Artist

I wanted to post this picture last Friday, when it was taken, but for some reason, it wasn't working. This is last week's "arts and crafts" and how can you not love that smile?

Remembering

Today, Damon and I spent another Friday afternoon doing "arts and crafts." I banned the paints, so mostly we were coloring, cutting and gluing, but I think he was still satisfied with the experience. He really wanted me to watch him, which made it hard to do the things I wanted to to, but I finally gave in and sat down next to him. We were working on a book of "community helpers" he got from preschool, coloring the different pages, and as we took turns coloring, I had this vague flash of memory come to me. I remember coloring in a Minnie Mouse coloring book with my mom, amazed at how well she stayed between the lines. I even remember outlining my own pages, trying to cover up the mistakes I had made. Kind of random, but that's the way my memory of my childhood is.

I wish I could remember more from when I was younger. In school, we had to write a paper about how we learned to read (to help us understand how to help children learn to read) and I had a difficult time really remembering what it was like to be five. I know a lot of us are like that, that we don't recall a lot of what happened when we were young, but I wish I had a better recollection of my life back then. All I really have are bits and pieces, and I'm sure some of the things I think I remember are really stories I've heard or family movies I've seen. Here are some things I know I remember:

• Going along with the whole reading theme, the phonics system in kindergarten with "Block A, Beating heart, cracking nut, etc." Does anyone else remember that?
• Burning my leg at the neighbor's house and setting a towel on fire in their kitchen (pre-kindergarten).
• Singing "Kindergarten's over and we are going home. Good-bye, good-bye and we are going home."
• Getting in trouble in first grade for walking while trying out a pair of scissors.
• Getting in trouble for having a toothbrush in my pocket (we had been visited by an orthodontist in the morning and it fell out). First grade.
• Thinking it was crazy in music to sing "Fa-a long long way to run" instead of "far-a long long way to run." Second grade.
• A boy in my class peeking through the window that was the belly "the old lady who swallowed a fly" and getting in trouble for it. Second grade.
• My memories start to get better around this time, but one clear memory from third grade is fixing the grammatical errors in the sentence "I hear my neighbor eating ice cream."

I was thinking about this, because there is a very good possibility that Damon will not remember much, if anything, from Ohio and Florida. That makes me sad, because it is his life and there are so many things that I know I'll remember. I guess I'll just have to do my best to share with him the things that are important so that, even if he doesn't remember, at least he'll care.

Laundry woes

There are very few things that I dislike about our house here in Florida, as it is a major upgrade from our condo in Ohio. Having an extra bedroom is great, the bigger kitchen is wonderful, and the dining room, while very impractical in a house of this size, is nice. If there is one thing, though, that I don't like about where we live, it would have to be the garage. I'm sure you're thinking that it's a little strange for a woman to be complaining about the size of the garage, but there is a good reason behind it; that's where we have the washer and dryer.

Our garage is technically built for two cars, but I don't know if two cars have ever actually fit in it. Plus, Damon's bike, the stroller, the lawnmower and other essentials take up the space that the second car would occupy and it's not that big of a deal parking outside here. And even with only the van in the garage, there is barely enough room, length-wise. I can get by, either around the front or around the back, depending on which side has more room, but just barely. And that brings me back to my original thought, which was that the washer and dryer are in the garage and I can barely get around the van with nothing in my hands, much less a basket of clean (or dirty) clothes. It's really been quite humorous to find ways to get past the van, especially when the dirty clothes are spilling out in every direction, which they usually are because I don't do the laundry often enough. I have set the basket the hood of the van, balancing it gently on the slope, and have dashed around behind, hoping that nothing has tipped when I reach the other side. It's a chance I take that has ended badly.

Today, though, I got smart. I parked the van in the driveway, leaving myself the entire garage for traipsing through as I haul my three+ loads out and in. Damon thought it was great, too, and rode his bike around in all the vacated space. I'm just disappointed that it took me this long to figure out the easy solution to my problem. Someday, when we have an actual laundry room and I don't have to worry about things like "the car being in the way," I will probably look back and miss the adventures I've had here. Most likely, I won't, but you never know.

