Merry Christmas!

Quote of the day

Reagan wants a "pony-tail ride."

And because I can't help myself...The Stunks...

Molly--I don't think this is Halloween. I can't find my Halloween '06 pics...
Liam--2003


Killian 2000

Halloween 2009

Reagan's tail!
"I a STUNK!"
The princess, the quarterback, and the pirate!
The whole crew--Can you believe it? Reagan, 2 3/4 , Molly, 3 weeks shy of 6, Liam, 8 and 4 months ( his birthday's on the 1st, and I remember him sitting up for the first time on the day after Halloween, just a specific thing that sticks in my mind; my memory's not that good, really. Sadly, I couldn't be so accurate with any of the others about when they first sat up!), and Killian, 11 and nearly 1/2! I made the skunk costume for Killian when he was 2 1/2. All of the kids have worn it now.

Reagan's Song

"Molly, you're my stister. Molly, you're my friend. I Reagan and you're Molly..."

She also tells us a lot lately that she loves things..."Mom, I love niminims (that would be M&M's)."

Today's quotes.

Reagan, after she climbed up a wire shelf and pulled one drawer on top of herself. "I'm OK. I was being an action hero (Hi-5 song). "Action hero, huh?" "I was being climbing girl."

Molly: "That's a codinciance (coincidence)."

Kids

Today is picture day for Liam. I picked out two outfits for him, and he deemed them both not dressy enough. When I put jeans on him, he questioned that too. I explained that his jeans wouldn't really show in the picture, and asked him if he wanted to wear dress pants. "Um, no."

Reagan is talking up a storm these days. It is funny, because it's like she's telling us all about herself (and us) now that she is finally able to articulate it all. "Mom, I like smoothies. Do you like smoothies?" "Mom, you have allgies to cats. You like dogs. I like dogs." "That loud noise made me sick."

Stuff I find in my house...

Molly hung this next to the back door. Yes, it is a light saber and a banana. You never know when you might have to run out to defend the universe at a moment's notice...and you might need a snack.

Fall Film Festival/Fall Read-Alouds

It's getting close! Fall is nearly here! Good grief, September is half over! So...time to determine our movie choices so we can request them at the library! I'm also trying to come up with a couple of good "fall-ish" reads for the end of September and October for reading aloud as a family, or listening to on tape. I'm looking at The Witch Family and thinking about the first Harry Potter book. Then, I hope to find a couple of books that might connect with Thanksgiving for November. Suggestions are highly appreciated, because at the moment, I'm drawing blanks.

So, after talking to Ben's mom and Breanne about Coraline, I've decided to skip that one this year. Their reviews pretty much solidified some of my thoughts on what I had seen of the movie (previews). I don't think it's for us right now.

And the nominees are:
Wallace and Gromit A Matter of Loaf and Death( A NEW Wallace and Gromit!!!)
Wallace and Gromit The Curse of the WereRabbit
Shaun the Sheep Little Sheep of Horrors
Earnest Scared Stupid (OK, this may be a huge mistake).
Monsters, Inc. (we haven't watched this one in awhile)
Young Frankenstein
Disney's Witches
Disney's Mickey's House of Villains
Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (this includes Legend of Sleepy Hallow)
Wizard of Oz
Clifford Halloween
Little Monsters
The Mummy (1932)
Dracula (1931)
Frankenweenie
Harry Potter (1&2)
Escape to Witch Mountain (We watched the new Race to Witch Mountain and thought maybe we'd give this one a try. I don't much remember it from the first time I saw it).

Poop (a comment to Sarah)

I was catching up on Sarah's blog just now, and was reminded of this little gem:

My kids are all about the poop. One day they were posing the classic question, "What if your butt was your face?" And Molly pipes up, "One nostril for pee and one nostril for poop!" There are mixed feelings that come with having your five year old daughter say something like that, you know? On the one hand, it's pretty funny. On the other hand, ugh.

And, because everyone needs a little more food coloring in their diet...

I saw someone do this online, and I had to give it a try. It seemed like the perfect surprise for the kids to celebrate the start of school. I was actually going to do it as a round layer cake, but the bundt cake turned out soo much cooler.

First, white cake mix. Frosting colors--the paste works great because it makes everything nice and bright. Divide cake mix into 6 portions--#1 1 cup, the rest 3/4 cup. Add coloring following ROY G. BIV. Pour red (1 cup) in the bottom of the pan, then orange, then yellow, etc.

When you frost it and cut it open, it looks like this:

But, this might be my favorite part:

Mercury in Retrograde.

Yeah. Every time we have a weird string of events here, it seems I find out Mercury is in retrograde.

-Mac Crashed (this was actually prior to retrograde, but we just got it back today)

-my phone fell off my bedside table and a hinge broke on one side

-I set my glasses on the kitchen counter because I had just fogged them up pulling something out of the dishwasher, and Reagan picked them up and snapped off the arm.

Past retrograde events have been more impressive, but anyway...

First Day of School

On Tuesday, Killian started sixth grade, Liam, third, and Molly, Kindergarten. I have mixed feelings about school starting. I like having my kids home.

Ben drove Killian to school. The bus arrives at the stop, which happens to be right in front of our house, at 6:50 am. Painful. School doesn't actually start until 7:40, so a ride to school allows a little more time for us in the mornings.

He had a headache when he got home. Apparently, most of the day was spent reviewing the middle school's rules. He was a bit concerned to hear that being late for gym too many times could result in detention. Molly overheard him, and when Grammy asked her on the phone how Killian's day went, she told Grammy, "I think he got detention."

Liam started third grade. This year, there are a couple of girls from the neighborhood in his class. I actually just talked with his teacher on the phone, and she seems very nice. And, apparently, Liam looks just like her nephew. She told me Liam seems to be having a great time.

He, however, didn't share a whole lot of info about his day (which seems to be the way it is with my boys). What was your favorite thing about your day? "I dunno." What was your least favorite thing? "I dunno." It was the first day of school. We don't really do anything the first day of school. So you can't have a favorite thing about your day?

And, Miss Molly. Molly was counting the days to school. She asked me to write up a countdown calendar for her, so she could cross the days off.

