Ky's good idea

My mom makes these little toys for her grandkids: they're little coin banks where you put the milk lids into the slot and push them down into the can. Malachi LOVES his. (He is just the right age for it: it's a little challenging for him, but not so hard that he wants to give up.) He sits and puts the lids in the slot for 10 or 15 minutes at a time.

Today I watched Malachi get a good idea in his baby head. We have a stepstool in the bathroom with a hole in the top for carrying it. It looks just like his coin bank slot. This is what we watched him do:

He was SO happy with himself. Every time he put the lid in the slot, he'd look up at us with his mouth open, just waiting for us to be impressed.

He did it over and over, and it kept him busy all through the boys' storytime before nap. What a smart boy! :)

4

Meat Dough

The other day I made play dough, but I didn't put enough food coloring in it, so it ended up sort of flesh-colored and sickly-looking.

It's sitting on the counter in plastic bags now, and every time I look over at it I think it's some kind of pale, disgusting raw meat. Ew!

4

A moral tale

Last year when I went to the store to get new shoes I ran into a dilemma. There were several pairs that were cute but not too comfortable and a few pairs that were comfortable but not very cute. (The age-old problem, eh?)

I walked around in all the different shoes. There was one pair that was my favorite. They were not TOO uncomfortable. But a little. "These look nice . . . hmmm . . . but will I enjoy wearing them?" I said to myself. Then---sensibly---"Not much use in having new shoes if you never want to wear them because they're too uncomfortable."

There was also one pair in particular that felt better than the others. They were sensible-looking. Not UGLY . . . but . . . a bit matronly, perhaps. "Quite appropriate for someone with three children," I told myself. "And a woman your age shouldn't be attempting to follow every trend anyway."

Practicality won out. I got them.

I have worn them, dutifully, for several months now.

They aren't even that comfortable.

When I got some birthday money from my mother-in-law, I returned to the shoe store. My favorites were still there! (Now on clearance!) There was one pair in my size. I bought them immediately.

I love them. They are adorable. They don't hurt my feet. (Much.) I feel cute in them.

The end.

MORAL: Just get the cute ones!

These are also the cute ones, not the old ones (don't want you to embarrass yourself by saying, "Ooh, those ARE bad!)

9

Sequences

Malachi has several patterns which he repeats day after day. He will repeat the above until we make it impossible (e.g. we stop taking pity on him and don't "help" anymore [rare; just look at his cute face!] or else we put some big obstacle in the door so he can't close it anymore).

He really, really loves furry stuffed animals (especially Abe and Seb's Honey Bear and Monkey---he seems to sense that those are the "favorite" animals) and every time one gets near him he hug, hug, hugs it. (Then bites it.) He has several animals in his crib that he likes, but whenever he gets bored in there he throws them out, then laughs, then becomes sad and wishes he had them back.

He is also getting better and better (and more motivated) at walking. (Click to enlarge the picture.) When he falls, he pushes himself right back up and starts wobbling along again. He thinks he is pretty impressive and often claps for himself enthusiastically.

4

Random thoughts

Sometimes the main obstacle to writing for me is that I don't have enough related ideas to string together and make a coherent point. Thus, I find it liberating occasionally to imitate one of my favorite writers and simply present some random thoughts:

Sebby glares (see above) when he is concentrating, or playing a role. (A store owner, for example.)
*Glare* "Would you yike to buy some of this spinach?"
"Yes, please."
*Glare* "Okay, that will be fwee dollars."

Do you ever have a really, really bad dream---so bad that no matter what kind of day you're waking up to, you're just relieved to be awake? I had that kind of dream the other night. Horrible. And why, even when you know it was a dream, does the horror of it stay with you for so long?

If you had told me before I got married, that often the way I'd know Sam was home from work was because I'd hear him in the garage belting out an aria from "Pagliacci" (complete with made-up Italian words), I would have been surprised. But it doesn't surprise me now. (Delight me? yes.)

Why do I have the feeling that a certain phrase I heard ad nauseum for the past eight years---"dissent is the highest form of patriotism"---will suddenly vanish from the public lexicon?

My dad is in the hospital getting various things worked on, and when I called to ask him how it was going, he said, "It's kind of hard to just sit around all day . . . but of course, that's the same thing I'd be doing at home anyway." I felt like I should politely disagree, but . . . honestly . . . that IS all he does at home anyway.

