Kindergarten graduation

Some of you have heard me already state that I think Kindergarten graduation is a little overrated (even more so for Pre-K). I mean no offense to the crying mama's in the audience. (Truth be told, I was one of them.) However, I fulled expected that my children would complete kindergarten and move on to...well...12 more years of school. I know there is accomplishment in learning to get along better with others, learning some sight words, counting, learning to sit still for 3.5 seconds, but is that an accomplishment worthy of cap and gown? Pomp and Circumstance? (At our school, it is patriotic colors and Wing Beneath My Wings, but whatever.) A diploma?

I gotta say, I think there were some in B's class that didn't really reach the goal this year. That "plays well with others" is tough, as is the sitting still part. So perhaps my biggest question is if we are going to have a graduation and honor this achievement in life, can I go ahead and get a plaque that says B was the of 2010 Kindergarten Valedictorian?

Our school had a delightful program that included Flag Salute, Oklahoma Flag Salute, OR Creed and four songs. The video is for doting grandparents, the rest of you are welcome to skip to the pictures below.

Keeping it Real, Folks

Not that you should believe it is ALL love and roses at our house...

Flower Power

I love my backyard

You can't tell by how seldom we mow it, but I love my backyard. I love starting my mornings with my coffee and the sounds of the day starting up. I love to hear the birds singing, the wind in the trees, the neighbor cars starting to venture out, the OC bells telling me it is time to go get ready. I enjoy watching the birds hunt for worms and other critters in the grass. It really is my very favorite way to start my day.

And now I have something new to watch. Apparently a stray cat hooked up with the Siamese stray that took our birds a few years ago and they created a happy little family. (I am sure the Siamese settled down and is now a supportive, caring husband and father.) That happy little family was born between two fences on our property line. I found them one afternoon running between the two fences when I was tending to the bushes. There are 4 kittens and the parents are undeniable. They are so stinking cute!!!

The girls names the mom Stefanie and the babies Sam, Sophie, Sandy and Serena. Piper decided the daddy is at work and his name is Simon.
(Above is Serena and Sophie playing on their mom.)

Stefanie with Sam playing in the bush.

Sophie venturing out to the bowl of milk. Yes, I know I shouldn't feed them.

I think this morning is the last time we will see the kittens. When I went outside this morning, two were venturing out further in the yard. They were on the porch as I walked through the living room. I only saw 2 all morning. As I sat out there with my coffee, Stefanie came around the corner of the house and walked the fence line back to the 2 kittens that had been playing on the bushes. She drank some milk and encouraged the kittens (Sam and Sophie) to drink some. Then she slowly led them farther in the yard, never really taking her eyes off me for too long. When she got Sophie well beyond the porch, she took off running and Sophie followed. Poor Sam was left behind. He wailed for the longest time, looking for his mama or sister. He went back to the fence line and bushes and Brenna and I went back in the house. I thought Stefanie might come back faster for Sam if we were not around. I can only assume mama is taking her family to a new home. I have enjoyed watching them play in our yard. I will miss them, like I miss our baby birds.

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I also enjoy afternoons hearing life playing out in my backyard. I love hearing the laughter of the neighbor kids. Some of them are singing and laughing, while others are yelling at their siblings. I prefer the laughing and singing (of Mia). I like hearing the lawn mowers going and cars returning from work. I love seeing my girls out creating adventures in the yard.

Brenna has started a landscaping company. Piper is her minion.

I love everything about this picture. Piper is not near enough to B to actually dump the dirt on her head, but it looks like B isn't too sure.

Piper caught several ladybugs. The whole time they were crawling on her she would say (repeatedly) "It tickles!"
We ate two strawberries this morning. They are tiny and sweet!

Not even sure what to say...

This creature read a 14 chapter book since 4:00pm yesterday.
Last night, while Piper was flitting around doing whatever, Bren was lying in her bed reading. She didn't hear Josh come and say it was time for prayers. I told Josh this might be our next 13 years or so. It was Josh's turn to read stories to the girls tonight, and as is becoming the new routine, Bren read to her self while Josh read to Piper. It is a good thing. It is a good thing. It is a good thing....

Just now we were scrolling through the blog. As we passed by one picture, I said "I love that picture." Piper stopped the writing she was doing, looked up, and said "Are you going to cry?"

I laughed and said "NO!". And quickly blinked the tears from my eyes before she saw me. It might be time for me to toughen up a bit. Apparently even my 4 year old knows I am over emotional.

Waiting for the ice cream truck...

Nope, we didn't get any this time.

Hail no!

(Sorry, Mom. ;))

We got hail yesterday, but only nickel size and in only came down for a few minutes. It was impressive, but nothing compared to some of the other stuff. Here is our photo:



And here are some I found on local news channels.

and here.

Once again, we are very blessed!

Successful bird nest

After several springs of watching a mama robin fail to bring little chicks into the world, we finally witnessed a successful adolescences of a bird.

Some years ago, Robin built a nest on our electric box on our back porch. A nasty blue jay got to it before the eggs were laid.

In 2008, Robin rebuilt the nest on the electric box on our back porch. With a little help from us, she was able to keep the Jay's at bay and lay eggs. Unfortunately demise still came one evening.

Last year, Robin built a nest in the bush in our front yard. It was a rather precarious place, in my opinion. It was low to the ground and kind of exposed, but somehow she was able to lay her eggs and one even hatched. Then stupid (by stupid, I really mean uneducated) humans (by humans, I mean me) messed it up. While trying to take a picture for the girls, I got too close the nest. It turns out it is not uncommon for robins to abandon their nests (babies and all) if they feel it has been compromised. (What kind of mama does that?) Needless to say I felt horrible when Josh had to dispose of the baby bird before the girls stumbled across it. I feel sick in my stomach just thinking about it.

