{{Yup, you've guessed it - I am back here because Wordpress is even more fraught with annoyances than is Typepad! Such a pain. So stay put, because I'm not budging again anytime soon.}}
So that happened. And it was fun.
Fin.
Lucky and Rob, who rescued him from where he was squished underneath a dumpster
He weighs about a pound and is a tail-less Manx.
We named him "Lucky," because he's fortunate to be alive. We took him to Petco to get some infant cat formula and kitten chow, which he smacks down hungrily!
Gratuitous shot of me, taken by Chloë, in my wrap dress/skirt/shawl/thing from Key West. I'm fixin' to get two more, since they're so versatile and pretty!
Lucky likes to hang out in Rob's pocket. His eyes really are this blue; this photo is un-retouched.
It's almost impossible to get a good shot of Lucky, since he's so squirmy! Such a cute little baby. Once he's all fixed up, strong, healthy and neutered, we'll find him a good home.
Thanks for stopping by! Visit 5 Minutes for Mom and other sites around the blogosphere for more Wordless Wednesday posts!
Fin.
It's super-annoying that Typepad doesn't seem to wanna auto-save anymore, and I lose almost an entire kick-ass post when the screen freezes. But anyways...
While I was going about my business preparing for our Earth Day picnic on Monday, Rob came out wearing this Navy-issue peacoat, with the Meerschaum pipe in his mouth, saying, "Picture me on the bridge of our boat, steering across the Atlantic..." and I totally could. Can you? Course you can. It's still our dream, y'know. In a heartbeat, we would...
I had been searching on the old innernet for Earth Day activities and crafts when I came across The Nature Conservancy's All Hands on Earth picnic website. The idea, in a nutshell, is to foster sustainable food-eating practices by buying local and in-season to reduce, you know, gas and energy consumption from the production and distribution of worlds-away, out-of-season, uh... I said that way better the first time, but you get the gist, right? Right.
I had no fundage available at the time to run out to the Farmer's Market and pick up some deliciousness, so I figured I'd just use what we already had on hand to reduce waste, live frugally, and other great things we try to practice on a daily basis. I had cooked a bunch of chicken tits in the Crock-Pot the night before and still had half a -Pot left, so I tore that up and added some gorgonzola cheese crumbles leftover after our salad fixin's were used up, along with some apples I diced to add some sweetness and crunch. Along with some seasonings and Miracle Whip (Rob's fave), it was aces all around. Total yummo.
We chose Biscayne National Park as the nearby destination for our picnic because, despite the fact that it's too far to walk or ride a bike for us, the idea of Earth Day connotes (to me, anyway) surrounding oneself in the beautiful precious natural resources of our planet, and so it seemed a fitting locale. The last time we were there, I'd gotten a wicked bad sunburn from being too stupid to put on SPF before lying down on a towel with my library book. I just discovered what appears to be a melanoma - for which I'm going to the doc in about 7½ hours - on my chinny-chin-chin Monday morning, so I wasn't taking any chances with those harmful UV rays. We took along everything from SPF 30 all the way up to 85+. Although, really? Is that fo'real?
Aside from our afore-mentioned chicken salad on both spinach and sun-dried tomato wraps (also already on hand), we had mango cubes (I'd searched for a YouTube video on cutting them perfectly:
and it was spot-freakin'-on. Worked like a charm, after many failed attempts on my part.)
Plus, I threw in a bunch of bagged cereal for snacks, and Sophia snuck in half a pound cake for good measure. We served everything on reusable napkins and wrappers, and a pitcher of fruit punch was served in regular ol' plastic kids' cups. Leave no trace, leave the place better than when you found it, and all that.
When Jack dropped a piece of his cereal, this duck walked boldly up to him and looked askance. Not in the "how dare you?!" sense of the word, but "how dare you not feed me?" sense. He stayed there, quacked a few times, and made Jack squirm and squeal a whole bunch. It was hilarious.
We really laughed out loud a moment later when the two ducks on the bottom and left waddled up in perfect unison, speeding zip-zip along the sand to get their pieces of the proverbial pie. They didn't get any from us, although I noticed Sophia "accidentally" dropped one or two their way. Soon a fourth joined the flock, and by then we were surrounded by Muscovies looking to join our Earth Day picnic. Fun times.
