Well, Scott is 33... and I think he's feeling every minute of it after his birthday festivities... It's very interesting - the evolution of the birthday celebration. I remember when we first met, a birthday would be approaching and Scott would start talking... "Maybe we could go on a cruise... Or to Chicago and stay in some swanky hotel and hit the clubs all night..." I would shop for hours for him, finding the perfect Abercrombie sweater or latest manly man cologne... Well, 7 years and 4 kids later the "Birthday" looks a little different... He was greeted with 5 birthday wishes, kisses and hugs before he rolled out of bed... And while he jumped in his shower the kids and I made muffins and scrambled eggs per his request... Fresh brewed coffee, hand made birthday cards made out of paper plates, markers and lots of glue, (pulled out of various "hiding places" all over the house) more kisses and hugs, and he was out the door. While he was at work, the kids and I made our usual birthday present trip to the local Dollar General store, all 3 with piggy banks in hand.... After perusing the aisles, they each chose something that they were convinced would be perfect for Daddy and paid one by one.. (they even used their own money to buy cake mix and frosting.) We made the cake and decorated it, wrapped the presents, and decorated the house, garage door and front door. We ate dinner, (yes, I cooked.) cake and ice cream and opened the presents... Isaiah bought him multi-purpose wipes, Caleb bought him a package of handkerchiefs, Abigail bought him an empty spray bottle and a cherry airhead (that we had to put in a ziploc bag after she opened it and started to take a bite.) Micah and I chipped in to buy him a Renuzit odor killer air freshner (he hates the stink in the shoe closet)... Then the kids thought it would be a great idea to wash Daddy's car for (with) him.... And that was it. The greatest thing about it all?? I don't think Scott wished he was on a cruise or in a swanky hotel one time all day.... And I'm pretty sure that his Dollar General gifts mean a whole lot more to him than any Abercrombie sweater ever has.... Happy Birthday Scotty Lee.... You are very loved. Being married to you is far better than any swanky hotel or vacation ever could be... You are my best friend.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Dollar General Birthdays...
Lazarus Larva
So, we ran out of milkweed... And we went on another hunt and found nothing... By the end of the day the jar looked like that first picture... leaf stems stripped bare... This larva was starving to death... it was all ok if I didn't watch, but I was compelled in some sick way to watch him... He would crawl up and down the bare stem gnawing on it as he went.... up and down, back and forth... Every once in a while he would even hold on with his back feet and stretch way out into mid air searching, sniffing, clammoring for any remnant of food... I felt SO bad!!! How could I sit here and watch this.... well, larva.... die!? So, 9:45 at night, at the beginning of a thunderstorm, through the lightning and thunder, I set out in my car for Germantown Hills (5 miles away) to scrounge up some milkweed from my friend Jenny. Scott made me promise to stop at the grocery store or SOMETHING so that the trip would be more than just collecting food for larva. So, Jenny and I yanked some nasty, old milkweed out of her larva's jar (and after a quick stop at the store for some random things) and I sped home to save Larva Lee... I was so excited to see the little guys face when he saw the milkweed and I envisioned him speed-crawling over to munch away... So, when I got home he was crawling up the side of the jar... As I twisted the cap off I bumped the jar and.... he fell.... Plunk..... And then stillness..... I gasped and gently shook the jar to get him to move..... Nothing... More gentle shaking.... Nothing... I poked him gently with a leaf.... Nothing.... I had just killed it!!!! To make a long story not much shorter, I spent the next 15 minutes trying everything (short of touching the nasty thing) to revive it. Still nothing. Defeated, I carefully removed the chrysalises and dumped the rest of the jar - dead larva included - on a paper towel. I decided to take one last picture before I pitched him.... And as I looked through my camera to snap the picture, he moved!!! It's true! He was very much dead.... I'm SURE of it!!! And then - he was alive!!! After a few minuted he was munching away again and by the next evening, that little larva was hanging in his J.... SO..... After sharing the story with the kids the next morning, we all agreed that Lazarus was a very fitting name for the little guy. And the kids wanted to name the other three chrysalises too.... They each have their own now... Isaiah's is "John," Caleb's is "Peter," and Abigail's is "Mommy."... Bet there aren't too many of you out there that can say you've had a larva named after you, huh?!..... Lucky me.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Identifying the Sex of Your Pupa... (and other REALLY important pieces of information...)
The second caterpillar is in the chrysalis now! We were looking on the internet and found some info on indentifying the sex of your "pupa, chrysalis, and Monarch..." And because I know you are all living life far below it's potential not knowing this crucial piece of wisdom, allow me to share... When the Monarch is in it's larva stage the only way to tell is to cut it open and look for testes... In the pupa stage, you can identify a female by a vertical, black line that will appear below the large black circles at the top of the chrysalis, and once the Monarch is a butterfly, the sex can be identified by looking at the veins in the wings... Female Monarchs have thicker veins. Male Monarchs have thinner veins, but have a small "scent sack" (black circle) on the bottom of each wing. So, now you know.... And since I'm not seeing the vertical line, I'm thinking that the 2nd pupa pictured is a male.. Guess we'll know soon... 
