What is this {pretty, happy, funny, real} you speak of?
~ {pretty, happy, funny, real} ~
Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Is it just me, or did May go by really fast?
The big news over here is that we sold our house! We've been under contract for several weeks now, actually, but you know how it is. Counting chickens before they hatch, and all that. Don't want to jinx anything! Not that we believe in jinxes, of course.
But our realtor came by last night and hung up one of those fancy “sold” signs, we've made it through the inspections stage without too much angst, and are mostly just waiting on our closing date at this point. (The buyers were happy to wait to close until we're ready to move in July.) It's nice to think that all that work getting the house ship-shape paid off so quickly — not to mention no more zipping out the door for showings.
Not that that wasn't a fun game, too.
We call these “giant dandelions,” though we looked them up and have decided that they're actually called Yellow Salsify. The flowers aren't anything special; they just look like sort of scraggly, lanky dandelions. But the puff balls! Oh the puff balls. They are so delightfully big.
Molly's hair is finally juuust long enough for braids — I think these might've been her first ones! I am so excited. We pulled on our boots for a visit to the wildlife refuge, and I convinced everyone to put aside our normal throwing-rocks-into-water agenda in favor of a wildflower meadow.
(I also set aside my extreme aversion to bringing my children through tall grass, but only because we were well-covered and I had my strong, handsome Tick Defender with me to take care of the aftermath. After three years in rural Oklahoma, I can handle spiders remarkably well, I can even almost keep my cool in the presence of a scorpion as long as I don't have to kill it myself. But don't ask me to do ticks.)
(Which is not to say that we didn't find a spot to throw rocks into a creek, too. I'm not a monster! And I don't know if my children would've agreed to come home until we did.)
I will leave you with a series of photos of Nora pointing at things in a commanding way, because she's a girl who knows what she wants, and it cracks me up.
And, quite possibly my favorite:
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Mrs. B. says
Is it tempting the gods of real estate to say “Congratulations!” already? But the realtor seems confident enough. I am sort of sorry that you’re not going to enjoy the big built-in shelf you just painted white!
I love this flowery post today – do you know what kind of rose is the yellow one? I dream of planting roses, though I read deer love them, and I wonder if that’s why the only kinds I see around here look quite wild and very thorny. And those giant dandelions must be so satisfying!
Yesterday I removed the first tick of the year… I really have to steel myself for that job, every time. And yet my list of Things I Simply Won’t Do is still topped by trimming a baby’s nails! (That’s because we don’t have scorpions here, of course…)
And finally, Nora’s pictures are so funny! In the first one she’s actually pointing with both hands! Toddlers can be a lot of work, but my goodness how refreshingly funny they are!
Rosie says
I do love this house (including the bookshelf), and am a little sad to be leaving it. But what can you do? I don’t remember what kind of Rose it is, unfortunately, but I think it’s some sort of hybrid that we got at lowes last year. The blooms are gorgeous, but the most amazing thing about it is the strong scent — they smell so heavenly! And the deer leave it alone, but they do have lots of other plants to keep them busy. (I hadn’t noticed Nora’s other hand in that first picture, but you’re right! So funny.)
Adele says
Yay ND shirts. My mother discovered they make the toddler version a few years ago. We now have many years worth. They are super cute.
I’ve gotten to the point where ticks are no big deal. We have a dog and we live in Wisconsin. It is a many times a day occurrence. The wild flowers are gorgeous.
Rosie says
Natasha is good about making sure her godson can represent her alma mater. 🙂 You are very brave. I confess that dealing with the ticks is one of the reasons I’m not ready for a dog yet!
kristina b says
Your pictures are so beautiful today! I love all the wildflowers, and especially Nora in all her pointing poses – those are awesome! Thank you for sharing and lightening my heart this morning.
Rosie says
Thanks, Kristina.
Charlotte says
Your Nora pics just cracked up me and all my kids here. The teens girls were cooing and giggling while the 4 year old (quite commanding herself) girl was laughing hysterically.
Denise says
Oh the absolute fun of blowing those puff balls into the wind. A summer delight! Also love those boots – little kids with rubber boots gets me every time. Congratulations on selling your house. Whew!
Cristina says
Ugh, we found a tick on my daughter’s head recently and I was just useless. It was just horrifying thinking of that little monster attached to her and sucking her blood. I think I did something super helpful like frantically saying, “get it off her! Get it off!” until my husband saved the day. Heaven help me if he deploys 😬
Rosie says
I don’t exaggerate when I tell you it was one of my prayers while he was in Afghanistan – deliver me from the bugs!
Jill Foley says
Congratulations on the house!
All your pics this week are wonderful.
Patty says
We had those giant puff balls near us when I was a child. My mom used to bring spray paint into the field where they were and spray them before picking. A few of those in bright colors made a pretty bouquet.
Amy A. says
Ugh, ticks. I grew up in the woods where ticks are much less of a concern, but now that I live in an area with more prairie, there are more ticks. My first bite ever was last year when I was five months pregnant with twins and . . . I did not handle it well. Fortunately my husband is ever cool under pressure and was able to remove it for me, as well as calm my panic and assure me that it was the wrong type of tick to carry Lyme’s disease. I am hoping his pragmatism (proper clothes and repellent, inspect for bites, treat bites as they occur and be aware of further symptoms) will eventually rub off on me. Hopefully someday I’ll be like Adele above and be able to treat them as no big deal! Also the flowers are beautiful and congratulations on the sale of your house!
Rhonda says
Yep, Oklahoma does have its share of bugs. I think I read that we have the most pesky bugs of any state.
Love the photo of your daughter commanding the big Marine officer 🙂
Barbara says
I love your favorite, too. As long as there’s a view, she can point!
Leila says
Ha! That last one cracked me up completely!! LOL!!
Melissa D says
I burst out laughing! My middle child was a very decided little girl. 🙂
Lauren says
Love that yellow dress!!! Where is it from? Or did you sew it?
And that nature walk looks beautiful!
Rosie says
It was a gift from the wonderful Mary Lenaburg – I do think it’s handmade, though. It’s a great dress on its second summer of wear!
Annym says
Yay for red shoes!!! Love love love (my daughter had those same sandals when she was that age-so sweet!). Just last week I noticed for the first time that in fact, all four pair of my shoe are red, as they just happened to be lined up….hmmm….maybe I should switch it up next time!
Also, the pointing picture is hysterical!
Margo, Thrift at Home says
those braids are just adorable! My 1-year-old’s hair is growing verrrrry slowly which is typical for my kids, but I’m so impatient already to play with it!
And I want to know about the yellow dress, too – did you make it? Pattern? Looks easy and comfy.
Rosie says
It was a gift from the wonderful Mary Lenaburg – I do think it’s handmade, though. It’s a great dress on its second summer of wear – I would love a pattern for it!
Mirtilli Rossi says
thats great about the house! my girls are loving braids right now, and that is so so good for the summer…
Emily b says
Congrats on the house! And the pic of your youngest pointing from the depths of the ergo totally cracked me up!!
Jenny says
Best wishes with the house. I’m glad the stress of showings is over for you. The scenery where you went is just beautiful and made only more lovely by your children. So sweet!
Teri Pittman says
Glad to hear that you’ve sold the house! I remember how relieved we were when we finally closed and were done with the old house. Now, it looks like we may sell the current house. My new husband may have a way to clear up the title, which means we can move down to our other place and finally just have one place to deal with.
I have heard dog owners use the liquid flea/tick insecticides to take ticks off easily. You put a drop a bit in front of the tick. They either back out or die off. I’m not sure you’d want to try it with kids, but might be something to consider. I used to put rubbing alcohol on a tissue, then hold it over the tick to see if it would back out. it does work sometimes.
Adele says
We do use bravecto but the ticks only die when they bite the dog so you still have to pull off all the live ticks just crawling around and deal with all the dead ticks on the dog. You definately don’t want to use dog or cat tick repellent on people, ever. You can use a repellent on your clothes again probably not on kids. We live in the woods by a river in wisconsin…lots of ticks.
Lisa G. says
Oh, that last photo! And your husband’s expression, too – not only the pointing.
Woman of the House says
Congrats on selling your house! I know you must be relieved. Your wildflower pictures are so beautiful. Do you know what the lavender flower in the first one is called? We have several patches of them on our property, but I don’t know what they are. (I have a pic of some in my {phfr} post this week.) Your little Nora cracks me up with her pointing! Sooooo cute!
Ellen says
Molly is so beautiful, Rosie. And Nora! She’s my fave. Got a very soft spot in my heart for that little girl.
Mary says
Beautiful pictures, beautiful family, beautiful flowers! Congratulations on selling!