2013 Butterflies: E.F.G.H

Continuing with our mission of collecting and hatching 26 butterflies before Mallory graduates from Elementary school, we put our hunt on when summer vacation hit. The cooler spring made us wonder if the butterflies would be delayed in making their way up to Minnesota this summer.  Our predictions were right it was a bit later and the quantity seemed a bit smaller as well, making it tougher to find our eggs than the previous year.  We went on several egg hunts until we found a few leaves that looked promising.

   

Day by day and week by week, we had five little caterpillars hatch.  We lost just one along the way but four made it from start to finish.  It took each one about 4 weeks from the egg hatching to the butterfly emerging.  These caterpillars are all from leaves in our neighbor’s patch of milkweed.  They took a vacation to Sandy Lake where a few hatched and munched on Zimmerman milkweed, each one ended up opening into butterflies right here at home.

   

Below is one of my favorite pictures.  It shows the four later stages of development.  A caterpillar in its “J” formation before it envelopes into a chrysalis.  Then 2 chrysalises already formed and our first newly hatched butterfly.


The black chrysalis below is just a few hours from emerging into a butterfly.  The green one on the left is about a week out.


Each egg is as tiny as the next and the process of finding them before they are devoured by ants take patience and a lot of searching, we decided the first butterfly, holding an “E”, name should be called “Elusive”.  Mallory released this butterfly by some of our neighbors flowers.  She stayed on the flower for almost five minutes letting us inspect her wings and beauty.  Just when I was starting to get a little worried, she fluttered off and landed in a nearby tree to soak up the sun.


   

Mallory knew she wanted the “F” butterfly to be called Fluttershy.  We altered it a bit when we found out that he was our first boy (so proud!) and also he was anything but shy.
 
  

He was rearing to take flight and wanted nothing to do with being held with his wings together.  We quickly changed his name to “FlutterFly”.  Julia was over for this release and it was Mikayla’s turn to let him go.  We only made it out on the deck to the pot of flowers and as soon as Mikayla opened up to set him down, he took off.  He was quick.

    

God’s Grace has a hand in this incredible process.  I know science explains parts here and there, but having seen with my own eyes the very very tiny egg and even smaller caterpillar that emerges, we are certain God had a role somewhere along the way.  This is why we chose Grace for our “G” butterfly.  She emerged on Saturday afternoon, and with the weather forecast calling for sun and warmth on Sunday morning we waited to release her until the next day.  Fittingly, Grace would take flight on Sunday.  Sounds like there should be violins and an organ playing in the background, right?  Wrong. 


This release went south from the minute the girls remembered we’d be letting her go.  “I want to hold the butterfly FIRST!”  “It’s MY turn to let her go!” “You get to do the next butterfly unless it dies first.”  “I WANT TO UNZIP THE TOP!”  Seriously.  It was all sorts of ugly.  If I would have been two seconds faster with my camera I would have captured a screaming catfight instead of a beautiful butterfly release.  With the chaos that surrounded us, the adults quickly said that this butterfly was going into the world untouched.  No one would hold her, no one would release her.  We (together, with smiles?? Yeah.right) opened the zipper on our butterfly tent and let her crawl to the top and take flight.  She didn’t stay in the open air long before she fluttered off. She made one swoop in a circle close to us and then retreated to the nearest tree.  I am sure she was relieved one of my beauties didn’t rip her wings off in the battle that took place moments before.  This is a lesson in that pictures could very well lie—but not this mom.  I am as honest as they come that this life we have, even in a beautiful butterfly release, we are far from perfect. 
Let the readers know the date of this release was August 18th-Labor Day awaits in just 2 short weeks and we are a little anxious and oh-so-ready to get on with the back to school show.

