Anyone Know What This Is?

We have two flower beds filled to the brim with perennials.

Husband likes them but thinks we need to trim them back and I think they're a big meh.

We struck a compromise and I can do what I want with the bed that I can see from the window and he can do what he wants with the one up against the house since I can't see it.

But does anyone know what this plant is? It's in both beds and before I dig it out of mine I am curious if anything pretty is going to come from it.

7 Quick Takes

This post brought to you by...

1. My brother's high school graduation.

2. The class of 570.

3. He was a long time ago.

4. Husband and the baby went home already.

5. We are at O. I should be used to it. Since my other brother's class had 890 or something. But I am four.

6. Now were are at P.

7. I am not linking up but Happy Graduation broseph!!!!

Theme Thursday. Girls. Or the best I could do.

I don't know from girls. I was the only girl and I am definitely the only girl right now. I didn't see any friends this week and I was thinking I'd just skip Theme Thursday this week. 

But how could I when we were given a button? 

And America's Got Talent started this week. (I actually really like that show and seriously did you see this?)

So I have been thinking for days about: 

So here's my version/take on Girls. 

The very best G.G. series in the world in all their glory. 

And you know, some spice. Because they're spice girls. 

Seriously I should be banned from Theme Thursday. I always do ridiculous things like not taking pictures of girls. Whatevs. I don't have any. And I considered taking pictures of girl things but I don't even wear makeup and that left me with tampons and just... no. 

So sorry I went and said tampons. Link up your much better and cuter girls over at Clan Donaldson. I promise to you right now that if I am not banned forever I will post a really good picture for Dad next week. I even have the post all ready to go. In my head. :)  

Warm Woolen Mittens

Linking Up Again With Hallie for 5 Favorites. Because it's fun. I like stuff!

I'm keeping it real here with my 5 things.


1. My wedding band and engagement ring. They are separate. Not fused together. The jeweler doesn't fuse them and way back in 2009 when I was looking at bands I thought that was weird. Blessing!! I cannot count the times when it doesn't make sense to wear the engagement ring. I love the engagement ring, it is exactly the ring I wanted and the only one I ever liked. But when I was pregnant and swelling it was nice to still be married sans engagement ring. And at things like the color run. Or changing a diaper. It's really handy two have two pieces is what I'm saying.

2. Deodorant. I ran out last week so I thought I'd pick some up while I was out. Well Sam's Club didn't have my brand or scent so I picked up a new kind. Thought I'd venture out and it was priced well. Nope. The scent gave me a headache. I'm going to donate the unopened extras to the troops or the tornado victims. and I went out and bought my real kind. There's really nothing quite like knowing you don't stink.

3. Amazon Prime. I love the streaming videos (and 2 day shipping) and now there's a new agreement with Nickelodeon. I watched Gullah Gullah Island today. I loved that show. And I am pretty sure I will watch all the available seasons in the next few weeks.

4. A clean house. Oh my. I cannot be the only one who rests easier and is generally happier in a clean house. Because we had a babysitter Saturday and Husband's aunt and cousin dropped by on Sunday our house is in good shape. Laundry is clean. Beds are made. Toys are put away. Oh it is so nice.

5. Strawberries. I love them. C loves them. Husband loves them. We are going through a heck of a lot of strawberries. (And I never asked my doctor or anything and just went with it. ) I love C's reaction to strawberries. I even ask him if he wants some and he runs right over to his high chair. :) I love strawberries.

Running In Color. The Recap. (With Bonus Tips!)

Well. We did it. I wouldn't go so far to say it wasn't fun. But I don't know that I would repeat it.

The color run was an experience. We had a homespun local charity color run, not the trademarked major touring run. But I am quite certain the end result is the same. Colored. If you haven't heard about the color runs that are quite literally coloring the nation, you run/walk/jog a 5k and at various intervals you are attacked by color. The color is cornstarch with paint in it. It is food grade and safe. That still doesn't mean you'd want it in your eyes or lungs. Our run gave us super awesome 80s glasses to wear to keep the color out of our eyes. My Tip is to keep your mouth shut!


It was a beautiful day. Just perfect. Most runs are in the morning. Ours was at 4:00. But it was sunny (and after all the rain that was amazing.) There was a breeze and it was never hot. It was a perfect day. My Tip Wear Sunscreen. At the end you will scrub off color. Scrub. If you are sunburnt that's going to hurt.

After leaving C with a sitter we hightailed it to the race and I had previously scouted out a parking spot, not too far from the race but not too close either. We got there plenty early so we could get in the correct line up section and brace ourselves. These runs are notorious for selling out and this one was no exception. Because it was a first for the town it was capped at 3000 people. And it was nuts. Some people were using the extra packets of color (each registrant got one packet and then you could purchase more.) already but we wanted to wait til the race to stop being white.

Before

Before

We had a timed race though we never looked at our times. We were in the "jogging not quickly" group and so for the first bit we did jog but then we slowed down to a decent paced walk. People were SO excited for the race that jogging not so quickly was really an all out jog for the first bit but whatevs. The old ladies in tutus and leis didn't pass me so it's all good.

The colors really really varied in how enthusiastically the volunteers colored us. While there is little to no evidence that I went through the red, yellow or purple zones at all (I did.) I am still finding blue and green on me, after 3 showers. (Including blowing my nose which is gross but interesting.) This may be because I am so pale however.

Some people would stop in the color zones and roll around in the street I didn't care that much. And I'm not much good at stopping during a wog (slightly more than a walk?) because if I stop moving then I'm done for. Husband doesn't have this problem and would occasionally get ahead of me a bit.

As is my belief with 5ks there are never enough water stations or they're in a completely useless spots and this held true of the color run. Obviously it wouldn't have made sense to have water 5 times (with each color) but they would have benefited from a second water stop after the final color just to rinse your mouth. The first water stop was after two colors which really was a good spot. I had my water bottle with and was able to rise out a few times after though as well as actually drink a bit.

While I am glad I didn't bring my iPod because it would have been GROSS at the end I wish I had it for the music/pace. Another tip... if you don't have any spectators to hold your stuff and are forced to have it with you at a color run... ziplocs are essential. I had everything in a ziploc and even still some of that fine powder made it's way on to my stuff. I'm told it really messes up your camera so I didn't even try to take pictures during the race. My Tip A good old fashioned disposable camera would have been fun to have.

Then the 5k ended, and I was glad because I was tired by that point. We turned in our timing chips and I was questioned why I had two. (Because our friend wound up not racing and didn't want to mail her chip in.)  Then it was time for the after party. This was fun. There was a band. Free food from the local grocer. (Pulled pork sandwiches, chips, cookies, water, pop and beer.) After we rehydrated and got some food we took our after pictures and headed out.

After. He barely got colored. 

After. 

 And for the real indicator of how colored I actually got: I give you my wrist close up.

So... my paley pale arm did not get tan. It got smurfed. 

My Tip Sign up! Why not? Even walking a 5K is better than sitting on the couch! 

Life At One Years Old

Oh my dear sweet little boy. I just can't stand how big you are. And you're still pretty pipsqueaky, which suits me just fine. I really enjoy staying home with you, you are so sweet. So let's document a typical day with you and me. Since I'm sure next week it will be different and I will be sad. You've changed so fast, which is fun but sad all at the same time.

6:30-7:30 You wake up! Daddy comes and rescues you and gets you a clean dry diaper. Then you get your crib toys and a show on the Kindle. Sometimes you go back to sleep. Sometimes you just entertain yourself.

8:00 Whether your show is over or not, you know it's time for me to come rescue you so we can go downstairs for breakfast. You have started to be finicky, so even though we all know you like oatmeal and scrambled eggs, you decide when you want to eat those. Silly boy.

8:30 PLAYTIME. You run back and forth taking a survey of any cleaning we did when you were asleep. Then promptly pulling out the drawers and things off the shelves.

9:00 Morning Learning Time. Sometimes we work on colors, or shapes or coloring. It depends. Some days it's more successful than others. You are so good at stacking your rings, identifying animals and you're just starting to figure out your colors. (Or you are a superb guesser.)

9:30 More Free Play Time. Your current favorites are balls and anything with wheels. They keep you entertained all by yourself but it is even MORE fun if I roll balls or play cars with you.

10:00 Story time. We read as many books as you have patience for. Sometimes that's one or two. Sometimes that's the entire shelf. I couldn't even pretend to pinpoint which book is your favorite, I swear it changes daily. So far, the only books you don't like is if they're too long.

