Creature Bug

Trick or Treats

: TRICK :

I had to take Sydney to the doctor this morning to have a swollen lymph node checked out. I wouldn't have thought anything of it if both lymph nodes were swollen, but just one?

Seemed odd.

Our pediatrician gave Syd a thorough check-up, and then started asking Sydney about cats.

Do you play with cats? Any kittens at your home? Has a cat scratched you in the past 1-2 months?

I may be sleep deprived, but I guessed that the swollen nymph node probably had something to do with cats. We don't have cats, but there are cats here on the Family Farm. A couple months ago, Tuffy scratched Syd. Nothing serious, but it was a legitimate scratch.

Dr. Pediatrician finally said, "What I suspect is Bartonella henselae. Also known as cat scratch fever. It won't usually show up for awhile, and most likely it will go away on its own."

Cat scratch fever? Have you ever heard of this?

Seems like a made up disease, but evidently it's not. And it turns out that Sydney has several of the symptoms: headache, fatigue, sore throat (but she doesn't have strep; she was tested).

Craziness.

: TREATS :

Miss Penguin and Miss Rapunzel were in the house.

We wandered around the Family Farm getting treats, then went over to Jason's parents' house in a lovely subdivision where the girls scored buckets of candy.

Addie and I didn't go trick-or-treating. I thought she might spook too easily in the dark, and someone needed to stay back at the house to hand out candy. Plus, I have a terrible cold.

Hope you Halloween was full of treats and not too many tricks.

Especially cat scratch fever.

Lightbulb Moment

The summer before Addie was born, I decided to spray paint our bathroom light fixtures. They were gold, and I'm not a big fan of gold. So, I took the light down, labelled all the wires so I could put it back together, sprayed the fixtures, and then hooked them back up.

Even though Jason could have done it, I wanted to do it myself because I was the in midst of third trimester nesting and redoing the bathroom seemed like a good idea at the time. (Not only did I spray paint the light fixtures, I painted all the other hardware and the vanity. Do not get in the way of a nesting pregnant woman.)

My brief foray into hooking up light fixtures gave me a small boost in the whole electrical hardware area.

Last spring, as part of my spring cleaning program, I decided that I didn't like any of the lights in the office or playroom. They were all wall mounted light fixtures, and they were all push-button lights. I didn't care much for any of the options at the lighting store, so I called an electrician to see if they could rewire the lights so that I could put in shiny new mason jar-styled lights.

The electrician told me that because of the age of the mobile home, and because the wiring hadn't been done to code in the first place, it would be an expensive job to redo all the wiring.

"If you were my daughter," Mr. Electrician told me, "I'd tell you to just redo the lighting yourself using wireless light switches. If I do it, it'll cost you more than $1000. If you do it, it will cost you much much less than that."

And so, I was on a mission to learn how to install wireless light switches.

I took all the light fixtures down, bought new ones, and then bought the switches.

As you can see, the converters are designed to be plugged into the wall, then have a lamp or something plugged into it, and then the wireless switch is mounted wherever you'd like. Turn it on. Turn it off. No fiddling around with hard to reach lamp knobs.

It's actually a pretty nifty contraption.

The only thing is light fixtures don't plug in. They're just a bunch of wires.

So, I took the plug-in piece apart and figured out how to rewire the light fixtures into the newly smaller-sized piece and put everything back together again. I did research online so I knew how to handle black wires and white wires and grounding wires. I discovered that the wireless switches had different channels, so I was able to put one room's lights on one channel and the other room's lights on a separate channel (because I didn't want to hit one wireless switch and have the lights turn on for both the office and the playroom).

I got to be pretty handy with electrical tape and wire cutters and mounting hardware. I knew how to turn the power off to all the spots where I was redoing lights.

To be sure, I made some mistakes. One time I shocked myself because I forgot to turn off the power. Another time I crossed wires and flipped the breaker. Another time I crossed wires and BLEW the breaker. That particularly mistake I didn't fix myself. My handy husband and father-in-law had to reinstall a new breaker at the panel box.

But, in the end, I installed six new lights that all work with wireless switches.

Doing all that work helped me realize that jobs that may typically be seen as "men's" jobs, don't have to be. I can turn power off. I can rewire lights. Tonight I spent the evening installing two pendant lights in our dining room. It involved cutting wires and hooking them into the converter box because the lights were being installed on a track-lighting system.

I've been wanting pendant lights in our dining room since we moved it, and now finally we have them.

Obviously, I don't even pretend to call myself an electrician. Installing light fixtures is electricity at its most basic, and a lot of people know how to do it. But through the process of the few lighting projects I've put myself in charge of, I realized that I can be handy too.

And I have to admit: it's kind of empowering knowing that if I wanted to replace or install a light fixture or switch, I can do it.

Now if only I could figure out how to install a garbage disposal...

Candy corn, chocolate, or twizzlers?

The girls went to a candy carnival tonight (ie: not trick-or-treating, but just fun and games at a church where they also hand out buckets of candy). They made it home with most of their candy, but I did have to sneak out a Milky Way. And a Snickers. Okay, and Tootsie Roll too. But that was it. Because it turns out that my girls very specifically chose much of their candy and they will know (and protest too much) if some of it goes missing. I don't know how they keep a mental inventory of all of their candy but they do. They can't remember to pick up their socks, but they can remember that they HAD TWO HERSEY BARS AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY TWO HERSEY BARS?!!

Obviously, candy trumps socks in terms of things to remember.

In the spirit of candy loving people everywhere, I ask you what your favorite candy is. Are you a candy corn kind of person? Or do you just go straight for the name brand candy bars?

Maybe you skip candy altogether and just head to Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte.

I wouldn't blame you on that one.

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 14)

: 1 :

I finally got the girls' silhouettes framed and hung above the piano.

The silhouettes were printed at Costco, and the frames are from IKEA. I love how they turned out.

: 2 :

It's three days before Halloween, and I'm not sure what the girls are going to dress up as. Maybe a princess? Maybe a Norwegian maiden (seriously. that's an actual possibility). Whatever it is, I won't be making it because I am not crafty that way and it doesn't occur to the girls that I should sew something.

They have a Candy Carnival tomorrow night, and Monday night, and also trick-or-treating. There will be a lot of candy in our house.

: 3 :

Our furnace broke earlier this month, so we had someone come out to fix it. Turns out, he only half-way fixed it, so it still wasn't working properly. A different guy came out today, and quickly diagnosed the problem. The only charge was going to be for the new part. After working on it for awhile, he finally turned the power back on. Nothing happened.

He figured that the breaker had been flipped at the box. We went back to flip it back on and *POP!* Sparks flew from the furnace and the breakers flipped off (thank goodness for breakers). Turns out, he had wired it up incorrectly.

Much apologizing and nervousness later, he had it fixed.

He didn't charge me for the new part.