And finally our “H” butterfly emerged.  She was as beautiful as the others and was ready to take flight on a warm night right before bedtime.  It was Mikayla’s turn to name and release this butterfly.  She doesn’t quite understand the need for an “H” name so I had to give her choices.  Thankfully Debbie gave me a pocketful of names and when I uttered ideas such as Happiness, Helen, Hannah, she shook her head “No”.  So I gave her a few more…thinking on the spot, but only remembering the boy names I was given from Debbie I sputtered how how about Henry or Harvey…

Meet “Harvey”

She chose a deck release and wanted to unzip the top and watch her fly away.  She held Harvey inside, but chose to let her go on Harvey’s own time. She fluttered around the deck for a few minutes and then was off… 


Four butterflies and nearly 6 weeks later our mission for 2013 is complete.  We carry on and hope that next year we will see the same success that we have this year!  Here is our first year (2012) with the hatching of A,B,C,D.

Teachings

Inspired by a blog I stumbled upon, I began writing down things I wanted to teach my daughters as they grow up. Each one as heart felt as the next, it took me about a year to compile my own complete list of 50 thoughts for the girls.

1. You were loved before you were welcomed into our arms.

2. As sisters you will fight harder with each other than with anyone else in this world.

3. You will also love one another more than you can love a best friend.

4. Watch your bank accounts, doing so will make your dad proud.

5. Laugh at the little things

6. Be blessed by the simple things.

7. You can always come home. No matter how long it has been or what you have done.

8. We may not welcome what mistakes you’ve made, but our arms and minds will
always be open for understanding.

9. Marry a man who loves to play like a kid. I did and he has made one of the greatest dad’s in the world.

10. Always respect others, especially your elders.

11. Don’t follow the crowd if the crowd is hurting someone else.

12. Stand up for those that are different, as being different is what sets us up for great relationships.

13. Plant a garden…even if it is in a few pots on your front porch. When you harvest your produce, think of me.

14. Play the music loud and sing along. Singing makes you both feel better.

15. You heart will be broken by someone you think you love. I promise it will feel like a wide open wound, but it will heal. Cry on my shoulder and I will rub your back. And make you popcorn.

16. Be a friend by acting like the friend you want to have.

17. Girlfriends are the best therapy. Keep the good ones around.

18. Don’t align yourself with the mean girls.

19. Anybody who makes you feel like you are not good enough, girl or boy, is not worth it.

20. Remember this when you go on your first date; it’s your dad’s job to embarrass you. I promise this is just his way of dealing with the fact that you are growing up much too quickly.

21. Love feels different at 16, 25, and 32. When you are 16, love doesn’t mean giving your boyfriend your everything.

22. I will not judge you. Talk to me and I will listen.

23. I was a teenager once before as well. If you don’t believe me when I say I’ve been through what you’ve been going through, call Kristen, she was there.

24. You have angels watching over you, but this doesn’t mean you are indestructible.

25. Chocolate is great medicine.

26. Your dad will drop whatever he is doing to take you to a movie. Call him. You will both enjoy the afternoon date.

27. You don’t need makeup to be beautiful. God made your big beautiful blue eyes, and they are breathtaking just the way they are.

28. You never, ever deserve to be treated without respect.

29. If anyone who says they love you, raises a hand to you, turn around and leave.

30. Follow your dreams, get an education, do what makes you happy, but make enough money to pay your bills and put food on your table.

31. Come home on Christmas. Remember the warm feeling you get before we celebrate Christmas as a family and don’t ever, EVER forget it.

32. Always let me call you by your nicknames (peanut and baby). I promise I won’t do it in front of your friends.

33. If you find yourself in an uncomfortable or illegal situation with your friends, make up an excuse, blame it on me, do whatever you need to do to leave. I will pick you up, no questions ask.

34. Remember, the police will almost always find you guilty by association. See above.

35. Sometimes all you need is a good cry.

36. Most men won’t understand the need for a good cry. This is okay. Just make sure to spend the rest of your life with someone who, though may not understand it, will be there until the crying is over, just because you want him to.

