Kindergarten Math

Adara had an extra-large slice of pizza, so I cut it in half. As I suspected, she came back with one of the pieces uneaten.
"I'm glad we cut it," I said.
"I wasn't hungry for two pieces of pizza," she said. "If you didn't cut it, I could have finished."

Too Quiet

The house, normally joyfully echoing the sounds of playing children, is now totally silent. The youngest is napping, his sisters playing at the neighbor's house. My main afternoon chore ostensibly finished, I sit in a sort of confusion. What am I supposed to do now? I actually finished a task without needing to promise my attention to someone else as soon as I had "a chance." I know there are more things on my list of preparations for the trip we're taking tomorrow, but I can't focus on what would be most important to do now.

I sit as if in mire. Mental mire. Mud. that means mud. Only I think it implies a conglomeration of more than simple dirt and water. My mind envisions a medieval "road" on which all manner of sheep, goats, and the occasional horse crossed, leaving a remnant or two of themselves behind, to be mixed with the dirt. I wonder if someone ever thought to change the course of the road just a bit so they could use that well-worked and well-fertilized ground for planting crops?

I feel a little better now: having mentally travelled several hundred years gives me a sense of accomplishment despite my real physical immobility.

Stand up. Yes, I will start with that.

Solar

This is good weather time here in Southern California. We got our energy bill today. The solar panels we had installed this summer made their first full-month impact on our energy bill.

Consumption = 188
Net Generation = 160

Total energy we are paying the electric company for this month = 28 kWh
Price = $0.94

I am super curious for what will happen next summer and we need the A/C.

*Note (never mind the cost of installing the panels. In the long-term, it will balance out, right?)

Batman on Toast at the Beach

Batman is looking for candy.

Dairy free "pizza". If I could find more variations like this, living with the lactose-intolerant guy wouldn't be a sacrifice at all!

We went to the beach. On November 3rd. It was beautiful, and not at all crowded. Why do we have a stuffed bear at the beach? It was part of Kindergarten: Adara was chosen as this week's spotlight child, or "Star Student."

Reasons to visit California

The Birds of Paradise are in bloom now.

We have avocados for less than $1 each -- and we can sit comfortably outside at 10:00 in the morning. 

We have cute kids. Who don't like clothes.

Sentences!

Warning -- pictures not necessarily related to story.


My little Keenan, who turns two tomorrow!!, has recently begun stringing sentences together. Nevermind that his pronunciation leaves much to be desired. I was awestruck on Saturday of last week by what he said when he was eating breakfast.

 I had told him he needed to finish his eggs before I would get him a bowl of cereal. When he had finished his eggs, he said, "Eat all eggs. Now have cereal." I had no idea a child so young would be able to articulate an idea this complex, let alone think it in the first place.





Today's sentence was less awe-some, but it was terribly sweet. I was making lunch. The girls went with  their dad for the afternoon so it was just Keenan and me. Keenan was eating and I was still preparing more food.

"Mama," he half-shouted, and I thought he was about to start screaming because he was so hungry and I hadn't read his mind yet to put more food in his bowl. But instead, he said, with that same tone of voice, "I like that song."

I had just finished singing, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me," from the Children's Songbook.
 And then he started playing a game with me: What's the sign for _____. That was a fun game, since I had to decipher his spoken words and hope that the sign I made matched what he was thinking.

And now some fun from Adara:

 The school work that came home with her today said that she "needs improvement" on "using beginning sounds, phonetic spelling and resources for each word."  I will write her sentence and let you be the judge of whether she was spelling things phonetically.

"I like when the lef wr n re tre." [Translation, in case your phonics is different than Adara's: "I like when the leaves were in the tree."]





Finally, here are a few Halloween-related pictures.

 

(I wasn't going to put a headband on Keenan, but when he realized that, he started to get upset. So he had no one but himself to blame for this blackmail picture.)

Humility

Quick thought I want to save somewhere before I forget it:

True humility includes a sense of being loved in your imperfections.

Halloween

We took Jon to work this morning (our other car is getting fixed). While driving back to take Adara to school, we heard a big THUMP, like someone banging on the car. I looked around and saw nothing - no other cars, no pedestrians, nothing in the to road.

"Maybe the trunk is open," I thought, but I couldn't stop right there (I think there were train tracks). Then we heard the thump again, and as I was looking for a place to pull over, we heard three thumps that sounded for all the world like a big scary guy banging on the back of the car.

