The Third Egg

Remember the owl box camera we watched last year? Well, this one might be even better. It's a family of bald eagles in Decorah, Iowa. My students have been watching like hawks (pun intended) their every move. We've been watching now for two days. Momma is sitting on top of two hatched babies and one egg and we've been waiting, waiting, waiting for that third egg to hatch. I'm starting to wonder if it won't. If it does though, I can tell you this...... We will be glued to our computer screens watching its every move.

We have watched the momma and papa eagles come and go and take turns feeding and sitting on their little family. And by feeding the babies, I mean ripping apart whatever they've just killed, chewing it into tiny digestible pieces and dropping it into the mouths of their waiting babies. It is school-sactioned gore at its finest, and my class (of mostly boys) loves it! Here's to the third egg and hoping the little guy (or girl) makes it.....

Update: Just after writing this I went to the site to check on them and the third egg had hatched! My class will be so excited, and bummed that we missed it. You can see the third hatch here, though. I wonder if I could trick them into believing they're watching it in real time. They'll probably just be excited that there's a dead fish on the edge of the nest.

TMI?

I know there is a lot of banter going around the internet about over sharing and the lack of tact anymore with regard to what we'll write for complete strangers to read. But, it's not like it's about me.

Last night as we waited in the car for Shane to run in to the store and grab a new bottle of children's Motrin, Peyton let fly a toot that seemed to have a little (or a lot of) substance to it. I said, "Peytie, don't. Your gonna poop your pants."

Her reply?

"No I not. I wearing leggings."

20 Questions (Give or Take 5,000)

We made a whirlwind trip to Bend this weekend. Over in back in about 24 hours. We went so I could go to my sister's surprise 40th birthday party. She was totally surprised. More on that later....

On the way home Libby and I talked for two straight hours, which was actually pretty exhausting. It gave me a little insight as to who my kid is though, and what things weigh on her mind. So many questions, so little time. It's so hard to believe that at one time I was worried that she would never start talking.....

Momma? Why did Annie run away?

Momma? Why did the police chase her?

Momma? Why does Annie wear shorts under her dress?

Momma? Why will we die?

Momma? How did God make everything?

Momma? Did he make the dinosaurs?

Momma? Where did the dinosaurs live?

Momma? How will you die?

Momma? Will God die?

Momma? How come you never made a chair for my teacher?

Momma? Will you make me a bracelet out of string?

Momma? Can it be red, white and pink? And purple? I love purple.

Momma? Does the real Santa have hair?

Momma? Why does Miss Hannigan wear a costume?

Momma? Who's Annie's mom?

Momma? Why is the road red? (Cinders) It's pretty.

Momma? Can you get me an ipod? Sometime?

Momma? Why is Miss Hannigan so grumpy?

Momma? Why does Molly cry so much?

Momma? Why does Miss Hannigan make the girls scrub the floor?

Momma? Can I take ski lessons? I don't want to ride horses.

Momma? Did Daddy ever get bucked off his horse?

Momma? What was Daddy's horse's name?

Momma? What if we were orphans?

Momma? Can I have an Annie book like my movie?

Momma? How come we're out of gum?

Momma? Can I pick new gum at the store?

Momma? How come I can't chew some kinds of gum?

Momma? Can we write our own Annie book?

Momma? You should be Miss Hannigan for Halloween.

Momma? How old is Annie? Pepper? Molly?

Momma? What are the other orphan's names?

Momma? Why doesn't Annie have parents? (They died in a fire)

Momma? Did they burn or did they melt?

Momma? Could we put round things (curlers) in my hair, so it's like Annie's?

Momma? Who married Daddy Warbucks?

Momma? Why did Grace Farrel love Annie?

Momma? Is this a fast road?

Momma? Why are there car accidents?

Momma? Why are people in too much of a hurry?

Momma? Is that how people die?

Momma? What was Daddy Warbuck's job?

Momma? What was Grace Farrel's job?

Momma? Why did Annie take tennis lessons?

Momma? Can I watch Rapunzel again?

Momma? Why did Rapunzel's mom be so mean?

Momma? Why didn't she want to get old?

Momma? Why was Cinderella's stepmother not nice?

Momma? Why were the stepsisters jealous?

Momma? Why did she have a fairy godmother?

(insert story about a classmate of hers who yells and hits and jumps off of chairs and sometimes lands in time out.)

Momma? I can believe your kids at school don't jump off of their chairs.

That's breaking the rules.

That's not kind.

Momma? What does SBH spell?

Momma? Why isn't Cinderella's cat nice?

Momma? Cinderella's mice tried to jab him (the cat) with a fork.

That was not nice.

But that was so funny.

Momma? When we get home, if it's warm, can I wear a dress?

Momma? When Grunny dies can we get a cat? I'm not afraid of cats now.

Momma? Would our cat be nice or mean?

Momma? I like fish.

Momma? Do we still have our fish tank? The rocks? The food?

Momma? What's a bank?

Momma? What's a withdrawal?

Momma? Why are Cinderella's stepsisters not nice?

Momma? Why do they all want to marry the prince?

Momma? What days do I go to school? Can I add a day?

Momma? Grammy Jane has candy like medicine.

When I suck it, my throat feels better.

Momma? Is ice cream good for you?

At this moment Peyton wakes and yells, "Mom! Jayden not like ice cream!" and then she immediately falls back to sleep.

Momma? Why does some gum have bad sugar?

