some stuff

I really like were we live because of all the little creatures that visit our yard. the kids and I like to look out the front window on overcast days, when we are feeling sluggish, and we watch for what will come to our house next.
today we got some little warblers on their way north.

the picture is poor, but he is tiny. there were so many of them and a couple of them came right up to the house and one landed on the window sill for a second but I didn't have time to focus and get a picture of him before he was gone. that would have been fun to have gotten a shot that close. oh well... it was just fun to have seen them at all.


this morning I finished one of the crocheted animal projects I have been working on. I took the head apart four times and I almost did it again this morning, but I kept at it and I really like how it turned out. it's so cute!

I put bags under it's eyes and a bit of a saggy neck. I think it makes it look old. it is a tortoise after all.
the goal is to sell it at Erica's fund raiser 'flea market'. I hope it does sell, but I think I will kind of miss it. maybe I'll be making one for home.

doing well

Tim's appointment yesterday went well. the doctor gave us a pamphlet about heartburn solutions since Tim had been having some reflux issues at night, still. Tim admits that some of that was self inflicted.
Tim is still taking his acid blocker medicine, but the doctor said that he can cut back to one a day instead of two.

for the next couple of months, yet, we should take note of Tim's appetite just in case it doesn't return fully. but all in all, Tim is doing great. Yay!

wish him luck

Tim's follow up with the GI doctor is this afternoon.
so far he is feeling great, pretty much back to normal. but today we are going to see the doctor who closed up Tim's ulcer. I should write down a couple of questions so I wont forget, like how much longer does he want Tim to take some of his prescriptions.

working on Erica's camp fees

this year camp for Erica is going to cost a bit more than last year. the girls are holding a kind of flea markety, garage saley kind of thing next month to help raise money.
So until I can start baking for the bake sale portion of the fund raising I am making various craft items that I hope we will sell... at least a few.



the little toad king I made just this morning. I figured out the pattern and added a couple of extras like front legs and a crown.
the cup cakes are pretty easy to do after making the first one. but I don't think that I want to make too many of each thing just because I don't know if they will sell and then I end up having tons of crocheted toys all over the house.
I've also made some flowers, most of which are going on a blanket I am making for Emma. and I have made a little drawstring tote bag which could also be a very adorable hat if you leave the draw string out of it.
Connor got bored posing for me really quickly.

now the trick is pricing them.



by the way, I changed my comment settings so anyone can comment.
I thought I would give the change a try for a while.
so if you ever wanted to comment but ran into complications before, those should be gone and you may comment away.

in our yard

for the last couple of days I have been working on our yard. I have planted seeds and bulbs/corms and this morning we planted some sunflowers. over these last few days I've come across our little wild residents. at least three guarder snakes. they've been enjoying the sun as much as the kids and I have.

those of you who are afraid of snakes, be warned... I have pictures. I don't mind snakes, but I understand your fear. spiders horrify me so I have put the pictures further down the page so you won't be visually accosted.




I laid on the ground close to were they have been hanging out and waited for them to stick their heads up.

this one slithered right by me by only about 5 inches. he didn't mind me at all. the kids on the other hand were making them all very nervous.


last year we had one that liked to curl up under my flower pot in the yard. Tim and I called him Salazar. but he was always there alone. this year it looks as if he has a few friends.

we should give them all names.

well, at least it isn't chicken pox

but...

she is allergic to amoxicillin

early spring ~ oh, such glee

the other day was my birthday. Tim got me a wonderful park sticker and today he and I used it for the first time by going to Minneopa Falls.

much to our delight we stumbled on some early spring flowers. I was just excited for little sprigs of green popping up from the ground. I never expected to find any blossoms.

we found blood root which I had to look up as soon as we were home.

and we found dutchmen's breeches. I haven't seen these for so many years I'm sure I was a kid the last time I saw them. Tim had never seen them before, or at the very least doesn't remember that he had. that made it a very fun discovery.

tomorrow is easter

with everyone being sick this last week, i've been having a real hard time doing any planning for Easter this year. I truly feel lucky that I managed to get any candy at all. so for the eggs to have gotten done is a real miracle.

after quite a lot of nagging from Emma and Connor, I got the eggs boiled yesterday and we colored them this afternoon.
Ronan's contribution to coloring the eggs only lasted about 5 minutes. in that amount of time he managed to crush two of the eggs and was on his way to smashing more. I need them for deviled eggs tomorrow so he wasn't allowed to smash anymore.



Emma and Erica were dedicated. they stayed and made sure that every egg got colored and even the cracked eggs got colored on if not dipped in the food coloring.

old pictures

I was looking through my old pictures today and thought that I would share some of them. It's been such a long time since I've had pictures on here that it will be refreshing to have something lovely to look at when you come here to see what's going on with us.

Emma 2006

Connor 2006

Timothy and Erica 2006

they have grown so so much in the last 2 1/2 years.

this week has been quiet again. I would rather have a quiet life than what we'd been having for the last couple of months. I did end up going back to the clinic for some more antibiotics. the Dr gave me something stronger and I have to take it two times a day instead of once but my cough is definitely improved.

for the last couple of days I've noticed Timothy reading in his room (something I've had to twist his arm about in the past) I'm not sure if he has finally found a style he likes reading or if he is just getting himself motivated. I hated to interrupt him for supper.

Emma has been having a hard time sleeping again. she did well when she had a fancy nightlight right next to her head. it was broken many times and I need to replace it. that and I think I will make a pretty princessy veil for her bunk so she feels 'safer' in there.

Ronan is saying more words these last few weeks. english is still a bit rough for him, but he's communicating well enough as long as we are listening close enough. that sounds kind of funny, kind of like he is fluent in an other language. I suppose he's fluent in baby.