Too Pretty To Stay Inside!

This is it. This is the good stuff. This is windows-wide-open, feet-up-on-the-porch-rail, run-until-you-drop-just-because-you-can weather. This is the weather where you can drink coffee and not feel the need to justify it, or face the wiggly eyebrows of others as they glance between your steaming mug and the thermometer outside. This is the weather that makes me want to read interesting books, write thoughtful letters, and spend idle days in the woods with good company.  This. is. good.

The boys went hiking last weekend with their Troop. Awesome boys. Awesome Scout leaders. Everything you could want in Scouting. They had a great time. We saw some of the most beautiful flora, and... interesting fauna.

Could have done with a little less of the latter, to be honest. But you take Nature as she is, and, well, sometimes she's a little creepy. We've all been there. I don't judge.


I won't regale you with the tick story. Just trust me when I say I was thisclose to agreeing to up and move in the middle of the night. I hear the Arctic is nice this time of year... Also, two thousand mg of garlic daily is *not* enough to keep seed ticks off of you. Nor is DEET. Nor is any possible combination of the two. And those bastards can *bite*. Wow. (I'm sorry. That sounded judgey. OK, maybe I will judge. You bite my kids, you get no love. That's just how it goes.)

We haven't ridden or hiked much this week, what with the open wounds on our feet and ankles. (The toes! Every toe is covered! Ew!) Mostly we've just hobbled about in flip-flops with our pants rolled up, a cotton ball in one hand and a bottle of Calahist in the other. Got a lot of reading done, though, which was great. Again with the balcony love. (Seriously, if you have the opportunity to have a balcony, grab it, folks. If I'd known how much we would use ours, we might have put it in before we did the kitchen cabinets. Love!)

But today, the call of "highs in the 70's" lured us back out onto the trail...

It really is just too pretty to stay inside.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

This Is Not A Productive Week

Yeah, I know, it's only Monday. But we're not exactly shooting right out of the gate this week.

Everyone was up early this morning because there were presents to open! (We didn't get home from our ride until around ten last night, and there was no way I was going to give the kid a remote control helicopter, a Trilobite kit, and a video game, then tell him to get some shut eye. Even for me, that would have been pretty clueless.) So up, up, UP they were, bright and stinking early.

He opened his presents, and was so genuinely delighted with each one. MeWa and MeTae gave him the coolest Smithsonian set - Trilobites, a Volcano kit, and an archeological dig set. Wee! (And we're doing Ancients this year! Double Win!)

But the gift that took the spotlight was the one from EmBaby and Jase: they wrote him a letter...

... and made him a paper doll set, complete with a crocodile, a lion, a bridge, a shrub, a guy, a gun, and a zombie!

Look at the detail on that - the little gun, for fighting zombies, is detachable! Oh, my gosh, Zorak and I were speechless - it was the sweetest, most delightful, thoughtful present we've ever seen. I wish we had a camera other than on the phone, because the details are fantastic - the lion's mane, and the crocodile's jaws - all of it, just neat. They made this a week ago, and have kept it a secret the whole time. None of us, not even the big boys, knew what they'd made.

And Jacob's reaction? Total icing on the cake - he took out each figure, commented on some aspect of it, set them up, let the littles explain all the details. I think he got how special that gift was. Z and I will never forget it.

After that, it was pretty much all fun and games. The Trilobites are incubating in their environment on the dresser, the helicopter logged many flight hours, and it has been decided that the dolls need to be laminated so that they won't ever get torn or destroyed. Sure, we got a little school done, but really, nobody was paying attention. That's okay. You only turn nine once.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And You Shall Ride the Gauntlet

Well, no, it wasn't that bad. He thought it might, be, though. Jacob turned nine yesterday, and the timing of it landed so that we rode the first half of the Chief Ladiga Trail *on* his birthday. He wasn't convinced this was a great plan, but he went along with it.

He doesn't look traumatized, does he?

OK, maybe a little surprised, but certainly not traumatized, right? 

At the end, the exhilaration of knowing he'd ridden 16 miles under his own power was pretty heady stuff. And it was fun! EmBaby rode the trail-a-bike behind Zorak. Jase rode in the child seat behind me. The boys gave their bikes a good workout. Everyone enjoyed the day, which is pretty impressive, all things considered.

We stopped at Logan's on the way home to refuel with steak and veggies. Then we stopped at the halfway point for a milkshake from Jack's. As he sipped his milkshake, he let out a contented little sigh and said, "This was a pretty fantastic birthday."

And we never got to the presents or the cake!

Happy Birthday Smidge, er, Jacob! You are going to have an Amazing year being 9!

(I'm trying out Dropbox for photos right now. If any of these don't appear properly, and I don't catch it, please let me know. Google/Blogger and I aren't able to communicate very well at the moment when it comes to photo and file uploading.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Boarding School & Birthdays

JakeRabbit is nine today. He's so very excited. His presents are wrapped, taunting him from a corner of the dining room. We'll have steak and creamed kale for dinner (his pick). I'll pester him with his birth story a bit. My favorite part of that story is that the first sounds he heard were his big brothers shouting, "Welcome to the world, Baby Jacob!" That, and the green chile burritos Aunt B brought us. Those were pretty fantastic, too.

The bigs and I rode yesterday. We got in ten miles, and they felt more grueling than I'd expected. Part of that was that we followed the river upstream, which meant we gradually, but consistently rode uphill. (Note: get a topo map soon!) To highlight the fact, I'd messed up the front deraileur on my bike when I fell last week but we only checked the rear gears before heading out yesterday. Turns out, if you're heading uphill, you'll miss having those bottom seven gears! We ride again today, but I'm ready with ALL the gears!

The boys' Troop had an Eagle Court of Honor last night. The previous Courts of Honor this Troop has had have been very laid back, informal, almost second-thought affairs. This was our first Eagle Court, and it was impressive. The boys all did very well with their speaking parts. The newly minted Eagle just beamed.

And in a completely unrelated vein, do you know why Boarding Schools always look lovely, even with all those children? Staff. They have full staff for every department, including landscaping and kitchen. I'm tempted to see if we can take in some boarders and get on that. Until I can sell Zorak on that plan, though, we tag each other in for different aspects of it and hope for the best. I stayed home yesterday morning to work on the house, while Zorak manned the popcorn booth with Jacob for Cub Scouts. Funny how moving all the airsoft gear to a shelf in the boys' closet gave us back our foyer. (How is it that stuff will fit on a 2'x4' shelf, but it took up an entire 4'x15' room?)

Anyway, we're off to celebrate and enjoy the day!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Autumn is coming!

We need a seasonal Paul Revere - someone to ride through the streets and alert us when the next season is really, truly coming. (Not the calendar date, but the real weather change!) That would be fun. I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd be willing to do that, right?

No?

Fair enough.

We've transferred all the things onto the calendar for September. It's gonna be Crazy Busy. Good, but still... dang. What were we thinking?

Jacob asked yesterday, after flipping through his planner, "So, after week nine, we're done?" Such hope in his voice. *snort* Nope, sorry, kiddo. After week nine, I'll have to print up more pages. "Oh. That would make more sense, I suppose. But it's not nearly as exciting."

I hear ya. I do.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Doing.

Doing things.

The boys' Troop rode last Monday. The plan was 3.5 miles, but they were nowhere ready to stop at that point, so what do you do? You point down the trail and say, "Go for it." And they did. They'd have happily ridden farther and longer, but this was a test run, to see how their bikes were after their repair/maintenance meeting. One boy's bike still necessitated getting off to change gears manually. (Um, obviously, we'll work on that.) John's bike dorked up right after the start and he rode the whole thing in seventh gear. He wasn't thrilled about that, but he muscled through and got it done. All things considered, it went amazingly well, and the boys were fantastic! We'd hoped to ride again tomorrow, but the general consensus is that "severe thunderstorms" aren't conducive to safe riding. So. I don't know. We'll see when they can go again. They're building up to a big ride later in the year, and if this crew can keep their great attitudes, keep improving the condition of their bikes, and keep learning as they go, I think it's going to be One Fantastic Adventure.

We hit the annual Civil War re-enactment on Saturday. Two years running. I'd like to say we're getting the hang of staying abreast of things, but it was actually a lady from the homeschool support group who posted the dates. Bless her, and the many other people who take the time to say, "Hey! There's something going on this weekend!" If it weren't for them, we'd be hermits. Not intentionally, but that's how it would pan out. Anyway, we went with friends, the weather was significantly better than last year, and EmBaby got her pickled eggs. (She was hoping for pickled quail eggs, but settled happily for regular old eggs when no quail eggs were to be found.)

