Devious Fox

Today we found we had a "Devious Fox" in the house.

Grace "Mom, what dezious mean."

Me, "you mean devious?"

Grace "yea, devious. Like a devious fox."

Me, "It's like a really sneaky fox, looking for something to get in to."

A few moments of contemplative silence.....

Emma- "But I'm a devious fox."

Happy 4th Sydney!

We had a smashing good time with Sydney for her 4th birthday. Everyone came to our house. Laura had a couple friends, one who had 4 kids so we had so much fun with all the kids. They were all really good. There was a lot of candy and they all ate it just as fast as they could.

Don't you just love the unicorn constume. I wonder if they make that in adult sizes.

Happy Birthday Sydney. We love you little sweetie peatie!

Pumpkin Post

Here's my hard-working pumpkin Man.
















I'm always amused when jack-o-lantern night comes and John pulls out his jig saw. I forget he even has one. It kind of stream lines the whole carving business. These Carter's, they have to get things done, no wasted time, power tools always involved.

Isn't he good looking, that serious "pumpkin carving" look on his cute face?

I tried to get everyone to paint their pumpkins, John was way too overwhelmed to attempt a new artistic form and reverted to carving, Emma enjoyed the experience, I painted my expeditiously and got the job done, Clara ate a tube of paint (just the bottle), and Grace danced wildly, excitedly, while John carved a scary face into her pumpkin for her. Then, she painted one too.

The Flood!!!!

We were involved in a really terrible flood the other day. There was water all through the house. Luckily I was able to quickly finish the dishes as long as I walked on tip toe to keep from getting too wet. (I just have to keep up with my routines right?)

Grace and Emma handled it all really well though they felt very traumatized and were rather out of breath trying to keep out of the water. They managed to save many of their stuffed animals and a few toys when they found that we actually had quite a few boats in our linen closet in the hall.

Clara was safe in her jump- er roo because it floated.

Emma repeatedly fell from the boats into the water and had to be rescued by Grace!


Emma helped distract Grace from the horrible details of the flood with a good tickle.

Love it!

It dawned on my how grateful I am for the common household automatic dishwasher the other day. I just love it. I pack this thing with tons of greasy, nasty, dishes, put in the little cube of soap, turn it on, come back few hours later, open it up and ta ting!! The dishes beam at me, sparkling in my newly installed kitchen lights! Just look at those clear dishes on the bottom rack. I really am amazed and grateful, I throw them in there so dirty. I just can't believe it!

My Sweeties

A few weeks ago, John told the girls they could take their money and go with him on Saturday to buy a little something. I was picturing a tiny little toy or something. Imagine my absolute delight when they came home each with their very own bag of 80 lollipops. "EIGHTY SUCKERS?" I said to John. I thought I actually stayed very calm but I couldn't help but picture suckers sticks stuck to the carpet and wrappers blanketing the house. "Well, I wanted them to have something they really wanted," said John in a slightly sheepish voice. I have to admit that I did whine a little bit and fussed a little until we finally agreed they could have 3 a day and if I found sticks and wrappers then no suckers the next day. Once I adjusted to the idea we fell into a nice lollipop rhythm. "Mom, I've eaten my breakfast. Can I have my breakfast sucker?" and so on. They are teeny suckers and come in interesting flavors so it hasn't been too bad. I can even say that Grace and Emma have done great things. Sharing with everyone they can think of. Grace made cards taped up with suckers for her friends. Emma has been giving Grace some of her suckers because Grace gave so many away that she's running out a lot quicker than Emma.

One night I was humbled. I had been really rather fussy, whining around and being grouchy. Emma had given me a sucker earlier in the day and then another that night when I was feeling so unamused and not very pleasant to be around. After I went to bed I was cleaning the kitchen still feeling slightly whiney when I found my suckers. They were lined up neatly on the counter next to the stove. I felt a little ashamed but comforted thinking of little Emma, trying to make me "happy" in her way. Sharing her yummy suckers, two in hopes that it would make me feel happy. She's really is a sweet heart and is anxious for me to feel better when I am upset about something. I am making an effort to be a little less fussy!

