Moooooo....

This weekend, we took a trip an hour and 45 minutes north of the city and visited Fair Oaks Dairy Farm. We headed out of town around 9:00 am and arrived early for the first tour at 10:00 am. No, we didn't drive THAT fast, the time zone changes once we get closer to Chicago. Yes, I know, it is still funky that Indiana has a couple of different time zones within the state. I'm just glad we have stayed on Eastern time. Until of course, I get tired of it being still sunny at 9:30 pm in the summer. I'm digressing....

Anywhoooo - we arrived and the kids played in the Adventure area while we waited for our bus tour to start. We also had time to watch a 3-D movie about the farm, complete with glasses and spray holes in the seats, like Disney, which sent Olivia into hysterics when she was sprayed with water and a shot of air. Lovely.

Come along on my photo journey... you will be jealous that you didn't get to go with us. Remember, you can click on any photo to enlarge it!

This is Carter playing around with the giant cow display, which teaches one the process of how to properly milk a cow. Complete with a timing device that lets you discover the length of time it takes you to figure out how much you are NOT a farmer.

Here we are pulling up in the bus that took us about 5 minutes across the farm to the dairy barns. That very long building is just one of the several set-ups they have on the farm where the cows are allowed to free-roam in their stalls to eat, drink and be merry.

Here is a shot of some infant cows that are lined up outside of the Mommy stalls. You can see in the background, one of the areas explained above. These cows were so darn cute you just wanted jump out and give them a head scratch!

Here we have a shot of the feed silos. This farm grows all their feed for the animals, stores it and processes it into fine dining for the dairy cows. It is amazing how everything works off the farm by using renewable resources to power all of the different buildings. I spared you the pictures of the sludge ponds where the manure is kept, recycled into gas and used for fuel and fertilizer. Pee-ew!

Here we have an enormous mountain of grain being kept under special covers, sort of like a compost pile, with rubber rings holding the covering down. This is where they get the food to feed the animals. Large tractors and bulldozers were hauling feed to the barns, as well as continuing the processes of harvesting the corn from the fields, filling silos and chopping up the goods.

Here's where the action gets amazing! The picture is not that great which disappoints me, but if you can imagine trying to balance a toddler that wants to get down, beads of sweat dripping from my brow from trying to keep her quiet and my son from weaving in and out of the crowds, then you'll understand why there is only one picture here, and it looks like this.

Anyway, this is the milking building. If you look at the picture near the top, you'll see gobs of cows coming down a hallway of sorts. That is outside of one of the free-roam stalls. The cows know to walk themselves down this row and get into line. Where you see the highlighted circle, is where the cows enter this turning circle. There are probably 100 cows in this motorized pez dispenser as I liken it to. Each cow gets on when there is an empty space, a farmhand puts on the hoses to milk the cow and the cow takes a spin in this carousel. Once it makes a complete circle, another farmhand takes off the hoses, dips each teat into a antibacterial solution and the cow backs out of its spot off of the twirl and heads back to the barn. I was so impressed that these animals knew just what to do without their parents having to tell them 5 times to do it. I kept telling that to my son. Maybe if I branded his date-of-birth on his hind quarters he'd know I mean business. Or send him to live on a farm. That might do it.... anyway...

This photo was taken in the Birthing Center. There is a building that is just for pregnant cows ready to give birth. Complete with two birthing rooms on view for all of us to see. There was staggered seating that went at an incline so that you could choose to either sit up high and watch the birthing process, or stand down below at eye level and behold the power of fresh baby-goo. Here is Mama Milker licking her newborn. There were 2 babies born while we were sitting in there. My kids only cooperated long enough to watch the first one finally get up and stand. The second birth was witnesses by my parents who stayed inside while we took Carter to go let go of some energy. I'm glad we didn't see the second birth though because it was apparently pretty graphic. The last part we watched was the Mama struggling to get the calf out, with only the baby's legs sticking out for over a half hour. We saw the light turn green outside (which meant a baby was born) and found out that the Vet had to pull the calf out of the mother. First she used her hands and some straps, and apparently that was not working. So they had to use another contraption and with all their might, they pulled the calf from Mama and all was well. I'm glad I didn't have to explain that to my kids! By the way, approx. 80 calves are born at this farm a day. Pretty cool to be able to witness that anytime you visit!

Here's just a cute shot (and the only one I remembered to take!) of the kids before heading back to the Cafe to enjoy some of the best ice cream we've ever had!

Does this need explaining? Mmmmm, chocolate! She's all, get the camera out of my face woman and feed me more chocolate before my eyes beam you with my burning lasers!

We need one of these bouncy things permanently installed in our backyard. I wonder if the neighborhood Homeowner's Association would approve it? Man, he loved this!

Carter's first time climbing a rock wall. He's always been too apprehensive to do it, so we were very proud of him for getting up there and ringing the bell on his first try!

Olivia being cute - wearing Grampy's hat...

Heading back home after a long long day at The Farm. Always nice to see a familiar exit sign!

THE END.

Diary of a fruit fly killer....

Dear Diary,

I think I have found the second creature that could withstand a nuclear explosion. The fruit fly.

I am confident this nuisance-of-an-insect will be standing alongside the cockroach if said bomb were ever to go off. I don’t have any experience with cockroaches (thank God) but the fruit fly and I are like THIS.

I know most of you can relate to this pain-in-the-ass bug. I don’t cuss much, but I cannot help it when it comes to talking about chasing around a couple of fruit flies in my kitchen. They frustrate me to no end because they are nearly impossible to kill when you go in for the attack. They are like the Stealth Fighters of flying insects. Speedy. Jaunty. Spry…

Over the past few days, I have been like a predator stalking my prey. Swooping down with my hands in formation ready to clap it to its death. My attempts have been many. I have tried the classic approaches, grabbing at the air like a monkey when I spot it flying by. Rolling up a newspaper or magazine when I see it land on something. Arming myself with my lime-green fly swatter, and lying in wait. Which, by the way, is stupid because the swatter has small holes all over it which allows less wind resistance when going in for the kill, yet the damn fly is smaller than the holes so it just escapes…. Whatever. It’s worth the try, and makes me feel better because I’m checking things off my list of How To Kill A Fruit Fly. I have even done the old trick of putting some sugar water in a jar with a paper cone on top so the pests will fly into the jar and can’t escape. But I didn’t want to do that this time, there were only 2 fruit flies I was trying to annihilate, and I wanted to be the victor with my bare hands. I reserve that method for the occasional infestation one can get in the summer if fruits and veggies are left hanging out, inviting an all-out assault.

Aside from the physical Death Watch dance I have been doing for a few days, there’s the mental anguish. Where did these stupid flies come from? Ah, my bananas. The only fruit on my counter top that has been waiting for peak ripeness so I could make my children some banana bread. The things we deal with to make our children happy - the list is endless. However, the bananas are covered inside my glass cake dome on the counter top so the rascals can’t feast, procreate and take over the world solely from my kitchen.

So what do they want from me? Huh? Go away! I will not make it easy for you to gorge on sweat ripened fruit for you to go forth and multiply! I have deprived you of food and water, how long will it take for you to die already? Get the hint, you’re not welcome here. And why do you follow me around the house? Go back to the kitchen where my assault on you is easier. It’s hard to imagine something that small has intelligence enough to taunt me. But it sure feels like that is exactly what it’s doing when it floats by and stares me down. I swear I can hear it yelling to me, C’mon woman, show me whatcha got! Na na na na na, you can’t catch me!

So there I was, pouring my morning coffee, when I spot Zippy, (that’s what I’ll call’em) the lone fly left, taking a rest on my white kitchen cabinets. Easy to spot a black fruit fly on a white cabinet! I gently put my mug down, quietly, as if not to rouse the sleeping enemy. I tip toe ever so softly to the counter and assume my assault position (the Backward Slap is the weapon I chose for this attempt). Then whap! HA! Down that sucker fell into my sink. I quickly ran the water to be sure its journey to the ocean would be complete. I yelped aloud and danced with conviction – YES! YES! YES! It must have sounded like I had just won the lottery. It sure felt like it too. I pumped my fists over my head and did a triumphant lap around the center island, then grabbed a banana in celebration.

Victory never tasted so sweet...

My new guestbook...

Hey everyone - I just added a fun application to my blog, a guestbook! Please take a moment to sign it and say hello. It's always fun to see who and where you are reading from. Even though I track your visits using another software behind the scenes, this one is much more personal. So go ahead, leave some love!

The guestbook will remain at the bottom of the Blog page for public viewing! Don't be shy... I see you anyway with my secret powers!

Meme of Three Things...

Here's a little Meme Challenge - some random things about me - now tell me all about your THREE THINGS!

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME: Spiders, being home alone late at night, public speaking

THREE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ME LAUGH: My family, Lewis Black, Chelsea Handler

THREE THINGS I LOVE: Butterflies, 65 degree weather, New England in the Fall

THREE THINGS I HATE: Wet socks, cleaning up puke, flying

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND: Math problems, a lot of my digital SLR camera settings, what causes Autism

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK: My camera, a cookbook, blank CDs

THREE THINGS I'M DOING RIGHT NOW: listening to music, updating my blog, scratching (#!@*%$) mosquito bites!

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE: Travel to Italy, become a nurse, learn to like tomatoes on my salad

THREE THINGS I CAN DO: Type fast, curl my tongue 2 ways, drive a stick-shift car

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY: An open book, fun, worry-wart

THREE THINGS I CAN'T DO: Whistle, play an instrument, keep my nails long w/o breaking them

THREE THINGS I THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO: Waves crashing on the beach, my children belly-laughing, leaves crunching under your feet in the Fall

THREE THINGS I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO EVER: The sound of a tornado siren during a storm, fingernails on a chalkboard (eww!), someone grinding their teeth (double eww!)

THREE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS: Gooey cheese pizza, steaming hot lobster smothered in butter, marinated steak tips

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN: Ballroom dancing, how to play Euchre without help, my genealogy

THREE BEVERAGES I DRINK REGULARLY: Cold water, decaf coffee/tea, glass of wine or a cold beer

THREE SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS YOUNGER: Brady Bunch, Beverly Hills 90210, In Living Color

THREE SHOWS I WATCH NOW: Grey's Anatomy, mindless reality shows (ie; Survivor, Big Brother, The Hills), HGTV shows

THREE HOBBIES I ENJOY: Crafting my cards and invitations for clients, watching NFL (Go Golts!), volunteering on 3 committees

THREE PET PEEVES: Unpainted toenails, self-checkout lanes at stores, the toilet paper roll going under instead of over the roll

THREE PEOPLE I'M TAGGING: John L., Wendy, & JoEllen

One down, thirty nine(ish) to go...

....weeks left of school.

The first week of school is officially over. We survived! By request, my little man asked me when I would bake him a cake "just because" - so today was as good of a day as any right? It's a good excuse for some chocolate anyway....



So here he is, ready for the big day last Monday. He was a little nervous the first couple of days, but I think it's old hat for him now.



There are 10 children at our stop this year. Gettin' on the bus....



Here are a couple of pictures of his classroom, taken at the open house last week, and a random shot of me and the kiddos the night before school started!

Overheard conversations...

I should keep a notebook of things that I overhear kids talking about. I take such pleasure in listening in on what little kids have to talk about with their friends. Sometimes the chatter is so cute I wish I could bottle it up, so that when I need a quick giggle I can put my ear to the lid and gently twist it open to listen to the cuteness over and over again.

Take for instance, this latest bit I overheard. I was in my kitchen with the sliding door to the backyard open, when I heard two of my neighbor kiddos on the deck talking and looking at my potted vegetables. They are 3.5 (boy) and 5 (girl) years old....

The plant of choice they were studying was my Red Bell pepper plant....(by the way, don't they look good? I need to pick them, like SOON!)

It went a little something like this....

Boy: (big inhale of excitement) "WOW! Look, Carter's growing...... APPLES!"

Girl: (hands on hips, shaking head as only a girl can do before correcting someone) "No Evan, those aren't apples. Those are CUCUMBERS. C'mon, let's go play!"

*************

I'm still giggling when I think about how cute it was. See, even if you live in Indiana, or anywhere else in the Midwest, that doesn't mean your family must live on a farm and can identify crops at the tender ages of 3.5 & 5!

Hard to replace...

When Carter was born, my late grandparents gave him a little blue dog with a heart on it's chest around Valentine's day, which was the first time they had met him. That dog had fast become the favorite "lovey" of his that we would be forever held hostage for if it was misplaced for a moment. This dog now has frayed ears, half of the red heart has been loved off, the nose is crooked and a little torn. I can still here the 'click click click' sound Carter would make when he tapped the dog's nose to his pacifier to soothe himself. The Paci was gone at 1 yr, but the old dog is still around and a fixture cuddled up next to him each night.

Yes, I had to just sneak upstairs and take this picture under the cover of darkness...


Since babies don't really care about cute little names one might give their stuffed animals, we simply referred to it as, Blue Dog. It's pretty comical now to think back that long ago (7.5 yrs) and wonder if we just simply had not gotten much sleep those days and could care less about naming rights, or if we are really just that boring! I like to think of us as creative people, so why didn't we come up with a creative name for said dog-in-the-color-of-blue? I don't know if we'll ever have the answer to that question, but it falls into the category of Things That Make You Go Hmmmm... Since "Blue" (we then shortened from Blue Dog to just Blue because we're lazy like that), there has been a pattern of the lack of naming rights for all of the stuffed animals in this house. Frankly, they are what they are, and that's it.

For instance, we have Elephant, Red Teddy, Birthday Teddy, Sheep, Bunny, Pink Bear, Boston Bear...you get the picture. None of these creatures have names! The list goes on and on, but I'm sure any parent reading this can relate to the never-ending pile of dust collectors (aka stuffed animals) your children have. How do you get rid of them? Each one seems to have meaning, not necessarily as much meaning as their main "lovey" has, but still. I have over 7 years of collecting already, and we've already begun with Olivia. I take that back, we have not begun anything - it's everyone else that contributes to the pile. Us parents are not crazy enough to buy our kids stuffed animals because we know they will keep multiplying from the number of family and friends that can't resist the urge to buy them. I'm digressing again...

Now on to Olivia's stuffed animals. She too has a "lovey" that is special and is the bane of our existence if it is misplaced for a mere moment out of sight. It was a gift from a family friend when she was born, and it quickly became The One. It's one of those soft cuddly combination blanket and animal head characters that I think every newborn is entitled to own. Hers is very sweet, it was a fluffy pink teddy bear blanket head, silk trimming and an ever-so-slight jingle sound in the head from a rattle inside. Notice I used the word was when referring to it's fluffy pinkness. Let's just say it hardly resembles any hue of pink, and fluffy is no longer an adjective that can be used to describe it. Olivia is only 19 months old, what on earth is this thing going to look like in another 7 years?

Well, we decided to try and locate a duplicate teddy/blanket/rattle to keep on hand just in case. Just in case, you know, we leave it somewhere, or it gets thrown out of the grocery cart for the 500th time and I feel like teaching her a lesson about how when Mommy says stop throwing the bear for the 499th time, I mean business on the 500th. (heh, and I thought I didn't negotiate with toddlers!) So, we now have a new addition to the dust collection. A bright (almost needed to wear sunglasses!) new fluffy pink clone of the bear. We swear we are not going to take this new bear outside of the house. We promise to keep it safe from the underbelly of public places. We vowed to always keep it pink. We introduced Olivia to it with such enthusiasm, figuring of course she would recognize this bear to be the lovey for her left arm now when she walks around. You know what she did with it? She smiled at it, gave it a big hug then threw it on the ground and hasn't picked it up since.

I guess it goes to show that some old things that are loved are just hard to replace.

Want to guess what their names are?

Teddy. And New Teddy.



And just in case the Health Inspector is reading this, yes Teddy is actually clean. At least once a week when I have to pry it away from the toddler grasp it is thrown in for a bath in the washing machine. That is the glow of love, not dirt.

Addendum to yesterday's post...

The deed is done. Corn is shucked, blanched, cooled, cut, bagged and frozen! Amen.

Because I'm a geek in my own right, I shot photos of the process.... Olivia's gentle "shucking" is evidence in the above picture. She gently peeled the corn like each piece of husk was a petal...

How do YOU eat it?

Today's thoughts are about corn. Yes, there is more than just corn in Indiana, but in August we must talk about corn out here. It's everywhere, and it's knock-your-socks-off fresh!

This afternoon, we had plans to drive out to the orchard that we annually visit this time of year, to pick up our bushel of corn. Yep, a bushel. Never thought this City Girl would be talking bushels of anything. I probably learned how many were in a bushel sometime in grade school, but when you live in the city, you don't really have a need to make that sort of info stick. To save you city folks some time, a bushel is 60 ears of corn. What might we be doing with 60 ears of corn you ask? Freeze it of course! Yep, I feel like a pilgrim this time of year too. After all, my roots do hail from the state of the Mayflower's arrival and all, so it does seem a little fitting.

Marrying into a family that still has its feet in the farming business along the family tree, having fresh corn throughout the fall and winter has become a traditional way of life for us. And I have even dragged my own parents into the mix and we have made it an annual event together. Tomorrow's the day we will have sticky hands from shucking all the fresh ears, and our fingertips will be pruned from the juiciness of the ears as we cut each delicious kernel from it's cob.

It starts off with my parents arriving at our place, sleeves rolled up and a stick of butter unwrapped. The butter of course is for the stray ear or three that might get eaten in the process. Just can't have corn without it slathered in butter right? Anyway, so we'll shuck it all out on the deck (this part reminds me of my late grandfather as he'd corner all of us kids around to pull off the silks after he'd shuck)... I'm digressing, I can't help it. We'll have two giant stock pots up to a boil with water and drop the ears in for about a 4 minute roll. When that's done, the ears take a dive into some coolers filled with ice and water to stop the cooking. After that, we cut the corn off the cob into a giant bowl and then fill freezer storage bags with the sweet bi-colored gems. This whole process gives us about 25 bags of fresh corn on hand. It takes plenty of time, but it's so worth it.

Surely you have had an ear of corn sometime in your life that did not come from the grocery store right? Where the kernels just about pop themselves off into your mouth without much effort when you bite into the cob - corn so sweet you'd swear you sprinkled sugar on it instead of salt? Well, if not, that's what it's like. I've become a corn snob this time of year - who'd think to buy corn from the supermarket? *faint* It's just not the same, especially when you can buy it off the back of a "George's" pickup truck parked at the intersecting county roads, literally fresh from the rows behind him. Mmmm good.

So, the question begs to be asked... how do you eat yours? Do you munch from left to right or right to left in a straight line across the ear, or perhaps gnaw in a circle around the cob? Do you haphazardly take bites of your ear with fervor, or are you neat and precise with your nibbles? Salt and butter? Do you stop to wipe your mouth and hands, or wait until said ear is stripped of its kernels?

Wow...*gulp*... I'm sounding like a Hoosier!

Container garden update

I mentioned in early spring, that this year Carter and I were going to plant a couple of vegetables. Each of us chose one to call our own - he chose a Roma tomato plant, and I chose red Bell peppers. I thought I'd update proudly and brag a little bit about how green our thumbs have been this year. Even my niece ate the first Roma from the bush a couple of weeks ago and loved every succulent bite. I should have thought to document her tasting, and perhaps have a ceremony to celebrate the fact that we didn't manage to kill the plants before harvest time. But we were so giddy about getting to pick the first (semi-ripe) Roma from a branch, that we were too busy to grab the camera.

I'll start out by saying how much I have babied these plants, checking in on them several times a day. Making sure they had a good soaking each night after dinner because they were grown in hot clay pots on my full-sun exposure deck. They were thirsty every day. I pruned the gnarly leaves if they appeared, took care to look for bugs and other pests or fungus that might ruin our crop. I think we looked like peacocks strutting our stuff on the deck after each end-of-day inspection. If Carter was of age, we probably would have raised a glass for a nightly toast for a job well done and a hip-hip-hooray that they were STILL alive another day. You may have figured out by now, that I am not a gardener or have a very green thumb, and therefore you can understand my ridiculous carrying on about these two $4.99 plants. Look how lush! Look how beautiful! Please, click each picture to get a larger view for the full effect!



So I notice one day while caressing my, er Carter's Romas, that there is something funky going on with the bottoms of some fruits. I quickly pull them off the plant and put my Google degree to good use. I came to the conclusion that I had what's called End Rot.

So instead of going straight to the nursery for some fancy 'stuff' to help my plant, I thought I would attempt to be a little more organic and use what I could from home. Egg shells! My soil needed calcium. So to contribute to this experiment we indulged on many an egg for a few days so that I could collect the shells and carefully mix them into the soil. Voila! End rot gone! :) Again, the peacock strut was becoming a common dance move here in this household. Seriously, I was feeling like I could actually be growing a hint of a green thumb!

Fast forward to this week now, when we return from vacation. We were gone 9 days, perfect amount of time to see our crop ready for picking when we returned. Imagine the smiles on our faces when we threw open the curtains and peered out onto the deck and saw handfuls of glowing orangey-red goodness calling our names! I start telling Carter that we'll make some pizza this week and I'll slice some of his tomatoes on top before we bake it and I have the perfect recipe! So we finish puttering inside and alas, I'm able to go outside to inspect my babies up close. I notice that the plant looks, oh, strange maybe? I don't know, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It looked sparse or something, but I thought maybe it just needed a drink - it was pretty hot out. But first, I need to pick some of our long-awaited Romas, the water will have to wait.

And that's when it happened. That sinking feeling one would get when you didn't do so well on an exam. That pit in your stomach when you accidentally break something you treasure. Oh no! The tomatoes! I see what is wrong - the leaves have been eaten! There is dried scat or something all over the deck near the pots - I suspect some damn rodents have gotten to my beloved Roma plant. Rodents? Where the heck would they come from? Hmmm... too small to be rabbit poo. Too small for squirrel poo too. Birds? No. Field mice? Maybe. Oh. My. Gosh. I grabbed a tomato and it was nasty! Eaten, devoured, enjoyed by one (or many) of Mother Nature's creatures! How could this happen?

Here's the evidence #1 on the deck:

Enter into evidence #2, the scraggly Roma plant now:

And the final evidence #3, the wasted crop. Every. Single. Last. Tomato. A couple of my Bell peppers were chewed a bit, but they didn't seem to care for those.
Needless to say, after picking every fruit from the bush and looking it over like I had become a medical examiner, I rushed into the house to put to use again my Google degree. I looked up all sorts of things that could be eating my tomato plant. Scat, poo, dung - whatever nice word you want to call it all over my deck was the only real clue I could use. So there I was, yes, my eyes glued to the monitor as I looked at picture after picture of feces. All kinds of creatures I could think of that might have been the culprit enjoying my precious plant. Nothing was adding up. I proceeded to go back outside scratching my head to further look at the plant, and that's when it happened. I spotted it. That THIEF! That RASCAL! That down-right, good for nothin' parasitic piece of mother nature...

The Tobacco Hornworm! (apparently tomato hornworms look the same but have a black horn - whatever. This pest liked my tomatoes too!) There it is, right on a stem getting ready to devour it right in front of my eyes!

This freak of nature was so well camouflaged, that I jumped back when I finally noticed it because he was HUGE! Plump, full, content. Of course it was, because it ate EVERY SINGLE TOMATO FROM MY PLANT!

Well, there will be no Roma crop this year. There is hardly any life left in the plant. All the leaves have been chewed, most completely down to the main stems. No flowers showing signs of life after death. Gone. Kaput. Start the trumpets because Taps needs to play. I am still sick over this. I nearly drop a tear when I look out onto the deck and see my dilapidated Roma plant. Naked. Eaten. Surrendered.

My little neighbor came over to see the "caterpillar" that Carter bragged about. He didn't really care about the tomatoes, the worm thing was way cooler. The little girl wanted to keep it in her caterpillar container, so I snipped the branch it was on and lowered the whole thing into the contraption. Trying hard to resist the urge to stomp on him. She skipped toward her yard with a sing-song voice saying, "I'm going to go put it on MY tomato plant!"..... I quickly had to tell her, "nooooooooo! That is not a friendly caterpillar! He will ruin your plant!" She had a solution though, she said she would just give the worm one of her rotten tomatoes.

Hmm, I wonder if Mr. Hornworm had already been next door...

Vacation 2008

We vacationed in Florida last week and had a BLAST! Naturally, none of us wanted to pack up and come home, but we managed.

Home Sweet Indianapolis

It's not often that I have anyone to plug my midwest home to, and brag about the array of things there are to do here - except of course, those friends and relatives that still have not come to visit me from the East Coast. I know sometimes we get thrown into the stereotypical midwest/corn/soybeans/basketball/boring category - but really, that's not what the Crossroads of America is all about.... like the title of my blog says, there is really more than just corn in Indiana...

Recently, a couple of guys that work for the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association won a national "Telly" award for a music video they created about the city of Indianapolis. It features the music of Indiana native and music star Jon McLaughlin, singing his hit For You From Me.

It's a pretty cool video highlighting some of the great things to see and do right here in the city - check it out below - remember to turn up your sound!

Toilet for Two

I couldn't make this stuff up - but it is definitely worth blogging about! I know it might be a little out of most of our price ranges ($1,400), and probably bathroom space, but isn't keeping your marriage strong worth it?

The TwoDaLoo is billed as the world's first toilet two people can use ... at the exact same time (just what we've all been waiting for, right?). It brings couples closer together and conserves our water supply all with one flush (I'd rather waste water then have a co-pilot). The TwoDaLoo features two side-by-side toilet seats with a modest privacy wall in between (is that a fancy way of describing a splash guard? Gross). An upgraded version includes a seven inch LCD television and iPod docking station (isn't that nice, another place to fight over the remote control).

Geez, nothing says "I Love You" like, 'honey, can you pass over the roll of toilet paper?'

Disgusting. 'nuff said?

Picture Update

Happy 4th of July!

It's so nice to have the main PC back from the doctor, so here's my latest picture update! You can click on any picture to enlarge it!

Here are the kiddos before our neighborhood bike parade. I would have taken some pictures outside too, but it was pouring rain and I didn't want to get the camera soaked!



Carter enjoying one of my least favorite fireworks - the 12,000 degree sparkler! We had a nice holiday with friends and family. On the 3rd, we had a little fireworks block party with around 7 families at dusk. We all conviened on my front lawn and watched the guys launch all the loot. Turns out that Olivia was petrified of the fireworks, so Mom took her inside and kept her calm. On the 4th, we had a nice cookout with the family and then enjoyed the sounds of more neighborhood fireworks. We decided not to go to our Town's show because Olivia was so freaked out by the noise. Next year hopefully we'll get there!


Olivia being her happy self - I was trying to get a shot of her wild curly hair, but the cute cheesy smile got in the way!


Here she is being her diva-self. She loves hats, purses, bracelets - anything girly and especially if it blings! It's so cute to observe her putting on a hat and bracelet and prance around the house like no one is watching....


Here's my two monkeys...


Carter enjoying one of his favorite pastimes. He's taking lessons 2 x a week through the summer. He's a little frightful of the deep end, so we're working on that.


These are some cute little dress-up items that my mother couldn't resist. Olivia just happened to be wearing purple clothes when she got to try on the boa, sparkle purse and tulle tu-tu - so cute!


Boys and trees - how can they pass one up? This is in my parent's yard...


Here is Carter playing "The Joker" with my neice Jillian. Jilly's bedroom has a really neat alcove built into the room that they use as a stage and play area. They were putting on a play - Jilly said she was "The Queen". So true.