10:30 Free Play Time. Again! You're starting to get a little cranky by this point so we usually sing a lot of songs. Ittsy Bittsy Spider and other songs with hand actions are especially fun right now. It just melts my heart when you do the hand actions with me. "Out came the sun" is especially cute with your hands over your head! But I am extremely biased.

11:00 Nap time. You are a good napper.

1:00-2:00 Wake up from nap and look out the window. Then run around the upstairs and play with some upstairs toys for a few minutes.

2:00 Lunch Time! (See the breakfast description about your finicky habits that just started.) You really are a good eater. You love most everything but fruit is the very best.

2:30 Free play time. You've got to make sure all your stuff is where it's supposed to be in case I moved it while you were asleep.

3:30 Jeopardy! You love it so so much. You definitely don't just sit and watch but you check in as you play.

4:00 Outside play time. If it's not raining. If it is we play on the porch. We talk about what we see and hear and we make this some learning time. Usually a book or two is read but mostly we explore the world.

4:30 Occasionally we watch the other Jeopardy! But usually we're too busy with other activities.

4:45-5:30 We wait for our phone call from Daddy that he's close then we go watch for him to welcome him home!

6:00 Dinner time!

6:30 Wheel of Fortune/Playtime with Daddy. You both love this show. All the clapping and the letters are fun! Plus the running around chasing Dad and other fun things. You will also show off your new tricks.

7:00-8:00 More playtime and Skype dates. (Usually you'll talk to Grandma, Grampa or Uncle P but sometimes Uncle S or maybe your P-Pa.)

7:45 Bath time. You love "slam dunking" your bath animals into the hoop and this skill has transferred to you putting any toy in any basket. Also singing "Old McDonald" and boy does that farm have some strange animals to round out the normal ones. (Octopus? Dolphin? Hippo?)

8:00 Bed time. You 9 times out of 10 go to sleep really easily and sleep all the way through. Occasionally you will wake up and lose your nuki and someone will need to rescue you but you're a good sleeper.

That's kind of your life right now Buddy. Exceptions involve playgroup on Wednesdays and Vacuuming/Carpet Cleaning on Thursday. I don't know why you love the vacuum so much, but you just adore it. You love watching it. Looking at it. You've figured out how to pull the canister off which is hysterical and scary lest you spill all the dust back out.

Some days the schedule is a little bit different but you do like your routine and too much change makes you kind of upset. You are the sweetest little boy, who likes to give hugs and likes to be praised. It still surprises me how extremely active you are, you run everywhere. Run. I love that about you. What a burst of sunshine you are for the world.

Quick Takes.

Holy Link Up Batman! I am just a link up queen this week. Pretty much this blog. I really need to write a blog post. Maybe I'll schedule a whole bunch this weekend.

1. Today is already one of those days where I'm counting down until nap time. Everything is a crisis today apparently. I missed that memo but my resident one year old is letting me know that I am wrong.

2. If I could ask St. Anthony to intercede for me in the help of finding my mascara, glasses and remote. They have each been missing for a while. I realize they are just not that important of items but given the fact that last night Husband and I spent HOURS. Literally from the time C went to bed at 8:00 until about 12:30 going through our cars, every drawer, cupboard and closet in the house. We made a huge mess and you'd think we'd stumble on one of the three even accidentally. But no.

3. If it doesn't rain, tomorrow is The Color Run. I can't decide if I am hoping for rain or not. That's horrible but true. I think it'd be fun and I'd enjoy the time spent with Husband getting colored. I would also like to just not do the 5K (jogging slowly) and avoid the crowd. It's going to be a mess.

4. With all the storms we are on basement flood #4 of the year. But better rainwater than the raw sewage some people are getting. We have still decided to not do anything yet. All of out possessions are out of harm and even though this is starting to feel normal the weather is quite unusual.

5. We were supposed to have family pictures taken today. But see number 3 and 4. The weather is terrible. Even if it doesn't rain this afternoon (it's supposed to) the ground is too saturated to lay/sit/walk on it. I've spent hours reading through tips for family photos and coordinated (not matching) outfits. We are ready when Mother Nature cooperates.

6. I made a menu plan that included  breakfast and lunch! No more wandering aimlessly through the kitchen wondering what veggies he had last and just putting something on his tray! It's actually sad how long it took me to do this. But already today it was helpful.

7. Well I was on a roll but now I've got nothing. Happy Friday! Thanks Jen for hosting!