After lunch, I sent the kids off on a Nature Treasure Hunt geared for kids aged 8-11, which, hey, is perfect since that's what range my kids all fall into, hey? The first one (of ten) was: "Find a place where an animal made a home," so off they went toward the mangroves to find nests or burrows. The three quickly spotted deep, wide holes in the ground and decided something had dug its way in, and I couldn't argue with that, so I gave them credit.
The second one directed them to make fairy homes out of natural objects, so Sophie had the idea to make teepees out of dried-out palm leaves. Chloë and Jack quickly followed suit; all but Chloë got them to stand without being held.
3. Find a seed - Easy! They just had to look up at the big palm trees everywhere to find them hanging out like so many, um, testicles. (What can I say? It's where the mind automatically goes.)
4. Make a tool, like a hammer or drawing stick. Jack, not being terribly imaginative, picked up a stick and started drawing. Okay, fine. Sophia, surprisingly equally unimaginative, picked up a stick and started hammering the top of her fairy teepee. Okaaaay, Chloë? She picked up a stick and pretended it was a screwdriver, driving, er, screws into the dirt. Better, but totally uninspired. Still, we moved on.
5. Find or name two things that all living things need to survive. The kids shouted out things like, "A home!" "Air!" "Food!" "Water!" etc. This one was too easy for this age group, IMO.
6. Listen for five sounds, including both human ones and otherwise. They listened to birds singing, people shuffling their feet on a nearby path, folks talking, boats' engines starting up at the marina next to us, and the wind whispering through the trees. That last one was my favorite.
7. Find a place where a plant-eater would be happy. Again, in a national park, way too easy.
The eighth one was super-cute. They had to spy on a bug. Jack crouched down first and watched an ant go ten ways to Sunday, all over the sand. Sophia and Chloë traced their own insects, and soon they all met up, head-to-head, with their daddy. I was thinking he probably wished he had a magnifying glass to light 'em on fire, because that's just the kind of Bob he is, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe.
9. Find a pattern in nature. They all came up with A-B-A-B-A-B patterns, so I challenged them to find something other than that. Jack was the first to do so; he found spirals projecting out from the center vein of a leaf, and I was proud.
10. Find something other than an animal that can live in water. First, they named about 3400 different animals before noticing us crossing our arms over our chest, tapping our feet and rolling our eyes all over the place. "Ohhhhh! Like seagrass?" Yeah. Duhhh.
We were done with that, and rather than do sunprints, they decided to go swimming again. Fine and good, but I was freezing and wasn't joining in. The lifeguard came over to speak at us about letting them go too far out without a parent right there (in zero waves, with a lifeguard spitting distance away, but whatevs), so Rob went in while I lay in the sun and fried a little more. My SPF 85+ was failing me, y'all! I reapplied.
Then, Rob rigged up his fishing poles and took us to go fishing. Well, took the kids, while I followed along for some Instagramography of whatever they caught (big fat nothin', it turned out). But check this sign - crocodiles?! In Florida? Gators, sure - we'd seen an 8-footer the last time out, in the canal near our house - but crocs? Who knew? Not I, not me, not us. Jack was determined to find one, but we didn't.
Also, I'm pretty sure they stole that croc drawing from Peter Pan.
Rob didn't have any bait, so he used a Sabiki Rig to try and catch some. He cast waaay far out, and then near, and then far again... but not even the pinfish were biting. So the kids and I went exploring while he kept trying.
We went up to the end of the walk, which culminated in, like, a pier, and looked out at the water. Another fisherman was next to us, so they meandered over to him to see what he was doing. "Fishing." What do you have on your hook? "Bait." He amused me. The kids kept pressing. My kids are pressers. So we learned this about him: He was originally from Ithaca, New York, now lived in Texas, and was here in Miami on temporary extra duty. He had never fished here before and insisted that pinfish couldn't be used to catch snapper, grouper, or larger fish, but Rob taught him how to rig the baitfish for better success (not that he was having any, but he had on previous outings, after all). He was fishing with live shrimp. I had about seventy-nine more facts about him on the tip of my brain, but they all just scattered because of course, I need them right now. Oh, and he gave Rob a beer. That was nice. Maybe it was a consolation prize, since neither man was having any luck with the fishies that day.
