Work worth doing

Many of my adult friendships are spread across the continent. Making new, local, adult friendships is hard work. I'm grateful for this brief and potent reminder that the work is hard and STILL worth doing:

http://theartofsimple.net/cultivating-friendships/

Yup, yup, yup, I couldn't agree more.

Stomach bug nasty

I'm feeling much better today, though still wracked with guilt for ruining Bobby's 35th bday. There's nothing like barfing three times in one night to remind you how delightful regular health can be. And there's no better reminder of Bobby's love than when he steps up to take charge of everything all day while I drift in and out of consciousness on the couch. I was feeling quite a bit better by Sunday afternoon when choir practice came around. That always cheers me up. And this morning, I was a new woman. Alice and Robert have complained of random tummy pains a couple times this day. I'll be keeping a close eye on them.

Bobby's Sunday Summary (Best Birthday Ever)

This week has been an interesting one, with a lot of both good and bad.  So to start off with the bad.  Susan is sick with a stomach bug.  She has spent most of the day on the couch feeling incapacitated, and last night she was in the bathroom while the rest of us watched a movie.  I took the kids to church today, and helped out, it wasn't horrible, but it was frustrating with because of my birthday and all.  Oh well.  The kids started swim lessons and are loving them.  Both Alice and Robert really surprised us with how far along they have come, where as before they were so timid around the water. Well Susan is now sitting on the couch instead of lying down so I'll try to make the most of it while the kids are still in quiet time.

Little Sister

Alice asked for a little sister this morning. I think her feelings were influenced by the American Girl book she's been reading lately...Kirsten is a pioneer girl with two brothers and one baby sister. Anyway, she said that she was bored of brothers and if she had a sister, then she wouldn't be all alone in her room. I told her she could have James move in with her. She responded with a depressed sigh and a firm "no". She wants a girl just a couple years younger than her who she can play with and share with and just "be sisters with." I told her that if we had a baby girl born into our family today, Alice would still be seven years older than her...she'd have to wait a while for the baby to grow up into a playmate. Alice thought about that for a while. Later, she came back and suggested adoption, "A girl who's 4 or 5 years old would be just right."

And, for the record, cousins aren't the same as sisters. Bobby asked about that. And moms are girls but they don't count, either.

Too much girly love to keep to herself.

I'm thinking I'll start her on the "Samantha Parkington" book next...an orphaned girl living with her rich grandmother.

James words

James has an interesting vocabulary:

mama---can mean Bobby or myself, often screamed at the top of his lungs to get our attention
uh-oh---means something is out of place
ah-woo---(like a wolf's howl) means an animal of some kind
oo-uh---means specifically a squirrel or bird
ba-ba---means water or drink
hoo-hoo---(like a train whistle) means any object with wheels, moving or still
hi!---(this is not a greeting) means a person or face
gah-shhhhh---(pretend snoring) means asleep or still
gghukkguhkgg---means gross or yucky or frog
wah-woh---(pretty much his "smurf" word) means anything he doesn't know the word for yet
um-um-um---means food/treat/yummy thing

And just this last week he's started putting "sentences" together:

MAMAAAAAA! ah-woo uh-oh
"Look at me! That dog is lying down!"

MAMAAAAAA! ba-ba gah-shhhhhhh
"Look at me! My sippy is asleep/unmoving in its holder!"

MAMAAAAAA! gghukkguhkgg uh-oh
"Look at me! There's a gross thing on the floor here"

Hey James-ee, is that "um-um-um" or "gghukkguhkgg"?

Robert's First Public Speaking Gig

Robert gave a talk in Primary today (Primary is "children's church" for kids 3-11 years). We didn't write it ahead of time. We didn't practice it ahead of time. We didn't even consult Robert on the specific topic. While Robert waited in front of the room for his turn, he discovered he could squeeze himself halfway through the back of the folding chair. I can't tell if he did it for the other kids' approval, but he sure thought it was fun. He did it again and flailed his arms and legs whispering in a fake shriek, "I'm falling! I'm falling! Aaaaaaaa!" Then he blew kisses to me and Bobby standing in the back. When it was Robert's turn to speak, he stood at the podium with a nervous little smile. Bobby stood next to him with some pictures and whispered in his ear, "Jesus loves all the children." Robert dutifully repeated the phrase into the microphone. Bobby gave him the next line and Robert refused. Bobby tried again. Then again. Robert shook his head and kept pointing at Bobby, indicating Bobby should say it himself. Bobby said the second line into the microphone, then whispered to Robert the closing line. Robert refused again. Bobby finished the talk with his closing statement.

The end.

I can't tell what exactly made Robert so nervous about this experience. He's said prayers in front of his small class before. He was clearly comfortable in front of the whole room while seated on his chair. He even started the talk with relative comfort. Maybe it was the booming microphone that was a little too much. I'll have to give him a little more practice with a live mic...I don't think he'll mind. 

Bobby's Sunday Summary

Today Alice decided to put together a news paper.  She wrote it all up, and then I typed it up.  I am not the best editor, but it turned out really nice.  Here is the original and the final result.

Buddy is also in the process of writing a story.  Hopefully it turns out as good as this one.

Outside!

We played outside today! Really played! We completely forgot "quiet time" but that didn't matter...sunshine, fresh air, and real outside-ness. It was a sunny and warm 40 F, which seems like a miracle after this particular winter. There is still lots of snow out there, mind you. James giggled and squealed as he stomped in ankle-deep puddles of muddy slush. I envy these kids' reckless abandon sometimes...how they can get an idea, try it out, and thoroughly enjoy the moment. Robert worked with me hacking at the 6-inch-deep ice flow at the foot of our driveway. We managed only to turn it from a slippery ramp into a slippery speed bump...oops, oh well.

