Newtonian Physics - Day 55

Today's theme is the first signs of fall.  Obviously the leaves changing, my garden emptying and cool weather are some good signs.  But the leaves here are still mainly unchanged, my garden is dug up and not pretty and a photo of the thermometer hovering around 60 degrees didn't appeal.  So I wandered into my neighbor's yard and present to you a photo of her apple tree.  She has a few that are so prolific that when the wind blows you can smell the fresh apples as well as the starting to rot ones on the ground.  It doesn't sound appealing, but to me it is the smell of fall. 

Bubble Hmmmm...... Day 54

The theme was bubble gum, but yeah I don't really get that one so here instead is the bubble shaped barometer that Aidan presented to his class for a science experiment.  He really loves science and is getting interested in weather and what causes it so his grandfather giving this to him was perfect.  It is a simple water barometer and it was predicting a low pressure rain/storm system.  It didn't rain until the next day at which time it was showing a high pressure sunny prediction.  Now it is showing rainy again as I stare at the big fluffy clouds and blue sky.  Oh well, it was fun to color the water and use the big plunger thingy to get it in the bubble anyway.

Goodnight Moon - Day 53

Today's theme was "my best friend" which would have been an easy assignment.  However today was the autumnal equinox and also the full moon.  Unfortunately I did not make it outside for moonrise which would have yielded a spectacular photo since this is the closest the equinox and full moonrise have been in almost 20 years it would have been one of the brightest and largest appearing moons.  Anyway, I made it outside just about when autumn officially arrived at 11:03PM EST and here is the view I had. 

Dog, The Stepstool - Day 52

Today's theme was "something out of place or random" and well, I guess the mousepad laying on the dog counts.  And my son perched on the dog's back counts.  Ethan loves to listen in when Chad is reading Aidan's bedtime story, but since Aidan's room is a deathtrap of small toys on low shelves Ethan generally sits out in the hallway and quietly plays.  Last night he decided to get a little closer to the action and luckily Max was there to give a leg up.  Literally.  The dog is pretty patient with Ethan and lay there until Ethan climbed back down on his own.  Good puppy!  Oh, and yes, the baby is trying to eat his way through the gate. 

Sleepy one - Day 51

Today's theme was someone sleeping.  I swear I stalked every person and animal, except my husband, while they were sleeping and every one of them woke up before I could snap a photo.  Finally after waking Mew, our outdoor cat, from a nap I stood around until she started falling back asleep and got a photo. This is her new favorite place to snooze, on our lawn tractor. Mission accomplished!!

Today was a momentous day.  I had my 22 week ultrasound and got a nice long look at our baby.  We looked at arms and legs, fingers and toes, head and belly, heart and spine, the whole shebang.  About 10 minutes into the exam the tech finally took a peek where I really wanted to and let me know I am carrying a baby girl!!  That will be a first for our little family, but I know her big brother's will help toughen her up and also protect her from any harm.  That is if her Daddy doesn't beat them to it.  Now all the real planning can start!!  Here is my favorite photos over her.  The first is her face and upper body and the second is over her little back, butt and leg.  Just a twist and she would've mooned us!!

Got waaaaay behind - Days 46 through 50

I don't know how the days passed so fast, but all of the sudden I am all kinds of behind on this blog.  I did take at least a photo every day, but I didn't really stick with the themes so I am going to post something for each day here and then hopefully be back on track tomorrow.

Day 50: Theme = purple.  These are some flowers from my back yard.


Day 49: Theme - orange. Ethan is 9 months old today so he has to be my photo of the day. 

Day 48: Theme - Diversity.  I didn't even look at the theme before I took any photos this day so instead I have a picture of Ethan playing the "How big is Ethan?  SO BIG!" game that is a current favorite of his.  Oh, and he is wearing big brother Aidan's hat, but don't tell on him, okay?

Day 47: Theme - your cleaning products.  Ummmm...rain is nature's cleaning product, right?  We had a massive thunderstorm full of crazy winds and such roll in late in the afternoon.  Here is the view from my front porch during the beginning of the storm.

Day 46: Theme - Celebrate! Well, every day around here is a celebration.  Ethan seems to pick up a new skill every day. Today he shows off what a fine bunny rabbit impression he can do.

Reality Flashback - Day 45

Today's theme was "reality TV" and we were to take a picture of someone pretending to be in a reality TV show. A little more effort than I felt up to since today was yet another blinding headache kinda day.  The best I could do was to dig out this photo of Ethan watching Survivor with me back in May.  It was funny because it was one of the first times he reacted to the TV, I think because the theme music was playing.  He is much the same now that I am watching all of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons yet again.  I have it on in the background and both of us look up when the music starts and go back to whatever we were doing for the most part the rest of the show.