37. Your dad and I don’t make up rules just to be cruel. We do it to set boundaries and keep you safe. You won’t fully understand this until you become a parent.

38. You are beautiful from the cowlick on the back of your head down to your crooked toe.

39. There was a time when your dad and I could protect you from almost anything. Telling you there was no such thing as monsters made you feel safe. I desperately want to remember those days.

40. Laugh. Laugh hard and often.

41. Find friends that make you laugh.

42. Be yourself. You are amazing just the way you are.

43. Get lost in a great book.

44. When you say “Thank You” or “I am sorry” remember to make eye contact and mean it when you say it.

45. Prayer is powerful. Turn to it when you feel troubled and grateful.

46. Whether you play softball or not, learn to throw the ball the “right” way. Not sure if you are doing it correctly, find your grandpa Crandall, and ask him.

47. Find time to carve out of your busy schedules to serve others. Not only will it help those in need, it gives a warm fuzzy feeling that is priceless.

48. Remind me that I was once a teenager. If I forget, or act like I don’t understand where you are at in life, have me call Kristen. She was there.

49. It takes a village to raise respectable individuals. Remember those adults we have surrounded ourselves with know what they are talking about. Listen to them-and don’t roll your eyes at them (or at us for that matter).

50. We brought you into this world surrounded by love.  There is nothing you can do to make that unconditional love go away.

Summer Vacation 2013. Here.we.go!

I wrote only two posts during September of 2012.  One summed up Mikayla heading to preschool and the other was written on the eve of school starting for Mallory.  Reading the summer recap, the day before we begin summer vacation 2013, was exactly what I needed to do. 

I wrote in just a few short words, “…But here we are with summer at our backs…it went by way too fast.”  And with that we have finished an entire school year.  First grade is done and once again you thrived.  You were a Daisy Scout in September and became a Brownie Scout in May. You sent a Grandma to heaven in February and quickly matured before my eyes each time you reassure your younger sister that we will see her again when it is our turn to enter Heaven. You were a guppy in swimming lessons in March and became a trout in April.  With the help of your sister you’ve filled up our Kindness jar 3.5 times since January.  You have said over and over this week “I can’t believe the year is almost over. I am happy and sad.”  You have my emotions and I can feel every word of what you are saying.  You love school.  You love getting up every morning and having that place waiting for you.  You love your teacher.  You love the routine.  You are sad that it is over.  However, you love playing outside.  You love riding your bike.  You are thrilled to have a few camps waiting for you to enjoy.  You can’t wait to swim at Sandy Lake.  You are excited to see Kentucky come home.  You are happy that this break is almost here.

We have many fun things planned.  For those many fun things planned, we have carved out just as much downtime.  Time for you and your sister to be together and play.  To eat on the deck.  To swing on the playground.  To feed the chickens and harvest the garden. To read on a blanket under a tree in the shade. To make up as many plays as you want to act in with Julia.  To camp in the backyard and roast marshmallows by the fire. To be seven. 

I will recap as the season wears on when time allows, but know that when these three short months are done, I will sit and remember on what summertime has done for us.

Let’s hope the sun shines and the weather warms up so we can enjoy our summer bucket list!  Congrats on being my favorite 1st Grade graduate.  Once again, you were awesome at exactly what we asked you to do—be the very best at being Mallory.  Love you to pieces, Peanut!

Book Reading

                                  You warmed my heart this morning…

   You were both reading books on the couch.  Mikayla you were browsing through pictures and Mallory you were deep in one of your favorite chapter book series.  This went on for over 20 minutes and Mikayla, you finally had enough.  You walked up to Mallory and said “Ma-wa-weee, you read me this book please?”  Mallory, you were really into a good book, and you looked as though you were going to quickly say no…then you said “Ok. Climb up here!”

   Mikayla you let out a big “Yeah!!!”  and climbed up next to your big sister and listened intently.  Mallory you read effortlessly until it was time to head to school. 

