06.30.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 8:12 am by elisa
Because we are only a block away from a river, we tend to get a lot of wildlife in our neighborhood.
The normal squirrels, chipmunks, birds, moles, possums, rabbits- are all to be expected. But we also get ducks, geese, deer, vultures (only saw this bad boy once- fortunately), owls, groundhogs, and hawks. The hawk is not my friend, I can’t stand watching him shred small critters and every time I find him sitting on my fence I chase him away.
Last night we were hanging in the backyard when Andy found this
Right smack in the middle of our backyard. We rushed all three dogs inside so we could get a better look.
Why would a rabbit pick our backyard, full of pesky boys and dogs, to have babies???
How I missed this little nest with the lawn mower the other day is a mystery.
Our dogs have been gone and then inside since we got back because it has been so hot. I guess that is why the momma thought our backyard was safe.
SO now I have 4 more little creatures to watch and nurture. I put a chair over the nest while the dogs were out last night so they couldn’t get to it and took it off when they came in. We watched the Momma come out of her hiding place to feed the bunnies and hang out by the nest.
We have warned the boys that the dogs may get one or more but we will do our best to keep the bunnies safe without interfering with nature.
Aren’t they cute!
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06.28.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 12:05 pm by elisa
Andy bought Blake an electric guitar for his birthday and he has been taking it very seriously.
He puts this sign on his door when he practices
of course we can hear him all over the house anyway
Cole of course is going nuts, he can’t wait to try it out- so far Blake isn’t sharing
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06.27.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 4:50 pm by elisa
yeah, me too. See the little bag on top with the ribbon? Those are cookies.
When I first started my business and I had only a couple boxes going out each week he would pick them up and put them against the tree by the curb so he would remember to pick them up as he drove past (he didn’t want to haul them up and down the street- understandable). But inevitably I would come home to find my boxes still propped against the tree hours after he had left my neighborhood. He would always ring my door the next day when he saw the boxes out there again to tell me that he was sorry he forgot them the day before, and would usually forget them again!! I couldn’t really get mad at him as he always takes it in stride when my dogs bark at him and sometimes chase him down the street- he knows they are harmless and always has a nice word to say to them. He also likes to chat about Texas, one if his kids lives there.
BUT, the boxes really do need to go to their new homes. Sometimes I would drive around the neighborhood until I found another mailman, sometimes I would haul them over to the post office (which I hated doing because Cole always goes nuts in there). About this time business really started to pick up and well, now he really can’t ignore the boxes. He expects my house to have a lot of boxes these days so he just stops his truck in front of the house after he has delivered the mail for the rest of the street. Seems to be working out. The cookies help too.
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06.26.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 12:59 pm by elisa
Man that toilet paper at Costco sure is expensive.
But that’s how it goes, you stop for one or two items and before you know it you can barely push the cart.
I must admit however that I LOVE the feeling of being stocked up. I absolutely hate running out of things.
So Cole and I spent the morning stocking up, on interfacing, zippers, and some fun green striped fabric that should be added soon. Then I remembered that we needed toilet paper and off to Costco we went.
We now have enough snacks for the boys and all their buddies. The dogs have plenty of food, bones, and treats. Tubs of hummus for impromtu get together with friends. Laundry and dishwashing, covered. And Costco rocks when it comes to organic food.
Speaking of food, we came home with a bunch of veggies from the farm so I have been trying to use them up for dinner. Last night was a big yummy salad with home-made dressing and tonight is squash and zucchini pesto pasta. I am feeling a little proud of myself because I really don’t cook all that well but I have decided that I want to try it more. That and the fact that my days in my kitchen are numbered because it is soon going to be gutted. As I was trying to fill my fridge with all my Costoc purchases I decided that since we are getting a new (and hopefully bigger) fridge, I am going to put the current one in the garage to house overflow and kids drinks. I have a friend that has a very cool garage. Not the best picture but here it is.
The buckeye colored floor, the pinball machine, the pop machine. I think I inspired Andy because shortly after he saw this he made the family clean out the garage. All the crap that had been hauled out of the basement when it was remodeled had been stored in the garage. Funny how you realize that you just don’t need it anymore when it is out of site. We loaded up the van twice and hauled it off to Goodwill. It felt so good.
