Feast is finished and I am also finishing up a cold that moved to my chest and now I'm going to bed at 7pm I think. We had fun! Deb and Reuel were saintly co-hosts and got the mess mopped up just in time for company. Here's our menu so I don't have to think from scratch every year. (Seriously, EVERY year I cook I seem to have to start over. I don't get it. Next year maybe I'll remember to look here.)
Appetizers:
Spinach artichoke dip and pita chips
Candied pecans
Dinner:
Rotisserie grilled turkey (12 pounds, Reuel says it was a bit too big)
Perfect mashed potatoes
Balsamic roasted vegetables
Double cranberry apple sauce
Green beans with goat cheese, almonds and tomatoes
Reuel's family's everlasting rolls
Reuel's family's cornbread dressing
Corn pudding (guests)
Dessert:
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Biscotti (guests)
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving!
It is a gloriously sunny day for giving thanks to the Lord today! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
Debbie flew in on Monday and she has whisked away my husband and sons to run a 5k race in Concord this morning. I am here with Eden and a turkey (and a few other things) getting ready to replenish all the calories they burn. We are having a family from church over to eat with us as well...what a great day!
What on earth am I doing sitting here?? Just feeling thankful for a fantastic life, full of grace.
Debbie flew in on Monday and she has whisked away my husband and sons to run a 5k race in Concord this morning. I am here with Eden and a turkey (and a few other things) getting ready to replenish all the calories they burn. We are having a family from church over to eat with us as well...what a great day!
What on earth am I doing sitting here?? Just feeling thankful for a fantastic life, full of grace.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Photos
And Owen's eyes have turned green!
The south wing is finally seeing some renovation (below you see an attempt to cut the contractor's bill while we wait ~a few more weeks for him to start).
You-know-who cannot get enough of demolition. In other headlines concerning our resident adult in a 5 year old body, his new favorite snack is a prune.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Funnies
Snapshot of life with Owen and Asher:
[On the way home from grocery store, getting home late, talking through supper in the car to pave the way for a quick meal.]
Me: OK, who wants white milk and who wants chocolate milk tonight?
Asher: Choc-wat!
Owen: Does chocolate milk make your teeth fall out?
Me: Well...um...yes, I guess if you drank a lot of chocolate milk and didn't brush, your teeth might eventually fall out.
Owen: No, that's not what I mean. Oh mom, I just want white milk.
Me: OK. So your favorite is white milk these days even when I give you a choice?
Owen: Well, I just want to drink lots and lots of white milk so my teeth will fall out. If I drink lots and lots of white milk it will make my baby teeth fall out faster and my grown up teeth grow in.
Me: OH! Now I see what you mean. It sounds like a good plan. Maybe they'll fall out faster if you stick with healthy white milk, you never know. Why do you want your teeth to fall out faster?
Owen: I just do! Sabrina's baby teeth fell out already and I just want to be like her.
Asher: Watch out for the vomits, mom!
Me: Vomits? What???
Asher: NO! BOMB-its.
Me: What's a bomb-it, Ash?
Asher: You know mom, BOMB-ITS! [makes explosion noise] [giggles uproariously]
Owen=man with a plan
Asher=hilariously random
Not to put them in boxes, but when the box fits...
[On the way home from grocery store, getting home late, talking through supper in the car to pave the way for a quick meal.]
Me: OK, who wants white milk and who wants chocolate milk tonight?
Asher: Choc-wat!
Owen: Does chocolate milk make your teeth fall out?
Me: Well...um...yes, I guess if you drank a lot of chocolate milk and didn't brush, your teeth might eventually fall out.
Owen: No, that's not what I mean. Oh mom, I just want white milk.
Me: OK. So your favorite is white milk these days even when I give you a choice?
Owen: Well, I just want to drink lots and lots of white milk so my teeth will fall out. If I drink lots and lots of white milk it will make my baby teeth fall out faster and my grown up teeth grow in.