Meanwhile, Zorak and I rode this morning. We figured we'd get out and put four or five miles behind us. We ended up going 13 miles, roughly broken down to three small hills, two huge hills, six tiny dogs, four big dogs, almost an hour of gorgeous scenery and hard work, and one wipeout there at the end (that would be me, Grace - I'm keeping the title, thank you - and the Dermaplast). It was great! Except for the dogs. I could do without being faced down by brazen growlers who take their stand in the middle of the trail when there is no other avenue available to me. :-\ On the upside, I'm pretty sure my cardio levels ramped up a time or two!

Today we also worked on the Shack a bit -- window trim and cleaning. Not so much for the exciting words, there. Wood putty, delightful as it may be, doesn't lend itself to poetic interpretation without a good deal of hyperbole.

And now, we have rain. What a beautiful way to end the day!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh! I didn't tell you about this!

The "sanitize" bit in yesterday's post reminded me. Our Big Excitement this Summer: a new washing machine! Actually, a new washing machine and dryer.

But it's all in one tub.

Yep, you put in dirty clothes and remove clean *dry* clothes. One move. I'll give you a minute to consider that.

Although perhaps you didn't need to wrap your mind around it. You may have known about it. Somehow, we seem to be the last of a handful of people to ever hear about this. (No less than three friends, when told about our new toy, squealed and said, "Oh! You are SO European/Korean!" They were pretty evenly split on the influence. But we had no clue. However, we did go with the LG. So -- Go, South Korea! You nailed the landing on this one!)

One word: Awesomeness.


Some of the reviews we read said it's not a good fit for a family because you're limited to doing only one dedicated load at a time. Meh. We've been using it for a little over a month, now, (seven people, one virus, plus allergies, chickens, and mud - that's plenty of laundry to give it a run) and I could not be happier. Yes, it does take longer to wash and dry one load at a time compared to the ideal, which looks like this:

wash one load/get it drying while you wash another load/fold the first load while the second load is drying and you wash a third load. 

But if you compare it to my usual:

wash one load/forget it's in there, getting mildewy, until I desperately NEED to do the next load so I can switch them out before bed/re-wash the first load/stay up way too late to be able to switch the second load out after the first load finally passes a sniff test... 

we're coming out ahead, my friends. So very far ahead. Add in the delayed start which allows Zorak to have freshly washed jeans in the morning, but we can still be in bed by ten. Or eleven. But if we stay up, it's by choice, not desperation. How cool is that?

It's a crazy little machine. It dries everything to perfection except for our thick towels (they take about ten minutes under a ceiling fan to finish off), and the thickest part of the crotch of jeans (again with the ceiling fan) -- and really, I don't move that quickly, anyway. Worst case scenario, I put in the next load, refill my coffee, address a handful of random interruptions, and it's all dry and ready to be put away. *with no re-washing, ever* And if I want to line dry some things, BONUS. Everything is clean and nearly-dry, even without the drying cycle. (Today, alone, I washed and hung three loads of wash, and still had time to wash/dry two more loads in the machine. So wonderful!)

The kids love it. Well, some of the "new" has probably worn off by now, but they appreciate the quiet spin cycle, and the clean clothes, and no longer needing to buy Shout in the gallon jug... It's a gift that keeps giving. I just don't know why we didn't know about these sooner!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

On Catching Up

So the kids had their plan in place:
Get up early
Hit the books hard
Spend more time reading between the writing-intensive studies to provide for stimulation and avoid death by pencil.

This was their recommendation for getting caught up to where the lesson plans said we should be. I thought it was pretty responsible (and beats what I'd have done when I was 12!)

We hit it hard on Monday. John had allergies, and he struggled, but we pushed through.

We hit it hard on Tuesday. James had allergies, too, that day, but we pushed through.

Wednesday, they mostly sat around, looking stunned, wondering that allergies could be so harsh...

Thursday, Jacob developed allergies. Or, as we began to suspect, "allergies". :groan:

Thursday evening, EmBaby and I both fell prey to what we'd been calling "allergies". I don't know what this is, but it's nassy! Since it's knocking us all down like dominoes, we're guessing it's viral. So our new plan is in place:

Water
Vit. D
Water
Pray this runs its course before it mutates and does another lap through the house.
Water
Water
Netflix

It's been a documentary-heavy couple of days, here. So far, we haven't had to try out the "Sanitize" option on the washer, though. I'm counting my blessings!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Not Like Any August, Ever

I hesitate to say anything, but this August has *rocked* in Northern Alabama. Temps have remained in the nearly-reasonable 90's, the humidity hasn't gone over 100% more than maybe twice*, and so far nothing has landed on the house or the car! Someone's been Very Good, I suspect. Wow.

So we've been braving the out-of-doors more this year -- going to the river, on hikes, to the park, canoeing. We didn't spend nearly as much time at the water park this Summer as I'd hoped to, but some of that was because we weren't sweltering and desperate for relief the whole time. (June. June was awful. But after that, Mother Nature backed off the ire and we recovered.) We did get some good use out of it, though. I only lost one child, one time (which is pretty darned good, all things considered), and nobody got burnt at all this summer! No, I take that back. Zorak and the boys all got sunburned shins on a canoe trip with the Scouts a couple of weeks back. But that wasn't on my watch, so I don't have to claim it. BOOYAH! First time, ever!

We're in Week 5 at school, and so far, we're... pretty darned slow. Wow. We seem busy. We feel busy. But we're not laying tracks like we'd thought. So today, the kids brainstormed a new schedule, to be implemented tomorrow morning. No clue how it's going to go, but finding out is half the adventure, right? (That face you just made? Same one they made when I used that phrase this morning.) In all, though, it's going really well. EmBaby's reading more fluidly - her accent is killing us in the phonics, but she's starting to clear those hurdles. (I've never had one with an accent before. This is a whole new ballgame!) Jacob's just rolling through it to get to the books. I can't keep him in books. (Yeah, I know. Third child this age, you'd think he'd be inundated. I guess not.) John finally got a good callous from playing guitar. He feels legit, now, and it's given him a renewed vigor in many areas. And James is kicking into high gear is so many areas. Mostly after 11:30 or so in the morning, but once he's caught a gear, he can *go*.

For me, the big excitement so far was hearing John announce that he *likes* Latin. One day, Dwane Thomas at Visual Latin, and the good folks at Memoria Press (thank you for First Form!) will receive cookies, or brownies, or a copy of someone's NLE results with a thank you note. That's some crazy joy, there.

And the rest of Summer? Well, things don't always go as planned. We did get the sand - uh, this past Saturday. The windows we'd been putting in, one at a time, all went on clearance (not to be re-stocked  - ACK!) so we snagged all we needed in one size, and we now have new windows along the whole front of the house. We'll be eating beans and rice for the next three months, but the marked improvement in insulation is worth it already.

Oh, and okra! Our mad gardening skills have once again yielded insane amounts of okra. Not much else - maybe one cucumber, a handful of squash, two and a half tomatoes... we'll spend the Autumn pickling okra and giving thanks that we do not have to rely solely on what we grew for Winter sustenance. Again. Amen.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

* Tongue in cheek. Mostly.

Liberty Lee's Tail of Independence

Welcome to TLC Book Tours' virtual tour of Liberty Lee's Tail of Independence.


This picture book, written by Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes, published by Little Patriot Press, is an illustrated poem that tells the tale of America's founding through the narrative lens of a mouse counterpart to the Framers of the Constitution, the title character, Liberty Lee.

I wasn't expecting a poem. It's enough of an undertaking to explain everything from Colonization to the Battle at Lexington and Concord to a target audience of squirrelly 4-6 year-olds, without trying to do it in rhyme. Yet, they've done it, and surprisingly well, as long as the reader can avoid falling into the cadence pit. The authors did not skimp on vocabulary, but used traditional verbiage connected with the American Revolution. I appreciated that. It helps make this story more than a mere sing-song tale that one tires of reading after one or two rounds.

It took us a full two weeks to read the story, not due to rhythm issues, or wordiness, but as a result of the illustrations. They are vivid, and rich. They look simple, but are incredibly detailed. Each illustration (most are full, two-page spreads) offers a panorama of delightful scenes to unfold and delve into. The detail is fantastic, and it's not unusual for the children to spend ten or fifteen minutes going over every vignette on a page.

This isn't a book they'll want to fly through, and if you try, you'll be frustrated. Liberty Lee's Tail of Independence is the kind of book you meander through, letting your children show you all there is to explore, doubling back, spinning off for a while on inspired tangents, eventually settling back down to continue the journey.

There are additional bonus features for adults and children. The children enjoyed finding Liberty Lee (or one of his ancestors) tucked away in each page. There is also an eagle hidden in each illustration. (It's not always the whole eagle - sometimes it's just his head. It's a nice added layer for older, or more ambitious, children to take up after they've found all the mice, and poured over the other scenes.)

The Tail End offers additional tidbits of information and resources designated for parents and teachers.

