Chemicals can be hazardous in more ways than one. Tonight as I did the dishes, I heard a suspicious noise behind me. Turning, I saw Aila with the can of apple-cinnamon air freshener, set on the floor in front of her, using both her thumbs to press the button. Thankfully, it is drenching the floor in front of her instead of spraying in her face. I dropped the dishcloth and ran over to grab the can, putting well out of reach, then went back for some paper towels. Unfortunately, I hadn't reckoned on the floor being so slick. Almost in slow motion, I slid sideways, landing on my left hip in apple-cinnamon slime. If I had to fall, at least I will smell like fall.
I would also like to record for posterity that today Aila has dumped the basket of markers, a couple glasses of water, food from her plate, a bunch of stuff from the camping equipment bin, a substantial amount of cat litter, and an entire container of BB's. On a lighter note, she has started saying "Vi" for Levi which is very cute. Her vocabulary includes: Mommy, Daddy (her favorite word), shoe, which sounds more like she, and is tied for favorite word, owie, wa for water, doggy, baby, go-gee for gentle (as she strokes my face) uggy for yucky, ah for hot, and a little sing-song routine when she wants to nurse. She pulls at the neck of my shirt, rocks side to side, and sings, "Uh huh, uh huh" The uh being a higher note and the huh being a lower note. It's working for her so far.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Levi's soup recipe
Levi made some soup yesterday. By himself. It was very yellow, but the children said it was yummy. He came to me and handed me a piece of paper, announcing that it was his soup recipe. It read as follows:
ptatos anb peprs anb beens anb sethnins.
Which translated means: potatoes and peppers and beans and seasonings.
He pointed to the counter and said, "Those are the seasonings I used," There was garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Hmm, not bad, I thought. Besides the vegggies in his recipe, he had put in slices of tomato. All of the vegetables were freshly picked from our garden. He had simply boiled tham all in some water. The yellow color, well, it wasn't natural, and it wasn't in the recipe, so I can't say for sure, but I did find an empty bottle of yellow food coloring in the pantry that afternoon. :-)
This afternoon, Levi came to me and announced when he grew up he was going to be a "plane conductor", and that when he was flying the plane to California, I could go for only one dollar. "Wow!" I said, "That's really great!" "Yeah, and anybody else in my family can go for two dollars. For all the other people it costs 30 dollars, no, 100 dollars." I told him he was sure to have a lot of business!
ptatos anb peprs anb beens anb sethnins.
Which translated means: potatoes and peppers and beans and seasonings.
He pointed to the counter and said, "Those are the seasonings I used," There was garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Hmm, not bad, I thought. Besides the vegggies in his recipe, he had put in slices of tomato. All of the vegetables were freshly picked from our garden. He had simply boiled tham all in some water. The yellow color, well, it wasn't natural, and it wasn't in the recipe, so I can't say for sure, but I did find an empty bottle of yellow food coloring in the pantry that afternoon. :-)
This afternoon, Levi came to me and announced when he grew up he was going to be a "plane conductor", and that when he was flying the plane to California, I could go for only one dollar. "Wow!" I said, "That's really great!" "Yeah, and anybody else in my family can go for two dollars. For all the other people it costs 30 dollars, no, 100 dollars." I told him he was sure to have a lot of business!
Friday, September 7, 2012
How she really feels
After we picked the kids up at Justin and Trish's, where they had spent the evening, I asked if they had had fun. Tirzah replied, "It was fun when you were gone, but not when you got back!"
9/13/12 The girls and I went to Malone this evening to get the groceries for our Maine trip. On the way home, Tirzah prattled on and on in the dark, asking all manner of questions and chatting about everything under the sun. At one point she said, "When I grow up, I'm going to work at..." and paused. I fully expected her to say "Chinese", which is her and Levi's standard answer for what they want to do when they grow up. Instead, she finished, "at your house. When I grow up, I want to live with you!" So I told her OK, that would be great. :-)
She kept asking where we were and how long it would be till we got home. She had asked about 5 times in a row, with me aswering, "North Bangor, 15 minutes" every time. Finally I told her the next town was Brushton. "Oh, the it's only six shots till we're home." "Six shots?" I asked. "What are six shots?" Giggles. "Um, they're six turns."
9/27/12 While we were on vacation in Maine, we were eating supper at a Wendy's. It was a bit late and Tirzah wasn't doing so well. She was crying about her burger, "My sandwich is all crambly!" OK. She muddled through enough to get her Frosty, which she was happily sharing with Aila, then suddenly decided didn't suit her any more, crying, "Mine is getting lippy!" Nobody knows. Crabby four-year olds. Who can figure them out?
