Coincidences

The other night I woke up hearing a very loud thud. I immediately ran in to check the Boy, but he was sound asleep. So, I woke up my husband who didn't hear a thing. We looked around, but we didn't see anything. Eventually, we decided to just go back to bed. I think my husband thought I was crazy.

While pulling into our driveway last night, my husband said "What is that on our roof?" I looked up and there was a fairly large rock sitting up there. Apparently that was the noise I heard. How it got up there? We can guess, but probably won't ever know.

We were arriving home from our local "mall". I quote it because it's hard for me to accept that it lives up to the name "mall". I was trying on some shorts for our upcoming trip, and in the rush didn't notice the ink security tag. I only realized the back was off the security tag when it gouged the side of my thigh. I'm hoping it only ripped open my leg and not numerous others before me.

We're heading out on our trip today. Our friend is checking in on the Cat and fish. Hopefully they will behave for him.

The Boy's Thoughts

We've been having rain here quite a bit lately, which made us decide to head out and get the Boy some rain galoshes. He has been wearing them non-stop. Sometimes he calls them his work boots. Either way, I'm considering getting myself a pair for gardening. Especially after seeing how many weeds are running rampant on my patio and IN my raised garden!





A new family moved in a few months ago, and the woman was pregnant. We don't know them very well, although the Boy speaks to their daughter on occasion. Friday there was suddenly a ton of decoration all over the outside yard and house. The Boy was very excited when we came home and saw them. I told him the woman must be having a baby shower or she might have had her baby. He was extremely excited.

While outside later, the Boy turned to my husband and said "You know, the new neighbors either had their baby or were having a baby bath!!!"

30, finally

My husband's birthday was yesterday. He's finally thirty, after a couple months of constant reminding how he's so much younger than me.

We had a really nice evening. The Boy made some very nice gifts for him. We celebrated with a special seitan dinner and vegan cupcakes for dessert. Of course there were party hats and singing too.

It was nice to wake up this morning and be able to say to him "How does thirty feel?"

July already

I can't believe it's already July. We've been fairly busy here the last week or so. Some of the things we've been up to are marathon games of Go Fish and Memory. We use a marvel comic book character memory game to play both. The Boy would play these games non-stop if we let him. Sometimes we throw in a game of "Old Maid", although I'm not sure if that is the politically correct term anymore.

We've been baking loaf after loaf of fresh bread. This is by far the best book I have come across when it comes to ease of baking. The Boy knows the recipe by heart, and makes it himself now. I throw it in the oven for him, of course.

One of the more exciting things, besides my Husband finally catching up to me in age next week....he'll be 30, is our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World. I'm really not sure which member of our family is more excited. The Boy is a bit nervous about Cinderella after seeing a picture of her in a mailing we received. He'd prefer we stay FAR away from that so called Cinderella, apparently.

Letting Go

After a long conversation last night, I realize there are a lot of things I really need to finally let go of. Holding on to the negative aspects of my past is just making it difficult to move forward. Allowing those actions of other people to interfere with my life is allowing them to still have a grip on my life today.

I tend to draw in people who are negative. I've always befriended or been nice to those who stir up drama. I still get approached by strangers almost daily who want to share their problems or life with me. I always listen and offer a kind word, but then their pain seems to dwell within me for awhile. I think about it, and wonder how they are.

I also give certain people the benefit of the doubt. Even though, in most situations I should have let them go. I'm tired of spending the majority of my time with pent up anxiety and sadness that I should be moving on from.

I'm lucky that I have a wonderful husband. I am happy that my son can make me laugh at the drop of a hat. He changed my life, as I mention frequently on this blog. I am lucky that I went out on my own at 18, and made a life with my husband who was then my boyfriend.

So, putting this out there gives me something to be accountable for. I will go back to doing yoga daily. And, my first phone call this morning will be to my chiropractor. I should have called her long before. But, for now, the Boy and I are going to drink our smoothies in the lanai.

Visiting Snake

It seems funny to write about this since one of the books I have out from the library is Climbing the Mango Tree.

