FFF-............

All I'm saying is it has been this kind of a week....my FFF picture shoot was on Thursday and I'm posting them on Saturday.

Get the picture?

Reading the directions before the clamoring crowds

were assembled would have

probably been a better option!

One of the only times of the year my bottle of white vinegar gets pulled from the pantry.

Imagine that little party colored cups can hold so much interest?!?

Well, interest is a matter of degree....when you are a teen

who is not quite ready to let go of a childhood tradition.

Or a teen with a sweet tooth? Mari dyed a whopping ONE egg!?!?!

While cousin Daniel held his attention long enough to do a whole TWO eggs 

which is a HUGE accomplishment for him!

Was not really into the photographer mindset this evening but liked how this shot turned out.

Deirdre's creative juices were flowing and she made several artistic eggs....

one of which Auntie Peggy dropped!!! 

Mairead came late due to the fact that she was an altar server at Holy Thursday services

but we saved eggs for her to color!

The conversation was a colorful as the eggs and it

continued over a game of Clue...

and over the first night of an impromptu sleep over

at the Mahony house...

and the SECOND night of the sleep over marathon!

But since the challenge is to post a Favorite Foto here is my choice..

My sweet Julia with her 'Love' egg.

To see more FFF posts check out Nors'a blog here.

FFF-Growing

Funny thing about this growing business....

my Shamrocks planted WEEKS before St. Patrick's day...remember?

Well they finally decided to fill out and look like Shamrocks last week...too slow for sharing on the holiday ):

But here are our Zucchini seedlings waiting for our midwest weather to settle down into a proper spring so they can be transplanted out into the family garden.

So sometimes it is the seed that goes slow,
and sometimes it is the weather that goes slow,
but somehow this .....

has moved to this...

at warp speed!!!

And this....

flew to this...

at the speed of light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Mom handed down a saying when she would take note of our rate of growth,
"I want to put a brick on top of your head so you will stop growing!", said with a deep, exaggerated sigh.
I took to using it as well!
Unlike my generation that would groan and walk off...
my daughters and their cousins just grin and say,
"You can't stop God's power!"

To see more FFF posts on growing check out Nora's blog here!

Lament of an Adoptive Mom

Oh magnificent, world-renown, chair of your mega-university department,  multiple doctorate neurologist may I kindly suggest that the next time your intake nurse hands you a new patient chart that you actually take a few moments to review it's contents?? I know your day is packed from dawn to dusk...I waited weeks to get this appointment...but a brief scan of a file surely wouldn't be too much to ask, right?

And even if it has been a day that has spun out of control and your schedule has been turned on it's ear leaving no time to read the intake histories....could you take a deep breath and actually LOOK at the patient sitting before your eyes? Could you notice her age and maybe construct your questions to acknowledge her presence? She really could have told you her birth date and age....which were also in the chart that you did not read. She would have been happy to explain why we were sitting in your examining room. But, okay I get the wanting the adult to provide the information so I'll cut you a break on that point....but I CANNOT cut you slack on persisting on your line of predetermined questions about pre-natal, post-natal, and milestone achievements when our answer to the very FIRST in the line of questions was, "She was adopted at three years of age from Guatemala."

Several doctorate degrees and you don't get...what? The concept of adoption? The concept of a known history beginning at THREE years of age? The concept of obtaining accurate records from a third world country? I speak a fairly competent level of the English language. Did medical school teach you that by repeatedly re-framing and repeating the questions in a louder, more enunciated manner magically unlock the mysteries of the universe?

I am in awe of your neuroanatomical knowledge. I am impressed by the diagnostic testing you conducted. I'm pleased with the proposed treatment plan. But I seethe at your deplorable 'bedside' manner with an older, international adoptee. She is already acutely aware of the loss in her life. She is acutely aware of how 'different' she is from your other patients. No matter how or how often you ask her age at first roll or age at first sit she will NEVER know those answers! She UNDERSTANDS ENGLISH!! She can HEAR what you are saying to me. She can HEAR your questions. She can HEAR your opinions. She is a real live, walking, talking, breathing, FEELING human being who, if you had taken the time to read her chart, was adopted!  It's pretty early in the dictionary...A.D.O.P.T.E.D........maybe you can find a minute between publishing one of your many studies to read the definition? She probably won't be the last adopted patient you have in your illustrious career so for their sake, read up since you seem to have too big of an ego to listen to an earnest bit of advice offered by a lowly unaffiliated single doctorate Mom.

The Consequences of Cabin Fever!

