Memorable

Tuesday we went to see the stage performance of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. The book is very short but somebody managed to write a screenplay to make it nearly an hour long. Whoever did this should never write again. I thought it was boring. The kids seemed to like it okay. Afterward we went to the store to get new pillows. The bed bug scare has hit Buddy and he thought we should replace all of our pillows even though we don't have bed bugs. We walked out of the store with a lot of pillows. That evening at the dinner table I told the kids to tell daddy what we had done that day. They both mentioned the pillows. When I asked what we had before that Nyla said we looked at toys. I asked even before that. She thought really hard and then said home. Neither child recalled having seen the play that day without me mentioning it.

Yesterday the AC guy was here for the third time. Someday we'll get the air conditioning running. The weather has cooled to a very pleasant 80 degrees so we don't need it but our home warranty expires in November so it needs to be fixed by then. We did a great job doing schoolwork directly after breakfast yesterday morning. It's a routine I would like to continue. Nyla did some light math and Bohdin did several things. I pulled out his math workbook and it talked about pairs that made the number five. After it was done I wanted him to give me some additional ones. I thought he would say something like 1+1+1+2 because he does that often. Instead he gave me all subtraction. I don't think he could have done this for the number six. I'll find out soon when we do that page. Bohdin is still stuck on words with initial blends. We'll be working on that lesson for who knows how long. He did do a few correct today so he's getting it very slowly. He's having trouble segmenting those initial blends but I know someday he's going to wake up and just be able to do it. Then we can move on.

I found out a few weeks ago that Cora is sensitive to me eating buckwheat. It makes her throw up. Tuesday night I ate quinoa and hazelnuts for the first time since having Cora. She was not happy yesterday. She was grumpy because her stomach hurt. She spit up a lot and threw up once. I woke up to my happy smiley girl this morning so all is well today. Well it would be except now she's tired and cranky.

Considerate

We've been so busy the last few days that I haven't had time to write. It's unfortunate that when I have the time there is nothing to write. Bohdin lost his tooth sometime on Friday. I noticed it was missing Friday evening. I think I may have seen it there before dinner. We were all surprised that he hadn't noticed. Bohdin was excited and didn't mind that the tooth fairy wouldn't come. That was his idea. I thought she might still come.

We haven't been to Lowes for the building projects in quite some time. Saturday I asked Bohdin if he wanted to go and he said yes. Buddy and I were still up in the bedroom. I was on the computer trying to confirm that they had one yesterday. Of course while I was on I checked my email and the date of Irish festival. I checked the clock and saw that we would have to leave soon. I went to the basement to talk to Bohdin about the Irish festival but he wasn't there. When I came back upstairs I looked outside and saw Bohdin waiting in the minivan already buckled up. There is no telling how long he had been in there. Maybe ten minutes. I came back inside and grabbed everybody else so we could go. From Lowes we went to the Irish festival. I can't believe people paid to get in. They had free admission for military which was nice. There was music, some vendors, a little bit of food and beer, and crafts. The kids really enjoyed the crafts. They each made a shield and crown. Nyla had her arm painted. Bohdin caught gold leprechauns in a bottle. We didn't stay for the puppet or magic show. Bohdin thanked us for taking him there. I don't think he learned much about Ireland but he had fun.

 
 

Yesterday evening I made banana bread and the kids wanted to help. I like that they want to help but I wish it wasn't so messy. After they came out of the oven I went upstairs with Buddy to watch tv. The older kids were in the basement playing. Bohdin came up with a nicely arranged plate of banana bread for us. Then he brought us water. Then he started cleaning. He just kept wanting to do nice things last night. Finally I had to draw the line and tell him that it was too late and he had to go to bed.

 

I woke up this morning to the sound of dishes being put away in the kitchen. I assumed it was Buddy but Bohdin came up a few minutes later and said he had done it. He also emptied the drier, brought dirty dishes from the basement, and organized the shoes by the front door. Then he brought Buddy and I banana bread. Nyla was sleeping so he placed a doll beside her. He gave Cora a clean diaper. He has been on a cleaning and helping kick. He just came upstairs right now asking if I'm ready to help him harvest. I better go.

Picures

Hopeully they work this time.

