Road Rage Rash

 Cute hair, sad face. That's the situation this week.

 I decided she needed cute hair to compensate. Yesterday her dad made a homeless baby joke, and I think that's more sad than funny. So, she's got to be impeccably groomed so she doesn't look homeless.

Unfortunately, it looks even worse the second day. After a bath and more picking at it, it started to bleed around the edges. And she's got a summer cold so I have to keep wiping right where she's got a little scab under her nose. I'd put a band-aid on it, but the sticky part would just cover more scab and I don't think that would end well. Not to mention her penchant for picking at things. I don't think a band-aid would survive long. Even as a preemie she was very adept at getting things off her face she didn't want there.

Oh, how did this happen, you ask? Well. Sometimes the quickest way to get a ride on the tricycle is a swift push to your sister. Or so somebody thinks. He did feel bad when he saw the blood, though.

Catching Up on June

 Here's some random pictures that don't really coalesce into a solid post with a strong narrative, so I'll just stick them all together. Above, somebody likes brother's birthday present better than he does. But he does like it too.

 After months of ups and downs (oh, so many downs), Nathan finally did it. He filled up in potty sticker chart. And so we got to go to the "engine store," also known as Toys 'R' Us. We'd talked for months about choosing an engine, or Harold. But everything Thomas that he saw, "Can I take this home?" No, you can just choose one thing. Harold it is. He's very excited. And he's doing pretty well with the whole potty thing too. Only one accident in the last week.

 And I had to get Clara her own sunglasses. I'm tired of her fingerprints all over mine. I had to get the polka dot ones, even though they had Barbie on it. No offense, Barbie my friend, but I'm not a big fan of Barbie the fashion icon for my one-year-old. It seems weird.

Later in the day we took dad to see the ducks at Beus Pond. I'm sure he enjoyed it.

 The rest of us did.

And Sunday afternoon, when the boys decided naps in beds just aren't cool anymore. I was just happy the short one decided to take a nap. Unlike today...

The day before Father's Day

 I was a fishing widow this weekend, so here's how things went down. Nathan decided he HAD to have cold black beans, out of the fridge, for breakfast. Yum. They were made even more delicious by being the forbidden fruit, mom having told him no not ten seconds before he popped the lid off.

And Clara, taking a break from teething moroseness and outright agony, decided this paper bag should be a hat. She actually had it on there pretty good before I could get out the camera. This is a lame re-creation.

Other than that, we had some good picnicking at Beus Pond, where, as we were enjoying the geese and ducks, a lone man bummed a few pieces of bread off the couple who had an entire loaf, and gave it to us so my kids could feed the birds. I graciously accepted, and we doled out pieces of cheap refined flour to the birds, bread I wouldn't even buy. Clara, of course, would not throw perfectly good bread to the birds and opened her little mouth every time I offered her a piece. And, all the meanwhile, we all ignored the sign that said Do not feed bread to the ducks. It attracts seagulls which attack ducklings.

Go us. But the ducklings are okay, by the way. Alive and getting bigger.

If I ran the zoo...

I'd go there more often. That's probably not what Dr. Seuss had in mind, but there you have it.

Last week was an extended marathon of grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Everybody was there, and that doesn't happen often. So when we get the chance, we do everything we can together. I regret I took so few pictures. But I did get some of our zoo outing.

We were lucky to get good weather, but we were unlucky that it was the hottest day of the year so far. We weren't used to it, and our newly-Canadian cousin was even less used to it. It was hot and exhausting.

 She's not really doing anything, but I cannot get enough of those pigtails.

 Who doesn't love a bronzed rhino? Our favorites for the day were elephants, fruit bats, monkeys, and giraffes. The definite not favorite for several cousins were the animatronic dinosaurs that squirted water and made scary noises.

 This is a futile picture trying to get the giraffe's blue tongue.

 I was at book club the night before, so I gave strict instructions to get the kids to bed on time. And, the report went, they were in bed on time but stayed up to play. This was the result. Clara conked out halfway through, and

 Nathan barricaded himself in the stroller while everyone else enjoyed the playground. He also refused to eat breakfast, so he cared less about seeing the animals and more about getting snacks.

 But everyone perked up when it was time for this. It's all anyone asked for all day.

We had a good week, everyone. Some of the highlights were: Jessica's blessing, playing trucks at the "real construction site," and, as always, the empanada night. Let's do it again sometime, shall we?

Getting you to come out of the woodwork

Hey all. I'm curious about who actually reads this blog. And if you want to continue, I'd best be hearing from you.

We'll be going private here in a couple of weeks. I love sharing our exploits with you, Internet, and will continue to do so. But this will allow me to be lazy about sharing names and such. And I won't worry about people stealing my identity or robbing my house when I blog about going on vacation.

So, one and all, you are welcome. I'll make comments private so your emails won't be visible to the world.

Mini Vacation

 Lacking the energy or motivation for a real vacation this month, we were able to get away for a couple of days to Powder Mountain. And some things never change--my kids thought the spiral staircase was just as cool as I did as a kid.

 And the swimming pool was updated and much more cool. In addition to the big swimming pool and hot tub, they had a children's pool and a family hot tub. We spent our time tramping from pool to pool, splashing and learning to swim.

 She even decided to enjoy the splashing after twenty minutes of moaning.

 This is what June looks like in the tops of the mountains this year. No hiking for us. Too bad we forgot our winter clothes or we could have gone sledding.

But we had plenty to keep us busy indoors. PlayDoh, movies, and we even tried a game of Candy Land. Four of us started playing, and mom and dad finished. Woot woot!

Baked Oatmeal

Oatmeal. It's all right if you get to it right away. But wait a few minutes, and it's a congealed, gelatinous muck. Yuck. I don't like oatmeal. I never have.

But now I do. Spread the word. For the first time, oatmeal is delicious. It turns out with just the right texture. We did the brown sugar variation and my husband said it reminded him of apple crisp, without the apples.

Baked Oatmeal


1/2 c oil
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 c milk
3 c oatmeal (old-fashioned, not quick-cooking)
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix oil, sugar, and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Variation: Instead of oil and white sugar, use 1/2 c melted margarine or butter and 3/4 c packed brown sugar. Add 1/2 c raisins or cinnamon apples, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Serve with milk and yum.