Stress

I think I have heard a million times that stress isn't good for me or the Larva, but sometimes I feel like I am at the end of my rope and don't know what to do.

(No "tie a knot and hang on jokes" please.)

My biggest issue comes when the stress is directly related to people that surround me. How do I make choices between the health of my Larva and myself versus other people's feelings? I just have the deepest desire to curl up in a ball and ignore those people that stress me out.

Unfortunately, that's apparently not acceptable at work. Or at home.

I wish I were a Bear. A huge Mummy Bear. And I could take my cub-Caterpillars and hide in a cave all winter. Then show up next Spring with three cubs, and deal with people then. At the very least, I wish I could surround myself with just the people who are supportive of me and the Larva (and Hubby and the Caterpillars).

This level of stress is just not healthy! Especially not right now.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

More Swimming

Hubby wasn't feeling well a week or so ago, and so he took Friday (August 15th) off of work. Edelweiss and I also decided to take the afternoon off and bring the Caterpillars and LG down to our local pool.

Even BooSheep and Little Sheep came along for the ride with Cookie.

It was awesome! In the past all the local pools have shut down the Sunday before the public schools went back in session. This year, the pool right next to our house decided to stay open until Labor Day.

That means all the preschoolers and Homeschoolers get an extra THREE WEEKS of pool time! Practically EMPTY pool time!

It was so great. B10 and Hubby went up and down the slide for what seemed like a million times. CW and I floated in the Lazy River with Edelweiss and LG, and played on the playset.

Little Sheep stayed mostly in the shallow water, but loved to get his head wet, and truly enjoyed Cookie following him all over the pool.

It was so great to not have to fight the crowds, and because most of the people there had younger kids, the Caterpillars could play on the slides/Lazy River without being run over. LG looks like such a BIG KID with B10 and CW eating snacks during break time.

I can't wait to do this more next year. I'm hoping they'll open the pool at Memorial Day (instead of when public school gets out).

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Camping - Day Two

CW was awake rather early, which is not surprising - and B10 woke up shortly after. I made them stay quietly in our tent to chat until 7 a.m., then let them get dressed to play outside (quietly). They did a great job, and by 8 a.m. everyone was up and ready for the day.

The Caterpillars played back down by the water, while the grownups battled the yellow jackets and prepared breakfast.

The King made a yellow jacket bait area, which was heavily populated within minutes. Strangely, this "bait" also attracted the attention of one loony squirrel.

The Queen prepared delicious sausage, pancakes, and we had plenty of fruit for the Caterpillars to munch on.

It was a beautiful day, which they took full advantage of, up to and including feeding the roaming ducks and geese by our campsite.

B10 also found a praying mantis, which he carried around for quite a while - until it made it's home on CW's head, then on the Queen's head! After that, we convinced him to set it free back into the woods.

By 10:30 we were ready to pack up, and when I was done loading my car we piled all the Caterpillars up and I took them swimming. The King and Queen needed a bit longer to un-pop the pop-up camper.

I'm sure you can tell how much they loved the water! We swam for almost 2 hours, before grabbing ice cream at the store and heading home.

It was a short trip, but it felt good to know that the Caterpillars are really great helpers when it comes to camping, and we'll be able to do this when the Larva comes. (With an air mattress!)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Camping - Day One

Before our friends went back to school, I took off a few days and we went camping together.

The Caterpillars had a blast with Prince and Princess! (And their parents - who I guess would be King and Queen?) We stayed pretty close to home, which worked out well, as we were able to spend more time playing, rather than driving and setting up.

They have a lovely popup camper.

I have a lovely tent.

Both of which managed to get set up BEFORE the rain/wind. Granted, it was a very brief little "storm", but when you don't have an actual roof, it can be a bit scary.

The Caterpillars did great. We ate dinner at a resturant inside the campground and then came back where the adults sat around and chatted. The Caterpillars couldn't get enough of the dirt and the lake, and I was the very mean Mummy Butterfly when I made them clean off (with baby wipes) and put on pajamas.

I read a few poems out of one of my favorite Kids Poetry Books, and then they were out pretty quickly.

The view was beautiful, we had the campground basically to ourselves - and the sounds from the forest and the water creatures was so soothing!

My only regret was having to put on my shoes 3 times that night to hike up to the restroom! Oh, and being the one to sleep on the ground! (Next time, Mummy's buying a cot, or at the very least an air mattress.)

~Lone Butterfly

I'm Still Here!

I would like to have an excuse. One for why I have been incapable of blogging.

But I don't. There's no excuse.

Except for the part where I've lost a total of 6 pounds, because I have yet to consistently keep food down. It's been about 9 weeks since this all began, and even water can still make me queasy at times.


I went 2 full days last week without being sick. That was awesome. And at my last doctor's appointment I had maintained my weight - instead of losing weight. That's also awesome.

But why? Why am I so very sick?




It's a cute reason. Two little arms and two little legs. And ears, can't forget the ears.

I got to see the ears last week. So did Hubby.
~

The ears (and all the other parts) are 13 weeks and 6 days along. That means that we should see the ears up close and in person somewhere around February 20, 2009. We don't know if they are girl ears or boy ears, yet. (And before I get the onslaught of "if you are sick, it's gotta be a girl" - please know I've HAD a girl before (in 2005), and wasn't this sick. Not even close, so I'm not confirming a gender until I see the next ultrasound.)
~
So, maybe I've had a little excuse. One about 3 inches long. It's not a Caterpillar yet, so to distinguish (even though they mean the same thing) we'll be using the term Larva for the wee Butterfly. Hopefully, as I begin to feel better, I'll get back into the swing of blogging. I uploaded many pictures last night that I can't wait to show everyone.
~
As a side note, my Mum (Cookie) is obviously thrilled. To find out why she's over the moon as it were, visit here.
~
~Lone Butterfly )i(

The Olympics Light Dreams

CW (and B10) have been watching the Olympics every night. It's interesting, because this is very clearly the first Olympics they can remember. (B10 was only 4 during the Greece Olympics and wasn't even a year old when they were in Sydney. And CW is 2 years younger!) B10 (not unexpectedly) prefers to watch the competitions that involve individuals. Even the swimming, which he loves, gets "boring" when it's a relay race.

CW, on the other hand, has been fascinated by watching plenty of the team sports. Beach volleyball and the relay swimming races are his favorite. Last night, I turned on the TV and he curled up beside me to watch the entire women's marathon.

Seriously, the six year old watched the entire 2 1/2 hours worth of running - and he was asking questions the whole time. I found it amusing when we had a very brief discussion about how runners and swimmers have to practice every day, because the difference in a winner and a loser is how hard you train.

Then, before 7 am, this happened beside my bed:

Notice the shoes in his hands. Oh yes, I got out of bed and sat on the driveway in my pajamas and watched my son do stretching exercises and run up and down the street.

Because I am NOT going to be the reason he doesn't make the 2020 or 2024 Olympics!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Surprise! Guess What's Invaded Our Backyard?

I came home from work on Friday, and B10 was dancing in the front room he was so excited.

About six months ago, we rescued a small grey kitten. Gideon was fixed and found a wonderful home through a local vet, and we saw the mother a couple of times since then. Gideon was the only kitten in that litter, but I've put out food for the mother when I've seen her around.

Apparently she had 4 kittens in our backyard about 6 weeks ago.

We've not caught them yet (this will require Cookie's help), but I've been working on feeding them and giving them fresh water. The mother associates the "good" things with me. It's funny how she'll still growl when I open the door, but she doesn't move to run away.

We'll name the kittens when we determine gender for sure. For now, I'm pleased to introduce to you:

Big Ears (AKA: Panther)

Safari (AKA: Puma) - being eaten by Lion

Lion

and Princess.

Safari is named after a cat that Cookie had for over 15 years. She passed away earlier this summer, and this kitten has the EXACT same markings.

So, who out there wants a new kitten?

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Fondue Who?

I love Alton Brown. I adore Alton Brown. In many ways, he is my hero - and he teaches my Caterpillars brilliant things that will serve them well, both in cooking and science.

Last week, he did a show on Fondue.

I think you know where this is going!

Now, I was born in the 70's, so I feel confident in my ability to share the fun of Fondue with my Caterpillars. Not that we even owned a Fondue pot as of Friday morning, but by Friday afternoon - we were on the plus side of Fondue ownership in my house.

B10 came with me to the store to choose Fondue ingredients and dippers. We decided to do cheese (even though I couldn't eat it) and broth for cooking chicken. I was very proud of B10 choosing to try celery for the first time.

Both he and CW were eager to eat the new cheeses: Gruyere and Edme. They helped me very carefully melt the cheese, and we went over basic Fondue etiquette.

Did you know that if you drop a piece of food in the pot, you're suppose to kiss the person on your left? (Or buy the table a round of drinks, but we stuck with kissing for the underaged Caterpillars!)

Can you tell by the stuffed cheeks that they enjoyed the Fondue immensely?

I liked cooking the chicken, but it's wasn't a quick process. We needed the hard sausage for the cheese course, because they never would have gotten enough meat out of the chicken broth course!

Next time we are trying chocolate Fondue for dessert. I want Cookie to come over and eat with us, she had been out of town for over a week, and we missed her very much.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

A New Sunday Lunch

Hubby has a favorite Mexican resturant that we've never eaten at as a family. Being allergic to all dairy products puts a damper on Mexican in my life in general, but he was feeling pretty eager a couple of weeks ago to introduce the Caterpillars to this "favorite place".




Here they are waiting for a seat. We arrived as soon as they opened and were the first family seated. Yay for us! Hot chips and salsa!

B10, of course, had to try the guac - he loved it, but kept telling us how he would alter the recipe. He cracks me up!

B10 loved the tacos. CW had a chicken burrito, which he enjoyed. Neither boy liked the black beans, but that gave Hubby a nice chips and toppings plate to take for lunch on Monday.



I had an okay lunch. The chips were delicious, but Mexican (again, because lack of dairy is pretty serious in Mexican food) just isn't my cup of tea. I can see the Caterpillars learning to love it, though and visit often with Hubby!


~Lone Butterfly )i(

So There Was This Party...

I've talked about the party in a previous post. And Edelweiss has talked about it a couple of times.

But here are a couple of my photos from the event.

Edelweiss made us the really cool shirts. THANK YOU!

Yum. Chocolate covered strawberries. Now I'm hungry for fondue again...

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Playing Catch-Up

I found a bunch of pictures on my camera from July, when the Caterpillars were gone. I figure the easiest thing to do will be to upload each event one and a time, and blog as I go.

It'll be JUST LIKE I blogged for the entire month of July, and all ya'll forgot to check my blog.

One of my favorite Mondays in July was when BooSheep brought Little Sheep out to our local park attraction. Granddaddy and Minnie Mouse came down to visit (bringing a new GPS device for Hubby and I) and they loved taking us all out to the park.

We spent the first hour playing at the large playground. I got to go up into the play structure with Little Sheep and we had a blast together.

I also found this crazy cool skink, that B10 is very excited about, even though all he got was this photo.

After the playground we spent some time wandering through the shops and watching a couple of shows. Lunch was at my favorite resturant where they serve yeast rolls, fried dill pickles, and cinnamon fries (among other things).

As you can see, Little Sheep is as equally enthralled with Granddaddy's food as he is with his own. Granddaddy had fried okra! The face you see is Little Sheep begging for more fried okra to appear in his mouth! :)

Before Little Sheep went home to take his afternoon nap we went to the Backyard Circus. Little Sheep was more befuddled that impressed, I think.

After the Sheeps left for naptime, Granddaddy, Minnie Mouse, and I rode the train, did a little geocaching, and some highwire harness work. It was a great day, in a great place.

~Lone Butterfly )i(