In sum, we enjoyed this book. The authors attempted to cover a lot of ground in a condensed space, and the narrative doesn't flow as smoothly as I would prefer for a storybook, but it is solid, and unabashedly designed to be an uplifting, encouraging story, which the authors performed nicely. The illustrations tie the story together well. It's the combination, though, that makes it the type of picture book I'd want to have on my shelf: a good story that piques the children's imaginations, set among lavish, many-layered illustrations that draw in a child's eye and mind. I love that, and I enjoyed this book, on many levels.

Kiss those babies ~ and keep reading with them!
~Dy

The Push Continues

We're still pushing hard to get our affairs in order. The house-cleaning project will probably continue for another couple of months, as we freshen paint and finish the details on projects that stagnated once they hit "functional". (Our Family Motto seems to be: It Doesn't Have to Be Pretty to Be Functional ~or, more accurately, If It's Functional, That's As Good As It's Gonna Get. I need to see about getting that changed before we get to the point of ordering engraved items.)

After James' last physical, his doctor had suggested some strength training to help combat the growing pains he's experiencing. So he and I have been working out regularly, using You Are Your Own Gym. He is an absolutely hilarious workout partner, with a very positive attitude and a willingness to slog through new things with flair. Although I can't say this is "fun", it's getting done. And we laugh. A lot. Mostly at me. But it's good stuff.

This is our last week of break before heading into the next term of the year. We didn't intend to take off all of June (instead of just the first two weeks, for camps), but the weather was too beautiful to spend indoors. It's... not, now. And I have a suspicion that we'll more than make up for it when the heat that's now moved in stays through September, so it's all good. We need something to do in the afternoons other than watching Eureka, right?

The kids were invited to VBS with some friends this week. Jacob was reluctant to go, but agreed to an extension of our "One Honest Bite" approach to life (that started with food, but anything that applies to food can be applied to any element of life, so it gets wide use around here). EmBaby got wind that there would be crafts, and she was IN. Oh, yeah! Jase wanted to want to go, but he wasn't so sure. It was loud. And... well, loud. (We don't go to a loud church, and this was all very new to him.) He said it was scary, so I told him he didn't have to stay and we headed out. The ladies at registration were gracious and kind, and utterly accomodating, but you know, he's four. There's not a single thing he would get from a few hours at VBS that he won't pick up elsewhere in his life over the next umpteen years. (And if there is, then we're doing something wrong. Which we may be, but not with this.) We got back to pick up Jacob and Em a bit early, so we sat in the back to listen to the closing announcements and songs. That's when I realized he was not convinced this was a Good Place To Be, and that he viewed the whole retrieval less as a routine pick up, and more as a SpecOps extraction. We navigated the fine line of Awkward Situations for a bit (thankfully, it was loud, so I don't think anybody overheard our exchange), and escaped without causing a scene.

(Jacob and Em both had a blast, and were thrilled to learn they could go back each evening this week. After hearing that, Jase decided he'd give it One Honest Bite, too, and he stayed tonight, tentative and anxious, holding Em's hand. He says he loved it. Zorak said he was dancing and singing when Z arrived to pick them up. I'm proud of him for giving it a shot, but was also proud of him for knowing it's safe to say, "no, thank you", as well.)

Now, to reconfigure the menu for being in and out all week! :-s


Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Whoa! Where'd the week go?

John turned twelve this week. (He lobbied to be promoted to 15, as he swears he's been 11 for three years and we need to set the balance right.)

Thanks to the envelope system, there was enough cash in the gift envelope to take him to the drive-in to see The Avengers. Do you remember going to the drive-in when you were a child? Yeah, it's still awesome. Of course, as an adult with children in town, it is also a little aggravating. (The Bigs totally "got" it, and they were fantastic. My plan to set the littles up with their own cushy paradise inside the Suburban, where they could play quietly? That didn't pan out. So, even having braced myself to be okay with a certain level of aggravation, the littles far surpassed that. Crazy little overachievers. :eyeroll:) Friends came with us, which was doubly cool. (And you know they're loved, because the children spent half the time in their car, as well!)

We'll pop it in the queue with Netflix and watch it again when it comes out. I don't think Zorak or I have laughed so hard, or enjoyed a movie quite so much in a long time. (Even when you factor in the littles.) I do think we'll try the drive-in again, though, after making some adjustments (or finding a sitter) for the littles. The Bigs really got into it, and they were a riot.

The last of the chicks are now in the barn! Hallelujah! They all seem happy there, and I know I'm downright giddy with reclaiming the space.

After an embarrassingly long time, I've finally painted the two bedroom doors that never got painted. Most of the delay has been that the basement is always in use as something far too messy for painting to occur concurrently. So this week, while it was empty and relatively clean, I went to work. It's impressive how nice a freshly painted door looks (especially when one's standards have been lowered, by notches, to a shocking degree).

We are down to one toy shelf, *and* there's an empty bookshelf on the front porch, slated for life with someone else. It's a pretty crappy bookshelf, and we've used it well beyond its appointed time. But it still stays upright, the shelves aren't too saggy, and so it's functional. I can't bring myself to toss something functional. Not sure how to get it to the donation site, though. (DAV will come pick up, but we'd need to have a pile to justify asking them to bring the truck out and use more in gas than they'd have spent just buying a new shelf.)

The okra is doing beautifully with our system of gardening by benign neglect.

We did get James' desk and computer into his room, and he's standing ten feet tall right now. Possibly even bulletproof.


So. That's where the week went. Makes perfect sense.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Cleaning End of Limbo

Monday and Tuesday, we got ruthless with the Stuff around here. I feel like a Big Ol' Meanie even saying that, because we don't have a lot of Stuff, relatively speaking. (OK, the Legos are getting out of hand. But four of the kids use them, often playing together, and it was my own fault for letting them into the house in the first place. They start out so innocuously, with those little $4.99 packets that come with one or two figurines and a couple of extra parts. There's no warning label on the packet that tells you you've just released the plastic equivalent of the Plague on your home.) But for the most part, it's not been bad. We have two toy shelves, which hold a total of nine medium Sterlite tubs, and 12 small ones. Each bin holds a specific item (hand puppets, magnetics, tanagrams, plastic cowboys/indians/army men, wooden blocks, etc.), and each child has one of the small ones for his/her own special things (sketches, pen innards, rocks - you know, Precious Things that I might mistakenly toss because I don't know better). Still, the Stuff had grown unwieldy.

So Monday, thinking to start easy, I began with the master bedroom. *snort* We did clear out a lot - mostly from under the bed, which held enough random stuff to make me wonder if everyone I live with is using it as a Room of Requirement. Then the drawers. Then the nooks and crannies, where things fall, gather dust, and become terrain for spiders. I thought I'd get rid of most of my yarn, as it's mostly cheap yarn and doesn't crochet up into anything comfortable, but Jacob gasped and said, "Mom! That's an almost endless supply of STRING!" He may have inherited The Gene... Anyway, I'm not done in there, but I gave up. The yarn is in the craft closet.

Tuesday, we tackled the toy shelves and a bookcase. All the VHS tapes? Gone. That freed up three shelves' of space. (I have no idea where we'll sit today, though, as they're all in the car to be dropped in town.) Then, on to the toys - things we've been promising we'll use "now that we know where they are" -- for the past three cullings -- are off to find a new home. Even now, nearly 14 years into this gig, there's a deviation between how I envision our family and our days should look, and how they really look. I needed to let go of the dream and embrace the weird. It's all good. Plus, we culled and cleaned the things that there is no one left to play with, now. No babies, no toddlers. Even Jase prefers the smaller Legos to the 1" Duplos.

So, in the end, we culled quite a bit. Enough that if we find a new place for the boys to keep their Special Buckets, we can now remove one of the toy shelves from a bedroom! That'll be a whole extra six square feet of living space we'll gain! (Which is roughly equivalent to enough space for all of us to stand side-by-side and stare at the wall. I know this. Still, it makes me giddy.)  Next, I hope to square things away well enough to remove the large book case from James' room and replace it with his desk. That's all kinds of exciting, when you don't get out much.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Hot 'n Sticky Holiday

Zorak worked on the project with his co-worker most of the day, Saturday. I don't think they got it finished, as he needs a torch. I wish I'd known that before Father's Day. Someday, we will manage to figure out what he needs and get it for him before he runs down to Home Depot or the Welding Shop and buys it for himself. Not that he minds. Gifts don't say I love you to him - time, thoughtfulness, naps, kind words, affection - those things wrap him in a big hug and whisper, "You mean so much to us." And humor - a family that laughs together is happy and solid. We're fortunate, and we've got it good.

Father's Day was spent working in the garden. Sort of. I like to think we'd be better at it if our lives depended on it. I may be wrong, though. It's pretty miserable down there in the afternoons, and we haven't disciplined ourselves enough to get down there and get it over with in the cool of the mornings. (Of course, there will be no cool, ever, in another two weeks, so maybe it's just a pre-emptive adjustment on our part?) Thankfully, okra will grow with pretty much no input from anyone.