My son has been climbing the mango tree in our side yard. It is huge and strong, and we love the mangoes that we eat right from the tree. Now that my son is older, he is able to climb quite high. High enough that I usually get extremely nervous and make my husband climb up too.

A couple days ago while my son was up in the mango tree, my husband reached up and pulled my son down from the tree. I was watering the garden, so I was at a distance. My husband showed me a snake in the tree. He was coiled very tightly, and looking at us. My gut feeling was he wasn't venomous because he would have had plenty of opportunities to attack my son. So after consulting with some lovely gardening people, it turns out it is a yellow rat snake. Very good to have in your yard, and not venomous. They are fairly laid back, and not likely to bite.

Here are some photos of him. Please excuse the quality, I had to switch between two cameras.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Do you say "Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit" first thing in the morning on the first day of the month? Because my husband has been doing it since I met him in 1996. I'm pretty sure he did it previous to knowing me too.

It got to be such a routine, that I picked it up too. I really didn't know what it was all about, but I like to join into things. It was pretty simple too. So, almost 12 years later I figured I should find out the meaning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_rabbit

I guess we should have been saying "Rabbit, Rabbit, White Rabbit". That must explain why there wasn't a constant flow of good luck all these years.

I think I'm superstitious by nature.

Family Made Arbor

We've been talking for a short time about putting an arbor up in our garden. Not really for anything more than to grow some vines on, and make it even more butterfly friendly. After searching around, we didn't see much that we liked. Or, things seemed to cost a lot for no apparent reason.

My husband and son made an arbor on Monday. They bought the wood, painted it, and put it all together. It was finally in it's resting spot last night. I cannot say how much I love this. All I can see is how beautiful it will be with tons of flowering vines. I also am loving how proud my son is of his building skills. Here are some pictures. Once I pick up the vines I am looking for(I have a specific vine in mind), I'll add more pictures.

Thankful for my Husband

Over the past weekend, my Husband built me a raised bed for planting. It is exactly what I wanted, and looks even better than I imagined. The Boy was a huge help, and loved helping. The first and only plant thus far is a Desert Rose. I'm sure more will be planted soon!

In the Garden...... well almost

I have a lot of ideas on how I'd like my backyard garden to look. It's pretty funny because it always turns into something completely different. I have a lot of open space to work with, but I cannot turn my whole back yard into a sea of flowers. The Boy would be very upset that he couldn't swing or play soccer. So, I perimeter garden. Or, I rip up things and move them so I can add even more new plants.

It's never good when I make a trip to the local garden store. I can always find a reason to pick up just one more plant. So, while there with the Husband and Boy yesterday, I was trying to be good. Until my husband pulled out the most beautiful tree. He thought it would work in the front yard, and I didn't need convincing. So, we brought our new tree home.

It's not planted yet, but I will take shots when we get it in. We also got some new mulch made of rubber. Supposedly it won't attract ants and doesn't need to be replaced each year. We shall see.

~Bougainvillea~

First one of the season, of the new year

This pretty much sums up the last couple days. The pollen count is almost the highest I think I have ever seen, but how can you distinguish this time of year? I'm treating us like it's a cold, but how I wish it were just really bad allergies. The teas, herbs, homeopathics and neti pots are out. Lots of rest, book reading and snuggles. Not bad, but more fun when you don't feel like your face is going to fall off.

I'd highly recommend using a neti pot. Here is more info about usage. I have had mine for over 5 years, and it was a great investment. My husband recently started using one fairly regularly and has noticed a big improvement. The Boy is a bit too young for the neti, so he uses Xlear.

I spend a lot of time trying to keep everyone in my family from getting sick. I feel pretty defeated when we do get ill. We are pretty healthy, so I'm not complaining about that. It's tough being a Mama sometimes.

It was very merry here on Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year. It definitely is going to be memorable, especially for the Boy. He had the awareness a lot more this year, and the excitement was contagious. We didn't do as well with the Homemade Pledge as we had hoped, but I feel OK with that. Our gifts seemed to have a theme of creating, reading, games and music. My parents spent the morning at my home, and we later spent the early evening enjoying a meal together at their home. It was very casual and nice.

I hate to take all the decorations down that we so lovingly put up. So, we are lingering a bit with them. Maybe we'll have it all down by New Year's.

I will mention that the Boy is enjoying the new drum set he received. Of course, that goes along with mentioning my Husband really loves his new guitar amp. If we could just throw in a piano...my entire family would be making music together nightly! I think I'm going to pick up a pair of ear plugs though, I have sensitive ear drums.

Hope the season has been enjoyable for everyone out there reading!

Jokes

I've never been good at telling jokes. It doesn't matter how simple or complex the joke is. If I'm telling it, there will only be me laughing hysterically before the joke even hits the punch line.

My husband on the other hand excels at joke telling. He also keeps a register of thousands of jokes in his head at all times. I can't even guess the number of times I have been asked "Who is the most famous vegetable???". Give up? Elvis Parsley.

My son has taken quite an interest in joke telling. At this point he likes to take a favorite joke, such as: "What did one egg say to another egg??? Get CRACKIN!!", and turn it into another joke. Some variations are: "What did one bear say to another bear??? Get Crackin!" "What did one Christmas tree say to another Christmas tree??? Get MOVIN!" "What did one candy cane say to another candy cane?? Get Striping!!" I think you get the routine.

I love these jokes. He gets such happiness out of telling them because he loves to make people laugh. I'm hoping he inherited his Dad's joke telling capabilities, because otherwise....no one will know how funny some of the jokes he is trying to tell are.

It always happens at night

I'll never understand why when anything is going to go wrong, break, get lost, etc., it always happens at the most inconvenient time. You know, at night time when nothing is open. Usually to make things worse, it turns out to be a Sunday night, Thanksgiving week.

Everyone is well. Our central air conditioner, which isn't even two years old? I noticed it was feeling a little sickly when I stepped into a huge pile of water in my hallway. I considered how this happened, and saw that my son was not near the area. But, the closet where the central air is held? Water leaking out from under it.

All I know is my husband must be the most clever and resourceful man in the world at times like this. So far, all is well in A/C land. I'm hoping it lasts, and all I need to do is see if our A/C man can do a routine cleaning.

Here's to hoping for a dry night.

Citrus

I know I've mentioned my orange tree a lot lately. We've been pretty excited to get some homegrown Florida oranges right in our backyard. And then today happened.

We were all out back this afternoon. We being: my husband, myself and our son. I was checking on my hibiscus, and the boy was tackling my husband. It was just an average Sunday afternoon here.

Until my husband is suddenly showing me a green piece of fruit. This fruit still has it's branch attached to it. He's inspecting it, the entire small poor green fruit. He points out a couple tiny fly like bugs on it. I'm still staring in horror. I'm thinking he will give me some explanation of the accident that must have caused this.

He says to me with glee "I think these are LIMES!" I still can't quite think of the words to say. My son is jumping up and down screaming "Can we eat it? Is it ready? LET'S EAT IT!".

We all walk back to our chairs. My husband asks for a knife, to check this situation out. The entire time I have been watching him warm up the "lime" and smell it. So, I grab a knife and he starts by cutting the top off.


He smells again, and let's me take a good long whiff. It does indeed smell like lime. It was so fragrant I had a sudden desire to drink a margarita. He then drinks some of the juice, and I of course do the same. Hmm, it really is lime-like. So, he just slices it open.



It looks oddly like orange seeds, and like an orange. My husband take a small bite and says "Weird. It kind of tastes like an orange when you bite into it." He then decides to just toss it out into our backyard collection of coconut shells. And, he has completely moved on.

Now, I'm not sure what all this means. Some people down here call the trees just plain old "citrus" trees. As in, you could get any type of citrus any given year. I know my husbands friend ate one of the leaves(on purpose) and just said "Citrus tree. Could be grapefruit this year." Hmm. So, the yellow ones? Maybe they are going to become lemons? I am completely thinking this could be pretty interesting for us this time around.