Deep in the Heart

So, today when I gave Allie a piece of cheese to eat, it was just your average rectangle. When I found it on the floor ten minutes later, it looked like this:



Does it not look like Texas? Personally, I have never been to Texas, but we do have strong family ties to the Lone Star State. My grandmother was raised there as were Jeff's grandparents. All three grandparents have passed on and Allie didn't have the opportunity of meeting any of them, so I like to think this is her way of staying connected. I know, I know, it's just cheese. But it still made me smile.

Pool day

Well, I don't know if there's something wrong with Blogger, or something wrong with my computer, or, heaven forbid, something wrong with me, but I have had a heck of a time trying to post both yesterday and today. This is my third attempt to get these pictures from the pool today up and it will be my last (at least today). Fun looking pool, huh?


I know it may be hard to believe that we're still swimming in October, but remember, this is Florida. We hope to make it through the month still swimming. We'll see how that goes. Here's a brief synopsis of our pool trip this morning:

• Damon cried for at least thirty minutes because he thought the water was too cold. Once he got in, he loved it. All he needed was a little push (literally). He and Isaac jumped into the pool and raced from side to side from the "monster" (a little girl there).

• Allie didn't get to go on the slide, her usual favorite activity, because the water was too cold. Not for the kids, just for me. Instead, she had to occupy her time with her next favorite activity--climbing in and out of the pool via the edge. She only went under once, which I was impressed by.

• Allie and Ethan were ready to get out before the rest of the kids.

Well, so far, so good. I got all the pictures on that I wanted to post. I better hurry and go before something goes wrong. We're lucky we're still swimming in October!

Here the boys are posing before plunging into the water.

Curdled Milk

There are a couple of things that would prevent me from being truly successful on Fear Factor. Well, first off, there are a couple of things that would prevent me from being chosen to be on Fear Factor--I have no chest to speak of and I wouldn't wear a tiny top. I guess I don't have to think about it anymore, but I have. I have had a fear of water, which means if I ended up on the show, I would probably be chained inside a box under water, trying desperately to unolck myself before panic set in, and chances are, I would be one of the girls Jeff makes fun of and can't last more than 30 seconds without quitting.

However, there is something else that would prevent me from even trying, and it's not the Madagascar hissing roaches or the pig's blood or cow's intestines. Maybe because I've never had to deal with any of them, but I think I could do it if it meant $100,000. No, the one thing that would stop me in my tracks is the curdled milk.

How many times have we as mothers found a sippy cup of old milk hiding under the table, under the bed, or in the toy drawer? And how many times have we opened the cup under running water, only to have everyone in the room ask "what's that smell?" Unfortunately, this happens far too often and it's one of the most unpleasant "mom jobs" I can think of, and that includes changing poopie diapers.

Now, lest you think I have something against milk in general, let me set the record straight. I love milk, but there are certain rules that must be followed when drinking milk.

1. It must always be cold. If you've ever taken a sip of warm milk and have spit it right back out, I am with you. When we were younger, Heather and I used to drink milk out of aluminum bowls and measuring cups because it made it that much colder.
2. Skim milk must never be allowed. 1% is pushing it, but skim is nothing but glorified water. You can practically see through it when you pour it into a glass. Also, putting ice into milk to cool it off is only allowable if you're drinking whole milk, and then should only happen in extreme circumstances.
3. You don't have to drink bottom milk. For those of you who don't know about bottom milk, the defintion is "milk in the bottom half-inch of the gallon that has absorbed the flavor of the rest of the fridge and is no longer classified as milk."
4. Mixing of milk is no longer allowed. At least that's what Jeff told me. When we were trying to be healthier, we were drinking 1% (suffering through it, but making it) and I would buy 2% and skim at Aldi and mix my own 1% (thus not violating rule #2). Once we got here to Florida, I was banned from that practice. Milk spoils faster here, with 1% and skim being the quickest to take on unwanted flavors, and I ruined a couple perfectly fine gallons with my mixing. Now we're back to 2% after Jeff admitted he hates 1%. And now you know that I don't blame him.

All of this is on my mind as I found two sippy cups with chunky, curdled milk in them today. I have gotten better at the practice of breathing through my mouth while rinsing them in hot water, but I still gag just thinking about it. And that is what will definitely keep me off of Fear Factor.