Isn't there some line in that song "New York New York" about how it's so good they named it twice? That's how I feel about Sam. So good I married him twice. How did I get so lucky?

Sometimes I inadvertantly mirror people's faces when they are talking to me. One time a mean-looking guide lady in London asked me, "What are you glaring about?" I wasn't meaning to, but it was because SHE was glaring!

Seb was walking around with his backpack full of monkeys saying, "I'm all ready!" I asked him, "Where are you going?" and he answered, "You never know where I'm going to go." Which, frankly, is quite true.

My parents had a Latin proverb up on their wall which they quoted to us all the time: "De gustibus non est disputandum." Meaning something like, "You can't argue about matters of taste." This scripture in Romans (14:3-5) reminds me of that proverb: "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not despise him that eateth: for God hath received him. . . . One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." To me, this means: Everyone feels like they are justified in what they're doing. So we shouldn't be so quick to say, "What an idiot---why would anyone do such a thing?!" We all generally do what, in our own minds, we feel is what we should do---or what we must do---at the time. (And yes, we are often wrong. But that doesn't make us crazy, or even stupid, necessarily. We are acting rationally on what we feel.)

People often ask when they see Abe and Seb, "Wow, do you cut their hair yourself?" Which I think is a nice way of saying, "Wow, those are obviously not professional haircuts." And they aren't! Oh, they aren't. I realize that if they at all cared what they looked like, I would no longer be able to get away with it.

My mom disapproves of me letting Seb brush his teeth unassisted. "I don't think they really do a good job until age 5 or 6, so I like to just help them with it." By not helping him, am I (as I like to think), fostering valuable independence and self-sufficiency---or am I just much lazier than she was?

Do you ever wonder if there will really, truly, ever be an end to wiping runny noses? That seems like merely a utopian dream to me.

6

In which we enter the world of real estate

On Saturday we amused ourselves by pretending we were realtors and we had to make fliers advertising houses for sale. (Don't mind the stuffed elephant. Sam got him for me before we were married [his name is Bendigo] and somehow he often ends up figuring prominently in various schemes. I don't know why. Are you struck by how round and ball-y he is? Me too.)

Sam assigned me to a do a flier (or is it flyer?) with pictures from Burger King. (I felt weird taking a bunch of pictures inside Burger King, and not buying anything. I tried to be all furtive about it, but it probably made me look even weirder.)

I assigned Sam to do the Visitor's Center at Temple Square.

It was quite entertaining. (My favorite part of Sam's is "Potential breakfast nook!" Or maybe the staircases that "literally" go on forever.)

In related news, the house next door to us is now for sale. Anyone interested?

6

Sweaters

Here are some pictures of the boys wearing the sweaters they got for Christmas. They looked very cute at church.

Malachi has started to look up on the stand and see me while I'm playing the organ. When I'm not playing, I look down at him, and I can see him pointing at me and saying softly "Ma-ma! Ma-ma!" It's so cute! Everyone else in the congregation is probably wondering why I'm sitting there smiling so much, but I just can't help it!

1

National Pie Day

Just a reminder to celebrate National Pie Day today. It's Friday night, what else do you have to do? :) Perhaps you could make this (also here)? Or this? Or one of these? Or Sam's favorite, this: (I don't have a picture now, but I'll make it soon and then post one)

Lemon Meringue Pie

Filling:

1 9" baked pie shell (if using crust recipe from here, just bake the crust alone at 450 for 8-10 min. first)

1/4 c. cornstarch
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 ½ c. water
1 tsp. grated lemon rind (optional)
1 T. margarine or butter

Meringue:
3 egg whites
6 T. sugar

Combine cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice in saucepan. Add beaten egg yolks. Add water. Bring mixture just to boiling over medium heat and simmer for 5 min, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add margarine and grated lemon rind, stir until thoroughly blended. Pour into baked pie shell. Then, in metal bowl with beaters, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar. Continue to beat on high speed to form stiff, glossy peaks. Spread meringue over lemon filling, carefully sealing entire edge of crust to prevent shrinking. Bake at 400 for about 5 min. or until meringue is golden.

Happy pie-ing! Let me know if you find any other good recipes!

