Not Yet!

We thought it was too chilly and cloudy to release the butterflies today. Besides, they seemed rather content in their habitat....until this evening. Two of them started fluttering all around and flying into each other. All right you two-- don't make me stop this habitat!
Perhaps they were strong and claustrophobic? So, Spencer and I took the habitat outside and unzipped the opening so Hatfield and McCoy could "take it outside."
As soon as I unzipped it, one came straight down to the opening--stopped-- stayed there a minute and went back in. The other one was distracted by the apple. Neither wanted out so after waiting and waiting...we zipped it back up and brought the habitat back inside. They have been quiet and calm ever since!
Maybe they will be ready tomorrow?

5 Alive!

All 5 of our butterflies came out of their cocoons! Spencer put some fresh food on some azalea blossoms for them. They are weak and small-- but beautiful! We should be able to release them in the next day or two!

A Mario Kart and Lidocaine Sunday

All afternoon, Spencer and IV played games--and laughed hysterically. Mario Kart was a big hit today! Jimmy, Melissa, Kim and I were sore. I think I have used a half a tube of BioFreeze on my damn shoulder!
Just when I decided that I was the only person in the world that could pull a "butt muscle" bowling, Kim let me know her left bum cheek was in pain too! I was so sore, I could barely sit on my hiney all day and avoid doing laundry.

You know what else stinks? I got a horrible sunburn. Not a "ooh I am really pink and it burns" kind of sunburn-- I'm talking a RED burn with tiny prickles of blood spots and white blisters. The kind where you take some vicodin, lather in aloe and lidocaine and try not to have the sheet touch your skin. UGH!!! I was out in the sun for about an hour at the soccer game Saturday. I forgot my sunscreen. I sat in the shade at the baseball game.-- So in a little over an hour, I blistered and Mom and Lucy barely got any sun at all. My doctor said that once I get my vitamin deficiencies back in order, I won't be quite as sensitive to the sun. I will remember how freakin bad this hurts every time I complain about all the vitamins and supplements I have to take now.

I went to Barnes and Nobles today. Lesley- if you are reading this: I got 6 new books-WOOHOO! Lots of good stuff to gear up for summer. I bought Spencer two new Mo Willems books. He read one of them tonight. He read the entire thing with very few mistakes-and when he did mess up, he immediately self-corrected. He used inflection and fun voices for the characters-- I was so proud of him! I have a small prize box and there are some "popper" type toys in there that he could earn by reading with inflection. (It is one of those silly rubber things that you turn inside out and then they pop and spring upwards in the air.) That was certainly the right motivator because he was determined to earn those poppers-- he even offered to read another book to me to earn another popper! My goal in the next few weeks is to get us a library card. I am spending a small fortune in books. I have never even been to our local library!

We have wings!

Quick butterfly update-- one already came out of the cocoon! The bottom picture is not that great- but I wanted to show how little he is right now, and (yikes!) I was not expecting blood! The book didn't say anything about that! We put sugar water on flower petals (for food) in the bottom to help him grow/gain strength.

Surprise!

Kim came up this evening-- she brought me the FUNNIEST plaque! If you can't read it in the picture, it says: You drink too much, you cuss too much, you have questionable morals, you're everything I ever wanted in a friend. That cracked me up!

She also brought a Wii for us! IV was so excited. Jimmy hooked it up to my big TV in the living room and we all played games until we had dislocated shoulders and pulled hamstrings. The only one NOT hurting was IV--and at age 6, he was outplaying just about all of us. He beat III at golf by 19 strokes! Retiring from the physical demands of the Wii, we switched over to the Playstation and played SingStar. Kim, Ms. Fancy Pants Theater Major, could out sing all of us losers- but we sure had fun totally butchering the lyrics. You really haven't been entertained until you have heard IV singing I Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick) with the rest of us as his back up singers. I can't wait for Spencer to get home tomorrow and play!

Batter up!

