Desert Blooms

This is my favorite time of year in the desert. The nights are still a bit cool, but the days often get into the 80's. I have been noticing lately that a number of our desert wildflowers are blooming and Liss was nice enough to take some photos of them for me today while we were out driving around. Here are a few of the flowers blooming here in southern New Mexico:

This purple Locoweed is common is sandy areas.

This plant, Pinnate Tanseymustard, is usually the first flower of the spring and is a very common weed.

Spectacle Pod is a true harbinger of spring, with its gray foliage and beautiful white flower spikes growing throughout the desert.

Nama is a very common low growing wildflower that can be found in a variety of habitats--including the yard!

Cryptantha goes almost unnoticed, as it tends to grow under other plants and its flowers are no more than a couple of millimeters across. It's still a pretty little plant, though.

Desert Marigold is one of the most common flowers in southern New Mexico, growing along roadsides, waste areas, and other parts of the desert. I am always happy to see it because I know Spring is truly here, plus it grows easily in the cactus garden!

This little Phacelia, also called scorpion weed, has a more common name--skunk weed, due to its rather disturbing scent! It's a common weed whose beauty is often overlooked.

This is truly one of my favorites. The soft gray foliage is topped by clusters of beautiful mauve to white flowers. It's our only white Bladderpod.

I'm a true plant geek and I can't wait to share more with you as the season progresses! Liss and I are hoping to take the kids on a nature walk in the foothills of the mountains next weekend. We'll be sure to post more!

Oh...and to see what's blooming in our own gardens, be sure to check Melissa's blog!

Trying to be a Better Dad

For Lent this year, I have given up something that really is not tangible. No it is not chocolate (good luck Liss), or the internet (obviously), or anything else that is the traditional "I will go without..." No, for Lent this year I have given up, or at least tried to give up, my impatience, my anger, my frustration, my selfishness, when dealing with my kids.

I want to be a better Dad, and the only way I can accomplish this is by pushing the anger away, or by waiting a few minutes to respond when one of the kids just flat out will not listen - that is my Lenten wish. It is all too easy to just say "NO," or "Just wait a minute." What is much more difficult is to put aside my own desires, my wants, whatever I am doing at the minute and say "What sweetie," or "Sure we can do that."

Tonight I have been tested and, I like to think, I have done pretty well. The kids really did not want to go to bed. Caitlyn kept getting up, or wanting me to lay down with her. Dylan was yelling "DAAAAADDD!" about every five minutes. During nights like these, I often go to their rooms and tell them "Just go to sleep!" I might lie down with them for a minute or two, or even get them a drink of water (grudgingly) but I always am a bit short with them. Of course, they eventually relax and drift off but, try as I might, I usually end up a bit perturbed about it all. Tonight I wasn't. I kept going back to their rooms, answering their questions, adjusting the covers and pillows, getting the requisite drinks of water.

You see, I don't think that I am a bad Dad, and am probably just your average Dad, I just sometimes am in a hurry, or tired of telling them again and again to do something, and it frustrates me. This frustration is palpable, though I do not want it to be. So, for Lent, I will get rid of whatever causes this frustration.

I will try to see the world more from their perspectives, I will take the time to be a more active listener, I will praise Dylan's artwork, Caitlyn's singing, and all of the small, yet significant, things that Meghan does every day. I will be the kind of Dad, and husband, that I have always wanted to be. And hope that, as Lent passes on to Easter, I do not forget what I have learned.

With God's grace, I can be a better Dad.

Wiggles

So we took the kids to see the Wiggles in Albuquerque. Melissa's blog about it is here. One thing in particular was pretty cool so I'll mention it here. During one of the songs Captain Feathersword (Paul Paddick) wandered through the crowd while the kids went nuts (of course!) I was standing with Meghan in the back of the auditorium when he came by. Meghan gave him a big wave, he grinned at her, gave me a quick little smile, then moved on. I was so close I could have snatched the hat from his head! The kids thought it was pretty neat!

So here are a few things I learned from this Wiggles concert:

In concert, Jeff does not do Henry's voice.

They actually play their instruments. I knew they actually recorded with them, but didn't know they played them live.

A lot of the "banter" between songs seems to be ad lib.

They repeatedly try to mess each other up during the routines and dances. When the "fish" came out, Anthony and the Captain kept trying to trip him up.

They actually do have a lot of fun on stage, and really give each other a hard time.

All in all, I enjoyed it as much as the kids, and their little comments and things said that adults will find amusing, just before they launch into songs like Hot Potato.

If you have kids who like the Wiggles and they are performing close to you - take the kids and go. You'll all have a good time!