Football Friday Night

We met Aunt Michele (Uncle Shel), Uncle Matt (Uncle Brian) and Maxton for the Williamsport High School football game (vs. Kaufman).  The boys had lots of fun...and kisses...

I love that our little cousins can grow up together-what a blessing!

Madelyn's Birthday Party

Everyone had butterfly wings and Tinkerbell wishes...even the boys.  And Mitchell LOVED his blue butterfly wings...sorry Koons men...but he's 3!

And dare I say that he made the cutest blue butterfly I ever did see!!

then they found a snake...

BDK and Old man Gordnor...sorry, Tom, but you've inherited it!

So many pixies/fairies!!

pixies!!

So embarrassing...he actually blew out Madelyn's candles!

Happy Birthday Madelyn!

Update from the Serial Fish Killers

Hip hip horray!  We've successfully integrated 3 new males (courtesy of a pet store refund) into our new tank!  Dare I say that I feel the male fish are less fickle than the females...well, yes, I think I will!!  But they have been kept alive and well for a week now!! I won't show pictures quite yet as I don't want to brag-but I actually think I'm getting to know them a little bit!  There is one that I feel has a rather shy personality and who has become my favorite-he's rather beautiful.  But they are all doing quite well and I'm proud to say that I take pride in feeding and talking to them several times a day...hahaha!!!
Oh lord...

Sick Sucks!!

So today Mitchell came home from his second day at daycare and we noticed he declined quickly.  Actually, when I arrived to pick him up the poor little guy was having a meltdown, and I don't know that Miss Tammy knew quite what to say to me...after all, it was only his second day there and here he was all a mess.  Turned out he was really sick-within 3 hours after arriving home his fever was 101.4!!  He fell sound asleep on the family room floor well before 8pm...and look how it was...Glenn Beck (and our forefathers) would be proud... as are we-fever and all.

I'm planning on resting with him tonight-I can't bear the thought of him thinking he's alone when he's sick.

And yes, I gave him that damn pacifier...because he was sick.

Please wish him well.

Things to do the First Day Mitchell Returns to Daycare (after being home for 3 months)

1.  Cry
2.  Try to stop crying and drive home.
3.  Unload and re-load the dishwasher.
4.  Clean up the kitchen.
5.  Wonder what Mitchell is doing right now.
6.  Plan ahead for dinner.
7.  Cry again.
8.  Do 3 loads of laundry.
9.  Vacuum the entire house.
10.  Pick apples from the apple tree (until encountering a giant garden spider lurking near-by)
11.  Shower leisurely and actually put on some mascara.
12.  Call and check to see how Mitchell's first day is going.
13.  Get dressed and ready to run some errands.

All of this was done before noon...whereas usually it would have taken me hours to do it with Mitchell at home.  On the agenda for this afternoon...lunch with my mom-in-law and some shopping!  The day hasn't seemed this long since before Mitchell was born!
4:30 can't come soon enough!!

Montoursville "Carnival"

Mitchell and I were solo this past Saturday night while Daddy was at the cabin so I decided to take him to the teensy weensy Montoursville Fair, which I called a carnival, just to get him jacked up a bit.  Too bad because there were only about 5 kiddie rides.  Oh, and then he puked all over himself and good 'ol Mommy-with 4 hour old tater tots-within 20 seconds of being there put us right at home at the Montor-tucky-festival.  We did have fun though-we shook our booties like no ones' business and had everyone telling us how much fun we were having for them!  That's what kids are for...to embarrass ourselves for the sake of their laughter, right???

love the hair!!!

he accidentally sat backwards in the train...but enjoyed the ride anyways!

Finally not afraid of the motorcycles...kinda like the tractor!

My word I love this picture!!!

water yo-yo...I sought this thing out!!!  He loves it and I swear I'll make it for all the kids who come to visit us!

So he got to climb into a real fire engine on 9/11...even though he had no idea of the symbolism I was tearing up...it was his first fire engine that he was able to get into and he was very proud-he kept asking what all the buttons/levers/switches, etc were for...of which I had no proper replies!

Aw heck I can't get this photo to rotate...the camera was confused...so just turn your head sideways and see that a joyous, fun, giggly time we were having.

My word I just love that little boy more than I ever knew I could!

