Short Break

Free Glitter Graphics


I will be back bloggin' soon. Enjoy the holiday and eat all of the Candy Corn that you can stand!
Oh and I love this movie, Hocus Pocus, it's one of those weird and unexplainable things, I am not ashamed to admit it. It's got Bette Middler, witches, a talking cat and cheesy effects what's not to love? Check it out to get you in the spirit.... ( Although I admit, I can watch it any time of the year and often do)

4 Generations and Big Purple Panties

The top picture is four generations of women in my family. My Gma, my mom , me and my daughter, the only one missing is my sister (she was in OH keeping her nose to the grindstone). It's wonderful to have such amazing females surrounding me in my life. We had a really nice visit, I am so glad that my parents were able to sneak this visit in.
The big purple panties are on The Bean. Everything that she wears is that big on her as she is still very small for her age- those are the smallest training panties I can get, so we make due. I happen to like the way they look, silly and funny but at the same time allowing her to make it to that next step of becoming a little girl. I just loved these pictures though. My Dad was showing her a bunch of family photos on the computer and she was soaking it all in and loving every minute. YES that clock says 10:45- p.m.- yikes! Do you see the anarchy that abounds when the Grandparents are in town?!!? AH well, times like these are special and who cares if Ev missed a few hours of sleep, she got a few hours of love and attention instead.

Carving the Jacks

Well this was a fun evening. Evelyn was really into the carving this year, she even partly enjoyed getting messy. It was interesting to watch her. At first she was a bit hesitant, that is her fall back position, then she started warming up to the idea. At one point she was patting the pumpkin and telling it that he would be ok, that he needed a face. " it's ok buddy", it's ok buddy" was heard quite a bit during the eye portion of the carving. After her pumpkin was carved, she went to her Grandma and said " That was a brave pumpkin", my sister calls her The Tiny Caretaker and I think my sis has it right. Also during the night Ev kept quoting bits and pieces of her Halloween book, Pumpkin Eye.

After the Jacks were carved we had some Cracker Jacks to munch on as we danced (ok me and The Bean danced) to the Maverick's and joked and talked. It was so nice to have my parents and my Grandma here for some Halloween stuff, it's usually just us and I like having my family be a part of the fun. There weren't pictures of my Dad during the carving as he was the Designated Photographer-sorry Dad but you did get some great pictures.

Of Grandparents and Pumpkins

The Grandparents blew into town EARLY Saturday morning and Evelyn has been in hog heaven ever since! She has been dashing about trying to make everyone laugh and she tries to make sure that she spends enough time with all 3. My Grandma is here as well and Ev calls her GG and they have a great rapport. GG had the honor last night of helping Ev into her pj's and she also gets to catch Ev when she jumps from the coffee table to the couch. There have been many Popsicles and other goodies.
We spent the day yesterday allowing the weary travellers to rest and today we hopped in the car in search of pumpkins. We don't have a pumpkin patch anywhere within conceivable driving distance- so we have to settle for pumpkins set out on the grass at the local church. Evelyn had alot of fun though. She went from pallet to pallet, arranging the pumpkins and laying them in straight lines. She would bounce between me and my parents, inspecting pumpkins as she went along, it was so fun to watch her. After a stop at the best ice cream joint in town , it was home for a nap. We will have the ceremonial Carving of the Jacks later , after dinner.

Let's talk about Stella

Yes I said Cats-suh. We do have two. I just never talk about Stella because, well, frankly she's a mess. She is 12 years old and has several health problems that are as listed:

• Asthma


• Obesity


• Deafness


• Diabetes


• Chronic Untreatable Bilateral Eye Infections


• Arthritis

We do love her though. She has been with us for many years and thru many moves and life events. She is a funny cat, not a big thinker though. Not a lap cat. She is one of those big, tumbly, grumpy cats that is always near but never too close. I am thinking about her today because it was time for her bi-monthly bath. I forgot to mention above that she is so fat that she can not clean herself anywhere beyond her front arms so she needs a good dousing every now and then. I will say though that it is usually such a big production that all of the planets have to be aligned just right. She can't be too wheezy, or too grumpy and I always ask myself " Is she really that dirty?" -today she was. So I go out on the porch and bring her in. She got so mad when I put her in the water that she proceeded to pee all over! It's a good thing that my tub is a tall one or I would have bee re-scrubbing the floor as well as the tub afterwards but I got off lucky that time. I had to drain the water and run a whole new bath before I could get started. She is so furry that I almost have to completely submerse her before she actually gets wet. For the entire 30 minutes, she just stood there, quaking with righteous anger and howling at the top of her lungs. (There is a good side to her being fat and asthmatic- she doesn't nearly rip my flesh off of my arms in the bath anymore.) Afterwards she creeps about and cast looks of derision my way as if to say " Great, now I stink".

