8 AM NATURE WALK

This morning the girls and I rushed to eat breakfast, get dressed, and drag ourselves out the door. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe we just really felt the need to be outside.

We stopped by a cemetery in the park that was used in the mid-late 1800s. Penelope wanted to stay all day. She said it was pretty and she liked it there. When Amelia asked to get her blanket out of the car, we decided to find a new spot to walk around.

^  stick trumpet  ^

We drove up to our favorite path by the river, and took our sweet time.

Amelia sat down as slowly as she could, looked around and then laughed as hard as she could. I’m still not sure why she did it – or why she thought it was so funny, but it put a big smile on my face!

This girl and her blanket…yeesh.

I wonder if she’ll always have a love for blankets.

There was no shortage of mud puddles! Hooray for rain boots!!

“What do you think those are, Penelope?”

“Raisins?”

“…maybe chocolate.”

Dead snake. Is this right up there with taking photos of your food?

Before we headed back to the car, we played a game of tag. :)

We also had a picnic of tomatoes (whole tomatoes eaten like apples!), one cookie split in two, and some popcorn. All in all, we spent over two hours walking around. Couldn’t ask for a better morning.

I think we’ll head back later today with Rosie and Penelope’s bike!

IS IT FRIDAY ALREADY?!

We have been waking up to dark and dreary rainy days all week. I am in a major nesting mood, but this rain has me taking more breaks on the couch than my early morning “lets do this!” attitude would have me take. I did half of the laundry this morning, which is a huge deal for me, so I’ll take it as a victory. :)

Christmas Christmas ( ^ and turkey bums ^ ) everywhere! We add a bit more each day.

Penelope is going to be in a Christmas program soon! She is going to be a star, with her best friend, Ella. Best little stars in Bethlehem! She is soooo into it! My parents are coming down to see her in action!!!

Based on how adorable she was at her first rehearsal last night, my heart may just explode at the site of her in a star costume proudly singing on stage with her friends, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ! I would never have been so brave as to sing on stage in front of people as a four year old (Okay, or a 27 year old…). So proud of her!

I am getting back into the habit of using my computer. Poor dusty old thing. I will be using my phone or my smaller camera for taking photos for a while (or a long while). My beloved thousand pound Canon is not behaving. It could be age, I have had it for a decade now. Someday (probably when the girls go off to college, if I’m being honest), we will replace it with a shiny fresh faced camera.

A couple years ago, Zack got me a subscription to Women’s Health magazine, and I am still receiving them. This one had an informative article on women with fibromyalgia, lupus, and other related conditions. It is awful living with the symptoms that come with them. I started having symptoms when I was 16 living in Alabama one night while I was recovering from having my tonsils out. Since having Amelia my symptoms have become unignorable (made up word, I know. I’m sticking with it). I now want to sleep 24 hours a day, and in some sort of pain at any given moment of those 24 hours a day. I won’t go into more details of my situation, but if you think you have fibromyalgia or lupus, – or more importantly, if someone you love has it, I recommend reading the article in the December issue.

…or if you just want FIERCE ABS or ‘TOTAL BODY HOTNESS’! ;)

The girls woke up early  today. Early. We had snack time by 8:00. Peppermint tea with honey, candy canes, and leftover brownies that Penelope made last night. Of course this was enjoyed while watching a Christmas movie! Can’t beat it.

^ This is for you, Grandma! (aaaaalll of her grandmas.)  ^

Trouble.

Trouble.

Trouble.

She was in the bathroom for under a minute. - - I found unraveled toilet paper, a half empty tube of toothpaste and a chunk of Daddy’s deodorant gone – with evidence on her face, proving the missing bits were now in her tummy – and an abundance of other mess needing to be cleaned up.

Nothin’ says mouth watering like Old Spice. Am I right, or am I right?

A TYPICAL MORNING

Usually, the girls wake up, brush their teeth and go potty, while I clean the kitchen (if it needs it). I know I should get better about cleaning the kitchen at night before bed…someday. After they’re cleaned up, they sit at either the dining room table or the kitchen table and color, talk, or ^ like above- play with the iPad (so long as they share it). Oatmeal is a pretty regular breakfast around here. My girls enjoy hot cereals, but aren’t too fond of milk, so I avoid cold cereal unless we’re out of everything else. Pancakes are the favorite.

After breakfast, I vacuum, and tidy up a bit while they get on shoes – or boots, who am I kidding. We all know they pick boots every time.

First thing we do outside, is feed Black Beauty and Maple. Maple enjoys the cat food more than her own. Even if the cat ate all of his food, Maple has to lick the crumbs.

Maple’s face is dirty, and it makes her look so sad. :(

One of these days I’ll give her a bath…but not today.

My gardener. She finds plucking tomatoes oh so fun. She does not like tomatoes, but insists on biting into one (to see if they’ve become delicious?) every time we go to the garden. She takes a bite, enough to break the skin, and then brings it to the chickens. They love  tomatoes!!

We head over to the garden / swing set before the sun comes out and makes the slide hot. Penelope darts for the slide, and Amelia likes to check for goodies at the garden with me. Some times she picks stuff that isn’t quite ripe. Its all good though, the chickens will eat anything. :)

He knows how to get in high places but has no idea how to get down…or is scared.

After I’m done watching them play (‘cause you know they’re never going to be done on their own!), we feed the chickens and check for eggs.

We bought some ceramic eggs, in hopes we could trick the hens into laying eggs. Two days in and still no eggs. We’re pretty bummed.

Next, we EXPLORE and run run run!! This is when I typically take photos of our time outside. We might go outside later in the day, but I only bring the camera out in the morning.

^  Can’t wait to start this bad boy up!!  ^

The girls get about 20 minutes on the porch before we head back in to finish cleaning, begin school work, and get a snack.

I look forward to our mornings. Certainly a happy place to be. Well, if no one is cranky. :)