   In that moment I was so proud. Mallory, not just because you could pick up a book and read, we know full well that you are capable.  I was proud of both of you for the bond being strengthened will not easily be shattered.  I was proud of the respect to each other that was used.  They way you sat, nearly on top of each other, nestled in a book together.  You are both so young, and you already know what its like to never forget what it means to be a sister.  Just two hours earlier, on our 5th day of our “30 Days of Thanks” you both gave thanks for “sisters” and it was proven that you too are grateful for each other.  In that moment, on a dreary Monday morning, it was all I needed to brighten my day.  Do me a big favor, and when the going gets rough and you are at each other’s throat, you look back and remember these moments…

A Changing Season

The season of summer vacation is slowly coming to a close.  As I type, the kids and their Dad are sleeping (or at least attempting to sleep) in the tent out in the backyard.  The soles of their feet are covered with dirt from a long day of play and though they are tired, the fun of sleeping under the stars has them chattering and giggling. 

We’ve enjoyed so much this summer.  Our days have been busy and by the end of the day I muster all the energy I can to put away the clean dishes and crawl into bed.  We’ve done a lot.  We’ve marked a bunch of things off of our summer bucket list.  A few big events, but many more small things that I will take away saying to myself “Job well done.”  We’ve eaten three meals a day out on the deck whenever possible and we’ve brought blankets under shady trees whenever we checked out new books at the library.  We’ve swam at Sandy Lake until our toes and fingers were prunes.  We’ve harvested, and eaten almost daily, from our garden for the last several weeks. We’ve visited a few new parks around town and the girls have gotten lost in imaginative play after breakfast almost every single day…And I am reporting, happily, that I am ready for the change that school will bring. I am exhausted.  These kids have been home for 12 weeks.  We have done lots, but not tons, which was my intent.  We have talked about how finding things to keep busy is part of the deal when it comes to summer vacation.  They’ve learned to calm squabbles between each other.  They’ve played really well together, and for the most part, have had a great time. 

Today was no exception to the fun and the exhaustion.  Wanting to end the summer with a bang I decided to take the kids and our fabulous neighbor Debbie on an adventure.  We headed out this morning bound for the Light Rail.  From their we planned on heading to Minnehaha Falls for a picnic lunch.  We’ve never been to the Falls before so we had no idea what to expect.  We were not disappointed and the day turned out to be one of my favorites of the entire summer.  The train ride was just about 15 minutes long, which was just enough for the kids.  By the the time we reached our destination we were excited that we were going to come back on the train at the end of the day.  We explored the park on foot at first.  We found the waterfall by a few twisting paths and lots of steep steps.  We could hear it first and when it came into sight Mallory was in awe.  I made sure to watch her eyes as watching through her lense gives a whole new perspective.  When our feet got tired and our tummy’s were getting hungry we decided to rent a Surry Bike and take the next part of the tour on wheels.  Powered by Debbie and I, and steered solely by Debbie, we made our way around the entire park.  The trip was estimated to take about 40 minutes which gave us 20 minutes to stop for lunch along the route.  With just one wrong turn (we are blaming it on the map) and one slight misjudgment on how wide our Surry Bike was (How were to know they wanted us to not take the bike path and drive down the center of the road?) we made it back in just under our 1 hour time limit. 

Waiting with their tickets and the first sighting of the Train!
        
Yes, her hand is down her pants.  It seems to bring comfort when she doesn’t have her rag.  We must work on this before preschool starts in 2 weeks…    


Mikayla’s favorite part, “When the choo choo train went FAST and under the ground!”

 
                 
Our Bike!  The kids loved the front seat view and the matching helmets—seriously. 
Pulled over onto the grass, perfect spot under a tree for our picnic lunch.
  

One of the best parts of the day was how many times Mallory said Thank You to me.  As we ended our journey and were walking back to the car after taking the Light Rail, she said to me “Thank you so much for this fun day Mom!”  It’s days like today that I receive the “bonus check” for those other days when I worked so hard just to survive. Summer of TwoTweleve. Our first real summer vacation and I think we did it well… 

The ABC’s of our Butterflies

The caterpillars hung snug in their chrysalis for just about ten days until we started to see changes occurring.  Our first beautiful lady butterfly emerged from her chrysalis a few weeks ago. The outer casing of the chrysalis was getting darker as the days and even hours went by.  When we checked Saturday morning we knew it wouldn’t be long as we could see the definite colors and patterns of the monarch butterfly.

Within 2 hours of waking and watching, she broke through and began to open her wings.  We were home to watch and it was remarkable.  Our neighbor Debbie has been along for the entire ride of this caterpillar journey and she was right there with us to watch it happen.  We couldn’t have asked for better timing.


She was completely folded at first and she clung to her chrysalis as she tried to unfold her wings.  For the next four hours she held and clung and didn’t make much movement. We were able to move her to our butterfly hotel (Thanks Grandma Eid!).  By the time we finished lunch she was moving her wings and attempting to fly.  We took her out of the cage and tried to hold her, though she was very ready to fly around. She flew around the family room and kitchen for awhile, introducing herself to Lucy along the way. Her favorite spot seems to be the window screens. We named her Airabella.

   
We let her go the next morning.  We had a butterfly releasing ceremony with our neighbors.  It was a big deal!  Mallory held on, Mikayla still timid refused, as soon as she let go of her wings, she took off.  She was quick to flutter high up into the sky and soon enough she was out of our sight.


The next two followed just a day later and emerged within hours of each other.  We named them Buttercup (per Mallory) and Cupcake (as this one was born on Mikayla’s birthday).  They were released the next day and Mikayla was brave enough to hold one and let it go.  As they took flight we watched them flutter from flower to flower.  One came back and landed on a patch of flowers alongside of where we were standing.


 

Our fourth chrysalis was two weeks behind the others so it hung out, virtually unnoticed until this morning.  The outer casing was completely transparent and we knew it wouldn’t be long.  This time we were lucky enough to watch the entire emersion.  Watching the butterfly break free and carefully open its wings was, for lack of a better world, amazing.  Mallory was nose to nose with the box and she just kept saying “Whoa…”  This one we have called Delilah.

 

She was very ready to fly away so right before bedtime Mallory stepped out on the deck and let her go.


She quickly fluttered around and crept higher and higher.  The block dot to the right of the tree is Delilah.


Four tiny white eggs, who through a process only God could have created, we have four beautiful monarch butterflies.  A.B.C.D.  My new goal for the kids and I is to grow and hatch butterflies each summer making our way through the entire alphabet of letters for names.  I have given us a deadline of the summer of 5th Grade for Mallory.  In years to come all the pictures of each different butterfly will undoubtedly look the same, however, the process from start to finish whether it be from tiny egg to beautiful butterfly and from Airabella all the way down to Zella, the memory that the kids will take with them into adulthood will stand out loud.

End of an Aquarium era

It came to a crashing halt. She opened up a present at her birthday party and, instantly, straight out of a scene from Toy Story, her beloved Aquarium was shoved aside.  In its place stood a star glowing ladybug.  Mikayla climbs into her bed and instead of asking for her “pishies” she says, “I turn on the ladybug by myself. Blue stars.”  Her room is transformed into a night sky filled with stars and even holds the moon. 

Don’t get me wrong, the star shining ladybug is pretty cool.  The end of the era just happened so quickly, I wasn’t prepared.  The fishy aquarium clung to the side of a crib or sat along side of bedrails for three years for each Mallory and Mikayla.  They learned how to turn it on at young ages, Mallory with her feet at 3 months and Mikayla by sitting up at six months.  I remember each moment vividly.  I pushed the button to turn on the aquarium, crept out of the room, turned on the monitor and quietly listened to what I thought was a baby falling fast asleep.  When the lullaby stopped and I heard not a sound, I thought I was in for a nice nap break.  And then I heard it.  The sound of the lullaby starting up again.  Sure enough, she figured it out.  Each one was giddy with excitement when they realized what they had accomplished.  Naps would be difficult for the next few days (especially for Mallory she thought the fish were her best friends.  Clearly my social butterfly from the get go, she cooed and gurgled at those fish carrying on conversations well past 1pm).

