Late nights

When the weather turns really hot we let the kids stay up until it starts to cool a little. Usually it's 10 or 11. We sit in the back yard and talk and look at the stars or just watch the kids act silly. There were a couple days like this last week. Jack had to be coaxed out, away from his drawing, and then even once we got him outside he would eventually find his way back in to his drawing. He loves to trace. He uses tracing paper and traces every "cool" picture he comes across.

Many nights after we put them down Jack will stay up awhile drawing. A friend ours gave him a Ed Emberley "orange" book. He love the step by step and I'm amazed at how his pictures come out. I've found myself loosening up on the bedtime hour lately. Not just because of the heat. The later daylight hours is certainly a factor, but also I'm just loving watching the kids engrossed in whatever late night activity they find.

Maceration

So you want to know how to clean a bone you've found? You've come to the right place. I never thought I would need to know this, but my son has a devoted interest in bones. He finds them virtually everywhere we go. We can be a a city playground, and I'll hear him yell out "MOM!! I found a BONE!!, look at this!!" Then I'm presented with a hopefully feather and skin free bone (though sometimes not so lucky). So a year or so ago I consulted the Bone Room website and have been using these instructions for cleaning bones ever since. Warning: if you DO find yourself stepping into the world of bones and maceration, you might want to consider keeping your soaking treasures in a warm spot OUTSIDE. They stink. A lot. Worse then you think. Mucho Stinko. Ok, if you can get over that, and well, the cleaning off of the dead flesh part, you are good to go. Happy bone finding.

Maceration - Using bacterial action to clean bone
This is the simplest method of cleaning bone.

Remove any remaining tissue or hide from the bone
Immerse the bone in a container of water.
Leave the container in a warm location where you won't mind the smell.
Periodically pour the greasy, smelly water out (gardens love it!) and replace with fresh water.
When the water runs clear, the bacteria have run their course.
Soak the bone in regular drugstore strength hydrogen peroxide until it reaches the whiteness you prefer. This also sterilizes the bone.
You're done!

Outing

Jack, Stella, Rocky, and myself took the BART train into San Francisco last week and met some friends at the Yerba Buena Gardens. It was a mighty adventure for us. The thought of riding on the BART train anywhere without John, let alone the city, has always been quite a terrifying thought for me. 3 kids, one mom, and a public transit system I know virtually nothing about. I swallowed my fear and embraced the day and it was so much fun. I won't go into the details of just how confusing buying tickets was to me, and how nearly every time I tried to go through the turnstile I was directed to "see attendant", because that could easily fill a whole post.


Instead I'll tell you about the kids excitement at seeing their friends waiting for us at the station in SF, and how they ran around and ate lunch by the waterfalls, dipping their hands into the water and soaking up the sun.


They played and played and when it was time to go we headed home happy and satisfied.

colorful

She brings the sparkle into our days. Mud and bugs and spiders tend to dominate around here. Detailed dissections of owl pellets, and bones, bones, bones are what fills the days of my boys. Stella though, she's going to dance party's with her dolls and frequently I find her painting her own fingernails. Some days she insists on being called Rose and other days Luna. She comes to me as Fluna, Airadel, Shine, Cha Cha, and Hello. She plays the parts and tells me what the other girls are doing. They are all sisters and all have need of a mom just like me. :) She is a girl wonderland, in her mind and in life. Horses, Kitty's, sequins, lotion, perfume, dolls, pink, princesses, butterfly's. She picks out her own outfits almost daily, asking me to lay the clothing out on the floor so she can pick the best outfit for the day. Most of the time I do it, and watch her scan each selection with a little smile on her face and then she points to one and announces her choice with glee. I love her, her freckles, and her brown eyes and her perfect little nose. She is a splash of delightful color in our mud bug filled days.

weeks

The weeks are passing by quickly. We've been busy doing this and that. Today we are headed to Sacramento to see my family. We've had some health challenges in my family lately, hearts and backs and toes. The last, the toe, belongs to Jack my son. He had a nasty growth carved out of his big toe. Down to the bone. Gross. They are testing it, but I'm sure it's nothing. So he is laid up for a week, no walking, foot raised. Lovely friends brought Jack a care package yesterday with books and activities that he could do while he was sitting around. I love our friends. I feel very very loved. A week or so ago we went and explored a creek with the same friends, a lovely day of getting wet and catching creek creatures. I miss some of my other friends I haven't seen in awhile. Lorissa, Gretchen,Amy (I know you live right by me!!). Our cat Holly passed away last week. We've lost 3 cat's in the last 6 months. We'd had Holly for 10 years and she was a big adorable sweetheart. We think she fell from our neighbors roof, if there was a cat CSI I would hire them though. All and all, through the good and bad our weeks are passing and I am riding the waves just fine. OK, off to Sac now, I have to figure out how to rig the back seat so Jack is comfortable, and then Starbucks for the ride :), a splurge to myself. Love to you, have a great weekend.

memorial day.

We headed out of town for the memorial day weekend. Spent time on the beach and visited the Golden Gate National Cemetery. 161 acres of gravestones. It was sobering. I had never been to a national cemetery before and I'm glad we went.

We had our first discussion with the kids about war and about the veterans that were in our family. We talked about being respectful in cemeteries (though that did not stop them from running around like lunatics). This will be a new tradition for our family on memorial day. Thank you to all who serve and have served.

Greatful Friday

1. New books from the library
2. Birds chirping in the morning
3. Our kids
4. Friends coming this weekend
5. Campout in the backyard tonight
6. Playdate in a couple hours

7. My morning coffee
8. My sweet husband
9. Cold yogurt and hot coffee
10. My friends
11. Bust magazine
12. Beach next week.