 I didn't have the most productive day, mainly because I could not shake the headache.  I finally got headed to the grocery store after 4PM and only when I went to pay did I realize my debit card was not in my wallet.  I dug through the diaper bag, but no luck.  Thankfully the store was kind enough to chuck my cart in the cooler while I ran to the bank for some cash.  I was going to run home, but I had to go through the traffic circle and at 5PM it is not a fun place to be and the store said they'd only hang onto my stuff for about 30 minutes.  By the time I got back, paid and loaded everything up Ethan was miserable.  He was tired and hungry and I hadn't packed a bottle because I am an idiot. We finally got home, got him fed and once I put the groceries up I kinda collapsed on the living room floor for a while and let Ethan climb all over me while I rested.  As I suspected my debit card was left at Olive Garden yesterday when I met Sandy for lunch.  I will go pick it up tomorrow.  Sigh...

Cuyahoga Fall's Falls - Day 44

Today there was no theme, just a directive to use your own creativity.  I don't know about creative, but this is a photo of where my friend Sandy & I went hiking today - Gorge Park in Cuyahoga Falls.  This is the hydroelectric dam that the has been the center of controversy for years.  The dam was built it 1915 to a) create a cooling pool for a coal fired power plant upstream of the dam and b) to power a hydro turbine downstream. The hydro-project was abandoned and demolished due to insufficient hydro-electrical production because of inadequate and unpredictable flow.  Several years back a company applied for a permit to re-open the project even though the land is owned by the MetroParks.   They say there is something in the land deed allowing them access.  The fight is between those who say it will not provide enough power to offset the environmental impact and those who think the project is feasible.  

See, now you learned a little bit today- how wonderful.  I simply think that the dam is beautiful and especially when the water level is high (it is currently average/low) and the water coming down the falls hits the concrete pilings below creating water bursts up to 20 feet high.  At those times the spray can carry over to the observation deck where I stood to take the photos and it is simply marvelous. Here is an old photo from March 2007 showing a little higher water volume, but still not full spate.

I'll have to get back there in the spring melt or after we have a ton of rain and post another photo. 
Today was a good one with some un-fun moments.  I slept in until 10:30, but woke and saw I had a call from my OB.  Checked the message and found out the ultrasound appt I had scheduled for this Thursday to, amongst other things, try to find out the gender of the baby had been canceled due to a family emergency for the u/s tech.  They re-scheduled it for a week from Thursday.  I know it is only a week, but when you're pregnant that seems like forever and I am already 21 weeks which is later than most people I know are when they have this type of u/s.  So I called the office and asked if I could have the u/s done at Akron Children's since my first one was done there because they wanted to check on my c-section scarring.  Happily a doctor signed off on it and my new appt is for Monday the 20th.  The u/s will be so much more in depth and they have a second monitor so I can see the entire process whereas at my doctor's the tech doesn't talk much, has the screen pointed at her 99% of the time and it just is nowhere near as cool.  Happiness for me!  Ethan & I had a coffee date with my friend Sandy since she was in town for a meeting.  We decided to take a short hike at Gorge Park, but it turned into a long hike when I missed the turnoff that would have made it about 1/2 mile instead of 1.8 miles.  I didn't have Ethan's hiking backpack so he got switched from hip to hip and I got a major workout!!!  We picked Aidan up from school, came home and made dinner.  Chad actually got out of work nearly as early as hoped and made it home for dinner.  Both boys went to bed by 9:00 and I just don't know what to do with the rest of the evening.  It is so rare for Ethan to go to sleep before 9:30-10PM but he only had an hour nap instead of his normal three so he was pooped!!  Guess I'll watch some Buffy the Vampire Slayer while I iron.  Such excitement, I don't know how I handle it all :o)

Sunshine and Patriotism - Day 43

Well how perfect is this, today's theme is "Clouds on a Sunny Day" and I got to take the photo I wanted to take yesterday for 9-11/Patriot's Day.  I dunno why, but the whole Patriot's Day thing seems weird.  It's really no different than Memorial Day in that we are recalling those who died violently for our country, but I guess the pain comes because Memorial Day commemorates those who sacrificed themselves and Patriot's Day is for those who were unwillingly sacrificed. 

Falling Back on an Old Photo - Day 42

Today's theme was "Remembrance" in honor of Patriot's Day, the 9th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.  I wanted to take a photo of the American flag that I can see most of the windows in my house, but it was flying at half mast so the freeway kinda cut it off.  Instead I have a photo I took on the first anniversary of the attacks.  I thought it was perfect that a rainbow appeared that day.

