Drawing our Dreams

Last night I made something interesting for dinner, sweet and spicy pulled pork burritos with a creamy buttermilk, garlic and cilantro dressing - kind of a knock off of what you may experience at Cafe' Rio. The kids liked it and ate a lot of it, the girls were even licking the dressing off their plates.

What's strange is this morning's breakfast conversation was full of the craziest images from last night's dreams. The kids described scenes of the sky full of bombs and balloons, Octopuses that squirted chocolate, swimming helicoptors, and children dressed up in gorilla suits at a resturant called Old MacDonald's Farm. I immediately thought of a snippet from one of my favoirte L.M. Montgomery books, The Story Girl.

"Peter and the Story Girl, so it appeared, had wooed wild dreams to their pillows by the simple device of eathing rich, indigestible things before they went to bed."

Maybe it was a result of our broken a/c or maybe it was the food. Either way the imagery described at the breakfast table inspired me to pull out some cardstock and colored pencils. I was curious of how they would interprete and illustrate such images from their subconcious and I also thought it would be fun to record their words on the back . To make it more exciting I let them use a box of Prisma color pencils from my art class. They are different from regular pencils in that they are soft and creamy and the colors seem to melt together - they are even vibrant on dark colored paper.

It is sometimes fun to try new mediums and the older boys especially enjoyed the change from regular crayons and markers. The pencils themselves however, are too expensive to be used unsupervised. In the past we have also experimented with acrylic paints, water color pencils, colored sharpees, and oil pastels. I just got the new ASW catalog and thought it might be fun to also try some watercolor crayons, plaster cloth, and a few of their interesting molding materials.

So here's to mixing strong flavors for dinner and experimenting with new art supplies. I'd be happy to post the pulled pork recipe for those who are interested and have their cardstock and colors ready - Enjoy!

p.s. My dream was really weird also. I was going through the high school hot lunch line and served a chocolate covered cinnamon baked baseball. I was enjoying this hot and gooey treat and wondering how I could get a hold of the recipe when I realized all my peers were staring at me because I was leaking milk through my shirt. But I attribute that to real stuff and not last night's dinner.

This is the way we do the Laundry

Monday is a big laundry day for us and the only way to get through it all is to wear the baby. Suz gave me (actually it was a trade for my miracle swaddling blanket) this new Moby wrap and I'm really liking it! I'm just getting the itch to hand dye it though. I like all of the several "wear your baby" contraptions but I tend to switch them around depending upon my activity or task as they each have their own pro's and con's.

Moby Pro's:
-It is very comfortable - probably the most comfortable of all
-You can wear the baby in several different positions
-It looks great - almost like an interesting fashion accessory

Moby Con's:
-It is too bulky to fit in your purse
-Bit complicated to figure out (it came with a booklet that I followed and had to practice it a few times before I felt comfortable)
-It is not as quick to put on and off

I didn't get into wearing my baby until had my second baby. With my first, I just held him and there was little need for multi-tasking. Since then however, there have been many instances where the baby was strapped securly to me and I have had to scoop up a toddler and carry them at the sametime. It doesn't sound that impressive but I am not the strongest creature so the baby gear definately helps. During one of these intances a neighbor stopped by to deliever a meal. After seeing how I handled two at once she shared a story about one of her pioneer ancestors who had several children close in age. It was recorded that she would use her apron as a sort of sling and would be able to complete her homemaking tasks with two babies somehow wrapped about her. I was thinking - Wow! and apron sling combination - how inventive, I may have to work on that in all my spare time......For now though I've got enough contraptions to get me through my day.

I like wearing my babies for more than just productivity of it. Here is why else:
-I like the smell of my babies heads
-It conceals the troubling post partum mid-section
-Keeps the babies happy (I suppose they feel secure)
-Gives the baby a good view of the world
-Keeps strangers from trying to touch your baby
-Adds resistance and burns more calories
-With all the choices of colors and styles it is just plain fun

I also think it is kind of cute when Daddy wears the babies.

Real Stuff

I'm so glad I did not grow up in the era of text messaging....if so I would not have had the pleasure of re-reading through this grab bag of love notes that Paul wrote to me back in high school. This was the prize after another long day of cleaning out and now I'm so giddy from reading through all the mush that I just don't know what will come of this post.

I had great plans for us on Paul's day off for Pioneer Day...cleaning out the "spider room". Actually it's our storage room but why it is called the spider room and why we had to clean it out is for another post. We followed Marie Rick's E.E.E. plan and decided it would be most effective to leave the kids entertained and locked in their room while 1."Everything was out" and being 2."Eliminated". It felt good to eliminate but still overwhelming to sort through the 3."Essential" that were to go back in. Our essentials that were left fell into the following catogories: food storage/utility supplies, office supplies/homeschool resources, and sentimental treasures.

Sentimental treasures are the most fun to sort through but hardest to weed out. I love the smell, the story, and memory they contain. I laid there on the carpet, for hours, surrounded with boxes and junk to be tossed, lost in the pages of these love notes just smiling and laughing. This is just what we needed to get through the rest of the project because Paul and I were both starting to get a bit irritable. Our original plan was to watch a movie later in the evening as a reward for all our hardwork....now we had something even better than a movie to enjoy - the zip lock full of teenaged love notes.

I'm just a bit nervous though because I too wrote him some mushy love notes but they are no where to be found! I'm also wondering how to I keep them and enjoy them for myself without allowing them to fall in the hands of posterity. I suppose this little bag could use some filtering.

Just not yet because I'm getting too much joy out of them. My cheeks and stomach are sore from all the rolling on the floor laughing, my voice is hoarse from trying to read out loud while fighting through the out bursts of laughter, and I just can't stop smiling. These little gems don't belong in the spider room - I think I'll keep them under my pillow instead. I could never get mad at Paul after re-reading through a few of them. Even in high school Paul had a very unique and entertaining writing style, when you add a bit of mush and taggled up teenage emotion it is enough to melt you. I suggested he take these notes and write a little screen play, a Disney sitcom, or even start a blog called "teenage love notes from Paul". Either way today I feel like the luckiest wife in the world. I sure had an amazing boyfriend in highschool but even greater husband now. Thanks for all the notes Paul and thank you also for spending the day helping me clean out the "Spider Room", maybe you could write me another mushy note sometime.

Dress-Up Closet

Before last weekend the storage space under our stairs was full of all sorts of junk! I've been cleaning out and decided to tackle this closet which seemed to be a holding zone for things I just didn't know what to do with. There were several boxes of Christmas and Holiday decorations, baby gear that I forgot to use and pull out for the last two babies, loose luggage, Paul's old baseball cards, and a box of random stuff from college. We put the luggage up on hooks in our utility room, down sized my holiday decorations to 3 boxes, gave away the baby gear I haven't used in years, pulled out a few treasures from the college box then threw out the rest, put a few of Paul's baseball trophies up on our mantel (the boys love them) and I'm still waiting for Paul to find a spot for his box of baseball cards. Cleaning out is invigortating! It helps me think a bit more clearly, breathe a bit more deeply, and enjoy the real things in my life - my family. It also keeps my spending and accumulating in check. The last thing I want to do after cleaning out a closet is buy something.

So here is our new "dress-up closet"....the whole space which wraps around and goes under the steps is dedicated to the kids and their imaginations. Where the ceiling gets low Peter named "the fort" and he has set up a pillow and blanket to relax there. The front half which is more accesible is lined with hooks on both sides with a mirror mounted horizontally just above the hat hooks. There is also a vertical mirror mounted on the inside of the door. At the back of our closet there are several buckets full of accessories such as shoes, weapons, googles and whatever else won't fit on our hooks. We also have a few empty suitcases that the kids like to use on their "adventures".

Dress-up is fun - even for boys. In fact, the majority of our dress up was collected before we had our girls. Most of the items have been picked up at garage sales, handmade, or given to us from others.

Here are some of our favorites:
2 sets of boxing gloves
Michigan football helmet and uniform
Astronaut suit
Chef hat and apron
Old wooden cane
Orca suit
Knight's armor
Davey Crocket hat

In the spirit of Pioneer Day today Clara is sporting an old bonnet my Dad bought me as a child visiting Lancaster, PA and an apron made by my great grandma. She is also holding a toy blood pressure meter. It is fun to see the combos they come up with and even more fun to ease drop on their play.

