What Kind of Diapers???

I'm starting a poll to run through August 11th. I want to know what kind of diapers you use or if your kids are past that stage, what kind you used on them. And why?

I'm strongly considering diapers for T Rex Family Baby and want to gather some opinions before moving forward.

And as an added bonus a Target gift card will be given to one lucky commenter (randomly selected) on this posting. Poll closes on August 11th so I will be accepting comments until then!

(Today is the last day for July giveaway...)

Wordful Wednesday - Praying Mantis Friend

I've mentioned before that we put out praying mantis egg sacs every year and use them to control our bug problems. Last weekend our neighbors found one in their bedroom and scooped it up and put it back outside. We were all charmed. Luckily, they like them too. (I had to confess that we might have placed a hatching egg sac in their tree earlier in the spring.)

Well, last week when T Rex Dad was on vacation and at home with T Rex when they discovered this on one of the speakers...

I love how you can see its shadow.

It's a really large mantis so it could not have been living in the house. He took it back outside and placed it on the Japanese maple tree. We consider mantids good luck and treat them with care.

Looking over its domicile from the maple.

Today when T Rex and I were eating lunch and watching the hummingbirds fight over the newly filled feeder I noticed our praying mantis friend crawling along the window. I could look right out the window and peer into its eyes. Very cool! My camera would not focus so I could take a shot from the inside but I did walk out and take its photo. Wow! It has grown huge! It is as long as my index finger. I would not be surprised if it eats one of those hummers (although, I really hope not)!

Over4 inches long (not including antennae)

We've been getting some good photos of the hummers so as soon as I upload those I will post them. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed the photos of our favorite mantis.

For more Wordful Wednesday fun visit:


Don't forget, July Giveaway nearly over.
Giveaway rules are the same - entries are counted as one comment per blog posting per blog either T Rex Mom and Dad Tales or T Rex Tales. The entries are doubled at the end for followers. Get those comments in for your chance to win a free bar of Goats Milk Soap.

Where We're At...

We're at our family reunion (T Rex Dad's side). They are the most organized family - totally impressed. Did I marry good or what?!? I put up a few more photos from last night's dinner on T Rex Tales if you're interested in viewing them.

When T Rex Dad and I were not chasing T Rex around EVERYWHERE here's a little something fun we were able to do thanks to T Rex Aunt Terri and Uncle Doc...

T Rex liked the boat but hated the life vest. But we insisted and think eventually he will get used to it.

I've also been working on the final few bits of my online pathophysiology class which finishes up next week. Luckily, our amazing hotel suite has fast internet. It's truly an awesome place to stay in the middle of No Where, Idaho. There's a giant bath tub that we are all enjoying and beds for everyone - literally! And as frosting on the cake, T Rex has been sleeping in until 7:45 and taking 3 hour naps (probably from all the stairs we've been making him climb)!

Off for breakfast in the mountains...

One Small Step...

TRexDad here, guest posting again.


My first certain memory in life is from this weekend in 1969. It was my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary, a very intense time for someone who was barely 3. A huge celebration, as you can imagine. As the weekend went on, I remember my parents and grand parents in my grandparents charming living room arranged on chairs and a couch. I sat on the floor in front of them and we all watched as Mankind first set foot on another world. I was oblivious to what magnitude of what I was watching. But it must have made an impression.

I would religiously watch other flights and landings in later years, growing ever more enthused with each mission. I have to say that I never 'got' what the big deal was in the sense of how impossible they really all were to my parent's generation. Rockets were real, and of course they worked! They made me and my peers all want to be astronauts. Nothing was cooler!

40 years later, and I have struggled for over a day to come up with a theme for this post. In the end, there is only one thing to say, and that is "Thanks". Thanks to all the men and women who put us on the moon. To the ones who created the technology, who built the machines, and those who made the voyages, I say Thank You. You have could not have hoped to make a better nor stronger impression.

I hope someone out there has the Right Stuff to lead our country to make even bigger steps to inspire children for generations more.







T

The Dream Is Alive

TRex Dad here, guest posting.

40 years.

Whether you witnessed it live or have merely heard of it since, you know about it. Everyone knows about it. Everyone. Everything we've done since has been compared to it. Those were the days when we dreamt a dream, set a goal, and made that dream into reality. That's who we were then. I ask you, as we remember that day 40 years ago, to consider who we are now. Are we still that people? Are we still that Nation? A People who do things, not "because they are easy, but because they are hard"?

I think that we have lost our way. We could argue why and how endlessly. What would be the point? The point is, will we choose to find our way again? Who will we be going forward? What will you teach your children about who we are?

I will teach my children that the dream is alive, and that their country is the one that should make it come true. As it did, it still can. We simply have to choose to make it so. Then hard work and perseverance will win us through. Because if what we did then was possible, then anything is. We just have to set our minds to it.


"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."

Wordful Wednesday - Victory Garden Update

I've had a couple inquiries about the status of my garden. The outdoor victory garden seems to be thriving despite some neglecting. (The unborn baby has caused havoc on my system - I'm down 5 lbs and a good day for me is only vomiting 1 -2 times a day. I am hoping that since I'm in the second trimester, things will start to improve soon.) Unfortunately, the indoor garden has not faired so well.

I've been working on a list of what I will grow again and what I won't. On the list for next year's crop: herbs, tomatoes, peas, carrots. What I won't grow: radishes (took up too much space for the amount they yielded), spinach (it easily became diseased), green onions (took too long to grow), cucumbers (cannot grow a single plant to save my life).

Here are some photos:

Sweet pea plants - the birds, especially the quail, seem to really like them. Despite that, we've yielded a fair crop of delicious peas (T Rex Dad's favorite)! These will be on the list of growing next year. There are carrots to the right front.

Here are the herbs (clockwise: parsley, peppermint, basil, dill, and rosemary in the middle). These have done well. The birds ate the dill down to nothing and it grew back completely and it smells delicious!

One of the frogs living in our shed - there were at least a dozen - they were active and talkative - I love frogs in the garden!

It's hard to see, but on this radish plant is a preying mantis - we put out four mantis egg sacs and we've had several in the yard (they keep the wasp and spider problem in check) and we consider them good luck!

The highlight of my garden - the roma tomato plants. I've already harvested a couple excellent tomatoes and the plants are doing fantastically! They were a gift from Shelley for being accepted to nurse practitioner school. Next to them, a couple of the roma plants that I've planted are also starting to come up.

Don't forget, July Giveaway going on now.
Giveaway rules are the same - entries are counted as one comment per blog posting per blog either T Rex Mom and Dad Tales or T Rex Tales. The entries are doubled at the end for followers.

For more Wordful Wednesdays:

Kid 2.0

Meet the soon to be newest member of the family. We refer to the child as the "Mark II" or 2.0. These photos are from our most recent ultrasound and are just past 12 weeks gestation.

(You can see the awesome wave we witnessed in this photo.)

Yes, this would be why I've been so sickly lately. Things have improved but this little one has not yet received the memo that Mom should be feeling better already! (I've lost 5 lbs and haven't been this thin since high school.) Alas, seeing a healthy baby on the ultrasound and hearing that heartbeat makes it all worth the pains.

School is still on and I will definitely be keeping busy come January 2010!

We have tried to call each of our close friends and family personally. If we have not been able to track you down, we certainly do apologize but the news is spreading and we cannot keep it quiet for much longer!

Since this is uncharted territory for us, we welcome any advice you might have for having two little ones just over two years apart.

Thanks for sharing in our news and we'll keep you posted...