Most Recent Family Photo Series

A friend of ours took some family photos for us last weekend. My kids don't exactly perform for formal photographers, so I thought we'd start formal and move on to something more candid...something that would get REAL smiles and expressions from these people I've built my life around.

The winning family photo. My friend had to merge two photos into one, but it worked. James is *almost* smiling and Robert is...well...*sigh*...

Alice's portrait was easy. She even looks half-relaxed. Growing up, this one.

Robert hamming it up in his portrait. He HATED the polo shirt collar. Like a dog with a wound, this kid couldn't leave it alone for three seconds. I suspect the collar was partially responsible for his passive aggressive silliness. That, and, he's suddenly embarrassed to have his picture taken. Too soon, my boy!

James *almost* smiling. It took quite a few potty words to get this much out of him.

Not a natural smile for Matthew, but a cute one. Can this kid do *anything* that's not cute?!

Real smile! That's my Robert enjoying an arm wrestling match.

Real smile! Matthew and bubbles. Cute.

Kid tug-o-war. Alice holding her own against Robert and Matthew.

Determined James.

Whole family tug-o-war. You know I'm getting serious when I scrunch up my whole face. By the way, James is always on my side. Always.

Matthew's face is my favorite in this one. When challenge comes, he's scrunches up and grits his teeth (quite literally *shudder*) and gives it his all. I'm pretty sure he's pulling in the wrong direction, though.

I was so into the tugging that I forgot my friend was there taking pictures. I can be freakishly competitive (sometimes) and a poor sport at losing (all the time).  It's not a part of me that I'm proud of, but I get over it quickly (usually).

(Almost Sweet) Potatoes

James and Matthew kept me company this morning as I harvested my first ever crop of sweet potatoes. It was clear that some plants had spent all of their energy on growing ONE massive tuber. Others spread it out a little between more tubers of more reasonable sizes. We got about 30 pounds in all. 30 pounds!!!


When my friend had to cancel our play date this morning due to illness, I was bummed. James and Matthew love to play with my friend's kids! I wasn't sure how a trip to the "big garden" would ever compare, but we managed. It helped a ton that the boys didn't know there was a play date scheduled in the first place ;) James occupied himself with trimming dead things with scissors. Matthew played with his hand guys on the wagon and weeds. Once the potatoes were out, we picked tomatoes and some celery and fresh herbs. James found another caterpillar to add to his box of insect death collection.

You may have noticed that the title of this post is "(Almost Sweet) Potatoes." Well, sweet potatoes aren't that sweet when they first come out of the ground. They need to cure in humid heat for a week, then sit in a cool, humid cellar for 6-8 weeks before they start to get their characteristic malty sweetness. I kinda wish I had researched the "post-harvest" handling a little more before I put those puppies in the ground.

Oh well, I'll make do with what I have.

I have a hot, humid laundry room that houses the water heater. If we keep the door shut and the A/C vent closed, it stays a humid 80-85F all day. Perfect for the first week. It's in this period where the potato "heals" wounds from the harvest and activates the enzymes that convert starch to maltose.

Then there's the long wait...6 weeks from today is Halloween...throughout which the potatoes should ideally stay between 50 and 55F and 75% humidity. ACK?! Fridge is too cold. House and crawlspace are too warm. Even with a root cellar 6-ft deep, it wouldn't get that cool in September! Now I see the wisdom of delaying harvest until the last possible moment (mid-October).

Here's a sneak peek at some family photos we had taken this weekend by a friend. Actually, this one was taken by Bobby while we were waiting for our session to start. Please note that James and Matthew are both engaged and smiling at the camera. James was reluctant to perform for the photographer (like last time! and the time before!) so this is the closest to smiley happiness you'll see from him in this series. Alice and Robert, of course, are looking silly on purpose. Because it's funny. Of course it is. They did well for the real photographer, though. I think. I haven't seen the official pictures yet ;)

Chillin' at the U of I Arboretum.

Freestyle Breakthrough!

