A girl that's big

Great news everyone! #3 has finally learned to pump herself on the swing!

I ran inside to grab the camera and when I came out #3 was still beaming, excitedly proclaiming, "I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm a girl that's big!"

As happy as I am that she's is capable of swinging without my pushing her, her happy proclamation settled in my heart. It is so true. In many ways, she is not a little girl anymore. Every month, every week she sheds more and more of her baby ways. In August she'll start Kindergarten!

Maybe it's good timing. Our family should only have one baby at a time and come late August, #3 will have to relinquish her "baby-of-the-family" title to #4.

Yup. I said it.

Swing baby!

I'm sorry. I just had to add this one of Buster for juxtaposition. While my darling, little one was soaring high in her clean sun dress, my apparently red-neck son was shirt-less and barefoot gnawing the meat off a chicken leg.


Have I ever mentioned how Buster loves the feel of a bare chest? He would be shirt-less all day every day if I let him get away with it.

Humble Pie

There's nothing like your kids to keep you humble and grounded, right?

I mean, if I were in danger of having any self respect I'm pretty sure this conversation with #3 brought things right back to where they belong:

{I had just been absent-mindedly listening to her talking about something important like unicorns or flowers or something. Apparently I had been making "listening" sort of comments like, "ok" and "uh huh."}

#3: Why did you say uh oh?

me: I didn't say uh oh?

#3: Yes, you did. You said uh oh.

me: I did? Oh. Well, I'm not sure why I said that.

#3 gives me a patronizing laugh: Mom, sometimes you're not smart.

me: Ha ha. I guess sometimes I'm not smart.

{long pause}

#3: When I'm a mom am I going to be not smart and not cute?

That was a particularly delicious slice of humble pie.

Later that night I recounted the experience to Spouse. He said, "Oh that's nothing." And then he told me about an encounter he'd had with #2 that morning as he was packing his lunch for work. {P.S. Spouse usually takes our left overs but this particular morning there wasn't anything left from the night before.}

#2: Why are packing so many chips and all that cheese?

Spouse: I'm going to make nachos.

#2: For your lunch?

Spouse: Yep.

#2: So, dad? You must like being chubby.

So if you're worried that you're feeling a little too good about yourself just swing by our house. I'm sure my kids will find a way injure that pride.

Spring Break

Last week I had all my children home for spring break and today my house is suffering from quiet and emptiness. It was a lovely week of sleeping in, big breakfasts, play dates, picnics, no homework and no stressed out mom; it was perfect.

I love it when my children have space and time to relax and be themselves, uninfluenced by the pressures of school. They play well together, making up elaborate games and schemes. One afternoon they spent nearly three hours planning for, rehearsing, setting up and decorating for a "concert." I was lucky enough to score an invitation. It read: Your inbited to a consrt at 10:30 tonite. Fortunately, I persuaded the performers to change it to a time I would be awake.

Another afternoon I rounded up the children to head over to the park and found this in the girl's bedroom:


It was a wedding for Cheeky Cat and Pom Pom! I thought it was hilarious.

Of course we did a few things away from home too. Our annual excursion to Shamrock (dairy) Farm was one of them:


The weather gave us the star treatment for spring break. Sunshine, warm afternoons, a little wind - perfect for kite flying or bubble blowing.




Only nine more week of school and then they're all mine again! {If only our summer weather were as perfect as our spring break weather :( }

seven

Approximately 5 years ago is when I started pleading with the Lord to help me keep Buster alive. You could say he is a boy who knows how to find trouble, but the truth is I think trouble knows how to find him. I knew I was going to need a few extra-watchful angels for this boy.

I haven't been let down. Last week my Buster turned 7! With both arms and both legs in-tact! It was a day of celebration.

It began with presents and a breakfast out with Dad. He spent the morning helping Spouse with a Boy Scout service project and then he got home just in time to get ready for his birthday party.




A party it was - a bike rally! The children arrived and spent some time decorating their bikes with balloons, streamers and glittery garland. Then we rode over to a neighborhood basketball court for some relay races, obstacle courses and slow-races (have you ever tried to win a race by going the slowest, in a straight line, on a bike? It's hard!).

We were quite a festive scene biking back to the park for ice cream sundaes and presents. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the pack of bikes parked with all their balloons and decorations - it was a happy sight!

The last activity was a bicycle treasure hunt. The clues were hidden all around the neighborhood - the loop was about a mile - and then they discovered their treasure, bike horns! Sorry parents; they were so fun, even if they are obnoxiously loud.





Later Buster enjoyed his birthday cinnamon rolls and his final birthday wish: watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Many of you know Buster and know what a happy, cheerful child he is. He is affectionate and earnest and creative. His death defying events are slowing pace and I'm almost tempted to stop praying for help to keep him alive. Almost. Next year at this time if he hasn't fallen in a canal or gotten lost or driven a go cart down a mountain I think I will begin to relax.

carrots

Hello friends! Sorry for the long blogging break. I am alive and we are well. There's lots to catch up on. But for now I'm dying to tell you about our carrots.

Carrots! We have hundreds of them! They are sweet and crunchy and just perfect.

Last September I spread some manure over our garden plot and a few days later #3 dumped a couple packages of carrot seeds around. We watered fairly regularly for a couple of months and then got lazy. Friends, these carrots have not been watered since November! We did have a few days of rain in early December, so I'm sure that is what saved them.

I kept expecting to see the tops wilt and die but they just kept growing and growing.

And here they are: orange, lovely, delicious carrots.


I know there are true gardeners out there who are shrugging their shoulders thinking so what? I'm pretty new at this growing-a-garden thing and every time I eat something that grew next to my house I am totally amazed. In fact, I don't know if I'll ever stop being amazed that you can put a tiny little speck into the ground and it becomes something nourishing and delicious.





If you're interested, this is how I served up about a pound of our carrots.

Cook carrots in boiling salt water for a few minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.

In same saucepan over med heat add 1-2 Tbs butter, 1-2 Tbs brown sugar and a dash of salt, stirring until well combined. Add carrots and allow to glaze over heat for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with dill.



ps I just noticed that my photo on the sidebar has been mysteriously changed. Spouse? You sneak!

Tidings of Great Joy

Every year at Christmas I worry that my children will hear the racket of the world screaming of consumerism more than they'll hear the subtle stirrings of the spirit. I worry that they won't get it, what Christmas is really about.

But I have some reasons to hope:

1) In her yearly attempt to make sense of Santa #1 deduced, "There really is only one person who loves everyone in the world and who is really watching what we are all saying and doing. There is only one person who wants to give everyone a gift. Heavenly Father must be Santa!"

2) After I became impatient and expressed a few graceless and less than loving expressions, #2 approached me, and without a trace of self-righteousness, sincerely pleaded with me, "But mom, now is the time for good cheer and happiness and love!"

3) #3 asks to read "The Nativity Story" almost every night and is often re-enacting the narrative with toys or drawings she's made. Yesterday I asked her to do it one more time so I could capture it as she tells the story in her own words.




Merry Christmas!

We've got spirit! Yes, we do! The Christmas kind. Do you?

'Tis the season to be jolly because Baby, it's cold outside and I'm seriously dreaming of a white Christmas.

How Christmassy are you? Take my Christmas quiz to see if you are more of an Ebenezer Scrooge or a Clark Griswold.

Check your answers after each section then leave your final score in the comments. And no Googling, cheaters!


Christmas in the Movies

1. In “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” what does Lucy want for Christmas?

2. Where does “It’s a Wonderful Life,” take place?

3. What is the little boy’s name who stayed home in the movie Home Alone?

4. What was the most likely reason that the Grinch hated Christmas?

5. At the beginning of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” what book is Clarence reading?


1. real estate 2. Bedford Falls 3. Kevin 4. his heart was 2 sizes too small 5. Tom Sawyer


Christmas according to the Bible

1. After Joseph, Mary and Jesus left Bethlehem, they went to what country?

2. What is the translation of Emmanuel?

3. What is the name of the angel that appeared to Mary?

4. What was the name of the old prophetess who saw Jesus in the temple when he was presented to the Lord after his birth?

5. How many wise men come to see the Savior?


1. Egypt 2. God with us 3. Gabriel 4. Anna 5. the Bible never says a number



Christmas in Literature

1. What is Scrooge’s first name?

2. How many ghosts visit Scrooge in the course of “A Christmas Carol”?

3. In “Little Women” who says, “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents” ?

4. In “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” Gladys Herdman pushed her way to the front of the angel choir and shouted these famous words: “Hey! __ __ __ ___ ___ ___!” (6 words)

5. Complete the line from “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” “More rapid than ____ his coursers they came and he ___ and shouted and called them by name.”


1. Ebenezer 2. 4 3. Jo March 4. Unto you a child is born! 5. eagles, whistled


Historical Christmas

1. What river did General Washington cross on December 25, 1776?

2. What Christmas treat is a round or oval candy filled with fruit preserves or cream and covered with chocolate?

3. In which country was eggnog created?

4. In which country did the custom of having and decorating a Christmas tree originate?

5. A copywriter for which major department store in 1939 wrote the first poem about Rudolph, the 9th reindeer?

1. The Delware 2. sugarplums 3. England 4. Germany 5. Montgomery Ward



20-25 correct - You are a serious lover of Christmas, welcome to the club! You are in the ranks with fellow Christmas die-hards, Cindy Lou Who, Ralphie Parker and Santa Claus himself.

10-20 correct - You love Christmas too!

5-10 correct - Don't be ashamed, some of these questions were hard!

>5 correct - Yikes, you're in trouble! Don't be surprised if you get kicked out of Who-ville for your Grinchy ways.