Ten Hundred Million Years

Rosi has a typically childish notion of time. That is to say, she really has no concept of how long an hour, a day, or a year is. When something hasn't happened soon enough to please her (generally the instant she suggests it), she'll complain that it's been hours or days or even "ten hundred million years" since she first asked and she can't possibly wait any longer.

After she made such a comment the other day in the car, I explained to Adam my theory as to why time moves so much faster for Rosi than for the rest of us: in her universe, everything revolves around her. Since she's so much smaller than the sun, it all goes by that much quicker.

Meanwhile, it's been positively forever since my last post. We've been doing our best to keep ourselves occupied here, so let me give you a bulleted list of what we're up to these days.

• I've been spending a lot of time cooking, thinking about cooking, reading about cooking, writing about cooking (I have 60+ recipes posted over at Low-Carb Real Food), and trying to take half-decent pictures of my food. And when I'm done with all that, I spend a few minutes eating and then the kitchen has to be cleaned up all over again. Cooking three meals a day at home makes for a lot of dishes!
• Ever since I made the doll for my contest winner a couple of years ago, I've been wanting to make another and work out my own pattern. I even went so far as to buy yarn for the project a few months back. Then I got caught up doing other things, and I've only gotten back to it the last week or so. As best I can figure, I'm about halfway done. I've also run out of stuffing, so I need to make a run to the store before I can finish any further. Originally, this doll was meant to be for Rosi, but she'd been begging for another doll who would close its eyes when lying down. We found one for 25¢ at a garage sale over the summer and it's been well loved by both the kids. Since Rosi has a new-to-her doll, I decided that once I finish this one, it will be for Ian. I'm shooting to make it a birthday gift, which means I have about 2½ months to complete the doll and make it some clothes.
• I've been homeschooling Rosi to a greater or lesser degree for about two years now. We've tried a few different educational philosophies, but the one we keep returning to is unschooling, or interest-led learning. I really felt like I was trying too hard last year, pushing her when she didn't need any pushing. This year, I decided we really needed some support and community in the homeschooling arena. A couple of weeks ago, we joined a local homeschool group. we've gotten together with them for a couple of activities already and it's been a lot of fun. I'm really excited about what's coming up in the next several months. Rosi is too. It's been difficult for her to maintain friendships when she doesn't see kids at school everyday. A few of our neighbors have kids, but most of them are younger. The one friend her own age that she'd made in our building moved out several months ago. We also haven't had a regular church we've been attending, so that hasn't been a viable avenue for ongoing friendships either.
• And speaking of churches, we actually visited one this morning that we'd all like to go to again. The people were welcoming, the message was solid and timely, the music was good, and I was really happy with the way they handled communion. I've been less than impressed with the way children are so often overlooked when it comes to communion. I understand that families and denominations have differing beliefs about who can take communion. But, in practice, I am very uncomfortable with the way my kids have been treated when we've visited some churches and have brought them up for communion. It is very rare to find a communion "policy" noted in the bulletin or announced during the service. At the church we worshiped in this week, however, the pastor invited the congregation to participate and noted that each family should determine whether their children should receive the bread and wine. One of the things I loved most about our church in Illinois was the recognition that we all don't agree on a lot of theological points--and that's okay. The Church is big enough for people to hold different ideas about baptism or communion or speaking in tongues. Those issues are not actually central to the Gospel and they shouldn't be treated as if they were. I'm excited to find someplace that makes a point of that right in the service.
• Ian is having his own version of interest-led learning. You might call it "toilet unschooling." For the past month or so, he's been pretty frequently asking to use the toilet. He's also gotten really remarkable in the way he can undress himself and take a diaper off, even when he's snapped into a bodysuit. So, I've mostly given up on trying to keep him dressed. I insist that he wear a diaper when we're out or while he's sleeping, but most of the time he spends the majority of his day running around the house without any clothes on. He uses the toilet more than not, and for those times when he doesn't quite make it, I keep a spray bottle of cleaner and a roll of paper towels handy. As an added bonus, I figure he's probably saved us about $15 in diapers so far.

