their attention span is about as big as a duck.

we had a wind chime hanging out back not so long ago.  i enjoyed listening to the soft tink tink sound it would make.  but only in the day.  because at night?  that soft tink tink noise sounded more like heavy chains dragging from some pale faced limping clown.  the kind of clown that paints an extra wide smiley face.

today we made wind flags.  i had originally wanted to attach shells and driftwood via ribbon to tin cans to make wind chimes.  but then i thought about it and opted for the more settling idea.

i drilled holes along the open rim of some cans.  i also drilled a hole in the center of the base.  the girls painted their cans and then we let them dry.  also.  duckduck paid us a visit while the girls were painting.  lil took the offensive and chased him with her paintbrush whilst screaming something like "i'm gonna paint you!  you can't eat me!".

it didn't take long for the cans to dry in our hot sun.  but still.  i had them marble paint during their short wait.  this other craft prompted duckduck to go for round two.  this time, the girls double teamed him.  he was no match for them.  even though really?  he is.

when the cans were dried, we tied ribbons to the holes.  i held each one up and we let out "oooh"s and "aaah"s while the wind blew the ribbons.  then my hubby decided probably he should hang them on the tree.  good choice. 

also.  duckduck did end up coming back for another round.  but the girls were inside and had no interest in his challenge.  so i fed him a piece of pita bread.  because i was not about to take him on alone. 

simply creations

delicately constructed

five days five ways free for all
simply designing

there's no where quite as fun or scary as the pediatrician's office.

the girls recently visited the pediatrician's office for their well-child check-ups.  

mad had no problems accepting that, at any time, the nurse would walk in with a tray full of shots.  in fact, the whole time we were waiting, she danced in the room.  and climbed the steps.  and actually jumped on the examination bed - while chanting something nonsensical.  

lil did not participate in such tomfoolery.   i had assured her several times that she would not receive any immunizations.  she merely scoffed and laid on the bed stiff as a board with the look of doom on her face.  you'd think the ceiling had a sign that said "the end is near".  also. it might.  i didn't look.  and mad can't read.  so that could explain a bit.  

idk if this picture necessarily makes me happy.  but it sure does make me laugh.

52 weeks of happiness
favourite photo monday
alphabe-thursday (letter o)

i get nervous when the water turns warm too fast.

my girls treated me to a morning at blizzard beach yesterday for my birthday.  they love the water parks.  i smile and laugh along with them and pretend i'm jumping in a pool of sanitizer.  and if in fact the pools were filled with sanitizer, i'd still avoid the warm spots.

after a full morning of splashing around, we continued the same activity in epcot's canada.  

also.  when we went through the entrance turnstiles, none of our tickets registered and the cast member had to ring them in manually.  then he asked me if i kept the tickets stored by anything magnetic.  and because i have no filter, i immediately replied with --

only my animal magnetism!

then i laughed like maleficent and ran away leaving my hubby and the girls shaking their heads as usual.

it's like playdough. only you can't eat it.

it was pretty outside this morning.  so i set up a card table in the backyard and we all played with polymer clay.  i even brought out my vintage case of stamps.  

the girls softened their own block of clay - color of their choice.  they rolled and cut and stamped.  i baked and glazed and ribboned.  and ooh la la.  we made decorative hanging plates.

my plate depicts a colorful pig.  lil's plate simply states "i love blue".  mad's plate has some sort of gibberish with a girl, a buffalo, lincoln, and roosevelt (idk which one) stamped on it.  all are quite indicative of the creator's personality.  we'd make a bestseller for any psychology publication.  

while the plates were in the oven, the girls pretended to be pirates on the playset.  lil was trying to anchor the "ship" to the tree.  and mad found a shiv.  i put a quick end to the hook throwing and weapons concealment forcing the girls to make good use of the slide.  also, yes.  mad is wearing her nightgown.  and a princess crown.  

and it's not really a true session outside if duckduck doesn't visit us.  i could feel the ground shake as he came waddling up.  i fed him half of a tortilla circle so he wouldn't gnaw on my leg.

i mean.  really.  he's not as grumpy as he looks.  except for that one time when he found his way into our screened pool area.  but i'd be sporting a nasty attitude too if some crazy lady were screaming at the top of her lungs and chasing me around with a leaf skimmer for 17 minutes.

our life falls somewhere between the animal world and wonderland. so let's call that england.

my girls don't understand why they're called chips.  because clearly, they're french fries.  so i've explained a number of times that the english don't live in france.  and then i offer them a taste of a scottish egg to distract them.  

we spent an afternoon over at epcot's united kingdom this weekend.  played in the boxwood hedge maze in the garden.  chatted with alice.  had dinner at rose and crown.  and found the queen on a delightfully aqua tote - which, of course, i purchased.  there's a part of me that wants to be the queen when i grow up.  and then there's the other part of me that just wants to squeeze her and love her and throw her over my shoulder.

it's so fun when i'm there because i'll throw out an english accent now and then.  also.  i actually do that anywhere. lil will ask something like - why do you have to talk like harry potter.  and mad will chime in with something like - why do you know how to speak spanish.  

oh and by the way.  we arrived at epcot via animal kingdom.  our morning there was not as whimsical and dainty as the rest of the day.

that's right, friends.  there are about eight hanitizers on that side of the stroller.  and the poses with the rhino and gorilla are only a couple of reasons why.  they're also a couple of the reasons why i laugh and cry all at the same time.

we always have room to play. sort of.

first posts are always the hardest to write.  i struggled for days on a topic and title.  and then i decided to go ahead and jump in with our (girls') playroom.  a semi-non-commentary-picture tour, if you will.  because i think it says just enough about us.

here are some pictures of the playroom.  lovely, isn't it?  just like my family.  

and i'm sure you want to see the whole look.  lovely, isn't it?  just like my family.  

voila.  welcome to the li'l mad life.