Recent Pics

Here's some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Our new pet(s)

It all started with a science class my boys attended two Saturdays ago. They were each sent home with a bullfrog tadpole. The tadpoles were already rather large, at about two inches. They were living in small plastic containers with about an inch of pond water. On the way home that day in the car, Alivia removed the lid from one and spilled the water and the tadpole in her lap! We rescued the tadpole, but decided when we got home that they needed a more permanent residence. So Dustin and the boys set up one of our fish tanks and started feeding them algae tablets. In need of more good (scummy) water, Dustin went down to the pond in our neighborhood and scooped a bucket full. Little did he know, he brought home some hitchhikers - five more tadpoles. But these were little ones, not bullfrogs. A couple of them already had back legs forming. I thought for sure they would get bigger, because I had never seen frogs so small. Unfortunately, not all have survived. Two of the small ones tried to pull a "Finding Nemo" and got sucked up into the filter. We've placed foam over the end of the tube now to prevent any more jail breaks.

Just a few days ago, we noticed that one of the small tadpoles had all four legs and his tail was almost completely absorbed. So we put a log in the tank sticking out of the water a bit. I guess they can drown once their gill functions go away. It wasn't long before we noticed that he'd climbed out of the water and was sitting on the log. And he's just about the tiniest frog I've ever seen. He's not even a 1/2 inch long! He sat there for a few days, occasionally taking a swim. We decided that we should probably let him go, because we didn't know what to feed him. Then I read online that you can give them pretty much any small bugs or larvae. So I went out into the forested part of our yard and flipped over some rotting logs. Bugs galore! The first thing I spotted were some termites. I thought they looked pretty appetizing (to a frog), so I grabbed a bunch of them, threw them in a cup and brought them inside. I dropped a few onto the log in front of Bob (as we've come to call him). It didn't take more than a second for him to lunge and flick one with his tongue. That termite didn't know what hit him! And then a minute later he ate another one. I think he was full after two, because he didn't eat any more after that. That was yesterday. I gave him some more fresh termites today, and he ate two again. He does seem much happier with a full belly (if you can really gauge the emotions of a frog).

In the meantime, there are still two more small tadpoles with legs coming on. The bullfrog tadpoles haven't changed all that much. They are just big heads with tails. I'm assuming the larger the frog, the longer the development. More to come once they start changing. Here's pictures of our first frog.

Meet Bob, the frog

That's a penny and a termite, for size reference.

Hunting a termite.

Going for a swim.

Just chillin' on his log.

House Pics

I sent the picture #1 to our builder so they could see the "finished" product with grass. They e-mailed back asking for a high resolution image so they can use it on their website. I started thinking, this picture is lacking in so many ways, because now we have leaves on the trees, greener grass, and flowers in the front beds. So I decided to take a new picture (#2). I feel like it's a better picture overall, because of the more even lighting and more attractive scenery. I know the blue sky is missing in the background, but the weather just wasn't cooperating today. I might have to go out later and see if the clouds have cleared a bit more. Which picture do you like best?

#1

#2

OK, the clouds cleared up a bit. Here's picture #3 taken at golden hour.

We have been busy

Sometimes I think I get so busy doing things, that I forget to take pictures (or blog about it). I had to remind myself to stop every once and a while and get the camera out these past few weeks. We have gotten a couple of major projects done recently, and I am exhausted!

Margaret and Jerry came to visit the grandkids (or so they thought) in mid-February and ended up being lifesavers for our biggest project so far, second only to installing our wood floors last year. Over a three week stretch, we laid over 10,000 sq ft of sod in our yard. That's about a 1/4 acre (in case you were wondering). Yikes! My hands still haven't forgiven me for all the digging rocks (millions of them), raking dirt and lifting 40 lb rolls of grass repeatedly. It's a job I vow NEVER to do again in my life. But the results were worth all the back-breaking labor.

Here's the work in progress:

 

The results:

What's even more amazing is to see how far we've come in just one year:

I'm almost done with the front flower beds as well. Margaret and Jerry helped me plant some shrubs while they were here. And a guy from Dustin's work let us come to his house and dig up tons of irises and day lily plants. I transplanted them a couple weeks ago. I'm still waiting to see how they will do in their new home. And since I'm so impatient waiting for all these beautiful flowers to grow, I went ahead and planted some pansies already in bloom to add color to the front of the house. For later this summer, I've started some seeds inside: zinnias, shasta daisies, and some others. Oh how I love flowers!

The other project we completed was to get our logs milled. They were lying in our backyard ever since our land was cleared last year. I wish we would have done it sooner, because some of the wood was rotten and couldn't be used. But we still ended up with about 1000 board feet drying in our garage. Dustin discovered bugs in the wood stack last week and sprayed it with bug killer. We don't want all the wood destroyed by termites before we even get to use it. Our plan is to build some new furniture and make lots of other fun projects.

Painting with the kids and other stuff

I have been painting quite a bit lately with watercolors. Usually the kids want to join in on the fun, which is fine with me! Although, it does get a bit messy. I might be slightly biased, but I think they all show real talent! I think I'll scan in some of their paintings and post them soon.

