Anyone hungry?



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Is he incredibly modest or was this the only way I could get him in the tub? Hmmmm...



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A morning's conversation, 21st Century-style

I stayed in bed this morning to be lazy while Richard and Mack hit the road to try and score some cheap toys at yard sales. They just texted me to say good morning and tell me of their find. When I say "they", I mean that literally. "Ron" of course was Mack's first "written" word (with refrigerator magnets) a few weeks ago. I am super excited to see today that he can spell his own name, too. Here are some pictures of our exchange this morning (my guys in silver, me in green):



(I'm pretty sure that banshee was a fluke spell-correct but above is the first evidence of Mack writing his name.)









(See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4&feature=youtube_gdata_player to catch our dorky Potter-head reference here...)

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First Fruits (Garden Update)

Above is Mack celebrating our first fruits from the garden. This was about a month ago...I'm a little behind on blogging. Two of the squash plants have since gone bust (thanks squash borers) but that's OK...we had so much squash last year that we couldn't get all that excited about having copious amounts of squash again this year. Although one can never become tired of fried squash. This is Mack enjoying some fried squash that first night:

We're also enjoying zinnias (to look at), okra, basil, jalapenos, cucumbers and our first few tomatoes. And a surprise treat - some little eggplants. They're really delicious...and I bought the plant solely because I thought it looked pretty!

Now this I don't really know what to do with...pumpkins. They're really small and cute! But I'm not sure what to do with pumpkins in July.

We've had major problems with lack of rain so far this year. This past week it rained every day but, I swear, it hadn't rained on Efland in about three months before then. Our apple tree and the blackberry bushes just couldn't handle it. Mack got a couple of handfuls of blackberries from our yard but there won't be any blackberry jam or apple pies this year. So sad!

I am still loving the garden again this year. I don't know why, but wandering among plants relaxes me. Some day, my whole yard will be a garden...of pretty landscaping (not all vegetables).

Like Mother Like Son...Part 2

I posted a couple of months ago about how Mack has really started to get into Harry Potter. Well...it's official...I've created a monster. I can't go into exactly how enthralled Mack is with Harry Potter because it exposes me as a bad mother and I'd prefer to not put that down in writing. I will admit to this though - a few months ago, Mack asked me at bedtime to sing him the Harry Potter song. There is no Harry Potter song...so I had to make one up. Then he really latched on to Ron as his favorite character...so he asked for the Ron Song. Again, there is no Ron Song...so I had to make one up. And then just a couple of weeks ago, he asked for the Hermione Song (I think he felt bad that he'd been leaving her out for so long). Coming up with the Hermione Song was the most difficult of them all. I am no JK Rowling...let's just put it that way. Below are the songs. I am sure one day, he'll be over them and I'll forget the words. But for now, we sing these pretty much every night followed by Jesus Loves Me. I don't want to forget them because even though they're pathetic and silly, they're Mack & my special songs.

#1 - Harry Potter Song (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)...the beginning of it all!

Harry Potter likes to play

Quidditch with his friends all day.

Harry Potter likes to fly

On his broom up in the sky.

Harry Potter likes to play

Quidditch with his friends all day.

Harry Potter goes to school

And he thinks it's really cool.

Harry Potter likes to learn

Things about this great big world.

Harry Potter goes to school

And he thinks it's really cool.

#2 - Ron Song (to the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat)...my personal favorite and based on Mack's favorite scenes from The Chamber of Secrets and "Scary Harry Potter" (The Prisoner of Azkaban).

Ron Ron flew a car and landed in a tree

Silly Ron flew a car and landed in a tree

Ron Ron broke his wand when he landed in a tree

Oh no Ron, Ron broke broke his wand

Ron Ron met a dog who bit him in the foot

Then the dog dragged Ron down into a tree

Ron Ron hurt his foot and had to stay in bed

Poor Ron hurt his foot and had to stay in bed

#3 - Hermione Song (to the tune of On Top of Spaghetti)...definitely the worst and least accurate of the three but Mack still enjoys it nevertheless.

Hermione's a girl

A very smart girl

She likes to read books

When nobody looks

Hermione is nice

Hermione is fun

Hermione is funny

When she tries to run

And yes...I simply CANNOT wait until the last movie comes out on July 15th. Richard already bought me tickets (3D baby!) Mack, on the other hand, will have to wait until he's much much older to watch this one though. :-)

A Happy Independence Day