Me: OH! Now I see what you mean. It sounds like a good plan. Maybe they'll fall out faster if you stick with healthy white milk, you never know. Why do you want your teeth to fall out faster?
Owen: I just do! Sabrina's baby teeth fell out already and I just want to be like her.
Asher: Watch out for the vomits, mom!
Me: Vomits? What???
Asher: NO! BOMB-its.
Me: What's a bomb-it, Ash?
Asher: You know mom, BOMB-ITS! [makes explosion noise] [giggles uproariously]
Owen=man with a plan
Asher=hilariously random
Not to put them in boxes, but when the box fits...
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Bedtime talk
What do you want to talk about tonight, Owen?
Mom, how many places did you live when you were little?
Well, I was born in the city where Nunu lives now. When I was 8, I moved to Ohio. Then I lived across the ocean on the other half of the world in South Africa til I was about 13. Then I lived in Illinois...
Did you have your birthday on the airplane?? How does someone celebrate their birthday on the airplane?
Nope, they probably have cake after they get home.
Well, my BEST party was my pirate party when I was 5. My 4 year old party was pretty fun too. My 3 year old party was at the hospital when grandpa was sick, and I don't remember my 2 year old party. My 3 year old party wasn't really a fancy one because it didn't have friends I guess.
But your 3 year old party was a really special one because you got to share it with Grandpa, and that was the last birthday party he ever got to see while he lived here on earth.
Yeah, my birthday party was the last time I EVER saw him. EVER.
Well, you did see him a couple times after that, but you probably don't remember. He loved seeing you have a birthday as one of the last things he got to do.
Why did his body die?
He had a disease called cancer.
What's cancer?
Well, your whole body is made up of teeny, tiny, so small you can't see them little things called cells. Cells are teeny tiny little bags of water, protein, salt and fat...
I don't have cells! See my arms are SUPER skinny. I'm not fat at all!
No...even if you're not fat, you still have fat in your body in your cells!
Well, I am skinny, look at my tummy!
That's because you exercise a lot and eat healthy food! Anybody can get fat when they start eating too much junk food and not exercising a lot. But you know, different people have different bodies. Some people eat tons of food and they are always skinny. Some people eat a little food and it's easy to get fat. So don't forget that even though you like being skinny and it's good to be healthy, we are kind to people with all kinds of bodies, and don't talk about other people's bodies all the time. It's not the only thing to think about. [Considering future relations with brother who has a vastly different body type and is already sensitive to being compared to his brother, by his brother :}]
What else is there to think about?
Well, let's see...don't smoke! There is nothing good, not at all, about smoking. Just walk away if someone ever tries to get you to smoke. Just say, 'No thanks!'
But Mom! Santa smokes! Why does Santa smoke???
Oh. Hmm. Does he? Oh yeah, I guess sometimes there are pictures of Santa with a pipe, huh? Well, a long time ago people used to not know that smoking isn't healthy. Now everybody has learned about that, and I bet Santa doesn't smoke as much anymore since he found out how bad it is for him.
MOM. What would happen if Santa keeps smoking and he DIES? What about that? Wait. How does Santa live forEVER? How does he DO that??? Was Santa ever a little boy?
Owen, you are asking questions I don't think I can answer. I bet you'll figure out the answers someday. But now it's bedtime...
_________________________
And this is exactly how one moves from places one grew up to St. Nickology in a matter of minutes.
Mom, how many places did you live when you were little?
Well, I was born in the city where Nunu lives now. When I was 8, I moved to Ohio. Then I lived across the ocean on the other half of the world in South Africa til I was about 13. Then I lived in Illinois...
Did you have your birthday on the airplane?? How does someone celebrate their birthday on the airplane?
Nope, they probably have cake after they get home.
Well, my BEST party was my pirate party when I was 5. My 4 year old party was pretty fun too. My 3 year old party was at the hospital when grandpa was sick, and I don't remember my 2 year old party. My 3 year old party wasn't really a fancy one because it didn't have friends I guess.
But your 3 year old party was a really special one because you got to share it with Grandpa, and that was the last birthday party he ever got to see while he lived here on earth.
Yeah, my birthday party was the last time I EVER saw him. EVER.
Well, you did see him a couple times after that, but you probably don't remember. He loved seeing you have a birthday as one of the last things he got to do.
Why did his body die?
He had a disease called cancer.
What's cancer?
Well, your whole body is made up of teeny, tiny, so small you can't see them little things called cells. Cells are teeny tiny little bags of water, protein, salt and fat...
I don't have cells! See my arms are SUPER skinny. I'm not fat at all!
No...even if you're not fat, you still have fat in your body in your cells!
Well, I am skinny, look at my tummy!
That's because you exercise a lot and eat healthy food! Anybody can get fat when they start eating too much junk food and not exercising a lot. But you know, different people have different bodies. Some people eat tons of food and they are always skinny. Some people eat a little food and it's easy to get fat. So don't forget that even though you like being skinny and it's good to be healthy, we are kind to people with all kinds of bodies, and don't talk about other people's bodies all the time. It's not the only thing to think about. [Considering future relations with brother who has a vastly different body type and is already sensitive to being compared to his brother, by his brother :}]
What else is there to think about?
Well, let's see...don't smoke! There is nothing good, not at all, about smoking. Just walk away if someone ever tries to get you to smoke. Just say, 'No thanks!'
But Mom! Santa smokes! Why does Santa smoke???
Oh. Hmm. Does he? Oh yeah, I guess sometimes there are pictures of Santa with a pipe, huh? Well, a long time ago people used to not know that smoking isn't healthy. Now everybody has learned about that, and I bet Santa doesn't smoke as much anymore since he found out how bad it is for him.
MOM. What would happen if Santa keeps smoking and he DIES? What about that? Wait. How does Santa live forEVER? How does he DO that??? Was Santa ever a little boy?
Owen, you are asking questions I don't think I can answer. I bet you'll figure out the answers someday. But now it's bedtime...
_________________________
And this is exactly how one moves from places one grew up to St. Nickology in a matter of minutes.
On babies and their beginnings
"Mom, when you and Dad first got married with each other, were you trying to have a baby in your tummy ALL THAT TIME?? Were you just TRYING and TRYING as hard as you could to get a baby then? When you went to Australia when you were married with Daddy, were you trying to have a baby there, too? And then, all of a sudden you got 3 babies! Us! Wasn't that lucky?? I'm just thinking about how Mommo was SO lucky, because she got 6 babies!! Wow. Mom, if you had just gotten 3 MORE babies, you could have been as lucky as Mommo. Wow."
-Owen
-Owen
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Nothing new under the sun
Loving this painting. What mother doesn't deeply understand the scene. However, we all know that the odds of the mother having such a serene expression and gentle finger to lips are quite low. I am chuckling imagining Bouguereau painting the actual mother's face--evil eye, grimace, finger pounding the silence sign, pointing to the older child to LEAVE NOW--and all. This is much prettier ;)
Le Sommeil, by William Bouguereau
Translated title: Asleep at Last
Oil on Canvas
1864
Friday, November 9, 2012
Spotty recall
Memories from this week:
*Eden eats her weight in meatballs, potatoes au gratin and watermelon this week, after a spell of picky eating. Meatballs on 2nd day were thoroughly rejected, however. They were so thoroughly rejected that after attempting to feed her bites from my hand, she subsequently refused all food dispensed from my hand. Then, I let her eat tiny bites of a marshmallow out of my hand (the first bite of which I had to force into her pursed lips). Now, she will eat anything out of my hand. (Tricksy, I am.)
*Asher visited a preschool program with myself and the siblings--just to observe--before sending him to start 2 mornings per week on Tuesday. He stated, "I don't want to," repeatedly on the drive over. When the kids in his future class began filing out of the gym where we waited to join them, he grabbed someone's hand and joined the line. A teacher asked his name and he yelled, "ASHER!" then paused, then added, "Elliott Swint is my uh-ver names." And proceeded to act like he'd been going there for 5 years already. I think he'll do OK.
*Owen has acquired a girlfriend at school, since about day 2...they sit next to each other at school and on the bus and at recess. We have weekly playdates with her family, who own a house up the street and have 3 kids about the same ages as ours. Score! Owen absolutely loves spending time with her. I'm not sure of the nature of her attachment. I think 5 year old girls may be advanced in this day and age, and actually be preparing for marriage before kindergarten. His kindergarten teacher had told me at conference time that they were joined at the hip, and she would be shuffling tables mid-semester just to make sure everyone made friends with lots of peers. Sabrina did not approve! Apparently when Owen was moved she cried for 1.5 hours, and only stopped under threat of having to go to the nurse. I asked Owen if he was sad (I expected he might be as well since he doesn't love change) and he said, "No, not very much really. I don't know why she was crying so much." Apparently 5 year olds hail from Mars and Venus as well.
*Eden is picking up her crawling speed. She is not so much pulling up...yet. She is now sleeping all night, but waking up an hour earlier. I'm not sure if waking up in the middle of the night or waking up an hour early is more taxing...the jury is out for me. Her little system does not seem to handle waking early quite as well...she's been a crank at every waking lately. Also separation anxiety has really kicked in and she is giving me what for every time I set her down. A challenging season...the boys are invaluable at entertaining and distracting, but that only lasts so long til she realizes I am engaged or gone and the wailing begins afresh.
*Asher moved to a twin-sized bed this week (from a toddler bed) and I can hardly believe that he's there. He was nervous for a couple of nights. Boy is this a different kid than Owen...really internalizes emotions and doesn't want parental intervention (when he sometimes needs some help!). He is struggling a bit lately because he just wants to be like Owen, do what Owen does, be as fast, as able, and not be left home at school time. He gets a bit grumpy about being 3. So we try to do special things together while Owen's gone--his favorite is baking cookies. Also working on bike riding, and that's going pretty well.
*Owen LOVED The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but has not taken to Prince Caspian quite as well. Hellen Keller was a hit. Owen is a very motivated kid. He has taught himself to do a perfect cartwheel, and can now gingerly move into a headstand and stay there for almost a minute. He just keeps at things til he gets it! He also loves to go outside, unlike Asher, who could do without the outdoors (at least until he gets out and realizes he does indeed have fun there). It snowed a few inches this week and Owen leaned in the front door: "Maaaa-aaawm! I need two pepperonis and a carrot, please!" Of course, what else does one need pepperoni and carrot for than for snowman eyes and nose!
So many funny anecdotes, so little memory. I'll try harder. My parenting technique of the week is that instead of scolding for bullying behavior (Owen toward Asher, almost always), which has gotten me absolutely no improvement in the problem, we are adding in practicing positive behavior in times of non-conflict. That translates to, when I say the magic word, "Toodlebug!" (we all crafted this word together), the boys have to drop what they are doing, and either say something nice or do something nice to the other person. If they don't feel like it, they can smile, or shake hands. This doesn't work in the heat of a conflict, I have found, so I am dropping toodlebugs only when things are going pretty well, in order to build up the reservoir of goodwill between them. It seems to be going well! They laugh a lot and have thought of some really nice compliments for each other. I feel like I should write a book before the novelty wears off next week and my idea doesn't seem as stellar :) (Then again, it probably wasn't my idea. I read so many tips, I probably morphed them into something and just thought it was my idea!)
Off to bed.
*Eden eats her weight in meatballs, potatoes au gratin and watermelon this week, after a spell of picky eating. Meatballs on 2nd day were thoroughly rejected, however. They were so thoroughly rejected that after attempting to feed her bites from my hand, she subsequently refused all food dispensed from my hand. Then, I let her eat tiny bites of a marshmallow out of my hand (the first bite of which I had to force into her pursed lips). Now, she will eat anything out of my hand. (Tricksy, I am.)
*Asher visited a preschool program with myself and the siblings--just to observe--before sending him to start 2 mornings per week on Tuesday. He stated, "I don't want to," repeatedly on the drive over. When the kids in his future class began filing out of the gym where we waited to join them, he grabbed someone's hand and joined the line. A teacher asked his name and he yelled, "ASHER!" then paused, then added, "Elliott Swint is my uh-ver names." And proceeded to act like he'd been going there for 5 years already. I think he'll do OK.
*Owen has acquired a girlfriend at school, since about day 2...they sit next to each other at school and on the bus and at recess. We have weekly playdates with her family, who own a house up the street and have 3 kids about the same ages as ours. Score! Owen absolutely loves spending time with her. I'm not sure of the nature of her attachment. I think 5 year old girls may be advanced in this day and age, and actually be preparing for marriage before kindergarten. His kindergarten teacher had told me at conference time that they were joined at the hip, and she would be shuffling tables mid-semester just to make sure everyone made friends with lots of peers. Sabrina did not approve! Apparently when Owen was moved she cried for 1.5 hours, and only stopped under threat of having to go to the nurse. I asked Owen if he was sad (I expected he might be as well since he doesn't love change) and he said, "No, not very much really. I don't know why she was crying so much." Apparently 5 year olds hail from Mars and Venus as well.
*Eden is picking up her crawling speed. She is not so much pulling up...yet. She is now sleeping all night, but waking up an hour earlier. I'm not sure if waking up in the middle of the night or waking up an hour early is more taxing...the jury is out for me. Her little system does not seem to handle waking early quite as well...she's been a crank at every waking lately. Also separation anxiety has really kicked in and she is giving me what for every time I set her down. A challenging season...the boys are invaluable at entertaining and distracting, but that only lasts so long til she realizes I am engaged or gone and the wailing begins afresh.
*Asher moved to a twin-sized bed this week (from a toddler bed) and I can hardly believe that he's there. He was nervous for a couple of nights. Boy is this a different kid than Owen...really internalizes emotions and doesn't want parental intervention (when he sometimes needs some help!). He is struggling a bit lately because he just wants to be like Owen, do what Owen does, be as fast, as able, and not be left home at school time. He gets a bit grumpy about being 3. So we try to do special things together while Owen's gone--his favorite is baking cookies. Also working on bike riding, and that's going pretty well.
*Owen LOVED The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but has not taken to Prince Caspian quite as well. Hellen Keller was a hit. Owen is a very motivated kid. He has taught himself to do a perfect cartwheel, and can now gingerly move into a headstand and stay there for almost a minute. He just keeps at things til he gets it! He also loves to go outside, unlike Asher, who could do without the outdoors (at least until he gets out and realizes he does indeed have fun there). It snowed a few inches this week and Owen leaned in the front door: "Maaaa-aaawm! I need two pepperonis and a carrot, please!" Of course, what else does one need pepperoni and carrot for than for snowman eyes and nose!
So many funny anecdotes, so little memory. I'll try harder. My parenting technique of the week is that instead of scolding for bullying behavior (Owen toward Asher, almost always), which has gotten me absolutely no improvement in the problem, we are adding in practicing positive behavior in times of non-conflict. That translates to, when I say the magic word, "Toodlebug!" (we all crafted this word together), the boys have to drop what they are doing, and either say something nice or do something nice to the other person. If they don't feel like it, they can smile, or shake hands. This doesn't work in the heat of a conflict, I have found, so I am dropping toodlebugs only when things are going pretty well, in order to build up the reservoir of goodwill between them. It seems to be going well! They laugh a lot and have thought of some really nice compliments for each other. I feel like I should write a book before the novelty wears off next week and my idea doesn't seem as stellar :) (Then again, it probably wasn't my idea. I read so many tips, I probably morphed them into something and just thought it was my idea!)
Off to bed.
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