Great Expectations!

Well, summer is just about upon us. Elizabeth finished kindergarten with flying colors and continues to amaze me at just what a bright little girl she is. Now when it is time for our bedtime stories, *she* reads a book to *me*. Pretty amazing!

Alden is doing great, he continues to be one of the kindest and most polite children I have ever met in my life. Maybe I had something to do with that.... but I think it is mostly his big sister. :)

The summer has brought a few changes to our little unit. The biggest change right now is that the kids have been enrolled in a new daycare. They are fitting in quite nicely and made friends very fast. I don't know what I was so worried about!

Tomorrow I am taking both of the kids to the PA Speedway Car Races. I remember going when I was a kid, and how exciting everything was. The loud cars, the smell of the engines and burning rubber. The anticipation of waiting for the cars to crash or catch on fire... oh, yeah. Good wholesome family fun!

New Beginning

Well, it is the beginning of the New Year. 2008 holds lots of promise for good things to come in the Smith Household. Christmas came and went, and we survived. The bank account? A totally different story. :)

Our family unit is holding together, to include Solo, Luke and Jedi. The sibling kitties have proven to not only be the most beautiful cats on the planet, but superior mousers! We get lots of presents on our front porch. Thanks, guys.

Elizabeth is doing really well in school, she worships the ground her teacher walks on! She even thinks that sometimes mommy is wrong if I give her a different answer than her teacher did. *gasp* Someone tell that girl that Mommy's are NEVER wrong! :)

Alden is growing up so fast! He has come screaming into the age of two, right on time. He is such a good boy, he loves to clean up after himself which is a blessing! He is full of questions and lots of 'whassats?'. Our recent trip to a local park was a great chance for me to try out the new camera, and get some fresh air.

Hope everyone's year is going great so far! Look out for more pictures, I am already addicted to snaping pictures of every little thing that crosses my path. Mwahaha!

Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore

Well... it is official. My daughter is just growing up entirely too quickly! I knew it was coming. The wiggly tooth and non-stop inquiries regarding the tooth-fairy should have prepared me. And still it was a little shocking.

Elizabeth lost her very first tooth last night. She was pretty calm about feeling the tooth in her mouth - that is, until the blood came. Nobody likes to see their own blood, right? Mouthfuls of blood - even worse.

After swishing her mouth a few times with lukewarm water and cheering her on regarding her new 'big kid' status, she finally calmed down and eventually became very excited about the entire thing.

It was like Christmas Eve to her... she didn't want to fall asleep and miss the visit from the tooth fairy. But the day finally caught up with her and she was off to la-la land shortly after bedtime.

The tooth-fairy is much more generous than I remember her being when I was a child. But with inflation and increased cost of living.... you can't really blame her for leaving a crisp five dollar bill under Elizabeth's pillow while she slept.

Today when I pick her up from daycare, we are off to Walmart to exchange her money for an awesome big kid toy. Wonder Years, here we come.

Here she is, showing off her new smile. I took this photo with my phone, because she wanted to send it to EVERYone we knew last night. *smile*

Ming Ming the Explorer

Today was Ming Ming's first time to adventure into the big, outside world. So far she has been very sheltered, living indoors with the rest of us quacks (haha). Her favorite pastime so far is sitting in Elizabeth's lap while we watch our nightly dose of Nickelodeon. She is also big enough now to give out paybacks to Jedi and Luke... a peck with the beak for every bat with the paw she has received so far. That's my girl! The kids and I managed to get a few pictures of her outdoor adventure....

Lenny.... Tuck.... and Ming Ming Too....

...... we're Wonder Pets and we'll help you!!!

Any parent with a preschooler (or toddler) can appreciate the catchy tune of the hip Wonder Pets. Ming Ming has always been my favorite. But let me explain.

As a teenager, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to hatch my very own duck in biology class. We incubated them, candled them about once a week and watched them grow from a clump of cells into a baby duck. And after about 4 weeks, the classroom was filled with the little cheep-cheep noises from our little babies. We were all proud parents, and once the brooder stage was over, we were able to take them home with us.

I ADORED my little duck! His name was Jeremy (and 'he' actually grew up to be a 'she', so the name was a little ill-fitted....). I had managed to imprint myself as the ducklings mother, so I had a little shadow following me around the house for several weeks. When she was a few months old, the weather was nice and warm and we spent a lot of time outside. My favorite memory with this duck was lying on the hammock, swaying gently in the summer breeze, with Jeremy cuddled up on my tummy. With her beak under her wing, she would nap with me as long as I would stay on the hammock.

My dad, however, was not so fond of my new friend and insisted we find a new home for her. I was heartbroken to see her go, but she ended up with a few of the other ducks we had hatched in class and they had a nice big pond all to themselves. I like to think she lived a long, happy life.... but at the same time felt like I missed out on a good opportunity.

Now that I am an adult, and have my own house.... my daughter and I decided a couple of months ago that our new house needed something special. You guessed it. Ducks. It wasn't just about having the ducks. I wanted her to get the whole experience of incubating and watching them hatch into the big world. So we got ourselves an incubator and 8 Cayuga duck eggs. We put them into the incubator about five weeks ago. We candled them once a week so she could see how the baby duck was growing inside the egg. 28 days came and went. And then 29 days. And then 30 days. It was becoming apparent to me that we might have a problem. But then one little baby, in all his glory, opened his shell enough to stick out his tiny beak and take his first breath.

