learning first grade lingo

On a day when our gray walls in the dining room took on a powdery blue hue and the older kids chatted about the typical kid stuff during lunch is when it happened.

"Poop!"

The little dude said poop and slapped his diaper while squealing with laughter!  I couldn't believe it.  I thought for sure he must have been mimicking something he heard his brother and sister say because that is one of their favorite things to talk about. They are constantly giggling about pee, poop, and barf!  Is this normal?  And now they were teaching their little brother their favorite words?  I walked right over to the little chatter box to investigate.

"Urban, did you just say poop?"

"Poop!" he said again while slapping his diaper. 

"Urban, poop?"

"Poop!" he said again, slapping his diaper again!

Really?  I leaned over to get a little closer and he stunk.

By this time the kids were laughing so hard noodles were shooting out their noses, out their mouths and off their spoons.  I was giggling too until I realized that the reality of potty training had crept back into my life!

purple and gold

We were surprised when Ida asked if she could do after school cheer leading because that doesn't follow the Ida pattern.  She likes to be home with her mom, something she tells me every morning before going to school or Sunday school.  She likes to be home playing with her brothers.  She has told me in the past that she doesn't like riding the bus because she misses me, I had no idea how she would stay after school without me.

Josh picked her up the first day.  I called him on their way home because I was so curious to know how things went.  When he answered the phone all I could hear was Ida gabbing nonstop in the background.  She loved it.  We were so happy for her.

And, she's got rhythm!  We went to the varsity girl's basketball game to watch her cheer during halftime and she's a really good cheerleader, right on beat while never forgetting a move.  It was so much fun.   

a well-known story type

Boy senses there is bread dough rising in the dining room sun and finds the bread dough with dough seeking sensors, no different than in the past.
Boy wants to dig his little digits in the bread dough and does.

Boy takes a chance and steals the bread dough. 

It doesn't work. He is caught hoarding the dough like a dog under the table and Mom puts the bread dough back on the chair. Boy puts his fingers in the bread dough.

After finding teeth marks in the bread dough, Mom finally moves it to the table and stops playing the game.
Boy cries and finds comfort in his mama's lap.

I have a feeling you all know this story too.

stackables

These stackable crayons were the best things to have on a day like yesterday when strep throat was doing it's sickly thing to Ida and Josh.  Yes, Ida AND Josh.  I am crossing my fingers HARD that the other two vowels and their mother miss the bug.

Here are the things I found to be grateful for.

1.  These awesome stackable crayons that are just so stinkin' fun to play with.  There is hardly a day that these gifts go untouched.

2.  Dr. Daniel at the walk-in clinic.  I love her and did some research into her educational background after our appointment because I liked her so much.  I learned that she earned her undergraduate degree and attended medical school at the University of Michigan.  She has two young boys and is one of the care providers at the practice who is accepting new patients.  It is so comforting to have a great doctor closer than 45 minutes away for family needs like this.

3.  Picnik.  I am grateful I have been able to edit my pictures for so long free of charge on Picnik, but unfortunately they are closing in April.  How sad!  Is it Photobucket now?  Or Pixlr?  Or FotoFlexer?  Maybe Picasa?  Any suggestions?  I'll have to look into this.

i will do this

I am determined to sprout an avocado pit.  This picture was taking when the kids and I tried and failed two years ago.  But life is different now that we live on acreage pretending to be farmers the best we can.  I mean, last summer we grew hundreds of gourds by mere accident!  And when I tried to kill them to make space for the tomato plants they simply would not.  That has got to count for something coming from a plant killer!

Via Pinterest, I found a blog called Organic Gardens Network which shares a detailed explanation on how to sprout one of these guys.  Hopefully using their instructions we will soon be the growers of an avocado sprout and I will be happily self-indulgent in letting my friends know that I masterfully grew a plant from a pit, an almost near impossible task if you know me.

Urban's absolute favorite food is avocado, so pits we most definitely have.

Here's hoping for the Big Sprout of 2012



i love when she slaps her leg

Urban and I visited grandma and grandpa one morning when the sun was shining and my grandpa (Alton, as in, Emerson Alton) sat at the kitchen table doing his taxes.  I mention the sun shining because the sun makes an appearance in most of the memories I have with my grandparents.  This morning was the same; the sun shone through their big living room window and cast a large sun spot on the green carpet.  The same sun spot that rose every Saturday morning to watch cartoons with my Uncle Chris.  I remember Wild E. Coyote with the Road Runner and The Adam's Family, which I thought was so weird.  Uncle Chris would laugh hysterically and we would laugh at him laughing.

