Quote from David Lloyd George

"Don't be afraid to take big steps. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."

Spring has sprung.... and sprinkled and bubbled!!

We've begun Spring Break 2008 and the kids were really in their element today. You will please take notice of the difference between John Sam's 100% boy approach to our new $6 sprinkler and Caroline's girly-girl pose:

"Air John Sam" and "Little Miss Leggy" By the end of the day, the yard looked like a mud bog. Caroline made mud brownies, and John Sam enjoyed stomping in the squishy pit. (Confirmation of this pictured below). Thank heavens they are both washable!

And, of course, the Easter Bunny had brought a brand new bottle of bubbles, so for just one day, we threw our environmental concerns out the window and made some seriously big bubbles.

Gone are the days of naughty, alcohol-laden Spring Break in Ft. Lauderdale, where "all you need is a bikini and a diaphragm." Replacing those hazy, forgetful days are sweltering hot days full of sprinklers and bubbles, and one of my favorite sounds: my kids laughing. I never actually made it to Ft. Lauderdale anyway, so I'll take that trade any day of the week. ;-D

A final note: my sincere and humble apologies to the humongous bullfrog the kids found in the mud. Fearing for his life, he jumped between our fence and a fence post, desperately trying to find a spot that kept him out of reach. I hope he doesn't mind if I post his photo. He's hard to see, but if you click on the photo, it should enlarge it a bit for a sneak peek.

Our next spring break adventure will take us to Backwash, Fla. (a/k/a Sebring), where we will live it up at Motel Granny and visit with cousins. Her marquee should say All Grandkids, All The Time! Looking forward to it~~

Little Garden Helper

I was trying to be very artsy-fartsy and take some photos of my rosebushes. They all turned out blurry, so I need some more pratice with the macro feature on my camera. While I was in between pictures, though, I noticed this tiny ladybug on the underside of one of the leaves. I waited a minute or so, and she came out from underneath so I could take her picture.


I watched for a while, as she went all around eating those tiny white bugs that ruin the beautiful, velvety petals of my red roses. She is my tiny little helper, I thought. And I almost didn't even see her!


I wonder how many times I've been helped that I didn't know who to thank, or even notice that I'd been helped at all. Seeing the ladybug made me focus for a few minutes on all the blessings I've received and be mindful of the gratefulness that is due.

An anniversary of sorts

March 26, 1990 was my first day on the job in Orlando. {The reason I can't remember other really important things is because I'm too busy remembering silly things like an "anniversary" from 18 years ago!! But I digress.....} The law firm was called Wells, Morrison, Davis & Bergstrom. I worked for Bob Morrison. The building where the firm was doesn't even exist anymore; now it's the back part of the parking lot for the Lynx bus station.

I can barely get my mind around the fact that I've lived in Orlando for 18 years. I remember driving home that first day and getting lost because in downtown Orlando, a lot of streets are one way. My friend Sue had told me the name of the street to take to get to work (Anderson St.), but she forgot to tell me the name of the street I needed to take to get home (South St.). The only places I knew how to go to were the office, the grocery store (I shopped at Albertson's then), and Walmart. Not Super Walmart, just the plain old regular Walmart that closed at the end of each day. Oh, and I knew how to walk next door from the office and have a cocktail or two at happy hour with Sue. The old DuPont Centre had a bar in the lobby called Bakerstreet. Now the bar is Harvey's Bistro and the building is owned by Bank of America. And I haven't been to "happy hour with the girls" since before I got married (1999).

Naturally, by now I've learned my way all around Orlando, and have seen lots of changes, both in the city and in my life, too. When I moved here, I was single and on a manhunt. ;) Now I'm an old mama, trying to raise two cute little kids and keep our crazy dog from sneaking out under the fence every night. My biggest worry back then was getting home without going the wrong way down a one way street. Now my worries are bigger and much more serious, but I am determined to face them head on. When things seem the bleakest, I remember how much courage it took to move all by myself to a place where I only knew 1 or 2 people and my two cats. I moved here to make a better life for myself. And I have! It's not trouble free, but it was the right move at the right time.

Funny how things usually turn out for the best.

My first blog entry?

What?! A Blog?! Are you effing kidding me?!

;)

Ok, well now at 7:19 pm or so, I'm hoping I've got some of these newbie kinks worked out. Today is Easter Sunday and that means new beginnings. No coincidence that I picked today to start blogging. The kids had much fun dyeing Easter Eggs, and here is the result:




Notice each of us has an egg! ~C, JS, F and S~ (a/k/a Baumgardners Four)

Hoping the Easter Bunny brought everyone a little treat।