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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Short Hair, Don't Care

My dreams of Mayhem being a long-haired hippie have been dashed!  

Boots has been complaining about how long Mayhem's hair is and how he doesn't want him to look like a girl a little too much.  So last night I finally decided it was time for another haircut, maybe not as short as last time.



Folks, don't feed your kids candy!  Not only is it bad for them blah blah blah, but when you do give them candy you can practically do anything to them, like cut their hair.  Very handy.


He did fuss a little when I was cutting around his ears (I probably would, too!), but he thought it was funny when I got the clippers out and told him they were a truck driving over his head.


One and a half rolls of smarties and twenty minutes later...

Boots is appeased, but said I didn't have to cut it so short.  Good thing it grows back, I'll have another chance before too long.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Garlic Harvest



Technically, we're several months ahead of schedule, but when you need garlic and you have the chance to dig some, you dig.  Calendar be hanged!



And then I washed them...which you're not supposed to do.  We'll see what happens.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Zoo Day

"We're off to the zoo today to see some animals,
won't you ride along with me,
ride along,
won't you ride along with me?"
 
I've been watching too much Daniel Tiger, can you tell?
 
 
Monday we took Mayhem to the zoo for the first time.  Let me tell you, in my expert opinion, nearly two is the perfect age to take a kid to the zoo for the first time.  At 22 months old, he's recognizing animals in books and toys and imitating the sounds they make, but he's not at the age where you have to explain every single thing yet, like the sometimes embarrassing stuff like the rhinoceros pooping or what have you.
 
We (it wasn't just the three of us, we went with our friends and their two boys) arrived at the zoo right after opening (good thing, too, because we spent 6 hours there and nearly shut the joint down!) and didn't have to wait very long to watch the seal training session.  Mayhem loved watching the seal jump and do tricks for fish.  He clapped and cheered right along with all the other kiddies.
 
 
After the seals, we saw birds and reptiles (too dark, no photos).  In this pen behind the fence he's on were two of the strangest birds I've ever seen.  They looked like a long pair of legs with a neck!  Some sort of stork I think.
 
(Our friend's mom made the boys these cute shirts to wear.)
 
 
After birds and reptiles we moved on to the primates.  Or just "monkeys" if you're trying to keep it simple for the under 3' crowd.
 
 
A monkey and a lemur...
 
 
 
 
We spent probably fifteen minutes watching the giraffes.  They were really close and active, walking back and forth in front of the fence.  He can say "giraffe" near perfectly now and even recognizes them in weird form like the tall, skinny statues in Earthbound.
 
 
Elephants were cool, but we couldn't figure out why the four of them were separated and didn't see anyone around to ask.
 
 
They had a sign about Tigers and Auburn right next to this one, but he wouldn't stick his head in it.
 
 
By the time we got to the real tiger he was pretty hungerstruck and the raisins were much more interesting than any ol' pacing tiger.
 
 
The tiger was pretty neurotic while we were standing there, but later I saw him sleeping in the grass. 
 
Speaking of neurotic, I thought I would just flip my lid in the snake building.  There were so many moms and strollers and little kids running around screaming and pushing to try to see.  Mayhem was just quietly sitting in his stroller (he loves to "Ride!  Ride!" in that thing!) and we waited our turn and tried to slowly see everything.  I guess I'm just not used to big crowds of tiny people and the big ones that accompany them.
 
 
 
The bears were sleepy, too.  How stereotypical (and hilarious) is it that there's a picnic table inside their pen?
 
 
We rode the train that goes through and around the zoo.
 
 
He doesn't look impressed here, but he loved it once we started moving.
 
 
He's really into taking selfies.  "Poke!  Poke!" he says as he jabs his finger at the screen. 
 
 
Feeding the fish and turtles in the swamp of the Alabama animals section.
 
 
He wanted to pet this vulture so bad!  He kept saying, "Pet!  Pet!" and the lady was like, "No, we can't pet!"  Boots had to hold his arm down to ensure he wouldn't lose any fingers while they were standing close.
 
