My favorite flower

Cosmos Atrosanguineus. One of my favorite perennial flowers (they come up every year). Drawing from Fedco seeds. If you've never seen their catalog, download one. The drawings are fabulous. I can't wait for spring!!!

Tuesday 10 - Ten Things I Wonder

1. I wonder if this winter will ever be over. It got such a slow start, and just when we were ready to call it a day and have spring... WHAM! Frigid temps and snow. Did I mention it's been cold?

2. I wonder when my seed order from Fedco will arrive. Hopefully in conjunction with spring! It will be like Christmas all over because I've already forgotten exactly what I ordered.

3. I wonder what my beautiful daughter will be when she grows up. I also wonder what my handsome son will be. Whatever it is, I hope - above all - that they will be happy.

4. I wonder how my fish survive the winter. A bubbler in the pond keeps the ice open a bit. They slow down quite a bit. Amazing stuff.

5. I wonder if the gophers will again get the best of my dear husband this summer. He actually resorted to eating dinner on the patio with a rifle under the table. Now children, go eat by your mother, because if that gopher comes out.....

6. I wonder if anyone else's children run to get a can of camping fuel and a lighter when they see a massive ant hole out in the yard. I don't need to wonder if we are normal !!! :o)

7. I wonder if I will ever be able to create a small area in my house that is my zen. My peace. My calm spot. HA HA HA HA..... that's up there with winning the lottery! Okay, more of a dream than I wonder.

8. I wonder if my kids will be old enough this summer that I can lay in the hammock with a book and read for a bit while they play. I wonder if they will simply want to join me.

9. I wonder where we are going to go in May to "get out of Dodge". We are in desperate need of a vacation. Somewhere warm. Maybe take the trailer and head to the Florida gulf? The Keys? I'm open to suggestions!

10. I wonder how I got so lucky to have such good friends in my life. My parents. My husband. My sister. And my girlfriends - in real life and my cyber chicks. Love ya.

With neighbors like this, who needs enemies?

Okay- most of my posts are happy and cheery. I think to think of myself as a positive and upbeat person. And I usually don't get too blue, but oh my gosh, the end of winter is just so awful to get through. And then I have my neighbors. Why, oh why, doesn't anyone ever call to say hello? I don't get it. Maybe they hate winter as much as I do? ???

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Do I need to say anything else? My Mom thinks I was around 5 at the time. We used to trail ride in Lake George, NY. I remember it being one of the highlights of our vacation!

10 Things I'd like to do before I die

Stolen from my very good friend Cat. Which also means I am very stressed and tired. I am NOT at all creative when I am stressed and tired. But I always love her Tuesday Top 10's, and this was definately one to steal.

1. Own a mini-farm. Most girls I know dream of bigger diamonds and fur coats. I dream of barns and hay and animals. I really (really) want to own 2 horses. So I can ride with my princess pine. I'd also like to have some chickens and ... well, I really wanted a mini-goat until my brother got Jack. Now I don't think I want one.

2. Water skii again. Just one more time. It's like magic, flying across the water on a pair of fiberglass boards. Of course I don't remember water imploding up your nose when you wipe out at 10 mph. Or wedgies that you swore would never come out. I just remember flying across the water.

3. SCUBA dive with my husband. Hmmm. We seem to be on a water theme here. No, I am not a Piscies. That is my sister. I grew up on a lake and love everything water. Scuba diving is just as magical as water skiing. Swimming with the fish and not having to come up for air? Priceless.

4. Complete a mini-triathlon. How could I forget my new year's resolution? I've been running and running and spinning. Hey...! That would mean I would also need....

5. Find a nice bike. Can't do the second part of your triathlon without a bike! I don't need anything super fancy - just one that goes really fast down the road. Or at least makes me look like I'm going really fast. Maybe I should wish for 2 bikes - one that I can ride with the kinds on trails, and one I can ride on the road.

6. Complete some of my scrapbooking projects. My sister got me hooked on digital scrapbooking. Which I haven't done, along with my regular scrapbooking, because I've been too busy and stressed. I have been knitting instead. Did I tell you I made my first hat? I am a blogging moron - I have no earthly idea how to link my hat post to the word hat.

