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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

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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(

A Sunday in September - Part Two

Sunday, September 28, 2008

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After our Yellow River Game Ranch jaunt, Queen invited us back to their house to see the pop-up camper.

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.

I have no pictures of that - but, right after we arrived all the children were outside playing, while King and Hubby were sitting in the living room chatting, Queen leaned over to me and asked me if I wanted to put on my shoes and do something "cool and fun".

Now, pregnant or not, I'm always up for fun, so I threw on my tennis shoes and followed her down to the basement were this was waiting for me:

Oh, this was incredible. Anyone who has never ridden a Segway has no idea the level of fun and excitement happening here!



I had one minor accident, during my first dismount, but was quickly up to the intermediate level.

Hubby also enjoyed learning how to use the Segway, he learned from King.

We ended up playing before and after the pizza arrived, finally putting it away when it was time to pop-up the camper.

The Caterpillars LOVED being allowed to eat outside in the Royal Treehouse/Fort. Plus, they got juice boxes (instead of water) and really thought God had smiled on them tonight.

Other than my little boo-boo (and sneezy nose from the Game Ranch), it's been a good day. I haven't had a lot of good days lately, I even managed to keep all my food down!

One week til we find out if it's a Girl Larva or a Boy Larva! (Then, baby Larva will actually get it's own name!)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

A Sunday in September - Part One

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This afternoon the Cub Scout Pack went to the Yellow River Game Ranch.

We had about 15 boys attend and both CW and B10 had a new boy in their Den show up.
That's right - B10 has another boy in his Den! We haven't been to the Game Ranch in over a year, not that it has changed much. My brand new camera got a pile of Deer-Doe Spit on it (does it smell like carrot?) and the bunny hutch gave me a pretty rough allergic reaction (hard to breathe and my eyes wanted to swell a little).
Overall, though, I really enjoyed meeting both of the new Mums and spending time with my good friend, Queen. She had brought Prince and Princess by herself, as King needed to stay home - he wasn't feeling well.

I wish the gasoline "crisis" was past, as I know at least 2 families had to stay home, because they couldn't make the drive. Hopefully on our next outing, we'll have more boys - this time it was great to have so many siblings and parents join in.

It's great days like this that remind me how much I love Scouting.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

ACK!

Friday, September 26, 2008

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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(

Poopy Fun

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I have had a rather poopy week and one of the (very few) darling people I work with took time out of her day to make me a card.



She's a rather nifty card maker, as she free-handed all this jazz. But the inside comment was hilarious and perfect for my poopy week.

"The Butterfly and flower are made of elephant poop - proving that even the crappiest situations - literally - have some potential for future use. Even if that future use is ammunition to get you through some pretty rough days, anger and frustration are certainly motivating forces."

Elephant poop. Elephant poop butterflies and flowers.

Tee hee hee - now that actually makes me laugh.

~Lone Butterfly (not made of elephant poop) )i(

If I Could Call In Sick...

Thursday, September 25, 2008

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Tired? Frustrated? Need a good laugh?


May I recommend icanhazcheezburger.com.

Here is a brief sample, beginning with my excuse for calling in sick:



~Lone Butterfly )i(

18 Week Belly Shot

Monday, September 22, 2008

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I've been asked by a few people who don't live close, and while I never took the photos with the others, I thought I would try to this time. (Assuming I can remember.)

Here is my 18 week belly picture. I've gained a total of about 4 pounds, which is great considering I lost the 7 pounds in the beginning.

Yes, that's a tattoo - I have two. I have taken out my belly button ring, but that's only because CW thought it was hurting the Larva, and at the time it seemed easier to just remove the offending jewelry than try to explain the Larva can't feel anything.
Oh - and the picture - with my new camera!
~Lone Butterfly )i(

With Wonder and Awe

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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(

I Cannot Believe We Are Doing This Again -

Saturday, September 20, 2008

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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(

FRINGE - Episode 2 (Heavy on the Symbols)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

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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?

A Click A Day -

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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(

Happy Evening Gone Horribly Wrong -

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

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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! :)

FRINGE

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

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So last night I watched one of the shows I've been anticipating since I heard J.J. Abrams was rolling out another hour-long weekly adventure for the masses. Those who have known me for quite a while can attest to ALIAS being my favorite show of all time. In it's 5 year run, I never missed an episode (including the week I was on a Disney Cruise Ship). I have also enjoyed LOST and likely would have enjoyed Felicity, had it involved some sort of explosion or guns.

