Shnozberry Patch

betrayal of the worst kind...

2011-05-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

The time: Easter Eve
The place: Nana's and Poppa's in San Antonio

Nana was making deviled eggs for our Easter feast the next day while a certain boy named Tank wandered in...

"Nana?" the small boy inquired.

Nana, while intent on filling the little egg boats just right, always had time for her beloved grandchildren, "Yes, Tank?"

"Are you making Devil's Eggs for us?"

With a smile, "Yes, honey. I am."

Tank's eyes widened with anticipation. "For dinner tonight?"

Nana turned to her littlest grandson, "No, they're for Easter tomorrow."

The jubilant face turned dark and his eyes narrowed, "TRICKERY!" In one movement he turned on his heel and ran up the stairs to sit with Poppa, the non-betrayer.

Nana and a quietly observing Mommy, watched him leave, turned to each other and laughing, repeated, "Trickery?"

Who even taught him that word?

choosy girls choose asiago

2011-03-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Scoochy has a discriminating palate. For instance, she prefers dijon over "regular" mustard and Chili's kids' pizzas taste like "cardboard." If there's one thing she adores, it is the combination of asiago cheese and bread. Whenever someone is going to the store and asks if anyone needs anything, Scoochy pipes up with, "Asiago bread!"

I decided to indulge her and bought her a $6 wedge of asiago and told her she could make her own bread. She did and those three lovely and absolutely delicious loaves were the product of her labors. Bravo, Scooch!

they are smarter than we give them credit for.

2011-03-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently The emp has been paying attention. Her older brother Tank's job is to fold washcloths and put them away. He was still working on his schoolwork when The emp, who was playing with Daddy, saw the pile. She immediately began folding them. She was having a little bit of trouble so Daddy showed her how to do one properly and that was it. No more instruction necessary. She folded the entire stack and carefully piled them. Then she proceeded to walk into the kitchen and put them away, without prompting! It never ceases to amaze me when they reveal how they understand and are capable of so much more than we thought.

She knows exactly where she's going.

I told her, "I'm gonna take your picture." This is the tail end of her telling me, "No."

This is actually the towel cupboard. She saw that she made a mistake, closed the door and opened the correct one. I'm still shocked.

another wave begins.

2011-03-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

The house was quiet. Too quiet. But we didn't notice. We just kept doing what we were doing. No one had the slightest idea what was transpiring in the pantry.

I knew I needed to start making dinner. I walked into the kitchen and I heard glass tapping on glass. At first I was confused. What was that? Suddenly it dawned on me. The quiet. The lack of a visual on the littlest member of our family. I turned to the noise and when I saw the spice jars lined up in a row on the ground, I knew there was mischief afoot. It was the emp! You have to be impressed though. She actually got the step stool and dragged it in. Otherwise she couldn't have reached the spice jars. I guess I am always reminding them to "find a solution." And she did. Boy, did she.

No one has told her. No one has said a word so it must be genetics. There's no other explanation. But if anyone doubted if Princess Cutie Pops and The emp were sisters, this exact incident would be a strong argument for their shared genes. The following pictures are Exhibit A, B and C against our little emp. When you are finished, jump over here for the evidence of PCPops mischievousness. Focus especially on the fifth picture over there. PCPops has a knack for destruction, but we thought the toddler-type of havoc was behind us. Oh, no. No sirree. The emp has taken up the torch. God help us.

The first glimpse of The emp's handiwork.

We caught her just in time. She almost had the foil off of that soymilk. Most of the mess above is sesame seeds.

Cumin seeds, mustard seeds and other spices that were dumped out.

After her stern talking to. Poor little thing. (Although I wasn't thinking Poor little thing at the time.)

In all she wasted about $5 dollars worth of spices. Luckily I buy them in the bulk section or at the Asian market otherwise she would have done about $20 of damage. Oh, kids. Ya gotta love 'em.

the 8th of Princess Cutie Pops

2011-02-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

Our Princess Cutie Pops turned eight. She chose red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and poinsettia decorations. We had fun putting them together and the entire house smelled of cinnamon gum.

The hoard.

We got her ears pierced for our present and knowing this in advance, Nana and Papa got her five pairs of earrings! Now she just has to wait six weeks before she can wear them.

As usual, a great present from our friends.

Her siblings got her a pair of "real crocs" in her favorite color.

christmas cookies, belated.

2011-01-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

Every year the kids each pick out a cookie to make with mommmy. This year had new ones and an old favorite:

Princess Cutie Pops picked delicious Eggnog Logs. I was surprised to find that it called for absolutely no eggnog, but did in fact taste rather egg noggy in the end.

As usual, Scoochy chose a decadent and rather upscale cookie. She has such a sophisticated palate. Chocolate mint wafers...oh my goodness. Dark chocolate flavored wafers sandwiched around chocolate mint ganache and dipped in chocolate. To. Die. For.

"Hmmm...which one to eat as soon as Mom is done taking pictures?" Dodge is just like his Daddy. Why try a new recipe when we know Peanut Butter Blossoms are delicious? I'll give you one guess what he'll pick as his cookie next year...

Our little emp is trying to grab Tank's plate of Chocolate Meringues. These babies were melt-in-your-mouth delicious and super simple to make. The only drawbacks were having to pipe them and the 2-hr baking time. But hey! That's what Christmas cookies are for, right? It's that extra little oomph that we don't want to give cookies the rest of the year.

She's got it all figured out.

2010-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

Princess Cutie Pops' birthday is Christmas Eve. We asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She answered, "A horse. And I want a horse for Christmas, too."

Daddy shook his head, "Sweetie, that's a waste. You can only ride one at a time. Why get two?"

Confidently she replied, "Because next year I'm asking for a chariot!"

Who says kids never plan for the future?

san antonio zoo time

2010-08-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

inseparable

2010-08-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

The emp and Chewy (short for Chewbacca) have become fast friends. I don't know any other dog who would put up with that little girl's mauling of her. The emp is completely fearless and Chewy is completely docile. What a pair.

a pocket full of rye and then some

2010-07-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

We have a gigantic map on our dining room wall. It is the topic of many dinner conversations, tonight included. After answering many "Is this a country or a state?" questions, the kids noticed that Russia was rather large. This got us discussing how a country's size doesn't always match how powerful and rich it is.

"Mom, does the United States of America have a lot of money?"

"Yes, we're considered a rich country and that's one of the main reasons we're so powerful."

"Is England rich?"

"Yes, England is considered one of the rich countries."

"...and portable!"

"What? Portable?"

"Yeah, it is so small you could just drop it in your pocket."

Kids...Where do they come up with this stuff?

God, Himself, would want some

2010-07-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Biscuits and gravy is my most favoritest breakfast on the planet. With that as a base, you can take it for granted that we love biscuits and gravy in this house. LOVE it. I make it about once or twice a month for specials. (kids term) Today was one of those days. We had gone to the pool at 8am (no need for sunblock, the pool water hasn't heated up to a simmer yet, and the only other soul we see there is Mr. Bill from Long Island on occasion). Soooo, we were there and my oldest jumps in and almost immediately jumps back out again. It was along the lines of watching a jump in rewind it was so impressive.

Apparently a snake of unknown venom-capacity had decided that he loved the pool in the morning as well. After chasing him around with the long hook thing that you use to pull drowned people to safety, I finally managed to flip him out and crush his head with the handle. I'm usually not one to kill snakes, especially when I'm not sure they're poisonous. They are highly beneficial animals, buuuuuut I couldn't run the risk of him finding his way to my little one year-old's chubby little foot. Not when we've got water moccasins, diamond backs and coral snakes to deal with here. Sorry snake. All of this to say that our normally fun time was a bit overshadowed with tension. Every shadow now had to be investigated and "ok'd" by mom.

On our walk back we talked about what to have for breakfast and we all agreed on biscuits and gravy. It was just that kind of day. My oldest took his first bite and after the unavoidable "Mmmmmmm!" he said, "Mom, this is Heaven's Breakfast."

I couldn't agree more.

oh, the possibilities...

2010-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

My kids are in the back of the Sienna one-upping each other on "What God could do if He wanted to."

"You could grow to be as tall as a tree if God wanted you to."

"You could shoot fireballs out your hands if God wanted you to."

My youngest son, Tank, not to be outdone, pipes in, "You could live to be a million but still be a baby and learn to say "hello" if God wanted you to, and grow a beard."

Silence.
Then eruptions of laughter.
Hmmmm, methinks we've got a winner.

Jokers Wild.

2010-06-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

PCPops: Mommy, everyone wants the Joker in Go Fish.
Me: Why?
PCPops: Because we love little men riding bicycles.

Of course. Why would a kid love a card for anything other than aesthetic reasons? Wait a minute, do you even use Jokers in Go Fish?