My Soup Kitchen

After receiving certain data from a blood testing lab, I have concluded that I need to make something other than tortilla pizza and other such yummy concoctions for our family dinners. This was an attempt at a "healthy choice". I knew I had zucchini so I got on the Internet and searched for a good Italian Minestrone soup recipe. After noting that I definitely did not have three authentic Italian ingredients, namely "a pig's trotter" (an actual pigs foot if you can believe it), a bit of "pig's skin", and something called, "cheese rind", I concluded to make a somewhat unauthentic but easier version of minestrone.

The reader must be informed that I am not what is generally considered a "great cook". I usually frown, study recipes, take everything out of the fridge, proceed to chop, measure, fry things to a crisp, blackened state, sweat, worry, and pray that I will succeed at nourishing my family with my creations. I have noted, a bit grimly that the members of my family surely understand that dinner is often ready when a strong odor of burnt food reaches them . John insists that I really should taste things as I cook or I have really no way of knowing whether it's going to be palatable. My opposing argument is that I want to pretend, when sitting down to eat dinner, that the food being served is in no way related to that stuff I saw raw in the freezer just a few hours previous.

This day was a stellar, new, experience. John came home as I was staring into the pot of soup thinking, "well I obviously totally overwhelmed this soup with too many veggetables. ( I often add too many veggies in my exuberance for health. This may seem good to you but alas, it's not healthy for anyone if they do not eat it.)

I sat down at the table with everyone as John came into the kitchen. I was staring into my bowl of soup wondering if he would be able to handle the large quantity of veggies. He walked over lifted the lid and shocked me with the words "You made this?" spoken with a bit of reverence. I was still wondering if it was edible so I was too amazed to even look up. I still felt he could be mistaken in his admiration. After blessing the food we proceeded to eat and after a few minutes John could have knocked me flat by saying casually, "It's probably the best soup you've ever made".

Unfortunately, Grace and Emma were not so impressed with the soup but did eat some of the whole wheat toast with cheese melted on it, though I doubt they dipped it in the olive oil like I intended. Grace ate some of the soup after a bribe of a bag of Skittles was offered. It was quite a trial for her though she was determined because of the promised unhealthy reward. It was not worth the pain to Emma who opted out of the whole expirience and just ate croutons I think.

Disclaimer -John very rarely complains about my cooking. He is just always just grateful for food and even willing to whip up a tortilla and cheese snack or a bowl of cereal if I am wrestling a baby or hiding under the couch in a fit when he gets home. (not that I could actually fit under a couch or anything.)

Foody Blues

After a session with my counselor, (Annie), I decide to deal with my depression caused by food messes and Miss Clara by attempting to contain the deluge with a large, old bath towel with a slit cut for her head. Clara thought this was fun just long enough to take the picture. Actually eating while wearing the towel made her depressed and caused anxiety. We are still working on a mutually agreeable solution.

Grape Juice?

We tried our hand at canning grape juice this year. Does it look like juice from our green grapes to you? I must say I like this color better than green. It's a mystery to me but it does taste good. Not like red hot's, if you were wondering. Grace and Emma took turns helping. I have not found that I am agreeable to two energetic helpers at once. One at a time really is wonderful though!
We picked, soaked out the spiders, juiced and canned. Do you like my fabulous set up for the canner? If I loaded it up, I had to have the folding chairs to balance the whole thing. I warned the kids with a grave face to stay far far away while I was processing it! Not glamorous, but functional just the same.

Lunch with a friend!

I had lunch with a good friend today. I was so glad she didn't mind that what I was making was only macaroni and cheese. She actually seemed very excited to consume it. We had a good visit, mostly about how good mac and cheese is and the desire for second helpings. Grace was at school and Clara took a nap so it was nice to have a moment to eat in peace together.

It's was nice to have a moment with such a sweet and cheerful person!

Mobility

I've been finding Clara in strange places lately thanks to her "crawling lessons" given by John. I told him he's in big trouble. Clara's very strong, curious, and persistant... great characteristics for keeping us all a little frantic.

We occasionally hear shouts of "Clara is getting my puzzle" or "Hon, did you know Clara is eating Grace's homework?" (accompanied by crackling and rustling of paper) and "Emma, Clara is eating your shoe. It's probably not very clean."

Clara's getting into the role power crawler by emitting absolutely ear piercing screeches and screems. It's actually hard to talk or hear over them sometimes! I am glad she's enjoying the moment!

She's trying to scare us by spending time going up on hands and toes with bum in the air. (Threatening to walk and skip this crawling business!)