Caroline and the bobcat

Caroline is now mildly obsessed with big cats.* The obsession came to a head a little bit ago when the following occurred:

Josh had sent me to bed for a nap. It was delicious. I actually can't remember if the nap was a good one, but any nap is a good nap, right? Before I fell asleep, I heard Caroline come out of her room and into the kitchen.

C (in a very serious voice): Daddy, I need to know something.
J: What's that?
C (holding up a book): I need to know what kind of cat this is. It has stripes like a tiger and spots like a cheetah.
J: Well let's see. (Flipping through the book.) It's a bobcat.
C: Hm. I need to ask Mommy.
J: Mommy is sleeping. It's a bobcat sweetheart.
C: I will ask Mommy. If she says it is a bobcat, that you are right. And if she says that it is not a bobcat, you are wrong Daddy.

After the nap, we confirmed that it was, in fact, a bobcat. She then spent the next week watching bobcat videos with Josh.

*Today, a stray black cat was in our yard. "Look, kids!" Josh said, "A panther!" Caroline said in the world's flattest voice before walking quickly in the house, "That is not a panther, Daddy. Panthers are much bigger."

Dear Dad,

Merry Christmas.

like nobody I know

Tonight, Caroline fell asleep on the floor of her room next to her open closet door. Based on the book in the wedge of light from the closet (and next to her face), we think she fell asleep reading. Not that I've ever done that...

A few minutes later, I was reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to Jonah. Harry was hauled up to Dumbledore's office. He saw the Sorting Hat in the office and considered trying it on. "Maybe he'd better ask first," Jonah said nervously. Yeah, there's nothing worse than a character doing something that's obviously going to get him in trouble. I've been there, kid.

Then, we made it to The Polyjuice Potion chapter. "Harry had better leave now," Jonah said out of the blue. "His hour is probably almost up." I nodded and murmured and then kept reading. A few lines later, Jonah leaned over and put his face next to the book. "I know you can't hear me in there, Harry, but you need to leave!"

Jonah asked me to find some Harry Potter books on audiobook so he can get through them faster. Unfortunately, all the library's copies are currently checked out. I decided it's definitely a good thing, though, because I am really loving reading them together. I can't wait to hear what he thinks of #3!

Santa Claus and the fish

So first, some background: Jonah has never believed in Santa Claus. Josh and I haven't pushed the issue, but we didn't tell him there was no Santa Claus either. When he was a smaller child, he just explained to us matter-of-factly that Santa Claus was just pretend, but fun to think about.

Caroline, on the other hand, has no reason not to believe in Santa Claus. Jonah has been careful to not spill the beans. She did say recently that Santa didn't come to our house last year so Daddy had to eat his cookies. I don't really know what that was about, but it made us laugh. She is very interested in Santa Claus this year, though. She's asked a few times a day exactly when he is coming and what he is going to do while he's here.

Tonight, while taking a bath, Caroline was playing with these 5 little fish. (The little fish are named Bernice, Gerard, Kaya, Jaya, and Raya. Those are today's names. Who knows what they'll be called next time.)

C: But where is the big fish?

Me: I don't know. Maybe it's with the rest of the toys in your room.

C: Maybe Santa Claus came while we were eating dinner and took it away. 

Me: Maybe. Though usually Santa Claus leaves things instead of taking them.

C (nodding solemnly): Not without asking at least. 

The Plog (dictated by Caroline)

Last time when we did Skype or the plog, I forgot what Dolly said. And what I forgot after quiet time for mine was decorating the Christmas tree that we already got with Dada and we climbed on the hay and slide on the slide slide. But that was going to be s-a-o-n-w except that was one year ago. We got seven years ago to North Carolina.

And what I discovered I have my own school. And what I love about cute Mama. I love bubble gum, cake, cupcakes, Dr. Pepper, milk, hot chocolate, and water. That is my favorite drinks. Even juice. What I don't like is Jo Jo's first juice. Jonah and Miriam are doing Skype. And we always forget what Dolly says.

a busy day and night (dictated by Jonah)

Last night, we made sugar cookies. We are going to eat them today. I am not sure when we will eat all of them. In just a minute, we will eat one. Also today, we are trying to get school done before lunch so we can go to Jack's house. Babysitters are going to come over and Mommy and Daddy are going to see the new Star Wars movie.

I made a sugar cookie shaped like a star. I painted it red and I am going to try to paint a yellow "A" on it. When Daddy gets home, I am going to tell him that it is my Alabama cookie, unless I decide to write something else on it.  I would've painted the "A" in white, but Mommy got rid of the white frosting. Caroline made a little turkey with a "C" on it. The turkey is blue. The "C" is yellow. This is really funny: also, Caroline made blue frosting for hers. One quarter of the time, she was stirring. And three quarters of the time she was licking her toothpick. She ended up with a blue tongue, blue teeth, and blue lips. Daddy told her not to eat any more or we wouldn't have blue frosting.

the time we ate kale by accident

I once bought some flat kale thinking it was swiss chard.* I ended up making it with this recipe because I'd never cooked or eaten kale before and I really didn't want it to go to waste. The weirdest thing happened: the kids loved it. They loved it so much that Jonah and Caroline fought over the last bite.

Since then, we've eaten this kale almost once a week. I never make more than a single batch because I'm afraid of having a ton left over, but we always clean the pan. We had some with dinner tonight and even Miriam cleaned her plate. It seriously makes me feel like a rock star. Knowing my kids the way I do, they will eventually tire of kale and all of the sudden one meal I'll be stuck with a ton of uneaten kale and grumpy, hungry children.** But then they'll come back around and we'll go back to eating it and I'll feel like a rock star again.

