They rank pretty highly in the man and woman-kind category as well, but in the realm of kids…I give them 2 seriously hearty thumbs up!  In fact, I’ll even go ahead and raise my third thumb to these…ok ok, so I don’t have a third thumb.  I was just going for extra emphasis.

Tid bit has had a pair every year since he turned one.  Little Bit is now wearing Tid Bit’s first pair.  And, we’ve had them in several colors… because happily, they are available in tons of different colors.

What are these magic shoes you might ask?

And moreover, I have never been a fan.  While I realize that they make some cute ballet flat style ones now, and Mary Janes….the plain old kind that the free world wears…the clunky looking slip on ones…yeah, I think they’re ugly.   I don’t even feel swayed by the rainbow of colors they come in either.  And, I think they are impractical for kids.  They don’t stay on well on a jungle gym.  Dirt and mulch and rocks creep in from any one of the massive gaps around a kids foot….and oh yeah, I think they’re ugly.  Wait…I already said that.  If Crocs would like to send me a pair to change my mind, I’ll be happy to try them…but not this style please.  I still think they are ugly.

You may be asking why I’m hating on Crocs…and I’m really not a total hater. It probably all stems from the confession that I jumped on a bandwagon of ugly, yet comfortable shoes once upon a time… and I still look at them in my closet and 99.9% of the time I choose something else.  And you know what…. they are ugly…and thus, I really hardly ever wear them.  Yep.  On the right.  Those are the ones.  If you have them and love them…it’s probably because you must significantly value comfort over even remote stylishness. Whoever tried to make them stylish was clearly one of you.  Either that or you legitimately wear them on a boat….and for that I salute you for dressing for the part.  Anyways, I digress.

All of this is really meant to say… when it comes to dressing my kids, there are times when one shoe can, in fact, cover pretty much all of our bases.  And the Keen Newport H2 fits that bill.  They are about as cute as a water shoe can possibly be.  They can be worn in the water…think hiking up a river, or playing in a creek.  I happen to be of the opinion that they are even better for kids than any other river sandal because they have a tough rubber toe cover to protect your baby’s little piggies!  You can wash them in the washing machine…or probably even in the dishwasher if you really wanted.  They are rugged and tough.  Kids can run in them, go to the pool in them, hike in them, wear them to school, in the mud, in the sand.  Seriously, these are the 4-wheel-drive of kids shoes I am sure.  And…they are velcro, so they can put them on themselves….or you can do it quickly.

I have to tell you something about where we live…our neighborhood that is.  It’s the kind of neighborhood with a great blend of families with young kids, families with teenagers, families with college students, empty nesters, and full fledged grandparents….and we absolutely LOVE it!  The yards are big and full of trees and mature shrubbery, flowers, etc…truly, it’s lovely.  And everyone for the most part takes real pride and joy in being part of this community.  And today, well I saw members of our neighborhood come together in a way that I just think is how community really should function.

In a world where life is spent mostly in the fast lane, or the drive through, or the self service check out, or within the confines of a fenced-in yard….well, it just seems that people don’t invest in one another quite like they used to do…before my time that is.  Back in the day where a barn raising was an occasion for everyone to band together and help their neighbors,  or people would spend long summer afternoons “taking a turn about their gardens” just to spend time together. Seems to me that in a lot of ways, those days have been replaced by a modern hunger for self-satisfaction…leaving little room for selflessness… little room for true community.

But today, today I saw community at it’s finest!

A couple from our neighborhood has the most fabulous garden.  Tid Bit calls it the “Secret Garden” because of it’s winding pathways and lush plant life.  There is also a full vegetable garden, complete with loads of fruit trees… and the best part is that they are beyond generous with it all!  They have allowed me to clip flowers from their gardens for any party, as well as sharing the most wonderful tomatoes, baskets and baskets of plums, corn, okra, figs…you name it, if they have it, they share it.  So much that we quite look forward to certain seasons when we know we will get to go enjoy the fruits of their gardens!

The gentleman of the gardens (we’ll call him Mr Neighbor-Gardener) was recently struck too ill to be able to do all of his usual planting and so his Mrs. asked for some help from friends and neighbors. They provided a barbeque lunch and then everyone set to planting according to the instruction of our neighbor (who is a Master Gardener and full of wise gardening instruction!)

Check this out!

<—-There is Tid Bit in the background planting some seeds.  He was taking his work very seriously.  Also, I noticed when I was looking through these pictures that the lady in the foreground was wearing a shirt that said “Life is Simple” and I thought to myself how true that felt yesterday watching everyone pitch in to help out a friend.

Look at all the people who came out to help! In the end everyone planted tomatoes, cantalope, okra, beans, corn, and more!

