On Sam

Sam saw an idea in his National Geographic Kids that he wanted to try. We worked on it together and...
this is what we got. A case for his MP3 player.
One night Sam made dinner for us. I thought that he would get tired of it somewhere in the middle and vanish, but he actually insisted I go relax while he did it all. He was very cute. He did not want me to give him a hand even with getting everything on the table. The baked chicken fingers were a big hit with everyone. It was the first time we had tried this recipe; it was not the last time. I think we've made them 3 or 4 more times since.
Sam and his good buddy, Simon, had a newscast project for school. One afternoon while they were together practicing, I tried out some publicity shots for them. They didn`t use any.
He`s really growing up. I love watching his progress, watching him pick friends for their loyalty and not for their popularity, watching him make good decisions, watching him take initiative, watching him admit his mistakes. He`s a joy!

Birthday present

I remember my mom hearing a song on the radio on her birthday one year. It had these words in it: "The older the violin, the sweeter the music." She took it as her theme song.

It was my 39th birthday on Friday. I didn't hear an encouraging song, but this might top my mom's little gift. That day, we walked into the kids' school for a type of open house they had all day. Later on Sam told me that one of the sixth graders asked him if I was his sister. I won't let people forget this one, let me tell you.

What did he say?

The other day we were at some friends' and Joel needed the bathroom. As I was lifting him up on to the toilet, he said, "I'm gonna need some books." We all know where he learned that one!

I came up from the basement and asked Joel if he wanted to go outside to play now. "I need to play chess first," he said.

Today when we were coming back home from the grocery store, he had this announcement to make: "Someday I'm going to be the king of Israel."

The kids went off to school and about 1/2 an hour later Joel said, "I really miss my friends." I wanted to know which friends. He said, "My friends, Sam and Jack."

A little story

Last Sunday afternoon after the kids had had their obligatory rest period, I asked the big boys to go for a walk with me. We needed a couple things from the store to make our Sunday night pizzas, and since it was a warm, relatively sunny day, we made the errand into more like a little nature outing and chose a store situated about a mile and a half from our home.

Joel might have come along but he was busy digging out his lawnmower that had been buried months ago and no one knew where (how did we miss getting it into the shed before the first big storm?) I advised the boys to wear junky clothes and old shoes as I knew with all the melting snow there was certain to be puddles. And I knew there might be some venturing off the yellow brick road say, into the woods or the like.
Sam either didn't hear me or he thought donning his Heelys would facilitate the long walk. Anyway, he didn't do what I told him. And when we got here, he was not about to wreck his favorite footwear. He back-tracked and took a different route while Jack and I jumped and sloshed our way through the 3-inches of water.

Notice he did obey when it came to putting on grubby pants.

Okay, finally on dry ground and even passing us.We were having such a great time laughing, noticing, singing. I knew it would go down in my book as one of my more memorable moments with the boys.

See that little lake up ahead on the right?

It was where we stopped to take some pictures, pretend to throw each other in, comment on the depth of the water, notice a bag floating there.

And then I got caught up in the symmetry of this monstrous fixture, snapped a few pics, and put my camera away.

Shoot, I have very bad timing. What the kids were doing while I was putting my camera safely in its bag, was deciding maybe it would be fun to walk out on that peninsula of snow and ice jutting into that mega-puddle. And then the funniest thing I have seen in a long time happened. The snow under Sam gave way and faster than you can say Jack Robinson he was waist-deep in that icy water. And just about as quick he was out of it, muttering and mumbling, mad about getting soaked, and ripping off his shoes and sweatshirt.
For some reason I still can't fully explain, this scenario struck me as hilarious. Maybe it was that Sam doesn't usually take risks. Maybe it was that he rarely is dirty or messy. Maybe it's that he had just spent a great deal of effort avoiding a few puddles to keep his toes dry. Maybe it was the look of shock mixed with chagrin on his face. I don't know, but instead of comforting or thinking of the next step to take, I laughed. And laughed. I would get nice for a couple seconds when I saw his dismay, and then it would strike me again. Jack laughed too, but I knew I had crossed the line when even he told me to stop.

Whew, okay. I got myself under control and realized he must be freezing and that our walk had indeed come to an end. We walked the few feet to the phone booth on the corner to call Dad.
It was so cute to see him explaining his plight.
Here Jack got tickled again as he heard him recount the experience. And then as we waited the 10 minutes for Mark and Joel to meet us with dry clothes and a towel, Sam became a miserable frozen popsicle. He shivered and shook and urged Mark to arrive.
When we got home, he ran upstairs to get a long hot shower and I started the preparations for our pizza with a smile still on my face.