Rob gave up for a while, and just then, a manatee came into view, swimming toward the harbor. Another, smaller (I'm guessing female) sea cow swam toward him, and they met nose-to-nose for a few moments before the female turned, and they both swam away in the direction of the marina. It all happened too fast, just like with alligator the other day, for me to get a good picture, so all I have is this one of the four of them looking and pointing. It was SO breathtaking, Chloë was near tears, Sophia couldn't stop exclaiming, and my heart was racing. What wondrous things we've seen in our month here so far!
And then, if that weren't enough, a pelican flew in and landed near us. The kids thought that was just fantastic; they walked over and got in the big bird's face, not knowing how aggressive those things can be. They want fish, and they want it now. The pelican squawked, flapped its wings, and moved toward them. They yelped and jumped back, while I laughed. A third fishergent caught a pinfish - at last! - and threw it in the center of the pier. The kids gawked while the pelican stormed over there and gobbled it up. Only, the fish was spreading its rays, and the bird couldn't swallow it. We all watched, helpless, as it gagged and regurgitated the fish repeatedly, struggling to get it down its gullet with no success. What to do, what to do? Call a park ranger? Finally, with one loud gulp, the fish was choked down and bulging in the pelican's neck. Whew! What a relief.
We went home, exultant in our beautiful day, reliving all the amazing sights we'd seen.
Hope you all had a happy Earth Day, recycling and reusing and reducing. Remember to link up here if you're wordless - or not - today, too!
Fin.
Just because, y'know, I barely posted, and I know how much all three of you (if I even have THAT many readers left; holla if you're still here!) want to keep up with us! ;)
In the beginning, Sophie got up in the middle of the night to play with a new set of LEGO Friends
We went out for that Japanese hibachi dinner I mentioned... and I had scallops. I'm going to return to vegetarianism when we move back to Miami, if not sooner, so this was a penultimate hurrah.
I snagged a bunch of cool K'nex toys (and similar) from a friend for Jack, and the boys have spent HOURS playing and building.
We visited my buddy Saritah and had a fantabuloso time - hope to do it again soon, too!
I started "collecting" vanity plates again - this one makes me snicker.
The kiddies and I had a delishimus lunch at Panera, a longtime fave of ours.
The kiddos took their last month of instrument lessons - well, Chloë (piccolo/flute) and Jack (keyboard) did. Sophie gave up (guitar) several months ago. :\
Sophie played with the make-up set I gave her and Chloë; afterward, she ran up to me doing this, and said, "Mommy, I'm a zombie clown!" I died laughing.
Pepper-the-adorablest-cat-ever and Chloë continued their mutual admiration.
We brought Rob lunch at work and spent some lovey-dovey time together.
The girls picked out my outfit, and I actually really liked it. So we skipped to my Lou, my darlin'.
Donuts were enjoyed.
One of several visits to Sweet Frog for froyo, a NEW fave of ours
We went to Chuck E. Cheese's a couple times, a kind of guilty pleasure for me.
These boys: two peas in a pod.
This was before The Brawl That Started It All.
The girls, hanging out with their boots, as Sophia put it
Rob and I both had to do a double-take for this one! Really??!
This isn't a great picture - from another mystery shop - but Jacky looks so cute in it, I wanted to share.
And finally, I discovered a new app: Tadaa!
So. What's new with YOU?
Fin.
The Cast... in order of appearance:
C'est moi
... & Rob (2000)
... & Chloë (2001)
... and Jack (2003)
... & Sophia (2005)!
And, just to gross you out a little:
Yeah. We're immature nuts weird in love!
Fin.
Link up here if you're any degree of Wordless today!
You may be able to figure out where we went on a mystery shop several times recently in the Outer Banks of North Carolina from the packaging in Rob's lap... Not such a flattering picture, but it makes me laugh, so here it is! I haven't been mystery shopping much at ALL lately, but when it pays well, I try to go!
Here's Chloë at Sweet Frog after the mystery shop - they look forward to going at every opportunity! Looks like we'll have to find a new FroYo place when we move to Miami, though, unless we go up to the Fort Launderdale area - sorry, kids!
Chloë's kitten, Pepper, has really been thriving after his scare in the animal ER when we first got him. Two blood transfusions later, and he now weighs exactly the same as Ginger, his twin and Sophia's kitten. Woohoo for that!
