Missing our Kitty

Today when I put the girls in Henry (the van). Eliza Claire pointed to the cat carrier and said, "that my kitty cat's box! My kitty is died! He in kitty heaven now." I replied with a simple "yes, he sure is." And left it at that. Apparently I'm not the only one who still misses and remembers dear old Zach.

Thanks Kevin and Libba for the great book "Cat Heaven" that has help all our family understand where our Zach is now.

-------------------------------------

On a lighter note in case you missed the tweet:

Today in the car Charlotte told me something. I don't remember what and I asked her if she was sure. Her response, "Yes, Mommy I'm sure! I have a very good remembory!" Apparently my remembory isn't so great :)

Jenn

PS if you want to follow me on twitter click here.

Knitting versus Croheting

This is the best dishrag ever. I know it isn't the prettiest but it is by far my most preferred dishrag. I've had this one a couple of years and it gets used at least once a week and still looks pretty good. My dear Mom made it. Recently I emailed her to ask her to teach me how to make them so I could have several more as this is the only one of this type I have. I have several store bought ones and crocheted ones but they are just not as good as this one. The only thing that would make this one better is if it was about 50% larger than it is. Anyway here is the email conversation that took place:

Me: When you come to my house could you teach me how to make the knitted dishrags you used to make? I have one and it is my most favorite dish rag ever. I would love to have a half a dozen or so of them. They really are the best.

Mom: I got out some needles and yarn last night and googled the pattern. Is not extremely easy. A crocheted one might be easier but I have not figured it out yet. Will put with stuff to bring.

Me: I don’t like the crocheted ones. They are too thick and don’t wring out well… I really really like the knitted one that you made.

Mom: Answers this question...I was not sure if you had meant 'KNITTED" as either crochet or knitted or if you truly meant knitted.

Me: I know the difference between crocheted and knitted, you at least taught me that. I truly mean the ones done with two pointy needles using pearl one, knit one (actually I think these are all pearl or all knit but you get my meaning).

OK I hope you are cracking up as much as I am. Mom obviously has no faith in the skills she taught me. Granted I have never done a knitting or crochet project completely on my own nor have a picked up any kind of needle in more years than I care to admit. But that doesn't mean I don't know the difference.

Here are pictures of other wonderful knitted things Cici has made for my family.

Poncho by Cici, hat Ruby is wearing was a gift from our friend Miss Lucie

2007 Eliza Claire

2007 Ruby

Charlotte 2007

2007 Ruby

2002 Rehm

This is only a sampling there are more hats, another sweater and another poncho but apparently I don't have pictures of those. And that is the tip of the iceberg because then we have all the wonderful quilts, bags, dresses and aprons she sews as well...

Now do you see why I haven't done any of my own? Why would I when all this wonderful stuff magically appears.

Don't Know, Should of Been Here by Now!

I took the time today to change all the CDs in the van to Christmas music. Charlotte specifically requested the Veggie Tales: A Very Veggie Christmas and the Cedarmont Kids: A Christmas Story from the animals perspective. Others we included were Go Fish Snow and two more Cedarmont kids Christmas CDs. We listened to the animal one first and then Veggie Tales.

I had forgotten how much I love the CDs. We had a lot of fun listening to them. After a couple of songs of Veggie Tales Bob asks Larry where someone is and Larry replied, "Don't know, should of been here by now!" I started laughing because it reminded me that last year Rehm and Charlotte thought this was the funniest thing ever and it got to the point that any time anyone said "I don't know" the rest of the family would pipe up with "should of been here by now!" This continued well into the spring and made me chuckle every time I heard it. Charlotte will still remember occassionally even in the summer.

This silly little thing just reminded me of the silly traditions families develop that become part of their family identity. I wonder who will start the "should of been her by nows" this year and what new Christmas traditions will be established.

Oh and we have a new family dinner tradition. As soon as the last person prays (usually 2 or more children want to pray at dinner) it is a race to see who can be the first one to say "Bon apetit!" Again just a silly little Mayhem Mania family tradition.

Hopefully my kids will remember these things fondlywhen they grow up.

So what kind of fun family traditions does your family have? Leave a comment and share them - I might get some good ideas.

Jenn

Nightly Conversation with My Dear Husband

Almost every night Michael goes to sleep before I do. Almost every night the same conversation ensues:

Michael: Are you going to watch something on TV? (He has usually been watching something sports related while I'm reading)

Me: I don't know, maybe in a few minutes.

Michael: OK, I'll leave the TV on for you. (He then rolls over, leaves the TV on whatever sports station it was on and starts snoring)

During this whole conversation he makes it sound like he is doing me some great, wonderful favor by leaving the TV on. In reality, he likes to fall asleep listening to the TV, especially sports.

Last night the conversation went something like this:

Michael: Are you going to watch something on TV? (He has usually been watching something sports related while I'm reading)

Me: I don't know, maybe in a few minutes.

Michael: OK, I'll leave the TV on for you.

Me: Wait a second, why don't you just turn it off and I can turn it back on if I decide to watch something.

Michael: Well, I wouldn't mind listening to it.

Me: Then why don't you ask me every night if I mind turning the TV off after you go to sleep? Why do you have to act like you are doing me this huge favor by leaving it on when I may or may not watch it at all? And then you leave it on sports. If I was going to watch it I certainly wouldn't watch sports. So why can't you just admit you want the TV on? Why do you feel the need to pretend you are doing something nice for me? If it were up to me I'd read in peace and then turn it on later if I decide to watch anything.

[OK, from here on I'm not really sure what was said but this was the gist/feel of the rest of the conversation]

Michael: Fine then, just turn it off.

Me: Oh no! I can't do that when you are being so nice to leave it on for me.

Michael: (I think at this point he rolled over and ignored me)

To prove my point, I took this opportunity to turn the TV from ESPN to HGTV and proceed to read my book ;) And no, I never got around to watching something on TV.

Bets on what the conversation is tonight?

I'm not ready

I realized today that I'm not ready for everyone to go back to school this week! This shocked me when I realized it. You see I always dread everyone being out of school and our routine changing. I always wonder what I'm going to do to keep everyone occupied.

Today I'm sitting here sad that the children are all going back to school this week. There are still several things I would like to do with them. I really enjoyed our slower paced week. I guess that means when Christmas break rolls around I'll be excited when school gets out now.

---------------------------------------------

In other news Rehm has a new bike. It is blue and fabulous. And before you ask, he also has a new bike lock.


---------------------------------------------

Today Charlotte and I went to the grocery store just the two of us. As we were leaving the house the following conversation took place:

Charlotte: Why isn't the Penguin blown up?

Me: Because it blows up at night when the other lights turn on

Charlotte: The lights need to stay on all night on Christmas

Me: Why?

Charlotte: So Santa can find our house.

Me: We won't leave the lights on all night. We turn them off when we go to bed. Don't worry though Santa knows where all the good boys and girls live whether there are lights on or not.

Charlotte: How does he know?

Me: He just does.

Charlotte: I know how he knows! God tells him!

I really liked the way she brought God into the Santa tradition and how she knows the God knows everything.

---------------------------------------------

Charlotte made her first ever purchase with her allowance today. She spent forever on the toy isle at the grocery store and finally picked a My Little Pony Ponyville Pony. She counted out her money and she handed it to the cashier. I had to remind her to get her change. Then she dropped it. And finally I had to explain why she needed her receipt and what it was. She literally skipped out of the store so proud of herself. She has been getting allowance since mid September and this is her first purchase - well besides my time to do her chores she forgets...

Spa Day with a Sick Girl

Charlotte has been running a fever on and off yesterday and today. This means she couldn't go to the Christmas parade with the rest of her siblings. She was very sad about this. We decided we would have some special Mommy and Charlotte time. I suggested renting a movie and picking up lunch. She decided she wanted to play in her make up and paint her nails instead and requested sausage and pepperoni pizza for lunch. So I have a very sparkly girl who is now enjoying pizza while watching the Disney channel.

Poor girl she always seems to be the one who is sick and has to miss special gatherings and outings. Today though she doesn't seem to really mind having Mommy all to herself.

I wonder what she'll want to do next. Maybe she'll let me curl her hair with the curling iron...
Jenn

My Little Pilgrims

The girls came down stairs in these this morning. Eliza's was my my great grandmother's, Ruby's was mine and Charlotte's was Aunt Sherri's. Don't you want to celebrate Thanksgiving with these darling Pilgrims?






Happy Thanksgiving!

Yummy Fondue

I got the bright idea that having fondue night as a family would be great fun. Last night was the night! We made a traditional cheese fondue (recipe to follow) and had lots of yummy dippers. After purchasing all the ingredients and prepping and making everything the Melting Pot doesn't seem so expensive anymore.

All four of the children were super excited and all wanted to help make everything. They especially enjoyed tasting all of the ingredients. When I told them that wine was one of the ingredients in the fondue, Rehm piped up with, "Mom, we can't have wine. We aren't old enough!" I explained that it was fine for him to eat foods that had wine or beer in them and that we were not breaking any laws.

When it was time to light the Sterno I got a little concerned about how this really was going to work and who would get burned or catch something on fire. I am happy to report nothing and no one was harmed in the making or consuming of the fondue. Everyone enjoyed the dinner though Rehm did not like the fondue nearly as much as the cheeses that went in to it.





Here is our recipe:
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 lb. Gruyere shredded
1/2 lb. Jarlsberg Swiss shredded
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Toss cheeses with cornstarch to coat the cheese. Melt butter and add garlic and saute. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cheese a handful at a time and stir until melted. Continue until all cheese is incorporated. Make sure you keep the heat low enough that the mixture does not boil. Once mixture is smooth stir in the mustard, salt and pepper. Transfer to fondue pot. Serve with various dippers. We used cubed toasted sour dough, broccoli, tart apple slices, pretzel rods, and summer sausage.

They have requested that we try this recipe, that I found at Steamy Kitchen next:

Aged Cheddar and Guinness Fondue
1 lb good aged cheddar, grated
2 ½ tbs all-purpose flour
8 oz. Guinness stout + more if needed
6 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp powdered mustard
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp olive oil

Toss grated cheese with the flour. In your fondue pot over low heat, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and garlic. Fry until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn heat to medium-high. Add Guinness, apple juice concentrate, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Bring to boil. Add cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly until fondue is smooth and melted. Thin with more Guinness, if needed throughout the meal. Season with salt and pepper.

And after that they want chocolate fondue. I guess I might have to invest in a fondue pot or two as I think this may become a semi-annual tradition at our house.

It was a very fun night, the kind that family memories are made of, the kind where I feel like I am the kind of mom I strive to be.

Happy Eating,
Jenn

Putting Rehm to work

Grandma was nice enough to take Rehm's Cub Scout popcorn order form to her office for him. Several of her coworkers ordered popcorn. Rehm wrote each person a thank you note when he received the orders. Today he went to work with Grandma to deliver all of the goodies.

He is spending the whole day with her. He took his DS and some books to keep him busy and the office has a TV he can watch. I hope he has behaved himself and not drove anyone too crazy.

I received these pictures of other activities he has done today:

Helping collect recycling


Helping make copies

He informs me that he had three bagels for lunch and played games on the computer as well.

Saying thanks

Reading these show how much a couple of minutes from you can mean.

Click here if the picture below doesn't work.

Sassy

Look at this ensemble my sassy girl put together today. I didn't realize when I took it that she had such a sad look on her face. And what you can't see are the flowers that run up the side of the tights that really complete the sassy look. Thanks Kennedy for the boots, Charlotte loves them even though they hurt her feet. She's five and already sacrificing comfort for style!

Art Museum

Rehm and Charlotte have a new favorite game. They draw pictures and tape them on the wall and make an art museum. Today they were making their museum when they decided that Charlotte should be a statue. So she decorated herself and stood on her pedestal! I think she makes a darling statue though I do not condone coloring oneself with markers...

Today's theme was the ocean. Last time it was opposites. Rehm came up when I was taking her picture and told me it would cost 25 cents to take pictures. I told him he might want to rethink that unless he wanted me to start charging rent for their art museum space :)

Sharing an Apple

Cheese slicing and the Interent

Yippee! I am the proud owner of an adjustable cheese slicer! I found one online at Sur la Table and have been meaning to make a trip over to the Domain to pick one up. I have been hesitant to do so with the girls in tow as I just know it won't be a very toddler friendly store. Anyway today a friend stopped me at church and asked if I had found one yet (she read about my saga). I told her I hadn't and she reached in her purse and pulled out an adjustable cheese slicer identical to the one we had broken! I was so happy! It made my day!

