Wordless and Word-Filled Wednesday

Word-Filled Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

Stuck in a Rut

F.Y.I. While driving through a muddy field, don't stop.

One would think that two reasonably intelligent adults would realize that during a much wetter than normal spring, the ground near a pond might be a tad bit muddy. One would think. This weekend I had the brilliant idea to go on a picnic at my parent's farm. We packed a lunch, loaded up the truck, and headed to find a perfect picnic spot. We drove into the pasture, somehow not noticing how muddy it was, and I told my husband to head towards a few shade trees on the other side of a cool lily pad pond. While driving past the pond, we noticed a bunch of (like eight!) snapping turtles sunning themselves on a concrete thing sticking out of the pond. I, of course, started scrambling around to get my camera, and John stopped the truck. Well, the stinkin' turtles all dived in the water before I could take their picture, so we moved on. Tried to move on, I should say. The truck was stuck! In the thirty seconds we were stopped the tires oozed down into the muck that we hadn't even noticed was there. The truck is a four-wheel drive, but four-wheel drive only works if it's turned on.
This is the tire by the passenger side. On the other side, the tires were a lot deeper, but I didn't want to wallow in the mud to get a picture. My brother, my son, and I jumped ship and started eating lunch while John got the truck out. We had some yard trash in the back of the truck that he put around the tires for traction, so it didn't take too long to get out. Oh, and he turned on the four-wheel drive.

The picture doesn't at all demonstrate how muddy the truck was. When John drove up to our picnic blanket, I almost choked on my turkey sandwich I was laughing so hard!
Here's my brother examining the ruts we made. It's hard to tell, but they were pretty deep. Sorry Mom and Dad. It's all the turtles' fault.

After the great stuck in a rut adventure, I put my boy in his front carrier and went on a farm exploring excursion with my little brother, Sawyer. Sawyer and I had fun, but it put Colter to sleep--not that you can tell from this picture, but he was somehow sleeping soundly hanging from a carrier as I was walking up and down hills, stepping over rocks and limbs, trying not to fall in the mud, etc. Too bad he doesn't sleep as soundly in the comfort of his crib!

FFF-Spring Has Sprung!

It's Favorite Foto Friday! We have been spending a lot of time outside because spring has definitely sprung. Colter loves going on long walks in his stroller and looking around outside, but he's not sure what to think if I try to get him to touch anything. He's scared of grass! He also clings to me tightly if I bring him close to a tree.

Here he is when a branch from a bush was blown into his space. When the branch brushed the back of his head, his mouth dropped open, and he quickly backed away! Pretty amusing.

Now he is refusing to even acknowledge that I've got the camera. He's not going to look at me and smile! I abandoned him in the evil grass.
He's starting to look more concerned. Maybe grass really is scary.

Yep it's scary! Time to put the camera away. No smiles for this photo shoot!

Some subjects are more cooperative. Look at this gorgeous plum tree!And this lone tulip!I love red bud trees.
Everything is so pretty in the spring!
Even the despised dandelions are pretty! I'm sorry, John. I know you've suffered greatly in your battle with the Dandelions of our Yard, but I kinda like them. They're spunky. I hope you can forgive me for taking this puffball's picture instead of ripping it from it's roots, dousing it with gasoline, and setting it ablaze.
To see more spring has spring picture, head over to Kiss the Frog 4 Me!

Down with Dogs!

WARNING: This post is full of complaining. If you have no desire to read my ranting and raving about how the neighborhood dogs are driving me crazy, come back tomorrow for Favorite Foto Friday! Let the complaining begin!

Apparently, my family lives in a neighborhood of dog-lovers. Either that or a neighborhood of deaf people. Almost everyone on our street has a howling, barking, yipping, dog (or three) in their backyard except for us. When the weather warms up each spring, the barking is even more annoying for awhile because our windows are open, and we are outside more. It would be nice to hear the breeze blowing through the trees and the sounds of birds chirping through our open windows, but instead of those nice springtime sounds, we get to listen to howls, yips, and woofs of the neighborhood barking chain. When we go outside to do yard work, or just enjoy the warm weather, we get barked at as if we are intruders. The dogs all come to the fence and start growling, snarling, barking, etc. like a gang of Cujos. I wonder what it would be like to be able to enjoy our own backyard without needing earplugs?

I am SICK of the barking dogs! I am tired of waking up at four o'clock in the morning to canines serenading one another. I am frustrated that I can't take my baby to MY OWN garden without my neighbor's German Shepherds and black lab scaring him! Are my darling husband and I the only people in the world who think it is rude and inconsiderate to allow one's dogs to bark ALL the time (specifically at night)? Dogs CAN be taught not to bark. Water hoses work wonders. I'm sure that dog whisperer guy could take care of it in no time.