Rob, loving on Pepper and Ginger recently - we love our "grandcats" as much as the girls do!
After being sidelined for 6-8 weeks with medication issues, I'm finally back to knitting these doll sweaters for my friend Amy's Waldorf-inspired handmade dolls. She had commissioned me way back in the early Autumn, 2012, and I had been doing well, but the meds screwed up my progress for her Christmas doll deliveries. I feel terrible about that. Hopefully I can start to make up for it for her now...
Some more sweaters... You can check out Amy's dolls and her Etsy shop, Itsystitch, here - so cute!! I would love to get a doll for myself one day. ☺
That's me! A friend wanted a close-up shot, with an actual smile, after I posted about my four-year gastric bypass anniversary the other day. My full-body shot was quite candid, as you can see here, so he wanted a better view. Here ya go, folks! ;)
And finally, to celebrate my "surgiversary," we did - what else? - some eating. Ha! I was craving Chinese food, so we ordered in a bunch. I couldn't get much down, of course, and I couldn't keep it down, either, so it was rather disappointing. Ah, well. Here's a shot of the kids trying to learn how to use chopsticks, which was rather amusing in person. I love Jack's expression, haha... and yes, the kitchen has since been cleaned up and dishes washed. We are soooo lazy on the weekends, typically!
Have a great Hump Day, y'all!
Fin.
Jack, 9, and Sophia, 7, playing with the Air Hockey toy I got on super-dee-duper clearance - and don't look at our card table aka the "arts and crafts" table!
Chloë, 11, pretending to be her Aunt Stacey with 'hair doodles' on her phalanges
Jack building a wooden bi-plane at his Pinewood Derby this past Saturday
Link up here if you're any degree of wordless today!
Fin.
Chloë, 11 (left), and Sophia, 7
Link up with 5MinutesforMom, Stacy, or lots more places on the Interwebs if you're any degree of wordless today!
Fin.
Lasty!!
Fin.
Sent from my iPhone
Still wordless! ;)
Fin.
Sent from my iPhone
Link up here for more WW posts - or to add your own! Here's my whole fam-damily:
{Me, hiding my bald head}
{My kiddos, modeling their brandy-new specs}
*and*
{Rob and the girls, helping our six cats show off their new Christmas stockings!}
I ♥ my family!
Fin.
Link up here if you're wordless - or not - today!
I was almost done with this post, all written up with lots of captioning, when my IE browser crashed. ZOMG, I hate when that happens!! So I'm just going to do the photos here, and if you'd like to hear the actual details behind them, leave me a comment here, or email me, whatevs, saying so. I'll write up a separate post if there's interest.}
What a great day for Team Odette!!!
Thanks for stopping by... ☺
Fin.
Noticing my 5" wedge pumps, the clerk at the drugstore tonight commented that I had the "teeniest feet (she'd) ever seen on a grown woman!" Hee.
Link up here if you're any degree of Wordless today!
Fin.
I came across this picture of Robby with us on his last day on Earth, a few days ago... thought I'd share.
Cheers.
Fin.
Other than to say that Niece 1 is Karen, #7, and Neice 2 is Hanna, #6, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Link up here if you're wordless today!
So proud of you, girls - great game!!
Fin.
The kids are LOVING having their own rooms here! Hope they're not upset when we move to San Diego and can only afford a one-bedroom studio. ;) Hee.
Fin.
If you're ever in Virginia Beach, check out Central 111 Tapas off Great Neck Blvd - it's got a sophisticated vibe, yet children are welcome. And so are Restaurant.com certificates!
Cosmos were, like, ridiculously cheap since we were there at Happy Hour. Um, I had two.
We've ordered the Tuna Tartar before; it's always delicious and never disappoints.
Likewise, the Spring Rolls are exceptional.
Jack is ALL about wings lately, so we ordered a small plate (duh) for him. For the girls, we ordered their usual cheeses platter, with crackers and fruit, but I didn't photo that for some reason.
After tapas, as usual, everyone was still hungry. I decided to use the BOGO Cold Stone Creamery coupons I've been holding onto for lo, these past eight years, and spoil the kids some more. They were, shall we say, thrilled?
