Freedom: The Final Chapter

We let them go!!
In just a few short weeks, they went from this:

to this:

to this:


Let's just say that two had a little trouble flying and leave it at that.
All 5 DID eventually fly away. Far away.

What I'm Loving This Week

I'm usually not a big product endorser (hence the astericks, lol) but here are a few things that I'm loving this week:

Ethnic Go*urmet Organic (Vegan) Channa Masala ~ awesome "Indian fix" lunch!

Homemade (by me) Honey Mustard dip ~ made with just honey and spicey mustard ~ yum!

Newm*n's Own Organic Lemonade ~ same price as the original so why anyone would buy it with HFCS is beyond me!

Fresh Strawberries ~ nekkid

Dogf!sh Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA ~ Voted America's best microbrew (by Esqu!re magazine). Did I mention it's 9% alcohol?

Endanger*d Species 70% Dark Chocolate ~ who am I kidding, I love any dark chocolate, but this stuff rocks! (and it's for a good cause)

Food Should T@ste Good All Natural Jalepeno Chips ~ a nice little zip to them and a local (Boston) company to boot!

F!sh Eye Pinot Grigio in a box ~ even if you're not a "box wine" person, you gotta try it! They say it stays fresh for up to six weeks; not sure it will last that long!

So, whatcha lovin' this week?

Thankful.

Yes, I am thankful. One would think that after the week I had with falling down the stairs and the bad mammogram (more on that later) I'd be in a foul mood. It started out that way, believe me.

But now, as the week draws to an end I am thinking about how bad things *could have* been vs. how wonderful they are, really, and I am thankful.

Yeah, I took quite a fall. And while I am still sore here on day 5, nothing was broken or permanently damaged. For that I am thankful.

The morning after the fall, on the way to school, another car ran the notorious stop sign by the rail road crossing. But I saw him and stopped only a few feet into the intersection. He stopped too, screeching and apologetic. Very close call, but again I am thankful for those few seconds.

Last Friday's mammogram needed a re-take due to some dense tissue and lumpiness that runs in my family.... That had me worried nonetheless. All of the What Ifs that start running through your mind. Breast Cancer with a four year old is not something I can even fathom. The fact that they let me go a full week between appointments reassured me a little that they weren't expecting The Worst. But still, anyone who has been through the wait knows it sucks. Yesterday, I got the "all clear" til next year! Phew!

Please please please get a mammogram ladies, this is not something to put off! Thanking my lucky stars on this one!

Last night, my dear little daughter was fooling around in the living room, jumping and dancing as usual when I hear a bang and a cry. Oh, man, I run in and she's lying on the ground next to the coffee table. "I hit my forehead Mommy!!!!!!!!! It hurts!!" I don't see anything right away because I'm looking at her actual forehead. Well, the bridge of her nose was already swelling and was bruised so we spent the rest of the night with an ice pack. No bleeding, and thankfully, no ER visit for this child yet.

Often I think of all the children out there who are going through "things" involving hospitals and medicine and lots of doctors visits; some of them just take it all in stride because that's all they know. Then I look at my child and feel so so blessed, so lucky that she is a healthy and happy girl. The healthy and happy girl who won't even take a grape-flavored ibuprofen "I don't like pills, Momma". I am blessed and thankful for my daughter's health, and for that I couldn't be happier.

What are you thankful for?

Painted Ladies: Part Three

They're Here!!

Three of them have hatched today!!

Gotta get some pictures posted of this amazing transformation... although I had no clue there would be a blood-like substance (meconium) coming out of such beautiful creatures.

Today A and I sat for quite a while hoping to catch one "in the act" of releasing itself from its chrysalis.

So far we've "fed them" sugar water sprinkled on violets and a few slices of fresh orange which they seem to like as they are always resting on one.

Oh, and we've only opened the habitat and took one out. Once. Grrrr. It's now safety pinned shut for their safety, LOL.

Another kind of flight

One that I would rather not take.

Being that all is quiet on the Painted Lady front, I thought I'd post about my Late Sunday (Mother's Day of all days)/Early Monday morning flight. And it was indeed a flight. A full flight of stairs I fell down at 3am.

The.Scariest.Thing.Ever.

My daughter called me in the middle of the night as she often does. "Mommy.... I need you." I ignored the first call. On the second call, I got up out of bed. It was pitch black as our night light has been out. I was half (if not more) asleep. I made my way out of the bedroom and into the hallway. Thought I was reaching behind the bathroom door to grab my .... robe .... there's ... not .... a step .... down .... ~ am I dreaming? ~ Oh, MY GOD!!! down down down HARD I went. On my butt mostly. Down the full 13 stairs.

Screaming and flailing in the dark.

My husband screamed for me and came running down. Whimpering and shaking, I was already trying to move; hoping that everything still worked. It did. I made my way to the downstairs bath. My face was WHITE. I was shaking and in pain. My husband brought A down to see me as she had heard me crying. (Luckily, she didn't remember much the next morning. She knows Mommy "hurt her leg" and that's all she needs to know.) I stayed up for a bit and then tried to get some sleep. I showered and drove A to school and went to work for a few hours. I realized I needed to be seen by a Dr. as my left foot was swollen and black and blue. My regular Dr. was booked all day and my ortho guy only does knees so I headed to the clinic by my office and met with a Dr. there. (Sadly, she asked me if it was domestic violence, ie, was I pushed. Scary world we live in, but that's a post for another day. I assured her it was of my own doing and hubby had come to my rescue.) They did an xray of my foot, checked my head, did a general 'once over' and sent me on my way. I was good to go.

Truth is, in addition to my foot, I have a deep bruise the size of Rhode Island on my ass. It hurts so bad, it is hard to sit, especially in my car for some reason. Must be the shape of the seats. I've resorted to sitting with my rolled up gym socks under my left thigh ~ much better. There are also bruises popping up on my thigh, left shoulder, elbow, a scrape on my left temple and ear.

This happened Monday morning and I have relived it in my head every day at least 3 or 4 times and I get all scared and panicky all over again thinking of what COULD have happened. And thanking GOD it was not my daughter. Her room is gated "to keep the dog out" so there's no worry of her falling down the stairs. Oh, and I bought a new night light (it was the switch, not just a bulb).

The physical stuff will get better in time. I just want to ~feel~ better. I'm exhausted and sore. I have that lovely post-car accident stiffness and achiness going on now and I just want it to go away. Any time now would be nice.

Thank you

Thank you to my daughter for a wonderful Mother's Day. I am blessed to have been able to spend it with such a special girl. I loved planting flowers with you. I am amazed how "un-afraid" of bugs and worms you are! (I know aside from butterflies you don't like flying bugs, only crawling bugs because they tickle you as they crawl on your hand ~ ick!) You love the dirt and the mud. You love to run around. You were such a big, brave girl on your scooter, too. I am proud of you every moment of every day. I love you.

Painted Ladies: Part Two

It's only day SIX and all five (!) of the painted lady caterpillars are hanging upsidedown in their habitat; their chrysalises formed.

It truly is amazing to watch this process.

While A was occupied (LOL) this afternoon, I carefully removed the paper disc they are attached to and put it into the butterfly house.

No more caterpillar poop.

Now, we wait.

Holy Caterpillar Poop!

Geez, these things are getting more gross every day. Yes, they are growing. Longer. Fatter. Did I mention Gross?

Here we are on day 5. Webs. Poop. Fat, Nasty Caterpillars.

She still thinks they are 'cute little fellas'.

Eyes on the prize. Eyes on the prize.