This is my official announcement that I am training for a mini/sprint/half triathlon next summer. I can only make this announcement because of a significant mental breakthrough I had yesterday in swimming. Before yesterday, I had only swum freestyle for 100 yards before half-drowning myself. I've never been so close to death. Ugh!

Yesterday, however, I swam freestyle for 500 yards and had energy for more!

What the heck happened?!

Two things:

1) I slowed down when I got tired. I do it all the time in running and biking, but it had NEVER occurred to me to slow down my swimming. Can't exactly think of why. Maybe I thought I would sink. Also, I decided to try a 1 minute breather after every 100 yards. The slower pace and extra breaks allowed me to keep up freestyle the whole distance, which is faster than the variety of strokes I was using before without the breaks. My time stayed almost the same!

2) I wore a swim cap. I felt kinda dorky, but I discovered in the Stoneman swim that the cap keeps water out of my ears. Huzzah! Without the cap, I was reluctant to turn my head as far as it needed to go (to breathe) because that happens to be the perfect angle to drop water straight onto my ear drum. With the cap, I could breathe so much better! My attention could finally focus on stroke.

James and Matthew

James' art/drawing/craft skills have made a recent jump forward, so I thought I'd share a little of his work here.

I also want to record a few bits of Matthew's personality.

First, James:

"I thank [God] for bugs"

Suddenly, his pictures and activities coming home from primary have real answers and recognizable figures in them, as opposed to scribbles and nonsense silliness. I'm taking that, ladies and gentlemen, as a sign of maturity.

A typical free-hand creation: bad guy or threatening animal, bold color selection, and he takes his time to fill things in just the way he likes them.

He's taking more time to color things now. He enjoys the process more. He sometimes even tells a story about the creature.

James painted this portrait at preschool just last week. It's him and me surrounded by hearts. He often uses X's for human bodies.

He's really proud of his work. He'll draw something, put his name nice and big on it, then plaster the empty spaces with hearts and give it to me. He's got a lot of love to give.

Robert was a little more abstract at this age:

Robert's creature, created when he was 4 years and 10 months old.

And Alice was all about the story:

One page from a 20-page story about a girl who goes to the doctor with her mom and gets a shot. Created by Alice at age 4 years and 10 months.

Now to record a few things about Matthew:

--I don't remember if I've mentioned this before on the blog, but Matthew's hands and fingers are characters in many of his imaginary games. They crawl and walk and talk in this squeaky little voice and they get into all sorts of funny misadventures. They slide off of stuff, bounce into things, climb imaginary mountains, blast off in rockets, and get eaten by monsters. Sometimes they fight with each other, but mostly they are friends. At church last week, I looked over and saw him quietly playing with those hand guys under his breath. Made me smile.

--At age 2 years and 11 months, Matthew already has friends he likes to play with. He ASKS for play dates with them. He's kinda like Alice in that regard. Relationships really, really matter to him. He's also happy for those mornings when James is in preschool and he can play whatever he likes without interference or sticky negotiations :)

--He has recently started talking about his memories. We were driving along the other day and Matthew started telling me about when Grandma Poulson took him on the go cart ride at Disneyland. He tells me he tried to do it himself but it wasn't working so Grandma helped him. What a treat to hear it from his own perspective! It's the same with places we've been. He'll recognize some place we pass and tell me about the last time we were there. I love it!

Piano Honesty

Robert had his first piano lesson with his new piano teacher this week. She asked him if he liked to play piano and practice. He did his typical question-answering-shoulder-shrug, then kinda tilted his head and said, "Well, I don't really like to play the piano. I just do it because my mom makes me."

The teacher smiled politely and told him she appreciated his honesty.

*sigh*

Yeah, I'm that kind of mom.

5k Friday

I ran 3 miles today on an indoor track without stopping. If I hadn't run out of time, I might have had the wherewithal to go a couple more laps and make it an even 5k. I'm really, really happy for myself, though I've been feeling the side-effects all day (fatigue, achy legs) and I know I'll be hurting tomorrow!

I'm *this* close to officially training for a "sprint triathlon" (half-distance triathlon) on my own, but not quite ready to commit. I am just at the point where I can do each leg alright on its own, but putting them in sequence? That's a whole different story.

