tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89465438481196046362024-03-13T00:04:31.905-07:00Milk StuporToo much of a good thing is wonderful!Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-88712546353192211572011-05-24T09:52:00.000-07:002011-05-24T09:52:56.225-07:00"Mom those butterflies are really bothering me"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2xw93PS-416nQo_IoZwVx4QzmzJ0Fn73qb0dL9YiZbS_eoBx_kNUsAqj_KvUWN4ssjXSPgqW-4LF6lW6N3jBcwpKxiQoDTe_88vDHRIQ2afoU1Z11gkZY5XmnhyHna2cbmbnjtbhgVjT/s1600/DSCN1314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2xw93PS-416nQo_IoZwVx4QzmzJ0Fn73qb0dL9YiZbS_eoBx_kNUsAqj_KvUWN4ssjXSPgqW-4LF6lW6N3jBcwpKxiQoDTe_88vDHRIQ2afoU1Z11gkZY5XmnhyHna2cbmbnjtbhgVjT/s320/DSCN1314.JPG" t8="true" width="240px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Abby had her dance recital this past weekend, it went very well and she did wonderfully. For her first experience being on stage in front of a large crowd she was very composed and remembered all her steps well.. but oh those butterflies! Poor thing was so nervous, she tried really hard to contain it and we had numerous discussions about how being nervous was perfectly normal and it happened to everyone. I stuffed her full of as much banana as I could (due to it's perhaps real or perhaps imaginary calming properties that at least made me feel like I had done everything I could.) Then dropped her off at the backstage area with a passel of other kids all in various stages of undress, and hoped and prayed that all would go well. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm03qMCl2XtN5j4_GYR513ElysTBkDY5QNGkoS37FGx13y6uwv8lIneCLCfJ99_G40Q9LqJBxANEi8uq8koF0N6iOHJ0AkrdE3v4VIDBuSXmQCoXLBP_w8SXseG9TvPWyQO4Jk_Fw3gDqa/s1600/DSCN1344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm03qMCl2XtN5j4_GYR513ElysTBkDY5QNGkoS37FGx13y6uwv8lIneCLCfJ99_G40Q9LqJBxANEi8uq8koF0N6iOHJ0AkrdE3v4VIDBuSXmQCoXLBP_w8SXseG9TvPWyQO4Jk_Fw3gDqa/s320/DSCN1344.JPG" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Abby has undergone a softening of her previously fiercely self assured personality in the past little while. She is feeling more, and acting less, she is growing up and becoming more aware of herself inside her surroundings which can be enlightening and terrifying too. So I wasn't sure whether she would calmly let me leave her to the chaos of the room or hang onto my legs sobbing and fervently request to accompany me to my seat. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieTw1OuYLHuAh6c-7qvhi05XnR-6F8gaZ2ji1D_X7TAfTfOZjyqHtahqx8YX3Xkr80BRwI-eYAtRFcOh1reOOtvz-AkvCnFAe6jXD2FFz_JNa2WZ3YEpSePLD22qmefDeKvENytb-Nxb9p/s1600/DSCN1361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieTw1OuYLHuAh6c-7qvhi05XnR-6F8gaZ2ji1D_X7TAfTfOZjyqHtahqx8YX3Xkr80BRwI-eYAtRFcOh1reOOtvz-AkvCnFAe6jXD2FFz_JNa2WZ3YEpSePLD22qmefDeKvENytb-Nxb9p/s320/DSCN1361.JPG" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Luckily, and I have a beautiful little girl in a sailors suit to thank for this, she made a friend instantly. They spent their time before the performance parading around together introducing each other to their classmates. SO really I had nothing to worry about, my little Abby who so easily makes friends and treats them well always rises to the top, not that I was worried mind you.... really... wasn't worried... </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvsmvpNj9vmHqHtIl260GdjtKtnxU6MkKgMBwptbq2x4jphpulNd5rpRS7sk31DN26B_p5Mit1Q3sOsOETWZq33MchQUhyphenhyphentqTPcqB-LddAyi1T9S_ysSWnYB5WSWW9PnTg_UsETFOCNll/s1600/dsc_2915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvsmvpNj9vmHqHtIl260GdjtKtnxU6MkKgMBwptbq2x4jphpulNd5rpRS7sk31DN26B_p5Mit1Q3sOsOETWZq33MchQUhyphenhyphentqTPcqB-LddAyi1T9S_ysSWnYB5WSWW9PnTg_UsETFOCNll/s320/dsc_2915.jpg" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">She danced beautifully and when we met her after the performance with tw<a href="http://thetrivialpursuitofhappiness.com/">o of her very best friends</a> a bouquet of roses from mom and dad, and a potted gerbera daisy from Papa and Grandma she almost cried from joy. This child amazes me everyday, she is so thoughtful and considerate, intelligent and inquisitive, I see myself, then Seth then something completely amazing and new in her. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I was told about sleepless nights, I was warned about frustration, fear and worry, I was aware I would never have any free time again. But no one mentioned the awe, the elation, the pride and wonderment that having and raising a child brings to your life. The love that almost rips you in two. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr-aPYfYwopKOBsB1Nx9SCF0Rgq6Rc8PivWjIJi0_CzN33sVKm4o6ZZmeiWDOW-lZCoOdpavq5tYqLef-zZ1YlzV4OPhIje_o265C1YQXZXlSZYo-p0wZxELo-3Qfz_alBUQtzS-BqMPo/s1600/dsc_2934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr-aPYfYwopKOBsB1Nx9SCF0Rgq6Rc8PivWjIJi0_CzN33sVKm4o6ZZmeiWDOW-lZCoOdpavq5tYqLef-zZ1YlzV4OPhIje_o265C1YQXZXlSZYo-p0wZxELo-3Qfz_alBUQtzS-BqMPo/s320/dsc_2934.jpg" t8="true" width="320px" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-17320170989255159752011-05-09T15:20:00.000-07:002011-05-09T15:20:28.863-07:004 pounds of strawberries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooGyzwmJVD_jUpTkyvlz1yf60e02qkrA9FlupS9jNhBGyVP2sICuDo-2Vm-XR7hjaOaLAh700pI6d_jBzxRja5Vo8-K3l2ZJ5BNbJJ9w4EThGxZ2t8xQfh6KVUkWdBCLGm7TROKc0kMf4/s1600/IMGP0579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooGyzwmJVD_jUpTkyvlz1yf60e02qkrA9FlupS9jNhBGyVP2sICuDo-2Vm-XR7hjaOaLAh700pI6d_jBzxRja5Vo8-K3l2ZJ5BNbJJ9w4EThGxZ2t8xQfh6KVUkWdBCLGm7TROKc0kMf4/s320/IMGP0579.JPG" width="291px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Yesterday was Mother's Day. In a botched attempt to decorate a cake at the local grocery store we found ourselves walking the aisles at 10am on Sunday. A normally quiet time of day there was the odd shopper getting a last minute boquet, or bag of oranges, or in our case 4 pounds of strawberries because Norah is a maniac for them and they were on sale. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The rail thin blond women barely able to walk down the aisle caught my attention immediately. It always amazes me that when I am out with my children and there is something outside the norm how quickly the fight reflex rears up, (for the record I have yet to find my flight reflex, but that's just who I am.) And this gal was pinging all the 'abnormal' alarm bells for me, maybe 80 pounds, 8 inch heels, ripped jeans, ripe smell, several glittery ripped worn out t-shirts overlapping... and keeping steady only by holding the hand of the small 4 year old child walking beside her. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I must admit that my very first reaction was to fiercely fight down an impulse to run over and grab the child. No child should have to steady their mother while she lopes sinuously down a grocery store aisle like a drunk Giraffe. Or look up the scarred and trackmarked arm to dilated pupils and a stupid cheshire grin. That adorable boy who repeated and repeated the list to his mother while she stared at him and stroked his face over and over repeating words of affection. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>I wondered if she saw him, or even knew where she was. <br />
<br />
The moment really stuck with me through the day, I went to a lovely affair titled Listen to Your Mother and amid moments of laughter and grief shared with a roomful of mothers, mothers to be, or the mothered I thought again of that blond gal and her son. Did she love him? Did she love him more than the drugs coursing through her veins? <br />
<br />
I am so lucky, I know who I am, what I want and where I am going. I can take care of my children and be present for their daily lives. In a brief moment of viewing someone else's I know that despite the moments of hardship and frustration, despite not always feeling appreciated or noticed or special, I have one very important thing. Myself. and I can teach my children to be strong and vital and take care of their bodies and minds, that love is kind and gentle and fierce and fiery but it is never <em>ever</em> selfish.Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-35807752311879822011-03-26T20:21:00.000-07:002011-03-26T20:50:10.409-07:00Ruminations on Ukrainian Prairie food and Sick PreSchoolers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPTdomiIOkJojC5cviEWMtsOAUxAa2mQOVbmKr-qYTHYzaJQHTzTPx8pMFueQ8xqr5yPIEZQ7E6zbfgSUKkiyVW4HYr9r-qsJTFtEOIH36EtPWnIypGJZC_nn-GuxQYO76v0hKSX6VeLf/s1600/IMGP0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPTdomiIOkJojC5cviEWMtsOAUxAa2mQOVbmKr-qYTHYzaJQHTzTPx8pMFueQ8xqr5yPIEZQ7E6zbfgSUKkiyVW4HYr9r-qsJTFtEOIH36EtPWnIypGJZC_nn-GuxQYO76v0hKSX6VeLf/s320/IMGP0460.JPG" width="0" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well folks just when we were finally on the road to recovery Abby found herself another virus. March has been the worst month in recent memory for sickness around here, both the kids had back to back viruses and missed over two weeks of outings and school between the two of them. Then Seth got sick which immediately was an ear infection (also loads of fun should you ever wonder fleetingly about infecting the ears of a man who has a broken ear drum and a compromised immune system- vote yes- vote a total riot.) </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUBlgosUgpoPgIHLk5hUz5roTYaeP3M2_Xduv7ceTyMVFM67DSLQB5ycjDMj7UAv-m7bXzW2fGR_9uWBtFdBhHL3BE6iinEztMRSVZNYJap6oyuvHndj0GGVnIwCIcv86jfKEvQMNy5lE/s1600/IMGP0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUBlgosUgpoPgIHLk5hUz5roTYaeP3M2_Xduv7ceTyMVFM67DSLQB5ycjDMj7UAv-m7bXzW2fGR_9uWBtFdBhHL3BE6iinEztMRSVZNYJap6oyuvHndj0GGVnIwCIcv86jfKEvQMNy5lE/s320/IMGP0485.JPG" width="0" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And just when we thought that things were looking healthier around here, Kablammo! Abby is sick again. Hopefully Norah can avoid the extreme fever and chills that had Abby ( and subsequently Seth and myself) up until 5am this morning. I do suppose that the one really really good thing about one of us being sick is that it immediately trips my 'soup trigger' and has me thinking steaming bowls of tasty stoup. Oh yes that "t" is in there for a reason, I cannot actually make a soup per say, but I am a master craftsman of the Stew+Soup=Stoup. My Stoup is always intended to be a soup, but alas far more vegetable, meat and rice/noodles/potatoes fit in than I ever expect. If there is room in the broth it just doesn't look full enough to me and so I add, and add, and add until... Stoup. I suppose the only real reason that it isn't just called a Stew is that I intended it, however briefly, to be a soup when I began. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This particular stoup was a great hit and even had Abby munching away despite the non-appetite of a cold. Let me introduce: Ukrainian Prairie Soup, otherwise known as the best damn soup I have ever made. This was such a great meal, and it immediately reminded Seth and I of growing up in Alberta with the huge Ukrainian population and all the tasty yummy delectable food that should be eaten and available everywhere... but isn't. I must admit that I took it for granted that I could go to the store and buy a 5 kg bag of perogies for 7 dollars, did you hear that 5KG of PEROGIES? Or how about a tray of cabbagerolls, tasty rolls of meat and rice covered with that great tomato sauce, seriously!! I mean the trouble I could get into with that these days! </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But alas, not here in warm and rainy Spokane, perogies and cabbagerolls are simply the stuff of harsher winters where the only reason you leave the decently warm bus to walk home in the freezing/windy/icy/snowy/wasteland is because you know that there is 5kgs of perogies waiting for you. Or at least I tell myself this so I won't spend every hungry moment bemoaning the lack of perogies and cabbage rolls. Anyway back to the stoup, here we are folks a stoup that tastes just like cabbage rolls and then some. Granted it lacks ground beef, but I am sorta picky about ground beef in soups and I would have told you I hated that the lovely fatty tasty amazing ground beef that should be a hamburger or a meatloaf is floating in a liquid. BUT then I had some ground beef soup at the lovely <a href="http://themagneys.blogspot.com/">Sarah's house</a> and well.... she may have changed my mind a little, or a lot, that was damn good soup too, but I don't have that recipe I have this one:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 tblsp each of butter and oil</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 large chicken breasts diced with salt and pepper to taste</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Half a head of Green cabbage chopped</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 cup of chopped green beans</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 can of diced tomatoes</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2 cans of tomato soup</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3 cups of chicken broth</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 1/2 cups cooked rice ( remember the stoup, you may want less if you can't handle the STOUP)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1 tblsp of dried dill</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, brown in butter and oil, add cabbage and saute until slightly translucent, add beans and tomatoes, soups, broth, rice and dill. Bring to boil and simmer for half and hour or so until the stoup has thickened and you are clamouring for food. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It is seriously good folks! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-30811645435867081502011-03-06T19:22:00.000-08:002011-03-06T19:22:15.193-08:00The best kind ever<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbatibc6HiBqC3F_0TdZMqTMq8_AzOU4jt6kkF3XfWWZelbi-zNEN0Z5YJ8duIzOmY6B2yuMCjjz4zsZ_WB02Ued1NDXZcGcsgG5A-gViztGI6xK1ue03YReNavbtY4ul4Red0VXKT8I59/s1600/IMGP0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbatibc6HiBqC3F_0TdZMqTMq8_AzOU4jt6kkF3XfWWZelbi-zNEN0Z5YJ8duIzOmY6B2yuMCjjz4zsZ_WB02Ued1NDXZcGcsgG5A-gViztGI6xK1ue03YReNavbtY4ul4Red0VXKT8I59/s320/IMGP0343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is Real Love</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-1GRl38Cn9RfSi9V-_kE5mskcuJ7cHspLdmPAy6AARek7BK6B6z1qi__qxM19OIJZrP6Jy3lW7Fc9thVgE1uMK67kGaHOGMrecxG6jjxCvhU_YdRLWI4Z0M43k-ncp0Z2mOIDhvbAMLO/s1600/IMGP0346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-1GRl38Cn9RfSi9V-_kE5mskcuJ7cHspLdmPAy6AARek7BK6B6z1qi__qxM19OIJZrP6Jy3lW7Fc9thVgE1uMK67kGaHOGMrecxG6jjxCvhU_YdRLWI4Z0M43k-ncp0Z2mOIDhvbAMLO/s320/IMGP0346.