 
 

Bubbles

The second season of Glee started last night and I wanted to watch it. I decided to get into the bathtub a few minutes before it started because I knew the kids would join without me saying a word. It worked like a charm. I got out to help Nyla unbutton since she was having trouble with the last one and never went back in. As I was watching the show I heard Nyla laughing uproariously in the bathroom. I was pretty sure I didn't want to see what all the fun was. In the past they've done washcloth wars but I knew it was something different this time. I finally went in and saw a bathtub almost overflowing with bubbles. Nyla normally hates the jets but a little bit of shampoo accidentally spilled into the bathtub changed her mind. They were in there for an hour with the exception of the few minutes it took me to put the chickens away. I made them get out while I did that. I bet they'll take another bath tonight now that they've discovered how to make so many bubbles.

 

 

This morning I went to get my haircut. My friend did an awesome thing and watched all three kids in addition to her two. I was really nervous about leaving Cora since she is so small. They were right outside though and I trusted her to bring her in if anything was wrong. Nevertheless I cried just a little. They walked down to the McDonalds down the street and must have tired themselves out because all three kids are napping right now. I even had a little nap earlier. I don't know what impact this will have on bedtime but I'm enjoying the quiet right now.

Fight!

Grandpa stopped by for a very brief visit Saturday evening. We have a very similar picture with Bohdin and baby Nyla from September 2007.

 

Bohdin's tooth looks like it could fall out any moment. He's not rushing it though. He's not even playing with it. Buddy offered to help him along but Bohdin said he could be patient. We think it will be out by the end of the week.

 

When Cora awakes naturally from sleep which generally only happens in the morning she stretches and smiles for several minutes. I love seeing her short arms stretch just barely past her head. Right now she's impatient to get back to sleep.

 
 

Buddy left for Boston early yesterday morning. I was a little apprehensive about putting three kids to bed by myself but it wasn't hard at all last night. The kids played fight! in the other bedrooms while I put Cora to sleep. I asked this morning and their new game is going around to the bedrooms looking for weapons and then chasing each other. They used pillows, hats, shoes, socks, and who knows what else. They were really disappointed that play time was over.

Sleeping

How well a baby sleeps is an often asked question. Cora sleeps okay. Her biggest issue is that peeing wakes her up. Actually that's not her issue; it's mine. She wakes me up and I spend several minutes wondering if I really need o change her diaper. I could probably have been back asleep by the time I get motivated enough to actually do it. She has held her pee three times so far through the night. There are other nights though that I've changed five diapers so she's pretty inconsistent.

I was taking a shower yesterday and instructed the kids as usual to not wake Cora up and get me if she starts crying. Bohdin came in to tell me that she was crying while I was rinsing my hair. By the time I was out of the shower she was quiet. Bohdin told me he had checked her diaper. When he felt that it was wet he took it off and she stopped crying. He did leave a naked baby on my bed though. That could have been a disaster.

 
 
 
 

Growing Up

Earlier this week I noticed that one of Bohdin's bottom front teeth was crooked. I touched it and discovered it was loose. Bohdin had pushed it out to that angle with his tongue. When I look at pictures from several weeks ago I notice the crooked tooth also. There is no telling how long it will take to come out. Bohdin does not seem to be one of those kids who plays with it to help nature along. He didn't even realize it was loose. I just hope he is aware of it falling out. He's really excited about getting money from the tooth fairy finally.

When we came back from story time at the library yesterday Bohdin did his spelling lesson. We are really relaxed with the lessons. Someimes we pull out the letters but it is usually us just asking him to spell words throughout the day that are relevant to his current lesson. He was doing really well with words with final blends. The last lesson before being able to read the first story in the accompanying reader was only one lesson away. Initial blends had to be mastered which includes words like glad or bring. Reading ability outpaces spelling ability so I decided to get the reader out. Bohdin was able to read through the first story without difficulty. It was over 20 pages long with usually two sentences per page. I was really excited and proud but Bohdin was really nonchalant about reading. Even later when I made him do it again for Buddy he didn't care that he had just read.

Cora is still a sleepy baby. The past two days she has probably been up for a total of four hours each day. It works for her because she can get pretty grumpy when she's tired. I think it's nice to have such a sleepy baby. If only she slept well in the car it would be awesome. She hits times when she is just done with the car. Bohdin just woke up so I've lost my train of thought. He's saying good morning to Cora. The other day he told her that he loves her the most. Nyla likes her so much she is already asking for more siblings. Bohdin is telling Cora that he loves her and she can't stop grinning. Bohdin says that she is saying "I love you" to him.


 
 

Buddy did the demolition of the new kitchen area last week. We're still planning out the new space.
 