A few muddy floors and ice-soaked changes of clothing later, we were all comfy in the house again. Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Happy Dance

Marigolds aplenty!

Garden/Farm plans this year

I probably write a "longing for the garden/outside" blog post about this time every year. March does that to me. I think about what I want to grow and where, I order a few new seeds, I plan the next big infrastructure project, and then I get planting some seeds indoors under the grow lights.

Well, I'm longing for spring again.

It doesn't hurt that our chicks are now awkward looking "tweens" with scruffy juvenile feathers and puffy baby feathers all askew. The 3-ft tall enclosure keeps them in, but for how much longer? They're hopping and leaping all over the place. One chick flew from the floor to within 4 inches of the top this morning. We all want to get them OUTSIDE as soon as possible.

Here's a peek at what has me so darn excited this growing season (new projects highlighted red):



1) The bramble bed is all new. I'll have 2 varieties of thornless blackberries and 1 variety of red raspberry there. Drip irrigation, living mulch, companion plantings to deter insect pests. I still need to design and install the trellis system...soon. Gotta do that soon. The canes won't really *need* it until this summer, I think, but I'm hesitant to use concrete...never done it before...it's kinda permanent...erk. Maybe I'll steal my dad for a couple days (You guys still thinking of coming out in June?)

2) The grapevine on the fence is adopted from my neighbors. They gave me permission to prune it this year, though it might surprise them how much I'll have to cut back.  It's going to be a rough first year. Hopefully worth it in the end. I'm using this experience to decide whether I want a few grapevines of my own...***I have dreams of summer picnics on the back patio under a shady grape arbor***

3) Screened garden bed. My experiment with growing curcurbits and squash under the row cover last year was VERY informative. The fabric was less than ideal, though, since it was easy to forget anything was growing under there (out of sight, out of mind). This year, the entire bed will be tented with black window screening. Everything but the tiniest of insects will be blocked out. Mwah ha ha haaaaa! The window screening will also allow for better ventilation than the fabric (I had powdery mildew issues last year) and I will actually get to watch my plants grow! I'm fortunate enough to have found parthenocarpic varieties of cucumber and zucchini. Huzzah! The baby watermelons will need some hand pollination, but that's TOTALLY worth it. And I'll have spring/fall brassicas in there too (broccoli, kale, leaf cabbage).

4) Shady edibles bed. This patch of soil gets little to no direct light every day. We have a scraggly patch of hostas at the end, but I'm looking for more (always more). One of my life goals is to grow sweet lettuce reliably. Partial sun, close to rain barrels for frequent watering...I think this patch of dirt is my best bet. It's an interesting place for rhubarb and asparagus, too, since most of its sunlight comes in the spring before the trees leaf out. This is the *least* developed project of the lot. I just want to throw something in there and see what happens.

And here are the chicks in all their awkward beauty:





Their original names have all but disappeared since the juvenile feathers have come in. The only one I can pick out anymore is "Banana" because her head is still mostly blond baby fuzz. They hang out all 5 together or in 2 smaller groups. I can't tell if it's the same pair of chicks splitting off or not. Admittedly, I haven't spent much time watching them. Every time I'm in that bathroom with the chicks, James climbs up the toilet, onto the counter, and into the sink. He's learned to turn the water off and on by himself, too. It brings him giddy joy. Alice and Robert went through this phase, too, and it's still one of my favorites :)





Having Robert share the fun only sweetens the pot.

Vinaigrette

I've been going through my newest favorite cookbook, recipe by recipe. Last week, I tried out 6 new recipes and 3 of them involved some sort of homemade vinaigrette. It wasn't on purpose. I didn't even realize it until the third night when I'm like, "What?! Another vinaigrette? Seriously?" I thought I liked vinaigrette alright. It turns out I don't. Not in the amount that my recipe book portions it out, anyway. Tonight, I mixed my "celery and apple salad" half-and-half with an undressed green lettuce salad, and it was great!

Good to work that out, I guess. Now to explore my relationship with feta cheese :)

Silly Consternation

The other day, I'm looking through some papers and James comes over to play. He pulls one of the papers out of my hands and I say in a silly/grumpy way, "Hey! That's my paper!"

(Yes, this is all my fault.)

He gets a huge smile on his face and starts to giggle. He gives the paper back and does it again for my overdramatic reaction. I give it willingly because his laugh is just so darn cute. We play this way for a couple minutes and then we move on with our day.

Hours later, James hands me a piece of mail. And just as I'm saying, "Oh, thank you James, that's so nice---" he rips it out of my hand and smiles at me with wicked anticipation. I was a little shocked until I remembered the paper game from earlier. Then I gave the silly/grumpy response he was looking for and we played again.

How does James play? He plays by getting reactions out of people. Sure, he'll roll a truck around now and then, but most of his play and fun comes from derivatives of this game of "silly consternation." It's a very social/outward kind of game, played in that gray area between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. He acts, the other player reacts with exaggerated emotion and retaliates with a chase/grab wrestle.

Alice shied away from these games. Robert would just attack you if he wanted to wrestle. James likes the back and forth.

Yet another reminder that James is his own person, not a mixed salad of all my other child-rearing experiences. Dang. That makes it harder.