The Return of the Juncos

Although my children are still venturing outside to play with flip-flops since they are apparently immune to the cold, the cooler fall temperatures have definitely settled in and it really "feels" like fall.  We've had our first  frost, I've pulled out the sweaters and winter coats for the cold fall mornings, and even somewhat successfully started our first fire in the fireplace last night with a little help from Duraflame and several sections of the Inquirer. 

For me, one final and undeniable fall indicator is the return of our little gray and white friends from Canada, the dark-eyed juncos.  These medium-sized sparrows live and breed in Canada all summer long, and then fly south to all parts of the US for the winter.  They are ground birds and hop around and flock in your backyard to look for seeds.  If you have bird feeders, they park under the feeders or perch in nearby shrubs for the entire winter to wait for dropped seed treats. Juncos are easy to recognize by their bright white tail and belly feathers and pale yellow to pinkish bills.  They cheerfully make high-pitched chirps all day.  While perhaps not as flashy as some other types of birds that over-winter here, I always feel a little extra cheerful when I notice that the little juncos have returned for another winter season. 

I first noticed that our juncos had returned this past Thursday while I was staring out the window watching the rain fall (when I should have been working, ahem).  Has anyone else noticed that their juncos have returned too?

  

Cringing

Three separate items made me cringe this weekend:

1) Subtitled, "Why E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E should be required to take a Local Flora/Fauna Natural History Class" -- I was browsing the Travel section in this weekend's paper, daydreaming about taking a trip to an exotic destination.  The front page article was on the gorgeous fall colors in the mountains of some nearby state.  To be honest I couldn't read the article because I couldn't take my eyes off the picture, which was captioned something like, "So-and-so basking in the brilliant fall colors."  There was a picture of a nice young woman, fortunately clad in a jacket, with her arm around a tree.  Even in black and white, I could tell the tree was some kind of maple with either light orange or yellow leaves, and there was some other bushy tree with a different, more darkly colored leaves all over the trunk below the canopy.  Even in black and white, grainy newspaper photo, I could tell that the woman had her arm around a giant poison ivy vine in the photo.  Aaaaahh!  So, here's today's natural history lesson -- leaves on poison ivy vines turn a beautiful scarlet red or bright orange in the fall.  Please, plan to enjoy it from a distance.

2) Oh Ben. You know how kids love to smash their faces into windows to get a laugh?  Sometimes it's even kind of funny.  Ben thought it would be fun to smoosh himself against the sliding glass door to entertain Scott and I this weekend while we were sitting on the deck outside.  Only, this time he wasn't wearing any pants. 

3) On a related note, could someone please tell me when children start feeling modest?  Not that I don't want my children to have a positive body image, but a little discretion around guests would be nice.  Or, at least we could skip the post-bath streaking/dancing when we have guests....Ummmm.....sorry about that Andy and Trish....  (But, at least I remembered to warn you to shut your eyes)

Vines Round 2

Let's all take a moment and marvel at the wonderful evolutionary adaptions that have enabled vines to be so successful in the plant kingdom.  Unlike mammals with our limited single method of procreating, vines can reproduce sexually or asexually. And, since vines don't have to waste precious energy on structurally supportive stems or trunks, they can focus their energy resources on growth.

Are you finished marvelling?

Now, let's gripe about vines.  At length.

Holy cow.  Scott and I spent hours and hours and hours clearing vines from our somewhat overgrown property only two months ago.  I'm clearly remember digging out the roots out during this effort.  I thought we had put a fair dent in each of the eight species of vines growing in the yard, although I knew at the time, that the battle was not over. 

Armed with clippers, a spade, and 15 paper yard bags, we went into battle with the vines again on Friday and Saturday.  I am not exaggerating when I estimate we cleared at least 1/2 mile of vines and roots out of the side yard (that's >2500 feet).  I was routinely pulling 30 foot stretches of Virginia creeper up off the ground or out of the trees.  Scott cleared hundreds of feet of kudzu roots from under the holly tree.