She came home telling me every detail about her day. She made a few new friends. And a bully. Her exact words were, "Mom, I have a bully!" Apparently, a girl was not speaking very nicely to them on the playground, but the playground teacher "took care of her." Molly is concerned that she might continue to be a bully. Sadly, she came down with a cold Tuesday night, and was sounding worse this morning and so she had to miss her second day of kindergarten. She was very unhappy about that. This is definitely a change for us.

And, I'm really glad to say Reagan won't be going anywhere for a little while longer.

Another babe!

Promptly on her due date! Bailey Meadow Dill, 7 lbs. 7 oz. , 21 inches.

Welcome to the world, Bailey!

Congratulations, Jeremy and Marlene!

We have a new baby!

Well, no not "us," per se, but my youngest sister and her hubby had a little boy around 10:00pm on Thursday night after a crazy 44 hours of labor. No drugs. I think they are home now. He is 8lbs. 12 oz. When I talked to Jen, they hadn't measured him yet.

His name is Willis Henry Brown. I am thinking he is the 6th Willis in the Brown family? They will call him Henry. He will be welcomed home by big sister (all of 20 months!) Nora (short for Honora), doggy Hobbes, and kitty Hank. I guess we'll be brainstorming "H" names for their next 8 kids. ;)

We are so anxious to meet the little guy! And, we've got more lined up! Marlene and Jeremy are expecting this week, four of my cousins are expecting babies in the coming months, and Molly and Craig announced they are expecting a new baby in April! Gotta love big families!

Fall Cleaning

The fall cleaning has commenced. I don't know if I've talked about it here or not, but I like to follow The Holiday Grand Plan and Organized Christmas, both found here.
This week is light, Planning Week, but the Holiday Grand Plan calls for cleaning the entryway. As this is not an area that is too difficult, only a few things in the entryway which belong other places, a bit of mail to be sorted, and, well, dirt. So, I started that today, not spending too much time, but doing some dusting, glass-cleaning, and wall washing. I will have to go in again to wash floors and crayon off the walls.

I am now quite certain that there must be some kind of formulaic equation that factors in the ages and number of children to determine the amount of mess made in a given amount of time. I am also sure that, somehow, the ratio of filth per child exponentially increases with each additional child. Nearly positive of it.

Just maybe, once school is underway, I can make some headway.

Waiting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhrCCpGQYyc

For Jenny and Willis
~and~
For Jeremy and Marlene

:)

Beach '09

d

I decided on Monday to go down to St. Joe and head for the beach with the kids. We needed to get out, summer is waning, and we haven't been to the beach this year. Now that we're back, I'm sad because the school year is ever-more eminent. Today, Killian and Ben went to the middle school and Killian chose from a number of instruments a trombone.

:)

Planning for Fall....

For some reason, sometime in late July, I start thinking about fall and Christmas. Some of this is necessary, as a teacher who has frequently taken the summer off of teaching (if only part time), once school starts in the fall, it seems the next thing I know, it's Halloween, and once Halloween hits, the next thing we know, it's Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. It also helps to be thinking ahead when on a tight budget. And, lastly, pardon my psychotic co-dependency ;), I suppose it helps me to take my mind off of the inevitable beginning of the school year, at which time, my kids will head off to school to spend the better part of their waking hours with someone other than me.
.
Anyway, with that in mind, I have been gathering ideas for activities for the fall and early winter months. Last year, we had a Fall Film Festival. After some research, the selections were narrowed. Then, of course, due to availability and interest, we narrowed it even further. I never did post about how it went, so I guess I'm giving you an update now...

Our final list included:
Witches
Nightmare Before Christmas
Corpse Bride
ET
The Curse of the Were Rabbit(Wallace and Grommet)
Monsters, Inc.
Harry Potter (the first one)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Escape to Witch Mountain
Ghost Dad
Ghostbusters (1)

We watched (or planned to watch):

Nightmare Before Christmas
Corpse Bride
ET
The Curse of the Were Rabbit(Wallace and Grommet)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Ghost Dad
The Worst Witch

Reviews:
Nightmare Before Christmas
Corpse Bride --these are both great fun, and we especially like watching the "how it's made" section of Corpse Bride. These tend to leave Killian a bit edgy. Nightmare Before Christmas is pretty reliably broadcast on cable on Halloween. Will have to consult with everyone to see if we want to include these in our October viewing this year, or may skip these in lieu of Coraline, which we have not yet seen.

ET--of course, awesome, and the kids liked it, but it may be a bit too intense to really be enjoyable two years in a row. I had forgotten how truly heart-wrenching it is in places...Or, maybe it's just me....

The Curse of the WereRabbit --Good. Probably worth keeping in the line up again this year.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! --Ben is not a Charlie Brown fan. The kids watched this one and seemed to enjoy it. And, I just think it's something you're supposed to watch. I'm right, right?

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken--This caught no one's attention, and everyone wandered outside on a particularly nice evening instead. No arguing against that.

Ghost Dad--I've never seen this one, and Ben groaned when I said I had picked it up from the library, so we never got around to watching it.

The Worst Witch--Hmmm. Not quite sure what to make of this one, but the musical number by Tim Curry in the middle alone is good for a laugh. Might have to watch it again just for that.


I will list potential nominees for this year's festival soon. Please feel free to share your own suggestions and reviews!

Yellow Jackets

Molly calls Yellow Jackets "Yellow Jacks."

I think it's cute. It's also funny to hear Liam say, "-et," every time she says, "There's a Yellow Jack!" She hasn't really caught on to what he means by that yet. Maybe she just thinks he has some sort of tick.

Estate Sale

So, today I stopped at an estate sale on the opposite side of our block. I have been avoiding garage sales and estate sales as a rule, but I went anyway. Apparently, the owner of the house was in Poland. I didn't catch what she was doing there, but someone mentioned that she was selling it all and moving on. We found a few little things--some small Ikea jars for 50 cents a piece and an edger (manual, not electric or anything). On our way out, Molly spotted a matress. It was a good one from a pet-free home and included a bed. I really didn't want the bed, but the guy was not willing to split them up. He wanted $50 for them and didn't want to bargin because it was the first day of the sale, but I asked more than once and he agreed to $40.

