hazards

Sometimes they're on land, too.

The Nude Beaches Of Nassau County

While pulled alongside  a county vehicle recently, I discovered a lesser known area  attraction: nude sunbathing, apparently. 

Also, floating livestock & paper mills- but who doesn't have those? 

Nassau County- Coffee4Lunch will donate services whenever you're ready. 

Neighborly Ninjas

We have resident Fiddlers. They're like friendly little ninjas. Occasionally I will come home to a little ninja sitting on the front door thresh, waiting patiently to be let in. Other times I will walk out to find that one has been crushed by human foot, unaware. 

On the day of the Great Ninja Occupation, both invading critters were trapped humanely and returned to the marsh's edge...after a bit of matching  wits. Lil' guys are smart- and fast. I could see their little eyes watching me as I schemed to block or trap them- and in response they would flatten their little bodies and dart to the next corner/hiding spot within reach. This is when I realized I was dealing with ninjas. 

The law of dominion eventually prevailed..let us *hope that it persist.

* I rarely 'conquer' a lower critter that I'm not reminded of a particular ALF episode: http://youtu.be/b5DWbVDzitw   

Little Shredder

Are you ready to rock?

Ketchup

Don't Judge. It's practically a vegetable. 

 

Bench Tribute

As we exited a recent lunch @ Sandy Bottoms,  I noticed something new on the nearby bench:

 And then I re-checked the inscription, for I have read them all but forget which ones are where.

It is fun to imagine all of the reasons someone may bring a mallet to the beach and then abandon it on a bench. 

It is less interesting to note that a mallet would make an ideal tool for securing umbrella anchors and is probably easily explained. 

In all cases, that the mallet was left on the bench of Mr. Thomas H. Little: Warrior & Dreamer was a happy discovery. 

THOmas / THOr... warriors with hammers...coincidence? 

I think not.

Picky Princess (*now with Ketchup Cat)

We have a picky princess in our house.

Here are the things she will gladly eat:

Potato Chips

Peanut Butter

Chocolate Spread

Chocolate Chips

Ketchup

Strawberries

Milk (I realize milk is not food, she insists otherwise) 

~*~

Here are the things she will sometimes eat:

Raisins

Yogurt (preferably with rainbow sprinkles) 

Pizza Crust

French Fries

Bananas

Dry Cereal (preferably with rainbow marshmallows) 

 ~Notice the sugar trend? 

We are working on it, and until something catches on, we're getting creative ;)

 Food fun we've recently had: 

FryPop

She only ate the ketchup.

Ketchup Cat

Meant to encourage fry consumption, she asked for a bigger cat. 

MinnieMouse Cream

I realize that the below picture is of ice cream, but it had been a milk only day, despite the Jell-o and bananas we offered from the buffet @ Ichiban. I was aiming at a few more calories by this point. 

She watched the mouse melt as she finished off her milk. 

Shopping w/ DaDa

Clay took the children shopping for few items to get them through the warmer months. Riley LOVED her new things. She brought the clothes into the living area and hung them all neatly on the television stand. She then took them all into her room and hung them on the dresser pegs. For an entire day, the clothes moved between bedroom and living area. She was very upset when I eventually moved them into the closet. She wanted to keep them on display, like decorations. :) 

Pet Store Zoo Photography

We have convinced Riley that the pet store is a small zoo. 

(I tried to convince her to pet the fish, but she  didn't take the bait. )

On this particular visit, we were there so that the children could close out their virtual photography class. I am so glad we had a camera (or two) out and ready when this lady walked in. 

We were watching the cockatiel (I have always wanted a cockatiel... I gravitate towards their cages) when she strolled up. 

She told us her name is Nancy. 

She had brought her own pet cockatiel into the store to visit with the store's bird. Apparently, the store had only recently acquired their feathered friend and he's been a little glum. 

So, Nancy brought him a little company. 

Wait. Stop. Hold It. I should explain that I am using 'him' as a default pronoun. As Nancy explained, there's really no telling if the birds are male or female without a very expensive test or trial and error until eggs appear. This was not that kind of visit. 

