Looking Up

I'm sure, like me, all of you were out in your backyards last night this morning looking up at the sky, snapping pictures and wondering what exactly was making all those rustling noises! Ooooohhhh nature you can't see! But I overcame my uneasiness about the nature I couldn't see to focus on the awesome and very visible celestial show that was going on above! I stayed out for about an hour watching the moon in it's various shades of red/orange/gray and eventually start to peek back out of the shadow, then Cort started to bark at those rustling noises I was referring to. Since had no interest in exploring chasing away what was out there and the barking wasn't stopping anything inside (and back to bed) we went. I'm sure you've seen pictures all over the news but I'll post mine in Picasa so you can check them out. See how lucky you are to have me to get out of bed at odd hours to take pictures of things for you! Have a good day!

Nora's ID

This is a combo of me sharing something I checked off my list today and a little PSA. I've been meaning to do this for a long time and today I finally did! There's something called a CHAD sticker - CHAD being the name of a child and standing for Children Have An iDentity. Often times you can get the actual stickers at a pediatrician's office, local fire station, the Travelers Protective Association, you can download one off line, OR just fill in this PDF I made and print it like I did! Anyway, the idea is so simple but so very important and smart! It is an emergency information quick-sheet that gets stuck/taped to a child's carseat. If there were ever an accident or emergency and we (or whomever is driving) were incapacitated, Nora wouldn't just be a mystery mini in the car. Any first responders will know the her name, who we are, have some emergency contacts & doctor's names, as well as if she has any allergies or special needs. With all the traveling we do and long trips we take this has been high on my list but I always forget, so today I sat down and did it. Now Nora has a nice bright CHAD sticker on the side of her carseat, a spare in the document compartment on her carseat and since I accidentally printed a couple extra I added one to my diaper bag and on to her backpack for good measure. It's nice knowing that if we can't be there to help her someone will know who she is, who to call and that an issie is her comfort item.

Lettuce, Catch Up!

Hehehe! Well looky here! Nora's garden has lettuce! She's proven to be quite the little gardener! We've been having a fun girls' weekend since Kyle is up in Hilton Head having a boys' weekend with Marty & Tim. I didn't take any pictures yesterday, but we hit up the outlet mall and went out to dinner - it was a great afternoon. And today, we hung out around the house, chatted with Jod, LJ & Liz and just enjoyed playing outside - ALL DAY. Nora Nora sure does love fresh air and dirt!

Another Day at the Office

Nora and Cort - hard at work. Sometimes they take their work outside into the yard or on the porch but overall, this is how it goes. Cort on guard, surveying "his" kingdom (or napping) and Nora busy doing some reading or basket/bin/bag unpacking, packing & moving. Two busy brains!!

Lovely Day for a Hike

Photo Credit: Jessica Barajas
It has been a while!! If you ask all involved, it's been too long since we hit the trail. So today with free schedules and perfect weather, after Nora slept in until almost 10am (whoa!) we picked up Jessica and Maya and headed off into the woods. We hiked for nearly 4.5 hours, Nora walked about a mile on her own/holding my finger on the flat/Flagler Trail portion, so that slowed us down a bit but we still went significantly farther than normal. (She then fell asleep in the pack for the last mile) Cort was also totally worn out by the time we were done especially since he'd encountered 2 deer and a gopher tortoise. Just a little stimulating for him. AND we saw 2 alligators, big ones! Not going to lie, the gator sightings made me jumpy and limited our willingness to let Cort swim in the river as much as we usually do. It was awesome to be back out there on such a gorgeous day, even though we did lose one pair of Nora sunglasses along the way. I'm sure we'll manage to find a replacement, somehow! Here's hoping there are a few more coolish days before the long HOT summer puts a damper on our fun.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Nora and I planted some lettuce, peppers and tomatoes today. After a brief debate about how to go about making a Nora-friendly garden I figured, eh, why not try the big under-bed bin. I just so happen to keep one around for Nora projects and figured it could be just right to put up high and bring down low, move as needed, etc. I'm not sure if it'll work or if we have enough dirt in it but we shall see! All that matters is Nora had fun digging holes, putting seeds in, covering them up and watering them. Then she got furious when I made her stop digging. Win some, lose some!

Hours and Hours of April Showers

It rained a lot today. A lot. Like all day. It started out pretty warm and swampy this morning and then the clouds opened up and it rained and got cooler. Luckily it was just the kind of rain that comes with a lazy little cool front passing by - no lightening or thunder. So, we took advantage! Nora played on the porch, played on the deck, played in the driveway, learned to stomp in puddles, played under the "waterfall" on the front porch, we even went for a rain run with the weather shield on the stroller. Sure I tipped the stroller on said run (whoops!) but no biggie, we were all fine - Cort included. So despite the gray raininess we had a pretty fun day. And, I got to take lots of pictures with my lens that I finally fixed (after I "broke" it by trying to fix it a few weeks ago). All and all, not a shabby Tuesday! Oh, for those wondering. We've been hit and miss on Nora staying on her sleeping cushion. She's been falling asleep on it but then been opting to go into her crib later some nights and naps have been back and forth also. I've been trying to let her decide what works for her - which today was playing in the closet during nap-time. Guess where she eventually "opted" to be placed so she'd fall asleep. Haha!