beyond the imaginary line

The other day brought warm breezes and a bright sunshine. Thankfully, because just prior it had rained a handful of days in a row. So naturally, we played in it. And these three girls found something to feast their eyes on quite quickly.

I had popped my head out from the garage--where I was folding clothes--and noticed they had crossed "the imaginary line" that's drawn a little over half way down our driveway. This is were I found them sitting. Right at the edge of the road. That's when I knew something was worth seeing.


What? You wonder? A silver dollar? A fallen lifesaver?

Nope.

They found some slimy yet delightful slugs?



Slugs that eventually made it into a tupperware with water and a leaf for all to see. Even the daycare lady at the grocery store. She did a marvelous job acting surprised.

It must be global warming, or something.

The weather finally warmed up a bit, here in our neck o' the woods.

Then cooled way down. Then rained. And rained some more. It must be global warming or something.

But, then it got pretty hot for an entire week. So, we've been spending as much time as possible at the lake house, going on as many bike rides as we can fit in, petting as many dogs--belonging to strangers--as we can find, and enjoying our new boat.

During my short little computer sabatical--ok, not so short computer sabatical. Fine! Over a month long computer sabatical, geez--we've been training our young brood to take life by the tube handles, relax and enjoy the ride. And, so far so good.

Rest assured, we're still around, despite our attendance on this edge of the blogosphere.

And believe me, in a couple shorts months when that water back there:

...will have turned to ice, we have 6 foot snow drifts out our front door and fantasy football is in full swing, we'll be ready and rearin' to share our Pear Plum Crisp recipe, the pictures of what my bed looks like on laundry day, and what 2 year old twins look like when they shove half of a banana in their mouths.

You can't wait, I know.

It was windy. Did I say that already?

As you might know, we're up at the lake this week.

After the girls' Polka Dot Bash guests cleared out Sunday night, Mr. Marvelous and I packed up my car so the children and I could drive up to the lake the next morning. (The "lake" is actually part of the Mississippi River and is a quick 45 minutes away.)

Mr. Marvelous, on the other hand, is commuting to and from work this week. So, the children and I are keeping busy playing in the pool exploring the nearby parks and trails while the weather straightens itself out and while Mr. Marvelous is gone.

If you've already heard, today we drove to a historic, neighboring town--with a packed lunch in tow--in hopes to find something to distract us from the 60 and not-so-sunny weather.

And if you remember right, it was chilly:

But, thank goodness I brought coats for everyone. But me.

And windy:

But our picnic--in the middle of the playground and under a plastic rock wall--on a cozy blanket made it extra fun.

The skies were gray:

But the "super duper, as big as Superman" barge that floated by was cool.

And it was...windy:

But the kids didn't mind. And I didn't either. Thank goodness for heated car seats for the drive back.

we're sorry. please try your call again later.

[BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.]



We're sorry, the family you are trying to reach is not available at this time. Their neck of the woods is experiencing a high volume heat wave, which has forced them to flee their home to a more comfortable vicinity.







All circuits are busy at their new location. There is a lot on their plate right now. But, they are bound and determined to make the most of this unfortunate incident.

And even amidst all the heavy activity, it's safe to say that each individual is holding their own swimmingly.

They're all very adaptable.

So, please hang up and try your call again later. (When the sun isn't shining as brightly and summer isn't embracing them so tightly.)

Goodbye.

Hazel's point of view at the zoo

Go ahead. Tell 'em Hazel.

Hazel: Ohhh, we had a mighty fine time at the zoo the other day. Get a load of this. My mama didn't get any pictures of the animals that day, but she did get to witness a rather comical form of brotherly endearment:

...That kinda cracked everyone up.

And even though we didn't spot the tiger, which is my brother Luke's very favorite animal, we did see the giraffe and ostrich. Julia about dropped over with excitement at the site of those.

And my sister and I liked the playful sea otters the most. We watched them through the glass as they wrestled in the water together. They were at a perfect height for where we were sitting in our double stroller. (The stroller that we got to get out of a few times this trip. That was a treat.) Since I have a thing for water, I could have watched them all afternoon. That is, until I needed to eat. I like to eat, and drink from my sippy. Especially on daddy's lap. See, that's me on the right:

And that's my sister, Norah. She got really upset when Mama left her side just to take this picture:

She is the biggest Mama's girl. Honestly! My parents say none of us other children have played favorites, except Norah. But my Mama doesn't really mind it, unless she's trying to stir boiling macaroni noodles or clean up shattered RedHot spills.

Speaking of my Mama. Here she is. This is the only picture of her from our trip. Julia took it while Mama was trying to keep me from pushing the stroller into the fountain. She doesn't want you to click in on the picture. And when Mama says something, you obey.

These two make me laugh. And I laugh hard. I mean, just look at them. My brother Luke almost put his head in that there fountain behind them. My parents noticed just in time. He changed his mind really quickly.

And there you have it. A snippet of our day away. Now if you'll excuse me...

She "chalks" our world.

If you haven't noticed, 4under3's publishing company has slowed down a bit. At first, I liked to think it had something to do with our construction zone.* I imagined things would pick back up to posting every couple of days. But now I'm thinking otherwise.

