Quiddich

In keeping with the recent interest in All Things Potter at our house, we've got a new favorite sport. Quiddich is generally a one-on-one game with us, though, with Gwennie playing the part of keeper and seeker.

Periodically, the snitch (constructed by Gwendolyn) appears and then gets lost; by the time we're both out of breath, someone usually catches it:

At times, the Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff teams (in descending order of popularity) are joined by a beater. Yes, that's a lint roller used as a bat for the bludger.

You can imagine how lively it gets. I think Gwennie especially likes the ongoing color commentary (I do a better Lee Jordan than the kid in the movies -- the first two of which these kids have seen, for the first time, in the past couple of weeks).

I think that we've decided to read Gwennie the fourth book in the series, possibly in a slightly expurgated version. Has anyone read the death scene to an almost-seven year old? Any advice?

reptiles and amphibians

Today we went to the children's museum, where we met a giant turtle and a snake so friendly, it began to slither down Gwendolyn's shirt. There were also assorted lizards and an albino python.

fearful asymmetry

When you ask Casper to smile for the camera, this is the face you get.

grateful sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

• My supportive husband. My church calling often takes me away from home in the evenings and on Sunday mornings, leaving Todd to deal with bedtime and the pre-church chaos all on his own. He is so supportive and helpful and patient. I really appreciate it because I couldn't imagine having a stressful calling while at the same time being stressed about things at home.
• Great produce. Our town is surrounded by farm land so it's easy to get access to locally grown produce. This time of year, our greengrocer's seems to be overflowing with earth's bounty. When I open my fridge and find it stuffed full of fruit and vegetables, I get a bit weak in the knees. Truly.
• The blossoming maturity of my four-year-old.
  
• Linus's responses to Casper have grown more patient and gentle in the last couple of months. Instead of getting angry at his brother for interfering with/destroying a project he's working on, he'll often take Casper by the hand and say, "Let's go find Mama." before depositing Casper at my feet.
• He's less shy and more sure of himself. On Saturday he even went to a friend's birthday party all alone. A few months ago, he would have insisted that I (or at the very least, Gwendolyn) stay with him.
• He's taking pride in his room/things. It used to be difficult to get him to help pick up toys in the playroom. These days, he will take it upon himself to clean his room or organize a drawer and then will come get me so he can show off his hard work.
  

missing at bedtime

Tonight Gwendolyn was distraught because she couldn't find Baby Pillow, as often happens when she procrastinates going to bed. She decided that BP was probably in the room where Casper was trying to get to sleep, but we refused to let her go in to investigate. Finally, in a tone of righteous indignation, she said, "How would you feel if I was locked in a bathroom, and you couldn’t go get me because there was a sleeping pillow in the room?"

schoolroom

We recently acquired some used school desks and chairs to put in our playroom/schoolroom. They are already much used and much loved.

kitten in a basket

kids' museum

haircut before and after

Shaggy Casper:
Clean-cut Casper:This is only the third haircut he's ever had. Reasons include his inability to sit still, the fact that he cringes when ever he sees the scissors coming toward him, and his mama wanting to keep that silky baby hair on his head as long as possible. Interested parties can reminisce about his first haircut here.

grateful sunday

The children, out back making potions

This week I'm grateful for:

• The friendship between Gwendolyn and Linus. They play together so sweetly most of the time. I've witnessed many tender moments and cute creative games this week -- for example, Gwennie locked Linus out of his room (to his frustration), but only to buy the time she needed to clean it and organize his things. Or, this afternoon, after quiet time, she woke him up, saying, "Linus, would you like to play a fun game with me? I'll give you the best part." -- to which he responded, "Sure, Gwennie; I just need to wake up first." I love it.
• The Relief Society lesson we had at church today on temples. The lesson and comments were great; the Spirit was strong.
• My ipod. All the kids have playlists of their favorite songs so we have dance parties almost every afternoon (Gwennie has sharpened and extended her moves to "Wildcat," now that she can wear her TigerGirl getup; Linus has some acrobatic poses for "Rock and Roll Rhythm." And Casper just wants "Shoes.") I've also been re-listening to The Half-Blood Prince before I go to see the film. It certainly makes folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher a lot more interesting.
  

deciphering the english language (as a six year old)

Gwennie keeps telling me something is nagging her, but asks what "nagging" means. I explain that nagging is usually a thought or feeling that keeps bothering us and we continue to think about it.
Gwendolyn: So it’s something inside you?
Mama: Um, yeah.
Later she comes out and asks, “How do you get rig of nags? My stomach keeps nagging me!”

