Frog or Toad?

This afternoon Callie moved the paving stones in the front yard and found a new friend! No not Mikey, look by Callie's feet.

Everyone was excited to see him, although he was a little less enthusiastic to be shrieked at and dropped by the little kids.

Meet Callie's new buddy.

A very good new buddy!

Er... maybe too close, buddy!

Actually, she was trying to remove him, but he was hanging on with that little leg, swinging like Michael Jordan from her nose, looking to all the world like a giant mutated booger.

Yes, yes, much more acceptable. Delaney was pleased to be instructed on proper frog holding techniques.

Rylee looked like she knew the drill. Unfortunately, for the frog, as soon as Rylee had him in her hand, She screamed gleefully and tossed him in the air. Fortunately, for the frog, he landed on his feet.

Marian came out to play and discovered 3 toads hiding under the paving stone. A handful of toads is not easy to hang onto!

Yep, a lovely day to be a toad. Well, a lovely day to be a toad with a death wish.

No frogs or toads were permanently harmed this afternoon. Possibly traumatized for life, but they were all alive when I made the kids put them down and walk away.

Gratitude Challenge Day 2

10 Material Possessions I am Grateful For:

1. My Van. Love my Sienna!

2. My elliptical machine. We get together frequently and I love it.

3. The computer.

4. My kitchen table- it fits us all and fits in the house.

5. My 12" skillet. I cook everything in it!

6. My running shoes.

7. My food storage buckets of whole wheat. I go through a surprising amount of it.

8. So I love, love, love and and incredibly grateful for my wheat grinder.

9. Books. Books in general, the books on my bookshelf, the books on my Kindle. I an thankful to have books in general and to have the ones I own.

10. My Young Living Essential Oils. So glad I have them.

Gratitude Challenge, Day 1

In the Dec 2011 Ensign there was a challenge to come up with 100 things you are thankful for. I thought maybe I should get cracking on that. They did break it into 10 lists of 10 things to make it easier to do. So today is:

10 Physical Abilities I am Thankful For:

1. I can run. I can even run while pushing a double jogging stroller.

2. I have 10 fingers and 10 toes that all work.

3. While I am incredibly inflexible, I can bend and stretch and nothing hurts when I do.

4. I can drive a car.

5. I don't much like it, but I can ride my bike.

6. I can swim. I love to swim. I can't wait for the pool to open!

7. I can give piggy-back rides.

8. I can fold laundry.

9. I can run up and down the stairs in our house.

10. I can hold little hands and carry little bodies in my arms, and I can give and receive hugs.

83 Degrees Outside?!!!

Yes, it was 83 degrees last week. Not just once either. We were over 80 for several days. There is just something wrong with it being that warm the first few days of MARCH! And for those of you in nice dry places like CA, who think 80 isn't too bad, the humidity was icky as well. Nothing like walking out the door of your air conditioned house and needing fins to walk to the park. Ug. I hate humidity.

The girls thought it was time to bust out the swim suits, so I dug around till we found them. We also risked the wrath of Housing and moved our hose to the front porch for the afternoon. Callie, Delaney and Rylee had a marvelous time playing in the sprinkler together. I had a marvelous time watching them! The pictures are not very good because they were much more interested in playing than in slowing down to get me the perfect shot.

More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys

I got to take Rylee and Delaney to the dentist this week. The only thing that would have been more fun would have been trying to wrangle all 5 children there! Fortunately, I have learned some skills. I took the 2 youngest while the big kids were in school. I went myself the next day while the 2 little girls were at preschool. And I have scheduled the 3 older kids later this month when they have a random day off school, but the little girls still have preschool. See, I am smart!

I also thought I was really smart because we talked about going to the dentist. I told the girls what to expect, and we acted it out, and they seemed excited and ready for it. And they were, right up till we walked into the office. Then Delaney clung to me like a spider monkey and whimpered enough that Rylee decided maybe she should be afraid as well.

I got Delaney into the chair and had to hold her hand while they got the x-rays.

After the x-rays, she decided this wasn't so bad!

Then they started the cleaning. She was rocking the shades, but was not pleased about the scrape-scrape nor did she like the icky stuff they brushed her teeth with. There was more drama than I expected. I should have expected it. Really, I should.

After the cleaning, she was happier, and she loved having her teeth "painted" with flouride.

And then it was over. And she got a cute bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss. Oh, and she got a prize out of the prize bucket!

Yes, I did say that Rylee also had an appointment. No pictures of her because she was terrified after seeing Delaney freak out. I had to sit on the chair with her on my lap. I got to spend Rylee's check up laying head down in the dentist chair, holding onto Rylee and trying to soothe her. Fun stuff, I tell you, fun stuff!