This past Sunday was bittersweet for Hubby and I.
As you can see from previous posts, we had a very enjoyable afternoon with the Caterpillars, but the morning was spent as our last at our church.
The Caterpillars sang in their choir, two beautiful songs, that made me very glad we had chosen to be there that morning.
However, after the service was over, Hubby and I left knowing it was our last Sunday at this church. We will begin next week a search that could take weeks or months. Until we find a new home, the Caterpillars will continue to go with my Mum, Cookie, on Sunday mornings. I don't particularly want to expose them to teaching that I don't have any knowledge about.
And until December, the Caterpillars will continue to go to our old church on Wednesday nights - the Kids Choir will preform a Christmas Musical and they are already practicing. I feel like it's not fair to pull them out right now.
The church we've been attending is a good church. It's teaching is solid and the Senior Pastor manages to actually try and understand modern issues. However, we didn't feel comfortable there for a couple of pretty big personal reasons.
My two biggest regrets are that I'll not be with my Mum. She's one of my closest friends and I love that the Caterpillars get to spend so much time with her. Second, I love serving in the Media Ministry. In 2006 I gave the presentations on the software program that was installed, and since October of that year I have been pretty much the person sitting in the booth running the screens every Sunday morning (and preparing them every week).
But as much as I loved my 2 years in this Ministry, it was at the point where Hubby and I couldn't even worship together. That, coupled with the other personal reasons, have led us to our new church search. I know deep in my heart that there is a good place for Hubby and I, our Caterpillars, and the little Larva.
I am hopeful that we will find this new home quickly.
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Our Royal Friends are receiving a new pop-up camper and have offered us theirs at a very affordable rate (like...free), so we went over to eat pizza and enjoy their company while checking out how to set up the pop-up.
We ended up playing before and after the pizza arrived, finally putting it away when it was time to pop-up the camper.
It's great days like this that remind me how much I love Scouting.
Friday, September 26, 2008
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I've been out of the loop on TV for the entire week, and sat down tonight to watch my shows (almost 10 hours of stuff to see) - and as I began my most anticipated Season Premiere (Criminal Minds) - my worst TV fear was realized...
For those of you who don't follow the show, it ended last season with pretty much every main character climbing into a black FBI SUV - then the final shot was an abrupt cutaway as an unidentifable black SUV blew up.
I've waited 3 months to find out who was inside that SUV and how this was all going to end.
The stupid DVR taped exactly one hour of TV, which would have been perfect IF the leader of the free world (and I mean this all in the least political charged way possible) hadn't talked for 20 minutes...
So, if you watch Criminal Minds, PLEASE tell me what happened? Or point me towards a comprehensive recap?
This seriously did not improve my week.
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tired? Frustrated? Need a good laugh?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Late last night I was lying in bed, Hubby was taking the trash out, while the Caterpillars were cleaning up their rooms, when I felt the Larva move from the outside.
I normally lay on my side with my hands on my tummy, mostly to protect myself from Bathsheba who likes to jump and land on the Larva. (She use to squish B10 and then the surrogate Larva all the time.) I was watching the Cowboys beat the Packers (yeah - I'm still not impressed with ya'll getting rid of Farve...) when all of the sudden a huge poke came from inside.
I called out for Hubby, which brought the Caterpillars running. B10 went to find Hubby, while CW climbed up on the bed beside me. He laid both his little hands on my stomach and very quickly felt the push of his baby Larva.
He looked right up at me and said: "It's alive! Mummy, our baby is alive!"
I forget sometimes that this is really his first experience with me pregnant where he's been old enough to understand. He was only 3 1/2 when I had the Girl Larva.
Hubby came in, after B10 found him, and was able to feel a little movement before the Larva stopped playing for the night.
I'm pretty sure he was saying the same thing in his mind that CW was saying outloud.
Pretty cool, eh?
Yeah, I thought so, too.
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Saturday, September 20, 2008
My camera broke.
Again.