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The best kind ever</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg962AoZBdjLrTKnHsALKUCzRwwFHBvk7HcxY7HE6ApGVuQxInzh-jMQ9_k8Y9eZMmwHxKdjpa7bBLvNpRKkgMG90Z3OU8Ik5gKENuoUnv7iKw0m-9bdUvW8Nm-bSMXbGReTkPdVHHUwh_P/s1600/IMGP0347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg962AoZBdjLrTKnHsALKUCzRwwFHBvk7HcxY7HE6ApGVuQxInzh-jMQ9_k8Y9eZMmwHxKdjpa7bBLvNpRKkgMG90Z3OU8Ik5gKENuoUnv7iKw0m-9bdUvW8Nm-bSMXbGReTkPdVHHUwh_P/s320/IMGP0347.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just being, and doing, together</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KdQgXvZQc7XN9F2TFQWaIisadw7MR4ZSY79nIgSacYPJCzpm22INwg9eMAs9IKP4Wh5GrHpzpRa9vUNSBhmxt4pUTSvAK5GcpMRNGMI9ui-C027sjhbPlLhcKQhDBnHFxcgB1y52DC-c/s1600/IMGP0273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KdQgXvZQc7XN9F2TFQWaIisadw7MR4ZSY79nIgSacYPJCzpm22INwg9eMAs9IKP4Wh5GrHpzpRa9vUNSBhmxt4pUTSvAK5GcpMRNGMI9ui-C027sjhbPlLhcKQhDBnHFxcgB1y52DC-c/s320/IMGP0273.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-70338063622062735412011-03-05T19:17:00.000-08:002011-03-05T19:17:03.503-08:00The Snowy DayAh Spokane, what a fickle winter you weave. Sometimes it snows and then it rains and then it's cold, no warm, and then cold, and then spring-like... the only place more indecisive in winter is Calgary. BUT I do really love living here, and the variety has made it more fun. I grew up in Edmonton where the winters were polar, bitter, freezing and ridiculous. At least one week of minus 30-40 celsius and on top of that freezing winds, lots of snow.... you get the drift. ha ha get it? snow.. drift.. okay lame, but the point is that I am really enjoying winter here! On our last snow day I was out with the girls trampling that newly fallen blanket of pristine white flakes into a strange highway of boot tracks criss-crossing our huge yard. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-8aKc8VbCnms97ELBLQ92OUXN5-sPtthZ-yi9kfjoCVm02z8Ng0RXDZQTUJhjWZ5OJqqDe0ynoIOyd1Xg-DFPWLV4SEikb78napG7nKAoy2RAVIBScdSebaDQm8UpDzrSHoBYDblcIhq/s1600/IMGP0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-8aKc8VbCnms97ELBLQ92OUXN5-sPtthZ-yi9kfjoCVm02z8Ng0RXDZQTUJhjWZ5OJqqDe0ynoIOyd1Xg-DFPWLV4SEikb78napG7nKAoy2RAVIBScdSebaDQm8UpDzrSHoBYDblcIhq/s320/IMGP0349.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There was much excitement about shadows for some reason and Norah spent a lot of time exclaiming about the location of her shadow and it's neat trick of following her around</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HFpFqJo9e0L7FpYWxA9yGTA29QX5yv-3F1yxTD5UCnmENQ9XecSwBErSlv7T74RkwToHKUTcUtx_HV5Eit7CuUKTOm1ezBgg68rgv5vFh8ZdvaGMGfw-K9W7yyuiG2cBs9AOUPzZ6Xur/s1600/IMGP0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HFpFqJo9e0L7FpYWxA9yGTA29QX5yv-3F1yxTD5UCnmENQ9XecSwBErSlv7T74RkwToHKUTcUtx_HV5Eit7CuUKTOm1ezBgg68rgv5vFh8ZdvaGMGfw-K9W7yyuiG2cBs9AOUPzZ6Xur/s320/IMGP0358.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Abby and Nemo were digging for ... well.... something</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPzk27pLM0bdWTKrufsw63hatwlxyppYJMO_E7YfBuefmr1vTcq9Mt3_eCR7xLDdhW9ELdiMqvbkIi9dgxVos6N72KDOK-1ajVmoveQFOwIZpzOFW5piraxnM_ggWma5WcbRl389QETuCR/s1600/IMGP0359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPzk27pLM0bdWTKrufsw63hatwlxyppYJMO_E7YfBuefmr1vTcq9Mt3_eCR7xLDdhW9ELdiMqvbkIi9dgxVos6N72KDOK-1ajVmoveQFOwIZpzOFW5piraxnM_ggWma5WcbRl389QETuCR/s320/IMGP0359.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And now for this dog, I have to tell you, this dog is so damn cute. And especially when he is all covered in snow and NOT banging on the back door to be let in, then he is extra cute.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ChTBE5LPTeZp37WTbnL2JfWiJotARKusFIOzribRSrnA_4SoakNzKXj5MGWb_BJXUSVMM3ZONQRLUK77fAw9iQ1BQWGLbcvZGx9vNQkKjxJKf8GXLmY8y_1E42T03FlMhWdZyudM3dnc/s1600/IMGP0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ChTBE5LPTeZp37WTbnL2JfWiJotARKusFIOzribRSrnA_4SoakNzKXj5MGWb_BJXUSVMM3ZONQRLUK77fAw9iQ1BQWGLbcvZGx9vNQkKjxJKf8GXLmY8y_1E42T03FlMhWdZyudM3dnc/s320/IMGP0371.JPG" width="301" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXj3d3q4Wf3IyAFiYOAviD83TxEzCqfu3w9vyL2Dwxo921oNSBvl7_oUgmuVayG4jcEvePKbUKMZ69gfB4Y1VFKCAajTQyKF6zW_SsHV6lEY5_qMhMNJtpxMjAH_s9kK9NIP3AqKu73QX6/s1600/IMGP0372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXj3d3q4Wf3IyAFiYOAviD83TxEzCqfu3w9vyL2Dwxo921oNSBvl7_oUgmuVayG4jcEvePKbUKMZ69gfB4Y1VFKCAajTQyKF6zW_SsHV6lEY5_qMhMNJtpxMjAH_s9kK9NIP3AqKu73QX6/s320/IMGP0372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD445h51A7cRp6QY1ImonNORHhJiZ6EzE-0pHQRIgd01kpBWG5gNRMuzSAx8WZWe3jGfQqlYGUsfU3C567OtaNnmn3EvCsF-7I6BwwaiUS8NcdRyTQysxS8UZ5Z01dxS7iYM77g9rJ-RAT/s1600/IMGP0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD445h51A7cRp6QY1ImonNORHhJiZ6EzE-0pHQRIgd01kpBWG5gNRMuzSAx8WZWe3jGfQqlYGUsfU3C567OtaNnmn3EvCsF-7I6BwwaiUS8NcdRyTQysxS8UZ5Z01dxS7iYM77g9rJ-RAT/s320/IMGP0354.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6YcfG2tiZB7adr9v_pyBOrLhbnS-ciH9-Eqxkhwz_iIGNLjONDS8kqpcXR-g9RQlwhqUsxxVlTvMULOeUoc7wup3wYMv2obdScFBGYEvC3Ic7o_k48h3aYVjhy-k3WLWZKrXXwSiQxON/s1600/IMGP0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6YcfG2tiZB7adr9v_pyBOrLhbnS-ciH9-Eqxkhwz_iIGNLjONDS8kqpcXR-g9RQlwhqUsxxVlTvMULOeUoc7wup3wYMv2obdScFBGYEvC3Ic7o_k48h3aYVjhy-k3WLWZKrXXwSiQxON/s320/IMGP0383.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our loyal doggies, featuring Snow dog and Old dog who is far too dignified to actually prance in the snow, I mean really!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWJojWTYhTnoJ84WXXjxMX0AXz4mpQYWNBl1hhR_sF783DbY1LpkxsR7MZHen70LSxo7ihHX6qX3dyGYGcxG1OB-ezSoBknXdBjcYYfGwtm62kllME_wwwo3dmgnJ80XTOmZYv7BMVz8e/s1600/IMGP0377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWJojWTYhTnoJ84WXXjxMX0AXz4mpQYWNBl1hhR_sF783DbY1LpkxsR7MZHen70LSxo7ihHX6qX3dyGYGcxG1OB-ezSoBknXdBjcYYfGwtm62kllME_wwwo3dmgnJ80XTOmZYv7BMVz8e/s320/IMGP0377.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lastly.. our tracks, Norah was most impressed that people make tracks just like animals do, thank you Diego. </div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-21080806004225262392011-02-08T11:25:00.000-08:002011-02-08T11:25:16.084-08:00Dollhouse interior<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54d7AAmNN8_ngVnxhUvv03prA_AL2bt4E6FCjb9ppEJzf_UmM3TwKN0Kh8zJ6kPPsgs7i_ZYihb_BfEsob8uS0AIcRBECbtlDdYAznWPxxdMBTjFIHuh8QlvGQYtAbMcS1RzaYa8rxntt/s1600/IMGP0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54d7AAmNN8_ngVnxhUvv03prA_AL2bt4E6FCjb9ppEJzf_UmM3TwKN0Kh8zJ6kPPsgs7i_ZYihb_BfEsob8uS0AIcRBECbtlDdYAznWPxxdMBTjFIHuh8QlvGQYtAbMcS1RzaYa8rxntt/s400/IMGP0070.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
So about three years ago my Mother in Law bought a dollhouse kit for Seth to work on for Abby, at the time it seemed like a really great constructive project for him. It soon becaem apparant that there were way too many instructions that were vague with unlabeled pieces for his brain injury to handle.... Cue Mommy to the rescue. We have been working on this crazy dollhouse for the past year together, it started with wanting to get it done for Abby's Fourth birthday over the summer but that didn't quite happen. And then wanting to get it done for Christmas, but still.. not enough time. So after stalling out on cutting all the little bitty pieces of trim (that really my kids couldn't care less about) an executive decision was made in January that the inside should be finished first. This was based partly on the fact that the kids were loving playing with it and starting to colour the walls with crayons to help mommy finish, and also partly because I am quite worried about the little delicate wooden deck railing spindles surviving the next few years.. so inside won over outside. Above is a shot of the inside all primed with papers laid out for each room.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27TQzTqWX7VB6c08gPE6Be8HHpmdfXkHvaKBtTjbVLkLDesbK9BFsebZ-Hpu3KkpeS7d1K9iwCf3elhBR1wY1c0lyCEMSye-b2uu1h94VGR6oLGGIOmfr9eIO1xrOLX7XMux7bQoUnJzk/s1600/IMGP0121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27TQzTqWX7VB6c08gPE6Be8HHpmdfXkHvaKBtTjbVLkLDesbK9BFsebZ-Hpu3KkpeS7d1K9iwCf3elhBR1wY1c0lyCEMSye-b2uu1h94VGR6oLGGIOmfr9eIO1xrOLX7XMux7bQoUnJzk/s400/IMGP0121.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is the upper floor of the dollhouse, the two girl's rooms. Not surprisingly the older girl gets the biggest room and when ABby is playing she also gets all the blankets, food, pets and toys... :)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRMqT9iFMcXwr4R56roGUTW72jHEXvUOJ0KyX7_ANq84cZ3XnjYxnz6u3iYpZEppjULTSrldBKufj2yMF0d5-00jJnX8UuKuoqg09EGNJzhAAh-Lpsj_5C5_MpJ8CIVjfXMeywouZ5zjz/s1600/IMGP0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRMqT9iFMcXwr4R56roGUTW72jHEXvUOJ0KyX7_ANq84cZ3XnjYxnz6u3iYpZEppjULTSrldBKufj2yMF0d5-00jJnX8UuKuoqg09EGNJzhAAh-Lpsj_5C5_MpJ8CIVjfXMeywouZ5zjz/s400/IMGP0122.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Baby's room, the wallpaper is also sparkly in a lot of these rooms which really put Abby over the top</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSduHlV7bFfLvqcHy1bnLn0LDxu6717uwQHE0BiERfK4h7T_lu8xrln4pNs8eRV_W2-RuETlOYazNN8mhoOUxxSjmMjWBmAgAHC7RLzhxLrHCGOj3XgYb_pRaZCSDtXpq7-qku0dctqHK/s1600/IMGP0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSduHlV7bFfLvqcHy1bnLn0LDxu6717uwQHE0BiERfK4h7T_lu8xrln4pNs8eRV_W2-RuETlOYazNN8mhoOUxxSjmMjWBmAgAHC7RLzhxLrHCGOj3XgYb_pRaZCSDtXpq7-qku0dctqHK/s400/IMGP0126.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The Bathroom which I am thinking that i am totally in love with and I wonder if they could make scrapbooking paper 10 feet tall for my bathroom :) lol </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2u9f4Tk2kbBfsRQtUK2nH1CDc7zwEjYIggojH1SOh9RWH7uwIwX1DMLhoN5CgitDn3s_h_MCbU10Xgn-4t_8DXmQVC2PBLRKMXOATpm354_rQIpTP7hHwLj9E9Ei8bHW6tJbxXxqlT3PQ/s1600/IMGP0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2u9f4Tk2kbBfsRQtUK2nH1CDc7zwEjYIggojH1SOh9RWH7uwIwX1DMLhoN5CgitDn3s_h_MCbU10Xgn-4t_8DXmQVC2PBLRKMXOATpm354_rQIpTP7hHwLj9E9Ei8bHW6tJbxXxqlT3PQ/s400/IMGP0129.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Mom and Dad's room, yes we did use vinyl flooring in the whole dollhouse, yes I did cut it out to fit each room from large tiles, no I am not crazy. My thinking was this: it is super durable and meant for real people to walk in so therefore it should survive the doll family and the two little girls manipulating them.... right?</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yOmJKwmTslvijlVIFz_T7sLxrvbWaJ62SVlZGaLDs9Em9rhfChaSDgisoC5SabiiBVltWJAjp_Vk92gxgE9I-Mrf7ZrR5X5RgmGN_apOpEcn6L02ScaTJ496bTpUecIFIYXYBnykVtVw/s1600/IMGP0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yOmJKwmTslvijlVIFz_T7sLxrvbWaJ62SVlZGaLDs9Em9rhfChaSDgisoC5SabiiBVltWJAjp_Vk92gxgE9I-Mrf7ZrR5X5RgmGN_apOpEcn6L02ScaTJ496bTpUecIFIYXYBnykVtVw/s400/IMGP0132.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Two angles of the living/dining room</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCwE5ABtW05dljMlGof3V7VBjMDLRwc_RDquTGOrJ7-UoLS0pyHGZY1L6GYNCHBL5wcSNWAkT-1zU4osUQcJ3lKl5CslRTqAlCBwss1ledwvoVAviJcqXGjUhximj040YdjIWyGSLx0lP/s1600/IMGP0140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCwE5ABtW05dljMlGof3V7VBjMDLRwc_RDquTGOrJ7-UoLS0pyHGZY1L6GYNCHBL5wcSNWAkT-1zU4osUQcJ3lKl5CslRTqAlCBwss1ledwvoVAviJcqXGjUhximj040YdjIWyGSLx0lP/s400/IMGP0140.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjUcoWsqGE357xx_hzUwGO0snXDzdrrNc39x-LU_q7p5ohkKrZBwSD5mGSuDS34hMCJi7QxBsjepRG_PGPjUEoHAEQIwl_n5LPUxBc-jjmqO6ntyWIaonNNGqn4dHpR89udddq-1WMA0M/s1600/IMGP0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjUcoWsqGE357xx_hzUwGO0snXDzdrrNc39x-LU_q7p5ohkKrZBwSD5mGSuDS34hMCJi7QxBsjepRG_PGPjUEoHAEQIwl_n5LPUxBc-jjmqO6ntyWIaonNNGqn4dHpR89udddq-1WMA0M/s400/IMGP0134.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center">And two angles of the kitchen</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSOpg2rIWPzLn1pIQWFDACo0TZrL_eilWLCqi8lLEOwkfovlAwHUJ_f3X7HdgbrD_kP6FsMKXpAjgFn8E25sUzB9pNAQrAy9501K3l8jTloQ0FQSZ6O6zBrsXur2UkqRHAn8pZs1uyb2p/s1600/IMGP0135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSOpg2rIWPzLn1pIQWFDACo0TZrL_eilWLCqi8lLEOwkfovlAwHUJ_f3X7HdgbrD_kP6FsMKXpAjgFn8E25sUzB9pNAQrAy9501K3l8jTloQ0FQSZ6O6zBrsXur2UkqRHAn8pZs1uyb2p/s400/IMGP0135.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> It may have been the most fun I have ever had making something for the kids, and I thought seriously about starting a dollhouse renovation company.. but you know.. time :) </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCn749enS5aNiCOOyEaVXaJ-NwEaSVQ09gxE5qdfPldu5LgVdtCV3bRROdwhcRT68AHjDSqf_YaH0mwChFjFlhVAgdr9gHAnlaz4b7rXOSRRAExcxHCJWGFhMJDBFnLohyphenhyphen739WxQRqCnb/s1600/IMGP0083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCn749enS5aNiCOOyEaVXaJ-NwEaSVQ09gxE5qdfPldu5LgVdtCV3bRROdwhcRT68AHjDSqf_YaH0mwChFjFlhVAgdr9gHAnlaz4b7rXOSRRAExcxHCJWGFhMJDBFnLohyphenhyphen739WxQRqCnb/s320/IMGP0083.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Lastly we have a few shots of Baby Raccoon and Baby Kitty who came to play a few days ago. They were masks cut out from a cutting crafts book ABby got for Xmas, and they provided hours of playtime. :)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEufBHXn3q2a8PE1thOrrPJX0oSysHF49QeLKbUVEzczCTZxKxfI2gPkapKdq1QhYBS0GmUpxNGZXHpY-jXsyDU8PZzZUo9cqC2P5BpopLlHsQ1kKS3ly8hsqll0gRqneVm9ihjIAkXwTY/s1600/IMGP0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEufBHXn3q2a8PE1thOrrPJX0oSysHF49QeLKbUVEzczCTZxKxfI2gPkapKdq1QhYBS0GmUpxNGZXHpY-jXsyDU8PZzZUo9cqC2P5BpopLlHsQ1kKS3ly8hsqll0gRqneVm9ihjIAkXwTY/s320/IMGP0084.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-72096185287123425382011-01-15T19:54:00.000-08:002011-01-15T19:54:19.464-08:00Finally... keeping up with the Jones's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOvY7uXiz1BupUH3fgtuDizQmHJxhRGTELkWUzKXm4VAPaMPA3WcEV1iB3WYVUs8FOxnzfo15T7GYxyermcvX8KDAazlsgwt8Aihhu5NQXeQ5WFEdVsb-Ie4H2rFVK-bi0rF3utkhxJtH/s1600/IMGP0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOvY7uXiz1BupUH3fgtuDizQmHJxhRGTELkWUzKXm4VAPaMPA3WcEV1iB3WYVUs8FOxnzfo15T7GYxyermcvX8KDAazlsgwt8Aihhu5NQXeQ5WFEdVsb-Ie4H2rFVK-bi0rF3utkhxJtH/s320/IMGP0068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Finally! Finally I have my brand new shiny red camera, and I finally got some time to work with it and take a few new pictures of the girls that aren't all grayed out. Finally I can select shots that are really the ones that I want and not just have to settle for the half decent ones. So I celebrated by trying to take a few shots of what we did today. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EKMdw_dsb30Jba18kJ_7LFUMqKJ8kycuUqWxu_B2ysgTvamacD7fIxZpJrYx24sn_yFkzH0c8YDlNT0BSR5B5k863tcf9u0qGSfzRWqWQCA9z2HmwAxAdtCgtZmK5DI-mgKbJOBkj9sg/s1600/IMGP0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EKMdw_dsb30Jba18kJ_7LFUMqKJ8kycuUqWxu_B2ysgTvamacD7fIxZpJrYx24sn_yFkzH0c8YDlNT0BSR5B5k863tcf9u0qGSfzRWqWQCA9z2HmwAxAdtCgtZmK5DI-mgKbJOBkj9sg/s320/IMGP0011.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">It was such a lovely warm day above freezing, mostly all the snow has melted and so the kids were itching to get the bikes out for the first time in months. Norah is still too short for the real bikes, or even the tricycles, but she can scoot. And she's pretty darn fast at it too!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyC6sgyMcgo1OBILY8Tld4dNJWhTC2V0zkg0ZEzJlZKBruBgvQ3nQdowIU2f_sYnc5LAieKFxKe0PV3s7Tn5a0Q1E1b1k4ZT-5RgkOoMNqz3oACNCfT56Ot3xisaOOmZg1YgLdBNZYLyO/s1600/IMGP0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjyC6sgyMcgo1OBILY8Tld4dNJWhTC2V0zkg0ZEzJlZKBruBgvQ3nQdowIU2f_sYnc5LAieKFxKe0PV3s7Tn5a0Q1E1b1k4ZT-5RgkOoMNqz3oACNCfT56Ot3xisaOOmZg1YgLdBNZYLyO/s320/IMGP0021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Not as fast as Abby though, so she settled with yelling "Abby!" over and over while her big sister lapped her around the driveway.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityBF-qX7Ba6U12dDIJtj81luz7lX4uieWQyRnQeSRmfAtsyzkEvfuzIFpfypLeHchMBJ9WCGt6xSq7IXPi_A8D2zLTcIgab4UAmECmgTwafDzkzoOIEcJLKcFruH3mGrgL0J32c5zaHSy/s1600/IMGP0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityBF-qX7Ba6U12dDIJtj81luz7lX4uieWQyRnQeSRmfAtsyzkEvfuzIFpfypLeHchMBJ9WCGt6xSq7IXPi_A8D2zLTcIgab4UAmECmgTwafDzkzoOIEcJLKcFruH3mGrgL0J32c5zaHSy/s320/IMGP0025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Abby was delighted she still knew how to ride her bike and spent at least a half an hour riding in circles and giving me a play by play whenever she got close to the flower bed. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynQ3j_5hukiP8agCvlENfRm5t4QeRKTyiALE8Gzk6y6yWSm61lwts-2tsRCKRAA6K0Xq3Z7LzvbsHyVMi2r1YQIAoTHc-b0eTYRD6rwMXlBnlDn2JaIoke5YNJ4AYmKykrPnrSfAyGVtn/s1600/IMGP0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynQ3j_5hukiP8agCvlENfRm5t4QeRKTyiALE8Gzk6y6yWSm61lwts-2tsRCKRAA6K0Xq3Z7LzvbsHyVMi2r1YQIAoTHc-b0eTYRD6rwMXlBnlDn2JaIoke5YNJ4AYmKykrPnrSfAyGVtn/s320/IMGP0028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Abby and I made homemade turkey soup and homemade buns for supper. Whenever I make homemade bread or buns I always ponder why I don't make them all the time. Unfortunately with Seth on a low-carb diet buns aren't really a staple food but once in a while they really hit the spot. And my kids love homemade soup so much! More than pizza, more than chicken nuggests, and only slightly less then french fries. (seriously, french fries are the most sought after food for my kids, but not the crappy ones, they have to be big nicely seasoned Steak fries.) Abby is really good at eating the soup broth and the bits, but really Norah is a broth girl through and through. So tonight HandDog came to visit and help Norah eat her bits so she wouldn't be all full of liquid and hungry in two hours. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdg3D9HPwAaGX37A17mlHJWHrsX7j5hwfr-8fAGonEkebRlBvgcWgcxkKu7X04iTDA-Kl52hShrMSegC6sQnitFEMuHrsbXr2ZzrrzjbGSjRllfj6-C4dyLl9CJQLTKjZiWyJrVJudQYP/s1600/IMGP0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdg3D9HPwAaGX37A17mlHJWHrsX7j5hwfr-8fAGonEkebRlBvgcWgcxkKu7X04iTDA-Kl52hShrMSegC6sQnitFEMuHrsbXr2ZzrrzjbGSjRllfj6-C4dyLl9CJQLTKjZiWyJrVJudQYP/s320/IMGP0047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">At first HandDog was such an anomaly that she wasn't too sure, that silly handdog masquerading as Daddy's hand this whole time had her stumped for only a few seconds. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycDFr_gZCEqJHdBGqeiB3lORXfLckD7iayuab74dw3DXeMsockMbQ3kDYTf-8f-eUhfrhLIZb4CjM0cKYWnFtCA83vUrBIPMWUedgn_niizV0XL57J5CiKk1_of9wIwyD-5pgcIBHKa97/s1600/IMGP0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycDFr_gZCEqJHdBGqeiB3lORXfLckD7iayuab74dw3DXeMsockMbQ3kDYTf-8f-eUhfrhLIZb4CjM0cKYWnFtCA83vUrBIPMWUedgn_niizV0XL57J5CiKk1_of9wIwyD-5pgcIBHKa97/s320/IMGP0053.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Then they were best of friends and HandDog quickly helped Norah eat some bits from the soup bowl by trying them first and proving without a doubt that the bits were indeed edible. She was very upset when Hand Dog had to say goodbye and help Daddy do the dishes and walk the dogs. Ultimately HandCat that tried to help Mommy do the bath was not nearly as popular and very nearly drowned via angry toddler. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7DLv3o_Pe1IiIF33X3LR0cHNsYwXgf6Bb47gP4Aft-Z1JEuk_0O_JLwfel9jCfSuojNA2ozDJ62WxU_jzb4-CYajFAfFyVwB-ccOESl47rNEXKhmCD0Z-iwPKfKY8a9-nNefm5XRiGgmS/s1600/IMGP0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7DLv3o_Pe1IiIF33X3LR0cHNsYwXgf6Bb47gP4Aft-Z1JEuk_0O_JLwfel9jCfSuojNA2ozDJ62WxU_jzb4-CYajFAfFyVwB-ccOESl47rNEXKhmCD0Z-iwPKfKY8a9-nNefm5XRiGgmS/s320/IMGP0063.JPG" width="249" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Sometimes when we're tired or just plain wanting the kids to "do what we say when we say it," it's easy to forget that a lot of parenting has to be creative. A situation where we struggle to get the obstinent child to comply can be easily diffused with something as simple as HandDog. Even though today ended well I am still struggling with trying to balance time between the kids and things that I want/need to do. But when all else fails looking at the world through the imagination of a little girl can really change your perspective. </div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-39300528047304005522011-01-06T20:20:00.000-08:002011-01-15T20:58:02.967-08:00Time Well SpentSo here's the thing, because I spend all this time at home, and work from home and my husband is at home too and the kids are at home most of the time... well... sometimes I don't actually appreciate the time that I have with the kids. It's not like I am at work all day thinking about how much I miss their little faces, I am upstairs at home trying to work with a million distractions namely two very smart, very verbal little girls. So what could actually be a whole day of us doing things together turns into a day of me trying to escape for a few minutes and being interrupted, so I feel like my escape was jilted and therefore I am sore about it. <br />
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I take this sore spot and I flaunt it by huffing about it and then planning a household chore that simply has to get done and 'might' include a child but really isn't their idea of fun at all. So since they really couldn't care less about participating in putting away the laundry, or tidying the shelves I do indeed get that much longed for escape, but by then it is soured and tainted by the fact that I won it underhandedly.<br />
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This year will be different, following up on my resolution to spend some individual time with each kid ( which is mostly working) I am trying to pay with cash instead of credit. <br />
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I plan an activity with the kids that we simply just do, a craft, or a game, something together... 30-45 mintues or so. I try to be wholly present in whatever we do, have a great time, and then after we are done I can ask for a few minutes to work on what I need to do. This way my kids already feel like they have cash in their pockets, I am not paying them with empty promises of some indistinct activity in the future I have already given them the gift of my time and am asking for a little back. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqLdbohgu_BCRwaIp2AViH9cjVR5blTH7EA9ndDW87W_dqA9Fh0medZHiEnToK9NKZCKhUYP3CgBaWrXvkDEGiLS0DBhmgFwxqlLrl6xeCD16bKHMrtU3T6Gnnx6RqhbtPk-6J5zIGhU3/s1600/DSCN3543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqLdbohgu_BCRwaIp2AViH9cjVR5blTH7EA9ndDW87W_dqA9Fh0medZHiEnToK9NKZCKhUYP3CgBaWrXvkDEGiLS0DBhmgFwxqlLrl6xeCD16bKHMrtU3T6Gnnx6RqhbtPk-6J5zIGhU3/s320/DSCN3543.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We started this off with shaving cream painting, you know the activity where you spray shaving foam all over the table and watch your horrified children as they tentativty poke at it while wondering transparently if their mother has really and truly gone mental? You know that one? well we did it. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWZ346BUoS9vD0C0X0re-xtrWfbiQfEG88AreFEDoDfWqL6g5L7JWcDvT9HV60iSx_R3vxy4CebhO7yf7Eo65IQcmB0aBF6vNman7avD6CsG36_Y7RGGpKXXuihvTeW7xoCPhCQpfRoFA/s1600/DSCN3551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWZ346BUoS9vD0C0X0re-xtrWfbiQfEG88AreFEDoDfWqL6g5L7JWcDvT9HV60iSx_R3vxy4CebhO7yf7Eo65IQcmB0aBF6vNman7avD6CsG36_Y7RGGpKXXuihvTeW7xoCPhCQpfRoFA/s320/DSCN3551.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After the initial spate of " Let's make as big a mess as possible before mom realizes just how big a hole she has dug here," we moved on to "hey this feels pretty great on the skin"</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMcMtH7-WSHet8hrbxu7GkTbkACwI87uRuzhOf2XY-plDkf1WlFbwVEL9sUpV61Kut_uXbfJ5u2CamDpQrmK4ibtilhj8IAXYDd05QsGcMfCyEUsw0ePau0wg6z8Ivo25emd0tYfLh2EC/s1600/DSCN3552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMcMtH7-WSHet8hrbxu7GkTbkACwI87uRuzhOf2XY-plDkf1WlFbwVEL9sUpV61Kut_uXbfJ5u2CamDpQrmK4ibtilhj8IAXYDd05QsGcMfCyEUsw0ePau0wg6z8Ivo25emd0tYfLh2EC/s320/DSCN3552.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And finally the intended result, the paintings</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEhwEMQQJgCgSQz4yZfxwBsR7TePf6oxj1m7aRwgXEKo66dWQo9Ndb8Gk_GegaT03IyuEtTf8bfygY7ULs6NC5zWYyc8Q4CKEvIgwxHLw0HmC9pjTqagn7XQ779cKIJWwEVSEi6WB07mW/s1600/DSCN3556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEhwEMQQJgCgSQz4yZfxwBsR7TePf6oxj1m7aRwgXEKo66dWQo9Ndb8Gk_GegaT03IyuEtTf8bfygY7ULs6NC5zWYyc8Q4CKEvIgwxHLw0HmC9pjTqagn7XQ779cKIJWwEVSEi6WB07mW/s320/DSCN3556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A lovely flower above, and a rendition of Toothless the Dragon from How to Train Your Dragon</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeITblqocUTt5jT89fqTUft8qb8iXWeYR8Qepee5aEzxyRczgjM5Hnw1PxzDEGT2FLXJXTvlWv9fvT7aGWH01ontxzywva3gP70u4CwyX2b1kE3554094CI482mRhOsLqR_eybIUkunes/s1600/DSCN3557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgeITblqocUTt5jT89fqTUft8qb8iXWeYR8Qepee5aEzxyRczgjM5Hnw1PxzDEGT2FLXJXTvlWv9fvT7aGWH01ontxzywva3gP70u4CwyX2b1kE3554094CI482mRhOsLqR_eybIUkunes/s320/DSCN3557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And Norah informs me that a reliable source has told her this is a cow, definitely a cow.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaHZWKUE5BjCoG9Dxd8l26WVuR5Ov5vEESysCkA01IoxFu9nhsdNQXSIlUDh5g8BHuo03J5umQ-Epmjh9Ex2m2Nrte81RNa0rkiVDfFg9YYXM7MHjYxcrGzzlzmk3xtTFpYqxo3iObmxG/s1600/DSCN3558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaHZWKUE5BjCoG9Dxd8l26WVuR5Ov5vEESysCkA01IoxFu9nhsdNQXSIlUDh5g8BHuo03J5umQ-Epmjh9Ex2m2Nrte81RNa0rkiVDfFg9YYXM7MHjYxcrGzzlzmk3xtTFpYqxo3iObmxG/s320/DSCN3558.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was great fun, and I did really enjoy it. Letting go of 'the plan' is really hard sometimes but soon enough these kids will be off at school and time will drag for hours. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH3odWhFykSkoT_rbF-BCqPT4K4L7pDQhYPYfd-Y29I_DJOQeF4ah-qhDIcrYaW2M7hX6mWjaliqxYgnmHPjZfRNOgMn1ziVdIgdlb3r65qhVfih8Hbr9ydaErdKPK1SFciMJbAgbHljk/s1600/DSCN3559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH3odWhFykSkoT_rbF-BCqPT4K4L7pDQhYPYfd-Y29I_DJOQeF4ah-qhDIcrYaW2M7hX6mWjaliqxYgnmHPjZfRNOgMn1ziVdIgdlb3r65qhVfih8Hbr9ydaErdKPK1SFciMJbAgbHljk/s320/DSCN3559.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And lastly I'll leave you with a shot of poor Nemo who was out in the snow in the perfect conditions for this crazy snowball effect. Poor dog was waddling all over the house until I took pity on him and gave him a warm bath to melt him down a bit :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkK5z7PVcSH7s6Z1fz4iTpVhnTU_CT2n1EfdFCffYIr8e0dVYJnbxNrqtEygzXKZduu2IK1pwxHkQt_RKZ7jKUlYUPWkAOOnQOswyp14DBOMtiQb1aUrLl5mNFY9vSAnDe-yqEGYk_IUW/s1600/DSCN3575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkK5z7PVcSH7s6Z1fz4iTpVhnTU_CT2n1EfdFCffYIr8e0dVYJnbxNrqtEygzXKZduu2IK1pwxHkQt_RKZ7jKUlYUPWkAOOnQOswyp14DBOMtiQb1aUrLl5mNFY9vSAnDe-yqEGYk_IUW/s320/DSCN3575.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-79756484738116765882011-01-02T10:32:00.000-08:002011-01-02T10:32:29.281-08:00Another Year has sprung itself upon us eh?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoKKCeJMmcVxgFReiQuZdDm6L5F-3i2GRWhmMBGy1gbUUcUS-99if-dre59hZA4ebtJjFJydT8ADXsVNDKMZ1-staHJQcJaVvYKks3YdTt-VOjSxl2_nJewvTVtjcmvtK-3RwbOR_KTvk/s1600/DSCN3513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoKKCeJMmcVxgFReiQuZdDm6L5F-3i2GRWhmMBGy1gbUUcUS-99if-dre59hZA4ebtJjFJydT8ADXsVNDKMZ1-staHJQcJaVvYKks3YdTt-VOjSxl2_nJewvTVtjcmvtK-3RwbOR_KTvk/s320/DSCN3513.JPG" width="243" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">New Years always seems to be such a surprise for me, not that I don't know it's coming but more that the confirmation that all time is just slipping by faster and faster scares the pants off of me. And there is no better reminder than that crazy anti-climactic celebration with the odd pressure to drink copious amounts of alcohol and watch some crazy sparkly ball fall a continent away. And after you kiss your special someone ( and in my case marvel that there is this crazy forever marriage with this perfect person and how the hell did that happen?) and then it's all over. All the anticipation for all the holidays that are sandwiched into two months is suddenly let go and you feel.. well... tired. </div><br />