We graduated a couple more chicks from the basement to the barn. I cannot tell you how glad I will be when I no longer have livestock living in my home.

The kids and I made lunch for Zorak (shredded BBQ brisket sandwiches, tomato/cuke/sweet pepper salad, green salad, pintos, and cheesecake). We enjoyed lunch and then laid down -- and stopped moving. Z got a Father's Day nap. (Best Gift, Ever!) The rest of us watched MacGuyver and lolled about, with our limbs dangling off the ends of the furniture.

If I haven't done so already, I need to go on record now as saying I am SO wholly on board with the implementation of siestas in the South. Nobody wants to work during the hottest part of the day, and in the summer it's light late enough that you can get more done after a refreshing nap, anyway. When you add in the humidity and the lunch... Oy! Siesta is the only thing that makes any sense. But it's never caught on here in the South, for whatever reason. A shame, really - it's a lovely way to get through the hot'n'sticky part of the day.

This week? This week we don't have to be up at 5:45, so we're not going to be. That's about as far as we've made it on the planning end. And we're okay with that. :-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Things Are Changing!

Mostly, my email spam. I used to get offers for Sexy Asian Singles and lots of Viagra. Today, I got my first "hip implant recall" solicitation. *sniff* I feel so grown up.

A co-worker of Zorak's is coming down today so Z can do some welding for him. He'll probably bring his wife, and that's always a treat. She's one of those beautiful, deeply rooted ladies who are kind and gracious. She doesn't mind the chaos of the house, as it reminds her of her years raising their children. (I'm still going to clean up, here in a bit, though. No sense in triggering any Maternal PTSD that may be lurking. We all have it. We should try to be aware.)

The kids are sleeping in this morning, except for John, who bounded out of bed at seven, made his bed, let out the chickens, fed and watered everything that needs us to feed or water it... without me having to ask. That makes me so ridiculously happy! So I let him play some video games while his siblings sleep. (I like to think of it as positive reinforcement.) Of course, Em awoke not long after he started and stumbled sleepily over to me to inquire why, exactly, John gets video games. I could see in her eyes there was a "not fair" skulking about back there. When I explained what he'd done, and how it was on his own motivation, and I felt that merited game time, she was pensive for a moment. Then she perked up, said, "Oh. OK!" She grabbed an apple and plunked down on the couch to watch him. I guess she weighed the options and decided a little game time wasn't worth getting dressed and started on chores just yet. Fair enough.

In other news, a cousin and his family were able to return to their home in New Mexico today. So many homes have been destroyed in the Little Bear fire. Theirs survived, and so they are home. Now the community begins the process of mourning, healing, and rebuilding. As far as I know, all of the family is safe. Over in Ruidoso, the folks at Ski Apache used some ingenuity and turned the snow makers on to help keep the fire at bay by spraying the area with Hail Mary shots. Meanwhile, there are floods in the southern part of our state. I find myself nudging the boys to consider some kind of engineering study that would allow them to devise a feasible means of diverting water from one place to another, cross country - eliminate damaging floods, and quell the raging fires, all in one awesome project.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Project Gear-Up

I have to confess, that title sounds more enthusiastic than I feel about it.

Tomorrow, we'll have the Volvo (for emergencies only - it doesn't have air, and tomorrow's going to be Southern Summer Hot). Zorak will take the Suburban and the trailer. He'll return with a load of sand, dump it in the lower drive, and then I'll try to keep smaller children from infesting the pile while he sets up the batting boards and directs the larger children on prepping for a cement pour. I really don't like doing the batting boards, but I'm not terribly vested in keeping the children out of the sand pile, either. (It's all going to end up in the house, anyway, why not have fun with it?) So this may not be our most stellar plan. But it's what we've got, and we'll run with it. At some unspecified point in the fairly near-ish future, we will have stairs for the balcony. The fun part is seeing how, and when, we get there.

Also, he texted me yesterday to say that Lowe's has all the window sizes we need *in stock*. I kind of thought he was flirting with me and would come home with more windows. But no. He came home with the sand plan. We need to flirt more, because we've obviously gotten bad at it.

The kids and I were late to camp this morning. I felt awful. We've done so well recently. (I've been working on timeliness for 20 years, with various setbacks every time we added a child to the entourage, so a full week on time is pretty big news around here.) But James - who'd sprouted a bloody nose out of *nowhere* two blocks from home - said, "It'th okay, Bob. Wud dime out of de week ithnt bath." Sweet boy. Currently my favorite, if he'd just clot up, already. (When I pulled away from the drop-off lane, he was on his way to the medic station for ice and some kind of whatever helpful something or other we didn't have in the car. Had that been me, I'd have been all about copping out and staying home for the day. But he was determined it would stop any minute now and he'd be fine.. I'm glad he didn't get my work ethic. Good kid.)

And now, I suppose I should get cracking on the various glamorous aspects of the day before it does get hot and we punt for a few episodes of My Little Pony in the afternoon heat. (Because we all know I'm going to say yes. The kids know it, and I know it. What little work gets done before then is probably all that gets done today. I've got to save up my strategic moves for the sand pile!)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Almost Halfway Done

Wow, June is shaping up to be the longest month of the year so far. It's crazy, but I think I've been awake and productive more hours so far this month than I was all of January.

I kind of miss January...

Today, we were productive and engaged. (Also, it wasn't terribly hot. That helps.) EmBaby and Jase helped me clean out the craft closet. They were amazed and awed by all the wonderful things we have! I was floored at how junked up one closet can get in a year's time. It's safe to say that, overall, it was a morning of wonder. We got it squared away and took our happy selves out to the balcony with some materials to enjoy the weather, and the goodies, and the knowledge that -- at least in one tiny corner of the house -- all was in order.

Then, it was so nice out that we stayed there for lunch, and for a story after lunch, and before we knew it, it was time to pick up the boys! Ha! That was a fun and easy day.

Em's enjoying The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I get such a kick out of her expressions (she wears her heart right there on her sleeve, so everything is up front and obvious), her giggles and gasps. She is at such a magical age for a romping good story.

Jase is... well, he's four. I have no idea if he's enjoying it or just toying with me in the way four-year-olds have an instinctive genius for doing. He enjoys the heck out of the *idea* of it. He brings me the book several times a day and requests a chapter. He's processing all the things (mainly the Herdmans - I don't think he can quite wrap his mind around anyone like them, and it's a troubling idea to him, to think there are people that ornery in the world.) But when it comes time to read, he can think of a million things to say, a thousand things to do (half of them are very loud), and a hundred different positions to try (most of which involve feet in, on, or near someone's face). So... I'm glad he's... listening? It's very tempting to wait until he falls asleep before I try to read, but then he asks a question or makes a comment, or kisses my cheek and whispers, "I'm glad you're not mean like the Herdmans." And all I can do is kiss him back and be thankful I didn't wait for him to fall asleep.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Day Camp, Day Two

Day One went fairly well. Had the usual struggles that I run into when dealing with the Type A Scout Lady (and she had the usual struggles that she runs into when dealing with me - we complete each other. *snort*) But we were not Late, which is virtually ground-shifting.

James and John both said they were pleasantly surprised. I guess they thought it would be a little rough (or weird), but they had a good time working with the younger kids. Jacob, of course, thought it was TheBestCampEver. (Every camp should be, right?) That almost makes having to shift gears and pack lunches worth while.

(On a side note - packing lunches? Whole different ball game. I thought I'd be creative and fun, so I started out looking for lunchbox ideas, but the sites I found all seem to have been written by well-rested parents with one tiny child who doesn't eat much. That's not the lunch I was looking for. The pictures were adorable, though! I guess there's a reason nobody blogs pictures of the lunches you have to pack for adolescent pantry locusts.)

We're picking up a friend's son this afternoon, so they offered to pick up ours on the way in this morning. We have truly fantastic friends. :-) And it would have been perfect, had this not been Trash Day, and had we not snuggled in a little deeper and slept until 6:20. Ugh. Just as I started to call, "Come and eat," I had to change that to, "Oh, look, he's here. Um... :tosses bacon into a bowl: Here, this is for you three to share. Pretend this is normal, okay?"

So they are at camp. The Littlest Littles are still blissfully asleep. There are so many chores left to do this morning. We just can't get moving that quickly, that early. (But first, coffee!)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

It's Not The Rubicon

But we're headed in a good direction, overall. We have the Bigs home. The house is once again noisy and messy. It's wonderful.

They are both smack in the middle of a transitional phase, though, and I've got to say, it's a weird one. They're big, funny mancubs right now. Sometimes more man, sometimes more cub. For example, they came home, brought in their trunks, got a load of camp clothes going (even managed to get the washing machine to start on the first try!), showered and got in a round of music practice -- all without nudging from the Parental end.

