Ahoy Christoforo Colombo!

I heard the sound of an old car alarm going off somewhere in the distance. I slightly opened my eyes, registered the amount of darkness outside and slammed my head back on the pillow. Surely, I have a solid three more hours of sleep. But that car alarm....it's just so annoying. Uh-oh. All of this thinking is beginning to wake me up. Stop thinking Gina. Stop. Go back to sleep. It must be 3AM.

And then, in a moment of hazy clarity it occurred to me that it's not a car alarm that I'm hearing, IT'S MY DAUGHTER.

Crapper.

Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom is all I could hear over the monitor. Then the fast foot steps down the hall. Before I had the chance to lock the door (j/k) she came barreling through

"Moooooom, I'm so excited for school. I'm so excited. SOOOOO EXCITED."

But child, I thought, it's dark. And really early. And why the hell are they giving you sugar cubes in your milk at snack time because this is clearly an unhealthy level of excitement.

Crap, crapper. I realized that I had to break the news that she didn't have school today because it was Christopher Columbus Day.

"Whaaaaaaat? No schoooool? But, I HAVE to go to school Mom. And who is Columbus?"

OH, FOR THE LOVE. IT'S TOO DAMN EARLY FOR A HISTORY LESSON. IN FACT NO TIME IS GOOD FOR A HISTORY LESSON, THAT'S WHY WE SEND YOU TO SCHOOL. BUT JACK NABBIT THERE'S NO SCHOOL TODAY!

I stretch. I yawn. "He discovered America. Well, sort of. He was an explorer from Italy or Spain, I dunno, one of the two, and came here with three boats, The Nina, The Pinta and The Santa Maria."

Bella thought for a moment then spoke very confidently, "I think you mean the Pinto."

Oh lord. Here we go.

Before I could even get a cup of coffee the argument over The Pinto vs. The Pinta went on for several minutes. My two other kids began to chime in and all of a sudden it was a history smackdown with a 5 year old, 3 year old and a 1 year old.

The only way I could make all the sound go away was to yell,


"Zoo? Who wants to go to the zoo?"


And there we were on our way to the Brookfield Zoo, along with every other parent in the Chicagoland area. But that's what I love about the zoo membership, I can go for two hours and leave a happy, tantrum free family. We usually pick about three different animals that we want to see and then leave for nap time, a perfect morning getaway. But on this particular day we accidentally spent all three hours in the Hamill Family Play Zoo. The weather was perfect!!!

We had our lunch on the bench

And played

I'm loving the bond that's growing between these two

Not kidding when I say we spent a good 25 minutes in this undiscovered corner

Face paint = make up to Mia!!!

And after some crafts and a little more exploring we, much like Christopher Columbus, packed up and headed west in our Santa Honda Mother Ship to rediscover our home territory. And nap. All of us. 

Happy Columbus Day!

Excuses, Excuses

Okay, let's just get right to it, shall we. There's a reason why I haven't blogged in awhile. Actually, ten of them. So, I present to you, my 3 faithful followers, the top ten reasons why I'm a lazy ass blogger:

10. I've been too busy eating these to blog. Which would almost always prompt a tooth ache. Which would eventually make me emotionally eat another handful. Vicious cycle candy corn is.

9. I was on the edge of my seat (on the couch, or the bed, or in the car) as I read this. Loved every single word of it. And it was on the last page that I realized it wasn't a stand alone book--oh no, there were three of them.

8. Which meant that I proceeded to spend as much time as I could find to finish reading the second book in her series. Which was very, very good. Not as good as the first but still really good.

Her third book is on hold at the library and I am chomping at the bits to get my hands on it. Thank you Tanya for recommending these.....it's put the fun back in fiction. Cuz seriously folks,  I couldn't bear to read another page of Sarah's Key. It's just so SAD. I know I have to finish it, but these books were a nice distraction.

7. I've found myself chasing this little dude ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I should be more specific, because that almost sounds cute, as if it were all just a game of cat and mouse. Oh no, this dude causes major destruction. I swear to god, if Chance dumps the dog bowl out one more time or if I find one more random shoe swimming in the toilet I'm liable to handcuff him. Not really of course. But I just laughed at the thought of it. You have the right to remain...absolutely useless without your hands!!! Take that, sucka!

6. Another big blogging distraction? Mother Effing PINTEREST!!!

I am in love with this god forsaken time sucker. I could spend HOURS on this website just losing myself in pictures of food, crafts, fashion, architecture, even pot holders look exciting on this site. I love it, I love it, I love it. And to boot, my kids reap the benefits. Just the other night they were greeted at dinner with some spooky ooky mummy dogs. Here's the picture from Pinterest:

And here's mine:

Pretty neat way to eat a hot dog and a bun, right? And this next one? I mean, come on!!! Who wouldn't appreciate a piece of greasy bacon surrounded by a fluffy little pancake. DELICIOUS and CREATIVE!!