On the bright side, I didn't find any more honeysuckle growing.  One the bad side, there was much, much more bittersweet than last time.  Fortunately, the bittersweet had not finished forming its berries, so at least one method of reproduction has been squelched for a season. And, while we were working, we inspired our neighbor to come out and pull vines from his side of the fence, so he removed huge amounts of poison ivy and wild grape too.  (The jury is still out if I will escape getting poison ivy after this efforts...I'm not optimistic though, considering how many different places I found it growing.  But, at least all the patches of poison ivy were very small.) 

Sigh. I just can't believe how much invasive stuff was still out there, considering how much we removed only two months ago.  So...I guess should schedule Vines Round 3 this fall?

Round 2 - 15 bags of Invasive Yard Stuff

Vines Vines Vines

There's nothing quite like strenuous yard work to pull you out of a funk.  So, in order to drag myself out of mine, I decided it was time to start tackling the numerous and varied vines that have invaded our yard.  I already spent hours (and hours and hours) pulling or digging out most of the volunteer saplings that surrounded the perimeter of the yard.  I have to admit that I was pretty impressed by all the different species of trees that were present -- at least two kinds of maples, sassafras, various oaks, and even an American beech. 

However, I was even more impressed by all the different invasive vines that were strangling the various trees and shrubs in our yard -- particularly given the size of our yard and the number of vines present on it once we really started looking for them.

Here's a little photo tutorial on significant chuck of the invasive vines types that grow in southeastern Pennsylvania.  We had some "nice" specimens of them all.  I think we knocked things back, but we'll have to be vigilant for the next few years.  (Photos were mostly copied from Invasive.org, which is the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.) 

1) Virginia Creeper (5 leaves, but otherwise grows exactly like poison ivy; it even has furry vines)

2) Oriental Bittersweet - makes bright red berries in fall

3) Poison Ivy (My personal favorite!)

4) Japanese Honeysuckle

5) Kudzu (This one is a big problem....you know when you drive on the highway and see acres of trees covered with the same kind of vine?  That's usually kudzu.  Definitely not good for a yard.)

6) Crown vetch

7) Bishop's Weed or Goutweed - This one isn't really a vine, but a noxious ground cover.  We're not even close to having it under control, but we're working on keeping out of the front bed, as a start.  Apparently, if we wanted to rid ourselves of it completely, we'd have to remove the top 24" of soil from the entire surface of our yard (and perimeters of our neighbor's yard).  If you see any of this plant in your yards, you should aggressively and immediately work to remove it.  It is resistant to all types of contact chemical weedkillers due to its deep roots, so you have to manually pull it out, making sure to dig out all its roots completely.

8) Wild Grape - If you have this one in your yard and want to get rid of it, please note that you really have to dig out the root.  This vine will quickly re-sprout from any stump or other root piece left in place.

Bridging

On Thursday, Abby "bridged" from Daisy Girl Scouts to Brownie Girl Scouts and received her new brownie uniform.  She was pretty excited about the whole experience (and also about the brownies at the reception), which made me happy since I was in charge of organizing and running the event for two Daisy troops. I wanted the ceremony to be short and fun, but still a little meaningful. Not to dwell too much on the brownies at the reception, but they were some seriously good brownies.  One of the other moms made them -- you take a box of brownie mix and cook it following the directions on the box for half of the time.  Then, pull the pan out of the oven, crumble 6 graham crackers, 1.5 cups of mini marshmallows, and some Hershey bars onto the top of the brownies, and pop them back into the oven for 15 minutes.  Holy Moley.  Smores on top of brownies.  Definitely something worth remembering.  As was the ceremony, of course, I hope.  Grandma and Pops graciously babysat Ben and Caroline so I didn't have any extra helpers at the Bridging Event or Awards Ceremony afterwards.

I find that volunteering always seems like a good idea until the actual week of the event hits, and then all the extra errands and work send me a little too close to the edge. Running errands with Ben is just plain exasperating with all the touching and escape attempts.  Caroline and Abby are able to walk around stores with me now without needing to handle and/or request all the merchandise, but we're just not there with Ben yet.  So, what should be a five minute stop to Staples to pick up blue posterboard for a pond turns into at least 15 minutes of me saying "No".  And, why does EVERY STORE have to put candy at the checkout? Just to torture the moms?  Lollipops and chocolate at Staples?  Entire candy display and full selection of dried meat products at Kinko's?  No thanks! Just office products, please?!

A less celebrated but still noteworthy transition event this week:  our little robins fledged their nest!  Although I initially thought there was only one little robin, there were actually three babies, who had their heads peeking out of the nest all week.  It seemed like things were getting pretty tight in the nest, and sure enough, they took off yesterday.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to watch the first attempt at flying -- but I happened to catch one of the babies (see the juvenile plumage) standing on the edge of the nest.  I can't help but wonder what kind of things go through its little bird brain before it tests its wings for the first time.  Do birds get scared?  Have self doubt? Or just trust their instinct?  Based on the length of time it was standing on the edge, it seemed to me that it was thinking about something...

Getting Read to Take the Plunge

Parental Surprises

 Look who I caught taking a peek today: 

Baby Robin

In contrast to the peaceful innocence of the little robin, I will grudgingly admit that I have been stewing over some parenting criticism I received from a friend. I'm not quite sure that she was aware of the implications of her comments, but they certainly took me by surprise. Since it took me a while to absorb the full meaning of the conversation, I didn't respond at the time, which is certainly better in the long run. However, I'm having a hard time letting this go....which I really, really need to do!

So, after going to the gym this morning and stewing over things for an entire bike ride and run, I decided to take a step back and try not to think about it anymore.  (We'll see how that goes since this isn't one of my strengths...)

So, here are today's summary thoughts on parenting:  I am far, far from perfect. My children are even farther from perfect, particularly during the hours of 3:30pm until dinnertime.  Every single child has different needs. Parents have different points of emphasis on issues, and in the long run each of us can only try our best. Sometimes you can't even quite give it your best since you've spent the last 14 hours just trying to keep it together and you're just plain worn out.

Speaking in sports terms, parenting really is much more like a marathon race than a sprint. So, pace yourself, and only fight the daily battles that are the most important. Maybe even try not to make it a battle, but more like a lesson since parents are (hopefully) more like teachers than army commanders.  Right now, we're working on kindness here.  And manners.  And patience.  And using our words.  Based on how things are going, this is going to take a while. 

And, for Ben, I guess we'll add staying clothed...since he just walked in with his shirt off, diaper showing, and wielding a toy hammer. Time to get back to parenting. 

The Secret (Slightly Overgrown) Garden

Tonight, Abby and I will be concluding The Secret Garden written by Frances Burnett. I never read this book as a child, at least that I can remember, so it had been on the list of books that I wanted to read to the kids.  What an amazing story!  Abby has been riveted throughout the entire book. I realize that I'm biased since I love almost anything related to gardens, but the book is about so much more than that.  Our particular edition is illustrated by Inga Moore, and the marvelously detailed pictures in this version make an already amazing story even more compelling. 

I heartily look forward to reading it again with Caroline in a few years. However, I will definitely need to polish my Yorkshire accent before then. Several of the key characters speak in "broad Yorkshire" and those characters' dialogs are written phonetically. Fortunately for me, Abby has no idea what that is supposed to sound like. I really butchered it -- badly!

I worked on our own Secret Garden for several hours this weekend at the house and made some real progress moving the mulch mountain from the driveway into the flower beds. As the trees finish leafing out, I was hoping to find a suitable place in the backyard to have a vegetable garden, but it is just too shady for tomatoes (great for summer play, though!). The sides of the house are also far too shady, so it's the front yard or nothing.  Although I briefly contemplated not planting tomatoes, I just can't do it.  I'm a garden tomato addict.  There....I've said it!  So, I ended up planting the tomatoes along the walkway to the house.  Maybe I'll put a few annuals in between so it doesn't look too bizarre.  Even if it does look weird...who cares.  The San Marzanos, Lemon Boys, and Big Boys will be mine!      

Lack of sun aside, I have decided my favorite part of the yard is the side passageway that seems like the entrance to our Secret Garden.  The bushes and trees planted by the first owner have grown tall and curve inward and the path is covered with aged wood chips. I've added a few hostas to the front of the path to make it seem even more lush.  It's perfect.

Lastly, I'm sad/irritated/exasperated to report that the interior of my house is not nearly as tranquil as the pathway above would suggest.  In the very short time that it took me to write the first paragraph of this blog entry, Caroline and Ben managed to scream at each other four separate times. For some reason, today's lunch and the Candyland game pieces are sources of extreme contention. I am so very tired of listening to all the screaming here.  And, it's only Monday!  Unfortunately, I clearly remember fighting with my own brother until I graduated from high school, and that is still a looooong way off.  I think I'm going to go outside and stand in the pathway and take a few deep breaths. I'm going avoid looking at the rest of the yard since I realized earlier today that I have only pruned 8 of the 50-ish shrubs around the perimeter of the yard.  One thing at a time, right?

Empty Nests

Yesterday, for the first time in many months I had 3.5 glorious hours of alone time that didn't involve a either a lacrosse game or a public meeting. It was 100% non-scheduled, child-free time and it was every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be. I accomplished more in 3.5 hours that I could have finished in a day if Ben were with me. In only 3.5 short hours, I pruned and bagged two bushes, weeded ten square feet of flower bed and applied mulch, showered and dressed, got a sorely needed haircut with blow dry, made and ate lunch, ran to the farmer's market and bought vegetables, and even read the paper for a few minutes. Absolutely delightful.

You know what I didn't do for those 3.5 hours? Change diapers, listen to Ben and/or Caroline screaming at each other or myself, open or close the refrigerator and/or pantry door 75 times, pick-up or put away any toys, explain "why" or say "no", buckle any car seats, manage any waste or hygiene activities, clean up any spills, or discipline any behavior. I do love my children, but they really are exhausting.

I enjoyed this lovely respite from todderdom because Ben went to the zoo with Grandad and Caroline stayed at preschool for Lunch and Play. This short break was just a tiny taste of the much anticipated bliss that awaits me next September when Ben, Caroline, and Abby will be simultaneously at school. Now the actual "empty nest" break will only occur on M-W-F from about 9:00 am (preschool drop-off) until 11:45 (Kindergarten pick-up). The 8.25 hour break does not include commuting time, so the actual productive time will be limited to 7.5 hours per week, but it's going to be wonderful. I fully realize that I won't be kicking back my heels and eating bon-bons for that time, but the real actual possibility exists that I might do some work (paid technical work!) for that period or maybe just go shopping without re-stocking the shelves along the way.

Yesterday's break came at an excellent time because, as I'm sure Scott can woefully attest, I have been a wee bit testy this week (gross understatement). I really can't explain why this week would bother me more than any other week. Perhaps it was the gloomy weather early in the week....or maybe because the lacrosse season is drawing to a close....or maybe the kids really were extra naughty....or maybe because there are so many extra end-of-year activities on the schedule that I just can't take it anymore....or the combination of all that....but for the moment, my mood is re-set to normal and it's sunny outside.

Speaking of outside, the cardinal nest outside our window was empty this morning. Initially I was afraid that the neighborhood cats made a snack out of the baby cardinals. But after the 100 decibel roar of the neighbor’s yard service came to a merciful halt, I heard the baby’s distinctive and shrill cries on the side of the house. The two little ones have fledged the nest! Today, I believe they are taking flying lessons in the backyard. I spied the mother and the father jumping from branch to branch and the little peeps are following behind, sort of. Apparently, flying is more of a learned behavior than I thought. While the adults glide and land quite gracefully, the other two are kind of crashing around. Their landings are so rough that the branches violently shake on landing – quite a feat when you think of the force it would require for a creature that is only a couple of ounces in weight to move a branch.

While these little ones are learning to fly (and land), we’ll turn our attention to a second nest that has been built near the house – actually on the house on top of the porch light. This is a robin’s nest with 2 or 3 bright blue eggs. We scare the poor robin out of the nest every time we open the front door, poor thing. I’ll be listening for some more little peeps soon.

Final note (for those of you interested in lacrosse updates...mom? dad?) Tuesday's playoff Round 1 game went very smoothly.  The carded coach was on extremely good behavior and even cordial.  He greeted me on the field by my first name (uh... I guess he remembers me...). Of course, it helped that his team won by a significant margin of goals.  However, the game went well enough that I got assigned a Round 2 playoff game yesterday!  My very first Round 2 game!  Cool, right??  No problems yesterday either, but that is probably the end of the season for me, except for the big District Rating Event later this summer.

Shhhh Please

The birdie is sleeping!!!  We have a cardinal's nest in a rhododendron bush only inches from the front window.  I was able to see two eggs, the one brief moment when the mother bird wasn't roosting on her nest.  I haven't show Ben or Caroline where the nest is yet because I'm afraid they'll scare the mother and cause her to abandon her nest.  But, after the babies are born and are a few days old, we'll take a look together.  I didn't know the nest was there, but I heard the distinctive cardinal chirp....chirp...chirp while I was weeding the flower bed.  Then I looked up and saw the nest (and moved elsewhere to weed).  So, now I have a legitimate excuse as to why the front bed is a weedy mess -- at least for a few weeks. 

In lieu of birds, Caroline and Abby have been taking turns discovering frogs.  Abby found one in our front yard earlier this week. Caroline discovered a bullfrog relaxing in a storm drain today (below), while I was staring at the magnificent tulips and foxgloves at Longwood.  I would have never thought to look down into a grate, but leave it to younger inquisitive eyes to make a discovery like this!

The flowers were lovely at Longwood too, but it was definitely too hot to visit for long. 

Sweaty Kids with Foxgloves

Sweaty Kids with Fountains

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Topiary Hide and Seek

The weather isn't the only thing that is hot.  At my lacrosse game yesterday (Saturday) I issued my first ever card to a coach for unsportsmanlike conduct (i.e., yelling at me continuously for duration of first half).  Needless to say, it was a super fun game, with the temperatures over 90 degrees on the turf and having the coach and some fans screaming (which, conduct aside, was ridiculous because the coach who got carded was winning by 9 goals).   I did have a little chuckle when some brave fans actually applauded the coach's card.  The lacrosse season will be winding down in another two weeks -- only 5 more scheduled days and maybe some playoffs.  It has mostly been fun, but I will admit it is a relief when the season ends too, although I'll certainly miss all my adult "alone" time.

Happy Earth Day!

I officially wish you a Happy Earth Day on behalf of all "tree-hugging" Environmental Scientists everywhere! 

Since the media has all the climate change-related nagging covered for the day, I would instead suggest that you go outside and take a walk today.  Actually take a few minutes to watch the birds, look at all the pretty shades of pale green on the trees, or smell the flowers and appreciate just how beautiful spring can be.  Even more importantly, take the kids with you!!

Heard and Seen Around the House

It's Sunday morning and Frank Sinatra's Coffee Song is playing right now on the radio. Scott likes to listen to Sunday mornings with Sinatra, with Sid Mark on 1210AM.  After 10+ years this seems normal to me now, but clearly this program is geared for older generations and/or people with Italian heritage based on the advertising.  Current sponsors are for the program include great deals on caskets, wills, life insurance, medicare, Pica's restaurant, and Cento Fine foods.  Lest you think I exaggerate, please check out the sponsors on Sid's site (http://www.soundsofsinatra.com/). 

Have you ever heard the Coffee Song?  It's peppy and fun!  It's one of the family favorites -- and it's about coffee (one of my favorites)!  You know who really loves coffee?  Ben.  If you ever come over, keep a close eye on your mug or wonder boy will sneak over to your cup and drain it.  You think 2-year olds are active?  Try a 2-year old on a few sips of caffeine.  I learned my lesson the hard way on that one. 

In other news, it must be getting close to Emmy time at our house since the kids are making their respective cases for lead actor/actress in dramatic series.  However, it's hard to stay in the character of devoted mother when the kids tweak their expected lines into something unexpected.

Ben (pathetic, sad voice) :  "Mom, I have a cold."
Mom:  "I'm sorry to hear that buddy."
Ben (even more sad):  "Mom, I have a stuffy nose."
Ben (close to tears):  "Mom, I have tea for two."

Caroline (after rousing game of tickling):  "Let's eat breakfast now, I'm staaaarving."
Dad:  "Ok, let's head down for pancakes."
Carline (Shakespearean tone):  "Ooooh Grief!"

Without my even noticing exactly when, Abby has passed the line of childhood when you stop using words in charming and unexpected ways (sad!).  She's a master of her vocabulary nowwith more words being added all the time. 

Abby (irritated):  "Caroline, stop being so impulsive!"
Caroline (looking confused) :  "What?"
Mom:  "Abby, do you know what impulsive means?
Abby (authoritatively and accompanying eye roll):  "Yes, Mom.  Impulsive means acting without thinking first.." 
Mom (thinking wistfully):  Goodbye Abbyisms!  Sniff, sniff...

Fortunately, we still haven't passed the line on visusal surprises for all the kids.  We never really know what to expect when the kids round the corner in terms of clothes.  The combinations of strips, prints, polka dots and colors are always surprising (and at times jarring).  But, the real question is whether or not the kids will be wearing clothes or not.  Ben surprised me a few days ago with pajama pants, yellow rubber rain boots, a winter snow cap with ear flaps and no shirt.  I didn't even know Ben could take his shirt off!

Finally, guess what was at the bird feeder this morning eating suet?  BLUEBIRDS!  I didn't title the blog BLUEBIRDS so you're eyes wouldn't glaze over from too much birding news.  But, I'm absolutely thrilled at the prospect of seeing bright bluebirds in the yard this summer.  We're still a couple of years from taking the kids on long woodland hikes, so I have to enjoy my nature close to home.  I never could have hoped for bluebirds at the old house.  I think some nest boxes might be a good Easter week project.

Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers

What a glorious weekend we just had!  Seventy degrees in March -- what a treat!  We were so active this weekend that Monday's rain is almost a relief to have to sit inside for a little while, at least for me.  Maybe even for the kids too, who spent just about all day Friday through Sunday outside exploring the yard and playing with the neighbors' kids. 

Scott and I also played outside too -- cooking on the grill, eating for the first time outside on the deck, and even tackled what will be the first of many, many (many...) yard tasks by trimming and bagging all the low-hanging branches from a super thorny tree.  Although it's hard to ID without foliage, I'm pretty sure the thorny trees are common honeylocust, and they have these crazy 3-4" long (yes, really 3-inch long) thorns on the branches.  You could get seriously hurt on these things -- farmers out west use these trees as natural fences for cattle!  By removing the low branches, we've hopefully prevented the kids from impaling themselves on them. I'm really happy that the first phase of yard safety is over since those thorns really hurt!   

I've been looking forward to the spring to see what sort of birds live in our yard. Since we have some large hardwoods in the neighborhood and a very large meadow habitat pretty close, I'm hoping we have an even wider variety of backyard birds than at our previous house.  One of my neighbors, a hard core birder, mentioned that our town is along the migration route for hawks so the fall should be pretty spectacular too. 

It's been a few years since I've noticed any new species of bird at the feeders or in the backyard, so I was very excited when I spotted something new climbing up the sweet gum tree outside the window.  I grabbed the binoculars hung by the window to check it out.  A long running family joke, Scott said in his most authoritative tone, "Is it the yellow-bellied sapsucker?"  (Scott guesses yellow-bellied sapsucker for everything.)   I ran upstairs to a higher window for a better look.  Would you believe it really was a male yellow-bellied sapsucker?  Imagine our surprise!  That's fun birding humor, right?  Is anyone going to read this blog anymore if this is what passes for funny?  Regardless, Scott is going to have to pick a new random bird species to guess for the next years. Perhaps a yellow-throated vireo...

Hidden Treasures

We moved into our new house in November, long after all the perennial stems had withered away.  So, we really don't have any idea of what (if any) fun bulbs or plants have been hiding all winter under the snow. 

Today I noticed the first little treasures poking up!  Snowbells!

Follow-Up Observations

1) Robins - The 100+ robins are still happily gorging on the holly berries at my house.  The holly tree is almost completely stripped of berries. Consequently, the robins are very, very plump now.  Plump and complacent.  The robins used to scatter when we'd open a door or Ben would scream at them from the window.  Now, they're so plump they just sit on the ground and continue to eat berries, nary a glance in our direction.  I'm not sure if they are too full to move or intoxicated.  I did a little research on roosts of robins, and it's been reported that robins can actually get a little tipsy on fermented berries.  Perhaps they aren't full, but drunk?  I haven't seen any flying crooked or tipping over or anything yet....

2) Robins Part 2 - Unfortunately, what goes in must come out. The unpleasant reality of having 100s of robins at the house is that our driveway, cars, sidewalks, and front yard are covered in droppings.  I don't mean a splash here or there, but literally covered.  I've gotten hit myself once (ew!), and Scott now runs for the car.  It's just plain gross, and I have a pretty high tolerance for gross.  The top of the car looks like it has brown, seedy icing on it.  Quite disgusting, and I will spare you a photo.  I have tremendously enjoyed the robins' visit, but at this point I'm ready for them to find another tree and the minivan needs to hit the carwash. 

3) Food Dye  -  Lastly, and most importantly, my food dye experiment results.  You might remember a previous post I wrote about my experiment of removing food dyes, especially Red 40, from Caroline's diet to see if there was a behavioral/emotional improvement.  I was very skeptical about this experiment.  Skeptical, but hopeful. 

Wow, though, what a difference!  Caroline's behavior has improved.  Really improved.  No more 20 minute tantrums.  None.  I can reason with her and keep her from getting upset when she is on the brink of going over the edge.  She is better able to deal with daily schedule disruptions, etc.  Sure, she gets mad/sad/jealous (insert emotion here), but the emotions are at a more reasonable level. I thought perhaps this was just wishful thinking from me, but the grandparents corroborated my feelings this weekend.

I was worried about how the classroom Valentine's Day party would go, since all Valentine's candy is red.  She came home from school with a whole bag full of things I'd rather her not eat since they all contain Red 40:  red lollipops, conversation hearts, red fruit chewies, candy bracelets, etc. I explained to her that she could not eat them, but suggested that we walk to Wawa and we could pick out 2 chocolate bars to trade for the red candy and she could have small pieces of the chocolates after dinner.  Caroline's reaction? She cried for a little while, not angry crying but sad crying.  Then, said, "OK mom let's go to Wawa."  What?  That's ok?  She likes being a "good girl Caroline now" (her words).  

There's no way to really know if the food dye is the problem without putting it back into her diet and seeing how she behaves.  Maybe we just started treating her differently.  Regardless, we're on such a good roll now, I don't think I'm going to change anything.  At some point I'm sure she'll get some food dye outside the house and we'll see what happens then.        

Harbingers of Spring

In the midst of all the snow this past week, imagine my suprise when a roost of robins took up residence in our yard.  They are feasting on the prolific berries in our holly tree. At first, I saw a just few robins flitting in and out of the holly tree.  I was happy that something finally noticed all the holly berries since it seemed such a shame to have all the lovely berries go to waste. 

Yesterday, I realized that it wasn't just a few robins.  I have counted at least one hundred, and there are probably many more since they are constantly moving.  It's quite an amazing sight, and it's very cheerful to listen to the birds sing happily outside.  So very different from the muffled silence the blizzard brought last week.

Below: Berries knocked off the holly by the robins.

Can you find the 6 robins in the picture below?