Watermelon woes

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I have a shirt with an image in the corner of a watermelon slice being carried away by ants. Once I looked down and saw an actual ant crawling across my shirt just below that image!

My younger two girls like to pretend to grab the watermelon from my shirt and put it in their pocket to save for later. (I shudder at what a mess that would make.)

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One time my youngest was complaining about the disproportionate watermelon distribution when I got her into the top bunk. I suggested that since she was up there, I could throw her enough watermelon to equal her sister’s.

She cried, “I can’t catch them. They’re too heavy!” Read the rest of this entry

Buried by animals

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Joseph’s sisters were having fun with him and their stuffed animals.

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He doesn’t seem to mind.

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Getting a little higher…

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The chicken has landed

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Four chickens, to be exact. As you may recall, our coop was smaller than expected, so Husband constructed a “chicken run” to give our birds a little more free range.

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My youngest daughter has become one with the chickens. She spends time playing in their yard daily.

Backing up a bit, we planned to buy our chickens from the same store we bought the other supplies. Only those chickens were $20 each. I was like, uh, no. That price is fowl. (Thank you. I’ll show myself out.)

A quick craigslist search found me chickens nearby for $7 each. I called up the owner to confirm the price and that they were old enough to tell the hens from the roosters. I hung up with a triumphant smile.

Hubs was less confident. Read the rest of this entry

Summer jobs

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Every summer we come up with a new chore chart for our kids. This year maybe we’ll just follow this one someone sent me.

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Which is your favorite age-appropriate chore?

“Tell us a story!”

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My husband gets this from our girls frequently at bedtime, even though I just read to them and it’s past their bedtime. This is how he responded tonight. Read the rest of this entry

Another husbandism

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“Today was pretty low key.

So yesterday was Thor.

Which is ironic because today Read the rest of this entry

Tooth Fairies Welcome

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A quick note to show you this. My daughter made a path for the tooth fairy from the doorway to her pillow. Do you think the tooth fairy will miss it?

DSCN5116A lot of predators along the way. It’s more like running the gauntlet. Or rather, flying. Read the rest of this entry

Bits and Bobs

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No actual Bobs were hurt or thought about during the writing of this post. Shoot. Now I just thought of one. I hope he’s okay.

I was reciting spelling words to my ten-year-old. One of the words was recurring. She wrote it twice. On purpose. Clever girl.

This is the same girl who, six years ago, was in a narrating kick. She once said, “Lucy is walking, walking, walking. Lucy is leaving the room.” (Thank goodness.)

There’s a man who periodically comes to the door asking if he can cut branches off our eucalyptus tree. I think he said his sister uses them in her florist shop. Since the tree grows like a weed and we occasionally have to have it professionally trimmed, I’m always happy to let him.

This time he said he’d be right back after picking his kids up from the school around the corner. When he was gone for a long time I worried he’d changed his mind. Finally there was a knock on the door. The man’s young son was standing there with a bouquet of flowers.

“My mom said to give these to you.”

I thanked him and told him to pass along the thanks to his wonderful mom. I neglected to Read the rest of this entry

Dino Joe

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My compliments to whichever clothes designer came up with this little number. Note the feet. I love how it looks like he’s posing for an ad in a magazine.

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American Ninja

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Some people who find this post through a search will be disappointed.

Or will they?

My middle daughter is fond of dressing all in black and saying she’s a ninja. Sometimes she plays the game “bad ninja” where she purposely and noisily bumps into things and people.

Today she put a second layer of clothes over her black clothes. When I asked why, she, of course, said, “I’m in disguise.”

Here are some pictures of my ninja.

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Standing next to the fridge.

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Crouched behind a potted plant.

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