adventures in home-making

Taking the long way.

 

After changing our camping plans given the freezing night temperatures this weekend, we tried to console our disappointed Max by spending Saturday at Tannehill. In no particular order, Max discovered a great hiking stick, tried to crash a birthday party, climbed an tree trunk on a playground, and watched an old grist mill in action. Meanwhile, Micah found many people to greet and many possibilities for mischief.

 

We took the back roads, including Miners Memorial, to get home while Max and Micah both napped. It was a pleasure to just talk to my husband with NPR's special on Johnny Cash humming in the background.

Eyes like pimento olives.

Patrick took this photo while we were all bumbling around Snow Hinton Park the other evening. I found it funny that my eyes (which are not green and only remotely hazel) look like pimentos olives. Funny also that I crave pimento olives enough to keep a tall jar in the fridge right now..

This photo also does a stellar job of displaying my prominent nose- a nose which might even be my favorite feature. We had lunch with my mom and some friends today, and one of the ladies told me that I looked exactly like Blibbityblah. 

I said, "Really? Does she have a big, humpy nose too?" 

The poor lady looked so uncomfortable... "No, you don't have a big nose," she insisted. 

It was quite awkward because I didn't know how to explain to this polite, concerned lady that I love my big nose, and relish the fact that it will grow more hooklike as I get older, thereby giving me the appearance of a mean old woman from a British fairy tale. 

The resemblance is striking.

I've always wondered what genes might be responsible for this facial expression from Micah. And now I know. The unlikely candidate? See below....

  
 

A Saturday at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

 

This past Saturday, we met Suebee, Pops, and Grandma Treadwell at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for lunch and frolicking. Grandma Treadwell decided not to age a single day since the last time we saw her- and it was so good to see her, so good to see family.

We didn't realize it at the time, but little Micah had strep throat, which explained why she refused to eat any of the delicious food at The Gardens Cafe. Instead, she ran around the gardens with Max singing and pointing. The two took turns riding the metal rabbit in the herb garden.

 

Max brought his pet deer, Star, to the gardens for her first visit to Birmingham. Star usually accompanies Max to various places in her home-made pouch.

Micah flirted with Pops and convinced him to linger behind the group and smell the flowers. More photos from the gardens coming soon...

 

Roasted potatoes and carrots with cumin and cinnamon.

I found this recipe in one of my favorite magazines, Mothering. The promise to appeal to children is always attractive. I'll let you know what the choir says.

Ingredients:

• 6 red potatoes, quartered
• 2–3 carrots, sliced at an angle into chunks
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450 F. Scrub carrots and potatoes (remove any eyes). Cut up vegetables and place in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Mix oil and spices together in a small bowl and drizzle over vegetables. Mix vegetables with a wooden spoon so they are evenly coated. Roast 20–25 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Happy ending to this story: My husband just got home in his business suit with that big grin on his face. 

Native American Alabamians + pregnant women crawling around under tables.

Micah and I were allowed to attend a Tiger Cub Scout meeting the other night with Patrick and Max! It was awesome. Local Native Americans (specifically Cherokee, I believe) shared their cultural traditions, religious and spiritual views, and performed beautiful dances. 

 

We learned about the Native respect for ecology and balance- giving back what you take from the world around you. For example, when you pick a wildflower, just pull a strand of your hair and leave it behind for birds to add to their nest.

And then Micah crawled under the table and disappeared. So I crawled after her. Under more tables as she scooted further and further away. I thought about the Doors' song, "My Wild Love". And Micah just kept going.

So we watched half the performance from beneath the tables. 

TEN does charter schools on March 1st.

There has been much talk recently at the national and state levels about Charter Schools.  If you'd like to know more, and/or if you care to share what you know with others in our community, please join us at our next TEN event:

What About Charter Schools?

Monday, March 1, 2010, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Tuscaloosa Public Library, Rotary Room

Jack Warner Pkwy.

Dr. John Petrovic, UA Education Policy Center, will talk briefly about what charter schools are, how they work, and what the research says.

Dr. Wayne Urban, UA Education Policy Center, will talk briefly about the legislation recently proposed in Montgomery.

Dr. Bill Stewart, (retired) UA Department of Political Science, will talk briefly about the process by which such legislation might pass or fail and the politics involved therein.

