I guess we're doing something right

About nine months out of the year I make my own maple syrup.  No tree tapping involved, just some basic ingredients and maple flavoring.  The other three months we usually have some "boughten" syrup left over from company or a hot deal.

When I went to make pancakes for the kids and I last Saturday morning, I realized the store syrup we had left wasn't going to be enough, so I went about making my own as I got the pancakes ready.
As we ate, Myka used the hot, new syrup while I finished up what was left of the Aunt Jamima.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and we all had our fill.  The kids went on playing when they were finished while I lingered at the table awhile and then eventually decided I needed to clean up the kitchen.  After putting the dishes away, I went over to pour the rest of the cooling syrup into the bottles, and noticed my vanilla and maple flavoring sitting on the counter next to the stove.

"Oh My!  Myka, did that syrup taste funny today?"
Turning toward me, a little sheepishly, "Yeah.  Why did it taste like that?"
"I forgot to add the flavoring!  Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't want to say your syrup tastes bad."
"What did it taste like?"
"Water."

I suppose, after years of going into strangers houses for meals and "the talk" beforehand about what to say and not say, she has learned to just keep her mouth shut and eat what was put in front of her.

Either that, or watery pancakes must not be too bad; she ate at least seven of them.

Problem Solver

Just to prove the 'ol blog isn't dead...

On the way to see Santa this morning, I did one last check of the kids' lists to make sure we were all on the same page.  Apparently, we weren't.  It went something like this...

Me: Myka, what are you going to ask Santa for?
Myka: Colored paper, tape, and Polly Pocket Dolls.  (more on that another time)
(pause)
Myka: and can I ask Santa for a puppy?
Me: Youuuuu can...
Kurt: (quickly) but he won't bring it since we already have a dog.
Myka: Oh.
Me: Eli, what are you going to ask for?
Eli: A drum because mine doesn't work and walkie talkies because I don't have that.
Me: Sounds like a good idea.
Eli: And I'm going to ask Santa to bring me a new mommy, that isn't allergic to cats.  So then we can get a cat.

Growing

In spite of the heat, our garden has been doing surprisingly well this summer.  After growing up with flowers, vegetables, plants, and apples (oh, the apples) all around me I figured if I hadn't gotten into it by now I never would.  I have horrible memories of picking raspberries and not being sure if the red dripping from my fingers was berry juice or my own blood.  And I know I tripped over and fell into the rose bushes at least twice.  Don't even get me started on picking up mushy apples.

But this house is where we have finally committed to a garden and we are all really enjoying it.

Last year we planted a pumpkin in the middle of our raised bed of tomatoes.  We quickly realized pumpkins need a little more space as it took over a third of our yard.  This year we dug up a bed all along the side and back of the house and planted three seeds from last years pumpkins (shhh, don't tell Monsanto) and did our best to turn them to where we wanted them to grow as they spread.  It worked out and we have a fun green border all around our back yard.  The first pumpkin started right in the corner behind the sunflower in the picture.

A couple of weeks ago, Kurt noticed some strange scratches in the side of the pumpkin.

We knew we had a rabbit living under the air conditioner, but were surprised to find he might have been brave enough to venture through the pumpkin patch.  We also considered that it might be Tetley, although we had no idea why he would care.

Then, about a week after that, we found three of these.

It turns out that mama rabbit had burrowed herself a hole UNDER our first pumpkin in the corner.  We didn't realize that's where the nest was until Kurt noticed that as the pumpkin grew rounder, it kept getting shorter as the rabbits moved out and the pumpkin fell in the hole.

Mama and at least one baby are still hopping around back there.  Tetley goes to look for them every time he is let outside.  I've stood and watched twice as Tetley sniffs around the AC unit and baby bunny hops out the other side and into the thicker leaves of the pumpkins. 

Tetley is a good dog, but he's no rabbit hunter.

*             *             *

The garden has turned Eli's life around as well.  Before this summer, he only ate apples or apple sauce, and occasionally purple grapes as far as fruit went.  Carrots were the only vegetable we could count on.  He had become more willing to try new things, but still never liked them enough to ask for anything again. 

But once the strawberries came in, this kid couldn't get enough.  And so I started mixing them with (store bought) blueberries, and he loved those, too.  Then watermelon, GREEN grapes, raspberries, and even blackberries.  And since the fruit was all tasting so good, he started trying new veggies.  And once the peas were ready, there was no stopping him.

We had measured him in May before we took a family trip to Adventureland to see what rides he was tall enough for, and he was right at 40 inches.  Between all of the healthy eating and the five separate nights of waking up screaming because of  "leg aches", I measured him again. 

This is a six week difference.

 It's an inch and a half.

I guess there is some truth to all those rumors about fruits and veggies after all.

*     *     *

Speaking of growing, I was able to help the Kindergartners plant sunflowers during a spring unit last year.  A couple weeks later Myka brought home her 8 inch stem in a plastic cup and I was pretty sure the experiment was over.  But since we had the room I thought I would see if the droopy thing would come to life in the yard.  The warm, wet spring did the trick and just yesterday the flower opened up at the top.  What a fun thing to watch grow! 

 *       *       *

While our green thumbs are turning greener by the year, don't count on any apple trees any time soon.  I "let" the kids help Grandma and Grandpa Edwards pick up apples in the yard last weekend and they didn't last long.  Somehow I still ended up picking up more than either of them. 

And they were still as mushy as I remember.



High Diver

We finishsed up our second round of summer swim lessons this morning.

Someone, who has never been described as "fearless", did this:

A sucker for a life lesson

Our library has a summer reading program where the kids can earn prizes each week for turning in book logs documenting all of the reading they have been doing over the summer.  It really is a nice program, as the prizes are not only trinkets from a box, but coupons for free kids meals at various (nice) restaurants, as well as treats from ice cream shops, candy stores, and the Auntie Annie's Pretzel Company in the mall.

Today, Myka had asked if she could use her coupon for her free pretzel and I figured with all of our coming and going we could work that out.  After a day of playing on the beach at Lake Michigan as well as swimming in our own backyard pool, I was regretting my earlier answer but stuck to my word and threw the kids in the car after supper for a quick trip (and treat) at the mall.

They each chose their pretzels, and while I suggested they just eat them in the car on the way home, they asked to sit on the edge of the planter in the center of the mall and eat. Since we were already there it wasn't that big of a deal so we did.  Myka was done in about four minutes.  Eli had taken about four bites.  I could write a whole post about how long it takes this kid to eat.  Let's just say, I have taken many afternoon naps at the table waiting for him to finish his lunch.

So after giving him ample time to finish, and before Myka got so antsy that she was jumping INTO the planter, he agreed to finish the rest of his treat in the car.  We made our way out there and as we got close I told him once he climbed in, I would help him buckle into his car seat so he could hold his pretzel without dropping it.  Since he always wants to do it himself, I wanted to give him a little time to adjust to the plan so as not to throw a fit and drop the thing on the ground anyway.  He agreed and slowly started climbing into the car.

Myka headed around to her side but as I waited for Eli to climb in (which also takes a LOOOONG time) I noticed she wasn't opening her door and I couldn't see her head.  I know I said, "climb in, honey," at least twice.  Then, just as I started to buckle Eli in, she came back around to where I was, saying, "MOM, THERE'S ANTS ALL OVER ME!"  I heard her before I saw her, and figured she stepped on some and they were on her feet.  As she got close, I saw that, indeed, there were a few on her feet.

"OK, honey, you just stepped on them."

"NO! THEY'RE IN MY DRESS!  THOUSANDS OF THEM!" and she pulled her dress from her chest and looked down, and then completely freaked out.  As I peered inside and saw what she had seen, my first thought was,

Oh no!  Her dress was on the deck while she swam and we just put it on to come to the mall.  The ants must have got in there then! 

I started to feel really terrible, even though I found it very strange that she hadn't noticed them until now.  I just couldn't think of any other way so many ants would have gotten into her dress so fast. I quickly walked her back around the car to help her get her sundress off once she got in.  As we rounded the back the car, I saw a perfectly in tact Blow Pop sucker in the wrapper lying by the car.   The next thought was,

Hmmmm.  I'm surprised she didn't pick that up.  It looks brand new.

As she climbed in the car, I looked down again while I waited for her to sit down.  I now noticed the Blow Pop was covered with ants, and there were many more on the ground around where it was laying.  It didn't take me more than three seconds to put it all together.  As I pulled her dress off I said, "Did you try to put the sucker in your dress?"

"No...Yeah."

There have been many times in the past where I have gone against good parenting advice to just let the situation do the teaching.  The teacher/mother/perfectionist in me always wants to re-explain why something was a poor choice, just in case it didn't get through the first time.  As I stood by my side of the car picking more than one hundred ants off of her dress so we could take it home, I giggled to myself about the fact that the conversation had ended right there. 

Those ants got the point across much better than I ever could, and all without saying a word.

Last Day

Trying to be sad about the last day of Kindergarten...

 But no hiding it once she got off the bus.

 Last day of 3 year old preschool, but he really has no idea. 

And he thinks he starts 4 year old preschool on June 22.

French Braid Fury

My parents were in town for a few different weekends this spring to help us Kurt with the basement project.  One of the weekends lined up with a mother-daughter event at church, so the ladies of the house got all fancied up and skipped happily off for a wonderful afternoon together.

Almost.

Except that, I tried out a new "do" for Myka's hair (which looked fabulous, by the way) that she ended up HATING.  And I don't mean that lightly.  We have been growing out her bangs since Christmas, so I have been having fun finding ways to keep them out of her eyes for school, including learning how to french braid.  So I made two french braids go around her head and meet in the back like she had on a little crown.  The hair above the braids was all included in the frenchness, the hair below hung down around her.

I'm not sure she had even seen how it looked before declaring it to be awful.  Apparently she was not used to all the pulling at the top of her head.  And it itched.  And it was too tight.  I did what I could to loosen it up and told her it's painful to be pretty.  She wasn't amused.  We tried to get some pictures before we left and this is how it started.

 Then we got her to at least look at the camera.

 And about 3 minutes later got a smile.

It did turn out to be a great time, once she figured out the braids weren't going anywhere and people started complimenting her on them.  It must be a pretty tough life when the thing that makes you feel like you, "wanna DIE" is that your hair is itchy.