waiting...

...for St. Nicholas!

I think we need more hooks.

hey, we're still getting some use out of the old computer!

The Requiste Halloween Post

Because I KNOW you're totally NOT sick of seeing other people's adorable pictures of their totes adorable kids in their amazingly adorable costumes, amiright?

Happy All Hallows Eve!  For the first time in forever (ha! now I've got you singing it...) we couldn't decide on a family theme.  We had been discussing ideas for months, but could not all agree on any single one.  So this year was a choose-your-own-adventure kind of Halloween.

There were a few rules: no choice may involve either a) an expensive get-up from the party store, or b) Mom spending hours sewing.  Sorry, kids, Mommy doesn't love you that much any more.

So, working within the stated limits, here are the spooks that haunt our house:

Mona Melendy, from The Saturdays, after she got her infamous haircut and manicure.

Miriam

A ballerina.  (She was crushed that we wouldn't get her a Classic "pancake" Tutu and instead insisted that she wear Mom's old, and therefore free, Romantic Tutu.)

Katie

 It got pretty chilly that evening, so Miss Ballerina had to add a layer to her elegant ensemble:

this is after Trick-or-Treating, if you couldn't tell from the battle-weary face

Darth Vader.  Anyone who says money can't buy happiness never spent $10 on a Darth Vader mask for a 6-year-old boy.  (The lightsaber was a birthday gift -- another brilliant purchase.)

aka Darth Jojo.

Daniel wanted to be -- of all things -- a fox.

sly old thing -- not holding still for ANY of the pictures I took

After a fruitless search for fuzzy ears and tail, we got creative using leftover craft stuff: red felt for the ears, an old red t-shirt for the tail, polyester fiberfill, and tempura paint, all for the low, low price of free ninety-free!

Katie helped paint -- Miriam was going to help sew but she was involved in the carving of her pumpkin Halloween morning.  What, doesn't everyone wait until Halloween day to work on their costumes???

To complete the homemade feel, everything's attached with safety pins.

  The tail held on admirably -- it went bouncing along behind the fantastic Mr. Fox as he booked it from house to house!

Andy got what we could dig out of the Dress Up Box: an elf (or an imp, depending on how you look at it).

He wore this hat for about 30 seconds -- just long enough for the picture.  And that was it.

So in retrospect I guess we DID have a theme this year: "Mom Is Cheap And Lazy"!  I find it actually more creative and challenging -- and therefore more satisfying -- to try to use what we have on hand to create the look we want.

Store-bought costumes are for sissies.

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In our house, every child picks his own pumpkin.  The only stipulation is that he has to be able to carry his chosen pumpkin to the car.

Miriam's pumpkin was 25 pounds.  Andy's was 2.5.

Here are Andy's and Miriam's pumpkins.  Miriam swore she would never a) get a pumpkin this big again because it took SO LONG to scoop out and her hands were SO SORE, or b) carve a spider web again because she COULDN'T get it to look right and it was SO HARD to cut out and it KEPT BREAKING.  Oh yes, preteen drama in full force here, folks.

We actually had to blow out Andy's pumpkin's candle before we left for Trick-or-Treating, because it was starting to cook the lid -- his pumpkin was so tiny!

L-R: Joseph's, Katie's, and Daniel's.  Joseph did most of his himself.  He was very proud of it.

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For dinner we had Smilin' Jack Casserole.  (aka "Beef in a Pumpkin," courtesy of Mom B.'s recipe from ages ago.  We did not have Wormy Baked Apples -- there is only so much ambition of which I am capable in one afternoon, especially since I thought it would be a good idea to can some apple butter that afternoon before we ate all the apples!)  It's basically ground beef sauteed with onions and bell peppers, then baked in a parboiled sugar pumpkin until mushy, and everything is scooped out together.  The grownups loved it.  The kids... not so much.  No matter what you flavor it with, baked squash is still baked squash.

One of the Jacks got poked in the eye.

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After a token dinner (the kids eating just enough to qualify for a candy binge when they got home), we went traipsing about the neighborhood with some dear friends.

when they arrived at our house, we didn't recognize the clown until she started talking!