2

Prayers and things

Do you kneel down with your kids for their prayers at night? My friend was telling me that she often does (although her oldest is now 14) and it surprised me. I did for awhile, I guess, but now I usually just leave them to it. But I still often hear their prayers through the doors. And here are some things I've heard:

"Please bless the missionaries so they can go into the doors and walk around in the world . . ."

"I'm thankful that I got Brownie [his monkey] in heaven a long, long time ago from Heavenly Father before I was born . . . "

[After our Family Home Evening lesson about telling Heavenly Father things you are sorry for in your prayers]
Seb: "And I'm sorry that Abey hit me today . . . "
Abe: [hissing at him] "NO, Sebby, you're not supposed to say things I'M sorry for!!"

And while I'm thinking about it, here are a few other funny things the boys have said lately:

Seb: "I'm going to show Abey this roller coaster." [The roller coaster was himself.] "But don't hold its hand, Mommy. Because . . . it doesn't have a hand."

Abe, to me: "I guess you could just pump some milk for Ky to drink."

Seb: "Yeah, or you could just spray some out your belly-bean for him."

Seb: "What if traffic lights changed their minds instead of their colors?"

Abe: "Mommy, why does that sign say 'Worms for sale?' I can't think of a single reason why you'd want to buy worms."

Seb: [looking at his toenails]: "What are these? Not foot-nails . . . "

Seb: "Wrecking balls don't knock down cars; no, no!"
Me: "That's right, they only knock down buildings."
Abe: "Or sometimes they knock down houses, but they have to ask first."

Seb: [singing] "Monkey doesn't have hair . . . hmm-hmm-mm-hmm . . . he only has a head . . . huh-uh-uh-huh-huh . . ."

7

Effort-less

I remember many happy hours spent making fun of the principal, Mr. Gentry, at my Junior High because he had said something like this: "Here at our school, any effort is a success."

I still think that's kind of a dumb thing to have as your "school slogan" (I mean come on, can't we set our expectations just sliiiightly higher?), but then again, I'm sort of warming up to the idea as a personal aspiration.

Is it hard for anyone else to want to do anything these cold, dreary days? If I'm out of pajama pants by lunchtime, it really seems like quite an accomplishment. Sometimes I look back over my "schedule" and realize I haven't been out of the house---literally not set foot out of the door---for 2 or 3 days at a time. I mean really, what's out there for me? Cold wind? Brown piles of snow in parking lots? (Bunnies, okay, yesterday there were bunnies and that got me out.) "Winter sales"?? Nope. And here at home I'm not much more motivated. Menu plans? Groceries? Did I really used to involve myself with such things? Anyway, needless to say, I don't get an awful lot accomplished from day to day.

Therefore, anytime I DO make the slightest bit of effort to do, well, anything, I should just tell myself, "Bob Gentry would be so proud." Wouldn't he.

6

A snuggle of bunnies

Today we did something good. There is a bunny farm (a "rabbitry," they call it---but the lady didn't call them rabbits, she called them bunnies, like me) near where we live, so yesterday I called up the lady and asked her if we could come visit the bunnies. She said we could. So today, we did.

It was SO fun. There were probably 200 bunnies there. They were all different kids: huge giant lop-eared ones and fluffy little long-haired ones and tiny furry ones and medium-sized hoppy ones. There were several litters of babies, too: some only born last night (they looked like tiny bald mice) and some born a couple weeks ago. These were the cutest:

They were SO small, but their eyes were open and they were wiggling around and trying out tiny little hops. The white one peeked out and looked at me when I took his picture.

This one was relaxing in her hammock. They love sleeping in hammocks, apparently.

I love the way they just pile themselves indiscriminately on top of each other, like it doesn't really matter where one bunny ends and the next one begins. Mounds of bunnies. So cute.

The boys loved them. But who do you think loved them the most? :)

When we got home, we had a special lunch to celebrate. Can you tell what it is?

Macaroni and cheese, with bunny-shaped noodles. So I guess I should call it "Bunnies and cheese." Yum!

It's hard to choose, because I love the white ones, and the black ones, and the spotted ones, and the grey ones, and the brown ones---but I think this was my favorite bunny. I love the ones that have this kind of short, velvety-soft fur, and he had such a pretty reddish-gold color!