We have been running at full tilt over here for the last few months, we had two birthdays within our little nuclear ( love the word and the completely volatile implications) family, one birthday in the extended family, 4 birthdays with friends, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Years which brought a new baby to a very best friend. Add to that Seth deciding to go back to school, Abby starting Ballet, Norah stopping her napping and I had two publication deadlines for other people and self published one other pattern not to mention making Christmas presents and what you you end up with? Tired.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I am looking forward to January, sweet sweet January with it's endless possibilities and unmarked calender.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>The best thing about the first few days of the New Year is that you can fool yourself into thinking that life really should be this unblemished list of hopes and dreams, ideas planned and yet not made real. That you will indeed have time to complete all things which you desire and still have time to relax in a pillow of lavender steam each night while your children magically put themselves to bed after pouring you a glass of Merlot. That somehow all the gritty parts will be brushed over and a perfect silver lining will always gleam with promise like a beacon in the night. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU3W47qMpBFBiJSrb7uo2Wwi5ayKuyZxnFFqh0I6fnun1GMyjXr0bgoEamKUYlE3C62apn9hpaXWtnLIxpZKoiSzwfqQilbV7jMmoS4o_3gR2VHphB6SPyZ5RkQLWt8dzb_BzJr5B0s8x/s1600/DSCN3403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU3W47qMpBFBiJSrb7uo2Wwi5ayKuyZxnFFqh0I6fnun1GMyjXr0bgoEamKUYlE3C62apn9hpaXWtnLIxpZKoiSzwfqQilbV7jMmoS4o_3gR2VHphB6SPyZ5RkQLWt8dzb_BzJr5B0s8x/s320/DSCN3403.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And then the best thing about the rest of January is that you realize nothing has really changed, that there are still kids pulling each others hair, dogs pooping in the living room, books being ripped, favorite coffee cups smashed, not enough time to do anything other than laundry and work and cooking for the starving hordes. But this is the very best part of life, the part where we have other people to mess it up and change it around, to demand our time away from the very best resolutions we have made. Life is lived inside the in between spaces, the moments before and after the climax where we just be with each other and do our daily things. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">For that very reason I would like to share my resolutions with you all:</div><br />
1. Make a point every day of spending half an hour with each child separately doing something of their choice, I will do this without thinking of knitting, and without trying to double task a household chore because when my children are grown they will remember the small moments not the big ones. <br />
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2. Taking another half an hour to exercise each day, this does mostly happen anyways but making it more formal will make it more appealing. I will feel like I am healing my body, and making it strong, I will not bend to the image that society makes for me but carve my own.<br />
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Just to point out that at this point I have lost 1.5 hours of knitting time<br />
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3. To work my ass off at my now chosen career, to be the very best dynamic incredible artistic person that I am, and to never apologize for it.<br />
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I wish everyone the very best of the New Year, make the small moments count, and live the life <em>you really want !</em>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-59215352084110875432010-12-29T15:41:00.001-08:002010-12-29T15:41:30.758-08:00The Magic of Santa: Guest PostI wanted to let you all know that I have a guest post up on a lovely friend's blog this week about the Christmas season and keeping the light and magic alive, you can check it out<a href="http://chelseab.typepad.com/lady_i_swear_by_all_flowe/2010/12/29-december-2010.html"> over here!</a>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-91937493419409050742010-12-15T10:30:00.000-08:002010-12-15T10:30:20.898-08:00Happy Birthday Norah!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_asHkkR_45b8Rbp95to3eEXhGDKHvBZCt6yAe9rbYpXMPdlKSn4MChfPfQCDNwm4VAKvEfTZnxeJ1b1GVRHWNaglBDWfcgHEKTBeufK5W8xUiR8TYhsc83LeLAgJ5_-JdDs3HbKCkKn4R/s1600/DSCN3304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_asHkkR_45b8Rbp95to3eEXhGDKHvBZCt6yAe9rbYpXMPdlKSn4MChfPfQCDNwm4VAKvEfTZnxeJ1b1GVRHWNaglBDWfcgHEKTBeufK5W8xUiR8TYhsc83LeLAgJ5_-JdDs3HbKCkKn4R/s320/DSCN3304.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Well little Norah had her second bitrthday this week, the actual day was on Wednesday and then we decided to have her friend party today (being Sunday) so she wouldn't find one day too tiring. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmz1eGsDE8dZTFGdaZg62bSC1W-_ABUcs2YfLnsN2Aky_KuQobSSB77PhqPFdCGZj_N27OzzyRoX_BzX0Y8pPxTkVtmWD1g0UdbAeB5rfrWJeY1xiMWtPKRnnWgxtVTdM6P7H7khg6lv_2/s1600/DSCN3315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmz1eGsDE8dZTFGdaZg62bSC1W-_ABUcs2YfLnsN2Aky_KuQobSSB77PhqPFdCGZj_N27OzzyRoX_BzX0Y8pPxTkVtmWD1g0UdbAeB5rfrWJeY1xiMWtPKRnnWgxtVTdM6P7H7khg6lv_2/s320/DSCN3315.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Here she is modeling her Diego Rescue pack that I whipped up on Tuesday night, actually dusting off the sewing machine and spending a marathon 4 hours not knitting in order to fulfill a dream. Norah loves Diego and it was well worth the time spent to see her light up over this gift, immediately shove her spotting scope and rescue rope into it and pelt off to save... something, anything, someone get this gal a critter to save!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXXAuZpc_QdHCpRb9lTtOjpr96SJBqxnAwLPlAUOqs0NgseRlmOgRDL1Oqi6dv5orr2GlFEBdBMlMZC8B3t8zDQ_qbK6Ehi_7lXbC0Mqx53SfWQq68OGKUX82Fswd1Lm2KT58MRuBnwTp/s1600/DSCN3320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXXAuZpc_QdHCpRb9lTtOjpr96SJBqxnAwLPlAUOqs0NgseRlmOgRDL1Oqi6dv5orr2GlFEBdBMlMZC8B3t8zDQ_qbK6Ehi_7lXbC0Mqx53SfWQq68OGKUX82Fswd1Lm2KT58MRuBnwTp/s320/DSCN3320.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We had a chocolate coconut sugar free cheesecake for dessert and I know you are thinking (sugar free? what the hell? must taste like regurgitatated light Philly Cream cheese when they pretend to flavour it but really it resembles gelatenous white goo) well not this cake. I found the most amazing recipe for Splenda cheesecake and it is our standby, as then we can all partake since Seth is unable to have real sugar or cake. When we had cake for Seth's birthday we had a chocolate almond crust with cherry topping, it was great. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM76S6PMXc_LCWL2728EHFqoXMKKnmEycK8Wa_r_7fXuoPW5fOnxrwXz92GCG1zdobdEj9aSluD0WPq0ouJMVqry5R-bJESkEQZxVUNZBYyqHnGMkmAp9923-cA92lEQcxyZCZG_i2I9C5/s1600/DSCN3331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM76S6PMXc_LCWL2728EHFqoXMKKnmEycK8Wa_r_7fXuoPW5fOnxrwXz92GCG1zdobdEj9aSluD0WPq0ouJMVqry5R-bJESkEQZxVUNZBYyqHnGMkmAp9923-cA92lEQcxyZCZG_i2I9C5/s320/DSCN3331.JPG" width="276" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yRqwrcIr2XPd59ffU_AJtThoykt450Yihg0kytZxp561LjjLA2ycthmrA65UbTPGB3hDVwXNMOATeVy9ozJdx1UuE1rFSd5GXhQE032DJvysYBKuQV8b-v3IBJw2CfdkGM2zlJhPiYoY/s1600/DSCN3325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yRqwrcIr2XPd59ffU_AJtThoykt450Yihg0kytZxp561LjjLA2ycthmrA65UbTPGB3hDVwXNMOATeVy9ozJdx1UuE1rFSd5GXhQE032DJvysYBKuQV8b-v3IBJw2CfdkGM2zlJhPiYoY/s320/DSCN3325.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Norah was so pleased with herself for blowing out the candles, she blew them out halfway through Happy Birthday and I relit them three times to even get a picture with flame in it. As you can see I resorted to my hand in front of Hurricane Norah to prevent the snuffing before a last desperate photo. </div><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> And she did actually get a nice sugary buttercream cake this weekend at her Party with her friends. And yes indeed that is baby Jaguar peeking at you from the top of a mountain of butter, sugar and whipping cream, I think he turned out pretty great.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgML-ikuLuspzuScP2IDHYoeUpBTlnxf4WTLRw2extLqFMkpcXW7CDQx7oMH10u9ES1XY7KdOYstPdg53lxP86pP8OGNOOg15_LoLNtH0Ii9bFqSlQlxcjvZPm5EyXQFpa2yinxZmFeGq/s1600/DSCN3400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgML-ikuLuspzuScP2IDHYoeUpBTlnxf4WTLRw2extLqFMkpcXW7CDQx7oMH10u9ES1XY7KdOYstPdg53lxP86pP8OGNOOg15_LoLNtH0Ii9bFqSlQlxcjvZPm5EyXQFpa2yinxZmFeGq/s320/DSCN3400.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This afternoon was so very tiring and Norah was done before the party even started so by the time we mistakenly left her and ABby to watch a movie at 3:30 it was far too much for the little rescuer. We came down to find her like this, curled around rescue pack, wearing her new Animal rescuer hoodie, fast sleep lying in a puddle of her own pee. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">She had such a great day, used her new Diego plate set at supper, wore her hoodie until bathtime, read and reread her Diego book and took Mommy and Baby Bengal tiger for nursie time and bedtime. All in all her friends really know what it takes to make a happy little No</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-62111058466365329882010-11-25T20:29:00.000-08:002010-11-25T20:29:42.859-08:00On Turkey and Cultural AmalgamationI'll admit it right now, Thanksgiving in November usually feels like a bit of an anticlimax. <br />
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Having been raised in Canada Thanksgiving is part of October, the beginning of the month of excess. A 31 day stretch with a tryptophan stupor in the middle and finale of diabetic coma. Then you ususally have Novermber to recuperate before revving up again for Christmas and all that beer that just won't drink itself. <br />
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Now that we live in the States we usually celebrate both thanksgivings because really, there is no better excuse for two turkey dinners in as many months. My mom and dad come for Canadian Thanksgiving in October and my mom spends the entire weekend educating any sales clerk willing to listen about that fact that " yes Canadian's do have Thanksgiving", and " did you know we are celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving", "this bag of potatos is for Canadian Thanksgiving."<br />
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And then when we celebrate again during November Seth's mom joins us, having grown up in the States herself she really feels more at home having turkey this month. And usually this second dinner feels like the great anticlimax, like a belated birthday card, or Christmas presents lost in the mail and delivered in July.<br />
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But not this year. <br />
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This year we had a great time, all crowded into the front room to watch the snow fall, and fall and fall..... we actually watched the Macy's parade on T.V. which believeyoume was the most surreal experience of my life. I felt like a kid on a tv sitcom; who was having a thanksgiving that someone had scripted to follow the classic idealistic American lifestyle as brought to you by Home and Garden magazine. We had dinner at the dining room table with a tablecloth and nice plates and a gravy boat and everything, The kids ate themselves sick and then had pie and whipped cream and ran around like crazy people. It was the idyllic American Thanksgiving... although admittedly we skipped the football. <br />
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I suppose the interesting thing about this year was that I feel like my kids are really going to have a very different cultural upbringing than I did. And I am not talking about saying zeeee and zed, or punctuating sentences with eh, or the differences between tourists and taurists (oh yes washingtonians I am onto you; as far as I can figure a taurist is someone who travels that has been born in May?)<br />
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But there really are cultural traditions that Seth and I grew up with that my kids will only learn about through collective memory, not firsthand. In Canada you are never fed that bull*%$@ story about the Indians ahem First Nations, and the Pilgrims ahem Pioneers and the great feast. Simply put Thanksgiving is exactly what it says it is; giving thanks for the bounty of food put before you and hoping like hell you aren't starving and freezing by January. Well I am thankful, and I hope I am not freezing in January. <br />
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I guess the best part is that we can do both, we can have two days for giving thanks and be extra thankful and extra full at the same time. I am thankful for my girls who make me wonder everyday if I can be big enough, strong enough, smart enough, gentle enough and humble enough to raise them. For Hubs the Great who really is the other part of me, and for realizing that even though I might be really far from where I came from I am exactly where I need to be.Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-92046472376682435682010-11-17T12:35:00.000-08:002010-11-17T12:35:11.826-08:00Tis' the Season to go ShoppingOhhh Christmas is coming, fast and furious. The bix box stores haven't even waited this year for Thanksgiving to pass before hauling out all the bell chiming, glittery, snowy marvelous Christmas crap that accompanies the season of purchasing. And I love it. <br />
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Most of my friends will have a lot to say about buying less, giving less, that children need less toys, there is no need to go wild and get them zillions and zillions of toys, and I agree... mostly. Because when it really comes down to it, I LOVE BUYING TOYS, LOTS AND LOTS OF TOYS FOR MY KIDS. This does not mean that I will dwindle my bank account to nothing this Christmas, it means that I will find the sales and indeed already have most of my Christmas shopping done. It does not mean that I will buy any toy I come across that is a low price. I will line up my children's interest with toys I think are worthwhile and at a great price. It does not mean that I will neglect making them something by hand. I have a handmade gift planned for everyone on my list and have most of them finished. <br />
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But I will refuse to feel guilty that I love to buy them things, that even though the money could be spent on a myriad of other things I will enjoy buying them something to fuel their imagination and play. I will teach them that they are lucky to own such lovely things and when the time comes when it is no longer played with we will donate it, or send it to a second hand store. This year will be the year we start buying a toy for charity, Abby can pick out a toy to donate and when Norah is old enough she can too.We are blessed enough to be able to afford new toys and I know that, I teach my kids that, we talk about how amazing our situation is all the time.<br />
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And quite frankly I love how many options for play we have in this house. Lately we have been keeping all the toys packed away in coloured bins. Everyday we pick a new bin and the kids get to play with whatever is in that bin. This means that each day there is something new and exciting, something that has not been seen before, and it fuels imagination like never before. Kids need things to play with, they need variety and they need to have the experience of deciding that they like one thing more than the other. That one item is more precious and their reasons why that item is more precious. They also need the ability to decide when to get rid of something, and how can you ask a child to get rid of a toy when they only own five or six. Preciousness increases when quantity decreases, and should we be teaching children that there are only small quantities that should be held onto forever? or that the world has bounty but we can share it, keep it for a while, covet our favorites and let the rest move on.<br />
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I read this on a friend's blog today and it really rang true, I actually wrote it down and put it on the fridge because this year I will revel in my generosity REVEL DAMNIT!<br />
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<strong><em><a href="http://thecococafe.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-thoughts.html">Gift-giving teaches generosity, after all. It teaches thankfulness. It gives a sense of blessedness.</a></em></strong><br />
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This is not advocating that the only way to do Christmas is to buy buy buy, or that the only gift is a storebought toy. And there are of course families that cannot afford to have piles of toys for their children this Christmas, but I plan to buy my kids some, and then buy some for your kids too.Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-43875969328078961242010-11-14T09:31:00.000-08:002010-11-14T09:31:59.938-08:00NaBloPoWha?It is so awesome that all my friends are on this crazy post everyday thing. Awesome that each morning I get to stall even longer upstairs and look into <a href="http://themagneys.blogspot.com/">this house</a>, or <a href="http://thetrivialpursuitofhappiness.com/">that house</a>, and sometimes <a href="http://chelseab.typepad.com/lady_i_swear_by_all_flowe/">that house</a>, and not often enough <a href="http://gretchenslifeinaday.blogspot.com/">that house</a>. Lately I have been struggling with the concept of this blog, how much is too much and how little is not enough. I am an intrinsically honest person... to a fault, if you've had a conversation with me you'll know that I am generally well meaning but blatantly honest. ( For future reference this is not always the easiest and most tactful way to be.. just sayin'). And it does provide a slight problem with this space as I am never sure how much information is okay and how much is too much insight into our lives, where we live, what we do, how to find us... But it is fun reading blogs of other people,. specifically people that I know in real life, then there is this teeny tiny glimpse into the background. The set as they say, the part in the dress rehearsal when they just leave the curtain up for the stage change and you can see the blank concrete back wall, the hanging wires, the old unused sets in the wings, new props waiting to be brought out. The way it really works, I like seeing that, a "How it's Made" of a family I know. <br />
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And it is even better that some of these great gals are doing it everyday, I mean when else can you work into conversation "Soooo what was a completely banal thing that happened today that spurred a memory that made you rethink your entire parenting style," yeah I know that's not really an icebreaker is it? So then really why the heck did competitive overacheiver me not jump on this NaBloPo thing? WEll for one, I didn't know what the hell it was until Ivory explained it to me. I don't feel like I have time..... but that's a lie, because I do have time. If I have time for daily puzzle, then I have time for this. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Who knows, I do know for sure that we have to go out soon, stop and pick up the pottery that Abby and I painted last week for Xmas gifts, get a new coffeemaker ( life giver) and then buy a snowblower, or shall I say budget blower for all the snow from the *&(^%& global warming trend. It is ironic that to combat the effects of global warming I need to buy something that uses non renewable resources and makes noxious exhaust.... but I'm sure I could write a college course on the amount of irony in life. </div><br />
I also know that Norah is incredibly adorable in her 6-12 month sweater that fits great, and her 18 months pants that fall down because she no longer wears diapers and she is super dinky skinny. lol, and I also know that Abby is sick as a dog and has a terrible croup thing but insists complete with tears and hystrionics that she<em> will</em> go pick up the pottery. So off we go! maybe you'll hear from me tomorrow, but probably not, the pathological need to forge my own path and disregard all other rules is pretty strong. <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCvGAvErwIBJIeZHp2Y2zsX_uRQOzpnE-uv5w7BBEYvAisnxRcQQtHmAlNT_9Nr9wCeZ-hr_pK8LENiaSPqmv9JR5OJ_J4wVSoJuTB8CWeJxWwGrl0FDV-KYgx8bnfhMPvjVhn4zIHasB/s1600/DSCN3220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCvGAvErwIBJIeZHp2Y2zsX_uRQOzpnE-uv5w7BBEYvAisnxRcQQtHmAlNT_9Nr9wCeZ-hr_pK8LENiaSPqmv9JR5OJ_J4wVSoJuTB8CWeJxWwGrl0FDV-KYgx8bnfhMPvjVhn4zIHasB/s320/DSCN3220.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-87875346400797257112010-11-04T09:54:00.000-07:002010-11-04T09:54:14.947-07:00Hallowe'en<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVLd4X4zEyo76PnyZKB7_PQUlUA3e8QGhrYgI51BoxfGrmV_66L-GG-nhXdsPyaPaF0HqsuaNHciove1npMs_Iit1JwozbjzIZGNIEmgjvs4czAy2cyaJPeobauIJSWqQSIGPcniwVyAy/s1600/DSCN3073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVLd4X4zEyo76PnyZKB7_PQUlUA3e8QGhrYgI51BoxfGrmV_66L-GG-nhXdsPyaPaF0HqsuaNHciove1npMs_Iit1JwozbjzIZGNIEmgjvs4czAy2cyaJPeobauIJSWqQSIGPcniwVyAy/s320/DSCN3073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think that this Hallowe'en was my most favorite to date. Abby was amped up for a good two weeks beforehand, literally vibrating with excitement. And Norah was finally old enough to really appreciate the fact that simply walking up to someone's door and being her unbearable cute self saying "twitck o weeet" was enough for scads of candy. :) She spend the evening hefting her pumpkin bucket around all by herself smiling a cat-that-got-the-cream grin and saying "I got wots o candy!" It was marvelous. I ended up vetoing the Ponyo cotsumes that were originally requested mostly because Ponyo didn't really dress for October this far north, (a Miyazaki film about the far arctic would really help me out next year). And so the girls went as princesses, which was a sure bet with Abby as long as the costume has lots of sparkly Diva going on. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0b1FXE34TDXzMABsOMJ3AxcElv2sWstAwSZbFbQXnLK3d2NFuRlCZr5BGz5atfdLOaoedFuvqF2-YAkhA-QpAtdqwY_jWX2CmEl6gESw6m5TcwtjwcH_bGqeqJ6byuJ9DcQTVdgQrS0J/s1600/DSCN3086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0b1FXE34TDXzMABsOMJ3AxcElv2sWstAwSZbFbQXnLK3d2NFuRlCZr5BGz5atfdLOaoedFuvqF2-YAkhA-QpAtdqwY_jWX2CmEl6gESw6m5TcwtjwcH_bGqeqJ6byuJ9DcQTVdgQrS0J/s320/DSCN3086.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPZN22UznIDO7e4j8ZTEi687Ui6DtrcneDPeAJ65To8xwZ3Hj-iRIA_Monmg9eE0DZ50GU2NjAbJS1GYyXS01FU9WBFEDkEDXV8rOPebq7FK-VjTBFHMDQbzuqvASO1qaP2NHCn4HsdTs/s1600/DSCN3077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPZN22UznIDO7e4j8ZTEi687Ui6DtrcneDPeAJ65To8xwZ3Hj-iRIA_Monmg9eE0DZ50GU2NjAbJS1GYyXS01FU9WBFEDkEDXV8rOPebq7FK-VjTBFHMDQbzuqvASO1qaP2NHCn4HsdTs/s320/DSCN3077.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> We followed up Hallowe'en with Abby starting Ballet lessons, she is completely delighted as a couple of the girls in her class take ballet and now she is just like them. She had a marvelous time at her first class despite the fact that her mom ahem.. missed the right time and she was in with the 5 year olds being slightly bamboozled by instructions she did not understand. But I have to admit that Abby is so good at being easy <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">going she did great and followed the best she could. So next week we'll be there at the right time and she'll do even better. The best news is that she asked to go to ballet again the very next day so I guess she really likes it. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhBGaIG2DB8HTH4GPaTytR63DJANsBDf6NYqOzT5diLKAwmJrSBXF-r7JVdixFI0gWzxDssvszRdmQgRBxbTWJZVwV_QgKu6l3ImIwwHqI9oaTfmf3IoEVUIVi_mDRw4Dj2sVZAGwKLCM/s1600/DSCN3103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhBGaIG2DB8HTH4GPaTytR63DJANsBDf6NYqOzT5diLKAwmJrSBXF-r7JVdixFI0gWzxDssvszRdmQgRBxbTWJZVwV_QgKu6l3ImIwwHqI9oaTfmf3IoEVUIVi_mDRw4Dj2sVZAGwKLCM/s320/DSCN3103.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-5437807670035867842010-10-08T16:41:00.000-07:002010-10-08T16:41:53.702-07:00The Calm Before<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pLWyjrMTqCmwFRddpzlpQG02UlsEuD1lB7J_KtTVwRRB9QJbug6E5LfxIMtljKNUcnMizep2uxn6_QlMz5D46_DxETfl2GfbjWSr7jqIS6o8eZ4hbtWr0SY3Q4HGu65a-ufRFlCw4sd8/s1600/DSCN2541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pLWyjrMTqCmwFRddpzlpQG02UlsEuD1lB7J_KtTVwRRB9QJbug6E5LfxIMtljKNUcnMizep2uxn6_QlMz5D46_DxETfl2GfbjWSr7jqIS6o8eZ4hbtWr0SY3Q4HGu65a-ufRFlCw4sd8/s320/DSCN2541.JPG" width="317" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Did anyone notice that September was a blazingly fast month? That it was over nearly before it began, and the onset of school was this amazing re-entry into a decently structured shedule that has my children acting more normal than the carefree days of summer ever allowed? We've been so busy and yet had nowhere to go and nothing to do other than the sweet nothings of everyday. Fabulous mornings filled with oatmeal, cool rainy weather, fading leaves and school afternoons. I had a number of projects due last month as well as a few deadlines for submissions and looming Christmas gift knitting so my hands have been occupied which is always a good thing to do. We started September with our annual trip to the State Fair. I always feel like this is my Americanization ritual that I must pass to remain in the country. We had a great time as always, and this year Norah got to have a Llama ride which was not only the highlight of her day but possibly the highlight of her life. :) She ended up having two rides that day both of which were punctuated by her delighted cries of "Llama ride! I'm having a Llama ride! Yay!, Yehaw Llama ride!." It was enough to make me regard my 4 city lots as Llama worthy pasture for the time it took her to ride around the llama circle a few times. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuUI1Ky5hdO7rNJXhEBgoycwHY3qkeOYdv0f8tLrJxDNxYJNUnd9kRjzl6vBui4VSn7yxW8GWeMmFwQ4kXB4kEa59sj0WcFhOrs7FCKqzC68Y94abq4N5QefN5_E4XRVeBUHmQWO3WMBy/s1600/DSCN2560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuUI1Ky5hdO7rNJXhEBgoycwHY3qkeOYdv0f8tLrJxDNxYJNUnd9kRjzl6vBui4VSn7yxW8GWeMmFwQ4kXB4kEa59sj0WcFhOrs7FCKqzC68Y94abq4N5QefN5_E4XRVeBUHmQWO3WMBy/s320/DSCN2560.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCQ6Z-AFKEGs4lqgalLVdGROjT3D2ftUsk5nSz4gtCZHIaYeFanZAysHuCZA4kD88DpN-erOdvJHKINCJ9ihoTwCyKVYm2WTU54ZdN0qqLAMQoiI1LWGDLUxfbpBeI4aTqFTLj5IcZhXt/s1600/DSCN2578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCQ6Z-AFKEGs4lqgalLVdGROjT3D2ftUsk5nSz4gtCZHIaYeFanZAysHuCZA4kD88DpN-erOdvJHKINCJ9ihoTwCyKVYm2WTU54ZdN0qqLAMQoiI1LWGDLUxfbpBeI4aTqFTLj5IcZhXt/s320/DSCN2578.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And of course there were the giant carrots from our garden. Funny thing about carrots, if you leave them in the groud with a water supply they <em>keep growing. </em>Felt a bit like the scene from Lord of the Rings with Farmer Maggots crop being stolen, but my little hobbits are cuter than those ones, albeit still with curly hair. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIZVIjLsJ66hFzwSIlNso8Hy0EKfd5CreAmAjJ-Ws4ZMwuqiElAqcMxkK4IYdL71fenmFjzNJwiOn01mkLCV5OPBYLjdUrwIcBWBcHnTI5Q9Vc8ikkm0bs8abbtalLQsD9tWs_5WOCAOk/s1600/DSCN2600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIZVIjLsJ66hFzwSIlNso8Hy0EKfd5CreAmAjJ-Ws4ZMwuqiElAqcMxkK4IYdL71fenmFjzNJwiOn01mkLCV5OPBYLjdUrwIcBWBcHnTI5Q9Vc8ikkm0bs8abbtalLQsD9tWs_5WOCAOk/s320/DSCN2600.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Then we had a nice trip to our favorite Fruit Ranch with Abby's school, Norah wasn't too sure why she could eat an apple right off the tree but not a pumpkin. I wasn't reallt able to explain it to her satisfaction either so she knawed on the skin for a while :) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2PEw0HqYiM8D5RkVuwTUmTw_57dHldS4Iqq6ZocL5mB3CMbyPfJVeYk7CAimK355BHRHR7bmuBj7_6adt1Wqnin-7BQwWNHmcz0AL2DLkGaBVkylGgXNcJ89wIY2FSIxTG1i2REmoCEx/s1600/DSCN2759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2PEw0HqYiM8D5RkVuwTUmTw_57dHldS4Iqq6ZocL5mB3CMbyPfJVeYk7CAimK355BHRHR7bmuBj7_6adt1Wqnin-7BQwWNHmcz0AL2DLkGaBVkylGgXNcJ89wIY2FSIxTG1i2REmoCEx/s320/DSCN2759.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And we cam home the other day to find this little guy on the porch. Apparantly an Orb Weaver spider it is quite frankly the coolest spider I've ever seen and I kind of hope he sticks around simply for interest factor :) </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNvAGbK7st81I5hSRQbyq7PB2qqucPTJNRmIRtLamlYu_VwENCLihLXkeQSjr8gDfWDpBCnyKzCUBxnI8NDHMANWf7S38-49wYHV83-M9OkRe3l4J9IYAoF-RLjm49pybd1USjX071EnX/s1600/DSCN2766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNvAGbK7st81I5hSRQbyq7PB2qqucPTJNRmIRtLamlYu_VwENCLihLXkeQSjr8gDfWDpBCnyKzCUBxnI8NDHMANWf7S38-49wYHV83-M9OkRe3l4J9IYAoF-RLjm49pybd1USjX071EnX/s320/DSCN2766.