Had a good day running a couple of errands, but mostly just hanging out and playing with the boys.  It seems weird to say it, but Aidan losing access to all his toys and TV/PC has been great for his relationship with Ethan.  They play together and have a fabulous time.  I will have to keep this going when he does start getting his stuff back or it will break Ethan's heart.

Music and Laughter - Day 41

Today's theme was music so here is a photo of our combo phonograph/CD/Tape/AM-FM Radio player/recorder.  I bought it for Chad our first Christmas together because he has such a great collection of vinyl records and I wanted to record them to CD & put them on my external hard drive in case anything ever happened to them.  Ummm......still haven't gotten around to that.  One of my favorite memories of when we dated back in college is of us standing in the entrance way of the MAC Center on Kent State's campus waiting out a rainstorm. The entrance was huge with high ceilings so Chad started doing the long Noah's conversation with God on the building of the Ark from one of Bill Cosby's comedy recordings.  He had the whole thing memorized and it was a great oration, his voice boomed off the ceiling just like on the record.  We still listen to those records every once in a while and laugh our butts off! 

Today was pretty great in a mellow non-exciting to anyone but me way.  Chad actually had the whole day off (yes, two Fridays in a row!) and we all slept in and bummed around until he had to go pick Aidan up from school.  Ethan fell asleep for a huge 3 hour nap just before Chad left so I did all of my chores and prepped supper.  After Ethan woke up, just after 5PM, he and I went in the back yard and picked some more yummy Concord grapes and then played in the grass until the guys got home from visiting my mother-in-law.  Aidan had a good day at school, phew! After supper Aidan was pushing Ethan all around the house in a cardboard box which was adorable.  I took a bunch of photos, but didn't realize that I'd removed the memory card from the camera earlier.  My new camera is much more subtle about saying the card is out so that was a bummer.  The boys both went to bed at 10PM and now Chad is watching Spenser for Hire on his PC while I watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD and edit the photos from last weekend's wedding.  I feel so much like a real family when we all get to spend time together like today.  

Art of My Heart - Day 40

Today's theme was art and so here are the two favorite groups of art in my house, photos of the boys.  Aidan was kinda adamant that Ethan not infiltrate his already established wall of photos so each has their own and I really like the effect even though it means I kinda have to cheat and use two photos since they're on walls across from each other.  All of Ethan's photos and most of Aidan's were taken by me though Aidan's baby ones predate me knowing him so were from Chad's collection. 

Today Aidan was at home because his Principal called Chad and Aidan in for a meeting first thing this AM and gave Aidan a one day suspension from school for yesterday's incident.  Aidan spent the day doing chores, chores and more chores.  Hopefully he learned something from it. He also practiced some ways to pull himself together when he gets upset so he doesn't have anything like this happen again.  Once his chores were done he had about 30 minutes to relax before I took him to his Mom's and he spent it playing with Ethan.  He's been pretty hands off with his little brother though he likes him a ton, but today he was picking him up and crawling around on the floor with him.  Ethan was over the moon happy because Aidan is his hero!!  He crawled up into Aidan's lap just before we left and gave him a big hug.  I didn't get a picture of that, but this is from just after.  I figure if I am bending the rules today I might as well go crazy.

The Best Part of My Morning - Day 39

Well, I don't have a picture to go with today's theme "the thing you can't live without in the morning" because that would be the kiss good-bye I get every morning from my husband. I am usually still asleep and only dig myself out from under my pillows and blankets long enough to stick out my head get my kiss and a hug.  He says "Have a good day." and I reply "Have a better one.  Be smart." and we say our I love you and goodbye.  So yeah, no pictures of that. Today I was awake and feeling like utter crap with yet another headache before Chad left.  Luckily, I actually remembered where my aspirin was and was already shaking the pain off when I came across this cute sight in the living room.

He was playing with the toy under the table because he apparently was so eager to make some music he didn't want to wait for Mama to pull it out.  Silly boy!
Today was good and bad.  I was productive, ran some errands and had fun with Ethan.  Aidan had some serious discipline issues at school and his Mom had to go pick him up early.  It has been one major incident every week since school started and it is just so frustrating.  Even the teacher agrees that he can be the best behaved, most respectful and delightful child until something sets him off.  And it is always something so small and silly to us, but whatever it is equals the end of his world to him.  Today it had to do with him missing the opportunity to go to the bathroom after lunch when his table was told it was their turn.  He accused the teacher of not calling their table, then refused to go when she said he could if he needed to.  Somehow that escalated into him telling her he was never speaking to her ever again, screaming his head off and then running out of class to hide in his locker.  For 30 minutes.  Sometimes we think about counseling, but we know they will say the lame b.s. about ADHD or some such thing and want to put him on medication and none of us think that is the case.  Tomorrow is another day, hopefully a better one. 

