We've Been Expecting

And she arrived today!

Stats:
September 23, 2011
1:34 pm
Weight: 111.3 lbs
Height: 33.8 inches

Seriously, we have been living like real pioneers over here. Washing our dishes with our own bare hands - meal after meal after meal. Day in and day out. But those days are over. The Guys just deposited a lovely new dishwasher right in our living room. She is beautiful.

Yesterday, Aunt Ellen came over and before I blinked she was at the sink washing dishes. She grew up washing dishes so she knows the art. Sadly, in the last month of dishwasher-lessness, we did not rediscover the art. All our dishes have a greasy film over them. Like when they came out of the old dishwasher. That leaked and soggi-fied the subfloor.

(Did I trick you a little bit? Did you think I was holding out on you about a pregnancy? Discuss.).

Shaking Some Legs

LEG ONE:



Syd's got serious moves.

Below, at the end, she asks, Where's the Lion Costume? It's a size 18month Halloween costume she's been sporting around lately. It endows her with extra attitude.

Also, below, watch how Clara demurely asks Talmage to dance with her.

LEG TWO:



I like watching them ping-pong ball around. The music in these legs are by a local group, Pink Martini. We heard them last night (courtesy of IIAGPTW) and enjoyed it.

LEG THREE:



You can listen to the song in Leg Three here. Brit translated the lyrics for me - they're hilarious - about losing your body parts all over Paris.

Clearly, A Beautiful Mountain

Labor Day weekend we camped with Dinesh and family at (don't snicker ...) La Wis Wis Campground. It was their first time camping. It was very fun. Anu made really tasty Indian food. Dinesh got a kick out of s'mores. It was stressful trying to keep Clara out of the firepit (when the fire was going, I mean. It's fine if the ashes are cold).

Hai-yah!

Clara. Clara, Clara, Clara.

First Day

In a few years time, or maybe even a few days time, the routine of going to school will be old hat. But not today. Today it is a big deal. Last night we had a "going back to school" special dinner that is all the rage these days. Then a father's blessing.

This morning:

First day of kindergarten

Talmage has been excited for kindergarten for what seems like years. He is excited he can ride the bus (for now. just wait until he learns what 45 minutes feels like-the length of his morning ride). He's met his teacher, Mrs. Weber, twice. He's in good hands. Maybe one day I'll look at this picture and think he looks so little. But right now, to me, he looks very grown up. He'll do great.

First day of preschool

Sydney is excited she gets to ride with dad in the truck to school, which is right across the street from his work. Sydney was up first, got dressed first, and was raring to go. She kept asking Briton all morning, "Are you ready? Are you ready?"

Sydney leaves at 8:50-ish. Talmage waits for the bus at 10:25-ish.

And waits.And waits.

Finally, it comes. I don't know if he's feeling butterflies like I am, but he is all smiles. The moment he's been waiting for has finally come.

The bus driver is not smoking.

And then he's gone.

A lump rises in my throat and a few tears escape. What is this emotion? What is it about sending your first kid off to kindergarten? I walked back down the cul-de-sac with Clara, yet felt empty-handed. So I held her closer and appreciated the now. Then she got wiggly and demanded to "-aalk!" End of emotional moment.

Building an airplane...

...involves precise measurements and lots of tools -- like pruners.

Ahh, the long, lazy days of summer. But, "sigh not so, but let them go, and be ye blithe and bonny ..." because school starts tomorrow!

"Does a [kid] get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”

Useful uses for the Wall Street Journal

The fence wasn't the only thing whitewashed...er, greywashed.

The fancy "creative-things-to-do-with-your-kids" blog said to use tempura paints. But we didn't have any. We did have a few totes of acrylic paint, though, that we'd inherited over the years - most of which had gone clumpy. We squirted out tube after tube until it was gone. A good exercise in decluttering.

Note: when the blog-moms say use tempura, there's a good reason. This activity falls into the category of: clean-up time exceeds set-up/play time.

But .... It was fun while it lasted. So, whatever.

Keeping House

The pile of pavers and sand for The Path have kept the kids busy for hours.

Isaac and Syd look like ragamuffin, pioneer homesteaders: gathering buffalo chips for fuel, sweeping their dirt floors, reinforcing their abode which they Made With Their Own Bare Hands. Ignore the large plastic playthings from the future.

