Science Class

The girls came over to see what remains of our Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar colony - three were around last night and this morning Becca could only find one. Two hours after the TriPrices swirled out of here, there were no signs of the last one even. It was precious - the girls asked about chrysalis stage and guessed where the missing caterpillars had gone... then jumped up and down with excitement until we went outside to find them.

Even Madeleine who came over late last week, asked to return on Saturday morning to see Aunt Memmily's caterpillars... and remembered exactly where they were in the backyard!

Oh, the excitement!

We have found one chrysalis but that's it. Hopefully they are just heading off to form their cocoons and not getting picked off by neighborhood owls. Looking forward to butterfly watching...

The Very Hungry Caterpillars...

We have a meyer lemon and key lime tree in the backyard which Mr. Price has done a fine job at cultivating. About a year and a half ago, they were ready to be tossed out but now are thriving.

A couple weeks ago he noticed a dozen caterpillars suddenly appeared on the lemon tree, all about 3/4 an inch long and ~3cm wide. Then, not even 4 days later, those little caterpillars were now larger than my pinky finger.

So the Very Hungry Caterpillars have taken up residence on our lemon tree. In less than a week they have grown 4x and taken out quite a few leaves. We were shocked to see how quickly it has progressed. Tried to get a video of one of them chowing on a leaf but he was done by the time I got the camera and got outside. Pretty sure they are about to spin their cocoons. We considered plucking them all off, but figured at this point- may as well let them do their thing.

Of course we thought of the TriPrices and their insect interest and knowledge of crystalises and such. So I took pictures of the crazy little things and decided to document their progress.

and then....we apparently became obsessed. well, Mr. Price was, and now I'm along for the ride. We looked it up and check it out:

Giant Swallowtail Caterpillars and their later Butterfly form

after worrying we might have some massive moth colony in our backyard... looks like we are in for some 4 - 5.5 inch butterflies, 10-12 days after crysalis! guessing there are about a dozen back there. our lemon tree might be doomed, but it might be worth it for the 4 lemons it might have produced this year.

5 months ago today

5.5 to 15.5 pounds in 5 months.

Father's Day Fotos

Pics from my Daddy of Father's Day at Ski Shores on Lake Austin.

Mmmm... Fried stuff. 

Dallas Sights and Sounds

We made a trip up to Big D last weekend - we realized on our way up there that it had been almost 18 months since we'd been up there last!!  2 Christmases ago.  But we got to see a ton of folks we hadn't seen in way too long and introduce Young Master Price to lots of friends - young and old - who's sweet faces were missed.  Court (always one with the great pictures and so good at sharing!) sent me this snap from the Sip and See that sweet Kelley and Shelby hosted. 

 

That evening we made it to a friends' wedding reception and saw even more old friends.

 

It was a successful weekend away and everyone seems to be doing great and all was well in Dallas!

Student/Teacher

I have a cousin 8 years younger than me who- I'm proud to say just made the Dean's List at UT- stopped by to visit last night. While he was here, we told stories of when he was Jackson's age and things I remember.

Much to my delight: he had a memory to share from when he was 11. I apparently gave him his first CD. It was The Beastie Boys. I had two copies and gave him one. He remembered it all quite clearly (and fondly). I was quite amused about it after he left and eventually we had this exchange via text:

Me: That's awesome that I introduced you to the b boys... Was it License to Ill?
Graham: Of course, and you told me the whole cd was good except "girls." And I am forever indebted to you for the good taste in music and the appropriate way to treat a woman.

Makes me proud.

Anyway, I was reminded that you never know when someone is really paying attention and what someone is going to remember.

My Laptop this Morning

7am conference call, followed by an impromptu call with Switzerland.
Mr Price is already gone for the day and nanny isn't here yet...
Shorty woke up and started fussing, which made kitty girl sad and
start howling... Earpiece in place... This was my best solution:

hey, whatever works!

Pool night!

Old friends, new memories, good times on a Tuesday night. Even though it rained.

Though the circumstances ate substantially different than, say, a summer night might have been 10+ years ago (sans babies, husbands, 'real' jobs or anything of importance to tend to the next morning...) and the end time was early compared to back then - I dare say we had just as much fun and you could almost... If just for a minute... Think time had stood still

6-10-10

Going Down in Flames

Charming TriPrice story of the week:

The girls went to Colorado for Spring Break and hit some massive turbulence. Apparently enough to really upset some of the passengers. But not the darling girls! Nope - didn't seem to phase them.

In fact, sweet little Claire, looking out the window and in her sweet little girl voice loudly announced "We're going to fall from the sky!! We're going to hit the ground! Look, we're falling!!"

What I would give to see the faces and hear the thoughts of the white-knuckled passengers nearby.

Self Portrait on Mescalin

If I were to draw a self portrait, it would really be more of a caricature, resembling me, biting the corner of my lip while attempting to focus through the sleep deprivation and aphasia, juggling multiple items with each limb -except for one foot, pushing down on the gas peddle- while shoveling bites of food in my mouth, talking on the phone -handsfree, I assure you- and pumping. (what?! yeah, I said it...)

Of course, there would be a big silly grin on my face and my hair, dusted with dry shampoo, would be pulled up into a pseudo-french twist. Any remaining mental energy (that little bubble above my head in aforementioned caricature) would be plotting out the next 8 things I need to accomplish within the next 7 minutes, prioritizing for the order most efficient - oh, and re-evaluating the balance of my life (what are we doing for date night this week?)...to ensure things are as they should be...

Yes, the image I paint is that of a working [breastfeeding] mom. And yes, the breastfeeding part does get it's own shout-out because it is incredibly difficult and time consuming to maintain.

I know I'm not unique in this, but I have a whole new appreciation for what new parents mean when they comment dryly about 'how much work' a newborn is or the level of sleep deprivation. Ironically, I only have the energy to even comment on the sleep deprivation now that it is improving-- we are on the downhill slide with the shorty sleeping through the night(!) at least for the time being... I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop (aka the teething to kick in and the sleep schedule to run amok.

Regardless of the strain, physical/emotional/mental -- I'm sure I'll look back on it as 'not that bad' and even in the throws of this attention-deficit delight, there is a calm happiness. Oh, hello. So good to see you!

And I Quote...