Belated Blog-iversary

While my true Blog-iversary is at the end of January 2008, I missed noting that date this year.  With another move under way and the blog not getting as much tender loving care from me as it once did, I decided marking the blog-iversary could wait until things were settled in our new home.  Well, I think we are as settled as we are going to be for now (fall adjustment to having all three in school coming at us like a bullet train folks).
B and The Boys continues to be a great place to mark our family milestones and write about our adventures.  Once in a while I take off on a rampage about something (AL state legislature: I am still boycotting the AL coast this summer due to your letting the tourism industry hijack my children's education; and it is hard because I found a great little place to go, but now I have to vote all you people out of office before I can go to the AL coast).  Once in a while I don't post for long periods of time.  Once in a while there are just some random pictures thrown together.  Once in a while we move.....OK, that one has happened too often in the last couple years.

The last two and a half years have not been the easiest, but I wouldn't change them for the world.  Without the difficulties there would not have been the lessons and bonding together of our family as a team.  They have taught D, the boys, and I a lot about what we can do as a family.  Separated by a continent for months, a move that was nothing but trouble from day one, settling in VA only to pull up stakes and move again to AL. Luckily the move here was smooth as silk compared to the last one. Hoping that our major struggles and life changes are done for a while and we can just stay still and watch the boys grow.

The boys are growing by leaps and bounds. This summer has been about pushing some of them outside their comfort zone to try new things, about finding new friends, and getting to know our new city.   We have a basic rhythm as a family with the boys at a place where they understand expectations and responsibilities and D and I recognize each child's limits and work within them or work to push those limits.  With E entering 6th in the fall, G entering 3rd, and M entering K it will be fun to see what further growth it brings....for all of us: that looks like a lot of empty hours for me right now.

So belated happy 4th blog-iversary to B and The Boys.  What a long strange road it is has been.
love and hugs, B

Another Garden

A posting in pictures.  The Birmingham Botanical Garden in early summer.

 We turned a corner to find this hawk fishing in a small pond.

 love and hugs, B

Vegetable Garden: Constant Harvest Edition

We are at the point in the summer where the only upkeep on the garden is deeply watering every few hot days and keeping up with the harvest.  Every time I go out it seems another tomato is ready or a zucchini is going to turn into a monster if it doesn't get picked immediately.  Basil hung to dry on the kitchen light fixture.

 Ripening tomatoes peeking out to say hello.....

 More tomatoes....anybody want some tomatoes?

 Corn tasseling (is that a word?).  Waiting for this to get big enough to pick. 

If at some point in the near future we disappear completely you can blame the pumpkin vine.  Currently it is working its way up the wall and will soon be knocking on the kitchen door.  If it knocks, I am sending M out to answer. 

love and hugs, B

Chicago: Part Two

 So we pick up the trip to Chicago on our last day there.  Again, the beasties are up early so we stall, have breakfast, and then head out where I can get some terrific pictures before the masses begin massing around obstructing the views.  The bean sculpture was the focus.  So fun to take photos of it  and in it.

 We hopped the first bus to the Museum of Science and Industry (tour goes through the Hyde Park neighborhood).   Only a few photos of this since we were having too much fun to take pics.

 The train room had model trains traveling across the United States.  The boys had their pic taken in front of Seattle-- E said he wished he was really there.  I have to say their Mt. Rainier made me a bit melancholy.

 Coal Mine tour was interesting and the older 2 boys were shocked to learn that if they had lived before child labor laws they might be working in the coal mines instead of going to school.

 The Ecohouse (environmentally friendly built and sustained exhibit) was fun to see and D and I have talked about several things we can put into our non-green house to make it more efficient.  E's little brain was lit on fire by this exhibit and he immediately began designing "green" homes and building "green" LEGO buildings at home.

 Shadow wall where the kids could 'alter' the flow of the light beads with their bodies.

 World's largest pinball machine.

 The Idea Factory where kids could try out different displays.

 In the weather room we saw a wispy tornado and their were lots of things to try.

