Watermelon Wonder

Behold, watermelon! 

What are you up to this week??

Father's Day Outtakes

Pinterest.  What did I ever do before that blessed pass-time?  My house is like a Pinterest Gallery.  No, really.  Wander about Pinterest for a bit and then come on over.

Look at that, I just started this post and already I'm sidetracked and gushing about an almost un-related topic.

But isn't Pinterest related to everything?!?!!

Ahem.

So this is what I found on Pinterest that made me happy this time.  I went right out to Hobby Lobby and bought me some letters, brought 'em home and painted 'em up.  Then the kids and I went to the Botanical Gardens and played.

Here is the finished product.

It's going to work with him.  That way, when I call him because somebody is walking a bit too close to my last little nerve, he can just look at those sweet faces on the wall and speak encouragement into my frazzled little heart.  

But as you well know, with kids it takes plenty of 'not quite what I wanted' shots before you get the 'perfect' or at least 'good enough for me' pose.

The older three have this posing for the camera stuff down pat, so my outtakes are only from the younger two.  Anna was totally hamming it up for me while Daniel just preferred to hold his letter smack in front of his face, making it hard to get a shot of his sweet mug and the letter.  Or toss it to the ground and crawl on it. 

Add that to the fact that for some reason there is a time delay between shots on our camera and I am so not adept with a camera that I couldn't figure out how to make that delay stop and snap pictures faster.

But that's just details, right?

Five Minute Friday: Risk

Pulling up with no safety net, he glances around to determine where he will go next.  One hand reaches for the goal, the other clutches the starting point.  He puts one foot out and then the other, necessitating that his hands both be free in order to balance and carry on. He falls and looks up at me as I cheer him on.

I reach out my hands and he reaches back, pulling up again.  I give him balance and guide him, speaking softly to him how proud I am and what a brave boy he is.  

As I see my baby boy take this risk to farther his understanding of the world and how things work, I feel encouraged to take my next step.  Holding tightly to the Father's hand, I reach forward, unsure of the path, or even the destination.  But I know He's there, whispering His encouragement and guidance to me.

Still scary, but not as daunting.

I Need Self-Writing Post-It Notes

Are you a blogger?  Or even a scrapbooker or journaler?  And if you are, do you find yourself mentally bookmarking something that happened with intentions of writing it out later? 

Do you ever lose your mental bookmarks?

Because I do.  All the time.  Every single day.  I literally think of something or witness one of the kids doing/saying something at least once a day (generally more) that I want to be sure to post on the blog.

Yet I go days, weeks even, without posting.  All because my brain is in a permanent state of scrambled as I try to just keep up with my sweet peeps.

Which is what Anna insists I call her these days.  "I'm not yowr dah-lin, Mama, I'm yowr peep!"

It's those kinds of things I want to remember.  And this.

Joshua and I were curled up on the couch watching the television the other night.  I heard feet coming down the steps but was a bit absorbed in the show and just waited for the little voice to call out.  It never came.  I wasn't concerned because occasionally a child will come down the stairs to go potty rather than using their bathroom upstairs.  We've quit questioning this.  The kids are barely lucid enough to tell us what they're up to, and we've just learned that their little minds think of the downstairs potty first.

I know.  Whatever.

But as I was sitting there, engrossed in the television show, I realized that the squeak of the door I was listening for sounded very different.  I jumped up and ran, hollering at Joshua that somebody had just went out.

I zipped through the kitchen, into the laundry room, and out into the garage, slamming my hand against the switch to shed a little light on the situation.

There was Thomas, standing in the middle of our (clean!!!) garage, whimpering and holding himself.

"What's up, buddy?"

"Ijusneedagopoddy," he whined out as he desperately tried to orient himself.

"C'mon in here.  The potty is this way," I said as I guided him back in the house and to the bathroom.

Joshua and I waited until the door closed behind Thomas before we exchanged looks and tried to smother our giggles.

Thomas has zero recollection of the incident.

I know there are other things that I wanted to jot down before I lose them forever.  They might creep back up to the forefront of my mind.  Or not.

I'm trying chocolate therapy.  I'll let you know how that works out.

In Which I Laughed Til I Cried

Did you catch the part where he moved around on the bench because he noticed the camera point at him?  He's a bit of a ham.

How about at the end where my poor baby slammed his chin into the piano bench and started crying?  Did you hear his Mama start guffawing at him?

It's okay.  We have an account set aside for therapy as they get older.

Granola Greatness

In case you've not picked up on it, we are just a tee-tiny bit crunchy around here.  I've used cloth diapers and made our household cleaners and several other things that make folks raise their eyebrows in my general direction.

Or maybe that's just how people regard me as a matter of course....

Well now, let's just skip the rest of that conversation, hm?

Obviously you can't be considered crunchy if you don't have a killer granola recipe.  I've tried several, people.  But we've finally hit upon the perfect granola recipe for our family.  Since the perfection of this recipe, we've quit buying pre-packaged cereal.  It sweet enough the kids love it and not so sweet as to send mine and Joshua's blood sugars spiking off the charts.

Granola Greatness

5 cups rolled oats

2 tablespoons wheat germ

1/4 cup wheat bran

2 tablespoons oat bran

2 tablespoons ground flax

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2/3 cups chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2/4 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375.  Put brown sugar, honey, and olive oil in a small saucepan and stir until blended.  Combine all remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Pour honey mixture into the center of the oat mixture.  Mix with a large spoon.

At this point I let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Then I put both hands in the stuff and mix it up and combine it until all the honey mixture is evenly distributed.

Then I lick wash my hands.  

Spread the mixture into a pan.  I have a metal cake pan, but I think a glass pyrex dish would work as well.  Cook for 12 minutes, stirring every four minutes.  Pay close attention to the corners to you don't burn it!  

Turn out onto butcher paper or parchment paper to cool.  Store in your pantry.

I make a triple batch about once a week and it makes enough cereal for us to have all week.  I'd like to tell you how I get up every single morning and my first labor of love for the day is a big breakfast for all my loved ones.  However, I like my bed and the self sufficiency that cereal or muffins provide for the kids.  Toss a piece of fruit with it and it's relatively well rounded!

Daniel - 13 Months

Where did this last month go?  Didn't I just let this kid eat his birthday cake?  Wowsers!

I'm thirteen months old and...
...I am just beginning to try to take steps between two objects.
...I drink from a sippee cup!  I accomplished this feat earlier than any of my siblings!!
...I have four pairs of shoes.  Mommy says that's a lot of shoes for a kid who doesn't walk.
...I love to play the piano with Daddy.  When he starts playing, I stop what I am doing and speed crawl to him and pull myself up so I can play with him.  It sounds better with both of us.
...I feed myself almost everything.  Mommy hasn't let me loose with the oatmeal yet.  Wonder why?
...I love when Mommy fills up the baby pool and lets me play in it.  She doesn't even make me wear any clothes!!!
...I still drool copiously.  I can soak right through a bib in an hour flat.
...I'm a very good obey-er boy... so far!  At least when somebody tells me no about climbing the steps, that is.
...when somebody tickles me, I throw my arms up with my hands behind my head and giggle and squirm.
...my favorite thing in the world to play with is a ball.  Good for chewing on and good for playing with!