Reason #6

S. is very astute at figuring out what will make you craziest. All week she has been teasing Daddy by refusing to give him kisses. She will even pretend she is about to, then turn her head away at the last minute. If he asks for a kiss, she will flat-out tell him "No," and walk away.

This morning, as Daddy was getting ready to leave for work, it occurred to me that M. had taught her to blow kisses. "Blow Daddy a kiss!" I suggested.

S. raised her little chubby hand to her mouth and kissed it, and Daddy's face lit up. Then she grinned and held the kiss to herself.

Turd!

Summer Reading Begins

Our picture books have been jammed to the ends recently, and pages are having a hard time putting things away. I have weeded out everything that hasn't been checked out this year, and we are still out of room. We are waiting on fiscal year rollovers to see if we can afford another set of shelves, otherwise I am looking at having to weed out books kids are still reading.

Or, we could just start the Summer Reading program:

This picture was taken before noon today. School ended Friday, then we had the three day weekend, so this was our first open day of summer vacation. Any guesses as to how kids are planning on spending it? And yes, the chapter book and nonfiction shelves have similar gaps. I even had a young lady looking for books about George Bush today (?!). Parents were dropping their kids off in the Children's Room so they could go look for books for themselves. So, when people say the printed word is dead, and libraries are obsolete, please excuse me if I chuckle, and don't rush out to look for a new job just yet.

If You Didn't Get Dirty, You Didn't Have Fun.

Much fun was had today.

Notice the tissue: she worked very hard at cleaning up on the ride home, knowing she would be seeing Daddy. And she has a flower in her hair, so overall she looks very pretty.

Practicing for Baby L.

It took me all day to get her to stop smacking the baby with the bottle when it cried. Thinking it's a good thing we decided to practice.

And here's C. back in November 2009, practicing for S.!

She's Got the Whole World in Her Hands

And she's going to smash it.

Reason #5

I can't find my shoes.



Oh, there's one.



Aaaaaaaaand there's the other.



I really should put them someplace more sensible, shouldn't I? Silly Mommy.

I'm Blaming the Wind

Checking out the garden progress. Here is where I planted the strawberries:

Here is where I planted the onions:

More onions:

And more onions:

Here is where I planted carrots:

I did not plant basil.

Or cilantro.

I wonder if the neighbors know where my beet seeds are?

Pregnancy Advice

Stretched out to read a bit today. In "Expectant Motherhood" from a doctor at Johns Hopkins, I learned that I should still take care with my makeup and hair each day (oops.) There are also informative passages such as, "there is no reason for believing that a woman who smokes moderately, let us say ten cigarettes or less a day, need change her custom at this time." Drinking alcohol, of course, is also fine. And rabbits are the high-tech way of finding out if you are pregnant for sure.

This might be just a tad out of date.

Video of the Day

Geeze, how is anybody supposed to top that?

Reason 4

Early this morning S. woke up before the other kids, and Mike and I were snuggled up on the bed with her, spotting elk. We were gazing at her adoringly, talking about how gorgeous she is. Those eyes. That personality. She looked up at us sweetly -

and belched.

My Midwife Rocks.

I love how she listens and adapts, and her practical down-to-earth approach to everything. After delivering 1,964 babies (as of today), she should have a handle on things.


At today's visit, she said my last blood test showed I was low on iron, and she wanted to put me on iron pills. I told her I can't swallow pills. Didn't phase her, she just moved on to either taking Geritol, or (when I made a face and without skipping a beat), her best suggestion yet.


I have now been instructed, by a medical professional - one could say PRESCRIBED - to keep on hand all day and snack on...



































Marshmallow Mateys.

Now that's a pill I can take:)

Yard Sale Scores!

Yard sales are one of those weaknesses that aren't necessarily a bad thing. They are a really easy way to stretch the old budget, so when Mom asked if I wanted to go today, I didn't have to debate long. We started off with a dollar here (nice shoes for S.), 50 cents there (cool necklace for M.), then hit the Relay for Life yard sale. There were tons of clothes - several tables full, a hanging rack, boxes, at least three blankets. We had started sorting through, pulling things out for baby L., possible maternity shirts for me, when one of the guys in charge asked, "Who here has the largest vehicle?"

