doodle a day

one of my birthday gifts this year was a book on doodling with jim henson.  "From prehistoric cave drawings at the dawn of man to innovative creations scrawled in college notebooks, people of all ages through the ages have sketched and scribbled."  it's true!  whether or not you consider yourself to be artistic (i do not) or creative (i try), we all have found ourselves making scribbles or patterns while stuck in a meeting, bored in class, or on hold on the phone.  i like this book's approach to inspiring creativity and in an attempt to exercise my own creativity a little more, i have decided to play along with a doodle a day for the month of september.  it's very similar to the photo a day i already participate in and as a matter of fact, i discovered this doodle list through instagram.

like i said, i am NOT an artist so if i decide to share these doodles at all, don't expect little masterpieces!  and don't ask me if S drew it for me either! hahaha... but seriously, if you're looking for another way to stretch your creative limbs and maybe photography isn't your thing, consider trying this with me.  you can check out my doodles on instagram (@alohaneener) while i decide whether or not to share them here.

september 2013 photo a day challenge

fatmumslim

it will be autumn soon.  it doesn't feel like it.  i foresee an indian summer for us but i have my boots and sweaters ready for when it finally cools down.  i also have chantelle's september prompts saved to my phone for this next round of photo a day.  she just had a baby less than 2 weeks ago and while she's temporarily passed her fab photo judging duties to a few others for part of her maternity leave, she's still taking her own daily photos.  what's different and kind of special about this month's list is that each prompt is a reader suggested one.  back in july she told everyone to submit suggestions and this list is the result.  as always, i hope to see some of you playing along!  find mine on facebook, instagram (@alohaneener), or twitter.

cluck, cluck

i can't believe this will be my first week back at work.  maternity leave has flown by way too fast!  don't get me started on how sad the US maternity leave is compared to almost every other country in the world.  instead, i'd like to share some other new additions to our family.  because a baby was not enough.

we've been talking about getting chickens for some time.  J even built an awesome coop many months ago.  about 2 weeks ago we finally got our act together and got the hens.  meet Willy and Nilly (previously known as Liberty and Floppy).  Willy, aka Wilhemina Shire and Nilly, aka Nadalia Shire were a gift from our incredibly generous friends.  Their girls had previously named them but i felt they needed new names for their new home.

Wilhemina Shire

Nadalia Shire

Willy is a Barred Rock and lays light brown eggs.  Nilly is an Ameraucana and lays pale green eggs.  aside from what i just told you, i know know next to nothing about chickens.  so far my biggest concerns have been how Ipo would react and how bad the chicken poop would be since J planned on letting them free range in the backyard.  i'm happy to announce that the dog and the hens get along GREAT! we were pleasantly surprised to find that Ipo does not terrorize the girls.  she periodically follows them from a safe distance to see what they're up to but i think they established early on that they're almost as big as she is and would not be worth harassing.

look ma!  i'm being good!

so far each hen gives us an egg a day.  they also enjoy eating all the snails, bugs and spiders in the yard (bonus!).  and i have yet to step in any chicken poop. i'm sure it's coming but for now it's a non-issue.  if you had asked my 20-something self if i'd ever own chickens i would have laughed in your face.  then again, my early 20's self also thought i didn't want kids.  look how things have changed...



    

1 month chunk

party time!

sometimes it's hard to believe that a month has already flown by.  our brave little lion man just had his well-check and he has managed to grow like a weed in just under a month!  from 7lb 1oz and 19 3/4 inches to 10lbs 13oz and 22 1/2 inches.  i'm happy to report that he's a strong, healthy nursing babe.  and he and big sis are getting along swimmingly.  she loves to hold him, sing to him and discuss all of the things she's going to teach him soon.