So even though we love her , she's like the family ghoul. She has stains and goop about her eyes (yes after hundreds of dollars and every old timey or new agey , hippy treatment I can think of and try- her eyes remain infected and miserable), her backend is always messy, she wheezes, she limps, she has to have a huge litter box, she is white but normally is the white of a dirty sweatsock, she gets cat acne. Every time though that we a start to think maybe it's time to let the old girl go, I will find her out in the yard chasing a bug or watching the sky or she will manage to get up on my lap for a rare cuddle. So we keep her around. And I mean around. She is huge and lazy- she lays down to drink her water for Heaven's Sake!

The picture is Stella hunched over her food bowl, replenishing the energy that she expended standing in one spot and howling for a half an hour. Is that an accusation I see in her eyes? Yes folks, this is Stella on a GOOD day- see why she is our Flower in the Attic?

Cleaning Frenzy & picture of my ladybug

I have slacked off a bit on posting because all we have been doing is cleaning! I am trying to get ready for a visit from my parents and Grandma and then I have a whole lot of deep cleaning that went untouched while I was laid up after surgery. I just now have the gumption and energy to tackle some of these things, like the refrigerator and the dust bunnies along the trim and the guest bed linens and the stairs and the porches..... you get the picture. I have never lived in a house that gets so dusty so quickly and I could clean those porches off twice a week and it would still look as if no one has lived here in a hundred years, they get so dusty and full of spider webs! I need a maid.....Enough of the domestic chatter, we all have housework and we all dread it and we all want maids.
Halloween will be arriving to this humble abode tomorrow. We are planning on busting out the decorations and acquiring some pumpkins to carve. There will be cookies made, seeds toasted and witches strewn about. We usually wait a bit longer into the month to carve our pumpkins but we have other plans later on in the month and will carve the Jacks early this year. Oh and while my Mom is here we are going to try our hand at making some Pumpkin Butter- I hope it turns out, we are going to start with pumpkins, just like in olden days :)
Well right now The Bean is rolling on the floor clutching at her stomach shouting something about being hungry ( I am not making this up) and the floors are screaming to be mopped. So I must away...

Then and Now

Same stroller, same kid..... different country. How did those legs get so long?! How time has flown since those hot, steamy days in China.

Yard Time

Evelyn, Billy and I spent the afternoon out in the yard today. I had some things to take care of out there and the two of them dashed about playing ball with the Halloween playground balls that Ev has. It is so nice and quiet here that all we could hear were birds and bugs and the occasional car. The sun was shining bright and the air was perfect. I was able to get a few pictures of The Bean , although she is getting worse and worse about cooperating with pictures, especially outside where she has to be vigilant against mosquitoes. (If they buzz in her ear it's tantamount to Armageddon- much to my dismay I can not get her to stop shrieking).

I have been trying to work a bit more on my patience and ability to keep an even keel when I am frustrated or sleepy or hungry, you know the usual triggers for mom meltdown with a side of kid meltdown. Well, today Ev and I were on the brink. I just realized that we were getting more and more snippy and that I just didn't feel like having the day go south on us. I took a deep breath and told Evelyn that we weren't being nice to each other, that we both needed a break and we should take one. She went to the sitting room and I sat in the dining room and perused the new Pottery Barn for about 15 minutes and then I called Evelyn back out. You know? It worked, instead of viewing that time as a bit of free time , I realized that I needed to actually focus on the fact that my temper was slipping and that I needed the re-set as much as or more than The Bean did. So the day was saved .... I just hope I can remember to do this in the future. I will say that we do have Ev play on her own for a few minutes each day, but I have never used that time to focus on my own behavior, I just used it as a "whew!" time- there is a difference. I am a firm believer that the parent is the one to set the tone of the home and I am trying to change so that I can control myself and my internal life more and not focus so much on what the kid is up to. I have come a long way since my first days as a mother, I have a long way to go.

Mom Song

Ok this was pretty funny to me. I never thought that I would use the common mom catch phrases, but I do ( there is a reason we all say "because I said so..) and this will have you chuckling at them....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

Cooling Off

We have gone, in the space of one day, from high heat and humidity, shorts and tanks, windows open and fans on, to sweat pants and jackets, windows closed , two blankets on the bed and socks and tennis shoes! I am not sure that I have ever had the cool weather hit like that. It's nice though, the coolness and breeziness is a nice change from the humid stagnant air of the late summer/early autumn around here. Don't worry though the mosquito population hasn't suffered much....
Evelyn and I went to visit Les at the station last night. We took her tricycle , as she is just now able to reach the pedals, for her to tool around on the big parking lot and in front of the boat house. It was so cute seeing her wheel around (though I did forget the camera so I have no pictures to post), giggling and trying to catch up to us as we darted about. After some biking, she asked of she could go check out one of the boats. Les said yes and hauled her over to the 25, it's her favorite CG boat. She clambered about for quite awhile , steering and talking into the radio (turned off) and it was hilarious watching her. Here's a tip though, if your child is going to clamber around on a boat , remove the white sweatshirt first as it may never be the same again.

The Doctor is in.....

Is there a slight note of desperation in that look?

Resignation....























The diagnosis was "wildness" and it was cured with a shot, the Billy Doctor could not tell me what medicine she used, it was a secret. The treatment did not take and Billy remains as wild as ever, much to the doctor's frustration. This cat is seriously a good sport, he laid right there and didn't budge, he just awaited his fate and let his girl do her job. There was a mouth check, a good pressure check, a knee-flexes check and other bits of nonsense- he just let her do what she wanted and then went up to bed with her. The pictures aren't the best quality, it was dark and the treatments were fast and furious. (yes that is a real hospital name band and tongue blade, heisted from the local ER- thanks Aunt Melissa and Brevin. We have some gloves too but thankfully Billy didn't need a procedure requiring Ev to don them!----this time)

More video....

This is just SOME of the silliness that goes on here at Nonsense Manor.

Sandcastles

Les and Evelyn went to the beach on Sunday afternoon. Les spent some time in the surf, fishing and Ev spent some time in the sand creating. These are Ev's first solo sandcastles, she did all of the work and designing herself! Les said that as he watched her, she was gesturing big, talking to herself, singing at the top of her lungs and when he got up there to see what she had made, she was literally covered from head to toe in sand. We were most impressed with her moat, yes that was all on her own too. She is surely a beach baby.

For my Grandpa

If you want to hear The Bean singing, just click on the little play button in the lower left hand corner of the video twice...to re-play, just click it once again.

This one is for my Grandpa Matt!

(Gma Rose, if these don't play for you, let me know....)

This second one starts out as BM of KY but ends up in a lament over not being able to ride the swings at the festival. This is how all of Bean's songs go- she's what I call a free-form vocalist.

The NC Seafood Festival

Yesterday we travelled to Morehead City ,NC for the NC Seafood Festival. The drive there was longer than expected but we are a well travelled family so that was no big deal, Ev has logged many, many miles in that little Neon, a few more was alright with her. The festival was alot of fun for the three of us, it could have been more "sea-foody" in our opinion but it was fun none the less. As soon as Evelyn spotted the Ferris Well, she was all about it, she asked right away if she could go on it. Her stunned parents readily agreed, I mean this is a kid that had a complete mental breakdown last year at this time when we were at Tweetsy and tried to put her on a little boat ride. I fully expected her to back down but she never did, she and I rode the FW and the whole time she was relaxed and chatty, keeping an eye on her stroller and her Papa from above. After that, the world was her oyster, she rode several of the kiddie rides, some were a definite "no" and we could never really figure out her criteria for exclusion but, she knows what she wants and we didn't push her. The cotton candy was a big hit as was all of the fresh lemonade about, she chowed on a few scallops and fries for lunch too. We left the festival in the evening and headed on home, stopping off at an Outback for dinner. During dinner Evelyn was all smiles and chatter about the day, that is until she decided to color.... then we had several minutes of silence and adult conversation as Evelyn meticulously colored on her children's menu. The drive home was thru patchy fog and a starry sky. Les had great music loaded up and picked out for the ride ( The Boss is the absolute best choice for a night time road trip - Tunnel of Love) and we talked all of the way home while our tired ,tiny muffin dozed in her car seat. Some days are just hard to beat.

Bento TV

I thought I might talk a little about a mini-obsession of Evelyn's. Bento TV. Bento is the very Japanese way of packing food for lunches, or small meals or road snacks. There is a whole line of Bento containers, side dish containers, paper liners, egg molds, rice molds- it's all very artistic and creative and Bento is usually just as appealing visually as it is taste-wise. We found this site -http://www.bentotv.com/index.html , it's run by a very nice lady named Sarah. She has a daily Bento show, it's all about packing Bento, different recipes and such, each episode is just a couple of minutes. Evelyn loves to watch Bento TV- she always has ( we have watched since nearly the beginning), she especailly loves any episode that Sarah is wearing a purple shirt. We have a Bento TV dvd, Ev plays Bento TV in her kitchen, she has her own Bento Box, she just loves it.

A few examples of Bento....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pkoceres/269573203/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitsa_sakurako/1258839152/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitsa_sakurako/431406778/

We are NOT that advanced! It's something to aim for, it seems like fun.

