Say hello to my little friends!

This weekend, we had a very unexpected experience. We were all outside enjoying the lovely weather when we saw a very cool, and maybe rare, thing. There, on one of the kids riding toys, was a newly hatched batch of praying mantis babies. It was truly fascinating! There were probably 40 or 50 or these little guys frantically running amok. Josh was absolutely in awe of the tiny critters. The kids didn't really know what to think of them. We let them run around our hands and Alex got to hold a couple of them. Abby just wanted us to move so she could play with the car. Now, the car that the mama mantis decided to lay her eggs on is bright yellow and red, so we decided to give the hatchlings a helping hand and moved them, one by one, onto the nearest tree. I got the camera out and tried to take some pictures of the little buggers, but they were just so tiny that the close up pictures weren't in focus. So here is a picture I found of what exactly it was we saw.

But I did get a few pictures of them that came out. This shows the top part of the car with all the little dudes running around. I kept the image full size, so you can can click on it for a bigger version to see them better.



I also got a video of them. They were all over the car and the ground around the car, but you could see them best on the yellow part.



So it was a pretty cool thing, all in all. The best part of the whole thing actually happened today though. Seeing as how we have plenty of birds, I figured the majority of the babies were doomed to a fate of bird chow. But today, I was sitting on the bench by the tree and three little babies crawled up onto my arm and sat there for awhile. I looked around, and sure enough! Those tiny babies were still hanging around. They even made it through the crazy hailstorm we had last night. They are a tad bit bigger and turning more green. Maybe they will stick around and we can watch them grow up to be big guys. They are helpful bugs and would keep the other bugs in check. So we welcome them and hope they stick around.

It's gonna be a B-E-A-utiful week (sarcasm noted)

Dont go Daddy!

Yesterday, Josh headed back out to his out-of-state work for the week....again. It's becoming old hat for me now. I am rather used to his absence lately. This will make for the third week in a row where he is gone. I believe that the kids are starting to get confused with his random weeks away. When he gets home on the weekend, the kids turn into absolute disasters! They cry, whine, fight, and throw more tempers than during the days that Josh is actually gone. Then again, they are also kids. It could be purely coincidental, right? The worse part about Josh being gone is the lack of company for me. I don't mind doing all the work around here or the constant, never-ending need of attention from the kids. That part, I can handle. I miss the little chit-chatting and my warm body to share a bed with (thought I don't miss the snoring...sorry Josh). Heck, I even miss the constant clickety-clackety of the keyboard when he is playing World of Warcraft. At least there is someone in the house with me. *sigh* But, alas...I am alone again this week and am biding my time until he gets home. It does make for a long week. The other bit of annoyance is the food. The kids are super-picky and so making normal meals is almost pointless when the only one who eats it is me. Why bother, right? It just makes more dishes. So it's the constant blah of chicken nuggets, fishsticks, and spaghetti. Ugh...heartburn central. But, to top the wondrousness of the week, Abby caught croup. What the flippin' monkeys?!? It's spring! Croup with a side of snotty nose is not exactly how I wanted to spend my week. What's worse, is that croup and asthma can be a very nasty combination and can easily land us with a midnight trip to the ER. We are just praying that the massive amount of meds Alex is on, will prevent this from happening. Here's hoping, eh? So I hope you all have a spendid week...I hope we do.

Alex & Abby saying bye to Daddy again for the week.

So here is that video that I promised y'all this week. I think it's pretty cute. Too bad he couldn't wear his firefighter helmet that I got for him at a garage sale last weekend. Would have been the icing on the cake. Enjoy!


FIREFIGHTER ALEX

Big Truck Day

What a fun day this was! My mom called me on Friday night and informed me that at the town's high school parking lot, they were holding an event called, "Big Truck Day." One of the local organizations put together a super fun event for kiddos of all ages (big kids like me included). They get a whole ton of big vehicles to park in the parking lot and they open their doors and all the glories inside for all the world to experience. Okay. So maybe it would be boring for someone without wee kiddos. But seriously, unless you are an ex-convict or someone who regularly breaks the law, how many times can you say that you get to check out the inside of a police car. Wow, folks. I tell you, I had no idea, whatsoever, that these things come equipped with laptops and more bells and whistles than I could ever have imagined. It was truly fascinating. So, in case you weren't aware, Alex is beyond obsessed with trucks, tractors, and emergency vehicles. More boy, the kid could not be. Abby, of course, plays right along side him and drives her Hot Wheels around just as much as he does. All in all, I don't think she was nearly as thrilled as he was. When we got there, it was a bit of a struggle to get him interested. He needs the average 5 minute warm up time to realize just how cool the situation is. But once he got started, he was all over that stifling hot parking lot, darting from big truck to tractor and back again. They had firetrucks (got to sound the siren on one of those bad boys), tractors, a skid steer, police car, ambulance, an excavator, a fed-ex big rig, and various other odds and ends. I tell you what, the local law enforcement around here is really friendly and I tip my hat to them (if I were to wear a hat, that is). So I will leave you with a mass overload of pictures of the eventful evening. I have a video of Alex putting out the 'fire' at a play fire house with a big fire hose. It was adorable and I'll try to post it this week sometime. Until then, enjoy your second hand experience of the Big Truck Day.

The Elusive Olderous-Brothercis

Me and Russ a few years back.

Okay, okay...so this is all supposed to be about what is going on in Alex and Abby's lives, but hey, sometimes I'm really pressed for info for this blog. How many times can you blog about poopy diapers and temper tantrums, right? So this little number is dedicated to my long-lost bro, Russell. Or as he put it, my elusive Olderous-Brothercis (like the elusive bigfoot...somewhere out there, but hard to find). I have four brothers, in case you were wondering. Three full bloods (Jake, Jeremy, & Aaron) and one half blood (Russell). But honestly, does blood really matter these days? I think not because I have other 'brothers from other mothers' too and love them as well. (A story for another day, perhaps) So long story short, I'm the oldest of the full bloods (if I must use that term again) and I was closest to my long-lost bro because I knew him the longest. I believe if it were not for his collection of old Star Wars toys, I may never have grown nearly as fond of the movies as I am today. He moved to another state awhile back, but I get to see him from time to time. I haven't got to hear from him in quite a while, but always find myself wondering just what he might be up to these days. Well, I just happen to be a member of one of those 'find friends and family' websites. I won't admit which one it is, but yes...I have fallen prey to, like millions of others, the insanity of these websites. Apparently EVERYONE is on there. Okay, so not everyone, but pretty dang close! I got the notion one boring evening that my long-lost brother might just be floating around on there too. I looked him up and, WA-LAH! Instant reconnection! I am proud to say that I found him. I have a lot of great memories of us growing up. I miss him a lot and am thrilled to be back in contact again! So this is for you, brother dearest: "Ha ha ha! I found you! Welcome back bro!"

Note the red hair. Must be from Dad's side of the family. :-)

Chompers Cometh!

Finally! Whew...the wait is finally over. Miss Abby finally got another tooth.Left Lateral incisor, to be precise. She got her first two bottom teeth forever ago and has finally, after a much anticipated wait, gotten a third tooth. 14 months old, this girl is, and she still must gum her every meal. Honestly, I don't know how she eats as much as she does with two scrawny little teeth. She out eats Alex at nearly every meal! Anyhow, it may be the shortest blog I've written to date, but hey...now you know the rest of the story.

The Life & Death of an Imaginary Friend

Perhaps you have all read my past post where I mentioned Alex's imaginary friend. Well, in case you aren't aware, he has this imaginary friend that he frequently talks to. His name is Floppy. "What, pray tell, is Floppy?" you ask. Floppy is a lady bug that he carries around with him in his pocket. Sometimes Floppy is carried around with him in the mornings and other times he is just a little sidekick that Alex enjoys carrying a conversation with when he having some quiet playtime. It's very cute. He has even carried the little guy...or gal...up to me and asked me to hold it or pet it. The best part is seeing him gently carry this fragile little pretend friend around in his small cupped hand. He is so tender with it. I have absolutely no idea what ever sparked Floppy's creation. Who can unravel the mysteries of a two-year old's mind. Not I, that is for sure. Perhaps you are now asking me, "So Jessica, why is the blog titled, the life and death of an imaginary friend?" For that answer, I will share a conversation with you to the best of my blogging ability (sorry, no video for this one folks. It was one of those random moments of life experiences.)

We were outside enjoying a moment of family time and Alex seemed bored so I asked turned to him and asked, "So Alex, how is Floppy doing today? Where is he right now?"
Alex shrugged and looked down at his pockets. As he stared at his obviously empty pockets, he said "I don't know."
I asked, "Is he riding in your pocket again?" Alex nodded and reached into his pockets. Floppy never showed and he told me so with another shrug of his tiny shoulders. So I offered to search his pockets for the elusive bug and he agreed happily. I searched both of his pockets and pulled Floppy out saying, "Hey! I found him...is this Floppy?"
Alex smiled and said, "Yeah! Hi Floppy!" He took Floppy from my hand and held him in his palm gently. He asked Floppy a question that I couldn't hear and then without hesitation looked up at me and then threw floppy on the ground. I was shocked at his sudden change of attitude towards his little buddy. So I told him, "Be careful so you don't smash him with your foot."
Alex then proceeded to jump on poor helpless Floppy. I laughed in spite of myself and asked him, "Why did you smash Floppy?"
He looked up to me, shrugged once more and said, "Because he's mine!"

Now, I have no idea why all this took place but it was funny to see. So I offered to bury Floppy in the sand and Alex agreed. As soon as we buried him, the kid promptly unburied the bug and put him back in his pocket after saying something to the resurrected lady bug. No idea what his little whispered conversation was, but in the end, it was cute to see. Strange, yes...but cute. So Floppy has been created, killed and brought back to life. Ah...the life and times of an imaginary lady bug.