Anatomical discrepencies...or not

2009-05-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

PCPops comes walking up to me..."Mom! These are my kidneys." (pointing to her knees)

I'm just about to correct her when she says, "I'm a kid and these are my knees. Kid knees!"

Oh the pun of it!

Night of the Doughnut

2009-04-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

8 kids + 2 types of melted chocolate + powdered sugar + sprinkles + dozens of doughnuts = one messy, fun and delicious time

When Dug was traveling, I decided (I still have no idea why) to have our friends come over and eat doughnuts with us. Don't get me wrong, it was super-duper yummy and way too much fun, but I was sweeping multicolored sprinkles off my kitchen floor for weeks!

In this picture, you'll notice Dodge has apparently become side-tracked from his job. Yashel is more nose-to-the-grindstone while still enjoying a mouthful of freshly deep-fried yumminess.

PCPops and Woozy aren't quite as careful as their siblings. I think their plan goes something like this: one finger of chocolate spread on doughnut...one for my tummy...one for the doughnut...

If Fuzzy Bee wasn't so covered in chocolate, you'd think he was posing for the children's version of GQ.

Realizing there's no prettifying a powdered-sugar-face, Scoochy fully embraces her inner doughnut monster.

Sally, my co-conspirator, enjoying the fruits of our labor. (Actually the labor part -i.e. cleanup- hasn't even started yet in this picture.)

PC Pops and the sixth year.

2009-04-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Princess Cutie Pops turned six on her last birthday. (Which just happened to be four months ago in December, but you'll forgive me right?)

I don't know if a birthday girl could look cuter.

A new addition!

2009-04-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's spring and we've got new life sprouting in the Shnozberry Patch! This update is horribly late, but anyone with a newborn can understand how superfluous things like blogs and showers are pushed aside and the necessities like food and clean underwear take up the spare moments that aren't in demand by a wee bairn weighing less than a gallon of milk.

So without further ado, let me present my sweet darling, the e.m.p.:

She was born 4 April, 2009, coming in at the perfect weight of 7lbs 2 oz. She took four hours once she decided it was her time to arrive. And we have fallen irrevocably in love.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...but what about the boys?

2009-02-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

While waiting for Dug to deal with out littlest child, I overheard this conversation. Unfortunately, I missed the beginning and so it had no context. But it was hilarious even if I didn't fully understand what they were so intensely arguing about.

Dodge: There are probably millions of married people who wear rings.

Yashel (neighbor girl): Yeah, but women's rings have diamonds and boys' ones are just plain gold.

(At this point, I tried to interject that lots of men had diamonds in their rings, but I was completely ignored.)

Yashel: Anyways, everyone knows that girls love diamonds and boys love flashlights.

Dodge: Really?

Yashel: Yeah, I don't know why but boys always want to have a flashlight around.

There you go. One of the many pearls of wisdom straight from the mouths of 9 year-olds, who, as everyone knows, have a great understanding of the world and are, in no way, ashamed of enlightening you.

Dodge and the Board

2009-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

Dodge has been working hard on his boarding. Stuff like the ever-impressive Not Falling Off and hard-to-master Riding Over Bumpy Terrain. He's even been semi-successful in a few traditionals like Ollies and Manuals. Above, we've captured a successful I-Don't-Know-If-It-Even-Has-A-Name-But-Gosh-Darn-It-I'm-Proud-Of-Him maneuver.

I just had to add this one of Scoochy. It was just too gosh darn cute.

It's the Zoo at San Antone!

2009-01-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

Now that Nana and Poppa live so close, we get to visit them almost every time Dug goes away on a business trip. Nana and Poppa got a year pass to the zoo in which they put their grandkids on for free. (And me for a little bit extra.) Yippee! The San Antonio Zoo is now one of our go-to destinations!

Here, Tank is carefully plotting our course. He wanted the map and was very upset if anyone tried to take it from him.

For a short while PCPops got to lead the way. She studied the map very carefully and in the end, walked wherever we led.

My philosophy at the zoo (especially when we can come back whenever we want) is to let the kids set the pace and stop whenever they find something they're interested in. These parrots were Tank's favorite exhibit. When we were leaving (Well, to be honest, we were shooed out because the zoo had closed.) the parrots were no longer in their exhibit. Tank was very concerned and thought someone had stole them or they had escaped. "Where are the parrots? They're gone! What happened to them? They're gone!" We had to have a zoo official reassure him that they had just been put in their cages to sleep for the night.

We only had a few quarters but there seemed to be those "Feed The Animals" vending machines everywhere. The kids got quite adept at looking around the base of the machine for the nuggets that had been dropped. Scoochy is feeding some fish with one of the few non-scavenged handfuls we managed to provide.

One moment earlier, Tank had found the hidden frog.

This red-ruffed lemur had the most piercing eyes. Just had to let you see him.

Have statue. Will climb.
I think it is one of the stupidest things ever when people/organizations/etc put a very climb-able metal statue at kids level, leave out the fence and then post a little sign (so it won't interfere with the view of the artwork) that says, "Please don't climb on the statue." Luckily for us, the San Antonio Zoo is not stupid.

Last but not least, I managed to get a shot off of the very elusive Poppatus Vidcamerus. He seemed to follow us everywhere we went and only with very quick, highly trained movements was I able to catch him at his own game.

Peanut Butter Krispy Sandwich by Dodge

2009-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

(This recipe is entirely Dodge's creation. It was snack time a couple years ago and he asked if we could have these. How could I say no to such originality?)

First get rice krispies. Then two pieces of bread. Then some peanut butter.

Spread the peanut butter on the bread and then sprinkle the rice krispies on the bread.

Then get the other piece and make it a sandwich. Eat. Mmmmmm!

Watch your step!

2008-12-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

PCPops is on a roll. Another couple doozies came out of her mouth today.

"Everyone loves Mommy...even God!"

Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence. The all-loving Creator who keeps everyone under His care even loves me!
~~~

PCPops asked me who I would choose to die in our family. After I replied, "No one." She shook her head, "Mommy, you have to pick someone."

Me: Okay, I pick myself.

PCPops: (incredulously) You would pick you? (without a pause or a breath) I would pick Daddy. (Poor Daddy is sitting across from her at the table, mouth agape at the brutality just issued from his beautiful, smiling, cheerful red-headed daughter.)

Me: Daddy?! Why would you pick Daddy?

PCPops: When he died I would take his money. Probably $25! With $25 I could buy you a new mouse pad (she bit a hole in my gel-filled ergonomic mouse pad) and still have maybe $5!

Before the thoughts of "How in the world has she learned to off someone to get their money?" and "What have I done to fail this child so completely?" finished scrolling through my brain she had already changed the subject to some completely nonsensical and silly topic.

She's five. And when you've got a question that needs to be answered, you answer it with all the logic that your half-a-decade old brain can summon.

Let's just hope for her sake that Daddy doesn't "accidently" drink rat poison and we find ourselves $25 short in our bank account...

Don't argue unless you're right.

2008-12-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

This happened last night during our little advent ceremony. The kids get coins each night and put them in Jesus' Birthday Present, after Christmas we give the money to Jesus (usually our church).

PCPops: (as she drops the money in, she puts her lips up to the coin slot) Happy Birthday Jesus!

Me: Sweetie, Jesus isn't in the box, you don't have to say "Happy Birthday" into the box.

PCPops: Mommy, Jesus is everywhere in the world. That means he's in the box! (into the box again as if to make her point) Happy Birthday Jesus!

I had no reply. What could I possible say to such irrefutable logic?

Turning 4!

2008-11-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Tank turned four in the middle of October. It was a full month for birthdays. Dug had to travel so much that he missed my, Dodge's and Tank's birthday. Luckily Nana and Poppa live only 3.5 hours away now and we got to spend my and Tank's with them.

Here's the birthday boy. He asked for a rainbow cake. I was so thankful. Not much to look at, but the little guy was happy and that is all that counts.

To make his birthday exciting (and to try to hide the fact that we didn't wrap anything) we hid all his presents around the house. Brother Dodge began the hunt with hiding his Phlat Ball present in the couch. Very quickly we realized that Tank didn't understand how to play "Hot, Cold." Dodge patiently taught him as best he could.

PCPops hid her gumball machine in the pantry. She was so excited for him to find it so Tank could "see how it worked and maybe share." When this pic was snapped, he still hadn't quite figured out what it was. Once big sis explained it, though, it was "super cool."

Scoochy and Tank are astride her present, a rather large T-Rex. When she asked if she could get it for him, I looked at what I thought was the price and said, "Sure, $9.99 is under your $10 limit." I don't know what I was looking at. When we finally had everyone's present picked out and we were running late to meet up with Poppa, I was hurrying through the check-out hoping Tank wouldn't escape Nana's "distraction techniques." The checker rang up said dinosaur and up popped $19.99!! In normal circumstances there is no way I would fork out $20 bucks for a big dino, but I was hurried, a little tired and feeling a bit pushover-y. Tank was so thankful for my fragile state. He loved his new "Bigfoot."

(Sorry mom and dad for having to post this goofy picture of you.) Tank's favorite present by far was his new bike from Nana and Poppa. How could he not love that thing? This present, above all others, pushed him from babydom to Big Boy-hood.

When we asked him what he wanted for his birthday, Tank's first answer was "a horse," in which we had to explain the difficulties and expense of such a large animal. When we realized he meant a stick horse, it all became possible. As soon as he saw his horse, he was galloping away. (Helps that a button on his ear makes a galloping noise.)

And here are the crazy four, happy. Which makes mommy happy. :-) In case you're wondering, we had cake and presents on two separate days, which would account for their wardrobe changes. Presents, of course, were on the actual birthday. Cake was suspended a day.

Bolhas, Gelado e Divertimento

2008-10-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

(hopefully the title is portuguese for bubbles, ice cream and fun)

I know I'm so delinquent on this blog. You'll forgive me, I know.

This post should have been written the last week in July. Now that I should be showing pictures of leaves falling and pumpkin patches, you're getting an eyeful of ice cream and sunshine. Also, we're in Houston and these are in Oregon. Oh well.

At the end of July my beloved college roommate Heidi and her beautiful family came up from Brazil to visit the States. She went to Brazil for a college thing, met a handsome pastor, married the chap and now lives in the Amazon changing lives. While they were here, the kids got to play with their two children for the afternoon. We had fun goofing around and even learning a little Portuguese.

Here is Sarah. The kids were so excited when they figured out that if they were wet they could actually hold the bubbles.

Tim tries to stretch the bubble to its limits. Major difference between boys and girls. The boys were all putting the bubbles to the test. The girls were decorating themselves with them.

Scoochy and Sarah with their bubble buddies. Unfortunately, right before I snapped the picture, Sarah's buddy popped.

Concurrently with the bubble machine we had the sprinklers on. It wasn't quite warm enough for the Brazilians, but to the Oregonians, if the sun is out, it's warm enough.

Ice cream time! Tim enjoyed a cone while patiently answering the kids'questions. For instance:

Scoochy: How do you say green?
Tim: In Portuguese? (he always asked that, it made me laugh)
Scoochy: Yeah.
Tim: Verch. (yeah, I know that's not how it's spelled, I'm doing it phonetically, k?)
Scoochy: Verch?
Tim: Yeah.

Princess Cutie Pops enjoying her cone. Man, just look at that hair. It is such a pretty color.

The whole group drying out from the sprinklers, enjoying some ice cream and some warming rays in the only bit of grass that isn't wet.

Okay, I included this one because I am amazed at how handsome and old this boy is getting. Sorry, total mom-bragging but I couldn't help it. It is one of those "Wow!" pictures that you take every once in a while and they actually turn out.

Jamison Square + Friends= Fun!

2008-07-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

On the way home from Texas we spent the afternoon at Jamison Square with our buddies.

Here's three of the girls, in height order: Mercedes, Princess Cutie Pops and Scoochy.

Uh oh! Here comes trouble.
Samab, Princess Cutie Pops and Tank, all in formation.

Can you say "Hot Mama!"?

Deadpool and Dodge trying to break the law...of gravity, that is!
Guffaw! Guffaw! (I know, pretty bad.)

And last, but certainly not least, Lil Red.
Can you get cuter than that?

How to become a ninja - Part 1 - Look like a ninja!

2008-07-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our family loves ninjas. Dodge had a ninja party for his last birthday and we all love the ninja movie Iron Monkey. (Think Hong Kong Robin Hood.) My favorite webcomic is Dr. McNinja and we love watching Ask a Ninja. One of their favorite games as siblings is to dress like ninjas and fight "The Bad Guys." They run around the house and ask me for Ninja Missions, during which I have to come up with highly ambiguous yet poetical objectives for them. For instance, "Go to the land of the sky clouds and save He Who Has The Long Snout from the evil Scorpion Tongue. If you do this you shall be honored with the name Flying Arrow." Basically, I just told them to run upstairs and bring me Dodge's stuffed elephant, Ay-Ay, after pretend fighting whatever they encounter. Sometimes they interpret my missions completely different than what I hint at and it's really interesting to see what they come up with. Today, Tank would like to show how you, too, can be a ninja!

First, find a t-shirt with long sleeves.

Second, put the t-shirt on your head so that your face is looking through the neck hole and the rest of your head is covered.

Third, tie the arms around the back side of your head.

Last, adjust the neck hole so that only your eyes are showing.

Tank is posing as "Fire Ninja" here. The great thing is that anyone can use this method. Just use the size of t-shirt that you wear. The only problem is that a kid size 3T or smaller will have a bigger head than his shirt arms can reach around. Just use a bigger tee.

And that, my friends, is how you can be a ninja!

When life gives you lemons, draw pictures of them and rake in the dough!

2008-07-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lemonade stands are such a thing of the past. Last year the crew tried a "Filtered Water" stand. Not too much luck. This year they struck gold with...Art! Yep, that's right. They drew a ton of pictures and sold them for $.25 a piece. In the end they raked in about $10! I was pretty impressed with their entrepreneur spirit. Of course, I'm sure they wouldn't have been half as successful if we didn't live two blocks from a university, but hey! What's that they say? Location, location, location!

The gallery!

One guy who came by didn't have any money. He told them to draw his old-school bicycle and he would buy it the next day. The kids, thinking it would be a popular subject, thought they should draw a number of the bikes. Scoochy drew the first one and then Dodge and Princess Cutie Pops held her drawing up to the window and copied it. Those bikes were the first ones to go the next day. So chalk that up as a little homeschool economics lesson in supply and demand.

The proud owner of a Scoochy original!

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!

2008-05-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

We bought a bubble machine from K-mart and I have to say, they are fun! How can you go wrong with the power of 4000 bubbles a minute? You can't! I know I enjoy it at least, if not more, than the kids. And everyone that walked by had a smile on their face, either from watching the kids with the bubbles or just watching the bubbles themselves, I'm not sure which.

Always the sweetie, Princess Cutie Pops tries to give the little bubbles a kiss.

You can't tell but the bubbles were really moving. The fact that I took this picture at just the right moment for it to be perfectly centered in Tank's mouth is amazing. And not due to any skill, but purely to luck.

