S'mores

We have been having campfires in our backyard. We bundle up, the kids help Homestead Mama pile up the wood and start the fire while they learn about fire, heat, and safety. Then we have s'mores and hunker down and sing songs, watch the sunsets, and enjoy the fall weather.

Also, in this batch of pictures is an example of Monito's new favorite face. He does this in utter playfulness, and will scream with laughter if you mimic it back to him. He is developing quite the sense of himself and humor. He is covered in some of my applesauce that I added grapes to. It is, as Monito is pointing out, delicious.

$3

I found a plastic carousel at the local thrift store. It was $3, and has lovely animals, lights, the horses go up and down and it plays 5O songs. On eBay it sells for $85. For Pequita and Monito, it is priceless. They sit in awe and watch it each night, taking turns manning the controls. The joy is immense. I think we will pack it away each year and bring it out for Christmas as a special toy. When I was a kid, this kind of thing was so special. I really like sharing the same kind of wonder and delights with my kids.

Lead Again

While I was having my gall bladder out, Pequita had her two year old lead check and H-Mama had her 43 year old blood panel. H-Mama's cholesterol is slightly elevated, which was a sad surprise. The doc prescribed increased fiber and a glass of red wine each night. H-Mama is diligently trying to keep up with this.

Pequita has a blood lead level of 1O.2. Can I just say goddamn it? God only knows where it is coming from now. I bought a big box of lead swabs today to start testing, but suspect I will just pay the health department to come to our house to do a thorough testing of all surfaces interior and exterior. She goes back for a retest next weekend, and I'm taking Monito in for one too. I am really surprised and irritated, and of course worried. This is such bad news.

Halloween

I've been feeling very much like baking since it has gotten cold. This has matched well with the holidays and all my recent time off, a.k.a. surgical recovery. I've made brownies, finished canning [with Mom's help], two batches of cookies, and I've got a bunch of cookie dough frozen for future cookie cutter fun with the kids. Having my parents here to help with my surgery was super. Extra hands, good company, so much attention for the kids, and always someone to chat with, play with, or help me get around afterwards when I couldn't drive. I started missing them before they even left last Thursday.

Coming off of my latest surgery, I totally sold out for the easy path this year and got both kids matching pumpkin costumes for Halloween. A week ago, on Saturday night, my moms group had a party with 45 people or so in a gymnasium we rented. Good potluck food, lots of activities and toys and much jovial milling about. It *might* have been overdoing it just 2 days after my gall bladder surgery, but was a lot of fun. I made sugar cookies and frosted them with Pequita's help. She really liked it. I let the kids frost their own cookies later, which involved a bit more frosting in their mouths and a little less frosting on the cookies.

We also went to the local grocery store Halloween candy give-away where we strolled around the whole store and the babes were given handfuls of candy in their pumpkins by costumed staff. In my anticipation of their enjoyment of being in and seeing other kids dressed in costumes, I overlooked the tiny fact that they aren't really allowed to eat candy but do really like it. Once Pequita and Monito figured out what was being dropped in their buckets, all desire to admire costumes, greet their friends, even to continue walking through the store, ceased. They sat hunched next to the tomato display plunging their hands into their plastic pumpkins and coming up with fistfuls of chocolate bars, gum balls, tootsie rolls, and other items they just aren't allowed to eat. I acquiesced and let them nibble on chocolate bars for a little while, which might have had something to do with the hour of screaming I endured on the drive home, through tubby time, and didn't end until we were warm, pink, pajama-clad and settled into tandem nursing on my bed. Homestead Mama had to work late and missed the joy. It was a true delight to have her arrive and help ease the household into sleep. I think we will have no more trick-or-treating until the kids are begging for it and allowed to enjoy some of the spoils.
One pleasure we *have* been enjoying is The Gingerbread Baby, illustrated by Jan Brett. Every night we read it at least once and finally I made gingerbread cookies. We can all enjoy them, as they only have a half cup of brown sugar. Little people, cats, dogs and hammers, all with white frosting. I found the hammer cookie cutter at Salvation Army, and knew immediately that my little tool nut would love it. Right now, Monito's favorite thing is Nunu, a.k.a. vacuum cleaners. He is a bit annoying about them, kissing them goodnight before he will consent to go to sleep, asking for them immediately upon waking in the morning. His favorite activity is for me to spread shredded paper on the floor for him to suck up as he makes little slurping sounds. He is also enamored of all things construction and cleaning, toting around brooms, drills, 2x4 lengths. We have bought him his own tape measure, which he treasures. He is only 16 months old. Below, they are brandishing their gingerbread hammer cookies. They were the clear favorites.

Pumpkin Carving simulator

Since we love all things jack-o-lanterny here at the homestead, I offer this:

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.html

My Life In Pictures

My entire life has been captured in pictures.  My father has been diligent in ensuring that we have photographic records of all trips, events, daily living activities, and gatherings.  Today was no exception.

As I was recovering today after surgery, Homestead Mama and my dad brought the kids to visit.  We dutifully lined up for pictures.  They have been emailed off to the relatives already.  My family is a little nuts, but in a good way.

Job Security

Hpomestead Mama and my dad brought the kids by to visit me - they were in the hospital already getting Pequita's 2-yr lesd level checked. The kids reeked - both had full poopy diapers. H-mama forgot to bring the diaper bag when ashe left the house. I cracked up, causing serious pain. I suggested that she beg pediatrics for some, as they are righrt down the hall. They took pity on her. I have never forgotten the b ag.

The kids did charm the hell out of the nurses, even with the stench wafting after them.

Pardon the spelling. Pain meds are definitely pon board!
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Still alive

My gall bladder was chock full of stones, said the surgeon. I survived. More later.
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Maybe hospital johnnies are made of cashmere now?

My mom is driving me to the hospital right now for my 25th general anesthesia. Damned gall bladder. What I wouldn't give to be back in bed torquing my back to let Monito side-lie nurse so we all get another hour of rest.

I do surgery well. I know the routines. However, I am awash with PTSD when I have surgeries. I taste all the meds in my IV and anti-nausea patch.

Mostly I just hate waking up afterwards.

Gotta go feel nauseated - the anesthesiologist is heading my way. I've never. Blopgged in a paper johnnie in pre-op before. I guess I like my blackberry.
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Mommy has a Grumpy Day

Pequita's 2 year checkup was on Friday morning at 9:15. My car needed a new muffler, and we had a 10:30ish appt for that. I was having an off day - hormones? Fatigue? Who knows. I have long been irritated with the office, as we have been made to wait an average of 90 minutes at our pediatrician's office for what constitutes a 10 minute checkup. This has bothered me intensely; trying to keep 2 rambunctious babies happy and entertained in a small room with no toys for upwards of an hour is not easy. I tried kindly mentioning this up the chain of management to no avail. I started bringing my own suitcase of amusements, as well as leaving the exam door open so the kids could roam around the halls a bit hoping this would make it harder to forget about us (and hopefully annoy the nurses into dealing with us). For the past few visits, if we were made to wait more than 20 minutes with no one coming to see us I strolled both kids down the hall - one of them in diaper only in anticipation of an exam - to where the nurses were clustered chatting and asked how much longer it would be. This past Friday I stood for 9 long minutes just for the receptionists to get off the phone to take my name and tell me to sit down. I was still sitting in the lobby 45 minutes after our appt was to have begun, and I snapped. I collected my kids and strode to the reception desk, interrupted their phone conversations to tell them that our time was valuable and we couldn't wait any longer. Driving to the garage, I snagged a 3pm appt with a competing pediatrician who was highly recommended and had an opening. We had a lovely day walking around town in the fall sun while my car was fixed and still got Pequita her checkup and flu shot that day. We waited 3 minutes before seeing the 2nd doc, he was lovely, AND there was a huge box of toys in the exam room. I couldn't transfer the kids records fast enough.

Pequita's stats:
33 lbs puts her in the 99th percentile for weight. 35.5" long is the 90th percentile for weight. No wonder she is wearing mostly size 3 toddler clothes!

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Gymnastics

Happiness is...sitting on the sidelines while H-mama and Hottie Friend do gymnastics with the kids. Knitting! By myself! This is a prototype hat, but if it pans out it will be winging its way across the Atlantic for a very Foxy baby soon.
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Hmm.

"The perfect is the enemy of the good."

Voltaire


Time to get up off my perfectionism and JUST DO IT.

Pequita Turns Two

My beautiful daughter is two. I am amazed. This means that we started trying to have a baby SIX years ago. Just look at her!

Treetops

I haven't been to our local nature center for a few years. It all seemed too old for my kids. Today, in a fit of not knowing what to do with us all, we went there. It sports a live animal display inside, as well as many skeletons and stuffed [eeeew] native animals. BORING. In the acreage behind the building, there is a butterfly house, a raptor cage and a 6-story tree house built by, I think, Bob Leathers. SIX stories of climbable tree house. Whatever made me think this wasn't right for a two year old?

The approach.
Climbing the ladders.In the attic six flights above the forest floor.
We all loved it. We will, I suspect, go there at least once a week through the winter in all but the coldest of times. It is relatively safe, and the babes can only fall 6-8 feet instead of the possible 6 stories. The stairs loop around all over, and there are ladders to each floor and some secret locations as well. It is all open to the outside but has 1" mesh screen cladding all exterior sides.



On the way home, we stopped at the consignment store and spent a few dollars on this very special chair. Oh, happy day. While it is ostensibly for both kids to share, Pequita didn't remove her heiny from it for almost an hour of dinner and Sesame Street musical DVD. She has found her cozy spot, and it is set for the winter. I guess I'm in the market for a wing back chair for Monito. Sigh.

A Week in Pictures

We've been busy enjoying autumn. I realized that the Facebook status updates *feel* like I've blogged, which is bad, since I haven't.

I have, so far, 12 half-pint jars of ground cherry jam on the shelf. Homestead Mama made 10 pints of tomatilla salsa and it too is in jars. We have a half bushel of apples & pears to turn into applesauce, and a few gallons of Concord grape juice to turn into jelly and juice. Every night after the kids go to bed we get a little more food canned. It is delightful.

We've been to pick elderberries at our friend Noona's house [at least that's what the kids call her]. She grew pumpkins, and that is so very exciting! I burned the elderberries when trying to reduce the juice, so no jelly.

We went apple picking to get our applesauce supplies, and found blackberry bushes there too.
We have had a pumpkin carving binge, and sit on the front porch with popcorn most nights and watch the jack-o-lanterns glow and sing pumpkin songs. The kids like to wave good night to them from the nursery window before bed.

And this morning? I woke up to a toasty house and the stove on for the first time this season. Bliss.

My 1-month post-LEEP cervix check went well. The doc has never seen a cervix bounce back this fast, and it looks super. Great, I say. If I have to be a star in some way, why NOT a super hero cervix?

We are off now to get our farm share and gather all the green tomatoes and the last of the ground cherries since frost is wreaking havoc with the crops. Then to find more canning jars, as I've run out.