Really, I think it lived a good life, since four months ago it had a head-on collision with a very hard tile floor. The tiny little door that holds the batteries in just gave way today.
Hubby would like us to get another "in-between" camera, to use until December 2009 - when I will be able to get the camera I want (ie: spend close to $1,000).
Here are the two options I am seriously considering. Both are Kodak EasyShare Digitals, sold at Sam's Club for under $200.
10MP Kodak EasyShare Z1085 IS
12MP Kodak EasyShare Z1285
I'm leaning towards the slightly less expensive 12MP, because I'm not that interested in such a high ISO right now, but would like the higher megapixel quality. Also, the 10MP requires Lithium batteries, while the 12MP requires AA.
Whichever one we pick, I just need this camera to LAST!
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Thursday, September 18, 2008
I've only watched this episode once, so I'm sure I'll have more to say after I see it again - however I love Peter Bishop more and more every time he comes on the screen.
The "row, row, row your boat" part at the end made me swoon... **flutters eyelashes**
Now, can we talk for a moment about the "objects" that appear before each commercial break.
We've seen the rotating leaf (is it maple?) and if you look closely you can see a triangle "drawn" on it. This is the same leaf at Massive Dynamics Lab on the clearance panel.
There are six symbols total from the first and second episodes:
1) six fingered hand
2) frog with the Phi symbol on it's back
3) apple with human embryos as the seeds
4) the rotating leaf w/the triangle (Massive Dynamics)
5) the daisy with one opaque petal (and if I counted - I would bet it is replacing more than one petal throwing off the Fibonacci number for the daisy) - This was the "new" symbol introduced in the second episode.
And finally:
6) the butterfly - Which I have freeze-framed and cannot figure out the "different/creepiness" of. It's the only one that is distracting me...the wing patterns sort of look like human skeleton hands, but not exactly, and the three tips at the bottom sort of look weird, but not different enough to be "wrong". Does anybody else see something I'm missing? Oddly, it's also the only symbol to only be shown once during the series premiere.
To note the hand and the butterfly were not shown in the second episode and the daisy was not shown in the first episode.
In the "next episode" clip at the end of the show there was a RAPID flipping through the symbols in this order:
1) six fingered hand
2) maple(?) leaf (the triangle is VERY clear in this photo)
3) embryo-seed apple (large shot)
4) embryo-seed apple (small image)
Then the clip continues before one more one second (or less) shot of the small image of the embryo-seed apple.
Funny - Hubby (who hasn't watched the show yet) was sitting with me watching me flip through my DVR to make sure I had this post in order, and keep saying there was a floating light behind each symbol. I nodded absentmindedly - until he also caught a quick scene in the "next week's preview" where Walter is holding a pin light flashlight up to the camera, in an eerie representation of the "floating light".
Thoughts? Conspiracy theories?
Saves lives:
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
You can visit this site daily and click on the link ("donate for free" pink button in the middle). Corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of clicks to donate mammograms in exchange for advertisements.
It literally could not be easier to potentially help save a woman's life.
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Warning - this post is not for the squeamish, however I was deeply disturbed last night, and feel like I have to get this out of my heart and head if I want to move on.
Hubby and I were having a discussion while sitting on our bed (the Caterpillars were running around moving towards their bed) and he asked me to look on my computer to find a picture of a baby at 18 weeks. He wanted to see what our little Larva was looking like.
So he moves closer and I open up google images and type in "18 week fetus", because I don't tend to hang out on pregnancy sites and I don't have a familiar standby.
Half of the images on the first page were of aborted infants. It was horrifying and sad. The shock value that the photographers (and web page owners) were going for was totally lost on me. I had to search quickly to find one picture that would answer Hubby's questions and not make me ill.
I understand that people from both sides of the debate use photos to prove their points, but really - and I'm speaking directly to those who call themselves "Pro-Life" - are you trying to guilt a woman AFTER an abortion by showing her what she's done? Or should you be trying to PREVENT the tragedy - in which case I ask you to show photos of the LIVE BABIES sucking their tiny thumbs and kicking their tiny feet.
