Funny Story Friday #10

Ted and I have many commonalities, but some big differences in how the Creator designed us. Case in point.

In our pioneer days of Washington living, we stumbled upon the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. I am an animal nut. Not in a my pet is like a kid and I morph into looking like them kind of way, but in a wow God's creativity is amazing kind of way. Seriously, animals fascinate me. Well, we were at the beluga whale exhibit standing together at the glass, hand in hand. Go ahead, let out an ahhhh. One of the whales came right up to the glass, in my naivety I thought this to be rare. Anyway, I stood in total awe of this beautiful creature and was moved. I looked at Ted who to my surprise seemed to be sharing in this "moment" with me. I smiled inside and out and said, "Isn't this amazing!" He replied, "It sure is." I truly couldn't believe our dual pleasure for this beluga whale! Ted doesn't not like animals, but we have a different appreciation level so I was surprised by our wild encounter moment together. After a long pause he added.... "how thick do you think this glass has to be to hold in that much water?" I laughed and asked if he was joking. He was not. Yes, we were having a "moment" together but the reason behind our in awe moment couldn't have been more opposite. I love this man. I love that he appreciates things I wouldn't normally see and he says the same for me. It's a good thing and a great illustration of the ways we are different, which I am grateful beyond that we are not the same. Being married to yourself? Please, how boring and irritating would that be!

The pressure of a kiss

Oh my goodness, can you even imagine being Prince William and his adorable bride Kate? The world has been watching, wait change that to stalking, them and every detail of their royal wedding. I must say, what an amazing young lady to handle this kind of pressure! Seriously, I think it says a great deal about who she must be.

I've been thinking about this whole balcony kiss business and I can not imagine the stress surrounding an intimate display of VERY public proportions affection. I am certain they planned out every detail.

"Ok honey, you go to the right."
"My right?"
"YES! Your right. I will tilt to your left, my right. We will kiss and count to 4.5 and then part with pearly white smiles. It will be splendid."
"Can I slip you the tongue?"
"I'm not even going to dignify that remark with a response William. Let's shoot for behavior becoming of a King."
"Tongue it is baby. Just kidding. I'll behave."

Nurse Ted

No, Ted has not begun a new profession. However, he is my "nurse" every Tuesday evening. Being that I have a history of preterm labor, every week beginning at 16 weeks of pregnancy, I receive a P-17, progesterone, injection in my rear. Although I HATE shots, I am thankful that Ted can give them to me in the comfort of our home. My first daughter arrived 5 weeks early, my son 6 weeks early, and so my OB began these injections with my 3rd who was born a whopping 9 pounds at 38 weeks. We are hopeful these injections will again keep the baby in until he/she is healthy and ready to enter the world.

Our first 2 babies lived in neonatal for a season. Lydia was able to come right home and we were like first time parents. I recall asking my nurse if she had an alarm clock for me to borrow since I had forgotten mine. She asked why I needed one so I explained that I wanted to set it to nurse Lydia. She howled and asked if this was our first baby. She then looked quite puzzled and concerned when I said no it was our 3rd. She explained that a 9 pound healthy baby could wake me up and that if she slept then I should give thanks and sleep. This was VERY different than it had been with our first two babies. It was a precious treasure to have a new experience the 3rd time around. I can't wait to meet my 4th, but I can wait until my due date so stay in there lil one!

Put a Bird on It!

Idea #5 - Meet Carl

Carl is a middle aged business bird. His expertise is in management, although he has always been a bit reserved to operate fully in this gifting due to his pink hue. The pink flare makes him a bit self conscious. Carl recently read an article in his wife's fashion magazine stating that pink is the new black. This was just the confidence boost he needed to apply for a great job opportunity as a headhunter. His new office would have a birds eye view of Central Park. Today is his interview and he is feeling confident in his favorite tie. We wish you luck Carl!

Carl was created from:
-Card board cut with a small, sharp crafting scissors
- A hot glue gun was used to adhere his button eye, tie made from a fabric remnant, and corrugated cardboard brief case. His slender legs are made of wire.
-Watercolor paint added the pink hue to Carl and the brown tint to the brief case.

funny story friday #9

Although I lived the dorm life my freshman year of college, my sophomore year I lived in a very old, 4 story, drafty home with 7 people. (6 girls and 1 guy who lived in "the basement") The home was oozing with character. Our landlord was named "Joey". I don't know that I ever knew his last name. He "managed" a number of properties for the owner who lived in Hawaii. Joey drove an old school, although not restored, Camaro that may have even had carpet on the ceiling. He suggested we meet at McDonalds to sign the lease agreement and we did. At McDonalds, he offered to buy us breakfast and we thought that was classy. I never shared these details with my parents as I didn't want them to worry about me. It all turned out fine, but looking back I can't believe I signed my first lease at Mcd's. The lessons I learned living with 7 people could fill volumes of funny story Fridays. It was an adventure for sure.

put a bird on it

Idea #4 Put a Bird on Your Lil Explorer

Materials:
Colored construction paper
Glue
Stapler
2 feathers
A child's head

Procedure:
This fun owl head band is made from simple shapes like circles and triangles. Build it with a child and review the properties of each shape.

Begin by cutting 2 large and 2 small circles for the eyes. (Find simple household objects to trace with your child.) Owls have amazing eye sight, BUT they can't move their eyes to the left and right like we can. Their eyes are fixed in their sockets so instead they have flexible necks.

Next, cut a very large triangle for the head and a small triangle for the beak. Owls use their beaks for tearing their prey. The beak of an owl is powerful. What do owls like to eat? Many in WA eat rodents like mice.

Cut a 2 inch strip of construction paper, long enough to fit around the head of your "owl". This will be the headband that everything will attach to.

Assemble your owl! Attach the large circles to the top of your triangle. Glue the smaller circles inside.

Glue the beak and staple the owl head to the head band. Choose 2 feathers to attach for ear tufts. It is best to use a stapler for this part. Ear tufts are actually a terrible name for these feathers. These feathers are NOT an owls ears. Instead, their ears are facial disks found on their face, hidden by feathers. Owls have EXCELLENT hearing! These head feathers may aid in camouflage.

Put on and have a HOOT!

Put A Bird On It

Idea #3 Create a sweet bird nest for your hips.

Ingredients

1/2 bag of chocolate chips
1/2 bag of butterscotch chips
1 bag of chow mein noodles
1/2 bag of marshmallows
1 bag of cadbury mini egg candy
wax paper

Procedure

To begin, we tasted every ingredient individually. Then, we melted the chocolate and butterscotch chips to make our "mud". Once this was melted, we added in the marshmallows for chunks and goo.

Once our mud was ready, it was time to add our sticks and twigs. We took turns adding the chow mein noodles to our mud. We stirred it up and each child used a spoon to scoop and create a nest on wax paper. Once the desired nest form was created, eggs were laid inside.

Once made, these need to sit for a good hour or so to harden. Then, they are ready to enjoy!

*Note, it is best if the chow mein noodles are NOT completely covered. Otherwise, we have found them to be too sweet and that can do funny things to the entire family. Yes, we are speaking from experience.

When doing this with kids, it's fun to discuss:
-What animals are nest builders?
-Why do birds build nests?
-What materials do birds use for nest making?
-Why are eggs shaped like they are?