 Final picture was taken in the energy exhibit hall--- one the kids were not interested in at all and we mostly walked through without really engaging.   Neat pic though.

So that was our trip to Chicago.  Fun was had by all.  All the boys were troopers with miles upon miles of walking, quick changes of plans, meals at strange times and places, and not being interested in every activity presented.  Traveling with three little guys like this makes vacation fun and opens up all sorts of possibilities for future adventures.  love and hugs, B

Chicago: Part One

 This trip made me realize that the number of photos I take is outrageous and inappropriate.  I even edit and delete photos each night  of a trip and still end up with hundreds.  Our trip to Chicago made me realize that taking a million pics of tall buildings is over the top.  Will give a bit of narrative with the pics since I print this once in a while and use it as a family history book.  D traveled to Chicago on Tuesday for a conference.  The boys and I traveled up Thursday early AM to join him.  We had the day on Thursday to get started on sightseeing and we certainly took advantage.  We walked right over to Navy Pier with its famous ferris wheel and beautiful water and skyline views.

 This is Harry Carray: famous announcer for the Chicago Cubs baseball team.  We ate at his restaurant for lunch and G enjoyed the Cubs memorabilia all over.

 After lunch we checked out the hop on/ hop off tour and trolley bus.  Let me go ahead and say that we are not scared to be tourists when we go to see a new place.  This tour offered a 3 day pass that opened up opportunities to go all over Chicago.   We used this pass all day every day and went on every tour they had.  We used it as a shuttle to get closer to our hotel and never had to take a taxi (except for the trip from and to the airport).  The guides were interesting and we learned things we never would have known without the tour narrative. So while there is only one pic of us on the  bus below, we were on the bus a lot.

 Chicago River.....creepy, unnatural color.

 Wrigley Building--- love the clock tower.  

 Millennium Park is the newest in the Chicago riverfront park system.  It has this fantastic concert area with amazing acoustics.

 Also in Millennium Park is the Cloud Gate sculpture also known as "the bean".  Loved taking pics of it, pics of the skyline reflected in it, and pics of ourselves reflected in it.

 After touring around all day Thursday we went back to Navy Pier and rode the BIG ferris wheel.  E and I are not fond of heights and knew this would be conquering a fear.  M and G had no problem and enjoyed it.  D had never been on a ferris wheel of any size before and didn't know he was quite so scared of heights.  Really.  Like didn't want to talk during the ride or about the experience afterward.  I don't think he will be riding a ferris wheel anytime ever again.

 Friday morning we got up at regular time (6AM-- why can't the munchkins ever sleep in?). After stalling in the hotel room as long as possible we went to breakfast and then for a walk before our first bus tour.   So happy we were in the parks so early so I could take photos of a few things without lots of people around.  Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.....

 The Millennium Park band shell and skyline seen in the distance from a garden.

 First tour of the day took us to north Chicago, specifically Wrigley Field home of the Chicago Cubs-- G's favorite baseball team.

 Second tour around lunchtime took us to west Chicago into the different neighborhoods.  Chinatown gate.

 We stepped off to get a closer look at the Joe Dimaggio statue in Little Italy and ended up having a terrific lunch.

 After all our tours we walked past the Chicago Tribune building on the way back to the hotel.  It is a beautiful building, but what makes it more interesting is that it has around 130 pieces of significant buildings or landmarks from around the world built into it.  Here are a few we liked...

 Friday was our longest day of running around and we ended the day with a city lights tour after dinner.  It wasn't very dark, but it was good enough for the kids.  Navy Pier.

 Night skyline as reflected in "the bean" sculpture peeking through the trees.

Thus ends the first two days in Chicago.  Will post the second piece tomorrow that will not be as long as this nor will it have so many pictures.   love and hugs, B

My Phone: A Thank You Post

This is all about my phone.  I am not a highly tech-y person.  D is.  When I needed a  phone to use during the never ending home sale in WA state I thought we would just get a cheap little flip phone from a department store.  D had to go with the latest technology which was a smartphone (the iPhone though this isn't an ad or sponsored by them in any way).  When I first got the phone I thought it was a bit much: what was I going to do with all those buttons and apps and things.  I thought so much of it would be wasted on me.  This list of ways I use my phone is sort of a thank you to D for pushing me into new technology.