If anyone has a website they can recommend for me to look at in later weeks, rather than have to search again, please leave it in the comments. I would like to avoid repeating this experience.
~Lone Butterfly )i(
ETA: Two friends also suggested the following websites in emails:
http://pregnancy.about.com/od/fetus/a/uswbw.htm
http://www.babycenter.com
http://whattoexpect.com
Thanks sister-in-law, Happy One, and my friend, WB. You're both awesome! :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Larva and I had our 16 week checkup and things are moving along wonderfully! Hubby came with us, while the Caterpillars stayed with Cookie on Monday morning.
I'm measuring perfectly, which is good to know and I've gained 5 pounds in the last 5 weeks. This brings me to a net weight gain of 1 pound since the beginning of the pregnancy. I've been sick to my stomach, but keeping down food after most meals.
There was the one bit of annoyance, when they asked me (for the third time) if I was sure we didn't want the AFP testing done. I understand they have to ask everyone, but it makes me super grouchy to have to sign a sheet of paper THREE DIFFERENT TIMES telling them to keep their DNA/Genetic testing away from my belly!
The exciting part was finding out that our "Anatomy Ultrasound" will be on October 6th. The Caterpillars will get to come with us, as we find out if we are welcoming a Girl Larva or a Boy Larva to our family!
Yay! I'm so happy we are moving right along! :D
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Monday, September 8, 2008
B10 is a Bear Cub Scout. We (I am his Den Leader) had a minor disappointment in that none of our new boys showed up, but B10 really showed he's matured in the last 2 years - it's hard to believe that he was once a little Tiger Cub who couldn't sit still for 5 minutes at a time. We had a great time learning about transfat, vitamins and minerals, and calories, all while making trail mix.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
I began knitting a green scarf last Saturday (August 30th) and I have already completed two and am working on my third.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
B10 raced into the house SCREAMING with excitement this weekend.
It seems he found this next to our trash can.
Isn't she beautiful? She was almost 6 inches from tip to tip. We never saw her mate (and B10 was watching), but we did get to see her catch a grasshopper.
I found it a bit ironic that once the grasshopper was caught and stuck in her web, she wrapped it up like a burrito, then went back to the center to wait for it to die and be ready to eat.
This took 42 minutes. I know this because B10 sat and watched the entire circle of life from 3 feet away.
I just love my oldest Caterpillar.
~Lone Butterfly )i(
Friday, September 5, 2008
CW loves trips to the Home Depot, even when there isn't enough room for him in the car afterwards!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Because tonight was the biggest night on television, at least this week.
No, I'm not talking about the RNC - although I've heard that was pretty big.
I'm not talking about the second running of the Series Premiere of 90210 - although as a child of the 1980's/1990's it certianly is important.
I'm talking about this:
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
All hail football season. For many, many years, if you had asked me my favorite sport, I would have said Professional Baseball. Followed closely by College Football, then Professional Hockey, then Track and Field, then almost everything else. At the very bottom of the list would have been Professional Football and ANY form of Basketball.
When Peyton (and then Eli) moved into Pro Football, I began to watch quite a bit more frequently. I had followed their games every since they were old enough to have games televised. Super Bowl last year was beyond thrilling for me. So last night's NFL opener was the only thing on my television.
CW and I watched the entire 1st half (and most of the 3rd quarter) together, before he went off to bed. He very much enjoyed the Giants versus the "bad guys", once he figured out it was Eli and not Peyton (in the 6 year old's defense, they both wear blue). And he was equally excited to know this morning that the Giants won 16 to 7, a nice clean victory for our Super Bowl MVP.
Hopefully Sunday we'll make it home in time to watch Peyton's first game together. I love watching Peyton with him, because he insists on calling the Colts the "Horseys", and I'm sure the Bears will become the "bad guys" for that game.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful evening, even if it didn't include a Manning.
~Lone Butterfly )i(