Sauced, dried, baked and fresh

So what actually happened to the 30 pounds of apples that I brought home a couple of weeks ago? Well besides eating most of the honey-crisps fresh, we're stocked with 10-12 pints of frozen apple sauce, 4 quarts of dried apple chips, and two apple pies. Yum!

The other day while watching some bread in the toaster oven H asked me "Are those light sabers in there?"

Yesterday H asked me what lips are for and if they grow. . . . :+

The other night H and EH sat on the couch for a good 45 minutes looking through all the exciting toy magazines that are flooding our mailbox almost daily. I'd sometimes hear "I want that one papa, which one do you want?" and then the silence of pages turning every once-in-a-while. I think H's dreams must be full of what's on those pages . . . I know that somehow there are more fire engines in them.

If H went through this stage I think I intentionally forgot about it - little E is busy sounding off with all sorts of shrieks and screams these days. Sometimes he's just talking (or screaming) to himself though it seems most of the time it's directed at me in hopes of a spot on my hip.

Tunnel Magic

Playing "cave" is all the rage at our house since Ga (G-ma L) introduced it to H. It takes place on the downstairs couch with the usual cushions piled high and a blanket roof and lots of stuffed animals tucked inside. Today we added a new dimension. We hauled out the collapsable tunnels for passageways. It never dawned on me that this was something little E knew nothing about. Poor little E was horrified to see H disappear (and shrieked to tell us so!) into the tunnel and very startled to see him pop out the other end. We tried all the tricks (gently of course) to help him become more comfortable with them but I think it will just take time for him to get used to the "tunnel magic". I'm trying to encourage his disappointed big bro that it won't be too long before little E will be chasing him through them.

Our first baby needed a bit of prompting to enjoy bath time (and sometimes still does) so it was to my delight that little E is enthralled with it. Any passage through the bathroom is waylaid by little E hiking himself up onto the edge of the tub (full or empty) and leaning as far in as he can - he hasn't actually fallen in yet but I know that is coming! I've heard the tails of cousins and other babies loving the water and it is so fun to see this in little E. This photo is a frequent site . . .

I think H's loud snores and exaggerated exhales have turned into actually napping now so I'm going to take a look at the "To Do" list and maybe start packing for a weekend away (late anniversary celebration) with my sweetheart - and my first night away from little E. I'm trying not to think too much about it . . . my heart breaks about leaving little E but at the same time I'm longing for the full nights sleep that I haven't had in over a year.

Oh . . . smell deep. Can you smell the roast in my crock-pot? I can't wait for dinner!

H the Rescue Hero?

I must hear the words "H the Rescue Hero!" at least two dozen times each day. He's usually jumping off of something, or swooping around the house with Mr. Kitty gallantly stuffed under the arm pit. Most of his rescue attempts have been either imagined or delivering a toy/nuk to little E. Recently, Little E has become very curious about the stairs. H has been very good to notify me (thus come to the rescue) any time little E gets within 6 feet of the "drop off"; however, today I discovered a twist to the game. I happened to notice that H was strategically placing enticing items (stuffed animal, puzzle, etc) at the edge of the steps to bring on more "rescues". That sweet stinker! By the way, little E mastered a climb up the steps for the first time this last Sunday and his two top teeth have arrived.



This last Sunday, we adventured past our comfort zone into the world of "growth groups". We joined some other couples from our church to dig into our pastor's Sunday message and to apply it to our daily lives. (His series by the way has been very good and applicable as it's all about marriage relationships: online at www.constancefree.org) I have these vague memories of my parents partaking in these, but other than that the concept has been daunting to me. I'm happy to say that we survived and we're even planning on going back. It's always interesting watching your kids in new situations and this was no disappointment. H made himself at home right away. The home that we were at hosts a dog and H has had limited contact with the creatures so he was very interested. In fact he had great fun "playing dog". EH and I could barley keep from laughing as our eyes followed him climbing on all fours under the furniture and legs propped up on the coffee table as he followed the dog around the house. To my horror, I even saw him lick something! Thankfully the home owners have two kids about the same age as ours so nothing was new to them.

May I say how very thrilled I was to hear today that my dear childhood friend MT and her husband are expecting their second baby! Congratulations to you - my heart soars with joy for you!

A Decade Celebrated

"You have been my yesterday, you are my today, and you will be my tomorrow.

Though it was as children that we first met, we choose today as adults to spend our lives together.

As we build our lives, may we remember the best qualities of that time we passed together. Never doubting each other, never forgetting our commitment and never wavering from our true selves, may we draw on our storehouse of memories and from Christ for inspiration as we build on our future as husband and wife together.