Every year it happens.  Give us just one warm day in April and we go berserk! Fresh off a week of warm Florida weather we had made a serious dent in our Vitamin D deficiencies but the depressing chemical effects still linger. So, as often happens here in Chicagoland, we go from 30 degrees to 80 in about....a day!! Eager to to shake the doldrums we rush out into the first hot day....and proceed to completely OVER DUE it!!!

Julia's softball 'career' has begun. Soccer is now a thing of the past. Time to break out the mitts and bats!!!

How very providential that the first practice fell on our first sunny and HOT day. She has quite the arm....

and you see this correctly, Julia throws righty and bats lefty. As the only left handed batter on the team, Julia garnered a bit of attention from the assistant coach and a batting coach who were pleasantly surprised to see her connect with 3 out of 5 pitches.

Mari patiently hung out at practice. She even willingly posed for a picture for the blog!

But there was an ulterior motive in her congenial nature......

There was the new 'cousin' to go visit!! Dear old Belle's 15yo frail frame finally laid down for her last time and after a week of grieving, the cousins brought Dolly J home from a local shelter.

After a nice meet and greet with the canine cousin, the sun stroked our snow weary brains and planted the seed of a thought....

What better weather to work in the garden could one hope for??

Now, the sun did not turn us into mad dogs or Englishmen...and we know better than to plant any seeds this early! But the soil could be turned...

and amended with peat, compost, and manure which we.....

raked in to the stories of the lives of pioneer women and the debates of just what we would grow this year.

When the day was done a fertile 'field' lay waiting for the rows of tomatoes and potatoes, the cucumbers and chives, the peas and beans, and the frost free weather needed to bring them to life!

When the day was done we were also WORN OUT!!

Hmmmmm, maybe Mother Nature has a method to her madness??? These cooler, rainy days that follow the first hot day might be her way to prevent us from trying to cure cabin fever ....cold turkey?!?!

Where's the water??

Been a busy week since the conclusion of Spring Break 2011! Since I worked some part of every day and had a series of doctor appointments to keep with little girls and big boys, I've not photographed a darn thing all week. Yesterday as I raked out the flower beds I did have a thought to run in for the camera to show tulip and daffodil progress but then I talked myself out of that as sooooo many bloggers have already covered the arrival of spring.

As is typical for Chicago, we are experiencing wild temperature fluctuations with the arrival of spring. Spent most of last week in jackets or raincoats and now this weekend.....T-shirts and tank tops are in order!?!?! Yesterday was a glorious and sunny 65. Today....it is 9:30am and we are already back to 65 degrees and on our way to a projected 85!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was the temperature we had in Florida! So, as today starts to bake we are reminded of the beach....and the warm waves of the Gulf of Mexico. Seeing as how our local pools will not open until June 1st and the temperature of Lake Michigan water is in the mid-forties, I guess we must be content today with our memories.

That or find that darn money tree so we can buy our own bit of the tropics!

Joining the 21st Century!!

So, all you 30 somethings and younger who happen upon this post won't probably 'get' it but I must simply gush! You see I am sitting in a car traveling at highway speeds and BLOGGING at the same time?!?! I'm only just creeping onto this mobile technological speedway and for me this is still pretty darn amazing. Let's just say my first trips to Florida for spring break involved station wagons with windows for air conditioning and AM radios for entertainment. My children are soooooooooooo spoiled....but then again I wouldn't have it any other way for myself these days.

Just keeping it short as I'm in a notorious Georgia back-up and the starting and stopping is bringing on a bit of nausea! Just thought I'd show you a few pictures of how a USPS delivery person knows they are in Florida....

and that is just on my Dad's block!!

Things Dermal

So we are pretty much packed to head home...said with a pout. I'm taking a few minutes to up load our 400+ pictures and some videos before trying to sleep as much as I can before the marathon car ride. Just thought I'd share two photos that speak volumes.

I'm titling this one Teens- Tough Heads and Tender Skin

At some point you just have to let them live and learn! This was taken on the first night of our vacation...sun screen was applied with due diligence thereafter.

 My title for this one is Who Said Life Was Fair!

Hmmm, let's just say the Irish skinned members of our traveling party are finding tan lines of this magnitude to be unfathomable?!? Alyssa was the first to voice the sentiment but now the rest of us concur....WE WANT A DO OVER!!!!!!!!!!! Can someone talk to the man upstairs? There's a group of us who'd like to revisit the DNA distribution moment and request a switch to Guatemalan dermis! There's time...we won't need the new skin until next year's spring break trip to Sarasota. Sounds like a great Christmas gift to me!?!?!