Fin.
More pictures from May... on this day, we had a lunch mystery shop. We really enjoyed these gliding tables. They cost a fortune, but maybe Handy Rob can build us one sometime. =D
I think this is one of the more adorable pictures of Sophia in existence. Do you?
The lunch was at a local marina, so of course we all walked around looking at boat post-meal. The dream lives on...
I won't link up any more WW posts this week, but look for I and II if you need linkage! ;)
Fin.
Here's my 9yo son, Jack, learning to whittle with a bar of soap and a plastic butter knife, at Cub Scouts. In the end, he made a boat, which was pretty cool... but where's that photo, Mom? Oy.
Link up here if you're (semi?) Wordless today.
Fin.
Again, link up at 5mfm if you're wordless (or not!) today. I've been photographing license plates we're driving (or stopping, as it were) behind; here are a bunch that I've managed to snag:
You're With Us - who is, I wonder?
Just Sew - all right, then. I'll get right on it!
Harder to see, but it has a cat on the left and says, "MEOOOW." I wonder how many she has...
Akita For You - Obviously, judging from all the other décor on this one, this person is very much into rescuing the breed. Well, good for them!
Weighed - what, exactly? This one leaves me quite confused.
Too Legit - Really? We're still saying that?
This person LOOOOOOOVES the Outer Banks (of NC): I agree; it's great to visit. I don't know that I'd put it on my plate, though...
Tippin' Toe, here, has me thinking there's a dancer inside the Jeep, but who knows?
All is Well - and I'm glad to hear it!
Never Again, insists this driver. What's s/he refusing to do? Maybe s/he got the car in the divorce. :| Oh, or maybe it's meaningful on a grander scale. Whatcha think?
Euphemism - But what is? Where? Please, I can't be left hanging like that.
ARRRRR, Matey! I've shown this one before, but it bears repeating. Or not, whatevs.
To Insure You - Are you my agent?
My GS3 - Such overt pride in one's vehicles is... lamesauce, IMHO. But then, I don't drive a Lexus!
We Surf - but where are the boards? Guess there were no waves that day.
Beach Boy is my kinda dude. I'm right there with ya, pal!
Superior is, hopefully, their company name and not their general attitude.
And last, but not least, a little something different:
Alf! On the back of this big, honkin'... thingamabob. I love it.
Happy Wednesday!
Fin.
Link up here if you're Wordless (or, not so much) today!
It's hot in Southeastern Virginia, and we don't have functional central A/C at the moment. Fortunately, friends who moved to Alaska blessed us with the portable unit seen at the back of this photo, so the kidoodles have been allowed to camp out in front of it in our living room tonight. This was their result. Can you tell which tent houses the boy-child? ;)
Sophia, 7, knocked out her two front teeth when she was three. It's been a long time coming, but finally an adult tooth has just popped out, with the other one sure to follow soon. Hooray!
Same child as above often brings me a weed or two, usually a dandelion, to serve as gifts of flowers which, to her, are beautiful. I have made the mistake of explaining to her that they were weeds, and that they belonged outside - this does nothing to brighten her spirit. So when she brought me this bouquet, which she herself envased in this green bottle, I accepted the gift with genuine delight. After all, this will only last for so long, and one day it will be the last weed-bouquet I get from her.
My silly kids, who went ShopKicking (a Smartphone app) with me around Target in exchange for spending some of our SK points on free Target gift cards to buy their little trinkets, here, posed in front of the store to show them off. Well, the picture was for a ShopKick contest to win a bunch of points, which we didn't - or did we?!
And finally, a first-thing-in-the-morning self-portrait, for no other reason than to show my messy office matching my bedhead hair. No, I wasn't naked; my spaghetti straps were just out of view on my tank.
I may be back with another WW post; stay tuned! ;D
Fin.
Saw this at the doctor's office while I was scheduling my endoscopy, and loved it. Had to snap a picture with the ol' iPhone. It's good stuff, here.
Link up with 5 Minutes For Mom if you're any degree of wordless today!
Fin.
Here are some more shots from this past Easter Sunday that didn't make it into my new header (which, by the way, do you like?!):
So which is your favorite?
Link up here if you're Wordless today! Thanks for hosting, 5MFM! And thanks for looking!
Fin.