*I was so confused the next time I went to the store and bought kale on purpose. It's all curly! How could I have ever thought that was chard? Well just last week I found the answer: our store sells two varieties of kale. The variety of organic kale is long and flat and looks like chard. I'm not crazy after all!
**How do I know? Because we've been through the same cycle with smoothies (Seriously, there are so many variations of smoothie! How can you get tired of them all?), trout patties, Nutella toast, and no bake cookies.

dictated by Caroline

Dolly is the most third and my birthday and on my next birthday I'll turn four. In a couple weeks ago, it might be too illustrated and I love my cd Gold Stars. It's all my favorite songs in all the whole world! I'm so grateful for our snowflakes for Christmas and the lights are so beautiful. I like the pink one. It's my favorite color. And it's next and I told Jo Jo that. And I love Dr. Pepper so much. It's my only favorite dessert ever! Miriam is trying to get things like Jonah's water. And school is like acorns, though. And in three days ago, it was too messy. And it will probably be for Miriam's. Before we got into North Carolina, we were in Arizona. And drive and drive for a long time and then said hi to North Carolina. And we were so proud of Daddy making a leaf pile for us. It's so fun! And one time I called it the Witch witch house [Richards' house]. And bonk came the helmet! And Jonah is just sitting right next to Mommy. And Daddy is the greatest Daddy ever!

And my name is Caroline. And Baba Yaga is my whole favorite. And my panda bear cup was all lost so I had to get a princess and the pea cup. Not done yet, Mom! And on my birthday, I'll turn four. Lucky me! And Miriam sits in her high chair and one time I called Daddy because Miriam threw her food on the floor. And I am wearing my skirt with my shirt because I'm so glad to wear them. I'm already dressed now while I'm doing blog. And it is so wonderful that my mom is here to tuck me in. And tonight, the missionaries are coming over!! I love missionaries! I will give as many high fives as there are missionaries. And we're having quiet time as soon as this blog is done.

today on the blog: device (dictated by Jonah)

I don't know how to explain about my device. It is a device that I made out of a necklace and a belt. I wear the belt and then attach the necklace to the belt. Then, I put the top of the necklace around the handle of my bike so I don't fall off it. The reason I made this device was because one time I was riding down a hill and fell off the scooter. So I'm probably not going to ride the scooter for while.

Also, finally my book is made. I have five copies except I gave one to Jack for his birthday last week.  Another book that was made a few weeks ago was a little paper book that I made for Kade. That one I sent already. Actually, I didn't send it. I gave it to Jo Jo and then she gave it to Kade.

Tonight for dinner, we are having chicken wings. The missionaries are coming over tonight. (Daddy's lucky night!)

I got a book from the library. It was a little Lego book. Oops, I shouldn't call it a little book. It was 193 pages long. I managed to read it all the way through in 3 days, maybe 2.

secret paths, Christmas music, and citrus

Usually when considering the fact that here we are, on the opposite side of the country from where we thought we'd spend the rest of our lives, I have two alternating trains of thought:

Thought #1: This is the best place. I had this thought while walking down on secret path to check the mail. Jonah had just finished telling me that morning how he wants to buy this house when we get ready to buy one. Caroline stopped walking down the path, looked back at the house, and said, "I love this white house, Mommy." I had this thought when Josh came home from work happy and enthusiastic and told me how much he loves his job. I had this thought when the produce guy at the grocery store gave my children each a banana and the clerk at the post office was the kindest one I've dealt with in all my years of mid-December post office runs. I had this thought when I left the post office and remembered calling another local post office here when we were still in Arizona and being impressed with that worker too. I had this thought when we went to the library. I love our library.

Thought #2: What are we doing here? I had this thought when Byron told us he was having shoulder surgery. I had this thought when I was talking to my mom about all the baking she was doing and desperately wanted to go help. I had this thought when I peeled yet another disappointing orange. I have this thought every time I think of my last two wards and the beautiful Christmas music they're probably preparing this very moment.  I had this thought when I found out there was no third year LPM teacher for Jonah and that putting the girls through classes will be so much more expensive here. I have this thought when I remember how great it was to have lunch with my sister and mom after those same music classes. I have this thought when I think of our awesome little homeschool support system in Surprise.

Today, though, I'm adding another train of thought:

Thought #3: We can make this work. I'm having this thought right now while Miriam stands on a chair and points to the pictures of our friends on their Christmas card. I think she might even be saying "Jack" and "Scott," but it's hard to tell. She's definitely calling them "Jonah" too. She won't grow up down the street from her cousins or her grandparents or my childhood friends that are bound to have children one of these days, but she will know another support system: a ward, friends, neighbors that are our family here. I had this thought after talking to my favorite citrus locale in Arizona about their citrus shipping options. Now the most important question on my mind is this: exactly how many oranges can I actually eat? The answer is quite a few, especially if I share some box space with grapefruit for my grapefruit-loving boy.

Sometimes, I have a really great day. Then other times, I have a really down day. Some days are both.

(dictated by Caroline)

I think I want to go to um Jack's birthday too. I don't know when we're seeing um my birthday party. I am so excited for my birthday. Miriam did not let me have my dolly. And then Mommy gave Miriam a special present but I found a dolly that Miriam might like. Then after that weekend and next year today and it was my birthday. I really like my birthday. I hope that I have a Frozen movie birthday for my favorite movie. Pocahontas is my very favorite movie. It is very exciting for my birthday. Then I will turn four. I don't know how big I be when I turn four. My favorite food is bananas and oranges and cereal. And my favorite vegetable is carrots and strawberries. And my favorite kind of dessert is cake. I really like pie too. That is what we had at Thanksgiving when we had today. I can't wait to play in the snow. I love my sweet Mommy. Goodbye to my own. I already have a pink dolly with a heart on her shirt. I have another dolly and my other dolly that's new had some clothes. I usually dress up her and I love volcanoes. But my nose smelled so bad one day because I maybe smelled an earthquake. I do like Pocahontas and Frozen and sometime I'm going to watch Star Wars. But I digged with Jonah.

the book is postponed (dictated by Jonah)

Hi. It turns out that the book seemed to be made a year after Kaitlyn made. But instead, it was only like a month. So now, here we are, trying to get it made. We hope it will be done Saturday because my friend Jack is having a birthday on Saturday. I am going to bring one of the copies to his birthday party. There will probably be five copies, and the book has at least eight pages. I am so excited for the book to be made. I guess that is all.

overheard from the other room

[Sounds of Miriam pushing her way into Jonah's room and interrupting J & C's game.]

