Look what two cute little insects I found hanging around the local Preschool!
A praying mantis named Madelyn…
And a fly named London (whose joy is underwhelming).
I’ve loved this particular preschool because we never know what to expect. This week was insect week, complete with all sorts of insect projects, a butterfly in a cocoon, and lastly, the insect parade. Each class got to be different insects! (Look closely: these little clevers wore their dragonfly dresses for the occasion!)
While Madelyn was obviously thrilled to sport the title of praying mantis, London kept saying, “Why didn’t they choose BUTTERfly instead of fly?” The classes also learned about recycling and taking care of the earth, even requesting a trash-less lunch on Thursday (as you can imagine I exhausted my entire tupperware collection trying to comply with trashless). And in combination with plant week last week, no one could have had a better month of April than my two little nature lovers.
And what’s Earth Day without–
my birthday. Ryan and I were able to have dinner downtown, where it turns out they go pretty hard core with Earth Day. Who would have guessed, ok everybody would have guessed-judging by these parts Earth Day could be the state holiday, or anthem. At any rate, it was nice to have a semi-quiet dinner with just us and Liv and do some shopping.
Waiting for me at home was a scavenger hunt, or attempt at one. L & M were separately assigned hot and cold and it got a little tricky when they both got shouting. Good thing they had already told me there was a lemon tree in the pantry…Nice little addition for our front porch.
And that’s how we Barlows kept it green.
The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly – Mother’s Day style
Mother’s Day is rarely anything short of interesting in the Barlow household. Perhaps I’m just procrastinating finals week, but I wanted to write the rare Ryan excerpt on Barlowing in honor of Mother’s Day.
The Good:
Our neighbor’s have a weird 5 leaf plant growing through the fence, entering our yard. The leaves are similar to marijuana leaves (although, I’m near positive that it is not a plant of cannabis origin…according to google images). This morning, one of the bulbs on the plant blossomed into this awesome looking flower. By nightfall…it was closed up. Very strange plant indeed. You horticultural enthusiasts, please let me know what plant this is (and if I should call the cops).
The Bad:
Today for church, Elder’s Quorum took over the primary/nursery, so that all Mother’s could be in relief society. When I went to pick up Liv. The nursery had the strongest, most awful smell I have ever encountered in my life. I grabbed Liv as fast as I could, and we bolted out the door. Little did I know, I was bringing the culprit along with me. I assume the reason the nursery did not get us to change her diaper at church, was because they didn’t want to disturb Leslie on mother’s day, and they probably couldn’t find me (I was with the Primary). The drive home, even with the moonroof and all 4 windows open all the way, was unbearable. My apologies to the Elder’s Quorum survivors.
The Ugly:
The Twins and I made this chocolate cake from scratch (thanks Mom for the recipe). It tastes amazing, but it is the ugliest thing ever (we could’ve used Leslie’s help). I had planned on making fondant, but I forgot a key ingredient. So I was stuck with Buttercream frosting (which is impossible to style). Also, I didn’t apply enough cooking spray/flour to one of the round cake pans, so one of the layers ripped into pieces. We did play with some pre-made fondant for the dragonflies and butterflies. Hopefully next time (with Leslie’s help, we’ll have a better decorated cake to show).
Mothers:
Happy Mother’s Day to our on call nurse/pharmacist/baking consultant/doctrine apologist/ego inflatist/family support/mother Sylvia.
Happy Mother’s Day to our disaster relief/grandchild enthusiast/language consultant/fashion expert/family support/mother Lenore.
Happy Mother’s Day to our support beam/dedicated care giver/life support/music expert/religious lighthouse/photography enthusiast/family historian/mother and wife Leslie.