And yet, they both lost their water bottles, forgot to get a few merit badge accomplishments signed off, and one lost his wallet and his pouch with his epi pen in it. Neither of them has any clue how any of that happened. Yep. Same kids who hit the ground running. It's weird, but I get it. It's a challenge to grow up. Just when you get the hang of one thing, Life throws a new package of things to master your way. There's really very little time to sit back and just wallow in your achievements (at least, until you get old enough to insist on sitting back now and then).

So we sat back and enjoyed their accomplishments. One boy has rappelled, and taken part in a rescue search. How cool. One boy has used a forge, and made tools. How fantastic. Then they wrestled with their siblings, and helped in the kitchen. They told stories on each other, and on themselves. They switched out their wash and watched Doctor Who for a bit.

They didn't want to get up this morning, but they did it on their own. They don't particularly want to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, either, but they're going to. And then they'll spend the bulk of the day (actually, all week) volunteering at the District Cub Scout Day Camp. That was their own call - they got the training and paperwork squared away. I paid for the shirts, and offered up transportation - that's it. The rest is on them, and they're doing it.

So, yeah. Sit back, wallow in it for a while. There is time to learn to keep track of things and to remember to get paperwork signed off. But there's a lot to be said about tapping your internal motivation and doing Good Things on your own. Even if it means getting up way too early to do them. And there is more wonder and joy in seeing them master the every day things - tending to their relationships, managing their time, working together, encouraging one another - than I could ever put in words. That's where they are right now, these mancubs. There will be another packet of things to master winging their way in no time at all. Today, we sat back and took in the breadth of the things they have learned so well. This is the stuff that will help them make the right choices when they do come to the big crossings, and I'm okay with that.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Technology and Labor

Our little Shack in the Woods was built in 1971. It still has the original windows, and a conglomeration of storm windows have been added at various points over the years. We started rehabbing the storm windows a few years ago, reglazing and repairing the main windows as we went. I think we got four windows done before a general malaise took over and all progress ground to a blistered, defeated halt. Since then, we've priced windows every Spring and Fall, constantly hoping that we'll be able to have someone else install new windows. But, no. Not gonna happen. If we have a spare 5 Grand lying about all-at-once, well, James needs braces, we need a new mattress, and the washing machine works about 60% of the time, with about half of the loads that do, actually, get run needing to be re-washed anyway because of some random issue that we can't agree on in order to fix. So, we wistfully price out the windows and then talk ourselves out of it for now.

A month ago, Zorak made a test run with windows by installing a new window in the master bath. Wow. OK, that was easy. It was so much easier than re-glazing and refurbishing storm windows -- and the end result is significantly better, as well. WOO-HOO!

Today, we pulled the old window and storm window from our bedroom and installed a new, beautiful, efficient window in its place. It took all of a couple of hours, which included a phone call with a friend, and lunch. We took before and after pictures, and are so excited about getting this done.

Tonight, Jase proudly showed me that he knows how to work the camera. "I took all the pictures off, Mommy! Now we can make videos and take new pictures!" So proud of himself. I couldn't be mad (five children ago, I'd have probably over-reacted terribly - they've been so good for me).

But you'll have to take my word that the window looks great. :-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Camp

Last night, we trekked up to the Scout Camp for Family Night. Basically, it's just a chance to take forgotten items up to the Troop, make sure the Bad Idea Fairy didn't stow away in the footlockers, and see for your own self that your child hasn't spontaneously ignited or started dropping appendages in the woods. But it's fun. And it keeps the Littles from imploding by dividing the week into manageable segments. (It dawned on me last night - er, more accurately, Jacob pointed out - that in two years, all three of the bigger boys will be going to the same camp. I might have hyperventilated a little on the inside, at that.)

John showed us his metal working projects - wrought iron dutch oven lid lifters, and a lantern hanger (which, he pointed out, can double as a back scratcher!) There is some serious joy for that child in working with his hands. He *gets* that materials have ways, and he loves ferreting those ways out, finding the right path to follow to coax a piece of iron, or wood, into the shape he needs to emerge from it.  He was a bit disappointed that they won't let the boys make swords (thank you, BSA guidelines! Good call), but perked right up at the thought that we could build a forge on the property. Turned out that he didn't get into the woodworking course, but he's enjoying Space Exploration and they're launching rockets today that they've been working on this week.

James - He Who Prefers To Stay Indoors If At All Possible - has a full week of Camping, Wilderness Survival, Emergency Preparedness, and Climbing. And he's having a ball. His favorite program this week is the climbing course. He said both the hardest part, and his favorite part (Wha--???) is leaning out over the edge for rappelling. Even with a broken thumb. (More internal hyperventilation. If they ever discover that Mom's "wow, that's fascinating!" face is actually her, "oh, dear heaven, please stop telling me this!" face, it's all over. I'll have to find a new way to cope.) To finish his Camping Merit Badge, we'll have to get out and go camping several times. I'm ridiculously excited about that, as I love camping, but it's easy to punt it to the back of the queue with everything else that needs doing. Now, we'll have an excuse!

EmBaby ran in the woods (oh, the poison oak!) with the boys playing capture the flag, then sat by the campfire soaking up all the Happy. She wants to camp with the boys. And stay there. She offered to sleep between the cots and pointed out hopefully that they could each share a little mosquito netting... come to think of it, she may be more excited about the upcoming camping trips than I am!

The Littles fell prey to the Sandman one at a time as we made our way back down the mountain. Zorak looked over at me and said, "I'm not going to handle the empty nest well, at all. Just a heads up." I nodded, understanding. And yet, they're all such neat people. It's hard to be sad about seeing wee babes grow into amazing youth when I think about the panoramic view that lies ahead for them. I will probably be a teary, snotty mess as they leave, but right now, I'm just so proud of them, and enjoy the people they are. I'm glad to have them in my life, and excited to see where life will take them. There will be great joy in being along for that journey, too, however it may look. But I'm keeping tissues in the pantry, just the same.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Scheduling Mishap

I'd hoped to send a care package yesterday to the boys at camp. (I'm not GOOD at it, like a friend of mine is - hers are themed and full of awesomeness. Mine are invariably thrown together at the last minute, and vaguely reflective of the fact that their mother can't quite get it together. Still, I like to think they don't mind so much... I do pull up shy of sending socks and underwear, at least. Although I did include waterproof bandages for James' broken thumb.)

However, with the whomping total six hours of sleep the Littles obtained from Thursday through Sunday, we were bound to have a halt on the assembly line at some point. Jase went down Sunday around five, slept til ten, got up for a bite and went back down until eleven Monday morning. Jacob and Em seemed fine. Weird, but I'd thought that was it, and began congratulating myself on producing superhuman robot children. Ah, no. (Which is good, because that whole concept is a little scary. But I was looking for a silver lining and, well, that's all I had.) EmBaby hung in there long enough to get in a day at the water park before coming unraveled on a cellular level. And when she went, she went quietly and deeply. Snuggled in Monday night at 8, and slept straight through until well after noon yesterday.

So we stayed home and did laundry. And checked on her occasionally. But even for us, there's only so much laundry to be done. By about eleven, we were just having fun with it. Here's how you can use a mirror to see if someone is breathing. Listen to her back. You can hear her heartbeat. Cool, huh? Want another cupcake? If we gave her weird dreams, she never mentioned it. She did pop out of bed a little before one, fully rejuvenated and ready to take on the world again!

We got the box put together, then missed the post office by about four minutes. But it's ready! It's together! (I'll take it up there and leave it in the office so they'll get it with regular mail call. It's just not the same if your Mother hands it to you at camp.)

Do you send care packages? What do you like to put in them? I'm always looking for ideas! Not that I'll get on them ahead of time, but every little bit helps. I've got three more coming up the line!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

What Shall We Read, Now?

With the bigs at camp, I thought we'd branch out with the bedtime reading this week. I had a slew of ideas on deck. I did not realize, however, that Jacob has spent the last few months staring wistfully at his brothers' reading lists, wishing we could read those. Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, All Creatures Great and Small... he's happy as happy can be!

Jase, who generally dissolves into fits of frustration and ire when it comes time to read (although I suspect that's more about the bedtime that follows) spent this evening kneeling in front of his bookcase, picking out stories to read together. It's crazy stuff, but so very good.

EmBaby and I just finished Little House in the Big Woods. I didn't choose it as a family read-aloud, because I've read those books to the boys at least twice, and they've read them, themselves. Yet every time I began reading with her, bodies drifted toward the couch, leaned against the stove, or draped across the arm of a chair, all else forgotten for a few minutes while they re-visited the pig on the sled, or the bear Ma slapped, or the sugar snow. Those stories weave a wicked magical spell on the house. And then, as soon as the chapter is over, the spell is broken and each one goes back to his tasks, happy and content.

When we did the latest (though not the last - but one could wish) threshing of the basement, James found our copy of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Oh! The celebratory reaction from all (we'd missed reading it this past Christmas, because, evidently, it was in the basement). It's in the queue, now. For June. Of course. I told them we can start it as soon as we finish Brisingr.

