Top of the Morning to ya!

Did the Leprechauns get to the b'fast at your house too?

They even covered our table in green confetti...oh wait I think that was Miss MK

I was told these were 'aphids' on the pancakes...somehow didn't make the green pancakes any more appetizing!


oh yes, some of them were actually shamrock shaped...but we got lazy!


I am in agreement with Mr JM that food just doesn't taste good when it's green, thanks anyway leprechauns!

What John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, eats in March

So this week we've written about our thoughts on the phrase "in like a lion out like a lamb" and we've read about different words that were created from people's names. Like the word "sandwich" So when I came across this on the adorable site that I love Little Nummies I thought how perfect it might be for us this week!

photo from Little Nummies

although it would be even more perfect if the lion was wearing a cardigan and bloomers as we read about the history of those words too...truly words have such interesting history!!

a dose of reality.

I don't talk about it very much, but I have Crohn's Disease. I don't not talk about it because I'm ashamed of it. Not at all. I'll answer any questions anyone has. And I can talk about just about any bodily function because of my experience with this disease. I don't talk about it much because I don't want it to be what identifies me. Crohn's showed me how very blessed I am. My husband nursed me (and kept my toenails painted), my family cared for me and my kiddos, my friends supported me, my church cared for me...really...I'm one RICHLY blessed lady. So I don't see much reason to whine about it.

My daughter was a newborn when I was diagnosed. Then I got better for a short period, had my son and then got worse. I ended up being fed intraveneously for a few months because my body just really couldn't handle much food nor did it absorb the nutritional benefits of food. So I got to have this lovely contraption attached to me 12 hours a day (sorry it's the only pictures from those days I can find right now that I'm willing to post) it fed nutrients right into my heart and made me feel so good! Seriously isn't that the coolest bruise you've ever seen?? If only zebra/animal prints were popular back a few years ago I could have been super trendy!
Anyway, I don't like to dwell on my disease. My kids have a 1 in 4 chance of being diagnosed themselves and IF that day comes I want their reaction to be "oh no big deal, Mom has lived a full and happy life with the same diagnosis" Hey I even played a big round of tug of war while I had the PICC line pictured above!

I attempt to not let it limit me too terribly much. A few years ago I had a large chunk of my intestine removed and that has allowed me to live pretty much normal other than some limitations to my diet. Most people when they hear my dietary restrictions say "how do you eat?" but I've had much stricter limits so not eating fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, popcorn, etc...really hasn't been all that big of a deal.

But surgery for a Crohn's patient is only a temporary fix. There are recurring effects. And lately I've had to buckle down on my diet even more.

funny, I miss salads, pecan pie, strawberries, grapes, etc but it doesn't frustrate me terribly, never felt a real need to whine....but since having to buckle down even more I've discovered one food that I'm emotionally attached to apparently. OATMEAL....

oh yummy delicious oatmeal how I love thee! not the flavored packet junk, or 'quick oats'- the real thing!
When cold weather moves in oatmeal you are my favorite b'fast (or lunch or late night snack) with a little cinnamon and brown sugar...and even some pumpkin perhaps if i have it. oh there's something about feeling it go down my throat...I really love it...
mixed and cooked into a homemade granola bar...in a cold cereal, in a cereal bar in a storebought granola bar, etc etc...yes I love oatmeal. So it is with great sadness that I am forced to bid farewell to my lovely warm and gooey treat.

Bye bye oatmeal I already miss you dearly!!

(picture take from google images)

role reversals

yesterday I had a Dr's appt downtown so the kids stayed at my parents house. Grandpapa is huge tree lover...and has done a few lessons lately when they were there on tree life. Yesterday was no different. As soon as I walked in the door to pick them up MaryKyle was giving me a lesson. Then last night after dinner John Mark wanted to do a lesson for us.

here he is with his drawing he did based on what he'd learned from Papa & the pointer he insisted he needed so Papa got a dowel he could sand into a pointer

(he did the drawing on his own a while after the lesson...just asked Papa for a board but Papa didn't know what the board was for until John Mark was done)

MK got up toward the end to join him. But they'd gotten fuzzy on a few things so they called Papa and he went through it all with them the difference between the Cambium, Xylum, and Phloem, & just the general awesomeness of God's creation and perfect design!  They were so interested in it and so excited to figure it all out.

after they finished teaching us, John Mark wanted to look it all up online. So they started surfing the web for more info. they would have sat there all night I think. they were so interested in it all! It was great. And even better...Daddy and I learned a lot too. There were a few things we'd totally forgotten....

oh and MK accidentally left her drawings of the process at Grandmama and GrandPapa's so I'll have to post them after she gets them back. She did a great job as well!

a day in the life...

of John Mark. He has a few obsessions as of late....one being his HAIR. I'm attempting (yet again) to grow it out some...and he's crazy about combing it and styling it in different funky styles. I mean he might as well have a comb stuck in his back pants pocket...oh wait...he usually does!

and then there's pictures he takes a million a day and was so thrilled when Daddy got an Iphone so that he could have the old cell phone "to take picture whenever he wants"

and lastly the swamp. he has worked hours out of every day this past week on his 'swamp' I mean hours! I think all of his jeans will have permanent dirt stains. It's a hole he dug with his hammer...that's right his hammer, in the back part of the yard where there is no grass.

(notice MaryKyle tied papertowels on her knees to keep them clean...ha ha!! She also had on tied on her bottom...wish I'd gotten a picture she looked hysterical this particular morning

look closely there's a gator creeping up to gobble the frog

Sage tree...he had a plastic palm, but I guess preferred the more realistic approach and now has a sprig of Sage from the herb garden.