Well, that's not everything we've been up to, but that's probably enough for one post. I will try to start updating with a little more frequency again. Maybe I can manage to post more like once a week rather than once a month. For now, I'm going to go catch up on some sleep!

Grateful

In the vein of thanking God for small favors, let me recount a tale for you.

Two weeks ago, Target had a sale on diapers, so I added yet another stop to my list of errands to run that day. Thankfully, our local Target is on my way to a couple of other stores I needed to visit.

I parked the car, walked inside, headed back for the baby department, and was confronted with a big empty shelf where the boxes of size 4s should have been. Thankfully, at the bottom of the shelf was a pad of raincheck requests which made it easy to print a raincheck right at check out.

Several days later, after the sale had ended, the kids wanted to go out for a drive. I suggested we take a trip to the store if they behaved well. They did, so we headed out to Target. I grabbed a cart and set a course for the baby section, stopping every few feet to redirect Rosi as she got distracted by the bright shiny things on display. Once we'd reached the diaper aisle, I was disappointed to find the gaping hole still there between the 3s and the 5s. Thankfully, both children were amused by a quick breeze through the back-to-school section (although Rosi could not understand why I wouldn't buy her a package of Tinkerbell book covers).

Another few days passed and we'd opened our last bag of diapers. I called Target and a very helpful employee told me they had the diapers I was looking for: 9 boxes on the shelf and 30 in the warehouse. Just to be sure, I questioned whether these were all size 4. She confirmed they were. I drove to Target again. I got a cart and headed for the baby section for a third time. Thankfully, a mass of women with toddlers hadn't cleaned out the diaper aisle in the 20 minutes since I'd called.

This morning, Ian woke up a bit grumpy. He didn't want to eat, he didn't really want to play, he was just sitting in Adam's lap complaining about life. And then he threw up all over himself, Adam, and the floor. Thankfully, he missed the computer which sat a few feet away.

After a bath and a clean set of clothes, Adam changed a yucky diaper and took him to bed for a nap. Some time later, they came out of the bedroom together. Ian in need of another diaper change and another bath. Thankfully, we'd just done laundry, so we had an abundant supply of clean clothes.

Thankfully, we finally have an abundant supply of diapers from Target.

Fun with Science

Rosi and I completed the most funnest* science experiment since the one I did in high school biology that involved spitting into test tubes (I think it had something to do with pH testing, but I don't recall exactly).

We made Blue Goo. Seriously, this stuff is better than play dough. You can't sculpt anything out of it, but that's okay. It's fun just watching it melt and drip and change between liquid and solid form.

Do you want to get all gooey about science, too? It's easy, just mix one part cornstarch with 3 parts water. You can add a couple of drops of food coloring if you want. Mush it all together with your hands and let the fun begin.

Have older kids that are just too cool for goo? They can still play. My teenage niece turned me on to this one: Cornstarch Monsters. Add a stereo speaker to the mix and you can make the cornstarch colloid dance.

*Yes, I know it's ungrammatical. What's your point?

Darndest-isms

Amusements from our house over the past couple of days.

Rosi: Can we go for a drive?
Mamie: Tell you what, if you clean up all of your toys in the living room, we can go out for a little drive and pick up some food for dinner.
Rosi: Okay.

Later, after Mamie has reached the limit of her frustration tolerance, but the room has not yet been cleaned.
Mamie: Go get your shoes on; we’re going out.
Rosi: To get food?
Mamie: Yes.
Rosi: But I didn’t clean up.
Mamie: I know.
Rosi: Are you giving me grief?
Mamie: Do you mean giving you grace?
Rosi: No, a lot of times you say, “You’re giving me grief.”

The next day, after Adam has take over supervising the clean up.
Adam: You have 5 seconds to get this in the trash before drastic measures are taken.
Rosi: Before what is taken?
Adam: Before drastic measures are taken.
Rosi: Before my plastic what is taken?

