Soot Sprite!
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Christmas 2018
Guess who got a new camera!!!
Soot Sprite!
Just kidding. He doesn't like the new camera. It Makes Noise.
Soot Sprite!
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Katie at 14
Had some time in between turkey bastings to get this post up!
So my baby girl turned 14 two weeks ago. Whenever I look at all our baby girl clothes stored away I get a little nostalgic, but really I'm enjoying this stage with two teenage girls in the house, too. It's nicer now that Katie has passed the age of 13, and we'll just leave it at that. ;)
For her birthday she simply wanted to spend it in total leisure: staying in her jammies, playing video games, writing stories, chatting with friends, eating special birthday foods, and not having to go anywhere.
She is a woman after my own heart! Since as a homeschooling mom I have the power to determine when school breaks are, I have decreed that all birthdays are family holidays, which everyone appreciates.
One of the things I am appreciating most about Katie is that she loves baking, so she insisted on making her own birthday cake: cupcakes in cones. She had a particular artistic vision for coloring and swirling the batter. I was happy to leave that in her charge.
We had to postpone her birthday party because of a virus that was taking its sweet time to make it through the family; but she's planning on having a spa night sleepover with friends. I gave her a strict budget for supplies so we wouldn't go bankrupt over face masks and cuticle oil. (It's actually been fun taking her and her best friend shopping for the supplies.)
Here is a good representation of Katie these days:
She is never without her binder of stories and pictures. I am going to start making her purchase her own paper. She already went through 3/4 of the looseleaf I bought on sale in August for SCHOOL purposes.
And here, to shock everyone, is Katie-at-13 vs. Katie-at-14:
So that's our Birthday Bear! Still as creative and hilarious and sarcastic as ever, and we wuv her wots.
So my baby girl turned 14 two weeks ago. Whenever I look at all our baby girl clothes stored away I get a little nostalgic, but really I'm enjoying this stage with two teenage girls in the house, too. It's nicer now that Katie has passed the age of 13, and we'll just leave it at that. ;)
For her birthday she simply wanted to spend it in total leisure: staying in her jammies, playing video games, writing stories, chatting with friends, eating special birthday foods, and not having to go anywhere.
She is a woman after my own heart! Since as a homeschooling mom I have the power to determine when school breaks are, I have decreed that all birthdays are family holidays, which everyone appreciates.
One of the things I am appreciating most about Katie is that she loves baking, so she insisted on making her own birthday cake: cupcakes in cones. She had a particular artistic vision for coloring and swirling the batter. I was happy to leave that in her charge.
 |
| she was cold |
Here is a good representation of Katie these days:
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| except usually she's in jammies. (one of the very best things about homeschooling!) |
And here, to shock everyone, is Katie-at-13 vs. Katie-at-14:
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| 13-and-change |
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| 14. aaaaaaaaaaaahhh! |
Thursday, November 01, 2018
Our cat can Can-can, can yours?
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| oh joy! oh rapture! |
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| MINE. |
(A friend's daughter borrowed my ancient and venerable can-can costume to wear last night. All your hard work, Mom, is still being appreciated and put to good use!)
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
All Hallows Eve 2018
In the "leaving things to the last second" catergory:
a) we bought these pumpkins this morning:
b) Andy was undecided about his costume until 3 pm:
also b) I used leftover fabric from the girls' capes and pinned it to Nicky's hoodie to make the wings. I did exactly zero sewing of costumes this year. (I used pinking shears to cut out the girls' capes -- no hemming! Score!)
Someone tonight asked them if they were twins.
(reference)
Nicky ate most of a Hershey's bar and didn't like how his chocolatey hands felt so he decided to wipe them on the carpeted stairs.
When we got home from trick-or-treating he was sitting up in one of the bedroom windows, lit up from behind. He looked exactly like a cat silhouette decoration.
The only picture I didn't get but wish I had was a shot of our whole group. We had 4 other families join us for pretty much our own Halloween parade. After about one street we inevitably divided up into 3 separate groups, based upon walking speed. Somehow I ended up with the boys, which was of course the fastest group. For them candy collecting is serious business -- you don't waste time! Of course all the teen girls lagged behind, since all they wanted to do was chat.
Once the small fry were done they all went back to our house and dumped their candy on the floor to examine, trade, and devour. That's another picture I should have got -- sundry super heroes and army men camped all over my living room, surrounded by a great sea of chocolate and lollipops.