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now we have busy busy October with lots of visiting and trips for weddings and getting ready for Halloween and at least one birthday to celebrate. </div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-12669989071226809022010-09-09T15:15:00.000-07:002010-09-09T15:15:25.876-07:00Harvest update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyOutgtrPUnbGHRNrbvHzt1HxRzvESl6NvRdImqy2ol64QvKahJpKZnZLx_rSI0iZCzt19GRLU2MVqyI1qJi8Pu_BDB1KKLoBC75qDQt-lIYoInTOL1TUVCftWCHz3hymI4dlzq0Wxyal/s1600/DSCN2427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyOutgtrPUnbGHRNrbvHzt1HxRzvESl6NvRdImqy2ol64QvKahJpKZnZLx_rSI0iZCzt19GRLU2MVqyI1qJi8Pu_BDB1KKLoBC75qDQt-lIYoInTOL1TUVCftWCHz3hymI4dlzq0Wxyal/s320/DSCN2427.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I feel a bit guilty for neglecting this space so badly, I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with being fairly busy, and deciding to give the kids the attention they deserve. However I have a few garden updates: Above you see my 2.5 gallons of green beans that I picked from the garden the other day. These little guys found their way into the freezer. Please ignore the dirty dishes and vitamins and if you are saying "wha? dirty dishes and vitamins.. where?" then don't look for them, your house must be well loved and seasoned with clutter as is mine. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpVWg6gGOULGhcxhSF0Sft0IN01X0VUkF8i0iyGP1dQJRVU09681uO4GKHE6x_1vZsjO7R1DHDvVfB9AQNNMwqVU3A7jWjmI0xg1jK3x9Uh6GSEe52rCF1skD1_FCsv4IyPPeRFdgDkmX/s1600/DSCN2433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpVWg6gGOULGhcxhSF0Sft0IN01X0VUkF8i0iyGP1dQJRVU09681uO4GKHE6x_1vZsjO7R1DHDvVfB9AQNNMwqVU3A7jWjmI0xg1jK3x9Uh6GSEe52rCF1skD1_FCsv4IyPPeRFdgDkmX/s320/DSCN2433.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And at the risk of making someone too hungry I will only post one picture of one of our many fabulous stir-fry's that we've had in the past while. All veggies that have come from my garden, I think the only thing I bought was the garlic, but that will change next year. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv220vW4HR3eK9VltZOVw3x50xwJCD1s9o-9-ALBv44LLoauUg-tBZfHlqzvq8JZvqZyQwZahXhvvEsZQpaBHm-e2erk2pwGHcW4lJP9IP1hTIO6Hud_j-0gPV06hEbk3bNAv0Tcnq2TC1/s1600/DSCN2344-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv220vW4HR3eK9VltZOVw3x50xwJCD1s9o-9-ALBv44LLoauUg-tBZfHlqzvq8JZvqZyQwZahXhvvEsZQpaBHm-e2erk2pwGHcW4lJP9IP1hTIO6Hud_j-0gPV06hEbk3bNAv0Tcnq2TC1/s320/DSCN2344-1.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And we finally bought some lumber to put together our yard bin that Seth received from his mom ... maybe two years ago... :) I guess the blog isn't the only neglected thing going on here :) lol </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-fYRgv7ACevgiYTuN-NSOIRIicQPqzRWd5hEo-8DqHvAcZx1dXK5x5t5R6X3cF_NYkIyD50soGDH2q0d-H_JrEW-GbLaGMP8EcC_wbgpfSfGPSf6XzYeQaTZM2xZPc8k03clFwvlTqcd/s1600/DSCN2318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-fYRgv7ACevgiYTuN-NSOIRIicQPqzRWd5hEo-8DqHvAcZx1dXK5x5t5R6X3cF_NYkIyD50soGDH2q0d-H_JrEW-GbLaGMP8EcC_wbgpfSfGPSf6XzYeQaTZM2xZPc8k03clFwvlTqcd/s320/DSCN2318.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And finally Abby did turn four last month. I decided that I wasn't going to do a blog post about it as it makes me cry to think of her getting older and being away from me at some point. And she has been having a great deal of anxiety about getting big enough to move out and be away from us lately and so since she is such a perceptive little thing I decided not to dwell on the emotion. Here was her totally fabulous Cheesecake a La Splenda so her dad could eat it too :) It turned out super delicious :)</div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-30051016889419024492010-08-30T21:37:00.000-07:002010-08-30T21:39:44.807-07:00Lunch with Ponyo<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeIy7Dy-cyXXPcdilFESnTHTTC3YJNju3C4TIc9p9DEZx62nD35RYFYAhpU93sJkNHpffuPKD9QWf21d-7Y8mZ_HYfnWEz7ou0axFp1ttj9DkKjvxHqV5uBE9VUK3vNuBd8mr3oeft4Mwm/s1600/un-immagine-del-film-ponyo-sulla-scogliera-diretto-dal-maestro-dell-animazione-hayao-miyazaki-106821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeIy7Dy-cyXXPcdilFESnTHTTC3YJNju3C4TIc9p9DEZx62nD35RYFYAhpU93sJkNHpffuPKD9QWf21d-7Y8mZ_HYfnWEz7ou0axFp1ttj9DkKjvxHqV5uBE9VUK3vNuBd8mr3oeft4Mwm/s320/un-immagine-del-film-ponyo-sulla-scogliera-diretto-dal-maestro-dell-animazione-hayao-miyazaki-106821.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We rented Ponyo from the Library this week; hardcore Miyazaki fans we have most all of his other movies but had been putting off purchasing this one mostly because of poor reviews. However, what a surprising delight this movie turned out to be! Abigail was completely in love with it and we have watched it everyday, sometimes twice a day for the entire week. Long story short it is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but way more adorable and with typical Miyazaki charm and strange Japanese references that still elude understanding but remain quirky and enjoyable. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">As in all Miyazaki movies he never forgets to include the food ( and I have a theory about his love of cold fried eggs because he uses them a lot) but in this movie Ponyo and Soske have a bowl of Noodle soup with Eggs, Ham, and Green Onion. So imagine Abby's squeal of delight when she managed to locate the last two packages of Ichiban ( that's Ramen for the American readers) that were lurking in the cuboard. "just like Ponyo!!!!!" So off we went to recreate the noodle soup that Ponyo and Soske eat after the big storm in the movie. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1-h2q_W8jIsidDpsI9f5pHpWqqtkds5NSEaUOsk73t21tlgOy4D8Oeo8Z9q9BnlETpOexJLRfAn9mYZ_kcALpofTP4YUjYf86Kgfm88h9lr607I8u6HREAE50NqcIuqE-3xI89MUOz5t/s1600/DSCN2412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1-h2q_W8jIsidDpsI9f5pHpWqqtkds5NSEaUOsk73t21tlgOy4D8Oeo8Z9q9BnlETpOexJLRfAn9mYZ_kcALpofTP4YUjYf86Kgfm88h9lr607I8u6HREAE50NqcIuqE-3xI89MUOz5t/s320/DSCN2412.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Eggs, Ham and Green Onion were easy to recreate and I was delighted that Ponyo had enough good sense to mix some hefty protein in with her carbs. Also the fact that before Ponyo Abby would never ever ever have even entertained the idea of eating Ham, Green Onions or Eggs in <em>soup, </em>these are all things that she east separately and does enjoy but in a soup? really? well Ponyo does!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Uxjt22VK1iHQTEZSuwoiCsVGK3g5RVI7FgcIWVq09Dpr2yB3rrtc_zj8OaY_Ks7_t-kwwr3BT33xFKY7jNliGxryF2JrA1meoUFuALYKBxOqXp5Y0TX5MyAc_tWLT22CY479NbNp6maG/s1600/DSCN2414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Uxjt22VK1iHQTEZSuwoiCsVGK3g5RVI7FgcIWVq09Dpr2yB3rrtc_zj8OaY_Ks7_t-kwwr3BT33xFKY7jNliGxryF2JrA1meoUFuALYKBxOqXp5Y0TX5MyAc_tWLT22CY479NbNp6maG/s320/DSCN2414.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LMZw5_HyxKK__EGBIpVBFKW-Ewth4DXr-bgVelFyLLxs31tuwMKk3aftSTBobaMG4ILZJ8YIDEuXqEt9tsPhRO7idBzgb1w-sZBmkXj9F8MYSASUn2VsBr71hoN39f5zQub2QZwTfvDb/s1600/DSCN2415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LMZw5_HyxKK__EGBIpVBFKW-Ewth4DXr-bgVelFyLLxs31tuwMKk3aftSTBobaMG4ILZJ8YIDEuXqEt9tsPhRO7idBzgb1w-sZBmkXj9F8MYSASUn2VsBr71hoN39f5zQub2QZwTfvDb/s320/DSCN2415.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And this really took me back to being a kid, those crunchy noodles just waiting for the hot water, and the salty salty broth..mmm....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9u0xZOv-Y7g6EdUmrceOlNm1t5TfKpz0FgbM-ltZ9vnnXOJxaVWaymsXzhA50nuXxlitqBpln-SDCl-K392ol0BioDyiz8I7enRy3jM3ig10ahBkzXsmdQu66VMu3Txvue02Q1YsdCcoR/s1600/DSCN2417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9u0xZOv-Y7g6EdUmrceOlNm1t5TfKpz0FgbM-ltZ9vnnXOJxaVWaymsXzhA50nuXxlitqBpln-SDCl-K392ol0BioDyiz8I7enRy3jM3ig10ahBkzXsmdQu66VMu3Txvue02Q1YsdCcoR/s320/DSCN2417.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Then there was the moment I had to pretend to be the mom from Ponyo and cover the soup telling Abby to close her eyes while slipping in the eggs, ham and onion. then SURPRISE! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRLrKCKdAlLaWaNFJw6zAxlYdS7iKR7l29uJMhOgWrrBZaNmX1k5Lip5QH2CEyJNEo2NO-2sDLsv5arzrnFaOEzD9BgxojUyMrVBi3uWqPmxFzAd7khBWOC-_DgREBLYMZky8c5AWPNOj/s1600/DSCN2418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRLrKCKdAlLaWaNFJw6zAxlYdS7iKR7l29uJMhOgWrrBZaNmX1k5Lip5QH2CEyJNEo2NO-2sDLsv5arzrnFaOEzD9BgxojUyMrVBi3uWqPmxFzAd7khBWOC-_DgREBLYMZky8c5AWPNOj/s320/DSCN2418.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I guess there is such a thing as universal soup surprise look , lol. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUm30heCAoYMoDoyymVrGUGYr48fpnVOHn7oEJyTqcVTziZxzs-V1V9Ff5GItgE9q0J2SCVNqQSfMJ_vJCsouKxSJwxzZdeASd3YWHB0NCAOcgFas3KpbIbhVJB_3gxsBb1ZZaB8tL0joz/s1600/un-immagine-del-film-d-animazione-ponyo-sulla-scogliera-diretto-dal-genio-dell-animazione-hayao-miyazaki-106830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUm30heCAoYMoDoyymVrGUGYr48fpnVOHn7oEJyTqcVTziZxzs-V1V9Ff5GItgE9q0J2SCVNqQSfMJ_vJCsouKxSJwxzZdeASd3YWHB0NCAOcgFas3KpbIbhVJB_3gxsBb1ZZaB8tL0joz/s320/un-immagine-del-film-d-animazione-ponyo-sulla-scogliera-diretto-dal-genio-dell-animazione-hayao-miyazaki-106830.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJg-kJ7eM6x6QzQOwZS5EmIwiuGqxYa8cFKJ_PPsRBN8Besn0PsEj2oMVUvkBUzYeBfz_G3_UvBCfpfxUeumvsbWr4_64IDnDxoo_3v2QFomZzCT2hTbP_RQ0tZ0IJwDGUgxq8kD4wtKPE/s1600/DSCN2420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJg-kJ7eM6x6QzQOwZS5EmIwiuGqxYa8cFKJ_PPsRBN8Besn0PsEj2oMVUvkBUzYeBfz_G3_UvBCfpfxUeumvsbWr4_64IDnDxoo_3v2QFomZzCT2hTbP_RQ0tZ0IJwDGUgxq8kD4wtKPE/s320/DSCN2420.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I never got to eat my soup as Norah woke up just in time to partake in the meal. Which she also immediately knew was from Ponyo, I guess I know what Santa is bringing for Christmas:) And I hope we can last Ponyo-less until then. And one thing for sure : there were definite threats hurled against those dang Librarians who wanted their movie back today. </div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-2599878213116043052010-08-08T21:24:00.000-07:002010-08-08T21:24:53.081-07:00Good Gravy, where has it all gone?<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQmZL9WPVRfaHfpnd7GU4-WZ3zVoFsvuZPXfuRrdtt0oh4WdeHXOFi1bmK6fsu66GzqL0pBD1ffJo-ejSeeiEcJbfkrpJZl1zyluFyTgx5GQGm0gKz83UD6GtnqDP9nG6VDKl2t_hAx41/s1600/DSCN2156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQmZL9WPVRfaHfpnd7GU4-WZ3zVoFsvuZPXfuRrdtt0oh4WdeHXOFi1bmK6fsu66GzqL0pBD1ffJo-ejSeeiEcJbfkrpJZl1zyluFyTgx5GQGm0gKz83UD6GtnqDP9nG6VDKl2t_hAx41/s320/DSCN2156.JPG" /></a>who knows, I remember when summer was this long drawn out ridiculous affair that was so devastatingly awesome at the beginning of July when there was no school, and then by the end of August we were bored out of our skulls and begging to go back to school. ANd really at the moment it is only the beginning of August with a good solid three weeks left until September creeps up and cooler winds crisp the air. We have birthday's coming up, successive planting to accomplish, more weeding to do, patterns to write, and we did have fun in July having a holiday with family and splashing in the pool. But I can't help but have no clue as to where the time in July actually went as it went so fast I didn't take stock. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUEwGiasx-nv8ZtGvRoFeXklpcpQq0L_IpE6HJzzyeCfJgZJJ-Q9UBiRkNDm5vXQt_0u9m3ke5Q2FsxMXVNzrw_hN3geCyKENqhQLgnvIILyCXZhOjTaNSeGHv4sfpq05XMsF7cL3SopEL/s1600/DSCN2160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUEwGiasx-nv8ZtGvRoFeXklpcpQq0L_IpE6HJzzyeCfJgZJJ-Q9UBiRkNDm5vXQt_0u9m3ke5Q2FsxMXVNzrw_hN3geCyKENqhQLgnvIILyCXZhOjTaNSeGHv4sfpq05XMsF7cL3SopEL/s320/DSCN2160.JPG" /></a>We started the month out with some exchange students from CHina who visited with us and stayed in the house for ten days or so. Talk about culture shock, I think we had a tremendous amount of fun and it was seriously thrilling to convey the word 'cholesterol' to Meng Jiang after trying to discuss it for 38 minutes including drawings, miming and a Chinese/English dictionary. But there were a few things that definitely made me realize we live in very different places from one another, for one the utter terror that my dogs instilled in our guests. Of course I know that the Chinese do not keep dogs, for pets anyway and that they are not used to them but really who couldn't love a cute bundle of fuzzy cuddly fur that wants to lick you up one side and down the other, well the CHINESE that's who. So we started the trip with our poor young gal Tian Yu crying her eyes out in giant wracking sobs and refusing to allow the dogs into the house for the entire trip. After explaining that our dogs were part of our family we headed down the arduous road of trying to keep them contained in their own house so as not to completely terrify Tian Yu with a glance of fur. It did all come out in the wash as by the end of the visit she was petting and feeding them treats. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotMJBue8wR5UxnZ-60FzRBf4at4HZl8hdEzx03kVcubxOJmJLGOk0MaHu4OJ50p_ZwM2seb2jZm8xJyBE7421AqB3743zyLbKUj6zA_d5mkuDFHOwYGG-oiF3_6tauyLc952sifKHmjpe/s1600/DSCN2175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotMJBue8wR5UxnZ-60FzRBf4at4HZl8hdEzx03kVcubxOJmJLGOk0MaHu4OJ50p_ZwM2seb2jZm8xJyBE7421AqB3743zyLbKUj6zA_d5mkuDFHOwYGG-oiF3_6tauyLc952sifKHmjpe/s320/DSCN2175.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In the middle of July we went up to Scotch Creek with mom and dad which was a total riot of course, had lots of fun in the sun on the beach and watched Abby swim it up hardcore. That girl is going into swim lessons at the end of August because truly she can jump off a diving board into the deep water of the pool surface and swim to the edge by herself. She's not yet four and she may be part fish. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xV85P7zcYsCeOP-eJK4-nWgNZrEbspCx1Mh4ulwFVKnNvsQM5Ltlt3WqtQ2tNAvBFOopK1haJKCsf1fw2R1xMmbryt7zagPxDU01tQbTsCCe7ImAYYKayYSfoEgiNh6Q-Runh7Bd2sBV/s1600/DSCN2233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xV85P7zcYsCeOP-eJK4-nWgNZrEbspCx1Mh4ulwFVKnNvsQM5Ltlt3WqtQ2tNAvBFOopK1haJKCsf1fw2R1xMmbryt7zagPxDU01tQbTsCCe7ImAYYKayYSfoEgiNh6Q-Runh7Bd2sBV/s320/DSCN2233.JPG" /></a>Other than that I've been gardening up a storm, lots of zuchinni, swiss chard, lettuce, peas, carrots, and beets have been eaten in the past few weeks and there are beans, tomatos, calabaza squash, buttercup squash, cucumbers, cabbage and kale to come... yummmm..... </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBu_EPlzUTbXCxuyPCcAzPXfePT5jF82aizbgc-P6Ilsoch5vYdtmguuxegOfvdS3cVZZOYmBIKSHabXDd2GxYO5PIyiADA8luD1xARtvPGqTc_OmfCcwnSIyExFcMDm-9dIUY4-5s_Hf/s1600/DSCN2240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBu_EPlzUTbXCxuyPCcAzPXfePT5jF82aizbgc-P6Ilsoch5vYdtmguuxegOfvdS3cVZZOYmBIKSHabXDd2GxYO5PIyiADA8luD1xARtvPGqTc_OmfCcwnSIyExFcMDm-9dIUY4-5s_Hf/s320/DSCN2240.