Gardening Costs

I love gardening.  One of my favorite times of year is when it's finally warm enough to get outside and plant some vegetables.  There is absolutely nothing like the taste of fresh tender lettuce or truly ripe red tomatoes.  However, some people do gardening just because they want to save money.  This article goes into some detail on which garden items are most worth the cost.  If you have limited space (like I do) it would help to decide which plants make the cut in your garden.

Kid Quotes

"I'm making a zibbit for my museum."

"I'm shutting this door with the greatest of shuts!"

Upon seeing the star next to the "1" on an elevator button, she shouted "Macy's!"

"It's a small world after all. There's so much we all share that it's time we eclaire it's a small world after all!"

Teeth and Food

While all our big life changes are going on around us, Little Sister is doing all sorts of momentous things of her own.  Over the last few days she's cut two, count them, two new teeth!  Given that these are her first ones, it really was not a huge amount of fuss that she made.  This is in keeping with her generally calm demeanor, so I shouldn't be surprised.  Still I am grateful.  I think Older Sister cried for weeks before her first tooth came through.

Speaking of teeth, L.S. is also making huge strides on the food front.  She was never a great fan of purees, and I did wonder if I might have a picky eater on my hands.  It turns out that all she wanted was to be able to feed herself!  We still struggle through a spoon feeding (which I do to ensure that she gets enough iron-fortified cereal) but when it's time to get out the tiny pieces of sweet potato, she gets very enthusiastic.  Her pincer grip is tops, and she quickly shovels tiny bites of carrot, peeled blueberry, peas, and cereal puffs into her mouth.  If her tray should become empty before the meal is over, she yells for more.  I guess the second child has to learn to speak for herself or she might never get fed.

Shaving Cream Fun

In the midst of all the tumult of the last few weeks, it turns out that the kids still need, well, everything.  There's no stopping just because you are booking flights, or trying to find foreign lawyers, or wiring money to the funeral home.  They don't take any time off for meetings with contractors or filling out mortgage documents.  Kids are really not amused by the packing of boxes.  Thus we have been working hard to find activities to keep little brains absorbed, and that is how we found ourselves spraying shaving cream on a dump truck.

The shaving cream is a trick I remember from student teaching in a 5th grade classroom.  It turns out that even sophisticated nine year-olds think that squirting Barbasol on a desk top is a super fun time.  Squishing it around (thereby cleaning the surface) can entertain an entire class for a good 15 or 20 minutes.  When you're finished, everything smells fresh and clean.  Preschoolers are even more enchanted by the idea.  First we tried it out on a table, and it was amusing, but then Daddy had the idea to take it outside.  Mountains of foam on the truck AND a bristle brush made her positively giddy with joy.  Now we have the shiniest truck in the neighborhood, and we managed to get a few things done.

Lunch Menu for Kids

Now that my preschooler is out of school, it will be up to me to provide lunch seven days per week.  Sometimes we stand in the kitchen with me making healthy suggestions and her saying "nope, nope nope" for what seems like hours.  I get frustrated, and sometimes give in to less healthy requests just to get the whole thing to stop!  This year we're doing the lunch menu.  I'm posting five choices on the refrigerator door, and that is all that will be on offer.  Maybe I will rotate the choices to keep things fresh.  Maybe.  Here's a sample menu:

                                         Mom's Cafe
                    all menu items come with fruit and veggie sides


1.  Egg salad on crackers
2.  Cottage cheese with tomatoes
3.  PB & J
4.  Cheese sandwich
5.  Hummus and pita

Pre-Schooler Fun #1

In the midst of all the tumult of the last few weeks, it turns out that the kids still need, well, everything.  There's no stopping just because you are booking flights, or trying to find foreign lawyers, or wiring money to the funeral home.  They don't take any time off for meetings with contractors or filling out mortgage documents.  Kids are really not amused by the packing of boxes.  Thus we have been working hard to find activities to keep little brains absorbed, and that is how we found ourselves spraying shaving cream on a dump truck.

The shaving cream is a trick I remember from student teaching in a 5th grade classroom.  It turns out that even sophisticated nine year-olds think that squirting Barbasol on a desk top is a super fun time.  Squishing it around (thereby cleaning the surface) can entertain an entire class for a good 15 or 20 minutes.  When you're finished, everything smells fresh and clean.  Preschoolers are even more enchanted by the idea.  First we tried it out on a table, and it was amusing, but then Daddy had the idea to take it outside.  Mountains of foam on the truck AND a bristle brush made her positively giddy with joy.  Now we have the shiniest truck in the neighborhood, and we managed to get a few things done.

RIP

My poor mother-in-law passed away over the weekend.  It was a very sudden and unexpected event, and it has everyone, most especially my husband, completely blind-sided.  She was neither old nor frail, and I really did expect her to live a good long time.  I suppose these things just happen sometimes.  The good news is that she died at home in her bed with her animals nearby.  Just the way she would have chosen.  Of course this is only small consolation.

She was a formidable lady with a strong sense justice, a quick mind, and a keen sense of humor.  She spent much of her time caring for those who had no one else; her circle of rescued pets was an ever-changing menagerie.  Her circle of friends was larger still, and I know there will be many people missing her in the years to come.  She loved her family fiercest of all, and there will forever be a gap left by her departure from this world.