Halloween Installment 1: Behold the iPod

Ruby Halloween Story: The Picture

Ruby's Halloween Story

Ruby just read me this story that she "wrote."

There was a witch with a pumpkin gun.  She would shoot her gun at each house as she flew past.  I don’t know why she had a pumpkin gun. The End!

My Mother is a Genius!

She told me how she stores her cilantro in the fridge to get it to last more than a few days.  I finally tried it, even though previously I always thought it was too much commotion.  My cilantro lasted for over four weeks without getting slimy and turning brown! If you are like me, you've probably read this before but blew it off but I promise it is worth the effort.  It is so nice now that I make my own salsa every week to know that my cilantro will be fit to use whenever I need it. 

Here is what you do.  Unbind and wash the cilantro.  Trim the bottom off the stems.  Fill a glass with about an inch of water in the bottom.  Put the cilantro in and cover it with the plastic bag from the grocery store.  Store in the fridge until needed.  Whenever you use some cilantro change the water in the glass.  If the inside of the bag gets too wet, stuff a paper towel in the top of the bag before you put it back over the cilantro.  That's it.

And here is my Salsa recipe.

Fresh Salsa

All measurements are approximate as I don't actually measure anything.  I just throw it in.

3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 jalapeno, coarsely sliced with seeds in 
1/2 medium white onion coarsly chopped
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4-1/3 cup red wine vinegar or lime juice

Add garlic and salt and pepper to food processor and pulse until garlic is finely minced.  Add jalapeno and onion and process until as coarse or fine as you like.  Add tomato and cilantro and process to desired coarseness.  Add tomato juice and vinegar or lime juice and pulse to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Makes 6 cups 

Some weeks I make it with the red wine vinegar, some with the lime juice.  It gives it a different flavor.  Some weeks it is spicier than others depending on the size and spiciness of the jalapeno.

Enjoy,
Jenn

Misconceptions

There have been a few funny misconceptions at our house in the last 36 hours.  The first occurred last night on the way to dinner.  I noticed a dead deer right at the edge of the road, laying on the grass.  Ruby pipes up from the back seat with "Mommy, I just saw some big animal resting in the grass!" For some reason, I felt the need for full disclosure and explained that it was a deer and it was not resting it was dead.  I don't know why I felt the need to explain.  Luckily she took it well.  All the kids asked several questions about the deer. Why did it die? Why it was on the side of the road? If a car hit it, why was it in the grass and not on the road?  Of course we were on our way to dinner and at some point Charlotte insisted we stop talking about it.

Today, we were driving back out to Scout Jam (awesome, pictures to come, though not tonight) - Michael and Rehm had spent the morning out there with the rest of his pack and had had so much fun they wanted to go back for the afternoon.  On the way, there is a strip club called the Pink Monkey Cabaret with a giant inflatable pink monkey on top.  As we pass the Pink Monkey, Rehm announces that we are almost to Scout Jam.  I told Michael that he knew that because he saw the pink monkey, Michael didn't believe me.  So he asked Rehm how he knew.  Sure enough Rehm tells him it was because of the pink monkey.  Then I hear Charlotte say, "What kind of store names itself the Pink Monkey?"  Rehm answers, "Well Charlotte, a business can pick any name it likes."  Charlotte counters with, "But why would a carpet store be named Pink Monkey?  It doesn't make any sense!"  While yesterday I was quick to point out and correct Ruby's misconception of a situation today I was strangely quiet.  Well, after I quit laughing so hard I was snorting, that is. 

I still don't understand why a strip club needs an inflatable pink monkey on top of its building.  For some reason I don't think that is what is enticing its clientele.  I swear they just do it so all of us parents have to explain to our children why it is not an appropriate family destination and why they can't go see the blasted monkey.

Jenn

A Visitor

Micheal caught this little cutie in the backyard.  I love having a camera that can capture such great detail.

Mom, I know you especially will be thrilled that I have captured such up close detail of an amphibian. 

Jenn

Where there's an Apple there's usually Drama

If you look closely you can see the blood

Charlotte turned seven on Saturday and lost her first tooth the next day!  It was an eventful weekend at our house.

Charlotte's tooth had been loose for several weeks.  We noticed it before school started back in August.  However, Charlotte does not seem to be a tooth wiggler.  For the most part she ignored it.  Finally the week of her birthday she decided it was time for the tooth to go. 

On Sunday evening, she asked for an apple - not cut up, please.  She started eating and in a few minutes she was bleeding and announced her tooth was coming out! Of course this was in the middle of dinner.  Michael is very squeamish when it comes to teeth.  It has been so long since Rehm has lost a tooth that I had forgotten this fact.

Not sure what she was eating for dinner.  That is either cheese or mustard on her face, I know you were all wondering.

 Charlotte and I excused ourselves from the table and went upstairs to take care of the impending tooth loss.  Michael started loosing the sickly green color he had turned.

Once upstairs we assessed the situation.  The tooth was really loose - pointing straight out of her mouth but it was still holding on stubbornly.  I tried pulling it but was concerned it was hurting her.  I told her to try.  She reached up, grabbed the tooth and yanked it right out!  She was very proud of herself! And yes, I did a photo essay of the process.  I knew you would all want to see this momentus occassion in full photographic detail. 

