Getting Told

This morning has been relatively peaceful, as Sundays with children go. That is until I stood too closely to this nest. Though we were separated by a pane of glass, the owner of said nest was none too glad to see me so near her abode and gave me a cussing that, while as quiet as she is little, was quite to the point - this was quite a feat since her beak was full of feathers. So I gladly made way for her to finish feathering her nest.

Tomy noticed her the other day and called out, "Mom, there's an animal in the nest hanging outside your window!" (This quote has been translated into English to ease comprehension.)  He sees "animals" everywhere these days, including these statues at the ZNP entrance.

This little girl happily went to Nursery today ALL BY HERSELF! Yeah, hooray!!!

Rainy Days and Wednesdays

To commemorate Hazel's 1 1/2 birthday, Earth Day, Free Fee National Park Week, and a lovely rain storm we headed up to ZNP. The rain did wonders for the park: the waterfalls were plentiful, the colors were vivid, the smells were bright, and the crowds were sparse.

Our adventure found us at Weeping Rock where Tomy hiked the WHOLE way by himself. It's funny that he'll "hike" anywhere, but the "walk" to the hike was supposedly too hard (insert a few wah-wahs and some whining) - goober. :o)

I hoped to do the river walk too, but the wind further up the canyon was gusty and brisk, so we just enjoyed the pretty view from the safety of the shuttle. Some shuttle highlights: Tomy licking the chair - ick!, Hazel going for EVERY emergency escape hatch, the cute European baby that kept playing goo-goo eyes with us, the climbers' tent suspended from the sheer canyon wall, lots of deer, a wild turkey, and the raging rain-bloated river. Fun, fun!

a little bit of happy as i contemplate the children in the tub

I am definitely in the running for worst housekeeper EVER. People generally hear me say that and jump to console me saying that their house is also a mess, or that clutter is not as bad as filth. Well I'm here to tell you, and I'm sure my mother could confirm this, I'm not just making this statement out of false modesty - I really am a horrible housekeeper. If you have stopped by my house more than once, you too would be convinced of this reality. (Insert one of the many pictures my sister has of me actually cleaning as proof that it happened once in a long while.)

It's not so much that I don't like a clean house or that I don't like to clean the house or that I don't know how to clean the house. It's more a combination of being an incurable procrastinator plus a bit of a cleaning perfectionist - toss in the fall-out from having been depressed like left-over mess, ingrained bad habits, a lack of routine, and a poorly trained family - and you begin to get the picture. Luckily, I've learned a few tricks to circumvent these personal difficulties and have a very forgiving, long-suffering, dish-washing spouse.

With this said, you will understand my JOY when I relate my excitement over having a clean bathroom. It has been beyond disgusting in there what with it being the only bathroom we have (which is in a constant state of being remodeled) and having a recently potty trained boy who is easily distracted, a family who likes to leave their clothes on the floor, and children who are at a toilet paper unrolling stage. I'll kindly not tell you how long it's been since the bathroom was well and truly cleaned - it would most definitely offend your sensibilities, but as of Saturday it is CLEAN!

Levi took the short, messy things to Grandma's while I busted out all sorts of cleaning chemicals and two hours later I emerged successful - not to mention a tad bit sore. And so it is that this morning as the two messy things were getting cleaned up in the tub, that I could only rejoice in the whiteness of the tub and tile and smile. *sigh of contentment*

Dr. Tomy to the Rescue!

While "'nuggling" with my boy this afternoon, I mentioned that something was making my nose tickle. He immediately identified what he thought was the cause - a small red mark under my nose. He quickly tried to relieve me of my suffering by pinching it off my face. Since that only worked to cause his patient to cry out and hide her nose, he resorted to prescribing a Lightening McQueen band-aid - since, of course, that fixes everything.

He quickly fetched one, and after receiving assistance with the wrapper, proceeded to fasten it to my nose. I can't say his ministerings resulted in ending my nose tickle, but I certainly noticed it a lot less in my effort to keep breathing. Success!

The Dixie Narrows

We've had a little case of the coughing sickness this last week. Nothing too serious, just a very mild fever and an endless, dry, hacking cough - barely enough to keep the kids from school and church. Oddly, though, their coughs improved while they were busy outside - whether from the fresh air or from being too busy to remember to cough, I couldn't say. But since Tomy was already playing hooky from school last Thursday and the sun was out and shining, I couldn't resist taking the sickies outside. The day was beautiful, but still a teensy bit cool - so we hopped in the car and headed for warmer weather. And thus it is that our sick day turned into a sunbathing day hiking at the Dixie Narrows.

The place was crawling with Spring Breaking families of all sizes and ages. They were all there fully accoutred for a day hiking. My bed-headed children, however, were lucky to have found shoes in the car as they ran around in their grungies. Of course, this disparity didn't stop them from climbing, exploring, and eating red sand.

Yeah, I missed a great photo op. Seconds before this picture, Tomy had planted himself flat in the dirt and was swimming in it like water. Oh the joys of good clean dirt! Of course, neither of them were very interested in holding still long enough for me to take pictures and most came out blurry. These three were the most salvageable and have both children in them - can you spot Tomy?

Tomy was definitely the leader of the exhibition. It was SO good to see him bravely and independently climbing and hiking. His time at the early intervention preschool has worked wonders on his confidence, independence, and willingness to try. Preschool's positive effects are also obvious in his burgeoning vocabulary, improved enunciation, and ability to express himself. Hip hip hooray!


...hmm... what an odd ending to a post about sluffing school. *shrug*

Dancing Queen

Young and sweet only 17 (months). Check out the Hazel girl as she shakes it with the HHS band who is givin' some lovin' at the St. Patty's Day Parade. Very cute and very intent. Evidently dancing is a serious thing, second only to chasing candy.

In this clip Tomy vies for his moment in the spotlight. Let's see who's got the better moves!

What these videos don't show you is the level of devotion Hazel has for the dance. More than once she has forced herself from a dead sleep just to dance to PSYCH's theme music, proving that sleeping comes second to dancing (which, as previously mentioned, comes second to candy - candy RULES!)