We Have Birds

To be honest, I am NOT the most outdoors-y type person you have ever met... and I rarely admit to this publicly... but ALL of my friends and family know this about me.  However... you know... there is something about bird watching that intrigues me.  I sometimes look forward to wonder what I will do to fill my time when I am an empty nester.  I want to:  learn to quilt, read to children in the hospital or homeless shelter, learn to crochet, and... really learn to identify birds.  I love birds!  No one reading this blog knew that about me... I don't think that I knew it about myself... I love birds.

Recently, we {{ahem, meaning Dear husband}} put up a bird feeder for our birds.  We had lots of birds on our back deck.  Then, we put up the bird feeder (kinda) ... and they left.  I mean, I don't think we had birds for a few weeks.  Then... lo and behold... they were back.

Here are some pics of the birds that we saw this weekend.

I don't know what this bird is.

This is a tufted titmouse.  "Tufted" means that he has a little plume-like thingy on the top of his head.  He was soooo cute. 

Here is mean Mr. Blue Jay. 

Here is a very poor picture of my favorite bird... a chickadee.  It might be a Black-capped Chickadee or a Carolina Chickadee.  I can't tell.  It is very hard to tell the difference between the two.  Don't believe me?  Check this side-to-side chickadee comparison.  This little fella was a fast mover and he didn't stay at the feeder for long.  He took his food and flew back to the tree to eat it... and then came out for more.  BRAT!

Picture Issues

1.  Some of these pics are large and some are not.  Don't know what is happening what this issue today.
2.  Dear Husband wants a zoom lens for the camera so that we can get good pictures of our birds.  I find it VERY interesting that HE wants a zoom lens for MY camera.  Very interesting!

Great Backyard Bird Count

Ahhhh... I can hardly contain my excitement... so much to say here.

Ok - so this is the post where I remind you to participate in the 2010 Great Backyard Bird Count. 

Remember?  We participated last year... and we found these birds. 

It is easy to participate in the bird count.

1.  Observe birds for 15 minutes.

2.  Log your find on the GBBC website here.

A check list of common birds in your area can be found here. 

Look!  They even run a photo contest as well. 

Educators {{you know who you are}} get your students involved by using these tips for educators.

Parents {{you know who you are}} can visit the kids part of the GBBC site for lots of fun and games.

After you complete GBBC, download and print a free certificate of thanks. 

Ahhhhhh... I so hope that you take a moment during the Valentine weekend to enjoy your local natural bird habitats.

A short (5 min) video by the Audubon society of everything you need to know about GBBC.

Mango Chicken

Let me set the stage...

In case you missed it, Lulu is my biological daughter and Dear Husband's step-daughter.  At this time in her life, she spends one week with her dad and one week with me.  In short, we are all one big happy family.  Her dad (sometimes affectionately referred to as 'Daddy Warbucks' on this blog) and I (and Dear Husband, et al) get along fabulously... as 'fabulously' as we can.  Let's just say... and this is the honest truth... I have had parents who are getting divorced contact me to ask me how we make our relationship work so well... for the kids.  However, there are some little quirks about Lulu's dad.  Most relevant to this upcoming story... he was babied by lived with his mother until he was in his thirties.  When he finally moved out... he insisted that he did not need any kitchen supplies for his new kitchen because he did not intend on cooking or doing dishes.  I mean, he had plastic utensils and paper plates... and NOTHING ELSE.  Did you hear me?  NOTHING!!!!!  This is very typical for her dad.

Imagine my surprise when Lulu was at our house last night and we all sat down to dinner (after 11 years of napmom making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the family) and she announced, "Ummmm... my daddy is the BEST COOK." 

Dear Husband and I exchanged silent glances and tried our best not to spit our food out across the table with laughter.  I mean, REALLY??????

"Oh, yeah?  What did he cook?"  {{waiting with bated breath to hear about his latest concoction for... what???  chicken nuggets?????}}

"Mango chicken!  It was delicious!  And, then he made the fresh strawberries with honey and sugar.  Oh man, it was great!"

"Sounds awesome honey!"  {{gulp}} "We'll have to get that recipe from Daddy!"

