Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Strange "Southern" Moment
I got a cart, put Eli in the front (with only one shoe) and was holding Abe with my other hand, since it was way to awkward pushing the stroller too! We explained to 3 different people the reason for our return and during this process the sweetest old lady was waiting in the photo area cooing at Abe. She kept looking at his naked toes and then at me. I knew she was trying not to say anything about my shoe-less child. Then when I moved away from Eli she couldn't help herself anymore. She exclaimed "Do you know he is missing a shoe!" Shamefully, I had to admit I did, an interesting discussion and explanation followed. I left feeling like I have personified that Southern cartoon of the red head guy with the overalls, no shoes and a piece of hay sticking out of his mouth. Yeah that was us today! I have to get over my aversion to putting babies in shoes before they are walking AND make sure my children have their shoes on before we leave the house or we are going to be disowned by these sweet southern folks! (Although it's hard not to notice the slippers and pajama bottoms as appropriate attire)
As for the learning experience, Eli just thinks it's fun to get pushed around by his Mom, that child has no shame...and Dad still wonders why my back is always hurting!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Deadly Storm Hits Arkansas Town
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
Published: April 26, 2011
A powerful storm — likely including a tornado — ripped through a small Arkansas town on Monday night, killing at least four people and destroying as many as 80 homes, officials said.
On Tuesday morning, emergency officials were sifting through rubble in Vilonia, population 3,800, to try to locate dozens of people, said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
While damage in the central Arkansas town, about 30 miles north of Little Rock, is believed to be significant, the extent of the loss remained unknown early Tuesday because the fierce winds that ravaged Vilonia swept through after sunset and then shrouded the town in darkness by bringing down dozens of power lines, officials said.
“Now that it’s light, I think it will be clearer what happened,” Mr. Jackson said.
Arkansas and large parts of the Midwest and the South have been hard hit by both tornadoes and flooding during the past week. Some areas have received more than a foot of rain. Additional storms are expected in the area Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
On Monday night, the Arkansas governor, Mike Beebe, declared a state of emergency in response to the storms and flooding that have occurred in the state since April 19. At least 14 people have been killed in Arkansas because of severe weather during that time.
“Once the weather calms, damage assessments will begin and disaster declarations will be made for individual counties,” Governor Beebe said in a statement. “This could take awhile in some parts of Arkansas, as water levels and flooding problems are expected to increase in the coming days. ”
Governor Beebe said he planned to tour areas damaged by the series of storms later Tuesday, once damage assessments were made.
Spring Storms
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter
So Dad and baby were still not feeling great so they stayed home from church today. I realized that I had forgotten the traditional Ham dinner but tried in vain to at least pick up a strawberry pie. I took out salmon thinking that will have to do for dinner. Amelia, Eli and I returned from church to find a beautiful lunch waiting for us. Salad from our garden with raspberries and blackberries (mostly for Abe) and Grilled Salmon, Rice and Zucchini. The table was set (table cloth and all!) and in back there was an Easter Egg hunt all ready for the kids to dive in! I'm so glad Fred reminds me all the time of why I married him! Happy Easter everyone!
Eli's Soccer Game
Here is one of my little soccer stars! Eli scored 4 goals but was more interested in playing "going on a bear hunt" with a friend on the bench so he sat out for almost 1/2 the game because he was "tired". At least he's having fun and playing with other boys his age! I don't know how we picked a neighborhood with only girls! Oh Well, school will help this fall!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Mom's thought of the day...
My Strong Man!
My how Eli is growing into his own! He is my muscle man and strong in so many ways! He is reading very well and is always the first to give us hugs with those big strong arms of his! He is loving soccer and his coach has to occasionally take him out just to give the other team (and players on his own team) a fighting chance to play!
Eli loves holding Abe with those strong arms of his and helps out whenever he isn't playing Wii ha ha ha! I'm sure he wishes his hour of "plugged in" time would go on forever, but then his brain would turn to goo.
This is one of Eli's last days at his Japanese school called "Fuji yochien". The school is in a big circle with windows all around so you can see in the classrooms and sliding doors to seperate different areas when needed. The roof is another play area and you can look down the skylights into your classroom! There is a big roller slide from the roof to a grassy area in the middle where Haru-chan the horse grazes. Oh we will miss Japan! I sure love you Eli my little strong man!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Connect
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Optimisim
The kids love these Rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes. They call them river pebbles. They especially like the purple ones! So easy to make! Just boil for a few minutes and then roast with herbs, oil and salt.
President Gordon B. Hinkley said in his book Standing for Something "When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my wise father would say "Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve". " I love that quote how inspiring. It motivates me to get up and create!
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Joys of Parenthood
So you know that cold I mentioned earlier that Abe has, well it got worse with a lot of coughing and "drainage". Well at church yesterday he was coughing a lot so I took him out to the hallway but the coughing wouldn't stop. Mom instinct took over and I started quickly walking towards the bathroom "just in case". Well, I was steps away from the bathroom door, right next to the water fountain when up came the mucus. As I was thinking "YUCK! but at least I caught it in my hand", I was turning from that mat that is in front of the water fountain and yes you guessed it the rest of his breakfast came out all over me top to bottom, the water fountain, the stool, the mat .... just about everything in a 10 mile radius!
Well, now I couldn't move lest I make the situation worse! So there I stood until someone came around the corner. Gratefully it was a friend who I promptly asked to go get Fred for me! Well Fred comes and helps clean up Abe and I grab my skirt to contain enough to get the 3 steps left into the girls bathroom. However as I was standing there wiping down with napkins I thought this is just not working! So the only way to clean up this mess is to rinse it off. I took off my skirt and was rinsing it in the sink as a poor little Young Women's Beehive came in to see me in my "under" garments. I said hello and pretended as nothing was wrong, but I think she was under some serious shock! She may need therapy.
Just as a side note a few weeks earlier I was asked to be a highlighted speaker to the Young Women about how to be a "Mom who's got it all together" where they wanted me to talk about the joys of Motherhood and how to prepare/organize for the future. This same girl came up to tell me how much she enjoyed my talk and ask me questions. Wonder what she's thinking now that she knows how glamorous motherhood really is! At least Abe is the cutest little flirt I've ever seen. Needless to say I threw in the towel and drove home soaking wet! Better luck next Sunday.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Easter Pictures
Mom's first "professional" bike ride
I went 7 miles is 40 minutes, I was running a 5K in 32 or was it 35 minutes before I had Abe so I don't think that is going to break any records, but it's a start. Fred is doing well though he did a 20 or 22 mile ride the other day. He's trying to work up to the 100 mile ride this summer in Little Rock but he doesn't have enough time to train properly. Oh the crazy unpredictable lives we live.
Riding your bike or running in Arkansas is pretty interesting. People literally stop and won't pass you when you're on the side of the road and since there aren't any sidewalks what's a girl to do? A couple of summers ago when I was running with the jogging stroller here (I always pull off into the grass when a car comes up), someone actually stopped to tell me I was being dangerous and putting my life in danger. I just smiled and waved thinking to myself, "At around 400 lbs. I'll probably live longer than you!".
I really love all the outdoor things to do here. Some friends even took us climbing on the only hill in Little Rock! I can't wait to go discover some of the swimming holes and new hiking spots. Fred is trying to get us camping this month, but with the baby I'm not looking forward to the dirt, fire and bugs! Maybe I'm just getting soft in my age.
First Spring Harvests
Our radishes grew really fast. (Eli is next to the radish spot and Amelia is eating some of the lettuce we grew.) They are some special French long variety. They grow about 1/3 above the ground and 2/3 below, a good gauge to harvest by. Very good flavor, more "spicy" than grocery variety. We are going to fill in the rest of the open spots with a second planting so we could stagger the harvest. So far all the tornadoes and rainstorms haven't killed anything yet....
Thursday, April 14, 2011
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Strawberry Vampire
Even though Abraham has a cold,
please ignore any up the nose shots...
the poor kid also has his top
two teeth coming in!
We stopped by a strawberry farm to partake of the most wonderful, juicy strawberries I think I have ever eaten! We bought a flat full and Abe wouldn't eat anything else but strawberries. His legs, arms, cheeks, even his toes are died pink. I think he looks like a Strawberry Vampire! The Cullens hold nothing next to his cuteness!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Into My Own
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
I should not be withheld but that some day
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.
I do not see why I should e'er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.
They would not find me changed from him they knew-
Only more sure of all I thought was true.
-Robert Frost
Monday, April 11, 2011
Our Front Door
What do you think of the color?
The Toad in our Garden
This is our neighbor that the kids like to play getting into the toad action too! Oh, the things the kids do when mom isn't in the house!
Grandma Souliere's visit to Arkansas
Here is able trying to get some added fiber in his diet! and the group of us at Hot Springs taking in the tulip festival.