Hey.

Just one more swig of coffee and I've got to get back to work. But I needed to take a little break and relax. It's been a busy few days, folks!

Thursday, Zorak had to go out of town, I had to go to the dentist, and John had to sign up for summer ball. All at the same time. And yet, we pulled it off. (And we owe Ben & Claudia big time for coming to watch Danger Girl and her minions of impending death while I was at the dentist's.)

Friday, we drove up to Nashville to visit with Jill (Crib Chick) and her clan en route back to the Land of the Free. Harried day. Awesome visit. Way too short, but we're so, so glad they took the time to stop and see us. They are truly awesome people. Oklahoma's lucky to be getting them back.

We raided the Russell Stover outlet. Yes, we're going to put the sugar-induced-coma theory to the test! WAHOO!

And for the past two days, we have worked like men possessed on the Forever Home. The house and yard have been de-hillbillified. For the most part. (We're having people over who are not in our Inner Circle. Yes, if you're in our Inner Circle, you get to wallow in our hillbilly shack love. But for foreigners, we clean. It's a complex ritual.) Aside from the flaking paint on the eaves, and the sidewalk/gauntlet combo we haven't torn up yet, this place could be in AnyNeighborhood, USA. Pretty cool. Even the saw horses have been put away!

The menu is planned. (Although we stopped at three different grocery stores today and not one of them had root beer in bottles. Every store is sold. out. Is there a pending FDA ban on I.B.C. we haven't heard about?) The swingset has been cannibalized for an obstacle course. The back porch is clean and ready for stain. (Which we won't probably ever get around to putting on it, but hey, it's ready just in case someone takes pity on us and comes to paint it one day. It could happen.)

Zorak is in the basement, painting the pirate ship. (Would you believe we have looked at FIVE different stores, and not a one of them had black or brown tissue paper? We can't have a pink pirate ship!) I'm trying not to make eye contact with the kitchen. It scares me, and the intimidation factor is pretty high right now. But soon, I will go clean. And I will win. Or Zorak will drag my dead body out of the kitchen before the guests arrive. I just hope he runs the dishwasher first.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Happy Birthday, John!

I haven't the words to do justice to him this year. He's just such a great kid. He's grown this year in confidence and stride. (Not to mention size - he is officially bigger than his big brother.)

He has developed a comfortable sense of where he is in this world, and where he's going. He seems to understand that it's a process, and the goal is to remain in upward motion - growing, learning, exploring, laughing, loving. Rinse. Repeat. It just doesn't get old. Not for him.

"What can I do to help?"

"You did a great job!"

"I'll take care of that."

"Let's do something together."

"I've got BabyGirl."

"Can I read it for you?"

If you take statements like those, douse them in a constant stream of humorous anecdotes and wise-cracks (this was his year for figuring out the parameters for humor vs. line-crossing, but I think he's got it now), and sprinkle the day thoroughly with a lot of affection and laughter, you'd just begin to have a peek at living with John.

He's the first one to offer to help. He's the first one by your side on the couch. He's the first one to suggest a game of ball in the meadow.

He gets the jokes that go over the rest of our heads. He makes up some pretty great stories, and tells them over and over again to entertain his little brother and sister. (The Orange Monster stories are still alive and well because of this.)

He wears his great big ol' heart on his sleeve. It gets bumped from time to time, but he's not about to put it away. That just wouldn't be The Way To Live.

And laugh. Oh, you've got to laugh. Sometimes I probably shouldn't, but, well, he's funny. He's literary funny. He's abstract funny. He's frat house funny. He's an all-around humorist. God help us once he masters satire. But, oh, he's hilarious.

He dreams big, and yet he's pleased and thankful for the littlest things, as well. He *gets* the pleasure of delayed gratification in a way I've never seen in someone so young. He's not only willing to stick it out for the long haul, but he really wants you to make it, too.

His father is his gold standard, and every step he takes, every task he takes on, he measures it by "Like Dad". If it'll get him one more step closer to being "Like Dad", he's good with it. If it's not "Like Dad", then his internal filter kicks in. So each step he takes, he takes with care and adoration, his eyes set high.

I just don't know how to express the way this child makes my heart soar. Every. Single. Day. Whether it's his laughter, his empathy, his wit, his noble heart, or his gentleness... it's all a part of Being John. And we get to live that each and every day. I'm so thankful. So humbled. So in love.

 

This morning he summed up how he feels about turning seven:

Well, it's pretty exciting to be in my Late S's.

(He had to explain that one to me, but it's funny.) And he's right. It is exciting.

Happy 7th Birthday, John! We love you, and are so proud of you! Always.

Love,
Mom & Dad

Fruit Pizza

 

As you can see, it ends up looking better than it starts out. We were too impatient to wait for the crust to cool completely before adding the toppings. This was so easy to make, and the boys enjoyed both the making and the eating.

The crust recipes I found in my searches were, of course, all useless for a wheat-free crust (pre-made pie crust, cookie dough, etc.), so we used the Breakfast Foccacia recipe in The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. This recipe also makes a delightful danish!

The "sauce" is actually the cheese - equal parts cream cheese and whipped cream, beaten until smooth.

Top with your favorite fruits. In this case, I went with canned fruit - pineapples, mandarin oranges, and triple cherry fruit cocktail. This is the one and only time my children have willingly eaten fruit cocktail. (Our Wonderful Neighbors in MD would be so proud! *sniff* *sniff*) The oranges didn't make it onto the pizza. We fell to temptation. So good!

And in going with the whole cheese-as-sauce, sauce-as-cheese theme, the final product got drizzled with your basic, cooked, sugar-water-oj-vanilla sauce. There's some left over. We may have to make doughnuts tomorrow.

Birthday Countdown Time

*whispering*

Hi. It's me. It's almost three, and I've got to get some sleep, but I wanted to blog anyway. I'm so excited! My JohnBaby turns seven today. Seven! This is the child who keeps getting caught in age-warps. I swear he was two for almost three years. Five for only a month or two, and now *poof*, he's seven. I'll wax philosophic after I've had a little sleep.

In the meantime, we've got all the ingredients for John's birthday breakfast (he requested pizza - insert nauseated, confused Mom look here). I didn't think the rest of us could stomach pepperoni before noon, so I tweaked the plan to make a fruit pizza, instead. I think they'll all get a kick out of that. Zorak had a Very Cool Idea to pick up a Pirates t-shirt for him while I was at the store, so it's now wrapped and laid at the foot of his bed. It'll be his birthday suit. *grin* We may start a new tradition. It's not like any of them are going to stop growing anytime soon, so a new t-shirt is pretty much a necessity at any time. But this can be something we wouldn't normally buy, something a little different, something they've expressed an interest in. Just a little something. Sometimes that can bring the biggest smiles.

Today, we go bowling with two of our favorite Big People in the world, Me-Wa and Me-Tae. It should be a lot of fun, and a nice, low-key way to enjoy the day. James and Smidge and EmBaby bought him the Pirates of the Caribbean chest with three action-figures set, and he'll have that to open at the bowling alley.

The party itself is scheduled for Saturday. I have no clue how that's going to go. I have no clue if any of the children will be able to make it -- this is the week when everybody always seems to be going out of town for their Big Summer Trip. Well, whoever can come will have fun. Zorak's been making a Pirate Ship Pinata this week, and it's looking really good. I'll post pictures of the process once it's done.

We didn't make the mark of having it all done and ready well ahead of time, but at least this year it didn't sneak up on us. That's some improvement.

Ok, too tired to think. Talk to you later!
Kiss those great, big, growing babies!
~Dy

From Our Visit With Verena

As promised, here are a couple of pictures from our visit with Verena and her crew when they came through. Her husband kindly took the photos with both their camera and ours, so we could get the moms and all the kids in, but then we didn't get any with him in there!

I don't think any of our children are this red, naturally, but by the time we both said, "Oh! Wait! The camera's in the car!" Well, they'd been playing hard for quite a while.



Isn't she just lovely? She exudes grace and gentle strength, folks. She's just very neat. And so pretty!

And since the boys were all so good about posing nicely for the group shot, we just had to take a silly one, too. That's a fun bunch of kids, there!



And now, I must go. I've been so good about getting to bed before midnight, and it's starting to help!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Happy Father's Day!

The cake tasted delicious. Fortunately, you cannot taste "concave".

The carrots, while wholly experimental, were a big hit, too.


Mostly with the boys. But that's good. Happy is the Daddy who knows his children are loved as well as he is.

Kiss those babies, and Daddies, and anybody else who needs a little extra love today!
~Dy

Man, I am on a roll!

First, the Nightmare on Elm Street Team Cake.

New, for Father's Day: Give the man in your life something that says You Must Really Love Me!

Erm, no. How about, Look, Ma! No Skills!

Nah.

The sales blurb for this particular gem (you know, in my imaginary baked goods store) would be something along the lines of, "two hollowed-out cake layers, filled to the brim with delicious cream cheese icing, held together with three or four tons of additional cream cheese icing, and topped with rolled buttercream carrots."

Ah. Well, the icing tastes good. The cake does, too. (What's left of it.) It just... exploded... in the oven. I'm not... entirely sure... what happened.

We'll see what miracles can be performed with the adhesive properties of grease and sugar!

Happy Father's Day!
Kiss those Daddies!
~Dy

Who's On First?

Communication has been called an art. Words, the most common form of communication in society, have been called "the most powerful drug used by mankind." (Kipling)

So why do we speak? Write? Read? What is the goal of our communication? If we are not understood, is it we who have not done our job properly? Or is it our audience who must hash it out until understanding is reached?

In our home, we take a clear and simple stance: your goal, when you speak or write, is to convey your thoughts, ideas, and questions in such a way that others are capable of comprehending you.

It's why we tell Smidge, "Use your words."

It's why we told the older two the same thing.

It's why Emily will hear the same. exact. phrase.

It's why we read, read, read. Talk, think, discuss. We want them to have the vocabulary and thought processes to communicate well, and not have to rely on the flippant, rude, and useless, "whatever."

Let's illustrate.

If you feel I've called you a toad, (perhaps, because I've said, "Your amphibian roots are showing,") you would most likely question me about it. And if I said I was only thinking aloud, or that I was only attempting to have an honest dialogue, but meant absolutely no harm at all... we could probably move on with the discussion. But, if my references continually pointed toward an implication that I believed you to be a toad (caught any flies today? is that a wart? don't lick her, kids, you know how she is!) It's probably a fair assumption that I'm not being entirely honest with you when you call me on the carpet for being a bit of an ass, and I deny it. It would behoove me to

a) admit that I think you're actually a toad, and be willing to discuss my reasons for coming to this position,
b) admit that I'm busted, I'm being a jerk, and knock it off,
c) just shut up, already.

There is no real option d) continue to berate you for jumping to wild conclusions, as I simply happen to *adore* toads.

At least, not with any intellectual honesty, there isn't.

On the flip side, if you speak to me in German, beyond words such as "strudel" or "schnitzel" or possibly "guten tag" (but with all the proper decorative punctuation that I don't know how to type in Blogger), I will have no idea what you are saying. You can say it more slowly. You can say it more loudly. You can even s-p-e-l-l it out for me. It won't help, because I do not speak German. Yes, I could learn it. (If I ever go to Germany, I'll give it my best shot.) However, if you'd like to communicate a thought, an idea, an opinion, (not just to me, but to anyone) you are the one responsible for putting it in such a way that I am (we are) capable of gleaning your meaning. Don't move closer and cover us in angry spittle in the hope that we will somehow "get" what you mean. Oddly enough, that does not work.

We tell the children that if they would like to be understood, it is their job to make themselves understood. We hold ourselves to the same standard. That does not mean we do not occasionally say something confusing. (For instance, if I were to say, "This is stupid," Zorak might want clarification. Is this whole plan stupid? Is this part of the plan stupid? Is this specific detail stupid? Or am I just being a jerk about it and can't think of anything articulate to say? If I get angry with him for asking for clarification, it's pretty obvious at that point that I was just being a jerk.)

That, right there, is a matter of personal responsibility. It means that when we do convey something that makes our audience look askance at us, we take it as our responsibility to re-phrase what we've tried to convey. We wouldn't allow our children to shout at their friends, "Oh! You plebes! Whatever!" We wouldn't allow ourselves to do that to one another in a dialogue, a discourse, a discussion. We. Simply. Wouldn't.

No more would we accept an out-of-left-field, unrelated comment from one of our children as a legitimate portion of our discussion. (At least not without pointing it out.) For example,

This is a difficult task. I could use help,

would not be answered appropriately with,

The human head weighs eight pounds and emits carbon dioxide from the nostrils.

In fact, the next thing you would most likely hear is something along the lines of,

What? That was just weird. Please don't do that. If you're going to join the discussion, then your contribution needs to have something to do with the discussion.

We do guide our children away from behaving like that. Why? So they learn how to communicate appropriately. They learn that it's their job to communicate appropriately.

When people behave inappropriately in their communications, discussions devolve quickly into one-sided conversations that leave the rest of the group fairly uncertain. Those who don't know the meter of that verse are accused of choosing not to hear it. Or of being too stoopid to understand it, too thin-skinned to be worthy of responding with any rationale, too antagonistic to be reasonable.

Or maybe, just maybe, they aren't *not getting it*. They've seen enough, and are smart enough to know that, sometimes, it is what it is. That does happen, from time to time. If they're wrong, they might ask the speaker, "Please, clarify."

It is, after all, the speaker's responsibility to make themselves understood. Isn't it?

So please, if I'm unclear, help me uphold my end of the communication deal and let me know I've been unclear. I'll do the same for you.

Dy
People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choicest words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech.
~Edwin Friedman

A Quiet Saturday Afternoon

Too beautiful this morning to stay in. So we went outside. And worked. And read. And talked. We laughed. Commiserated. Thought. It was good.

Too warm this afternoon to stay out for long. For us. So we came inside. And played. And read. And ate. I hung some wash. He played with the boys. The baby napped. Again, we laughed, we thought, we did. It was also good.

Makes me wonder what delights this evening will hold. Whatever it is, it will be good. That much I know.

And I'm thankful.

Kiss those babies.
Dy

The Twelve Tasks of Hercules

It's a good thing neither of the boys has ever been called upon to perform such duties. This afternoon, I kicked them outside to go play, dig in the dirt, do something different. They went outside happily.

And in five minutes, they were back inside.

"*phew* Man, is it HOT out there! Can we come in?"

*raised eyebrow* "And you want to play football? Football, which begins in August. August, which makes mid-June look like February. Really?"

John considered and said, "You know, I don't think I would."

James said, "I think I can do it."

Zorak chimed in, "I know you *can* do it. The question is, do you *want* to?"

*long, drawn out pause*

James, "Yes. Yes, I want to do it. And I will do it with a good attitude."

WHY??? What has this child decided football is going to be? It's going to be hot, sticky, mosquito-infested hell! That's what it's going to be! *whiiiine*

OK, it's probably a good thing I've never been called upon to perform the tasks of Hercules. James might pull it off. But personally, I suspect John's the smart one of the bunch.

Oh, and summer ball begins in July. So we have some recovery time. Yay.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

US Stuff

If you've ever wondered, "Is anything still made in the USA?" Evidently, yes. Check this out.

US Stuff

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The views of the above linked website do not necessarily reflect those of the moderators of this blog, or our subsidiaries. This link is provided for the sole purpose of saying, "Hey, look, I found a place that has a conglomeration of businesses that manufacture things in the United States of America!" Any attempt to find proselytization and or pandering will be mocked on sight. I am not a doctor, I just play one at home. As with any diet or exercise program, please consult a physician before you begin. Not eligible in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or small towns in Ohio. Please try this at home, but know that you do so at your own risk. Oh, and don't run with scissors.

So Where Was I Last Night?

I went to the Carnival! The Carnival of Principled Government, which I found at Consent of the Governed.

There are some interesting and thought-provoking articles from the left, the right, the middle, and the lone anarchist.

Zorak let me read articles aloud to him for a while, then he gave up and went to bed. I couldn't get my IM to work, and that's probably a good thing or I'd have stayed up until four o'clock reading and talking and sharing links.

One blog that kept me going for quite a while is Tales of Modernity. Saul presents a thought-provoking dialogue of philosophy, mathematics, science, and politics. I'll blog more about some of the thoughts that gained a little momentum last night, but that'll have to be done at another time.

For now, the Small Ones need direction and affection, and we need to prepare to spend the afternoon on the water with friends. Yeah, this is the good stuff.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Forever Home Update. Sorta.

The front of the house is now fully cleaned.

And it's still ugly.

But now it's clean and ugly, and has a lot less green on it.

Thank you, and good night.

Dy

We Got to Meet Verena!

*Said in my best sing-song voice*

Verena is one of the sweetest ladies who posts at one of the forums I, erm, frequent. (It's not an addiction. Shush. Now blogging, that's an addiction.) Anyway today, she and her Totally Good Sport of a Husband, and their Three Precious Boys stopped in our little town to visit with us while they were on the road.

And she's just as interesting, if not moreso, in person.

And none of my children did anything horribly mortifying in her presence (for which I thanked them profusely when we got back in the car). They're good kids, but I'm always worried they're going to do something strange at the most inopportune moment, like peeing on the bushes right there in front of God and everybody, or declaring their knowledge of homebirth procedures for the uninitiated, or farting the alphabet. I don't know. You just never know what a child will come up with, but you can bet it will not have been included in the Quick 'n Easy List of 1,001 Things You Went Over With Them Before You Let Them Out of The Car. Guaranteed. They're sneaky like that. So, perhaps I should amend my statement. OK, officially, they did not do anything horribly mortifying that I am aware of.

The boys had a lovely time. Smidge cried when he realized they weren't coming to our house and we weren't going with them. Verena and her husband and I had a nice visit, and I do hope they will take us up on the Open Door Invitation. We'd love to have them anytime.

Anyhow, we did get pictures, but I've got to email her and ask permission to post 'em first. (I forgot to ask before we left the park.)

Ah. What a fun day. Tomorrow, it's back to the grindstone!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Answer The Phone

'Hi, Dy! This is J---. I was just callin' to let you know they've put together a Summer Ball League."

heh.

Yeah.

Thanks. :-)

A Few Things

This has been quite a week, and it's only Tuesday. First, there was the team party cake. I offered, I know. What was I thinking? It baked up beautifully, and even came out of the pan in one piece. I was SO jazzed.

I made a "rolled buttercream fondant" for the main icing. Tinted it deep yellow/gold and rolled it on. Oh, beautiful! Then, I needed to make a dark navy blue. Hmm, there's no blue-blue in this box of many colors. Only Sky Blue. Well, what do I mix to make it work (there's always a way to make it work!) After several panic-stricken hours online, and one rather cryptic phone call to Wilton:

W: Oh, honey, you can't make Navy Blue with sky blue. You need Royal Blue to make Navy Blue.
ME: Ok, but I don't *have* Royal Blue. I *have* Sky Blue, because that's what you put in your eight-pack.
W: Well, you'll need to get some Royal Blue.
ME: I'm an *hour* from the only store that both carries your stuff AND is open for the next 48 hours.
W: You need Royal Blue and Black.
ME: So, um, do you have anybody there who'd be willing to get a little crazy and wing it with me?

That's when she threw the rule book out the window and helped me figure it out. In case you ever run into this problem, it takes the ENTIRE tub of Sky Blue and a few dabs of Violet, and you will get Navy Blue. Oh, sure, I may be a bad influence on CSR's, but hey, we both learned something, and that's good.

Now, for the record, if you try to decorate a cake at home, make sure you turn the AC down. 80 degrees might feel nice and comfy *for you*, but your buttercream may beg to differ. It doesn't seem to matter how stiff you make it, it's gonna wilt, and sag, and probably streak. So, John's team got a lovely blue and gold Nightmare on Elm Street cake. *sigh*

EmBaby's rear seems to be on fire from the inside, and she's been rather miserable and clingy in a hold-me-only-by-the-armpits sort of way. She awoke this morning in such pain that she couldn't get up. Turns out she'd had a blowout sometime during the night, and that didn't help. She just lay there, trembling and crying, but unwilling to go through the torture of sitting on anything in order to stand. We spent a lot of time the last few days airing out, bathing in cool water, and eating bland, bland toast. I thought it had to be teething, and sure enough, there are two more on their way in. So, she should be better soon. I hope so!

Then, the Very Nice Lady from the dentist's office called yesterday. The conversation went like this:

VNL: Hi Mrs. Dy. I'm just calling to let you know that we have an opening for Tuesday at 5:30, and see if you'd like to take it.

ME: Um, TOMORROW?!?!?

VNL: ...Or would you rather keep your Thursday appointment?

ME: THURSDAY?!?!?!

VNL: ...Or did you completely forget you had an appointment this week?

ME: THIS WEEK!?!?

VNL: (who by now knows me well) So Zorak can take the kids and we'll see you tomorrow at 5:30?

ME: *whimper* OK. *sniff* Thanks. *sob*

So Zorak came home and I grabbed my current read (The Prince) and headed off for the root scaling.

I've gotta say, it's worth it. I'm actually (and no, not just blowing smoke, here) looking forward to next week. And it's not just so that the other side of my mouth will match, either. (Although that will be rather nice.) It. Is. Worth. It. If you've been putting off going to the dentist because you just *know* he'll tell you something horrible, well, here you go - short of doing meth, my teeth seem to have been about as bad as they can be, and the worst they can tell you is that they can help you. Go. And I'm going to go to bed. :-)

Oh, if I owe you an email, give me until tomorrow night to respond. I haven't checked email in a while, and now that the novacaine is wearing off, I'm not checking it tonight, either. Please know I'm not ignoring you. I'm simply overwhelmed with wilty icing, dental visits, some computer trouble, and erupting toddler. Things should be back down to a dull roar by tomorrow.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Garden Boxes

Well, y'all have been tremendously patient about all the Forever Home renovation pictures. Tonight, I'm too tired to face the deck/eaves/rotted wood/paint sample horror that is the current project, so I thought I'd finally post about the garden boxes. Yes, I know, we built them back in March. If it's any consolation, they still pretty much look like just the same as in the last photo of this entry. Zorak and I are writing this together, so to differentiate our voices, we'll bold his technical notes and zippy commentary.

First, these are built almost exclusively from salvaged wood on the property. The plywood, the pressure treated posts -- all stuff laying around from the renovation or from the previous owners. That did wonders not only for the landscape, but for our pocketbook, as well.

The boxes are a combination of rectangles, squares, and angled pieces. We did this because we have grand plans to build up a maze garden with sitting spots, inviting play areas, and a gazebo, all incorporating these shapes. Hillbilly Zen, if you will. We are of a philosophy which observes strict conservation of energy (ie. kinda lazy), and so they're fairly modular, easy to build, and ought to last a long, long time.

The sides are all constructed thusly:

(Technical specs: 3/8ths plywood sides, 9-1/4" high - which we did just so we could get five strips per sheet; pressure treated 2x4 bottom; regular 2x4 top board. The rabbet joints were cut with a circular saw with a strip of wood clamped to the base of the guide to set the 3/4" depth and 1/2" width of the joint. The half-inch width allows the 2x4 top [and bottom] to overhang the sides by about an eighth of an inch, and leaves a 2-1/2" wide hollow core.)

*psst* You can see it in action *here*.)

Assemble with child labor, using galvanized nails...

The sides attach to the corners with a nifty little insert, jointy thing. (Zorak will fill us in on the details in the next technical note.) The boards are cut to fit just inside the cross section of the side pieces, and then you can secure them. Again, with the children. (Conservation of energy rule #326 - your children have far more energy than you do. Use it well.)

This one is for an angled piece -->

And this one is for a straight 90' corner. Handy for all those squares and rectangles, no?

(The posts extend beyond the height of the sides so that they can be set into the ground. They do that on the top for purely aesthetic purposes. The bevels, for example, help hide some of the hazards of using salvaged material. The cleats, what Dy refers to as "boards," are 2x3's, which allows them to fit inside the 2-1/2" hollow-core sides.)

Once the individual bits and pieces are assembled (and inspected by the dog and the baby), you're ready to let the kids finish building the box. (Again with the child labor!) Simply slip the pieces into place and nail or screw the sides to the cleats (see, I got it right this time!)

Then it's time for the really fun part! We used deck stain, namely because we had some on hand, and wanted to see how it would look. But also because we would rather not be replacing these things before we're done with the rest of the renovations. Conserve, conserve, conserve.

By this time, the boxes are too big for the kids to drag out to the garden, so you'll probably have to do that part yourself. OR, you could load the box on a red wagon and have the children haul it to the top of the hill. Not that we actually did that... we're just sayin'.

(Once the deck stain dried, the boxes were lined with polyethylene landscaping liner to keep the interior of the boxes from rotting.) Obviously, if you're going totally organic, you'd skip this part. And the one just before it. Well, and the pressure-treated... come to think of it, if you're going totally organic, this is going to be no help at all.

Now it's just a matter of placing your boxes, making sure they're level,


And filling them in with nutrient-rich goodness! (A little sand, kitchen compost and manure from the barn, in our case, to supplement the heavy clay soil we have. Yum! Yum!) The sticks are just for decorative purposes. Plus, they give the children something to do when the children decide to try the "I'm bored" line on us. So far, the sticks are still there. Smart kids.


And there ya have it - Forever Home Garden Boxes. Yet another family project we've started but not finished, erm, survived.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh, my.

The Very Cool Older Cousin mentioned in the previous post (we'll call her T) brought her boyfriend (we'll call him P) up to the City of Rocks with us. The kids loved him. The adults loved him. In fact, we jokingly told T that even if she didn't keep him, we would. She (jokingly, we hope) said that now that he'd been introduced to the Libertarian Hillbilly contingent of the family, we'll just have to see if he takes off running.

She mentioned that he's said that he'd like ten (I think it was ten) children, but would be happy with six, so, of course, never one to let a potentially awkward moment go by, we lined them up with five of the six cousins in attendance (we thought there were all six, but I can't find that last one in the photograph) and got a group photo. Sort of a time-lapse "this could be your life".

Two children...

five children...

He didn't flinch.

As a matter of fact, take a look at how he's looking at her there in the photo on the bottom left -- the one with all the children.

 

So really, is it any surprise that this weekend, when he brought her supper from Nopalito's (a sign of true affection and care in our clan), he also brought her a ring?

And that she accepted?

And we are so very glad at this news.

It's a big world out there, and they're about to embark on an incredible journey together. Is there anything you'd love to have known when you started out? Would you all help us celebrate by sharing the wisdom about marriage and life together that you've garnered over the years? Either leave your thoughts in the comments section, or blog about it and leave us a link. If you'll be so kind to do this, I'd love to print it out and share it with them: a guidebook for the scenic route, if you will.

Personally, I hope they have many babies for us to be kissing for years to come! ;-)

But tonight, let's kiss those spouses, and the babies, and take a moment to savor this wonderful life we have, and all it's taken to get here.
~Dy

Group Photos, The Hard Way

On the last day of our trip, we all went out with the kids to help them hunt for the elusive Kokopelli paintings. While we were there, we figured we'd give the ol' Group Photo thing a try. So we tried...

And we tried...

Almost made it!

NINE shots later, we got a great picture!

One to make copies of and frame.

Oh, that's just exciting.

But wait...
What's that?
What is he DOING?!

Nooooooooooo...

And how, I ask you, HOW, did we not see this branch the first eight times?

BAH. This is why people pay professionals to take these pictures.

The trip in review.

Well, we made our first flight.Aaaaand, I discovered that I'm not quite *there* yet in my photography skills that I should bother trying to take pictures from inside the aircraft. The kids had a great time flying. The folks around us were all headed home to Texas and had no problem sharing their "first flight" stories with the boys, pointing out interesting things, laughing, sharing. The flight attendants were just sweet as can be to the boys, and made a point to let each of the children know how much they appreciated their polite manners and thoughtful traveling ways. I let the attendants know how much *I* appreciated the positive feedback. (A little reinforcement never hurts, does it? I *do* appreciate that.)

I was so pleased not to have ended up in a confrontation with anybody from TSA that I thought about buying myself a drink! But, then I realized... we still had two airports to go through. So I stuck with Dr. Pepper. Which was probably a good call, since we missed our connecting flight in Dallas. As you can see, either James sprouted ale from his head (a new mythology for the traveling family?) or Zorak didn't have the same concerns surrounding alcohol and confrontation that I did. (Which would make sense. He's a friendly, amorous drinker. I turn into Sleepy Dwarf or a banty rooster - neither of which is recommended when traveling with children.) Emily, in the back there, is trying to crawl over Zorak so that she can "cheese" for the camera. I'm so glad she's reserved and cautious.

Obviously, the layover didn't bother them one bit.

We made it into New Mexico in the wee hours of Friday morning, slept a bit, then headed to the City of Rocks for three days of camping, hiking, hanging out and laughing. The kids thought it was the best. thing. ever. Seriously? How often do you get to climb thirty feet up a rock wall and pretend you're being crushed by a boulder? Of course, this is best done with cousins who share your penchant for the weird and wonderful (One of them, Cousin M, is there on the far left). And note the Totally Cool Older Cousin who willingly posed for the shot by pushing the boulder off the little guys. *happy sigh* How cool is she? I love her.

(Side note: my zoom lens was fully engaged. They are way. the. hell. up there. Totally Cool Older Cousin kindly stayed close enough to snatch Smidge by the britches should he have toppled over the edge. Because I would have been useless, what with the paralysis and incontinence and all. Sometimes it's really hard to let go. I'm glad we have family that makes it easier to do.)

My favorite part of the outing, aside from getting all my children back in relatively good form, was having everybody converge on Saturday for a good, old-fashioned Hangin' Out & Eatin' Session. Sissa and T (the Totally Cool Older Cousin) had come up with us, as well as Cousin S and Cousin M. Then Aunt Sally came down from Silver City, Aunt B, Uncle Fred and Gram came up for the day from Cruces. Cousins Kris and David came up to stay the rest of the trip. There were a lot of us, and it was wonderful. Can you believe Gram stayed most of the day? Here she is, at 98 years old, having a wonderful time in the desert...


Next up, petroglyph hunting and group photos for the uninitiated.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy