I've been making most of our meals "from scratch" lately. You know, fresh veggies, raw meats, etc. It gives you such a feel of accomplishment for the little extra effort. And I've discovered that I make some AWESOME chicken soup.
That sure did come in handy today. I kept the girls home from school; poor Libby was up all night throwing up :(
Both girls have gone on and on about how good my soup is... makes a mommy so proud!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Musings...
So as each of my children grows older, marching through the many stages of childhood, I sit back and contemplate each of them.
Ben is nearing the age of "double digits". He reads, he writes(though he detests it) and he is really very selfsufficient in a lot of ways. But he still likes it when Mom makes his microwave pizza, when Mom brings him his clean clothes to put on for school, sitting in Mom's lap and cuddling close. He also loves his younger siblings. Loves to make them laugh and smile, loves to drive them crazy and delight in their screams. He's is your typical boy, but he is very strong in his Faith. And for that I am so very grateful.
Libby is such a character. She is learning so much, picks up so many things along the way to repeat at the next appropriate time and surprise us with her astute obsevation. But in a way she doesn't have any sense of propriety. "Hello, fat lady!" she will say cheerily. How do you explain to someone why a seven-year-old would say that? "Papaw is too old for hugs." she will say. And then I explain, that you're never too old for hugs. You'd think that she'd remember that, as often as we snuggle on the couch together.
Abigail. One minute she's so grown up, taking care of her sister and little brother, talking about happenings at school, singing a song that she heard in a CareBear movie. The next minute something terribly tragic has happened (oh, the mind of a dramaqueen) and she's needs to be soothed and rocked like a baby while she sucks on those two special fingers for comfort. She's an extreme, she's either extremely happy or extremely upset. There are NO inbetweens for this one.
Caleb is growing so fast I feel that he's shot from baby straight to preschooler, skipping toddler in the process. He's talking a blue streak, beginning to show interest in the potty, and so very helpful when Mommy is doing dishes or laundry. And in spite of his nearness to the big 2 he is still having his milkies about twice a day. I cherish those moments when I can pretend he's still a little baby snuggled up in my arms...until he looks up at me and starts talking about the cat or the horse or his siblings or his piggies.
Which brings me to the situation I'm in right now. I am getting "the fever" again... BAD this time. So far, everyone tries to talk me out of it, or at least postpone trying. I've been mulling it over for the past few months and I really really REALLY want another one... RIGHT NOW! Luckily, it doesn't work that way and so we would have at least 9 months from today to build a bigger house and possibly get a more reliable minivan. So I think that the best thing to do would be to stop using "preventive methods" and let God decide. He's always taken care of me.
Ben is nearing the age of "double digits". He reads, he writes(though he detests it) and he is really very selfsufficient in a lot of ways. But he still likes it when Mom makes his microwave pizza, when Mom brings him his clean clothes to put on for school, sitting in Mom's lap and cuddling close. He also loves his younger siblings. Loves to make them laugh and smile, loves to drive them crazy and delight in their screams. He's is your typical boy, but he is very strong in his Faith. And for that I am so very grateful.
Libby is such a character. She is learning so much, picks up so many things along the way to repeat at the next appropriate time and surprise us with her astute obsevation. But in a way she doesn't have any sense of propriety. "Hello, fat lady!" she will say cheerily. How do you explain to someone why a seven-year-old would say that? "Papaw is too old for hugs." she will say. And then I explain, that you're never too old for hugs. You'd think that she'd remember that, as often as we snuggle on the couch together.
Abigail. One minute she's so grown up, taking care of her sister and little brother, talking about happenings at school, singing a song that she heard in a CareBear movie. The next minute something terribly tragic has happened (oh, the mind of a dramaqueen) and she's needs to be soothed and rocked like a baby while she sucks on those two special fingers for comfort. She's an extreme, she's either extremely happy or extremely upset. There are NO inbetweens for this one.
Caleb is growing so fast I feel that he's shot from baby straight to preschooler, skipping toddler in the process. He's talking a blue streak, beginning to show interest in the potty, and so very helpful when Mommy is doing dishes or laundry. And in spite of his nearness to the big 2 he is still having his milkies about twice a day. I cherish those moments when I can pretend he's still a little baby snuggled up in my arms...until he looks up at me and starts talking about the cat or the horse or his siblings or his piggies.
Which brings me to the situation I'm in right now. I am getting "the fever" again... BAD this time. So far, everyone tries to talk me out of it, or at least postpone trying. I've been mulling it over for the past few months and I really really REALLY want another one... RIGHT NOW! Luckily, it doesn't work that way and so we would have at least 9 months from today to build a bigger house and possibly get a more reliable minivan. So I think that the best thing to do would be to stop using "preventive methods" and let God decide. He's always taken care of me.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Going green...
So I have been trying to incorporate several different factors into my crafting. I find myself trying to be economical, first and foremost, but also environmentally minded as well. Thus the use of thrifted clothes and linens to make into other things, like cloth shopping bags.
As of this week, I will no longer be buying disposable diapers, wipes, or pullups (cue sideways glance in Abigail's direction). Monday, when I finally ran out of disposables, I cut up some of the more worn out of our bath towels, most of which are over 10 years old, and sewed some primitive (possibly even crude) diapers. But hey, they work, right? I also made lots of fleece diaper covers out of an old Finding Nemo blanket. Yesterday, I went to my mom's, queen of thrifting, and she gave me a stack of cloth diapers she'd picked up here and there. She uses them for dust rags and to soak up spills. A lidded trash can from Target (on sale for $3.50) and some tea tree oil and we were in business. I also picked up some vinyl covered training pants for our current bedwetter. I told her they were washable pullups and she hugged them tight!
And although this started as an effort in frugality, it has become slightly expensive... thanks a lot eBay! I can validate my spending though, because even with all the towel diapers I made, and the prefolds from mom, I only have about eighteen diapers. That's just over a day's worth for Mr. TinkleWinkle.
I'm hoping that using cloth will contribute to a speeding training of my little man. But even if it doesn't, I'm actually enjoying using cloth. We'll see how long the enjoyment lasts, right?
By the way, if anyone has any cloth diapering "stuff" that they don't want, you can send it my way ;)
As of this week, I will no longer be buying disposable diapers, wipes, or pullups (cue sideways glance in Abigail's direction). Monday, when I finally ran out of disposables, I cut up some of the more worn out of our bath towels, most of which are over 10 years old, and sewed some primitive (possibly even crude) diapers. But hey, they work, right? I also made lots of fleece diaper covers out of an old Finding Nemo blanket. Yesterday, I went to my mom's, queen of thrifting, and she gave me a stack of cloth diapers she'd picked up here and there. She uses them for dust rags and to soak up spills. A lidded trash can from Target (on sale for $3.50) and some tea tree oil and we were in business. I also picked up some vinyl covered training pants for our current bedwetter. I told her they were washable pullups and she hugged them tight!
And although this started as an effort in frugality, it has become slightly expensive... thanks a lot eBay! I can validate my spending though, because even with all the towel diapers I made, and the prefolds from mom, I only have about eighteen diapers. That's just over a day's worth for Mr. TinkleWinkle.
I'm hoping that using cloth will contribute to a speeding training of my little man. But even if it doesn't, I'm actually enjoying using cloth. We'll see how long the enjoyment lasts, right?
By the way, if anyone has any cloth diapering "stuff" that they don't want, you can send it my way ;)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A Lesson in Homonyms
*Stained Glass*
An area pastor tells of his first Sunday in the new parish and presenting the children's message. Seems the sanctuary in the new church had some magnificent stained glass windows, so his message centered on how each of us is called of God to help make up the whole picture of life (the life of the community of the faithful). Like the pictures in the windows, it takes many little panels of glass to make the whole picture.
And then he said, "You see each one of you is a little pane." And then pointing to each child, "You're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And..."
It took a few moments before he realized why everyone was laughing so hard.
An area pastor tells of his first Sunday in the new parish and presenting the children's message. Seems the sanctuary in the new church had some magnificent stained glass windows, so his message centered on how each of us is called of God to help make up the whole picture of life (the life of the community of the faithful). Like the pictures in the windows, it takes many little panels of glass to make the whole picture.
And then he said, "You see each one of you is a little pane." And then pointing to each child, "You're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And..."
It took a few moments before he realized why everyone was laughing so hard.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Behind again...
I suppose getting behind during one of the most busy months of the year is excusible, right?
The girls got American Girl dolls for Christmas. I've been searching for patterns and ideas to clothe these since the outfits cost an INSANE amount of money. Of course the matching outfits for the girls are twice as much, nearly as much as the doll itself. But we did splurge and purchase a few of the outfits to go with "Nicki" since she was a limited edition and a cowgirl to boot! Grandma is going to pass along the doll dresser that her dad made for er when she was 7, and Granny bought antique doll bunk beds. Every night they get their "girls" ready for bed. I think maybe it helps them settle down for the night as well.
The AG catalog arrived in the mail yesterday and the girls have been puring over it together, making mental wishlists for their birthdays... what have I gotten myself into?!!
On the same "I'm insane" lines, I bought Ben a remote control spider for Christmas. He loves it for all the reasons you'd imagine: scaring mommy, scaring his sisters, scaring his little brother, scaring the dogs, scaring the new kitten... do you see a trend developing? Luckily I found it while he was schooling with Grandma and tucked it safely away.
I'll have to come back soon and post photos of all the Christmasy goodness.
The girls got American Girl dolls for Christmas. I've been searching for patterns and ideas to clothe these since the outfits cost an INSANE amount of money. Of course the matching outfits for the girls are twice as much, nearly as much as the doll itself. But we did splurge and purchase a few of the outfits to go with "Nicki" since she was a limited edition and a cowgirl to boot! Grandma is going to pass along the doll dresser that her dad made for er when she was 7, and Granny bought antique doll bunk beds. Every night they get their "girls" ready for bed. I think maybe it helps them settle down for the night as well.
The AG catalog arrived in the mail yesterday and the girls have been puring over it together, making mental wishlists for their birthdays... what have I gotten myself into?!!
On the same "I'm insane" lines, I bought Ben a remote control spider for Christmas. He loves it for all the reasons you'd imagine: scaring mommy, scaring his sisters, scaring his little brother, scaring the dogs, scaring the new kitten... do you see a trend developing? Luckily I found it while he was schooling with Grandma and tucked it safely away.
I'll have to come back soon and post photos of all the Christmasy goodness.
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