Caroline: It's the Sift!
Jonah: She's not the Sith today. We're not playing Star Wars right now.
C: I know that she is not the Sift. She has cute eyes and cute cheeks. That is how I know she is my baby.
J: The Sith have cute eyes and cute cheeks. They look exactly the same.
C: But this one is so cute! I just want to pet her cute cheeks.
J: Okay, so you're petting the Sith now. All Sith are cute.*

*Said in the long-suffering martyr voice of an eldest child.

Caroline (edited)

Caroline has been more adorable than usual lately. I'm thinking it has something to do with her birthday approaching. I always thought four-year-old kids were the funniest when it came to my nieces and nephews.

The best way to describe her is enthusiastic. Everything is either the most wonderful or the most terrible. Tonight, we hung up Christmas lights (one single strand) and she patted my face and declared, "These are the most beautiful lights ever! You made our house so beautiful! Thank you! I love them so much!!"

She is eager to help, especially with Miriam. Miriam sometimes has other ideas.

She falls asleep to music most nights. She really loves dance parties (her words) and has incredible balance. I'm thinking this summer would be a good time to put her in a trial gymnastics or dance class. As far as her vocal ability, Josh says she gets it from him. She is...less likely to hit the correct note than her siblings. Even Miriam has better pitch. I love her sweet little voice, though. Three years of Let's Play Music will do wonders. Besides the fact that Josh sells himself short. I've heard him sing, and he's not bad.

Totally unprompted, she is learning her letters. It's not that I don't love her enough to teach her, it's that we really don't push academics this young at our house. Somehow, though, she can spell her name (more or less) and recognizes most of the alphabet.

Another thing she loves is skirts, specifically twirly skirts. She likes to dance and spin and watch her skirt spin around. In the absence of a twirly skirt (or when mean old Mommy puts her in a dress with a straighter cut), a belt or necklace that spins around will still do.

And of course, she loves shoes. I sometimes think it was a passing fancy, but then we go shopping. Any time there are shoes her size, she tries them all on and starts loading up my cart with her new shoes.

Edited to add:

She has funny names for food. Pork chops and ham are pig, as in, "Can I have some more pig, please?" Cocoa Puffs is one of her favorite kinds of cereal. When she wants to eat them, she might say, "Can I have some more Puffs: the chocolate kind?"

today I learned...

...that an instant breakfast (made with whole milk, no less) only lasts me about 2 1/2 hours.
...that I don't love kids other than my own (and family/friends) sitting on my lap.
...that Christmas music is my very favorite part of the season.
...that I much prefer trees with the leaves on them.
...that pie for breakfast the weekend after Thanksgiving feels acceptable, but pie for dinner on Sunday night does not.
...that a wicker basket can mold.

Christmas cards are on their way

I love Christmas cards. I also limit the likelihood of receiving said cards because we keep moving. I'm hoping to get cards out quickly this year so that people will send some back. Taking a picture for the card was not for the faint of heart, however.

I could just do a combination of pictures from the year. That's what I've done in years where there just isn't a good picture of all of us. I even think it's what I did last year. I was determined this year, however, because we have three family pictures hanging in our house, and Miriam is not in any of them. Sorry, Mim.

So two weeks from now when I finally get my cards, address them, and mail them to you, remember that the process was a hard-fought one. Need proof? This was the picture taken just minutes before the final (and mercifully, best) picture. Family pictures are fun for everyone!

(After this, the post-photograph bribery turned to mid-photograph bribery. That will explain why Miriam and Caroline have suckers in the picture that finally made the Christmas card cut. Don't judge.)

fuzzy, maybe?

We interrupt this regularly scheduled hiatus (Guests are fun! Colds are not. Both are distracting.) for the following public opinion poll:

Is this picture sort of fuzzy?

invaded (as dictated by Jonah)

Yesterday, on Thursday, we had about three festivals of ladybugs come over to our house. When we first saw them, they seemed to be everlasting on the flag. And then they were all over our roof, and our porch, and our stairs. And sometimes they were on my window and Caroline's window. We had a lot of fun with them. We would make them climb on us (all except Caroline, who would run away whenever a ladybug came close to her). They are mostly going away today, which is Friday.

We also have a new tire swing we like to play on. After this, I am going to go play on the tire swing.

topics about which I have unusually strong opinions

The thing is, I can recognize that my reaction is disproportionate to the question, but I can't help myself. Here are four things that I feel so strongly about that I will risk getting myself labeled as "that one woman" at a party.*

1. Vegetables in pot roast: do they belong? I say yes. I would almost rather not make pot roast at all if there aren't any delicious potatoes and onions. Until a few years ago, I only included (and then forced myself to consume) a single carrot as a nod to the fact that I was trying to be a responsible adult (I loathe cooked carrots). The pot roast that's in the oven right now, though, has FIVE gigantic carrots in the vegetable mix because not once in the last two years have I made a pot roast and had any carrots left over at the end of the meal. Caroline specifically requests this meal by the name, "the one with my yummy carrots."

2. When does Christmas season start? I'm an adamant day-after-Thanksgiving person. I don't mind my friends who want to listen to music or even deck out their houses, or even the decorations showing up at Michael's I suppose (I mean, I saw some women buying Christmas fabric in September this year. I can only assume that is because handmade Christmas things take time), but here is my personal reasoning: First, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I'd rather it not be completely eclipsed. Second, my mother was always a proponent for waiting until after Thanksgiving. Some things, once learned as a child, can never be fully forgotten. Third, I get really grumpy when I see "top Christmas gifts of the season" ads popping up on November 1. I'm not ready to spend all my money at your store, thank you very much.

