A trip to Papa's house

Thank you everyone for your prayers and good thoughts. My Mother in law seems to be improving, although she now has pneumonia to deal with and we aren't sure exactly what happened. She wasn't stable enough to do an MRI this weekend so it's a bit of a guessing game, slight heart attack, small stroke those are the things it points to. Husband is on his way home tonight, stuck with a delay halfway here.

Saturday Bug and I took a trip to my dad and step-moms house. They live on 170 acres and have sheep, goats, chickens, peacocks, and a very friendly cow. Needless to say Bug loves to go there, it is an absolutely beautiful place with creeks and ponds and so many things for a little boy to get into.

My dad and Bug are two peas in a pod. They get along famously and Bug never wants to come home. Dad, Bug and I took a walk to see the new baby lambs, one pure white and one colored like a Holstein cow. I couldn't get very close to get a good picture as the momma was pretty scared of us.

My parents dog, Hannah, is an Irish terrier.

It's their second Irish terrier since their first one, Riley, had to be put to sleep last year. I did this wordless Wednesday post featuring Hannah trying to kiss Fernando. She is an awesome dog, and she loves Bug. She followed him around and tried to kiss him too. She also tried to catch the frogs in the pond, with no luck.

Bug had fun fishing out the Lemna minor (the green stuff on the top of the pond).

I know the name of these plants only because my parents owned a native plant nursery for many years. They now sell organic produce on their small farm.

Here's a picture of Hannah playing with their cat, Macho.

I love going there and seeing them. I wish I lived closer so that I could see them more than once every other month.

The older I get the more I want my family close to me. Hannah must feel the same way, I got almost all the way down their mile long driveway only to see Hannah running as fast as she could to catch up to us. I got out of the car and sternly told her "Go HOME!" She just stood there, wagging her tail at me. As I jumped in the car and started backing up the driveway she happily trotted in front of my car. Finally my dad came around the corner on a four wheeler and she decided it was in her best interest to go home.
Bug brought home many treasures. Here is his favorite find from Papa's house.

Know what it is?

Frog eggs. We have them in a bowl and are watching their growth every day.

He also found this baby peacock feather...

It looked better before the dog malled it. And he plucked this fungi (Turkey tail) off of a dead stump.

We never leave empty handed!

Bad things come in three???

Great that means I'm due for one more before this wave of bad news ends.
I asked for prayers and good thoughts for a family member a few weeks ago.
Now I need to ask for more. Yet another person, my mother in law, is in the hospital.
They think she had a stroke, but aren't positive at this point. Normally my in-laws live down the road from us, but every winter for the past three years they have gone south in their motor home. Spending six or more months in a drier, warmer climate.
This morning we got news that the night before they were set to come home, she couldn't be woken up and an ambulance had to be called.
Catching the first flight they could, my husband and his brother have rushed down to see her.
So, if you can spare some more good thoughts and prayers, send them our way.

This Boy of mine

This very sensitive boy of mine.

Bug is and always has been very sensitive and I am at a loss at how to help him.

Yesterday when I picked him up from daycare we were walking to the car and had this conversation.

Bug: D and J were making fun of our car.

Me: Oh? What were they saying?

Bug: Well we were looking out the window and they said "There's your moms car" and I said " That isn't my mom's car" and they just kept saying that it was but it wasn't.

Me: Well that really isn't making fun honey, they were just mistaking someone elses car for our car.

Bug: I just went and hid from them.

Me: Why did you do that honey?

Bug: I didn't want them to see me cry.

Me: AT A LOSS FOR WORDS

I really wasn't sure how to proceed. I tried to explain that I'm sorry he felt frustrated by what they were saying, and tried to encourage him to just change the subject and not worry about that they were wrong.

This is just one of many instances when he has gotten easily upset over something another kid has said to him. It isn't just children either, it happens with me and his dad too.

I want him to feel confident and be able to stand up for himself. I want him to be able to brush things off.

He had a ten minute melt down at daycare the other day because he forgot to go to the window and wave to me. I waited for as long as I could for him to get there, but I had to get to work so I left without him waving. I thought he was distracted with playing and would be fine.

He was so upset that the teacher couldn't console him.

Breaks in routine, being caught off guard and getting frustrated seems to send him crying.

Please tell me it is a stage and he will grow out of this. My heart hurts for him and I want to make it better.

The invasion has begun.

The normal spring time invasion of mice is here.