I landed a nice, sturdy twin frame and boxspring for free last week, and so tonight we set up Molly's bed! Now, I'm hoping actually having the bed in there will help us to figure out what really works as far as getting the room organized, and hopefully, one, Molly will decide to sleep there, and two, she'll be more motivated to pick up her stuff. I can dream, can't I? Now we just need a nice dresser.

Also, on Monday, I pulled out my old Franklin Planner and found a website that had free pages. I printed some off and also printed off a Motivated Mom's calendar sized for my planner. This is a general housekeeping plan that has daily jobs listed. I need something to get me on track, and while I am perfectly capapble of making up my own calender, I don't want to have to put any thought into it. So...I figured out I had a hole punching problem, as the Franklin Planner has 7 rings. I couldn't locate my hole punch (1 hole). I have a 3-hole punch, but that wasn't going to work either. I called Ben to see if someone at work might happen to have a punch for the Franklin Planners, but, no luck. So, I was just keeping all those loose papers in the planner. And, today, at the estate sale, what should happen to be sitting waiting for me but a Franklin Planner hole punch?!!!

I think someone is watching over us.

Pickling Lime and Canning Jars

See my post at Remaking Suburbia. Read it while it's hot, because I may yet delete it...

Poor Jeremy and Marlene...

I don't know that Jeremy and/or Marlene read here, and I am on my other computer, so I cannot add their email addys to the list, so, just so you know I'm not trying to type behind their backs or anything...

Last Sunday, when we were visiting Jeremy and Marlene, the kids were playing downstairs. Reagan came upstairs with an address stamp caught on her finger. She had a few stamps on her hands and one on her neck. Apparently, Molly had stamped Reagan's hands, but we were pretty sure than Reagan had done her neck. Ben tried to wash it off of her, but it stayed on. No biggie.

Later, Jeremy took the kids outside to play cornhole and otherwise play with the kids. They decided to go for a walk, and Jeremy told Molly and Reagan to go get their shoes. Molly came back out, but, apparently, Reagan did not. Jeremy said they were in the garage for close to ten minutes after Molly came back out before they walked up the street alongside their development.

Flash to Marlene, Ben's Mom, and me, chatting away in the kitchen upstairs. Reagan had been on my lap and left, I presumed to play with the rest of the kids. Killian decided that he wanted to go out with Ben (who had been in the shower) too, and they were looking all over the place for his shoes.

We hear someone from the driveway yelling up to the kitchen, "Hello?" A couple was standing in the driveway, holding Reagan crying and barefoot. I ran down to get her, but couldn't get the door open, Mar came down and helped me get it open. I basically went out, took Reagan, and rushed her inside. The couple talked to Marlene and Ben's Mom, telling them they had found her down the drive (behind Jeremy and Mar's condo), standing next to the electrical box down there. Ben said he thought it was about five condos/townhouses down. The couple said they found her there, crying, and figured out she was from here by the stamp on her hand! They asked her if she lived here, and she said, "No," and, of course, she was right. :) Reagan was crying and said something about Uncle Jacob that I didn't get.

It occured to me that Reagan may have taken Killian's shoes, so Reagan came out with me to find his shoes. They were on the sidewalk along the side of the townhouse, just sitting there in the middle of the sidewalk. My guess then was that she had put on Killian's shoes after looking for and not finding her own (or maybe even finding them and trying to put them on). She followed Jeremy and the kids around the side of the townhouse and figured out that she wasn't going to catch up to them. She turned around, leaving the shoes, but when she got back to the garage she couldn't figure out where to go and kept going--all of the townhouses look the same.

So, why am I reliving this story? Jeremy and Marlene were beside themselves. I, however, having been spared the whole fear of her missing, I guess, LOL, understand completely how it could happen, and really don't blame Jeremy by any means. In fact, I was negligent in the fact that Reagan left me, and I just presumed that she was being watched. We very shortly thereafter packed up our kids and left, and I hope that it didn't appear to Jeremy and Marlene that we were doing it because we were upset or angry about the events that occurred just prior to us leaving, because it really had nothing to do with our departure. It was just a crappy end to a lovely visit for all of us.

I think when Reagan was talking about Uncle Jacob, I think she actually was talking about Jeremy, and the thing that may have upset her the most about the whole thing was that he left her behind. I don't know if that will make him feel any better...What floored me, and nearly makes me cry every time I think about it still, is the fact that that address stamp is what got her back to us quickly. How's that for an indication that everything happens for a reason???

Oh, Jeremy and Marlene, what an adventure you are about to begin! My dear brother and his precious wife are expecting their first baby in less than a month.

So much undocumented...

Ah, the summer is getting away from me, and so often, I haven't managed to get on here and tell you about some wonderful times spent with family, the everyday mundane, and whatever else might be going on.

Thankfully, Jenny received good news from her doctor regarding the lump that was removed from her armpit last week. All is well.

Prompted partly by Jenny's medical goings on, I requested a consult from the PA who removed my mole a few weeks ago. I am scheduled for a general physical with the doctor at this office, but it is not for some time, so I figured it best to move on with a couple of things I know are problems for which I would likely be referred anyway. One, a surgical consult for the lipoma on my chest. It's been there for a long time--since just after Molly was born, I think. It had nearly disappeared when I was eating an extremely low fat vegan diet just before I was pregnant with Reagan, but came back bigger than ever when I dropped the diet. Someone (you know, with medical credentials) looked at it when Molly was little and declared it a lipoma and told me I could easily have it removed, or, if it didn't bother me, I could leave it.

The surgeon I saw yesterday said the same, but also mentioned that I have a herniated belly button. At the time, he asked me if I ever had any pain there, and I said no, but since then, I have remembered a few times when I couldn't figure out why my stomach hurt right around my belly button--like I though that my belt buckle had been pressing there, but there was no mark.

So, I have surgery scheduled for both at the same time in September.

