F I V E

THE LION HEART CASTLE IS A HIT!

Some facts about Ez.

He weighed 9 pounds 3 oz. at birth. I ate A LOT of peach pie (and healthy stuff like kale) when he was in the womb and the doctors swore that I was perfectly healthy but I felt like Moby Dick and stopped looking at the scale when it reached 160.

He and Amy have matching freckles on their lefty left hands.

He could live on bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, pb and h, and tomatoes.

He is a very determined boy and could tie his shoes at 4.5 and ride a two wheeler at age 3.

He loves to sing.

He especially loves hip hop. Ahem, Kanye, Alicia Keys...

He is particular about who he keeps company with and prefers to hang with kids who are not chatty. He is not the social animal that I am. And I am learning to come to terms with and respect that.

He is very conservative with his hugs (except with me).

He loves to collect bugs especially big black beetles.

He loves to handle fish and other animals. I am trying to teach him to study and hold animals but remember that it might be torture if he is not careful.

His favorite color is green

He likes to wear belts and costumes.

He was not sure about having a party and at the last minute decided he did not want one. I had to explain to him that it was too late to cancel. Again, who is this child?

Ezra can be moody. Sometimes he wakes up grumpy. I don't understand this. I wasn't moody until I had kids. Even as a teenager, I would get sad but I at least pretended to be happy and carefree for everyone else's sakes (which I realize is probably unhealthy).

Ez is not a people person. I was introverted for a period of time in my life. I still crave alone time and don't mind being by myself but I am a social being. I love connecting with folks, adults and kids alike. It has taken me awhile to realize that my kids are their own little people. Ez is very different from me and it would be unfair to expect him to be like anyone else. It is okay that he is not always into talking to people, hugging people, being sociable. I just have to help him use manners, use words, it is a challenge.

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you." -Kahlil Gibran

Rose loved Sweet Honey in the Rock and put this song on a cd for Henry when he was 3. Thanks Rosie!

The Office nook

One of my goals this summer was to carve out a homework space for H. So, after moving their bedroom around 3, yes 3 times. This is it. He has a little desk nook.
Thanks to IKEA, Target and some repurposing, it hardly cost anything. And he feels really good about it. Of course, Ez had to get in on the action, though I hope he doesn't have any homework in kdg. Both boys picked out a plant or two. I gave each of them a little glazed pot to put tools in. They each got a new ruler, and some fresh pencils. Hen picked out a little lamp and Ez is using the old one.

Yesterday ( a few days before he officially turns 5) we had a birthday bash for Ez.

Pinata.

Vanilla cake with Penuche frosting.

Friends and their families.

Playground.

Pizza.

Sweaty candy necklaces.

bridges

Ez is going to kindergarten in a few days. I am having a bit of a hard time dealing with it. For so many reasons. He is my baby. My last child. His cheeks are still soft and squishy. He frustrates me to no end and I lose my temper with him but we still get to have those gooey moments when he wants to be as close as he can. He says I smell so good. He touches my hair. He kisses my forehead.

This adoration goes away eventually. And they get so busy. And skinny. And they don't need these tender moments quite so much.

So when I read Anna Maria Horner's post about her daughter going away to school I seriously bawled.

i love this poster

from apartment therapy...

I especially appreciate the "keep it wonky" sentiment, I am good at that. Just a reminder of what you/we are about. I do have the *Keep Calm and Carry on Poster* that went viral a year or so back, but I can't seem to look at it when it matters.

the talk

Before I had kids I knew, as all non-parent people "know" certain things about child-rearing ha ha ha, that I wanted to be able to have frank discussions with my children about sex. I wanted them to feel comfortable approaching me with questions and concerns. I wanted them to not have sex until they were 40, but sure, I wanted them to be able to talk to matt and I about it. The other day I asked an older friend when she first spoke to her kids about sex and she said she spoke to them about it all along whatever that means?). I thought "Oh shit, I have some catching up to do."

I am scared, by the way, terrified really.

So the other day in the car, it came up. See, until recently, when my kids asked me about religion I answered them in a certain style, by asking them questions back and telling them that different people have different opinions about these things. And when they asked about birth I used a similar spiritual style with the addition of a few basic biological facts. So, Henry came up with some of his own ideas, and being the older brother to Ezra, Ez adopted these ideas as well. So they believe that you are a star in the sky before you are born. You look down and pick out your parents. Then when you die you become a star again. I was apparently picked because I am "beautiful and have long hair", they did not know that I have a temper and can be neurotic or they might have chosen someone else.

But the other day in the car, they wanted to know how a baby actually gets in the mom's belly. Oy Vay. So I breathed deeply. I told them all about eggs and *gulp* Sperm. I told them the eggs are found in the woman, the man provides the sperm. They wanted MORE INFORMATION!!! Why is this so scary for me? I told them the rest of the information was pretty complicated and I had groceries to unload. Which was true. But I also needed a glass of wine.

This is when living on a farm would be so handy. "You want to know about reproduction, Johnny?, Let's go watch the horses have at it and then we'll watch the filly being born in a few months." Or maybe we should stick with the chickens?

Julia Sweeney did a much better job than I, check it out on TED talks. Thanks to Kim for alerting me to this hilarious podcast!

the talk, scroll down to #31, Julia Sweeney (remember Pat on SNL?)

REAL PICKLES, local business shout out...

I love pickles, especially fermented pickles. I love fermented veggies in general. At our CSA farm down the road , the fridge in the pick-up barn is packed with local goodies, dressings, popsicles, pork, eggs, milk, etc. I usually don't purchase any because they are all pretty pricey but once in a while I splurge. It's worth it, supporting local business and healthy eating and all. A few weeks ago I bought a jar of fermented, gingered carrots and some truly delicious kombucha (which is saying a lot for me, sometimes I like the stuff but sometimes those cultures taste like fresh vomit). I will save the kombucha gushing for another post. The fermented carrots are delish. I eat them by the spoonful daily (one spoonful from the jar as a snack). And I just ate a bowlful with a generous dousing of sriracha on top. Thanks local business, REAL PICKLES! They support many local organic farms in Massachusetts and New York.

400

This will be a wiki wiki (quick, in Hawaiian) 400th post.

5 years ago I started reading blogs. My dear friend, Tina pointed a couple blogs of note out to me. It was quite a relief, to be able to read about making things and look at beautiful pictures while nursing a new baby and dealing with serious back pain and a crazy toddler. Then, three years ago Matt started encouraging me to write a blog. Inspired by Tina's blog and the other blogs I read, I decided to go for it. I know maybe 10 people read it, if I am lucky. But really, for me it is a very fulfilling outlet. In many ways it is a (less private) journal of my family.

My sidebar showcases my favorite blogs to read. I still love keeping up with Tina and now I enjoy reading my friend Laura's posts, my newest friend to join the blogging community.

If I hadn't been eating bacon, cookies and pie for the last few days. There would be cake.

In celebration of blogging or as I sometimes like to call it berging. Here is a link to a nifty sandal making tute on CRAFT.

dreaming

One of the great things about living for so long in such a tiny, poorly made apt. is that the living environment can't get worse. I am pretty sure it would be illegal for us to live in a smaller apt. And it is pretty hard to find a smaller apt. in this neck of the woods anyway. Therefore anywhere we go is up.

Since I passed my test I have allowed myself to dream a bit more. Dreaming in the form of job searching and house hunting. I know how silly it is. We have no money for a down payment and won't for a couple years (and that is assuming we get real-life adult paying jobs next year) and even then, we may have to relocate for Matty's job. Although, if I can make enough and he works part-time to cushion the income from my job, I told him he can become a writer, or something.

The following are just a few homes I have dreamt about. Like I said, anywhere is up. Ideally, the would have more land and be cheaper...

Just down this dirt path is a real life cabin for sale. Can you imagine chickens? A dog? Forts in the woods? And me with a cup of coffee in the morning on the porch? Plus it is nearly 2,000 sq. feet, that is 4 times the size of our apt. and it includes nearly two acres. Also great school district. $224, 000 is almost cheap for around here. Let's be optimistic, okay? Moving on...
This may be sort of jolie/laide (prettyugly)but I have a strange affinity for that gross siding, even though I may want to remove it. This house was built in 1780! Cool, right? It is in the country and right next door to great hiking trails but real close to town. Over 2,000 sq.ft!!! $189,000.
I love a big old, white farmhouse with no bells and whistles.Circa 1813. About an acre. Again, chickens. HUGE. PORCH. GAH.

So, Laura and Mike are you moving here? Ditto for Susan and Mark. Although I am feeling a pang right now for tina and Mark. you guys could move too, ya know...

time for a little bit of braggin'

I think my new glasses jive with my new nerdiness

I just passed a scary math test.

A couple years ago Massachusetts, in recognition that our country's kids are lagging behind most other countries in their math skills, decided to weed out teachers who can't teach math. They made the Mtel Math subtest much harder. It took me almost 4 hours. Yikes. The result? Most prospective elementary teachers have been failing the test and not getting their licenses (70%). So they passed an emergency resolution stating that if you fail within a certain range you can still get your license as long as you pass the test within 6 months.

I passed it the first time!!!! And I have always struggled with math. If this is all I accomplish this summer, I am a happy girl.

We celebrated with some Antonio's Pizza. Did I say I was happy?

pieces of a summer

I know summer is not over yet, but the word "school" is scrawled on the bottom of the current page on our calendar. The end of summer is on my mind.

I tend to measure my summers by the following

books read- this summer I have read the last book in The Millenium Trilogy, Evelina, The Count of Monte Cristo, The help and The Passage, I think I am not missing any.

ice cream cones consumed- only two (not enough), both soft-serve, one too watery the other just right.

variety and number of slices of pie eaten- only one. very. sad. indeed. But, thanks Tina, for the apple pie (with apples picked from her tree, and the perfect sour/sweet ratio). This weekend Matty has promised to make me a peach pie, my second favorite.

lobster rolls consumed- 2, both excellent. Not sure if there are enough lobster rolls in the world to satisfy me.

camping trips, quantity and quality- One great camping trip. We had a second one planned but we can't afford more Cape this summer. Especially with my lobster roll habit.

number of BLTs eaten (ok so food is clearly important to me)- zero. zip. You know what I am doing for the rest of this summer, (remedying this serious omission).

ocean visits- 2. Our family loves us some ocean. There could always be more.

weddings- 1. A beautiful, very emotional Quaker wedding. We have been to quite a few Quaker ceremonies. This was the first one that featured two paper airplanes being thrown in the midst of one of the moments of silence. And, alleluiah, it was not one of my kids.

lakes and ponds visited- 4 . Lakes, Owasco, Cayuga and Wyola, and Puffers Pond, for fishing, barbeques, swimming, stone skipping and general happy-making.

trips sans kiddos- 3. NYCx2 and Home. Sigh.

# of s'mores- When I am eating a s'more my brain momentarily loses function so can't remember this factoid. But I am guessing, 4-5, reasonable.

am i missing anything?