pizza, playdate, & poor little birds

Can you smell that? It's pizza...Mmmmm! Pizza is such a normal thing for us to eat, and it's something that we take for granted every time we eat it. I mean, when you want pizza the biggest concern you have is which toppings to get. Am I right? Well, Tim has been on a gluten-free diet for about six months. So, not only has he had to live without buttermilk biscuit ( it pains me just to think about it), but he's also managed to survive without one single slice of pizza. Amazing! Okay, so he has been know to steal the toppings off of any unguarded slice he sees...but it's just not the same. Well, oh happy day...I found gluten-free pizza crust mix and made Tim a pizza. We all had a little slice but the rest was for him. He devoured it. Really it was quite good. It ain't pretty, as you can see by the picture, but for a first try at making pizza with this incredibly sticky dough, it turned out alright. Next time I'll make two pizzas so that the crust will be thinner, and per his request, there will be more cheese! Thank goodness for Bob's Red Mill!

Yesterday we had a play date. Our friends came over and brought their 18 inch dolls so that I could make them some cute dresses...while the girls watched. The goal was to see how interested the girls were in the sewing process. I think they really enjoy it. Although the most fun part was probably choosing just the right fabric :o) I made a couple of dresses for Miss O and Miss E's dolls last week... they got to help with the sewing while I was in charge of the pedal. I wish I had taken pictures, but sewing and taking pictures at the same time that a 5 year old and 3 year old are helping me sew is just a little much. I did, however get pictures from the play date. It helps having another mom around...thanks Heather! Okay, so while I finished up the doll dresses the girls had lots of fun playing dress-up. I didn't have a doll pattern so I just drew a picture of what I wanted the dress to look like...a wrap-around dress...then I measured the dolls and made a pattern on some of our school paper. It seemed to work pretty well. I'd do it again :o)

Okay, now for the sad part. Last night we had a pretty bad storm. Lots of wind and heavy downpours. Although the storm didn't last too long, while it was happening, it was pretty rough. This morning when I got up, and like every other morning, I made my way to every room and opened the blinds. When I got to the kitchen window and opened the blinds I peeked down into the bush to check on our cute little birdies...the nest was gone, or at least most of it...and there were no little birds in sight. I opened the window a crack to see if I could hear them, thinking maybe they were deeper in the bush or on the ground. The only sound I heard was the mama bird squawking angrily from the power line. I watched her for a while and she finally flew down to the ground by the bush. When she finally flew away I opened the window again and raised the screen so I could look down on the ground. Sure enough, one little broken bird. So sad. I didn't see or hear the other two birds, so I am assuming they survived. I never got the perfect shot of the three little birds in the nest, but I did get a few more while I was making dinner yesterday before the storm.



This last picture is my favorite because although this little birdie is sleepy, he is obviously still hungry so he's keeping one eye open so he can be the first to see the mom coming back with the food!

reptiles...at the library????

Oh boy, did we have fun at the library today. Have I mentioned that we have the best library in the world? Oh yeah, I have. There was a reptile show. Yeah, lizards, snakes, and turtles. No crocs. It was a husband and wife team that has a reptile farm. They have four kids...they helped at the end of the show. From a teacher's point of view I was impressed with their presentation and information delivery. They were very energetic but kept control of the large group. They had several types of lizards, a few different of snakes (baby ones), and a couple of turtles. From a mom's point of view, I was fascinated that they kept everyones attention for an hour. I was also impressed with how they handled all of the little kids that wanted to share their stories instead of asking/answering questions. We got to pet a bearded dragon. Very cool. If we ever had a reptile for a pet, that's what we would choose. They don't get big like iguanas and they are pretty mild mannered. I was proud of my girls' bravery. They didn't act all girly and scared of the reptiles. They were excited, interested, intrigued, and amazed! Here are some pictures. Sorry for the poor quality, but the lighting was not good, and I wasn't very close.

Ball Python

Tortoise...sorry I can't remember which kind.

Chameleon...very cool, very cool.

Leopard Gecko
Iguana
I can't remember the name of this little lizard either. It's the kind that runs so fast it can run on the surface of water...they call it a "Jesus lizard"
Our favorite..the Bearded Dragon
Corn Snake

I have a few more pictures, not very good ones. We had a great time. Learned a lot. Gained an appreciation for the reptile family. What a great trip to the library!

sunny saturday

We started off our day by going to the Community Market. There's a great vendor there from the Sleepy Goat Farm that sells some really yummy goat cheese. Yeah, you heard me, goat cheese. Each variety of cheese is named after an artist...Picasso, Cassatt, Degas. There's more but I can't remember them all. Also, paintings from those artists are on the packaging, except there are goats in the pictures instead of people...funny, huh? Cute though. The girls liked the pictures. Our favorite librarian recommended this vendor..thanks Mrs. Lawson...it's so good! As a side note...one day when we have more space I'd like to have a goat or two so I could have goat milk and make goat cheese. Also, some chickens would be nice. Seriously. Ooohhh, or maybe sheep.

Speaking of goats...you know what gets my goat? No? Gas that costs over $4.00 per gallon, that's what. Give me a break!

Anyway, after the community market we went to the children's museum. That is always so much fun! Farm stuff, Egyptian stuff, electricity stuff, indian (I mean Native American) stuff, James River stuff, circulatory system stuff, building and design stuff, painting stuff...a plethora of knowledge disguised as fun around every corner. A teacher's, mom's, homeschooler's dream come true! Riding the zip line is also lots of fun! Lessons on momentum and gravity are always part of the zip line experience. I don't know about you, but I need a nap!