Of course Grandma had a gift waiting like always.  Hand sanitizer and yarn for me, a new bib for Urban.  I put it on him right away because the one he was wearing when we arrived was soaked.  Grandma laughed at how much he drools.  It's something she talks about every time she sees him.

To my relief, Urban was very well behaved.  He walked toward grandma very slowing with his arms up ten minutes after we got there.  Grandma slapped her leg with happiness.  She had asked him a few minutes earlier if he would come sit on her lap and he ran away.  I am so glad he changed his mind because, honestly, I would sit on my grandma's lap if I could.  She has this love about her and this way with kids.  I remember when I was a kid and I went with my mom to visit her in the hospital when she had breast cancer.  I was there supporting her, but at the same time just being with her had such a calming effect on me that I didn't want to leave her.  I'm glad Urban experienced it.

My grandpa keeps is pencils for doing cross word puzzles by his chair in the living room in a leather glasses case with fur on the inside.  Urban found that and took a liking to it, carrying it the entire time we were there.  My grandma told him "you can hold that" like she did everything he showed interest in.  It became a game to see what he could find that she would approve of.  The phone, pictures and hershey kisses were all "no-nos."

Whenever my grandpa would stand and take a peek into the living room, Urban would back-up from whereever he was, keeping his eyes on my grandpa the entire time, until he reached me or my grandma.  They both though that was pretty cute.  Urban never cried out of fear, which is different than our other two.  Grandma even noticed.

Before we left, Grandma ran to the closet in the girl's room where we used to sleep as kids and dug  out a box of Tollhouse Club crackers that were left over from the luncheon with the sheep shearers and she raved about how much better they are than Saltines.  "For years," she said, "we were eating Saltines and I don't know why.  These crackers are so much better.  They have so much more flavor.  I got too many boxes and I don't need this one."  I was dying to go to the closet and see if she had any Wheat Chex.  When we weren't eating scrambled eggs and ham with homemade white bread and butter for breakfast as kids, we ate Wheat Chex from the extra boxes stored in the closet.  It is the catch-all closet.  Man, I love that flippin' closet!

the night she was waiting for

Ida bounced through the garage door following a trail of nonstop talking.  She ran around the living room twirling in her dress that she borrowed from a church friend.  No one would know that under her cardigan it wasn't zipped in the back.  She was determined to wear it though it was a size too small.  She loved it.  She doesn't own any fancy dresses with fluff and frills.  So what's a mother to do?  Borrow one!  Thank you, Gracie, for letting Ida wear your dress.  I found the sparkly shoes at Good Will for $1.00.  By the time the dance rolled around, she had already done her hair in six different ways and finally settled on wearing it down.  I let her do her thing. 

Josh followed her through the door a minute later and said they had the best time. I'm not surprised because they are two of the coolest people I know.  The other two coolest people I know stayed home with me.  Urban wasn't feeling well so I put him to bed early.  Emerson thought that was the best idea.  In fact, he thought Ida going to the dance was an even better idea.  This is exactly what he said, "I kinda like when Ida goes places and it's just you and me.  I mean, I like Ida, but sometimes it's quieter without her."  He and Ida have spent A LOT of time together their whole lives so it's understandable.  In the quiet, we made cupcake waffles and watched Shrek. 

When I dropped Ida off at school this morning she immediately started talking to her friends who had been at the dance about how much fun they had.  I think I heard them making plans for next year.  I have seen Ida's confidence grow with each passing day of the school year.  We all remember Ida's feelings about school at the beginning of the year.  She is no longer overly shy in class and makes an effort to try and talk to her classmates though, according to Emerson, he does all the talking for her on the bus.  She will NOT. 

it happens

For the last month or so I have been in a mental blog fog, like I search my mind for something to write with the pictures I am posting and I find absolutely nothing.  I follow a schedule getting the kids to school and back, making supper, getting the baby, finding the baby, lifting the baby, baaaaabbbyy, but surely there has to be something interesting or humorous that I am overlooking. There always is.  Though my day is a whirlwind of events and people constantly in motion, I am going to slow down my mind and take the time to see the moments I'll want to remember and be grateful for them. 

And, I left that experimental header up for so long, lying like a bandaid at the top of the blog reminding me each time I stopped in that the blog felt physically broken to me.  I could see it, even though others possibly couldn't.  I think I now have that taken care of.  I fixed the header, reorganized my favorite blogs and finally weeded through my labels.  Phew, much better.  