: 4 :

I can't believe the NBA has cancelled all its November games. It's crazy. Quite possibly, Jason won't be playing fantasy basketball this year. I've already devised plans for his extra freetime. (Not really. I just typed that to hear him snort indignantly.)

: 5 :

I have almost made it through this entire month of posting every day. I have lost a fair amount of sleep because of it (if you scroll back through October's posts, you'll see a majority of them were posted past my usual bedtime), and though it was fun, I'm pretty certain I won't be posting every day in November, unless I just start posting photos.

Hope I didn't bore you too much.

: 6 :

Even after seven plus years of loading one or more children into the car, I still feel like it should be easier. Why does it take so long to get three kids in the car?

Why oh why oh why?

Every weekday morning, it's always a frantic rush to get out the door. Even if we aren't late, I have to move into "get into the car right now" mode, or they won't ever get there. It's an art form that I have not yet mastered.

: 7 :

If you like to listen to podcasts, might I recommend this one from Radiolab? It's called Lost and Found, and the whole podcast is really heartwarming. It's the third segment, though, that I love the most. Even if you just listen to that one--it's called Finding Emilie--you won't regret it. I first heard it last January when Addie was in the hospital, and I cried and cried. Twenty minutes of listening. Do it if you can.

Have a wonderful weekend!

More Quick Takes here.

When She Sleeps

Even though Jules' behavior has improved over the last few months, we've had a rough few days with her since taking her off a homeopathic medication. It is what it is, but it doesn't make it less exhausting.

After she's asleep, I find myself at my computer, looking at photos of Jules. I took these yesterday. I asked her to give me her sad face. Put that girl on a stage because this is one heartbreaking sad face.

This is the "why can't I have chocolate chips for breakfast?" face. Notice the eyebrows. All my girls have figured out the power of The Eyebrows. For better or for worse, I passed along that theatrical trait to them.

Silly face.

Happy face.

Sometimes this is the best I can do to remember why we do what we do for Jules. It's for this happy face.

Love that girl.

Parallel Photography

When I walked into my class yesterday, I announced in typical obvious fashion, "It's cold outside!"

One of my students remarked that he had started to say "It's refreshingly brisk outside" instead of "it's cold" because then it sounded less like complaining and more like "it's a beautiful day outside." My students, by the way, are such an encouragement to me on living a better life.

I laughed and admitted he was right. I didn't need to be complaining about the weather.

This morning, as the outdoors temp hovered around 30 degrees, it was another refreshingly brisk day. There was frost on the ground, and as the girls and I piled into the car to take Sydney to school, Jules asked if she could run out and touch the frost, "Because it's so beautiful!"

Oh, that Jack Frost. He does some beautiful work.

True, I'm not a regular rejoicer at the cold weather, but with a little effort I can find ways to appreciate it. And one of the easiest ways is to get my camera out and capture it.

As soon as we got back home after the school drop-off, I strapped Addie into the Ergo, grabbed three stocking hats and my camera, and headed out the door. And one more thing: I gave Jules my Droid to use as her camera. When kids play side by side but not necessarily with each other, it's called parallel play.

When Jules and I wander the garden taking pictures of whatever catches our fancy? I call it parallel photography.

Before we were even three steps past the door, Jules was already snapping pictures of her new sweater.

After several blurred photos, I tweaked the camera settings so that it would be a little more forgiving of little hands that have trouble holding still.

Jules was nervous about the frost disappearing before we could get pictures of it. "Hurry Mama!" she'd yell as she sprinted down the driveway. "Don't want it all to melt!" Fortunately the frost held out long enough.

Ever wondered what a frozen board looks like?

Wonder no more.

We have some kind of evergreen bush near the house that has dozens of cobweb blankets on it. The past few mornings, Jules and I have talked about how the blankets look like fairy hammocks. I tried to capture the fairy hammocks with my camera, but I couldn't quite get it.

Jules took a shot.

It's hard to see much, but there near the lower left corner is a fairy hammock. Jules and I will keep trying to capture the elusive shot.

From the driveway down to the garden, we chatted back and forth about things of beauty. This time of year one of the things I love looking at are the blueberry bushes. October always finds the blueberry bushes giving their swan song.

They may not have any autumn crop to brag about, but what they lack in bounty, they make up for in a blaze of glory.

Eventually, our fingers started turning numb, and Addie began voicing her displeasure at the freezing temps. We grabbed one last shot of the corn.

Mine:

Jules's:

I like Jules's better, don't you?

One quick task of helping Grandma haul the trashcans out to the road, and then we were back inside holding warm mugs of hot cocoa.

Cold mornings may not trump warm mornings, but this is the day that was given to us. No sense letting it go to waste.

The Voices in My Car

Even though I wouldn't say I like my commute--the first 70 miles isn't too bad, it's the 70 miles coming back in traffic that's less than fabulous--I do love one aspect of it:

Radio time.

Specifically, NPR.

When I'm at home, I don't watch the news. I catch the headlines online, and quickly flip through our local newspaper to make sure I'm up-to-date on who's doing what. But otherwise, I don't have time.

In the car, though, I have time. Lots of time. Lots of uninterrupted time. Even though Addie is in the car, once she hears Neal Conan's voice she knows it's time for her nap. It's positively Pavlovian.

And so I listen.

I listen to all the local correspondents who report for OPB.

I listen to Robin Young on Here and Now, and find her voice so relaxing I don't even care that the interstate bridge is up.

I catch bits of Terry Gross talking on Fresh Air, amazed at her uncanny ability to interview people.

When NPR reports on Supreme Court decisions, I hang on Nina Totenberg's every word. That woman is brilliant. And funny.

In the afternoon, I get some world thought and culture from Marco Werman and PRI's The World. Never in a million years would I search for and find music that was recorded in South America or Western Africa, but thanks to Marco, I hear just exactly that kind of music in my car on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

I listen to Neal Conan on Talk of the Nation, and get a little thrill every time Ted Koppel or Bob Woodward are on as guests. I love listening to those guys. So smart.

Of course, the charisma of Neal and Ted and Bob notwithstanding, Talk of the Nation doesn't always grab my interest. There's a lot of talk about the Middle East and the Arab Spring and Gaddafi (for obvious reasons), and that's all well and good, but I get tired of hearing about the Middle East. Don't get me wrong, but the region as a whole doesn't have the greatest track record on human rights. I alternate between being angry, depressed, and wholly pessimistic about their future.

So then I listen to podcasts. This American Life gets regular airtime in my car, as does Planet Money and Radiolab. There are lots of really well done podcasts. I just don't have enough time in my car to listen to them all.

I listen, and I learn, and sometimes I wish someone was in the car with me so I could talk about what I'm hearing. Sometimes I'll come home and talk to Jason about a report I heard. Occasionally, I'll relay infromation from that day's commute to my students. Most of the time though, the information just gets folded into the other ingredients that feed my brain.