Spencer and IV had an awesome Baseball game as well-- the Reds were on fire! Spencer got a solid double that had all of us cheering. Two of IVs RBIs brought Spencer around to home. Spencer played an inning as catcher--and LOVED wearing the equipment! He looked so stinking cute!

More soccer news

We had a great soccer game this weekend (other than me getting sun burned!) Spencer and IV both had fast and furious offense and strong defense. We won 1-0. IV was so excited about his good plays that he talked about it for hours. Literally.

Elaine had a wonderful time holding her newest granddaughter! Little Miss Meredith enjoyed all the attention and the beautiful weather.

Chrysalids R in da house!

Our caterpillars have formed chrysalids and we transferred them from their jar to the butterfly habitat. You can't tell in the picture, but the hardened cocoons are iridescent. In about a week we will have beautiful butterflies!

Big Thanks to Paula!

My friend Paula from Australia sent Spencer and IV the CUTEST care package! I got it last night--just in time for the boys to enjoy all of the goodies for Earth Day today!
I used the Koala education/preservation material she sent as an opportunity to teach the boys about Koalas, their habitat, and geography. They loved the tattoos, pins, stickers, bookmarks--and the Koala noses were their favorite! IV cracked me up when a friend asked him where he got his Koala nose, he said, "My Auntie's friend in Aussa-trail-ya sent it to me!"
BIG THANKS TO PAULA!
In case you're wondering, the boys' T-shirts for Earth Day (Thanks Nana-haha!) say "Save Gas- Toot in a Jar!" Our boys love their fart humor. Who am I kidding, I haven't outgrown it either.
Happy Earth Day friends!

Over sharing

Sometimes I over share on my blog. This is going to be one of those times.
IV spent the night with us last night. He and Spencer decided they wanted a big bubble bath. So I made a warm bath with lots of Mr. Bubbles suds rising out of the garden tub while Spencer and IV gathered up their Dino toys-- the bubbles are the pretend "Ice Age." Sounds normal so far, right?
Well, just as I gave each of them a wash cloth and reminders not to over-splash, IV leans up and starts peeing on Spencer's leg. Yeah-- you read that right. One little boy started peeing on the other. And laughing hysterically. Poor Spencer was in shock! I jerked both of them out of the tub, I tried not to yell at IV but jeez--what was he thinking??
Poor little boys were standing on a towel naked, covered in bubbles while I was draining and washing the tub. IV was scared I was going to call his Dad on him and Spencer was scowling at IV--all... well.... pissed off. I guess in this case - pissed on. Looking at them, I couldn't be mad any more-- but as a Mom rule-- I couldn't laugh either. If IV even sees the slightest hint that he has amused you, he will come out for an encore. So I finished washing the tub and filled it back up with a new clean bubble bath-- without giggling.
I explained to IV that while his Daddy (my brother) lets him pee in the shower, he CAN NOT pee in the tub. Especially ON SPENCER!!!

Grades: He's doin' it right

Spencer got a nice surprise from Kim and her fur babies today! He loved the card with Baxter on the front and the gift card to Barnes and Nobles was perfect! 'Cuz we all know he likes to get his books where he can get his coffee--haha! Big Thanks!

Butterfly Project Update

It has been a week and the caterpillars doubled in size and spun webbing all in the bottom of the jar. Last night they all crawled to the top and started to form cocoons. We thought one was dead because he laid on the bottom for so long. He's just slow-- there's one in every crowd. Always late--holding everyone up. Spencer and I were joking around that the other ones were screaming "Come on! All the good cocoon spots are gonna be taken! Hurry up!"
I can't really capture it in a picture (hard to photograph without disturbing them!) but they have started webbing where they have attached themselves at the top. This is one of our better science experiments!

I was tagged

I was tagged on Melissa's Blog-- I think I have already done this one before, but it has been a while so my answers have probably changed, so let's spin it around again!


Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Instructional Designer
2. Loan Officer
3. Repossession Coordinator
4. Bookstore Receiver (by far my fav job ever!)

Four movies I've watched more than once:

1. Dumb & Dumber
2. Steel Magnolias
3. A League of Their Own
4. Transformers


Four T.V. Shows that I watch:
1. Lost
2. The Office
3. 30 Rock
4. Scrubs

Four places I have been:
1. Cozumel
2. Bahamas
3. Orlando (Disney)
4. Belize


Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Mom
2. Kim
3. My SJ "herd"
4. Valerie

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Potatoes (ugh! Carbs!)
2. Cherries
3. Bad for you sugary cereals
4. Raspberries

Four Places I would like to visit:
1. France
2. England
3. Australia
4. Greece

Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. All of my extra time with Spencer
2. My next cruise
3. All of the scrapbooking crops
4. San Antonio!

Ok, four people I tag:
1. Kim (cause she needs to update her blog)
2. Leslie (cause I need to hear from her)
3. Cheri (cause her answers would be funny as hell)
4. Patti (cause her blog is new and I love it!)

On the Ball!

Spencer had a fantastic time last night at soccer practice! The weather was BEAUTIFUL, the kids were enjoying the freedom to run around, I took LOTS of pictures-- a great way to spend a spring evening!

Crazy Croppers

This past weekend was our spring crop. With just a few hours in there for sleep, we scrapbooked from Friday at 5 until Sunday at 4. Actually, Julie, Mom and Melissa started Friday morning - I had to work. We had an AWESOME time! We laughed as much as we cropped! Jennifer did impressions all weekend to make sure we were in stitches. Her impression of the ultra fem choreographer on girlicious is a riot!
I was busy on a conference call Friday morning and burned (as in totally SCORCHED!) the spaghetti sauce for our dinner Friday night. Had to make a quick recovery! Luckily, we salvaged it! Everyone brought so many goodies that we had to swap recipes as well-- (hey Julie-- where is my salsa recipe?)
I worked on my cruise album and although I didn't get finished (why in the world did I take 400 pictures that week?) I did get 25 pages done and I made 15 cards. Here is one of my favorite pictures from our cruise: Spencer and IV both asked if we were *really* under water...haha!

Oh Happy Day

Spencer happily brought home his perfect report card. He has been such a good boy this entire year! As a reward, I bought him a new book-- it was a fun activity book that came with a marshmallow shooter. Nana and Boppa rewarded him with $$, which he took to GameStop to pick out a couple of new video games. I gave in and bought him a steering wheel controller. Okay, maybe I was feeling a little nostalgic for the old days of playing Pole Position at the skating rink with my BFF Michelle....
Getting ready for bed tonight, he said, "Mom, This is one of the best days ever!" A little extra attention, some goofy play time and a not-so-serious book really made his day!

Larvae Alert!

If you follow my blog, you will see that a few weeks ago we ordered a butterfly habitat (incectlore.com)-well the larvae came this past Saturday! We have a cup of 5plump little caterpillar looking things. Today they started making a web like substance across the base of the jar. Eventually (in the next week or two) they will cocoon themselves and hatch into beautiful painted lady butterflies. We have little science pages that help us track their progress and explain the metamorphosis. Spencer is loving this little experiment!

Dibs on the mini handcuffs

Okay-- Legos have come a LONG ways since I was a kid. Kim and I were doing some virtual window shopping on Amazon tonight and saw this:


Can you believe that? Just what every little kid needs!