 I love this picture.  I love watching the friend push our neighbor to the best place for him to give good instruction, and I LOVE seeing Tid Bit following along…ready to receive instruction, and clearly excited to be helping out.  He insisted that he’d need his kid-sized wheelbarrow and looks like he was right!

Mr. Neighbor-Gardener is the nicest man.  He, by the way, is always in a wheelchair and does this garden every single year…from the chair.  Now if that’s not a kick in the pants for not making excuses, then I don’t know what is.  We have the MOST respect for this man!  He is kind and generous in word and deed.

I so enjoy seeing my husband teaching our boy how to serve others…and to do it well.  Both of my guys had the best time working together and being a part of something bigger than themselves.  It’s good to see people come together for the good of others!

I got all of these pictures from Mrs. Neighbor-Gardener who sent them out yesterday as “proof of our sharecropping status!”  I couldn’t help but think that sharecropping or not…helping people when they need it really is being the hands and feet of Jesus.

And last night, it was a pleasure cleaning dirt off of those little hands that learned that lesson well.

Remember all the cooking I’ve been doing this week?  Well, when I made the Fig and Sausage Salad for Friday night’s meal deliveries, I made a mess in my pan that looked very similarly to this loveliness on the left.  My mess was actually worse because it was from caramelizing onions.  It was the kind of burnt on mess that if I understood chemical reactions, I’d swear that the onion juice had somehow formed an impenetrable chemical bond with the bottom of my pan.  I don’t understand chemical reactions though…but I am fairly certain that actual scenario isn’t actually possible.

So it soaked overnight and then when i still couldn’t get it off, I stuck it in the dishwasher to see if that helped at all.

It didn’t.  But I think I really knew that.  I just wanted to buy myself another day before I had to deal with it.  Because the stuff had to come off, lest it ruin every subsequent thing I endeavor to cook in that pan.  I could avoid it, but I couldn’t leave it.

So this morning, when I was unloading the dishwasher, there it was waiting for me in all of it’s burnt on glory.

This pan called for a heavy duty cleaner….

And… some help from The Hubs!

We alternated scrubbing the burnt on mess for probably almost 30 minutes until it was finally clean again.  And while I was finishing up, I started thinking…

I was talking with some girlfriends this morning about maternity photographs.  I personally am not a fan, but have seen some that are tastefully done.  My take on it is that my pregnant belly isn’t nearly as darling as what’s going to come out of it, so no need to preserve forever the memory of my popped out belly button encircled by my hands making a heart shape….just not gonna go there personally people.  If that’s your bag….good for you.  I bet you are a really cute pregnant person….or you could be delusional….I will not venture to say which if I don’t know you.

Anyhow, one of my friends reminded me this morning of the MOST hilarious email that I got back at the end of last year.  It’s from a blog post from The Pregnant Chicken and it’s just absolutely hysterical.  I had to search back through my emails to find it, but find it I did….and now I’m gonna share it with you.  Thanks to The Pregnant Chicken, I give you the following…. (My comments are in black…everything in green is from The Pregnant Chicken….want to make sure to give credit where credit is due!)

In case you may want to capture your pregnancies in a photograph to preserve the wonder of life here are a few gems from awkwardfamilyphotos.com which may provide a little inspiration.

“Karen, seeing as you’re pregnant, let’s put you at the top of the family photo where the air is thinner. Karen? Karen?!?!”

I think the thing that is MOST disturbing to me is that this was a CHRISTMAS CARD….I can appreciate what they were trying to do here but if your Christmas photo looks like it should have a “becka, becka, bow wow” soundtrack playing in the background, then you may want to reconsider the card.

I can’t decide whether I like the garbage bag dress, the swamp or his black socks in the water better.

“That’s it, Steve. A little further back, a little further. Now crouch down. Perfect!” I think the ex-boyfriend may have been the photographer in this one.

This reminds me of a picnic. A good idea in theory but an uncomfortable mess in practice.

Words can’t describe this photo. Oh wait a minute, they can!

Okay, I actually love this photo but the toe shoes are the real kicker. Ha kicker!

“It’s going to be a good year, Laura. A very Goodyear indeed.”

At first I thought “Nothing symbolizes maternity better than a watermelon and a gun” and then I thought “Actually, nothing *does* symbolize maternity better than a watermelon and a gun”. Bravo Mad’am.

Like the previous Christmas card, if it looks skeezy when nobody is pregnant, then a baby bump ain’t saving it so don’t do it. A helpful holiday tip we can all tuck in our pockets.

“If I’m holding the baby then why do I still feel fat?”

Um, yeah. No. I’m just going to go with a solid no on this one.

Why do I feel like this woman was talked into this? I could see her thinking, “I’m just too tired to argue plus the kids won’t be able to take off because hockey equipment will slow them down and I’ll hold their heads. I’m sure it will look fine.”

A few people have past along some other great photos and I just had to share.
 
The Pregnant Chicken said it best….There simply aren’t enough pregnancy/gun pictures.
 
Lastly, I wanted to show you all a brilliant shots that these adoptive parents did. To see the whole series, check out the photographer’s site. Do you think they would adopt me too because I love them. It’s no naked headstand, but I love them. – The Pregnant Chicken

Hope you all got a laugh out of that….just had to share.  Nothing gets you in a good mood faster than other people’s interestingness!  It’s like people watching at the airport….or better yet, the fair!

In a few minutes I’m going to post on how to cut a leek….just couldn’t pass this up for you today though!

PS. I removed a mortifyingly nude maternity picture after I originally posted this upon a realization that the entire post could be blocked from some computers with child lock controls in place.  If that was your favorite picture and you thought it was the most hilarious thing ever…Pregnant Chicken still has it on her site!

Sorry for my silence over the past few days.  We headed out to Texas to visit the Hubs’ family for a few days and I didn’t have any access to the computer while I was there.  It was a fast and furious trip with 2 days of full travel and 2 days just for fun.  It was a good visit, but I am flat worn out now after traveling with 2 small children…one of which was a

And no…that is not my child below.  In almost 14 total hours of in-air travel, my baby napped all of 35 minutes.

Here is a more accurate picture of our trip —–> 

Yep…that about covers it!  That’s the only picture I have because it was taken on my phone…

And as we were traveling, I decided to make a mental list of things I think all travelers should keep in mind when traveling….lucky for you, I’m about to share.

1.  Southwest Airlines is great, but please be advised that if your itinerary says “direct” flight…it means that you will still stop along the way.  You won’t have to change planes, but your flight will be considerably longer when you stop in say Nashville, on your way to Denver.  Or you may stop in Houston on your flight from Dallas to Greenville, SC.  This stopping will add considerable time to your flight duration and also make your lap child all the more restless.  Also, the fasten seat belt sign sound will likely wake up your 35 minute sleeping baby, even if he/she does sleep through the landing.

2.  Just because you and your spouse think that your perfume or scented lotion is fantastic and that you should douse yourself in it with reckless abandon, does not mean that your fellow travelers will agree.  Keep in mind that your Chanel #9 in seat 14A mixed with Bath and Body Works Cherry Blossom in seat 14B, mixed with Patchouli in 14C, makes for some serious nausea in 14D across the aisle.  Noone would mind if we all use a little common SCENTS and stick with say….plain old soap.

3.  If a baby near you is yelling happily…do not sneer at the parents because it is making noise.  Be thankful it’s not screaming its’ head off in discontent.

4.  If a baby near you is screaming its’ head off in discontent, do not sneer at the parents because it is screaming bloody murder.  Trust me…the parents are far more mortified than you could possibly be.

5.  If you are a creepy man, do not stare at someones children for long periods of time…or at all for that matter.  Keep in mind, you are creepy and parents are very leery of creepy people.  Especially do not stare at someones child while they are awkwardly having to change a poopy diaper across their laps and the lap of their 5 year old during the flight.  That is really awkward…and you are even more creepy now.  The poop has to go…see #2 for the reason why.

6.  Make sure that if you are a mom traveling with small children that you wear a crew neck tshirt.  You will be doing your very best to keep your lap child somewhere close between seats 14D, E, and F and will likely have some shirt tugging.  Unless you want to flash the creepy man from #5, I suggest that you dress for a very active trip.

7.  Make sure to pack tons of snacks…snacks are very helpful to keep your kids busy.  As are crayons…although those are tricky when you have an active 1 year old who is really just interested in snacking on the crayons as well.

8.  Take refillable water bottles…like a Nalgene or Camelbak bottle.  You can refill them at water fountains and put those little drink mixes to go to add flavor (like Crystal Lite or Koolaid…preferably nothing with red dye.)  Be aware that with the change in cabin pressure though, when you open your drinking-spout-style Camelbak bottle with red dye Koolaid, it will wildly spray its contents all over the sleeping lady in seat 14F.  Thankfully the lady in 13F is a heavy sleeper.  Good thing she likes those satin eye cover thingys.

9. Be nice to your flight attendants.  If so, they will often let you stand in the back to attempt to lull your baby to sleep.  When the baby doesn’t sleep though, they will often allow it to press lighted buttons that show the waste level of the lavatory for 30 minutes or more.

10.  When you finally arrive at your destination, scream that you’re about to throw up and you will get off the plane much faster than if you didn’t.

Glad to be back on my home turf for sure.  Spring has fully sprung and after a trip to the grocery store today, I plan to enjoy it!

Have a great day!

PS.  Some of the above list is fictitious…but a good portion of it is not!  I’m probably not going to spoil the fun by telling you which is which though!  Also, I’m linking here to Top Ten Tuesday on OhAmanda.com for more fun!