But no one was there. And I was freaked out. There was still no sign of anyone or anything else on the road except us, and all I could think was that the thumping was coming from *inside* the trunk. We were in an industrial part of town, by the train tracks and there was no way I was getting out of the car at that point. I just hoped no one was attached to the bottom of the car or something gruesome.

But then I remembered the pumpkin. I had thought Jon had taken it out when we dropped him off, but what if he hadn't? I decided that was probably what was making the noise and justified myself in driving home without checking to make sure everything was ok. When we got out of the car at Adara's school, I checked the pumpkin. The stem had broken off from the impact of bouncing around the trunk. But why it would have made three very rhythmic thumps when we were driving down a level street is still a mystery.

Big as a grandma

This is one of Naomi's sayings. Perhaps she heard it from one of her friends. Today as we were grinding grains for bread making, she looked in the bowl and said, "That's as tall as a grandma!" Then she measures with her hand to the height of the ground grain and says, "Grandma's this high."

Baby wisdom

You know how some refrigerators have a place you can get cold water by pressing a button on the outside of the door? Keenan is learning to use it.

It's always nice to have someone motivating you to do the chores you keep putting off. . . .

And on the Naomi front:

As we were walking home from taking Adara to school this morning, Naomi was talking about the toy she was holding.

"I like Dinah. She's a special tiger. Mama? When you have a baby in your tummy, you're stronger. And. I see a red truck following us. Look!! Now there's a white truck following us!"

Darndest things

Today Naomi said, "Every night I go to sleep with panties on, and when I wake up, they've turned into pull-ups!"

Anybody know how to help her continue to develop this sense of humor?

A Walk in the Park

Or a run in the park. . . in the sprinklers . . . and then go home and take a nap for the first time in who-knows-how-long.

And this is Adara on the playground at Kindergarten. The other day she said, "Will you look at me over the wall?" And then when she was standing there on the other side of the wall, she said, "The other moms and dads take pictures of their kids." (She's showing off the Disney princess ring that her friend shared with her.)

Number Two

Creative use of garden produce.

 Seeing the world through new eyes.

Little Georgian Folk Dancer in Training

I think this is evidence that my son wants to walk in my footsteps. Not literally. I can't walk on my knuckles.

Keenan Folk Dance Training

In case you're wondering why walking on your knuckles has anything to do with folk dance, watch this video:

Georgian Folk Dance

Garden Fun

 We harvested this beauty this week. Mid-June and already we are swimming in gourds!

"Hello, My name is Inigo Montoya."

Food baby

All right. This makes three times that someone has looked at my stomach and made comments about me being pregnant. I fell all right about how I look and about my overall health. So I guess I could take these comments as a compliment. I couldn't possibly just be gaining weight and storing it all in my stomach. No, I must be pregnant. :) Ha!

This is the most recent picture I have of myself. Can't really see my food baby, but I'm not exactly a stick anymore, either.

Disney

This was supposed to be one of those sweet pictures where your kids are all smiling at the camera being happy and grateful because they are at Disneyland.

Don't read

I just needed a. Place to write some story parts. "have you decided to come with me to Den Haag," Gabi asked. "The bus lady and Britta both said no thanks. I really want to go, but I don't want to go by myself." Han sighed inwardly. "We'll have to stop overnight somewhere," he warned the now-happy angel girl. "I've already looked into that. There's a motel not far from . . ." Han filtered through his emotions as he continued to listen. Maybe visiting a Mormon temple wouldn't be so bad. The missionaries would smile and make polite conversation while asking how he felt about Jesus. That was ok. But if he got to see some sacrificial altars, that would be awesome! --------------------------------- The motel was marked by a bright red fluorescent sign. An iron fire escape ladder hung off the balcony nearby, and a dim sign two doors down glowed with a picture of a sizable beer stein. There was a burst of loud laughter from somewhere overhead, and Gabi's idea of what kind of hotel this was became clearer in her mind. But it was already after dark, and finding another place to stay was not an option. She was glad that Han was with her. But now in this place she found that she wanted the safety of another girl to share her insecurities with. ------------------------------- Before entering the last room in the tour, the guides stopped. "This last room is the Celestial Room. It is a most sacred place where the Spirit of the Lord can be felt strongly and give needed revelation to those who ask. When we are in the Celestial Room, as with other rooms in the temple, we speak quietly and only when needed. On this special occasion, we invite you maintain a reverent silence, out of respect for the Lord. We hope you have enjoyed your visit to the temple this day, and pray that your experience in the Celestial Room will be as holy to you as the temple is to us." -------------------- Before dismissing the class, Brother Fielding looked at Han and Gabriela. "May I speak with the two of you after class?"

