Dreamseekers and Company

Too bad Anna won’t remember it well! It’s a Western Tiger Swallowtail… you know, those pretty black and yellow ones!

When we found it, it looked like the picture on the following link… turns out it only turns brown like that right before it pupates:
http://eb1.cs.umbc.edu/fieldmarking/?p=153

When it was young, it looked like the following:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/31541

Here is a picture of how it looks when it is a chrysalis and one from when it is a butterfly! It is amazing… looks JUST like a piece of wood… only it moves sometimes:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1375&chosen_state=41*Oregon

So according to http://www.squidoo.com/tigerswallowtail the chrysalis is green if it is summer (and coming out soon) but brown if it is going to overwinter. Ours is brown… so I assume it’s in there until February or March. Have any of you overwintered a chrysalis before? Do we keep it damp? Dry? Cold? Cool? Should I put it in the fridge? Just outside somewhere? It attached itself to a green bean… I am worried that the bean will rot and the chrysalis will fall down. What should I do? Can I transfer it to a stick or will that break it?

So Brian is not going to be very thrilled. But like the good guy that he is, he’ll just shake his head and be very relieved when I tell him I don’t mind if he doesn’t participate. So long as I keep the craziness to myself, especially gross craziness, then he’ll be pretty much ok.

So we do cloth diapers, right? Well, I did until Anna potty trained, but you know that’s only going to last a couple more weeks. Sooooooooooo, what’s so gross about using cloth for… you know… your own butt? I’m going to wash the stuff anyway! It’s not going to cost me anything. And paper toilet paper DOES cost me money. Honestly! So after reading a few blogs that I have linked below, here is what I will do:

1. Put some flannel squares in a little basket on the back of my toilet.
2. Hang a wet bag on the TP roll thingy (that will still have regular toilet paper on it… I don’t want to completely scare away family)
3. Err, wipe.

We’ll see if it lasts. I’m also wanting to do cloth napkins and have a few cloth tissues around, but I don’t know what the best fabrics for those are… and I don’t have a sewing machine. But if I had some that felt good, then I would use ’em.

Cloth Wipes – All you ever wanted to know:
http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2009/09/cloth-wipes-all-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html

Cloth Wipes – doin’ it on the cheap:
http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2007/09/cloth-wipes-doin-it-on-cheap.html

Cloth Wipes – the setup:
http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2009/09/cloth-wipes-set-up.html

What got me started:
http://sortacrunchy.typepad.com/sortacrunchy/2009/09/3-reasons-to-use-cloth-toilet-paper-aka-family-cloth.html

Ok, what REALLY got me started:
http://sortacrunchy.typepad.com/sortacrunchy/2009/09/ditch-the-disposables-challenge-2009.html

I can’t believe it’s my turn for baby showers again! A friend offered to do a shower for me and Margaret a few weeks ago and I just couldn’t turn her down. Since I have most of what I need for Maggie, we decided to do a benefit shower for PRC’s in the area. What a special night friends made for me!

Amy opened her home to us and hosted a noisy bunch in her home (women plus kids plus babies!). She also did all the work coordinating with PRC, making the invitation poster for church, coordinating snacks and games and EVERYTHING. THANK YOU!!!

I’m pretty sure that Angie brought the fruit tray. Hollie brought ice cream and girls (including 10 week Katie Marie!). Jackie made her DELICIOUS fudge. Amy made homemade caramel… and probably the fudge/caramel brownies too. oooooooooooOOh, so delicious. There were even strawberries! Jodi did two perfect games! Thank you all for coming, for helping (there were more helpers, but I don’t know the details!) and for the gifts! I have a huge gift bag full of presents for PRC mommas and another gift bag full of chocolate for me and several new outfits, blankets, a Bible and cute things for Maggie.

Thank you all. Thank you for making my shower special. Thank you for contributing to PRC in Margaret’s honor. Thank you just for caring. It is good to have friends.

Thank you for praying. I should have put this one first. I am not in group settings very often and I’d forgotten how special it is to be prayed over. I’ve had a baby before… but I am still anxious about doing it again. And I have my human fears and concerns about the future. Thank you for your prayers for the birth and for our family. I know the prayers have been heard.

Love you all!

I love tomato ham sandwiches:

It’s so beautiful… (“Step back Mom… these are mine!”)

It’s fun getting cute for church… thanks for the clothes everybody who has made and lent them to us!

Where’s the smile?

Brian got out all the ridiculously impossible wood and took a chainsaw and ax to it…. it worked! Yay for studly husbands!

While Brian worked away, Anna was entertained by a hose that was barely turned on. Turns out, that’s enough to get all wet!

Mmm, yummy!

Gotta put some in my pockets!