game night

We had a pretty quiet weekend around here. Saturday night we played games with the boys. Games with a four year old and two year old can be a bit tedious. Of course interspersed with the torturous monotony there are moments of hilarity, but generally speaking the pleasure is all theirs.

Halfway through the first round of Candyland Richard suggested that we rig the cards. Those who have played know the frustration that comes with drawing the gingerbread card when you are within reach of Candy Castle. He said that if we rigged them once and never shuffled we would be free of such bad luck. But I insisted that we play honestly. On principle.

We feel bad about our impatience with our two year old who still can't quite identify colors and our four year old who has a trouble following the sequence of the rainbow trail. Combine those factors with their short attention spans and it is a disaster for the nerves. Can any other parents relate?

By the time we got to Cootie I was willing to compromise a little on the rules for the sake of expediency. Eli was getting bored.

Yeah, that's right. It was for Eli's sake.

if only I were that clever

The other day when I titled my post something about Big Bird I seemed to have misled some readers. If only I were that clever to introduce my pregnant self as Big Bird. I AM a big Bird these days. After seeing this expectant Jersey cow at the fair I decided I would quit saying I feel like a cow. She looked so huge and miserable. I've got it easy compared to her. Seven pounds? Bring it on. Her offspring will likely weigh more than my four year old.

domesticity gone trendy?

Harvest time has hit the blog universe. I saw that everyone was freezing corn and decided I had to do it too. Is it just me or are these domestic pursuits (canning, gardening, knitting) making a comeback? Maybe we can blame it on "these tough economic times" or maybe stay-at-homers are looking for better ways to spend their time and relieve the guilt associated with our facebook addictions. In any case, I find these pursuits very gratifying for many reasons.

One reason being that I've read research that concludes that children involved in the production of their food are much more likely to eat it. (Particularly helpful in the vegetable category.) So I had the boys help me husk the corn.

Another reason is that the flavor of homegrown produce has a superior quality, even after freezing or canning. And without the preservatives, BONUS.

I was lucky to get a great deal on this corn, making it an economical blessing as well.

And then of course I've said over and over that hard work pays dividends in the form of self-worth. And hard work it was! I was feeling pretty good about myself when my head hit the pillow.

smorgasbord

It's that time again. Time for wranglers and Pronto Pups. Time for smelly petting zoos and scantily dressed women. We did however, manage to avoid the cigarette smoke and drunken fools by attending the fair on "Family Night". I love the fair. I love that rich and poor and folks from all walks of life can all enjoy a funnel cake just the same. And I boy do I love me some funnel cake.

This year I wised up and bought tickets online in advance so that we could afford to let the boys ride the rides without dipping into our retirement.

What my last post lacked in pictures I will compensate for in this post.

When I was pregnant with Cameron we lived in Pocatello and we went to the Eastern Idaho Fair. I emptied Richard's wallet by eating everything my heart (and tongue) desired. He commented that he would never take a pregnant lady to the fair again.

Clearly I've persuaded him otherwise. Perhaps because with our third child he has learned "What pregnant lady wants, pregnant lady gets." What did I want this go around? Hawaiian teryaki chicken, french fries, lemonade, caramel apple, funnel cake and ice cream potato.

returned from the hills

I borrowed this picture from my mother-in-law.

We spent three days camping over the weekend. It was great. I forgot my camera. I had mixed feelings of being frustrated not being able to capture moments by photograph and being relieved to not worry about capturing the moments. Here's my top 10 favorite things about the trip.

10. Starry nights and sunny days.
9. Hours of swimming with the little guys.
8. The softball sized bullfrog that would hop around the campground at night.
7. Night swimming. (Yes, I realized during that it probably wasn't safe.)
6. Devoting a couple late night hours to speculating about the national guard helicopter doing spotlight searches and the Sheriff's boat doing "random patrols" around the lake. We were sure they were looking for either a dead body or an escaped convict. Neither, it turns out.
5. Having a major comeback playing Ticket to Ride with Richard. (Or just playing a dozen games of TTR with Richard. The winning was a bonus.)
4. Dutch oven cooking.
3. Feeling like the stalls in the marina restroom were swaying after spending so much time on the boat.
2. Watching Richard, in his element, on the waterski.
1. Of course, just watching pure delight on the boys's faces as they expolored, played, and swam.

And now I bring you: BIG BIRD

It's random sometimes the things that delight children. This month for our card swap the theme was kid's birthday and so I made a card featuring characters from Sesame Street. Cameron loved them and all while I was working on the cards he asked if he could have one. So when I finished I made a set for him and for Eli and glued them to popsicle sticks. (I love it when my pack-rat habit of saving things like popsicles sticks is justified!)

Althought I think Sesame Street beats Caillou and Dragon Tales in cleverness and humor by a landslide, it isn't exactly Cameron's favorite. He was familiar with Elmo (thanks to consumerism) but the other three were new to him. So I put the boys on my lap and we watched Oscar the Grouch sing about trash and "C is for Cookie" featuring the Cookie Monster himself on YouTube.