Angels

Keenan picked up a little angel statuette and started calling it Mama. Sweetest compliment I have ever gotten from one of my children.

Black Sheep

I have failed as a mother. Over the past several days, my youngest child has asked me to put his shoes on his feet when I get him dressed. It's summer time. Why does he need shoes? His sisters don't wear shoes. I don't wear shoes! Where have I gone wrong?

Baptism by tongue

What do you get when you mix the 4th article of faith with the 6th? Laying on of tongue for the gift of the holy tongue.

Welcome!

What's been happening at the Wilson's? We recently took a trip to Utah. These little kiddos are pretty seasoned travelers, but even so, we had to break out the iPad movies once or twice to keep the peace. Make sure to take note of Keenan's hair here.

Keenan needed a bit of a trim. Shortly after I started, however, I realized my mistake in thinking I could just do a quick trim while he looked at his reflection in the mirror. What was I thinking? And now he looks like this: 

This last one is my favorite of the "Muffins with Mom" event at Adara's pre-K class. It was very sweet to have Adara greet me as I sat down. She asked which drink I preferred (lemonade or water), then served me a drink as well as a plate of mini muffins and some chocolate dipped strawberries.

Sprouted Ezekiel Bread

Has anyone ever heard of Ezekiel bread? My dear husband ordered some Ezekiel grain mix when he ordered our bulk food storage last year. *shakes head* I had never heard of Ezekiel grain or Ezekiel bread.

Making bread from the Ezekiel mix Jon ordered has been a wonderful adventure that I just have to share and record for posterity. So, the picture above is, apparently, dough. I hope. It is not like any dough I have ever made. It is nothing more than the grains in the Ezekiel mix, sprouted, and ground up in the food processor. According to my sources (Googled recipes for sprouted Ezekiel bread), this can be made into whatever bread product you desire.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this episode in my search for healthy, delicious, and interesting foods for my family.

*************

Update -- the bread failed. It didn't cook in the middle, and the parts that did cook tasted awful. I will go back to eating it the way Jon made it last time: grind the grains and make bread like normal people! But I will be on the alert for someone who knows how to do this successfully and make it taste good.

P.S. Lisa, it is sprouted bread. It uses six or seven different grains and beans, per God's instructions to Ezekiel in the Bible.

Resemblances

I asked Adara, "Are you more like your mom or your dad?"

"Mom," she said.

"But you look like your dad."

"Yeah, but when I close my eyes, they're black."

2012 Winter in California

Sorry these are so random. It's a smattering of the things we've been doing to keep ourselves occupied while we've been waiting to move into our new home.

This is Naomi sitting on my lap at the children's science museum in Santa Ana. She is watching Dora the Explorer (puppet/mascot), and, though Dora is some distance from us, Naomi is keeping her eye on that puppet, just in case any evasive action needs to be taken.

Outside of the science museum: Adara placed the sticker over her own mouth with no prompting. Hmmm. . .

Just an average view of Keenan at breakfast.

Nana and Poppy came to visit and we all went to the Santa Ana zoo. The carousel animals were exsquisite!

Keenan stew?

My Sweet, Simple Life

These are some of the perks that arise in the midst of the hubbub of raising three young children:

Naomi finally has enough hair for pigtails.

Look at that red!

Little angel face. Well, sort of.

There is a river walk by the temporary housing we're staying in.

My father-in-law described this as an inter-racial couple.

Here We Go . . .

Well, here goes nothing. My first attempt at real storytelling. It's a first draft. I'm posting it because I haven't really done creative writing since, like, the 9th grade. I'd love to know how you like it. And if I lose you anywhere, tell me where I lost you and if you have a suggestion on where I should have taken you instead.

Working Title: "Worldly Love"

“Just like a cartoon.” That's what Jon thought as he fell off a cliff. When he woke up he could feel the blood starting to dry on his face. He remembered washing in the stream, tying his shirt around the gash on his head. It didn't stop the blood, though, so he just put the shirt back on. The next thing he remembered, he was following the river through the jungle. 

He was in Bolivia teaching English as part of a mission trip for his church. It had been over a month and he couldn't speak Spanish. It was frustrating, and he just needed to get away for awhile.


A short walk from the village was a ridge that looked out over the jungle. From the top of that ridge, Jon could see glimpses of the river below. He went down.


It was late afternoon when he decided to start back to the village. Santiago de Chiquitos. There was nothing else nearby except for mountains and jungle. Dense jungle. Jon couldn't find the path he'd followed down to the river. And he didn't have much time. Being in the jungle overnight was not a possibility in his mind.


When he saw the cliff, maybe 15 or 20 feet at most, he was desperate. He’d climbed about 10 feet up before the sandstone crumbled out from underneath him, condemning him for his youthful . . . he balked as the word “stupidity” came to his mind. Consciously, he re-worked the thought: The sandstone had permitted his adventurous impulse for a commendable 10 feet before it succumbed to the pressure.


The sun was moving more quickly now. He thought he saw a girl leading him through the jungle, but his consciousness was fading in and out so he wasn't sure. Her dark hair and white dress made him think she was a school girl from the village.


"I've never seen such ugly girls," he thought. His girlfriend in America was a pretty blonde California girl. Even though he didn't like his hometown, he wished he were there now. His head was still gushing blood, he was most likely hallucinating, and he thought he heard a puma snarling. Then he saw it up ahead: the path back to the village.


***********************************************************

David crouched in the dirt of the school yard, plotting with his friends, their faces the same color as the ground. They watched the gringo English teacher talking to some kids nearby. When he left, David approached Mateo, the tallest in the group.


"That teacher likes you," he said simply.


"Why do I care?"


"He's doesn't know Spanish! Let's have a little fun with him."


"He's our teacher, David! I don't want to get in trouble."


"Mateo, this teacher isn't like the others. I think he can take a joke."


"Yeah, you're probably right. Let's have some fun. What do you have in mind?"


***********************************************************


The next morning David and Mateo watched carefully as the nuns inspected their classroom.


"Hola mamacita. Que tal?" Jon smiled hos most charming smile as he greeted the Mother Superior. The children struggled not to laugh out loud.

It was founded as a Jesuit Mission.  The train from Santa Cruz stopped frequently as herds of cattle ambled across the tracks. Then you had to take the bus through the mountain roads, narrow ledges with steep cliffs dropping down. Jon noticed several times when the exterior wheels of the bus were partly touching the road, and mostly spinning in mid-air.

Success!

Listening to music with Adara today:

First she asked to listen to some songs from the movie, "Tangled."

Then, she asked to listen to Weird Al Yankovic's song, "White and Nerdy."

I have faith that the princess phase will end someday. But a childhood appreciation for Weird Al Yankovic, I know from experience, is something that will last a lifetime. :)

(Below is a recent picture of Adara. Sorry it's out of focus. It's the best I was able to capture.)

Homonyms

I'm lovin the four year old learning process. Today Adara said, "I know. . . . I know. Why does it say "know" when it has the word "no" in it?"

Skunk Award

Well now, this is different. I've been chosen to receive an award. And a most appropriate one, I might add. It is, apparently, for people who make us feel (and smell) better. Now I am supposed to pass it on. And while I'm not sure that much can be done about my smell (or rather, the smell of people (a.k.a., babies) and things (a.k.a., smelly diapers) with which I am surrounded), there are plenty of people who make me feel better, and who also have blogs. I think my friend nathalia at Me and Ma Vie is my top choice.

Now to name one thing about myself that I like. I like that I am sympathetic. In my sunday school classes when I was a kid, I was taught to seek out people who seemed lonely or different and to be their friend. Since I moved all the time and had a hard time making new friends, I could identify with the feeling of being left out or just new and unknown. So I have always made an effort to look at how someone must be feeling and then make an effort to be a friend.

Ok, Ms. Nathalia. Your turn. (If you dare!)

Granddaddy

My granddad passed away this morning. It's hard to lose a grandparent, even when you feel like you didn't know them that well.

Of course, I did stop and visit my grandparents as I was traveling from Georgia to California. That was only two weeks ago. So there is a small comfort in that. And I got to spend a few weeks with him and my grandmother almost 10 years ago when all three of us serendipitously ended up in Germany at the same time.

Before my visit two weeks ago, though, it's been years since I last saw my granddad. He and grandma went to Utah for several visits, and I actually made it to one or two of those visits. But I still never knew what to really talk about. Even for those two weeks in Germany. Don't get me wrong; granddad is an extraordinary man. He rose from shop sweeper to airline pilot to retirement all with the same company.

So -- that picture at the top of this post is pretty much the only picture I have ever personally taken of my granddad. His holding Adara, who was a little less than one month old in this picture.