Parade

This picture pretty much sums up Laura's feelings about the Kaposia Days Parade last Friday. She had so much fun and was so tired out by the end. In fact, our whole family really enjoyed ourselves. We had dinner at my cousin's house and got to spend time with the extended family. Lots of fun! Adam's favorite part was definitely the motorcycles. He couldn't take his eyes off of them. Thank you for the picture, Barb!

Look out world, here I come!

OK, I know all kids do this at some point, but how can a mom not think their kid is the coolest, smartest, cutest, etc? I have a healthy appreciation for my kids' talents (i.e. I think they are wonderful)

Dinner tonight

Dinner tonight is going to be steaks from the farmer's market, new potatoes from farmer's market, and fresh picked strawberries & dumplings for dessert. There would be snap peas, but I ate them all already. 

yum!

Cartwheels

Swinging

Adam

Not sure what I've posted about Adam lately, so here's the latest:

He's big. He looks like Jim.

Besides that, he's crawling, pulling to standing, slowly walking along furniture, opening and closing doors and turning book pages, practicing saying "buh", refusing everything but rice cereal, clapping, possibly signing "nurse","more" and "eat", spewing lots of gas from top and bottom, and pretty much grunting all the time. I'm telling you, the boy is a gassy grunter. 

Farmers' Market

In what I hope becomes a summer ritual, I have spent the last 2 Saturday mornings at the St Paul Farmers' Market. Oh, how I have enjoyed myself. I have pretty much gorged myself on sugar snap peas and strawberries. Adam's usually up around 6 anyway, so he and I just got in the car and had a great morning, stopping by the bank first of course. So fun. And Jim's brother and his wife passed on a deep freeze to us, so I have lots of room for whatever I can buy. I'm sure I'll fill it up. I bought a box of beef today in several different forms, but I have lots more room for blueberries, corn, raspberries, bread, broth....

Laura

Wow! Three year olds are a challenge, at least mine is. Something has definitely changed in Laura. Sometimes it seems like there an adult looking out at me through that little girl face, or at least a teenage girl. We certainly have the drama of a teenager, and I thought I wasn't signed up for that until 2019! And she has figured out her power over her little brother. Pretend crying loudly will make him cry, which undoubtedly gets a reaction from me. His newness has definitely worn off and she's not above giving him a little push if he's in her way. But at the same time, she can do so many more things than she used to and impresses me daily. We tried to do cartwheels the other evening in the backyard. She notices things, remembers everything and keeps me in line. I snapped at her and she said with a giggle "you don't have to say it mean-ly, Mom". She has become very camera-shy, but much braver around new people. We went to a parade at my cousin's house and she ended up talking to a clown, waving at a princess, and giving a cowboy a hi-five. A couple months ago, she would have just buried her face in my chest. She surprised me the other day by picking up an ant and bringing it to me still crawling around on her hand; last year, she wouldn't even walk on the floor if there was an ant on it. I guess this is all part of growing up and it must be pretty hard to be 3 years old. Making decisions sometimes still upsets her and she's pretty emotional. But she's also sweet, funny, smart, and a great kid. I'm glad she's mine.

I can can!

Check out these beauties! Canning always seemed so difficult to me. I was planning on making freezer jam with the strawberries we picked, but a friend convinced me that regular jam was just as easy and there was no necessary planning involved in opening a new jar. So...I gave it a try! It was sooo easy and satisfying. I loved hearing each little lid *pop* down as it sealed. What fun. Now, I am just waiting to figure out what else I want to can. Tomatoes? raspberry jam? blueberries? hmmmm....

Strawberry season!

