Let the harvest begin! 151/365

Our first vegetable from the garden. Maddie picked this beauty from her garden today. Didn't someone once say that kids are more likely to eat vegetables they grow themselves? She didn't like the radish - too spicy. There was a strawberry that was harvested a few days ago. Maddie shared it with a chipmunk (he ate his portion first).

Geronimo. 150/365

Meet Gironimo. Jordan made this cute little giraffe for her friend, Rachel. Happy Birthday, Rachel!

ROTFL. 149/365

I was laughing out loud (on the floor because I was trying to take a picture) at this squirrel. He would go to the bird feeder, grab a single seed, go to a shaded area of the deck, and then lay on his belly to eat it. He did this over, and over, and over again. It was so funny I even had to get out the video camera.

Slug. 148/365

We had a nice soaking rain today. We found this guy when we were checking out the vegetable gardens.

HELP! 147/365

I am not at all happy with this picture. I should have taken a picture of the fabulous pizza we ordered for dinner from Pizza Fusion tonight. Their pizza box states "this organic & all-natural pizza was delivered in a hybrid".

It was another day (after day, after day, after day) of studying for those damn Standard of Learning tests. It doesn't make sense to me that this 10-year-old has to give up outside play after school (for the month of May) because she has to study for these tests that are supposed to give the State of Virginia and idea of what she learned IN school this year. By making the kids do this much work to study for the SOLs after school every day tells me they didn't learn enough while they were at school.

Oreo Double Stuff. 146/365

The only thing missing is a big glass of ice-cold milk.

Memorial Day. 145/365

Enjoyed time with friends today.

Poppies. 144/365

Springtime in Texas brings bluebonnets along the roadways, in Virginia it's poppies. Jordan took quite a few nice photos of the brilliant flowers, but this one shows them and their location best.

Elliott Yamin. 143/365

Meeting Elliott Yamin today was so great! He and Jordan discussed their diabetes and we all took pictures with him. My favorite picture is of Elliott and Jordan proudly showing their matching insulin pumps (his idea). I posted that pic on my Scraps of Inspiration blog - go check it out!

The Restaurant Game. 142/365

A favorite game of theirs. They play this game alot during summer and other school breaks. They're very creative in their pretend restaurant - making reservations, checking in with the hostess, taking orders, presentation and delivery of food, paying the check, tipping, etc.

Love these! 141/365

They don't poop all over my deck!

Tomatoes. 140/365

We'll soon have cherry tomatoes with our salad.

Really??!! 139/365

It's pretty clear that whenever these two are with me, I won't be taking a photo that doesn't have them featured in it.

I notice these signs every time I drive into the neighborhood. The same signs are at all three entrances to the neighborhood, but that doesn't seem to stop people from leaving their solicitation leaflets in my paper box. Some days we receive four or five of these leaflets. I've decided I'm not taking them out of my box anymore. Once the box is full, maybe they'll get the message that I don't want them and I won't call them for whatever service they may be offering.

'tis the season. 138/365

The only season I don't look forward to is the road construction season.

Book Report. 137/365

Remember the good 'ol days when a book report was just a written report? Now the kids have to produce something visual. Maddie has been very creative in her dioramas for the four book reports she was required to complete this year. This particular report is for the book Clementine by Sara Pennypacker. It is similar to the Junie B. Jones series, but for older children. This scene depicts Clemetine's "black hole", which is under her bed. At one point in the story Clementine thinks she's going to have a party at her house so she cleans out the black hole only to discover the enormous amount of stuff hiding under there, including a really crunchy Easter peep. Very cute story.

Makin' Music. 136/365

We visited Harmony Park today - an outdoor music classroom with very large, beautiful instruments including Tuned Drums, Manta Ray, Outdoor Pegasus, Contrabass Chimes and the girls are playing the Flying Amadinda.

I Spy . . . 135/365

This killdeer didn't know what she was doing when she built her nest in the mulch floor of the outdoor classroom of an elementary school. Today was field day and the students of Maddie's class ate lunch in this outdoor classroom. Needless to say, this mama wasn't too happy. Fortunately, Maddie's teacher made sure the students left her to sit on her nest of eggs in peace - or as much peace as 24 ten-year-olds can give.

At Last. 134/365

I've been trying for months to get a shot like this. This is our resident Jay and his mate waiting for their turn at the feeder. Click on the picture to get a better sense of their true magnificence.

Wrong Era. 133/365

For a long time I've thought that I would have loved to experience life during the '40s and '50s. In fact, I think I would have preferred to raise my children in the '50s. Here is my little bit of those eras.

Look. 132/365

Just look at that face. I didn't realize, until I saw this picture, that the marks on her nose are actually two different colors. .

Laundry Day. 131/365

Monday is laundry day.

Mother's Day. 130/365

My favorite way to end a day.

Cannon Ball! 129/365

I am pretty sure we already got our $15 worth of fun out of this pool and the summer hasn't even begun yet!

Yum! 128/365

I know most people don't look forward to a nice leafy green salad, but when you put "home-made" Hidden Valley Ranch dressing on your greens (and cucumbers, of course) . . . heaven! I've never grown lettuce before, but so far - so good!

Cramming. 127/365

I never would have imagined I would have to help a fourth grader cram for the the state assessment tests (Virginia Standard of Learning). I have one more week to make sure she knows the contents of these three books. Hopefully, knowing the information in these study guides will also help her on the nine-week assessments (she'll be taking after the SOLs) because I don't know how much more cramming I can take.

Vintage Baubles. 126/365

This is a sampling of the "vintage" necklaces we bought a couple of weeks ago. Jordan has been wearing them daily. These were a steal at $3 each. The last one we bought on Cary Street was $12 and new ones at Claires are between $6 and $18.

Buongiorno. 125/365

You'd think my post would be titled Cinco de mayo, right? Not even when I have a daughter who speaks more spanish to me than english. No. My heart's in Italy. I am part of a four-person team making an Italian lunch for 47 teachers and staff. My part is decorations, spaghetti, marinara sauce, salad, lemonade, and biscotti for the morning treat. Maddie and I wrapped this biscotti and a coupon donated by Ray's Italian Ice with curling ribbon and added a note that reads "buongiorno" which is "good morning" in Italian.

Teacher Appreciation Week 124/365

Today marks the start of Teacher Appreciation Week. After mothers, teachers have the most difficult and thankless job. This is a card that Maddie and I made for her teacher (we actually copied it so we can't take credit for it's wow factor). The teachers at Maddie's school will enjoy lunch everyday this week either prepared or provided by parents.

And the award goes to . . . 123/365

Write a screenplay, build a set, design the costumes, direct, act, edit the video, add music. This is for 8th grade English. The assignment is to make a faulty inference video. Thank God for the Apple computer! $30 for a firewire and my daughter is the next Steven Spielberg. Oh, and don't forget Maddie's award for best cinematographer.

NSD. 122/365

Today is National Scrapbooking Day - kicking off National Scrapbooking Month. I can only hope I'll finish this mini album I've started for Maddie. It's going to be called "Me at 8". When she was eight years old she wrote down all of her favorite things. I am just getting around to scrapping her list. Jordan wrote one the same time Maddie did, only Jordan has misplaced hers. I hope we can find it. I like these lists because some of the things that were their favorites then, are not anymore. The birthday holiday is not one that has changed though.

Busted two more! 121/365

These animals are a truly a great source of entertainment for us. However, I have had enough of the squirrel and bird poop (and another larger unidentified excrement). I think the feeders will have to retire to another location away from the deck. I didn't take the bird seed bag off of the deck yesterday, so the squirrels were enjoying the feast today.