**Update** 

Savanna has worn something of Ida's to school everyday since we dropped the bags of clothes off at her house.  They both smile so genuinely every morning: Savanna feeling happy to be wearing Ida's clothes and Ida feeling proud that she gave Savanna her clothes.

play-dough

I recently found a play-dough recipe my mom gave me years ago when Emerson was an only child, and I realized that I had never used it.  My mom used to make this recipe for me and my siblings all the time.  It is the softest, most perfect play-dough ever.  And of course it is, ALL of my mom's recipes are fantastic!

Play-Dough

1 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup salt

food coloring

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

2 Tablespoons salad oil

2 Tablespoons alum powder

2 cups flour

1.  Bring first three ingredients to a boil.

2.  Pour the boiling mixture into a mixer and add the last three ingredients.  Mix until well combined.  Let cool and play.  Store in air tight container or ziploc.

 The little fingers can't stay away.

Big sister can't stop smiling though she washed her hands at least 20 times before sucking her thumb because it was too salty.  I remember doing the same thing.

how the love was spread

Mom made dad a chocolate cherry cake.
God made it snow so dad could use his retrofitted lawnmower/snowplow.  Blowtorch is to summer as snowplow is to winter. 

Emerson and Ida made valentine's for two lucky ladies, and only two....10 less than we planned. Crafts are hard right now.

Emerson made Mom the cutest card on the planet and Mom squeezed him until he pleaded with her to stop.  Then she squeezed one more time for good measure.

Urban made a mess with the crayon bucket and Mom let him, for it was one of two things that would keep him from crying.  He played for a good 30 minutes. 

Ida made a black heart for Mom and signed her name with tape. Mom hung it on the fridge and gave her a kiss. 

Justin made Ida's Valentine's Day when he gave her a pink heart necklace.  They are best friends and betrothed (I am now told).

 Mom and Dad made the kids responsible for their new pets: Spiketta and Spike.

Mom made sure there was enough Kleenex in the house for everyone's runny noses.  We are all sick but functioning.

Ida makes a great Mom.  She is the second thing that could keep Urban from crying yesterday. 

And that is how we spread the love.

i sewed....what?

Ida needed a new church bag terribly.  She was squeezing two toys, one doodle pad, one pen and notebook, a drink, one bag of pretzels, one chap stick, two quarters (?) and a bracelet into her little bag.  I found these old pictures of the kids.  She has had her backpack since she was this little....... 

 and has always filled it with her goodies.

The pre-quilted fabric is less than impressive these days, as well as, pretty expensive.  I opted for plan B on the fly and  found a cute, yet sophisticated, Dwell print that I thought was perfect for her.  When I headed to the register I grabbed some gray lace and a zipper.  She definitely needed a zipper. 

Using an old mattress pad that I saved for projects just like this, I made my own quilted fabric.

And now Ida has a new church bag. 

nikes to school

This story starts with an old pair of Nikes.

Ida outgrew her kindergarten shoes last week.  She started walking oddly and I figured it was because her shoes where too small.  When I asked her how they were feeling she said "kinda not good."  I later felt her feet in her Nikes and realized her toes were squashed to the max!  I don't know how she would have spent another day running in them without causing some serious toe damage.

This is Ida and her best friend Savanna. 
They get along so well.  It makes me happy to see them interact with so much love and care for each other.

Savanna has told Ida that she doesn't have a mom. I don't know the story behind her words, but I do know that she lives with her dad and brother full time.  Her brother and Emerson were actually in the same class last year with the same teacher the girls have this year.  Each morning I see Savanna when I walk Ida to class.  She is always waiting with her arms opened to give Ida and I a hug.  I can tell it means a lot to her.  She squeezes so tight and holds on.  I have decided to hug her as long as she needs because she seems to be longing to hug a motherly figure.

Right around the time Ida outgrew her shoes we were talking about what a great friend Savanna is to Ida and pondering ways we could do something special for her or her family.  We decided to give Savanna Ida's old shoes, seeing as she is small for her age and would be able to grow into them soon.

We got to work finding the old shoes in the storage room and getting them into Ida's school bag, but I felt like we could do more.  Ida felt the same way and suggested we give Savanna her old clothes.  Perfect.  What a great mother-daughter project this turned out to be!  We sorted the clothes, finding Savanna's size, washed and folded them into piles and piles!

Ida wanted to be involved in every step along the way.  I am very proud of her.  We dropped the clothes off yesterday at Savanna's house.  No one was home so we left them on the side porch, just as her dad and I had arranged.  He is so grateful and so am I for accepting our gift.  This was a very meaningful project to Ida.