Wednesday

This morning I set about using the zucchini that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law blessed us with. End result: (1) chocolate zucchini cake, (4) loaves of zucchini bread (2 are already gone), and (2) zucchini cakes w/cream cheese icing.

We also got together with 2 of the families who have siblings of our sons. Always fun to get together. And nice to see the baby and how much he's grown.

This afternoon while I was making icing for the cakes and doing stuff around the house, the little boys found a bottle of powder...and emptied all over their room. So I ended up washing all their bedding and assorted things laying around their room and washing furniture and vacuuming. Takes me back...I remember Josiah doing this several times in his room when he was their age. I don't intend to give them a chance to do it a second time!

Those 2 are just a trip right now...we call them "M&M" (Mark and Micah) or "TnT" (Trouble & Trouble). This morning when I was mixing up the assorted products I suddenly realized I heard the toilet flush. They had gotten into our master bathroom and were throwing bottles of cologne & such into the toilet and flushing it. Thankfully, everything was to big to flush....I think. And Mark has started taking his diaper off on his own....not a pleasant proposition! Hopefully he grows out of that stage...and soon! I really did not plan to potty train him until winter...although he does think it's great fun to sit on the toilet like Zach...never does anything though....

And speaking of Zach, well, he's been "full of it" recently....sometimes are worse then others....but his smile is still adorable. And I love his freckles. :-) And he's so much fun to talk with...so grown up. Tonight we walked around the block and 2 of our neighbors were running. He wanted to know why? And then he said he thought they should go home to bed because it was getting dark. :-)

Josiah got to go to a friend's house today. And the older 3 all got to swim in the neighbors pool for a bit before bed.

In between I was working on fuel taxes. But I am really struggling with fatigue right now so I think I'll wrap this up and go to bed.

And did I mention that it was lovely?! I love summer when it's simply hot, but not humid! When the nights are cool enough that you can have a cup of coffee in the morning without breaking into a sweat.

Well, anyway...I do need to get to sleep...have a lovely day!

Harvesting

Yesterday we did up some corn for the freezer. My big kids were great about sticking with the husking until it was all done. While they were doing that I was picking beans. I hadn't planned to do that until I happened to walk by the garden and notice that they needed beans. So...in the morning we husked and cooked corn. In the afternoon I cut the corn off and bagged it for the freezer. The kids helped clean and break the beans and then I blanched them for the freezer as well. This year I froze the corn in 4 cup portions and the beans in 6 cup portions. So I feel like it didn't yield well because I don't have as many bags....but if I count by pints then it seems about right.

And we finally had rain again. After our very rainy spring, we have had hardly any for a long time. Everything was quite dry and dusty and hot. So thankful for the refreshing rain!

Janae & Autumn went to their cousins' house to play in the afternoon and the little boys all napped which was wonderful as my morning was punctuated by interruptions....as is to be expected with children the ages we have in the house.

Now I need to go straighten up the house so Heidi can clean it! And this afternoon I get an hour or 2 alone...well, kind of. I'm going to the eye doctor for an exam and new glasses because my glasses broke the other week. I glued them together but they are quite bent and uncomfortable. I can't remember when I got them. I wear contacts most of the time but glasses are still a necessity at night or if my eyes are bothering me since I can hardly see without them.

This morning it is actually cool enough that I am drinking a cup of coffee. Lovely! I do love summer (except for the extreme heat/humidity). I'm actually a bit sad because the days are getting shorter which means going back to school and schedule in a few weeks (4 weeks from tomorrow to be exact). But that will be good too....

Still Hot...but slightly cooler

It's been quite hot since I last posted. The older 4 kids have been sleeping in the basement with multiple fans. Last night I finally had them sleep in their beds again.

The highest temp I had in my kitchen was 99'.

According to accuweather we will have closer to "average" temps this week...at least until the weekend. And the temps for the nights will be in the 60s making the days more manageable.

I have a busier week...today I need to get caught up from the past few days of doing the minimum necessary...(although while the temp is only supposed to be 86', the real feel is supposed to be 100' meaning high humidity...so we'll see.) I should freeze corn as well.

Other things on the agenda this week: Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Eye Doctor appointment, meet with boys' bio siblings & families, get together with cousins for our yearly summer tie-dye party. Plus those other things like cooking, laundry, cleaning up the house again, etc. And catching up on bookwork since it's the end of the month....and filing those 2nd quarter fuel taxes/highway use taxes.

Have a lovely week!

The Cabin

As I mentioned, we went to the cabin with my family last weekend.

As hot as it's been, I'd love to go soak in that river right now!

Moon on the river....my camera's not so great..

The rest of these photos were at Hyner Run State Park

Hot!

Hazy, hot and humid here! It's 85' in my kitchen this morning...81 outside...and that's before the sun comes up. Supposed to be high 90's, 100 today, tomorrow, Saturday with heat index in the 100s. Lovely. Kids have been having lots of trouble sleeping, even with fans. And I'm doing most of my work right away in the morning and then again after the sun goes down (although the house is still really hot at that point). Oh well, before we know it it will be cold and I'll be dealing with coats and shoes again.... I would like 1 cooler day though in August before school starts so we can try on clothes for school...we'll see.

Yesterday I had a lovely visit with a friend and her daughter who live an hour+ away.

Today I need to take Mark to IU13 for another speech evaluation since he will transition from Early Learning to IU13 when he's 3. I'm quite thankful for an airconditioned vehicle....to bad gas prices are high, we could just drive around all day to stay cool. :-)

Well, need to fold some laundry and get my act together before it get's to hot.

Summer

It's quite hot here. But I can tell the days are getting a bit shorter again...we're headed towards fall and school and a different schedule. But we still have 5 weeks to fit in everything we wanted to do this summer and didn't get to do yet. :-)

Yesterday we did 6 baskets of apples and got around 78 quarts. The big kids did a great job sticking with me the whole way through. So nice to have fresh applesauce again! The little boys did a great job of entertaining themselves...although they and I did not always have the same ideas of what things they could do to entertain themselves. (No, scooping out toilet water and throwing it at your brother is not going to work! Neither is playing with mommy's nail polish remover.) I try to keep doors shut but they can open them. And they can pull of the door knob covers that I have. The other option is to lock all the doors...but it's not very practical to lock the bathroom when I have a 4-year-old.

Today is cleaning day, and foster/adopt play group day. I try to do most things in the morning and minimize what we do in the afternoon when it's so hot. I also need to get some groceries at some point (nearly out of milk and bread).

Last night we ate supper in the basement where it's a bit cooler.

Life Update

We had a lovely weekend at the cabin with my (Karen's) side of the family! Pictures whenever I take time to upload them.

Tomorrow we're making lots of applesauce. I've been out of homemade since March or April and we're quite ready to have fresh made again. It's supposed to be quite hot this week so I'm glad I have room in my freezer for it and don't need to can it. I'll can some in the fall.

Summer Time!

It's nice and "cozy" here...quite warm and humid. I love the change of seasons we get around here and I love summer....but...I hate to sweat. So I love the relaxed schedule of summer, the long days, the fun stuff...but this heat and humidity drive me crazy. I've still to figure out why anyone voluntarily lives south of the Mason-Dixon line. :-) No, I'm sure you get used to it...or else have a/c and a pool!

Anyway, we don't have a/c and we do have a small wading pool and a somewhat cool basement and 10 fans (3 ceiling, 4 window, 3 oscillating) and we survive. And we love hanging out with our neighbors and playing wiffle ball and eating popsicles and sundae cones. Staying up later since it's light out anyway and there's no school is fun too! Not to mention an occasional trip camping or to the beach or the mountains.

Today Zach got his finger pinched in a door. It's black-and-blue. Saturday he slipped in the tub and banged his eye. It's black-and-blue. What next?! He reacts rather badly to pain and both needed ice...yeah, that's rather a battle....

Micah did not sleep during naptime today. Very unusual. And now, when he should be exhausted and fall fast asleep...he keeps crawling into Mark's bed. Speaking of which, I need to pause now and get them in their own beds (again) and take the toys (again). And I don't typically keep toys in their bedroom, but some migrated there and never got removed.

Janae has issues at night with continually getting out of bed as well...sometimes something to tell me but usually "I can't fall asleep" is the problem...it's hot, that certainly makes it worse...but at this point it may also be a bad habit.

Today we took our occasional trip to the local discount grocer. We replaced our 2nd freezer the other weekend, and it was nice to go and buy whatever I needed out of the freezer section without concern of space.

Yesterday was Micah's child dedication at church. Meaningful as always....

Alright, well, it's really hot even sitting here....maybe I'll sit under a fan and read a book....or go fold laundry or something. Tomorrow is cleaning day/occupational therapy day. Hopefully therapy goes better this week....

More Books

• "Vultures & Butterflies: Living the Contradictions" by Susan Classen. Very, very good. Susan writes about her work as a health worker in El Salvador. I was quite struck by the way the "rich" give humanitarian aid which sometimes does more harm then good. And frustrated by how governments maneuver and manipulate. So much chaos and war and trauma in this world (vultures)...and the good things she found as well (butterflies).
• "teatime in mogadishu: My Journey as a Peace Ambassador in the World of Islam" by Ahmed Ali Haile as told to David Shenk. I really enjoyed this book as well. Haile discusses traditional Somali/Islamic peacemaking and restorative justice methods, his life growing up in Somalia, his schooling in the US and work in Kenya with displaced Somalis.
• "North & South" by Elizabeth Gaskell. This was definitely my favorite Elizabeth Gaskell book. I had previously seen the movie and I really liked that as well. It's a fiction story that takes place in England during the Industrial Revolution. Very romantic. :-) (But at the same time, quite "clean").

Truck Rally - Friday Night Set Up

The mostly empty lot which would get filled with trucks on Saturday.

Main Entrance

Wrapping potatoes for the meal on Saturday evening.

A local garden center donates lots of plants to sell.

