I'm in Texas...

...and keeping quite busy, so I may not be able to respond to previous comments for a few days. My parents' church recently bought a new building and my brother Jesh and others have been transforming a wing into living quarters for the new pastor and his family. We spent a few days there this last week, helping out; the place was humming with activity--painting, tiling, new doors, trim, etc. Mom and I repainted the kitchen cabinets and replaced the handles. It was very satisfying to see those hideous yellow cabinets transformed into something beautiful...(ahem) well, tolerable at least. (Sometimes there is only so much that you can do.) I enjoyed working at the manse (parsonage) in part because I enjoy that sort of work, but also because I had nice company, like Mom and my brothers. :)

One person I haven't seen much is my little sister, but as she is getting married tomorrow, she has a good excuse for not being more sociable. Today she tried on her wedding dress for a few last-minute alterations (she looked lovely of course), and I got to think a little more about how my little sister is all grown up, and leaving home for the first time. I also scoped out her room, since I hope that the boys and I will be able to move in now that there's a vacancy. :) Well, not right away, but before too long.

I've been taking lots of pictures and will hopefully get some posted soon, maybe on Saturday?

I can't believe that my visit will be ending so soon (Monday). Perhaps I can just skip my flight back and stay here for good! (kidding, kidding, though I'm tempted).

Adios for now.

I got a new stroller!

...not the double jogging stroller I've been wishing for, but a single jogging stroller, which is a big step in the right direction. I found it cheap at a local rummage sale. The fabric is faded, but it's sturdy and a good brand (baby jogger) and has the fixed wheel I wanted, and it turns on a dime, and I can drive it straight over a curb without stopping (an advantage of great big wheels). I love it! Now I can make trips like I did yesterday--Noah in the stroller and Elijah walking on the way there, and Noah on my back and Elijah in the stroller on the way home (a mile each way)--only the trip will be sooo much easier with a nicer stroller.

My neighbors had a yard sale of their own today, and thoughtfully included a few items of mine that I wanted out of the house--some of them big, like an extra twin mattress and a broken computer desk--and sold them for enough to compensate me for what I spent on the stroller. I feel good about getting some of those big unwanted items out of my way, and (effectively) getting a new stroller in exchange!

Please don't take this post as an indication that I'm "done" with the last one--I'm still welcoming comments and meal suggestions. :)

cooking inspiration

I've been lacking inspiration in the kitchen lately. Seems like every day I go into the kitchen, open the fridge and stare into it, open the freezer and stare into it, and open my pantry and stare some more, all the while thinking, "What on earth am I going to cook?" Finally after eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner the second night in a row (Elijah's idea--he LOVES peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), I thought, "Something has to change." So I went to allrecipes.com for inspiration, and discovered something new--a budget cooking page! I'm so excited! One of the first recipes I came across was sloppy joes. Of course my first thought was, "Sloppy Joes! Why didn't I think of that?" Sloppy joes are a perfect freezer food. I like to make big pots of food and then freeze some to thaw later--makes for less time spent cooking, in the long run. So I made a triple batch of the top-rated recipe. However, I'm not sure that any will make it to the freezer, as it's pretty good!

I have a lot of good meals in my repertoire, and I tend to be quite successful with new recipes as well (probably because I don't attempt anything particularly complicated), so I think our lackluster meals of late are mostly due to bad planning on my part. With some proper meal planning and a little browsing on allrecipes, I'm sure I will find myself re-inspired.

If my cooking readers would like to comment and mention two or three of their family's favorite meals, perhaps that would help. :)

Stroller frustrations

I decided this week not to use the car at all until Saturday. Then of course I ran out of milk, which is a big deal because coffee is just not the same without milk. :) So the boys and I walked to a local pharmacy and got a gallon of milk. For this trip, Elijah went in a small umbrella stroller, Noah went on my back in the mei tai, and the milk, once we got it, went in a bag which I hung from the handles of the stroller. Of course every time Elijah hopped out of the stroller to investigate something, over the stroller went with a thunk because the milk hanging on the back made it so unbalanced. I had to keep reminding him to stay put. LOL

I am very grateful for our big double stroller, which was a gift from friends at church. Without it, I would not be able to get out nearly as much as I do, especially not for our longer (more than a mile) walks. However, I'm starting to get frustrated with some of its limitations. It's a swivel wheel, which means if I'm going along a sidewalk which slopes towards the street, the stroller keeps wanting to turn and roll into the street, and I'm fighting with it the whole way. And it has the boys positioned one in front of the other, which means it takes a lot more muscle to turn it, as I don't have as much leverage with the narrow handlebar. On rough surfaces like gravel, the front wheels shake and rattle alarmingly, causing a very jolt-ey ride, and even some dead stops as the wheels manage to turn themselves sideways. And whenever I encounter a curb, I have to haul back on the handle (with my foot on a crossbar at the back) to lift the front of the stroller up--very difficult to do with one of my heavy guys in the front seat. Needless to say, all of these features add quite a bit of exercise to our excursions! On the bright side, I am getting very strong!

SO....I have done a lot of research, and concluded that my dream stroller would be a side-by-side double jogging stroller with 16" wheels, a fixed front wheel, and an aluminum frame. I have a specific model in mind, and I am checking Craigslist and the local children's consignment store on a regular basis...but no luck so far. I'm beginning to think that I will either have to wait till winter, when more people are willing to sell their used strollers, or buy new. But new are so expensive!

The thing is, I really think that with a good stroller, I could walk a lot of places that I now drive. So by driving less I would be saving money, which would somewhat offset the cost of the stroller. But do I really NEED a new stroller, or can I make do with what I have?

Sometimes it's hard to have to make all of these decisions by myself. It can take me forever to make up my mind! I did however make a rather impetuous decision today--I ordered a steam carpet cleaner! From initial idea to purchase in less than two hours!

Now that I have this post typed up, I realize that it's probably not going to be particularly interesting to anybody, but I stayed up so late typing it that I'm going to post it anyway.

EDIT: my stroller may not be as bad as I thought! See the comments section!

a rainy day

Today was hot and humid and overcast. This evening we went to the park. My boys played for all of two minutes on the huge, fantastic playground, then wanted to go see the waterfall. (This particular park is situated in a narrow valley with steep sides and, in one spot, a waterfall). I am always tickled when my boys choose nature over big playgrounds. :) So we crossed the street and went down the long, windy trail through the woods to the waterfall. It was drizzling rain and the light was dim in the woods, which were much more lush and green than the last time we went--how long has it been? When we got to the waterfall, the boys entertained themselves by climbing around on the slippery rocks and throwing pebbles into the water. Well, they were supposed to be throwing pebbles, but Elijah preferred to throw rather large stones, which made me nervous as his aim is still a little wild. After a bit we headed back down the trail and out of the woods.

And then, we came to the highlight of our trip: the mud puddles in the gravel parking lot. Yes, the mud puddles were the highlight, apparently more interesting than either the huge playground, or the beautiful waterfall. The boys started out by watching the ripples caused by the raindrops hitting the puddles; then they made ripples of their own by tossing in some gravel...and then Noah accidentally stepped into the puddle with a splash, and a look of sheer delight crossed his face. Of course then I had to take off his shoes and let him splash away. Elijah quickly followed suit. I watched and smiled and looked around at the trees and the water and thought about how much I will miss Bloomington when we leave. After a while I packed my very wet boys back into the car and brought them home and put them to bed.

As Elijah was going to sleep, he sat up and whispered loudly, "Mama, I want to watch the Willum Tell Overture tomorrow." I said "Okay dear, now go to sleep." But he wanted to clarify: "I want to watch it lots of times." "Yes dear, we can do that, now go to sleep." He laid back down and whispered, "I like that kind of music, Mama." Yes, the William Tell Overture (our "piece of the week") has been a smashing success in this household, and before lunch every day we watch this clip over, and over, and over:



The William Tell Overture, as played by the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado.

We like the part where the rain begins to fall, and all the umbrellas open up. :)

Okay, I have a sewing project to complete.

An Apology

I know my blog has been short on pictures lately. It seems that I am always missing either the camera or the USB cord. Well, I will be more diligent about trying to find the two so that I can post some pictures. Thanks for your patience. :)

Noah

Noah's new word is "cookie." This afternoon, he spotted the chocolate cookies on the counter and said carefully, "Cookie?" then made the sign for "please." Of course I had to give him one! As soon as he had one in his hand, he pointed at the cookies again and said, "Bubba cookie?" (Bubba means brother.) Awwwww! So I gave him another cookie and he took it to his brother.

Noah has been very sweet lately about sharing things. If he has anything nice, he wants to make sure that Elijah has some too. So cute! He is being a good example for his big brother, who is not always so generous!

Noah lately has been a bit rough with his brother and with the little girls I watch. He will sometimes hit, or pull hair (I think he's just doing it to get a reaction, as he doesn't seem to be angry or upset when he does it). If they get upset, or if I rebuke him, he smiles sweetly at me and then gives his victim lots of little kisses to make it "all better." It's hard for me to be strict with him when he is so cute! Fortunately he is more gentle with the baby than with the older two--I guess he senses that she is more "fragile" (her big sister's word).

I am very much looking forward to visiting my family in August. We will be in Texas for nearly two weeks--our longest visit yet. And yes, we get to fly down again--thanks Mom!

Well, we are off to take a walk before it gets too late.

A typical day

A typical day:
7:00a.--Noah wakes me by crawling out of his crib into my bed. I take him downstairs and have a bowl of cheerios, sharing a few bites with Noah. I brew a pot of coffee and do my hair (take it out of its braid, comb it, put it into a bun).
7:45--The girls I watch (K., 3 1/2, and A., 10 months) arrive. The older one is still in her p.j.s so I get her dressed for the day. Then I drink my coffee, supervise kiddos, and read the free newspaper that I found on my porch.
8:30--Elijah finally gets up and we eat breakfast--cinnamon raisin bagels, cream cheese, and o.j. After breakfast I find an old video of the BBC orchestra playing Beethoven's 5th, 1st and 2nd movements (our "piece of the week") on Youtube. The kids watch while I clean up the breakfast dishes. Then I give A. her breakfast and put her down for her nap. I do some more kitchen work, then read to/talk to/play with the remaining three for a while.
10:45--I have the kids pick up all the toys, put on shoes, use the bathroom, and we go outside. The big ones ride tricycles up and down the sidewalk, and Noah pushes a push toy. I water the plants on my front porch. Noah tries to escape a few times and giggles when I chase him. After a while we go back in (I couldn't take the heat, though the kids didn't seem to mind it).
12:00--I fix lunch. Peanut butter & strawberry jam sandwiches on whole wheat, and carrot sticks. We eat (carrot sticks first, to make sure they get eaten). By this time A. has woken up and joined us. After lunch I have the kids help clear the floor/move chairs, and I vacuum the main floor. The kids think vacuuming is very fun and exciting. We put on naptime diapers, read a story, and have a glass of milk. K., as she does every day lately, asks me to tell her where milk comes from. I say "from cows" just to tease her, but she says, "No, tell me the story," so I tell her the long version. I put K. down for her nap, feed A. her lunch, put Noah down for his nap, and put A. down for her nap.
1:30-3:30--a relaxing few hours with just Elijah to keep me company. I clean up from lunch, have another cup of coffee, check e-mail, etc.
3:30-4:00--K. gets up. Noah wakes up. A. wakes up. We read/talk/play/the usual.
4:45--the girls' mom picks them up. Once they leave, I cook dinner (chicken dijon, brown rice, green beans). We eat. Noah decides that he really likes green beans (has strongly disliked them until today). I have a cup of green tea. The boys drink the last drops (our tradition). Supervise kids--Noah in the evenings gets mildly fussy and needs a little more attention.
6:45--we get ready for a walk (shoes, hats, etc.) We are headed to a local rails-to-trails conversion. To get there we have to cut through a few parking lots, cross a busy street, cut through a couple more parking lots, go over a pedestrian bridge, and cross another busy street. Finally we are there. The trail is straight and level (as you would expect, seeing as it was once a railroad). It's well lined with trees, which keep it cool even on hot days. The sun is low in the west and slanting through the trees--very pretty. We go about a mile down the trail, and see runners, bikers, dogs, rabbits, and birds. Elijah collects handfuls of pebbles and tosses them into a creek, which Noah finds very funny. Now it's time to head home. We stop at Dairy Queen and wait in line, only to realize that they don't take debit cards. Fortunately, my bank is right down the street. I feel funny walking up to the drive-through ATM with a stroller, but I get over it. We go back to Dairy Queen and get ice cream (note to self: in the future, one small cup/cone/blizzard will be more than enough for all three of us). Then it's back through some parking lots, across the strip of grass, and home again. The sun is slipping behind the trees and it is now 9:00p.
9:20--the boys are changed and ready for bed. I take them upstairs to put them to sleep.
10:00--Noah is FINALLY asleep. I come downstairs, eat leftovers, and type this blog entry.

Well, that's a typical day in brief. I did leave out some things, like the diapers I changed--seven (yes, seven!!!) poopy diapers. And of course I mediated squabbles, supervised potty trips, nursed my little one, answered dozens of random questions, fielded phone calls, etc. etc. :) So...now it's past my bedtime and I still need to shower. If you have actually read all this, I am quite impressed. :)

Yes, I switched to cloth!

In response to a comment on another blog...

Yes, I finally did make the switch to cloth diapers. I'm keeping it simple with Chinese prefolds (a few bleached and a few unbleached) and I fasten with Snappis. For now I'm using some Gerber vinyl pull-up covers and they actually work really well except that the vinyl rips too easily, so I think I'll try to find some Dappi nylon pull-ups. I do have one Thirsties wrap cover in blue which is sooooo cute, but it's much more expensive, and doesn't work any better than the pull-ups, so not worth the extra $$$ in my opinion.

All right, that's it--I would be happy to discuss further if any of you cloth-diapering fans have any comments or questions. :)

I love babies :)

Usually I wake in the mornings when Noah climbs out of his crib and into my bed. Well the other morning I guess I was sleeping a little more soundly than usual, because I woke to find Noah's chubby little arms wrapped tightly around my neck. He was struggling with all his might to lift my head off the pillow. He was grunting with the effort, "Oooooof! Eeeeerrrrf!" It was so adorable that I will confess, I pretended I was still asleep, so that he would keep doing it. But when he got tired of trying to lift my head, and instead tried to stick a finger up my nose, I got up in a hurry. :D