Creeping At The Back Door

He was waiting for me outside the back door when I got up this morning.
I didn't know it.
I grabbed a cup of coffee, and turned on the computer, then stepped over to the window to observe the new blooms on my wisteria plant.
...and there he was.

I jumped. Spilled coffee on myself, stifled a scream, and finally, when the bright red registered as something that a would be assailant probably wouldn't be sneaking around in, I looked again.

Oh, Antique Santa! He has had an eventful few days here.  Hubby was cleaning out the shed and put him in the yard. 23 mo found him lying on the ground and shook him telling him to "wake up! wake up!"
From what I understand, one of the boys also had a wrestling match with him.
I don't know, but I think his eyes are telling me he'd rather be back in the shed...

The Laundry Monster

Probably every mom blog out there has written a bout laundry. Several times. The laundry monster is ever present!
Our family does an average of 12 loads a week. That doesn't mean there isn't more to do, it just means that's what we get clean each week.
Sometimes, I think that since I hit the bottom of the 'dirty' baskets, I can take a breather for a few days.
That usually blows up in my face! That week will become one where we clean and put away roughly 20 loads of laundry.
Recently, our washing machine broke. Yeah.
The part that tells the machine to stop filling with water is what broke. The machine ran water all over the garage. Gallons and gallons of water.
This is less than convenient!
Fortunately a friend of ours with super sized washer and dryer is allowing us to do our laundry there. It means I get to visit while doing the laundry!
Meanwhile, TheZoo co-founder and I are scouting out deals on appliances. That's another post.
Now, I need to load up the dirty clothes into the back of the van...

Art Inspired

I have a friend from college that creates things.
She takes canvases, and uses mixed media to make beautiful, truthful art.
Kelly Gau, at Kelly Gau Studio creates amazing, inspired works. She reads the bible, she prays, she meditates.
She waits on God to direct her creations.
As a result, when she posts finished pieces available for sale, people respond. They don't simply say "I like this and want to buy". They say that a particular piece reflects a truth that they need during this season in their life. They say that they are ministered to through Kelly's creations.  They say that they were moved with deep emotion, and that a particular image, or words on the canvas have prompted something to change withing themselves.

These are not small things to say about art pieces.
Go ahead and visit Kelly Gau Studio. Take a look around. Look at the pieces for sale, and look at the sold pieces.  Some of them will strike a chord in your heart.

I have one. I loved in when I first saw it, and I still love it today.  I'm certain that the piece I have was meant for me. I need to be reminded of the message in that piece every day, in a beautiful, gentle way, and the canvas I have does that. It is God's inspired word, put together with an image that reflects the message and the love in it, so that the message is lovely.

It is my hope that you find something there that grabs your heart, that ministers to your spirit, and that seems to have been made for you to find.

Gourmet Kid Treats

Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow krispie treats. Sounds gourmet, right?

Actually, this is what happened.

I put the butter and marshmallows in the pan on low heat. I decided to put a few dishes in the dishwasher and de-clutter the counter while the marshmallows warmed up and began to melt.

The baby wanted to help, then there were to urgent disciplinary matters to take care of. We do not hit each other just to take our frustration out. We do not shout at each other to get out of the way when there is not a fire or blood.

Then..who took the books out of the bottom shelf in Mom and Dad's bedroom? Okay, why is the deodorant on the floor without a cap? What? you boys still haven't tidied your beds and floor? 4 yo, please do get dressed this morning. Yes, I'll get you a snack pretty soon. Oh! OH NO!

Did you forget, too? The marshmallows and butter melting on the stove? Well, they were melted all right. And really browned. REALLY brown. Even though the marshmallows are melted, they are all bubbly and toasted looking.

Quickly, I add another couple of tablespoons of butter, take the pan off the heat, stir like mad until it looks the right consistency dump the krispy rice cereal in, hoping I didn't just waste the marshmallows and butter.

Then, of course, I had to test them before giving them to the kids. These ARE gourmet. I don't know if I should share these with the kids.
It might ruin them for rice krispies made right...

