Children

But I remember what my Uncle Ajax used to say. 'Children,' he said, 'are not strictly speaking animals at all.  They're not grown-ups, either.  More like some kind of very active bug.  A bug with a habit of making loud noises that don't mean anything.  But you can get along with them if you forget how funny they look, and if you remember to treat them as if they had a lot of sense.  That, of course,' Uncle Ajax said, 'is important in dealing with grown-ups, too.  In fact, 'he said, 'although in theory kids and grown-ups are different species, in practice there ain't enough difference between 'em to fill the hole in a doughnut.'

Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars by Walter R. Brooks

He's A Pro

It's hard to believe this is the same man who once told me he couldn't possibly

hold an infant and talk on the phone at the same time.

You've come a long way, baby!

Peachy Keen

 I'm calling it The Summer of the Peach Sorbet.

A dear friend brought us dinner after Josie was born, and being aware of all the food allergies, she was kind enough to make Matthew-safe Peach Sorbet.

For whatever reason, the kids didn't finish dinner which meant no dessert.  It only took one bite, and Doug and I knew we'd devour their share.  Such is a perk of parenthood.

I immediately called for the recipe and we've been making it ever since.

Easy Peach Sorbet

2 c. pureed peaches (fresh, frozen or canned)

1 c. + 2 T. simple syrup

1/4 c. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in the blender (I prefer to chop the peaches and freeze slightly).

Pour into ice cream maker and process for 10-20 minutes.

A Full House

Seven years ago today we purchased our first home.

We were young, had just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary, and had a newborn son.

It's pretty safe to say that we never imagined our life as it is now.

 And at the same time, we can't imagine it any other way.

But you know love grows best in little houses,

With few walls to separate,

Where you eat and sleep so close together

You can't help but communicate.

Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we would miss.

Love grows best in houses just like this.

Still, with 7 people in a 1300 sq. ft. space, it starts to feel really tight by 5:00....

and at least five of the bodies are only going to get bigger....

and have more stuff.

Do we stay or do we go?

It's Hot

Witty Stephen

Driving down the road the other day, a car passed us.

Andrew:  That was an Oldsmobile.

Stephen (noting the plastic sheeting covering the back passenger window): No, it was an old-mobile.

Andrew was digging through the candy jar yesterday and announced he was going to eat a Now & Later.

Stephen: Well, if you have it now, you can't have it later.

Josie and the Brain Squeezer

I can't believe it has come down to this.

Not only have I dressed my daughter in pink (though not in this picture),

I've used a brain squeezer.

It was a gift?

It helps denote her gender in public places?



It's just kind of cute.

The Biggest Bang for Your Buck

... or in this case, half-buck.

You just can't beat the power of a chartreuse sweet potato vine!  Aside from the eye-popping color, it requires little attention (some water now and then helps), loves the hot summers, and will grow and grow and grow (note: do not put in a small container!).  What was a 4" pot from the dead-and-dying rack at Lowe's is now a cascading wonder along our driveway wall.

Well-Stocked

A friend recently lended Andrew some reading material.

I thought it should last him quite a while.

But he's a bit of a glutton when it comes to the printed word,

and I have put the stack aside to be portioned out as necessary.

Old School

I admit it: I'm old fashioned; I prefer words in print as opposed to a computer screen, and thus,

I have a bag full of catalogs and flyers for our homeschool materials.

Unfortunately, some companies are scrapping traditional catalogs in favor of a web-site-only format;

they were cut from my buying list. 

I spent the last couple of weeks compiling my paper lists and then headed to the computer to compare deals and place my orders.  Books should be arriving soon, much to my children's delight.

Now to work on storage solutions....

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni was still asleep.  Mma Ramotswe was always the first to arise in the morning, and she enjoyed the brief private time before the others would get up and start making demands of her.  There would be breakfast to prepare, children's clothes to find, husband's clothes to find, too; there would a hundred things to do.  But that lay half an hour or so ahead; for the time being she could be alone in her garden, as the sun came up over the border to the east....  There was no finer time of day than this, she thought, when the air was cool and when, amidst the lower branches of the trees, there was still a hint, just a merest hint, of translucent white mist.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built - Alexander McCall Smith

One-on-One

Andrew and Stephen are gone for a couple of days, Jonathan is fighting another bug, and Josie still naps a lot; that means I've had a lot of time with Matthew.

He is a really funny kid: his eyes are so expressive; he gesticulates as he talks.  He is uber-confident, quite the helper and eager to use his "big muscles."

His has really come into his own in the last six months, and it has been fun (for the most part) to see his true personality coming through.  Most of all, we are thankful that he is feeling so much better this summer.

Josie at 6 Weeks

She's been full of smiles and sweet sounds the last few days.

(She's probably grateful that the hospital corrected a billing error thus saving us 75% off the original statement!)

The Mini Men

Even Nature Rejoices

Apparently my 'Fire Engine Red' crape myrtle got the memo that a female was born to our family,

and sent up a bright pink bloom in celebration!

Playdough Fun

It's just plain hot here these days.

96 and rising when Doug came home this evening.

Needless to say, our outdoor play is limited to a few hours in the morning.

With the "no wheat" excuse gone, we have been making playdough once again.

And since it occupies the kids and they can do most of the cleanup, too, it's worth the hassle.

They play while I wash dishes (our dishwasher is currently out of service - again!)

then I get to join them to sculpt hearts, cut out trucks, and roll snakes,

and gaze at these gorgeous lashes 



and delightfully chubby cheeks.  What fun!

Here's the recipe we used:

2+ cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup table salt

1 cup hot tap water

1 teaspoon cooking oil

food coloring

Combine flour and salt; slowly add water and oil.  Knead the mixture, adding more flour as necessary, until you reach the desired consistency and the stickiness disappears.  Divide into 3 or 4 balls and knead in food coloring.  Store in Ziploc bags.

Looking at the Bright Side

Even the laundry's better now that we have a daughter.

Even the laundry's better since we had you.

Okay, that's a really bad take on a song that wasn't good in the first place (I was scarred by Air Supply as a child), but still the sentiment is the same: it's fun to see some different colors in the wash these days and makes the job just a little more pleasant.

A Patriotic Celebration

"Saturday, in the park, I think it was the Fourth of July."

Well, we were in the park, but it was Sunday and only the 3rd.  Still, we had a lot of fun (especially since we were joined by 25,000 of our closest friends and relations.

I don't know what he was doing but let's pretend he's reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

This was all we could find in the way of hats for the little lady (being as it's the middle of the summer and stores are stocking their shelves for winter), but after a small alteration (do you recognize the flower, Meg?) she was presentable.

Surprisingly, Slim was the first in the fountains, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we managed to escape the notice of DCS; you can lead a boy to food but you can't make him eat.

Stephen soon followed.

Meanwhile, Doug was scarfing down the boys' star-shaped jigglers

and Matthew found my stash of goodies.

Papa showed his patriotic side while Nana passed out food to the hungry horde.

A fun time was had by all.

One Month Later

Remember Josie's first dress?

It seems she's lost a few hairs and gained some weight over the last month.

{Sigh}

 It goes by way too fast.

Another One Bites the Dust

Bugs in the summer are always worse,

probably because there's so many fun things you'd rather be doing, especially outdoors.

What started out as a possible case of pink eye with Jonathan two weeks ago has morphed into a raging-fever, achy throat, stomach churning virus that has worked it's way through the house.

Stephen was hit yesterday and though you can't tell from the picture, he's been pretty pathetic.

Hypochondriac Andrew told me this morning he didn't feel well either (but I suspected it was simply a ploy to watch a video).  Sure enough, he had a fever this afternoon and easily fell asleep amid the chaos.

I hope Doug and Josie are spared.

Josie at One Month