Enjoying nature

I had to drive Steven to Will's house and Hannah to her friend, Alex's, house this morning. When I got home and came up the front porch steps, I startled a hummingbird, who was feeding at my newly installed hummingbird feeder. I had taken a chance and put it on the front porch, not sure if they would use it, due to the high human traffic, but this was the third bird I've seen over the last few days and I've only been out there a few times during the day.

The hummingbird flew off, but I sat down and waited a few minutes and it came back, or it might have been another one, I'm not sure. This one fed for a little and flew away. I continued to wait quietly, even though there was a skink walking around, who was making me nervous because I was afraid he would come near my feet. My patience paid off because as I was looking at my recently planted red bud tree, I saw a tiny hummingbird sitting on the branch. It was so cute. Then a robin landed in the same tree and the hummingbird left. A couple of minutes after the robin flew off, I noticed the hummingbird there, again, only high up. It was a really small one and had a pretty red band of color around it's neck. I'm now glad that I decided to put it in front, not in the back, like I've done in the past. When it is in the back, we hardly ever see the birds, since we don't generally sit out there and I forget to change the sugar water.

I'm so glad I took the time to do that, it was very relaxing! I'm going to try to get some pictures over the next few days, if I can. I guess I will have to turn the sound off on my camera, since it makes bird chirps when I turn it on or change a setting and it barks when a picture is taken!

Busy, busy, busy

Somehow, I ended up with a cold this week. I can't really complain, since this is the first real cold I've had in over a year. I have had a cold threatening a few times, but I have been able to fight it off. This one wasn't too bad, but I felt pretty yucky. When I lived in Chicago, I used to get many, many colds every year and they were all really bad ones. Since I've moved to the South, I get them infrequently, which I love!

I'm feeling better today, just a little run down. I went out to lunch yesterday with my Aunt Louise, who is here visiting from Florida, my mom, my sister, and niece, Tatum. We went to Sal's, my favorite Italian restaurant and it was delicious, as always. This is the same restaurant Mike, the kids and I went to for Mother's Day.

CUP is in Philly with his girlfriend, Janine, so I have been busy all week, doing all the kid deliveries! Of course, this happened to be an extremely busy week for Alex, so I have spent a lot of time on the road or in the car, waiting for someone. Yesterday was really nuts, first the lunch, then I had to pick Alex up from choir practice, take him to Musical Theater class rehearsal, wait for him, take him from there to his Barnum performance, go home, pick Hannah and her friend up, drop them at the middle school to watch their friends in a band performance, pick them up and bring them home, cook a quick dinner, and then head out to pick Alex up from Barnum. Not counting the time gone for the lunch, I was basically out of the house from 3:15 until 11:00! There wasn't a whole lot of time to do much else.

Today will be a little better, but not much. I already took Steven to work, I have to pick Shauna up from school in a few minutes, so I can take her shopping for a dress for her 5th grade graduation. Alex is at Busch Gardens for a choir field trip, so I have to grab Shauna, pick Alex up early from Busch, take him to his Musical Theater class rehearsal (the last one, yay!), wait for him to finish, get him something to eat, drop him off at Barnum, then take Shauna shopping for the dress and shoes, and then pick Alex up after Barnum.

Tomorrow, Hannah has the same choir competition that Alex was in today and the same Busch Gardens trip. For her, I only have to drop her at school in the morning and then pick her up at night. Mike is coming home from Las Vegas Saturday at 8:30 am and I will probably be picking him up, as well. I really wish gas prices were less!

Compost

Yay! I'm getting a compost pile! Mike is home today and is setting up a compost pile for the garden. Who would have thought I would ever be excited about a compost pile? I really need to get a life!

Cute Video

My niece, Tatum, singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I love the way she looks to make sure the other kids are clapping for her at the end!

A whirlwind of activity

Janine called me last week and asked me to conspire with her to surprise Jack with a visit! I thought it was a great idea, even though she would only be able to stay for two days. I didn't tell anyone, not even Mike, who wouldn't be home while she was here anyway. She brought her best friend, Andrea, and they arrived at midnight on Tuesday. Jack was not surprised, it was more like shocked! Once he got over being stunned, he was happy about it, of course.

We had a great visit, although, once again, I forgot to take any pictures. They decided to take Jack back to Philly with them, this afternoon. He will take the train back.

Quote of the day

Me: "I need a bigger dishwasher, I don't think all this stuff is going to fit."

Steven: "You don't need to gain any weight, Mom."

Took me a couple of seconds to get it...little brat!

A normal family for a change

Last week, Mike was working in Richmond. Since he travels almost 100% of the time, this was a very rare treat for us. He worked from home on Monday and Tuesday and then traveled to Richmond the rest of the days. He actually came home at night! It is hard to remember the last time that happened. He was pretty tired when he got home, but it was nice to have him here. I spent more than normal on groceries, though, because I wanted to make him his favorites since he doesn't get to eat with us very often.