What I was really thinking?  Uh, after 11 years of making 3 square meals a day... birthday cakes... Thanksgiving dinners... and more... I got TRUMPED by ONE MANGO CHICKEN dinner.  How did that happen?  Lulu - Just sit down and enjoy your dinner of sloppy joes, steamed broccoli from a bag, and apple sauce.  mkay?

Christmas Gathering

sniffle, sniffle

I was so excited for the extended-family Christmas.  Each year we chip in and bring food and rent a hall and visit with our whole extended family.  It's awesome!!!!!

Last year, Lulu was not in attendance, because she was in Florida with her dad, and Bro was just a wee little fella.  You can refresh your memory at this post.

This year we were all at the party. 

After dinner, Daddy helped with the scenery for the play.

 
Lulu donned her angel costume (she was Mary for 2 of the last 3 years and I told her it was time to give someone else a turn).

Bro... having already thrown up on his button-down shirt, sweater, and khaki pants... did his best baby Jesus impersonation.

After dessert, Bro started running a fever and was... basically... miserable... it became apparent that being a drummer boy was not in the plans for Bro this year.

Lulu stayed at the party with my parents while Dear Husband, Bro, and I headed home... leaving the hall... just as they were singing "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem."

Two Years.

The picture before the smile.

 
Ladies and Gentlemen (although there probably aren't any/many male readers)... allow me to introduce... Bro's SMILE!

Oh my gosh... it's only taken me two whole years to capture this picture of his smile.  I told you... he really does smile.  I could sink a small battleship with photos of Lulu smiling.  Bro smiling?  Not so much.

The picture after the smile.

School Bus

Mom:  What are you doing Bro?

Bro:  I'm in a school bus mom.

Mom:  Oh... ok.

Decisons. Decisions.

1.  What type of cake to make Bro for his birthday? Last year he got a generic winter cake (Remember?). This year he has definite interests for me to choose from… fixing things (Handy Manny), cars, trains, and boats. I really need to make up my mind… especially since there isn’t a Handy Manny cake pan available and so I would have to order the cake topper ahead of time. Hmmm…


2.  Permanent Birth Control… or NOT? At my last doctor visit the doctor asked me if I was considering having my tubes tied. Apparently, IF I were to have an emergency c-section and IF they already had my consent to tie my tubes then we could just wrap this up at one time… easy peasy. I told him that I am certain that I am NOT having more children but that every woman I know says that I am too young to have my tubes tied. He assured me, statistically speaking, the women who have regrets about having their tubes tied are under the age of 30 and/or have less than 2 children. So, I agreed to think about it.

3.  Kindle or Nook? (You know… Kindle… Nook… ebook readers… you download the books on this small handy little device and keep them all in one convenient spot… kinda like an iPod for music… but this is for books.) Yep. OMG I can hardly believe that I am considering such a thing. First, these are WAY out of my budget (at $259 each). Second, I like the feel and smell of books… so I’m not quite sure that I am ready to go electronic. Third, I can’t share my e-books with others… well, like I could but Fairy Grandmother, for example, is gonna need a paper copy. Plus, you can’t share Kindle books and you can only share Nook books for 14 days (bummer). An ebook reader would be so cool and convenient though. Ok – I don’t realistically need to worry about this right now… so… back to thinking about Bro’s birthday cake.

What decisions are you contemplating in your world?

Pneumonia

I have been MIA... because Bro has pneumonia.  What a miserable little baby.  He has been so sick... he has just been sitting in my lap and watching TV.  Today was the first day that I got a real smile out of him.

So far, this calendar year, I have watched more Tinker Bell: Search for the Lost Treasure (his sister's influence), Thomas (holiday version), and Barney than the law should allow.  By some miracle, I have not had to watch Cars even once.  So, there is some silver lining here.   

Sunday, we went to my large extended-family Christmas party.  I was armed with camera in hand for his grand debut as a... Drummer Boy.  Uh... he started vomiting soon after we got to the party... and after we changed him out of his cute outfit into cleaner more comfortable clothes, he started running a fever.  No Drummer Boy for us this year.  We had a bit of time to visit with my family before we made the decision to start the 1.5 hour trek back home.  They were singing "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" as we were leaving the church hall... sigh... 