I consider Christmas music acceptable year-round. Maybe my exception for music comes from the fact that, as anyone who has performed in a Christmas concert knows, choirs and bands and orchestras likely started working on their Christmas music around September.

3. Any book-turned-movie: I try so hard not to be "that person"--the one who sits in the theater and grumbles about how much better the book was. But seriously.** I do try to keep my mouth shut, but I also insist that the kids read (or listen to me read) a book before they see the movie. This hasn't worked for every single movie out there (Since once you exclude movies made from books, nearly all children's movies pre-Pixar are out. Because books rock.) but I try.

4. Baked goods: should they include nuts? Do I get that some people don't like/can't eat nuts? Yes. Do I get mad if someone makes me cookies without nuts in them? No way! Who gets mad at cookies? Will I ever make chocolate chip cookies, banana muffins, or brownies without them? No. Not unless I'm out of walnuts or the person is allergic. In fact, if I'm out of walnuts/feeding someone with a nut allergy, we'll just have ice cream or rice krispie treats for dessert and call it good. A chocolate chip cookie/brownie/banana muffin with no nut is almost not worth eating. Almost.

Edited to add: And because who knows you better than your own mother? (No one.) My mom sent me a box of chocolate for my birthday. What kind? The nutty kind. Thanks, Mom.

*Which is saying something, since I am very careful about what I wear the first week in a new ward and very careful about a) what I say about a book and b) which book I pick when I'm in a new book club. I just don't want to get myself labeled before I've had a chance to figure out who I want to be friends with.

**Shout out to Shanté for curing my unhealthy rage at why Daniel Radcliffe's eyes were not green in the Harry Potter movies. Do we not live in the era of colored contacts, people?! The green eyes are a significant plot detail and mentioned at least once each book. (It's because he was allergic, apparently. That's acceptable.)

little scientists

Maybe next year I'll be thinking clearly, and I'll convince someone (maybe myself?!) to dress up as a mad scientist for Halloween. I keep forgetting we have all the gear, because the resident scientist is so modest about his scientific self. (Those of you who know him well might laugh. Josh? Modest? He has been blessed with a healthy confidence and often appears to be very self-assured, but in this area, he undersells his abilities.) He looks at the insanely successful and genius researchers he worked with and met in his time in the PhD program and fails to give himself credit for his own success.

Sometimes he comes home between labs and runs experiments with the kids, though, because he's wonderful. On the schedule this week: starches.

the new book (as dictated by Jonah)

Thursday, we made a book to bring to the library. I decided I'd rather make a different book. So we made it into a new book and just got books at the library. We got some fun books! And on the way home, we thought we were going to make a book and bring it to the store to get a cover and to get it printed. And that's how it began. Friday, we worked on the book some more.

On Halloween, which is Saturday, we are hopefully going to take it to the store. The book should be done before Jo Jo and Kaitlyn will get here! Jo Jo will be here in 13 days from Friday, which is today, when we wrote this blog. Kaitlyn will be here in 11 days. I think that's probably it!

on setting and accomplishing goals

So we have set family and personal goals each year for over 5 years now. Some years have been more successful than others, but each year we've approached the process in a slightly different way. In 2011, I had the idea (which I still think is pretty great) to come up with 12 larger goals and work on one a month. I still had some daily and weekly goals, but not as many as usual. Instead, I came up with a list of 12 things I wanted to learn to do or wanted to be better at, but that by themselves would not make great year-long goals.

One of my goals was to learn to crochet. I've "known how to crochet" since college, but I've never known more than the basic stitch and never known how to read a pattern. This goal never ended up happening, because April 2011 was the tornado, and the next 2 years were chaos. First we had the tornado and all of that. Then we were moving. Then Caroline was born (and she was not a particularly sanguine baby). Somehow, it was years later and I still don't really know how to crochet.

Well, let me tell you what: I've crocheted a beanie and accompanying Yoda ears this month for Jonah's costume! I've learned single crochet, double crochet, single crochet two together, and all kinds of pattern-reading skills. It may be 4 years late, but I'm feeling pretty pleased. After I finish Miriam's Halloween costume and the quilt I've been making all year, I might actually go get a crochet pattern and make something cute. Maybe.

the Mayses, the Mays family, the Mays's house; never the Mays'

Thank you, Mrs. Mills, for teaching me how to pluralize (and make possessive) a last name that ends in -s. Little did I know that I would need to use this information at least every year at Christmas time.

This author shares my loathing of superfluous apostrophes.

Dear Dad,

A friend of mine lost her mom this past week. She wrote online today that they had a tradition of speaking on Monday nights after her late class. She went to call her mom last night, and had already dialed the phone before she realized. I got to thinking about one of the last phone conversations we had.

We hadn't talked on the phone, not really, for years probably. It was too difficult for us to hear and understand each other that way. I still remember, though, when I called you during Jonah's music class. It was March maybe. I was thinking about Grandma Hunt and wanted to ask you about her. We talked for almost an hour. It was a comfortable and easy conversation. With a few exceptions, you could hear me and I didn't interrupt and it was perfect. It was then that you told me that she was very musical, and that she always found a way to make a home or a room more beautiful: flowers, art, something. You told me that she hated fighting and about how she drove down to Ajo in the old car. I don't remember what kind of car, but I definitely remember that the make and model was part of the story. It was the first time I really remember you speaking about her at length, maybe because most of the kids knew her well and the stories didn't mean as much to them. I really appreciated it, though, since I don't remember her when she was well. It was an absolute blessing that we could talk that day. It's funny now, though, that I once thought talking on the phone was difficult. I'd give quite a bit for the chance to try again.

Daddy's snake (as dictated by Jonah)

Monday and Tuesday Daddy a day off work. And on Saturday, he found a snake! He decided to keep the snake. Then he went to the pet store with Caroline and got some mice for the snake to eat.

[Caroline interjected at this point: "Say that we saw fishes and kitties and birds!" "I can't," said Jonah, "because I didn't see them.]

A couple mornings after, we tried to think of a name. I don't know who thought of this really, but Daddy says that Mommy said the snake should be Byron. I have no idea what they were talking about anyway, though, so we still don't have a name for him. We might just call it snake. The End.

"I want to say something on the blog too," as dictated by Caroline

Hi. I love you so much, whenever I go out to play. Daddy and Mommy come in my way so I know how to go to the splash pad. And all the Meredith I know what she says all the times I go to North Carolina. Dixie has his food. And all the summer isles and all the in some sections of Meredith and some Uncle Quintin and the queen of Mama. Mama is some friend's king.

I really do feed them

Jonah obsesses over exactly what the next three meals entail at any given moment.

Caroline wants to clarify that I will actually be buying more graham crackers (or applesauce or string cheese or whatever it is) before taking even a single bite out of the first graham cracker out of the box.

When Miriam signals that she is all done and ready to get down from her high chair, it's pretty clear (she tries to climb out, even if she's strapped in). But every time, she also grabs all the food she can get the minute I start to unbuckle her. The girl just likes to carry around a snack for later.

Caroline

This girl shows her emotions so clearly. Only she could pull of dejected while holding a giant cotton candy.

This next picture says, "Look! Daddy caught me a snake!"

She has changed her mind about 7 times on her Halloween costume. I'm buying fabric Monday, so she's going to have to settle in. Main contenders are Elsa (again), Baba Yaga, Pocahontos, and Mace Windu. I guess it will be a surprise!

Miriam recently

She still doesn't talk a lot, but what she does say she says with gusto. New words include Roll Tide, down, ball, dog, shoes, and teeth. But to really understand her, you need to speak her language.

Shoes = let's go somewhere. She loves to get dressed and grab her shoes. She knows that when we put on her shoes, we're leaving the house. That said, she hates wearing shoes. As soon as they are actually on her feet, she refuses to walk. She will sit and cry until I take them off and she can walk happily again.

Teeth = I'd like to brush my teeth and/or suck on someone's toothbrush. It can also mean that she needs some more toothpaste on her (or  my) toothbrush.

No = NO! Except when it means yes. The only way to tell is to look at her legs. If she's kicking her legs in excitement, it means yes. Otherwise, it means no.

Down = Either up or down, depending on where she is and what she wants. I think this may be the one she's most proud of. She really loves the ability to ask to get down when she sees something she wants.

Her hair is just long enough to hang in her eyes. She finds it hilarious to pull clips and hair ties out, especially while riding in the car, so she often looks just like this:

Yesterday, I found her standing on the piano. The picture is fuzzy because although I definitely wanted photographic evidence, I didn't want to stand still in the process of rushing over to pull her down. She's a pretty precocious little thing.

Jonah's list for the blog (as dictated by Jonah)

It started on Monday. I made a list for the blog, and now I can remember almost every detail of the days before I type this in.

Tuesday: Raining. Lost my digging spoon. Pancakes for breakfast. For lunch, burritos. Quiet time: audiobook and school. Friends came over to our house. Phone not working; no audiobook. Mommy went to the store to get new socks.

Wednesday: I woke up first. For breakfast, Malt-o-Meal. Went to landlord's house. Read on porch.

Thursday: I can't remember what we had for breakfast. We had ice cream after lunch. Made map and hid picture for Caroline.

Friday: Woke up. Cleaned the house. Had toast for breakfast. Wrote on blog (right now!). The end.

Dear Dad,

I felt like I heard you talking the other day. I didn't hear your voice or anything, but I knew exactly what you'd have said if you came over and saw me trying to fix that weed eater. You'll be happy to know that even when I was very sure I would never turn it on, I unplugged it anyway. It was what I'm sure you would have said to do. (I'm sorry, but I still sometimes unplug the vacuum by pulling on the cord. No one's perfect, I guess.)

Jonah and I laid on his bed and listened to Clair de Lune today. It's just about the only thing I remember of Eric, and even then I'm not sure if I really remember him playing it or if I'm just thinking of the recording we have of him playing it. I like to think I really remember it, because the other songs (The Music Box Dancer, for example) don't hit me quite like that one does.

I've been thinking about him a lot today, but I don't talk to him like I do to you. So if you're together, or if you can be, will you tell him I miss him? 

Thanks, Dad.

everything in North Carolina (as dictated by Jonah)

A week ago today, Mommy and Daddy went to Alabama and Grandma came to stay here with us. It rained a lot and we had lots of walks to our landlord's house just a little bit less than a mile from here. We saw the house they were building, and everyone there laughed when they saw me and Caroline go to the ant piles. The ants went crazy when I stepped on their homes. If you jump back, all the way over to today, it has been very cold and we had another walk down there. And now, they have some sort of paper or plastic around the house and they have the roof on.


P.S. (as dictated by Caroline) When you're mad, you think it's so really mad, and the ant pile was destroyed by us and we pretend to play and we went over to Jack's house and Scotty hit me with Legos and we ate some cookies. That was my surprise and I loved it so much and that is what we do. And she went over to Jack's friend's house and she did not look over and Miriam is not even bad but sometimes she's bad but she's very cute but she looks over my room and I don't want her in my room and I really like Powerpuff girls and Jonah loves to play the magic baby game and Jonah is a very nice boy. Sometimes he cries. My cry is a very, very loud cry but it does not seem very smart but I need something and we have a purple water bottle. My house looks pretty, pretty. My American flag is not green. So I went over to my fruit stand game and it looks pretty cool. I also have a Star Wars toothbrush but I don't have it anymore. Maybe I will at my next birthday. I have a red and white bike that is very pretty and I sent it to Kiera Ruth Mays a card that I sent to her.

ten years

At our wedding, we each read lists of the top 10 things we loved about each other.* I distinctly recall putting the lists in a safe place, but they were never seen again. On our first anniversary, I wrote a second list. I was going to say "and I know exactly where that one is," but I just checked and I don't. Turns out "she's great at keeping track of love letters" shouldn't be on the list. I thought about posting another list of the 10 things I love about Josh here in honor of our tenth anniversary tomorrow, but I won't. Honestly, they're personal and I also have a weird complex about re-reading things I've written years later, especially things that were heartfelt.

I have been pondering all day, however, about the things I've learned in 10 happy years of marriage. If I had any loved ones getting married tomorrow, this is what I might share as a seasoned marriage veteran of 10 years.

1. Forgive and don't bring it up again will do. My Dad told us that when we got married. As always, he was right. Sometimes, especially at first, forgive and forget is impossible. But forgive and don't trot it out every argument? That can do a world of good while time does the rest of the healing.
2. "How can I help?" is a better question than anything that starts with, "Why can't you..." 
3. People change. I'm different than the girl he married. He's not the same boy I married either. We have different interests and talents. Some of our personality traits have gotten more pronounced and others have receded. And yet, we still fit.

4. Home is where you keep your honey. So reads the board my aunt gave us for our wedding. We had no idea at the time that we'd move so often. In fact, we imagined moving once or twice more and never again. We are on move number 8 since then (and counting), but I've never felt completely adrift because we're in this together.
5. Trust is priceless. If I trust him (his priorities, his motivations, his goals) completely, a lot of little things work themselves out. If he can trust me (with his feelings, with our money, with the children, with confidences), we're not in fight mode when difficult matters arise. In this area, I feel like we got a head start. I think we work at 10 years like some people work at 15 or 20, only because I learned I could trust him long before we were in a relationship or talking about marriage. Maybe the saying shouldn't be "marry your best friend" but "marry the person you trust completely".
6. Things look better in the morning.
7. He can't read my mind, and I can't read his. We were talking the other night about something he wish he would have done even though at the time he was sure I wouldn't have liked it. I said, "If you'd brought it up and said, 'This is important to me. What can we do to make this an acceptable arrangement for you?' then I'm sure I would have been okay with it." At least, I hope I would have. Either way, we have both had to learn to articulate what things are important. It's much more satisfying than waiting for the other person to guess.

8. A queen-sized bed is big enough. (But a dual-control electric blanket is wonderful.) I know there are plenty of people who will disagree. Someday I might even disagree. But after having all sorts of mattresses and sleeping arrangements in our homes or on vacation, we've settled on the perfect bed size for us. Notice that I said us, not us and all the children. Usually in the morning, I wonder why we don't have a California King to accommodate all the knees and elbows climbing up the side of the bed.
9. We're on the same team. I'll never forget the night Josh said this to me. I think I might have been yelling at the time. He's on my side. If I'm frustrated, taking it out on him just makes things worse.
10. It just gets better. I wouldn't have believed it 10 years ago. Now, I can't imagine how it could get better, but I think it probably will. For starters, sometime in the next decade I imagine we'll go to a football game that Alabama wins instead.

*#1 on my list at the time: That he can make a roux. (The guests at our wedding were underwhelmed, but let me explain.) Josh spent many hours watching The Food Network while I was in Spain and he was missing me. He learned to make a roux, which is a valuable life skill, in the process. Making gravy from scratch is one of my talents I am most proud of, and one that he knew nothing about before we got engaged. It's not the roux that matters (though it really is a good thing to know, especially if you make a lot of gumbo). It's the desire to learn more about what's important to the other person and the affection you feel when seeing something your sweetheart likes when you're apart.

reading books

I always assumed that one of my great delights as a mother would be reading childhood favorites to my children. I eagerly anticipated introducing them to favorite characters and places at bedtime. So imagine my surprise when I discovered (at least so far) that our best reading happens in the morning. We do read books at night, but the girls are still young enough that it's not quite the picture of domestic bliss that I had envisioned. In the morning, though, we can lay in my bed or cuddle up on the couch and read a few chapters before we start the day. Or like today, we can read during a breakfast picnic while Miriam runs rampant stealing all our toast.

I've also been surprised (but happy) to find that some of my favorites are new books we've discovered together. These are either books that have been written since I was in elementary school or ones that I never read for whatever reason. This morning we started The Silver Chair, one of only two of the Chronicles of Narnia books that I've never read. It's all I can do not to read ahead tonight while the kids are asleep.

our little zoo

Remember Jonah feeding crickets to the bearded dragons at Josh's lab in Alabama? Well today, wearing the very same shirt, Caroline befriended a lizard named Santa (her name choice).

Santa was a very patient friend, especially when Miriam tried to decapitate him a few times (with love, of course):

A giant beetle flew in our open window, so (of course) we caught it in a jar and looked it up. It turned out to be a dung beetle! We very desperately wanted to keep it in a terrarium and find it some dung (apparently they prefer the dung of ruminates like cows and deer). Alas, we ended up letting him run free. Come back again, little beetle!

answers to Grandma's questions

Hi, Mom! Here is a video of the storm that blew over part of the tree in the back:

And here is a shot of the tree limb, though you can't see the whole tree.

One giant branch split from the trunk and crashed down onto Dixie's dog run (don't worry; she wasn't in the run at the time). Our landlord came down the next morning to clear off the driveway and check out any damage. With the help of a tractor (actually what I think of as a tractor this time, not just a John Deere vehicle, which is also called a tractor apparently), he and Josh removed the limb from the tree. That said, Jerry is going to call a tree crew out to work on another large limb that partially split from the trunk but is suspended in the tree still. Jerry's opinion is that they will need to take out the whole tree (since once they remove the limb, it will be very lopsided). If the tree were to fall the wrong way, it would crash into the living room. Anyway, that was quite a long answer to the question about the tree, but there you have it. It was quite a storm!

the stories of the week (as dictated by Jonah)

Last night, we had quite a big thunderstorm. It knocked down a tree on Dixie's dog run. We went to our landlord's house to pick up a tree, and I thought that was a little adventure. We were watching a movie when the power went out.

The Gibsons, our landlords, came over to our house for dinner on Monday. We had hamburgers, which I was pretty happy about.