The weather has also been really nice so far this winter. So we have had extra opportunities to be outside enjoying it! Owen recently learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He zips around like Speed Racer. And it's a good thing he wears a helmet, because he has his fair share of crashes. I think sometimes he does it on purpose. He is by far our most reckless child. I fear what crazy stunts he will pull as he gets older.

Alivia's feet finally reach the peddles on her tricycle, though she is still trying to figure out how to push them. The day of these photos was fairly warm, and she really didn't need the warm fuzzy hat and gloves on. Nevertheless, she insists on wearing them all the time, even in the house! She calls them her "pink thumbs", which I find adorable.

Here's some shots of Bubba, just because I think he is the coolest cat ever. And I love how in order to get the detail in his black fur to show up in pictures, the background always has to be totally overexposed.

Christmas

Christmas tried to sneak up on me. It always does. Especially here in South Carolina, where there's no bitter-cold snowy nights to remind me that it really is December. In fact, we were outside on Christmas Eve in short sleeves enjoying the warmth and sunshine. I think the temp was in the high 60's. (Have I mentioned that I love living in the South?) My kids didn't let me forget about their favorite holiday, though. My boys started talking about the toys they wanted to get back in July. And the day after Halloween, Walmart was playing Christmas music in their store (which seems a tad early if you ask me).

Leading up to Christmas, we always try to play down the Santa Claus side of things (besides, of course, using the naughty list as a threat for bad behavior). We don't want the kids to get hung up on Christmas being only about getting lots of presents. Besides, we didn't have extra money to spend this year, seeing as we just built a house, and replaced my old used car with a newer used car. Money seems to go out the door faster than we can bring it in! I'm sure you can all relate.

On that note, one small blessing in 2011 was that I was able to start making jewelry again. Alivia has gotten old enough to play happily along side me in my art studio while I work. So in the fall, I figured I'd try to get in on the Christmas traffic that was starting up. So I got busy cutting glass and making some new things, then steadily listed new pieces in my Etsy shop every other day or so. It felt so good to be doing something creative again! I also started promoting my site on Facebook and Etsy, which helped a great deal. Soon after, the sales started picking up, and by Christmas, I had sold more than I had for the previous two years combined. Granted, I hadn't been actively promoting my shop since before Alivia was born in 2009, so that's not saying much. But it was a blessing nonetheless. We were able to catch up on those extra expenses after buying my car in October.

All seemed well on Christmas Eve. Dustin and I had fun getting everything ready for the next morning. We were even done with the wrapping and arranging well before midnight, so we were able to go to bed at a decent hour. Not that it mattered, because around 2 am, Alivia woke up for no apparent reason. I was up and down with her for about two hours! I could not get her to go back to sleep. And she's usually an 11-hour-a-night sleeper. Then Owen woke up at around 5 am crying that his ear hurt. I gave him some Tylenol and sent him back to bed. Alivia was still waking up, so I finally woke up Dustin to help out. It was a crazy night! We hardly got any sleep. But morning came, and the kids woke up excitedly to find full stockings and lots of presents under the tree. Owen woke up with a fever, still complaining about his ear. So only Ethan and I went to church. When we got home, we ate some lunch and then started the opening of presents. About midway through, Owen threw up all over the sofa and the floor! So we had a brief interruption while we assessed the damage and cleaned up. He was pretty much throwing up and sick for the rest of the day. When the doctor opened on Tuesday, I took him in. The poor boy had an inner AND outer ear infection on one side. Luckily, we got him on some medicine and he immediately started feeling better.

Other than the lack of sleep, and one puking boy, Christmas was loads of fun! (Some sarcasm intended.) The boys got all the Legos their little hearts desired (about 572,000,000 pieces...) and Alivia got her fair share of real girl toys. I got Dustin new slippers and he got me a Dremel tool to polish the metal on my jewelry. Yeah!

Alivia's new big girl training pants!

 

 Poor sick Owen, post puke. :(

Ethan with a the "original" Legos! They also got Lego Ninjago, Lego Hero Factory and several others. We should be all set now, right? Until the next big thing comes out.

Even the kitties got a present. They love their new kitty bed!

Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. For one, I finally feel settled in life. Every day, I breathe a little sigh of relief to be past certain stages of life. Some examples:

1. Being single and dating. (Ugh. Enough said.)
2. Going through college with kids. (There's a reason why people usually go to college BEFORE they get married.)
3. Moving from state to state and rental to rental. (Let's just say I hope I NEVER see another moving box.)
4. Being pregnant and then being up all night with newborn babies. (I'm pretty sure we are done with that phase...crossing fingers.) 
5. Wondering where we will "end up". (I hate uncertainty.)

Not that I don't appreciate those times in my life for what they have taught me and where they have taken me. As the saying goes, I wouldn't be where I am today without those experiences. But I have to admit that it feels good to finally be starting a new phase of life, one that feels a little more stable (if such a thing exists). I guess there's always the chance things could change again, but for right now, I feel settled. For someone like me, that's very important. I am not an adventure seeker, or a world traveler. I like being at home, with my family, and having a stable routine. And now that we are here in South Carolina, with a great job, a new home, and three growing kids, life feels pretty darn good.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving festivities: