copycats

While I:

...wait for this book--recommended by this friend--to become available for me at our local library

...take in deep breaths of the breeze streaming in my bedroom window

...think of my 4under3 who are currently working on their 2nd hour of naps

...hum the bluesy jazz songs that are dancing in my head

...anticipate tomorrow's fun, family activity that Mr. Marvelous plugged us into



I'll leave you with two of my favorite little copycats.

Park Biology 101

Today, after playing at the park, this little guy came home with us:



No, I'm not talking about the friendly, young, lad who's holding the little guy. Not the boy who quickly made friends with my children then proceeded to lead them along the wooded area of our favorite park while teaching them about Queen Ants, their wings and the fascinating fact that some reproduce without mating.

I'm talking about the froglet that the budding entomologist is holding:

After the children scooped up a whole slew of them--I'm sure from the safety of their own backlog--they named him Froggy, of course. Then the others: Frogarella, Frog White, Frogman, and Spiderfrog. In which I validated as very appropriate names. However, if they were my froglets; Mulligan, Croquet, Thabeet and Oreo would be among the top names that I'd delegate.

I digress.

And not only did that one, sweet, little, scared lilypadless, froglet come home with us, all 4 of his friends did too. Safely in our daughter's pocket*.

Unbeknownst to me.

*For all the Frog Advocates out there, we did transfer them to the Bug Catcher Container before naps.

Nut Butter Balls

If you're like me and you:

a. love a punch of protein once in awhile, throughout the day
b. insist on following the rule of ingesting protein within the 30 minutes after you swim laps
c. enjoy bite sized treats but are out of dried cherries and oreos
or
d. feel good when you feed your children quality snacks instead of nutritionally void ones

...then you've got to try this quick and easy Nut Butter Ball recipe.


My friend Lindsey introduced me to these pieces of paradise that fit right in your palm, and I'd like to introduce you to them, too.

So bloggy friends, meet Nut Butter Balls:




In a medium bowl mix together:

2 c of nut butters (any combination of almond, sunflower, peanut, cashew, hazelnut, etc. I recommend getting that in bulk at your local whole food store. I used all almond, but would have used another if I had some on hand.)

1/3-1/2 c honey or agave nectar (I used mostly honey with a dallop of agave.)

1/4-1/2 c flax (optional but highly recommended for nutritional purposes)

Then add in 1/2-3/4 c flour (Enough so that the mixture resembles playdough. It shouldn't stick to your fingers. I was fine with 1/2 c whole wheat flour.)

Form mixture into 1 1/2-2 in balls and roll in unsweetened coconut flakes. Or wheat germ.

And there you go.

At that point, feel free to pat yourself on the back and hollar, BAM! Or grab one of your children (or pets) and spin around in the kitchen singing, "We are the Champions."

Or, just eat one, smile and thank me later.

Grease Monkeys

What to do, when your mom informs you that while you were away, running errands, and while your 2 year old twins were supposedly napping soundly, they were really emptying a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub and a tube of Butt Paste into their tiny, little, 2 year old hands and smearing the mixture into their hair.


And what to do, when you attempt to wash their hair not once, not twice, but three times in hopes of cleansing each strand of greasy goo, but you fail miserably?


And what to do, when the next morning you need to run errands with your grease monkey girls in tow, but when they awake their hair looks like a bad attempt to replicate John Travolta's 'do in Grease?


What you do is ride the wave out and roll with it.

...After placing as many pigtails in their hair as deems possible.

And then you pretend that you meant it to look like that.

Then during naps you try it on your own hair. Just to see if it turns out as cute.*

*No you don't.

Camping and Coons.

Mr. Marvelous and I are big quality timers.

Like the other day, when we loaded up our bikes, the bike trailer, and Julia and Luke's bikes, then drove downtown to the river to ride together, it was like it was Christmas. Christmas without 6 feet of snow and subzero weather.


And, I heard those jingle bells a ringin' again this weekend when we loaded up the oldest two and headed to the camp ground.

Creek hiking won first prize for the escapade that was most fun.

Along the way we found flipping fish and rock hideouts that solidified just how creative God's juices are.

It's no secret, our two oldest are as adventurous as we hoped they'd be.

We did things like eat Doritos when we'd normally be having supper. We allowed the children to potty in the bushes, we stayed up way past our bedtimes, and we had a great time doing it.

Then, it started raining just before Mr. Marvelous and I were ready to hit the hard ground our sleeping bags were resting on. Because of that, we missed putting this bag in the truck:

...and a couple hours after I finally fell asleep, I woke to some pesky 'coons who thought we left it out for them. But, laying there, listening to the rustle of bags, then them climbing the tree next to our tent totally freaked me out nearly lulled me back to sleep.

Ah, the sound of pure nature.

And definitely a trip of pure fun.

two

Two little girls,

dressed in two little, number 2 shirts,

who love to push two baby strollers around on the pavement of our driveway.

Two little honeys,

with two noses too cute not to nibble on,

have brought their two parents' hearts to overflowing.

Two little girls who are now two.

Why the motion?

UPDATED: Well, the actual update is at the end.


ORIGINAL POST:

Any ideas why, on a cloudy day at the lake, I loaded up our 4under3 and navigated down the river to the nearest town to take this picture yesterday morning?

Any thoughts on why in the world I would pull all four children out onto the cement--for approximately 3 teeny little minutes and for passerbyers to see--and make this parking lot our first stop in a journey that later included a podunk park that appeared older than the trees over it's head? A park whose rocks entertained the children more than anything.

You got any notions?

About our motion?

Here's the answer:

So, our reasoning behind stopping here is not that it was their first visit out of state. Nor was it that it was their first time purchasing fireworks. (However, we did visit one of those the next afternoon. I never thought to snap a picture of that.) But, Lori, you were right on. Slippery's restaurant was the 'Slippery's' in Grumpy Old Men. The actual movie was filmed in that very town. The children, however, could have cared less. They really just wanted more of those Sour Patch Kids I bribed them with before we got out of the car.