Even though I wish my commute was shorter, the fact that I get to spend the time with Neal and Robin and Ira and Terry and Marco and a host of others makes it rather enjoyable.

Thoughts on waiting for projects to be finished

A few weeks ago, we decided that we would do some significant upgrading to the house. Some new floors, tile backsplash, and a new tub are just a few of the several things. Since then, approximately "not much" has happened. We have the funds to do the upgrading; we know what we want (in general terms); we even have names of local contractors who can help us do the projects.

Still.

It's amazing how slow these things happen.

Because here's the thing: I want someone who comes recommended and who has a reputation for doing a good job. Turns out, the contractors recommended to us are busy. Quite busy. Awfully busy. Won't-get-the-floors-in-before-Thanksgiving busy. They keep working because there are still some people out there who need jobs done and word of mouth gets them jobs.

We talked to one guy. He's busy until Christmas. We talked to another guy (who is doing work at Ty and Sarah's) and after a week of phone tag and conflicting schedules, we finally got him to come out tonight to take a look at what we want done. He's working all this week, but he'll get back to us next week. I'm pretty sure that he's the guy we'll go with because I've seen his work, and I know I can trust him.

Now, I know that we could go to Home Depot, pick out flooring, hire one of their people to do the job, and then a week later have new flooring installed. I'm sure people do this all the time. We could also call a plumber and have them do some work too.

But since we have several projects that need to be done, then we figured it would be more economical and less stressful to have a contractor and his trusted sub-contractors do the projects. Supposedly, general contractors need work.

They do, of course, need work. Just not necessarily right now! at this exact moment! when I want everything done right now! So we'll wait because I know that rushing into home improvement projects with an untested worker can be disastrous.

Fortunately, I have lots of practice waiting for things home related.

I just think it's kinda funny. I have money. I want to spend this money. But so far I haven't been able to.

That's the trouble with smart spending. Sometimes it takes a long time to spend it.

A fun surprise when we looked out our back deck

What do you get when you carve two faces into one pumpkin (Sydney did a face, and Jules did a face) and light it up on your back deck that's enclosed with glass?

A jack-o-lantern and a jack-o-lantern ghost.

Grandma Harriet

Two years ago today, my grandma passed away. Earlier in the week, I had sung at the funeral of one grandma. On a Wednesday morning, my dad called to tell me my other grandma passed away.

Two funerals. Two grandmas. One month.

It was a really awful month.

I still miss my grandma a lot, but I'm no longer filled with grief. I know that Grams is with Grandpa. Most importantly, I know she had put her faith in Jesus and she's singing with the angels in Heaven.

I doubt my girls will have clear memories of my grandma. They'll have memories of pictures of her, and they'll have memories of the stories I tell.

She was amazing. She was adventurous. She had style and class and dignity. She loved me and spoiled me rotten.

Two months after my grandma's funeral, I was pregnant. If we had a girl I knew what her middle name would be.

Harriet.

Both my grandmas were named Harriet.

Both my grandmas would have loved Adelynn, and she would have delighted them to no end with her smiles and personality.

Addie won't ever meet her great-grandma Harriets on this side of heaven, but she will hear stories about them, and carry the blessing of their name around with her.

Thinking of my grandma today, and missing her so much.

I'm just super grateful for all the lessons she taught me, all the memories I have of her, and that I got to be part of her life.

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 13)

: 1 :

Jamba Juice's Pumpkin Smash smoothie is back, and if you haven't had one, oh my goodness, you should. (Unless you don't like pumpkin pie, in which case, nevermind.) If you, like us, love it so much that you could probably have one every day but don't want to spend money on one every day, then here is a pretty tasty knock-off recipe courtesy Skinny Kitchen.

Blend together:

• 2 cups yogurt (we love using frozen yogurt)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin (fresh pumpkin is the best, of course, though canned would work)
• 1 cup soy (we use low-fat vanilla soy)
• 2 tbl. sugar
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups ice

It's yummy. Note: Jason can tell you from personal experience that should you happen to grab the similarly labelled jar of cumin instead of cinnamon, it will not be yummy. It will taste like pumpkin pie enchiladas.

: 2 :

Sometimes I wonder how much is too much when it comes to Sydney's extra-curricular activities. She has soccer practice two days a week, and then games on Saturdays. On Friday afternoons the girls have back-to-back ballet classes (Jules' class is first, then Sydney's). Now, Nutcrackerrehearsals are every Saturday until Christmas. Sydney is a mouse and bon bon again, so fortunately she won't have to learn new choreography. If she didn't enjoy both soccer and ballet, I'd take her out of them. But she does. So we'll keep at it until she decides she doesn't want to do it anymore, I guess.

: 3 :

I've been researching different methods of painting kitchen cabinets. I really want them to look nice and not crummy and cheap. I don't want the paint to chip, and I don't want the wood texture to show/feel through. I'm not going to pay someone to do it; I can do it myself. I'm just a bit nervous about it. Anyone painted cabinets before and thought they turned out good? Tips?

: 4 :

The other day, I put on some jeans that I haven't been able to wear in a couple years and remarked to Jason that they were pre-pregnancy jeans.

"Do you mean pregnancy jeans?" he asked.

"No," I replied, "PRE-pregnancy jeans."

"Aren't all jeans except pregnancy jeans pre-pregnancy jeans."

"Yes, but these are from before I was pregnant."

"Are you telling me that stores sell pre-pregnancy jeans?"

"NO. I mean, I haven't worn these jeans in a couple years and now I can because I've lost all the weight and my tummy is small again."

"That's what you should have said in the first place."

And that, people, is why women need girlfriends.

: 5 :

I am in a reading funk. I start books and then get bored of them and don't finish. I've been wanting to read something like The Thirteenth Tale, but not The Thirteenth Tale (not because I didn't love it, but because I know what happens in it). I suppose I should just re-read The Thirteenth Tale and be happy with it.

Of course, I just remembered that Andrea recommended I read some Bill Bryson (haven't read any of his stuff). So, maybe I should do that. Even though his stuff isn't even remotely close to being like The Thirteenth Tale.

: 6 :

Speaking of my sister, I miss her. I got a postcard from her last week, and it made me miss her even more. To console myself, I raided her closet at my parents' house and snagged a bunch of her clothes that she didn't take with her to Scotland. I still miss her, but at least I'm missing her in a cozy zip-up black sweater. New clothes for the win.

: 7 :

The Family Farm is in a ladybug migratory path. Last week, per their annual tradition, the ladybugs descended upon us and now we have millions of them all over the outside of our house, and (unfortunately) inside our house too. I don't actually mind ladybugs that much. They don't drive me as crazy as, say, sugar ants do. But when they start dropping on my head while I'm sleeping, that's no good. Or this morning? One crawled out of the microwave vent. Sheesh. I can't bear to kill them, so I just scoop them up and throw them outside hoping they'll smell the proverbial smoke and fly away home.