Singing- You're doing it wrong

What a weekend! It rained out both his baseball and soccer games-- so we had a cold, rainy weekend to spend inside--which was kind of nice. We went to IHOP and indulged in the Horton Hears a Who breakfast special. Very yummy-- the green eggs (in the Green Eggs and Ham) were scrambled eggs with spinach. Spencer loved it!
We did some killer shopping. Spencer got new video games. Somehow my brother got me to buy SingStar...it wasn't pretty. Kind of embarrassing when a video game says you are "awful" and "tone deaf"-- Jimmy could barely sing for laughing at me. Spencer and IV thought we had lost our minds. There will definitely be a four drink minimum to ever get me to try that again. And they gotta be some big ol' drinks...
We also played Legos-- it took us two hours to build a 3 story beach house - complete with grill, landscaping, skylights, etc. It was fun!
But what happened to my Tar Heels? I don't think the right team showed up last night. What a disappointment!
Lucy (Jimmy's wife) flew Thursday to Florida to visit her sister via Skybus. On Saturday, Skybus folded and ceased operation. Her return flight was NOT being honored--so she was stranded. Luckily a friend's Dad had a ton of mileage from business travel and was able to get her on a flight to Charlotte-- and Jimmy was only 30 minutes late driving to Charlotte to pick her up (insert eye rolling.)
We have a very busy week filled with make up games, soccer, baseball, portraits, school projects, and (drum roll) our big spring crop is this weekend. Do you think I will finish my cruise album??

Oh Bloody Hell!

I can't find it! I have looked in every centimeter of fabric, every flap, fold, pocket, every crevice of both the washer and the dryer, every possible touchpoint--where in the hell did the RED MASSACRE come from?
With my shrewd detective work, I do not think it happened in the washer-- the washer showed no indication of any red and I didn't notice anything when I took the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Now my dryer is a total 'nuther story. The entire inside is red. I even tried to bleach it. Nope! It is baked into the enamel. The stains are not waxy, I don't think crayon-- maybe a marker?? If it was a marker-- where did it go? How did it disappear? How did one marker make a red mess larger than slaughter???
And I couldn't have been washing towels or something private-- oh no-- I was washing Spencer's SOCCER uniform and BASEBALL uniform. You know-- the ones you CAN"T REPLACE.. The ones he has to wear for TEAM and INDIVIDUAL pictures this weekend!!!! Oh geez... deep breaths!
Since they were ruined anyway, I tried bleaching them-- that didn't work either--but it did take the red out of all of the other clothes in that load EXCEPT the freakin uniforms!
And yes, I check pockets before laundering. I guess I need to install TSA strength screening machines in the laundry room from here on. I don't know how I missed what ever it was--and where it went??? Poor Spencer-- he will be the only kid on the field looking like he was just in a bloody gang war!!

Lego Man!

Spencer got his box from Amazon.com today and was STOKED to get his new Legos! So...we played Legos for two hours tonight and had a blast! We are building a 3 story Lego beach house this weekend!

Geez Spencer...Why?

Tonight, Spencer and I stopped at the local chinese place for dinner. The kid has eaten there at least twice a month for the past 6 years. He has never had any questions about the Chinese folks that run the place. One of my good friends (and scrapbook buddy) is Vietnamese--so he has a touch of exposure to the Asian culture. So why - tonight- did he pop out a "Ying Yang Yang" mockery OUT LOUD in front of our waitress? I was so embarrassed! I tried to explain to him that most Asian languages are based on single syllables hence the unique sound. I don't think he got it. I know it isn't the first time a little american punk kid has done that , but still...my kid? He doesn't normally do stuff like that! UGH!

Sound EFX

Yesterday Spencer discovered he could make rapid fire noises with his mouth. Like a machine gun/jet fighter type sound. Yeah. That was cute for about 1 minute. Ugh!!! He hasn't stopped! He even did it in his sleep (he is a regular sleep talker anyway.)

We have a pretty busy week/weekend- filled with soccer practice and a game, baseball practice, team pictures, appointments, etc. Oh and I have a million things to do at work and around the house. I have GOT to make time to take some boxes to Goodwill- Spencer is out-growing all of his clothes! I am boxing them up every weekend it seems. Taking him clothes shopping is a real treat- he is good to pick out ONE (cartoon printed) T-shirt. After that, the mall bores him and he whines the entire time. He is practicing being a man, I guess.