Mikayla used it every.single.night. I am not sure if it was the lullaby, the rhythmic sound of the fish moving around the machine complete with bubbles popping, or the soft orange glow that was cast, either way she loved and needed it.

Needed. Past tense. As in she does not need it anymore.  I took it out of her room, out from the corner of the room she put it in to make room for her ladybug and I set the aquarium on the fireplace mantel.  I turned it on, sat down on the couch and watched it one last time.  Do I donate it? Sell it on Craigslist? Pass it on to one of the new babies to come? Nope. This is one of the toys that will be boxed up, put downstairs labeled “baby stuff” and won’t be dug out for years to come.

By the time my babies have babies, I am sure they will be strapping Ipad’s to crib rails and playing lullaby apps, but I will give my girls the opportunity to use what they once used and loved.  **Insert eye roll** Mom that is so old. No way will I be using that with my new baby…

Our very own and VERY hungry caterpillars

We are one big science project this summer taking advantage of all things creepy and crawly that grow in and around our yard.  Our neighbor clued us in on the monarch caterpillar and butterflies.  We searched the milkweed that grows in their yard and together figured out what a teeny tiny monarch egg looks like.  If you are curious, it looks like a white tip to a ball point pen.  With a little prayer and luck we gave it a try.  Batch one hatched and grew fast…three days later I thought they might like some time on the deck while we headed to church.  Bad idea. Two hours later they were fried.  So we tried again.  And this time we have been lucky.

The kids watch in awe (most of the time) at how fast they grow and how much they eat.  I can’t get enough of reading up on the process. Watching it “live” has been an incredible learning experience.

The egg is circled.  This is as it is about to hatch, about four days after the butterfly laid it on the underside of the milkweed leaf.  They turn from a milky white to a gray “bulge” as the little caterpillar gets ready to hatch.



When first born they are the size of the lead on a sharpened pencil.  They are gray in color with a black head.



At first the growth happens slowly.  The teeny tiny caterpillar is barely visible.  I am still surprised, while cleaning out the box and adding new leaves, I didn’t throw any little guys away.  Bit by bit and leaf by leaf they grew and developed the familiar yellow and black stripes.

  

We picked fresh leaves daily and as the days went on, the caterpillars ate more and more.  Towards the end of their life as a caterpillar they would eat a leaf clean, leaving only the vein in just a days time.



With eating, comes pooping.  As they grew, so did the poop.  Nothing a little cage cleaning couldn’t take care of.



The time was near (around 2 weeks after hatching) and we knew they were reaching full growth.  We had one that was a few days older and true to the books, he stopped eating and began looking for a place to form his chrysalis.  He was supposed to crawl to the roof and find his spot.  This did not happen.  He found the underside of a leaf and spun it there.  I had 12 hours to figure out what to do, as I didn't’ think this would work. As you can see below he is the middle caterpillar curled up.  One phone call later, and it was decided. Cut the leaf and tape it to the roof, thus not disturbing the caterpillar.  It worked! 



Ten hours later, magic happened.  He shed his final layer of skin and he was enveloped in a green casing. His chrysalis.  The kids were in awe, and so was I.

    

Two days later the other two were ready.  Within hours of each other, they found spots on the top of the cage and began the process.  It is nothing short of amazing and we haven’t even seen the finished, and sure to be beautiful, finale.

  



We now wait.  The books say it takes about 10-14 days for the butterflies to hatch.  I will be back with a story of transformation and the butterfly release that follows!