An all new low in name mispronunciation

Graeme and I have odd names. Our last name is a pretty common name so everyone gets that right, but the butcherings of our first names are just downright comical. Here are a few:

Katina

Katrina, of course. I get that more often than my actual name. :)
Atina
Bedina
Patina
Christina
Kris...and the list goes on.

Graeme - pronounced Graham, as in graham cracker.

Jermaine
Jerome
Gray-may
Gram
Grammer
Graehm
GrahEEm

People call for Graeme all the time and leave me messages to "tell her that her glasses are ready to be picked up", etc. Boy are they embarrassed when I tell them that "her" is a "him". It's actually quite funny. Today however, we have reached an all time high, or should I say low in name pronunciation. Someone called to ask us to rate a company that we had done business with recently and they asked for "Grandma"! Then they asked when she would be in and if I was "Grandma". I told her no and that Grandma was my husband. Insert apologies and blundering receptionist who had to take a few moments to regain her composure. We really are an odd couple.

A boy and his doll?

Noah loves my old fisher price "Honey" doll. Sophia never took to Honey, so I'm glad someone likes it. As you can see from the new-ishness of Honey, I never took to Honey either...too boyish. I'm also glad that if he did have to choose to like a doll, he chose to love one that looks like a boy. I think I would have a problem if he really liked a pink doll.


Noah and "honey baby" as he calls him.

Rainbow Corner

We seem to be able to see a lot of rainbows at this house. It's a nice reminder of God's love and care for us, not to mention a beautiful sight.

Watching the rainbow from the front porch...

Elijah and the rainbow...

Down comes the rain...

The foyer is almost finished, but I am still trying to find a pot for my tree. You can't see the tree in the pictures. I think I will eventually need to hang something over the door, it's a two story room (ugh), but I can't bear the thought of looking for one more picture right now. :) In the words of Graeme, "good enough".

Summer fun

Today we went to Mimi's backyard for some nature fun. While there, Elijah caught and played, er tortured a baby toad which he named Zacchaeus. Poor Zach's whole body shook while his little heart was beating as he was carried in Eli's hand, put inside and outside of an egg carton, slid down a dolly stroller, captured in a butterfly net, and trapped in a baby pool that didn't have much water in it. I coaxed Elijah to release his "pet" into the rock wall, which he did, but I wondered if little Zach died of a heart attack after all the "fun"!? Will Elijah get warts, or is that an old wives tale?

The last time we were at Mimi's backyard we scared the baby bunnies out of their burrow, which was a lot of fun, albeit frightening for the poor babies. They were gone today. Both big kids checked. :) However, there are baby wrens in the birdhouse...perhaps we can scare them out of the nest next week? ;)

We picked the last of the wild raspberries, Noah climbed into the baby pool with his clothes on (there are two pools), Elijah sprayed us with the hose, Sophia chased butterflies, the kids and I ate lunch, and the highlight of the day was that we caught the first big butterflies with Sophia's net. She's caught many, many of the small white or yellow butterflies, but today, I caught her a male and female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, thanks to Mimi's gargantuan Butterfly Bush.

It was a lot of fun for them to be outside and to explore. Our kids really like being outside and they especially love Mimi and PopPop's backyard because it is rural and there is so much more wildlife at their house. Mimi & PopPop's backyard = unlimited nature study. Thanks Mom!

Krylon, how do I love thee, let me count the ways...

Here they are in all their glory!

Fun, the unique way

I am self conscious about our two story family room. I admit it. It's just tall and ominous, and a little too "much" for me. However, it is great fun to hang party decorations from the loft, and my favorite feature is the ability to throw things down instead of carrying them down the steps like civilized people. You know, "Sunday clothes for Noah"...dunk. "Sophia needs a hairbow"...glide. Or, "No, Noah, don't throw that car down!" The last is my least favorite. We do have a rule about the kids throwing things down, but I do throw stuff down because I'm allowed. :)
The other week we let them throw down expired coupons...see what fun it is! My least favorite thing can be a lot of fun.

Klassy we are not

This is from Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a a few weeks ago. We were in NJ visiting my in laws at the time. We stood at the counter and mooed and the Jersey girl employee said nothing and disappeared for a few minutes. She came back and said, "I didn't know how to ring up your order". That was it....New Jersey, it's a really friendly place.