mush-aboom

With all the afternoon rain lately, there has been quite a mush-aboom around here.

A prolific growth of mushrooms, that is.

The girls are fascinated by them, and often stop to pick them off their stems. After a brief lecture on the dangers of poisonous mushrooms and forbidding the girls to ever ingest them, I got off my motherly soapbox, and became quite fascinated myself.

Mushrooms are really quite amazing to look at, don't you think?

i miss them!

It's been a long week, friends! The first week of school.
After two years of home educating the girls, we're trying something new this year, and sending the girls to public school. It's been a HUGE change.

It felt so strange on Monday when they walked out the door. It was so quiet. Quiet enough that I could actually hear myself think. Very bizarre.

I really miss them being around. But, I really love the silence too. Tasks that have been on my "to do" list for months have finally been accomplished this week. And, I feel like I have space again to just "be."

I think little Z misses them too!

my little beauty

I took Miss A out a few weeks ago to snap her 6 year portraits. I was really looking forward to it being a special bonding time. But, Orlando in August is so stinkin' hot, muggy and buggy that it wasn't enjoyable at all.

It had just rained, so there were puddles of water everywhere. And, it was so humid that as soon as we stepped out of the car, my lens fogged up. This weather is for the bugs. Not for human beings.

it's a bird...

...it's a plane

....it's a flying zebra??

Just because I'm 4 months old, does not mean I'm an idiot! C'mon guys, do you really expect me to fall for this??

But, I just can't stop watching. They're soooo mesmerizing.

On a different note, thanks for all your comments a few posts back! It's nice to know who's out there in blog-land with me. And, if you haven't told me yet, you can do it! Just click on in and leave me some blog-love :) Don't be shy now.

i still do

I met Ashley 16 years ago just after our freshman year of college while participating in a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ in Myrtle Beach. We've kept in touch over the years, but hadn't seen each other since that summer.

I was so honored when she contacted me about taking photos of her special day. After 13 years of marriage and 5 children later, she and Michael wanted to renew their wedding vows. It was such a touching ceremony, and I'm so glad that I got to capture it for her!

good one.

It was off to "Meet the Teacher" night last night for the Wood family.

Picture a huge elementary school building large enough to hold 900 students, but that has parking for only about 100 vehicles. Finding a place to park is a real challenge to say the least. I don't know who planned the school, but they get an "F" for thinking through the parking issue.

You'd think that the neighboring property manager would cut the school some slack, right? Wrong. Not even an hour after we parked, our mini-van was towed from outside the school property. We weren't the only ones either. Not one, but two tow-trucks arrived on the scene just shortly before "Meet the Teacher" night was over.

Let's think this through: the HOA dude knows that he's causing not only one, but at least two children to be stranded without a ride home on the night they are inside an elementary school meeting their teachers. Good one, dude. That's real classy.

Here's a photo of our mini-van being hauled off. You can also see the second one in the distance.

Photo credit: David Nagy

hit me up

I know you're out there, blog readers.
Some of you tell me you read my blog (thank you! :)
And, some of you don't. Maybe you use Google Reader (I do!) and don't often click in to say "hi."

I know you're busy. I know you probably read lots of blogs. Us bloggers tend to be that way.

So, here's what I'd love for you to do. Click in and say "hi." So that I know you're there. And, that I'm not just blowing steam in my little part of the blog-o-sphere for nothin'.

One-two-three, click! And, while you're at it, follow me, if you'd like. I've added that nifty little "Follow Me" button on the right sidebar. I don't have any fabulous prizes to offer you as an incentive.

Just know that you'll make me happy and send a little love my way.

Otherwise, little Z might make his sad face at you, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

math games

It's the last week of summer vacation at our house. Next week, it's back to school. I thought some review could be good, and found a fun way to review math facts. Shhh...don't tell the girls. I spun this one as a "game."

You can play too, if you like. This one is called "Fifteens." Start by dealing four rows of four cards each. The goal is to remove all the cards into your discard pile. Tens, Kings, Queens, and Jacks of the same suit must be removed all at once. The rest can be removed in any number of cards that add up to 15. You win if all the cards are discarded. Happy adding!

the treasure party

Miss A's treasure party was a lot of fun.
Lucky for me, the Dollar Tree was selling wooden treasure boxes for $1 each.



Next, Mr. Wood helped lead the kids through a treasure hunt at our neighborhood park. He's quite clever, you see, and came up with four riddles for the kids to solve. Each riddle led to the next riddle. After all four riddles were collected, the reverse side made a puzzle picture of their "treasure." Miss A said this was her favorite part of the party.



La piece de resistance. The treasure cake. I'll be honest. Making cakes like this stress me out. You pretty much have one shot at it, and if it goes badly, it's all over. Thankfully, this bunch of 6-year-olds thought it was great and were quite happy with my feeble attempt. Oh, and they all loved those chocolate coins.



All in all, it was a great time. And now, I'm all partied out.

from a to z

In honor of Miss A's birthday, here's one of her with little Z.

We now have kids from "A" to "Z."
Get it??
Ha, ha...forgive my cheesiness.

my littlest girl...

...is not so little anymore. She'll be 6 tomorrow. Six. Wow. How dies this happen?! Enjoy this little walk down memory lane. I've enjoyed reminiscing today while digging up these old digital files. Priceless.

let them eat cake

It's Miss A's birthday this week, so I have cake on my mind.


This was David's birthday cake. Black Forest. Yummmmm...


Miss A has requested a "treasure" party complete with a treasure cake, and a treasure hunt, and a treasure chest, and a "stick-the-jewel-on-the-treasure-chest" game. Whew! That's a lot of treasuring.

our little getaway

I've always wanted to do a little beach vacay.
And, so we finally did.
I highly recommend Siesta Key. It's beautiful.

Sadly, I took only about 4 pictures while we were there.
It's much more difficult to play photographer when you're always holding a baby. I love little Z, so it's okay. But, there aren't many photos to share with you.

I loved this vacation so much because we were not wired to anything. We had time to just relax and enjoy each other. Goodbye, Siesta Key! I hope to see you again soon.

Mr. Basil

Meet Mr. Basil.


Would you believe that this large herb started from a simple seed packet? It's true. Water, soil, seeds and some TLC is all it's taken to grow this massive plant.



It's been Miss M's pride and joy. She's very attentive to Mr. Basil. And, if you'd like some, she's selling it in bunches for $0.50. But, she only delivers locally. My little entrepreneur.