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvwgWfNSPcAzuNz6pjogi5DAKd7Bls3Hy_fsGOBUrtM5iqytHsMYQ4bV192uX8494L6nz3N3qB1QLW8xCSYHDP4DU6lQQxR_loLMbOvDRcWu98zIOvLuS_O4NowD3eCPueA2VixEJJDj3/s1600/DSCN2248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvwgWfNSPcAzuNz6pjogi5DAKd7Bls3Hy_fsGOBUrtM5iqytHsMYQ4bV192uX8494L6nz3N3qB1QLW8xCSYHDP4DU6lQQxR_loLMbOvDRcWu98zIOvLuS_O4NowD3eCPueA2VixEJJDj3/s320/DSCN2248.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsddfgN9Ywb4R_O-6aQrgp-GBw1rkHm0ng1H6RBTl2jTRCJZ1Lc5pc8QmMYa7tvAP1GDoU_TiPHuA6s9xIT0K1W62JJ8OAtOfWTXylEhr_LO2HHw3RezEppM8rHVoeR31muYOXphqmX0aG/s1600/DSCN2234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsddfgN9Ywb4R_O-6aQrgp-GBw1rkHm0ng1H6RBTl2jTRCJZ1Lc5pc8QmMYa7tvAP1GDoU_TiPHuA6s9xIT0K1W62JJ8OAtOfWTXylEhr_LO2HHw3RezEppM8rHVoeR31muYOXphqmX0aG/s320/DSCN2234.JPG" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-14839047852127509462010-06-09T20:12:00.000-07:002010-06-09T20:12:47.188-07:00Rain Rain here to stay<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvqfV52p_0M1a13ilmHzTz3LQTZr-V2CgijP4wRDMKZpuStrf1go-O_9VsNF1CUOa_NlDb032jLBEm-UWGzQg59hlJ0nhaPCpCUhwuD4I6f3oWFzpIkgp6w44yPzEx5isXRa7rqwsKmOf/s1600/DSCN1856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvqfV52p_0M1a13ilmHzTz3LQTZr-V2CgijP4wRDMKZpuStrf1go-O_9VsNF1CUOa_NlDb032jLBEm-UWGzQg59hlJ0nhaPCpCUhwuD4I6f3oWFzpIkgp6w44yPzEx5isXRa7rqwsKmOf/s320/DSCN1856.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Boy oh boy has it been wet! like really really wet, almost like we live in the pacific northwest wet. Hmmm....but it is good for the * drumroll please..*** GARDEN :) yes we do finally have a garden, pretty big and filled with nice dirt, it looks small here only because our yard is so darn big. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_XbnaeObmXELBiD1jDSjuBfEYZw-HlJxthq8770NGbjKBafUO1fKkzD9HoBCdUrxSNZjp7a_TNSlEitYG_oedbx0rvd0bI2DYHY7gfRFfbCO6iNAlNwc1j6oyWyE4vL-3pLOaSyUiVoF/s1600/DSCN1857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_XbnaeObmXELBiD1jDSjuBfEYZw-HlJxthq8770NGbjKBafUO1fKkzD9HoBCdUrxSNZjp7a_TNSlEitYG_oedbx0rvd0bI2DYHY7gfRFfbCO6iNAlNwc1j6oyWyE4vL-3pLOaSyUiVoF/s320/DSCN1857.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And we also have an herb garden, which needs some more bricks but really they can wait as I am more interested in buying plants than rocks :) </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkqOD5ocYi2JuDb6BeZsD2s8HFwk4lmyPeUUd2MgHUhrfBPMDs-4tb0tghDq1pBhNDMLxJ7Vn_yU3dy-vYqfZXZf9fZ3uyItW9565xW6VbcbaeQfW9mes_ojFh7tUSUkUR-tJB0lGH_er/s1600/DSCN1860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkqOD5ocYi2JuDb6BeZsD2s8HFwk4lmyPeUUd2MgHUhrfBPMDs-4tb0tghDq1pBhNDMLxJ7Vn_yU3dy-vYqfZXZf9fZ3uyItW9565xW6VbcbaeQfW9mes_ojFh7tUSUkUR-tJB0lGH_er/s320/DSCN1860.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And more squash plants! I hope my friends like squash as much as I do because unless the bugs get them there should be plenty to go around. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Other than the rain and desperately trying to mow the half acre of lawn I own in-between rain storms without completely clogging the mower we haven't been up to much. A short trip to Canmore in May to meet up with family was great fun;</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvhRTQs2s7qNPoWo0sk8baZUykh2eq3OoMluAj76tVZEJMrHL1t3loW1H5QfkLTTBL66at0_Ww_-KkDvEtZNKHEIU36XLL-7zr-vcUSTdIfveKgd-OQgJrHKL-9E5g_Q8fFufh2GDjDVG/s1600/DSCN1896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvhRTQs2s7qNPoWo0sk8baZUykh2eq3OoMluAj76tVZEJMrHL1t3loW1H5QfkLTTBL66at0_Ww_-KkDvEtZNKHEIU36XLL-7zr-vcUSTdIfveKgd-OQgJrHKL-9E5g_Q8fFufh2GDjDVG/s320/DSCN1896.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Tromping around Canmore with two children who have been promised Candy Apples can be fun too, sort of :) but really the mountains make it sooo nice, and the river flowing into my dad's head? hmmm</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And let's not forget sleeping angels on big fluffy hotel beds that look all white and fancy and are hard hard hard with big fluffy pillows that are so very supportive you'll never lie flat again :) lol</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU58iPHQ6luUYXGudjnqzDVxG-WNptoMgBB_6kNPa0tuageHGtMsy6TUKAd3E4GcOumkwzzdrFv9sfrgcZGWMMouMIewlEgIMTxgzkEv3u1xuEWM_TRVYOzAPp4mwGnKvYQH0zjodqzh1/s1600/DSCN1889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU58iPHQ6luUYXGudjnqzDVxG-WNptoMgBB_6kNPa0tuageHGtMsy6TUKAd3E4GcOumkwzzdrFv9sfrgcZGWMMouMIewlEgIMTxgzkEv3u1xuEWM_TRVYOzAPp4mwGnKvYQH0zjodqzh1/s320/DSCN1889.JPG" /></a></div><br />
And I include this photo of actual happy children in the car because it never ever happens until mom whips out a camera to document the gravity of the screaming and crying. So these little stinkers grin from ear to ear for the lens, well poop on them and their 9 hours of screaming minus one minute for the shot. <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0cMqowO5TmeZ1bLIJIvv84e27z3LHgZUHES9kPCo2wBedRwlPyLXcyWBMZ738J1MbSbRBanpUFGd7HTAhke-uZvRdkkJcUPtR2HDUYb2RDNAY97ZwD1tSCwB6-7o-b0jnVRHHNIHTTGd/s1600/DSCN1912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0cMqowO5TmeZ1bLIJIvv84e27z3LHgZUHES9kPCo2wBedRwlPyLXcyWBMZ738J1MbSbRBanpUFGd7HTAhke-uZvRdkkJcUPtR2HDUYb2RDNAY97ZwD1tSCwB6-7o-b0jnVRHHNIHTTGd/s320/DSCN1912.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> And then my favorite photos ever, Norah calls them Bogles :) lol</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1tsQ74PjouL_maTwhtkWUFAICS8TZaUAlIagBrla-USRlXHaWoZSrm5PSkJ7mdtFwX0o94lefRbotK-ie2Eghu6UeAvwo1ANldyOm0sp-hI1mGvg89PWGEGZesoM_32cjfVmyODSc7u_/s1600/DSCN1924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1tsQ74PjouL_maTwhtkWUFAICS8TZaUAlIagBrla-USRlXHaWoZSrm5PSkJ7mdtFwX0o94lefRbotK-ie2Eghu6UeAvwo1ANldyOm0sp-hI1mGvg89PWGEGZesoM_32cjfVmyODSc7u_/s320/DSCN1924.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8YfRPmAcbdS1Q2F6keEqzndcn15JuXukEM7UEGc7B4pWsNynyHjPDcfp1VuD0Z83y6bA6mrwAfcqkGXLAMZayu_oSithNR-2cw8P_LSGkggqY81iS0CkuFvqPt9qvcoPyzWYjChwSxFi/s1600/DSCN1931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8YfRPmAcbdS1Q2F6keEqzndcn15JuXukEM7UEGc7B4pWsNynyHjPDcfp1VuD0Z83y6bA6mrwAfcqkGXLAMZayu_oSithNR-2cw8P_LSGkggqY81iS0CkuFvqPt9qvcoPyzWYjChwSxFi/s320/DSCN1931.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And we will end with Sluggy our friendly yard slug who is now the favorite friend of her " whole life" and 'lives in her world" , that's my girl ; pink sparkly rings and brown slimy slugs :) The high heeled entomologist, glamourous snake wrangling dress model, oh Abby I love you!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaivPqeaxwd29Ae1Yn9mWv3sntujZgT0cLT_43drglaH6LYejj2NUhdI4WYg8wwzzQi8PduEAwtR_Ebdk2bbLtDGLuLhSo_xLyb4tNsa69KiqC5FMMVId62Soz43yYo2of1FP5Sr92YRsM/s1600/DSCN1936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaivPqeaxwd29Ae1Yn9mWv3sntujZgT0cLT_43drglaH6LYejj2NUhdI4WYg8wwzzQi8PduEAwtR_Ebdk2bbLtDGLuLhSo_xLyb4tNsa69KiqC5FMMVId62Soz43yYo2of1FP5Sr92YRsM/s320/DSCN1936.JPG" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-74515486480588275332010-05-19T09:54:00.000-07:002010-05-19T09:54:40.636-07:00Pretzels and Komodo Dragons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwPeNW9XkYvbuXqG-00deu6jXfrUwlmXPmfKTl1hGgTABpXREUwFjis69ZUs6MqhRZH6FR87S8-HSwIh2wiGyx4eISHCeud1tSy8PKBGl2a77YVeocI5DUOl7y1ej6WFtI5VPOb2FSbdx/s1600/DSCN1835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwPeNW9XkYvbuXqG-00deu6jXfrUwlmXPmfKTl1hGgTABpXREUwFjis69ZUs6MqhRZH6FR87S8-HSwIh2wiGyx4eISHCeud1tSy8PKBGl2a77YVeocI5DUOl7y1ej6WFtI5VPOb2FSbdx/s400/DSCN1835.JPG" width="382" wt="true" /></a></div>I have declared today a Mother's Day, no particular reason, we are mostly healed up from our past few weeks and despite being rather tired from all the gardening around here ( another post I promise) we are doing fine. Abby has had a few exceptional moments this week where i am really appreciating this little person that grew inside me. We will start with "Mom, what's it like being an adult?", asked on the way to the swimming pool on Sunday morning it sort of took me off guard. A pretty advanced question I think , I tried ot give it an advanced answer: <br />
<br />
<em>Being an adult involves being tired a lot because there is a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in, like chasing little girls and making supper and laundry and mowing the lawn. It is fun but not as fun as being a kid because there is more responsibility and you can't really do whatever you want, in some ways you are more restricted than when you were little.</em> <em>But being an adult is great because you can have a loving husband and family and terrific little girls who make you smile and fall in love all over again.</em> <br />
<br />
But I still think about my response to this question and wonder if I would answer the same thing if asked again this sunday, or next week or next year. I guess technically I don't feel that much different than I did <strike>10 years ago </strike>before I turned 18. Which where I grew up means : Yay! you are an adult and somewhat responsible and we'll give you keys to a car, and you can buy a house and get your own food and drink up a storm if you choose. Many things have changed since that time, I am comfortable with who I am, as a matter of fact I LOVE who I am which I don't think I ever would have said back then. I have these great girls that are amazing every single day even when I want to pull my hair our and hide on my own island . ANd a great husband who not only is my Hubs he is my friend, he is my perfect fit , the other side of the equation, really M=S in this house. <br />
<br />
But being responsible sucks a lot of the time in other ways, no you can't play video games all day and order pizza and let the kids run wild and never wash or clean up anything. Well..... okay technically you could and I think I've seen a few "Supernanny" shows where a few if not all of those things are going on at the same time in a home. But we don't do it here. We have agonizing decisions over how to parent, what rashes to pay attention to, which are just from grass, thinking that bump in the night is a child falling from bed, a window being opened by a stranger. Wondering about nutrition, sleepcycles, weaning, nursing, weaning, nursing, about the right school for an obviously sharp little mind asking questions that should be beyond her years. So what is it like being an adult? <br />
<br />
<br />
Abby: Mom I want to see a real live chameleon right now<br />
Me: Well honey, I'm not in the habit of keeping real live chameleons in the car<br />
Abby: why not?<br />
Me: well I don't think they would like it in here<br />
Abby: Oh, well if there was a chameleon in here it could eat some of my pretzels<br />
Me: well I think they eat bugs Abby, but he might try a pretzel<br />
Abby: do lizards have teeth?<br />
Me: some do, I think Komodo Dragons have teeth<br />
Abby: They are bad lizards<br />
Me: No they aren't bad, they are just aggressive because they eat meat and they have to hunt it to eat it, that's all<br />
Abby: Well do you think a Komodo Dragon would eat a pretzel?<br />
Me: No Abby they like meat<br />
Abby: well what if I threw it at him?<br />
Me: well no probably not because they like meat<br />
Abby: Well what if I threw this whole cup at him? and all the pretzels were in it?<br />
Me: I think he might say , no thankyou I like meat<br />
Abby: Well then I would give him chicken.Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-65969422126499741782010-05-11T00:18:00.000-07:002010-05-11T00:18:09.396-07:00Mother's DayWell I've been avoiding posting about Mother's Day as it wasn't really all that great over here, actually it was downright dismal. Seth has had a headache for the better part of the last week complete with dizziness and nausea and.. well yes vomiting too. All those quirky side effects of a brain injury that no one know how, or why, or when they happen but they do. SO Sunday morning was filled with leftover coffe, make your own breakfast and get the kids out of the house so that Seth could rest. We went swimming which was pretty fun, the kids are great at the pool and we have a good time. Then back to the house, scrounge up some lunch, put Norah down for a nap.. oh wait she isn't napping this week. Anotehr fun side effect of feeling discombobulated because her dad now lives in the bedroom with the blinds closed. So get Norah up after an hour of singing the alphabet, head out to Lowes to buy myself some flowers. Okay just so everyone knows, Lowes, on Mother's Day, which was warm here in Spokane, in the Garden department with two kids both tired from swimming, freaked out from no daddy time and both napless...... bad. bad bad bad. I got tired of Abby continually running away bu hersell so I let Norah get out of the cart too so they could run away together. I figure if anyone tried to nab them they would have their hands so full by the exit they would ditch the kids and run for their lives. So we got some nice plants, and some cow crap, and the oh so nice lady at the checkout asked very sweetly how my Mother's Day was going and she got an honest answer. She may think twice about asking again, or at least check for the level of harried involved before opening her goddamn mouth. <br />