• • • •

Ian has started really showing us his displeasure. He doesn't usually cry or scream, unless he's particularly overtired or hungry, but what he does just makes me smile. This morning, for instance, he was reaching for my phone on the desk. He made the sign for phone, his way of asking me to hand it to him. I said, "No," and moved it out of his reach. He glared at me and stomped his little foot on the floor before walking away to find another toy.

A Baby Story

No, not the TLC series. I'm talking about the long and involved story of Ian's birth. If you missed the saga the first time around (or if you just enjoyed the drama so much you need to read it again), please direct your attention to today's post on the Elegant Mommy blog The Empowering C-Section Birth of Ian Gray: A Homebirth Transfer.

Here Comes the Sun

A few nights ago we were out driving just as the sun started to head down some scattered clouds.

As we stopped for a red light, Rosi pointed out her window and cried, all excited:

Look, over there! I see sun stripes!

To Market, To Market

I've been trying to crocheting market bags for years. A couple of years ago I found a pattern that constructs the bag as a flat mesh rectangle, then gathers the edges and adds handles. As usual, I couldn't stick to a pattern, so I created my own.

Materials Used

• 5¼ oz/265 yds worsted weight cotton
     • 4 oz/200 yds for mesh and
     • 1¼ oz/65 yds for handles
• I crochet hook (5.5 mm)
• stitch marker

Gauge

6 sc and 8 rows = 2”
Gauge is not crucial to this pattern.

Finished Size

Approx 18" from top of handles to bottom of bag, empty and unused. Bag will stretch with use (the green bag in the above photo is older and has been used much more often).

Special Stitches

1. Single crochet two together (sc2tog) **Slip hook into next stitch, yo, and draw loop onto hook. Repeat from **, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook. Counts as 1 sc.
2. Foundation single crochet (fsc) Click here to view Alice's fantastic Futuregirl tutorial.

Notes

1. Mesh is worked in rows, turning work at the end of each row. Handles are worked in a spiral around the edge of the mesh square.
2. Double crochets (dc) in Row 1 are worked over (around) the whole foundation chain rather than into indicated stitches. This allows the finished bag to stretch more evenly.

Mesh

Ch 95.
Row 1 Dc over 6th ch from hook. **Ch 2, skip 2 ch, dc over next ch. Rep from ** to end of ch. Secure last st to 1st ch with stitch marker. (30 dc)
Rows 2-30 Ch 4. **Dc in ch-2 space, ch 2. Rep from ** to end of row. (30 dc)
Bind off.

Handles

Remove stitch marker from Row 1 and pull up a loop through both the 1st ch and the bottom of the last dc in Row 1.
Round 1 Work 2 sc in corner space and each of the 28 ch-2 spaces along foundation ch. **Work 4 sc in corner, rotate work 90° and 2 sc in each space along next edge. Rep from ** to last corner space. Work 2 more sc in 1st corner space, for a total of 4 sc in that space. (240 sc)
Round 2 Sc2tog around (120 sc)
Round 3 **Sc2tog across 1st 30 sc. Sc in each of next 30 sc. Rep from ** (90 sc)
Round 4 Sc in each sc around (90 sc)
Round 5 **Fsc 30, skip 15 sc, sc in each of next 30 sc. Rep from ** (120 sc)
Rounds 6-7 Sc in ea sc. (120 sc)
Bind off and weave in ends.

Real Food (PSA)

I started a new blog dedicated to low-carb recipes that use real food ingredients, rather than artificial substitutes.

Two months ago now, I went low carb. I started slowly, not really counting carbs, just cutting out breads and sweets and limiting my fruit consumption. After a couple of weeks, I started keeping a food journal and adding up my daily carb count. I'm not following any particular diet plan, but I do try to keep my carbs between 20 and 40 net grams per day.

As I started looking for new ideas online, I was disappointed to see how many uninspired low-carb recipes are out there. So many of them seem to rely heavily on artificial or specialty (read, pricey) ingredients. I don't like fake foods and we can't afford expensive ones. Figuring I'm surely not alone, I decided to share some of the recipes I've adapted or created. The dishes are low carb, low sugar, and most are completely grain free.