Really, I think most of the dogs would be relatively well-behaved, but the black lab behind out house just can't keep her big mouth shut. She's like the Rosie O'Donnell of the dog world. When she barks, all the rest of the dogs in the neighborhood answer. She's the ring-leader. Or bark-leader I should say. I'm excited about something though. She's dug a hole under the fence from her yard to ours. I'm not sure if you can see it or not from the picture, but it's getting bigger! She can fit her whole head through now.
I don't think the lab's owners have noticed this hole. Is it wrong of me not to tell them? Is it wrong to hope she escapes and moves into another neighborhood? Or finds her way to the highway? That's awful! I don't really mean it! Really...

Anyway, I don't know why the dogs are bothering me so much this spring. Maybe I sleep lighter because of my new mommy radar. Maybe it's because I'm home during the day now, and I never knew how much they bark ALL DAY LONG. The howling dogs have always kept John up a lot though--he's a really light sleeper. He's had dreams of going on a rampage with a shot-gun, but since we only have a BB gun, I think the dogs are safe.

It's not that I don't like dogs--I do--or at least I used to. It's inevitable that I will have a dog someday too, since practically every little kid ends up wanting their own pooch for their parents to take care of. I just don't think this country's forefathers meant for the first amendment to apply to canines, and I wish my neighbors would be considerate enough to make their dogs BE QUIET in the middle of the night. All you dog lovers out there don't need to worry. I'm not going to go crazy and hire a hit man to oust any puppies. I'm not going to sneak out in the middle of the night and remove any vocal cords. I'm not even going to let all the dogs out of their fences and hope they get sent to the pound. I might buy seventeen roosters and an elephant to make noise in my back yard to see how the neighbors like that! Not really. I'm just going to complain on my blog. I'm done now though. Have a nice day!

Word-Filled Wednesday

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Weekend Moments of Mommybrain

Moment number 1: Earlier in the week while I was making dinner, I needed some cheddar cheese for cheesy potatoes. I knew I had bought a block of cheese a week or so before, but it was no where to be found. The cheese was AWOL. I started to think I had dreamt buying cheese. Friday, guess what I found in the trunk. Yep, a shriveled up block of cheddar.

Moment number 2: Saturday when my husband wanted a frozen pizza for lunch, I kindly asked him if he wanted me to stick his oven in the pizza for him.

Moment number 3: Saturday night my family went to a teacher appreciation dinner that one of my math teacher husband's students invited us to. We got an invitation quite awhile back showing that the party would have a "camp-out" theme. Hmm...Camp-out...people camp outside...right? One might need a jacket at an April camp-out...right? I brought a jacket of course...wrong.

Moment number 4: Sunday afternoon while I was making some B.L.T. dip I somehow managed to fling the mayonnaise lid across the room, and a blob of mayo ended up on the floor behind our 55 gallon aquarium. I'm going to have to learn some acrobatic maneuvers to get it cleaned up before it attracts rodents.

Moment number 5: Sunday night, when my sweet boy (who is a co-sleeper at heart, but his mean old parents make him sleep in his crib most of the night) was crying for his mommy, Mommy went to his rescue. I groped around in the dark for his precious pacifier and stuck in it his mouth. He was still crying. What was the matter? FYI-Pacifiers work well when stuck in baby's mouth. Not so well when inserted in baby's ear.

PS: I share these moments to show how my new blogging addiction is causing sleep deprivation.

PPS: I didn't really stick Colter's pacifier in his ear. I just tried too. Repeatedly. He still can hear just fine though. Promise.

PPPS: We don't have rodents. As far as I know.

PPPPS: How long can I PS? A former English teacher should know that.

Tulips!

Tulips

Cool Lookin' Tulips

Pretty Pink Tulips

Water Color Tulips

Twolips

Favorite Foto Friday-Cousins

It's Favorite Foto Friday! Sarah's theme for this week is siblings. Hopefully Colter has siblings someday, but for now, he's the lone kid in a one kid family. He does have some sweet cousins however! Here they are last Thanksgiving. Yes, the girls on the ends are identical twins.



He has some cousins on the other side of the family too, but I don't have a picture of all of them together! I'm going to have to get on that.

Here's a picture of Colter and his almost cousin, Riley, looking out the window this week. Now that it has warmed up, that's Colter's new favorite pastime. He blows raspberries on the glass until streams of drool puddle on the floor.

No cousins or siblings in this picture, but it's too adorable not to share.

Have a great weekend!

Sunscreen and Poppycock

WARNING: Unless you have the metabolism of a hummingbird, DON'T EAT the Poppycock. I had never heard of Poppycock, a scrumdiddlyumptious, chocolaty, nutty popcorn concoction sent from heaven until I read Jennifer's Post Tuesday night. After reading about her addictions to Snapple peach tea and Poppycock, a craving for both suddenly hit me. I'd never tried Poppycock, and it sounded tasty. I was going to sweet talk my husband into going to the store to get me some (he would have went too--he likes to spoil me), but alas, Walgreen's was already closed. I had to wait until yesterday to buy any.

Here's what's left.

Only crumbs! I ate it all! I did share a few pieces with a friend, but I ate almost the whole bag! I did go for a nice long walk at the park though and made myself walk in the direction that meant I had to push the stroller up a giant hill instead of down. Maybe that burned enough calories to make up for the Poppycock. Probably not. Oh well. It was worth it. Poppycock is delectable, but I'm afraid to go back to Walgreen's. I don't think I'd be able to avoid buying more!

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day! Colter and I were at the park for three hours enjoying the almost eighty degree weather. I broke out the sunscreen to protect my baby's precious skin, I brought him a hat and attempted to keep it on his head, and I even brought him a pair of sunglasses even though I know he won't wear them until he's older. Maybe if I put them on repeatedly, he will decide they're okay.

This is what he did with the sunglasses.

At least they entertained him. He was well protected from the sun, but someone wasn't! I am such a genius, that I slathered my boy with sunscreen but didn't bother to put any on myself. My nose is a lovely shade of pink, and I'm going to have a very attractive farmer's tan. I guess I got my vitamin D for the day!

Word-Filled or Wordless?

I can't decide. Should I play

WORD-FILLED WEDNESDAY

To enjoy more of Word-filled Wednesday visit The 160 Acre Woods.

or...

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

(This is a telepathic message...I'm still wordless. See this story if you're confused.)

More Wordless Wednesday entries are here.

I've Been Tagged

I'm it! A very inspirational woman who's blog I've enjoyed lately, Stephanie tagged me in a blog version of the game tag. I'm supposed to list seven random facts about myself, so here it goes.

1. Jesus Christ is my savior. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 I am so grateful for the life the Lord has blessed me with, and I long for my relationship with Christ to continue to grow for the rest of my days.

2. It took me 24 years to get out of school. Not because I'm dumb, but because I taught high school English before I became a stay-at-home-mom. Two years of preschool+13 years of public education+four years of college+one year of graduate school (haven't finished that yet, by the way)+four years of teaching=24 years. That's A LOT of school. :)

3. I'm a chocoholic. If there's chocolate within 17 and a half feet of me, I find it. Then I eat it. Then I destroy all evidence.

4. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a little silly. Sometimes I find things funny that no one else seems to find amusing, and I laugh. And laugh. And can't stop!

5. I'm the oldest of five kids, so I'm also a little bossy. Just a little. Actually, I don't like to think of myself as bossy. I'm just responsible and like for things to get done. I'm also very good at directing others. That doesn't mean I'm bossy--does it?

6. I ran/walked/trudged 3.2 miles today, and I thought my lungs were going to burst, my knee was going to give out, and I was going to die. I didn't. We'll see if I can get out of bed in the morning though.

7. I'm totally copying off Stephanie with this one. She took a test to see what punctuation mark she was, so I did the same thing. I'm even the same punctuation she is. Weird. I am a question mark. I'm not sure what that means exactly or how accurate that test was, but it's good to know. Just in case anyone ever asks. If you would like to know what punctuation mark you are go to the link below.

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

http://www.blogthings.com/whatpunctuationmarkareyouquiz/">What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Now it's my turn to tag! I'm new to the wonderful world of blogs, so I hope I don't tag anyone who has been tagged before. If I do, I'm sorry. I don't think there is a bad luck for seven years clause if you don't play, so just ignore me. If you want to play, here are the rules.

1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I am tagging two of my bestest ever friends, Rachel and Gina.

Some lovely ladies I've came across while participating in Favorite Foto Friday:
Heidi, the author of Butterflies and Mudpies, a blog I've enjoyed reading and looking at adorable pictures!
Jennifer, from It's All About Them. She's cracked me up on several different occasions!
Kelly, the author of Aroma of Joy. She had the craziest trip to Mexico ever!

Some ladies I've just came across. I don't even know how, now, but something about their blogs kept me coming back. :)
Motherhood for Dummies--she lives in ALASKA. I want to go there SO BAD. Not live there necessarily, but go there.
And not-your-regular-mini-van-mom. Isn't that the best name? She does drive a mini-van though. :)

Fun with Blocks

Colter got some alphabet blocks for Christmas that for some reason are for ages three and up. Well, this week after Colter had removed all the dvds from the entertainment center, took all his books from the shelf four times, spread a pack of diapers all over his room, etc. I opened up the blocks in an attempt to distract him for awhile (I baby-sat for a newborn a few days this week that took 45 minutes or so to eat--it was hard to feed the baby and keep Colter out of things at the same time!). He LOVES the blocks. As long as I keep building towers, they'll keep his attention for a long time. He knocked down blocks for almost an hour a few times!

