Love, Me.

My husband has been doing a series on his blog about songs and music that have been meaningful in his life. I was thinking today that there are several songs that have been meaningful in our relationship.

When we were engaged, there were a lot of really sweet, romantic songs popular in the country music sphere. We used to listen to country music stations on the radio, flipping back and forth to find the "good" songs.

For my birthday, the month before we got engaged, DH bought several CDs and burned our favorites and a few new ones he liked into a compilation of love songs for me as a gift. I still have that CD.

We would reference our favorite songs a lot in our interactions . . . quoting or singing bits of them to each other, putting phrases into our letters, etc. One of our favorites was a song by Colin Raye called Love, Me. (You can listen to a little clip of it here.) We still often sign notes to each other that way as an allusion to the song.

The chorus goes:

If you get there before I do.
Don't give up on me.
I'll meet you when my chores are through
I don't know how long I'll be.
But I'm not gonna let you down
Darlin wait and see
Cause between now and then, till I see you again
I'll be lovin you
Love, Me.

Sweetheart, I'm still lovin' you.

Love,

Me

The Mask

A few days ago, I wanted to take a shower. For those who've never had young children, you may not know that a hot shower becomes a rare luxury in the early days.

I finally managed to get all three kids happy and occupied for a few minutes. Baby E was in her little bouncy seat in the bathroom with me, and I had the 3yo and 4yo play in the playroom.

The playroom is directly across the hall from the bathroom, so I leave the door open and I can peek out from behind the shower curtain every minute or two to check on them. I usually turn the water off and on several times during the process to better listen and talk to them.

I was washing my hair when I heard, "Mom, look at me!" *giggles*

I peeked out, water running down my face. Without my glasses on I can't see much that's more than 6 inches from my face. So I squinted and stared for several minutes trying to figure out what AJ had over her head. It went almost to her knees, covering her face, but it was kind of see-through. Almost like a red plastic film, like . . . !!!!

My daughter had a plastic bag on her head.

It was one of those parental horror moments that A Little Bit Pregnant is discussing.

I almost had a heart attack. I turned off the shower and made sure she immediately took it off and put it in the garbage. She got a lecture (which I hope made an impression) about what can happen when you put a plastic bag over her head. The house is being scoured for stray plastic bags (I think she emptied this one of some clothes I had bought at a second-hand store so she could play with it--she had to have gone down the hall or even downstairs to get it). Then I rushed through rinsing my hair in record time, worrying about what else the kids could be up to and picturing what could have happened if I hadn't realized AJ was playing with a plastic bag.

What if she had pushed it up against her face to pretend it was a mask, and I hadn't found her for another 5 or 10 minutes? The thought is chilling. How can I ever be sure my kids are completely safe? Life does demand that I occasionally take my eyes off them. But things can happen so fast--even while we're right next to them.

Ever since, I've been showering only at night when DH is home to keep an eye on the kids.

Is it bedtime yet?

The smoke alarm in the girls' room went off this morning. It beeped loudly (more like a siren or a screech) three times. Then it stopped. Then it beeped twice, and stopped again. Then it beeped three times. The third time it was joined by a loud shriek from the alarm down the hall. Then nothing.

We had gathered the kids and our shoes and were ready to evacuate, but nothing seemed amiss. After checking over the house, feeling the walls, smelling the air, etc. we still couldn't figure out what caused the alarm to go off. Strange.

I noted that the 3-2-3 beeps seemed eerily like Morse Code. DH said maybe aliens were trying to contact us using the frequency of our smoke detectors.

Sorry, little green guys. If you want us to do something, you're going to have to be more clear and specific.


Our second day of official homeschooling was, um, less than stellar. The girls are extremely tired and grouchy, and all 4 of us are getting sick (yes, the baby too) with some kind of cold thing. Lots of sniffling and sneezing going on here today.

I made a labor-intensive breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs. The girls threw a tantrum because they wanted cold cereal (they didn't get it, BTW). Well, I enjoyed the pancakes anyway. Actually, the girls did too.

AJ and MM weren't really all that interested in school today. They just wanted to play with each other (and argue, whine and throw tantrums). They liked doing workbooks but just wanted to color in them and hated following the instructions (especially MM), and got bored fairly quickly.

I was so tired that letting them play by themselves or just watch a video sounded awfully good, but I pushed through. I'm not sure what exactly we accomplished, but MM got some practice with letters and writing and AJ identified some rhyming words and completed the missing parts of some pictures. And they both colored. I wasn't a very exciting teacher today. All I can think about is a nice soft pillow.

We cut lunch short because, after being told at least 3 times to sit still and eat, and stop playing with their food, the girls knocked MM's glass over with their feet. Yes, their feet. The glass was on the table. Both kids each had a foot on the table, doing something to MM's glass with it or foot-wrestling; I'm not sure which. I had looked away for a moment.

So they are in bed now. We'll probably do a little math and read some books after quiet time.

I'm going to try to get a nap while the girls are having quiet time if Baby E will let me. She's not napping or nursing well due to a stuffy nose (and probably a headache and sore throat, like the rest of us). Hopefully we'll all get a good nap and that, along with the Airborne we took, will help fend off this illness.

(Warning: annoying website--but Airborne is really great stuff for helping prevent and minimize colds and flu. It even did the impossible: convinced DH that it actually works well enough to be worth spending money on.)

Now What, Cavalli?

I finally got a reply from Cavalli Customer Service about my fabulous leather outfit. Here's the e-mail in its entirety [typos theirs]:

Dear Angela,
the factory is not able to locate exactly the collection you suit is from.
They guess it should be lat 1989/1995 in that frame period.

Roberto Cavalli customer care

Seems a bit anti-climactic after the previous e-mail from them.

I'm not sure what I'll do now. I think I'll try to get some appraisals of its possible value and go from there.

The bright side: if it turns out not to be worth much, then I'll be able to wear and enjoy it. I can see the jacket mixing with several different outfits.

First Day of School

I've hardly been on the computer at all the last few days. I'm still here, just busy and tired. :) Several days in a row of 3-5 hours of sleep per night with multiple wakings just doesn't cut it. Good news, though; the baby is starting to sleep better.

I think I'm finally starting to make a bit of progress on getting the housework under control. Maintaining things is so much less overwhelming than doing damage-control after the fact.

Last night I started reading a book my mom gave me several years ago called Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson. It's nicely complimentary to FlyLady's system. The book is encouraging in the attitude and mentality of housekeeping as an important part of creating a home where people can be safe, loved, comfortable and productive. It also has a huge wealth of practical information--how to unplug a drain, choose a piano tuner, build a fire, remove stains from laundry, set up an emergency kit, and much more. It even deals with FTC rules, internet safety and licensing laws. There's almost nothing it doesn't cover, and it's written in a warm, readable style.

I'm still barely fluttering, but am starting to feel a bit of hope that I can actually get a workable routine going and keep things fairly maintained. We're still buried under piles of clutter, but at least the dishes and laundry are getting done, and bits of other things here and there. Our home is making progress in tiny steps.

We had our first day of school today and I think it went well.


DH and I looked at all our options Sunday night and decided not to use the Weaver curriculum. We're using some phonics and math workbooks, a unit study based on children's books called Before 5 in a Row, a book of weekly activities (preparing for school) from birth through age 5 called Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, and a few other things.

This morning we got up and got dressed. I dressed up a bit in my favorite Hanna Andersson skirt & jacket (purchased at the outlet sale far below retail, of course) and even applied lipstick. The girls said I looked "like a teacher". I felt like a teacher, and ready to go to work.

We had breakfast and did the dishes, and then I taught the girls how to make their beds. AJ was excited about bed-making and enjoyed making it neat and pretty; MM wasn't interested.

The best part of the day's lessons ended up being our conversation during breakfast. While I ate, I read today's installment in the One Year Bible (arranged to read the entire Bible in a year--there's a passage from the Old and New Testaments plus a section from Psalms and a verse from Proverbs each day). I read aloud the Psalm and Proverb for the day, then the NT passage from Ephesians 4:17-32

As we were reading, I paid attention to their questions and responses. Then I picked out the two verses that they seemed to be the most interested in, and we discussed those more in-depth. I wrote them out on colored paper and hung them on the wall. We worked on memorizing them.

Eph. 4:25 Stop lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves.

Eph. 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.

To my surprise, the girls were really eager to talk about lying. It's an issue we've been trying to deal with, as is common at this stage of development. I think it was really good to be able to discuss lying and truthfulness in a teachable moment when we weren't actively dealing with the issue. Without the tension of having an actual lie we were dealing with, it was much easier to have a conversation about it.

We repeated the verse a few times and talked about what it meant. The girls are well on their way to having it memorized already.

Then we played a game about lies and truth. I would make a statement, and they would tell me whether it was a truth or a lie. Then I made groups of three statements and they picked out the one that was not true.

After playing that for a while, AJ asked if we had a book about lying and the truth that we could read. So I told them Aesop's fable of the boy who cried wolf. Twice in a row, at their request ("again!"), with more "audience participation" the second time around.

They really loved that entire lesson, and it all took place while we were eating breakfast. When DH got home they told him (with some help) the Bible verse we are learning and (without help) the story of the boy who cried wolf.

AJ is really making good progress in reading and writing. She read us a story (the first half of Ben Bug) and wrote some words today. She also grasped the concept of rhyming and identified sets of pictures that rhymed. MM did a very good job of identifying the letters A and B and picking them out of groups of other letters, and played some matching games.

In math, AJ finally "clicked" on the concept of twenty, thirty, etc. and learned to look at the first number in a two-digit number to find out which set of ten it belongs to. Then she correctly identified every numeral I gave her. M knows the numerals 1-3 and can count to about 20 quite well, but needs more work on recognizing written numerals.

I felt a bit uncertain and disorganized, and it was more intense and constant work than I expected. I can't get them started on an activity and then have a couple of minutes free to do something else like I thought. By the time I'm done explaining an activity to one girl, the other needs help or is ready to start something new, if the baby doesn't need something. :) I was getting pretty tired halfway through the things I'd intended to cover.

I told DH that teaching school is going to be my full-time job for quite a few years. I think I'll enjoy it a lot, though, and the girls will too. It's a challenging and fulfilling job.

It's fun to watch the girls enjoy learning. I'm identifying what areas we need to work on and what methods work for us; I expect it will start to feel more natural as we get used to it.

Where's that time-stretching machine when I need it?

Baby E must have really worn herself out crying yesterday (as well as wearing me out). She slept from 12:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. last night. Her first official "sleeping through the night"--woohoo! I hope it continues.

I, on the other hand, was up until 2 a.m. trying to get some of the most basic household tasks like dishes and laundry done. Not the most productive time to work. But since I'd spent 90% of the day tending to baby E and pumping, and the other 40% taking care of the other two girls, and then we went to some friends' house in the evening, not another thing got done. (Yes, I know that adds up to more than 100%--I often do more than one thing at once. :) )

I had an all-day women's leadership meeting for my church today, and Baby E did great at it--hardly made a peep the whole time. On my way home I stopped at a church garage sale and they were getting ready to close up, so were letting people buy as much as they could fit in a large plastic garbage bag for $1, plus giving away a lot of things free. I got as much as would fit in my car for $10. I tried to stick to name-brand items in great condition, but they were about to close so I didn't have time to go through it all carefully.

I can't wait to go through it and see what I actually have. I know there is a pair of roller skates, some Western-style footwear and a lot of Ralph Lauren/Izod/Liz Claiborne type of clothing. Some of it we'll be able to wear and some I'll give away or sell.

Lately I'm trying to restrict myself to not do anything else with the things I've purchased until I get them into my spreadsheet and money program. I keep track of what I bought where and how much it costs on anything I plan to resell, for tax purposes. The rest of the stuff doesn't have to be so itemized, but still needs to go into our money program under the correct date and place of purchase, payment type and budget category. I'm not exactly sure when I'll find time to do that. Hopefully tomorrow evening, perhaps?

I need to go through the things I'm selling and decide whether I'm going to try to sell them myself or send them to my trading assistant, donbeth, who sells things for me at a 50% commission. She lives in Texas, so I'll have her donate whatever she doesn't sell to hurricane relief. I was hoping to get a box packed up tonight to send her, but only got about 1/4 of the way through it.

We plan to start official, more structured (and hopefully planned-ahead) homeschooling on Monday. A friend loaned us the Weaver curriculum for preschool and kindergarten, and I plan to supplement that with other things. The only problem is that I haven't had a chance to go through and plan out the first week of classes yet. I need to make sure we have all the supplies we need and I'm prepared to teach the lesons. So I'll probably be trying to do that tomorrow as well. I had great intentions of doing it earlier in the week over several days, but the best-laid plans . . .

Baby E has been really fussy again tonight. She keeps dozing off briefly and then waking up crying, and wanting to nurse a lot. DH is very tired and went to bed some time ago. AJ is sound asleep, but MM is still lying in her bed wide awake. We have a church picnic to go to tomorrow after the service, so I hope we all get some rest. I still need to reboot the laundry and make sure we have clean sippy cups ready and clothes laid out for tomorrow before I go to bed.

I think I'm going to skip the dishes tonight if it looks like we have enough clean things for breakfast. I don't know how we generate so many. I know---bad, bad FlyBaby to leave the sink unshined. I'm breaking one of the cardinal rules of FLYing! But it is technically DH's turn to shine the sink on Saturdays (he went grocery shopping, took the kids out to lunch and to the gas station, read to them and baked cookies with them today, and might have done a load of dishes at some point earlier in the day), so I'm not really skipping out on my job by leaving it undone today, right??? :)

Has anyone invented a method to add hours to the day yet? Or to be more productive on less sleep? That would be nice, wouldn't it?

Colic

I think I've pinpointed the cause of Baby E's colic. Or at least narrowed it down to two possibilities.

She has been abolutely miserable last night and today. I finally figured out why--there was only one thing out of the ordinary that I had eaten.

The girls and I made chocolate soy ice cream last night, and it turned out really delicious. We just used our favorite ice cream recipe, substituting soy milk and non-dairy creamer and adding a little extra sugar along with large quantities of cocoa. I ate quite a bit of it. (Well, it wouldn't all fit in the container, and . . . )

Since it took longer than we expected to freeze and the girls didn't get any last night, I let them have just a little bit after breakfast. I had some too.

It wasn't until I was most of the way through my own serving of ice cream and had tried to feed Baby E again that it dawned on me why she was crying. She screamed all morning, and didn't nurse very well.

Obviously she has a problem with either soy or chocolate, or both. Soy is harder to completely avoid, especially since I can't have dairy products because of my own intolerance. But the thought of cutting out chocolate for the next year or so is . . . oh, dear.

Hmmm, there is a small amount of soy sauce in the stir-fry I made for dinner last night, too . . . I had been planning to serve it again tonight.

Since my sister and M have both had problems with soy, I suspect that's the culprit. But I noticed that when I was pregnant I'd feel sick if I ate too much chocolate, and I'd been wondering if there was a correlation between my chocolate consumption and E's fussiness. So I have a sinking feeling that both chocolate and soy are problematic. That would explain why this bout of colic was probably the most intense yet.

Thankfully, I'd been pumping and storing some milk, so I was able to give her a bottle of non-chocolate/soy milk for her next feeding. She was immediately much happier.

I thought nursing was inconvenient, but this is infinitely worse. Bottle-feeding requires a lot of work in sterilizing and preparing the feeding, takes almost as much time as nursing and demands two hands (where nursing takes only one). Then I have to spend another 30-40 minutes pumping after each feeding. Today my Avent Isis seems to be malfunctioning in a very painful way.

I wonder how long I'll need to pump-and-dump before I can start nursing Baby E again without giving her problems? I guess I'll use up my small store of milk and then I'll have to start nursing her again whether the ice cream is out of my system or not. I should have enough milk for at least 4 feedings stored up.

At least this is giving Baby E practice drinking out of a bottle. She did much better this time than with our first attempt.

Maybe sometime soon DH and I can actually go out on a baby-less date.

In defense of strollers

Ann Althouse is discussing this NYT article about strollers: "Supersize Strollers Ignite Sidewalk Drama."

The article and Ann both rant about today's strollers and how annoying and rude they are. They and several commenters complain about the needlessness and selfishness of using anything larger or more feature-filled than a basic cheap umbrella stroller. They conjecture about whether having a big stroller is a way to feel powerful and be pushy or gloat about having children. Some question the need for strollers at all.

I'm an admitted stroller junkie. (Yes, all the strollers above are or have been mine, and I can't find a photo of my beloved KidCo at the moment.) I've done a lot of research about strollers and have owned quite a few. DH laughs at me identifying the make and model of strollers I see at the mall or zoo. I like strollers. So this hit a nerve with me.

I posted a comment that turned into a soapbox rant, so I thought I'd better just make it into a post on my own blog.

First of all, let me say that I've been rammed by many more grocery store shopping carts than I ever have by strollers. I've seen more people be rude with shopping carts than with strollers, and a fully-loaded metal shopping cart is a dangerous weapon indeed.

I'm a parent of three children, ages 4, 3, and 7 weeks. When my second child was born, my first was a year old and had just barely started toddling.

Have you ever tried carrying an infant, a one-year-old, a diaper bag and several shopping bags in your arms? You should.

A double stroller was a necessity for me--especially since I had severe back and shoulder problems which precluded the use of a sling or front-pack carrier for any length of time.

I did a lot of research (the stroller message board on iVillage/parentsplace was an invaluable resource) and decided on a side-by-side. It was much lighter and more maneuverable than a front-and-back stroller, and it had the important safety features I wanted.

My double stroller, a KidCo Double Maverick Plus (similar to a MacLaren Twin) was 28" wide (the same width as a wheelchair and the smallest possible width for a double SBS) and turned on a dime.

Even so, there were a lot of places it wouldn't fit. I can't believe how narrow some stores make their aisles. It made me realize how handicapped-inaccessible many places are.

There were times when someone needed to get by and it was impossible to get out of their way or turn around. In a case where one person is able to easily move out of the way and the other isn't, it is necessary for the person who can get out of the way to do so. I always apologized, of course, but it's not reasonable to expect the one with the stroller to walk backwards the entire length of the store when the other person could simply step into a side aisle for a few seconds to let the stroller pass.

Our culture today is very different than it was in the past, when people grew most of their own food and rarely left home, or had relatives and neighbors to help with the shopping and/or care for the children. And may I point out that the old prams were much bulkier than today's strollers, for the most part?

The fact is that for many parents, it's either use a stroller or stay home unless they can limit themselves to 10-minute trips which don't require carrying anything of substance.

About the size issue:

I really don't think many people, if any at all, pick a stroller because it's big. In my experience, most parents want to get the smallest possible stroller that has all the features they consider necessary.

That article was totally wrong when it said that there's no difference (or no way for a parent to tell the difference) in safety between various stroller models. There are plenty of resources like consumer reports, customer reviews, and discussion boards where parents can research and compare various strollers. Of course, they'll want to try out and compare several in the store as well.

Some companies and types of strollers have many more recalls than others. Some styles are obviously safer than others--for example, a stroller with a bar or a 5-point harness is much safer and harder for the child to get out of than an umbrella stroller that lets them lean forward and catch their fingers in the wheels or slide out of the belt onto the ground.

A lightweight umbrella stroller will tip over backwards very easily if you put a moderate amount of weight on the handles. Also, as someone else mentioned, an umbrella stroller with no recline cannot be used at all for infants too young to sit up. And a stroller with tiny wheels that gets stuck at every crack in the sidewalk and is almost impossible to roll on rough surfaces isn't very useful to most suburbanites.

There are all kinds of features parents look for and consider when purchasing a stroller.

The harness type and level of recline is important, as is whether the straps can be made long or short enough to fit a given child. A narrow or short stroller may not fit a large baby, while another stroller may be too roomy to comfortably and safely accommodate a small infant. There are huge variations in weight, wheel size and type, maneuverability and ease of folding and unfolding of various strollers.

Something seeminly simple like the amount and type of padding, width and height of a stroller, toy bar/tray or lack of one, and level of recline may make the difference between a child enjoying the ride or wiggling and screaming every time they're put in the stroller.

Extras like snack trays, pretty fabrics and cupholders are important to some; durable construction and good safety records/consumer reviews are more important to others.

Most people nowadays want a basket big enough to hold a diaper bag and some shopping, since hanging a lot of weight on the handle makes a stroller unstable.

Different strollers are rated for different weights and heights of children. Tall and short parents will want different strollers so that they can reach the handles or aren't kicking the wheels.

Having a stroller that fits into the trunk of your car is important, as is having one that you can lift and push without difficulty.

It's really nice if the stroller doesn't fall apart after a few dozen uses, and if it has a large enough canopy to protect your child from the elements. Some parents like to have a stroller that's compatible with their infant car seat/carrier. Others just want one that will fit through the door of their apartment complex.

The considerations in making a stroller decision are nearly endless. Since it's an item most parents use a lot for several months or years, it is an important decision.

Sure, everyone used to use simple umbrella strollers or prams. But they also used to let their kids sit on the floor of the car or hold them in their laps instead of using a child safety seat. Just because people used to make do with poor tools doesn't mean we shouldn't take advantage of better ones now that they're available.

Your thoughts?

Baby Gymnastics and Kindergarten Baking

I love peaceful days at home.

Life seems to be starting to stabilize now that Baby E is 7 weeks old. She seems to be over the worst of the colic and is generally happy.



She loves to sit in her bouncy seat or reclined high chair to grin and coo at the world. If I lay her on the floor, she does baby gymnastics while she enjoys the scenery.

She's wearing a 3-6 months size outfit in these pictures--and it runs large.
I'm really glad she's not constantly demanding to be held, since her floppy weight of over 13 lbs. is already giving me back pain. Now if I could just get her to sleep consistently for most of the night . . .



Incidentally, I have now come to the conclusion that Baby E is the most adorable, charming and talented baby in the universe. Of course, I may be just slightly biased.



The two older girls are, of course, the most incredible preschooler and kindergartener ever, too.

Today they asked for muffins at lunch, to go along with their chicken noodle soup and red grapes. I needed to feed the baby, so I measured out the ingredients and cracked the egg into the bowl. Then I let them make muffins all by themselves. They were thrilled.



They poured and mixed, then filled the muffin cups. I was tempted to help them, but other than coaching I managed to stay hands-off until it was time to put the pan in the oven. I didn't even redistribute the batter to make the muffin cups more even. To my amazement, the girls even managed to fill the muffin cups while spilling only a few drops of batter--no more than I would have spilled if I'd been doing it.



The muffins turned out beautifully. The girls were proud of themselves and I was even more proud of them. They're great cooks.

Now that's a crochet hook

I was looking for some afghan hooks (they look like a cross between a knitting needle and a crochet hook) on eBay and was amazed to see one bid up past $25 for a single hook. It was a Graydog Tunisian wood crochet hook, hand carved with an ornate flame at the top. Just gorgeous.

Graydog Woodenware makes some really beautiful tools--letter openers, crochet hooks, knitting needles, awls, hair ornaments, combs and more.

In checking completed items for the past month, I see that several have gone for over $150 for a single Graydog hook, including this one that sold for $198. Some of their work goes for close to $300. [Update: Jane's Hooked on Crochet points out a Graydog hook that recently sold for $526.99. Wow! (Jane also seems to have several Graydog hooks and to be quite enamored with them.)]

At first I was wondering why people would spend so much on something like a crochet hook or a pair of knitting needles. But the more I browsed through the auctions and looked at the pictures, the more I saw the appeal. They are so beautiful and unusual, and they appear to be very high-quality. Some of them are contoured in a way that looks more comfortable to hold than the traditional style.

Given the many hours a crocheter or knitter spends holding those hooks and needles, a more comfortable and higher-quality tool would make a big difference. I know I have a definite preference in brand and style even when buying a hook that costs under $2.

I'm not sure I would like to use a hook with dangly things attached to it or a large bauble on the end (although this one is lovely), but the carved and inlaid ones really appeal to me. I like the carved flame or the turned decorations on the ends of some of them, or the basic "flow" design. I like this one, too, with malachite and silver decorations. The bright colors and lovely patterns of wood grain in the hooks, along with the quality of the handiwork, make the tool a work of art.

As a great lover of wood and of fine craftsmanship, having a hook made of finely-carved ebony or curly maple would add another element of aesthetic pleasure to my crocheting experience.

As anyone who works with textiles or does any other kind of craft knows, the final result is only a small part of the appeal. The experience of the crocheting itself is my favorite part--the feel of the soft yarn weaving through my fingers, the rhythm of the hook's smooth movement through the fibers, and the endless fascination of watching little loops form to make complicated patterns in fine, even stitches. Watching the beauty of an heirloom-quality piece of fiber art form under my fingers will never lose its fascination.

Crocheting is entertaining, relaxing and theraputic for me. Anything that adds to the tactile and visual pleasure of the process itself would be worthwhile.

I'm sure many crafters would get more use and enjoyment out of a fine tool like this than out of a piece of jewlery. I can imagine that with much use, the tool would even begin to shape to the owner's hand. A Graydog tool would be a highly personal and special gift for anyone who would use it often.

If I owned one, though, I'd probably lose it. :)

7 weeks

Well, I'm not sure if I'm getting sick or just allergic to the old clothes/thrift shop dust. Probably both. We were around someone who was sick this past weekend, so I hope the kids (and especially the baby) don't get it.

Baby E is 7 weeks old today. I'm starting to lose track already--I kept thinking she was 7 1/2 weeks old this weekend and 8 weeks today until I counted it up. She woke up only twice last night. I sure hope that trend continues!

DH gets home tonight. I'll be glad for that, but overall this time of having him gone has been pretty smooth. I had some girls over to watch Emma (based on the Jane Austen book) last night, and that was fun.

Right now I have a babysitter here, and since our small group is canceled for the night I'm going to take the rare opportunity to run some errands with only the baby along.

We're keeping the southeastern coastal areas in our prayers . . . I have a lot of family and friends in Texas, including my best friend from college who is doing her internship in Corpus Christie. I've been trying off and on since Saturday to call her, but just keep getting a message that all circuits are busy.

Unbelievable! "Museum Quality"

I e-mailed Roberto Cavalli customer care in New York last night and got a reply back already. They're sending the photos to Italy and will get back to me shortly with more info. such as the year the garment was made.

Meanwhile, they said this [sic]:

You own a real treasure , it's a magnificent piece of history of fashion, a museum quality garment. During the past years five Roberto Cavalli 's garments have been acquired by the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of New York for the permanent collection of the Costume Institute.So .. hold on to it ... it's pretty valuable !

I guess my instincts were right on when I said: "Seriously, it's the type of item I would have expected to get a chance to see nowhere but in a museum in the course of my life."

I've been talking to clothing collectors and dealers, and the lowest guess I've gotten so far of its possible value is upwards of $1,000--but it might be worth a lot more than that. Looks like it's far too valuable to sell on eBay . . . it would probably not get anywhere near its true value there.

There's no way I'm wearing this thing anywhere--I'd be too afraid of spilling something on it or having one of the kids touch it, LOL. I am hanging it carefully in a safe place, out of the direct light.

If you want to stay up-to-the minute on the drama, you can follow the conversation on eBay's Clothing, Shoes and Accessories discussion board here.

This is so incredibly exciting. Hang on for the ride!

I'm going back to that thrift store today to go over every rack with a fine-toothed comb. :)

[Update here. The news may not be quite so exciting after all, but we'll see.]

Nifty Thrifty

Baby E is growing out of her clothes. At 6 1/2 weeks, she weighs in just shy of 13 lbs. She's wearing a size 6 months sleeper right now and it fits her perfectly. If I blink it will be too small.

Unfortunately, I loaned out almost all of my 0-6 month sized baby clothes and they never found their way back home. Judging by the other girls, I figured I had plenty of time to get the 3-6 month sized items and had just focused on replacing the 0-3 month clothes. After all, MM was still wearing 3-6 and 6-9 month sizes when she started walking and talking at 11 months.

So when Baby E immediately grew out of her newborn and 0-3 months size clothes, I had about 4 sleepers and just a few outfits that actually fit her. My wardrobe wasn't much better off, since my body has decided it would be fun to try morphing into a completely different shape after the birth of my third child.

So, what do you do when you need two complete wardobes all at once? With caviar tastes on a peanut butter budget, my solution is garage sales, thrift shops and consignment stores, along with outlets and deep discount sales on new items.


A careful and knowledgeable shopper can get high-quality items in excellent condition or sometimes even new with tags at the smallest fraction of their original cost. I've purchased $80 and up clothing items for $5 or less pretty regularly by knowing what to look for.

A gently-used Oilily or Hanna Andersson is going to look much better after 3 or 4 washes than a brand-new but cheaply made item from a big general merchandise store, so buying clothes second-hand doesn't bother me in the least. Since I can't afford to pay $95 for a pair of pants, I'm thrilled to find them in near-perfect condition for $2 at a tag-color markdown sale.

I went to two thrift shops and a garage sale on Saturday. It was the most amazing thrifting expedition ever.

It felt like I had the Midas touch. Every time I turned around, there was another fabulous item priced at almost nothing. I was looking for cheap kids' clothes and blouses for myself, but I kept coming across items I wasn't looking for but couldn't pass up.

Brand new high-end Italian leather shoes for $1. An antique Russian pram for $10. St. John and Eileen Fisher sweaters and Coach and Bruno Magli shoes. I kept thinking surely I'd found my limit of amazing items for the day, and then there would be another one. Most of these things I found all at one store. I'd never visited it before, but most certainly will be going back!

I was running out of time and figured surely there couldn't be yet another fabulous item in that store, so I headed for the exit. I thought about going down the sweater aisle to get to the checkout, but at the last moment decided to just go down the main aisle instead.

I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a gorgeous, unique fabric hanging into the aisle. It was the sleeve of a blazer and split skirt suit set with an equestrian/military look.

When I took it off the rack I was blown away. The quality and condition was unbelievable. It looked like a gorgeous brocade with greens and golds in the pattern. The colors were both muted and vibrant. It felt almost like brushed silk, but was actually a very fine leather. Seriously, it's the type of item I would have expected to get a chance to see nowhere but in a museum in the course of my life.





I'd never heard of the brand before, but I knew immediately that I had to have it. It's a Roberto Cavalli suit, made in Italy. You have to feel it to believe it--the leather is silky-soft and drapes like satin. It needs a very minor repair and is in otherwise almost perfect condition.

It's my pre-pregnancy size, too, so I'm really tempted to keep it. But when would I ever actually wear it? And, more pressingly, can I afford to keep it when I could probably sell it for a small fortune?

And here I didn't think I was shopping for stuff to sell on eBay. I guess I'll be brushing up on my powerseller skills and knowledge of clothing. I absolutely must go back to that thrift store and go through the rest of the racks.

Oh, by the way . . . I did find the items Baby E and I needed at the right prices, too.

Saved by the Shoe

We stopped by my parents' house yesterday after the moms' support group meeting and the girls' doctor appointment. My parents have a plastic see-saw that they picked up somewhere, and AJ and MM headed straight for it.

The girls are really getting quite good at working the teeter-totter and had been playing on it for a while when they started going faster and rougher. At that point AJ's clogs started falling off. They'd fall off, we'd help her put them back on, and they'd fall off again. The girls thought it was hilarious.

They were laughing and stopping to pick up her shoes for about the third time when my sister Amy noticed a bee fly out of one of the shoes and buzz away. Then we noticed several dead wasps on the ground right under the end of AJ's teeter-totter seat. Then another bee came out of the bottom of the seat.

There was a hornet's nest inside the see-saw.

We whisked the girls off the toy and into the car as quickly as we could. Meanwhile, my dad was tipping the see-saw up and down and trying to figure out where the nest was. There were several small holes in the bottom of each seat, and the bees had entered that way and built a nest inside the hollow toy.

The wasps were swarming around, confused with the movement of their home. They seemed really disoriented and couldn't find the entrance to the nest since the see-saw had been moved. I was just glad they didn't come swarming out and straight up the girls' dresses while they were playing.

I'm really glad AJ's shoes fell off before the bees recovered enough from the first shock of having their home moving and clunking around, and decided to attack. We probably wouldn't have noticed the bees before someone got stung if the shoes hadn't fallen off.

A mass of bee stings would NOT be what we needed right after AJ had to get 4 vaccinations. The shots were bad enough. I hate wasps.



MM wouldn't be happy unless I included a photo of her new shoes too. We picked up a pair of new (to us) shoes for each of the girls at Value Village last week. The girls are very excited about their new shoes. They're easy for them to get on and off by themselves (AJ's are clogs and MM's have velcro straps), which is a huge selling point.

The challenge is getting MM to remove her new shoes when it's time to go to bed.

In the words of a book I read once

"Stop spinning so fast, World! I'm having trouble hanging on."

My schedule for the next few days:

Today I pack up and mail two eBay auctions I sold, and visit with a friend who is scheduled to come over this afternoon. My sister called to see if she can come over tonight--I'd love to see her but am not sure if that will work out or not yet. Sometime tonight DH and I need to have a conversation trying to work out how to plan and prioritize our life, and especially the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow we have the first meeting of our Mom's group, and I'll be a small group leader for the first time. Then in the afternoon both girls have checkups (including vaccinations, which I hate).

Friday is an event at church I'm supposed to go to, we have a gathering with DH's family on Saturday, and DH leaves in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday (or really late Saturday night).

Yes, he's going to be gone again. Apparently there's some huge emergency with a customer having trouble with the software and threatening to sue DH's company, and DH gets to save the day. He just found out today, and will have to be gone for several days again.

The baby is getting herself onto a schedule. It makes things somewhat predictable and let me plan out my day a little more. She naps for about 30-50 minutes at 10 a.m. and then for a few hours in the afternoon, and is awake most of the rest of the time. Sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. she's asleep for the night, waking 3 times before waking up for the day at 7 a.m. or so. She must be one of those kids who doesn't need much sleep. But it's nice to know what to expect.

Search Engine Puzzler

At least once a day, I get a referral from someone typing the words puzzle place or the puzzle place into MSN's search engine. My blog is the top result on MSN search for that phrase.

I thought it might be the same person--someone who was a regular reader on my blog but somehow hadn't figured out or didn't care to use browser bookmarks, bloglines or the e-mail subscription to my newsgroup. But it wasn't--it was people from a wide variety of places. I was curious what they were looking for originally. They all couldn't have been actually looking for my blog.

So I looked today and discovered that The Puzzle Place was a children's television program put out by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1994-98 with the goal of fostering diversity by using "puppet characters from diverse backgrounds" to "demonstrate how people can get along without giving up their own identities." Here's the Wikipedia article about it. Apparently the show must have had a following. It gets mixed, but mostly good, reviews on epinions.com. There seem to be quite a few eBay auctions listed for Puzzle Place-related items, too.

I never saw the show, but hey--at least now there's a link to info. about it on my blog for those who come here looking for it. :)

I get quite a few hits from the phrase "purple puzzle tree" as well, but that was easy for me to figure out. The Purple Puzzle Tree is a series of children's books and audio that we had when I was a kid, and which inspired the name of my blog. They made Bible stories fascinating and exciting in a way nothing else ever quite matched.

Apparently I'm not the only person with fond memories of them: I've just discovered that the author, Norman Habel, actually has a website and they are being reprinted. The site has a page where you can preview the books and audio, and they are very much as I remember them. I wonder if my mom still has the set of books and the records that went with them?

The one I remember most was the story of Abraham burying his treasure under a tree and wrestling with God, and that one isn't available yet. Altogether there are 6 sets, each with 6 books telling various Bible stories for a total of 36 stories from Creation to Pentecost. The sound effects and the wonderful variation of voices and onomatopoeia Mr. Habel uses really make these stories stand out.

I really want to get the set for my kids, but they're a bit spendy (although I think it's a good price for what you get). Maybe I'll talk to DH about making that our Thankgiving/Christmas gift to the kids this year. There isn't a link to purchase them on the website, though . . . I'll have to see what I can find out. It looks like the first set of 6 was republished in 2002 and there haven't been more since.

The job of a reporter

Mark has a very interesting post about the current attitude of the media. Are they trying to make news, or just reporting it? It's an important question.

A highlight from Mark's post:

Blitzer then gives the punchline: "That's my job. I'm a newsman. That's what I try to do, is make news. And you try to avoid news. That's your job."

I did not realize that the job of a newsman was to "make" news. I always thought their job was to report the news that already existed.

What do you think? Do you think some reporters and news organizations (not all, obviously, but perhaps a significant number?) try to create news rather than just reporting it?

Moment of Silence

For those who have suffered and died in natural and man-made disasters, and those who survived.

Crazy is good. :)

We had such a great time tonight. There were 6 of us, and we mostly just hung around and chatted about anything and everything, and played Beyond Balderdash. Balderdash has become our small group's unofficial group game. We have played it every time we've had a game night so far. The three of us taught the others how to play it, and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Most of us were very tired and several were operating on next to no sleep. So we weren't the most scintillating group ever; but we ate, chatted, laughed and had a good time. We chuckled over our own and each other's sleep-derivation-induced memory lapses and other gaffes--like the time I spent several minutes looking for dice and trying to rig up a substitute before I realized the game we were playing didn't require dice.

We had a great mixture of ages and stages--a single young woman, a married woman with no kids, a homeschooling mother of 4 kids ranging from preschool to teens, a pregnant mom of two preschoolers who also works full-time, a retired grandma who takes care of her young granddaughter, and me--the stay-at-home mom with young children and a newborn. Some were people I see fairly often, and others were people I see only occasionally in less personal contexts. Only one ("Morning") was someone who comes frequently to my home to visit. Nobody except me knew more than two or three others in the group well, which made for a nice open dynamic where even the one person who doesn't attend our church seemed comfortable.

I didn't get the house as prepared as I'd wanted, but I did get a load of dishes done and clear off several flat surfaces in the kitchen and nook so we had clean, uncluttered places to set out food and play games.

I told the ladies that even though I don't have postpartum depression, my house does. :) While we were visiting and waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, I took a few minutes to wipe down the kitchen counters and do a quick swipe of the main surfaces in the bathroom. Then I relaxed and didn't worry. They seemed quite at ease and several of them helped clean up the kitchen and do the dishes before they left. Nobody even seemed to care that the kitchen floor was sticky.

The girls and I did go to Costco this afternoon. We ate a late lunch there, which was fun, and enjoyed the samples. I bought chicken nuggets, French fries and canned green beans to cook for dinner. The girls didn't eat much, but were happy about the food selections anyway. It was a quick and easy meal for me to prepare.

The girls were fed and in their pajamas before 7, and the evening went quite smoothly overall. I told the two older girls that if they were cooperative and quick about getting ready for bed, and promised to go to bed without complaining and go right to sleep, I would let them watch a video upstairs before they went to bed. That worked great.

Since I had let them skip naps/quiet time they were ready for an early bedtime. The baby was also more cooperative tonight. I was able to help AJ and MM get their pajamas on while Baby E laid on the floor waving her arms and cooing at them.

After people started arriving, there was someone to hold the baby while I tucked the girls in and returned them to their beds a couple of times. That was nice. Bedtime goes so much more smoothly when there's a calm, attentive and involved parent in the process (fancy that!). Last night I had to give myself a time out: "Mommy is feeling really angry, so I need a time out! I'll tuck you in and get you water in a few minutes. Be quiet and don't talk to me until I come back. " Tonight I was patient and cheerful instead.

Baby E wanted to nurse a lot and got fussy as she often does in the evening, but nobody seemed to mind. We passed her around and there was always a willing pair of arms to take a turn pacing and patting her back even when she was crying. And, she did some smiling and cooing too.

I felt so blessed by the fellowship, encouragement, and assistance tonight. But while I felt like I was being given a gift of their presence and help, they seemed to feel that they were on the receiving end. I was able to help out one of them in a tangible way with some extra groceries, and another pulled me aside for a few minutes to chat about something that was bothering her and get a bit of encouragement and advice. Each of them thanked me sincerely for including them, and several commented about how much they appreciated being invited and enjoyed our friendship. That made me feel really good.

I think I'll host something like this again soon. It was a bit of a stretch to get past my embarrassment about the state of my house, nervousness about whether the kids would make visiting difficult, and difficulty making decisions about what to do (we had a terrible time deciding whether to play a game or watch a movie, and which one). But it was so worth it. Even though I'm tired, I feel somehow energized just by having an evening of fun with other women whose company I enjoy.

September Smiles

Baby E is 5 1/2 weeks old now and weighs over 12 lbs! I can't believe how fast she is growing, and how HUGE she is. She's starting to get hard to hold in one arm easily already. (More photos below fold)







I had to look her weight up on the CDC growth chart because I was afraid something was wrong and she was growing too fast (this mommy will worry about anything!), but no. She seems to be right around the 95th or 98th percentile for her age.



It is so different for me because my other two girls have seemed to fluctuate between the 5th and 15th percentiles consistently. Baby E may catch up with the older two in size before long. M weighs 30 lbs. and A about 39 lbs. at 3 and 4 years old, so they're closer to the 50th percentile now, but still!

I'm not to sure about carting her around as she gets older if she stays 90+ percentile. This baby may not get carried as much, LOL. I guess she'll have to learn to walk earlier. :)

Call me Crazy

CCW asked me a very relevant question the other day:

"Are you truly crazy or just exhausted? That's an important distinction since exhaustion does eventually lessen, but crazy could last a lifetime."

I'm starting to wonder.


On Sunday I went upstairs after the service to feed the baby. I must have been dozing off because I was really disoriented when I came back downstairs. I was walking through the nearly empty church lobby and thought, "Wow, that woman looks like S---- who goes to our church. But I'm not sure it's really her." So I walked up to her and said, "Hi, how are you? Remind me of your name?" Sure enough, it was S---.

I then proceeded to make conversation this way: "Yeah, I know you. You used to go to my church. That's where I know you from, isn't it?"

DH and S--- looked at me with a mixture of disbelief, humor and--was it fear? "Um, we're at church."

Oh. Yeah.

I searched for something to say. "That's what sleep deprivation will do to you, I guess."

DH teased me about it all the way home: "Boy, there sure are a lot of people from church here in this mall. Why look, there's the pastor! Wow, what an amazing coincidence!"

I invited about 15 women over tonight to hang out and play games, watch a movie, eat snacks or whatever. I'm expecting between 3 and 10 to actually come.

DH and most of the other men in our church are gone for the weekend (men's retreat), so it seemed like a fun thing to do with the women while the men are away.

Except that my house is still in a state of postpartum depression. Clutter abounds and everything needs to be done from mopping and vaccuuming to cleaning the bathrooms and doing the dishes. I thought I was going to get a bunch of that done last night, but the kids were in fine form again with DH gone. The baby screamed until about midnight, while the older girls took a year and a day to get ready for bed.

We need to go to the grocery store, too, as we're out of several essentials. It will be my first grocery shopping expediton with all three kids. It should be fine, but I'm expecting it to go slowly.

It's almost noon and I haven't even showered yet (no, I can't skip that today). The baby has been really fussy for the past hour or so after being in a good mood earlier in the morning. I think she's fighting a much-needed nap. I keep feeding her in hopes that will do the trick, but she just seems to be getting sloshy in the tummy instead of sleepy.

Am I crazy? I guess we'll find out tonight.

I think the evening should be fun. I guess whatever doesn't get done before 7 . . . just won't get done.

Crocheted Baby Sweaters and Afghans

I did manage to get to the county fairgrounds as planned the afternoon I went into labor, the day before the fair opened. I didn't get to attend the fair, but five of my crocheted items did--two baby afghans and three infant sweaters. To my amazement, when DH picked them up for me after the fair was over I had won not one, but five blue ribbons! The judges made very nice comments about my work too.

Now I'm listing the items for sale.

All of these items are made in soft, washable acrylic yarn. The photos aren't nearly as good as seeing (and feeling!) them in person, but they'll have to do. Keep in mind that they are meant to be on a bed or hanging over a chair, etc. (i.e. being used!) so they don't look quite right lying flat. :)

The first afghan is something special. It's really more of a wall hanging, but could be used either way. I designed it for a display at church. The idea was to create a piece of art to illustrate a favorite Scripture passage. In the display I hung it against a dark green backdrop to show the pattern of the stitches better.

I drew inspiration from several different published crochet patterns, but it is a unique original design. It is a little more pastel and muted than it appears in these pictures (the floral heart at the top of this post is from the same yarn). I had a hard time getting the brightness and contrast balanced so it showed both the color and the pattern of the stitches well.



"Covered With His Love"
Crochet Afghan
Original design by Angela (PurpleKangaroo)
Approximately 28" x 37"
$65 plus shipping

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17b-19




Daisies For Baby
Afghan approximately 29" x 42"
$60 plus shipping






More pictures of Daisies for Baby afghan here.

Cream-colored Heirloom Baby Sweater

Size 3-6 months or 6-9 months (sweaters fit a larger variety of sizes than many other garments)
$30 plus shipping





Approximate measurements across garment lying flat & unstretched:
Chest 10/5"
Length 10.5"
Sleeves 5.5" (cuff to cuff across shoulders, 21")

Blue Hooded Infant Sweater
Size preemie or newborn
$25 plus shipping







Approximate measurements across garment lying flat & unstretched:
Chest 8.5"
Length 7"
Sleeves 4.5" (cuff to cuff across shoulders, 17")

Sailboat Pullover Baby Sweater

Size 0-3 months. Fits an Adora doll with sleeves rolled up. Sleeves can be rolled down to make them about 2" longer





Approximate measurements across garment lying flat & unstretched:
Chest 9"
Length 8"
Sleeves 6" (cuff to cuff across shoulders, 21.5")--I have the ends folded into cuffs on each sleeve, making the measurements 4.5" and 18"

I have the doll for sale with the sweater on eBay, but if it doesn't sell I will sell the sweater separately for $25 plus shipping. If the eBay auction does sell I could make another sweater like this to order (and to your measurements), but it would cost $35 plus shipping for a size 0-6 month sweater. The appliques were a lot of work to do properly. I do have the pattern for matching pants as well, and could make a hat and booties if desired.

The sweaters should ship first class, so will probably cost $2-3 to mail. The afghans should ship at the 1-lb. Priority Mail rate, which would put them around $6 each to ship in the USA. Outside USA will be a bit more. I will, of course, combine shipping to save on postage for multiple items going to the same address.

Here's a close-up of the afghan I just finished for BIL and SIL's new baby girl due in November (yes, that BIL and SIL).



And here's a baby sweater I'm making as a gift for someone. It's a yummy wool-blend boucle'--it's the first time I've worked with this type of yarn. It's challenging, but the finished product is marvelous--wolly and nubbly like a sherpa or something. I'm going to make a hat with ears to go with this sweater.



Finally, here are previews of the next couple of afghans I'm working on. They are smaller--more of a receiving blanket size.

This one will have a white scalloped trim:



And the second one is another Daisies For Baby afghan in the same colors, but in a smaller gauge so both the flower motifs and the overall afghan are smaller.

I really enjoy crocheting. For me, it's not only a creative outlet, but also relaxing and theraputic. With no pets in the house, running my fingers through soft yarn is the closest substitite for petting something furry. :)

Recipe highlights of the week

This post includes recipes for the following:

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan version)
Vanilla Ice Cream
Blackberry Crisp


I made banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies again on Monday. This time I tried a recipe that I'm pretty sure is vegan, so I thought I'd share it for my vegan and vegetarian friends. I think I liked the previous recipe I tried better, but these were still good, if a bit sticky. I added an egg to the second batch and they puffed up a lot more and were a little softer.

It's a great way to use up overripe bananas. Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a way of working bananas into baked goods in a way my family likes, so I end up eating them all myself. These are healthy enough that it's fairly guilt-free. :)

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
from marina.horde.org

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
5 tbls low-calorie stick margarine
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup pureed banana (about 1/2 large banana)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda and oats. Set aside. Melt the margarine on the stove in a small pan; do not allow it to brown. Or place it in a glass cup and melt in a microwave oven set on high for 50 seconds. Pour the margarine into a medium-size mixing bowl and add the sugars, banana and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, stir until smooth.

Add the margarine mixture to the flour ingredients and stir until it forms a dough. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the dough by level tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven until lightly puffed and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. They should be a little soft, but not too squishy in the center. Remove from the oven and transfer to wire racks. They will firm up further as they cool. Serve the cookies warm or cool.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Since DH's sister and her 5 children stayed with us Monday evening, I decided to make homemade ice cream. It was a big hit. This is by far the best and easiest ice cream recipe I've tried so far. Figures . . . it's my mom's recipe. Nothing beats Mom's recipes!

Ice Cream

4 eggs whipped frothy (I used pastuerized egg product to avoid Salmonella. You could also mix the eggs with some of the milk and heat it to near-boiling.)
1 1/4 c. sugar, whipped into eggs
vanilla
lemon juice
4 c. milk
3 1/2 c. thick cream (heavy whipping cream)

Stir together cream & milk, mix into egg mixture and freeze in ice-cream maker.

I used 2 tsp. each vanilla and lemon juice, and used 4 c. cream and 3 1/2 cups of a 2% milk/plain live-culture yogurt mixture. The ice cream was smooth, creamy, and delicious.

I also added a couple of Twix candy bars, broken into pieces. My family used to make it with Butterfinger bars--my favorite (can't wait until I'm done nursing in about a year and can eat peanuts again!).

Yesterday the girls and I went to a friend's house to pick blackberries. The two older girls helped up pick and Baby E sat in the baby carrier where she could get a bit of shade. We had a lot of fun, and with 4 of us picking we got quite a few berries in an hour of picking.

One of the easiest things to bake with fruit is a fruit crisp. You just put the berries in a dish, sprinkle the topping mixture on top, and bake it. We served it with our homemade ice cream.

Fruit Crisp
from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

serves 6

5 C sliced, peeled apples, pears, peaches, or apricots; or frozen unsweetened peach slices
2 to 4 T sugar
1/2 C regular rolled oats
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon
1/4 C margarine or butter
1/4 C chopped nuts or coconut
Vanilla ice cream or light cream (optional)

For filling, thaw fruit, if frozen. Do not drain. Place fruit in an 8 X 1-1/2 - inch round baking dish. Stir in sugar. (For a berry crisp, combine 4 Tbs. sugar and 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour and toss with berries before placing fruit in dish.)

For topping, in a mixing bowl combine oats, brown sugar, flour, and nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon. Cut in margarine or butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts or coconut. Sprinkle topping over filling.

Bake in a 375° oven for 30 to 35 minutes (40 minutes for thawed fruit) or till fruit is tender and topping is golden. Serve warm with ice cream or light cream, if desired.

I skipped the nuts and baked it in a 9 x 13 baking dish with a double batch of topping. It was delicious. DH and I thought so, anyway . . . the girls took one look and refused to taste it.

Hurricane Katrina Timeline

Rick Moran has a Hurricane Katrina timeline on his blog.

He has tried to include only verifiable, documented information and keep it as unbiased and factual as possible. He's been undating and adding to it, and will add any verifiable information no matter which angle on the events it supports. The timeline is quite extensive and is a must-read. Rick's hard work makes it a little easier to see and understand what happened when.

Rick must have done a pretty good job because Instapundit linked to it.

Milestones

It's funny how the littlest things are significant milestones in a child's development. Baby E learned how to spit today. LOL. I had put gas drops in her mouth, and she spit them right back out. She looked a little surprised, and I couldn't help chuckling and congratulating her on her new skill.

A few other miscellaneous milestones around here:

* AJ was laughing hilariously at her first "bathroom humor" joke last night. She was the only one in the family that thought it was funny, but that's a 4-year-old for you. Guess she learned that one from her cousins yesterday. Uh, thanks. [can you hear the sarcasm? LOL]

* Also on the humor front, AJ "got" a joke that was a play on the printed word yesterday. We were reading a book in which one of the illustrations included a sign that said "DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS". I had her read the sign with all the words first, and then without the crossed-out word. It was so great to watch her face light up when she realized how the crossed-out "NOT" changed the meaning of the sentence.

* Now that we're using DH's sedan most of the time instead of the mini-van, both girls are so excited about being able to open and close the car doors. MM is insistent on closing her door, and AJ wants to open hers. Both get extremely upset because DH and I still have to help them get buckled in and out, which means we also have to open and close the doors.

* Both girls recently learned to put on their own socks, so now they can get dressed by themselves all the way to the shoes.

* MM is growing so much more independent. She is really a strong natural leader and she loves to come up with ideas for games and try to get the other kids to play along.

* AJ is getting pretty good at negotiating and working out problems using words and logic.

* MM has had a dry pull-up in the morning the last couple of days. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for AJ, who was completely day and night potty trained for months before the baby was born and DH gone for a week.

* Baby E is actually starting to play with things. A couple of days ago she was playing with the corner of a blanket, waving it around and looking at it, trying to put it in her mouth, and cooing at it.

* Baby E is developing a sense of humor and an appreciation of games, too. The other day DH was making an "mmmm" sound as he moved his face slowly closer to hers, ending with a kiss on the cheek. Baby E loved it the first few times, but got bored with it after he did the same thing 3 or 4 times in a row (smart kid knew it was coming, and it wasn't nearly as funny when she knew what to expect). When he switched to the other cheek she lit up. When he kissed her on the nose instead the next time, she thought it was hilarious. It was so cute to watch her starting to smile as he was coming toward her, and then almost chuckling when he kissed her in an unexpected spot.

* DH insists that Baby E already recognizes some words, too, and that if she is fussing and he says the word "mommy" or "food" she will stop fussing and grin.

* Both of the older girls are initiating more frequent conversations about or directly with God. That's neat to see.

It can occasionally be a bit disconcerting though, as happened a couple of weeks ago: MM didn't want to go to bed, and kept getting out of bed after I thought she was settled. At one point I was on the phone with my sister when I finally tired of reasoning with MM and attempted to pick her up and physically put her into bed.

As she grabbed onto the chair and any other available object, kicking and screaming, MM shouted, "Oh, God, help me please, God! Help me!" The way she was screaming, I was really glad it was my sister on the phone and not someone who might think I was beating the whale out of her as it probably sounded. I had to put the phone down to explain that, yes, God helps us and He answers prayer, but he's not going to help her not go to bed when Mommy tells her to, because he wants her to obey.

AJ's favorite spiritual lesson at the moment is to remind everyone else that "God wants us to share our blessings." Of course, it never applies to her. Talk about hypocrisy, LOL. We keep telling her that it means she is supposed to share her own blessings, not use it as a way to get other people to give her what she wants.

Both of those are such important truths, and it seems that often even adults don't get them. God won't help us to do something contrary to his will just because it's what we want. And the commands and Scripture we put into practice are for us to live out in our own lives, not to browbeat others with. It's a good reminder for Mommy and Daddy, too, when we have to explain things like this to the kids. I'm glad the kids are learning those lessons early. I hope we all learn them well.

Say Cheese, Baby E

Finally! It's blurry, but I caught Baby E smiling right at the camera. She's happy this morning.

Austin Evacuees and Relief Info.

This post over at Richard Lawrence Cohen's blog has some stories from those on the ground working with survivors of Hurricane Katrina, as well as good info. on the relief efforts in Texas, what is needed, where to take donations, etc. It should be helpful for those of you in the Texas area. Scroll down to the bottom of the post and follow the links.

Sleep is a very good thing :)

For the past three days, I've been sleeping a lot. DH has been so wonderful about taking over with all three kids and household tasks and just letting me rest. The only thing I've really had to do is feed the baby every couple of hours. He even got the house all ready for his sister and her family to come stay with us today (they're visiting from out of town), and fixed dinner for us all while I rested. He's done all kinds of cleaning, laundry, mowing the lawn, etc. this weekend--while taking care of and entertaining the kids and preparing meals, too.

I'm starting to have some energy again, and I think we've fended off the worst of the FMS/CFS flare-up. I'm very thankful for my health and for being able to get some rest, and for having a husband who values my health and wellbeing--sometimes even more than I do. He's an amazing guy.

Let's pick a couple of random people and accuse them of being evil, why don't we?

[Update: This post is included in the 155th Carnival of the Vanities. Thanks to sortapundit for hosting and haiku'ing the entries.]

I've seen a lot of furor about certain news photos and captions regarding Hurricane Katrina and looting--one pair in particular. The story being plastered all over the internet is that these photos are proof that the AP is racist.

The recurrent phrases seem to be, "It's not looting if you're white" or "Black people loot, white people find?"

Let's take a look.

This is a set of two photos from two different locations, taken by different photographers for different news organizations based in different countries, and published at different times. Somebody (I wish I knew who) picked out these two photos and juxtaposed them to try to prove a point.

One is a photo taken by Dave Martin for the AP (Associated Press), which shows an African-American man in chest-deep water with two bulging garbage bags and a case of Pepsi.

The caption says, "A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. . . . "

The second photo, taken by Chris Graythen for Getty Images via Agence France-Presse (AFP), a French agency, shows two lighter-skinned people, a man and a woman, also in chest-deep water. Both are wearing backpacks and the woman is carrying what appears to be a loaf of bread and a bottle of soda or some other object. Other objects, including what looks to be a piece of fruit, are floating in the water around them. If you look closely, you'll see that the people in this photo are not necessarily even "white"--the woman at least looks to me more Hispanic or of some other ethnic background.

The caption reads, "Two residents wade through chest deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area on August 29, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. . . ."

Now, there are a number of reasonable explanations for the differing wording. Snopes.com describes a number of them here. The Snopes article is well worth reading, and covers several points I'm not going to mention here.

There are two points I want to make about this.

First of all, the "big, bad news organization" doesn't write the captions for photos. (And remember that this is two completely different news organizations we're talking about, but even so . . . ) "The press" isn't some singular beast with one mind and will and a solidarity of opinion. It's a conglomeration of various organizations and individuals, each with their own personality and opinions. News organizations (as well as most other organizations) are not one cohesive entity. They are made up of individual people.

Newsaper editors don't just look at photos and try to guess what's happening in the pictures to write random captions for them. That's a fun game to play when accuracy is unimportant, but it's not how news organizations work.

The photographers write the captions, or at the very least collaborate with the writers to come up with them. Because, you know, the photographers were there. They know the context of the photos and what's actually happening in them.

Secondly, it's ridiculous to single out the worst possible explanation and motives for something when there are plenty of valid, sensible explanations that don't involve racism or other evilness/sin. And it's really harmful to pick out random people and accuse them of awful things with no real basis.

These are real people that everyone is accusing of racism. Actual individul human beings with reputations and feelings. I don't know and don't care whether these photographers are black, white or green with purple polka-dots, or what their political leanings are. They are people.

If you're going to single out an individual person and accuse them of racism, you'd better be very sure of your facts and have extremely solid evidence to back your claims. Because this isn't about America, the press or the AP. This is about two human beings with names and faces. This is about Dave Martin and Chris Graythen.

Yes, there is racism in the USA, and in the world. There is probably even racism represented in individuals associated with the AP, just like in any other organization. Racism is a bad thing and should be criticized where it is present. But this isn't just a "big idea" general accusation. You are accusing and hurting specific people based on very flimsy "evidence"--people who, in this case, are probably innocent.

Are Dave Martin and Chris Graythen racist? I doubt it.

Here's what a salon.com article quoted an AP spokesman as saying regarding Dave Martin:

Jack Stokes, AP's director of media relations, confirmed today that Martin says he witnessed the people in his images looting a grocery store. "He saw the person go into the shop and take the goods," Stokes said, "and that's why he wrote 'looting' in the caption."

Santiago Lyon, AP's director of photography, told Salon that all captions are vetted by editors and are the result of a dialogue between editor and photographer. Lyon said AP's policy is that each photographer can describe only what he or she actually sees. He added, "When we see people go into businesses and come out with goods, we call it 'looting.'" On the other hand, he said, "When we just see them carrying things down the road, we call it 'carrying items.'"

And here's what Chris Graythen posted on a message board:

Chris Graythen, Photographer, Photo Editor
new orleans | LA | USA | Posted: 6:10 PM on 08.31.05

->> [J----], I don't belive how much [*$@#] I'm getting from this. First of all, I hope you excuse me, but I'm completely at the end of my rope. You have no Idea how stressful this whole disaster is, espically since I have not seen my wife in 5 days, and my parents and grand parents HAVE LOST THIER HOMES. As of right now, we have almost NOTHING.

Please stop emailing me on this one.

I wrote the caption about the two people who 'found' the items. I believed in my opinion, that they did simply find them, and not 'looted' them in the definition of the word. The people were swimming in chest deep water, and there were other people in the water, both white and black. I looked for the best picture. there were a million items floating in the water - we were right near a grocery store that had 5+ feet of water in it. it had no doors. the water was moving, and the stuff was floating away. These people were not ducking into a store and busting down windows to get electronics. They picked up bread and cokes that were floating in the water. They would have floated away anyhow. I wouldn't have taken in, because I wouldn't eat anything that's been in that water. But I'm not homeless. (well, technically I am right now.)

I'm not trying to be politically correct. I'm don't care if you are white or black. I spent 4 hours on a boat in my parent's neighborhood shooting [photos of], and rescuing people, both black and white, dog and cat. I am a journalist, and a human being - and I see all as such. If you don't belive me, you can look on Getty today and see the images I shot of real looting today, and you will see white and black people, and they were DEFINATELY looting. And I put that in the caption.

Please, please don't argue symantics over this one. This is EXTREMELY serious, and I can't even begin to convey to those not here what it is like. Please, please, be more concerned on how this affects all of us (watch gas prices) and please, please help out if you can.

This is my home, I will hopefully always be here. I know that my friends in this business across the gulf south are going through the exact same thing - and I am with them, and will do whatever I can to help. But please, please don't email me any more about this caption issue.

And please, don't yell at me about spelling and grammar. Im eating my first real meal (a sandwich) right now in 3 days.

When this calms down, I will be more than willing to answer any questions, just ask.

Thank you all -
-Chris Graythen

[items in brackets edited and emphasis added by me]

These two men are real people. They have faces and feelings, just like you and me. And, just like you and me, they don't appreciate being called racist. They've lost their homes. They're on the ground in the middle of all this destruction and chaos, doing their best to rescue people and do their jobs to let the rest of us know what's going on. Meanwhile, we sit here on our high, dry horses and malign their motives, spread gossip about them and call them names. We treat them with a "guilty until proven innocent" sort of mob mentality.

Racism is a terrible sin. But so is accusing someone of wrongdoing without basis. There are a few names for this, including gossip, "bearing false witness against a neighbor," and libel or slander.

Let's stop accusing and harrassing these guys and focus on something that really deserves our attention. Deflecting anger onto most likely benign circumstances and accusing innocent people isn't going to help a thing. There are plenty of circumstances worth getting worked up about. This just isn't one of them.

Blogging forecast for the weekend; Eleventy-One Things #36

Blogging may be scattered and light this weekend, or more likely completely nonexistent.

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking, "Well, I'm extremely tired, but at least it's not Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome tired." Because CFS tired is a whole different animal, especially when combined with fibromyalgia pain and the ensuing insomnia--something I sincerely hope none of my readers ever have to experience. It's very similar to having a bone-wrenching case of influenza, only worse.

Eleventy-one things about me, #36: I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, along with some other health issues. For the last few years it's been mostly under control, with only occasional flare-ups. I'm very thankful to be healthier at this point in my life than I ever thought I'd be a few years ago. You can read part of that story here if you're interested. (Do keep in mind that the linked article was written in the context of an apologetic disagreeing with the doctrine that illnesses or other bad things always happen as a result of lack of faith or something else a person does or fails to do.)

Actually, that's a lot of the reason I can function so (relatively) well on pure adrenaline in the midst of fatigue and stress; because I've dealt with so much worse that "normal" levels of physical/mental difficulty seem mild in comparison. I've had a lot of practice in pressing through to do what I have to do no matter how I feel. My "good" level is how most people feel when they're dealing with a mild to moderate illness.

Anyway, all that to say I've reached the critical point where I absolutely have to get some serious rest or risk a major flare-up. I really hit a wall this afternoon and at this point am just hoping to salvage the situation before it turns worse. So, since we have a three-day weekend and DH is home and no longer sick, I'm going to try to rest absolutely as much as possible.

But first, I'll leave you with a couple of cute pictures I took first thing this morning:





I had a whole long post I was going to write with cute stories about the kids to go wih the photos, but I just don't have the energy. So, have a great weekend and enjoy your Labor Day. I'm going to bed.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers that I will be able to sleep and get rested, and that the pain and fatigue levels would lift and not turn into a bad flare-up. I need to be functional for my family.