And that, that book, that long, long book, has been our bedtime read-aloud for so long now that it's beginning to feel as if it's been our only read-aloud since time began. Part of the problem is the reader (me). Getting glasses recently has helped, but it's not a complete remedy. I can't wrap my tongue around the Scandinavian-influenced words. Nothing flows gently off my tongue in this book. For the love of Vrenshrrgn, I need more vowels! Still, the first two books fairly flew by, and we began this one with so much enthusiasm. The writing is different, though. There is a lot of drawn out introspection provided for the reader, and a general wordiness that makes an already challenging task more thwarting than it ought to be. I've been tempted to ask the bigs to read it to themselves, with the offer to start Inheritance as a read-aloud if they'll just get through this one on their own. (One would - he loves fantasy, no matter how it's written. The other is putting up with it simply because he enjoys the time to sit together and unwind at the end of the day. He'd slip off and read another Thursday Next novel, if left to his own devices. And then Jacob would bring me the book, break out his Puss In Boots eyes, and I'd be stuck reading it aloud in the end, regardless.) So, we read. But I've already decided that if I run into the same trouble with the next book, I'm giving everyone and everything nicknames.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

It was!

It was absolutely crazy. And magnificent.

Friday's airsoft gathering went well. We had about nine boys, all properly attired with safety gear and low-end guns. (Minor Injuries Only, for the win!) We moms stayed on the balcony, figuring the 16' height would keep us out of firing range. It did. That's where we kept the food, too. It was a blessedly normal, witty, engaged group of women. I'm fairly sure I was the loose peg in the wall, and that's okay. Gives me an opportunity to work on my Don't Be Weird Around The Nice People routine. We'll see if it worked. The boys, at least, I know had fun, because they only came inside when thirst drove them in, and there were small, polite, but clear protestations when it was time to go. They all agreed they'd like to do more things together. Mission accomplished. (I told Zorak that night that I really loved all the boys - they were just the right kind of weird - sweet, quirky, fun kids.)

That evening, our friend, Daniel, arrived with his wife and son. He's been stateside, studying Chemistry, for several years. His wife and son joined him in the fall, so this was the first time we were fortunate enough to meet them. And she's pregnant with Baby #2!! I didn't know (Zorak may have known, and thought he told me, but there's a lot he thinks he's told me and didn't) -- so there was a lot of happy squealing. And I cannot tell you how hard it was for me not to just fondle her and swaddle her up and wallow in her adorable, beautiful pregnantness. But *aherm* I restrained. Also, watching her stand up from the table, I realized she may look "just adorable" to me, but she's probably larger than she's ever been, hot, off-balance, uncomfortable, and none of the joints are connected properly at this point. It really does look better than it feels. James made her sage water, and we kept her fed, and tried to pamper her as much as possible (she's quick, though - like lighting - up and helping any chance she gets!) Their son disappeared with the littles, the tiny herd making random appearances to dance, sing, or just make a lap around the living area.

We had a little cookout for them Saturday. It started out as a little cookout. We ended up with 30-some-odd people, and I'm not particularly clear where the line goes from a small gathering to a large crowd. It was a delightful outcome, regardless! The weather cooperated nicely, and we were able to spread out onto the balcony, the upper meadow, and the front yard. Naturally, we didn't get a single photo.  However, I didn't fret about the cleanliness of the house, or about putting people to work when they arrived. So this was probably the most enjoyable gathering we've had - internally, at any rate. No stress, no worries, just a really great time with some really fantastic people. More than once, I found myself standing at the edge of a cluster of people, just smiling and giving quiet thanks for having these folks in our lives. We are so rich.

The Bigs left for Scout Camp early Sunday morning. They'd packed at some point over the weekend. (Mostly at The Last Minute, and I've already got a list of things to bring to them on Family Day.) We got them headed off and then the rest of us went to church. From church, we hit Sam's for dry goods and travel food (because it's one glamorous outing after another when you have pantry locusts!), then took a lovely stroll along the river before heading home. Daniel and his family pulled out around five, and that felt too soon for them to leave. We hope they'll return again and again. Our door is always open.

And then, it was quiet. SO quiet. Jase promptly passed out. Zorak played video games with Jacob. EmBaby worked in her little MineCraft world James had set up for her before he left. I sat down with a few books and drifted in and out of sleep.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Busy Year

We love that book. Have you read it?

This is shaping up to be a crazy-busy weekend. How does that happen? If I knew, well, I doubt I could do anything about it. But perhaps I wouldn't feel so dazed all the time. Ah, it's all good stuff, though, so it's okay. I'll just smile, nod, offer people food, and hide the melatonin in my room.

The water park is open! We laid low opening weekend, because I'm really not a Large Crowds For The Fun Of It kind of mom. But we did get in one good day before the Bigs head to camp. We went with friends, which is always nice (sweet-faced toddlers and wee babies are such a different experience, all the way around, from headstrong contrarian preschoolers - I think that was my favorite part). We didn't get eaten by mosquitoes, AND we didn't burn! Thank you, Mosquito Coast bug repellent and sunscreen! Please, Lord, don't let that stuff turn out to be carcinogenic. (:weak smile:)

Today, though, no water park. No library run. No fun for today. Today is a work day - basement, chickens, trash and culling, wood putty and paint, mowing and weeding. For this weekend - it's approaching at breakneck speed!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Hot!

The HOT has started. Yesterday was 95 (officially - our thermometers registered higher, but if I'm going to complain, and I am, then I'll at least try to keep it to the official numbers). It wasn't the heat so much as the air - the air was thick, tangible, suffocatingly present. It never moved, other than to wrap itself around us. An in-your-face air, from which there was nowhere to turn for a break. Wow! And it's only May! Thankfully, the water park opened this weekend.

The last two weeks have been great. We got to meet a long-time invisible friend and two of her awesome kids. The visit wasn't nearly long enough (but the beach beckoned, and we can't beat the beach - if we could have pulled it off, we'd have stowed away and gone with them). At the end of the visit, though, we all felt as though we'd gained new Friends. Real ones - the kind you can feed, and who will feed you - the kind you're comfortable stopping in to visit, the kind who will be in your life for years to come. I'm so glad she came!

We've been busy with projects and repairs - coops, trailers, windows, and culling. We got some semblance of a garden in. It's late, as usual. Last year, we let it go and didn't have one. By September, we sure missed the okra and cucumbers. (That's all we seem able to grow successfully.) So this year, we figured it's better to be late than to blow it off entirely. We'll see if we still agree, come August.

The boys are prepped, stoked, and ready for Scout Camp. They had their physicals last week, coming away with admonitions to wear the ankle brace at camp (or it's useless), keep your epi pen ON you (or it's useless), and many other things it's nice to have reinforced from someone who isn't just saying that because she's your Mom.

Jacob bridged up into Webelos. He's looking forward eagerly to Day Camp and Webelos Resident Camp. Today he finishes his course of antibiotics. Three weeks, and he never missed a dose. I'm proud of him. (And us. This was a definite team effort, and even if he or I had forgotten ever, the day was filled with, "Did you take your medicine" reminders from all angles. He felt loved. Probably a little annoyed after three weeks of it, but still, loved.) He took cookies to the doc when the boys went in for their physicals.

We've only lost two chickens from this last batch. One was operator error. There were many tears and reminders that these are unpredictable little critters and that's why we have to be super cautious in how we handle them. One was random - who knows what happened. The difference in a healthy brood is fantastic - they're so flappy and active! It even catches Zorak and I off guard to see them alighting atop the boxes, or doing the Benny Hill races when a fly or a moth gets into the box. (This one, below, Jacob told me, "I call him Jasper Fforde. I don't know why.")

The first batch of chickens (all four of them) are now feathered out and living in the barn coop. They're a bit runty, so James built them a little shetland-sized roost. So far, though, they seem content. It's nice to hear quiet burbling noises coming from the coop while we tend the garden. We've returned the silky chickens we were sitting - the chicken tractor Zorak built works like a charm, and the chickens settled right in for the two weeks that we had them. The kids already miss the daily egg finds!

Mokka is still here - Buddy's buddy - she's a sweet, dainty little thing, and Buddy loves having someone to wrestle with. (Especially since the kids don't seem to appreciate the fine art of dog wrestling with a 70# dog.) I'd have taken a picture from inside the yard, but neither of them cares to pose when they could PLAY (think of the Rottweiler from Over the Hedge), and there's no taking pictures when you're in the yard to PLAY!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Manic End of the Mundane

Day-to-day life isn't all that thrilling. It is adorned with beautiful moments and endearing touchstones, certainly. The tapestry as a whole is gorgeous. But each individual stitch, or load of wash, can cause even the most avid spectator to wonder what the fuss is about.