Word of the Day - "Frass"
A friend of ours works with a lady that raises monarch butterflies. She asked if we would want a cup of larvae to "care for" and watch grow. We got the 4 (plus one tiny, brand new larva - see if you can find it on the leaf in the picture.) yesterday. By last night two were already hanging in the "J" shape ready to transform into their chrysalis. This morning one had finished that stage and was completely encased. The other was still hanging. We kept it in the kitchen at breakfast, hoping to catch it actually happening, (apparently it only takes about 8 minutes.) We cleaned up and had worship and ran back to check... We had missed it AGAIN! We have two more almost mature caterpillars and of course the baby, so maybe we'll be able to catch one yet. And of course, 12 days from now we may get the chance to see the monarch emerging. I am amazed and intrigued, but I must admit a little grossed out at the same time... Oh, yeah.. And just in case you didn't already know.. Frass is larva "waste." heh heh. I'm supposed to dump the "frass" out of the container every day... Nice.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Fishing With Daddy
Can't believe that I forgot to mention the fishing trip in the post about Isaiah's birthday. The Saturday before his birthday Daddy took the two big boys on their first fishing "trip." It was a perfect day for it and the boys felt very grown up and "manly." (is that really a word??) Isaiah caught two... If Scott was blogging I'm sure he'd have the stats for you! He was very proud. (Although you would never guess it from his face in the picture!!)
Well, back on May 15th I posted about an unidentified vegetation growing across the street from us. My 3 little scientists have confirmed that it is in fact..... corn. (I know - you have all been waiting 3 months to find out, haven't you?!) We kept an eye on the corn all summer, observing, measuring, and recording all of our findings. Today it measured 108 inches. (9ft.)
Friday, August 3, 2007
There Was a Little Girl Who Had a Little Curl....
Abigail's been telling me lately "I love you SO much, Mommy. You're my best friend." At first I was so touched and thought "How sweet!" But then I started panicking... Oh no! Is this enmeshment?? Do I need to tell her that I can't be her best friend?? Is it important for me to remind her that although I may be HER best friend, Daddy is MY best friend? Is this emotionally unhealthy and dysfunctional???? Well, my fears were laid to rest the other day when Daddy and Caleb broke the news to me... She says that to them too.... hmmm... It's a good thing I spend my time analyzing such critical things, isn't it???!! heh heh.
6 Years Old...
I asked Isaiah a couple weeks ago what he wanted to do for his birthday. He thought for a while and then said, "I want to go on a date with you and Daddy and no one else... Just us..." I said we could do that and asked him what else he would like to do... He said he wanted to go to IGA with JUST Daddy in the morning and get donuts for breakfast. And that he also wanted to have a few specific people over to play and have "delicious lemonade." So, we tried to make those things happen! Isaiah showed up in our room at 6:15a.m. fully dressed with a big smile. After we hugged him and told him Happy Birthday he asked if Daddy was ready to go to IGA. Scott politely requested "5 more minutes" and rolled over. After Scott got in the shower Isaiah and I continued talking about how much he was growing and what a wonderful boy he was.... well, I was talking... and he would interject now and then to say, "Why is Daddy taking so long in the shower?" When Scott emerged from the bathroom Isaiah asked if he had shaved. I said, "Isn't it weird to think that someday YOU will have to shave, Isaiah?? You'll be such a big boy..." He said "yeah," and that he would probably shave when he was 10. heh heh... Then after a pause he asked, "Mommy, when will I be old enough to learn to iron?" After working through the guilty I'm-a-bad-wife-because-I-don't-iron-my-husbands-clothes feelings I proceeded to inform Isaiah about how incredibly wonderful his father was... And that lots of grown men don't even know HOW to iron!!! His eyes grew wide with amazement. I nodded and said, "Your Daddy knows how to do SOOO many things!! Isn't that so cool?!" He was quite proud of Scott... and quite oblivious to my ineptitude... (for now.) So, after a trip to IGA and breakfast, the other kids excitedly presented their gifts to Isaiah. (Caleb and Abigail had gone to the Dollar General and the gas station with me the night before with their piggy banks in hand. After perusing the aisles they each selected a couple of very Isaiah-appropriate gifts.) A rubber snake, squishy lizards, candy, and stickers. Scott and I gave him a fancy slip and slide and we got it all blown up and ready for action. Per Isaiah's request we had "the cousins," Ashley and Claire and Grandma over and we had very delicious lemonade. (and fruit snacks and cupcakes.) 
The slip and slide and the pool were a hit and the kids had a great time. I was laughing later in the day about the pile of gifts that he had accumulated from all of us... Such 6 year old boy gifts! A rocket kit, a book of 730 easy science experiments, a rubber band powered jet, a 720 piece K'nex set, an Erector set that has motors and gears and all sorts of cool "boy" stuff, a transformer, spider-man goggles, a lasso contraption that his friend Ashley made with pipe cleaners and a book about jumping spiders... It just doesn't get any better than that, does it??!!
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