This weekend I was getting ready to mow the lawn when I noticed my dachshund running around the grass catcher on the lawn mower. He was barking and biting at the bag.

I called for hubby because I knew what was in there and I don't deal well with small rodents.

He unhooked the bag and dumped it by a brush pile.

Sure enough two very drowsy mouse fell out on the ground, along with their nest.

Hubby exterminated them, I didn't watch.

I hate mice, but I can't see them killed either.

Then yesterday I heard my great mouse hunting dog yapping very excitedly outside.

I went out to see what he was doing and found both dogs, under our truck, their heads crammed up into the engine compartment, tails wagging excitedly.

More mice in the truck, lovely.

A couple years ago my husband found the air cleaner compartment on my car crammed to the brim with dog food. Inside old planters stored in my garage I found more dog food, it filled an eight inch pot full.

One year we caught five mice in my husbands show car, where they crammed yet more dog food up inside the drivers seat. You should have heard my husband as he removed the seat and shook out the dog food. I've never heard so many four letter words.

It's all part of living in the country. For now we have kept them out of the house, but now the dachshund is barking at the RV......

Can you overdose on Jelly beans?

I wish there was a limit on Jelly beans.... I wish they came with a warning. Something like "If you eat over ten you will explode in ten seconds" This might keep me from eating the whole bag.

We had the usual Pacific Northwest Easter. It rained and it drizzled and rained a little more. But we are used to this and have accepted Easter as a soggy holiday.

Bug got a cool basket full of an assortment of car and dinosaur toys.

He wanted to go hunt eggs right away but the Easter bunny wasn't up to hiding eggs while it was pouring rain.... so we had to wait until it was only drizzling.

We learned a couple years ago not to hide the real eggs on the ground.

Angel says... "I promise I won't eat any more eggs... I swear they will be safe on the ground"

Now we only put the plastic eggs on the ground.

All real eggs get a nice high spot to sit.

Bug has to use his monkey skills to get them all.

Yes, I know the fence needs painted.


Please ignore all of the moss ..... and black streaks. I think it gives it character. At least that's what I tell myself.

He found all the eggs just before it started to pour again.

Then we went to town and watched "Horton hears a Who"

Hubby took us out to eat so I wouldn't have to cook. I love it when I don't have to cook.

I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing holiday.

Adventures in Gardening

This past Fall my dad and step-mom gave me a small greenhouse that they no longer needed. The only problem was that it wasn't assembled, it was in many small pieces and there were no directions on how to put it together.

A few weeks ago Bug and I set out to put it together. We did a really good job, we only have a few "left over" pieces. Bug was a huge help, as I was steadying the frame he would go grab the pieces I asked for and bring them to me. We staked it down and patted ourselves on the back.



Then last week we had a bit of a storm and this happened........

Poor Bug, he was really disappointed. Luckily we didn't have any plants in it yet!

With a little more work we got it back into position.

We added some of these jugs filled with water to hold it down.

Bug was ready to plant some seeds but we had to wait until the next day. The next morning he ran into my room and the first thing out of his mouth was.. "I'm sooooo excited to plant some seeds today!"

So we planted a variety of veggies and flowers. It's amazing how warm it stays in there, let's just hope the plants survive the rabbits and deer this summer. Who said gardening wasn't exciting? Yes, I'm a complete dork.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Kiss me you Cow!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts click HERE.

Another one of my hair brained ideas...

Sometimes it's just better to laugh at yourself. I gave myself an opportunity to do just that this weekend. It's laugh or cry... so I choose to laugh.

I feel the need to give you some background before I tell you the funny stuff. When I was young my hair was blond, the older I got the darker it became. So when I was about twenty I started to dye it a lighter blond color.

I continued dying my hair until I got pregnant with my son. My hair grew fast while I was pregnant so it didn't take long for the dyed part to grow out. I was left with my mousy brown color and I didn't really like it at all but I was too busy with a new baby and I didn't have time to deal with hair color.

When my son was four months old we moved into the country, with well water, iron laden well water. My hair started to have a weird metallic reddish orangish color to it. I hated it even more, so I tried a little lighter shade of dye on it. That was a bad idea, it turned more orange tinged. I used special shampoos but they didn't completely remove the color produced by the iron. I gave up and resigned myself to being mousy brown, reddish orangish for as long as I lived here.

Then a few months ago we had a water filter system installed. Hallelujah! My sinks, tubs and toilets where no longer stained an icky rust color. My hair also improved, but it still wasn't what I really wanted.