Interesting linguistic fact of the day: ladybugs are sometimes called ladybirds in the UK.

Happy Friday! Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

More Quick Takes found at Conversion Diary.

Accent Vlog

Here in the Pacific Northwest, I think our dialect is considered standard English. Obviously we have certain words that are regional (granola isn't just a food; pop isn't just a sound; skookum isn't just a random made-up word), but otherwise? Pretty boring.

Boring aside, I decided to do the accent vlog because I thought Sam's was so cute. And I love linguistic studies. Plus (evidently) tons of bloggers are doing this, but I must not run in the right blog circles because I haven't seen any of them (except at Sam's encouragement I did watch Swistle's, Jonniker's, and Lee's). ANYWAY! Here I am. Crazy facial expressions and all. (Bonus: A certain cutie pie makes a cameo appearance.)

Directions:

Give some info on where you live/grew up.

Say the following words: aunt, route, wash, oil, theatre, iron, salmon, caramel, fire, water, sure, data, ruin, crayon, toilet, New Orleans, pecan, both, again, probably, spitting image, Alabama, lawyer, coupon, mayonnaise, syrup, pajamas, caught.

And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that curls into a ball when you touch it?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

Gifts in Boots

We find blocks in our shoes.

Find apple slices in cups, the cups neatly stacked in a bottom kitchen drawer.

Our toothpaste mysteriously vanishes and then shows up in the bathtub.

A lone shoe snuck into a trash can miraculously makes it way back into the pile of shoes before being hauled to the curb.

I absent-mindedly place my sunglasses on a side table, and then minutes later when I go to put them away, they've vanished.

We ask each other, "Where is the remote?"

"Have you seen my other shoe?"

"Where's the sippy cup?"

Either our house is haunted, or...

...someone has discovered the joy of placing little things inside other things.

(Photo from last August; it's crazy how much older she looks two months later.)

All in an afternoon

Jules loves to take pictures with my phone. Even though most of the pictures are a little bit out of focus, I still love to look at them. I love seeing everything at her eye level.

Yesterday, I picked Jules up at pre-school. A few minutes before we left, I gave her my phone. She took pictures of her classroom, of her friends at school, and then whatever caught her eye as we drove to pick up Sydney at school. In fifteen minutes, she managed to take almost 40 pictures.

Seeing the car handle reminds me of how little Jules really is.

We pass by a lot of fields on the way to Syd's school.

We sat in the carpool line, talking about the upcoming birthday party Jules was invited to. Ever since Sydney started school, she is regularly invited to birthday parties; Jules, however, not as often because her social circle is much, much smaller (and younger, so I'm guessing the parties are still mostly family affairs). This Saturday, though, Jules is going to a party. She will get to give the present. She will get to sing the song and play the games. And Sydney? Has ballet rehearsal.

The truth is both the girls were invited, but Jules was so tickled that she was going to a party without Sydney that I crumpled up the envelope addressed to both girls and let Jules hold the pretty butterfly invitation all by herself. The birthday party is for a classmate of Jules', and Syd was no doubt invited out of politeness.

Sometimes a girl needs to go to her own parties instead of watching the big sister go off and have fun.

From school, to fields, to parking lot, to smiling face: the journey of 15 minutes.

Papers papers everywhere

I have two really great classes of students this semester, but for the life of me I'm having a hard time keeping their names straight.

In one class I have three Emily's and two Amanda M's (and one of those Amanda's shares the same first and last name as another student on campus...very confusing). Between the two classes, I have two Stevens, a Kelsey in one class and a Kelsie in the other class, and then rounding out the trifecta of confusion a Dan, a Dani, and a Daniel. Plus, I have five students who go by names that don't match their campus email address.

Fortunately, I call them the right name in class, but on paper...egads. I have to really stop and make sure I'm matching the grade with the correct student.

Speaking of grading, I've been spending the day grading papers.

Even when I had to make a Costco run, I put papers in the car because I knew Addie would fall asleep and I didn't want to waste that precious uninterrupted time. Sure enough, Addie fell asleep, so I pulled into the nearest parking lot and graded papers for two hours until she woke up. Do not mistake my commitment as dedication. Nope. It's desperation.

I feel like I do most teacherly duties pretty well. I have interesting enough classes, and I don't overwhelm my students with tons of work. I know where my class ranks in terms of "desirability" (ie: 90% of the students would not take Public Speaking if they weren't forced to), so I at least try to make it entertaining and not too scary.

There's one thing I don't do well: grade quickly.

I let the papers pile up until they get too heavy to carry around in my school bag. It's a mixture of being my own fault and not having a good opportunity to grade. Every year I vow to do better, grade promptly, return papers in a reasonable amount of time. Obviously, students would like their papers graded the day they turn them in, but that's not going to happen. At least, not until I have office hours...in an office that is not in my house.

Even though so much of my undergraduate and graduate work was in teaching writing, I have avoided taking on any writing classes (the exception being the one semester I taught a literature class). I know how much time grading papers takes (afterall, I spent five years teaching high school English), and I'm not up to that task. In fact, if I never teach a writing class ever again in my life I will be okay with that. I like teaching speech. I like that the amount of paperwork involved in teaching speech is minimal.

Even so, I kinda fail at keeping up with minimal.

Turns out, "minimal" can still eventually become a pile large enough that I could actually reconstruct a small tree with all the papers. Blah.

I never did well at pulling all-nighters in college (I think I did three...maybe), and I certainly don't do well pulling them now. But I can eek out a few more hours of grading before calling it a day. Everyone is asleep, so now is my chance.

I better get some coffee.

Pinterest Love

A few months ago, I decided to hop on the Pinterest bandwagon.

(Pinterest, for those of you who don't know, is virtual pinboard where you can "pin" all the fabulous things you find online. Any image that inspires you, that you want to "file away" for future use/inspiration? Just pin it on your board, and the pin is hyperlinked to wherever you got it. Okay, Pinterest explains it better than I do.)

My friends told me Pinterest was addicting. I was skeptical.

I am no longer a skeptic.

Here's a screen shot of a few of my Pinterest boards.

All those images are either just the inspiration themselves or they're linked to instructions on creating what you've pinned.

I find material I can use in speech class, like this one that I can use on moving past stereotypes:

I find images that just make me laugh:

When Jason was building the pergola, I found the one I wanted him to replicate:

I find things I want to do with the girls:

I find things that aren't pretty, but are helpful:

I was totally inspired by this, so I went out and bought some pegboard and zip ties, and voila! All my computer cables are now organized.

I'm sure plenty of people never do anything with their pinned images other than look at them, but that's the beauty of Pinterest. You can let the inspiration just wash over you, or you can actually go out and create.

