Mad Scientist

This little inquisitive thing captured a caterpillar yesterday. Or I should say, a "caller-piller". Who was subsequently named... "Calla".

Caterpillars, we discovered, do not eat hard corn kernels. Or grass. Or rocks.

Despite their squishy appearance and general snake-like characteristics... they also don't swim. A theory has been floated about the size of their legs in proportion to their bodies and their rather sluggish attempts at movement.

IF your "pet" caller-piller chooses (is dumped into) to swim (sink) in the pool (bathroom sink), it will need to "rest" (go gently into that good night) in a curled position until it dries out (up). The good news is that the next morning, your caller-piller will be so well-rested that she will have crawled away (been scooped up) to greener pastures (the compost pile).

Did You Know....

.... that one 4 year old girl can, in the space of 10 minutes,

* empty every drawer in her dresser looking for a swimsuit?
* partially eat, and scatter the remainder of, three bananas?
* spill contraband chocolate milk on her carpet?
* spill contraband chocolate pudding on her carpet... and track it around the room?
* empty out the domino container and leave at least one domino in every room in the house?
* get an unidentifiable sticky something in her hair?
* paint her toenails and adjacent digits with the nail polish you haven't been able to find in six weeks?
* make her mother long for a glass of wine and silence? Sweet silence.
* Say "I love you more" so sweetly that the previous ten minutes might not have happened?

Summer Lovin'

Summertime loves:
Sundresses and lipgloss
Strappy sandals
Ice cold watermelon
Hot boiled peanuts
Fresh veggies
9 p.m. sunsets
Heat lightening
Choc. Chip Mint ice cream (of course)
Popsicles
Butterflies
Crepe Myrtles in bloom
Thunderstorms

I have to point out the loves, because the big hate is the heat. We are hitting the 100's this weekend (103F/42C) tomorrow and I have offered to sell Rob's Star Wars collection in exchange for a trip to the arctic.

We're BAAACCCCKKKKK!

Yay! The best thing about a vacation is coming home. The dog was thrilled to see us. I'm sure she thought we'd fallen off the face of the earth, despite a very full food dish and multiple water dishes to keep her fed and watered while we were away.

Our trip to Wild Adventures certainly was an adventure! The GPS kept changing it's mind about the directions and we added a few miles to our course along the way. Post-baby bladders aren't built for long road trips in sparsely populated (meaning very few bathroom opportunities) places. Each pit stop was greeted with sighs of relief and a mad dash to the bathroom. One tiny store in the middle of nowhere apparently catered to all of the needs of it's citizens as it featured the usual beer, candy, chips, newspapers, magazines... and a "lifestyle" dispenser in the one unisex bathroom. Luckily the smallest one can't read and the ADD one was lost in a daydream and never inquired about goat weed and it's herbal cure for certain male dysfunctions or the other 'items' available for only 75 cents each.

It took us four hours plus to get from our house to the hotel and the kids decided the long, boring drive during which stretches of millions of pine trees were broken up by the occasional intersection of country roads and small towns, was worth it once they got a peek at the pool... and the pizza parlor next door. Pizza first, then pool workout to burn off pizza calories. Our hotel also featured a gym, so Rob set the alarm (after I tried to set the alarm, but instead changed the time by about 6 hours), and I got up and went downstairs to workout. I rushed back up so Rob could go down and squeeze in a workout... but he decided to sleep an extra 30 minutes instead. Slacker.

While I sweated on the elliptical machine watching the morning news, the weather forecast scrolled across the screen: 96 degree Fahrenheit... heat index to hit 100. Great day to spend outdoors... all... day.... long.... don't you think?

Since we like to keep things up-tempo and dramatic, we started the day by losing Rob's blackberry. His work-issued Blackberry. We called the number. No Answer. Rob and his dad went on a hunt, back-tracking every step of the morning. I called the number again, and someone answered! The lost had been found. Phew. NOW we're ready to adventure! Rob tried to pay for our $7 parking fee with a $50 bill... which the parking attendant couldn't accept, so we scrounged up 6 singles and enough change for the $7. Luckily we had a buy two tickets, get 1 free coupon, so our park tickets only cost us $30 each. Good thing we had that discount. Little did we know we had just purchased our way into the land of $3 bottles of water and $4 cokes the size of a 12 ounce can.... $35 for a hamburger/fries lunch for 4 (2 kid-sized portions included)... on the hottest day yet of the summer.