We ended up splitting into two groups -- those able to run from house to house, and those needing to be carried after about 20 minutes.

Everyone had a little more stamina this year, so they brought in a larger haul.  We would have been out longer, but for the cold!  Poor Miriam's legs almost froze off.

Since Miriam couldn't eat any of the candy, she got to have... apples!  Yay!

No, I'm nicer than that.  We bought a big box of allergen-free candy earlier in the week so Miriam and Mr. Pickles could eat themselves sick too.  So now there's this poor, lonely, unclaimed pumpkin full of candy, just sitting on the kitchen island....

Happy Excessive Flossing Season, everyone!

I think they got the memo.

They were gone 3 days later. 

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DEATH TO ANTS recipe:

Bring to a boil in a saucepan:
-1 c. sugar
-1 tbsp. Borax
-1/2 c. water
Boil for 3 mins.  Cool.  Place in shallow container (like a jar lid) near ant trail, inaccessible to small children and pets. Watch ants swarm (heebiejeebieheebiejeebie), then vanish.

Guess who's two!

It's Andy-pants!

What? Who?

Wait, it's me?

Oh yeah!  Happy Birthday to meeeeee!  Hahahahahaaaaaa!

Wow.  Such fancy.  Very cake decorating skilz.  Amaze.

"Andy, smile!"  *click*

ERRbody knows the icing is the best part.  The ONLY part, really.

Andy's birthday was a week ago Saturday.  We invited some friends over in the morning for a "very informal birthday-playdate-with-cake."  (That translates to: "Please don't worry about presents since I'm only calling you about this three days before the fact.")  After a frantic morning of vacuuming up most of the leaves tracked inside and making sure the downstairs bathroom didn't smell funny (I have a 4yo boy -- 'nuff said), the girls decorated with copious balloons and a wall of streamers while I prepped snacks.  (I made caramel sauce to dip apples in!  Go me!)  The kids played, the grownups talked philosophy, we forced the kids to stop playing so they could eat, we sang to Andy, we had cupcakes.  Then everyone went home and Andy took a nice long nap.  Great two-year-old birthday!

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Andy is a funny kid.  He began walking exactly a year ago, on his first birthday, and I think he's hardly sat down since.

except here, to ride Katie's unicorn pillow pet -- which is just right for him!

 He will sit down to eat, though, unlike Katie who had to have drive-by dinner or else she would have starved.

Whenever he's hungry, he asks for "Os", which usually means shredded wheat.

 He is turning out to be similar in temperament to Jojo, which is going to be just lots and lots of fun as they grow up together.  (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping from my fingers?)  He has a short fuse and tends to be strong-ish willed, and his most common way of expressing frustration with the universe (or his brothers) is by shrieking.  (Joseph's preferred method of expression is roaring like the Incredible Hulk.)  Once I heard a loud noise and couldn't tell if it was Andy shrieking or the tea kettle boiling.  No joke.

these two are often thrown together when I'm doing school with everyone else.  lots of cuteness

 But, he is very cute.  He loves all his siblings, and is loved and adored by all of them.

"Tetee" teaching him how to take a selfie

 And like a typical 2-year-old, Andy is a just a silly pants.  This is how we know he is definitely ours.

The Manolo he love the shoes.

He loves vehicles.  No, I mean, really LOVES vehicles, which are all "trucks", or in Andy-speak, "dutch."  (He's just starting to sound more like an English speaker -- once he figures out more consonants, he might actually be understandable!)  Once during the summer I had a planning meeting at a friends' house.  She brought out a giant box of match box cars to keep the little boys occupied.  Andy spent a happy TWO HOURS parking them all along the window sills and bookcase shelves and end tables in her living room. 

I regularly find trains and trucks and cars lined up along our coffee table.  They are always all pointing the same direction.  And HEAVEN FORBID you should put them away before he is done with them!!

Looking forward to another year of his silly-pants-ness!

Bluebells

This way ages ago, but who minds looking at bluebells at any time of year?  No one, that's who!  Plus, I figured all you semi-desert-dwellers might appreciate a spot of color at this point.

it's odd to see Miriam's hair so long here -- she had it chopped in June

 The girls spent a good part of the time giving Mom a heart attack.

...or getting muddy in a delicious mud puddle Katie found.

The boys spent their time getting their pants wet and throwing rocks in the stream.

 
 ...and, of course, finding the largest sticks they could carry.

The bluebells are like magic -- they surprise me with their beauty every year.

 And they make everybody happy!

Last Family Fling of the Summer

hmm... netflix, blog... netflix, blog... oh fine, blog

Hey there!  Bet you thought I'd forgotten about you.  Nope, I've been composing posts in my head ever since the last one.  Which is unfortunate because I am easily distracted by shiny things so all those brilliant thoughts are gone and you'll have to put up with my usual pathetic-attempts-at-witty meanderings.

(Okay, I'm really tired tonight, so this oughta being interesting...)

So the main reason it's been quiet around here for a while is that we went to THE BEACH!!!  Well, it wasn't a California beach, but Bethany Beach in Delaware still qualifies as a decent beach experience: it met all the necessary requirements -- sun, sand, water, seagulls, and a delicious salty breeze.

The only thing it was missing was Harolds.

Irish Silliness from St. Patrick's Day

Commercial's screenplay, set, props, and costumes by the girls (mostly Katie).
Camera work by Dad.

(please note: no irreverence to the Blessed Trinity is intended or implied, so you can put away your heretic-burning bonfire now)

(...should I feel guilty for laughing as hysterically at this as I did?)

Some Summertime

So, yep.  It's Labor Day already.  I know I say this every year, but where did August go?  And July, for that matter?  At the end of the summer I always feel like I wasted the golden hours, but when I look over the days I don't feel like they were a waste.  It was a gloriously mild, golden summer.  We spent many, many hours outside.
 

playing hard all day long is TIRING!

Musical humor

Get it?  Get it??

Friendship

What a blessing when your best friends love reading too!

Birthday Week/Quarter/Year

Five birthdays in one!

So, backtracking by about half a year -- Birthday Week was in March, immediately after Miriam, Andy & I returned from the blessed trip to California of blessedness.  As I mentioned in my CA trip post, Birthday Week was necessarily quiet since we had an ear infection and a case of bronchitis to manage.  Plus it was cold.  So we whooped it up, Pickles-style, with lots of sugar and chocolate to compromise over-taxed immune systems further.

First celebration: Miriam Elizabeth.  Good night, I can't believe she's 12.  Because unless the globe suddenly stops spinning, she's going to be 13 next year.  That's right, folks, t-h-i-r-t-e-e-n.  I'm not old enough for this.

The Lies We Tell Our Children

Daniel: "Mommy, is dis your medicine?"

me [grateful he can't read yet]: "Yes.  It is."

Just jumping back in...

So.... can we pretend that I just sort of entered a time warp from the last post and have only just arrived in the present?

Wow.  So, summer.  Has it really been 3 months?  What have we been doing anyway?  Well... we're sort of doing year-round school, since we took so many "days off" during the school year because Mommy was worn out from moving and would rather play on the internet than work we were adjusting to life in the new house.  By now the girls are still doing Math and Geography and maybe a little history, but aside from Math it's all reading picture books so it's not WORK work.  And even getting them to do that much has been a struggle since everyone is on a Lego kick lately.

Exhibit A -- this is actually less messy than usual

Exhibit B

We recently rented The Lego Movie and I think that started the fad.  Daniel's favorite song for the last month has been -- what else? -- "Everything is awesome.... everything is cool when you're part of a team..." rinse, repeat.  That's all of the song that he knows.

~~~~~~~~~~

What else?  Jam.  Jam.  And more jam.  If I make two batches of apple butter, we will have enough jars of spreadin's to last us until the Apocalypse.  (We still have a few jars left over from LAST summer!  And it's still good!)

 
Current stock includes strawberry, blueberry, and peach.  Come November, I will be taking orders. :)

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Okay, weather!  I have to talk about the weather.  It's been unreal.  I've really, really been liking Virginia this year.  It's insane.  Usually this time of year I hate Virginia and everyone in it because I feel like I'm living in an oven.  But it's been lovely!!  We almost pulled out the down comforters the other night.  The only disadvantage I can see is that our pool membership went totally to waste this year -- the couple times I took the kids to the pool they were shivering after half an hour b/c they were so chilly. #firstworldproblems

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The Little Boys (Daniel and Andrew, to be distinguished from The Middles -- Katie, Joseph and Daniel -- and The Bookends -- Miriam and Andrew) have been extra cute lately.  Daniel has been saying the most hilarious things.  I really need to keep paper and a pencil in my pocket.  The other day when I was helping him get dressed, he put his face close to my head and breathed deeply.
Daniel: "Mmmm, Mommy, your hair smells weally GOOD."
me: "Really, what does it smell like?"
Daniel: *sniff*  "Fwuit snacks!"

And then another day as we were out shopping he informed me that when he grew up he wanted to be a "wock'n'woll bander."   A few weeks later he told me he wanted to be something else when he gwew up -- I think a wace car dwiver -- and when I reminded him that he had told me he wanted to be a rock'n'roll bander he snorted and said, "Psh, what's dat?  Dat's weiwd."

Andy has been trying reeeeeally hard to talk lately.  I will be SO happy when he can finally talk to his brothers and TELL them to knock it off instead of shrieking at them.  It got to the point the other day that I had to put him in his bed a few times to impress upon him the undesirability of such a noise in the house.  If that doesn't work I'm buying earplugs.

Of course, the way boys typically communicate, I don't know if they will actually be capable of speaking to each other in a rational conversation, instead of punching each other or knocking each other down, until they're in their late 20s.  Dave?  Joe?  Any insights?

Andy's favorite word is "dutch."  For the uninitiated in Andrewese, that means "wheeled vehicle."  It encompasses cars, trucks, buses, and trains.  He is also fascinated by electronic tools.  He will imitate anything that makes noise.

He especially loves our hand-held blender.  We're trying to get a video of him watching it -- he will work so hard to make a proper motor noise that his face turns red from the effort.

Andy is all about grouping similar items into one category, for simplicity.  In addition to the "truck" category mentioned, there is also "beboo" which refers to blueberries, grapes, raisins, and strawberries; and "appo" for apples, pears, peaches, and nectarines.  Another favorite is "O's" which refers to any cereal.  I will repeat the proper name to him whenever I give him something, and he will give me a look which couldn't say more plainly, "Yes, I know exactly what you are saying, but my way is much more efficient."

~~~~~~~~~~

So, speaking of food, Mr. Pickles and I are back on the Fat Flush Plan.  Our fridge is full of rabbit food.  We're in week 2 now, and we've both already lost a few pounds.   It's been very good curbing the thoughtless eating habits I'd gained over the past year -- plus it's also good having energy again.  As I get older I realize that I'm really going to have to keep my grain intake in check.  Mr. Pickles has been feeling better too -- something he was eating had been bothering him constantly -- we suspect dairy, even in the small amounts he was consuming. (and no, it's not a lactose intolerance -- it's more annoyingly subtle and mysterious)

It will be nice to fit back into all those clothes that are gathering dust in the bottom of my closet...

~~~~~~~~~~

So... that's a little gossip about us.  I recently discovered TWO unpublished drafts which I will get up post-haste.  Plus there are oodles of pictures from the summer.  Brace yourselves!

{P,H,F,R} -- Spring Edition!

Achoo!

Well, spring is in full bloom 'round here.  FINALLY.  We've had some truly lovely days.  And rain.  Lots of rain.  The best thing about the rainy days is at least it keeps the pollen down.

{Pretty}

 Spring.  Pretty much.

pink dogwood

Its no wonder this time of year makes hearts sing and poets write.  When you've just spent several months convinced that the universe is trying to kill you, it's so refreshing receiving a loving caress instead when you open your door.

Little bit o' craftiness

Forgot to mention the little sweater I made for Regina.  Baby sweaters are such a great kitting project b/c they're so small and quick!  And the Baby Surprise Jacket is a pattern I've used before, so I was able to avoid the mistakes I made last time, and make a whole set of new ones instead.

I thought Rie might be a leetle overwhelmed with pink, so I went with a purpley self-striping baby yarn.  It was such a joy to work with.

I actually added some crochet ties to the front, and then didn' take a pic of the finished product.  Natch.

There was oodles of yarn left over (better to buy too much than too little!) so Miriam made a little baby cap to match.  She whipped that thing out in record time -- started it a day or so before we left, and finished it AT the baptism party.  (I didn't get a picture of it either.)

We have no idea if either of the items actually fit. (*cough*photographicevidence*cough*)  But they were sure fun to make.  I hope Regina feels how much she's loved.

In which we breathe deeply

I solemnly swear I will publish this today or perish in the attempt.


So back in March our newest niece was baptized.  My darling baby brother gave us less than a month's notice, probably thinking there was No Way we would be coming.  But I had promised Miriam ages ago that if they ever had another baby and I went to the baptism that I would bring her along -- and she remembered, so I had to make good on my promise.  Thankfully it was just enough time to find and purchase tickets and otherwise prepare for several days' absence.  Mr. Pickles is an admirable Lord-and-Master of the Household, but still there are lots of detail-type-thingies that the Queen-and-Domestic-Goddess is just better about remembering.

Basically, I had to make sure they weren't running around naked and eating nothing but berries and nuts while I was gone.

In Which We Begin to Catch Up

Holy crap, has it really been that long since the last time I wrote?  Sorry guys!

Soooo....  February, huh.  You know, every day I'm thinking of things I want to share with you all.  And then I do stuff to keep this family machine thing going and next thing I know it's 10:30 and there's no way my brain is functioning well enough to compose a coherent post.  (Actually, a post then might be pretty funny.  Or not.  Half of my nouns would be "thingy" and most of my children would be "that one kid who did that thing.")  But all that goes to say that I often think about all of you family and friends and passing acquaintances who read this blog, and want to share a little bit of our personal 3-ring circus with you, if for no other reason than to make you glad you're living your life and not ours.  But it's mostly because we love you all and miss you all and this is our way of bringing you closer.

Group hug.

Okay, bring on the clowns.  Gosh, what have we been doing?  The biggest two things since the last post were a last-minute trip to California (you better be hearing that in Uncle Arnie's voice -- it's THE only way to say the state's name now, you know) and Birthday Week.  Lemme poke around in the pictures and see if there's anything else I missed before we get to the really good stuff.

More pictures of snow?  Hmmm...  maybe later. :)  I know!  How about the laundry room on a snow day when friends come to visit!

Not pictured are the several pairs of snow pants hanging on the closet doors.

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The National Gallery of Art was hosting an exhibit of Byzantine art until last month.  Because we are us, we waited until one of the last few days to go before it moved on.  I confess I wasn't able to pay attention to very much of it, since someone thought it would be a good idea to take the whole family and some of the family just aren't into ancient Byzantine art.

The fountain was the favorite part of the museum for certain family members.

 We brought paper and pencils for the kids, and had the older ones copy their favorite piece.  The museum security kept watching us suspiciously, especially after Joseph leaned against a wall to keep out of the way.  The guard warned him to keep off the walls, since he would set off alarms (seriously?  the WALLS are alarmed?), and then barked at us just not to touch anything.

I think in order to get the job of museum guard you have to prove that you hate people and assume that everyone who comes to appreciate the art is really an art thief or vandal.  Sheesh.

In between boy-wrangling, I was struck once again with how much human emotion is often written into an icon.  The Virgin Hodegetria was especially moving.  The image doesn't nearly do it justice; it's much more vibrant and beautiful in real life.

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Sometimes after Andy eats, its just easier to give him a bath than try to clean him off with a little washcloth.

heyyyyyyy...

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Andy has also discovered the toddler camera face.

Andy's chosen bedtime reading?  "Great Issues in American History: From the Revolution to the Civil War, 1765-1865."

Wow, these Lincoln-Douglas debates are fascinating!

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This was probably the most awesome double rainbow I have ever seen.  It was HUGE -- it stretched across half the sky and couldn't fit into one shot.

"When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." -- Gen. 9:16.

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Finally, a preview of things to come: a St. Patrick's Day sketch prepared by the girls! (once I figure out how to edit video on this here new-fangled compooter thingy)