*The zone that is nearly complete. All that is left is the tiling of the backsplash. I promise an extensive photo gallery right after the ribbon cutting ceremony. I promise. I'm sorry. Ok? I promise.


I don't know how it can be, but it seems as though nearly 2 year old twins have the capability to run in you two different directions at once. Last year at this time Norah & Hazel were barely moving. This year, at the end of the day, it's me who's barely moving.

It's so much fun though. The before-the-barely-moving part. And man do I think our 4underfeet are the cutest, sweetest, funniest children around.

Take today for an example.

We chalked. Like we always like to do.

And this snippet of Julia tracing Hazel makes me laugh. Not because of the bitty belly that's hanging out, or the memory of Hazel plopping her little body down on the driveway in hopes that Julia would notice and come over, but because of our spunky monkey's naked left foot. Would you believe me if I said I never even noticed that Hazel was missing a left shoe while we were outside? What kind of mom am I?





And this cracks me up too. What? You're not sure what exactly this is?



How about this? Does it look like my shadow flashing the peace sign? Tracing shadows is a favorite in Julia's world.

I'm telling ya, this girl can chalk.

To put it plainly, she chalks our world.

Dirt & Dandelions

Our delightful little dude helped me dig in the backyard the other day.

After he decided to dig definite deformities in the neighbor's ditch, I directed him to drag his dad's shovel back to our deer loving dominion.

Darn near two minutes later, he delivered these to my side:

Donchaknow! A dandelion delivery! Are those flowers for me, dear little one?

What a dirty, drippy nosed, dande-lovin' darling he is!

(Some S, B & P fun, too!)

You just gotta let 'em go

There are some things that you just have to ignore, then you look the other way and make no bones about them. You just gotta let 'em go.

Like when your existing and new wood floors--which take up the majority of your main floor--have been sanded down and treated, and you're told to keep your feet your children's feet off them until they dry. For two days in a row. Even though you don't want to load everyone up in the car and spend the entire day away, again, you just do.

And then you let it go.

Or, like when your MIL invites you and the children over to her place--which is over an hour away--on a day when said floors are drying, you get all excited because you know it's supposed to be a gorgeous day and you imagine how much fun everyone will have playing outside in her wonderful backyard on her playset. Except, your oldest daughter ends up showing major signs of illness. So, you spend most of the day snuggling inside while trying to nurse her back to health.

You just let it go.

Or, like when you realize your daughter's tonsils are as big as kumquats on steroids, so you and your MIL load everyone up and take her in to the Fast Care clinic in the closest grocery store near your MIL's home town. Then you're told she has strep. And you're asked if you have any other children at home that your daughter might have passed it on to.

You just let it go.

And while you're waiting for her prescription, you walk around the store looking for fun, soothing consumable treats to cheer up your kumquatie daughter. Like frozen fruit on sticks. While you wait for your prescription, you two sit together and slurp lime and strawberry popsicles. Then when you return back to your car full of children--that your MIL is watching--you realize that you would have a bigger situation to deal with if you were to withhold the frozen fruit sticks from your other children. So you cheerfully unwrap one for each child and then...

...you just...

...let it go.

Tomorrow is the Big 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Buster!

Tomorrow we'll be celebrating a birthday that I've been anticipating for the last few months. And, now that it's here, I'm thinking differently.

It's complicated.


I'll say it like this. It's taken a much greater amount of creative effort in harnessing the boisterous--sometimes untamable--2 year old energy that oozes from our only son. His mellow, chilled, older sister did nothing to prepare us for the endurance that was needed with him up ahead.


Don't misunderstand, Luke's zeal for life has been delightful to watch. The amount of energy he has to burn is astonishing. And his determination, well, quite persistent.

But, while in the thick of the 2's, those attributes can sometimes create the most intense flavor in one's mouth. So as we worked on loving his fun qualities, we also thanked God that the 3's might bring a change for the good with the not so fun ones.

Then, about a month ago, things started to pan out for our little man. Cause and effect became much clearer. The idea of privileges and consequences appeared quite solid. And, potty training began to click.

And tomorrow he's 3! But, now I'm thinking that regardless, he's growing up too fast.

One Word Wednesday

DELIGHTFUL

ANXIOUS

FUNTOLOVE

[These photographs feature Ms. Norah Kae, and her sledding sidekick sister Julia.]

Twittered Pictures

Mr. Marvelous would like a moment on the mic. He's hoping that you all remember that even though the Vikings lost, they're still number one in our hearts.

Poor guy. To be so emotionally attached like that.

I--on the other hand--hope you all enjoyed my tweets at 'cha today. I'm serious when I say that I send them hoping you'll all take them like I'm telling each and everyone of you to your faces. (Only with a few less words, and a more mellow dramatic tone.)

And here. How about I slip a few pictures on your screen to bring even more life to my tweetering. Do any of these pictures look pairable to today's tweets?









Tweet ya later. Tomorrow is our last day to blow kisses to this fabulous sun and wiggle sand between our toes. We'll see what we find to pack in before we pack our bags.