9/13/12 The girls and I went to Malone this evening to get the groceries for our Maine trip. On the way home, Tirzah prattled on and on in the dark, asking all manner of questions and chatting about everything under the sun. At one point she said, "When I grow up, I'm going to work at..." and paused. I fully expected her to say "Chinese", which is her and Levi's standard answer for what they want to do when they grow up. Instead, she finished, "at your house. When I grow up, I want to live with you!" So I told her OK, that would be great. :-)
She kept asking where we were and how long it would be till we got home. She had asked about 5 times in a row, with me aswering, "North Bangor, 15 minutes" every time. Finally I told her the next town was Brushton. "Oh, the it's only six shots till we're home." "Six shots?" I asked. "What are six shots?" Giggles. "Um, they're six turns."
9/27/12 While we were on vacation in Maine, we were eating supper at a Wendy's. It was a bit late and Tirzah wasn't doing so well. She was crying about her burger, "My sandwich is all crambly!" OK. She muddled through enough to get her Frosty, which she was happily sharing with Aila, then suddenly decided didn't suit her any more, crying, "Mine is getting lippy!" Nobody knows. Crabby four-year olds. Who can figure them out?
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Aila's First Words
Aila has just really started saying a few words. She says mama or mommy regularly. She calls most any animal a doggy. Owie is new this week. Baby is also said frequently, as she gets a doll, wraps in it any cloth she finds, and will sit and rock back and forth, singing, "Baby, baby..."
One of the cutest things she does is imitate a gesture I do to her regularly. When she is too rough, I take her hand and stroke my face with it, saying, "Gentle, gentle." She will brush my face with her hand and say, "Gogee, gogee." So sweet!
One of the cutest things she does is imitate a gesture I do to her regularly. When she is too rough, I take her hand and stroke my face with it, saying, "Gentle, gentle." She will brush my face with her hand and say, "Gogee, gogee." So sweet!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Summer Sayings
Here are some of this weeks gems:
Scott told Levi to drink the milk out of his cereal bowl. Levi complained he doesn't like milk, then added, "The only milk I like is frsh from the udder of a goat!"
In the gas station bathroom, Tirzah announced, "I poopeded a banana!"
Aila has been calling most any animal a woof. Sunday she had a Carl book; I told her to look for the doggy. She started saying over and over, "Doggy, woof, doggy, woof!" and actually pointing to the dogs.
Scott told Levi to drink the milk out of his cereal bowl. Levi complained he doesn't like milk, then added, "The only milk I like is frsh from the udder of a goat!"
In the gas station bathroom, Tirzah announced, "I poopeded a banana!"
Aila has been calling most any animal a woof. Sunday she had a Carl book; I told her to look for the doggy. She started saying over and over, "Doggy, woof, doggy, woof!" and actually pointing to the dogs.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
How things work by Levi Ramsay
While we were camping last week, Scott was going step by step through the story of David and Goliath, which Levi claimed was his favorite Bible story. Scott was asking him questions as they went. "David had a sling. What is a sling used for?" he asked. Levi promptly replied, "To carry babies."
At supper last night, the boys went to remove what were supposed to be clean dishes from the dishwasher. They started exclaiming that the dishes were disgusting, filthy, etc. I shut the door, turned the power on, and it started up, mid-cycle. "Someone must have pushed the off button." I declared. "I think it flipped the circus breaker." chimed in Levi. "Like when Mama uses the microwave and the dishwasher at the same time, it flips the circus breaker."
Last Friday, we were pressed to get everything organized and get out of the house for a dr, appointment and then pick Scott up in Chateauguay and head to Plattsburgh for a cook-out and overnight stay followed by biking the Missisquoi Trail.. One can imagine how many things I was oraganizing and trying not to forget. The children were all clean, and the boys were wearing their matching shirt my mom gave them. At noon, I planned on eating lunch and getting the kids out the door by 1:00. Simple, right?
I had sent Levi out to puit something in the van with instructions to come back immediately after. Again, seems simple. However, as I put the sandwiches on the table, I notice he never made a re-appearance. A secong later, he is in the bathroom washing his hands, which were covered in something that wasn't coming off. Oh boy. It proved to be Crisco. Levi admitted that he and Tirzah had some in the garage. I was not impressed, as I helped him wash. Caelin comes in with the full report. Apparently the two naughty ones had used the shortening to "paint" the wood splitter, which as a side note, is borrowed from Scott's work. I regret to say, I lost my cool, and my parenting was not at its best. I also may have strained some blood vessels in my neck, raising my voice to an unusual level. There was some unpleasantness indicated for a couple of sets of buns that day. Levi was sent, post-haste with a roll of paper towels to clean up the wood splitter, and I got Tirzah washed and changed. Their clothes were stained, to boot. These are the times I want to be able to bring up when Levi graduates from medical school one day, proving that he is responsible for my mental state.
Last Friday, we were pressed to get everything organized and get out of the house for a dr, appointment and then pick Scott up in Chateauguay and head to Plattsburgh for a cook-out and overnight stay followed by biking the Missisquoi Trail.. One can imagine how many things I was oraganizing and trying not to forget. The children were all clean, and the boys were wearing their matching shirt my mom gave them. At noon, I planned on eating lunch and getting the kids out the door by 1:00. Simple, right?
I had sent Levi out to puit something in the van with instructions to come back immediately after. Again, seems simple. However, as I put the sandwiches on the table, I notice he never made a re-appearance. A secong later, he is in the bathroom washing his hands, which were covered in something that wasn't coming off. Oh boy. It proved to be Crisco. Levi admitted that he and Tirzah had some in the garage. I was not impressed, as I helped him wash. Caelin comes in with the full report. Apparently the two naughty ones had used the shortening to "paint" the wood splitter, which as a side note, is borrowed from Scott's work. I regret to say, I lost my cool, and my parenting was not at its best. I also may have strained some blood vessels in my neck, raising my voice to an unusual level. There was some unpleasantness indicated for a couple of sets of buns that day. Levi was sent, post-haste with a roll of paper towels to clean up the wood splitter, and I got Tirzah washed and changed. Their clothes were stained, to boot. These are the times I want to be able to bring up when Levi graduates from medical school one day, proving that he is responsible for my mental state.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Reports, Raisins, and Rough Days
Caelin finished his very first research report today. Whew! It has been quite a process. First looking at the instructions and examples in the book, he was overwhelmed. He picks a topic, Henry Ford. (it had to be person) He requested books from the library all by himself, and read them- no problem. Then the tricky part: notes and an outline, and writing the actual report. He polished up the rough draft today, included photos,made a title page (with a font that looks like how they write Ford!) and put it all together. I was quite pleased how he did. I scored it with the checklist from the book; he ended up with a 92. Not sure if that's lenient, but it seems like he did a great job for 5th grade English; he's only 10. Sometimes I can't believe how much he can do. Other times, I can't believe how much of a goof he is. The scary part is how much he is just like I was: academically advanced, but socially oblivious. :-)
Tirzah helped me make cookies this evening. She dumps the ingredients in and operates the Kitchen Aid. As we added the raisins, I said, "We don't want too many." "But I like too many!" Tirzah objects.
I should record an incident from last week. All the kiddos were outside; I was getting the clothes off the clothesline. When I came in, I asked Caelin to watch Aila. He was in the hammock with a book; I should have known better! I take the clothes to my room and as I begin to fold them, I look out the window at the swing set just in time to see Aila hit the ground. In a split second, I comprehend what has happened. Aila ran behind Levi on the swing and got clobbered. I can see Levi holding his legs out straight in front of him, and reading his face, he is unsure of what to do. He wants to get her, but realizes if he puts his legs down, he'll whack her again. Thankfully, she didn't try to get right up. In a moment, I am out the door and at the swing set. Levi is shaken up a bit. "I couldn't slow down, cuz I couldn't put my legs down! She ran in back of me and I didn't see her!" I reassured him that it was an accident, and he had done alright. Poor Pudgy Bunny had a bad scrape on her head from a rock. I will not be recommending Caelin as a babysitter anytime soon.
As a note, Levi is actually a very good baby sitter. He is more likely to play with her cheerfully than Caelin. He is maturing, and I am very thankful. He had an unusually rough morning yesterday; dis- obedience, bad attitudes, stirring up strife, and even lying. After going round and round, he was sent back to his room, where he was supposed to be cleaning. I went in after a few minutes, and he had fallen asleep on the bed. That would explain a good portion of his behavior, I thought. When he woke up an hour and a half later, his demeanor was greatly improved. Keep praying!
Tirzah helped me make cookies this evening. She dumps the ingredients in and operates the Kitchen Aid. As we added the raisins, I said, "We don't want too many." "But I like too many!" Tirzah objects.
I should record an incident from last week. All the kiddos were outside; I was getting the clothes off the clothesline. When I came in, I asked Caelin to watch Aila. He was in the hammock with a book; I should have known better! I take the clothes to my room and as I begin to fold them, I look out the window at the swing set just in time to see Aila hit the ground. In a split second, I comprehend what has happened. Aila ran behind Levi on the swing and got clobbered. I can see Levi holding his legs out straight in front of him, and reading his face, he is unsure of what to do. He wants to get her, but realizes if he puts his legs down, he'll whack her again. Thankfully, she didn't try to get right up. In a moment, I am out the door and at the swing set. Levi is shaken up a bit. "I couldn't slow down, cuz I couldn't put my legs down! She ran in back of me and I didn't see her!" I reassured him that it was an accident, and he had done alright. Poor Pudgy Bunny had a bad scrape on her head from a rock. I will not be recommending Caelin as a babysitter anytime soon.
As a note, Levi is actually a very good baby sitter. He is more likely to play with her cheerfully than Caelin. He is maturing, and I am very thankful. He had an unusually rough morning yesterday; dis- obedience, bad attitudes, stirring up strife, and even lying. After going round and round, he was sent back to his room, where he was supposed to be cleaning. I went in after a few minutes, and he had fallen asleep on the bed. That would explain a good portion of his behavior, I thought. When he woke up an hour and a half later, his demeanor was greatly improved. Keep praying!
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