A Stroll Through The Garden

How does one grow those huge heads of cauliflower like in the stores?

Lemon Cucumber

The Pear Tree that was Sown In Ill Will.

It caught a bad virus secondary to the long, wet spring/summer. But it figures since it was Sown In Ill Will. The kids helped me strip all the virus-laden-ed leaves off. It recovered beautiful. But no pears. Figures.

Mmmm! Sown in yummy organic compost (wait. is "organic compost" redundant?).
Dah! Ripped off again!

The summer of the green tomato

I grew this with the intent of foraying into new culinary delights. But I haven't harvested it because what in the heck does one do with Swiss Chard?

Hummingbird friendly

Name this brassica :).

The hot debate at our house is Golden Raspberries vs. Red Raspberries
These are from the progeny of the starts Mrs. Z gave me years ago.

O, Plant A Watermelon Seed On My Grave

Clara takes after her great-grandma Kartchner in her love for watermelon.

So Some Stuff Happened This Summer

Kristi came to town to pick strawberries. That girl is one of the funniest people I know. By funny, I mean witty. Also, she is brave. She drove here from Utah without her husband. This is Talmage and Bentley on the complimentary tractor escort. Kristi and I new better than to lug six children in wagons out to the fields. In the rain. Uphill both ways.

This is how kids get good character: working in the fields - rain or shine.
Here is Clara, on QC patrol.


MOVING ON ....

What sort of a parent lets their kids have markers in their room at bedtime?

They look like warriors. And rulers (see below).

The cousins spent the night a couple weeks ago (it was D&J's Super Date turn). They somehow coaxed a caterpillar into their clutches and named her (?) Kendra. Kendra? Anyway. They loved on Kendra so much. ("Pretty bird. Pretty bird."). Lots of loving and attention to her habitat and nutritional needs. She had her own private Matchbox Car and lots of leaves and sticks. She was examined and petted and loved and loved and loved ... I found her curled up in fetal position the next morning. Unsure of her prognosis, I set her outside and wished her good luck. The next day they asked where Kendra was. Poor Kendra.


A quiet lull in their bedtime games. Notice how Sydney is touching her nose with that sheep? She'll lightly rub the tip of her nose, usually with Letter, when she's powering down.

Finally! A day over 79 degrees!

Andrea came to visit for a day. She saw Clara's mullet and insisted it be cut off. Immediately. I handed her the scissors and walah:


An experiment with freezer bags: how much air to vacuum out to achieve maximum preservation rate of lettuce. Answer: The washed, vacuumed-flat lettuce turned into soggy mush.

It's been five months with no treats ("treats" being subjective).
Smoothies are not a treat.

Hillsboro Parks and Recs and Libraries know how to entertain the troops in the summer. A gaggle of kids enjoying Shoehorn Jimbob or someone. He tapdanced AND played multiple instruments simultaneously. His sax tunes were cool. This summer we've stopped in for a few of their free lunches in the park. Last Friday they had pizza. Pretty fancy.

Jack and Talmage

One night when the partying got a little crazy:

Clara pulled this plate out of the dishwasher and this happened:

Sydney, dramatically and mournfully, "Oh no! Now we're never going to have that type of plate!"

Heidi and Emily were in Sound of Music. Two appreciative audience members below:

It was a good production. Heidi was a nun. And Emily was Gretel. Every time Emily said or did something, I was alternately beamy/teary because she was so dang cute.


Then there is this little story. Heidi lent me her beautiful earrings. Well, I sort of ripped them out of her ears. That's a true friend. We were at the park one day and she was helping consult on the family photo outfits/accessories and I'm all like, "Heeey... your earrings would coordinate perfectly." And she says, touching them delicately, "Well, they are family heirlooms, but sure. You can use them. Just be sure to give them back."

And then I kept forgetting to give them back. Like a true friend. And also I didn't end up wearing them after all. And then I was getting nervous that I'd lose the earlooms. But she lives at least Four Dollars in Gas Away. So I vowed to mail them. And this is how they arrived:

Which is funny because nuns don't wear earrings, right? And also, this craft made me think I, for a moment, was following in my mom's footsteps because I used my own brain to be creative -- and didn't consult Internetland at all.

More summer to come. But for now. The end.