Take this picture for example:

The picture inspired me to do something, and it feeds my love of looking at pretty things that I don't necessarily need.

I saw this and immediately knew how I could change our dining area to include a bench. We went to IKEA, got a bookshelf, turned it sideways, and now all we need to do is install wainscoting behind it.

The table? I'd love that table. The natural wood-top with the white pedestal? Yes, please. I don't think I'll be recreating the table though (even though I think it would be relatively easy to do). It'll just be one of those things that I think is beautiful.

Yep, I think it's fair to say I love Pinterest.

I love looking at all the lovely pins that my friends find.

I love searching Pinterest for images of things I want to find (which is how I found The Kitchen).

I love that it doesn't stress me out like Twitter did (before I cancelled my account) or make me wonder if I missed something important (like Facebook does).

I love my community of fellow pinners whose presence is marked by the beautiful things they're finding, the places they want to visit, the crafts they want to make, the food they hope to put at their table, the things that just make them smile (you never know you really needed to see a sweet picture of a baby panda until you actually see it).

For a visual person like me who sometimes tires of words, Pinterest is relaxing combination of really good magazine/art museum/coffee shop/boutique/dreamworld.

And that's the best way I can describe it.

[I promise to go back and add the links to where I got all these photos, but right now I'm sleepy and am going to bed.]

Oh!

Some say there's nothing sweeter than a newborn's accidental smile.

I'd agree.

And when that newborn gets too old for accidental smiles, I'll happily settle for a well-timed funny face.

Oh! she says, over and over. Oh!

How about that turtle, Addie? What do you think? Oh! she says.

And we all laugh and laugh.

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 12)

: 1 :

I found it.

This is THE KITCHEN.

And wouldn't you know it, it's Martha Stewart's kitchen line (this particular line is called Ox Hill, named after, I suppose, the oxen that Martha raises on organic greens and buttermilk and taste beautifully in a beef stew paired with red wine).

Of course, we don't have windows in our kitchen, and the ceilings are only 7 1/2 feet tall, but the walls are already that color, we already have white appliances, and the backsplash and flooring will be done as soon as we can find a contractor who will return our calls, and then I will paint the cabinets.

My search is over. Hooray.

(Edited to add: Jason saw this picture and informed me that we can't have that kitchen because it's too big. Yes, I'm aware. So, for all the literalists out there, I'm not duplicating this kitchen EXACTLY. It's just my inspiration.)

: 2 :

I love watching Castle. It's the tv highlight of my week.

: 3:

I know many of you are wondering how Jules is doing, and some of you have been so sweet as to inquire on how we're all doing with her. The short story is this: she's getting better. She is still (mostly) gluten/dairy/red dye #40 free. She still visits a naturopath every other week. She's on vitamins and homeopathic remedies, and has even taken up yoga (seriously. she does it on her own in the living room to calm down). I'm working on a longer write up on her, but she's improving. It's not all roses and fairy dust, but you know. Perspective on where we were last June and where we are today.

: 4 :

The Occupy Wall Street movement confuses me. There's an Occupy Portland movement now. I'm not against them; I just don't understand what they're hoping to accomplish. Are they just protesting just to protest? That's fine, if that's what it is. I'm not sure though. Someone please explain to me what they're doing. Thank you.

: 5 :

I got Addie's silhouette done. Tomorrow I'm printing them and hoping they look nice on photo paper.

I love that I captured her two chins. Scrumptious.

: 6 :

I took a nap today with Addie and Jules. Jules doesn't take naps anymore, but she decided to humor me. It's rare I get to do two of my favorite things at the same time: cuddle my girls and nap. Bliss.

: 7 :

Stumbled across this image this week, and I loved it. 

G. K. Chesterton is right.

: 7 1/2 :

This is my 1300th post at Typepad. I don't know where that ranks in terms of anything, but there you go.

(More Quick Takes can be found at Conversion Diary.)

Silhouettes

I mentioned last week that I wanted to make silhouettes of the girls, frame them and hang them over the piano. I had a general idea of the steps I would need to do it, but wasn't sure what method I would use. At this point, I think I'm going to print the silhouettes as 8x10 photos (at Costco) and then hang them in white IKEA frames.

Here's what I have so far.

Sydney's silhouette. Possibly needs to be redone with me asking her to please stop slouching.

Jules's silhouette. Excellent posture from that girl.

Addie's silhouette photo wasn't the right angle, so I'll have to redo hers tomorrow. Other than needing to even out the bottom parts of the silhouettes, I like how they've turned out.

(It occurs to me now that I could probably post a tutorial of this if there are any Photoshop users who would be interested.)

PS: The background pattern is from WebTreats Etc.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella {ella ella ay ay ay}

Today's happiness: getting new boots and umbrellas.

Last year, I didn't start looking for new rain boots until the stores had replaced rain boots with snow boots. Snow boots are not practical around here since we don't have that much snow.

We do have rain.

Lots and lots of rain.

And if it's gonna be raining, the least we can do is wear cute boots.

And skip around with cute umbrellas.

With cute girls and sassy smiles.

Oh yeah. We are ready for autumn.

Of course, since we had our new umbrellas and rain boots then we didn't get any rain today. Figures!

Permanence

(The above photo is from 1973. None of the structures are still standing except the mobile home, which was moved to its permanent location at the end of the red line.)

When my grandparents moved to the Family Farm in 1973, they decided to put a mobile home on the property until they could build. As my grandma told the story, she didn't even go look at the home at the sales lot. She heard there was one immediately available and she said, "That's fine. We're not living there for very long anyway." 

A year later, they decided to add on to the mobile home (ergo it is no longer mobile) and add a basement to the addition.

At some point they decided that they just weren't going to build. Not for lack of money, but just because they decided they'd rather spend their money on something other than a mortgage. My grandma was always a bit wistful about having never built her dream home--and probably was never especially thrilled that she wasn't living in a stick-built house--but I know she was also happy that they were able to travel and give money to causes they supported.

When we first moved back here three years ago, it was still very much my grandma's house: Her decorations, her furniture, her home even if she was now living next door at my parents' house. The first year we lived here, we hardly unpacked at all because we figured we'd be building a house soon. We decided not to build, and settled in for an undetermined amount of time. Someday we'd build, but we were fine with not knowing when someday would happen.

Over the past several months, we've rethought the whole "building a house" scenario. It isn't that we wouldn't want to, but I think it's fair to say our priorities have shifted. Over the summer, we were spending $100 a week on treatments for Jules (special food/naturopath/homeopathic/vitamins). Next school year, we'll probably have two kids in private school. Next summer we're traveling to Scotland.

We could have these things.

Or we could have a mortgage.

I never could have imagined myself living in a mobile home long-term. It was partially because I was so determined to build the house we had designed, and it was partially out of pride. Living in a mobile home felt very...blah. I'm pretty sure I even said something to that effect when we first moved here: "I'm not living in a mobile home forever. It's just TEMPORARY."

Oh those stubborn words. They're so tasty, aren't they?

We made a decision a few weeks ago: we're not building.

This field will stay a field.

This view from my window will stay the view from my window.

We decided to choose what my grandparents chose, and no one is more surprised than I am. But once we made the decision, I was so happy.

Relieved.

Excited.

We can't connect the dots looking forward, but looking back? Connected. I can so clearly see God's hand in the events of the last three years. There were some really awful moments, but He got us through it.

Now that we've decided to stay here long term, we're making some long term changes to the house. We already ripped out all the wallpaper and painted. We've changed out light fixtures, repainted cabinets, and reorganized the layout of the house to fit our needs.

We still have the following list of changes:

• New flooring in the kitchen/dining room
• Lights over the dining room table
• Deeper bathtub in the girls' bath
• House numbers on the shed
• Wainscoting in the dining room
• Wainscoting around the basement staircase
• Tile backsplash in the kitchen

And a few other projects like repainting the china cabinet and finding curtains for the office.

Fortunately, before the weather forced us to make all our projects indoor projects we were able to squeeze in an outdoor project.

Painting the house.

This is the house back in June. And, actually before we painted, Jason had a little project that he did this past summer.

It started with a request for a raised garden bed.

And then one raised garden bed became THREE raised garden beds.

And then he built a pergola for good measure. With a hammock. Holla!

So, yes, here's the house pre-paint. And the thing that bothered me the most about the house was that it felt so glaringly out of place. You'd pull in the driveway and it was, all, HERE'S THE HOUSE. I wanted to downplay that announcement.

Isn't that so much better? Granted, the railing was supposed to be painted gray, but there was a misunderstanding with that. But otherwise? I LOVE IT.

We don't have anything planted in the garden beds yet, and we don't have the house numbers on the shed yet, but in due time. I do know the house numbers will be yellow though. Because they'll match...

...the basement door! I wanted a yellow door because (1) I wanted a yellow door and (2) I knew no one can really see the door anyway. I practically had to climb a tree just to get this shot. Just knowing that the door is yellow, though, makes me smile.

1973

2011

My grandparents couldn't have imagined that their granddaughter would someday be living in the house they never intended to keep. But here we are.

Of course, we feel so blessed that my parents want us to live here. So blessed that even without owning a home, we do get to own part of the Family Farm land even if no one is building a house on that land. Not that owning land is the end-all to anything, but it feels good to know we aren't just borrowing space, but rather, we're owners in something that has belonged to my family for more than 70 years.

So here we are.

Home.

A very sincere pumpkin patch

For the life of me, I cannot recall ever going to a pumpkin patch when I was a kid. I know they must have existed because Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin movie is from 1966, and I was born WAY after that...well, perhaps I exaggerate that point. But the real point is I don't remember pumpkin patches.

I suppose my girls also may not remember pumpkin patches, but I have the pictures to prove they were there.

Like today. It was field trip day for Jules's pre-school, so we drove down the road for our semi-annual visit to BiZi Farms, and even though it was cold and rainy, that didn't stop us. You can't keep a good pumpkin adventure down on account of rain.

Sydney actually should have been at school today, but she's been feeling a little under the weather so I let her stay home today to sleep in. And then I realized too late that I was going to be hauling her out in the cold rain to tromp through mud puddles and pumpkin fields. Good grief. At least she was happy to be at the pumpkin patch with her cousins. Positive feelings are healing too, right?

Last year, Addie was strapped to my front as a sleepy uninterested one-month old. This year, she was strapped to my back as a (still) pretty uninterested one year old.

I'm sure the weather was to blame for dampening her adventurous spirit. She got to sit on a hay bale and that was about all she was up for.

The big sisters, though, were all about petting the animals, climbing the hay pyramid, and searching for a pumpkin out in the fields.

Jules and Toby race to the top. Victorious hay pyramid conquerors!

Sarah and Med conquer the hay pyramid too. Woo hoo! (And, yes, that's pretty much what the sky looked like.) Addie and I didn't climb the pyramid. Maybe next year.

Finally the time comes to catch the perfect pumpkin.

Sydney caught one!

Jules caught one too!

Whew. It's serious business getting pumpkins.

And for reasons I can't explain, it's become serious business taking pictures of pumpkins. I don't know what it is, but there's something about autumn and pumpkins that makes me want to bring out my Photoshop textures. It's a quirk of mine, I admit it.

Seriously. There is no point to this photo at all except that it makes me happy to see those grainy edges. The girls conquered pumpkins in the field. I conquered them in Photoshop. At the end of the day? We both ended up eating pumpkin cookies that Jason made. Win.

All in all, it was just the right kind of day to visit a pumpkin patch that I think Linus himself would consider to be a very sincere pumpkin patch indeed. Will The Great Pumpkin visit our local pumpkin patch? We shall see.

My I Love You

I saw this poem floating around Pinterest, but it was always condensed. I wanted to use the whole text in a photobook, so I recreated the image. It's from this book, and it may be overly sentimental, but it's still just the way I feel.

Grooveshark

Just about every time I'm online I see articles touting the amazingness of the Internet. You can get coupons! I can enter contests! Consolidate your bills! Discover new and fabulous recipes! Find out the weather for the next 30 days! Learn one new trick that will trim inches off your belly! (I've never clicked on that link, btw. I find it suspect.)

Yes, we know. The Internet is amazing.

Most of the time, though, I'm not that amazed. I have come to expect that the Internet has cool things on it. My expectations therefore make the Internet less amazing.

But today I decided to take a look at 7 Sites That Can Save You Money. And even though six of the sites didn't interest me, one did:

Grooveshark.

On Grooveshark, you can listen to whatever music you want, as much as you want, and it's free. You can even make and save playlists just like on iTunes, except that because you're not downloading the music, then it doesn't cost you anything.

So while I edited photos, I listened to Sugarland.

While I learned some new video editing tricks I listened to Balmorhea (have you heard them? so relaxing).

Then for kicks I listened to Quiet Company.

I thought it was pretty nifty.

*

I have no connection to Grooveshark. They don't know me, and I don't know them. I just found their site cool and useful. The end.

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 11)

 

: 1 :

Last Friday, Jason and I, along with brother Ty and SIL Sarah, went to see Jerry Seinfeld's act. We saw him last time he came to Portland, and I laughed so hard I cried. Second time around? Not disappointed. I appreciate that he has a pretty clean act, and that he can make just about anything funny through his physical humor.

: 2 :

Sydney auditioned for her dance school's Nutcracker. Not sure what part she'll end up with, just know that she'll get something. Also not sure if I'm ready for rehearsals every Saturday from now until Christmas, but it'll be fun. I think this year I might actually help out with the backstage stuff since I won't have a newborn baby to take care of.

: 3 :

I got to take pictures of Cedar today for his birth announcements.

I still need to edit these photos a little bit more (I think the lighting is still too harsh), but isn't he so sweet? I kissed him a million times.

: 4 :

I love my classes this semester. I'm still teaching the same ole' speech (aka public speaking) class that I've always taught, but the students are so fabulous. Especially one group. They're hysterical. I love my job.

: 5 :

We're getting new flooring in part of our house, and I am SO EXCITED. No more carpet in the eating areas. HALLELUJAH. Not sure exactly what kind of flooring we'll go with. Either cork or some kind of laminate flooring like Pergo. Must ponder.

: 6 :

Jason's truck has broken down twice in the past few weeks. Blah. And we can't get it fixed until next week. Also? Our furnace stopped working, but was easily repaired. It was just a teeny tiny wire that burned out. In fact, the wire itself only cost us $4. Imagine that! Alas, we had to pay $216 more for the repairman's witty conversation and 60-minute show. He was witty, it's true. But even our Jerry Seinfeld tickets were cheaper than that. I'm just sayin'.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing else breaks down because I REALLY WANT NEW FLOORS. (I don't think I would take "furnace over floors" disappointment as well as Ally Bean did.)

: 7 :

This week I'm changing out the artwork over our piano. I know I want to do silhouettes of the girls, but I'm not quite sure which approach to take.

I found this image on Pinterest and I'm using it as my inspiration:

 

The tutorial that goes with this image is for vinyl silhouettes, which I'm not doing. Probably more along the lines of what Young House Love did. I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a great weekend!

*

More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

The Birth of Cedar

I got to be part of something amazing last week. Something I will never forget.

I got to see a baby enter the world.

Meet Cedar.

Last September, Megan was with me when Addie was born.

This September, I was with Megan when Cedar was born.

It was incredible.

Although I love birth stories--love writing them, love reading them, love hearing them from new moms--I've never really wanted to watch one. In fact, before last Monday, I'd never seen a baby born before. I skipped that day in health class and have avoided all other opportunities. Obviously I was very present and aware when my own girls were born, but I can't say I saw them being born. It just never really interested me.

But I wouldn't have missed Cedar's birth for anything because I've loved that little baby since the moment Megan told me she was pregnant.

I got to take pictures of the day.

The moment arrives. The world expands and then there's a baby.

I cried.

Proud Daddy.

 

Happy Mommy.

Perfect feet, waiting for adventures.

Adoring Aunt (and Megan's twin sister).

Amazed big sister.

What can you say about babies that hasn't already been said, already been written and printed in a card?

All I can say is that it was incredible being there, watching Megan become a mama again.

Love.

So much love.

a little i that changed the world

Do you have a little i in your house?

We have five iPods, one of which belongs to Sydney who has known how to operate one before she was even in school.

We have the computer that has programs like iDVD and iWork (and, okay, I don't use that last program).

Yesterday I bought two songs using iTunes.

I'd like to get the new iPhone. Jason would like to get an iPad.

I talk about the Mac ads in my class when we're discussing audience analysis.

The little i is everywhere--a cultural icon, a brand that signifies something great ("insanely great!")--thanks to the innovation of one big I.

Even though I don't usually get emotional over the world losing businessmen, the world lost more than a business man today. It lost a creative genius who figured out what we wanted before we even wanted it.

"Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Thank you, Steve Jobs.

There but for the grace

You know that feeling that something terrible could have happened but didn't? That feeling of disaster avoided? I've known that feeling as I grabbed my child before she stepped in front of a car, swiped a coin out of the mouth of a toddler, caught myself as I nearly tripped down the stairs while holding a baby.

There but for the grace of God go my children and I.

Yesterday I was vacuuming, and Jason was on his phone. He stepped outside to do a quick project while he was talking, and Addie made a break for the open door. There are two sounds that will move her into hyper speed: the door opening and the water running in the bathtub. Yes, she keeps us on our toes.

I saw Addie go outside, but I thought Jason was watching her.

He didn't see Addie go outside.

When I was done vacuuming, I wandered outside to see what was going on. It suddenly occurred to me that Jason did not have Addie. I felt a surge of panic, but was quickly relieved to see Addie...who had climbed down the stairs, down the driveway and was sitting happily in a puddle.

She was safe.

I was relieved.

We walk by grace. Every day.

When my heart stopped pounding and my imagination stopped whirling, I was reminded of a video my mom showed me. It was captured by someone in our town who was involved in the story (by proximity) and it turns out the one of the responders happens to be a family friend.

The video shows a baby deer trapped in a hole, and the momma deer is circling around, frantic. The fire department uses the jaws of life to pry open the rocks, and...well, I'll let you see how it turns out. I think it's fair to say, however, that Mrs. Deer and I were glad that things turned out the way they did. (The real action starts at about 1:00.)

Soup Night Returns

Even though autumn officially started more than a week ago, and we even had some cooler temps and rain to suggest summer had moved south for the winter, the weather pulled a Brett Favre and came out of retirement. It was good timing because we had the house painted last week and all we needed were three good days.

We got them.

Sunshine = new paint on the house = happy me.

But all good things must come to and end--or, at least, September and warm temps had to come to an end--and so it seems the clouds and rain and crisp mornings are here to stay.

Since I'm a summer loving girl, I can't say that I'm excited for fall but since it does happen to arrive every.single.year. at about the same time I should just get over it and enjoy what we got. Especially since what we got today was the return of Soup Night. Every first Monday of the month from now until June, everyone on the Family Farm will meet up in my kitchen to catch up and eat soup.

(Photo from last year, but soup in pots pretty much looks the same no matter when it was taken. And I still have that green and black pot-holder!)

It was a perfect day for soup--my only plan was to clean the house and make soup, allowing me to leisurely chop up vegetables. And the outside temperature was just cool enough to make us believe that maybe we needed to drink something warm.

I knew what we were making: corn chowder and Stone Soup. Jules decided several weeks ago that we needed to make Stone Soup for Soup Night. She and Jason had gone down to the creek and gathered stones, which we washed and boiled and set aside, ready to be put in the pot.

This morning Jules got the stones, put them in the crock pot, and then with only minor assistance from me, assembled the soup according to the narrative/pictures in this version of Stone Soup. As it turns out, soup is perfectly suited to being made by kids. Spices can be shaken haphazardly, vegetables can be imperfectly cut, and if the parsley gets on the counter or the broth sloshes out of the bowl, it's no big deal. Soup is forgiving.

All morning, the soup cooked in the crock pot, and when my niece came into the house she inhaled deeply and said, "That smells good!"

Eventually 5:30 rolled around, and everyone wandered over to fill our home. We talked about the house being painted, talked about missing Uncle Don, talked about babies being born, and kids at school.

We slurped up corn chowder and stone soup, munched on bread slathered with butter and jam. The countertops filled with apple pie and chocolate cookies, the dining room table filled with empty bowls and crumpled napkins. The kids built forts and wrangled with each other, the rain streaked down the windows.

Last year, Soup Night started with an invitation to come hold newborn Addie and treasure the time we had left with Uncle Don. This year, Soup Night started with stones in a pot, gathered from the creek where we spent our summer days.

The story of Stone Soup is about people coming together, bringing a little of this and a little of that to create something wonderful. The people weren't perfect, but it didn't matter. Haphazard, imperfect, messy people pair perfectly with soup.

That is the beauty of soup nights.

Proof that summer ended

We've been back to school for over a month now, but I still don't feel like I've quite got in the groove of things yet.

I'm getting closer.

I have Syd's homework schedule figured out. Know when to leave for the afterschool pick-up. Know when I should leave in the morning in order to make it to my classes on time. I still forget that I need to pack Addie a lunch on the days I teach, but I luck out a little bit on that area because she's happy with milk, frozen peas, and Cheerios. Plus, some days she hangs out in the university's cafeteria with DeAnna and Lily (her amazingly awesome babysitters), so she's got options. There's the pizza bar, the cereal bar, the salad bar...actually, I think she mostly sticks with fruit.

Packing lunch for Syd and Jules is a different story because if you are in the Making School Lunches tribe you know that it can be something of a chore. Why? It's just lunch, for pete's sake! And yet. I just don't like doing it.

I went nearly my entire life without making school lunches--my mom and my younger brother made them for me when I was in school; the cafeteria made them for me when I was in college; Jason made them for me when we worked together--and then Sydney started school and *bam!* I had to figure out what to put in her lunch box.

Fortunately, Sydney has a very, um, limited palate. I pretty much get to pack her the same thing every day, and she's happy. And since Jules is still on the gluten/dairy/red dye free diet most of the time, then she has limited choices too.

Anyway, enough about school lunches!

Let's talk about cupcakes!

Last year I started the tradition of throwing a First Day of School cupcake party. Because the kids get to frost and decorate the cupcakes themselves then it somehow seems extra fun. Put on as much frosting as you want! Sprinkles! MORE SPRINKLES!

Our resident kitchen helper put everything on the table. As you can see, it was nothing fancy. Just yummy. Even the gluten-free chocolate cupcakes. It turns out that chocolate can make gluten-free cupcakes rather tasty.

The rule is this: eat as many cupcakes as you want.

Jules likes that rule. Cupcake total: four.

The other tradition is take Back-To-School pictures. The Family Farm kids are good sports about pictures.

Even the fancy pants newly minted high school kid. We're all still wondering who let Jarred turn into a high school kid. Crazy.

Fortunately, two more years before we have TWO high schoolers here on the farm. We tell them to stop growing up, but they don't listen.

Amanda started a new school this year. And she joins the Wears Glasses club. We like that club.

Sydney and Clover get to be the resident second graders this year. They seem to be taking it in stride, especially since they're both back to a mostly known routine. (Somehow I didn't get a picture of Clover. Not sure what happened there...fortunately, I'm sure Sarah got one because where there's a party, there are at least two cameras.)

The pre-schoolers are ready to take on the world.

This is Jules' third year of pre-school. I think she'll be more than ready to be in Kindergarten next year, hmm?

We're happy that Toby is rockin' the pre-k schedule too. Jules would get mighty lonesome if her favorite cousin couldn't come over to play.

That's it for school kids.

Of course, we can't forget the teacher mamas...

Sarah is homeschooling her kiddos again, and because she's super dedicated to teaching her kids about health and science, then she decided to throw pregnancy into the curriculum.

That's serious commitment.

As for me?

This is me last year:

This is me this year:

Can you tell I'm just a wee bit more excited this year? Yeah, there is no school lunch complicated enough to ruin the mellow vibe I'm feeling this year in comparison to last year.

Here's to a fabulous school year full of yummy lunches, not too many late arrivals, safe commutes, and lots of new stuff plopped into our heads! Yeehaw.

Three 2 One-derful

Once, many many years ago, someone asked me when Jason and I were going to have kids. My knee-jerk response was always never, but then once we got past that I said, "Well, we'd like to have a house. And I'd like to be done with my masters degree. And it'd be nice to be debt free too."

I don't remember who it was I was talking to, but she said, "If you're waiting to have all your ducks in a row, you'll be waiting a long time."

I feel like that's what happened to me and blogging these past two months. "When are you going to blog again?" Jason asked. I've had a lot of reasons: "When the house is clean," or "When the laundry is put away" [it's not the washing that kills me, it's the folding and putting away that gets me]. Or "After I lesson plan," or "I'm so tired. I can't even think straight."

It's not that I don't have something to say. I always have something to say. It's that I've felt perpetually two steps behind, a day late, a dollar short, too many hats, too many balls in the air, underwater and climbing uphill.

The feeling that is otherwise known as Life in general.

But today is the first day of October, and so here I am. And I'm going to blog every day this month because I don't want to blog every day next month.

Full disclosure: I'm gonna do some catching up because lots of important stuff happened in September (and, um, in August too, in fact). It's all good though, right? Pictures. Stories. Who cares if it didn't happen yesterday.

Here we go.

*

I completed Addie's Numbers more or less on time.

Here she is two weeks before her birthday.

And then a week--actually, just a few days--before her birthday, she got to do a test run on the cupcake eating action that would be happening at her party.

Then there was the party, followed by the Big Day.

Remember way back in the beginning, Addie started out in the apple orchard? And here she is, a year later.

Now.

Then.

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS! My baby is all grown up. What has happened to this year?!

Somehow in a matter of twelve months, Addie managed to get 8 teeth. Which she uses to eat apples. And bite me to get my attention. 

In twelve months, she went from a squishy mushy bag of sugar, to a bag of sugar able to stand on her own two feet.

You know what I love about Addie?

I love her laugh. I love her smile. I love that she is an easy baby almost all of the time.

But mostly I just love that I love her. It has been such an unexpected joy having Addie in my life. It's a crazy thing to say, of course, because I had two other kids whom I love and adore and so I should have known what to expect.

And yet.

I think back to those months before she was born. I was terrified about having another baby. I could hardly parent two kids, let alone three. How would I get Sydney to school? How would Jules handle having a younger sibling? How could I endure the sleepless nights, the post-partum depression, the months of rainy weather being stuck in a house? How would I ever get anything done without losing my mind?

How would I love this baby?

The answer is: I just do. I've loved everything about her. Loved the sleepless nights. Loved the being-stuck-in-the-house with her. Loved taking her school and nursing her between classes. I'm sure me being on medication helps a lot, but I also know that God gave me Addie and my soul lept in surprised joy.

Adelynn Harriet. Addie Hattie. Addiekins.

My girl.