Mia is Definitely 4

I have heard that 4 is the age when children begin to ask "Why". Now I can confirm that is true, at least for Mia. Here are a few of her questions lately. Notice that most of them have to do with our use and assignation of words.

"Why do we have sinks?"

"Why are they called shirts?"

"Why do we have cheese?"

"What is a moth?" and similarly, "What is an ant?"

"Why do we call them Vitamins?"

"Why do we call this soap?"

And tonight - my favorite, though in no way a Why question:

"Can we go to Ciza's PiPi?"
then, on the way home, "Why do we call them cars?"

I have to mention that Patrick did an excellent job describing the evolution of the word "car" from "carriage". I have been using the answer "They made up the words for things long before I was around" instead of answering to the best of my ability - time to brush up on my Latin!

Off Into the Wild Blue Yonder

The butterflies have been set free. Mia cried, we drew a picture so we would always remember them, but in the end we grown-ups decided that the kids would be better off watching the little buggers be set free than die in their habitat inside our house. Plus, they were mating and I am definitely NOT ready for that conversation. And, it caused some chipped wings during the mating fights between the males (at least that was my very unscientific hypothesis after watching them a little while) so they are now basking in the sun south of here somewhere, we hope.

A funny thing happened as we released the last one - it flew right up under a bird, almost becoming dinner. I actually have a picture of that butterfly, but for the life of me, I can't find it in amongst the leaves. If you like Where's Waldo, see if you can find the butterfly in this picture. --> If you do, let me know. I don't have that much patience today.

This was such a great adventure. The girls absolutely loved the whole thing. From beginning to end, and we'll definitely send off for more caterpillars. Mia was even very good about remembering to feed them (perhaps a bit too much, but hey - she doesn't have any other pets at the moment.) Anyhow, if you are in need of a weeks-long project for little ones, or even big kids, get a butterfly habitat. Amanda and Neil sent the kit to Mia for her birthday, and it came from Discovery Store - very cool.

The Butterflies are Here!

Now we have 4 butterflies. The first one was named "Butter", but the rest have no names. Have a look at "Butter".

Lazy Summer Days

Not much going on at the Little House in Takoma lately, as I've been pretty homebound with my cough and now my toe. So here are some cute little pics of the girls.

First, Painted Ladies. We are raising some Painted Lady Butterflies, and the baby caterpillars came in this cup. Very fuzzy picture, but anyway, here they are. Also, Mia and Laney both have painted themselves recently, something that irked me at the time, but Mom taught me well to FIRST grab the camera, THEN get mad and clean up. And finally, the chrysalises.












Next, New Backpacks from Grandma and Grandpa! Just in time for the new school year and our beach trip in September! Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!










Lastly, Dancing, Kitties, and Popsicles. Note: The kitty is Taboo, our next door neighbor's cat, whom we love love love and who visits us just about every day. He's even left me a bird on one occasion. Thank you, Taboo, and yes, we love you too.

A Broken Toe?

I think I broke my pinkie toe.

I was rushing up the stairs and ran into a chair, heard a loud CRACK, and my toe was looking a bit funny. And, of course, it HURT!!

So here's a picture of my foot. Gross, I know, I think feet are totally gross anyway, but for those of you with morbid fascination, I thought you'd like to see, too.

Poor Margaret, my "running" buddy. With me being sick, she's been out a running partner, and now this. It's only been 2 days since I got back into it. ARggh! I feel like a complete idiot. And you would completely understand, too, if you could see the chair I kicked. It's not like it sticks out in the way, and the little leg of the chair is tucked under the leather upholstered edge. I don't even know how I got my foot under there without any real effort. Bizzare. Anyway, enough ranting - here's my toe. Enjoy.

Hello Dolly

Ok. I have been reading blogs and news articles about Hurricane Dolly, and STILL, even after Katrina in 2005, many people refuse to leave their homes and seek shelter when a hurricane is projected to hit their area.

I have to ASK: Why?!?

It dumbfounds me. Do they really think they can save their homes and possessions by staying put? Are their earthly possessions so valuable that they would be willing to risk their very lives to try to protect them? Or do they really just think that if I pretend it's not coming, it will blow the other way? I know staying in a hotel can be expensive, and staying in a shelter is not convenient or comfortable. And after Katrina, we can wonder if shelters are any safer than staying at home. But still - do something. Anything. Get out of the way. We have radar, superdoppler, satellite imaging. We can be prepared and be safe. Why don't people take care of themselves?

Anyway, just a friendly reminder for anyone on the East Coast or South - get your 3 day emergency supply kits ready and keep your gas tanks more than half full. Your lives may depend on it.

Lion Reunion on You Tube

If you haven't yet seen the Lion video, you HAVE to watch it. Absolutely amazingly heartwarming. Warning, though: it's a tearjerker.

Go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U&feature=related