I had an acquaintance some years ago who would throw down a Swim-Bike-Run-Cook challenge every February. You would have the whole month to complete the equivalent of an Olympic triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10k run). She was also a professionally-trained chef, so there was a weekly "cook" challenge: create a dessert featuring a vegetable, try a new ethnic cuisine, modify a family favorite to make it healthier, etc.

I balked at her back then...

Now I'm thinking of throwing down that challenge myself...maybe get a few crazy friends to join me. The swimming bit is always the worst, especially if you don't have access to an indoor pool in February. Maybe I can offer a Duathlon option (10k run, 40k bike, 5k run).

And a party. There must always be a party.

Harvest

Harvested the rest of my melons today: 14
Wondering how they will taste. The first few have been great, but the rinds were very thick because I had to harvest them early (curse you, bacterial wilt!). The mother plants have officially kicked the bucket, so I harvested ALL of the rest today. Probably gonna have rinds an inch thick :( but it hasn't put me off from growing melons again. I think I can improve the outcome next year.

Picked apples at a local orchard (free!): 75 gallons
The kids are finally old enough to help pick apples in meaningful ways and they did it WILLINGLY! It's an apple orchard miracle. Now if only that could lead to an apple saucing miracle...shoemaker and the elves fashion *sigh* I started saucing today with James and Matthew. James was all over that crank, man, and working it hard. Matthew, well, he sneezed three times in rapid succession right on top of a giant bowl of finished applesauce. I get to turn that batch into apple butter (simmer/sterilize it for several hours with sugar and spice, then process in a boiling water canner). I'm trying to decide if it's ethical to serve the finished (and perfectly sterilized) product to friends. Can I give it out as Christmas gifts?

Crankin' out the 'sauce!

Middle of the End

This is the middle of the end of my gardening season :) Tomatoes are slowing down, peppers are turning red on their mother plants, and the flowers are looking a bit bedraggled and weary. They can feel the end coming. The end brings mixed feelings for me. I will miss the fresh flavors and solo time outside, but I will also enjoy the "release" from that labor. All will be safely gathered in...or safely dead.

I'm pacing impatiently for the last few summer crops to ripen: cantaloupe, honeydew, sweet potatoes, lima beans. The cucumber beetles brought bacterial wilt to my melons this week, so the harvest will be sooner and greener than anticipated, but so far so good :)

Fall crops aren't too far behind: romaine lettuce, buttercrunch lettuce, spinach. They will hopefully produce until mid-October.

I planted some cabbage so late that I will get to tend them into winter, using row covers and passive solar heating like a root cellar.

Alice has been in 5th grade for 2 weeks and we're still adjusting. Her two closest friends from 4th grade are in the other 5th grade class. She hasn't bonded well with other acquaintances yet, so she's kinda in "friend limbo". It's got her down. It's got her trying new things. For the first time in her life, she mentioned playing kickball during recess. My jaw hit the floor. And a few days before that she said she just wandered the playground alone. She tells me that she likes wearing her hoodie to school because it's something she can just shut herself into...a nice place to hide...even though the hood isn't up (that's not allowed at school).

Alice loves, loves, loves her cool teacher, though, and has no complaints in that department. He's SO cool, that even her feelings about math have changed a little. Alice doesn't struggle with math, but she doesn't find it fun, so she says she hates it. The other day, she came skipping home telling me how fun decimals can be!

This has me thinking about middle school next year. A lot has me thinking about middle school next year, actually. My middle school experience was less than stellar, and it's closely linked to personal issues I've struggled with periodically ever since. It's a tough phase of life, especially for kids like me who were easy targets for mean-spirited jokes :( I want her to experience the necessary growth pains without all the unnecessary ones. Is that even possible? Do I have ANY control over ANY of this?

*sigh*

She decided to fast and pray today about her friend situation.

I joined her.

This is one of those necessary growth pains. I'm confident she'll figure something out. It hurts to get through it, but it's ultimately better for her to figure this out early on. Maybe she can teach me a thing or two about it, actually.