Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's a Bunny! It's a bear! It's an....egg?

Pierce will be starting preschool in 2 weeks.  He's just going to go for two half days a week.  He's very excited and asks every day if he can go to preschool.
In preparation, I ordered some bento supplies to make his lunches.
We have no bento supplies retailers where I live.
So I've been ordering supplies off Ebay.
They are coming from Japan, so needless to say it may take a couple of weeks to receive them all.
We did receive this egg shaper though.
After all, when you have as many eggs as we have from our chickens, you want some fun eggy options (and hey, if you have a great recipe that uses tons of eggs, please share!)

So we can now make bunny and bear shaped eggs.
The directions were in Japanese, so I had to go online to figure out how to use this.

You put the peeled, boiled egg in the shaper.
This egg was too small, so I actually added a little paper towel to make it fit right.

Then close and latch the box.  Place in warm water for a few minutes.
End result:
A bunny egg!
You can also dye them so they are different colors, but we try to avoid a lot of dyes in our house.  In particular, I have noticed negative effects from red and orange dyes.  They are kind of like an elixir of meanness for the 3 year old.
Anyhoo.
Pierce loved the bunny egg.
I'm always surprised by how much he adores boiled eggs as snacks.  He frequently requests them.  Gotta love that!

Monday, August 30, 2010

A Blog Swap (and a new - to me - blog)

I was reading Family of Shorts today (which is an awesome blog, to visit, click HERE) and discovered a new blog called Our Dandelion Wishes that is hosting a blog swap.  I'm excited.  The host is Mamarazzi and if you'd like to participate or find out more, just click the button:
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The theme is guilty pleasures.  Of course my favorite guilty pleasure on earth? Those miniature Reese's cups.  They have to be the minis.  I can eat an entire bag in a sitting.  It's bad, those Reeses.  Pretty sure I can come up with a few other things as well.  Although I don't think you can send frozen margaritas through the mail (particularly when temps are above 90*). 

Muffin Tin Monday - Numbers

It's Muffin Tin Monday, and the theme is numbers.  So what did I think about?  The Very Hungry Caterpillar, with his one apple, two plums, etc.
We decided to use a selection of the foods from the story, but to change up the numbers.
Pierce has been counting for a while now, so I figured I might as well challenge his thinking some.

He had 6 slices of apple, one slice of Swiss cheese (with 2 holes), 5 pickle slices, 7 slices of sausage (technically hot dog - but we adapted it to fit the story), one cupcake (not given until after lunch) and one big slice of plum (technically a pluot - but close enough).
It went over quite well.

I am doing a giveaway that includes a holiday MUFFIN TIN (and a holidays cookbook)!  Click HERE to enter.

If you'd like to participate in Muffin Tin Monday, click here:
Muffin Tin Monday at Her Cup Overfloweth


Sunday, August 29, 2010

GIVEAWAY! Holidays Muffin Tin and Cookbook!!


Last week I hit 100 followers!  I was so excited that I wanted to do something to celebrate.  Since many of my following friends are through Muffin Tin Monday, I thought I'd focus on that (although you don't have to be a Muffin Tin Monday fan to enter).  And because I'm completely obnoxious about doing ALL of my holiday shopping by the end of October, I thought I would corrupt contribute to other OCD holiday shoppers.
So the giveaway is this:
One Christmas tree silicone muffin tin (or hey, use it for brownies!  or pumpkin bread!)
One Healthy Recipes for the Holidays cookbook (and if you don't like to eat healthy, you could always use it as a gift)
One cute picture frame holiday ornament, that says "Joy to you and yours"

How can you enter?  I'm keeping it simple.  None of that follow me or tweet this business (although it would be totally cool if you did follow me or tweet this; it's not required).
Just leave a comment that you want to win.
Only one entry per person.
If you're not a blogger, be sure to leave your email so I can get in touch with you.
That's it.
Simple!
Giveaway ends at midnight September 4th.  I'll pick a winner by Random.org.  If winner does not respond by email within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
Good luck, and welcome to new followers.  I look forward to getting to know you more!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

WHOOSH! The Zipline at Wintergreen

Last weekend when I found out that Wintergreen had a zipline, I knew we had to ride it.  We ended up waiting around for 3 extra hours just so we could ride it before heading home.  It was well worth the wait.

