A bug in the hand is worth two in the bush!

Yesterday morning, I was watering my potted plants on our back porch when I noticed something green fly through the air. I looked down and saw a little green grasshopper sitting in the puddle of water.

Since my son had so much fun catching giant grasshoppers in Florida, I called for him to come check out the new creature in our backyard.

When we were in Florida this summer, Papa bravely caught giant lubber grasshoppers for Little Dude to touch and hold. At first, I was a nervous Mama and screeched when I saw my child reaching a precious fingertip toward what looked to be a ferocious man-eating bug the size of a small bird. But Papa convinced me it was an important "boy thing" to do - a critical milestone in his development. So I acquiesced and let Little Dude hold, prod, poke, and chase all the grasshoppers Papa could find.

In Florida, the grasshoppers were the size of his hand!

But now in our backyard, Little Dude nervously hovered over the bug and asked, "Is it going to jump?"

"Probably."

"Is it going to jump on me?"

I could tell he really wanted to touch the bug, but he was clearly nervous about it jumping on him. Just as he was about to reach down, the little thing jumped into the grass where his perfect green exoskeleton camouflaged him.

Without a pause, I did the unthinkable... I reached down and caught the dang thing!

Yep... my hands held a squirming, moving critter.

Thoughts were wildly running through my head: It's just a grasshopper, get over it. Ewww, that feels weird crawling in my hands. What if it poops on me?

Little Dude was super excited. But just as I was about to settled the grasshopper into his hands, it jumped onto the leaves of my potted plants.

We spent the next several minutes played "seek and touch" with the bug. I helped Little Dude stretch his hand across the plants to where the grasshopper was so he could touch it. It would jump to another plant and I would do the same thing over again.

He giggled and hopped around every time the grasshopper jumped to another plant. And I smiled because it was actually fun!

Yep, playing with bugs can be fun!

Eventually the bug caught on to what we were doing and hid under a planter. But it was definitely a great morning moment that I got to share with my son.

On the way to school, Little Dude and I called Papa to tell him about grasshopper. He was proud of me for catching it... because he knows that was definitely not something I wanted to do. Oh, the things we do for love!

Later, during a break at work, I wanted to see what kind of grasshopper it was, and I found out that it was...

...a cricket.

Shudder.

Grasshoppers are one thing, but knowing that I held a cricket... well, what's done it done. At least I have a face to put with the chirping!

Holy Guacamole!

Today is one of my family's favorite holidays...

National Guacamole Day!

As I've mentioned before, my kid loves guacamole. This is no ordinary appetizer love or party snack love. No. His is a dig-in-a-spoon-and-eat-an-entire-bowl love.

Look at that pile of guac! And he's already eaten half of it!

We have frequented Mexican food restaurants almost weekly since long before Little Dude was born. We usually went with Big Dude's family and ordered tableside guacamole (best when fresh!). After Little Dude was born, instead of staying home, we continued our family tradition.

One night (after Little Dude was able to start eating solid food), I mashed up little pieces of avocado and let him try it. To my surprise, he loved it! The next week we did the same. That evolved into Little Dude eating full-fledged guacamole, complete with onions, cilantro and tomatoes!

I think it helped that he was fascinated by the server making the guac right at our table.

At least we know he's getting his fruits and veggies, and all the great benefits avocados offer!

Every once in a while, someone comments on the fact that our kid is eating an entire bowl of guacamole for his meal. It's surprising to most people. But to us, that's just a normal Friday night!

Pass the chips!

White Girl Can't Zumba!

So I tried something new last night... Zumba!

Several of my friends have been telling me how much fun it is and what a great workout they get from it. Although one friend did tell me that a lot depends on the instructor. (Cue dramatic music.... Dun dun duuunnn!)

I went after work, staked out a spot in the back corner by the fan, and quickly chatted up a few other people before class started. One lady said she had taken the class a couple times already and just when she catches on to one move it would change. But she said it was a lot of fun.

Before I knew it, the music started and everyone started moving together like some sort of flash mob. Apparently, the other 70 people in the class had been here before. I, on the other hand, was like a fish out of water. Literally. I flopped around like a dying fish for the first half hour while most of the other people were able to keep up with our instructor who seemed to think she was auditioning for "So You Think You Can Dance."

I have no other Zumba class to compare, but I'm pretty sure most instructors at least shout some sort of direction at some point. The only words I heard this teacher say was at the beginning: "Forget the workout. It's a dance party in here!"

I should have left when I heard the words "dance party."

I was completely lost for the first half of the class. It was some sort of crazy dance fusion that involved the running man (yes, seriously), the electric slide, the macarena, hip hop, and something that looked like an angry hula dance... all set to techno salsa and Indian music. It was rumba in Bollywood.

This has to be one of Dante's circles of hell.

Did I mention that there were at least 70 other people? Yeah, we were packed in tight. Every time the instructor would lead us in a move that required moving more than two feet, the class looked like a sea of bodies being tossed from one side of the room to the other. I could almost hear the sound of crashing waves above the steady pulse of the bass. A few people needed to be thrown a life raft... me included!

Finally, I was saved when some Beyonce came on. As I joined the others in reenacting her music videos, I looked around and realized there were several others who were also a little uncoordinated. It made me feel a little better and realize that they probably were too busy trying to follow the spastic changes to even notice my own floundering.

After shaking our rumps, we did a little Charleston and a little salsa (two things I can manage). I reached a small comfort level and looked deep inside for my inner Shakira. Realizing there was no disco ball trophy at stake, I let loose and had fun at the end.

Will I try Zumba again? Probably not this class. As my dear Hubby pointed out, I'm not exactly the most graceful person around. I'm much more comfortable taking kick boxing or step aerobics. Roundhouse kicks are a lot easier than shaking my hips. But I might try a different Zumba class.... Someday.

Plum Crazy (or The Hedonistic Rituals of Youth)

Slurp. Slurp. Mmm.

These are the sounds I hear as I type.

My child is enjoying one of his favorite treats... A plum!

When he gets a hold of one of these delicious spheres of goodness, he actually settles down (an unusual moment for him) and stops to savor every bite. I joke that he's a "plum vampire" because he likes to sink his teeth into the flesh and suck out the juice before taking a bite.

I'm happy to provide him with any of his favorite fruits and veggies. And, as most moms do, I'm always trying to expand his palate. The plum find was merely by accident. I bought some for myself and didn't think he would be interested. But when I offered him a bite of mine, I was shocked when he took me up on my offer and finished the entire fruit.

Not every fruit/veggie introduction is always as successful. Sometimes I have to find a compromise (he won't eat strawberries, but he'll drink them in a smoothy). And other times I have to pick my battles and focus on the wins (he doesn't like green beans, but he'll eat guacamole by the bowlful).

Guacamole has been a favorite since he started eating solid food!

And while I'm trying to teach my kid about food, he's teaching me about eating.

1. Savor it slowly. Just like Little Dude and the plum, I need to slow down and learn to enjoy each bite. It would help me to think about what I'm actually eating and give my tummy time to tell me when I'm full.

2. Listen to your tummy. Little Dude doesn't determine if he's eaten enough by the amount of space left on his plate. His stomach tells him to stop eating and he does.

3. Don't be afraid to try new things. Ok, so Little Dude isn't always willing to try everything I offer, but it's sometimes surprising what he will try and how often. There are some foods he'll try and spit out, but the next time I offer it, he'll try it again.

I definitely need to start eating like a 4-year-old. It would do my body some good!

The Closet of Horrors

I'm going to show you one of the most disgusting pictures you'll ever see.

If you have a sensitive stomach, you may want turn away right now.

It is not for the faint of heart.

But it is something that I finally had to face last weekend.

It is gross.

It is dirty.

It is...

...my hallway closet!

I just never seem to have time to clean it out so it had accumulated quite a lot of stuff.

Horrifying isn't it?

It's actually a fairly deep closet and as I was pulling stuff out of it, I was surprised at how much it could hold. At one point, I think I found spare parts to the International Space Station and a small family of contortionists.

It took 5 hours to clean the entire thing. Luckily, my child and Hubby were both gone so I was free to finally tackle the job alone. And now I can actually find everything I need:

Now I just need to work on my other closets! Yikes!