Isn't the internet grand? Without it I would still be hunting for a cheese slicer? And Lori would still have an extra that she hated in her kitchen drawer taking up space. Thank you Lori, you really did make my day!

Funny thing is I carried the slicer around for about an hour and had to explain multiple times why I had a cheese slicer at church!

Jenn

Random Cuteness

This is just a collection of pictures from the last few days that I thought were cute. No theme or anything, just cute.



This is Ruby every time she wants out of her seat. She has to swing her legs around to the side and kick them while saying "I all done now!"

This morning the little girls came down in their pajamas. This is what I found when I looked up from unloading the dishwasher. Is there anything better than small children in footy pajamas? And isn't it adorable to see the sibling love? For no reason just because they like each other and like Elmo

Laziness+Spin=Super Mommy

Tonight I got the Super Mommy award for being a total slacker. I'm tired. I haven't slept enough this week. It is totally my fault! I'm worn down.

Bath/bed time is my least favorite time of day, especially after doing it solo all week. So tonight to get the children through bath time quickly I told them if they all hurried and were good listeners we would all put on our pajamas and climb in my bed and watch a show! They were thrilled.

I accomplished bath time with minimal stress and fight. I didn't read a single story. I cuddled with my four wonderful kids. I got to relax in my comfy bed for a half an hour. And all I had to do was endure a half an hour of Wheel of Fortune! And, my kids thought it was the most fun ever!

Gotta love it when being a slacker actually pays off!
Jenn

Asking for Help

I am trying to let go of my need to "do it all." Or at least my need to appear that I can "do it all." This week Michael has been in California. Normally, when he travels I about kill myself to do all the things he normally does around here as well as the things I do. This time I asked for help!

It is really hard to ask for help. I feel very guilty doing it. It means I have to admit that I can't "do it all." It also means I have to depend on others. That feels like I'm inconveniencing them. And above all else, the last thing I want to do is cause someone else more work.

Michael usually takes Rehm to school. Dragging the three girls out of the house by 7:20 for me to get him there is pure torture. So this week I asked a neighbor who has a child in his class and walks her child to school everyday if Rehm could walk with them. All I had to do is get him to the bottom of our street by 7:20! Which I can do from my front door! This has made a huge difference in my week. And while I know it didn't add any extra work for my neighbor, as they walk by my street on the way to school anyway, I still feel guilty that she did this for me.

Rehm had a scout meeting Monday evening. It was at 7:00, that is when the twins go to bed. I knew it would last until at least 8:00 possibly longer. I knew I couldn't take three tired girls and make them be still for this meeting. I knew Rehm couldn't miss this meeting because it was the Pie Throwing meeting! (Anyone who sold at least $250 in popcorn got to throw a pie in the Cub Master's face.) So what did I do? I asked for help. I dropped him off and his den leader was nice enough to bring him home. I felt guilty! Even though it was all of 5 minutes out of his way to bring him home. I didn't "do it all."

And normally I work at church on Wednesday evenings. I took this week off. It isn't fair to the children who are all normally in bed by 7:30 to ask them to be up until 9:00 and still expect them to go to school the next day and be pleasant. I felt guilty letting my co-workers do my job for me. It is my responsibility. And I felt guilty that my wonderful in-laws had to bring my kids home from church that evening. But everyone was in bed at their normal time. Surprise, they were pleasant children the next morning, not whiney, crazy, overtired children!

Because I've asked for help this week, I'm not crazy today. I'm tired because I've stayed up too late the last three nights. But I'm not overwhelmed. I'm not stressed beyond measure . I'm thrilled that Michael will be home and can share some of the child rearing responsibilities but it really has been a pleasant week. But now I have all this guilt that I didn't "do it all." That I didn't do everything myself to take care of my children.

Why is it so hard to ask for help and admit we really can't "do it all?" Why do I feel like I failed, if even a tiny bit, when I have to admit that I need help, that I'm not perfect, that I can't "do it all?"