Then come the times where every stitch must be made double-time. For the organizationally impaired among us, those are the crazy times. That's when it seems as if the children must be fed every hour on the hour, even though they somehow take two hours to eat a meal. And although everyone is wearing the same clothing this afternoon as they had on this morning, the laundry pile might lead a conspiracy theorist to posit that everyone has changed undergarments at least a dozen times since breakfast.

And the birds with their nest in the diatomaceous earth bag on the porch laid *more* eggs before we could get rid of it. Heck, before we even realized the first batch had fledged. BUSY!

All the weather-contingent projects come due. All the spring activities need planning. Trips, tours, projects, people. Allergies and colds. Dumb choices. Sad consequences. Moving on, and up. When it hits, it hits hard and fast.

Those group leaders? They have a running bet to see who can drive you to cry, drink, or slip away to Fuji first. That's got to be it.

Bills? Again? Already? Are you *sure* we didn't just pay those...

And those chickens?! Well, none of the second batch have died. But now there are 31 chickens in a space designed for 18-20. It's going to get ugly, folks. It's already smelly. I can't lie to you.

Schedule, plan, teach, cajole (that's mostly me that needs cajoling). Clean, time, test, train, withdraw, deposit, pray, pray, pray.

But it's good. The stitches are a little ugly, but the picture that's emerging is nice.

Laughter.

Wonder.

Joy.

Growth.

Love.

I need an organizer, a wife, and a shock collar. Don't ask - plausible deniability is best. Just slip me a box. I'll be on the porch, with the mojitos.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

It's Mother's Day

Happy Day to you, if you are a Mother, or have a Mother, or if someone loves you like a Mother.

I got up early to enjoy a cup of coffee in peace and listen to the gentle rain and the chipper morning birds. It's 63* right now, and so pretty! Sometimes it's nice to wake up at my own pace, instead of by hitting the floor running. That I managed to extricate myself from the bed with a pile of children woven around my limbs (there must have been a storm last night - there aren't usually so many of them) without waking anybody up is my Mother's Day Surprise.

We beat back the foliage, tilled the garden (again), and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned on Friday. I was firing on about 3 cylinders yesterday (using a V-8 as a baseline), so I spent a lot of time trying to sleep. The rest of them helped Zorak finish the chicken tractor and headed out to a friend's birthday party. When they got home, they gave the house some sprucing up, since I was out of commission. o_O Now we have that lovely lived-in bachelor pad look going. Again. My Mother's Day wish for the coming year is that EmBaby has some latent tidiness gene, and that I'll have an ally one day when it kicks in. Until then, though, know that the kitchen is safe, the coffee is hot, the kids are friendly, and those aren't my socks under the dining room table.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh, wow.

There were farmers at the market! We scored collards and onions, berries and jam. The kids were oh, so happy. One of the farmers asked John if he's still cooking, and John told him he's planning on making a French Onion Soup with these onions. The farmer threw in extras. *love* He made it last night - we made ten cups of French Onion Soup, and there wasn't anything left! Em ate three servings. It was so good.

Jacob's new hair is much easier to pick through. He likes it, and said his head feels pounds lighter. He's been very good about remembering his probiotics, which is nice. Unfortunately, he's also having weird reactions to other things. He had a rash the size of a silver dollar pop up on his neck Wednesday, at the site of a sting or bite or something he'd gotten Sunday. I freaked out a little, but a friend reminded me that strong or unusual reactions to things are typical, and to mark the boundaries and watch it. It's shrinking. Just a rash. Kids get rashes. They're fine. Mommies get Irish cream in their coffee at the end of the day. They're fine. It's all good.

The Pack had its planning meeting Tuesday night, and it looks like we'll have a great year ahead. The Troop needs to have a planning meeting sometime soon. The boys went over to help their SPL clean out and organize the trailer yesterday. All the boys worked hard and brought some great ideas to the table. It was an encouraging day.

Today, however, we're being kicked outside to work. It's a day without rain in the forecast, and that means we have to beat back the foliage while we can.

So, to work!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

You May Be Right

I've got Billy Joel songs stuck in my head. It's been a crazy day. But Good Crazy - anything that conjures up songs from the 80's can't be all bad.

Kids got a lot of school work done. If they did this every day, we could have school three days a week and still be ahead. Then James got to enjoy some Skype time with his buddies. John and Jacob took to the woods (while I stayed inside and tried not to twitch).

We started the Atelier Art program today. It seems good, but I think I may have underestimated the kids' knowledge and abilities. So we modified. This lesson was on lines - specifically, they were asked to draw a turtle and decorate its shell with various line patterns. (This is Level 2, the 5-8yo level - I'd grabbed it for Em, who loves to draw, and Jase, who needs an outlet - but all the kids joined in, because they're cool like that.) So we covered lines, then I turned the kids loose with the guideline that they aren't tied to the turtle, but to draw something and be aware of how they use lines for various features of the art (shading, contour, texture, flow, etc.). When they finished, we put their pieces in the 8x10 frames we'd hung in the hallway last week. The finished product is quite fun, and it's nice to have art in the hall. Plus, they enjoy being able to display their work in a meaningful way. The goal is to have them complete one piece a week for display in the rotating hall gallery.

We slipped out this afternoon to see about getting some nicely fitting t-shirts for Scouts. The 50/50 blend, unisex, chokingly-high crew neck style is not only uncomfortable, but unattractive. As much time as I spend at Scout functions, I'd love to have a shirt I don't hate wearing. Hopefully, we can score some from our regular guy. He's a good printer, and does a beautiful job - plus he's all set up with the approved Troop/Pack graphics. He just needs to narrow down an available style for us. Yay!

Jacob goes to be shorn in the morning. He's bummed about losing his hair after he's upheld his end of the bargain (gotta keep it clean and well-kept if you want it long), but he's on board with his usual sunny attitude. I appreciate that kid more than words can say.

And so, to bed!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

T is for TICK!

This is when I really, really want to move.

We all take garlic every day. We do regular tick checks in the evening, and impromptu checks throughout the day. We use diatomaceous earth in the immediate vicinity of the house (but not all over the property, so it's probably moot, but even the psychological barrier helps). We Frontline the dog more religiously than we make it to communion. And still, we find ticks. It's just part of living in the South if you ever leave your home. Ever. Especially if your home is in the country.

And this week has been a bugger of a week for ticks. *shudder*

Yesterday, Jacob found one embedded on him. Deer tick. Engorged. His thick, curly, dark gorgeous hair is just the perfect hiding spot, and somehow I'd missed it during Saturday's checks. There's no way that thing hadn't been in there for a while. Gah!

I ran through the factors (length of time, engorgement, that he'd manhandled it out instead of waiting for one of us to use the tweezers, plus his fever, aches, stomach pain, swelling at the site, and a redness forming on his scalp), talked to friends who have experience with Lyme, girded myself with the information we needed (just in case) and called the doc.

I love our physician. I love his staff. I love them all. We are making them cookies. They didn't poo-poo us with the "We don't have Lyme here" routine (We do. It's not epidemic, but we do have confirmed cases in Northern Alabama. But there are still people who will swear we don't have it "here".) They didn't roll their eyes at the crazy lady with the theories. They got him in, checked him out, ran the factors, did the math, and then talked with us. I. Love. Them.

So now Jacob has a 21 day program of antibiotics, and a program of probiotics. And I have a physical weight released from my gut. Not to mention a bazillion dozen cookies to bake for the doctor and his staff. It means the world that they are thoughtful and proactive, that they have taken the time to stay on top of the latest protocols for diseases, that they are so thorough and focused, that get to know us and to listen to us. There's just so much I appreciate about them, from top to bottom.

Unfortunately, if we moved, we'd lose them! Talk about a catch-22!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

FUN! (Then, not so much.) Then FUN!

So it turns out boys love airsoft. (Yeah, total newsflash, there.) They had a magnificent time, their only complaint being that it was too short. We hope to reciprocate sometime soon, and host an event, here.

That was Friday... Saturday, we, um... I think I cleaned the house. Watched the chicks. Fed all the people, over and over again. Zorak started teaching the bigs how to weld. Good stuff.

Saturday night, we hit the Von Braun Astronomical Society's open lecture night with the families from our Den. That was a blast. The kids found constellations, identified planets, and got to see Saturn through the 16" telescope at the observatory. We adults visited and tried to keep small ones from tipping over the ledge at the top.

The big kids were... so fantastic. I overheard several of them (mine, and others') being so polite and thoughtful. Had to fight the urge to wrap them in bear hugs and swing them around. I refrained. Not only would that have been potentially awkward, but there was the risk of then actively knocking a small one over the ledge, thus undoing all our efforts of the previous hour. Still, fist bumps and atta-boys flowed heavily.