Michelle and I and the kids went strawberry picking the other day. It was great, but would have been even better if the air hadn't felt like bath water and the sun hadn't been shining so strongly. I guess its too much to ask for a good strawberry to grow in the shade? The 3 year olds were pretty helpful picking little buckets of semi-ripe berries. We talked about the book "Blueberries for Sal" as we picked. Adam was on my back for a while, but I put him on the ground after we got too hot and he happily gnawed on some straw while I picked (yeah organic plants! the fertilizer he was undoubtedly eating was only manure. Oh wait, that's probably not recommended for babies either. huh. no side effects yet.) I ended up with almost 8 pounds of berries and a dozen freshly laid eggs. Oh my goodness, those eggs were good for lunch. I am so done with grocery store eggs, yes even the eggs from the co-op (not coop) but I need to find a convenient supplier for fresh eggs from a coop (yes, coop, not co-op). Would love to have my own chickens, but that's probably not advised in our suburban subdivision. Half the berries went in the freezer for smoothies and half will be made into jam tomorrow (my first try!). That is, after we nibbled on a bunch first! Hopefully will be going back later for raspberry picking. 

cute as can be

ornery booger

From our garden

these are from our backyard garden. I had planned to till it up and change it into a vegetable garden, but this year it actually looks kind of pretty. I never do anything to it (no weeding, watering, planting), but the plants from the previous owner are really growing and filling out. Some of them might actually be weeds, but I prefer to call them wildflowers. Might have to re-re-plan the veggie garden move.

a day in the life...

chef Jenny

I badly need to learn how to shape a loaf better. This will never make a sandwich. Jim said to pretend they were bagel sandwiches. Helllllloooo bread pudding! or French Toast sticks! 
I found an awesome square cast iron skillet at a garage sale last month. OK, so my friend Michelle actually found it. She came over and said "did you see that square cast iron skillet over there?" So I walked over, picked it up and saw its smooth, flat surface, fell in love and never let it go again. I wonder if she had been thinking about buying it? huh. I was afraid to ask and still haven't. She later said that she would buy it from me if I didn't like it. My mom said the same thing. Well, I haven't let it go yet. It has become my every day skillet, replacing Jim's grandma's. It was wonderfully smooth and I love the history associated with it, but the bottom is warped so only about a 3 inch diameter circle in the middle is in contact with the burner. Not so good at evenly heating. 

With this one, there is the issue of a square pan on a round pot, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. Bacon, grilled cheese sandwiches, french toast; all fit perfectly in the square shape.  I'm a happy cooker.

Highlights

Jim's birthday

We celebrated Jim's birthday last week. Happy Birthday!

I should have put the cake on a serving platter so you would think I made it myself.


I got Jim a weather station as a present and Laura is trying out the wind speed function.

yep

blog posts are only happening in the brief moments when i happen to be both lucid and alone. Since we have had an incredible guest list the last month, and because Adam hasn't slept more than 3 hours in a row the last month, the posts are low priority. But here I find myself with a moment and I'm actually in the mood to blog. 

As I mentioned, we have had lots of visitors lately, and it has been so wonderful to see everyone. My mom, Jim's parents, Jim's aunt, Jim's brother and his wife, a friend for dinner tonight and some college friends for dinner this Thursday. Wow, summertime is busy, but in a great way! I wonder why we don't get all these visitors in January and February?? huh. I don't know. haha

Thanks to all who made the trip to see us. We loved it all! And we are headed down to see both sets of parents and siblings pretty soon too.  

Growing pains

Why am I never satisfied? Wanted to be shorter, have curly hair, tanner skin, blah blah. Now I found myself sad when Laura acted very adult today. I spend all day wishing for a break, but when I got it I felt a little pang of loneliness. I told Laura to draw one more thing on her picture and then it was nap time. She drew a little more, then told her drawing to wait there while she was taking a nap. Then she told me that she could do it all by herself and came and gave me a hug goodnight. Wow. OK. Sounds good Laura. See you after nap time. (sniff sniff) Even though I had my small(ish) leech on my back in the wrap, I felt terrible that my big(ish) leech no longer needed me to read her a book, turn on her fan, and tuck her in bed. 

punny

I saw these on the Pioneer Woman blog and really enjoyed them. I thought you might too.

Creative Puns for Smart Minds

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here, I’ll go on a head.”

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.”

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

20. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

21 A backward poet writes inverse.

22. In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.

23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

24. Don’t join dangerous cults, practice safe sects!

epitome of adult

Laura has a few things that seem to mean 'grown up' to her. She likes to say that "someday, she'll get to: 

ride the school bus

turn 5 years old

wear flip floppy shoes

jump on one foot

pump herself on the swing so she won't need to be pushed

Adam sitting

Our doctor was pretty impressed when I told her that Adam can sit up on his own from his belly.  I finally got it on video:

Adam drumming

His left hand is always going. It is constantly banging 2 toys together, shaking a rattle, or hitting me in the face. Always with the left hand. Don't know if I'm prepared for a left handed drummer. Sounds like trouble.

Slimy eating

Adam's 6 month appointment went well. He's a huge kid. 95% height, 80% weight and head

He's currently wearing 12-18 month PJs! A few of the 9 month clothes still fit him, but mostly 12 month stuff. His eating is going pretty well. He likes the plain rice cereal best I think. He's also tried avocado and banana. He made some funny faces with those, but didn't complain too much.

Here's a video of him eating avocado. Warning: its gross! Green slimy stuff all over. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Rumps in the air

I love it when they sleep with their bottoms stuck up. sooo cute!

Laura 3 months

Adam 6 months 

(yes with pink sheets and socks. I'm OK with it. are YOU?)

Radishes

When we were at my Mom and Dad's house this past March, Laura decided she liked radishes. Since I don't like them, she hadn't ever had the chance to try them. So I told her she could grow some this year. She was excited to plant them and watered them about 1/2 of the time. It was all relatively exciting since they sprout so quickly, grow so fast, and you can see the little radish peeking out of the ground. It was also a great lesson on where food comes from and the fact that plants have roots. It was a big disappointment, however, when she pulled one up, washed it, trimmed off the greens and roots, and then cried when she tasted it because it was so hot. I'm not sure if they are spicy because of the 2 random 95 degree days we had last week, because of the particular variety I chose, or because they are home grown and fresh picked. We picked very small ones, but they were spicy, even to my taste. She didn't dwell on it too long, though. She has now moved on to looking forward to the strawberries and blueberries that we planted last year. I hope the birds don't get them first!

too hot!

Interview

I saw this list of questions on a couple of other blogs, most recently my friend Michelle's. It sounded like fun to ask Laura now and then again in the next year or so.

What is something I always say to you? I don't know

What makes me happy? smiles

What makes me sad? crying

How do I make you laugh? giggle

What do you think I was like as a child? like me

How old am I? I don't know. How old are you?

How tall am I? I don't know. Middle size

What is myfavorite thing to do? eat snacks

What do I do when you are not around? take a nap

If I become famous what will it be for? huh?

What am I not really good at? I don't know

What am I really good at? walking

What is my job? taking care of the kids

What is my favorite food? spicy

What makes you proud of me? eating

What makes me proud of you? I don't know 

What do you and I do together? Play

How are we the same? we both have mouths and both noses.

How are we different? because we have different clothes

How do you know I love you? because you're my mama

What is one thing you wish you could change about me? eyes. How? by a marker

What do you wish you could do with me? play

still here

I'm still around, just preoccupied. here's a quick list of our updates:

Adam now has 2 teeth, can pull up to standing on his own, sits up on his own from his belly and still isn't sleeping. We've tried lots of things and I decided last night that "crying it out" isn't the right thing at the right time for this baby. It just wasn't working and his sleeping was getting even worse. We'll look for another solution. 

Laura's been more of a handful lately too. I think it is largely caused by lack of sleep because she wakes up every time Adam does. We don't have to go in her room, but I know it disturbs her sleep. But we've been spending a lot more time at home together, which is exactly where she likes it. She almost always opts to stay at home if given a choice. We aren't signed up for many classes and don't get out too much because the kids are currently taking turns with their naps. So far, its working out well for all of us. 

I have recently learned how to make cottage cheese at home. I've been wanting to learn for a while and I finally found a successful recipe. So now I make all of our bread, yogurt, cottage cheese, and applesauce. I'm sure I'll get tired of making it all from scratch someday, but for now, I'm enjoying myself.  Thinking about trying jelly or rhubarb wine next. 

Will add pictures again someday!