Can't See the Fog For The Clouds

Our latest snowfall is in meltdown mode this morning. The temperature has reached 40 degrees and rain is falling. A lot of rain. A lot of melting. And fog. (Some may say it's a gloomy day but not I. To me it is a sign of spring getting closer.)


During the early drive to Nathan's Pre-K, I pointed out the (I thought obvious) fog to Nathan and Noah. "Wow. Look at all the fog."


Noah squeaks, "Where?"


"There. All around. The clouds are sitting down real low."


"I don't see it!", chirps Noah.


"Yes, you do! It's all around." I try to clarify: "It looks kind of like smoke."


Nathan adds his two cents. "I think it IS smoke."


"No, it's not smoke; it's just the clouds have come down low."


After a moment of consideration Nathan shares his theory: "I think they are maybe making this a spooky road."

Those dang road crews! Always up to something.


"It's not spooky. It's just clouds."


As Noah continues to search for the fog, Nathan does his brotherly duty and teaches him all about how "froggy" the low clouds made the road.


"Fog. It's foggy, not froggy." (At least I didn't see any frogs.)


Who knew a seemingly quick observation would brighten my day with their fun curiosity and imaginations?

Encroachment

Josiah, is there not enough space in this house designated for your toys?

Must they take over my counter too?

Perhaps you need some shelves....

It looks like Bike Night around here.

I wonder if that Lego man is just a little bit nervous.

I Love Post It Notes

Do you have any random thoughts today? You can play along on your blog by clicking on Supah's Post It Note below OR leave a comment here OR, even better, play along AND leave a comment!

Pacing

Do you ever feel like you are going and going and getting nowhere?

This guy was determined to get into the other side of his exhibit. Unknown to him, the zoo keepers had cleaned his pool and were in the process of refilling it. That side wouldn't have been safe for him. He was frustrated and just kept walking in and backing out... over and over again.

Perhaps your frustrating delay is for your own benefit too? Often only time will tell. So what do we do? I think we just do what we know to do and try not to "borrow" worries about tomorrow. Sometimes it just helps knowing you are not alone.

Everyone Gets Tired Sometimes

And I'll be sure to snap your picture when you fall asleep... especially on a road trip.

This is Micah. He is using the Slump method. It's when you just relax where you're sitting and don't even bother with the head nods. It's a good way to prevent the Open Mouth side effect though you may have Stiff Neck syndrome later.

Holly used the I'm Going to Get Comfy and Sleep method. This method requires a pillow and whatever else you can put between you and the hard wall of the vehicle. This method does have its risks. Notice the slightly parted mouth but her neck muscles will probably remain unknotted.

Dave goes for the Relaxing at the Beach method. This requires a seat in front of you to either prop your legs against or over. The Slump and Slide move keeps you from the Open Mouth and Snoring risks. Although I could say he was snoring and he couldn't prove otherwise since he and all the other witnesses were sleeping at the time...

My Dad managed to pull off the I'm Really Awake but Resting my Eyes look. He was definitely out though. It's a good thing he didn't use the Head Back method; he would definitely have the Snoring effect and startle himself awake.

And since I'm a good sport... I took a picture of myself sleeping.

It took me a few tries since I couldn't stop laughing and then I woke up everyone else with my hysterics.

But I was determined. Pretty good, huh? It's the I Don't Have Anywhere to Lay my Head but Back method. Open Mouth is a given with this particular sleep position. Micah told me the only thing missing with my picture was some drool. I wish I had thought of that.

Or maybe I should be mad at Micah for insinuating that I drool...

Familiar Yet Different

The Dominican Republic is still on my mind. And believe it or not, there is still a lot to share about my one week trip there. These are some pictures of things with which we are very familiar.... and yet they look very different. Go ahead. See if you recognize everything.


This is the kitchen of a family we visited. A lot of homes have outdoor kitchens because it is cheaper to cook over an open fire. She fed us some of her delicious jucca. Mm mm good! (I think it is yucca root?)



Not exactly the ladder you see at the local hardware store... but I LIKE it.

We saw this kind of fence a lot. We even saw one man making his fence. They use these green branches as the posts and a lot of the time, the branches take root and grow again.

This one is a little bit trickier. You can barely see it through the mesh... but there's a chicken living in that chicken coop.

And last but not least. Some call it a parking brake; I call it the emergency brake. It works!

This Makes Me Laugh

At the Salvation Army Family Store.....

Do you see what I see? Clever marketing? or a DIRE WARNING

The View with a Fish

While in the Dominican Republic, we chose Friday and had a special lunch at the fish place.There were so many of us that we took two trips to get everyone here. It was not so impressive from the outside....

...but the inside of the restaurant offered a gorgeous view. No, no, no. This is not the view. This is where we stood to enjoy the view. The back wall was open to a beautiful valley.

We saw this. This.

This.

This. (The tops of the banana trees)

This.

This.

This.

This. And this. Any questions?

Then everyone had arrived and it was time to eat. I love Dominican food.

Hello, fish. I hear that you are delicious.

Oh. my. cow. You certainly were delicious! I didn't do a bad job of finding and eating all the fish meat possible, if I do say so myself.

I think Leo made have done better (but he has had more practice too).

Anyone that wanted seconds could choose their fish if they so desired; however, I was full.

Thank you Fish Place for the view and the delicious lunch.

Child Rearing Is a Full Time Job

Train up a child in the way he should go.... Some things are very important.

Encourage creativity.

Get permission before touching breakables.

Take care of those smaller than you.

Treasure "old" things.
Some day you may really, really appreciate it.

Keep your face clean.

Try to look at things from another viewpoint.

Stay hydrated.

Never, ever punch your uncle in the you-know-what's.
Nic said that Josiah almost learned his first vulgarity.

(Nobody worry. He recovered. I think.)

Note: They may be shocked initially when you enforce your standards but it's worth it.

I hope.

Normally I Don't Post Nudes

But today I'm making an exception.

Noah was playing a particularly long time in the bathtub a couple days ago. He kept playing that game that he likes. I call it "You're a Sucker, Mama!". In this game he repeatedly tells me that he wants "out" but when I approach him, towel in hand, to lift him out of the tub, he suddenly does an about face and says "NO!" I think this game brings him much delight; it brings me much annoyance.

This time the game lasted too long.


His evident concern began the second he noticed his hands. He lifted them to me and in a very anxious voice asked, "Mom?". (He's very wordy.) He had a serious condition known as "raisin hands". I could have told him, "Ha! That's what you get for playing your 'Mama's a Sucker' game." but I didn't. I let him know that his hands were okay and relieved his mind of worry. Soon he was laughing at his hands and feet and their metamorphosis.

As I was thinking about Noah's worries later, I considered that a lot of times I've probably found myself in the same situation. Not with raisin hands but in life's struggles. What looks disastrous in the moment, passes. Some of those moments seem to last a stinking long time but I know it will come to pass and I will have learned and grown from the experience. In the mean time, I have the promises of my Papa God that He will always be with me, strengthen me, guide me, and comfort me.

Obsess Much?

I've been having a lot of thoughts this morning but nothing in particular is screaming for attention (except my citrus loving children who keep asking for more oranges).


Then this thought comes to me: I need to get a Dr Pepper. And I keep thinking about that wonderfully shiny can of deliciously satisfying Dr Pepper until I get up and get one.


Then I thought, "I bet I can find a picture of Dr Pepper online." You see, I didn't want to post the picture of John holding a Dr Pepper because it would bring back too many sad thoughts of betrayal and what not.... aaaand I'm feeling a bit lazy about taking a picture of my current can. (Besides, there's too much clutter around here this morning to get a clear, non embarrassing shot.) So I went to drpepper.com and found THIS:

Yeah, apparently they don't sell cans of Dr Pepper in their online store. Go figure.

**Excuse me while I go run the vacuum so that my boys can run around like screaming banshees......... OKAY. I'm back. I hope you didn't mind waiting. **

But while I was there, I discovered that under the entertainment link there is an online game (games are nice) and that you can watch a cute and funny little commercial for Diet Dr Pepper (which I don't drink). Oh. Sure. You can drink it if you want! I just realize that it's winter and our bodies need an extra layer of fat in order to keep warm in these frigid temperatures so a LOT of regular Dr Pepper and brownies help me out in that area.

HOWEVER, the most important discovery I made is in the "About" section. There is a timeline which shows you what Dr Pepper has looked like throughout the decades! You know, in case you were to time travel, you can know exactly what you're looking for without having to question whether it is a counterfeit Dr Pepper or something. I think it is a very thoughtful and informative slide show. I'm going to study it diligently, just in case.

ANYWAY... now that I have my Dr Pepper, what am I going to write about this morning? *sigh*