Sisters . . .

Every now and again I'm still struck by the fact that we actually do have "sisters" in this family. Been a long stretch of new brothers for us (and Lara), so it's been really great seeing how these two gals are enjoying each other.

Such a great couple of girls!

And...

Lara is especially fond of cooking/baking these days. Most recently she made chocolate chip banana bread that was Out.Of.This.World!!! I love that I can just say, "I've got chocolate chips and some really ripe bananas, see if you can find a great recipe for that." Then she goes online and takes care of the rest. This time she even had to create a cake flour substitute since we only had about half of what was needed,!

(I'm disappointed we seem to have lost the pic she took of her outstanding creation)

Oh...I just found it...my computer seems to have two iPhoto libraries...something about the hard drive and our time machine back up library, or something like that...v.e.r.y. frustrating for me because I don't exactly know how to choose which one I want to look at and I don't like that pics I download to one library don't automatically go into the other library...been missing this banana bread pic for a week...anyway...

As great as this was warm, right out of the oven, it was even better the next day, super moist and delicious, and yes, I love commas!

(recipe in link above and in "recipes" on sidebar)

What Goes Around . . .

(original post)

(original post)

Comes Around . . .

You go girl!

Garbage Picker . . .

Yep, I am. I admit it. Now, what to do with that...

Recover, refresh, renew!

(Let's see how long this process takes)

Hi Five, Livia . . .

You're 10 months old today!

In addition to hi-fives, she's recently stumbled upon shaking her head "no" (not to me...yet), growling like a lion and "loo-lah-loo-lah-loo-ing" like a rooster, pushing William away if he's bothering her (...self-defense mechanisms click in early I guess...), giving William the biggest hugs of all kids (...it's a give and take with him...), eating mostly solid foods of all kinds (and by herself) because her mom is very busy and if you can believe it "sometimes" tired (she's even been enjoying all parts of my chicken noodle soup, minus the broth, all laid out on her tray).

She L.O.V.E.S. to be on the go, go, go especially outside. She'll do her elephant crawl (is that right, the one with the straight legs?) all over the yard, exploring, in dirt, through puddles, trying to get up slides, there is really no stopping her. She takes a step or two along furniture and pulls herself up to a stand everywhere but always drops to a crawl when she really wants to boogie. She's a champ at laying down for naps and goes to bed just as well...but she still is up between 4-5a.m. screaming bloody murder and gets nursed by mom...hmmm, smart girl?

I can not believe we only have two months to go until the big 1 yr!!

Ogre on the washing machine, Teacher's Pet and Bunny Hop Champ . . .

For real. That's the title. I'm not kidding.

Here we go:

Came home the other day to find something on the door.

(couldn't tell from the car...the eyes are almost 40 ya know!)

Upon closer inspection I found a boot-wearing sheep wondering if I needed any help.

And,

If I did, instructing me to the ogre on the washing machine...

he'd show me the way.

Say What???

You just never know around here!

Yep, he showed me the way all right...

straight to the looney bin!

(-:

And yes, in fact, he IS wearing my wedding shoes!!!!

Next up:

Teacher's Pet

I was asked (and hired, whoo-hoo!) to teach choir one hour/one day per week at a homeschool co-op (they seem to be quite popular these days, homeschooling folks join together to co-teach and hire professionals...such as myself (-:...to teach where they're lacking). Today, my first day, I had the kids write a "bio" of themselves highlighting their musical background and interests so I know where we're all coming from. I think I just found my teacher's pet!!!

Just you wait "Sally Jane" (name changed to protect the innocent), choir music is going to be your favorite kind of music ever come May!

O.K. now the

2010 BUNNY HOP CHAMP!

And he's my brother. How cool is that?!!

Way to go, Dan!

Awww, Bearsie . . .

1. Livia LOVES her Bearsie! (-:

2. I debated for a while between "Bearsy" and "Bearsie."

3. I googled both, "Bearsy" was a weird sim site and "Bearsie" was a cute book.

4. Livia loves hugging stuffed animals, none of my other kids have done that.

5. Livia gives people big hugs with pats on the back and sloppy, open mouthed kisses.

6. Please ignore the laundry basket backdrop, can't stage everything you know!

Hello Peter . . .

This is my garden door. I have been annoyed with it this year. It's a pain. I have to try to hook chicken wire on plastic hooks to close and unhook them to open. It's a pain.

(I have a request in for a "real" fence, door and one more raised bed for the big 4-0 this fall, that's after figuring the "grand piano" request probably won't be happening...I'm easy, I'll take a box filled with dirt!)

Anyway, last night Livia and I were out looking for beans when we discovered...

Peter!

Yep, Mr. Cottontail himself. Tucked right were he should be.

In the carrots!

He's moved on to his second course after filling up on swiss chard grown from last years fallen seeds.

I like these "by chance" plants, they've given me some good meals this summer and they were totally unexpected. As a matter of fact I had a tomato plant or two shoot up from dropped tomatoes last season that actually produced. Cool!

Rag Rollers, And . . .

You know, sometimes you find things on the web that are just plain useful and fun. This time I found something over at my friend Sharyn's blog and Lara and I had a great time putting them to use this weekend. And what was that you ask?

RAG ROLLERS!

I had never heard of rag rollers before, what fun they turned out to be.

Check this link and find someone to try them with soon.

And now for the "And"

Our local lake club closed today. )-:

Good bye summer, we'll meet again in a few short months (goes faster every year!).

Yesterday we had our last hurrah.

And this young man caught his very first fish.

(the other boys caught none!)

One happy boy and his record breaking (-: fish!

Adieu!

Today's Theme . . .

BOTANY!

Sensitive Plant

(Mimosa Pudica)

I was excited to find this interesting plant for a buck around town at the end of June. It's been a fun plant and I take great offense at Wikipedia calling it a "pantropical weed." (-:

Here is our Sensitive Plant in action...brace yourself!

Disclaimer: I do not regularly spend time petting Sensi, this was for educational purposes only.

Disclaimer 2: I do not normally name my plants. "Sensi" was for blog entertainment only.

Disclaimer 3: I am not a freak (I don't think)!

(-:

Hardy Hibiscus

I know I've blogged these guys before but every summer I'm just as amazed that something so tropically beautiful can be grown here.

Some iPhoto editing fun with my climbing roses.

Here's the original,

and then...

Wow!

Still too much of a glare in the middle but can you believe what you can do with the colors and definition with a couple clicks of the mouse??!!

See, a few clicks of the mouse and I bet even I could be a super model!

Check this.