I now have a new get rich plan! Build an amusement park, charge modest admission, but don't allow any outside drinks/food, etc. inside and charge insanely high prices for said food and drinks inside the park. Brilliant, huh?

Any who... J.T. LOVED the animals.... black bears, alligators, birds, snakes, tigers, elephants, giraffes... all of which were rescue animals or retired circus animals... (we had to stop through the Alapaha preserve on the way out to say good bye to the alligators) and Abby was enamored with the magic show and safari train ride. We walked for miles in 100 degree weather, sweating like marathon runners and sucking down $3 bottles of water and sharing the $6 souvenir cup (only $2 for refills all day, anywhere in the park) while trying to keep up with Abby (we only briefly lost track of her once) from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. before retreating to the hotel and its nice, cool pool.

The kids loved it, the adults survived and the washing machine is back to it's normal never-ending cycle. And the dog is lavishing us with happy whines of delight to remind us that we were missed and loved.

P.S. I will post pictures tomorrow. I can't find the thingy that connects the camera to the computer to upload the photos and I'm far too tired to search for it now.

Vacation Week

The view from the backseat:




Day 1 of Vacation begins for Rob and I today. We have led up to a week of off days with a hectic weekend schedule that included a haircut for the boy, a pre-trip shopping excursion, cleaning and laundry duties, car maintenance and garden upkeep (my tomatoes have been ruined by bugs)! J.T. had a swim party for a friend and I came home with a vicious headache and went straight to bed.

This morning we left the house at 9 a.m. to get J.T.'s vaccinations updated before meeting my sister and her boys at Splash in the Boro. We have walked in the door a scant few minutes and I still have to clean their ears with alcohol so we don't run into any issues with swimmers' ears. Rob cleaned out and washed my car, poor fellow, while we were gone... and took it by for a car wash for a thin coat of wax (Mr. Details is dictating this bit over my shoulder right now).

Tomorrow we have our annual Anniversary Trip to Savannah. The 11th time we've made this trip. He has a list, I have a list... the car is gassed up and ready, babysitting plans have been set, the bank run completed.

Wednesday we leave for Wild Adventures. Part zoo, part amusement park, part water playground... what's not to love? Something for everyone. This is our first big car trip with Abby. Valdosta is a 4 hour drive from Statesboro.... and she is the child who thought her Easter bucket was a throw up bucket for the car and was quite excited by the idea of trading the plain one for a pink one with eggs on it. We haven't had a car sick episode in several months... so.... fingers crossed!

We return Friday. I know you'll miss me. Aunty Evil may need medication just to get through the week. Actually it's just Abby, her "proxy child" she'll miss. Probably sending her evil vibes as I type, to make sure my vacation doesn't get too dull. So if you don't hear from me until the weekend, don't be surprised. I'll take pictures for show and tell later.

Variety Pack

Last week I told my sweet boy that I loved him so much I wouldn't trade him for 6 more just like him! He said: "I bet you wouldn't even trade me for a pony!" His sister said: "I'd trade you for a pony!"

He thinks she's kidding.

Friday I got stopped for speeding (53 mph in a 35 mph zone... oops). The wonderfully polite police officer who stopped me asked if I was having a nice day (bit my tongue on a sarcastic comment, but did manage to say with a smile... Not really).

When I got home, J.T. asked me if "Bad is Good." I said: "No. Bad costs you." He said: "How much?" Me: "$177.50 (the speeding fine for 53 mph in a 35 mph zone). J.T.: "How much can I get for $28?"

In news of the organic gardening, I'm wondering if spray-free gardening is more trouble than it's worth! The weeds are sprouting up far more quickly than the vegetables at this point and squeezing in a couple hours with the hoe is really difficult. Okay, maybe it's not a time thing. Who actually LIKES to hoe? I thought of asking (and by asking I mean begging/bribing/paying outrageous money) the small fries to do it, but they are of questionable work ethic/attention spans and I'd just end up paying them for 2 minutes worth of "work" and then have to do it myself.

Meanwhile, back at Gym Cannady, Rob is instructing me on body sculpting via light weight training (believe it or not, we have been argument free despite the fact that he is giving me direction and I am not in charge). I have also added running to my workout. I managed almost a mile without dying or coughing up any vital internal organs. There was lots of sweating though, which I dislike strongly.

No pain, no gain, huh?

Next week, we'll be on vacation to Wild Adventures in Valdosta. First big road trip with Miss Abby, of carsick fame. Thank you Lord for the portable DVD player and the ipod!