A Brief but Fortunate Encounter with a Coccinellid!

A little Coccinellid brightened our morning.

How lucky were we, to find such a pretty little creature in our bathroom. The boyz were so excited to see her.

According to wiki, Coccinellids are and have for very many years been favorite insects of children. Many believe that if a ladybug lands on you, your wish will be granted after you blow it away. Some even consider ladybug’s to be fortune bugs. Wow we hit the jackpot this am.

I also read that they usually appear in the early fall, seeking warmth in brightly lit areas....well, my bathroom is certainly full of sunshine, fall/winter, well, that's close ;0)

Researching Ladybugs has slayed a lifetime belief in a myth, I guess. Did you ever hear that a ladybug's age is determined by how many spots are on it's wings? Wrong.

"Mommy, What should we do with her?", notice he called the lady bug a girl, posed the Noodle.

"Well, there aren't any aphids in our bathroom, so we should bring her to the backyard and let her go out and search for some outside."

After I gently placed the little lady on a thick square of toilet paper, Schmoogie took her down the stairs to the sliding glass door. Noodle, a tad squeamish, followed close behind. They eagerly let her loose into the wild of our yard to search for some food.

Something about her made me feel happy today. I'm not sure if it was her bright, beautiful color, or those vibrant spots, but something about her cheered me this morning, and I certainly feel fortunate that she came for a visit.

Peace.

A day at the beach....

A rainy day at the beach is still better than a great day at work!

Yesterday, I was one of many chaperone's on the annual third grade field trip to Fire Island. I was so looking forward to this trip since last September, when Schmoogie's teacher told me of the excursion. I was elated to take the day off from work, take the school bus to board the ferry and frolic at the beach with my son. We'll have to drench ourselves in sunscreen, wear a funny hat, tank top, shorts, ooooh the sunshine and warm sand in our toes will be such a treat. We'll have lunch on a blanket, skip rocks into the ocean, gather shells, take in all of the freshly blossomed foliage along the boardwalk trail. What a fantastic day it'll be, Schmoogie!

So, yesterday, the day arrived. Almost ready, I had to remember to packed my positive attitude, as we embark on our field trip. The picture was quite different than Schmoogie and I had imagined. We were fully clothed from head to toe, sans sunscreen, add sweatshirt, umbrella, baseball hats, and a towel not for sitting on the beach, but rather for drying off. Throw in the rain jacket purchased at the beach's gift shop, and we had ourselves a field trip.

The rain was relentless. We still had the best time ever, and heck, who needs sun to have a nice day anyway? It was great, we still collected shells, ate lunch on the blanket (with our hoods up), we raced through the boardwalk trail, opposed to slowly taking it in, and basked in the rain. The kids played rain football on the beach while the Mom's (and Dad's) took shelter utilizing the fenced in garbage corral.

It was still better to spend my day with Schmoogie, the other chaperone's and their children, who are incidentally our friends outside of school, rather than being in my office.

We hoped for fun in the sun, and turned it into fun in the rain!

Peace.

Memorial Day Weekend Preview

So, it's officially summer? Not really, isn't June 21st the first day of summer? Either way, the warm weather has finally graced us here on the North Fork, and we are about to baste in it and drench ourselves with sunshine, outdoor activities, and warmth. I say, BRING IT ON!

Memorial Day Weekend, oh, yes, when we begin to relish all that summer has to offer. I cannot wait to get this weekend started. I can almost smell the hamburgers and hotdogs grilling on the open flame, hear the sweet sounds of childhood glee, and see the pollen covering my car. Well, two out of three isn't bad.

Should be a nice one, we have a birthday party, some lax practice, baseball practice, perhaps a dip in a friend's pool, and defiantly BBQ!

I'd like to get in a nice walk to see the cows and the llama around the way, a bike ride to the water just past the Meeting House Creek Inn would be lovely, and maybe a wiffle ball game with the neighborhood kids. That's my idea of a good summer weekend.

No matter what else the weekend brings, I will be perfectly happy as long as I get to spend lots of time outside, preferably without a jacket, sucking up the sun with my three favorite peeps in the world.

Love you guys,
Peace.

Sixty Degrees of Shorts

Schmoogie would wear shorts all year round, if he could.

He would never wear a coat, jacket or even a sweatshirt, if he could.

Silky shorts and t-shirts would be Schmoogie's ideal dress attire every single day, if he could.

On the North Fork of Long Island, we experience varied temperatures of the seasons and all their splendor. Most years, from late April to early October, the temperature tends to be around sixty degrees or more. Sure there are those chilly, rainy April (and May) days, (which seem to be never ending this year) but for the most part, from Spring to Fall, the thermometer tries to reach sixty each day.

Since Kindergarten, when Schmoogie discovered that "Coach," the Physical Educator at his Elementary, wore shorts year round, the negotiations began.

"Why cant I wear shorts in the winter, Coach does?"

"Schmoogie, it's way too cold to wear shorts in December, it's ten degrees outside."

"But Coach wears shorts."

It was at that time, I became my mother.

"You're not Coach, you're Schmoogie, and you cannot wear shorts in the winter."

"That is soooo unfair, then, when can I wear shorts?"

As I reminisced about the soon to come Spring, I said, "In the Spring, when it's warm."

The ever so clever, at the time, Kindergartner replied with, "Well, how many degrees is that, because if I cant wear shorts when it's ten degrees, how many degrees does it have to be?"

"Sixty, sixty degrees to wear shorts, now that's enough, lets talk about this in the Spring."

So, just as soon as the sun makes it's way from behind the miserable clouds of winter, just as soon as that pretty sun peeks her face out onto the North Fork, the question comes, everyday. Every. Single. Day.

"How many degrees is it going to be today, can I wear shorts?"

I used to worry about it, now that he is in third grade, and NEVER, ever show signs of being cold, I have conceded that once that mercury hits 60, it becomes Spring in Schmoogie's world and the shorts come out to stay.

Here we are in May, and he wears shorts to school every day, together with a long sleeve polo (in accordance with the dress code) until the mercury surpasses 60, then it'll be a short sleeve polo.

This morning, after dressing myself in long trousers and a long sleeve blouse, complete with a cardigan for when I get a chill later, I lay out clothes for Noodle, a sweatshirt and sweatpants, with an undershirt. Just then, Schmoogie emerges from his room in his shorts. I just shake my head and continue on.

The boy will not freeze, he is comfortable, I repeat in my hear, over and over.

As I get into my car to make my way to my office, and glance at the digits reading 51 degrees, I shake my head, and again, remind myself that he wouldn't wear shorts every single day if he were cold.

Sigh. If I have learned one thing in my nine years of motherhood, it is to choose your battles, in this case I have chose not partake in a battle.

Peace.

Let it Snow!!

So it's been steadily snowing all day here on the North Fork. A beautiful, powdery display of flakes that is mesmerising. A continuous stream of baby puffs falling from the sky. I love snow. Big D hates it, well, it interferes with his livelihood, so its understandable. Me, I love snow, its pure, pretty, soft, yummy, fun. I remember being a child and making snow angels and snow people (no they weren't always men!). I remember sled riding, all over, in the sump, down the hill on our block, over where there are all kinds of houses now in the hood I grew up in, oh and that ever dangerous hill by Sunrise Highway! I would never bring my kids there now! There were tons of places Dad used to take us...we had so much fun.

Oh and then when we got older (we, the younger bro and me) we used to go skitchen'! Bad, bad, bad. There is nothing good about skitchen', it's probably one of the most dangerous things you could do. But, boy was that fun!! Well, fun, until either my parents found out or some other grown up in the old hood threatened to tell the parents. I recently reminisced about skitchen' over lunch with some colleagues. Many of them didn't even know what skitchen' was. Well for those of you who don't either, skitchen' is when you grab onto the back of a moving car's bumper and hold on until you fall off. A made up word? I suppose, it's coming up as misspelled for spellcheck. OMG, anyway, it was so much fun....way more dangerous and I would never tell Schmoogie and Noodle that I actually did that!

Back to the snow, today. My kids love to shovel snow even more than I loved to play outside in the snow. Yes, I said shovel. See, Schmoogie and Noodle do not go sledding, rarely have build a snow--, well they would solely build a snowman (it would most likely a sports snowman), and I don't even think they have ever made a snow angel (well, Schmoogie may have). They have sleds, snow tubes, all the gear, but they love their snow shovels.

Well boyz, you have a lot of shovelling to do tonight. Those new shovels that Santa brought you this year sure have been getting a workout this winter. As for me, I will be inside, next to Big D, in front of the roaring fire, waiting for you to come in with hot cocoa in hand, watching the flakes from the window!

Peace (and snow!)