Crepes and Contests and Words and Baby Love

Guess who added delicious, buttery crepes to her culinary repertoire!

This was Robert's entry in the Book Fair Poster Contest. The theme was "All You Need is Love and Books." He won first place for his grade and a free book at the Fair.

In other news, Matthew has added actual words to his vocabulary this week, but most people wouldn't understand them yet :) He's not big on vowels in the middle of a word:

No
Mine
hi
ehyo (hello)
Ma (mommy)
Da da da (daddy)
bysh (brush)
bss (bath)
boon (balloon)
um um (yummy)
bbbbbb (vehicle moving)
bee bee (vehicle honking, or "baby")
kshhhhh (vehicle crashing into you)
om! (something eating something else...this happens more than you think it would)
moh (more)
don (down)
bsh (push or fish)
ba (ball)

James and I were in the backyard this week pulling up creeping charlie from the lawn. There were those big, fat, white grubs every few inches. We found a hundred of them. I kid you not. Some were fed to the chicks, but we were finding them faster than the chicks could eat them. I started throwing them into a bucket of water. James loves grubs, by the way. He loves worms and centipedes and moths and beetles and pretty much anything else you find out there besides ants and spiders. He understands, though, that we squish grubs because we don't want them to eat our fruits and vegetables when they grow up. Well, the bucket of water didn't drown them, even overnight. Hardy little grubs! We ended up dumping the bucket out onto the concrete and popping them by foot. Ugh. Why do I tell you this? 1) because grub hunting made James giddy with delight and he said, "I love a day like this outside in nature. I love digging in the dirt and finding gwubs." 2) because popping 100 grubs at once is a very different sensation from popping 1 or 2 at a time and I'm a little traumatized by the experience.

This morning, James noticed something small crawling around in the shower. He was scared until I told him it was a baby house centipede. Well, if you know James at all, you know that putting the adjective "baby" in front of ANYTHING turns that thing into his most favorite thing in the whole wide world. Literally. James loves babies. He started cooing at it and saying how cute it was. It looks a little too much like a spider for him to try and pick it up, but he was in love.

Earlier this week, he found some really, really small worms. True baby worms. It made him so happy. We had to run out to pick up kids from school, but he gave me a huge hug and said with the biggest grin, "I just love babies. All babies! They are the cutest in the world!" And suddenly, I had a slightly different view of his relationship with Matthew. Generally, when Matthew is getting attention for doing something cute, James will find a way to sneak in and hug-tackle the kid by the neck. I used to think it was jealousy. It probably is in many cases. But in some cases, especially when Matthew is laughing at James' silliness, I think James is so overcome with love for the babe that he just can't help himself.

I have Robert taking sample piano lessons from a few local teachers. I'm just testing the waters, trying to get a feel for how Robert will approach piano lessons this summer, trying to find the best teacher for his particular personality. He says he likes both teachers that he's tried so far, and he even offered an impressive verbal comparison of experiences. This boy can be pretty chatty when he feels like it.

Saturday Night Fun

Our family has had a weekly movie night for some time. Lately, though, it's become a source of contention because we can't agree on anything to watch. One member of our family is SO sensitive to tension/action/conflict/loss that even most G-rated movies aren't "safe." This person has been known to have nightmares for weeks after exposure to something other kids deem perfectly harmless. There are meltdowns at the mere suggestion of watching anything beyond PBS cartoons.

This family member would rather cry alone in another room than watch anything that could potentially involve tension/action/conflict/loss. Bobby and I would rather leave the room than watch PBS cartoons week after week.

So, here's the point where we reassess why we've actually created this tradition, right?

I feel it's a fun thing for us to do together as a family. I like to create common memories. It's a pretty easy, pretty harmless tradition. It's also a great motivator for kids to finish their weekly chores on time. And I really, really, really want to share some of my childhood favorites with them. Will PBS cartoons kill me? No, but they won't be very fun and I won't feel better connected to my kids afterwards. Where's the compromise?!

We've talked about having a "game night" instead. The kids give a lukewarm groan. They really love the idea of a movie. Maybe they'll get on board if I call it "games and popcorn" ;)

I'm open to suggestions, should you have any to offer.

A few updates

I was just re-reading some of my older posts and realized I could update you on a few things:

First off, we've hired a professional to remove the asbestos containing materials (ACM) from our kitchen. He's due to arrive the week of May 9th. I'm finding a new groove with the kitchen out of sorts. Having new people working in my home is way more stressful than having to wash dishes in the bathroom.

Second, I couldn't stand feeding five fully grown hens for only 1-2 eggs a day, so last weekend, the kids and I drove out to my friend's free-range egg farm and left them there. My friend routinely takes some of her most raggedy hens to a livestock auction in Arthur, IL. She was kind enough to add my five to her next trip. Turns out, though, that my five don't act like the other chickens. While they were hanging out on the farm waiting for auction day, they stuck together in a clump and followed the people around all day. Made me laugh to hear that. I didn't think these birds had connected to us much, but they were far more accustomed to people than the free-range hens were. My hens were much fatter and prettier, too ;)

Third, we followed up with Alice's failed hearing test and her complaint about blurry vision. She passed both exams with flying colors. The car ride home from the eye doctor was not pleasant, however, as she loudly protested the existence of a "glasses club" at school where members get ice cream parties and other special privileges flung at them all stinking year.

Fourth, our new chicks are in the big pen. So much more yard/garden/farm stuff to do. I'm kinda glad for this pause in the kitchen remodel (waiting for ACM removal) so I can spend energy outside growing stuff. And I'm growing a lot of new stuff this year. Also changing some infrastructure: adding 2 new flower beds, building a taller screened bed for curcurbits and brassicas, adding irrigation, and devising a taller squirrel-proof frame for growing miniature corn. Yippee!

Need Help

Do me a favor and let me know if any of my kids look like me :)

Lunch Prayer and Mom Bite

James gave the prayer at lunch today. It went something like this:

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank thee for God and Jesus and all other superhero stuff. Keep us away from wolves and foxes and other creatures of the forest. Amen."

*************

The kids and I were enjoying some of the first popsicles of the season and I had forgotten how inexperienced Matthew is with them. He didn't know what the stick was for...just grabbed the middle of the popsicle in his chubby little fist. He got it after a while, but he was eating the thing so slowly that it was a tipping, disintegrating mess before my eyes. I said, "Here, Massyew, lemme help," and I took a bite off the top.

The look on his face!

He furrowed his brow, yanked his popsicle back, took a step towards me, put a single finger on my lips, and sternly cooed, "Nooooooo."

Okay, got it, you cute little cutey.

Up close and personal

Bobby entertaining Matthew at church with selfies. The boy goes into Nursery starting next week. A great day for us, but I feel for the Nursery workers who already have 14 kids (18mo-3yrs) and more to come after Matthew.