But this next one takes the cake! GENIUS, I SAY! 

Why didn't I think of this before we connected 45 different plugs into our monster outlet that could potentially wipe out all the power on our block? This is an awesome idea. Now all I have to do is consume about 5 loaves of bread to acquire it. 

6. We're in a Halloween frenzy over here. Decorating pumpkins, and ghosts and making some fun banners. 

5.  I've been glued to the TV, thanks to The X Factor. Seriously, I have a whole new love for TV again. And singing competitions. And TALENTED people with great stories. It's like the 5th season of Idol all over again. And Simon? I've actually missed you. This is going to be a good ride. 

4. I've also spent a ton of time just keeping up with the pressures of kindergarten. For real. And she only goes half day. I'm totally screwed next year. This was taken on her picture day--HOURS before she actually smiled for the camera. I guarantee her school picture will not look nearly as cute. After ya know, sweaty recess and all.

3. I've also been busy being sad and lonely without Mia around. This is her first time in preschool and we decided to send her to school 5 days a week. I miss her. But I know this is a good experience. The other day the local fire department and ambulance stopped by her school to give the kids a tour. How cute, huh? I've never really touched on safety prevention with the kiddos (I always meant to), so I'm kinda glad they've got that covered.

She's "officially" a Junior Firewoman

2. Rather than spending quality time on the computer, I could also be found making out with this little guy. He is so kissable and so affectionate and so squishy. I just know this phase will pass so I'm milkin' it for all I can. I know, borderline inappropriate. Borderline.

1. With my favorite season of all upon us and AMAZING 75 degree weather, it's no wonder I'd rather be playing with leaves than blogging about it.

But excuses, schmexcuses. I'm back!!

Metamorphosis Part 1

It was a hot and rather humid June day when we were driving around singing one of our signature car songs when at a red light, Bella noticed a butterfly in a bush along the roadside. Her singing stopped. I kept on. 

If you're happy and you know it, snort like a pig. Oink, Oink.

"Mom? Mooooom?"

If you're happy and you know it, count to five.

"MOM!!! Didn't Santa bring us a butterfly and ladybug thingy for Christmas?"

If you're happy and you know it......oh crap! She's right. Gulp. That was SIX months ago. 

Where the hell did I put that?

A few hours later no thanks to that damn roadside butterfly, I dusted off the Butterfly Garden and Ladybug Land and with a few keystrokes ordered us some live caterpillars and ladybug larvae. 

 A week or so later when they arrived, I shared in my daughters childish excitement. I mean it WAS exciting. How often do you get live animals delivered to your mailbox? 

Forget my Ballards Design catalogue---these were awesome!

The caterpillars arrived in a little cup and the ladybug larvae arrived in a long tube which was to be dumped, gently, into the cute little Ladybug dome. Mia's definition of gentle is much different than the lovely folks at Insect Lore. But, alas, they made it into their dome. 

Which sat at our table. 

Where we eat.

The ladybug larvae looked like little teeny tiny alligators. Actually, like this:

And then, per the instructions, we waited. 

And waited. 

And waited a little bit more until one afternoon in a matter of minutes several caterpillars went from cute and fuzzy little tickle worms to a group of creepy ass Sigourney-esque alien pods. 

                    

Maybe it's me but something about this doesn't quite say, hey pull up a chair, let's have a bite to eat.

And before I knew it I had to remove them! I'm sorry, let me be more specific, I HAD TO CUT THE WEB OF FECES and silk that enveloped all around them. 

Damn, you Santa.

And here they are, pinned to their mesh habitat, that took up almost half the table. 

But hey Gina, how's those ladybug larvae doing over there in their swanked out super dome, you ask?

Well, they too are going through a big change. In fact, they have all assumed their spot on the inside of the dome where they will begin to shake, almost spasm if you will, turn a pale shade of white, create an outer covering and become pupas. 

Biscuits, anyone?

But why take my word for it? Here's Bella and Mia's version:

5 days passed and sure enough, look who greeted us for breakfast, our very first adult ladybug!

And about 5 days after that, I shrieked in horror at what looked to me like a blood splattered episode of Dexter. Oh no! I thought for sure I killed them somehow. 

But then I looked a little closer.

And sure enough, our first butterfly! And to my relief, after reading the instructions with a little more detail I learned that the red liquid was actually their meconium, their left-over color and unneeded tissues.

Pfew.

It was beautiful, actually. 

Watching through my kids eyes, I saw how really amazing the whole process was. These were their butterflies. Their ladybugs, that they fed, that they sang to, that they cared for every day. I could see the sense of responsibility and pride that Bella and Mia had. Perfect little caregivers. But of course, that all went to shit when they started fighting over who gets the butterfly with the special pretty dots and who gets to be the mom of the funniest and super fastest ladybug in the bunch. 

And that's exactly when I knew it was time.

Time to let go. Literally. 

We packed up our little friends and headed off to a local nature conservatory. The girls found the prettiest patch of flowers and actually agreed (for a change) on a new home for their ladybugs.

So long little ladybugs! Dude, it felt like I was in an episode of The Wonder Pets. 

We walked around the conservatory a bit...and they chose the butterfly garden as a perfect place to let their butterflies go. 

I grow em' smart over here :)

It was precisely at this moment when I watched Bella unzip the butterfly habitat that I got a little emotional. I can't deny it. Nothing too dramatic really, just a small realization that one day these girls of mine will be mothers too. And have to care for and feed and nurture their own children. 

What a treat that will be to watch. 

Quickly, my moment was interrupted by four fluttering butterflies overhead. Although, the last butterfly seemed to have a little separation anxiety and spent several seconds on Bella before it finally flew away.

We all watched as they took off. Mia started into her goodbyes, very loud and for a very long time. I swear those butterflies were already in Wisconsin by the time she was done. 

What an adventure.

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

Author Unknown

Bus stop envy

So on Bella's second day of Kindergarten, Mia decided she wanted to dress "fancy" to wait with Bella for her bus to come. Oh, my sweet little middle child. This past week has been torture for her watching Bella use her backpack and get dressed for school and get her pictures taken and well, you get the point.

So when she chose her fancy bus stop outfit and actually asked her dad to take pictures, I couldn't help but smile. Her turn is tomorrow, and I am just as excited for her as I was for Bella. Even more so. This is her first time in school. Agghhh.

On a side note, I think I gave birth to the world's biggest three year old diva!

Top Chef

So, in an effort to 1) teach her some cooking skills and 2) encourage her to use her newly healed arm (Bella broke her arm a month ago--yeeeaaahh...I'll blog about it some time next year) we busted out our Paula Deen's childrens cookbook and Bella decided she was going to cook Porcupine Balls for dinner.

Yes, Porcupine Balls. Doesn't sound appealing, now does it? Actually, this meal was really good. Like surprisingly good. It was also a sinch to make and our kids loved seeing what happened to the meatballs. A definite recommendation if you've got kids intrested in cooking. But the best part? It's the only Paula Deen recipe that doesn't include a stick of butter!

Here's the 411....

Ingredients:

1 lb. of lean ground beef
1 1/4 cups of uncooked white rice
1 tsp dried onion
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juice
1 10.5 oz. can of beef broth
_______________________________________

1. Turn the oven to 350 degrees

2. Put the ground beef in the mixing bowl. Measure 1/2 cup of the rice and put it in with the meat. Add the dried onion, seasoned salt, and Italian seasoning. Mix it all together with your CLEAN hands. Roll it into 8 or 9 golfball size balls of meat. NOTE: Bella wanted to instead make 20 smaller ones. Whatev!

3. Put the rest of the rice in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour in the tomatoes and the beef broth and stir with a spoon. Put the meat balls on top. Cover the dish tightly with foil.

4. Bake for about an hour. When you carefully remove the dish you'll see that the rice in the meatballs will have puffed up all around the meat looking like little porcupines!

And the result?

Bon Appetit!

Well, at least she has confidence!

So one day I overheard Bella singing and the coach in me mentioned to her, "ya know Bella, the best singers sing with heart." She asked me what that meant and I replied, "to sing the words like you really mean it, to take your time and have control." Bella nodded her head and I could tell she was seriously thinking about the advice I bestowed on her.

And now, this is how she sings. Every single time.

Is that not the funniest thing you've ever heard? I'm telling you--it's the miracle cure. When I'm pissy or frustrated, I make her sing and all is well with the world--I can't help but laugh. Guffaw even. But of course, as silently as I can :)

And bless her heart, she tries to calm Chance down with her "amazing singing" all day long.

To top it off, she's now giving Mia singing lessons.

Lord help me.

Hiatus of Sorts

Hey there, long lost friends. It's been awhile to say the least. More like the whole summer, huh? We've been housing a total of 13 different visitors since the beginning of July and while it's been extremely difficult to blog, we've been having an amazing time over here.

I have so many stories and so many pictures to share so hang tight. We are going out of town this weekend, but after that I will have more time on my hands. Bella starts kindergarten next week.....AAGGGH.  Do you think I'll be that mom who chases after the school bus once it pulls away? I think I might.

And little Mia starts preschool in 2 weeks. We're all so excited for her and her new school. And Chance-oh my goodness-this guy is walking everywhere and getting into everything!

I promise I'll be back!