LIFE

We hit the jackpot last night when we went to Sanibel Island. There was a full moon and the tide was extremely low. It made perfect conditions for live shelling. I’ve never seen so many!

Sanibel is renowned for shelling. We have buckets of them we have collected over the years. But, I’ve never seen as many live shells as I did last night. It was amazing! The tide went back and you could walk out a good way and still only be ankle deep. They were everywhere. It was like a giant touch tank. The kids were having the best time picking up the shells and seeing what creature would expose itself. They didn’t want to leave, so we didn’t, until well after sunset.

We came home with  several dead sandollars and a bunch of other shells. Somehow, two of the tiniest little guys made it home hidden amongst our loot. It’s against the law to remove any of the live shells from the beach, which is why I’m pretty sure my foot was impaled with the pointiest shell ever as we were leaving. Ouch!

Growing up, I was never particularly outdoorsy or truly appreciated nature the way my kids do. Especially, Savannah. She’s never been big into baby dolls, barbie dolls, or princesses. Except for this tree doll I made her a couple of weeks ago, she doesn’t really have any dolls. There might be a couple lying around here, but she never gives them a second look. She has River Otter, her pride and joy, but no dolls to speak of. She would much rather be in the garden collecting snails and leaves. I just love that about her.

The other day, I was ordering books for our upcoming school year and I stumbled onto The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever. I knew it would be perfect for Savannah. The book tells about the life and true story of pioneer, Kate Sessions from the 1860’s til her death in 1940. It begins with her early years and a fascination with the woods in her hometown in Northern California. Later in life, she became the first woman to graduate with a degree in science from the University of California. Upon her graduation, she accepted a teaching position in San Diego. But, once she arrived, she quickly saw that it was barren and almost void of any trees. Through her passion and love of trees, she paved the way to transform San Diego into the lush garden and park filled city that it is today.

Savannah, my very own tree lady, is smitten with Kate Sessions and what she accomplished. She’s also tickled they share the name, Kate. It’s a wonderful, inspiring book for little nature lovers!

Last Christmas we got the kids this camera. It’s virtually kid proof and it does videos. Before they had their own camera, they were always hijacking my phone.  I got tired of deleting hundreds of pictures of the floor and the top half of Annie’s head. Jacks has really taken to photography lately. He loves setting up scenes with his Legos. He’ll disappear for hours taking pictures and making movies with his Lego cars.
We went to the beach for Memorial Day and we always come home with shells. We have a huge 5 gallon bucket full of shells from previous beach trips and vacations. Every now and then, he’ll ask to get the shells and he’ll spend hours categorizing them by likeness, then dump them back in the bucket. I snapped the top picture of him taking pictures of his shells he brought home that day. The bottom picture is the one he took with his camera.
I love that he has found a little hobby all his own!

I was having a day this week.  Lucky for me, I’ve got three kids at the ready to sketch me out. Geez, I’m looking really strung out these days, thank you Annie. I have a stack of mean mommy drawings. I’m saving them up to make a picture book….of which I’ll be the star, because there are no Mean Daddy pictures. Jacks wanted me to tell him which one of them is the most annoying…in number order. Sweet boy…you all annoy me equally.
Of course, I always feel bad when I lose it.  Lately, I’ve been walking out to the garage and screaming into a pile of beach towels. I’m trying to be more patient, but sometimes it just spills out of me before I can get a grip. I’m so glad I’ll have these pictures to look back on and remember what fun I used to be!

 I’m thrilled to have been asked to participate in a Dragons Love Tacos giveaway sponsored by Penguin Kids.  Dragons Love Tacos happens to be a favorite in our house. You might remember this party I put together for my kids in our backyard last year. They had a blast bringing the story to life. A New York Times bestseller that tells the cute story of taco lovin’ dragons. If you don’t already own a copy of this adorable book, now is your chance to win one for yourself. Wait, there’s more! In addition to the book, I am giving away an original, one of a kind, signed and dated drawing from the talented illustrator himself, Daniel Salmieri! To enter your chance at winning, see the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The winner will be announced on this blog post, one week from the start of the giveaway. Prize will be mailed to winner directly from Penguin Kids. Good luck!
As if that’s not enough, Penguin Kids is also sponsoring an awesome sweepstakes via Pinterest. Go here and get pinning to win a 100 Amex card and a copy of Dragons Love Tacos!

Yesterday, April 8th, was my husband’s 40th birthday.  I snapped this picture at his birthday dinner. He was talking to Jacks, who was sitting right next to him. When he heard the camera, he didn’t move, he just looked my way. I think it might be one of my favorite pictures of him.

For Christmas this last year, I bought all the kids ranger bug catching nets. We had several of the dollar store cheapies, but they just don’t fare well after so many uses. My kids are utterly obsessed with nature, so I knew they would get good use. They are pretty huge, but they are sturdy. I crack myself up watching them run around with these things. About a month after we had them, we went across the street from our house to an open field. Jacks wanted to try catching butterflies. He was running every which way and I was too busy laughing hysterically at his attempts to be of much help. Finally, after about an 30 minutes of this, he hit pay dirt and caught a Monarch. …

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It’s so rare that this kid has any alone time to do just what he wants to do. He has two little sisters, that are almost always wanting to do what big brother does. He plays cars, they play cars. He plays video games, they play video games. He builds something, they knock it down. Chris and I usually have to chime in and mediate, so that everyone gets a turn. I feel like we are always preaching…share, share, share! He tolerates it most of the time, but sometimes he starts acting out. Which usually ends up with him being disciplined. So many times I hear him say, I just want to play by myself. I have taken notice. I feel bad that he gets himself in trouble, because he’s feeling suffocated. Do I ever know that feeling! I’ve backed off the sharing soapbox. Instead, I will tell the girls they need to find another activity and they oblige. It’s really helped to give him his own time and own space, even if it only lasts an hour. I’ve definitely noticed a change in his attitude. We all need a breather now and again.