Jenn

Charlotte is Seven

 I can not believe she is seven already.  Where did my baby who would not sleep unless held go, and where did this sassy, independent, self-confident girl come from?

On Charlotte's actual birthday. We got up, opened presents and had breakfast - she chose chocolate chip pancakes with scrambled eggs and sausage.   Most of the day the kids spent playing and hanging out.  That evening Charlotte's friend Grace from school came over to go out to dinner with us.  We went to Chuy's where Grace and Charlotte got to sit at their very own table.  Then we came home and had cookie cake.  Charlotte declared it the best birthday ever!

Anyone else discovered Zoobles? They are a cross between Littlest Pet Shop and Bakugon.

Gift Certificate for a Cartwheel Clinic at the YMCA from her siblings

Should I be concerned that she recognized the James Avery Box

A friendly game of basketball before dinner

Silly, silly girl

Granny Shot

I'm not so sure how I feel about being seven...

I love cake!

Grace and Charlotte singing the "I Can Count to 500 by Tens" song written by Grace, Ellie and Charlotte

Friends!

Favorites

Favorite activity: play outside

Favorite sport to play: basketball

Favorite food: cheese pizza

Favorite song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Favorite band: Go Fish

Favorite TV show:  Phineas and Ferb

Favorite restaurant: Chuys

Favorite toy: Baby Caroline

Favorite subject as school: Math

Why I don't post as often as I should

This is my to do list for today. Notice anything about it? I never seem to sit down much less get to blogging. I have Charlotte's birthday post ready but haven't had time to sit down long enough to actually post.

Communion

Last Sunday our family went to our favorite and normal 8:15 service.  When I was employed on the children's staff of our church I rarely got to go to worship with my family.  Then with summer we didn't make it to church very often and when we did we typically sent the kids to Sunday School while we went to worship.  So this was the first Sunday in a while that we were worshiping as a complete family.

I love when we all go to worship together.  Sometimes it is difficult because, well, the kids are wiggly and loud and bored and in general need quite a bit of their parents attention to make it through the service with out being a huge disruption to those around them.  Of course, that means their parents don't always leave worship knowing what the sermon was about.  I know many believe that children should not  be part of worship until they are older and can sit still longer and read. 

Obviously, our family takes a different approach.  We believe that learning to sit through a service at a young age helps make church a lifelong habit.  Our children start learning parts of the service (the Lord's Prayer, the Doxology, the Glori Patri, etc) very young (we start around 3) so that they can participate.  We specifically chose the service at our church that is the shortest - 45 minutes and the most casual though not contemporary. The service we attend offers communion weekly instead of once a month like the rest of our services.

Communion is another place our family seems to deviate from the norm.  Our Book of Order states that it is at the parents discretion when their children are ready for communion.  For us, we have interpreted that to be when our child, on an age appropriate level, can explain why we take communion and understand that it is not just a snack.  Our kids have started taking communion around the age of three or four. 

The age they start communion is something that I often wonder if we have made the right choice about.  We get funny looks with some frequency when the littles take communion. Every time that happens I think, "is this the right thing to be doing?"  Don't get me wrong, we have lots of positive feedback on our family's approach to religion and lots of fellow worshipers who make a point to seek out my children each week to tell them how happy they are to see them.  Sometimes, I think, we just surprise people by how young we start them. 

This past Sunday, I had my answer.  For this service all of the congregants form a circle and serve communion to each other.  Preceding me in the circle were Michael, then Eliza Claire, then Rehm, and then me. Ruby and Charlotte were on the other side of Michael with Grandma.  Eliza Claire was very serious when receiving communion.  Then she took the bread from her dad and turned to her brother and in her very serious, very solemn, little Eliza Claire voice, held out the bread and said, "Rehm, this is the body of Christ broken for you." I had tears in my eyes.  Then Rehm turned to serve communion to me.  Again it was powerful - to have my nine year old son share intimately in my faith and worship experience. 

This is exactly what I want my children to be learning.  This is exactly the faith I want them to display.  This is the community I want them to be part of.  This is exactly where I want them to belong. She may not completely understand communion, but she does know that Jesus loves her and gave his life for her as well as a four year old can know that. 
 
I honestly can not tell you what the sermon was about - I was distracted shushing the children but I can not put into words how powerful of a worship experience I had and how much I look forward to repeating it regularly in the future.

Jenn

First Dance Class

Ruby and Eliza Claire are taking a six week ballet class at the YMCA.  Their first class was yesterday.  They both had a great time and are looking forward to going back next week. 

The rest of the photos were taken through the window making for some strange reflections. 

Vacation: Ocean, I Cannot Resist You

I'm getting out of here

This is a close up of Charlotte's face from the previous picture.  Anytime she is concentrating hard the tongue sticks out.

Forget dodging the waves, I'm going in!

Think I'll meditate for a bit

Ah, I feel much more relaxed now

Enlarge this picture and look at the expression on Charlotte's face.

The light was great.  I had lots of fun playing with these pictures.  It is a shame that most of the week I was too busy being Mom to get to be the photographer. I would have liked to played with my camera more and there were so many things I wanted to take pictures of.