First, you watch an instructional video on how to ride "the Zip".  Then you get fitted in a rock climbing harness and helmet.


That's me up there - on the tower to the right.
After having watched the video about safety, I wasn't nervous at all!

And I'm off!  Once you get the all clear to go, you sit back like in a chair.  The young girl next to me, who was probably about 12, cried.

Next it was Paul's turn to ride the Zip while I watched the twins.

Paul is the one on the right.

What a fun weekend!  I hope we get to go back soon.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Memory Lane Friday - A Goof at Work

Memory Lane Friday is a time to preserve your memories.  All are welcome.  Each week is a different topic, and this week the topic is "A Goof at Work".  In future weeks, I will start having some Fridays with 'no theme', so you can blog about whatever memory you want.

At the end of my four years of undergrad at Baylor, Paul and I got a summer gig housesitting for my geology professor while he was off doing various trips.  We were rent free, but needed small jobs to cover expenses while Paul finished his degree (he graduated in August) and I looked for a job that would use my psychology degree.  I lucked out by finding my dream job, working at a veterinarian.  I still remember it fondly as the best job.

It was a small vet practice, for (the appropriately named) Dr. Barkley.  Here was a boss who saw in me an adoration for animals and medical, and he stoked those skills by constantly teaching me.  In a surgery, as I assisted with anesthesia, he'd keep me thinking by describing symptoms of the animal and asking what sort of meds might be tried.  He'd explain each step as he put a pin in a broken leg, and even at one time let me neuter a cat myself.  I loved arriving early each morning to walk Cisco, the sweet blood donor dog that was a permanent resident, and the boarders.  I adored nursing sick kittens, changing bandages, and talking with patients' owners.  This job was so fun that I even toyed with the idea of returning to school to become a veterinarian, and no doubt if chemistry hadn't been part of the package I suspect I may have gone that route. 

One of the skills I was learning that summer was grooming.  We often had dogs in for baths (which we gave using the most delightful smelling cherry shampoo) and clips.  Karen, the vet tech, did the clipping.  I did the bathing.  One day, we had a small miniature collie come in.  Her entire chest was covered in mats 5 inches deep.  It was awful.  Here is a picture of miniature collies:


I set to work with a pair of scissors, since I wasn't very good yet with the clippers.  Bit by bit, I began trimming away the knots and snarls and tangles.  Tufts of hair surrounded the little dog, but she sat patiently as I trimmed and tugged at her fur.  Then, suddenly, she gave me a LOOK.  Yes, a dog is quite capable of showing extreme expression in its face.  The LOOK was a glare, a moment of I WOULD LIKE TO BITE YOU BUT I'M TOO POLITE.  A stink eyed GET BACK look.  I paused, then kept going.  As I got closer in to her skin, I discovered it.  A huge gaping wound, 3 inches long, where the scissors had trimmed more than just fur.  I was horrified.  I had cut into - no - hacked this little dog.
Immediately, my heart beating furiously, I called for the vet tech Karen.
She examined the wound, and told me gently that this was why they never used scissors for mats, only clippers.  Then she said we'd have to tell Dr. Barkley.
I felt such dread.  When I told him, he was obviously disappointed, but nice about it. 
The dog had to have several stitches to fix the wound.
And then the owners had to be informed.
I tell you, I never felt so bad about a mistake at work before or since.
Thankfully, everyone was kind and understanding.
And I certainly never used scissors on mats at Dr. Barkley's again.

Want to join in on Memory Lane Friday?  It's easy.  Grab the code below the button, and copy/paste it into your blog.




