Autumn

Oh Autumn. You exist purely to mock me. The new season has just begun and here we are, right back where we left off last year at the same time. Sick and bored. And sick of being sick and bored.

First up, cold season is getting off to a bang. Abby just got over her first cold of the season and she passed it gracefully on to me by wiping her nose on my cheek. Yuck. Josh naturally got passed. I don't know what his parents did to him growing up, but he has one heck of an immune system. Alex seemed to be free of the germ, hopefully indicating his immune system improving from his first two years. But this morning, he has woke up with a snotty nose. Okay. So it's clear snot right now. That could mean allergies, but with all the meds he is on, I am anticipating a cold. Apparently the kids got my immune system, dang it. Looks like it's about time for another round of home disinfecting.

And now to the bored situation. I have a nearing three-year old and a one and a half year old. We all know that the energy level of children past the age of one just goes up until they reach their lazy teen years. So now we have the colder days setting in for the long haul. Not only does Autumn mock me with the constant chill in the air but daylight savings time further strips away what little time we get to spend outside. Soon, our days will be forced inside by 5:00. That isn't even dinner time! What on earth are you supposed to do in a tiny two bedroom house for four and a half hours every evening? I mean, you can only play with play-doh so much. You know what I mean? And to make the entire situation worse, the kids were so used to play dates with best pal Wesley at least twice a week. Now with new baby Greta in the house, we are on quarantine indefinitely. I fear by the time we get to see them again, Greta will be crawling and Wesley will have forgotten us entirely. It makes me sad. I only pray that we are all well for Alex's 3rd birthday party. I fear that he will have zero attendees this year and as excited as he is for his birthday, that may end in devastation.

Then, as the cherry on the top, there is the fall allergy season. Poor Alex can't go five feet outside without a constant drain of clear snot dripping from one nostril. Poor kid. Allergies are truly mother natures form of torture. Even with mass medication, he can't seem to shake the nose drippys. Abby even gets the tell tale clear drippys from time to time when we go outside.

I don't know. I suppose I am merely spoiled by the beauty of spring and summer and all the joyous times it brings. Ahhh...summer. Oh how I miss your sweltering heat and high air conditioning bills. Come back soon, please. We miss you dearly. Take a good look at the picture on the tops folks. That's about all you'll get to see of us until the winter quarantine is lifted. Too bad they haven't invented a real world version of the sci-fi hyper-sleep. I think I might be tempted to sign us up for the winter months when they do.

The Void

Lately I've been getting to leave the house without kids more often. Okay, so maybe 'often' is the wrong word here. I've actually only got to leave about three times without kids in tow over the last few weeks. But still, it's alone time, right? The funny thing about being alone, is that when you are so used to having someone there, when they are gone you feel a void. I enjoy my alone time just as much as anyone, but sometimes, it just feel strange.

The other day, I went to the store by my little ol' self. I decided that with Abby being sick, it might be nicer to go without the kids for a change. It can be exhausting wiping a nose the whole way. Not to mention I was thinking it might be nice to not spread the germs. So I hopped in my trusty mini-van and headed out. It was nice at first. Listening to grown-up music. No screaming. No packing of the snacks. No constant entertaining. No diaper bag. But then, the longer I was out, I realized I felt the void of their absence. I ended up calling Josh twice just to have someone to chat to. It was weird. I mean, don't get me wrong. I do need the occasional break from the kids. But generally, I take that break with another person like Josh or my friend, Mandy.

All in all, it was a good couple of trips out, but I don't think I will complain about toting the kids with me even at their most annoying times. Because when they aren't there bugging the snot out of me, I miss them still. Apparently, when you leave the kids at home, you just can't seem to avoid the void.

Nose Woes

As the kids grow, I notice that the dangers you have to look out for don't disappear. They merely shift into knew zones. At first you worry that they won't wake up, then you worry that they will never go to sleep. You worry that they are gaining enough weight, then you worry if they are gaining too much. And then, you worry about what they put in their mouths that they shouldn't. A choking hazard, something poisonous, something utterly disgusting. What I never really thought I would be worrying about was what they would be putting up their nose. Ugh...now there are nose hazards to worry about? What is that all about? Just when I thought that worrying about Alex putting things where they don't belong were over, he goes and puts a rock up his nose. Pardon me while I take a moment to roll my eyes...

*Insert obvious eye roll here*

Okay. That's better. So yesterday, we were outside enjoying the beautiful morning. Abby was aimlessly wandering around and Alex was innocently playing in the sandbox. I looked over at Alex and he had a finger all the way up his nose. I did the mom thing and said, "Alex, get your finger out of your nose." He gave me one of those I-did-something-that-I-shouldn't-have-done looks and I immediately knew that something was amiss. I asked him what he did and he said, "I put a rock in my nose." (At least he's honest about it, right?) At first I didn't believe him, but he started crying and his nose starting running on the opposite nostril. I looked up his nose, and sure enough! There was a big black rock stuck as high up as he could push it. I felt my heart start panicking. What the heck do you do when a rock is up the nose? I thought about cocoa puffs. The rule for cereal up the nose is 'crunch and blow'. But a rock doesn't exactly crunch, does it? So I tried to pinch it out and had him blow at the same time. Amidst the crying and blowing, I think the snot slimed up the rock enough that it came shooting out. It popped out into my hand and Alex, being a typical almost-three-year old, starting giggling. He thought it was hilarious. I told him to never put anything up his nose. At this point, nose picking is no longer my biggest concern. Germs, schmerms...I'd take a finger up the nose over a rock any day of the week.

The Zoo: Part 2

There really isn't too awful much to say today. I simply wanted to share some more photos of our zoo outing. I'll save the mindless ramblings for another day. Enjoy!

This is quite possibly the best picture I have ever gotten of my two little monkeys. And they are posing on a monkey (orangutan, to be precise) sculpture. Classic! This has 'Christmas present' written all over it.

Grandma (my mom) and the kiddos, posin' on the statue. I love it! Maybe I need to
Photoshop Grandpa in there. Hmmm...

Other than the reflection of Abby's pink shoe, It almost looks like they are standing next to the sleeping lion.

Alex standing next to 'the old mine shaft'. Funny thing. He actually asked me to take his picture here. This zoo does a great job with the exhibits and making you feel like you are actually in Africa.

Another one of my finer photos of the day. You would almost think that this was taken in the wild. The gorillas were pretty nifty. Very active that day.

Dad and the kiddos in the bamboo.

And finally, the journey back to the van. And they are each clutching gift-shop finds. That is a huge stuffed snake and some little plastic Australian animals that Alex is gripping and a stuffed tiger for miss Abby. To date, they are nearly inseparable.

The Zoo: Part 1

This past weekend we had the pleasure of going to the zoo. Actually, this is the second time that the kids and I have been there this year, but Alex has been begging to go again for quite some time. So, lucky for us, we had a chance to go for free. And of course, there's no better way to go than on another person's dime. Part of the perks of the Union that Josh is in, are the social outings that they pay for. We even got to take grandparents for free. Unfortunately, my dad (aka: Grandpa), couldn't make it. He had a some pretty bad knee pain. But Grandma got to go and the kids were thrilled! I think my mom was thrilled too. She reverts to a kid when she goes to places like this. It's awesome that she has such a youthful soul. It was a blast. The kids are a great age to enjoy all the zoo has to offer. Alex had a few animals in mind that he was set on seeing from the beginning and Abby was just happy to get to run amok through the exhibits. We even got a free lunch, courtesy of the Union. The thing with the lunch that I almost busted into song about, was the fact that Alex and Abby got to eat the same thing we did for once. I normally have to pack a lunch (which I packed anyways because I wasn't sure about the food they were serving). It's an extremely rare moment (actually more like a nonexistent moment) when we get to eat anywhere but home. Due to Alex's deadly milk allergy, I have to be adamant on checking and then rechecking food labels. We've never been to a restaurant because you can't check labels there and nearly everything served is potentially in contact with cheese or milk based products at some point in time. So when I found that the hot dogs and buns were a-ok to eat (they brought out all labels for me to check...how kind of them), we got to eat the same thing. It was fabulous! They even had chips and alex-friendly cookies to eat. I'm starting to like the Union more and more. So after a long day of walking (and chasing), lots of animals, and lots of pictures, we went home with two very tired and happy kids. I'm splitting the zoo blog up into two parts because I had so many great pictures that I couldn't resist putting up two postings full of zoo family fun! I will say one thing more. Going to the zoo with kids, makes you realize just how wonderful having a family is. I love it!

Abby was happy as a lamb to walk free among the zoo. I don't even know why I bothered with the wagon.

The reptile exhibit has always been a huge winner. This time around, Alex had a hay day trying to find all the camouflaged critters.

What's that I see? Is that me? In my experience, I've found that it is a rare moment indeed when a mother actually gets to be in the photo. Though, I must come clean...I took the picture myself, so does it really count?

I love this picture so I had to share. Though there was glass between us, you wouldn't know it. This picture turned out awesome. Not even a glare! I feel like a regular Steve Irwin. (okay...so I didn't wrestle the gator, but still...)

Alex asked to see the bears from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. These are grizzly bears...very lazy grizzly bears.

Alex and Abby riding the staple photo-op mock cow.

Water buffalo. Yup...that's about all I can say. Just liked the picture with Dad and the kids.

Tune in tomorrow for more fun family zoo photos...

My new niece

Hooray! I have a new neice! And I got the go ahead on stats and her name. I went to the hospital tonight so see her and get to hold her for the first time. And I must say, she is quite the cutie! Perhaps I am just a wee bit bias, but look at that face and tell me she isn't absolutely adorable. I dare ya! Her name is Greta Rosalyn. She was born around 10:30 this morning. She's 8 lbs 11 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. Though, I truly am baffled by this. Mandy did not look anywhere near capable of having such a big girl. I was shocked. I don't know where she was carrying that girl, but I was banking on 7 lbs 14 oz. Guess I was wrong. But it's the only thing I miscalculated on. This sure does make me feel like a cow because miss Abby was only 8 lb 2 oz. and I literally looked like the moon...or the sun (It just depended on what color of shirt I was wearing).

So, back to Greta. She has dark hair like her big brother Wesley and what appears to be dark gray eyes. She has perfect little fingers and a perfect little round head. No cone head for this cutie! (and no...she wasn't a c-section baby) I'm excited to go and see her again tomorrow. I got to talk to her and I think she recognizes my voice. After all, I was around Mandy so much that there's no way she won't recognize my voice. Though, I'm not sure that she will recognize it as well until she hears me yelling. Because 95.6% of the time I'm yelling for Alex or Abby to get off of high objects or some nonsense like that.

Alex is pretty excited to hold her when the time comes. We had a nice conversation on the way to the hospital this evening. I told him that Aunt Mandy has a new baby girl named Greta and he said, "Yeah! I like babies. They go wah-wah! Can I hold the baby Mommy?" I told him that he would eventually. He sure does love his Aunt Mandy and was excited to see her.

So, here are a couple of pictures that I snapped this evening. Welcome to the world Greta! It's gonna be a blast watching you grow!

Big brother Wesley's first meeting. I'm not sure he knew what to think.

The beautiful family of four...awww.

Greta with her Grandma

She's Here!

continued from earlier post...

WOO HOO! We have a bouncing baby girl on our hands now! I just got the call and boy was I right! I wagered on two to three hours after the epidural and right on time...Mandy had her baby girl. I won't say the name or the weight yet because I don't want anyone in her family that might be a reader of my blog to get the news here. But rest assured...after I get to see and hold my new little niece this evening, I will be posting a picture and all the stats. I will say that it only took three pushes to pop her out. Ugh...I can't even imagine that. Good for her! Congratulations Mandy, Sean and new big brother Wesley! I'm so freakin' pumped to see the little girl!

to be continued...again...

It's Time!

Last night, in the wee hours of the a.m., my best buddy, Mandy, called me to tell me that she was in labor and admitted to the hospital. Of course, at around 8:00 yesterday evening, she told me that she was having contractions that were 23 minutes apart that changed to 14 minutes apart over the span of two hours. She was getting excited, but then the contractions fizzled back to 23 minutes apart until 11:30 p.m. It was then that they became 7 minutes apart, she decided it was best to get herself into the hospital for the big birthing process. And got herself to the hospital, she did. Literally. She actually thought that it was an inconvenience to everyone that she was in potential labor and told her hubby, Sean, that he should just keep on sleeping and that she would call him if they admitted her. Of course, this was at 3:30 in the morning when she told me about this. Oooh, I could have skinned her alive! So every seven minutes during the 45 minute drive to the hospital, she had a lovely contraction. They weren't the 'I can't walk and talk' kind yet, so she said it wasn't that bad. Inconvenience...hmpf! Goofy girl. If I hadn't had two sleeping children and a husband that was working two hours later, I would have driven up there and kicked her butt for doing that. But that is Mandy for ya. So I talked with her for about an hour and then tried to get some sleep. I have anxiety/panic disorder so once I knew that she was in there, sleep was far from my mind. I had got about two hours of compiled sleep when she just called me and told me that after 14 hours of labor, she got a lovely epidural on the rocks. They wanted to break her water, so the contractions were about to kick into high gear. Smart move too. Those early contractions are bearable, but they can wear you pretty thin for the long haul. Alex was a 30 hour labor and I didn't sleep during the entire thing. I had an iffy epidural that didn't really work as good as they are supposed to. Once they broke my water the epidural stopped working and it hurt pretty bad still. So here I sit, blogging about my upcoming niece's arrival into the world. She just called and told me about the epidural, water breaking, and that she is a stretchy 6 cm dilated. So until further notice, I told her to get some sleep (she hasn't slept all night, naturally). I'm banking on two hours from now when I will hear the phone ring with an adorable baby crying in the background. Or at the very least, a phone call from Sean saying that they are about to start pushing. I'm pumped here, folks! I'm gonna be an aunt again! Woo-hoo!

To be continued...

Soon...

My friend, Mandy, is going into labor. With her first one, Wesley, she was induced so she isn't sure if she is really in labor, but I am positive she will be having this baby within the next 24 hours. She was sure that she would overdue with this little baby, but I placed bets on her being five days early. He he he...I bet I'm right. I am excited to see how this all pans out. It's starting...

Happy Birthday!!

Today, my wonderful husband turned 34 years old. It's amazing how fast time is going by. When we got married, nearly 8 years ago, he was only a mere 26 years old. And now, the time has passed and I could swear he hasn't aged a day. Of course, I've aged about 16 years if you judge purely on wrinkles, but hey...who's counting? It's nice to see that he is still young at heart though. He'll be enjoying a long evening of uninterrupted World of Warcraft and a tasty pizza with cheesecake. So here is to you Hubby...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Here's hopin' you have the best! Love ya!

State Fair Time

This past weekend was our annual trip to the State Fair. And as usual, it was a ton of fun. Here's the deal with the State Fair. Ever since before I can remember, we all packed up and headed to the State Fair every year. My family never really did the vacation thing when we were growing up. So we did the little things and they were pretty much our traditions. The fair being one of them. Now, I don't remember it much as a little one, but I had no idea just how different the experience is through the eyes of a child. We did things this year that we have never done. Boat ride, train ride, water pad, etc. It was so much fun to see Alex and Abby enjoying themselves so much. Of course, I was hesitant about going with cold and flu season upon us, but we risked it and went anyways. It was worth it too. The great thing about this, is that when I first dragged Josh along before we were even married, he was pleasantly surprised. It's not the most fun in the world to him. He's probably rather spend the day in various other ways. But nonetheless, he enjoys the idea of it being a tradition. (I know the pictures are small, but I had quite a few to share so just click on them to make them a bit bigger.)

We got to enjoy the exotic petting zoo. Alex was fascinated with the zebra and the tortoise. Abby loved petting the baby kangaroo.

We then went for a ride on the little train that goes around the whole fair. I don't have any pictures of that because my mom has them on her camera, but I did get a couple of great pictures of Alex driving a boat around a little pond they have there. I do believe it was his favorite. While we (me and Alex) were waiting in line, he was jumping up and down in eager anticipation for driving the boat. He looked so cute in his life jacket with a smile from ear to ear.

The fair means a whole heap of walking. My parents were Alex and Abby's own personal transportation. As the kids are so used to me telling them they can walk as opposed to me carrying them, they were thrilled when Grandma and Grandpa would carry them around at any moment. They also enjoyed pulling the wagon. It was a nice break for me. :-)

Alex got his temporary fill of tractors and big vehicles. Both him and Abby had a blast crawling around on them. Alex and Abby also had a blast on the giant slide (so did Josh and I).



There were also a ton of interesting things to see. One of the oddest things was the scarecrow contest that people did. They made different scarecrows and it was very interesting.

When the day was done, mostly everyone slept on the way back. It was a great day. And for once, it wasn't raining. It'll be interesting to see if my kids keep going back when they are my age. Carrying on the tradition that's been going on in my family for many generations.

Things I've Learned

So the year is still far from over, but thus far, I have learned some things. Sometimes, you realize certain things about raising children or being married or even random events that will make you step back and say, 'hmm...interesting'. So, as there are so many things that have occurred in our lives this year, I shall give you a little rundown on my take of them. Please note that this is purely for entertainment value.

* 'Monkey see, monkey do' is a warning. Not a statement.

* Ketchup is a food group. Not a condiment.

* Sit-ups only work in the movies. For a postpartum belly, it only makes things worse.

* Broken fingers never heal. Never.

* Family can be a pain in the butt. But a couple of eye-rolls later, you love 'em anyways.

* The antacid industry must have been founded by a mom with toddlers. Go Tums!

* When planting a garden, you should only plant one cucumber plant. That is unless you want to start a pickle factory.

* It doesn't matter what brand of cat food you buy. Cats will happily vomit up the $30.00 bag of food just the same as the $5.00 bag.

* A kid will inevitably say their first cuss word after mom steps on a honey bee with her bare foot.

* Despite what the AAP says, TV is my friend. Without it, mom's all over the country would be wearing straight jackets.

* They only put the hot, big-armed firefighters in the streets to gather donations in their little boots. Otherwise they would have empty boots. (which leads me to my next point...)

* If you have a weakness for hot, big-armed firefighters, you shouldn't carry cash on days where they are standing in the streets collecting donations.

* Children can live solely on cereal. Not because you want them to, but because apparently slaving over the hot stove to make a tasty and healthy meal for your adoring children is highly under-appreciated.

* I think I should buy some stock in Band-aids. There will always be a need to 'fix the boo-boos'. Seriously, they should sell them by the gross.

* You don't truly appreciate going to the movies or date night until you have kids.

* After a summer of countless hours of outside play time, winter will inevitably suck.

Breakin' Out the Jackets

The time is quickly approaching, when we will all need to break out our jackets for the next season change. I like Fall. I know that it's not quite fall yet, but lately it has been feeling a bit like it is already upon us. At the very least, it is lingering in the wings; teasing us with it's chilly air. It wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't raining constantly. The rain has posed many problems. The one problem that has seemingly been the worst, is the constant need to remain indoors. Ugh...what an annoying time that is. Two kids with a love of the outside + rain = two very crabby monkeys. Seriously, I think I saw Alex trying to lift Abby on his shoulders to unlock the front door latch. Okay, so maybe I was just imagining that, but I can see the gleam in their eyes. They stand at the door with the hope that I will give in and let them go out and play in the rain puddles. So...I gave in. it was borderline chilly out, so we broke out the jackets and headed out into the mugginess for a puddle splashin' good time. They were excited to get to wear their jackets.

And they splashed...


and splashed.

They also got very muddy and wet. So without hesitation I peeled their mud-soaked clothes off of them and dumped them in the bathtub right after we walked inside. I have a few added mud stains on my carpet as a lovely souvenir, but it was worth it to see their adorable smiles.

Uncle Ben's House

Labor Day weekend was a time of mixed emotions for us. Lately, Josh's job has become sporadic at best. He was going on a day to day basis for the most part. When he started, it was a great job. He got a work van, cell phone, laptop, work clothes, fax machine, and all the benefits that come with a good job. As the economy started to fall, so did work. So, we got word that Josh's parents were headed to visit Josh's brother and his family. We figured that we might not get a chance to go again for a long time due to the lack of work. So we agreed that if Josh was off on Friday, we would head to Uncle Ben's house (that's what Alex call's it) as well for some long overdue family time. Wednesday Josh got a call that he might have some work, and about one hour later got another call. He gave me the universal sign of the finger across the throat and I instantly knew. He was laid off. They figured it was best to give him a better chance for the union to find him a better job.

Ouch.

Major ouch.

I had my massive meltdown. You know...how will we feed our children, pay our bills, not lose our house, etc.? So we said, what the hay, and headed to see the family on Friday. It would be the beginning of the indefinite weekend. We left Friday so that we could come back on Sunday. (I was due to haul hay in the hay field that afternoon.)

So, here we are, jobless and filled with mixed emotions about the weeks ahead. It was rough, but we still managed to have a good time visiting family. Alex, after his initial ten minute meltdown, had the time of his life. He adores all of his cousins on both sides of the family. I have some great pictures of him with all his different cousins between both sides of the family that I'll be hanging in his bedroom when I can find some frames. Abby did pretty well with them too. She was still rather clingy, but managed regardless. They jumped on a trampoline, watched lots of The Wiggles, played house, and ran amok outside. Josh got some great bonding time with his brother. Heather (my sister-in-law), said that you can actually see them glowing when they get to see each other and I agree. It was fun to get to actually see Heather too. She works weekends, so if we didn't go up on Friday, I wouldn't have got to see her much at all. It was nice for all of us to get away.

So, true to form, the weather was a massive pain in my royal rump. As I mentioned before, I was due home for hay hauling on Sunday. Let me start by saying that the weathermen in this world are highly overpaid, in my opinion. Okay...so I'm grateful for their dedicated storm coverage. But I'm highly disappointed in their storm prediction accuracy. Supposedly we weren't due for rain until tonight, but last night, after the entire field of hay was cut and ready to bale, it was a constant torrential downpour. If you know anything about hay, then having a cut field that hasn't been baled is very very bad. So bad, in fact, that we now have to find a way to get another source of hay for the winter for my three super-old and highly overweight cows and our jointly owned two horses. Ugh...this was just another moment of crapness to grace our week of non-joy.

But there is always a silver lining to every dark cloud. Josh was called this morning and, thanks to the union, he has been found another job. We aren't getting our hopes up for a permanent job. he won't know more until tomorrow morning. It may be a one week job, a one month job, or who knows how long. So keep us in your prayers. Until then, we will be thankful for what we have and what work comes his way.

Without further ado, I give you the few pictures I manged to capture of the weekend at Uncle Ben's house.

Cousins left to right: Abby, Alex, Lauren, Kate, Linsey.

Dancin' to the Wiggles.

Chillin' with Grandma on the couch.

Alex lookin' up to Lauren. He was a bit smitten with her I think.

Tumbling mats in the basement. I am so jealous.

Alex learned to pedal bikes this weekend.

Silly window time.

Elmo Vs. The Wiggles

When it comes to children's television programs, I will say that I am no where near a pro. I couldn't tell you what half the stuff on the TV is these days. This is mostly due to the fact that we don't have cable. Yup. That's right. We are a four to five TV station family...on a good day. So in order to entertain the wee ones, I have resorted to DVDs. (I'd like to take a moment to thank Ebay for all the DVD goodness we own.) With Alex, I went for the traditional Elmo. He was hooked almost instantly and the few VHS tapes we had of him were well worn. Abby had also reserved a special place in her heart for him. Elmo...that little red monster...drives me nutty. After a while, I learned to tune him out. Oh, I tried various other things from time to time. But nothing was ever accepted so lovingly into Alex or Abby's hearts. I never knew there was something out there that was actually entertaining for parents to watch...until now. Since the various YouTube videos of the Wiggles, we have bought a trio of DVD's and one VHS for the kids to enjoy. They couldn't be happier. When I give them the option of Elmo or The Wiggles, they almost always go for The Wiggles. This is much to my happiness. They have been around for 18 years now and I am ecstatic to have an option that doesn't involve a furry red monster that speaks in third person. Ugh...just one of his annoying traits. So if anyone is looking for upcoming birthday ideas for Alex, he's a fan now and would probably be thrilled to get Wiggles stuff. So when it comes to Elmo vs. The Wiggles...The Wiggles could beat the furry red snot out of Elmo any day of the week.

Here's another video of my monkeys enjoying The Wiggles. Abby is actually actively participating. She calls them 'wiggies'. Too cute. Oh, and Alex absolutely has to have his guitar when he watches them. Thanks Uncle Jake and Aunt Stephanie. The birthday present from last year is a true winner.

Wierd Phlog

So it has proven to be a weird day. Why so weird? Eh...maybe I'll get to that another day. So I shall mirror my weird day with a weird phlog (that's photo blog for any of you knew readers...made the word up for my photo bloggin' days. Yeah. It's classy.) Anyhow. Here are a few of the odd photos I've taken this year. There are quite a few more, but I will save them for my weird phlog v.2.0. I'd say enjoy, but eh...

Three out of five cats on your bed...wait a minute...their bed.

A squirrel relaxin' on my outside bench. Didn't think that position could actually qualify for comfortable.

A slug...inside my house...one of many intruders of my home.

Yeah...that's Josh. Nice, huh?

Jasmine...um...relaxing? Or perhaps she is dreaming of flying.

Luke...he's incognito. He wants so badly to be 'just one of the kids'.

Um...yup. those are marigolds. Freakishly tall and large marigolds. From the Jurassic era I believe.