The floor will then be opened for questions and discussion. I am certainly curious as to why The Capitol School has not been granted charter school status by the state of Alabama, though I wish could be more curious (as opposed to cynical) about the reasons for our legislature's reluctance to experiment with a few charter schools.

For more information on TEN in general, visit the website. Hope to see you there!

Baby Peter.

Max named this doll "Peter". It was a gift from Micah's great-grandparents on the Coryell side this past Christmas. Something about having a name made Peter much more attractive to Micah lately. She has been carting him around, feeding him, and bopping him over the head with various small objects- a sign of love, to be sure. It never fails to make me smile when I see how much Micah relishes Max's attention; she was so proud today when he commented on her "taking good care of Peter".

 

Getting bigger.

 Some ladies get the pregnancy glow on their cheeks; I tend to get it on my belly. 

Free mattress, box-spring, and chairs.

We are pre-spring cleaning and trying to clear up more space for a baby. In the process, we discovered our home is too small for all our furniture, so we are giving away a queen-size mattress and box-spring to anyone who has the means to cart it off. The mattress belonged in our guest bedroom, but we are going to put a futon in there to make space. It is in great shape.

We are also giving away to large white chairs. Just send an email if you are interested in looking at them and possibly taking them. Also let anyone else know who might be interested. If I don't hear from anyone in the coming 2 weeks, I'll post them on freecycle.

The two balloons.

Max and Micah spun themselves into tizzies at the Chili Cookoff today while watching their balloons. Surprisingly, the balloons actually made it all the way back into our house, where Max carefully placed them by the window while Micah hopped about screaming, "baloo, baloo". Says Max:

"Mom, please don't move the balloons. I gave them some hats so they could sit near the sun without being bothered."

 

Max makes a snow angel.

Though I must say the angel looks somewhat less luminous minus Max.

  

The Great Chili Cook-off is today.

If you'd like a cornucopia of great chilis to complement your apres-ski, drop by the Bryant Conference Center for the Great Chili Cook-Off, sponsored by the Exchange Club of Tuscaloosa, today from 11 am to 2 pm. Your $10 entrance fee buys unlimited chili, free entertainment, and an opportunity to donate money to the community-building efforts of the Exchange Club. Oh, and you can also see my husband dressed as a pirate in a large wooden ship. Children 6 and under are free.

Patrick's RBC team, led by Nick Porter, won the trophy for best costumes! I wish you could see Patrick's costume- I stitched ruffles from torn sheets and old lace and so much fun.

 

More snow photos.

Max considers our beautiful, bouquet-haired snowqueen named Jezebel. This was before Patrick added the aluminum eyes which put Jezebel on the cusp of the 21st century.

 

Patrick shows Max and Micah how to roll snowballs across the yard to make the base of the snowman.

Micah and me under the big magnolia tree whose leaves were covered with little coats of snow.

  

Snow spurts.

Today I woke up to the sounds of a hungry 6-year-old boy screaming, "Mo-o-o-m, I'm hUN-gry!" Since I wanted to prolong the magic of lazy moments spent in warm sheets, I told Max to look out the window and play snow sentinel. He ran to my room and stared from the window intently for a few moments before remarking, "Nope, no snow". Then the sentinel's face lit up and he screeched, "Mom, it's snowing outside! It's really snowing!" The snow gave me a few more moments in bed before jumping up to dress the munchkins and head out tromping and stomping.

 

Max settled on a pile of snow and pinestraw, the remains of our snowqueen, Jezebel. And Patrick took this photo of me walking down my mom's driveway later in the day, once most of the snow had melted. Now if only that Bluetooth connection would allow me to upload the remainder of our snow photos...

 

 More snow photos soon.

Birth predictions.

According to Madame Zaritska, a "virtual clairvoyant" who doesn't need my palm to predict my birth experience, the following will occur:

Madame Zaritska, using her mystical powers, has the following prediction: The day you deliver, outside will be foggy. Your baby will arrive in the mid morning. After a labor lasting approximately 20 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and will be 20 inches long. This child will have light gray eyes and curly brown hair.

Wow... 20 hours. That is more than 5 times the length of my labor experience with Micah, and even longer than my labor with Max. Just wait until I inform Patrick of what the future holds for us! 