I just love YouTube. For many reasons. But today I loved it that I could introduce the boys to some of childhood's timeless characters with the click of a mouse.

blame it on the times

During the week away with my family my brother blamed all things gone wrong on "these tough economic times". While I don't mean to be insensitive to the issue, I have become a little irritated with the way the media has exploited the situation. But it seems "these tough economic times" have turned even Eli into a penny-pincher. You'll notice, if you look closely, a dime inside the envelope. He wripped the envelope to pieces trying to get the "key" out. ("Key" is his term for money.)

Who sends money in the mail? The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society does - amongst other charitable foundations. I donated once, and it used to be that they could guilt me into more donations by mailing me personalized return address labels with pumpkins or lilacs on them. They are always seasonal and how they expect me to go through 50 scarecrow labels in the appropriate time period for scarecrows is beyond me.

But now they have upped the ante. Apparently people were okay with accepting free labels without donating. They started with a nickel, but now they are sending a dime in the envelope with the labels. I suppose it is meant to make you feel as though you are stealing $0.10 from this noble organization if you don't return the dime along with your donation.

For someone as prone to guilt as I, I am surprised it hasn't worked. Must be "these tough economic times".

Oh well. Eli has saved about $0.35 now. That's more than enough to ride the mechanical horse at the local grocery store.

warnings

Yesterday while making my second stop at the gas station in one hour (a story for another post) I noticed this:

Gasoline Health Warning:
Do not siphon gasoline by mouth.

I usually assume that these warnings are posted as the result of a lawsuit, where someone did something stupid and found a way to pass the blame and make a small fortune in the process.
But I was sure that no one out there would do something that ridiculous.

I was discussing it with Richard and my in-laws and they informed me that, in fact, people have and possibly continue to do such a thing.

Wow.

friendship

Much can be said about friendship, but here of some of my thoughts of late. Sunday one of the speakers in church talked about the importance of friends and tenderly expressed his appreciation for his best friend, his wife. I was touched. On Monday I was discussing with a co-worker my excitement about having a daughter. I said

"I am scared to death about raising a girl, but I just want a daughter to be my friend when we are adults together."

I hadn't meant to make this woman feel bad, she is the mother of two boys, and I didn't. She simply commented that her husband has always been her shopping companion and loyal coffee shop company.

Make no mistake about it, Richard is my best friend. This week while he has been away I have particularly noticed his absence. Which is what makes me especially grateful for my friends who pop up here and there to keep me going. They offer to help, they spend lonely evenings with me, and they help me keep perspective.

Last night I hosted a presidency meeting. The meetings at my house have a reputation for lasting late into the night. Long after we have discussed the calendar and the positions we need filled we discuss every other unrelated subject. Our theme for last night was especially humorous. It left me laughing the kind of belly-laugh that invigorates my soul. Not only that, but it made me feel unified with other women. We all have so much more in common than we realize.

I'm so glad for friends. I don't need any research or science to tell me how important friendship is to my general well-being. I just feel it.

scripture power

The neighbor boys brought over a couple spidey chairs that they had either tired of or grown out of. Cameron and Eli were thrilled. I told them they were perfect for sitting on and reading. (I get my reading plugs in where I can.)

I had a moment of self-righteous glee when I discovered that their choice of reading material was the Book of Mormon. It was Tuesday and Cameron has become especially interested in his scriptures on Tuesdays when the JW's come because he sees us read from the Bible. Last week I felt a little awkward when he grabbed his Book of Mormon, sat next to me on the couch and opened it up as though he intended to participate in our discussion. But in their usual kindness, they just smiled and encouraged his interest in scriptures.

I love the way Eli crosses his ankles like that!

After perusing the few pictures in the book, Cameron brought his book to me and asked about this picture.

I told him that it was Moroni burying the plates. He asked "For the people to eat on?" Thank Heavens no one served any meals on those plates.

meal time

The other day I had an insight. Eli is a very messy eater and I was particularly frustrated with this problem one day when a voice said to me “Aren’t you his mother?”

Up to this point I had always just accepted that Eli’s terrible meal-time habits were just a part of him. That’s Eli, he’s just messy. It never occurred to me that I could instigate some sort of change in his behavior, and it certainly never occurred to me that as his mother I was responsible to do so.

So at lunchtime today I resolved to sit at the table with the boys during lunch and teach them manners. It went like this:

“Don’t eat until we say the prayer. Don’t put your fingers in your drink. Your food must stay on the plate. The plate must stay on the table. Don’t get up from your chair until you’ve been excused. Don’t wipe your face with your shirt. Please eat with your utensils and not your fingers. Don’t crumble your crackers. Don’t slurp your noodles.”

Then it dawned on me, the obvious truth. You can’t expect to teach children these things in one meal. The fact that Eli’s habits were more my fault than his became suddenly apparent to me. At breakfast time I usually feed them and then eat my breakfast alone so I can read. I typically fix their lunch and then eat mine in front of the computer. Dinner time is better, we usually eat as a family. But when Richard is out of town I sit at the table only long enough to finish my own meal and then proceed to the sink where the dishes await.

From now on, or at least until meal-time manners improve, it’s three meals a day at the kitchen table for the three of us. As juvenile as the conversations may be, I know quiet meals are just one of those things that I gave up when I decided to have children.

I know. It’s worth it.

bah! rain.

We were supposed to go camping over the weekend. Richard says I have "tunnel vision" when it comes to getaway plans like this. He had to delicately talk some reason into me after we realized that the forecast was calling for excessive rain. I was adamant that we could have fun in spite of the inclement weather, but I'm glad he persuaded me otherwise. It is a tribute to him, after these six years, that he could change my mind without making me [too] upset in my fragile state.

So Friday I did what any other woman would do under the circumstances.

(The circumstances being thus: In exchange for a week of weather much like what you would expect in Boise at the end of July, my brother and his wife in Seattle traded a weekend of weather much like what you would expect to see in Seattle. Cameron and I were disappointed to say the least about the change of weekend plans so we both needed a little cheering up. )

I went shopping. And I bought little girl things. And I loved it. But the problem with having two boys before having a girl is that they aren't enthusastic shoppers, especially for their "sister" who is still an abstract idea more than an actual being to them.

In addition to the "bubrella" that we carried in and out of stores Cameron & Eli's cheer came in the form of a Krispy Kreme doughnut; always sure to please. On our way out of Krispy Kreme, after carefully washing sugary faces and hands, an aged lady approached me and asked if she could give her extra doughnuts to the sweet little boys, one each. Sprinkles and all. I'm not sure if it was her excitement or the boys' that was impossible to resist, but Eli declared "That so nice" the entire drive home.

That's about how I felt about the weekend after avoiding a very rainy camping trip.

That so nice.

lassie it is!

I am so excited for pony-tails and painted nails.



I feel a little undeserving of a daughter. For years and years I boldly proclaimed that I only wanted male children. But I've repented of my foolish ways and I'm thrilled.


She was unashamedly cooperative in showing us what we needed to see to know she was a she. But for the sake of her dignity (and because I don't have a scanner) I won't post the immodest picture.


The news of a girl and the news that all her organs seem to be developing normally was enough to distract me from the fact that I completely forgot to put on make-up in my anxious state.


One more girl on the Hall side is going to make for a wild three-some of girl power.

Antonia (11 months)

Dorothea (three weeks)

better than nothing at all

I feel like this is an indication that I am a frequent, albeit messy, cook. I'm okay with that.




I had kind of a lame day yesterday. I completed nothing on my to-do list. Finally about 8:00pm I was feeling pretty badly about myself so I resorted to the one task that will always satisfy. Cleaning the drip-pans from the top of the stove is always slightly disgusting, therefore tremendously gratifying.

I find that a sense of satisfaction from accomplishing even a small task does great things for my self-worth.

summer lovin'... or lovin' summer?

The area where we live is surrounded by corn fields. Cameron has been commenting on the growth of the corn for the last few weeks.

"It's as tall as Eli!"

"It's as tall as Daddy!"

I can tell as I watch the gorgeous green stalks grow that summer is passing. Last year after Labor Day came and went I was haunted with pangs of regret for not getting out of the house and enjoying the opportunities provided by the hot sun. So this year I'm trying to take full advantage of all things water & swimming. The boys are completely on board.

Our sand-castle building equipment was high-tech.

that which we call a rose...

On the one hand, when it comes time to choose a name for my child I feel a great deal of pressure. You know, all those so-called "studies" about how a name can shape an individual. On the other hand, I don't buy into all that fuss and I feel like there are other aspects of bringing a child into the world that I ought to devote my attentions to.

This Thursday we find out the gender of our baby, assuming said baby cooperates. Richard doesn't understand why I bother discussing names before we know the gender. That's just like Richard, to be so practical. But pregnant women are not practical. I think about all things baby to pass the weeks, names especially.

I've developed a "Litmus Test", if you will, for baby names. My primary resource is the Social Security Administration website where they have compiled a database of the popularity of baby names, I assume based on applications for social security numbers each year. It is so convenient for mothers-to-be like myself and I find that I easily waste as much time on this site as I do on Facebook.

My rules are three-fold:

1. The name must not be in the top 100 baby names for the previous year. (This rule was not in practice when we named our first child.)
2. It must fall somewhere in the top 1000 names. I don't want my child's name to be too unusual.
3. It cannot have climbed more than 300 points in popularity over the past 10 years. (A sure sign he/she will have to attach the first letter of their last name throughout gradeschool to identify his/her-self.)

That leaves a great number of names for me to choose from. And yet, we still haven't chosen one. It doesn't help that, as I have mentioned many times, I am totally impaired when it comes to making decisions.

At least after Thursday I can eliminate 50% of my options.