We arrived home to more vomiting and Sunday evening was a mess.  I hoped that Monday would be better, but it was not.  Monday night was even worse and I eventually just rested next to his crib and patted his back all night long.  Um... I am almost NOT exaggerating when I say, "All night long."

Disclaimer:  Yes, I would have held him or put him in bed with us... but holding him or putting him in our bed is the LEAST likely way to get him to go to sleep.  He has never been one to fall asleep this way... and my best bet for getting him some rest was to let him stay in his own crib.  :-(

After listening to him toss and turn for h-o-u-r-s... it became apparent to me that his inability to sleep was because he was having a hard time breathing (like he was all stuffed up and stuff). 

Tuesday morning, we went to the doctor.  Surprisingly, the doctor told me that he has pneumonia.  GASP!!!  Luckily we caught it early(ish).  So, she gave us a prescription for antibiotics and sent us on our way.  Unfortunately, the antibiotics also give him diarrhea... whatever.  At least he was able to take a 3-hour nap on Tuesday and slept ALL NIGHT LONG Tuesday night.

Today, I am finally seeing some smiles again!

I'll be back to post some more soon... and comment on your blogs.  I hope that you are all having a healthy new year!
 

 

Music to my... mouth

Today I am going to our extended-family Christmas... and I am still no-baking it through the holiday.

Every family brings a dish to this party. 

I am making meatballs in the crockpot... and I threw together these homemade thin mints.  There are LOADS of recipes out there for these little guys.  This is the simplest version... (and the one that I saw on the  Martha Stewart show when I was on maternity leave with Bro).

Melt Andes candies.
Dip Ritz crackers in melted chocolate.
Place on tray and chill in refrigerator.
Sprinkles optional.
Eat.

Can you say "yummy"?

Christmas Recap

First, a special thanks to those of you who sent me an e-mail to remind me that I haven't been keeping up with my blogging obligations!  ahem.

How was your holiday???  Our was... well... typical... but restful (and restful is NOT typical).

The kids opened their stockings.

Well, that is, Lulu opened her stocking...

and Bro ate the candy from the top of his stocking... and finished opening his stocking... 3 days later.

I found this Vintage Polly Village at a yard sale this summer.  Let me set the stage... Lulu loves these Polly houses... and... they don't make these anymore.  They were not collectible in their day... and you can only buy them on e-bay, mostly USED, for like $20 (or more) per house.  I got the whole set for $4... as in f-o-u-r- d-o-l-l-a-r-s!!!!!  I've been waiting for 6 months to tell you this.  I cold hardly believe it when I found them.

Santa gave Lulu a mint-in-box Polly Alice in Wonderland set.  Ahem... uh... it's a good thing that I got such a good deal on the village... uh... if you know what I mean... um... e-bay gets me everytime... that bidding... it really just grabs ya... the competitor in me hates to lose the bidding war.  I'm just sayin'.  And, "yes" she opened the box and played with the set. 

I got one picture of the kids in front of the tree...

... but Bro REFUSED to give up his candy. 

Lulu captured a good amount of the day with her new DSi (you play games on it, take video with it, and take pictures with it).  Now that I think about it, she might hold the only Christmas Day pic with me in it.  hmmm...

Fairy Grandmother and Luvs2Boat came by for a visit...

... and gave us some fruit salad to go with our family dinner.  Thanks guys!

My Christmas dinner menu plan was maybe a bit ambitious, so I had to scale it back a bit.  I did make the pork tenderloin in the crockpot and it was great.  I also made the chutney (pictured in the small little white bowl to the left) and it was great too... although I was the only one who ate it... whatever THAT means.  The spinach dip was leftover from the night before.  I thought that the fresh cut baguette was a nice touch... maybe.  Oh, and the rice-in-a-bag was delicious... I'm just sayin'.  "Yes" - that is plain ol' canned corn you see there... or maybe it was steam-in-a-bag... I can't remember.     

As promised, Dear Husband stayed in his pajamas lounge wear ALL DAY LONG... and it seems that Bro wasn't dressing up either!