Next week, I go to the allergist. I've known for years that I needed to return to an allergist and be retested (the last time was 1992). It would seem that my allergies are spiralling out of control and every time we visit somewhere else, it seems I'm dealing with a massive allergy attack. I stopped eating peanuts about 7 years ago, when, after eating a number of peanut butter cookies, my toungue swelled up. I stopped eating cashews about two years ago, when I noticed I became flushed whenever I ate them. And, a couple of weeks ago, I went to bed after eating things I have eaten many times before (not neccessarily those particular brands, but I checked ingredient labels, and nothing unusual sticks out). My stomach hurt, then I threw up, broke out in hives on the backs of my arms and hip, and had trouble breathing. I took some children's Benedryl and was eventually able to breathe normally again. Sooo, yeah. I'm a little nervous about what's going on, and I hope I get some defininative answers with allergy tests.

In the meantime, today while I was fixing lunch, Reagan walked outside for about two minutes and walked back in proudly carrying a baseball sized watermelon. We had been coveting the thing, checking its (amazing!) growth daily. It is the only one of its size, and we are afraid that the others won't make it to ripe before the weather cools, but there are a few tiny ones that might. *SIGH*

Haven't posted in forever....

Just need to note a few things so I don't forget, but don't have time for more...
Should it bother me that Molly pronounces Chucky Cheese's like Chucky Cheesus (rhymes with Jesus?).

Collected a list of new Halloween movies for this Fall's Halloween flix festival. Will have to review last year's movies too when we get closer.

Very excited already about the Disney Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey in 3-D. Maybe a great Thanksgiving weekend thing???!!!

Yeah, I know I'm pathetic already thinking about Fall and even Christmas. I have a hard time with that. I am very much enjoying the summer, and working extra hard at it, as it feels like it is ending fast. Our garden is thriving. We are going to put in a couple of new beds for cool season crops yet. I will hopefully update more on that on my Remaking Suburbia blog, but I haven't posted there in a long time either.

Just so you know, just 'cause I haven't posted doesn't mean we haven't been busy! (Quite the contrary!).

Holey Moley

I went in on Wednesday to have a couple of moles checked on my arm. The P.A. told me that they were likely nothing but age spots and at this point there's no reason to biopsy them. He burned them off with liquid nitrogen and will check them again in about 2 weeks. If they don't respond normally or come back, then they will biopsy them.

*******

My neighbor Michelle and I hung out sans kids last night. I did a lot of downloading. I have to say it is both amazing and wonderful to have such a good friend right across the street.

*******
Before Molly goes to bed each night, she has to talk about the cats. Well, she pretty much feels a need to talk about the cats all the time, and her current non-stop project is a huge train of boxes linked together with pipecleaners for the cats. But, by far, the best part of the conversation was when she said, "...and then Grandfather and my REAL Grandfather said...."And "Grandfather and, um, the other grandfather...."

Independence Day!

We had a wonderful weekend visiting with some family members we haven't seen in a long time. Sadly, there is never enough time to get to visit with everyone, and it seems conversations are always interrupted or cut short. We missed a few folks too who were unable to make it to the celebrations.

Sadly, we are now all worn out and under the weather. I hope to share more about the last few weeks of fun we've had once we recover from them!

Action Alert! Contact your senator now!

Tell them to vote NO on the climate change bill. This bill places immense taxes on energy use. How about we make it possible to switch to alternative energy sources before we make the regular ones inaccessible???? This bill was 900 pages long and just had an additional 300 pages added, was passed in the House and is now headed to the Senate. How fast do you suppose folks can read 1200 pages??????

Our New Favorite Song

Laura and Joel did an awesome choreographed dance to "Lucky" by Jason Mraz for their first dance.

When we came home, our daisies had started blooming, and Molly asked to pick one for her dad. She carried it around for awhile, then I heard her singing as she stuck the flower behind her ear. She didn't have the words down, but I made out enough of it to know she was singing, "Lucky."

I told Ben about it, and he had actually already downloaded the song to his I-phone. He played it for the girls that night (about 3 times). They listen and sing along, and Molly makes Ben do the boy part while she does the girl. Yesterday, the whole routine included another daisy for Ben to put behind her ear. She's working very hard on memorizing all the words. While Ben sang with Molly, Reagan called behind her, "I ToO! I ToO!"

It brings tears to my eyes.

Sizzling...

Ben just sent me this. We paid an A/C guy $63 dollars today to tell us that our A/C was doing the best that it could. Thankfully, I think it's supposed to drop back into the 80s (respite!) tomorrow. Yes, we're using the A/C. It's groaning and cranking to keep us at 76 degrees. We're finding that if we spend any time at all outside, it feels lovely inside. ;0)

Wow.

I have a lot to update here. We spent an awesome week in St. Joe with the whole crew, finishing the week with a flourish with Joel and Laura's beautiful wedding! Unfortunately, Saturday night, I came down with a whopper of something--I was hoping it was allergy-related, but was running a fever all last night, so I'm afraid it was indeed something communicable. I slept all the way home, then crawled into bed and didn't pull myself out until 6:00 pm to make some dinner for everyone, then crawled back into bed. I barely wished poor Ben a happy father's day, and I didn't call my dad at all. I don't know if the kids even realized it was father's day. Pretty sad. Sadly, even after sleeping most of the day yesterday, I still feel awful...

There's more on my new blog and Reagan...

Remaking Suburbia


Reagan is becoming ever-more vocal. She says whole sentences now--"Let me down." "Let me out." "I want to go inside and nurse." (!) "I want an egg-y." "I want a bagel." "I'm jumping on the bed!" When she calls my name, I often assume it's one of the other kids until I turn around and see her little face!

First Post!

I've made my cardinal post to my urban homestead blog. There is much more to come, but I couldn't just let it sit there blank....

www.remakingsuburbia.blogspot.com

Radishes

We've harvested the first of our garden bounty! And I didn't take a pic! We have harvested about 3 lbs worth of radishes from our raised bed in the last week or so. The biggest bunch was picked last night, mostly by Liam and Molly, who have no interest in eating them, but they love to pick them, and Molly even rinsed them in the wheelbarrow and removed the greens.

And, I get to enjoy them all myself since no one else cares for them....

This planting will all be harvested this weekend, I imagine, though we have a couple of smaller plantings started and more seeds. I've been planting them with carrots since they germinate and grow a lot faster than carrots, and it helps to have the kids see something actually growing in a patch of dirt so they don't think it's a place to dig!

I am (slowly) working on putting together some posts for the urban homesteading blog. I will keep you updated.

Angel Food Cake and Chocolate Frosting...

I should note that Mom just confirmed why Liam's request (especially when I did not know he had ever had angel food cake) seemed so surprising to me--that is what my Dad has almost always had for his birthday!

Sorry, no letter for Liam. I'm saving up until he's 11....I feel like I'm going in a dozen different directions right now, so if I seem a bit distracted, well, I am. Trying to focus on getting one thing done at a time....

Liam Conal

So, Liam turned 8 on Monday. For his birthday cake, he requested angel food cake with chocolate frosting. I thought it was kind of odd, because as far as I know, he has never had angel food cake. He told me he had it at Kendra's birthday party, but hers did not have chocolate frosting. Anyway, we all enjoyed it very much.

We are counting down to Joel and Laura's wedding and Ami's baby shower. Ami is due on June 21, so I suppose baby S. could come any time! Can't wait to meet him!

So, another one?

Another title I am considering is "Remaking Suburbia." Which do you like better? Do you like neither? Are you all lining up to write for my urban homesteading blog???

I need a title...

Some may be taken, but I've been brainstorming titles for an urban homestead blog....

Suburban Simplicity
Simplicity in Suburbia
Sustainable Suburbia
Sustainability in Suburbia
Little House in the Suburbs
Bloom Where You're Planted

So, I tried most of these in blogger, and all were taken. I came up with Self-Sufficient Suburbanites.

I don't know. If someone has a better title that hasn't already been taken, let me know....

blogging...

I'm seriously considering the possibility of writing an "urban homestead" blog. It may be rather silly, but I think a lot of people are interested in reading this sort of thing right now....Well....I'm interested in reading this sort of thing right now.

I don't feel my writing is particularly entertaining, though. As one of my professors told me in grad school, it is solid, sound writing. It is technically sound. ;) However, perhaps I can still serve as a resource for others and share our adventures in learning ways to make our home more profitable to us.

Can a 60's era bi-level in a corner lot in suburban America become a homestead? A place where we can become more self-sufficient on a minimal budget? Man, I hope so.

The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

My dear Ben's Mom ;) sent this to me.

...and in the mornin' when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes....

Content.

With all that is uncertain in this world, I think both Ben and I are in a similar place. He was looking out the window yesterday afternoon, and when questioned, he replied, "I'm just feeling very content right now."

And, I feel it too. With the knowledge and understanding that our plans are not what we had initially hoped--that we would be moving soon to a place with some acreage and (for Killian) a pond, comes some peace. We now work to make our home the place we want it to be, and, with some relief, we see that it can be all that we need and want. We have kind neighbors. We have good schools. Ideally, it would be closer to family, but we are not far, and hopefully, my parents will be bringing their boat around so that they, at least in the summers, will be closer too.

Once the initial yard work was done a few weeks ago with Ben and Jacob's hard work, I have stood, often, looking out the window at our yard. No, it's really not that much different, but it's beautiful. I just want to run around out there. After delaying for a few weeks, I have been hanging laundry daily (well, most days barring rain). We have continued to dig and plant and construct self-watering planters, planting more seeds--food and flowers--than we had planned. I had a stash of seeds, and it seemed silly not to just go ahead and give them a try. When summer ends, we'll save what seeds we can for next year.

It is fun to see what we can do. The kids have been helping, occasionally with planting, with watering, with laundry on the line. It is good for them, I think. I am looking forward to plants and veggies growing and them watching that happen. Liam already is offering to pick my radishes. He says I can eat them, though. ;) They are growing so big and capable. Even though they often fight doing stuff on their own, it amazes me as they begin to take the initiative to help out (and/or even just when they are able to really help when asked).

Seeds we've planted...

This might be a philosophical post about raising children, but, um, it's not....

We planted a bunch more stuff this weekend, mostly seeds but a few seedlings. I even dug two new beds along the fence at the top of the hill.

Here's what we've got in the ground or in planters. We're looking forward to seeing what happens!

two rows of sweet corn next to 2 watermelons, 2 pickling cukes, and 1 slicing cuke
9 tomato plants of various varieties,
radishes
rainbow carrots
bunching onions
broccoli
kale
bright lights chard
spinach
lettuce
cabbage
colored sunflowers
dwarf sunflowers
scarlet runner beans
peas
sage
basil
parsley
rosemary
dill
strawberries
snap peas


Lots of flowers:
wild flower mix
daisies
asters
zinnias
sweet williams
forget-me-nots
cosmos
crackerjack marigolds
calendula (technically marigolds, but the seeds are different)
California poppies

I'm so excited!

Gratitude continued.

Reagan's continued Bandaid obsession. This one is a "Pincess" bandaid, and there is no boo-boo underneath it.

Spring birthdays, and a wonderful crowd of family and friends who came to share with us and /or thought of the boys.
Baby tiger lilies my dad brought from home.
Baby radishes.
Asparagi.
Er, yeah, not exactly eco-friendly, but a cup of each in 5 gallons of water saved a half a basket of laundry doomed to never come clean....
Yummy lilacs from our gorgeous bush outside.
Jammies on the line.

Gratitude.

Lest I sound too distraught with my last post, please let me note that, while I don't necessarily know how things are going to go, I do know that we will be fine. We are quite capable. :)

It also seems appropriate after my rant to share some things for which I am so grateful.
Silly Kids

The state of the state...

Ben, You might just want to go ahead and delete this now. I am going to ruminate on the state of the economy right now (Why would Ben want to delete, you may ask? Ben, as you probably know, is an industrial salesman. He works hard, but at the moment, working hard pays quite a bit less than it used to, and there is only so hard one can work at selling things when people quit buying...Ben is not uninformed. He knows, probably better than most, the state of things. However, he works really hard not to dwell on them and keeps his head down and keeps working. I'm very proud of him for that. I, however, am a bit of a dweller by genetics, and tend to deal by venting, so, I am about to do that. Ben might not want to hear it.;) ).

I am in the midst of grading papers. For the first term in the last three, I actually have a class. Hopefully, what has been my gainful source of employment will continue and classes will keep filling. Enrollments have been down, but I am hopeful that they will rebound as people seek training for new jobs, etc. Anyway, I've been thinking of making a post on this topic for some time, but kept moving on to better (and, likely, healthier) things. We get news updates in our email, and I made the mistake of reading one, and so am now again compelled to fuss about this topic.

Our state has the highest unemployment rate in the country. And this is before Chrysler declared bankruptcy and still before GM is sure to follow the same path. Rates increased last month, and are predicted to be higher before the year is up, and higher still next year. A company in a nearby town (likely one of Ben's clients) has declared they will close by August 31. They are auto suppliers. Many of Michigan's small industries are auto suppliers.

In the meantime, the state is cutting jobs--fewer police (sounds like a great idea when folks are hard up), fewer state medical providers...and more.

Our home value, according to Mint.com, has dropped 13,000 in the last 3 weeks, and that, by the way, is 20,000 less than it was when we bought it, and 40,000 less than when we refinanced less than 4 years ago.

It's getting scary here, as we are quite certain that it will get worse before it gets better. I am not sure how we ford this. I am working hard to keep our expenses down as much as possible.

Men....

Last week, Ben took two days off from work. What did he do? Go fishing? Sleep in? Go golfing? Monday and Tuesday, he worked hard at his job. It is very stressful right now, as one might imagine, selling industrial supplies to industry struggling in this state. There has been some very grim news regarding what's happening with some of the major industry in this state of late, and I cannot even imagine the weight that Ben carries right now.

On Wednesday, Ben went to a nature preserve with Liam and his second grade class. He took lots of pictures. They spent much of the day at the preserve, hiking miles. Please remember that Ben, while much improved, still has daily pain in his back. Sometimes I am not sure whether it is really better or if he has just gotten really good at sucking it up and doing what needs doing anyway. Thursday, back to work. Reagan woke both of us at about 4:30 am. Reagan and I fell back to sleep. Ben did not. Thursday night, Ben came home and he and Killian drove to Jacob's place in Canton. They (including Jacob) joined Killian's class at Deerfield Village, a living history museum. Killian misread the alarm clock and woke Ben, telling him, "Dad! We slept in!" Ben jumped up to see that it was 4:30 am! Much more walking.

They drove home and arrived around 5:30 pm. I was in the midst of cleaning, but nowhere near done. Jacob was to follow them. He was working a race (his company does timing for marathons) in town and stayed on to visit us. After what was certainly an exhausting day, Ben cleaned the living room upstairs and finished the downstairs living room, including vacuuming. I can't remember (duh), but he probably fed the kids too.

Saturday, we see Jacob around 10:00 am. He actually arrived at our house shortly after we went to bed, but got up to set up for the race at about (guess when?) 4:30 am. Ben got up and was going to go with him, but wound up staying home....Um, he didn't go back to bed, though...Saturday and Sunday, we played. The boys played lots of video games, went outside and played catch, and hung out. I made a h0-ho cake for Killian's birthday and marinated some chicken. We made pizza and breadsticks for dinner, and Ben's mom and Breanne joined us. They stayed for Killian's birthday breakfast and a few hours in the morning and then had to return to St. Joe. Ben made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, warmed up leftover pizza and breadsticks for lunch, and grilled hamburgers and made French fries for dinner.

Oh, and I forgot, on Saturday morning, Ben went out to put together a chair, slipped when he was cutting the box, and cut his thumb soundly. He spend much of the weekend trying to keep it from bleeding and/or throbbing. He still got the chair together later on Saturday. We also packed the last of the winter gear up and stashed it up in the rafters of the garage. Ben and Jacob moved the picnic table to the garage to ready it for painting.

Monday, Jacob and I started on the back yard. He cleaned up one bed (definitely the more difficult of the two), weedwhacked, mowed, and edged our lawn (front and back), not to mention picked up all the kid stuff strewn about the yard to allow for mowing. I cleaned up another bed and moved some coleus from the front bed to the back. I'm taking that out and the myrtle because it's taking everything over in the front, but it will be the only thing in this bed, so it will be a good thing there. I tended to kiddos and worked on my class the rest of the day.

Monday night, Ben came home. He and Jacob drove to Lowes for paint, sanding supplies, and wood filler. I wasn't feeling well, and I went to bed after starting asparagus and couscous. Ben finished it, grilled chicken, and fed everyone, including me. I nearly cried when I heard everyone downstairs singing grace together.

Tuesday, Jacob sanded the table all day. When Ben came home, he and Jacob filled the holes in the table and put new lattice up. I dug a little bit and swept a little bit to help, but really did next to nothing. Ben and Jacob constructed benches from to big boards in the garage and the legs from our retired kitchen chairs. They turned out awesome, and will be great next to our fire pit. I watered the garden, washed and hung diapers to dry, and baked cookies and took them to Killian's class for his birthday treat. And we ate leftover chicken sandwiches for dinner.

Wednesday, Jacob continued to sand the table. The girls and I went to Liam's "publishing party" at school and then to the library. By Wednesday afternoon, Ben and Jacob were painting. That evening, they spread some mulch in the back and moved the table and benches out to the yard. I actually cooked dinner on Wednesday night.

Jacob left early Thursday morning. I feel badly that he didn't just hang out for a while now that all the projects are done (as if they have an end, LOL). The kids were terribly sad to see him go. He is always attentive and kind to them, and they adore him!

Ben came home Thursday night, tired and hungry. He changed Reagan's diaper. He fed the kids sandwiches while I cleaned Molly's perpetual and endless pit. He hung a mirror I thrifted. He got Killian and Liam in and out of the bath and everyone ready for bed.

Late this morning, he came home from work, made a sandwich, and ran to Liam's classroom to help with computer time for an hour. He stopped at Costco for some supplies and dropped them off while driving through town. He'll be stopping at the bread store before he comes home from work to get buns for our party tomorrow, and will likely stop at Meijer for a few more supplies before he comes home.

Crap, I need to figure out what to make for dinner.

I am truly, truly blessed.

To Killian, on his 11th birthday

Today is very special, not only because it is your birthday, but it is also Mother's Day. Eleven years ago, on Mother's Day, you were born. I can think of no better way to spend Mother's Day than spending it in celebration of you, my oldest child.

Your birth was a very much anticipated event, and we longed to meet you and hold you in our arms. We loved you before we saw your tiny little face, a cleft chin that looked like a little cherry under your mouth, a beautiful, perfect baby boy. We held you all the time. You even slept on my chest for most of your first year--basically refusing to sleep anywhere else. I didn't get a lot done, but I knew it would go fast, and I didn't want to look back and think, "I wish I had held him more."

You have grown so fast, sometimes without me even noticing. Here you are, beginning your second decade on this earth. It seems you have been a part of our lives forever. It has been such a privilege and an honor to see you grow, to watch you learn and take interest in the world around you. You are a kind and loving young man. You are smart beyond belief. I love to see you teaching and sharing with your siblings. I know sometimes it is hard to be a big brother, to be expected to do things because you are older, and to be expected not to do things because you are older. Often, I am impatient, and I am sorry for that. I know that, so often, you are trying hard to be a good person, trying hard to do what is expected. You often deserve more credit than you receive.

I love how dedicated and loving you are to all of your family. I love that you are always thinking. I love that you love mashed potatoes and cheeseburgers and insects and amphibians.

I always, knew, Killian, that I wanted to be a mom. I never knew, my boy, just how much you would teach me and show me about the world. I am truly, truly blessed to have you as my little boy.

I love you.

Mom

Spring Fling!

Well, it's been slow going here. I lack some motivation. However, I have made some progress.
Pantry nearly done, and with it, a reduction in Mr. Potato Heads (we had some duplication going on) and now everything is fitting nicely into one tub. Every day, it seems, we are lessening our toy collection by one or two things. Even if it is a Happy Meal toy. I knocked the shelf in our closet back together and now our little pantry area is nice and neat and not in danger of toppling on children or being toppled by children and trod upon, LOL.

I also worked quite awhile in the boys' room this week. From there, I removed 1 very full kitchen bag of trash and 1 kitchen bag to donate. We took the closet doors off of the boys' closet, Ben put up a curtain rod, and I put up some Ikea bug curtains I bought for super cheap from someone several years ago. Ben also put up a curtain rod over the girls' closet, and once I iron her curtains, I will put those up too.

There is much more to be done, but every little bit seems to make the next space that much easier--especially when it involves the kids' stuff that travels everywhere.

More Cleanin'

Other things that must be decluttered:
Mr. Potato Heads
Playdough Toys
Dress Up

Spring Cleanin'

Oh, I though I had done a lot with my Winter Clearance Event, but here I am again feeling like the walls are closing in on me, LOL. The house also needs a thorough cleaning. Inspired by my friend Val, I am posting a list here for a little accountability.

So, today, I started in on the boys' room, which has pretty much exploded.

Molly's room has to be re-done again. I have hopes every time I go through it that something will make it back to the same spot I found for it next time it's pulled out.

My declutter list:

stuffed animals and puppets (These, especially puppets are really difficult for me--I don't know why. Any tips?) It doesn't help that it seems Molly is always bringing another home from somewhere or another.

what's left of the winter wear

Molly's clothes (list needs)--she's outgrowing most of her pants...

Clean/Reorganize:

bathroom cabinets. I think I know what I want to do here, but I don't want to spend the money for the sterlite drawers I want to use in there....So, I may put it off for awhile longer...

pantry closet. Remember how I made my closet into a pantry during the winter? It needs to be re-organized in a major way to optimize the use of the space. I also have to pull a shelf out of there and screw the shelves into place as they keep getting pulled down by the kids.

refrigerators (yes, we have two)

Girls' Room

Boys' room

Spare bedroom closets. I've made progress here, but have never finished.

finish painting downstairs bathroom

Garage~in progress~

Outdoors:

rip up/dig out the rest of the myrtle

sand/patch/paint picnic table

finish planting garden and new bed (I'll tell you more about that later!)

There's much to update, but for the moment, before I forget, I didn't report one of my favorite kids' vocabulary words: glub.

As in, I need to wear glubs because it's cold outside! (Molly and Reagan)

carrots and radishes!

I planted 4 rows of radishes and carrots at the end of our raised bed this evening. I also planted another clementine box of lettuce. The carrots and radishes are both mixes (actually, the lettuce is too) so it will be a surprise to see what comes up.

While Molly and Reagan and I were outside digging in the dirt (Molly is an avid worm hunter these days), Ben and Killian went fishing, and Liam, on his own accord, wrote a report on praying mantis, including a poem and a picture he printed off from Wikipedia.

Flakey, Flakey

Boy, I messed up last week. I guess I was so focused on trying to get workouts in that I forgot some things. 1) a parent meeting reviewing the contents of the "reproductive health" lesson for Killian's class. His lesson is today. Oy. He told me yesterday that he had heard some weird stories. He said that before Mr. Quaker showed a filmstrip (last year--Killian wasn't there), he made all the boys yell the word "penis" really loudly three times in a row. I presume it was an attempt to ward off a gigglefest during the film.

2) I missed Molly's kindergarten round-up. The secretary from school called the next day and asked to make a screening appointment. She said, "Now, can you remember that?" I thought that was rather odd, and it wasn't until later that day we stopped at school (for something else) when she gave me a packet of information that I realized I had missed it.

I have been working out hard for the last week. I am doing T-Tapp. It is a workout that is based in physical therapy. It works to reallign your body and develop muscles from the inside out. I am already seeing a difference, and I have worked out 7 times. I am very impressed with it. And I need it. I took my measurments, so I could keep track of what I lost in inches, but I don't know what I did with them (see the title of this blog entry).

The weather has been lovely, up until today, really, though it was threatening rain all day yesterday. The kids have been out bug hunting and digging in the yard. I have some lettuce sprouting in some clementine boxes. Ben finished the self-watering planters I started, but we haven't planted anything yet. We're planning to plant the majority of things Mother's Day Weekend (Mother's Day is also K's 11th birthday~he was born on Mother's Day, as well!). I need to get out and plant carrots (we got a rainbow mix, so that should be fun!) and radishes immediately, though.

I need to go. Molly desperately wants to paint some rocks. ;)

Blah!

I have some other posts I'm working on and updates to share, but, for the moment, I'm going through kids' clothes again...Didn't I just do this????

A few for the books:

"I shouldn't have had that glass of water. It was like lighting the fuse to a puke bomb." Killian

Liam, sitting confused in his bed, staring at his hands, covered in puke, "Dad, I think I threw up."

Killian, "My stomach hurts, and I'm so tired."

Mom, "Why don't you just go to bed?"

Killian, "I would, but I want to stay close to Jacob because he's leaving soon."

Reagan,"Mommy, I go docker (doctor). Tummy."

********

Molly, "Is the Easter Bunny a real bunny or just a guy in a bunny suit?"

Reagan: "CHOC-O-LAWT!"

Happy Easter (late)

Liam threw up at about 5:30 am Easter morning. Killian was soon feeling yucky too, but still has not thrown up. The grown-ups here are hopeful that it is just a kid thing.

After a beautiful weekend, it is cooold out today. I won't be getting to that garden just yet.

Sickies again...

I apologize for my complete failure to acknowledge several birthdays.  We called Dad a day early, I was so discombobulated.  I didn't even email Dave and Terry to wish them a happy day.  Reagan puked about 10 times between 5 am Friday night and 3 am Saturday last weekend.  The rest of this week she has been still clearly, um, having some stomach issues.  She is also cranky, not napping normally (of course, that may be due to the fact that she is still nursing, and I have resorted to caffeine to counteract worse-than-normal sleep deprivation), and prone to instant meltdown.

Molly threw up last night about 2:00 am.  She hasn't been sick since then, but she hasn't had anything but saltines and water, either. Ben was concerned last night, saying, "I hope the boys don't start getting sick too."  My response?  I think I'd rather they get sick now than have them get sick a week from now.  Hopefully, they won't get it at all.

New to the Language...

You know, if you think about it, the kids really are "new to the language." Here are some of the best things I've heard of late. These are words and phrases they use regularly, BTW, not just an occasional slip.

"Dad crims my nails." (Molly)

"I filled a base for the flowers, but then I realized there was too much water." (Molly)

"I want a juicebock." (Molly-- I suppose this might be singular for juice box?)

"Juicebock" is also a "Jukebox."

...And "mailbock" is a mailbox. (Molly and Reagan)

"She annoys me out of heck." (Killian--yeah, I told you about this one already, but it just cracks me up).

"Is this Opera?" (otherwise known as Oprah) (Molly)

Cillarenda (AKA, Cinderella) (Molly and Liam)

Yew Nork (New York) (Liam and Molly)

Flashlike = flashlight (Reagan)

We walked to the school today to drop off a check for tickets for Killian's upcoming field trip. On the way home, I asked Reagan, "Are you tired?"

She answered, singing, "No, no, no, I not tide-red."

"That fish is eating allergy(algae)." I think they've all said this at one time or another...

Spring Break

It's spring break here. Ben's brother Jacob is visiting, and we're all hanging around and having fun.  Ben took the week off from work.  Yesterday the big kids and Ben and Jacob went to see Monsters vs. Aliens at the I-max in 3-D.  It was declared to be the best movie ever.  We've also watched a few movies here, played lots of video games, and when it's been reasonably warm outside, everybody's ventured out.  One afternoon, for a game of wiffle ball in the back, today to work on a raised bed, and this afternoon, Ben and Jacob have taken the big kids off to the school yard to fly kites.  I think they're hoping to make a trip to the creek this week, but I don't know whether the weather is going to cooperate...

In addition to the bed, we've accomplished a few tasks--I made curtains for the boys' room and made some headway in Molly's room.   Most exciting, of course, is the raised bed frame that Ben and Jacob put together today.  They used plans from The Urban Homestead. It has hardware cloth underneath to keep out critters, and pvc pipes attached on the side to hold more pvc later for a covered bed if we should desire.  Now, we just need to fill it. ;)

I also finished some little pencil rolls for the kids' Easter baskets.  The kids seem to prefer colored pencil to crayon most of the time.  Now they can take them on the go.

And, this afternoon while Reagan napped and Molly played with her friend across the street, I dyed some silk hankies with Kool-Aid for Reagan's Easter basket.  She has a funny fascination with handkerchiefs.  That's them in the dye up top.  The colors look a little off in the second pic, but they came out nicely.  Now we might have to teach the kids to juggle them or something. 

Kids...

Ben sent me an email on Thursday to report this conversation:

The kids were talking about how they were going to wake up Jacob.

Killian: I'll turn my DS light on his face.

Liam: I'll slap him with bacon, that will wake him up.

Liam Conal

Age: 7 years, 10 months

Hobbies and Interests:Science, bugs, video games.

Most Likely to:

*Make you smile

*be quiet

*want to "show" you a video game

*draw, paint, or otherwise create a work of art

*talk to babies

*read I-Spy books

*share little-known facts about animals or insects

*crack an off-color joke (er, I think he has his dad's sense of humor) ;)

*play outside

* miss his brother

*give unexpected hugs

Least Likely to:

*put his clothes down the laundry chute 

*eat ketchup

*want to shut off the video games

*care that his clothes are on backwards

Sometimes in Trouble for:

*leaving clothes on the floor (see above).

Likely Future Career:

Scientist

My Favorite Things about Liam:

*when he was a tiny baby, he would reach his arms around my neck and hold on.  

*his sense of humor (if sometimes inappropriate)

*his enjoyment of art

*he's very kind and helpful with Reagan

*he's very loving

*he's very smart

*his smile

*his siblings truly seem to be his friends and he (usually) enjoys spending time with them