I'm so grateful to everyone who made this week so much more doable for me! I could have done it without you, but I would have been crazy, mean Mommy by the end of the week instead of some-what sane Mommy. My children and I thank you for your help!
Jenn

Overheard from the Backseat

We seem to only have three books in the van at the moment. When there are three girls in the van that is a problem. Whoever picks first, the other two decide that is the book they must have! It is so annoying. I need to remember to put a few more books in there so they all get a choice.

Anyway, on the way home from school today, Ruby had the book Ocean. So of course that is the book Eliza Claire wanted. It didn't matter that she had the Blue's Clues book that was her favorite on the way to school. Now only the Ocean book would do. She was whining repeatedly about the book and honestly I was tuning her out for the most part. Then I heard this:

Eliza Claire (using a very whiney voice): Ruby, I want that book!

Ruby: I read it.

EC: I want it!

Ruby: In five minutes!

EC: OK

So then magically Eliza Claire is perfectly fine and completely quits whining. I'm actually shocked that this pacified her. Of course I'm cracking up because I know Ruby had no idea what "five minutes" really means. I know that she has no intentions of giving the book to Eliza Claire. I know she is just parroting what she has heard me tell her.

A few minutes pass and what do I hear? "Eliza, here you go!" And Ruby hands Eliza Claire the book completely unprompted! Then Eliza Claire says, "Tank you, Ruby!" and Ruby replies "You welcome!" Wow! I was completely wrong. I guess she understands "five minutes" much better than I thought! Who knew two year olds could be so agreeable and polite. At least occasionally...

Thanksgiving Feast

This morning Rehm informs me that today is their school's Thanksgiving Feast and wanted to know who was coming to eat lunch with him. I saw this on the lunch menu at the beginning of the month but had completely forgotten when it was. Normally Michael or the grandparents join him for the feast. This year that isn't possible. So he expects me to be there. Actually, he expects to tell me about it last minute, have me change my entire morning schedule and be there. If he had told me about this even last night or some other time earlier in the week, I probably would have made plans to be there.

I'm not going. I'm trying to talk myself out of feeling guilty about it. I have lunch with him at least once a month. He and I have agreed to that being the plan. Typically the special days (Thanksgiving Feast, Grandparents Day, School Picnic) are the days that other family members have lunch with him. I think so far this year I'm the only one who has gone to have lunch with him. Special days are not part of my agreement. I'm not dropping the ball by not going. He won't be the only one who doesn't have a family member there. It really will be OK. See, I'm still trying to talk myself into not feeling guilt and I'm still losing the battle. But I'm still not going to lunch!

I'm such a bad mommy some days...
Jenn

PS what do you think he will say when he finds out I'm going to Charlotte's Thanksgiving Feast on Friday? See the middle child doesn't always get shafted.

Denial

One of the many attempts at a Christmas card picture from 2007

This morning we were stopped at a traffic light and Charlotte asked what the big red and white tent was on the side of the road. I told her that it was where they would sell Christmas trees later in the month. I was thinking they were starting their set up awfully early when I realized that Thanksgiving is next week. And that means Christmas is barely a month away! Oh my! How did that happen? Halloween just happened, it can't possibly be time to think about decorating for Christmas. I still don't even have a shopping list created for the kids' gifts much less any shopping done!

[Insert small panic attack here!]

Ok, I'm blaming it on the blasted Texas weather. It doesn't feel like the holiday season so it must not be. It feels like the back to school season. It won't feel like the holidays until late January or early February!

But the funny thing is we've been listening to Christmas music in the car for a couple of weeks now! Only one CD (Go Fish, Snow). I've decided that if it is christian Christmas music I don't mind listening to it year round, because Christmas should excite me year round. If it is the secular stuff then I really don't want to hear it until after Thanksgiving. Who needs Santa all year? Not me! Jesus, yeah I need him every day, Santa not so much.

So I guess this was my wake up call to get with the program and get ready for the holidays! Ack! Now where do I start?

Jenn

PS. Now is a great time to buy Go Fish music from their site. They have a deal where you pay $15 for the first CD and can order as many more of their CDs as you like for $5 each. They always have free shipping and no tax. I usually receive my orders in three to four days - yes I order enough from them to know all of this. And no, I don't get any kind of kick back for getting you to buy their music. I just really think they have great kids music.