Momma? Cabellas is a pretty name for a store.

Momma? When will I be a mommy?

Momma? I'm going to be a doctor, and a teacher and have an ipod.

Momma? Why did we go to Bend?

Momma? What are you writing?

Yes, I wrote while I drove. Barely. Without looking. It was sloppy, but effective. I have to keep track. There are so many questions that need answering.....

For most of the time it took me to write this Libby was asleep on a chair in the living room. Pondering life's biggest questions is really exhausting work.

Boy Trouble

This morning we were awoken by the pitter patter of two littles headed for our bed. Shocking, I know. After a brief snuggle I told the girls I'd rock them in their room before putting them back in their beds. This is the conversation that happened as we rocked....

Libby- "Mom, when it's time to get married, where will I find a boy?"

Me- "Um, well, that's a long time from now. You'll have lots of time to find a boy."

Peyton- "But I didn't seeeee a booooooy!"

Me- "Besides, don't be in any hurry to find a boy. There will be lots of time for that."

Libby- "I want to marry Jamison and Jayden, but they said no."

Me- "Well they're your cousins, so you really can't marry them. But you'll always have them as family."

Libby- "Mom, when I get married I just want to stay with you."

Me- "Me too babe. Me too."

Spring Break

This picture was actually taken the week before Spring Break, but it's indicative of how we've spent the week. Lots of down time. Lots of going nowhere and doing nothing. It's been so great. In fact, I sat at a green light for awhile last week before the car behind me finally honked to tell me to get moving. Oops. My mind has been a little on vacation too.

Our little daredevil rides this rocker like a rodeo clown. On this night we were sure it was finally going to go over. It didn't, but it's just a matter of time. Not if, but when.

What better way to begin vacation that to make a bed and pretend to sleep on the kitchen table?

Cousins!

Island racing....

This was Jayden's bed in the living room, but after they left Peyton crashed on it.

Four Legged

About a month ago I was searching Craigslist and came across a toddler bed that is identical to the one Libby has. I called the guy who listed it to make sure it originally came from Toys R Us, and then I bought it. I intend to slipcover it and put Peyton's name on the headboard like I did with Libby's. I just need to find the time to do it. This week hasn't been the time for projects. I'm having too much fun just being home with the girls. Today we painted at the kitchen table and played at open gym at gymnastics.

Grunden likes her new bed too. At the moment the girls' beds are pushed together. They've been that way since the leprechaun scare. Though, a minute ago Libby came out of her room crying to tell me that the she'd made up a silly word and Peyton told her it wasn't funny. It might be time to move their beds apart again.

Grunny and Komen went barking to the front window to make sure any new arrivals know who's in charge of security around here. Peyton joined them and then looked as if to say, "Hey guys. What'r we lookin' at?"

Wiley Stinkin' Leprechauns

Last Wednesday, my friend Tracy called to say she had all the pieces for a leprechaun trap that she was going to build with the girls and she'd drop it off if I was going to be home. I was, and she did. The girls were so excited. They couldn't wait to build it. Getting them settled to eat dinner was a bit of a challenge, but once dinner was over we sat down to build the trap. It probably took us 45 minutes, which gave us all kinds of time to talk about St. Patrick's Day, the Irish, and what, exactly, leprechauns are. The girls were mesmerized by the whole idea of tiny mischievious men who are driven by the pursuit of gold and who don't follow rules. Trapping one was all we talked about all night.

Then, it was bedtime.

Hello? Have you met my kids? Have I? What was I thinking getting so involved in telling leprechaun stories that I even googled pictures of the little terrors to show them to my children before tucking them into bed? When I told Peyton to run down the hallway to put her clothes in the laundry bin, I think she imagined one of the little cobblers was swinging his awl at her ankles on the way back to her room. I've never heard her scream quite like that, and to be honest, I had to stifle my laughter. I'd even taken precautions to put the leprechaun trap in the garage while I said things like, "Of course we'll put the trap in the garage. Leprechauns are woodland creatures. They'd never come inside a house." Then, when my kids stared back at me in horror at the words "woodland creatures" I tried to console them by saying things like, "Y'know, woodland creatures. Like squirrels and chipmunks and other cute and cuddly and not-so-scary things that live in the woods." All the while I couldn't stop laughing and with each attempt at trying to explain and console, I just dug the hole of terror deeper and deeper. I might as well have told them I'd be putting snakes under their covers just as soon as they'd fall asleep.

Anyway, they did eventually go to sleep, but I think Peyton was in our bed for most of the night. Then, in the morning before school, they went into the garage to see if we had caught one. As it turned out we did get one, but he somehow managed to get out of the trap. They are clever little cobblers, you know. He did leave traces of leprechaun dust up our walkway and into the garage. And he left treats of gold (chocolate) coins under pipe cleaner rainbows (thank you Tracy!)

Libby took the trap to school with her and my mom said she was excited to tell her friends how we'd caught a leprechaun, but that he'd gotten away. Oh, and the girls were in their swimsuits, because all of this went down in the middle of a "swim party" they were having. Just another typical night at home....

The trap.

Set safely in the garage.

Setting up the bait.

The little guy is supposed to climb ladder, reach for the gold and then the top of the hat (only a piece of felt) collapses and he falls in. Worked like a charm. A lucky charm.

On Wednesday, Shane and the girls made a St. Patty's Day cake. Green, of course. We'll get the little guy next year....