Scoochy is trying to balance a bubble on her little nail/styrofoam pedestal. As you can imagine, she had very little luck with this endeavor.

Chasing bubbles is exhausting. Dodge told me how cool it was to watch the bubbles float all around you so I joined him on the grass and he was right. Bubbles are pretty cool.

Freezer of Mystery!

2008-05-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

In order to put a large pan of cheesecake pops in my freezer, I had to rearrange the little space. In the process I decided to clean out the thing. I came across this frozen ziplock bag with colorful specks. I had no idea what is was. The kids love freezing things in water. I've found bowls of ice with rubber bands frozen inside. I've also found ice cubes with paint, rocks, toys, and plants. I couldn't tell through the ice what it was so I left it out over night.

In the morning I found gems and sequins! It was treasure ice! What will be in there next time? I'll let you know...

Tank to the rescue!

2008-05-03T23:27:00.000-07:00

I have a secret weapon in the fight against debris behind the washing machine: Tank and his robot arm!

For his 3rd birthday, Tank's best buddy, Cole, gave him a robot arm. By squeezing the handle, the claw at the other end opens and closes. We found that it becomes a powerful tool to reach down into the narrow space between the wall and washing machine.

Previously we had lowered his older brother, Dodge, down by his ankles (he was the only one brave enough), but this is far more easier muscle-wise and funner (yes, I know it's technically more fun). It also makes Tank feel important since it is his robot arm and he can do this task on his own. Another benefit of this scenario is that his little butt sticking up in the air is super cute as opposed to the frightful picture of my overgrown haunches in the same position.

Scoochy - The Craft Fiend

2008-05-03T00:48:00.000-07:00

We love to go to the library. Dodge normally picks out two or three books. One novel-type and two non-fictions about whatever is interesting him, usually outer space, carnivorous animals or everything-there-is-to-know-about-pick-a-super-hero. Princess Cutie Pops goes for story books about mermaids and princesses and Tank wants non-fiction big cat books (lions, tigers, panthers, etc).

Scoochy is different. Her books are always about making things. There are usually a few cookbooks thrown in with whatever craft is on her mind at the moment. Right now it's embroidery. She checked out the book Kids' Embroidery: Projects for Kids of All Ages by Kriston Nicholas and has been going to town. She's made four different pictures (is that the right word?) and even a little felt needle book.

I love her try-anything spirit. She just jumps in. I help her when she gets stuck but beyond that, she's been doing this all on her own, guided by the book. Her own designs and everything. She's amazing.

When desire and aptitude don't quite meet

2008-04-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Tank wanted to get his own mac & cheese. Unfortunately he didn't realize that bowls aren't the best grips for climbing onto the counter. (I'm so glad we had eaten almost all of it by this point.) I think he knows now. He wasn't happy about the situation. (Like that's not completely obvious from the picture.)

Snapshots

2008-04-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Haircut time. Tank wanted to be "balved like Uncle Chwis" again.

I know it doesn't show her face. But I thought this shot of Scoochy's hair was beautiful.

You got to love a boy with confidence, right? Dodge showing his guns a little lovin'.

A miniature puppy, a lazer gun and a sword...What more do you need?

The Creative Soul

2008-04-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

Scoochy is writing poetry/songs as of late. The underlying themes of these two are incredibly relevant. It's like God whispered His truths to her and she decided to write it down. Here are two of her latest, typed exactly as written:

The World is Spining

the world is spining
rond and rond but tell me
what heppens when it stops....rond and rond
the world is spining
to the beet of god
is so holy!

Free to Be

just out of bed the moon and
stars wer shining on me and
in my dream I was free to be
a singer an know I am free
to be! What I am!

Illuminating conversation

2008-03-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

Dodge was helping me make my bed before we left to go somewhere and I asked him to get me a certain black shirt from the dryer. Upon returning, he said, "It's not in there. I looked, but I didn't see it."
I responded, "That doesn't mean it's not in there. You're not the best at finding things."
He grabbed the corner of my comforter and said, "I wish I was a detective. Then I could find everything."
As I pulled my corner I said, "A person who is good at finding things becomes a detective. Not the other way around."
Laughing, he noted, "Well, I'm never going to be a detective. I suck at finding things." Then he ran off to tell his sister, "Hey Scoochy, I'm definitely not going to be a detective..."

You almost got it.

2008-03-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Dodge and his dad were wrestling around a while back. Dug was about to go in for an attack when Dodge suddenly stood up with his hands in the air.

"Stop!" he yelled. "I'm innocent! I'm by-standard!"

It took us a second before we understood what he meant. Then we explained it to him. No, Dodge, it's "innocent bystander." He he he.

A Lesson in Class Distinction

2008-02-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

We were at the wedding of our beloved cousin, Nick, this weekend. At the reception, we had a sit-down lunch in a ballroom. The wedding party was seated on the stage. Scoochy looked up with a questioning face at the wall of tables above our heads. (We were seated right next to the stage. So close in fact, we couldn't see the faces of the wedding party, only the tablecloths draping down.)

Scoochy: Mom, why are they sitting up there?

Me: Well, sweetie, those are the important people. We're just the peons.

Scoochy was thoughtful for a moment. Suddenly you could see a horrible thought had dawned on her. Her face went from pensive to horror-stricken.

Scoochy: You mean they're going to "pee on" us?!

It took me a second to realize why she would even say that. Of course, we all erupted in laughter and Scoochy, being a sensitive soul, had to have it explained that we weren't laughing at her. Once we told her what "peon" meant, she thought it was hilarious as well and insisted that we tell everyone what happened.

Lesson learned: be careful what words you choose when the very imaginative listener doesn't know the definition.

Everybody loves Trento!

2008-02-18T21:57:00.000-08:00

Our buddy, Trenton, comes to visit and everytime the kids are soooo excited. We took some pics last time he came, but of course, getting five people (when four are kids) to all look at the camera and smile is a bit impossible. Especially at bedtime. Oh well.

Started out good. Wait! Dodge has decided to be underhanded and cross his eyes. And where's Tank?

Here he is! Tank in his usual, "Don't take my picture!" mood.

Finally, everyone at least in the picture. Never can make promises that they'll all be smiling, or even looking at the camera, but at least they're there.

It Snowed! It Snowed! It Snowed!

2008-01-28T23:32:00.000-08:00

Where we live, we get snow one day every winter. If we're lucky. We've been super-lucky this year. So far it has snowed at least three days on our little postage-stamp yard. Of course, all three times it was gone before noon and it didn't stick on any of the cement or asphalt once the sun was shining, but it snowed nonetheless.

And what do you do when it snows? Well, by golly, you make a snowman. Even if you have to roll that darn ball of snow over every patch of available snow to get enough.

The kiddos originally set out to make a snowman, but then when it came time for the eyes and arms and everything, they decided it was a snow-elk. An snow-elk?! Well, I can't complain, I'm the one who is always urging them to use their imaginations. For a larger image, click on the picture below. You'll see the antlers and if you look closely, the snout.

The elusive snow-elk

Who can resist tasting the snow?

Teamwork!

Scoochy was the most dedicated snowball roller. She chased every patch of snow to grow the base from that little ball in her hands.

Dodge finished the base when it grew too cumbersome for Scoochy.

A moment of Tank's snow dance.

We're awfully prepared for snow, aren't we?

Snowmen aren't pretty when you're scraping every bit of snow you can. But I promise, we did not complain.

It's time for another video!

2008-01-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

We went on a walk the other day and I brought my camera. I was messing with the continuous shooting option and took some action sequences. Of course I had to make a movie, but then the Windows Movie Maker had all these cool options. So, naturally I had to keep fiddling until I came up with the video below. I can't help myself. I take something fairly simple and have to make it as complicated as possible. Plus, you get to hear a snippet from one of my most favoritist bands, The Housemartins. Unfortunately, Princess Cutie Pops didn't participate in any of these daring stunts.

Taking after her Nana*

2008-01-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

Scoochy has a new passion. She's an avid cook, aspiring artist, and now has turned to sewing. I just asked her how many sewing books she checked out from the library and she replied, "Not that many, maybe six." I love that she thinks six books isn't that many.

She ripped a hole in one of her favorite pairs of jeans recently. Coincidentally, in one of the books are instructions on how to turn a pair of jeans into a skirt. She jumped right on it and with a little help from Mom, chugged out her first self-made piece of clothing.

First, the front:
Now, the back:
Bravo! Scoochy.

*Nana, Scoochy's maternal grandmother, is an excellent seamstress.

S'mores in the winter!

2008-01-13T00:52:00.001-08:00

Grandma Teri gave the kids a hot chocolate/smores gift set for Christmas. The hot chocolate went fast, but I was a little more reluctant to break into the smores. But then I realized I could cheat. I got the kids together, we assembled the little treats and popped them into the microwave. Horrible, isn't it? Oh well. It puffed the marshmallows, softened the chocolate and warmed the graham cracker. Scoochy and Dodge downed theirs so fast I didn't even have a chance to snap a photo. Princess Cutie Pops and Tank, on the other hand, know how to take their time. Theirs isn't the cleanest way to eat them, but I'm sure it's the funnest.

Tank sucked down the chocolate and marshmallow. Now he's working through the graham crackers.

Fascinated by how his fingers stick together when he tries to pull them apart.

She's got chocolate all over her face and she's still beautiful.

Homemade sushi night

2008-01-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

We had a little sushi night, yesterday. It was delicious! Princess Cutie Pops seems to have gotten the hang of chopsticks. Her ability to grab an entire piece of sushi is pretty impresseive.Tank held the chopsticks at times, but pretty much just stuffed his face with his bare hands. I'm all for the "whatever works" approach.Here is Scoochy, full of pride. She just made her own roll with no help from mom! (Well, I did slice it up for her, but that's it!)

If you have ever thought I was a nerd...

2008-01-02T23:54:00.000-08:00

This post should clear it up for all of you who are on the fence about my nerd level.

We have a spot on our wall by our stairs that we have been marking how tall the kids are from the time they could stand still and straight. The area is a narrow bit between a door frame and the corner. Not only are we running out of room to mark new heights, but the markings are fading from cleansings, rubbings, extraneous marks, etc. Bearing this in mind, I decided to record the heights of our kids so this bit of history wouldn't be lost.

Last night I did this. I sat there with a clipboard and a measuring tape, recording columns of numerical information. Then I sat there, thinking, "Paper is so easily misplaced and/or destroyed, I should put this into the computer."

I got out my laptop, clicked on the start button and a little green icon flirted with me. "Here I am! Excel spreadsheets! What amazing things could you do with me?"

Before I knew it, I was entering all the information for each of my kids, even digging through their birth certificates so I could add their lengths at birth. (No, I don't have that info memorized.) I experimented with different chart styles before I settled on a basic line graph, showing their growth over time. I wanted to be able to compare them at the same ages so I messed around with different colored dots, signifying years, but it just wasn't easy on the eyes. I finally realized I needed another graph. The original would show their growth as a line, showing how they've grown over time. The second one would need to focus solely on what height they were at specific ages making it possible to compare different kids. After a length of time I am ashamed to own up to, I ended up with what you see below. Now this isn't the pretty one because the nice one didn't transfer well. I had to save the chart, shrink it and then fix the yucky parts that didn't shrink right. (Like the inch measurements, oh well.) But this one is good enough for you to get the gist. Now at a glace you can see how my kids "stand up" to each other.

Dodge = blue; Scoochy = green; Princess Cutie Pops = purple; Tank = brown

Interesting things to note:

For some reason we didn't measure Dodge or Tank when they were two.
Princess Cutie Pops is a giant! Well, not really, but she is noticeably taller than anyone else has been at each age except birth.
Scoochy seems to be the runt of the bunch. We'll see how that progresses.

Friends.

2007-12-28T00:25:00.001-08:00

They fight. They make up. But when you can tell they actually love each other...that is what it's all about.

Gathered in front of the tree. After looking at this picture, I think I might do a post on Tank's wardrobe choices, or lack thereof.

Goofing around to the music. Maybe a little "So you think you can dance?" in their future?

In the Disney film, The Emperor's New Groove, one of the lines is "A toast to the emperor!" When we have fancy beverages, we are often found toasting the emperor, whoever he is. This being Christmas time, they changed it to "A toast to Jesus!" One of those proud mommy moments.

Handsome.

2007-12-28T00:22:00.001-08:00

This picture of Tank is so handsome, I had to post it. I can almost see what he's going to look like when he's grown up...

Princess Cutie Pops marks the fifth year of her reign!

2007-12-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

On 24 December we pretend that it really isn't Chrismas eve and focus solely on our little red-head. A little after 10am five years ago, she entered our lives. And the whirlwind hasn't stopped since.

Having all four children's birthdays within six months (three within three months) we decided on birthday parties every other year, filling in the off-years would just be family and cake. Two kids on, two kids off. This year is Princess Cutie Pops' year for just the family/cake.

Her decision? Eggnog Cupcakes with Bourbon Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting. Considering the cupcakes call for bourbon and rum, the eggnog pastry cream calls for rum and the frosting calls for bourbon, I felt compelled to make a few adjustments. Using rum flavoring and vanilla, I turned these into a more kid-friendly dessert.

Princess Cutie Pops had this to say, "This means I like them: thumbs up. Thumbs up, Mom!"

What made five such a big year was that it was the official ungrounding of the Princess. About six months ago she and Tank laid waste with markers to a patch of carpet in the school room. In my fury, I forbade her and her cohort to touch markers until their fifth birthdays. Since then, she and her brother used each other as human canvases and I added another month.

On the evening of her birthday she asked if she could write with markers again. I reminded her of the second infraction and she hung her head and agreed, "Okay, Mommy." We told her she would have to wait for our decision until the next day. I had already relented, though, and in her stocking, unknown to her, was a package of washable markers.

Christmas morning. She pulled the markers out of her stocking and looked at us, confused and unsure how to feel. Daddy delivered the verdict, "You are old enough to use markers now, Princess."

You should have seen the look on her face. To borrow a line from I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, "What joy and what surprise!" She was so happy. Don't you wish you could always reprieve your children without it spoiling them?

Here are a few more pictures from the event:

Our Christmas!

2007-12-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

Before: Serene, peaceful, pristine...
After: Not as serene, surprisingly not as unpeaceful as you would think, and what is the opposite of pristine?It all went rather well. The kids were patient beyond all dreams. We didn't get to bed until almost three with pre-Christmas preparations and the kids let us sleep until 9am. Not too bad. They were up at seven or eight (I was delirious, I'm not sure of the time.) and I asked if we could wait until nine. They agreed. Princess Cutie Pops' birthday was the day before (our little Christmas Eve baby) and they played the game she had received. I don't know what else they did, but they didn't get into their stockings or the presents and at 9am sharp! they were at my side.

I have to admit the Christmas morning atmosphere was a bit exhilirating and the not-so-horrible six-hour sleep, surprisingly rejuvenating. I was ready to go. Popped the breakfast casserole into the oven, rallied the still-sleeping men and we were off.Princess Cutie Pops and her Chef set. Of all the kids, she was the most entertaining to watch open gifts. Every gift she opened would be met with a squeal of delight and a frenetic waving of her hands. She was soo excited for each one. As a parent, she made me feel the most appreciated.Tank was Mr. Independent. He had that big Cars truck set open and playing with it before we knew what had happened. This is the first year we didn't have to prompt him to open his gifts. Last year, he just didn't get it.Uncle Chris had received a PS3 game from our friend, Trenton, the night before and had played it all through the night. (Respect to the true gamer.) He had just laid down to go to bed when it was time to open presents. At least he was present in body, if not in mind.Dodge was pretty ecstatic over two specific gifts: Halo trading cards (budding gamer) and a rock polisher (budding geologist). Gaming and rocks. At age 8, those are his two loves.Although this picture isn't very good, it still caught that look of pure joy when Dug realized how much his wife really loved him. Yes, I got him Assassin's Creed for Christmas, knowing full well how many hours I will not see him unless I go to our TV room and watch him play. There was a bit of selfishness involved, though. That game looked super-sweet and I'm not ashamed to say that I might spend a few hours of my life playing it as well.Here's Scoochy unloading her stocking. This was her year for art supplies. She got a massive art set from us and her Grandma Teri gave her a paint-by-numbers set and velvety black box filled with pencils, glitter, gems, etc. Remember those posters covered in black fuzz except the parts where you were supposed to color? They still have them except now it's a step above. That coloring surface covers the little box from Grandma Teri and even lines the drawers. Every bit of that little art box is itself art. In those now famous words, "What will they think of next?" Here he is, the Trent-meister. Our buddy, Trenton is from Alaska, living in Portland and spent the holiday with us. The guy has a heart of platinum because all four of the kids practically hung off him the entire time and he wasn't cross about it. Not even once. And they can be rather overwhelming to the uninitiated.

That leaves just me. And guess what? I was the photographer! We didn't get any pics of me. Sorry guys. (esp. you Deborah!)

Last but not least: the feast. We had pink Tom (our turkey, long story), honey ham, cranberry salad, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, red eye (ham) gravy, turkey gravy, cornbread and sausage stuffing, green bean casserole, but no rolls. They didn't rise for some reason. Well, that's not entirely accurate. They did rise, but it took them four hours to do so. We gave up on them. And for dessert, coconut cream pie and peanut butter pie. It was an amazing pile of food and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. After dinner, Uncle Chris did the dishes and I took a nap. The adrenaline rush was over and I went down hard. Unfortunately that meant that I wasn't the least bit sleepy until about 3am yesterday. Dang it! The cycle continues...

HRH Princess Cutie Pops chooses a cookie.

2007-12-19T00:06:00.000-08:00

We finally made Princess Cutie Pops' cookies, Kellog's Chocolate Scotcheroos. Poor thing. She's been on me everyday, "When are we making my cookies, Mommy?" For whatever reason, hers was the last of the kids' choices. Lucky for me, they were a not-so-difficult take on Rice Krispy Treats. Not very Christmas-y but more special than the usual.

The Scotcheroos had one major difference compared to your standard Rice Krispy Treat. No marshmallows were harmed in the making of this bar cookie. The base was sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter. After adding the Rice Krispies, you spread melted chocolate and butterscotch chips over the top. Super simple recipe.

Warning: these babies are sweet. I gave the kids each a normal Rice Krispy Treat size (2"x2") and it was too much. They all said it was too sweet. Can you believe that? Too sweet for a kid? It's true. These are some sweet little treats. (I sure said "sweet" a lot in that paragraph, didn't I?)

Speaking of sweeties, isn't that little red head adorable? How can you look at that picture and not smile? Okay, sorry for falling headlong into "Mommy bragging." Continue doing what you were doing...

The Choice of Dodge

2007-12-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

If I am in a mood of rich, decadent desire, this is now my "turn-to" cookie. Dodge chose Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies for his Christmas cookie. Basically, it is chocolate cookie dough wrapped around a Rolo. When baked, the Rolo melts into a caramel filling for the cookie.

When asked how he would describe them, Dug said, "Oh my goodness! Those cookies are soooo good. They are one of the best cookies I've ever eaten!"

Grandma Teri called them, "Simply delicious!"

Here's Dodge's take on the process:
"It was fun to eat the cookies. They don't taste good. They taste delicious. My job was to peel the wrappers off the Rolo's, and I put the ingredients in for the cookie dough, Mommy put the Rolo's in the chocolate dough, I dipped them in sugar and put them on the pan. It was fun to make them. I want to make them again."

If you were to only add one more cookie to your baking arsenal, this is the recipe to add.

Scoochy's Cookies (say that three times fast)

2007-12-15T10:35:00.001-08:00

In the grand cookie experiment, Scoochy chose Molasses Sugar Cookies. The only real difference between these and gingersnaps is intensity. These are a little milder. Mild in spicy-ness, big in flavor.

Her choice was one of the most understated, but might be one of my favorites. Tank's peanut butter cup cookies were delicious but you needed milk, as in it was almost sweet torture to have nothing to wash down the richness. These you can walk by and pop one in your mouth and just enjoy. Milk is good with them, but not necessary.

Scoochy always surprises me by her mature taste. For her birthday last year she wanted "Almond Cake," which was more of an almond shortbread. Delicious, but not what you consider kid's birthday material. Molasses Sugar Cookies are an understated cookie with a spicy flavor that finds it home during Christmas. Of course, Scoochy would want it. What says Christmas more than nutmeg and cinnamon?

Tank's Christmas Cookies

2007-12-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

In a fit of insanity I let each of my four babes pick a Christmas Cookie recipe to bake. I've never been a big cookie maker in general, less so during Christmas time, but for some reason I had the urge this year. Yesterday we made Tank's choice: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. Oh my goodness. If you like peanut butter cups, you'll love this one. Take a peanut butter cookie baked in a mini-muffin tin and squoosh a peanut butter cup in it immediately upon taking it out of the oven. Wait a few minutes for the cookie to firm up and the peanut butter cup to melt into a puddle of chocolatey-peanut buttery goo. Play a game in which you try to eat just one. Good luck!

Star Troopers...One night only!

2007-12-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

The kids wrote and composed a song this morning. They gave me a ticket that said, "2," meaning "two seats only," (One for me and one for Daddy.) and told me to come upstairs for "the show." At the base of the stairs they had taped a paper ribbon across the doorway. I handed them my ticket and they cut the ribbon with scissors. (very dramatic!) On the landing was the poster stating, "Star Troopers." Once in their room I was seated on a pile of blankets. The room had been decorated with yellow stars and hung on the wall was the lyrics to their song. They then started the show. I was so impressed I opened an account with YouTube just so I could upload the video for you all.

Here are the lyrics in case you can't understand them:

Do re mi oooh
Double bass to you
Stars are bright
In the night
Bears are mean
In the night
We like you
In the night
So do you
So good luck
L-U-C-K
L-U-C-K
L-U-C-K
Goodbye!

For the record, I have no idea where they came up with the lyrics or their name. Credit goes to their imaginations!!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2007-12-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas! On the last day of the term, our Home School Co-op threw a Christmas Party! We had lunch, played games, iced cookies and exchanged presents.

We played a game called, Right Left Story. Despite its unimaginative name, it was a lot of fun. Every kid was handed a present. I read a Christmas story about the Right Family, where every time I said the words "right" or "left," they were to hand their present to the person on their right or left. It was a good thing there were five mothers to keep things going smoothly or else I think some kids would have ended up with five presents while others had none. It got a little confusing to say the least, but the kids loved it. When the story finished, the kids opened the present they ended up with. I highly recommend this game.

The other part of the party that my kids loved was the present exchange. What kid wouldn't? The week before, all the kids were assigned someone for gift-giving. We, as mothers, decided that we would have a book exchange. So we went out and found books for our specific people. It was a great way to learn about new books because most people gifted ones they already knew to be good. Tank got an especially cute one titled, Animals should definitely not wear clothing. Scoochy received James and the Giant Peach, and coincidently just finished reading it tonight! I'm so proud of her, she's becoming such a great reader. Dodge's friend gave him The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. We had never seen the Tintin series before and Dodge just ate it up. He had the entire story read by the next day. I love it when we discover things like that right before Christmas! Princess Cutie Pops was the most difficult little sweetheart at The Book Bin. In trying to find a book for her friend, she would turn up her nose at everything offered to her. "I want a princess book for Bella!" We scoured that little store, searching for anything that might possibly look princess-y. Finally, in the "mini-books" section we found this cute little hardback named, Knights are Brave. It had two or three little stories about knights but there were princesses in them. We read it through and she finally agreed. Now here's the kicker, when she opened her present from Bella, she found a book called Princesses are Pretty. The is a book from the same series as the Knights are Brave book! Bella and Princess Cutie Pops were so excited. They had "matching" books. (When I saw Princess Cutie Pops' gift, I thought Bella might be upset that she got a "boy" book. You can imagine my relief when they just rejoiced in their camaraderie!)
Here's the whole group with their books. I love it that we came home with great books instead of toys. Toys typically last a season, but good books last a lifetime. I still enjoy reading well-written children's books. You gotta love a gift that lasts longer than the ride home...

Balved and Beautiful.

2007-12-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

We had haircut day at our house a couple days ago. Gave Dodge the usual, the girls both needed the "growing hair out" trim, and then it was Tank's turn.

"I want to be balved like Uncle Chris."

'Balved' is 'bald', mispronounced, and has become a part of our family's lexicon. You know, like 'poinked'.

Uncle Chris, my brother, shaves his head. Both boys and one girl (Princess Cutie Pops) have now asked for the "Uncle Chris Special." (We only obliged the boys though, much to Princess Cutie Pops' dismay.) In general, we are very lax about hair here. Dug and Dodge have both had blue and we've chopped the girls' into very cute, very short styles. Our philosophy is, "It'll always grow back." So with that in mind, when Tank asked to be balved, I heartily agreed. A few minutes later and this was the result:
Tank and his inspiration. Uncle Chris is very excited about posing for the picture, as indicated by the uprolled eyes.

What's your vantage point?

2007-12-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

Whenever Dug or I are doing anything on the computer, Tank will inevitably climb up behind us on the chair. It is his favorite spot probably because it gives him the best view possible while keeping himself out of the way of his siblings. They are all vying for the two spots on either side of the computer chair. Tank decided to take advantage of his small stature, which for his part was a very wise move. Now, without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, a series entitled, "Boy In Perch."

one more gone...

2007-12-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

The picture alone would be enough for you to know what's recently occurred. But for the sake of those who can't figure it out, I'll be blunt. Scoochy lost one of her two front teeth! She's pretty excited. All except that the tooth fairy hasn't visited in four days! At first I told her it was because it is very cold outside and the tooth fairy has very delicate wings. The next night she didn't come by either. I thought maybe as she flew by she didn't recognize the paper towel as anything but garbage. So Scoochy wrote a note explaining that her tooth was inside. Now the next two nights we don't really have an explanation. Maybe since Mommy and Daddy are up so late, the tooth fairy is too scared to come in. I'm pretty sure that tonight's the night though. I have it on good authority that no matter what, that fairy will be here. I even set an alarm so I could go and make sure that all was well and ready for her to come. She better, because I don't think I could handle one more morning of Scoochy's disappointment.

A Story by Tank, as told to Tricia.

2007-11-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a big wolf jumping in the water and it didn't die. It float. And the wolf was poinking people. And him flied and flied and him didn't fall. And him the wolf poinked the computer. He hit the computer with a growly voice. He chopped and made food. And him eat his food and him get candy. And him tummy full. And him jumped out of the window and him got on the counter and tried to get his phone number. And him go to Applebee's. And him got drums. He punched and his pillow got broken. He said, "Gawbookuh!" And him freaked out. The End

(note from Tricia: "poink" in our family is a hybridization of the words "poke" and "point". For example, a porcupine is covered with poinkies or "be careful with that pencil, you almost poinked me.")

If only we all were so honest...

2007-11-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes my kids can totally surprise me. Well, actually they totally surprise me with messes, destruction and inappropriate comments and questions all the time. Let me rephrase.

Sometimes my kids act in such sweet and/or responsible ways that I am completely amazed. (Much better and more accurate) Last night it was Scoochy.

Dug and I were on our respective computers doing computery things when Scoochy came down the stairs in a heap of tears. She's a very sensitive one, prone to overreact, and I have to be careful not to trivialize how she responds to situations. I wasn't careful last night. As she walked up to me I immediately sent her to her dad. (I'll be honest, I didn't want to deal with her.) After some hard to understand sentences, (You know how it is when you're crying. Your voice is a few octaves higher and there are irregular breathing gasps sprinkled throughout.) Dug asked what she thought should happen, Scoochy responded with more tear-filled, unintelligible words. I was over at the dining room table hearing just enough to pique my curiosity and paying just enough attention to not know what was going on. Dug called me over.

Dug: Scoochy has something she wants to tell you.

Scoochy: Mommy, I've been lying about something for a very long time.

Me: What is it, sweetie?

Scoochy: I've been stealing lots of candy for a long time.

Me: Where from? (Thoughts of under-floorboard hoards filled with hundreds of candy bars, the work of months of shoplifting, fill my mind. Should we return them? throw them away? eat them? My mind is reeling as I look at my little criminal. Is this how it's going to be now? Dug and I nervously looking at each other whenever a police siren passes?)

Scoochy: From the candy bowl. (I let out a sigh, releasing the stress only a parent whose child has been acquitted could understand.) Do you remember Dodge's gummy worms? The ones that Tank got in trouble for eating? I ate them. I snuck into the candy bowl and ate lots of candy. I just need to tell you. I don't want to lie anymore.

Dug: I asked her what she thinks should happen now. What do you think, Scoochy?

Scoochy: No more sweets or dessert until Christmas. (Ouch.)

Me: Wow! That's a punishment. (I was just about to suggest a lighter sentence when Dug spoke up.)

Dug: Okay, no sweets or desserts until Christmas. (Dads...without them our kids would be wussies.)

Then, Dug and I helped Scoochy ask God for forgiveness and strength to do the right thing in the future. Can you believe it? Her little heart couldn't take it anymore. She had to come clean. When our kids respond to their guilt in such a contrite and humble manner, it amazes me. It becomes one of those moments where they become the teachers and, if we are wise and let ourselves, we become the students.

Scoochy can read really well now. She just walked in a few minutes ago and started reading what I had typed. At first she didn't want me to share this story with you. But when I told her that people would think highly of her for being honest and making the right choice, she gave me permission. I don't think it would be so easy for me to lay out my mistakes for all to see, even if it did end with a good final decision. Ahhh...chalk one more up for children.

Beware the curious Tank

2007-11-20T00:28:00.000-08:00

I was going to the bathroom today when Tank walked in. (What mother gets to pee by herself anyway?) He looked at me and pointed to my stomach, which just happens to have a wee bit of flab left over from my pregnancy with him and sitting on a toilet is such an advantageous position.

Tank: What's that Mommy?
Me: That's my tummy, Tank. (pppbbbbttt...you can hear my ego deflating.)
Tank: No, Mommy, what's that? (pointing to my tummy roll, yet again.)
Me: It's my stomach. (ssssssssss...ego deflation is now complete.)
Tank: Oh. (He walks up to me, lifts the back of my shirt and stares intensely at my back.) Where's your horn?

What?! My horn?! Who or what does he think I am? Dug was in his office which just happens to be right next to the bathroom. He overheard the whole thing and by that time was at the door laughing and trying to escort Tank out of my reach. Wise move on Daddy's part.

Later, I was talking to Tank and trying get him to explain what he meant, but by that time he had forgotten the whole episode. Argh! Three year olds. Tell them they can have candy when they get home and the mind is a steel trap. But have them recall a conversation from five minutes ago...nada.

Oh well, maybe it's best I don't know...best for Tank, that is.

Scoochy and her cats

2007-11-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

i have a little cat and a momcat. the babycat has brown spots. the momycat is wite. i like my cats. my cats are 3 and 25 and make shuer your age is not 200. the end

Words from Princess Cutie Pops (as dictated to Tricia)

2007-11-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

I got lots of candy at Halloween. I wonder how you are doing, Nana. I wonder how you're doing, Poppa. I like my pegasus. It's a purple pegasus. It's a stuffed animal. It looks like a normal pegasus. I like it. I got it for my birthday. Andrea gave it to me. I like to play with my pegasus. I make her real-life by playing with it.

I like Pancake. I got her from Alaska. She's a doll. She has a face that's as round as a pancake. I like playing with my doll, Pancake. I have a ducky. I named my ducky, Josh. My ducky's white with an orange beak and orange legs. And I have a pig. It has a heart and it has rainbow colors on it. I have a heart on my pig. I named it Piggy.

And I have a kangaroo. I love my kangaroo so much. I got my kangaroo from Aunt Bev.

All aboard! To the Home Depot! toot, toot

2007-11-17T02:10:00.000-08:00

We went to Home Depot tonight. We're starting work on fixing the bathroom. Hooray! As we were driving into the parking lot, the kids asked us why we were there. We explained that we wanted to look at bathtubs and sinks. Scoochy chimed in.

Scoochy: Dad, I was watching TV today.
Dad: What did you watch?
Scoochy: Well, it's a good thing we're coming here, because at Home Depot, they have everything you need.

Folks, that's why marketing firms get paid the big bucks.

Clean up on aisle seven!

2007-11-16T23:16:00.001-08:00

I hadn't been grocery shopping in over two weeks and, considering that I usually go every week, I had an enormous list. After getting up late, proctoring homeschool, eating lunch and finishing the shopping list, we got going at the bright and early time of 2:45pm. Perfect timing on my part: just long enough after lunch that everyone is hungry and at that magical hour of the day that even though no one is a nap-taker, we're all on the downward side of the energy mountain.

So, off we go to Winco. As you come in to the huge store, you are lead to your right, through the "Aisle of Wonders." Seasonal items at amazing discounts flank you at both sides. If you continue straight ahead, right before you hit the far wall of the produce section you can see the little Odwalla refrigerator. On occasion, if we are hungry or I'm just a little tired or both as we were today, we stop and pick a treat from the delicious assortment of nourishing beverages. Today we had a unanimous decision of Blueberry. (From experience: If any group of children votes unanimously on any given choice, do not ask any other questions. And do not, under any circumstances, ask "Are you sure?") I said, "Okay. Blueberry B Monster it is."

If an Odwalla beverage is purchased, we have a rule that you must begin drinking it immediately. So, I unscrewed the lid, took a drink (another rule: Mom goes first.) and then gave everyone a turn. Every so often throughout the store someone will say, "I'm thirsty." That is the signal for an Odwalla break.

We were walking westward down aisle seven. We call that the "Soup & Beans" aisle. I had stopped to grab a can of pintos when Princess Cutie Pops whined, "I'm hungry." That is a secondary signal for an Odwalla break. I handed Princess Cutie Pops the bottle, noticing that it was almost empty. "Don't drink too much, sweetie, it's almost gone." She started drinking. After what I thought was long enough, I took it and gave the bottle to Scoochy. She took a small drink then held it out to Tank. For some reason I turned at that moment to grab the aforementioned beans. Why I turned then, I'm not sure. But turn I did. I casually grabbed the beans and as I looked around back at Tank, he brought the bottle to his lips and lifted it completely vertical. The last of the Blueberry B Monster poured down his cheeks, onto his sweatshirt and dripped onto the floor. I had one can of pinto beans in each hand and it happend so fast that even if my hands were empty I'm still not sure I could have prevented the mess.

I put the cans into the cart and knelt down beside Tank, unsure what to do next. A woman who looked like she understood said, "Too bad you don't have a camera." (Had she read my post?) But I did have one. Since I've started blogging, I keep my brother's camera in my purse. (We're currently without one since I broke ours. Who knew Canon didn't make cameras strong enough to handle three falls onto concrete?) So I took a couple pictures then collected my thoughts. I sent Dodge to find an employee with a turquoise apron on and tell them what happened. While he was gone I licked, yes you read that right, licked Tank's face and hands clean of the B Monster. What else could I do? I didn't have any napkins or tissues or anything. My only fear was that someone would think he had puked and see me cleaning him like a mother cat. Luckily, I was done before the employee got there. The mess on the floor was really nothing. He ended up using paper towels to clean it. (If only I had been patient!)

Dodge was really sad that he didn't get any more B Monster. I told him he could suck it off his brother's sweatshirt, but he didn't consider that an option. "Well," I told him, "That's your loss." I turned, grabbed the cart and we kept shopping as if nothing had happened. Because, when you live with us, it really is nothing.

Chopstick Masters

2007-11-12T20:25:00.001-08:00

Saturday evening the fam and our friend Trenton went to Mio Sushi on Hawthorne in Portland. Dug and I have decided not to be the kind of parents that only do the fun stuff when our kids aren't around. We had the kids in Portland, sushi was calling, we answered! Since we make it at home at least once a month, it wasn't that different for the kids, anyway. We have chopsticks at home that we use almost everytime we eat anything Asian so the kids have had a bit of practice. Mio Sushi makes "starter" chopsticks for the kids with rubberbands and scraps of paper. They loved it.

Dodge, throwing down a piece of that Terriyaki chicken. Don't you love those bento boxes the kids meals came in? The meal was huge. Rice, salad, chicken and two california rolls. Luckily, we bought only two for the four to share.

Tank didn't want to mess with no "baby" chopsticks. He wanted to eat like a man. So he ripped off the rubberband and pretty much stuffed his face with his hands.

Last, we have Scoochy. She's delicately eating some chicken. Don't let her demeanor fool you though. That little bowl of soy sauce in the middle has wasabi in it. Yep, she's our spice child.

Princess Cutie Pops somehow was missed in every picture. Still not sure how that happened. But, it all evens out. She got her own post yesterday.

The havoc of Princess Cutie Pops

2007-11-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

One of the things I've learned in my eight years of mothering is to postpone my direct interaction with my children when they have some sort of calamitous mishap that results in destruction of property or an ungodly mess. To delay my reaction and cool the fire that has ignited within my brain, I take pictures. Before I clean up, discipline or anything, I grab the camera and click away. Let me rephrase that. Before I clean up, discipline or anything I try to grab the camera and click away. Somedays are more successful than others. The great thing is I have evidence. Lots of evidence. Unfortunately, one child more than the others is involved with these fiascos. More often than not, she is the sole perpetrator. So for your viewing pleasure, here is a small sample of the wanton destruction that is Princess Cutie Pops.

First off we have what appears to be only a slight mess. When looked at close though, we see a great deal more. The most obvious is the opened raisin container in front of her. She has happily eaten almost every last one, except for the few that fell onto the floor. Speaking of the floor, she has found the hugely enormous pixie stick that I had hidden from the kids after I had let them each have a little mouthful. Unfortunately it has all dumped out on the floor with the raisins. Pink, sugary powder. Do you know what a pain it is to clean up sugar powder? Get it wet and you have a sticky mess. Keep it dry and you can't get it all up. What you don't see at all, though, is the bag of noodles that have been dumped out behind her. Ahhh, youth.

A simple yogurt container, in the hands of Princess Cutie Pops can turn into a weapon of sizable destruction. The only saving grace is that this happened in the kitchen and not on the carpet. Look at her, she's thinking, "Now, how did this happen?"

Next is somewhat my fault. The kids live in a loft-like room with a half wall that surrounds the staircase. I thought a plant would look nice there. Princess Cutie Pops had other ideas.

One bag of cornstarch + one red-headed girl = the picture at left. Cornstarch is even harder to clean up than pink pixie candy dust. Use water and it turns into a cementy paste, sweep and your entire room is dusted with white powder.

What do mung beans, ground black pepper and jasmine rice all have in common? They make an excellent medium for drawing designs on the kitchen floor. I count my blessings though. They are much easier to clean up than cornstarch or pixie powder.

And now for the piece de Resistance. It has been a few years since this masterful desecration, and yet the feelings of nausea and disbelief still accompany my viewing of this picture. I won't tell you what it is exactly, but I'll give you some hints. It is readily available at regular intervals throughout the day. It has a distinctive odor. It is something that you never imagine you will have to clean off your walls before you have children.

That's it. A window into the unbelievable abilities of Princess Cutie Pops. If you want to have the little sweetie in your life, it comes with these "extras." But in the end, I can tell you it's worth it.

"Let's go to school to get some knowledge!"

2007-11-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

The above quote from Finding Nemo's Marlin sums up our sentiments for our home school science co-op.

Both public/private schools and home schooling have their pros and cons. Home schooling lacks "organized" field trips (although we take tons of "unofficial" field trips every month), learning the protocols of a classroom setting, and other things like plays and public speaking. Public/private schools lack, among other things, flexibility, custom teaching for specific learning styles and the ability to let a child discover the subjects they are passionate about and pursue them as long as they desire.

Since we are home schooling, we found a co-op of other families would handle both the difficult things to incorporate into our home schooling situation all the while maintaining the benefits of teaching our own kids.

These are snapshots of our classes this last week. In the top two Dodge and Scoochy are making clay models of the brain.

The third one shows Princess Cutie Pops' class getting its grub on. Brain cupcakes are the snack item for the day. Can you guess what we studied this week? (answer below)

In the final photo, Tank, ladies' man, escorts his adorable pink boot-clad friend throughout the building. They walked, hand-in-hand, for at least 15 minutes. Can I get an "awwwww"?

answer: the brain

Trick or Treat!

2007-11-02T00:05:00.001-07:00

Our Halloween ended up being a complete sugar success. (That is how you’re supposed to measure it, right?) We walked in a three-block radius and returned with four buckets brimming. (One of the few things that is great about living in a high density housing zone.)

Here’s the lineup:
First up, we've got Dodge the Panther. I spent all my creativity sewing the costumes. There was none left for the makeup. That and I forgot to buy little crayon sticks. Oh well. He was still happy.

Next, we have Scoochy the Japanese girl. She told me she wanted to wear a "pretty dress that wraps around and make my face all white." In all honesty, she's a geisha, but I feel much better saying my six year old dressed as a Japanese girl. Oh, brag time here, I made that kimono out of two scraps of fabric. If you know how much I sew, you will understand how Jesus himself must have came down from the Right Hand and helped me.

No, that is not a wig. Princess Cutie Pops wanted her hair to be purple. Unfortunately the spray color was either mislabeled or the labeler is color-blind. Either way she was happy. So for the night Princess Cutie Pops really was a princess!

Last but not least, Tank wanted to be Yoda. The picture sucks, sorry. But he actually has little green ears that looked pretty good for cardstock cutouts. I also made his coat out of a single kitchen towel. The picture really doesn’t do him justice. Everyone we met knew he was the little Jedi. While we were walking our neighborhood Tank would randomly say, “Mom, don’t let any guys touch my face.” or “Mom, make sure the guys don’t touch my coat.” Whoever "the guys" were, he was very protective of his makeup and coat.

Problem Solving Tank-style

2007-11-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Warning: The following post contains remarks about the male anatomy (through the mouth of a three year old).

We currently only have one bathroom. We gutted our main bathroom because of water issues and for various reasons we haven't fixed it yet. That means that in our 2-story house, the only working toilet is in the basement. For seven people.

Tank, the youngest member of our mob, therefore has his own private potty chair that sits in the dining room. Easy access prevents accidents. At least that's the theory. The following conversation transpired during one of his "#2 sessions."

Tank: Mommy, are these my balls? (investigating and grabbing his body in a way that would make a grown man wince)
Mommy: Yes, Tank. Those are your balls.
Tank: Can I get them out? (continuing the investigation)
Mommy: No, sweetie. They have to stay in there.
Tank: *pauses* I know! (looks up at me) I can get them out through my penis!

Now that's creativity! That's problem-solving! That's looking at a situation and seeing the possibilities! Unfortunately that doesn't solve his problem today. But I like to think of it as a glimpse into the future as to what type of man he's going to be. The world may tell him "no," but he won't accept it. He'll find a way.

Now, if he can only survive himself until then.

Dodge and Scoochy prove themselves

2007-10-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

The oldest two of the family have now shown what they are capable of. Last night I was sewing a kimono for Scoochy. She wants to be a japanese girl for Halloween. It was getting close to dinner and my alarm went off. (I have a "Start Making Dinner" alarm programmed on my phone.) I was about an hour away from finishing. Which, if you sew, isn't that much more to go.

We make pizza in our house about once a week. While I make the dough, Scoochy makes the pizza sauce. She's quite the cook and so I decided to test her. I called her and Dodge in.

Mom: Can you make pizza tonight?
Dodge & Scoochy: Us? Really?
Mom: Yep. Dodge make the sauce and Scoochy, you make the dough.
Dodge & Scoochy: Us? Really?

They did great. By the time I finished with the kimono, all that was left was rolling out the dough and putting the toppings on. They had made the sauce, rose the dough, grated the cheese, readied the toppings and preheated the oven. My 6.5 and 8 year old babies are all grown up! (Well, maybe not *all* grown up.)

Here's to recognizing when your kids are ready for the next level!

Through the eyes of Dodge

2007-10-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Dodge loves taking pictures. Lots of pictures. Fortunately for us we live in the digital age or else it would be a fortune developing all that film. Here is a sampling of his viewpoint of the world.

First we have the kitchen vignette. Box grater, Annie's mac-n-cheese, ice cream maker. Dodge: "I thought it looked cool."

What sample of an artist's work would be complete without the self-portrait? Although it isn't the most flattering of pictures, it says something about his bold nature. Who else would take a photograph of themselves focusing mainly on their nose and mouth? To be honest though...Dodge: "I just took the picture I didn't know what it would look like."

The third picture is a screnshot of the game Eve. Dodge is quite the budding gamer and it is representative of one of his loves. Dodge: "That ship was really transform-y looking."

Fourth and final, a peek into the true heart. He saw this dog obediently staying in the back of the pick-up while its owner worked on our neighbor's landscaping. Dodge: "I just took a picture and the dog's head popped up."

Employment Frustrations

2007-10-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

So Princess Cutie Pops is trying to put the camera strap over her head, but the cord is too short. Obvious problem. She stops struggling with it, lays the camera back on the desk, then looks at me and says, "Why did you ever hire me?" What do I say in answer to that? I just gave her a hug and laughed.