Fun Police

Well, I know we just did the whole beach thing yesterday, but that was really just a warm up for today.....

The babies and I set off for the lake early this morning.

Too much fun for Saoirse, poor thing is a burned tomato tonight.

The good news is that today they actually got to play in the water. Did I mention at the quarry they had park rangers patrolling the shoreline making sure no one got wet or had fun? Something about not having a lifeguard on duty until next weekend, which is pretty standard, but come on! There were like 5 of those rangers watching us making sure we didn't get wet, not even a toe, couldn't one of them have set down the bullhorn and picked up a whistle and some shorts instead? I mean, what little kid doesn't want to do THIS at the beach?

So to make up for yesterday (I think Nuala was a little bit traumatized by the fun police) we spent the entire day playing IN the water.

I only had my cell phone, so the pictures aren't that special, but I did take a ton of video.

Look at how foggy it got by early afternoon....

Beach Day

And here we have 5 sandy toes to officially kick off the start of beach season....

We took the three babies to a nearby quarry for some sun and sand.

Nuala loved the water and was perfectly happy stalking the little school of fish that kept swimming over to investigate her little legs.

Oscar was more of a land lover and spent much of his time building a 'lake' and digging for dinosaur bones.

Miss Saoirse preferred the towel to either sand or water, but it was only her first time at the beach so I'm sure she'll come around.....

Say what you will, but I like my new hat!

This little lady will be turning one soon. Hard to believe, right?

Triathlon

Guess what?!?

I signed up to do a triathlon.

Well, a triathlon sprint, which is shorter.....

A year ago today I weighed 100 pounds more than I do right now, so a sprint may as well be a marathon! I am so excited and honestly, I can't stop thinking about it and talking about it and dreaming about it, I mean I am REALLY EXCITED. And in this excitement I decided to start another blog devoted entirely to the next 8 weeks of triathlon training. I figure that all my loved ones will be sick of hearing about it in about 2 more hours, so maybe if I journal the experience it will take some of the pressure off of those who bear the brunt of my ramblings, you know, Brendan, the kids, strangers on the street, the cashier at the grocery store.....to name just a few! I'm telling you, I am on a training rampage. Plus, if I can write about it somewhere else, then you won't have to hear about it here all the time either.

I'm not anticipating a ton of traffic, but feel free to check it out once in a while to see the progress I am making. Now turn the computer off and get outside for an evening walk with a loved one or two or in my case, nine.

The Ojibirish Sprint

To Market We Go

A few months ago I entered a design challenge at my local yarn shop. As usual, I procrastinated for as long as possible before scrambling for last minute motivation, which, let's face it, was half hearted at best.

Luckily for me, I am a master procrastinator, and wound up loving the finished product whole heartedly.

I knit the bag in the round and then felted it in the washing machine, it was intended to be a market bag, but I'm still fresh to this whole felting thing and I need to work on my dimensions a little bit, so now it's a cute little hand bag instead. Once it was dry, I needle felted the flower and "polished" it up with straps and a lining.

This bag was a lot of fun to make and I've already cast on another. I'm thinking about adding zippers and even a pocket this time.

I dropped the bag off at the yarn shop yesterday, 2 full days AHEAD of the deadline, and had a hard time leaving it behind. I can't wait to get it back!

Mother's Day 2010

Happy Mother's Day!!!

We had a wonderful spread for our Mother's Day Brunch.

And then we had a wonderful photo shoot on the front steps.

I got everyone to pose for the dreaded camera, and they couldn't say "no" because it was, after all, Mother's Day.......

It's a bit more complicated getting all 10 of us at once, but at least it's honest.....

There you have it, the Ojibirish10 during the spring of 2010.

We're 6 years into this jibber jab and it's evolved into a language of it's own.

If you listen long enough it will start to make sense, for it is a very lovely language at that.

12

It's super late, but I needed to share these birthday cupcakes with you...

And don't forget the birthday girl.....

Hard to believe that 12 years ago today she came into my life and began teaching me what it means to be a mother. She has been patient with me over the years and we have learned from eachother along the way.

She is amazing.

More on this tomorrow.

Full Bloom

Yesterday was just one of those amazing spring days when you feel like spending the entire day outside with your family. One of those days when you spend nearly all your time laughing and smiling and frolicking and playing. One of those days when you are reminded of the invincible and endless hope encompassing childhood.

A Full Bloom Day

Nuala discovered the little red mites that love our stone porch and she was so excited about them, she kept bellowing out for Sidhe and Finn to come and look at them with her. She is quite the bug girl lately and is always looking for potato bugs and other crawlies in the back yard.

"Can I eat them?" she asked.

Finn: "No, that's not a good idea!"

Nuala: "I was just kidding!!!" (hehehehehe, sort of).