'Ming Ming' began hatching the day before yesterday. He came completely out of his shell the following day. And last night he learned how to walk, eat and drink water. This morning he was walking confidently and cheeping to get all the attention. He recognizes my voice and responds when I talk to him. It has been an exciting few days in the Smith house! He is a welcome addition to our ever-growing family. Say hello to Ming Ming!

Insta-Family

Well, we are pretty well settled into the new house in Sequim. If you can call living out of boxes settled, then I would say we are 'home'. The new house is AMAZING. We have been taking advantage of the big yard and country life, and have lots of things planned for the summer.
Moving to Sequim was a great move for my little family unit. The daycare is great and close to the house. Both the kids seem to be adjusting and making new friends. The commute to work has been cut drastically. The house and yard are everything we could have hoped for.

The only downfall of moving to Sequim is that I did have to move away from our friends and our family. Yeah, yeah, Sequim isn't THAT far from Port Angeles. It isn't like it is another planet or anything. But visiting is just a bit more inconvenient, and the random drop-in visits I grew to love have obviously come to a screeching halt.

The first time I had the house to myself, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Alden was with his dad. Elizabeth was in Seattle. I worked late the first night I had the house to myself. And even as quitting time drew nearer, I was trying to find ways to distract myself from the fact I was going home to an empty house. I decided to wander downstairs to have a drink before heading home.... and quickly realized that hanging out at a casino alone just isn't the thing I was looking for. So I headed home. To the empty house. I walked in the door, and even with the boxes surrounding me wasn't sure what to do with myself. So, what do I do to pass the time? Most of you know about my Craigs List addiction... haha!

I found a companion for myself via Craigs List that very night. A little terrier by the name of Han Solo. I was excited to drive down to Silverdale the next morning to pick him up. He was a little shy at first, but he came home with me and has settled into being spoiled rotten quite nicely.

Before taking him home, we made a stop at Petsmart to pick up all the necessities for him to be comfortable and happy. And wouldn't you know it? The CCHS was there with a bucketload of animals, all in need of homes. Alden and I browsed over them, not really with the intention of taking one home. But there he was. Little Jedi. He was a grey and white fuzzball with one blue eye, one green. I had to have him! He was there with his brother, Luke. And you know me, can't leave a man behind. : ) So Jedi and Luke came home with us as well. And they have already taken over the run of the house.

I think most of the people that read my blogs know about the TERRIBLE luck we seem to have with pets. But it has been a couple of weeks now, and everyone is happy, healthy and present. *whew* Hoping we will stay together as a family unit for a long time to come.

Blissful

As of late, my life has been just a bit chaotic. Working, raising the lights of my life, soccer practice and games, gymnastics.... and of course THE most stressful thing for me has been doing all of that while finding time to pack up all of our belongings in preparation for our big move to Sequim. This week marks the beginning of a *slightly* slower pace for my little family. Elizabeth is done with soccer and gymnastics, so that will give us a chance to breathe.

Sunday we had a perfect Mother's Day. Champagne brunch. Nothing better than that, right? After we ate, we decided to stop by the new house (which is vacant and just waiting for us to move in). Elizabeth had not seen it, other than us driving by a couple of times. But with the previous tenants gone, we were able to get out and explore a little. We stepped out of the car, and I took her hand and said 'Listen to that, Elizabeth'. And we stood there, hand in hand and listened to a blanket of silence, which was only interrupted by the occasional chirp of a happy bird. No more sirens. No more cars flying by. No more booming of stereos as the gangsta's cruise by in their pimp rides. Don't get me wrong - I will miss our old house dearly. It is a fantastic house. But I am ready for the silence. I am ready for the kids to play soccer in the back yard. I am ready to go monkey hunting in the forest behind our house with Elizabeth.

After we stood there a moment, we walked up to the front of the house. And there, sitting on our front step was a wild turkey. Yes. A wild turkey. She clucked a few times, then decided to meander off. As she got up, three little fuzzy chicks were revealed to us. The mother calmly stepped off the porch and walked casually across the lawn with her babes in tow into the long grass of the field next to the house. She cluck-clucked quietly, and the chicks reciprocated with their happy little chirps. It was quite a sight for Elizabeth and I. We continued around the house and stepped into the thick wooded area behind the house. A quick observation revealed no monkeys. But Elizabeth reminded me we will have plenty of time to look for monkeys after we move into our new house. *smile* As we turned to walk out of the woods, we noticed a couple of deer that were watching us from several yards away. How amazing is this?

Nature is not new to me. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, with deer galore, not to mention all the livestock. But seeing it through Elizabeth's eyes - it is like I am seeing everything for the first time. And I couldn't be happier. Less than three weeks until moving day. More importantly, less than three weeks to the start of a brand new life for myself and my children. I couldn't ask for more. This is what happy feels like.

"If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page" ~ Mark Houlahan