Well, that would be me, but why was he asking? I tentatively raised my hand, and he said, "I will sell you ALL of these clothes for $25."

So, be careful opening the back of my van:

And, C. may need a little help climbing out:

(you can't really see, but the two seats next to him are piled to the top, and the floor is covered up to seat level)

I'll be doing a bit of laundry this weekend. M. was having fun as we drove along, reaching behind her at random and pulling something out. "Hey, this is a cute shirt!"

We had some other good finds - S. fell in love with an inflatable globe as big as she was, $2. C. got cool cammo slippers for taking the puppy out in the morning (and, apparently, to wear 24/7)

We didn't go overboard (there wasn't room to!) There were plenty of things we didn't buy. These little faces were just too cute:

But they wouldn't have fit in the van.

And who doesn't need a giant...flea?

Ah, but then we saw something that reminded us that a friend recently bought C. a wonderful birthday gift, and we need to be prepared to return the favor for her son's next birthday...

(No, D., we didn't - but you worried for just a second there, didn't you?)

Besides the buying finds, there was of course running into people we haven't seen in a while, including quite a few who didn't know I was pregnant. We spotted one yard sale that wasn't on the list, and stopped to look around. The people brought their puppy out to play, and we remarked that it looked just like Bumble, C's new puppy. Long story short: it was his brother! I don't have a picture, unfortunately, because by that time my camera was buried.

Now to start sorting, and try to also do the other things on my to do list - but hey, cleaning out the van was one of them!

Thief in the Night

Shh! You don't see her. Neither do I. Even though I am standing right in front of her. So, I have no idea that she is right next to my garden, making eyes at my Romaine.

Reason 3

Normal toddlers might be a little afraid of the vacuum cleaner. They might ignore it. They don't, generally, shriek happily and try to wrestle it while Mommy is vacuuming the living room.

Why We Call Her Turd, Reason 2

Lifting her arms up to daddy, chirping sweetly, "Uppy! Uppy!"

Daddy: "I'll pick you up if you'll give me a kiss."

Arms back down. "No." Turns and walks away.





And gives sister a kiss.

Today's Award for Taking Pride in Your Work

Really, guys? As your truck putts along at 5mph, it's just too much work to hop down and kick things off the side of the road?

Who Might This Be?

Anyone good at bird identification? I would say some sort of finch, except that he is the size of a lovebird, if not bigger (the gaps in the fence are 4 inches high, and he is taking up almost all of that gap, if that helps).

Recipe to Share: Cream Cheese and Applesauce Bread

For Mother's Day, the kids helped me put together a basket of goodies for both local Grandmas. I broke my rule of not feeding people something I've never made before, but it turned out well, so I thought we'd pass the recipe on!

You'll have to click this link to Cookingbread to get the recipe, because we don't want to violate anyone's copyright - and because it is well worth checking out the rest of the site! Unfortunately, we don't have any photos, either, because what we didn't give away, we ate:) Trust us, though, it looks as yummy as it tastes! A thick batter that includes applesauce and rolled oats is layered with a cream cheese/powdered sugar filling, then topped with a mixture of pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Hungry yet?

We found this recipe while looking for ways to use all that applesauce we made and canned last Fall. Judging by the last frost, we probably shouldn't be in any hurry to use it all up. At any rate, we used unsweetend raisin applesauce, and doubled the recipe so we could have some too. Then I managed to break one of my Pyrex loaf pans just before baking, so our half ended up in a square, foil baking pan instead. It cooked just fine that way - when the loaves were done it was still a bit soft in the center, so I turned the oven off and left the foil pan in for another half hour, and that did the job.

I also added more brown sugar to the topping, because Baby Logan has a sweet tooth, and a couple people specifically mentioned liking that part. If I made it again I might increase the filling a bit. Oh, and instead of honey in the filling, I used a couple tablespoons of toffee-flavored syrup, because I forgot someone else had taken the honey to work with him for sandwiches.

Overall, pretty good stuff, simple to make, and a definite possibility for any brunch-type potlucks. I imagine it would freeze pretty well, too. I'm looking forward to checking out the other recipes on their site. Is it too soon to start baking and freezing for Christmas?

Redneck Baths

So, by the time we finished having canned fruit and homemade applesauce for lunch, we were ready for a bath. And hey, Mommy was already watering the garden, so why not be thrifty and just stand in the sprinkler? No pictures of that because I ended up holding S., who would shriek every time the drops hit her and bury her face in my shoulder, then as soon as they moved away would start reaching for them again, saying "Please, please!"

From there we moved to the water play table, a yard sale find that you may recognize from the volcano post - hence the red water.

Well, red and brown. The brown is, I think, self-explanatory.

Woah, how did I get even dirtier? Huh.

And I'm not naked, I have my pretty church shoes on. And a diaper. So it's all good.

Hmm...splashing is fun and all, but we're not getting very wet.

Hey, look, M. isn't wet at all!

Problem solved!



Wait a minute, you weren't supposed to get me back!



Missing: teenage girl. Last seen running down Karr Canyon, shrieking. In flip-flops. If found, please return.

Nothing Beats a Giant Box!

I try to do some sort of project with the kids whenever I have a day off, so I'm not spending the whole day just cleaning (yes, I do clean, you just can't tell five minutes later). Today we made a playhouse:

I was cutting out the circle window when C. cheered, "You're making a hot air balloon!" So, of course, that's what it had to be. He directed me to draw him, S. and myself in one, and Daddy and M. in the other. He then went back and added L. himself.

As you can see, Daddy is wearing his good black hat. M. has a baseball cap on. I don't know what that is on L's head.

S. went inside a couple times, but seems to prefer peeking through the windows.

And then shutting them tight so brother can't get out.

Big sister is actually home today too, but sick in bed. I wonder if we can lure her in when she comes back to the land of the living? Hmm...

Why parents spend a fortune on toys...

..so that, months later, we can find them still playing with the card instead.

Why We Call Her Turd

So, Grandma and the little ones stopped by the library to visit for a few minutes, then I walked them out to the van.

"Bye C.! I love you!"

"Bye Mommy! Love you!"

"Bye S.! I love you!"


S. leans forward in her seat, cranes her neck around me, makes eye contact with the stranger in the car next to us:

"Bye, Buddy!"

Then a big grin at me to make sure I caught all that.

Big Dog, Little Dog

Has anyone else noticed this trend? Do you see it everywhere, or is this an Alamogordo thing?

Me, I like big dogs. Golden retrievers, Great Danes, etc. Some people like small dogs (Mike calls them bear killers - poor grizzly could choke to death on a Chihuahua). For some reason, I frequently see yards around here with one of each. Is this a sign of a compromise between Mom and Dad? Or a single owner who just can't make up his mind?

These two were playing fetch with their owners in the park across from the Library today. By the time I fumbled my camera out of my purse and got it turned on, they had crossed the street and were headed home. I am extremely impressed that they are just following Mom and Dad, no leashes or dangling steak on a string. Our idiots would be halfway to Tulie! At any rate, doesn't this picture scream to be made into a picture book? Somebody else please do it, though - I can't even manage to post here regularly.

My Child is a Genius

I am SO far behind on book reviews for my other blog, that I volunteered to take M. to REVO tonight just so I could use Plateau Espresso's wifi to get a few posts done. In preparation, I looked over some of the picture books with C. and S. this afternoon. ("Puppies!" "No, S., that's a walrus.")

Halfway through this book from Lerner:



C. jumped and ran to his bookshelf. He came back with this book from Scholastic:



and showed me that they both contained the exact same photograph. Now I have something new to say, however inconsequential, about two books in a series I already reviewed last year:)

Now, if I can just get him to help me with the family budget...