Two, Too

AJ: Dad, can I please read one of the library books? I'll put it back right away when I'm finished with it.

M&M: Me too!

Baby E: Me thwee.

Scattered Showers?

This was the view from our front window this afternoon:

Wordless Wednesday: Father and Son

7 Things Meme

Heather tagged me for this meme quite some time ago:

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

For me, this fits right into my series Eleventy-One Things About Me.

Eleventy-One Things 41-47:

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1. I'm highly distractable, and often forget what I'm doing in the middle of things.
   
   A couple of days ago, for instance, I ran downstairs to get something. Once I got there I couldn't remember why I'd gone down. So I did a bit of cleaning in the kitchen and went back upstairs.
   
   I started into some other project upstairs, and suddenly remembered what I had needed downstairs. So I went back downstairs to get it, only to get distracted by something else and forget again what it was I went for.
   
   I knew that if I went back upstairs I'd remember, so I went back to the room I'd been in upstairs. Sure enough, I remembered what it was as soon as my eye fell on the upstairs project.
   
   After several repetitions of this (up, down . . . up, down) I finally remembered what I was supposed to be doing long enough to actually do it.



2. Paradoxically, I also tend to hyperfocus. Partly, I think, because I'm just an intense person. It's easy for me to get so involved in a book or project that I become immersed in it for hours at a time.
   
   I can get a bit grumpy when someone breaks my concentration. That may be because it's hard to pick up my train of thought again once I've lost it (see #1).
   
   Kids kind of tend to put a crimp in habits like this, don't they?



3. Nearly 100% of my blog posts are written one-handed while nursing Baby E. I have no idea what will happen to the blog when she decides to wean herself.



4. I started crocheting again last week after hardly touching a hook for a couple of years. Now that Baby E doesn't require so much holding, I can do two-handed activities occasionally.
   
   Currently I'm working on finishing the afghan I started making for Annika over a year ago. Um, yeah. Hopefully I'll actually finish it before another year goes by.



5. At the moment I'm wearing a T-shirt with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on it. I love dogs, especially Cavaliers.
   
   We had a Cavalier when I was a teenager. He was the greatest dog. CKCS are the largest breed of toy dog, but they have the temperament of a large dog--something like a very smart, huge-hearted lab or golden retriever in the body of a small curly-eared dog. I'll write more about my dog another time, perhaps for a Monday Memory post.



6. I long to have another dog some day (and maybe a cat too), but I'm now allergic to both cats and dogs. I try not to pet them unless I'm able to wash my hands right away, but I still love working with them. I especially like training dogs.
   
   I keep wondering if maybe another Cavalier would work for me, because they're supposed to be less allergenic (they don't have as much dander, supposedly, and they have silky hair instead of typical fur coats).



7. I'm really enjoying watching my garden grow. I like being outdoors and working with plants, water and soil. For being my first attempt at growing a garden all on my own, I'm really pleased with how well the vegetables are growing so far.
   
   The plants in the two raised beds definitely seem to be growing the best, with the fewest weeds. I think I'll try to add wooden frames around more of the beds next year.

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[If you're looking at my main blog page, click here to read my answers.]

Now, I'm supposed to tag 7 people. No obligation if you don't want to do it, but I think of a tag as a nice way to direct my readers to some new blogs they might not have read before. If you blog the meme, please do include a link to the post in the comments here, so we can find it. :)

If I didn't tag you and you'd like to do it, feel free, and please also leave a comment with a link.

Scot Vet

Michelle My Belle

All About (My) Boys

Everything Free Eating

MysteryMommy

Rome-Colored Glasses

Experience Imagination

Birthday Party

M&M's birthday party turned out well yesterday. We had planned to have it at the park, but it was raining. So that morning we decided to change the location to our house. That meant some last-minute scrambling to get the house ready and bake cakes. (We had planned to just buy a cake, since we'd be at the park and wouldn't have to worry about crumbs in the house.)


There was a family gathering planned after the service at DH's parents' church, so he took the older girls to that. With some help from Morning and a lot of "stash and dash"-style picking up, we managed to get the house presentable. I made a chocolate zucchini cake and managed to come up with a recipe on the fly for the pink cake M&M really wanted.

The party was a lot of fun. We didn't end up having any structured activities; just let the kids play, had sandwiches, opened gifts, ate cake, and handed out little bags of party favors (toys from the dollar store). There were 15 kids and 13 adults, so almost 30 people if I'm counting right. All the kids seemed to have a great time, judging by the number of tears we had when it was time to leave. :) Most importantly, M&M had a great time.

She feels she's really, truly five years old now.

Good Things

M&M turned 5 yesterday. We had a nice day, including a trip to the dollar store where she got to pick out some things. More on her birthday later.

At the store Baby E got hold of something sticky and sweet, got it on her hands and licked her hands. I'm sure there had to be corn syrup in it. Amazingly enough, she had NO reaction whatsoever.

The only kind of reaction at all that she's had in the last few months was waking up uncomfortable and having trouble sleeping the night after the wedding last weekend, and being fussy for a day or two after that. Not even a rash. Other than that, she's been perfectly normal. Wow! I can't even put into words how exciting that is.

Today we had a family gathering with some of DH's family who are in town, and tomorrow is M&M's birthday party (in the afternoon after church and a family lunch).

How to delight three little girls:

Feed them crispy waffles with Cinderella's carriage on them. The waffle iron made the side with the picture on it look a bit burnt every time, but they tasted fine.

Wordless Wednesday: An (Almost) 5-Year-Old's Version of Body Piercing

Raising Dust

Yesterday SIL The Mentor came over to help me start sorting through the clutter in my house. Before she got here I fixed breakfast, fed the kids and animals, did a load of dishes, watered the garden and did several loads of laundry, sorting out some things to give away and sell and helping the kids put their clothes away.

When SIL arrived we were just finishing lunch. I'd made a smoothie out of frozen berries, orange juice, rice milk, calcium/magnesium powder and acidophilus, with a handful of fresh greens. Even with 2 or 3 turnip leaves, a leaf each of kholrabi, collard, lettuce and cabbage, and a few Swiss chard leaves blended in, the smoothie was quite sweet and delicious. I was surprised at how good it was. What an easy way to get the kids to eat raw leafy green vegetables! Most of the greens were straight from the garden--young, fresh and sweet. I think I'll try that again today.

After I got the cauliflower soup simmering for dinner (with a few collard leaves added this time), SIL and I got to work.

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First we loaded all our old rickety chairs into her van. I'd bought a set of 6 wooden chairs in good condition for $4 each at a garage sale last week, so for the first time since we got married DH and I actually own a matching set of dining chairs. It's so nice to have a set of chairs that look decent, and none of them are wobbly or falling apart. At $24 for the set, it was an affordable luxury.

SIL and I attacked the office next. We sorted things into piles to throw away, give away and sell. She filled her van with items to donate and took them to drop off for me on her way home.

It was so wonderful to have the help and moral support from SIL. We made good progress, although it will take weeks or months of hard work to get the house decluttered and organized. SIL is going to help me come up with storage solutions so that I have a place to put away all the craft supplies and other things I'm choosing to keep.

This morning I filled several more bags and put them out for the ARC pickup. We still have a long way to go, but you can actually see a fair amount of carpet in the office now. The whole room was piled high with clutter--mostly bags of clothing I'd bought years ago to sell on eBay, before Baby E was born.

The clothes I'm not donating, I'm going to take to a couple of local consignment shops. DH and I also decided that it's not worth the space to store most of the baby things. With a few exceptions, they would be easy and fairly inexpensive to replace if we had another baby.

So we donated several large items (like the exersaucer) to our church MOMS group garage sale fundraiser. I'm setting aside a few items to sell, and more to give away. We'll donate many of the necessities like car seats to a ministry that provides a home, help and support to young mothers in difficult situations who are choosing to keep their babies. It's a good cause. I'm glad to be able to help in a small way.

After SIL left last night, I fed the kids dinner and talked to a reporter from the New York Times, who had called to interview me about something I wrote months ago on my blog. That was kind of exciting.

Just as I was finishing with that, Malamute Rescue Guy arrived with his three kids. Since his wife is on a business trip, I volunteered to watch all 6 kids so the two guys could go to a meeting for the worship teams at our church.

Baby H, who is several months younger than Baby E, missed her mommy and daddy, but her 7-year-old sister A was a big help in distracting and cuddling her. Mr. M, the 3-year-old boy, did great. My kids, of course, were thrilled to have playmates.

All 6 kids played on the swingset for a while. It was so cute seeing Baby E trying to guide Baby H around the yard and coax her to go down the slide. She led Baby H by the hand to the small slide, got her to climb up, and then ran around to the bottom of the slide.

E held out her hands to Baby H, saying, "'Mon, H. Side. I tatch oo. Side; 'mon. Ooo do it. Tatch oo."

Baby H wouldn't slide, so Baby E went around to the steps, climbed up next to her, and showed her how to go down. Just then H realized afresh that her Daddy was gone and started crying, so I picked her up and tried to comfort her. She did enjoy the baby swing, though, and was happy as long as she was being pushed in that. E enjoyed helping "push" her.

After a while we came in and I let the kids help me make a special treat. They peeled zucchini, measured, sifted and stirred while we made a chocolate-zucchini cake. Made with 2 cups of zucchini, mixed with whole-wheat flour and sweetened with honey, it made a relatively healthy treat that was a big hit. While it baked, I helped the kids get their pajamas on and then we read stories.

By the time the extra kids were gone and our kids were in bed, I was completely exhausted. My allergies were acting up from all the cleaning even though I'd worn a dust mask much of the time. There were no sheets or blankets on the bed, but I ended up falling asleep next to a pile of laundry I'd been sorting and some other things piled there to put away, fully clothed, with my cell phone and keys still in the pockets of my jeans.

Unfortunately, sleeping on just the dust mite cover over the mattress wasn't helpful. By the time I woke up this morning my allergies were even more in full bloom and the fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue symptoms were flaring up on top of the congestion, coughing, itching, watery eyes and runny nose. A dose of Zyrtec is at least helping me to be functional. I think I'll vaccuuum the mattress cover before putting on fresh bedding. Hopefully that will help.

Baby E is napping early today, so I think I'll have the older kids take quiet time early so I can shower and nap (or at least rest a bit) too. Then we'll take a load of things to the consignment store.

I'm really excited to be getting so much of this junk out of our house. It will make our home so much more pleasant and usable, and I hope it will help with the allergies too.

Kids and Allergies

This is a touching You-Tube video where kids talk about what it's like to have food allergies.

Busy Weekend

We had a very busy weekend. The two older girls were in a wedding yesterday (rehearsal was Friday). We got to spend a lot of time with DH's family during and after the festivities.

Today we went to church, of course, and this evening we all went to the park with my parents and sisters. We played tag, hiding behind trees and bushes around the playground. Everyone joined in, even Grandma and Grandpa (my parents). I wish I'd remembered to bring the camera.

I do have a few more pictures from the wedding, which I'll post later.

Clover Chain Necklace

Morning brought her dog, Kelly, over to visit today. AJ had such a good time with the dog. She seems to have inherited her mama's love of and skill with animals.

Get Well

AJ made this card for me last time I was sick. I think it actually looks a lot like me. Unfortunately, something got spilled on it. Oh, well. It's still a keepsake.

Two Couples

I was photographing these two seagulls, then realized there was also a human couple walking nearby. Can you see them? I can see them on the laptop, but not on this computer.

I have determined that there's actually something wrong with this monitor. It's far too dark no matter how I adjust it--even after resetting and degaussing (which did help slightly, but not much). Thankfully, DH is going to switch with me since he doesn't do things like photo editing on his computer. I've tested his monitor, and it can be adjusted to display images properly with the tools Kevin suggested.

Wordless Wednesday: Sun in the Sand

(Click photo to enlarge)

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Truck Stop

I think the focus and contrast is pretty good on this one. What do you think?

Not a Baby

As we look through photos from our trip, the girls enjoy pointing out each person and saying their names.

Baby E can identify everyone readily: "Bapaw, Memaw, Daddy, Mommy, AJ, M&M . . . "

But when she comes to herself, she insists it's a "Baby." We ask her who the baby is and she just repeats "Baby."

When we tell her "That baby is E!" she shakes her head adamantly.

"E?" she says in disbelief. Then she laughs as though we're trying to pull a fast one on her. "No! Not E. Baby! E, no. Dat baby."

Because, E, of course, is NOT a baby. Obviously, that baby in the picture cannot possibly be E.

I wonder who that baby is?

Puddle Jumping

I didn't adjust the contrast on these . . .

Sun and Star

Sunset Threads:


I'm having trouble figuring out what these photos really look like, because everything looks dark on my computer screen no matter how I adjust the settings. I realized recently that adjusting photos so they look right on my screen makes them look washed-out on other people's computers.

Sunset Rocks with the original exposure:



Sunset Rocks adjusted to look right on my screen:


Starfish Swim 1:


Starfish Swim 2:



Do these look dark or pale to you? Which version looks better on your screen? (Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

Japanese Maple

I've been having a lot of fun with my camera lately. I began experimenting with taking more photos of subjects besides people while we were at the coast, and even tried capturing some more abstract "artsy" type pictures of patterns in the sand and surf. I'm also just trying to learn how to get better detail, color and composition in photos--starting with landscapes, objects and plants.

The more photos I take, the more I realize that I have a lot to learn. And that I really love taking pictures. Someday I'd like to take a photography class. Honestly, though, my short-term goal is to read the manual that came with my camera.

I'll be posting some of my experiments on the blog. Feel free to post comments, suggestions or even constructive criticism.



We planted two Japanese Maple trees when we built our house nearly 6 years ago. One died, but this one thrived. It nearly fills the entire flowerbed near the front porch now.

Sunday Service . . . Service Sunday

We've been studying the early church in Acts at our community church recently. It's led to some interesting applications as we try to be more like the early church in unity and purpose.

Today, in lieu of a normal church service, we had "service Sunday". After a few songs and a very brief message about how Jesus taught that he who wishes to be great in the kingdom of Heaven must be servant of all, they put us all to work actually serving others. (The plan had been announced ahead of time, so we all came prepared to work.)

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Various groups went out into the community--both to church family members and to the neighborhoods surrounding the church--to serve. Some of the tasks included helping at shelters, nursing homes, and other ministries; delivering needed items that had been donated or purchased with money from the special offering last week; doing house and yard work for people in the community; cleaning up a local park; and picking up trash along the roadside.

DH, the kids and I joined one of the groups picking up trash. The kids worked hard and enjoyed themselves; especially since they got to wear gloves--very exciting. I commented to one of the other adults that it's fun to do a project like that with children, because they actually get excited about the things they find. With small children, it's not just picking up trash--it's a veritable treasure hunt.

"A bottle! Look! Wow!"

"What's this? It's weally neat looking. It's sort of like a wire or something. Is it a wire? I think it's a wire."

"Ooh, a Coca-Cola can! Why did somebody throw a Coca-Cola can out here? That wasn't very nice of them, was it?"

I think a task like that is really good for the kids (and adults, too) on more than one level. We had opportunities to talk about all sorts of topics from serving and others, to helping keep the world clean and beautiful, to why it's important to pick up after ourselves and not leave trash behind.

It was fun to get to work with some others from church that we hadn't spent much time with before, too. One of the ladies that was on our team is even another blogger.

The photos above were taken after the trash pick-up was over, while everyone was standing around eating snacks. I had fully intended to take photos during the project, but I ended up having my hands full with picking up trash and trying to keep Baby E out of the street. :)

Knock-Knock

We got home safely yesterday, and now we're recuperating and trying to catch up on laundry.

Just now we were sitting around the table eating dinner, and the girls were telling knock-knock jokes. AJ and M&M were telling jokes they'd read (a favorite is "orange you glad I didn't say banana?"). I told the "Amos . . . a mosquito just bit me" joke.

Then Baby E decided to start making up her own knock-knock jokes.

"Ock-ock," she said.
"Who's there?" we all replied.
"Amos"
"Amos who?"
"Amos bug!"

She kept going:

"Ock-ock"
"Who's there?"
"Duce"
"Juice who?"
(Pointing to her cup:) "Dis duce!"

"Ock-ock"
"Who's there?"
"Mommy"
"Mommy who?"
"Mommy duck!"

Of course, the other girls thought all of these were absolutely hilarious. DH and I were just amazed that a not-quite-two-year-old was actually making up knock-knock jokes. Her sense of humor is really emerging lately. She's starting to make a lot of jokes, along with playfully switching around phrases. One of her current favorites is to wheedlingly say, "Pease, pitty pitty?" (Please, pretty pretty?) That's rather hard to resist, and she knows it full well.

Then AJ and M&M followed suit with the knock-knock jokes.

M&M: "Knock-knock"
"Who's there?"
"Blanket"
"Blanket who?"
"Blanket blanket."

AJ: "Knock-knock"
"Who's there?"
"Marriage"
"Marriage who?"
"Marriage of Mommy and Daddy! (I was just looking over there at that picture of their wedding."

DH piped in: "Knock-knock"
"Who's there?"
"Airy"
"Airy who?"
"Are you done with dinner?"

"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Tim"
"Tim who?"
"Time to get ready for bed."

Beach Photos

(Click photos to enlarge)



I think today has been one of the best yet at the coast. The tide was way out in the late morning, and we played in the little pools at the beach for a long time. The girls even found a little friend to play with.



Too bad it has to end all too soon. We're having a wonderful day today.

Vacationing with Kids

It's interesting how young children's idea of a vacation is so different from DH's and mine. We adults like to picture relaxing, resting, sleeping in, walking on the beach, that sort of thing--with some activities and exploring mixed in too, of course.

The kids, however, think that relaxing and resting are complete wastes of perfectly good time at the beach--not to mention sleeping!

They wake up early and are ready to go long before DH and I want to pry our eyes open. They'd be in the pool or surf most of the day every day if it was up to them. Of course, at ages 6, almost 5 and nearly 2, such activities require much intense supervision and interaction from Mommy and Daddy.

We're having a wonderful time, staying busy and taking lots of pictures. I think we'll come home rested in some ways and tired in others.

Resting

Well, the water buffalo yogurt was not exactly a success. Baby E would have nothing to do with it after one taste. I liked it, but ended up being up all night feeling sick and in pain after eating a small amount. Oh, well. At least the older girls can eat it.

We relaxed a lot today; I lazed around and read when I wasn't taking care of meals or kids. It was nice to be able to just rest, as I still wasn't feeling so well.

DH took the older girls swimming while Baby E and I napped. Tomorrow we have a fun day planned, including taking ourselves on a tour of the town. We walked around a bit tonight, but almost everything shuts down quite early here. Some businesses close as early as 4PM.

Right now Baby E is standing on a chair here in the rec room, singing to and caressing the "baby dolls" on the foosball table.

Seaside Posting

I'm sitting here watching the rolling surf turn tawny-colored as I type. There's nothing quite like watching the sun set over the sea.

Yes, we're at the coast. It's been a wonderfully relaxing, fabulous weekend. We can see and hear the ocean from our room, and it's just a few steps down to the sandy beach.

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We've been playing and playing in the sand, waves and pool here. There's nothing we have to do and nowhere we have to go. We're just relaxing. We have a house/pet/garden sitter taking care of things at home. This is the most carefree and relaxed I've felt in a long time.

We have a kitchenette in the room, so it's been easy to just cook our own meals. There's an organic and natural foods store in a nearby town. Mom and I went to check it out last night, and we found quite a few foods that are safe for Baby E. We even found water buffalo yogurt, which I tried today and seemed to be able to tolerate just fine.

My parents were here with us yesterday and this morning. It was so wonderful to just hang out with them. Baby E has been asking for "Bapaw" and "Mamaw" often since they left. DH and Grandpa jumped waves and played in the sand with the girls. Baby E and I ran in circles around Grandma, running in and out of the surf.

Baby E kept running from Bapaw to Mamaw and back, running joyfully with her arms open wide for a full-speed hug. AJ loves the water, no matter how cold it is. She and Grandpa were the last to leave the beach, lingering after everyone else had gotten cold and come in. M&M laughed and joked, chuckling at her shorts getting so waterlogged they kept trying to fall off.

This evening, AJ finally mastered tying her shoes all by herself. What an exciting accomplishment for a 6-year-old. We celebrated with a piece of Kosher for Passover candy after dinner--a special treat I'd been saving for a special occasion.

As the girls laughed and joked around at dinner, I noticed that Baby E was hanging way over the arm of her chair to touch M&M.

I said, "E, be careful. Don't fall." She said, "I know, Mommy."

When did she become such a big girl?

There's a small kitchen in the room. Cooking hasn't been bad at all. I'm actually finding it more peaceful and relaxing to cook than having to decide on a restaurant and drive out to find it for every meal. So far everything I've cooked has been pretty uncomplicated.

Yesterday I baked sourdough cookies. I've been working on developing a gelatin-free version sweetened with honey, and will probably post that soon. For dinner I made a simple meat sauce with ground beef, water and spices, which we ate over boiled diced potatoes with a lettuce salad. Tonight we had our favorite Meaty Spaghetti Squash for lunch and leftovers for dinner. Sometime tomorrow we'll make strawberry shortcake with fresh organic strawberries and whole wheat sourdough. Tonight or tomorrow I'll cook up a batch of cauliflower soup.

It's so nice to have an arsenal of recipes now that are simple and delicious, and fit our dietary restrictions.

Right now DH is sitting with the kids as they fall asleep, giving me a few minutes to use the computer. Tomorrow we have nothing planned, but at some point I'm sure we'll play on the beach.

Sometimes I wish I could freeze time.

School's Out

Our summer vacation starts today! Hooray, hooray!