And just so you know, he's laughing about it now too--now that it's over. And he gave me permission to put this out there for all to read.

I'm a believer

This little amazingly-built nest survived some 10 snow-storms this winter.

After living here for 7 years, I no longer inwardly dismiss the effects that ample sunlight has on one's psyche. Oh, it's just an excuse, I'd say to myself when people told me about their tendancies to experience depression in the winter months. After all, there are plenty of sunny days here even in the winter.

But this year, as soon as the weather changed and the snow started to melt, I woke up! I've spent so much time outside walking, running, playing with the boys, hanging out the clothes, washing windows, etc. I really feel alive and better. Better, like maybe I had been sick or just running on 3 cylinders.

I love winter and all the snow. But my body is very thankful for the warmer days and that the browns and greys are changing to greens and blues.

And just for your information: a nurse friend of mine told me vitamin D plays a role in the prevention of colon, prostate, and breast cancers. She recommends taking a supplement. Check this out for more on that.

Little Bits...

Of veggies
We were over at some friends' for dinner the other night. There were chips and a little bowl of this stuff sitting out when we came in. I tried some. And oh my! it was heavenly. I raved, and embarrassingly enough for me, they gave me my very own jar (as much as I tried to protest).

A couple weeks later this very same friend called me from Costco (I don't have a membership and it seems that everyone knows it). She wanted to know if I wanted another jar of this amazing stuff. Sure, I said, and then asked how much it would be thinking that maybe I'd have her get me a couple. I thought she said $8, but then I knew I was wrong and would just ask again when she delivered it. NO, I WAS NOT WRONG!! What?? $8!! for a 33-ounce jar of vegetables (and other stuff)?

All I could think about as I forked over the $8 was this: I'm glad I didn't ask her to get me a CASE of it! Oh and this too: weren't they generous to give me this gold-in-a-jar when I gushed about it over at their house??
Of eyelashes
I am already eyelash-handicapped with sparseness I've rarely seen in others. Not only that, but they stick straight out. So, I curl them (or try to). My eyelash curler wore out awhile back, so last week I splurged and bought what I thought looked like a new and improved one, sure to make my lashes curl beautifully (if only for a minute or two). Even as I write this, I can't believe what happened yesterday. That eyelash curler just chopped my eyelashes right off. Now isn't that dandy! In the center of each eye, I have 10-12 lashes that look like they got too close to a weed-eater. I looked it up. They grow back. In a month.

Note: there will NOT be pictures of the eyelash chop, so don't ask.
Of Joel
He was a dog yesterday--barking, crawling on all fours, and asking for me to pet him.
Of yum!!
I've been making my own salsa. It's cheaper (by far) and maybe tastier than the grocery store brands. I don't make it from fresh tomatoes (remember when we did that, Simone?) or it would not be a savings (at this time of the year). I just plop a can of diced tomatoes in a saucepan and start cooking them on medium high. While they cook, I chop up onions, garlic, and fresh cilantro. I throw that all in with the tomatoes and add chili powder, salt, dash of sugar (or Splenda), and any other spice I feel like adding to the mix. I simmer all this for 20-30 minutes, and voila...homemade salsa. Everyone in the family loves it!

So grateful

As long as we've lived here, I've wanted a bigger table. It was so difficult to entertain with the limited space we had around our other old, but very loved one. A couple years ago, a friend and I were talking about the ideal table. We looked at examples online, and dreamed of the perfect one. She told me that when she bought a new one, she would give me her old one. That'd be great, I said, not thinking that it would ever happen.

Well, it happened. They just bought a new square table and called us up to see when we could come and get their old one. This one can seat up to 12 people, so I just can't believe my eyes when I walk past.
There were a couple of adjustments to be made. First of all, it wouldn't fit in the space without a lot of rearranging, but we changed the layout of the living room and moved a couple pieces out completely. Now there is room when the leaf is in (pictured above) and when we get the new rails in the mail (soon, I hope) we will be able to repair the damage it received when a couple goofy girls decided to dance on the top of it several years back. Being able to adjust it will make it more manageable for every day.

And now for the second "problem". I'm not used to having such a beautiful table. I'm so nervous about putting scratches in it or denting the surface. And now that the living room is rearranged, the kids can't play mini-hockey in there like they could before. There is plenty of space now in the dining room for a game if we move the table to the side. But look how I babied it. No way are those beautiful legs getting a hockey stick whacked into them.


Anyway, we are grateful for it. It'll just take some getting used to. I can't wait to have my first guests over for a dinner party. Wanna come??