Not a lot going on in Kansas...

I haven't had a lot to post lately, as we are still settling into our school routine. Hannah enjoys middle school, and wants to be dropped off half an hour early each morning to walk the halls with her friends. That brings back memories.
I have requested information from the local pre-school for Dawson as he is adamant that he wants to go to school, so we'll see what happens. I want him to go, but I also don't want him to go. I guess I'll just have to ask them for a desk right next to him, then I can have the best of both worlds. I don't know what scares me more, him missing me so much he cries to come home, or him not missing me at all.
We've been going to one or two auctions a weekend, and we have managed to accumulate a massive collection of glass, furniture, and odds and ends. We picked up a very nice coffee table for $2.50 last Saturday, and it makes a nice addition to our living room. We had been wanting one for quite sometime, so I was happy to pick this up for such a bargain. I also picked up 2 very nice shelves for my office. Once is a large 3 shelf wooden bookcase, and the other looks like it was a tv stand, and has doors on it. They were both also $2.50 each. You just can't beat that. We are going to an auction this Saturday in Derby, and it looks like it will be a good one too. The weather report shows that it might rain, so we might pick up some even better deals. We seem to do better when it rains, as it keeps people home, so we don't have as much competition. I can't really think of anything that we need now, but I'm sure I'll see something that just has to come home.
I am still trying to photograph our very elusive hummingbirds. We have a brown one and a green one in our flower garden, but by the time I see them, make a dash for my camera, and return to take their photo, they are nowhere to be seen. I thought I was just imagining them, but the mom of one of Hannah's friends dropped Hannah off here at the house the other day, and she saw one of them dining on my red Cannas. Then yesterday, she saw it again in the same place. When I returned home from dropping Hannah off at cheerleading practice yesterday evening, I saw the brown one near the Cannas, but it flew away before I had a chance to photograph it. I will have photos to post soon because I am not giving up!!
Let's see... Oh, Hannah is having some knee problems, so I am taking her to the doctor. She started having problems with her knee during cheerleading last year, but the problem went away when cheerleading ended, and didn't bother her again until this week. Her knee was twice the size of the other one, and very stiff and sore, so we're going to find out what's going on. It never bothered her when she played softball this year, so I'm sure it has something to do with the range of motion used in the cheers. But we'll see. :)

ATC's and Swap-Bot

I found this cool site called Swap-Bot, http://www.swap-bot.com/ and it's been keeping me pretty busy lately. This site deals with swapping items, mostly craft related, with partners from all over the world. When you sign up for a swap, on the last sign up date, the computer randomly selects the partner you send your items to.
I am hooked on their ATC swaps. ATC's are artist trading cards, that measure 2-1/2 x 3-1/2. They can be made from any medium; stamping, paints, pencils. stickers, scrapbook paper, etc, and embellished any way that you would like. You trade these cards with other ATC collectors, similar to baseball card trading. The only rule for creating an ATC is that it must measure 2-1/2 x 3-1/2, and the backing you use for the base of the card must be a heavy duty card stock or chipboard, which can withstand glue, all of your embellishments, and of course the US Postal system.
The picture above are 4 ATC's I made for the baby ATC swap on Swap-bot. When creating your cards, you are limited only by your own imagination, and the theme of the swap. I enjoy using various scrapbook papers and Jolee's stickers, as well as patterned ribbons, and lots of sparkly things.
Between my business, and the kids, it was hard finding the time to do something just for me, but making these ATC's only takes an hour or so a night, and it gives me something to look forward to. If you have the time to give something new a try, check this out. You can sign up for as many or as few swaps as you have time for, so if you're afraid you might not have the time, just try one at first. You can always join more swaps later. Happy swapping! :)

Hummingbirds in Kansas... Well, almost.

A couple of nights ago, Hannah started yelling that there was a hummingbird in our flower garden. I ran to the window, but didn't see anything. Well, yesterday afternoon, I was walking past the window, and happened to look out right as a black and white hummingbird was flying by, en route to my red canna plants. I hurried to the office to grab my camera, and was in position to snap a few shots, when Dawson came out the door and let out a big "Mom what're you doing?" which scared the bird away.

Last night, the kids and I went for ice cream, and were sitting on the porch swing when we saw another hummingbird dining on my pink Naked Lady Lilies. (On a side note, the naked lady lilies came with our house, and there were only a handful of them when we moved in back in 2005. They have steadily multiplied, and I have around 135 this year) I ran inside and grabbed my camera, and proceeded to snap several great shots of what I thought was a hummingbird. I was able to get very close to this creature, and not startle it, which was my first tip off that this was not a normal hummingbird. As I was snapping the photos, a second one joined the first, so I was able to take some great shots of both.