Onesie revamps.

It's that time again... time to stitch pieces of fabric over all the stains on old onesies which would otherwise be in great shape. I love using black thread and pieces of old wool sweaters. Because black is still, for the most part, my favorite color.

Why is it that all onesies get some yellow stain around the collar, even in breastfed babies? 

 

Maybe "Mia" or "Milla"...

 

We ran around River Road Park with the kids both spilling out of the jogging stroller (Micah rode in Max's lap) today as we pondered names for the new baby. In fact, Micah Magnolia's name was agreed upon at this very park a few years ago. No such luck this time. But Patrick did take a few belly shots to share with family around the country (and world). I owe a thank-you to Brandy for the awesome maternity sweater. I think it is my favorite comfy maternity must-have for now.

 

 

Micah gets lost in the tall grass at the Arboretum.

We Love walking with the kids around the dog paths near the Arboretum, mainly because Micah can shout "dawg" to her heart's content while Max leaps about describing the various breeds he encounters. Sometimes I wonder if the dogs secretly fear meeting Max and Micah on one of their outings. This weekend, Micah discovered another source of entertainment, namely, getting lost in the tall grass (possibly dead ragweed). 

At this point, Max expressed concern over not being able to see "the princess", and he begged that some brave soul venture forth into the tall grass to find Micah. Fortunately, little Micah decided to come out on her own, Max jumped for joy, and Patrick and I shared yet another laugh at these precious little characters which bless our lives.

 

 
  

Sunset at Snow Hinton Park.

 

 

They play, play, play all day.

For the past few weeks, Patrick and Max have been playing chess nonstop. The weekends consist of chess games with a few breaks for food. I'm exaggerating. But it has taken up quite a bit of our family time these days. Fortunately, little Micah has discovered a few ways to amuse herself, like, stealing money from her brother's purse.

 

A funny photo I discovered on our cell phone.

I think this was probably taken by Patrick at 5:30 am when he and John men at Panera for a little early morning man talk. Boy, am I glad not to be a man! You can see it was still dark outside...

 

The baby and me.

 

The only way in which Micah consents to stroller rides.

 She's not a fan of strollers or any wheels she is not driving.

 

Suebee at 3.

This is Suebee, Patrick's mom, around the age of 3. The resemblance to Micah is extraordinary!  

Max and Micah turn Daddy's soil.

They found a few beautiful, slimy, wiggly little earthworms in the process. The earthworm remains somewhere in the house. Hopefully, we will be able to return him to his soil soon.

 

Max's first derby race.

A few weeks ago, Patrick and Max made a wooden derby car for his Tiger Cub troop's derby race. Max, who is currently in the thralls of Bambi, named his car, "Romance". And Romance won third place in the race!!

 

Micah's first haircut.

BEFORE

I finally decided to cut little Micah's mop into a quasi-pageboy. She stood by the toilet quite happily and watched the hair float in the water. Today, she tried to ask me to cut it again. At first, I didn't understand why she insisted on standing beside the toilet and rubbing her head. Then I asked if she would like a haircut.

"Umhmmmm..."

AFTER

 

 

20 things to make + do between now and then

1. felt food. lots and lots for max and micah's new kitchen.
2. fabric flowers to put behind (or near) your favorite ear.
3. easy pot holders. as pictured above. 
4. the perfect printable baby shoe tutorial. plus this or this if you prefer the art of choosing.
5. bitty booties. for baby wren, due to arrive on the summer solstice.
6. ruffle tulle skirt tutorial. for miss micah.
7. diy fabric pommes. to hang from a light fixture.
8. little boy tie tutorial. for that fantastic fabric piece that screams max-man.
9. the 90 minute shirt. 
10. make your own pattern tutorial. indispensable.
11. puffed sleeves and gathered pockets tutorials.
12. yarn-wrapped frames.
13. knee pad pants. for max and micah. who have asked to match.
14. spring garland tutorial. for the empty wall space above our bed.
15. tin can planters. to start the seeds.
16. diy catalog of love. 
17. easy rustic modern wood console. to double as headboard.
18. fabric appliques as baby shower game. or just a great way to refashion old onesies.
19. minimalist oak desk. mounted away from prying little paws.
20. super simple nightie.