Mark and Micah having fun running back and forth on a small trailer.

Mark would yell, "1, 2, 3, go-o-o-o!" and then race across to the other side.

We took lots of photos of Randy's truck...I think this is my favorite.

TFC Truck Rally - 2011

Assorted photos from the truck rally...in no particular order.

Some of the kids trying out the barrel ride (before it was open...they did ride it later as well).

Zach, Micah, and Mark watching the truck parade while I helped with registration.

Randy's Truck

Micah playing at the campers.

Some of the campers putting the finishing touches on their trucks.

A friend took Randy's truck through the parade...here it is coming back and being told where to park.

Pondering

Right now I hate naptime. I love it when they go to bed and I get an hour or 2 of quiet to do what needs to be done without littles "helping". But right now, naptime is a simply a long battle. The biggest problem is that since Josiah has his own room, I now have to have 2 little boys together. And that is entertaining to the other one so it's harder for them to get bored and fall asleep....plus, if one thinks of something fun to do, the other one gets out of bed and joins him....making for 2 kids in trouble instead of 1. I did have Micah napping in Josiah's room for awhile but it just was not working. He was constantly getting into things....which hasn't changed since moving him in with Mark. But at least it's not Josiah's stuff. Today he got the piggy bank off the chest of drawers and threw it on the floor. Crash... Anyway, that's just the way it is....but I'm sure if I persevere they'll begin laying nicely in bed until they fall asleep and take a nice long nap every day.....or something like that!!! (Yes, I was being sarcastic...but I do plan to persevere...I am not giving in and letting them stay up all day long and be grumpy. 3 minutes between each incident will add up...I think.)

Other thoughts....if I hate going to Walmart (to big, cheap quality, etc.) why do I still go? And I decided it's primarily the 1-stop shopping which works well for this mother of multiple kids. Some day all the kids will be in school and it will be easier to do multiple stop shopping...and I probably will. I really do find that many of the things I buy there really aren't much cheaper then anywhere else (particularly if I buy them on sale) and the quality is often better elsewhere.

Well, my 3 minutes is up...time to go tuck those boys back in their beds again...

Spruce Lake

Randy, Josiah, Autumn, Janae, Zach and some others hiked Spruce Mountain.

the beaver dam

Later that evening...

July 5th

And today is my friend's birthday....Happy Birthday, Kim!

Anyway, it is hot and humid in this part of the world, but thankfully it seems to be cooling down nicely at night. I always say I can handle the heat much better if it cools down overnight. I hate waking up all sticky and clammy. We don't have A/C so I let the kids run in the sprinkler for a few minutes tonight to cool them down before tucking them into bed. (Not to long, though, 'cause we have city water.)

Zach told me that I should go outside and relax...with a flashlight so I don't get scared. How sweet! Considering his "choices" today, I could use some time to relax! :-)

Mark is scheduled for Adenoid Surgery in August to help his chronic runny nose. His nose has been good for a week or so now...so I'm second-guessing if this is needed or not. But the thought of another winter of constant sniffles is a bit daunting....maybe I should just postpone it until the fall...

We had a lovely weekend. Saturday Randy helped the neighbor take down a tree in their backyard. Sunday we went to church and visited my parents and several of my siblings. Monday we tackled some projects around here. We replaced our chest freezer that had went kaput some months ago so now we are ready for summer produce. Randy also built a new bed for Josiah. His was falling apart. We also had Randy's family that was available over for supper/evening.

I thoroughly enjoyed the past week temperature wise. Lovely warm summer days, but cool nights/mornings. Perfect!

I got some new books from our church library on Sunday. I read one "Surviving without Romance" by Mary Lou Cummings. When I read about the lives of some of our African sisters I am ashamed for ever complaining about ANYTHING! I'm grateful to live in a culture where I am a person and not property. And I admire their faith in God amid despair and poverty. They are strong women!

Tomorrow I need to make a dreaded trip to Walmart. I am not particularly fond of the store at all (too big, too difficult to find what I need quickly and get out). However, I also hate making multiple stops with multiple children so it is easiest to just go there and get everything. Interestingly enough, I do not feel the same way about our local K-Mart...I guess it's because it's a bit smaller....maybe I'll go there instead...but Walmart is closer. So we'll see.... I avoid shopping until my list is so long I absolutely have to go (multiple kid factor). I used to go to K-Mart about once a week. Now I probably go to one or the other about once a month....probably better for the budget...less opportunity to impulse buy. :-)

Because the past month or so has been busy, and the days are long, we've been staying up later more frequently. So I'm struggling more with being sleepy and getting up when I should. I even fell asleep in the afternoon a few days....guess I should go to bed now and try to get caught up! Of course, I could go to bed when the kids do but I do relish some time alone in the evening after they've fallen asleep.

This week is relatively free for me....the normal speech and occupational therapies. And a play date on Friday. That's it! And a free weekend. Micah's Child Dedication is scheduled for Sunday morning. Love it!

Have a lovely week!

Song going through my mind...