7

Sick

It seems like at least one of us has been sick all winter long. Right now it is Malachi. He isn't TOO sick, but he has a runny nose and a cough and he is a little more solemn than usual. When you try to make him laugh he just stares at you like this:

although occasionally you can coax him into this (after great exertion and funniness): (also note how he has enough hair to sort of stick up in the back. See?)

But then if you set him down and try to leave the room he does this:

Poor baby guy. We hope he is better soon.

1

More pie pageantry

For entry to the Pie Pageant, pie charts were (naturally) required. Much informative data was thus encapsulated. Here are two of the 15 or so we prepared:

And here are the recipes we used. I don't cook with meat a whole lot, but when I have ground beef to use up, this is one that everyone likes:

Cheeseburger Pie

1 pie crust (uncooked) (see below for a crust recipe)
1 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. chopped gr. pepper (opt.)
1 t. salt
½ t. oregano
1/4 t. pepper
½ c. dry bread crumbs
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

Cheese topping:

1 egg

1/4 c. milk

Beat together, then stir in:

½ t. each salt, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Prepare pie crust. Brown the ground beef and onions (and green pepper, if using.) Stir in the bread crumbs, seasonings, and tomato sauce. Spread into unbaked pie crust. Top with cheese topping. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Serve with additional tomato sauce on top, if desired.

My favorite Pie Crust

1 c. flour, sifted
1/3 c. plus 1 T. shortening
½ t. salt
2-4 T. cold water
Cut shortening into dry ingredients, then add water until dough forms a ball. Roll crust out between pieces of waxed paper. Put in pie plate and flute edges.

And for dessert: (not a very good picture, but it is a really yummy pie--and easy)

Cream Puff Pie

½ c. butter or margarine
1 c. water
Combine in saucepan; bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Add 1 c. flour, stir till it forms a ball
Add 4 eggs, one at a time (keep stirring, it will stop being slimy eventually)

Spread into bottom and up sides of large pie pan. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Cool completely. (It will puff up like a cream puff. Just spread the toppings on top.)

Fill with anything yummy. My favorite combination is:

• 1 pkg. cream cheese, softened and mixed with 1 c. whipping cream (reserve a little cream for the top first) and powdered sugar to taste
  
• chocolate pudding (I like the cook-and-serve kind for this)
  
• vanilla pudding

Layer cream cheese mixture, chocolate pudding, then vanilla pudding in crust. Top with reserved whipped cream (1 dollop) and dust baking cocoa on top.

2

To the sky!

Do you know my friend Rachael? Or is it Rachel? Or Racheal? Or Rachelle? (No one really knows the answer---it's part of her charm!)

Just look at her! She is delightful.

She is a Who.

She is a proficient angklung-ist. (Above you see her brother. But she is even better.)

She can Riverdance like Nobody's Business.

Her personal hygiene is impeccable!

She is currently trying to populate the earth with boys. If she did not live clear up in the dang Arctic Circle, you could meet her in person. But fortunately, she has a lovely blog. It is here: boysandwich.blogspot.com. [Warning: Do not go there looking for sandwich recipes. She doesn't have ANY.]

3

The ascent

Malachi has (finally) learned to climb up the stairs by himself. He inevitably has an audience of admiring brothers following behind and yelling, "He's going up, Mommy! He's still going up! He's almost all the way up now! He's up! Come look, he went all the way up!!"

We're still working on getting him to turn around backwards to slide downstairs. He'll let you show him or pull him backwards, but he thinks it's a hilarious joke, not something one would actually do on purpose.

1

Pied Beauty (Pageant)

Glory be to God for dappled things! But sorry, you'll have to find the poem elsewhere. (One of my favorites, though---and one of my favorite poets.)

I'm talking about something quite different---the 2009 Pan-American Pie Pageant, to be precise. (Pan-Pacific would have been better, but inaccurate.) In anticipation of National Pie Day (Jan 23rd), we held the aforementioned Pageant last weekend. Everyone dressed up as a pie or a pie ingredient in hopes of being crowned "Mr. Pie." Here are our entrants:

Mr. Raspberry Pie (he made his own costume. Do you like it?)

Mr. Banana Pie. That is one happy monkey.


Mr. Cutie Pie. It's not really fair to the other contestants, is it?

Of course, we celebrated with actual pie as well, for both dinner and dessert. Yum!

2