All Aboard the Potty Train

When I'm out with TheZoo, people ask me questions. Lots of them. One of the most asked is how do we handle potty training. I have seven kiddos, five of them dry undie experts, I should be able to give out some sort of secret formula, right?

Well. There are lots of theories out there, some of them popular, some not so popular. There are videos and books, calls to child named heroes, giving treats each time a piddle is done in the potty, rewards for finishing the day with dry pants, teach the children to obey so they will go when you tell them, wait until the child says they are ready, etc.
All of these are tried, most of these are successful in some way.  I haven't met many kindergartners that aren't using the toilet on their own.

I have never enjoyed the potty training experience. It's hard work for us parents.
Now that I am training our sixth child, I am absolutely certain that the first five were extremely easy to train.
Here's the run down, the first and second (girl and boy) were fully potty trained at 3 1/2 years old. They didn't have accidents during the day and only very rarely at night. The third and fourth (girl and boy again) were potty trained at 2. The girl was 2 1/2, the boy was weeks away from his third birthday. No daytime accidents, and no night time accidents. The fifth (boy) was trained by 3 1/2.

Number six is 3 1/2. He isn't really interested. I am. Very much. In fact, it would be just dandy if the little one, who will be two in a few weeks would also be interested.

The problem this time around is ME. I don't have the 3-5 days train this child! We are out of the house to take children to classes at the parent partnership program for school four days out of the week. Due to my husband's work schedule, I usually have to take the whole Zoo to dr appts, dentist appts, grocery shopping, errand running.
It is FAR more convenient to put a diaper on a child than it is to drag everyone to the bathroom at every stop that we make.

We have attempted potty training three times this year, once during Christmas break, once during spring break, and again this week. I have cleaned up more urine from the floor this week than I remember having to do with all the other five combined! The child would sit on the potty for ages, then pull up his underpants and wet them. It made him angry, too. He didn't like being wet, he wanted to use the potty, especially when his brother told him all about the toy I had put up for him as a reward. (Thanks brother, that was helpful. *sigh*)

Finally, toward the middle of day two, he said in complete exasperation, "I just want a diaper, Mom. Please?"

I gave him the diaper.
And I reminded myself of what I say to all those moms that ask for my magic formula.
"Be persistent, and be kind. Remember that patience isn't in the waiting, it's in the attitude we have while waiting, and sometimes when we are potty training, we have to wait for our children to be ready."
I'll let you know if we have to put off kindergarten...

A Moment

This is the day we should have been able to look forward to.
It is circled on the calendar.
I should be grumbling about discomfort and hip pain.
I should be waddling around, unable to tie my shoes.
I should be firming up plans to be ready for a trip to deliver a healthy baby.
Instead, I remember that he was born far too soon.

I Admit It...

I like SyFy.

It really isn't much of a confession these days. It used to be (way back in the dark ages, when I was in High School) that an interest in Science Fiction was weird.
Maybe it is still weird. Maybe weird is just more acceptable now than it was.
We didn't do weird things when I was growing up.
We ate 'normal' food.
We wore 'normal' clothes.
We went to a 'normal' church.
By 'normal', I mean that the things that we did, places we went, people we associated with were acceptable according to the society we kept.
I am NOT saying that my family was normal. Not by any means.
My family is one of the greatest, funniest, best, most abnormal families I've ever met.

My children, I'm sure, will believe that they have grown up in the weirdest family ever. Mom watches SyFy, crochets, grows a jungle of plants in the kitchen window, and has green hair.
Dad is a grease monkey and makes every little excursion a big adventure.
We put all sorts of music on in the house. We listen to Disney hits, jazz, classical, ska, country, easy listening, oldies, metal, even electric dance mixes.
It isn't that any one of those types are MY favorite, so much as I want my kids to listen to musical art made in all sorts of genres.
They see art in museums, on train cars, on the buildings in town as commissioned murals, in what they make at our kitchen table.
They read books and magazines and newspapers (okay, mostly the comics)

TheZoo is not a normal house, but perhaps more normal by today's standards, then 20 years ago.