• email, so nice to check it quickly.
• phone.  With all our moves recently it has been nice to know that when I don't have emergency contacts in a new town I have an emergency number in my phone.
• news online and through apps.  Love checking the headlines while waiting in the grocery line.
• games: have saved my sanity during many a doctor/dentist appointment with the munchkins.  Games have also saved a few family outings when one child was not interested in the activity and there was no chance we were leaving it early. OK, I play the games too.  Scrabble Free, Angry Birds... I play.  I admit it.
• music.  I have all my purchased tunes loaded.  I just installed the I Heart Radio app.  I use the internet to stream my favorite station from Seattle everyday.  There is no station like my favorite Seattle station.
• Weather.  With one desperately scared of thunderstorms it is nice to have some warning.  In our new tornado prone state I should look into getting a weather warning app as well. Also helpful in looking ahead in the forecast with a click.
• Camera.  Not as good as my real camera and there are things I haven't been motivated to figure out like how to get pics from the phone to the blog, but that camera has been so handy.  I can email my dad a picture to ask a  gardening question.  When we were separated by a continent we could easily send D pics of what we were up to. I have taken quick pictures of patterns as I try to lay out a quilt or hang framed picture arrangements on the walls.  I have taken video of school concerts D missed and E's batting swing to show him that it is so low he looks like he is golfing.  Remembering parking places in large lots is not so stressful when you take a pic of the nearest sign/landmark with the phone camera.  Furniture shopping was a bit easier because I took pictures of items I liked to review and compare them later.
• Contacts.  So nice to have everyone close though I live in fear that this data will somehow disappear into the universe for no reason never to be found again.
• Texting.  I didn't know how to text until we built the last house in Virginia.  The only way to get my site supervisor to respond was texting.  Now I text with all my sisters and D and neighbors.  Fun!
• The Map.  It is like carrying a GPS around with you because it is carrying a GPS around with you.  It has gotten me out of more than a few messes where I was totally lost.  A scary part of Atlanta after a ball game and being completely turned around on the way to a new library come to mind.  I have learned before we go on a trip to enter our hotel address into it so no matter how lost we are we can have that as a centering place.  Finding my was around in a new city has been made much easier by this feature.

So this is a techie thank you to D for my phone. A little late as I got the phone almost 3 years ago.  It is time to upgrade and again I hesitate--- I hate to give up my longtime helper--- but I know that there is a new helper waiting for me who can teach me all sorts of new things and that I can find so many creative uses for.
love and hugs, B

She's Crafty!

Yes, I am crafty, but often my craft is frivolous and not truly necessary and useful.   I finally came up with a project that was necessary and useful and I think it is my own invention.  And perhaps it exposes too much about my little quirks and you didn't want to know that about me.  I have a couple of issues with the new house.  One being there was no convenient place to put the paper towels.  The island counter space is smallish and I didn't like the cluttered look of having the paper towels sitting there all the time.  Under the cabinet mounting was too far from the sink in the island. A magnetic mount on the front of the dishwasher seemed like just the ticket, but if you know D then  you know he likes all the appliance to be scratch free and perfect looking---- risk of scraping the dishwasher with the magnetic mount was 100 percent;  we have three boys.    

Here are the supplies I used (yes that is a piece of an old screw together mop handle-- I needed a rod shape):

I sewed the rod into a pocket I created in the fabric and then added buttons and buttonholes.  The paper towel roll hangs neatly off the dishwasher handle and when it is time to change the roll you unbutton one side, slide off the empty roll, recycle it, and put the new roll on.  If the fabric ever gets dirty then the rod can be removed from the pocket the fabric part can be washed in the washing machine.  I am very proud of my first useful invention. Perhaps this invention will become part of my new identity when all three are in school this fall.  I can be the paper towel hanger lady.

love and hugs, B