OK,onto happier thoughts!
THIS year, Robin built a nest on our backporch in a very smart place (as far as cats go).
I watched the nest nearly constantly. I dared not go look in the nest, but judging by how Robin was hanging around I thought there must be something going on in there. I ran a few blue jays off. The girls would even help with that. Once we were in the kitchen and Bren saw a blue bird (not a jay) and tore off running toward the back door yelling "BLUE JAY, BLUE JAY!!" I got her stopped before she ran out the door and gave Robin a heart attack. We then had a little lesson about different kinds of birds.

I noticed Robin was gone quite a bit and sometimes Mr. Robin would stand guard at the nest. My Sherlock Holmes thinking deduced there were babies, so we watched more closely. And were eventually rewarded with seeing Robin land at the nest with a worm...

We all watched for a long time, until Robin nestled back in and sat on her babies. One of us always had an eye on the nest and would shout out to the rest when Robin returned to feed. It was great for the girls. We all enjoyed watching the babies eat. After a little research I learned babies are fed about 100 times a day. And I thought I was always feeding my girls!!

On Monday I was worried about the babies with the impending storm. I noticed Robin was no where to be seen and that only added to my worry. After we came out of hiding from the storm, we investigated the nest a little more closely. It was abandoned. I put on a false smile and began trying to convince myself the babies flew away...so I could convince the girls.

I did a little more research and found out baby robins only stay in their nest an average of 15 days before they fly away (because Robin will usually have 3 broods a season). Now, I am confident those babies became "teenagers" right before our eyes and literally spread their wings to fly!

And now on to the next project...

Be still my heart

This moment captured in time is one I treasure.
I love that our girls like each other. Of course, they argue over who gets what toy and who had it first. They have even gone so far as to get aggressive. (Piper gave Brenna a little black eye earlier this week.) But when it is all said and done, they are really good friends and like to spend time together. They have taken over the comfy green chair in our house and share it between the two of them. It is not uncommon to see them sitting this way watching tv or reading books. This was the first time they were both napping together. It makes my heart swell.
Piper has been sending notes to Grandma and Grandpa. How precious is this.
Every once in a while she asks to go to the mailbox. Then she throws a note in. The other day she asked if her notes were still there. Since she always goes with me to the mailbox (but can't see in), I am not able to get the notes out. I wish the mailman would take them and dispose of them so I don't have to.

I suppose I should tell her the truth and then actually mail them, but I can't afford that much postage for little green cards with random letters written on them. And then Grandma would feel the need to keep them and it would just be one more thing for me to dispose of when they move. So, I think I will just slip out to the mailbox and clean it out.

Spring Pics

This is my baby's spring picture.
Pardon me while I go cry.

Their next adventure...

With over three times the required number of write-in votes in yesterdays primary election, MY dad is officially the Democratic Candidate for the Ohio State House of Representatives 70th District.

Biography submitted for Candidate’s Forum in March:

I am Mike Watters and I am a candidate for the 2010 Ohio House of Representatives. I am a native of Ohio, having been born in Portsmouth in 1948. My family moved into the 70^th District over fifty years ago. ...I was privileged to grow up in Fairborn in the best of times: times when Ohio schools led the nation in education, times when the Miami Valley was home to some of the most productive manufacturing facilities in the country, times when local merchants prospered while serving both the local and military community. I am too old and too wise to wish for the return of those days. But I am neither too old nor too cynical to surrender to the status quo.... As a servant of the 70^th District I am committed to the long game of renewal. I am committed to creative solutions to problems facing our schools, our industry and our business sector. I am committed to renewing ideas of community, cooperation and continuity. Community recognizes that we are quite literally all in this together. Cooperation demands that none are neglected in the solution-making process. And continuity reminds us that our futures rise on the sacrifices of our predecessors. As your servant in the House I will try to listen long, weigh carefully and act wisely.

I look forward to seeing what God has in store for my parents now!

Did you think we disappeared?

Well, I suppose in a way, we did. Our computer died...almost. But Morgan saved it and now we are back up and running. As a side note, I will say I was not really aware of how much of a time sucker our computer was until we were without one for a week. I was REALLY productive the first few days. Then I started anticipating Josh's arrival so I could check both email accounts, facebook and blog stalk on his iPhone. Then I downloaded Scrabble on my phone and all gained productivity was lost. :)

We did have a camera while our computer was down, but we didn't take a lot of pics. Here is a review of the last week or so.

Silly girls sharing a drink.
It was my drink but whatever.

Brenna was sick for a couple days over the weekend. Piper could not have been sweeter.
Expect when she was taking pictures of B without permission.

We have another bird nest. Our history has not been good for birds. Hopefully this is a year of change.

These last two are for my Aunt Jaye.

I remember the two of us wrapping our hair up like this when I was about B's age. (Mom did it, too, but for some reason I really connect this with Jaye) I'd love a 3 generation shot of this. :)

Jaye bought me this bracelet for my birthday. It is a Troll bracelet. She included the two beads on the ends and the key charm. Now I get the fun of adding more. The one to the left of the pink one is my ladybug (Brenna) and the one to the right of the pink one is my butterfly (Piper).
I absolutely LOVE it. Thank you, Aunt Jaye!!