!  I remember my fifth birthday!  I wonder if she will remember hers...


The night before her birthday, I waited and waited for Sashi to finally fall asleep so I could dec out her room in the style the kids have become accustomed!  Two of the sibs were still awake and helped blow up and distribute the balloons!  I sure appreciated the help!

I left the doorway unfettered since the last time I paper~taped one shut Mr. T busted through it instead of the intended recipient (Meiners!)!  I also didn't want little Sashi to get scared or have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and have no way out of her room!  Taping the doorway shut may be an older kid fun-omena!  Taping up the bed with a distinct escape route was top notch for this five year-old!

Sash insisted we not do Bread Co in spite of our long-standing Sunday morning ritual.  She wanted pancakes.  What Momma could say no to that face?  Pancakes for a princess indeed!  And they always get their number, so I of course had to oblige!


Saturday Dad and the boys built this stellar playhouse ~ so that was the primary entertainment while Sashi waited for her cake I mean party! 


I've wanted one of these for the kids for a decade! How cool would it be to be little again and have this house in the backyard for hours upon hours of imaginative play?! Three of them played all afternoon in there, taking orders and answering phone calls!   Loved it!

Between playing and cleaning up for the family party, the kids decorated Sashi's birthday cake.  She wanted a cake with her face on it.  My friend Christi made a stellar RAINBOW cake last week for her daughter, so when I suggested this one to Sash, she was all smiles, and a birthday cake concept was born!

Oh man ~ I may complain about the details along the way (and I use the term 'concept cake' loosely!  Rosie sure makes it look easy on her blog!), but I loved the anticipation of eating this fun cake!  I have a few lessons to learn about fondant, but when you're five, do you really care if your cake has extra cracks and pleats?  Wouldn't Fancy Nancy just call that "unique enhancements?"  I think absolutely.  :)







Everyone had a chance to put something meaningful on the cake!  From her love of flowers and all things watering them, to her desired 'face picture' alongside siblings...to maybe even a few of those siblings' favorte things...Using the edible markers was a challenge, but we got the hang of it, and I really love how it turned out!  Wrinkles in fondant and all!

Sunday was a busy and fun-filled day for our five year-old super star!  Here are five of the top reasons why I truly think she is a super star!

1.  She is very responsible.  (It may not be fair to say the most responsible sibling, but it's true and life isn't fair!)  When you tell Sashi to do something, you can turn around, and she'll have it done!

2.  She is a hard worker!  This goes with number one, but not only that, she said yesterday, "I love to work hard Dad" and that is Truth.  She desires to vacuum like the big kids.  I vote we let her!

3.  She colors constantly and has a great eye for putting colors together in unexpected ways that turn out beautifully!  She loves to color with me, too!  (Except my color combinations are not as fun as hers!)

4.  She has a sweet tooth that just won't end, but she'll eat any combo of fruit, vegetable, or other to get her hands on a piece of the sweet stuff!  She's one of my best eaters!  (As long as I don't let her snack all day!)

5.  She is just the most adorable, squeezy, sweet, little cuddler and baby girl around and I love her to pieces!

Love you Sashi~girl!  To the moon and beyond!  Can't believe you're five!  I'm so proud to continue to watch you grow and mature and develop while being your momma!  God's got the greatest of plans for you! 

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  And yes, you'll always be my baby!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Frog Blog

The weather warmed up earlier than ever here this spring.  Combine that with a pool liner and a few friendly frogs and you end up with tadpoles.  Lots and lots of tadpoles.

Thousands of tadpoles.

Early in May, there were enough little swimmers in the water topping our pool that when you walked up to the edge a black curtain receded into the deeper waters.

Until the duck came. 

He swam around for a couple of hours.  Then when you walked to the edge, well, you only saw the bottom of the water.  We were pretty sure he was one stuffed duck.


May 31st we opened the pool.  But not before finding tadpoles ... hundreds and hundreds of tadpoles in varying stages of development.  The kids began a valiant rescue effort.

They dredged the liner for hours.  And when they were done and the liner removed, they swam in the old pool water to rescue the escapees.




To date we have given away 52 tadpoles for friends to watch them grow.  (You feed them spinach, you know.) 

We have released 36 frogs. 

And we watch and wait on about 300 more.




How many tadpoles do you think we'll have next year?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...