Off to sew!
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06.25.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 7:26 am by elisa
We had a really good time with this. Our Austin didn’t get it at first and when I bought a t-shirt with the slogan he didn’t want me to wear it. He said his friends won’t get it and think it’s about him- I told him that was the point. Then he seemed to get into it.
We took the kiddos to our past hang-outs
and here
here
let them run around here
Started taking pictures of a bunch of different Austin signs
Right now they have an art guitar display going on, with guitars all over town. So we hit a few of those
Austin is such a fun city, and I always forget how “new” it is. So different from out old quaint New England style town, Austin is more mid century- weird 70’s buildings. When I moved there just over 15 years ago I got a job working at a restaurant out on the lake. In my interview they asked why I had moved from Michigan and if I liked Austin. I told them that Austin was such a cool city and they said, “SHHHHH! Don’t tell anyone.” Well I didn’t tell but someone else must have because the population has doubled since I lived there. That’s a lot of people crammed into a fairly small city. Took some getting used to this time around. Planning trips around traffic jams.
They have now opened the UT tower again so we climbed to the top which was very cool
UT has such a pretty campus.
And look what we found at the top of the tower
That wraps up our trip, I was happy to get back and see my doggies, I missed them so much. Especially in Austin where there are dogs everywhere. They came home from doggie camp happy and tired.
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06.24.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 7:23 pm by elisa
are hard work! But a lot of fun too. The boys had so much fun spending time in Texas with their grandparents and cousins.
Here they all are
Joey, Emma, Cole, Austin, Max, Alex, Grace, Blake
1/2 of them
The other half
Cole-Diddley
The “shark store” is where they like to go for t-shirts and other fun stuff.
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06.20.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 4:22 pm by elisa
Took some of the kiddos to see the USS Lexington that is docked in Corpus Christi.
Emma, Austin, and Cole on the manual missile shooter thingies
Blake and Max
Blake
On board
Cole
Blake, Austin, Max, and Emma on the top deck where the planes take off and land
Inside with the controls
Cool looking buttons
Hiding from the camera
Boys in the brig
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06.18.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 9:10 pm by elisa
Lots o crocs worn by this crew. This isn’t even all of them, 3 are missing.
See that little crab? His name is Sheldon- as in Plankton Sheldon. Spongebob, you have to watch it.
He wanted to keep it, we convinced him that Sheldon was happier in his own home.
Some time in the pool.
and a birthday, my baby is 4!
Reading a couple good books. Just finished the Magicians Assistant and I have just started Best Friends. Anyone reading any good books??
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06.16.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 10:38 pm by elisa
Just a few quick pics from our first night at the beach
The kids grabbed their boards and headed out into the warm water. Austin looked at me and said, “mom I am going to go catch some gnarly waves…….whatever that means.”
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06.13.07
Posted in ElisaLou at 5:59 pm by elisa
While Andy is wrapping up meetings in NYC the boys and I brought the dogs down to the farm for a week of doggie camp. As we were making the 3 hour haul, 3 kids, 3 dogs, and me……I couldn’t help but think of how much easier the trip to the farm has gotten in the past couple of years. No screaming babies, no constant Disney tunes, just 3 boys and their DS Lites and me and my ipod. Whew, it’s been a long time coming.
Now the dogs are running like crazy and having a great time. Lot’s of rolling around on their backs. Doggie camp consists of being quasi-farm dogs for a week. Plenty of room to roam and roll in nice smelling stuff. They get filthy, they sleep in the garage, they get very very tired. Then they get a bath and come home and sleep for days in their comfy beds.
Friday morning we are flying out bright and early (6am!!) to head down to Austin. I have been busting my booty to get as many bags out as I could before I left so I could actually enjoy this little trip and not feel guilty. But wouldn’t you know as soon as I checked my email from my parents house there was a nice little gripe waiting for me, how could I be taking ten days away from sewing when my wait is already so long?? I have to say that this is when a cell phone and a level headed husband come in handy. Because he always says what I need to hear, and what I already know. My kids need to see their Grandparents, they need to see their aunts and uncles and cousins. They see them once a year. I am very very sorry that this means that if you just ordered, your wait might be a little longer than normal. BUT—There is still someone at home working full time sewing while I am gone.
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