Wordless Wednesday: Getting the Mail with Daddy

(taken in the spring)

Squirrel!

I never had time to write about this incident. But it's too good to forget for long.

In late spring, Matt noticed an old, falling-apart bird house in one of our trees. He decided to take a look. The front of the house fell apart, revealing (uh oh!) a squirrel nest. He came inside to tell me there were baby squirrels in the nest, which he had now placed in the wood pile outside our fenced yard. My immediate thought was mama is never going to find them back there. Matt moved the nest back into the yard, on the grass, which meant our pups had to be on chains rather than free roaming.

What evil torture for Piper, our squirrel-obsessed dog. Isn't she cute here though, even if she IS on a chain?

Thanks to our local wildlife rehab organization, I knew that 1) mama squirrels keep a back-up nest and 2) they will come back to get their babies if placed in a safe area near the original nest.

Matt set up a camera on the back deck. We had noticed mama squirrel in the tree as we walked away from the nest. Sure enough, she scampered down, went to the nest picked up a baby in her mouth, and crawled back up to the tree.

She kept going and going to the very top and then ... we GASPED! ... SHE LEAPED OFF the thinnest top of the tree. At first I thought - is she suicidal now that we've ruined her nest? But then I saw she wasn't falling ... she was soaring, across our yard, over the fence into the neighbor's yard, and back into the woods.

A flying squirrel!

There were four babies in the nest, and she had taken one. We waited and waited for her to return.

One hour. Two hours. Three hours. Eventually I called the wildlife rehab place, worried that the babies had been orphaned.

I explained the whole story, and when I got to the part about her being a flying squirrel, they stopped me -- "A flying squirrel? Oh don't worry then. They are nocturnal. I bet mom will return at night!"

As it grew dark (and colder), I wrapped their nest in a light fleece blanket, leaving an opening on one side.

The next morning, I stepped outside anxiously. What if a predator came? What if they died from being cold?

I got closer to the blanket, and could see a light path of dried grass and straw trailing away from the nest. That must mean mom walked away with them! It certainly didn't look like it had been disturbed like it would be if a predator had visited.

I lifted up the blanket, and sure enough -- the nest material itself looked perfect, with a small tunnel out the side where mom had taken each baby, one by one, to the safety of their new nest.

Yay, mama squirrel!

The Porch

I'm in love with this place. THE PORCH.

There is the functional -- a covered entry into the house, easy steps for the kids to negotiate, a screen door they can easily open and close (with a window so the puppies can smell the breeze).

And the aesthetic -- the nostalgic appeal of porches as gathering places, a focal point where your house greets the neighborhood.

In the fall, there will be pumpkins. At Christmas, lights. For now, it's flowers in big pots and hanging baskets and in this charming box the kids made at daycare and gave me for Mother's Day:

There are two distinct gathering areas. On one end, there is the porch bench, repurposed from the baby crib. Alex in particular likes to lounge on the big pillows. Both kids like to climb on it to look over the other side (especially when Mommy is mowing). There is a box of sidewalk chalk under the bench -- easy access for coloring right on the porch floor.

The day I finished the porch bench, the kids were so excited to have something to sit on!

Love those smiles!

On the other end of the porch, there is the kids' little picnic table (thanks Ikea!) where they can sit for a snack or meal while Mommy mows or weeds. You'll also notice the hose and tub for lots of water playtime.

Or, you can use it for painting (and Mommy can just hose off the porch after!)

Often, we just sit right on the floor, for eating or projects or just hanging out.

Victoria particularly likes watering all Mommy's plants. Even when it's raining. And, apparently, while simultaneously wearing shorts and a winter hat, with rain boots and rain coat.

And, did you know sidewalk chalk becomes quite brilliant when you color with it while it's wet?

We put the puppies' chains in the front yard so they can join us. Doesn't Piper look so content and regal?