Sunday brought fevers. And rain. But it was the fevers that kept us home. Low grade, just enough to make folks irritable, but not enough to make them glad for the bedrest. By about noon, I was ready to shout, "Get BETTER, or get WORSE, for the love of sanity, People!" But then I got sick and went to bed. So. Glad I didn't yell. *aherm*

Excited to see what this week holds! We may have three new Scouts join our Troop - all of them neat boys, and we'd love to have them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. And the never-ending Chicken Tractor should be done this week. Soon. I hope. (Zorak is building it for a friend, as a thank you gift. It's pretty awesome, but it's all new territory, so it's taken a while. And there was a week on the road in the middle of it. Anyway, he's got the cool features working, and I think he's down to the mundane bits, now - roofing and wire. I'll see if I can steal some photos when it's finished.)

Gotta go see if the fevers from yesterday have lifted. We have work to do!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

How is it Thursday?

I'm exhausted! We awoke this morning to the dim light and soft murmurings that mean rain. I was ridiculously refreshed by six, so I jumped out of bed, made coffee, and sat on the porch swing, reading and sipping until I got damp and felt chilly. Those days are numbered. I plan to wallow in every delicious one of them.

The wide-awake-rush wore off by ten, though, and I found myself fighting off a coma on the couch. Not sure if it was the adrenaline wearing off, or the general pace of Things, or if I didn't eat enough breakfast. (We had chorizo and eggs with green chiles, colored sweet peppers, and provolone cheese. It was so good. I made a ton. John sliced apples, and we had fresh milk to go with. Still, there was absolutely nothing left. The pantry locusts are getting larger.) Nobody seemed terribly motivated today, though, so we read and talked, read some more, napped. Jase is coming off a short virus. Em's fighting it off. It seemed like a good day to rest.

I went down before the children got up this morning and dealt with the chicks that didn't make it through the night. Five chicks survived the ordeal. They are tough, perky, and on the ball. We're pretty sure we have The Avengers of chickens assembled down there, now. One is obviously a runt (compared to the total badasses that are left), but she's a trooper and has already stolen James' heart, so I'm sure she'll be looked after well. Now we get to enjoy the fun part. They've already begun chasing stray bugs that veer into the box, and two of them have a weird love/poke-in-the-eye relationship going that's a total riot to watch. They're pretty evenly matched, and it's definitely a two-way street between them as they figure out the pecking order. Chickens are like Benny Hill sketches, without the innuendo.

Zorak's been on the road all week. He left Sunday and is due in tonight -- hopefully within the hour. I miss him any time he's gone, but tonight I'm particularly anxious to curl up with him and let him keep the Bogeyman at bay.

Tomorrow, we get to go play airsoft with some boys from our homeschool group! John and Jacob are stoked. Absolutely, thoroughly amped up and ready to GO! James isn't so much interested, but tomorrow is also skate day, and he loves that, so he'll get to have some fun and he's got a stack of projects to take with him to the airsoft gathering. (When did he get that organized? I love it!) I have no clue what this event is going to look like, or whether I got the right gear, or how this works, or... but I am excited for the boys to have a day of fun, and it will be nice to get to know another Mom from the group. (We have a very welcoming group, but everyone is So Very Busy at the functions that if you don't already know people, you aren't likely to get to know them there. It's odd, but that's how it pans out. So, from an Isolated Mom perspective, this is kind of exciting, too.) And I imagine Zorak will appreciate having us out of the house during the day, so he can recover from the 11.5 hour drive in peace.

After the kids wake him up and beg for waffles, that is.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Chickens, Redux

After our first experiment with chickens (the trauma of the raccoon massacre, and then Romeo Rooster from next door who wooed the few remaining lovely - yet decidedly PTSD affected - girls away), we took a couple of years to regroup, learn more, prep better, and see if we can make a go of it this time around. We ordered 26 chickens from the hatchery, waited anxiously for the shipping notification, then stalked the post office regularly enough to make local law enforcement a titch nervous.

It took too long. And it's not just that it *felt* like it took too long - it really did. They should have arrived Sunday or Monday. Tuesday was the "at the very latest" date. Come late delivery on Tuesday, there were still no chicks. The hatchery had been wonderful, but what could they do? The chicks left the hatchery on Sunday morning, early. The USPS doesn't always know what's going on within its own system, so there wasn't anything they could do, either. So we waited. And fretted. And called. And waited some more.

This morning, they arrived. The lady who works the lobby at our branch is a dear. The Post Mistress at our branch is also great. They met us at the door, asked the children to wait just inside, and ushered me off to "have a word". (Remember the stalking bit? Yeah, I contemplated running for a split second, there. Kind of tense. And awkward.)

But it wasn't us. It was our poor chicks. They hadn't fared well in transit. At all. The ladies wanted to warn me so I didn't toss the box to the boys and let them open it up like an Easter box from Tim Burton.

We've spent the day nursing traumatized chicks. I was going to say "back to health", but I don't think we've been wildly successful. Four days without food or water is hard on anyone - on a newborn? *pfft* It's amazing that any of them have survived, at all. At the most optimistic point today, I thought we would have eleven left. Tonight, I think we'll be lucky to have saved four, come morning.

It's been a long, hard, draining day. The kids are amazing. James is like having James Herriot in the house. John's a wee Dr. Dolittle. All day long, stopping only for meals, they've been at it. I'm proud of them. I'm sad for them. Sad for the chicks, too. (And yes, the hatchery will square everything on their end. But it's not about renumeration. It's about how darn hard it is to explain to your 8yo that while his songs and gentle caresses won't make it all go away, they are Good, and they are Worth Doing. Because comfort and compassion are arrows that never miss their marks. Keep them in your quiver. Use them generously and well. You'll never regret it, even when it's hard.)

And now, I do believe it's time to slip a little Irish Cream into my coffee.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Back to work again!

As nice as it was to be home, we didn't have time to be still. We had this beauty waiting to greet us in the foyer:

It's a range hood for the kitchen! We got it up that week, and I took pictures, but seven years of cooking without a vent did a number on the ceiling (peat moss fire ring a bell? Ew!), which looks even worse with the sparkly shiny new hood in place. So that's going to have to be repaired before I'm willing to share photos.

And this fun pile in the drive!

We've used some of it to finish the drainage work that's been looming. The rest will go toward pouring a pad for the balcony stairs, and prepping the lower drive for the next project. (Of course there's a next project! *pfft*)

And, of course, we had a Day of Birth to celebrate.

How is my Baby Boy *four*? Wow. He is so glad to be four. According to him, he can have gum, and learn to read, and do whatever he wants to, now. Heh. Set his sights a little high there, but we're not going to knock him down. (Maybe that last one. We'll see.)

And it was nice that we made it back before the tulips that James and Em had planted were finished blooming. They weren't in their full glory, but the kids beamed to know they'd done the job well.

 It can't be all work and no play, of course. That's when people start setting things on fire or running away. And so, we've turned a little work into play, as well, at the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.

We hit the Whooping Crane Lottery this year, and got to see juvenile whooping cranes at the Refuge before they migrated north for the summer. I wish I'd been able to get a better shot, but with my phone, this was the best I could do. Still, it was amazing!

 Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And then...

We spent three days at Zorak's Mom's house. For him, it was three days of doing nice things for his Mom. (Electrical wiring, plumbing repairs, pouring concrete, etc.) For the kids, it was three days of pure, unadulterated kid-fun.

She made them pancakes and chocolate fudge brownies. (Jase cried for a week after we got home, "When are we going BACK TO GRANNY'S???")

They played with Legos indoors when the wind kicked up the sand.

They rode their bikes to the corner store when the wind died down.

They identified plants and critters and read some of Granny's book stash.

I served as the parts gopher, and washed a lot of laundry. Bless my mother-in-law, she understands how nice it is to get home with clean clothes instead of bags of dirty laundry, so she gave me free rein of the laundry room and let me get it done. That's some happy stuff, right there.

And then, to Texas - to the middle-of-nowhere to see KathyJo and her punkins (we missed Ernie, much to both of the guys' chagrin) - to Austin to see some dear, dear friends, there. Meredith and Jami and ALL the children in between.

And then, homeward. With a passion. We had a beautiful trip, but it was a full two weeks on the road, and the children were beginning to unravel. Zorak and I were beginning to grow road weary. It was time. We pushed on that first evening, then made the last dash home in a 17-hour drive the next day, pulling it at one in the morning.

We could have stayed another night along the road, but I couldn't quite muster the umpf to rally everyone up and out early one. more. morning. (The kids were fantastic! It was me. I was done with the mustering and the rallying.) So we plugged along.

Home again. The South had sprung up in buntings of white and orange, dotted with flowery ribbons of orange and yellow. Springtime in the South is one of the most beautiful, amazing things I've ever seen. (And quite a contrast to the sandblasting we'd received during a New Mexico Spring.) That blunted the sting of being away from loved ones, and warmed the welcome upon our return. Oh, how I love it here in the Springtime.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy