The Great Preying Mantis Release 2011

On the last day of school, my good friend SweetDani* and I ended the school year with an outing to a local garden store while the girls were at school. We found quite a few lovely plants, and I'm pretty sure we'll both be going back...but I digress. While we were checking out, SD found some preying mantis pods at the cash register. They came in a pouch of 2 and asked if I wanted to split it with her. Not being a huge fan (but I'm not a killer though either) of insects I was a bit hesitant but agreed to it as she said her lovely daughter had such a great time with it last year.

Well, today while having my coffee I noticed that there was something crawling around it the container...THEY HATCHED!!! Oh my goodness, there were SO many crawling around in there! I retained my composure as I didn't want to alert CiBaby to the goings-on until I was prepared with my camera. Once I was ready I told her to come and see something really cool.

After looking outside at them, in their container, I was ready to release them...BUT WAIT! CiBaby really wanted her bestie to be there too...another bug lover. So we called up J and told her the pod had hatched and that we would wait until she got to our house to release them.



It was so neat to do, we will most likely do it again next year.

*Did you know there was a lemon basil named Sweet Dani? Me either!

Note: A quick word of caution, next time I will put them in a mason jar with a screen...some lost their lives in the tape. :(

"Well...that wasn't very nice."

Those are the words CiBaby said to me after our entire, funny, interaction.

CiBaby: "Mama, I'm hungry."
Me: "What would you like for breakfast?"
CiBaby: "I don't quite know yet."
Me: "Okay. Well, I'm going to quick go to the bathroom and you think about it."
CiBaby: "Okay Mama."

I head off to the bathroom.
10 seconds later, the door flies open.

CiBaby: "Mama, I know what I want for breffas."
Me: "Can't this wait until I'm done?"
CiBaby (clearly not listening to me): "I want cinnamon toast and salsa toast and a half a cup of orange juice."
Me: "Salsa toast?"
CiBaby: "The kind we had last night."
Me: "Honey, that was dill bread."
CiBaby: "Oh! Right! I want cinnamon toast and dill toast, wif buddah and a half a cup of orange juice."
Me: "Okay, I'll get it for you when I'm done. Go pick out your cup and plate. Now could you let me finish?"

CiBaby walks alway and slams the door.
10 seconds later...the door flies open.

CiBaby: "Mama, is this right?" (holding a straw to a straw cup)
Me: "Yes, dear, but I'm not going to get you anything until I'm finished."
CiBaby, sitting on the edge of the tub chitchatting away...
Me: "Honey, really...could I please have some privacy?"
CiBaby: "Oh! Right! I forgot."

Out she goes...door slams again.
10 seconds later I hear her hand hit the doorknob...the door starting to open.

Me: "Honey! Leave me alone!"
CiBaby: "Well...that wasn't very nice."

Sigh.

A Sherpa without a Map

I feel like a Sherpa leading my charge up a great mountain...without a map. Which path to take? Either path will lead to spectacular views...but completely different.

I know I should go with my gut, but right now I can't tell if the tightness in my belly is intuition telling me which way to go...or if it's just plain hunger pains.

A Spring Delicacy

Most people associate asparagus with Spring. Here in the CzaMama house, while we love asparagus, CiBaby goes crazy when these lovely little lawn ornaments start blooming!

I believe her eyes rolled back in her head when I showed her today's harvest...1/3 lb dandelion blossoms! Dandelion fritters for dinner!

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Happy Easter!

Our little Easter egg...

Egg Dying

This year I decided to try my hand at making natural egg dyes,

 just for fun.

(pickled beet juice, grape juice, pomegranate tea, passion tea, green tea, chili powder, and red cabbage)

Here is how they turned out... 

(from top left:  red cabbage, grape juice, green tea, passion tea, pomegranate tea, and pickled beet juice. The chili powder is pictured in the center of the bowl...a golden brown)

And a very excited little girl! She insisted on eating the pink egg first...it was quite tasty!

It was definitely a fun experiment.

Loveliness

Fluffy Rain

Spring snow? No...it's just...

1. fluffy rain
2. bloated water...maybe it had a lot of salty and greasy food yesterday
3. a new slow-release watering system
4. rain with an inflated ego

You choose.

Thought of the day - 4/15/11

Choices...you always have them.

While you don't always get to choose what happened in your history, you have a choice in how you react and how you live your future.

While this isn't a new thought, it is one that I believe is good to sit and ponder.

Spring

Don't forget the ahhhh

So does the "ahhhh" come before or after you trip?

 

And next up on Comedy Central...

Mother Nature!

(*applause*)

She's witty, she's zany, she's sweet...and she can slap you in the face and all you can do is laugh!

Sure, we saw signs of Spring, flowers pushing their little heads up through the earth, the unfurling of tiny leaves...new sandals (aren't they cute?!?)

And this morning...she became an S&M* Mistress

Get out your chains boys, the Mistress is in the house!

*snow and muck...geez, get your minds out of the gutter, people!