There was a good natured employee who came over to allow the captive bird some supervised visitation. It was a neat little random moment that we happened across in the pet store-zoo-photography class. 

If you look closely, you will see both birds after visiting hours had ended- one imprisoned in glass, the other caged in metal. But if you look even more closely, you will see that the visiting bird rode in on a cat.

When I realized this small truth, the happy little random moment escalated to magnificent. Because- look at the cat... he's the right color to be Sylvester and the bird is almost Tweety colored... and they were being pushed around by Grancy... I mean Granny... no, no, Nancy is her name...but you do see it, don't you?

We got acquainted a little more with Nancy before going our separate ways (you knew I would, didn't you?). She explained to us that she had taken the cat when her brother in law found out he had cancer. The man and the cat had been good chums but cancer treatment and cats don't mix. Nancy had become the cat's caretaker until the brother-in-law's recent passing. They had stopped by the pet store on their way back to the cat's original home. He was being returned to the widow- or at least going to visit, to see if he wanted to come back home... which reminds me a little of something:

I just love meeting new people

 (but, preferably on my own terms, if we're being honest... and why should we lie? .)

Mommy's MakeUp

She wears it better than I do...  

Another Unlikely Pair

Earlier, I shared pictures I found online of an unlikely friendship. Here is another strange pairing found a little closer to home:

 That's my patio grape plant holding the leaf of my patio corn.  I am happy to see them supporting one another in such constructive ways  ;)

Unlikely Friends

I have been creating some visual art type things for a project. For one part, I needed a picture of 'unlikely friends' At least, that was one of the search terms I used. It was late when I came across these photos... and that is what I blamed the initial fit of giggles that overcame me on... this very late hour I found myself awake and playing with graphics.

 I have no such excuse however,  for every other time I am overcome by mirth by these candids- which is every time I happen to see them. 

That monkey's smile... 

the way he's so sincerely sharing his banana...  

Rainbow Sprinkles

 Rye's art & snack session was set up like this. 

Look closely at those pencil leads, it will be important later. 

Sugar is brainfood...it was a perfectly nutritious snack...stop judgin' me :)

 Sprinkles make ya sweet...

...and Sprinkles are inspiring! 

Yes...just a shirt & training pants... it's what works for us... 

~Sugar Lips~

Okay, time for the story. 

I bought a container of sprinkles in hopes of convincing Riley to broaden her culinary horizons. Currently, she and Buddy the Elf share a similar palate. 

Yes, sprinkles are made of sugar too, but if you shake them over, say, Mashed Potatoes or Chicken Nuggets then sugar becomes a lesser ingredient. Especially when compared with most of her current preferred favorites, like "Big Chocolate Cupcake Cookies" (a.k.a. Reese Cups) and Pink Ice Cream. 

 It isn't an exact science, but it has met with some success. 

So, Riley had a little bowl of sprinkles during her art and snack session and needless to say, when she was finished I had a living room full of rainbow colored sprinkles and some artwork to add to Riley's portfolio.

BUT... I didn't clean the mess up.. I had to run to a baseball game for Chandler.  I left the chaos to be dealt with upon our return. 

The thing is, by the time we returned- it was dark. Riley had fallen asleep in the car. I tucked her in and went quietly to the living room to clean up her 'creative explosion' from earlier. I left the lights off and vacuuming til morning, opting for the quieter method of sweeping sprinkles from the coffee table into my hand. 

Who can resist sprinkles, I ask you?

Not me, that's for sure. 

Absentmindedly, I licked a few clingy sprinkles from my fingers  as I walked the lot of them to the wastebasket.

"These taste like PLASTIC!' I thought to myself.

and 

"That's what I get for buying sprinkles from the Dollar Tree."

I had brushed the remaining sprinkles into the bin and returned for the pencils when it dawned on me:

"OH! I bet I just ate colored pencil leads..."

I opened the little container of sprinkles to taste-test my hypothesis: 

If they tasted like plastic, I knew my menu expansion plan would need to be adjusted- a more expensive brand of sprinkles sought and bought before we could proceed with sprinkling the scrambled eggs in the morning. 

However, if they were sweet, as sprinkles should be, I would know I had just tasted the rainbow... quite literally. 

Well...

If they had been sprinkles, I wouldn't be telling you this story.

 I'd simply say "Don't buy dollar store sprinkles"

As it were, I say "Learn from my folly" 

Colored pencil leads or  rainbow sprinkles? It doesn't matter- toss 'em out!

On Parenting...

HaHa- yes, exactly. 

Little Shadow Dancer

Everyone had gone to the truck, except Riley and myself. We seem to always be the last two in the car. There are a host of reasons, from finding a lost shoe to re-packing an understocked diaper bag. We've recently added "Load Rye's purse" to that list. That was one of the reasons we were lagging on this day.

We took the elevator down one whole flight...18 steps worth of space... to the parking lot ; not because it is faster, rather because it is a safer means of travel for those of us with both hands and a foot full.
As we exited the elevator, Riley spied her shadow in a shaft of sunlight. She and her newfound friend commenced a dance promptly.

Little Shopper

She said she was hungry. 

Clever what they stock those lower shelves with, no?

Eating Apples: You're Doing It Wrong

Watched this video on BuzzFeed awhile back. 

Decided to gave it a go. 

In fact, I bought apples just to try it.

It works. 

(and I did eat the seeds too... because someone once told me too...they're kind of 'almond-y')

I Feel Pretty

Riley can reach the make-up drawer now... and she has paid close enough attention to get the general idea. 

When all was said and done, I lifted her to the mirror and said "Aren't you pretty?" 

She said "I'm a mess!" 

Oh, yes.
 She is. 

Lovey Gets A Bath

Grammy gave "Lovey" to Riley when she was born.

This large, loveable pink pooch has been through various moves and times of storage; as well as plenty of playtime with Rye.
Because of all the living and loving evident in Lovey's fur, we recently took him to the local laundromat for a quick, sudsy spin and a fluffy air dry... Riley cheered Lovey on the whole way, Fisher cheered Rye on.

Riley and Fisher have similar dispositions towards their stuffed friends-simply put, stuffed animals are real... and the cuter the stuffy, the more in tune with its feelings they seem to be... situations like being put in the washing machine are matters of survival, not just hygiene.

It's cute ~until something tragic happens, like a severed limb   (or ear!)   or a spill over of stuffing or something... you would think we'd lost a family member in the trauma unit should something like that occur. (There was a light stuffing leakage on this day and ALL of my kids thought we'd lost Lovey.)

So, imagine our motley Brew Crew hauling Lovey, the Giant Pink Puppy into the Laundromat; moving from station to station as the mob that we are, creating all the necessary chaos to operate the machines, as we fight for the best 'seat' to watch the 'show'(or camera angle to take pictures, ::guilty gulp::) pummeling & elbowing one another from time to time when someone blocks our view...some of us cheering and shouting at the 'screen' like we were watching that Notorious College Football Championship instead of ...a WASHING MACHINE.

I tell you, we fit right in at the Laundromat! And I cannot wait to go back sometime soon, which we are going to have to do, because I still have sixteen dollars on the Wash & Dry card they make you trade your real money in for. Turns out the math they taught me in school did not cover properly estimating time & money in a laundromat that lists prices like a slot machine... blinky little screen things that they are!

I have got to add two little asides before you get your turn at "Watching-A-Washing-Machine" (sounds like a great new trend to start- quick someone, Pin This!)

1.) As we were talking about this adventure later, Rye said "Lovey go in the dishwasher!" (I think that might be worth a try next time ... I've been needing to mop the floor again anyway.)

2.) There is a thrift store that funds a local pet rescue a few doors down from the laundromat. As we waited on the dryer to finish, we moseyed down to see what we could see. When the lady at the door asked us "Are you looking for anything in particular today?" and I explained "No, ma'm~ we're just washing our dog next door, killing a little time as we wait for him to dry." It really WAS the right thing to do to specify that we were referring to a stuffed dog, but it would have been so much funnier to just leave it at "dog" don't ya think?

Princess Clay

Rye has her daddy wrapped around that pretty little pinky...