 And Hannah, my happy-when-she-is-with-mama girl:

And, while this is technically not on the porch, the kids do enjoy coloring on the driveway too:

This is our first year in this house, and already I've had so many contented evenings with the kiddos on the front porch, so many quiet memories being made.

Family time with the Reeds

We are fortunate to live where the kids can see my family quite often.They are all just 20 minutes away, down the road in Cloquet.

One of the fun things we've done lately is that if my family is planning to come visit after work, I will suggest that they meet us at the kids' daycare in Midway Township, and follow us home. Daycare is right on their way to our house, and it is so fun to see the kids' excitement when Grandma and Grandpa, or Uncle Adam, appears at daycare. They run, squealing, out to their cars, give hugs, ask to sit in their car with them, and often proudly walk Grandma/Grandpa/Uncle Adam around the yard, telling all their friends things like, "this my grandpa!" Awwwww ... My favorite episode was the day Adam came to daycare and pulled in behind me. Alex came FLYING out the door, happy but questioning -- his eyes were going back and forth from Adam to Mommy, Adam to Mommy ... who do I run to first?!? At the last minute he opted for Mommy. I scooped him up and got big hugs before he ran to Adam.

After one such day, Adam came home with us for play time.

I love the look on Adam's face, the glee in the kids' eyes, their long legs, and Alex's cute feet!

On a similar visit, Adam was here to help read to the kids at bedtime. BOY they LOVE their uncle.

Now, here is where Adam would contradict me a little: "Yeah, sure, they love their uncle. But who do they love more? Auntie Megan!" (insert fake whining from Adam ...)

You see, Megan is a beloved member of the Reed family. After they married last summer and Megan moved in with Adam, even Molly - Adam's pup - took to her new "mom" right away, sleeping with Megan even when Adam got home off his night shift. He secretly loves it, but jokes all the time about Molly being a traitor.

And so it goes whenever the kids want Megan to do something with them. Last week we were all leaving a restaurant and Alex refused to walk with Adam, instead marching back inside to go with Megan. Ha. 

Speaking of Auntie Megan, one night we visited their house and Adam took out his old legos. OH MY GOD, the excitement of my Lego-obsessed kids!!

You can imagine the meltdowns when we told them it was time to go home (actually, they were way better about cleaning up than we thought they'd be). A couple weeks after this picture, Vic spent the night at Adam and Megan's. They offered to take her out for ice cream, but she turned it down so she could stay at their house and play Legos.

The same night as the above pic, we stopped in the garage to check out Adam's bike:

One of the times my parents stopped at daycare, we all went to play at the Piedmont playground.

Some other recent pics ... V sewing her blankie with Grandma:

Grandpa being a "horsey" ... man this brings back memories of doing the same thing when I was a little girl!

Riding the lawn mower with Grandpa:

I take after my dad, and offer the kids "horsey" rides around the house:

Here is a photo of my big girl, who packed her backpack to go to Grandma and Grandpa's over night (and was up at 5:30 in the morning asking us if it was time to go!)

It's not just the kids who love their extended family. We all involve our pups whenever possible. Here is Hannah snuggling with Miss Molly at our housewarming party the other night:

At the party, the kids played a ton with Adam and Megan, including wrestling with Adam in the hammock:

Adam texted me this video clip of the kids riding down the slide with Auntie Megan:

Love this awesome family!

Wordless Wednesday: A-Man With His Pine Cone

Over the years

I'm feeling very sentimental today as I look at these snapshots of my kids over the years. Inspired by -- where else, Pinterest -- I started taking a photo each year (somewhere in the middle of the year) and adding a little bit about each child. Here is Vic, ages 1-3, and Alex, age 1.

The day she had to wear her pretty dress for a four wheeler ride. That's my girl!

Canoeing in the White Pine River at our old house.

At Simek's Farm, Fall 2014

Alex's debut to the photo-a-year gig.

Now it's time to start thinking about their 2- and 4-year pictures for 2015. Sigh.

Too fast, kids, too fast.