That being said - I liked Fringe more than ALIAS. Here is the main reason why:

Things I loved:

1) The Graphics: awesome, awesome, awesome... I am a huge critic of things like credits and intro-commercial graphics and I was super pleased with Fringe. Very simple credits (made me think of LOST), but when they went from location to location the name would appear in big letters. What I thought was cool was even when the camera followed the actors, it was like the letters never disappeared. Very nifty.

2) Joshua Jackson. I only glanced at Dawson's Creek when it was on (see reasons for non-watching of Felicity), but have always been a huge fan of his Pacey (and the movie The Skulls) and I thought his portrayal of Peter Bishop is amazing. This is before we even discuss his eyes.


3) Fringe Science in general. It's fascinating stuff! The geek in me enjoyed the plot lines and the explanations that were just logical enough to make sense - if you squinted.

I won't go into any more of the show, in order not to spoil the plot. I've only heard one person say they hated it - this person has never watched an episode of LOST or ALIAS, so I'm not sure they understood who (or what) J.J. Abrams is. Suffice to say, if those shows aren't your cup of tea, this won't be also.

But if you're one of the people who enjoys the water cooler discussions about the Dharma Initiative or SD-6, then make sure you watch on Sunday - so we can meet back here to talk about the revolving leaf at Massive Dynamics on Monday morning!

You can watch the pilot episode here, or catch it on your local FOX channel Sunday Night (the pilot will also include the first 4 minutes of episode 2).

~Lone Butterfly )i(

16 Week Checkup

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

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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(

Cub Scouting Begins Again

Monday, September 8, 2008

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This was a big Sunday for us, because it's the first time that the entire family officially had Cub Scouting going on.

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.

CW is that little Tiger Cub Scout this year. He's already made friends and loves to announce that Hubby is his Den Leader. He got to play marbles and generally be the welcome wagon for all the boys new to Cub Scouting.

Prince was there also, but I had a hard time getting a shot of his face! :)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

This Post is Late :(

Sunday, September 7, 2008

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I really should have posted this last week, as Edelweiss spent a lot of time working on a present for me - and our birthdays aren't even until November.

Many times she brings treats to work; cupcakes, biscotti, cake, all sorts of delicious goodies. However, most of the time I am either allergic to the treats, or allergic to something in the treats. So she thoughtfully has been searching for a totally vegan cupcake.

Now, I've never had a vegan cupcake, nor have I ever had a red velvet cupcake. Usually those have a cream cheese frosting, from one of my VERY allergic food groups.

So when she came in on Friday morning with a pan of red velvet vegan cupcakes, with a soy milk glaze frosting...I was both shocked and in heaven.

They were delicious. And I am eternally grateful to have a friend who loves to cook, and enjoys the challenge of trying to create something yummy for me so I don't feel left out.

Did you see the special Lone Butterfly Cupcake? ;)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Hey! Look What I Learned!

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So I bought myself a Knifty Knitter, upon recommendation from a friend at work. She claimed it would help me easily knit all sorts of wonderful things.

I began knitting a green scarf last Saturday (August 30th) and I have already completed two and am working on my third.

Here, Edelweiss is beautifully modeling my lovely stripped green scarf. I'm keeping it for myself, though she and I found the round Knifty Knitter on CLEARANCE (70% off!) and so she's working on one right now.

I love feeling crafty - and finishing said crafts! Plus, even though the booklet says it's for ages 9 to 99, both B10 and CW love helping. Three cheers to anything that gets them to SIT STILL!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

More Things Appearing In My Yard

Saturday, September 6, 2008

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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(

Looking Back

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I have been going through old files at work, so I can clear space off my hard drive - and I came upon this picture of the Caterpillars.

It's one of those rare pictures where you can see each Caterpillar's entire personality shine through. Every time I look at it, I get a little teary-eyed, because I can just imagine them making the same poses, but being 10 years old and 3 feet taller.

I just love their individuality.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Silly CW

Friday, September 5, 2008

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Cookie is helping me organize everything before the Larva arrives and we took a trip to the Home Depot today to pick up a few of the large cabinets for my homeschooling supplies.

CW loves trips to the Home Depot, even when there isn't enough room for him in the car afterwards!


Here you can see the "fort" he built to hide himself. Lucky for us - otherwise we might have had to leave him there to get everything else home. ;)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Working is Hard...

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One of our department is leaving us this week - and we've had a bit of fun on her last days here with us.

Sometimes (though it's very rare) I do enjoy what I do all day long...

~Lone Butterfly )i(

And So It Begins...

Thursday, September 4, 2008

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I had to work late today, nothing major, but nothing fun either. I ended up getting home around 6 p.m., which is just enough time to take a quick bath and snuggle down in front of the TV to knit

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(