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Then we trouped home, and then voila, Norah fell asleep.. great right? Well at 3:30pm .. not so much. SO she napped for a whole 40 minutes which was just enough time for me to get elbow deep in making dinner on the barbeque because my *&%(*& oven STILL isn't working. Well that's another post entirely. And when she woke up she was oh so friendly and smiley, I mean she might have been underneath all the whining and the crying and the moaning and the cranking. I hel dher on my hip while I chopped vegtables and barbecued meat and then we all sat down to eat dinner, with the blinds closed. Not sure if the blinds were closed to keep the sun out for Seth or so I could pretend to be on an island, in the dark, by myself. BUT managed to wrangle the kids into bed so they could scream and whine for an hour before finally falling alseep. And the best part? well falling asleep at 9pm of course. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4OS7bmH8eUJFOsgC0IP18xuc5yI-lMfjDM7IGmjObcEcJrp16IwgU4q0XfjXSpbSL2Lt598HQKvai0oogEJfHG2Y3dibhAnmj7t7rWCke7LrmMffU51gqXkhppynkGk858HkYzZjFqvQ/s1600/DSCN1771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4OS7bmH8eUJFOsgC0IP18xuc5yI-lMfjDM7IGmjObcEcJrp16IwgU4q0XfjXSpbSL2Lt598HQKvai0oogEJfHG2Y3dibhAnmj7t7rWCke7LrmMffU51gqXkhppynkGk858HkYzZjFqvQ/s320/DSCN1771.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div>These photos are not from Mother's Day, I decided not to take any photos because something about documenting such a disaster seemed morbid. But these are some great dress up shots from earlier this week and sometimes we all need a Giraffe costume. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR5hz0ujXtbvp0thAie_yDOUSuDfmxbdY3UOmeJmgdfSRoIEfBsjbBBfwrHFceBioPeVQNyzkhwu8kEbQEaVZeGzUIbMqK5wPyfCjYvk0kh5d6uKnzd-tadlNG7-2qC4KT9ETaNxOSvix/s1600/DSCN1772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR5hz0ujXtbvp0thAie_yDOUSuDfmxbdY3UOmeJmgdfSRoIEfBsjbBBfwrHFceBioPeVQNyzkhwu8kEbQEaVZeGzUIbMqK5wPyfCjYvk0kh5d6uKnzd-tadlNG7-2qC4KT9ETaNxOSvix/s320/DSCN1772.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwM2IbFGhwwD9M6e9CyF_oH3ZhfdhEWnhyFhAp_WI45tIU1j8OPMPBCx8VFFpAvRxA4BTfd7ouySdRCJmi7cBCl6h4kBLYi8C4MGqnMgYNJ23Oc6ovDgNlkV7JNRIfkCWoW3VrDD7XyWjp/s1600/DSCN1775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwM2IbFGhwwD9M6e9CyF_oH3ZhfdhEWnhyFhAp_WI45tIU1j8OPMPBCx8VFFpAvRxA4BTfd7ouySdRCJmi7cBCl6h4kBLYi8C4MGqnMgYNJ23Oc6ovDgNlkV7JNRIfkCWoW3VrDD7XyWjp/s320/DSCN1775.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEIsc-YY_OXP4fLy3jSxdznJLoRrlWcd_vcr1wCEqb4_IwpCy4lLfNOIlzXlxTp4e0sjAEmDMjCVHdZ5iChfaAqNvGufg3Pe0Ukp-45Whl9uf2Rl9qWPbo8D_YIQH9epOYqTduY001IXD/s1600/DSCN1784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEIsc-YY_OXP4fLy3jSxdznJLoRrlWcd_vcr1wCEqb4_IwpCy4lLfNOIlzXlxTp4e0sjAEmDMjCVHdZ5iChfaAqNvGufg3Pe0Ukp-45Whl9uf2Rl9qWPbo8D_YIQH9epOYqTduY001IXD/s320/DSCN1784.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFZsjnhiP6fztwtGUS3drxDInuHkxsfu1V646IH-MwsU3vyLRmhrq_XeMrakLf3ScCnFB-1_6R3wruC4UD9_K3snaPTcH-jbgrYuwXwI2yLvV4e_gzKY-FL6o6XfhIWdVh-1ieM_GCia2/s1600/DSCN1779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFZsjnhiP6fztwtGUS3drxDInuHkxsfu1V646IH-MwsU3vyLRmhrq_XeMrakLf3ScCnFB-1_6R3wruC4UD9_K3snaPTcH-jbgrYuwXwI2yLvV4e_gzKY-FL6o6XfhIWdVh-1ieM_GCia2/s320/DSCN1779.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-57523756478188830032010-04-03T11:22:00.000-07:002010-04-03T11:22:09.144-07:00That New Baby SweetnessOoooohhhh goodness, and there is a new little one among us: welcoming <a href="http://thetrivialpursuitofhappiness.com/index.php/2010/04/choosing-joy/">Rebecca Coghlan</a>, the newest cutest sweetest loveliest baby girl you ever did see! She finally made her appearance late on April first after much anticipation, girl three for Tom and Ivory! Yay! <br />
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Such a new and exciting experience to have a dear friend have a baby, I mean most of my friends already have their children, and those that don't.. well I haven't been informed of plans :) lol There is a strange vicaryous excitement involved, you can't wait to meet the new little fusion of some of your favorite people, you know that it is going to hurt and by proxy you get some cramps ( seriously). Then there was that strange moment when touching the belly in the food court at Costco you <em>, know, just know </em>that today is the day, but there is nothing to be done, just waiting... I'm not so great at waiting. The actual onset of the event is overwhelmingly exciting, labour has started! alright ! all systems go! DO SOMETHING.... but really... you're not supposed to be there...The only other labour you've ever been a part of was, well, your own! you were definitely there and fairly important. But this is different, not yours, not your fight, not your pain, not your experience, you are the periphery, a bystander, a superfluous watcher. <br />
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You can wait and hope and pray for safety of your first friend you ever made in this city, you can worry when after checking your email 8, 20, 50 times that night you have nothing before going to bed at midnight. And you can rejoice! when you wake up to find a welcoming email.... relief.... <br />
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You can have the older kids to play in the afternoon, feed them, cuddle them, give them ,loads of high fives and recognition that this, <em>this huge event is theirs too! </em>That it is so special to be a big sister twice , and even more to be a big sister and a little sister at the same time :) You can watch them swirling in their newfound sense of... different, and feed them and bathe them and give them loads of pie, them pack them up and send them off. Not yours, but so worth the time and energy it takes to have four kids running around like banshees for a few hours. :) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvztBdxZn1yHuPr6tnOG0_GnQr7DrAIctjgEkNNDqUbOsaAyLHckBuJH3-ibFHsu0f_WSUx0oOsy8CUGXNOefc2z69Xcw4Fjg_U_ReyaRVQdHc7QmKHirmCa2ujXdT-NYTtJegnNmkHSUR/s1600/DSCN1528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvztBdxZn1yHuPr6tnOG0_GnQr7DrAIctjgEkNNDqUbOsaAyLHckBuJH3-ibFHsu0f_WSUx0oOsy8CUGXNOefc2z69Xcw4Fjg_U_ReyaRVQdHc7QmKHirmCa2ujXdT-NYTtJegnNmkHSUR/s320/DSCN1528.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSoPPNxTS7tuj_UdzUiKOAKU42nPJQyDBBIoD9GVCHHtIINjp88w4VR53x0CuDZ8IXuvu28I7Qjm0DdxOeRJkOeaiDU3KM90e5hRgQiA-WAMJm7zVX4R0i5SAfy_NoDvzUXTDDgChFRwi/s1600/DSCN1533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSoPPNxTS7tuj_UdzUiKOAKU42nPJQyDBBIoD9GVCHHtIINjp88w4VR53x0CuDZ8IXuvu28I7Qjm0DdxOeRJkOeaiDU3KM90e5hRgQiA-WAMJm7zVX4R0i5SAfy_NoDvzUXTDDgChFRwi/s320/DSCN1533.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6B9qdjx1P86oe4JTfFEmYT_660xTk2vRxirgnlL3AmYphPCtCZ6DC68w2aI27LqwrqxqSsg3civp4yIiA_Oo6-oxEq-pFzh43PqE9t8toJj_H0n_2KYExziz4hDH1sWS1wh2u8oVStSt/s1600/DSCN1537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6B9qdjx1P86oe4JTfFEmYT_660xTk2vRxirgnlL3AmYphPCtCZ6DC68w2aI27LqwrqxqSsg3civp4yIiA_Oo6-oxEq-pFzh43PqE9t8toJj_H0n_2KYExziz4hDH1sWS1wh2u8oVStSt/s320/DSCN1537.JPG" /></a></div>You can make a huge pot of soup and pack every vegetable cut with caring and concern, loads of vitamins and love, sustenance to help heal after the fight. <br />
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It is different , it's not your time but it is still so special and exciting and makes you want to grab the whole family and hug em tight! but instead I give Abby and Norah extra special love and hugs and wonder. ... the last time Ivory had a baby, someone else got pregnant :) lolLittle NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-40025128204068495652010-03-19T21:32:00.000-07:002010-03-19T21:33:13.311-07:00I can't keep it all together, so I've given up the power to the little peopleBlahhh.... definitely coming down off a creative high, I've been working my butt of these past two months at 4 designs for Knitpicks amid three contest entries and don't forget some baby gifts. Now I still have to finish two of said contest entries and hopefully not die of stiff neck disease. All I really want to do is curl up with my new book, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Zimmermanns-Knitting-Workshop-Zimmermann/dp/0942018001/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269058420&sr=8-1">">Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmermann</a> who is perhaps the goddess of knitting. There are so many lovely patterns in it, so much to aspire to :)<br />
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Since I've been so busy and tired the girls have been taking over some of the household chores for me..<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixy7SvaNluuZdB45f46dD9tY_unh8taHrjJHitFJEIIx8FP2Ro9hubhL3-qBaHhdo3sS7YNrEhQow-mIxWste6e0rVAKn5g_gbajMVUl5FZus6Y-9dLkIvuHGhhxjiTsKIRtDDosmB2sxE/s1600-h/DSCN1288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixy7SvaNluuZdB45f46dD9tY_unh8taHrjJHitFJEIIx8FP2Ro9hubhL3-qBaHhdo3sS7YNrEhQow-mIxWste6e0rVAKn5g_gbajMVUl5FZus6Y-9dLkIvuHGhhxjiTsKIRtDDosmB2sxE/s320/DSCN1288.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> Someone has to mow the lawn with bubbles </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlHkc-KvFcTFz4XUrSE2lY-gKGXddF7-C-Gcm5PfxZ0h9sGb7IbeTa-t-Hc6E5JFMKgrQqPZI4UG6okYABemJvqUz7dPd7OqwrmHRIUMRMNnYMfxGSUJne_5zW9ZoFhy8FPrCzLlw3tFz/s1600-h/DSCN1304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlHkc-KvFcTFz4XUrSE2lY-gKGXddF7-C-Gcm5PfxZ0h9sGb7IbeTa-t-Hc6E5JFMKgrQqPZI4UG6okYABemJvqUz7dPd7OqwrmHRIUMRMNnYMfxGSUJne_5zW9ZoFhy8FPrCzLlw3tFz/s320/DSCN1304.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And slide excessively</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeD-d_E3hkVfG5ozkGeRZ83igvznZxj8_6WB2wQnRpekl_OzLdaGxI7KAKW9-IG7Is0ppj103oC1qTS-eEvrX88NxuzJTnxSccAPDTIl4WTm1EC_QSJwsb9dmq19HNv5FG6VSA7CjdRqZ/s1600-h/DSCN1308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeD-d_E3hkVfG5ozkGeRZ83igvznZxj8_6WB2wQnRpekl_OzLdaGxI7KAKW9-IG7Is0ppj103oC1qTS-eEvrX88NxuzJTnxSccAPDTIl4WTm1EC_QSJwsb9dmq19HNv5FG6VSA7CjdRqZ/s320/DSCN1308.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not to mention modeling new haricuts, these are things I'm just not good at so the girls have been helping me out</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQ5UzNz-7RPOeqo0wuy9eWytTeiV79mwo6jTFq7DlvqW1hvnbWsVxDprPLSRZDLIDKUQkAaao-tKqRdL4clV8AGKo2sIBsVL9z5xM_f5K59kyYvnXsmMYoHaZ292Jvl4jzue4oBqUfrNX/s1600-h/DSCN1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQ5UzNz-7RPOeqo0wuy9eWytTeiV79mwo6jTFq7DlvqW1hvnbWsVxDprPLSRZDLIDKUQkAaao-tKqRdL4clV8AGKo2sIBsVL9z5xM_f5K59kyYvnXsmMYoHaZ292Jvl4jzue4oBqUfrNX/s320/DSCN1367.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Another great example is sneaking pasta from the strainer when mom is busy stirring the sauce, I knew it was toooooo quiet in there. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-DcUpEp92Nvk5OUAJu1O5An2bdQ51LZGIsCKRwr54PzAeb9_NCqExMXI7NZpRd4lI8brfl0YNAqP8XgFKEb5G6pSJ7lAqMwhWrwsx6_Avf4XCS-TKoLAknwcvjQW4nbdho0o-hoBGXl7/s1600-h/DSCN1375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-DcUpEp92Nvk5OUAJu1O5An2bdQ51LZGIsCKRwr54PzAeb9_NCqExMXI7NZpRd4lI8brfl0YNAqP8XgFKEb5G6pSJ7lAqMwhWrwsx6_Avf4XCS-TKoLAknwcvjQW4nbdho0o-hoBGXl7/s320/DSCN1375.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And since all my creativity is used up the Daddy had to find new ways of playing Nemo, we call this the lazy-man tug-o-war</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sp5QwusxF_UOV305DIZRklCEulL3OTDvJWDWS581O-iH0TJ15JACMQeij48wbCE__8cdtg_2R1nAJwDD-CUClSKFa1Xpjf9aVe-VtsfJEmREKzwT_qtp0ypeTth1dldNzuWfCQnyOPUe/s1600-h/DSCN1384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sp5QwusxF_UOV305DIZRklCEulL3OTDvJWDWS581O-iH0TJ15JACMQeij48wbCE__8cdtg_2R1nAJwDD-CUClSKFa1Xpjf9aVe-VtsfJEmREKzwT_qtp0ypeTth1dldNzuWfCQnyOPUe/s320/DSCN1384.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Don't forget vacuuming, at this I am hopeless, good thing Norah helps out</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6G_DEWWRWNE_o1JGsSjbvKEIwSw92YBOxk5RlVGeJcl46v_Dzw5sC_6lVdg1rY8mhEH6o_eAkR9COsTY_1YrAbqqMvuDYuLpxOpNCyDY40B4gERxlQnxTHQKLv3yM7jpt5OayZOsH6s4p/s1600-h/DSCN1404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6G_DEWWRWNE_o1JGsSjbvKEIwSw92YBOxk5RlVGeJcl46v_Dzw5sC_6lVdg1rY8mhEH6o_eAkR9COsTY_1YrAbqqMvuDYuLpxOpNCyDY40B4gERxlQnxTHQKLv3yM7jpt5OayZOsH6s4p/s320/DSCN1404.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Other things I am not so hot at: maintaining a rollicking living room ocean boat with fish crackers and a broom mast, nope I'll leave that to the experts. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjd9UUR9JtIKzZ7ZqsvPeL7kdOOh57azPCn33nFPN5G8QaRxHZalWQGy8QoOkjbZh3ZGevuZHRa3UDPDtDcL6js7B4DA1KfRw6lBS8jytF_hTcmMFZztIEI-pgXP3Kquh82ES1LnWnH1FN/s1600-h/DSCN1418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjd9UUR9JtIKzZ7ZqsvPeL7kdOOh57azPCn33nFPN5G8QaRxHZalWQGy8QoOkjbZh3ZGevuZHRa3UDPDtDcL6js7B4DA1KfRw6lBS8jytF_hTcmMFZztIEI-pgXP3Kquh82ES1LnWnH1FN/s320/DSCN1418.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How about Giant Water Bottles? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6gEv7aTUDgOCGTJZV3rcbLSon_laZR5kYU3YE0XUs_cj_knYAQ2JfmMXO5wOqJ5IC3GB6iD7XavcIgWdZJL4hBXNNkEnClmV5l_dJh2yI0BDqKoj81m0rFNKq2cSQ7q888kCTN3rf-t5/s1600-h/DSCN1423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6gEv7aTUDgOCGTJZV3rcbLSon_laZR5kYU3YE0XUs_cj_knYAQ2JfmMXO5wOqJ5IC3GB6iD7XavcIgWdZJL4hBXNNkEnClmV5l_dJh2yI0BDqKoj81m0rFNKq2cSQ7q888kCTN3rf-t5/s320/DSCN1423.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Also I've been far too busy to be as cool as this</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNdgTqNcXpCy9D2619u-SCSN2wFrF39yN4m4RTZOGBhUnsOuszGeAZPZ2FI_McfB8fMtIYfgqdvxblvfB2uTNVv7LJjTdm5xCSIKbz0uXp8iizQJ4vLFbXR3e5x7tgy_c_Pj5EypYJt-4/s1600-h/DSCN1431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNdgTqNcXpCy9D2619u-SCSN2wFrF39yN4m4RTZOGBhUnsOuszGeAZPZ2FI_McfB8fMtIYfgqdvxblvfB2uTNVv7LJjTdm5xCSIKbz0uXp8iizQJ4vLFbXR3e5x7tgy_c_Pj5EypYJt-4/s320/DSCN1431.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And let's not forget the necessary brick standing (?) Apparantly it is an important part of our lives :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmUEGqGXXk5uXvN0lIDuHw02p4e3pRCNhIhiJP2cihzJugJ0C4g9PfTj2qs8u9LLJbjwaZskgWhI__q1OK8bzVnNphALIV3WGjPmIr0J7eNFqzTLMlboVGQiYai82sd-rjPHdFrx5Gf91e/s1600-h/DSCN1435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmUEGqGXXk5uXvN0lIDuHw02p4e3pRCNhIhiJP2cihzJugJ0C4g9PfTj2qs8u9LLJbjwaZskgWhI__q1OK8bzVnNphALIV3WGjPmIr0J7eNFqzTLMlboVGQiYai82sd-rjPHdFrx5Gf91e/s320/DSCN1435.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This however, this relaxing in a hammock thing I would love to do, if there was only room :)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8946543848119604636.post-63126088507135089082010-03-06T20:37:00.000-08:002010-03-06T20:38:25.678-08:00Dancing in the Street<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nUZyX8qQgvE&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nUZyX8qQgvE&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
Alright so this may come a little late, like perhaps a week, but remember that my T.V. was broken and I was enjoying all the quality time with my children... yadda yadda yadda.... SO very proud to be a Canadian this week after winning so many Gold(s) in the Olympics and really why not an impromptu street dance??Little NutMeg Productionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14080782936288054308noreply@blogger.com0