Going Even Shorter

I got my hair cut....even shorter this time. I don't know if I've ever had it this short before but its fun. I needed to see something thin on my body and I chose my neck. It's just hair - and will grow back if I let it, but not until the other parts of my body feel thin again.

Archie (our dog) kept barking at me because he didn't recognize me..... James said to me "it is so fluffy -is that what one might call an afro"? Paul said "I'm not going to say it" but he didn't need to say even that because I could read his mind - I do kind of look like I'm from Utah now. The other kids haven't said much about it but have enjoyed rubbing their hands over the small portion that was shaved at the back of my neck.

Actually I do remember I got my hair cut this short shortly after my sister Julie passed away. I promised her that after her last round of chemo and her hair was growing out that I'd chop my hair just as short as her and we would have fun waiting for our hair to grow back together. She never made it through additional treatments so I guess me chopping my hair was a coping mechanism. Perhaps I'm doing that now....messy house, lack of sleep, chubby body - I needed to control something and it was my hair. Either way, it is a fresh variation from the old standard- a pony tail.

Behind me you may notice some of the happier clutter that fills my life, its in our art room/office and itsa favorite spot for the kids. I will blog about it another time because I too love this room.

How to get to church on time

Growing up my sisters Cheryl and Emily got us 7 younger girls ready for church each Sunday. They would spend time searching the house for matching socks, tights and bows then lay them out with our neatly ironed dresses the night before. I think they still do it with their own children - or maybe they've trained their oldest daughters to help out just as they use to. Either way evening preparation is a great idea. Saturday really is a "special day" when you've got 6+ kids and church starts at 9:00 am.

So here's hoping we can make it there on time with no surprising hold ups. Here are a few from the past:

-Trying to find parking on Broad St. in Philadelphia on the day of the Mummers parade

-All the kids dressed bathed and ready to go but just as we were loading the car Peter, who at the time was just 2, got into a jar of Nutella

-We were getting kids into the car but couldn't find William (he was 4), I searched the house, Paul was looking up and down the street. I was so nervous for the 10 minutes he was missing. We spotted him in the other car all buckled up ready to go just waiting for the rest of us.

-Not too long ago I gave Peter the treat of having the bath all to himself. The girls were pulled out and dressed while Peter played. I turned my back for a minute and there was Maryanna all dressed and climbing into the tub.

I don't know why it takes so much force and energy to get out the door on Sundays. I suppose it is to humble us- remind us of our weaknesses and make us more teachable. Whatever the challenge though, it is worth the effort. What a great blessing it is to have a day of rest, a day of worship, and enjoy a few hours of reverence in our week. I loved this story in the Ensign and will think of Paulo Tvuarde next time I think the task of getting to church is challenging.

Inventive Kid Toys

I like to wear my babies and have at least 5 different contraptions to do so. I think the kids are also catching on to the trend because this is what William did with Daddy's Blackberry case.

There is something so funny and cute about the image- a softer side to a blackberry. It also made me think about some young girls, maybe ages 7-10, I saw at the playground. They were sitting up top on the monkey bars talking on and playing with their i phones. I've also heard of children as young as 6 years old with their own blackberries - just to keep in touch with parents.

Maybe I should invent "stuffie technology" - it would look somewhat like William's teeny beanie baby, "Baby Tito", except you could lift a flap on the belly to expose a key pad and screen. That way kids could still be kids and enjoy the use of gadgets and technology. When they were at the playground they could actually play with their phones and if they were in need of a little extra comfort from their parents not only could they read the loving text but also snuggle with the soft device that delivered the message.

Actually I believe in low tech toys and more primitive forms of communication such as looking at someone in the eyes and listening to their voice. But I am glad Daddy has a blackberry to help him get his work done and even more impressed that William was able to find some fun with it.

A Boy and His Book

I didn't know what was taking so long when James was sent out to collect the trash bins. This is what I found when I went to go check on him, he was turning pages with his chin and slowly shuffling up our driveway.. He didn't even blink or flinch when I ran out again to quickly snap this photo. So I gently nudged him and helped him complete the task.

Later that evening I asked him to tell me something interesting about the book he was reading. James anserwed "which one"? I said "the one you were reading today". James' response was "well I read 3 books today". I'm guessing that is almost 600 pages!

At first I felt guilty for not planning anything fun and engaging but I had to remind myself it is Summer - and at least he wasn't playing video games all day. I did however make a new rule - no books at the plyground. That came after William's paperback bindindg split while trying to read and go down the slide at the same time.

"Just in case" suitcase

I thought Maryanna was potty trained for good last fall. Unfortunately we experienced several months of regression as we were recoverying from illnesses, pregnancy complications, and a new baby. When we returned from our trip I suggested that it was time to start wearing underwear again.

So here she is dragging two very special suitcases ($1 each from a garage sale) around the house with her. I asked her if I could look inside them. She was happy to open the first one and announced, "I got lots of underwears". She opened the other one and it contained a pink bouncy ball, a book about horses, a pretend credit card, and a not so fresh pair of underwear. Maryanna was quite wise in being prepared and even more clever in covering her tracks. I may even allow her to bring her suitcases to the playground "just in case".

Other than re-potty training nothing much else to blog about except we are suffering from a strep throat epidemic. I came home from our trip with a bad sore throat and stomach ache, a few of the kids also complained of stomach aches. I blamed it on all the junk food we ate in the car but thought to see a Dr. when I developed a high fever. So maybe it wasn't the bugels, junior mints, and lifesaver gummies......but "just in case" I'm packing a cooler of fresh fruits and veggies for our next road trip.

Just for Amusement

James
"I want to improve the invention of the automobile - this seatbelt is digging into me!"

James and William
Overheard from the back of the car: "Back up, back up, are you talking about George W. Bush or George H. W. Bush?" response "You know just the regular George Bush".

William
"Mommy, Daddy guess what sea creature I am" We guess a shark, a whale, a hammerhead shark...."wrong! I stumped you, I was an oceanic white tipped shark"

William
"Mommy I made friends with a bumble bee....he followed me around the pool all day"

Peter
"Why don't we just buy this rental home and stay here forever"

James after hours of reading Tom Sawyer
"There ain't no napkins here"

Paul
"Suz, you are the only person I know who uses more sunblock than Al, your kids look like mimes"

Paul
"Why are you hanging out in the shade"? I respond "I'm trying to bring back historic beauty trends - not only being a little plump but also very fair"

Maryanna
Well there are no audible words to recreate the memorable moment of our trip when Maryanna ran straight from the car and grabbed a cactus. It was a good thing tweezers were on my simple packing list.

Swim, Eat, Sleep

Throw in a few good books, a 1,000 piece puzzle, and a pile of dirty diapers - that pretty much sums up our trip. Very simple and very fun!

How Mommy got her Groove Back II

Paul knows just when I need a get away and has been great at planning and executing postpartum recovery trips. Last year we went to Spain. This year he found a great deal on a rental home in Scottsdale, AZ. The trip was planned and booked last Friday and within 24 hrs. the whole family was packed and in the car off to our destination.

The theme of this trip was "Simple Livin'". Each child had 1 suit, 2 outfits (with exception of the three 2 and under - 5 for the infant, 4 for the 1 year old, and 3 for the 2 yr old), 1 book, 1 stuffie, and 1 pair of shoes. Laundry was simple, pick up was simple as was our food, every meal we ate outside and literally hosed both the children and eating area down after we were through.

We even played simple games. One night we planned to watch a movie but couldn't get the complicated surround sound system to work, we played catch with a roll of toliet paper instead. The thrower asked a question and the catcher had to answer it in as many words as were dragging toliet paper squares. I was especially amused when William asked me to describe how it felt to have a baby, I had 17 squares to describe my feelings.

So even after a 15 hr travel day with our whole family I feel refreshed. I just may adopt a bit more simplicity in my daily life. Time to gut out more toys and clothes, and start eating all our meals outside.

*this magic moment was captured by our young photographer William