FReakIN HilARious

I used to play Dungeons & Dragons and I love to cook... if you have ever played an RPG, IRL or online, you'll love this!

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/alttext/2008/06/alttext_0618

Butterflies, Part 3

It was like giving birth all over again. Well, not exactly, but the waiting was like labor and the emerging was full of expectation, anxiety and excitement like birth.

It started on Thursday. I was sitting in my usual spot nursing the baby when I noticed movement in the treehouse across the room. I called to my girls and told them to check inside. They found two new butterflies clinging to the sides, slowly opening and closing their wings to dry them. It had only been six days, so we were surprised but elated that the butterflies were appearing.

I cut a bud from our rosebushes, set it in a cup of sugar water, and placed it along with an orange slice inside the treehouse to feed the butterflies. We watched over the next couple of days as they continued to be "born," dried their wings, and started to feed. By Saturday, all five butterflies were fluttering around the treehouse, literally climbing the walls.

We decided not to keep them captive any longer (well, I decided and had to convince the kids, who wanted to keep them forever as pets). On Sunday, after church, we came home and let them out in the front yard. One by one, they found the door, and went off to explore the world, lifted by a light, cool breeze. There were a few tears after the excitement of the release, but it didn't take long for my sweet girls to ask:

"When can we order more butterflies?"

Enjoy the pictures.

Top Ten Ways I Can Tell I'm Not Pregnant Anymore

Sometimes it takes a while for my body image to reset itself. It's just now, at nine weeks postpartum, that I have really started assessing the "new" me. Just a few things that have really struck me as forming the reality that I am officially done* with pregnancy:

10. No more sciatica or hip pain.

9. I can reach the faucet handles on the sink.

8. Sleeping on my back.

7. Stirring the pot at the back of the stove.

6. Saying goodbye (forever) to maternity fashion and rediscovering my regular wardrobe.

5. Getting up to pee only once each night.

4. Shaving my legs regularly again.

3. Did I mention that my back doesn't hurt anymore?

2. Cleavage.

1. Loving this gorgeous baby boy on my lap!



*I have another post composing itself in my mind on my feelings about my pregnancies. More later.

A fine morning

We spent a lovely morning at the park and library down the street from our house. By the time we got there, it was starting to heat up in the sun, so the girls didn't last long on the playground equipment. Instead, we headed down to the edge of the little lake and watched the ducks while eating a snack in a cool, shady spot. The girls chased birds and played Duck, Duck, Goose (C and I were allowed to not get chosen as the "goose").

We wandered into the library and unexpectedly found our neighbors in the children's section. The kids all read books together and we signed up for the summer reading program (with prizes like tickets to the local WNBA games!). The baby started to wake up and fuss, so we checked out some books and came home for lunch.

We have been trying to conserve fuel and stay home most of the time, but what happens is that they watch too much tv. It was a good change, free, close to home, and just a nice way to spend a mild early summer day!

My camera or theirs?

These are the types of pictures you get to see on the camera later when you have let the kids snap photos around the house:

Too bad it's out of focus

Waiting for butterflies, Part 2:

Finally, they came.

Last Tuesday, the caterpillars arrived in a little cardboard box. The girls were jumping up and down, giddy and excited. We put the little cup of caterpillars on the shelf and watched them grow for a few days, then overnight on Saturday they made their chrysalids.

Yesterday I put them in the pop-up Butterfly Treehouse. The little coccoons quivered as I transfered them. To be sure that they didn't get mauled by little fingers, I did the move before the girls got up in the morning. They were giddy and excited again to see the Treehouse set-up and the chrysalids waiting inside.

Now we wait again, for them to open this time. I hope they all open successfully. From the infomercial, the girls know that butterflies take seven to ten days to complete their metamorphosis. Now E is asking every day, several times a day, "Has it been ten days yet?" So we do a subtraction problem to figure out how many days are left. Maybe they will open sooner than that? We shall see.

Here is the environment with the five coccoons inside:

Waiting for butterflies, Part 1

Ever since E's pre-K class had a butterfly environment in their classroom this spring, she has been begging to have butterflies for pets at home. I've explained countless times that they don't live with you as pets, but gave in a bought the Butterfly Treehouse at Target (yet another infomercial product that they can rattle off the narration).

The kit was basically a pop-up mesh cylinder and a postcard to mail away for the caterpillars. We mailed it, on the third day after buying the treehouse and listening to her ask, "Can we put our names on it yet and mail it now? Okay, now? How about now?" So we put it in the mailbox, drove home, and when we walked in the house, she asked, "Can we check the mail and see if the caterpillars are here yet?"

Gosh, that was a long week. Everyday, she woke up asking, "Are the caterpillars here yet?" When the mail came, she asked. Each night, she went to bed asking if the caterpillars would come in the mail the next day. What a hard week that was for a five-year-old!