Battle of Wounded Knee

At some point today, either when she was jumping from the coffee table to the couch, or when she was jumping from the bottom stair into the foyer OR as she was clambering around on the dining room chairs, Evelyn managed to twist her knee. I swear one minute she was fine and then the next minute she was limping, the limp was un-accompanied by any whining or crying so I realized that she must be hurt (yes, she's that perverse). A quick exam revealed nothing more than a twisted knee/muscle sort of thing but she was limping and there was a little swelling. I felt the situation called for some rest and an ace wrap. First of all, rest, right, she would sit still long enough for it to start to feel better, then she would be up and about and limping again in no time. Second of all, her leg is so tiny that the ace wrap went from thigh to ankle! Well, after the initial ice pack and then some struggle with trying to keep her down (with Billy on a close medical watch), I decided it was time for some art work. That would keep her still, busy but still.It worked!

We ended up having a great night together, just chit chatting and drawing. She was talking the whole time about Halloween, Christmas, our upcoming trip to Savannah, mosquitoes,Billy, her Baby, her Panda, Pony, Papa, the Coast Guard... she pretty much kept me in stitches. I was a bit amazed at the art work she came up with too. I will say though that the session did begin with a comprehensive organizational overhaul of the supplies, that done, she was ready to roll. Out of the gate we had your garden variety scribbling and major color blocking, then it was on to bigger and better things. She noticed that I was doodling some witches, she wanted to do that too, but was despondent over not knowing how to do it. I broke it down for her in simple shapes and terms, she watched intently and then she was off. She drew several witches tonight and they were all cute and original. We had a witch with crazy eyes, a witch wearing gloves (in case it gets cold) and even a witch with a belly button. There were also some self portraits and some me and Les. This is all amazing to me because as hard as I have tried, I thought that she would never get interested in drawing.

I was sorry to see bedtime come tonight. There was one final ice pack, motrin and then off to bed for her. I realized at one point tonight that all of the sudden we are back on track, and have been for a couple of days. I love nights/days like today but you know? I have found that the tough times are okay too. It all adds up to being family and being a Mom and having a smart, sassy toddler.

Decisions,Decisions....

Well, we just got word today. The CG detailer list is out for 2008 and we are indeed slated to move. This is always such an interesting time in the military lifestyle, the anxiety, the excitement, the relief, the dread. To make things even more interesting, Les is on the list to make Chief and that will probably happen next year, so that will mean another move when he advances. So , yes , we are going thru this just to do it again in a year! sigh. The thing is that coming out of a stateside, station billet, our priority is low and we have NO idea how we will be placed. We get to submit our dreamsheet but as to how the nameless, faceless, CG Detailer will sort us all out is any body's guess. another sigh. I know how we are gong to flesh out our list, what will be first in our eyes but only time will tell if we will get anything that we put on the list. We try to remain optimistic, open minded and ready for anything- this will get exhausting over the next few weeks. To add to the tension we also know that our families would really like for us to get close to home for awhile, there is alot going on , on the Ohio home front with both families and being close would mean that we could lend a hand , also Ev is at an age that being close to family is really important., AND I am tired of being so far away from my friends and family.
We are going to list the open Ohio billets first, then NY , then MI and then IL. So let me add this disclaimer to potentially murderous Grandmothers and the like, " IF we end up in California or Alaska or some other far off state, we did not pick it, we are not happy and there is nothing that we can do about it. Just remember that this move is only for a year and try not to hate the Coastie for it, as he is a good egg and Evelyn is quite fond of him"

New and Improved Nap Time

Evelyn is in that strange phase between needing a nap every day and growing out of naps( woe be unto the Mama). We have just decided to allow for some quiet time around nap time and she can either play quietly or help herself to a nap. One thing that Les started and I really like, is that she is allowed to pick her nap location, she can choose her bed, one of the couches, any of the guest beds or even our bed, so far she has chosen a different place all week and she usually takes a nap instead of playing. I took this picture the day before yesterday, she was laying in what she calls The Grandparents Room and she was just about asleep. I love to catch her in these quiet moods as she is usually go, go , go until she is asleep.

A Day at the Aquarium

Evelyn has been wanting to go to the aquarium since we let her watch an ocean episode of Planet Earth. Today we took her up to the small NC state aquarium in Manteo. She had alot of fun and was as ever, enthralled by the reptiles and snakes. I was hoping that she would be all into the otters this visit but, no, she dashed off to see the alligators and then back for a second look at the snakes. The big shark tank was a bit freaky for her but she was interested. She had to see us touch the glass at each tank though, just to verify that the fish would not be coming out after her. She did put her hand in the stingray tank , though she did not touch any. She was full of questions and dashing about , ahead of us to see what was next and then back to tell us what it was and to encourage us to hurry up. She kept doing alot of talking about our trip to the St Louis Zoo , which was last Thanksgiving and she was remembering things that I forgot. She kept asking if Chris and Faith J. were going to be at the aquarium and was disappointed that they were not. ( The J family are our good friends that we met in Alaska and now they live in St Louis -far far away). It was a great day and we are all tired out and ready for bed....