Thank you Mitchell for throwing up all over me at the Montoursville "carnival"!!

Finally...Fearless of the Tractor!!

Mitchell is finally not afraid of the lawn tractor anymore!  It's funny how all the sudden toddlers "just do" things and forget that they ever had any inhibitions toward something.  Now let's just hope he does the same thing about the potty someday soon!

Visitors in My Yard

I've had the following visitors in my yard within the past week:

1.  Toads
2.  Blue jays...giant blue jays that I fear will strike mean at any moment's notice.
3.  Other small native birds such as the titmouse (so cute) and so not fearful of coming very close to the house to eat from our feeder.
4.  A doe and her fawn
5.  2 garter snakes
6.  Rabbits...an endless array of rabbits.
7.  Raccoons
8.  Goundhog:  who seems to live under our shed and comes out every morning to get his fill of apples
9.  Red squirrels:  who are also not afraid to get their fair share of apples...there's a little guy who gets up into the apple tree each morning and shakes the shake right out of it!!
10.  Owls:  well, ok, I don't know that they were actually in my yard but I heard one!
11.  A bear that in our estimation weighed about 300 lbs...and just so happened to stroll into our yard in the very same spot that I was standing just 25 minutes prior!!!

I love Pennsylvania!!!

Serial Fish Killers

Daddy bought Mitchell an aquarium for his birthday.  I have to admit I had my hesitations...I'm good at taking care of small children and pets (which are mammals), but aquatic life makes me nervous.  Plus I've never really considered them pets...you can't love them, they show no emotion, they're isolated to a confined area, and their eating habits have always seem skittish and unpredictable to me.  But I went along with the plan, trying to be optimistic.  We've been at the pet store two nights so far this week and I have a feeling there will be more visits in the near future.

Oh sure, Mitchell loves the tank.  It's mesmerizing...it has LED lights in several colors and what kid wouldn't like watching pretty lights with lots of bubbles.  Personally I don't think he ever would have noticed if we didn't put fish in it.  But fish tanks are for fish, right?

So last night we made our 2nd trip to the pet store, towing in hand a water sample to make sure our Ph balance was suitable (see, right here is where I get nervous...I mean, whatever happened to the good 'ol fish bowl with some regular 'ol-disposable goldfish??).  After our Ph balance tested ok, and we had chosen some guppies for the tank, we were advised that we should get one male and two females.  So we chose each fish carefully, making sure each one had it's own indentifiable features for Mitchell.  Off we went with our 3 carefully chosen new guppies to introduce them to their new home.

Well, this morning Reese came upstairs to tell me that he couldn't find the male fish anywhere in the tank.  Come on, I said, he's got to be in there...or, oh my gosh, did the females EAT him???  Did guppies have a mean streak?  And was there bloodshed in my own childs room while he lay peacefully sleeping just a few feet away?  I didn't like the direction all of this was headed.  So I went into Mitchell's room and after a few minutes of searching, found the DEAD male, in a downward diving position, wedged into the base of the decorative seaweed stalks.  It looked like suicide to me.  I mean, how else could that position have happened coincidentally?

Ok, well, one scoop and one flush later and he was gone.  Didn't even have a chance to give the poor guy a name.  All of this went unnoticed by Mitchell, thankfully.  Moving on, I decided to teach Mitchell how to feed his new fish.  Well, apparently the leftover ladies are without an appetite, as they didn't eat any of their breakfast.  They just let it float to the bottom.  Again, not liking the direction all of this is headed.

Mitchell and I went out all morning on errands and when we got back I decided to check on the little ladies.  And guess what?  Only one of them was swimming around and I couldn't find the other.  Eventually I did, and she was wedged between the tank and seaweed.  I got her to move, but she's listless and I think on her way to meet her maker.  Now I'm left to carry the guilt of being a serial fish killer and a terrible mother for aquatic life.  See, I knew I didn't like fish tanks for a reason...but at least Mitchell does, and that's what counts.

Here's the lovely bubbly in action...

you can see drowsy guppy #2 in the lower righthand corner of the above pic.  This was the 2nd place she wedged herself.  Just trying to find a peaceful resting place I guess...

And here she is again, perhaps her last photo taken alive.

RIP my guppy friends.