If you're interested in real food for real people, take a look and see what you might like to make.

You have reached the conclusion of this public service announcement. Thank you for your time.

That's My Girl

Rosi got a book and CD set of Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the library today. She insisted on starting it on the drive home and has heard it at least twice since we've arrived. She was still listening when I went in to put Ian down for his nap.

After I'd come out of the bedroom, she asked, "Did you know that Beauty came to my house?"

"Did she?" I replied.

She nodded, adding, "And we played football!"

You Can Never Be Too Rich ...

Too Rich for a Bride
by Mona Hodgson

If you asked my husband, he'd probably tell you my favorite books are romance novels that don't spend too much time worrying about whether you can figure out the ending after the first few pages. While there is some truth to that (I do like romances), I much prefer a meaty novel with a few twists and turns to one that lays out the plot in such a straight line that coming to the inevitable conclusion is rather anticlimactic.

Before I started reading, I was afraid this novel would fall more into the latter category than the former. In my experience, Christian western historicals do tend to follow a rather simple formula. While Mona Hodgson does stay true to the genre and offers a rather predictable storyline, she has also created remarkable, relatable characters. Rather than feeling let down by the unsurprising ending, I found myself smiling, happy they'd finally arrived.

Ida Sinclair, the protagonist, is a headstrong, independent woman. She's smart, ambitious, and doesn't have any interest in following the path society set out for the traditional woman. Moving to Colorado to join her sisters, Ida finds a job with a businesswoman who teaches her to knowledgeably invest in the stocks and see significant returns. Not everyone approves of the methods her mentor uses, however, and Ida's continued employment threatens family harmony. In the end, of course, Ida learns lessons that are much more valuable than how to play the market and she chooses between the two suitors pursuing her. Everyone lives happily every after, with just enough threads left untied for a sequel featuring the fourth Sinclair sister.

Although this book itself is a sequel to Two Brides Too Many, the story of Ida's sisters Kat and Nell, it stands well on its own. I haven't yet read the first book, but the continuing plotlines seemed adequately enough explained that I didn't feel lost as the story progressed.

This is not my favorite book, and westerns aren't really my favorite genre, but it was an enjoyable read and left me intrigued about the other sisters. I may have to order a copy of the first book, and I will be on the look out for the next. For being fun, though not terribly innovative, I give it three out of five smilies.

☺☺☺☻☻

I participate in the Blogging for Books program. WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided me with a free copy of this book for my review. Please click here to rate this review.

On Writing Fiction

I was just rereading an old interview with Beverly Cleary, author of the Ramona books and a whole bookshelf of others. Her answer to one question about how she approaches writing caught my attention.

I don’t believe that outlining works for fiction because if you have it all worked out, it becomes boring. So I just write. I really enjoy revising more than writing. I love to cross things out and cut a page down to one paragraph ... I know I wouldn’t want to see anything published as I wrote it initially because it changes so much in the writing. I revise until a little light bulb clicks off and I know it’s done. I just know when it feels right. My first editor told me I was an intuitive writer. I hadn’t really thought about myself that way, but I guess she was right.

Read the whole interview here.

The Bitter and the Sweet

Today marks two anniversaries in my life. One makes me smile, the other has been the cause of many, many tears.

Nineteen years ago today my mother died. She'd been battling cancer, but just a few weeks earlier she'd been given a clean bill of health. Then, suddenly, she was gone.

Fast forward 11 years. I was having a tough day. Memories of my mom were hitting hard and I spent most of my day feeling a bit weepy. I'd been dating Adam for only a few weeks, but he'd remembered this day was important to me.

When he came to pick me up from the VBS program where I was volunteering, he handed me a card. I don't recall exactly what he wrote, something about knowing how much it hurts to lose someone you love.

Then he told me he loved me for the first time. I was so surprised that I completely forgot to say it back to him.

While the sorrow of losing my mom will never completely go away, it's been really nice to have a happy anniversary to celebrate on this day, too.

Thank you, Adam, for bringing a smile to my face, even on some of the hardest days. I don't tell you nearly enough how much I love you.