7. Figure out how to link stuff in blogs. Definately not as exciting as #'s 1 - 6, but a must acquire skill if people are going to keep coming back to read my blogs. And speaking of reading blogs, would someone please lave a comment and let me know my thoughts are not for naught?

8. Organize my bedroom closet. I am not fortunate enough to have jack and jill closets. I have a Oscar beat the crap out of Felix and won closet. Mike's t-shirts are precariously stacked on wire shelves, threatening to fall into a heap on the floor if I come close enough to the shelves to lean against the pile. His sweatshirts are on the upper shelves in the same manner. It's depressing. I've been beaten by a pile of rumpled clothing. But I will conquer! Just give me time.

9. Hike part of the Appalachian trail with my family. Yes, it runs through the very north west corner of NJ - pretty close to my house! While I do not want to backpack for months and sleep on leaves and worms, I do want to get out and complete a few day hikes now that the little legs can keep up.

10. Pay someone to plow my driveway. Just once. I love my snowblower, and I am REALLY REALLY thankful for it, but just once......

Saturday excitement

Well, as if a sleepover wasn't enough excitement, we had the opportunity to bring Mike to a serious MVA (motor vehicle accident) this afternoon. The call came in while we were running errands for the jaws of life, so we dropped Mike off at the scene, put the truck in park and watched the action. We were there for nearly an hour, and the kids hardly fidgeted. As a matter of fact, they were riveted. We watched the fire truck hose down something flammable. We watched 4 ambulances and 2 paramedic vehicles pull up. We rolled our windows down and talked to a few cops. I didn't walk them out of the car to watch the jaws of life in action because it was... well... a bad accident. A kid tried to pass someone on a turn going up a hill. Hit a family in a Jeep head on. We talked about how Mommy used to be the person in the ambulance. We talked about some of the gear that came out - gurneys, neck collars, back boards, whomp-whomps (the unofficial EMS term for the foam blocks that velcro on either side of the head "whomp" "whomp"). We talked about the importance of always wearing your seat belt. The fire department was dismissed while the paramedics were stabilizing the patients in the ambulances. We drove 1/4 mile down the road to the high school and parked again to watch the helicopters. We watched Dad get out, shake hands and b.s. for a while with one of the flight paramedics. He knew him from way back when in his Parsippany days. Mike happened to be out of the truck when the birds were taking off. My 8 year old daughter grabbed the camera and took the picture at the top of this post. Not bad for an 8 year old! Hug your families - you never know when you will have an accident. And your mother was right, always wear your seat belts. After being an EMT and working on many MVA's, I never go without mine.

Boys

A friend just sent an article. The title was SNIPS AND SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS. Yes - that really is what boys are made of. My handsome little man can be rolling around one minute, chasing the 100 lb dog madly through my house, screeching happily while said dog barks to be chased more. Then they will collapse on the floor and Dylan will just lay on him. If Diesel has had enough he nips Dylan's arm, and the game is over. Brilliant. I wish life could be this simple. Maybe when he's had enough of sitting still in class he could walk over and nip his teacher in the arm. I'm sure that would land him in the vice principal's office faster than a nun could whip out her ruler and whack a kid on the knuckles. Is my little guy all balls? Nope. He can be the sweetest thing EVER and just melt your heart. He wants to be my Valentine this year, because Valentine's Day is about LOVE. aaaawwwww. He also wants to ride his bike with his Mommy on the trails and go fishing with her because once she gets her bike she will also get her fishing license. And riding bikes with a 6 year old and fishing too - well, that must be love. I'm not telling, but he also drew a picture of a cat on a piece of paper for Katie and wrote Love Dylan on the back. Trust me, he's not a whimp. He just recently had this conversation with the little boy across the street.

Michael: "My Dad has a GIANT big screen TV and XBox"
Dylan: "That's okay, my dad has a HARLEY DAVIDSON motorycycle"
Michael: "My Dad has a motor cycle too"
Dylan: "it's not a Harley, Michael"

Yes - even at this early age they need to be on the top of the proverbial pile. Aren't boys fun?