Today I, S, accept you, EH, as my friend and partner. With you, I am aware of the promise of our past, and secure in our commitment for the future."

Words spoken 10 years ago today. I'd say them again in a heartbeat.

Where are all the mommies?

What a day . . . nothing major happend, just lots of little things and I'm bushed, beat, creamed. I gotta find a better diaper cover for little E - I think he soaked through four outfits today! H has been bouncing off the walls today, where on earth does he get his energy from?!

Well I just wanted to make a quick post about some of H's quotes for the day. One very endearing conversation while we were at McDonalds today (yes I do take him to McDonalds on occasion-much to my own chagrin!)
"Mom, where are all of their mommies?" He's referring to grown up construction workers he sees. I told him that when boys and girls get grown up they sometimes go out to eat by themselves without their mommies and sometimes live in different houses. He very tenderly looked at me and said "I want to live with you forever mom!" and then he gave me a little snuggle. Sigh . . .

And here's just a chuckle. You know how things are just out of your mouth before you realize that you are going to spend the next five years trying to explain it to a child. Well sometime ago I said something about H's food going down the wrong tube because he was coughing a bit on something he ate. I have been asked and reasked what exactly that means at least a gazillion times since then. Tonight was one of those nights but something new came up. Tonight I said that when your food goes down the right tube, your food goes right into your stomach. So H very seriously looks at me and says, "so if it goes down the wrong tube does it go straight to your arm?" Oh the smile on my face stretched far and wide. Just what I needed to break the unessesary frustration over answering this question for the umpteenth time.

Well my tea is just about gone so I'm off to bed to read for a few minutes before turning out the light.

Costume in a pinch

It's that time of year where some of us are racking our brains trying to come up with some type of costume to wear to our Hallows Eve festivities. Here's a tip from H (freshly emerged from the bath tub still sporting his birthday suit): Grab a pair of undies and snug them over your head, one side slightly tugged down to cover one eye. Presto . . . Instant pirate! We chose not to make it a Kodak moment in case he decides to run for president someday.

Some old overalls, H's painting shirt, EH's boots, my garden gloves and a lot of leaves . . . our first scarecrow!



Congratulations are in order for H these days. A couple of days ago he announced that Mr. Kitty was expecting baby kittens. On the way to church last night he announced that the baby kittens had been born and that Mr. Kitty was busy cleaning them off (in the seat next to him). We didn't even try to explain the whole issue about Mr. Kitty being a mister. So bubble gum cigars all around.

P.S. I've finally been enlightened on how to add pictures to my posts so you may want to go back and look at a few of my old posts for some pictures.

Summers End

A surprise meet my eyes as I was holding little E to look out the window the other day. There was a beautifully puffed up bird sunbathing in my pedestal bird bath. The bath has been there for a year and this is the first actual bird bathing sighting I've had. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I finally cleaned out the bird feeders and refilled them with fresh seed - we've see our bird population grow again. Well it brought satisfaction to my soul to see something so sweet.

We've got a thick carpet of leaves covering our yard - it's beckoning to be crunched in. I think we'll have to haul out the rakes after nap time today and start some piles. H will inevitably want to make "airplane piles" to sit in and fly to Idaho to visit the cousins. Something he remembers us doing last year and apparently loved!

The garden is calling to me to be put to sleep for the season. I'm holding out, hope that those few remaining tomatoes will ripen before the frost comes. I can always haul them inside to ripen, but on the vine means one less thing on my kitchen counters.

Oh . . . apples! A dear friend from WI delivered 30 pounds of apples to me yesterday. Soon we'll be in the midst of apple pies, crisps, sauces and dried slices for snacking on. Mmmm . . . anyone have any good sauce recipes?



Yesterday we enjoyed what could be our final picnic of the year. We went to visit the college campus I used to work at and sat by the lake for a leisurely lunch. The battery on my watch has died. I lOVE schedules but I have to admit that it's nice not to always have my watch around to keep us on track. We stayed at our picnic much longer than planned but it felt so nice to have the boys toppling over themselves on the blanket, little E tasting a few leaves, H's face and hands deliciously covered in chocolate from the cookies we baked this last weekend and wriggling our feet in the grass.

A few quotes from H to top off this very long post:
- "I'm cleaning it for the next baby, and the next one, and the next one . . ." as he's swiping a nuk back and forth across his jeans.
- "I want a girl next time." Yep he's referring to a baby sister. By the way, his papa and I have no announcements to make at this time, nor are we expecting to make any in the near future.
- "Boopers" I have been informed is what you call pancakes in Spanish

That's ALL for now folks. Happy leaf crunching!