I don't know why the blocks are only for ages three and up. Anybody know? I guess if Colter decided to throw them, it wouldn't feel good, but don't three-year-olds throw things too? They're probably tainted with lead paint that's only safe for those over three or something weird like that.

Anyway, since there isn't a FFF theme this week, here's a Favorite Video Friday for your enjoyment.

10 Things I Didn't Know Before Story Time

1. There's a sharp-toothed snail inside everybody's nose that likes to eat fingers. So don't pick your nose. If you don't believe me read...

"Warning" by Shel Silverstein.

2. Vugs live under rugs and they're scary.

There's a Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Seuss

3. The Chinese think it wise to give all their children short names, like Chang, because a long time ago a boy named Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo chari bari ruchi pip peri pembo fell into a well.

Arlene Mosel's Tikki Tikki Tembo

4. A mother kangaroo is called a flyer, and a father kangaroo is a boomer. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. A group of bears is called a sloth.

-Eric Carle's Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?

5. Cows can type and sometimes write letters to farmers.

Doreen Cronin's Click Clack Moo Cows That Type

6. Cats that wear hats are trouble-makers.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

7. Giants from giant country come out at night to eat human beans. They especially like to eat humans from turkey because they taste like turkey, but humans from Panama taste like hats, so the giants don't really like them. There's a big and friendly giant that restrains himself from feasting on humans though. He eats snozzcumbers.

The BFG by Roald Dahl

8. A cuboid is a rectangle cube.

Chuck Murphy's My First Book of Shapes

9. A wump is a camel-like creature. Some dude named Mr. Gump has a seven hump wump that goes bump bump when one jumps on its hump.

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

10. Dr. Seuss smoked crack.

I got DUMPED.

Not really. I've never been the dumpee, just the dumper. Who in their right mind would want to get rid of a wonderful, super-hot, intelligent, magnificent, oh-so-modest person like myself? I'm actually referring to the dumping of my camera--not my relationship history (or lack there-of).

While reading my friend Rachel's blog (Rachel really is wonderful, super-hot, intelligent, and magnificent) I found out about a photo contest that some lady with quads is having. To enter your supposed to "dump" out your camera, select your favorite photo, and e-mail it to her. The pictures I dumped last week are still on my card, so I've already posted the picture I entered. I love this messy boy.

There were some other pictures of my boy (in the blue) and his buddy, Carter. These two are only 11 days apart. When Carter was born, he was a giant 10 pound 3 ounce (something like that) baby. Colter was 8 pounds 2 ounces, but he's caught up now, hasn't he? What's with that silly face?

Colter didn't know what to think of his company! He's not used to sharing his toys or his mommy.

I didn't get very many successful pictures of these guys. It's hard to get two babies to smile at the same time! They were more interested in trying to get to me and the camera, so I got several blurry, weird angle shots. There's that goofy face again!

Here's the weird, face-distorting, backing-away angle a few months ago...

and again! There not high quality shots, but they're funny!

Don't Turn Me In

I'm harboring a serial killer. Without mercy, he hunts down the innocent and brutally slaughters his victims. Something about this time of year brings out his viciousness. It doesn't seem like a spring day goes by without one of his murdered trophies laying about for my husband to quickly clean up to try to hide the bloodshed from the neighbors. A severed head here. A pile of innards there. It's gruesome.

We're trapped. If we try to escape, he'll turn on us. He pushed his own brother into a fish aquarium, shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces, so what might the killer do to my husband and I? He has already slashed the screens in our windows, destroyed the paint on our car, and had the audacity to relieve himself in our home as if threatening us in some sickening way to take action against his reign of terror.

Meet Pancake the cat...

Mass murderer of mice. Killer of rabbits.

Enemy to the small, furry, and feathered.

Family Pet.

FFF-FOOD FIGHT! Sort of.

Vegetables anyone?

What a mess!

I feel sorry for the teachers on lunch duty when Colter is in high school, because he's already starting food fights! Well, I guess it's actually more of a spoon fight. I don't know what age babies generally decide that they want to feed themselves, but Colter has decided that it's nine and a half months. He has been INSISTING that he get to take charge of the spoon at dinner time. On Wednesday after he had taken the spoon from me, I was holding his mixed veggies pretty close and he suddenly dipped his spoon in and put a big bite in his mouth. He got it perfect on the first try! When he tried again though, he completely missed the food and put an empty spoon in his mouth. Funny stuff!

Then he he got the spoon flipped around the wrong way, but he still was having a ball.

Are you sure I should be doing this, Mom?

You realize, now I'm going to need a bath after every meal.

Aww, man. I forgot to get stain remover at the store this morning. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot more laundry.

If you would like to see more Favorite Foto Friday pictures, click here.