Maggie's first babysitting event. "You touch this kid and I'll chomp on you", she says

  

Maggs got a hold of the camera...

 
  

EVOLUTION IN A BOX

 
So these characters were from a box of "Grow your own dinosaurs"..a gift from my friend Lizard on my birthday (reminding me how old I am...get it...dinosaurs). You know the kind...come as capsules and you put them in hot water and watch them "grow". She thinks maybe we caught evolution in action here........ 

socks!!!!!!!!!!

 

NICE SOCKS!! 

Guess that plant!!!?

 


What's this? 

Walk in The Res

 







WHO CAN NAME THAT UNDERSTORY PLANT...........? 

Lions and Pirates and Bears, oh my!

 


Someone is 7 weeks old today!!!! 

Give the cat a bath

Saw this article in the SBTribune today about bathing cats.
Go to this link and see pictures of cats getting a bath! Can't say I want to try this with our cat, Mao. Sounds like a recipe for a trip to the ER to me!!!

Better start training!

I know Talk like a Pirate Day isn't until September 19th, but it's never too early to start practicing!!!!!!!!!!

Dogs and Shoes

Had a visit from "Aunty Assistant Prof. H" (AAPH) yesterday. She had two reasons to visit. #1 The Little Guy (of course) and #2 Running Shoes. She had found this specialtyrunning shoe store that looked promising. See, she has super thin and long feet...tough to fit. This store lived up to its expectations and AAPH got royal treatment by the manager and we got her into a nice pair of new running shoes. He even made her run outside in the parking lot so he could evaluate her run. The other cool thing about the store was that they had two dogs in there. Cute dogs. One looked like a big shaggy dust mop. Turns out it was an 8-month old golden-doodle. Mix of a red poodle and a 55 lb golden. He looked kind of like one of these dogs...but very red. He was cute

Also, the parents were here visiting last week. Cooking, doing yard work, holding "little guy", etc. They wouldn't stay with us, but instead chose to stay at the Country Inn and Suites a few miles away. They were happy with the place, but I noted this article about the hotel having a carbon monoxide leak this morning in the SBTribune. Good thing they decided to leave on Friday!!!

Gym class

I don't know whyI was thinking about my old gym classes. Perhaps all the news about obesity in kids and the lack of physical activity at school these days.

But when I think back on what we did I don't know how much that helped us in keeping trim. I remember having to do square dancing....a lot...and the boys didn't want to hold our hands. And that dumb parachute game with the ball in the middle. Dodge ball...a little bit. And in high school we had multiple units of golf!!!!!!! yuck! Floor hockey in middle school. That's about all I can remember....

RELAX!!!

  

Reaction to the current political climate

  

What's Isaac thinking?

I've been reprimanded by more than one person that I haven't updated my blog in awhile. well, I've been a bit busy! Thought i'd let you guys do the work and give this photo a caption!

Little Mr. Hulk....circa 1975

  
Please note the vampire teeth....

Kindergarten report card

 
 
 

Can you see that Chris was graded on "using his handkerchief correctly, moving to rhythms, and staying mostly clean and tidy"...

Working out at work?

Liked this article I read in the SBTribune yesterday about working out at work. I really like this idea of adjusting our workstations (ie treadmill desks) to help us get more exercise at work. It is based on a concept called NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)...the energy spent on physical activities of daily living. It theorizes that there is more benefit from frequent fidgeting and small movements than from sitting still for days with an occasional hard-core workout.Of course this idea comes the Mayo Clinic in MN.

You're gonna love this post!

I did my first "surgery" today! I removed an ingrown toenail!!! Numbed the toe and pulled the dang toenail out by myself! Not too much blood, either. For those interested in the procedure here it is on the Amer. Fam. Phys. website. You can scroll down and see a quick drawing of the procedure. First time I saw this done I thought I'd vomit, but did it myself today with no problems. Impressive, eh?

The Prez came to MY town!!!!!!!!!

How very exciting that President Bush was in my little town yesterday. Chris said he even saw Air Force One fly over Notre Dame.
Actually, the only interesting thing I took from the news of his fundraising visit was the salsa recipe he apparently enjoys:

"GRANGER -- U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola just thinks he's the reason President Bush comes to St. Joseph County so often. The president's fascination with visiting here actually may have more to do with his taste for Astrid Domenick's "Don't Mess With Texas Salsa."
As everyone knows by now, the president will be at Bethel College in Mishawaka today to campaign for Chocola, R-2nd. It's the president's SEVENTH visit to the Michiana area in as many years.


Don't Mess With Texas Salsa

2 lbs. tomatoes, boiled, peeled and cored
1/2 large white onion, chopped
4 medium jalapeño peppers, toasted, peeled, seeds removed and chopped
2 small, red serrano peppers, chopped (optional)
3 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. finely chopped cilantro
3 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Chop the tomatoes in a blender. Sauté the onions, garlic and peppers in olive oil until cooked down a bit. Put the tomatoes in a stock pot. Add the cumin, salt, black pepper and cilantro to the tomatoes. Add the sautéed onion, garlic and peppers. Simmer for three hours to concentrate the flavor and reduce the acidity of the tomatoes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve warm.

I may just have to make this and serve it at our party next week......I don't think I'll invite George doubl-yaa, though

My dog

 

Here is Maggs on her "baby" blanket with her pink Teddy Bear. She is such a girly dog! And her report card from doggie day care today said "I love how Maggie sits so pretty for her treats".