One evening I begin to read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, picking up where Todd had left off earlier in the day. There was discussion of an argument between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and, not remembering this plot point myself, I ask Gwendolyn to remind me what the argument was about. She explains helpfully, "Mr. Weasley wanted something to be hanging over Harry’s head and Mrs. Weasley didn’t."

After Linus gets upset when Plume (the Mama cat) nips at him while he’s petting her, Gwennie says, “Linus, you’re so disposable.”

experimenting with language

Linus, to Todd: "Ahoy, Captain Boy!"

stranger than fiction

A shot from the local paper of the fire

Late this afternoon we learned that our area of town was under evacuation notice because of a chemical fire nearby. Todd came home from work, we loaded up the kids, and drove about 5 minutes up the road to the town next door. We spent a very pleasant evening with some friends there, eating dinner, playing with toys, visiting. Kind of an elaborate excuse for a social call, isn't it? Thankfully, we're home now and have clean air to breathe.

I heart two

Two years old is my second favorite age for children (for the record, four months old is my favorite). Casper is still a month shy of the magical TWO, but he is full of all the two year old charm and cleverness, and the language explosion that happens around this time is starting. His favorite sentence is, "I do it!" and he wants to do everything himself -- buckling into the car seat, getting clothes and shoes on/off, even going potty in the potty on occasion. He's so proud of all these accomplishments.

He's talking in full sentences all the time and even Linus and Gwendolyn can easily understand him. Even if he could get his point across in a single word, he goes for the full sentence, "More grapes, please Mama."

Most impressive to me was when he was recently explaining a movement to a new song he'd learned at church. He told us: "This is my arm -- watch -- hamm[er]ing," then hit his fist into his open palm.

And just so no one thinks he is always a great communicator, when he isn't understood the first time he tells you something, or if you don't immediately respond to a request, he resorts to shrieking (or, if you happen to be Linus, biting).

I'm enjoying him so much right now. Also, damn is he ever cute!

meet julia

This is Julia Brooks, a Hogwarts first year student who was sorted into Ravenclaw House. She recently went shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley. She is pictured here with her bag of wizard gold, some spell books, her new wand, and her pet owl. {This entire storyline was created by Gwendolyn alone and she's been bullying her brothers and father into playing along. She loves to earn points for Ravenclaw by doing extra chores around the house. I love that, too.}

nature spot, july

grateful sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

• the weather we've had this week. Some rain, lots of overcast days, breezy nights. It almost doesn't feel like July in Texas.
• the good health of my family. A week of strep throat really makes you appreciate a healthy body.
• the three kittens that still share our home. They really are so sweet and adorable.
  

insult to injury

As if its not bad enough that an apartment complex is going up in our backyard, the building directly behind our house, the building I see each time I look out my kitchen window, has been painted pepto-bismol PINK.
My greatest hope is that no one will want to live in the pink building, affording us a bit more privacy.

grateful sunday

I'm taking a blog page out of the books of my Houston friends Leslie and Natalie. They've done Grateful Sunday posts for years and I've always loved those entries.

This week I'm grateful for:

• the wonderful father that Todd is. He had the worst of the strep throat, the oral surgery and a big writing project taking up most of his free time. Every day he found plenty of time to play and read Harry Potter, talk about and manipulate Transformers, and read books about Lowly Worm over and over again. There's no question why these kids adore their daddy so very much.
• modern medicine and health insurance. With strep throat making the rounds in our family, I'm so thankful that we were able to get into the doctors' offices for tests and antibiotics the same days each of us began feeling symptoms.
  
• the bit of rain we got over the weekend! Even a half hour reprieve from the drought and heat was cause for much rejoicing.
  

excuses, excuses

This poor blog has been pretty neglected lately, but it has been a trying week for our little family. Lots of sickness and some more oral surgery for Todd has made the week feel especially long. But you know what? A new week is about to begin!

sore

Earlier this evening, Linus and I spent some quality time at the urgent care clinic where we were both diagnosed with strep throat. I'm trying not to think about how crummy I feel, how messy my house is or how much tv my kids watched today.

travelog, day 5

Monday was a bittersweet day for us. We had to say goodbye to the Turley family (which meant Gwennie saying goodbye to Zoe). Thankfully we have our memories, and this photo Todd put together of the girls dancing to a song from Gwennie's playlist, "Wildcat," transposed to the Serengeti.

During the reunion, the girls decided to perform the song as an interpretive dance, which they choreographed extensively outside before coming in to present their feral moves.

We spent the afternoon and evening driving to Grandma and Grandpa's house (something which Linus, in particular, had been looking forward to) with a stop for dinner at "Pickle's Place." This restaurant is in the tiny Idaho town of Arco, but boasts a giant rocking chair and some pretty good fried pickles.

travelog, day 4

We attended the sacrament meeting of a local ward, which was very nice. Our group was large, so we weren't all able to sit together. At one point during the meeting, Casper decided he wanted to go and sit with his Daddy, so he scrambled off the pew, walked to the back of the chapel, turned and walked straight out the door. Thank you to Grandpa for going after my boy and delivering him safely to Todd.

Lydia with baby Gabriel, Zoe with baby Felix, Gwennie with baby Christian

We spent the rest of the day with family, of course. There were so many babies to be held (three boys born this year) and cousins to play with. I love the sweet friendship between Gwennie and Zoe. They enjoy each other so much and play so sweetly together. I'm glad they have each other (since 17 of the 20 cousins are boys).

The girls were out back "exercising" with crunches and push-ups before we snapped this photo. Fun game, kids!

travelog, day 3

We celebrated the 4th of July with a little family reunion. Lots of time spent together with good food, good company and lots of kids (18 of the 20 cousins were there). We had an auction of handmade goods, just like last year, and to include the kids, we made them all little goody-bags (uh, just like last year). This is certainly one of my favorite traditions.
That night, Gwennie had a sleepover with Zoe at the hotel and Todd and I put our other two exhausted kids down for bed early (sorry boys -- no fireworks for you this year).

Then we drove to a town about half an hour outside of Boise and visited with some of my friends from High School/Arizona who I haven't seen in years and years. It was so wonderful to reconnect with them and great to catch up and see all their cute little kids.

travelog, day 2: the wedding

The main reason for our trip to Idaho was to attend and celebrate the wedding of Todd's brother Stephen to Shawna. The wedding was perfection. It took place at a ranch just outside of Boise. The ceremony and reception were both outside on the lawn overlooking a beautiful pond. Gwennie and her cousins Zoe and Lydia were flower girls.

They were so adorable and thrilled with their duties, realizing how important it was for the bride to walk on a bed of flower petals.

And the brothers of the flower girls

The reception was just about as kid-friendly as they come with sparklers, bubbles, a bounce house and a pinata (in the form of a wedding cake topped with the bride and groom, made by the bride and groom) with great food which included hot dogs, hamburgers, cupcakes and raspberry lemonade.

Casper was an absolute junkie. He drank cup after cup of lemonade, waiting for strangers to refill his glass and then wandering around swiping neglected cupcakes off of other people's plates. Not really wedding etiquette, but it was amazing to watch him in action.

After the reception, most of the family drove to a nearby church building where Todd's brother Ian blessed his new baby son, Christian. What a blessing that we could all be there for this event, since Ian and Sarah now live in Alabama.

And some other favorite photos from the day:

Nana and Casper

The four toddlers. A re-creation of last year's "four babies" photo

travelog, day 1

Last night we drove to Dallas and spent the night at Granny and Grandad's house. Today we got up at 5.30 in the morning and hopped a plane to Idaho. It was actually a couple of planes. The kids did amazingly well. After the first leg of the trip, a man seated near us on the plane said of Casper, "He's done so well on this flight! I've actually enjoyed all the little noises he's been making." Music to the ears of any mother who has had a child scream through an entire flight.

During the second leg of the trip, Casper actually fell asleep in Todd's arms. Of course, I made Todd hand Casper over to me since holding sleeping babies is my absolute favorite activity in the world.We arrived in Boise in time for a late lunch with Stephen and Shawna, Ian and Sarah and Shawna's family and friends. I want to always remember how excited our server was about Linus's red hair ("Rojo!") and how shy this reaction made little Linus.