We went out for ice cream on Tuesday. I had cotton candy. It was sweeter than most ice cream I've gotten, but I was not surprised. And we also went to the church.

There's not much to say, so this might be the end of our story.

tractor races

Sometimes, I forget that this is our life. That we really do go outside with a bag of trash and get sidetracked by bugs. I had such a frustrating morning, but somehow it's all better now. I credit the turn around with getting to talk to my mom, my sister, and my brother and spending a bit of time chasing bugs with Caroline.

"Where is our spider?" Caroline wanted to know. We have a ton of spiders around the back porch. Most of them are Daddy Longlegs (but gross, they are bigger than the ones in AZ and striped. Blech.), but there was one funky looking spider that hung out by the back door last week.

"Maybe it crawled away," I said, knowing full well that it was dead last week when we spotted it. More likely, its body blew away. Why didn't I just explain that to her? Because when I told her that it was dead last week, she absolutely did not believe me. Anyway, it just wasn't worth a fight.

"Oh! Here he is! He's a grass popper now!" Sure enough, a grasshopper (but isn't "grass popper" a better name?) had taken up residence where the dead spider used to be. So Caroline and I chased him around watching him hop around for a minute or two before we went back inside to make dinner.

Yesterday morning, our neighbor/landlord drove his tractor down to say hello. The kids were out front riding their bikes, so they all raced up and down the lane. It's hard to say who had a better time, but my money is on Uncle Jerry.

Plus, college football started up again this weekend, so Roll Tide Roll.

I'm not pregnant. I'm also not crying through dinner.

Tonight, right before guests came over for dinner, I burnt an entire bag of hamburger buns when I put them under the broiler and then forgot about them.

Something very similar happened when I was 6+ months pregnant with Caroline. That time, I burnt two loaves of french bread minutes before we were supposed to take bread over to a friend's house for dinner.

Tonight, I hopped in the car and bought a new bag of buns (and lettuce, which I was out of as well). Four years ago, I buried my head in my pillow and sobbed. Then I sent Josh to dinner with Jonah while I stayed home and took a nap. I am so glad that it just wasn't a big deal tonight.

Also, Josh fell asleep on the couch and left me with specific instructions to wake him up if something exciting happens in this football game. I'm so tired! Someone call me if something happens (not really.) so I can wake up and tell Josh about it. Good night.

fun days of the weeks (as dictated by Jonah)

Last week we washed our car. There was a little brush that shot soap out of it. The soap smelled a lot like when I would get a slushie, so I just wanted to go eat it. Then, I sent a letter to my friends we had in Arizona: the Hills. There were pictures in the letter. And Mommy sent a little note too.

We also went to a very fun park with a big castle. It was very fun because there were lots of things to do. We found lots of hiding places under the floors on dirt with little stumps that we used as chairs. The only thing that mostly interrupted our fun was the heat.

Today, Saturday, the week after that, I bought some Skittles. There are a lot of big games of football today--finally! The last thing I am going to say is that it is very fun to find things to say on the blog.

and she walks!

(So this was last week. YouTube and I had a fight, but I won. The videos can now be seen! Huzzah! Also, good work Miriam.) 

(And for kicks, a blooper. This is what happens when the baby does not want to walk anymore for the camera.)

In just the few days since we took this video, she has decided that walking is actually a pretty great thing to do. It helps that she spends almost all of her time pushing Caroline's stroller around the house.

Walking also makes it easier to wear long necklaces, which she seems to love. Baby Caroline (and current Caroline, too) loved shoes. She was always wearing and pointing out and carrying around shoes. Baby Miriam loves necklaces, and we love Baby Miriam.

Dear Dad,

I miss you. That's nothing new, of course, but it's been a constant sort of presence this last month. Maybe it's because I haven't sat down and written to you recently, or maybe it's because I'm so far from home. I love it here. It's so beautiful. I find myself thinking of you a lot, even though you've never been here (that I know of, anyway). It's little things, like the shoes our landlord wears, or the man stopped next to me at the stoplight a few days ago. That I would miss you, that it would make me sad, that things that remind me of you would make me happy: none of this is surprising to me. What I did find surprising was how swiftly I felt our loss when Josh and I were working with one of your tools. It was an old drill, the kind where you manually adjust the piece that fits the various drill bits. The small tool needed was taped (with electrical tape, of course) to the cord. Josh told me that many people attached them like that somehow, because those tools had a tendency to get lost. "Not everyone used electrical tape, though." He said that affectionately. And somehow that took me back to all of your electrical tape and all of your tools and the sights and smells of your office on V.I.P., and I missed you so much. Thank you for being my Dad. I'll try to make you proud and take good care of your tools. And maybe someday my kids will make lightsabers with all my electrical tape, and I'll bite my tongue and let them do it just like you let me and Quintin get away with it, too.

Laser Man is no longer all alone

Laser Man hasn't been seen around these parts recently. But at the ripe old age of 3 years and 9 months, Caroline finally has an imaginary friend. This from the girl whose doll is named Dolly and whose My Little Pony is named Pony (her stuffed cat is also called Pony, but that's another story). She has spent the day pushing an empty stroller that supposedly contains Josie the dog. Did I mention that Josie thinks I'm a monster?

what we did this week (dictated by Jonah)

This week, it rained every night. I know because every morning, our yard was wet. There's not much to talk about, so this is all I'm typing. (Until I made him come back and say more.) This week, I saw my friend Jack. Jack and I are good friends because we both like Star Wars. I like to go to his house because I am nervous about directing my own Lego game. My favorite thing to do at his house is play. Next week, I hope we go get ice cream.

what else we've been up to

Once again, things settle more into being right now that we have a functioning dining table. But before we were eating dinner and doing school around the table, it was an idea. It was an inspiration piece at IKEA and some hand-drawn plans. Josh is a very thorough planner (maybe that's why his trip to buy the materials was significantly shorter than my trip to buy stain).

After the plan, it was a bunch of uncut lumber.

Then there was working, working, sanding, drilling, and behold! A table! And a bench!