I wanted highlights.

I wanted shiny pretty hair.

So Friday night I picked up a do it yourself highlight kit from the store.

It looked so simple on that box, it said to mix, apply and wait.

Easy smeazy... I could do that. Plus I am so frugal (cheap) I would be saving so much money by doing it myself.

As I began applying I had a bad feeling. This wasn't so easy to apply. It wasn't going on as smoothly as I thought.

Oh it's ok I told myself. It will be fine.

I set the timer and waited, my husband and child looked at me uneasily.

When the time was right I rinsed it out. I looked in the mirror. Hmmmm maybe when I dry it it will look ok.

As I dried my hair, it became very clear that I did not have even highlights.

I did not achieve the desired effect.

I was not going for the cheetah or leopard splotchy look that I now had.

Ok.. panic was setting in... crap I can't go out like this. Maybe it's not THAT bad.

I call for hubby to take a look.

I can tell by the look on his face that it's WORSE than I thought.

"Ummm it's not really even" he stammered.

Oh great, just great.

"Why don't you call the salon and have them fix it" he suggests.

"I don't want to spend that much money on my stupid hair!" I protest.. dang it, why am I so cheap??

"I'll pay for it" He insists.

Oh Crap, it's worse than I thought.. he now wants it fixed so bad that he is going to pay for it.

"I'm too embarrassed to go in there!" I cry... but I know I have too. It's that or wear a hat until it grows out.

I called the salon "So is there anyone available to fix a home highlight job gone terribly wrong?"

I must have sounded really desperate and sad or they must have wanted a good laugh at my expense because they squeezed me in even though they were booked.

I was lucky enough to get someone who loves to do highlights and she fixed it.

I'm still getting used to it, the highlights are a little lighter than I had wanted but that's my own dang fault. The hair dresser now has a client for life.

Here is the result, the color is actually a little different than the pictures but I'm not going to take anymore pictures of myself today!

Earth Hour 2008

Please join me in participating in Earth Hour 2008.

Worth the paper it's printed on?

Husband received a letter from a credit card company yesterday. The letter reads
" We learned during a recent review of our system that your closed account was incorrectly charged a finance charge on a promotional offer. We are taking immediate steps to correct the error in full. This check represents a refund of that finance charge."
Accompanying the letter was a check for one cent. Yes you read correctly, they sent us a check for a penny.
I showed it to husband and his response was " I'll try not to spend it in one spot."
I hope this wasn't the windfall my horoscope promised me.

Coast trip part 2

The area that we visited has a series of three lakes, two that are large and one that is small. I know the area very well because I explored it every day for several Summers.

When I was ten or eleven my dad moved to the coast and opened a windsurfing shop. During the Summer months I would go there and live with him.


I can remember helping him set up for lessons on the lake shore. While he was giving instructions on how to tack I would be whipping around the lake on my board.


It was any childs dream, spending the Summer on the beach and lakes.

Some days I spent riding my bike through the miles and miles of trails that meander around the lakes and campgrounds.


I can't imagine letting a child do that now but back then I would be gone for hours on end, meeting other kids that came to camp, swimming and sliding down sand dunes.

Those Summers are some of my favorite memories and I want to share a little of that experience with Bug.

On the afternoon of our second day Bug was napping so I left him and the husband at camp and set out on my bicycle.

As I turned onto the first trail all of the memories of that time in my childhood flooded back.


Not much about the area has changed, the vegetation that lines the trails is tall and thick.


The Sand dune has moved further into the lake since when I was young.



I remember on hot days sliding down it and then splashing into the water. It is too cold for swimming this time of year.
After I took some pictures it started to rain on me so I had to high tail it back to the RV.

The next day was beautiful, so I took Bug on the trails with me. He just learned how to ride without training wheels and was a little uncomfortable on the narrow trails.

Here is where you will find out how much of a dork I am. Just the week before I was telling Bug about an insect eating plant that I used to see on the coast. My husband thought I was nuts when I found some growing in a bog next to the shore, I got so excited showing it to Bug. I'm almost as excited showing this picture to you now.


Darlingtonia Californica or Pitcher Plant.

After our ride we headed back out to the beach, this time it was beautiful blue skies.


Bug and hubby built a sand castle while I walked the dogs and took some pictures.





Bug had fun rolling down some sand dunes.



Once we were done, it was time to go home and back to reality.

If only life was always like a day at the beach.