After they filled their tummies and flew away, I went inside and uploaded the photos to the computer so I could see what the creature looked like. It's wings were beating so fast, and it was flying so quickly, that I wasn't able to get a good look at it, but my camera did. I was amazed with what the camera caught. What I though was a hummingbird was actually a species of moth known as the Sphinx or Hawk moth, but is more commonly known as the Hummingbird Moth, because of it has similar characteristics to the hummingbird.

From what I have read, these moths are very rarely seen because they fly at night, or at dusk, when there is an overcast sky, as it was last night. Although I was hoping to see a hummingbird, this was still a wonderful thrill for this nature lover.

Other than the quick glimpse yesterday afternoon, I haven't seen a hummingbird since we moved back here from Missouri. They are the most beautiful creatures, and I hope to see the one that visited here yesterday again.

First day of middle school... Is it really possible?

Today was Hannah's 1st day of middle school. She's had her 1st day of school outfit planned out for months. She's explained to me in depth, on numerous occasions, how she was going to curl her hair. Her alarm was going to wake her up at 6:30 am, so she could get ready, and arrive at school 20 minutes early. That way she would have time to talk to all of her friends, find her locker, practice her combination, and put her school supplies in her locker, etc. What a lovely dream.
Reality check...
7:20 am - Mom gets dressed to take Hannah to school
7:25 am- Mom goes down stairs to make sure she is up, dressed, and has eaten her breakfast
7:26 am - Mom finds sleeping beauty in bed, still dreaming about her 1st day of school plans 7:26:01 am - Mom yells at sleeping beauty to get up because it's now 7:26:10, and she is going to be late
7:26:20 am - "Oh crap" is sleeping beauty's response as she throws off the covers, and makes a mad dash for the bathroom
7:30 am - Hannah emerges from the bathroom, and goes to her room to get dressed. Mom impatiently waits on the couch
7:32 am - Hannah asks if she needs to wear a certain undergarment since she is wearing a tank top underneath her shirt. Mom shakes her head in utter disbelief, and walks out of the room.
7:37 am - Hannah gets dressed, and fixes her hair.
7:45 am - Hannah thinks she is ready to go, but she has the wrong undergarment on, (the sports type underneath a spaghetti strap tank top). Mom yells, and then realizes the problem the entire time has been that she is wearing the wrong tank top (she should be wearing the one that has the undergarment sewn in it). Hannah finds the right one, and is finally ready to go
7:49 am - Mom asks Hannah if she brushed her teeth
7:49:30 am - Hannah brushes her teeth
7:51 am - We are finally ready to go, but the car keys are missing
7:51:30 am - Hannah sits in the car while Mom wakes up Dave to ask him where he put the keys when he got home from work
7:52 am - Dave finds the keys, and mom is out the door
7:54 am - Mom realizes the road she was planning on taking to the school is closed, so we have to go the long way around
7:59 am - We arrive in front of the middle school with 1 minute to spare
7:59:45 am - Mom drives home still shaking her head
Man. Middle school is tough!

More Swimming Pool fun

On Friday night, my dad took Dave and I out for dinner for our birthdays, and afterwards, we went back to his house to swim. Hannah starts school on Wednesday, so this was the last weekend of swimming for the year. I wanted to get a few diving board photos before the summer ended, so I made sure to bring my camera.

Hannah and Dawson are like night and day when it comes to swimming. Dawson has been a fish ever since the first time we took him into a swimming pool when he was 1 year old. From that day forward, he has looked forward to every opportunity he has to swim, and makes sure to let you know every chance he can.

We used one of those floating bathing suits the first 2 years, and last year, we started using just the floaties, and he loves them. He was jumping in the pool on his own at 2, and off the diving board at 3. This kid loves water.

Hannah on the other hand, is just now at 11 learning to enjoy the swimming pool.

When she was 1, I bought her one of those floating bathing suits, and she hated it. She climbed on my shoulders to get as far away from the water as she could. We tried for years to teach her to swim, or at the very least come off of the steps in the shallow end of the pool, but she refused to even try. Finally, over the last couple of years, she has learned how to go under water, while holding her nose, and this year, she actually learned to swim. She also amazed me by jumping off the diving board numerous times last night. We had a tough time getting her out of the pool this time!

Hannah's grandma bought her a pool pass the our city pool, and she has gone several times this year with her friends, so that may have helped. Although, I honestly think she was going for a different purpose, and his name is (can't tell you, or she'll be very upset), but that's another story. Whatever the reason, I am very happy that she has learned to love swimming as much as her brother does.

Enjoy the photos! :)

Thank you Julie, this is hilarious!

A tribute to all you hard working Moms out there...
A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entrance hall, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.
In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him; He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'
She again smiled and answered, 'You know everyday when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply. She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Random Fun

Cool Image Effects