After the table and bench, it was my turn to get to work. I had a bit of a crisis mid-stain (thank you, Facebook and Instagram friends for helping me solve the dilemma), but I love the color now. It looks even better inside with people sitting around the table. Now we just need a few more chairs and all will be right with the world (again).

In summary, this table is the thing that mattered most to me when we moved in. (As in, Josh had all sorts of other valuable projects he wanted to work on and I kept pestering him about the table. This has been a theme our whole marriage; a dinner table is a prized piece of furniture to me.) I love it!

first day of school

6:00 am: "Oh no. Can it please be summer again?"
8:00 am: We sit down (minus Josh, who left an hour ago) to first-day fry bread, per Jonah's request. Happy children.
8:10 am: Wet bed discovered. Laundry commenced.
8:30 am: I let Jonah choose the order, so it goes like this today: handwriting ("I wonder what this is!"), history ("I love history more than anything but science!"), math ("I don't like math, but that doesn't mean I'm not good at it. I'm really good at it."), grammar, phonics, writing, reading.
10:00 am: We are really dragging by this point, but I suggest a mid-morning snack. Yay! Happy faces all around again.
10:05 am: Josh reports that his first class went well, though the students seemed pretty lethargic.
10:30 am: Caroline is now tired of school (she's not required to sit with us, but she really wanted to for the first 2 hours). At this point, she's reverted to destroying things and picking fights.
10:35 am: Miriam is now awake. Some sacrifices must be made to keep up with school (in this case, kitchen cleanliness).
10:37 am: In addition to the above, Josh calls about a new pair of jeans. Not one to wait on buying something for Mr. I-Never-Want-New-Clothes, I buy jeans online while administering a spelling test. Is that why there were only 9 words instead of 10? Maybe.
12:00 pm: Lunch. Jonah eats half. Caroline eats one bite. Somehow, I eat none.
12:30 pm: Some order restored in the kitchen. "Jonah," I asked, "how did you like the first day of school?" His reply? "It was awesome! I love school!" Well okay. I can take that.
2:00 pm: Caroline is asleep. Miriam is awake. I am trying to figure out what to eat for lunch. Or should I just start dinner? Or is there any Blue Bell ice cream for sale around here yet?

It had some highs and some moments of exhaustion, but we made it through the first day of school! Returning subjects: reading, history, phonics, grammar, Spanish, math, science, art. New subjects: writing, spelling, handwriting. New goals: daily snack and all teeth brushed before we begin.

Happy school, everyone! May the year be good to any in your household that have school this fall.

my Sims bubbles

You know how when you play Sims the characters have little bubbles/meters that gauge their happiness with various aspects of life? There's the hygiene meter, the comfort meter, the knowledge meter, etc. We often refer to these bubbles when trying to articulate what we are happy (or not so happy) about. For example, when the house gets too messy and I start to feel claustrophobic, I know that's my environment bubble.

So today we went to get NC licenses and vehicle registration. While at the DMV (and after a long wait), we did our best to remain upbeat while the staff were nothing but grumpy and unhelpful. Then, when we registered to vote, we were told we had to pick a party or we would not be able to vote in the primary elections.

This is nothing new. That's the way the law is in Arizona. The thing is, though, I had looked online last night and was pretty sure I could vote in one primary even if I registered as an independent. Not wanting to lock ourselves out of the primaries, though, we went with the information given us and registered in a party. When I stepped outside, I decide to fact check that information. No, we were correct. Unaffiliated voters in NC can still vote in one primary of their choosing.

I was so annoyed. Voting (voting in the primary elections especially) is important to me, and I felt misled and pushed around. I was so antsy and frustrated about it until we found the county election commission and changed the registration and let them know that the DMV was giving out incorrect information. Then, I felt relaxed and at ease.

The morals of this whole story are a) I don't like to be pigeonholed when it comes to my political interests and beliefs, and b) I think I have a "social and moral justice" bubble that had dropped too low.

but some days are great days

Sometimes a boy (7) tucks himself in behind his dad (31) to listen to stories while they mow the lawn.

And sometimes a dog (4) has to run along and make sure her boy is doing okay.

Meanwhile a woman (30) sits on the front steps and repots her vine that is doing so well it needs more space. 

All the while two little girls (1 and 3) sleep soundly in their happy room. Not every day is a great day, but this one was.

to the boy who loves tomatoes

Josh is being spoiled rotten by our landlord/neighbor. Everything here save the onions came from the garden of our landlord.

The variety of tomatoes has impressed the kids to no end. Josh is in heaven because he has always loved golden tomatoes. 

We are feeling pretty blessed. Plus the peppers are actually spicy!

The best ice cream ever!!

We tried out a local ice cream parlor tonight. Everyone liked it, but possibly Caroline most of all.

Then again, Miriam was pretty happy sitting on the table sneaking bites from everyone too.

This particular parlor is known for it's grape ice cream, which we thought was pretty tasty. The banana tasted like banana runts, Jonah declared the cookies and cream "the best cookies and cream I've ever had," and Josh really liked the butter pecan. I tried about 5 different flavors and have the next 5 lined up that I'd like to try (black walnut, cherry vanilla, cookie dough, mint chocolate chip, strawberry), but mostly I just want to try the milkshakes. They looked amazing!

black and white

While driving home from Charlotte tonight, we were telling stories about our cat Galileo. 

Caroline: Can I see pictures and videos when we get home?

Me: Well I don't have any on my phone. That was many phones ago. 

Josh: There are videos of him somewhere. On a cd probably. 

Jonah: Are they grey?

Me: No, Galileo was black and white. 

Jonah: Well I'm expecting the videos to be grey. 

Josh: Do you mean the video would be in black and white?!

Well we did both notice some extra wrinkles around our eyes today. 

and all is right again, v. 2

When I said "all is right again," what I meant was, "more right than before." It couldn't have ALL been right, because I didn't have this yet:

Now I do. Now all must be right in the world (at least until we get a dining table).