Then come back and add your website to McKLinky.  Don't forget to take time to visit others' blogs!

And come back next week - the topic is A Collection.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wintergreen, Adrenaline Junkies, Version 2

On Sunday, checkout from the house in Wintergreen was at 11:00, but the zipline didn't open until 2:00.  Paul and I were drooling over the zipline (more about that in a future blog) so we decided to stick around until it opened.
We went to the Nature Foundation (which was wonderful) and let Pierce do the Dino Dig.
He found 3 dino eggs.

Then since I did the bungee the day before, Paul did the mechanical bull.

Pierce even took a turn, at kid-friendly speeds.

Then, because there was no one in line, we turned the boys loose.
Doesn't that bull have an ugly face?
It looks like something out of Rosemary's Baby.

Fun times!
I could get a lot done if I had a mechanical bull at home.
Just look how entertained they were!

Once we exhausted the mechanical bull factor, we headed outside for a little putt putt.
This was Pierce's first time.
I suspect he may need to work on his swing a little...

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Wintergreen, Family Stuff

While at Wintergreen, the boys really enjoyed spending extra time with family.
Here is Pierce, with his great aunt and uncle, Pam and George.

My Dad, Pop Pop, hangs out with cousin Grady.

Pierce, Cort, and Reid hanging with Cousin Grady.

The reunion itself.  I didn't get to socialize much, as when you've got 3 boys to chase after you tend to be kind of preoccupied.
The food was catered, bbq, and was delicious.

My parents:

It was perfect weather for swimming in the lake.
Paul and I, Pierce, Cort and Reid, Meredith, Taylor, and Grady.

I think we may have drilled water safety into Pierce a little too much.
He insisted on wearing both his floaties AND a life jacket.

I kept eyeing the trampoline, which sure looked fun, but we never did make it out there.

It was a perfect day, but we had to leave early because the twins were an hour overdue for a nap and were having serious melt down issues.
Lots of fun, though, and I hope that they decide to do a reunion again in the future.
More adrenaline junkie tales from the weekend coming tomorrow!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Wintergreen, Adrenaline Junkie, Version 1

This past weekend my father's side of the family had their first ever family reunion, in Wintergreen.  It was loads of fun.  We got in lots of family time, swimming, and some high adventure activities.  I'm going to break the weekend into several posts, because we returned home with hundreds of pictures.

So Saturday morning, as soon as the twins were down for morning nap, I convinced my youngest brother John to come try out the bungee trampoline with me.
It was a first for both of us.
Here we are getting strapped in.

Hanging, back to back.

I like to call this my Kokopelli hair-do:

I did several flips.  They were tougher to do than expected, and I was only able to flip forward.

After the bungee, John did the rock wall.
Pierce was seriously jealous.

But at least he got to get his inner sensation-seeker-fill with inflatables.

My abs and arms are still sore from the bungee!
It was quite the core workout.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Muffin Tin Monday - the Alphabet

It's Muffin Tin Monday and themes are back!  This week the theme is alphabet.
Pierce is definitely very into words and trying to learn how to read right now.
All day long he's sounding out words and talking about "Cat starts with the letter C" or "Elmo starts with the letter E" or "Lellow starts with the letter L".  Um, still working on getting him to understand that it's YELLOW and starts with a Y.
So for alphabet we did his name and foods that start with each letter.
P is for peaches
I is for ice cream
E is for egg (from our chickens)
R is for raisins
C is for couscous
E is for Eggo waffles

And that, my friends, spells Pierce.

Want to join in Muffin Tin Monday?
Muffin Tin Monday at Her Cup Overfloweth

Sunday, August 22, 2010

How you shouldn't drive your police car

My parents got the twins these floats for their birthday.
They didn't work out too well in the pool, because the twins kept jumping out of them.
But they were a huge hit in the house.
Except Cort kept deciding that Reid's car looked better.

COWABUNGA, Reid!

I'm glad Cort won't be getting his license any time soon...