Why did we not take any pictures of him petting the sheep and goats?  I guess because we were too busy petting!  You could tell the poor sheep had had lots of hands on them, their hair was fuzzed up on the top of their backs.
 
Now... onto the aquarium!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Back to Christmas

"Did you have a good Christmas?"

That's a question I noticed people asked a lot in the two weeks after Christmas.  It was usually random, a little bit of small talk, but it got in my head and swirled around a bit.  What exactly makes a "good Christmas?"

Is it being with family?  A bunch of mine were sick so our Christmas was disjointed and delayed.  It seemed like everybody was sick.  Thankfully it was all temporary, nobody was really sick.

Some people might classify having a good Christmas by getting everything you wanted.  We could make this a lot easier on us all and just omit presents as far as I'm concerned.  I have a long want list and it is rather expensive.  It's the want list of a lifetime.  Christmas is more than getting stuff anyway, as we all know.

Could you qualify a good Christmas by the amount of activities or traditions that put you in the Christmas spirit?  I made a list last year before Christmas and added to it during the month of December of all the things that made me feel Christmasy.  I felt like it helped me focus on the things I really wanted/needed to do instead of try to do every thing.  On my list there are foody things like baking cookies and cinnamon rolls, drinking apple cider, hot chocolate, and eggnog; watching Elf and Christmas Vacation; seeing the choir sing and watching the children's program at church; giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering; and packing a shoebox in November for Operation Christmas Child.  This year a lot of things on my Christmas To Do list were unchecked.

People were sick, my first world wish list remains, and I wasn't able to do all the things that make me feel like Christmas so that sounds like I would be one who might answer "No," but I never considered the possibility of not having a good Christmas.  Life is good.  What would you consider to be a "good Christmas?"  If you didn't have a good Christmas, care to explain?

Thursday, January 15, 2015

I'm a Bad Blogger

There's all this stuff you're supposed to do to be a "good" blogger and maximize readership.  Things like creating Pinterest buttons, hosting giveaways, sharing across ALL of the every. single. social media platforms that bear your name, hosting relevant ads and link up parties, make yourself a "brand," etc., etc. until you make yourself crazy with this mess you've literally created.  Like I said, bad blogger, I don't do all that.  Sometimes I share my posts on Facebook and Instagram if I think it's something particularly interesting, but not always.  That's about the most I can manage right now.

Blogging is dying they say.  I put the "end" in trendy because apparently blogging has been on its way out for a few years now and I'm just now finding out about it.  I'm ok with that, y'all be the guinea pigs while I wait and decide if it's worth it.
 
Comments are at all time lows they say.  I blame this on readers (the apps, not the people), have you ever tried to make a comment through a feed reader?  Nearly impossible!  Well, not impossible, but certainly aggravating due to the rigmarole you have to go through.  I'll admit, it's why I rarely comment on the blogs I read.  It's just too much trouble.
People are moving away from blogs in favor of quicker and shorter, ie Instagram.  Conversations are happening on Facebook instead of blog comment threads.

Maybe you found this post through Facebook or Instagram, maybe you've never made a comment.  It's ok, I know you're out there.  (I can see you; I have a page views counter!)  I say let them.  Let it die.  Some of us will still be here.  Maybe that's a bit polarizing, but think about why we're (bloggers) doing this (blogging) in the first place: to share with the interested.  So I'll keep posting and you keep reading.  If you want to.  :)

 

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Halloween '15

All he needs now is a pair of sandals and this little old man outfit will be complete!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Christmas for New Year's

 Part of our Christmas was postponed a bit due to the flu and fear of spreading bad, nasty germs and sickness.  Oh, well.  You can almost have Christmas anytime between September and the second week of January, right?
 
 
Mayhem and my dad feeding cows with the tractor.
 
 
Mayhem and Mameha cracking eggs for banana nut bread 
 
 
 
 
 
"Pour!" he says!
 
 
He loves to stir
 
 
I thought it was cute the way he held her arm while she held the bowl.
 
 
Reading
 
 
He passed out five minutes into our hour and half ride home. 
 
Feeding Bite