We didn't seem to have as many trick-or-treaters come to our house this year (aside from the 20 or so who were part of our own group), so we have lots of leftover candy. Oh, darn! (I always make sure to get all my favorite kinds, just to prepare for this very eventuality.) (Also, I'm so glad I recoverd from that food poisoning in time.)
Happy All Hallows Eve!
a) we bought these pumpkins this morning:
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| note to self: buy more carving knives for next year |
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| I think it turned out well -- Katie helped him pick it out |
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| isn't he adorable?? look at his widdle tail! |
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| Ninja Jojo (that's just fun to say) |
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| Daniel went as Link again |
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| Toothless/Nicky wanted a sad face pumpkin |
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| "Nicky, show your wings and go ROAR!" |
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| isn't Katie's Triforce pumpkin AWESOME? |
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| you'll never guess which musical Miriam's into these days... |
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| "Kuuuuubooooo....." |
(reference)
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| the post-op trade fest |
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| Soot Sprite dressed up as a familiar for Halloween |
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| ooooooooooo! |
Once the small fry were done they all went back to our house and dumped their candy on the floor to examine, trade, and devour. That's another picture I should have got -- sundry super heroes and army men camped all over my living room, surrounded by a great sea of chocolate and lollipops.
We didn't seem to have as many trick-or-treaters come to our house this year (aside from the 20 or so who were part of our own group), so we have lots of leftover candy. Oh, darn! (I always make sure to get all my favorite kinds, just to prepare for this very eventuality.) (Also, I'm so glad I recoverd from that food poisoning in time.)
Happy All Hallows Eve!
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Andy is 6!
testing... testing... 1-2-3... does this thing still work? excellent!
Andy had a big week last week. We started off with the feast of one of his patrons, Pope Saint John Paul II -- the Great -- on Monday. Feast days equal dessert days, and are therefore a Big Deal. Katie, who is rapidly becoming The Resident Baker, whipped up a batch of snickerdoodles in honor of the occasion.
Then Thursday was his 6th birthday. Unfortunately it was just another work day in some ways; Miriam had class, so we still had to haul ourselves out of bed early so Miriam could discuss bones with her advanced biology class for 2 hours. (Her teacher, who is now a practicing physician, used to play rugby of all things. So he had all kinds of stories about all the bones he broke when he was younger. His poor mother.) Actually, Andy didn't really mind -- while Miriam is looking at slides of cells or speaking Spanish we get to hang out in the nursery (classes are held in a very hospitable church's basement classrooms) and play with all the toys. Since birthdays are automatic holidays in our house, I didn't bring any school to do. So Andy and Dominic got to play with friends and eat snacks and cupcakes that we brought to share. Not too bad a deal.
After a lunch of crepes with strawberries and whipped cream another friend whose birthday was earlier in the week had a party at the park that afternoon, so we got to hang out with more friends and eat cake. (October parties at the park are always a gamble -- thankfully the weather cooperated and it wasn't too cold or windy that day.) (We also got a couple weird looks from the other moms there who were with their sweet little tiny tots, as our ginormous crew of 14 obviously school-aged children took over the playground.) And THEN Daddy came home early and made pizza for dinner and we had MORE cupcakes for dessert. Add to that that he got just what he wanted for his presents and he got to choose what video game everyone played that evening, you have one happy six year old. When I asked him at the end of the day how his birthday went, he said, "AWEsome." (Actually, it was more like "awethome" because of that adorable little lisp.)
Then on Saturday we had a little party for him with all the usual suspects (best friends, neighbors). I wasn't involved in the planning of it, but apparently I ought to have been -- there were a couple details that weren't decided until the last second, and the activities were not very well regulated (at one point we had bored kids wandering around the house). Well, lessoned learned: always double-check the plan. At any rate, Andy was happy and loved being with his friends, so that's what really mattered.
Andy's six-year-old brain has been doing all kinds of fun stuff. He's starting to read random things on his own -- he's always sounding out words wherever we are (remind me never to take him into a public bathroom). Meanwhile, we're on the letter "D" in his phonics book. ...I think I need to pick up the pace a little.
He is also obsessed with swear words. Not that he SAYS them, he just tells me often about the one or two times he heard someone say (a mild) one. When he gets mad he says "STUPID!" which I guess is the six-year-old equivalent of a swear word.
He is also obsessed with weaponry of every kind. Everything he plays with turns into a weapon eventually. We have a lovely wooden educational set of letters of word boards -- all those little letters have been guns and bombs and bad guys for a long time -- I don't think they're ever actually used for their intended purpose. So for his birthday he wanted a gun with a scope. I REFUSED to buy the dart sniper rifle he saw in Walmart (really, Nerf??? I lived in DC in 2002!) but we found a cool Star Wars nerf dart blaster that makes laser sounds, and also has a scope. And the darts glow in the dark. So, yeah, way cooler and better than the future-terrorist-in-training toy.
We have fun speculating about what Andy will be when he grows up. He definitely likes all his ducks in a row -- and if you gave him some toy ducks, that would be proved literally. He understands the whole "place for everything and everything in its place" thing instrinsically, which is awesome. It's always nice for a mother of a large family to have one ally in the battle against total chaos!
We'll see what this year brings for Andy!
Andy had a big week last week. We started off with the feast of one of his patrons, Pope Saint John Paul II -- the Great -- on Monday. Feast days equal dessert days, and are therefore a Big Deal. Katie, who is rapidly becoming The Resident Baker, whipped up a batch of snickerdoodles in honor of the occasion.
Then Thursday was his 6th birthday. Unfortunately it was just another work day in some ways; Miriam had class, so we still had to haul ourselves out of bed early so Miriam could discuss bones with her advanced biology class for 2 hours. (Her teacher, who is now a practicing physician, used to play rugby of all things. So he had all kinds of stories about all the bones he broke when he was younger. His poor mother.) Actually, Andy didn't really mind -- while Miriam is looking at slides of cells or speaking Spanish we get to hang out in the nursery (classes are held in a very hospitable church's basement classrooms) and play with all the toys. Since birthdays are automatic holidays in our house, I didn't bring any school to do. So Andy and Dominic got to play with friends and eat snacks and cupcakes that we brought to share. Not too bad a deal.
After a lunch of crepes with strawberries and whipped cream another friend whose birthday was earlier in the week had a party at the park that afternoon, so we got to hang out with more friends and eat cake. (October parties at the park are always a gamble -- thankfully the weather cooperated and it wasn't too cold or windy that day.) (We also got a couple weird looks from the other moms there who were with their sweet little tiny tots, as our ginormous crew of 14 obviously school-aged children took over the playground.) And THEN Daddy came home early and made pizza for dinner and we had MORE cupcakes for dessert. Add to that that he got just what he wanted for his presents and he got to choose what video game everyone played that evening, you have one happy six year old. When I asked him at the end of the day how his birthday went, he said, "AWEsome." (Actually, it was more like "awethome" because of that adorable little lisp.)
Then on Saturday we had a little party for him with all the usual suspects (best friends, neighbors). I wasn't involved in the planning of it, but apparently I ought to have been -- there were a couple details that weren't decided until the last second, and the activities were not very well regulated (at one point we had bored kids wandering around the house). Well, lessoned learned: always double-check the plan. At any rate, Andy was happy and loved being with his friends, so that's what really mattered.
 |
| he wanted chocolate cake with strawberry icing and sprinkles and a rainbow made out of jellybeans. (that icing was AWESOME -- I was eating it straight out of the bowl) |
 |
| the requisite Silly Picture |
He is also obsessed with swear words. Not that he SAYS them, he just tells me often about the one or two times he heard someone say (a mild) one. When he gets mad he says "STUPID!" which I guess is the six-year-old equivalent of a swear word.
He is also obsessed with weaponry of every kind. Everything he plays with turns into a weapon eventually. We have a lovely wooden educational set of letters of word boards -- all those little letters have been guns and bombs and bad guys for a long time -- I don't think they're ever actually used for their intended purpose. So for his birthday he wanted a gun with a scope. I REFUSED to buy the dart sniper rifle he saw in Walmart (really, Nerf??? I lived in DC in 2002!) but we found a cool Star Wars nerf dart blaster that makes laser sounds, and also has a scope. And the darts glow in the dark. So, yeah, way cooler and better than the future-terrorist-in-training toy.
We have fun speculating about what Andy will be when he grows up. He definitely likes all his ducks in a row -- and if you gave him some toy ducks, that would be proved literally. He understands the whole "place for everything and everything in its place" thing instrinsically, which is awesome. It's always nice for a mother of a large family to have one ally in the battle against total chaos!
We'll see what this year brings for Andy!
Monday, July 23, 2018
ISO plant recommendation
Hey friends, I need some gardening advice ASAP. So, this is the planter where Mr. Pickles found the EVILLL poison ivy.
Living as we do in a state that gets, on average, 10 inches of rain in the summer, keeping the weeds at bay is exactly like shoveling while it's still snowing. It's a hopeless and demoralizing task. (90% of that green stuff in the picture above shouldn't be there.) The only way to have any kind of chance of keeping ahead at least is to crowd 'em out with intentional plants!
So... what should I plant there?
It's in the backyard, so it gets very little sun thanks to the giant tulip poplars behind us. (which are lovely in the summer -- keep the back much cooler)
There's one very meek hydrangea in that back corner, but out of frame to the right is another planter with two more flourishing hydrangeas, so I am not attached to this spindly one at all.
Now I love creeping phlox -- I just discovered what it was this spring. Would that be too flat and boring for the whole box? It's 8' square. Or maybe I could plant two things -- one that blooms in spring, one in summer? I currently don't have anything in the back that's blooming right now -- the crepe myrtles are glorious right now but they are all in the front. Actually, I take that back -- there is also a small hibiscus that's putting out a few tentative blooms, but they're not visible from the dining room.
I don't want anything too tall, since I don't really want whatever I plant to compete with the maple or lilac behind, which leaves out forsythia, which I also love. (Forsythia is also a plain-looking hedge 11/12 of the year.) Also, it HAS to be a perennial, since I know myself well enough to accept that I cannot keep up with an annual bed. I have two pots lining the driveway in which I was supposed to keep fresh annuals, and they are a sad, sad sight. (I'm not going to humiliate myself by posting a picture of THAT, nossir.)
So: flowering perennial(s), not too tall, shade-tolerant, possibly blooming mid-summer. Oh, also not poisonous to children. Important to put that in there too.
Recommendations?
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| kindly ignore the giant watering pillar of ugliness |
So... what should I plant there?
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| Japanese maple behind it, new sandbox to the left, dying bleeding heart to the far left |
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| lilacs to the right |
Now I love creeping phlox -- I just discovered what it was this spring. Would that be too flat and boring for the whole box? It's 8' square. Or maybe I could plant two things -- one that blooms in spring, one in summer? I currently don't have anything in the back that's blooming right now -- the crepe myrtles are glorious right now but they are all in the front. Actually, I take that back -- there is also a small hibiscus that's putting out a few tentative blooms, but they're not visible from the dining room.
 |
| (view from dining room, with "empty" box dead center) |
I don't want anything too tall, since I don't really want whatever I plant to compete with the maple or lilac behind, which leaves out forsythia, which I also love. (Forsythia is also a plain-looking hedge 11/12 of the year.) Also, it HAS to be a perennial, since I know myself well enough to accept that I cannot keep up with an annual bed. I have two pots lining the driveway in which I was supposed to keep fresh annuals, and they are a sad, sad sight. (I'm not going to humiliate myself by posting a picture of THAT, nossir.)
So: flowering perennial(s), not too tall, shade-tolerant, possibly blooming mid-summer. Oh, also not poisonous to children. Important to put that in there too.
Recommendations?
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Belated Spring Photodump
Picking up from the last photodump...
March
Happy First Day of Spring!
March
Happy First Day of Spring!
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| poor confused Camellias |
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| Krazy Kitty likes the snow (it makes him much easier to spot) |
Thursday, June 28, 2018
tfw...
...almost all the schoolwork is done, the standardized tests have been taken, there are no more recitals/performances coming up, all summer plans and camps have been arranged, all doctor appts have been scheduled, and everyone has clothes to last the summer.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Also, I feel totally lost. What the heck am I supposed to be doing with myself now??? It feels very unnatural to be able to sit on my deck and sip iced tea and read a novel in the middle of the morning!
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So, what are we up to? This week, blessedly not much. This is the first week of our sort-of summer break, inasmuch as those who haven't finished all their schoolwork yet have a much lighter load, and there aren't any places that people need to be driven to (at least until the camps start).
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Also, I feel totally lost. What the heck am I supposed to be doing with myself now??? It feels very unnatural to be able to sit on my deck and sip iced tea and read a novel in the middle of the morning!
----------
So, what are we up to? This week, blessedly not much. This is the first week of our sort-of summer break, inasmuch as those who haven't finished all their schoolwork yet have a much lighter load, and there aren't any places that people need to be driven to (at least until the camps start).
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
Miriam on the piano
Here's a preview of what Miriam's going to play for her recital this Friday:
"Gardens in the Rain" by Claude Debussy (with toddler accompaniment)
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Winter photodump
January
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| umm, don't think you fit there any more, Baby |
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| arrr, fercious pirate kitteh wants all yer catnip |
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| Nicky "helping" Miriam to practice |
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Bling!
Guess who got her ears pierced!!!
At 13, Katie finally decided she was ready to have holes drilled in her earlobes. And look how pretty they are!
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Are. You. Kidding. Me.
Happy first day of Spring, everyone!
Yeesh.
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| that is actual snow. falling from the sky. |
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
The Family Speedcuber
Miriam got a Rubiks Speed Cube for Christmas, and she's been making good use of it:
She spent most of Tech Week playing around with our older, stiffer Rubiks, memorizing algorithms, when all the actors were spending a lot of time sitting around waiting to rehearse. (Because, of course, doing school work was out of the question, with all your friends around!)
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| 51 seconds!!! |
Sunday, January 21, 2018
It's for your own good, really.
These pictures are from a couple weeks ago -- right now I can hear the kids playing outside in the sunshine through my open window. Virginia weather is so weird.
Sorry, kitty. No outside today.
...Just trust me on this one.
----------
So kitty had a little adventure the other day. We went out of town for a couple days, and even though we had a pet sitter come and play with Soot Sprite, he wasn't allowed outside for 48 whole hours which just about killed him. We let him out the day after we got back, and he insisted on spending the whole rest of the day outside, even his afternoon naptime! He would. not. come. in. Katie and I, and then later Mr. Pickles, spent 7 hours on and off trying to catch him: chasing him, calling him, banging his dinner bowl, but he was in psycho kitty mode and would not be caught. So guess what -- he got to sleep outside! Thankfully it only got down to the upper 20s. He's got a lovely fluffy coat so he wasn't in any danger, but it definitely was not comfortable weather for a kitty used to sleeping on a down comforter at night.
The next morning I woke up with visions of frost-bitten ears, or scars from tussles with the neighborhood fox, or someone kidnapping him (he had managed to lose his collar somewhere). But when I opened the back door at 6:30 am wondering if we were going to have to hunt for his cold, lifeless body, he came trotting right in, ran straight to his bowl and ate and ate and ate and then spent the rest of the day sleeping on Miriam's bed. Serves him right, the little rotter.
He is so grounded.
Sorry, kitty. No outside today.
...Just trust me on this one.
 |
| it was SO COLD for so long that my giant rain barrel froze solid |
So kitty had a little adventure the other day. We went out of town for a couple days, and even though we had a pet sitter come and play with Soot Sprite, he wasn't allowed outside for 48 whole hours which just about killed him. We let him out the day after we got back, and he insisted on spending the whole rest of the day outside, even his afternoon naptime! He would. not. come. in. Katie and I, and then later Mr. Pickles, spent 7 hours on and off trying to catch him: chasing him, calling him, banging his dinner bowl, but he was in psycho kitty mode and would not be caught. So guess what -- he got to sleep outside! Thankfully it only got down to the upper 20s. He's got a lovely fluffy coat so he wasn't in any danger, but it definitely was not comfortable weather for a kitty used to sleeping on a down comforter at night.
The next morning I woke up with visions of frost-bitten ears, or scars from tussles with the neighborhood fox, or someone kidnapping him (he had managed to lose his collar somewhere). But when I opened the back door at 6:30 am wondering if we were going to have to hunt for his cold, lifeless body, he came trotting right in, ran straight to his bowl and ate and ate and ate and then spent the rest of the day sleeping on Miriam's bed. Serves him right, the little rotter.
He is so grounded.
Christmas 2017
So, despite the bout of influenza that made its slow rounds through the fam, we were still able to have a good Christmas break.
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| Opportunist Kitty makes good use of feverish people -- they are so comfy! |
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