Outside Looking In - Day 38

Okay, back on the daily theme train.  Today's is "Glass" so I decided to hunt for a kaleidoscope to try to take a picture through it.  Well, I couldn't find it and honestly didn't feel like looking too hard.  Ethan, being the wonderful kid he is, came through for me by crawling up to the picture window in our living room and giving me the idea of taking a photo of him looking through the glass at me.  Max just bettered it by being the nosy dog that he is.

Today has been fairly productive.  Doing laundry, vacuumed everywhere and stream cleaned the back half of the house.  The front half will have to wait until my small crawler goes to bed.  I was going to wash my car, but now it's looking like it is about to rain, so oh well on that.

Sploosh and Splash!! Day 37

Happy Labor Day!  Just too be contrary we had a very labor-free day of relaxing, photo editing yesterday's wedding and most fun of all - BATH TIME!!!  Ethan has loved the water since day one.  We  take our time, splash a lot and have nothing but fun!!!

Just A Perfect Day - Day 36

I had over 450 photos yesterday to choose from, not bad for 3 hours worth of wedding photography.  With all that material I decided not to stick with the theme of "favorite electronic" for today.  While I also do the more traditional showing of the wedding rings on the bride's bouquet I like this version better when the wedding dress has such pretty detail work on it.

The bride and groom were tons of fun, the wedding and reception all took place in the sister of the bride's backyard which was indescribably beautiful so I have to cheat and include another photo.

This background is just about the same as the ceremony's since the cake was about 10 ft to the right of where the vows were exchanged.  Anyway, the weather was beautiful and I even got a photo of the bride and groom with her parent's holding shotguns on either side of them.  Too darn funny, even though it wasn't a real shotgun wedding it made for a great photo.

I Love My Car - Day 35

Today's theme is your car which made me mucho happy because I love my car.  It was my "fun car for before I have kids" that has turned into my "still a fun car even with kids" but will soon be my "old car that was too small for 3 kids" sometime before January 2011.  It is a 2002 Mini Cooper. Note the sexy, curvaceous front end that is no longer available on new models just because the curves tend to drag people under the car if they're hit.  Picky, picky, picky!! 
My husband will be glad of today's theme because it meant I washed the car, something that used to be done twice a week but is now a bi-weekly event if not monthly since baby arrived.  Besides being amazing to drive this is also one of the safest cars out there.  It is built like a tank, tons of airbags, great visibility and by far the best performing car in the snow.   We have had over 38,000 miles of fun together in the just over 3 years I have owned it and I know no other car will ever take it's place in my heart.  That being said - anyone wanna buy it?  Just kidding, you can't have it.......yet!!!

Hardly At Work - Day 34

Today's theme was  a picture of where you work.  My jobs are stay at home Mom and wedding photographer.  Since I don't have a wedding until this Sunday I had to improvise.  Even though this is a photo of me taking a picture of the sunset while holding my son I actually took the photo too via tripod and 10 second delay.  That pretty much covers it!

Today was a pretty darn good day. Chad had the day off and he actually didn't go in to work at all.  A few phone calls, some online work here and there, but by far better than we've had it in literally months!!!  I woke up in the middle of the night last night and heard rain falling and sent out a quick prayer for more rain.  It was partly because we haven't had any in a couple of weeks, but mostly because if it rained all day Chad could skip mowing the lawn and actually relax.  The weather half cooperated, it rained late morning and early afternoon, but got absolutely gorgeous mid-afternoon on.  So he got some relaxing time in and still got the yard mowed.  Fair enough for me and not bad for the prayers of a heathen!!

Outdoor Fruit Drawer- Day 33

The theme was a picture of your fridge, but I neither felt like cleaning it up nor photo shopping an image of Gozer the Gozerian from Ghostbusters onto the interior.  So instead here is a picture of some goodies from my outdoor fruit and veggie storage, a.k.a. my yard.  After 2 years of forgetting and losing all the grapes to the birds I finally happened to find them ripe and not completely eaten. Much to my joy I discovered they are Concord grapes, my absolute, complete and utter favorite kind!!!  I was just telling my Mom how I was craving those specific grapes yesterday!!!  There weren't bushels but I got a big bowlful and still have some on the vines to fight the birds for.

Sweet Tooth - Day 32

Theme of the day is your favorite candy.  I'm not really the one with a sweet tooth in my house, I'd rather grab a piece of fruit than a candy bar.  My husband however takes sweet tooth to a new level.  We were kinda low on stocked candy, but here is an glimpse of what was laying around.  I will admit that the Twizzlers and Snickers bar are mine.  Pregnancy does give me a taste for chocolate and I always have loved Twizzlers.