If You Give a 2-Year-Old Too Many Smart Pills...

Both times I was pregnant, I took Omega-3 pills fairly regularly. I've seen several studies that say it can help brain development, as well as heart health, etc. Since then, I've seen studies that say they aren't so sure there's proof. Really?

How about a two-year-old doing Kindergarten work?

One of my favorite resources whan I was teaching was the magazine Teacher's Helper. There is a lot more to teaching than just worksheets, but these give a great springboard, or supplement, to all sorts of units. I especially like the pages centered around a favorite picture book.

We have spent many an hour reading about mice, moose, and pigs, and their respective baked goods. This week we re-read the above a few more times, and S. did the papers above by herself, then she and big brother C. did some together. C. is more into cutting and pasting than writing answers, so I used the ploy of 'helpng S.' to get him to finish those parts! Naturally, once the paperwork was done, we needed to make

muffins! The kids counted and stirred, getting in their 'math' for the evening. I have been using a master mix from this book:

which I made Daddy get me for my birthday, and which I absolutely love. I really like the end of each section, where they give you ideas for leftovers and scraps. Perfect for cheapskates like me who still like to cook and eat well. The master mix can be put together in huge amounts, then sit in a cannister in your cupboard until you are ready to make biscuits, pancakes, muffins, etc. Perfect for cooking with little ones, because all we had to measure was the master mix, a cup of milk, two spoonsful of sugar, and an egg. It also saves getting a dozen different ingredients out each time. Of course, we also added frozen berries, and they turned out yummy! We could see why the moose ate all of them.

Just don't tell Daddy that we ate ours on the sofa.

Or that we also had more Omega-3's.



We are Here to Entertain You

L. had what I thought might be an ear infection - low fever, fussiness, didn't want to sleep lying down, etc. It was a long, sleepless night for everyone. I called our doctor as soon as her office was open, but she was booked solid for the day.

So, I skipped my lunch and Grandma brought the kids down, and we headed to the Urgent Care clinic that was supposed to be pretty fast.

Three hours later, we're still sitting in the waiting room, which has the ubiquitous octagonal fish tank. S. is perched on Grandma's chair, chirping away in her cute little voice about the fish and the frogs, asking why this one is little, why that one has see-through skin, then points to one and pipes up with, "Does he have a penis?"

Everyone in the very crowded room watched as Grandma and I laughed so hard we couldn't breathe, let alone answer her, which caused her to ask it again several times, getting louder each time. There were several young men waiting on sports physicals, and I hope the doctor didn't see the one with his head between his knees trying to recover his composure, or he will never pass him.

I finally got enough breath to choke out a "no", just at the same time Grandma gasped, "yes." (My worry was, if I said "yes," would she demand to know where it was?) She seemed satisfied with the mixed answer, and I got the tears wiped away before they finally called us back to the exam room. I'm sure familes all over town will be sharing a funny story about what happened at the doctor's office over their dinner tables tonight...

Yard Sale Scores - With Alterations

Sometimes yard saling means looking at things with an open mind. I was happy to find so many crib sheets last week, something I deseperately needed, but three of them were white. I ask you, why do they make white ANYTHING for small children? Ah well, that's why God invented tie-dying.

I picked this treasure chest up at Walmart a few days ago, for a whopping $6. It now holds all our rainy day activities, including two bottles of dye mix.



Mommy did the rubber-banding, and the kids did the squirting. They managed not to get any on themselves.

I, on the other hand...

The purple hand, that is. You know those plastic gloves they give you with the kit? Yeah. Use them.

The finished products were worth it, though:

This is actually more purple than blue...

...and this is a deeper pink than it looks. It was dusk by the time I got around to taking pictures!

Those two were for S.'s bed, which left us with one for L. We used fabric paints for that one, and everyone pitched in.

Such concentration!

We included some of his nicknames:

The Ghostbusters...getting Slimer...of course.

Logan approved!

Then there was the bookshelf we found:



It didn't look like much to start with.
Neither did this library book, once S. mixed it with some coffee:

But, put them together, and:

This black squiggles are a poetry idea I got from Pinterest, and plan to use with the teens this April. Some are thoughtful,

"She understood the need to grow a litter of children to dream, hope, and to be light."

others not so much.

We'll add a few more squiggles and possibly go up the sides, then cover with either varnish or some watered down glue before putting the shelves back in. I already love the way it looks, and I have this sudden urge to cover everything in book pages. You can pick up discarded books at the library for ten cents each (although this one cost me $17...plus a $5 processing fee. Sigh.)

So, who can name the book S. destroyed?

And yes, my hands are still purple.



Yard Sale Scores!

Rain meant cooler weather this weekend, which meant we could finally hit some yard sales without frying by 9AM. Sometimes you go out and find piles of junk that people price so high, you wonder how people can stand to get rid of things they prize so highly. Other days, you not only find things on your list, but things you didn't realize you needed:) This was one of the latter!

I limit myself to $50, and I still had $7 in my pocket, after buying:

- a half gallon of the exact shade of paint we are using in M's room

- 7 crib sheets

- a microwave to replace the one at work that takes 3 minutes to boil water, andthat I have to use a spoon to open

- 3 pairs of brand-new-looking shoes (except for the laces) that are one size up from what S is wearing:

- 8 new jars of baby food

- 13 articles of clothing (there would have been much more if we had a smaller baby girl. We'll have to work on that.)

- a glass hummingbird to hang outside

- new throw pillows:

- a kid-sized hard hat (I'm thinking for L., to protect himself from S.)

- an air pump

- a decorative pot in the colors I collect

- three ceramic eggs

- two cups of lemonade from some really cute kids

- and a bookshelf:

They don't look like much now, but stay tuned. M. and I have some...ideas.

I even gave out my e-mail address to someone who might be interested in a kitten. Anyone else???

Not bad for $43.

Community Cookout (burp - sorry)

That. was a lot. of food.

When a couple people asked what they could bring, we told them the food was taken care of, but they could bring a dessert if they liked.

I guess the word got out. How on earth do you choose? (And would whoever made the pecan bars please e-mail me the recipe? Those were FANTASTIC!)

Side dishes - in addition to potato salad and jalapeno poppers, we had Grandma's freezer slaw, chicken, deviled eggs (the two trays were already down to one by the time I snapped this picture), a chicken and vegetable casserole, and beans. And popcorn, which goes with everything.

And, of course, the meat!

This picture is begging for a "what were they saying?" caption contest.

100 hamburgers, 60 brats, and 60 hot dogs. That's a lot of food.

Which is good, because there were a lot of people!

Both outside,

and inside. I'd guess it at about 100 people total. It's a good thing we didn't have any calls, because a lot of people means a lot of cars! Of course, a high percentage were fire vehicles from other departments, so somebody would have been able to respond. On the other hand, that meant that whenever a tone went out over the monitor, half the room would stop talking and cock their heads to listen.

Of course, the main reason we were there (besides the pecan bars) was to thank Mark and Steve, our Chief and Assistant Chief. Mark has stepped down after almost two decades as Chief, although he will stay with the department. He has kept things running smoothly for many years, so we're not about to let him disappear just yet. Steve has been Assistant Chief, as well as one of our EMTs, for a bajillion years as well. If there's one person you can pretty much guarantee will be on any call, it's Steve. He is retired as of last night, and I know it's going to take a long time for people to stop looking around for him on each call!

Paul Quairoli, the county's Emergency Services Director, was on hand to thank them both, and presented Mark with a plaque - after embarrassing him a bit, first.

Reportedly, another local department had something for Steve, but we weren't all shown that. Steve, would you care to share? I caught a glimpse of it, and it was...really something!

Our department also had plaques for both Mark and Steve,

and we couldn't forget Steve's wife Theresa.

Theresa has been a one-woman auxiliary, is one of the best cooks on the mountain, and has had her sleep interrupted by early morning pages probably more times than she can count over the last twenty-odd years.

It was good to see so many people in the community come out to thank them. It was also nice to just have so many people in the community together in the same place. Mountain folk are pretty friendly, but we are also a bit spread out. Going to the neighbors can mean getting in your car and driving, and the corner store and the post office are the only places to stop and visit. I overheard several comments that we should do this more often.

Everyone seemed to have a great time socializing,



Always a good sign when the fire station is full of smoke.

checking things out,

or just sitting. Sometimes, just sitting is just right. It has been a looooooooong week, and it's good to have friends you can just sit in silence with.

Or, friends you can try to wrestle to the ground.  C. was thrilled to get together with the usual pack of boys, who disappeared for large chunks of time (occasionally followed by S., who considers herself a big kid). I'm sure they weren't doing anything I wouldn't approve of.

Of course, since it isn't a party unless someone goes to the hospital, one of said pack of boys (not pictured) ended up in the ER getting his knee stuck back together. I'm told he's doing fine, now, and will most likely use it to get out of chores for a day or two.

We even got to celebrate a birthday with this beautiful young lady.

Our new Chief!

And here we have the outgoing Assistant Chief throwing gear at the new one as fast as he can unload it. We offered to give him a call the next few times the pager goes off, just to help ease the transition, but he didn't seem to think that was necessary.

A lot of people did a lot of work getting everything ready, keeping it going, and cleaning up afterward. If I start naming people, I will forget some*, but everyone pitching in without being asked made it all go very smoothly. People left content in stomach and in spirit.

The kids, of course, were still going strong two and a half hours later.

Not tired at all!

Not...tired...

at all.

*But notice the pictures that include Crystal zipping back and forth in the background, continually taking care of one thing or another!