Haircut

Nyla has always battled tangles in the back of her head. Her hair has been growing out and the tangles are worse. Because of the rat's nest back there and the fact that she doesn't like things in her hair I decided to make it a bit shorter yesterday. Everything went fine and she lost about an inch of hair. We came upstairs to get dressed for dinner at a friend's house. Nyla was too excited to nap so she went back down to the basement. After about 10 minutes I go downstairs to check on her and she is cutting her hair. It was a bit of the sides and her bangs. It wasn't terrible. We came upstairs and I tried to even it up. She needed to change since she was covered in hair. She went back downstairs in her new clothes while I finished getting ready. Nyla comes back upstairs several minutes later and her hair is cut again. A bit off the left side. There is no time to fix it. When we come back home Nyla goes back down into the basement and proceeds to cut her hair again. Now there is a lot missing on the left and I'm not sure how to fix it. She just woke up and I see the rat's nest in the back of her hair. Maybe she's on to something.

 
 
 
 

Pictures

My mind is blank. Cora was up until 2am Friday which wouldn't have been so bad if Nyla wasn't up at her usual time of around 8am. Here are some pictures from several days ago. Nyla wasn't interested in taking pictures so they're not great.

 
 
 
 

So you think you can dance

Nyla and I watched So You Think You Can Dance this summer. Whenever she heard the music she would start dancing as well. Often she would watch the style of dance and try to copy it. This was the funniest during the hip hop routines. We were watching a rerun of Glee last night and Nyla decided to dance along.

Labor Day

We spent labor day doing lots of labor. All of the peppers from the garden were picked and processed. We made a lot of sofrito and numerous batches of roasted jalapeno and tomato salsa. Everybody pitched in but it still felt like a lot of work. Eventually I just gave up. We still have leftover roasted tomatoes but I may just use it for sauce. There is frozen tomato sauce in the freezer already but we can use more.

Grandma also finished the binding on Nyla's quilt. It looks so good. Unfortunately she won't have time to finish Bohdin's quilt so he may have to wait quite some time. The garden benefited a lot from grandma's presence because now he raspberries aren't choked by weeds. Many wheelbarrow loads of weeds were removed from all over the garden. Buddy and I haven't kept up with it as well as we wanted. Our tomato crop paid the price. Although I couldn't keep up with the processing of the tomatoes we did have.

Buddy says that Cora is stingy with her smiles but that's not quite accurate. She is quite generous with her smiles when she is looking at Nyla. Buddy says they are probably grimaces since Nyla is always kissing and hugging Cora but he's just jealous. Bohdin doesn't get the smiles that Nyla does but Cora pays more attention to him than she does to Buddy or I. We hardly warrant eye contact whereas Bohdin gets eyes glued to him around the room.

When Bohdin plays computer games Nyla likes to watch. Now she is able to play games herself. I don't know why I'm so suprised that she can navigate the laptop and website. Nyla isn't a baby anymore.

 

Puri

There are just not enough hours in a day anymore. It is past eleven and I ought to be asleep but this is my only chance to update the blog. Because I am so tired though I won't remember half of what I wanted to write. Something I forgot to add last week is Bohdin's new fascination with rock, paper, scissors. It originated in Korea so I introduced it to him last week. He loves it. I am tired of it. We've been talking about India recently so I decided to make some Indian food. (I still plan to do the Korean food but haven't yet.) I made some dal, and potato thing with a name I've forgotten and puris which are fried unleavened bread. The puris were the only part of the meal that was a hit. I made them again for a second time tonight.

The Louisville Worldfest was this weekend so the kids, my mom, and me headed downtown on Saturday. The event was near the science museum and when we passed by we saw bouncy structures and lots of people. The kids wanted to do that first. The history museum was celebrating founder's day with a pirate theme. They tried to break the record for most people dressed as pirates in one location. Bohdin spotted a pirate with a leather treasure chest and was intrigued. I stood nearby to ask him about it and overheard him talking to two other pirates. The treasure chest holder had just come back from filming Pirates of the Caribbean 4. That sounded pretty cool. One of the pirates asked about his treasure chest and he said he intended to fill it with 6000 gold dollar coins and do a treasure hunt. I told Bohdin but he didn't hear he eventually part of the plan and was disappointed that we weren't part of it. We saw the end of some sort of pirate reenactment then Bohdin did some bouncy stuff before we headed a few blocks east to Worldfest.

We didn't have a lot of time at Worldfest. It seemed pretty interesting. We did see one Indian dance which tied in to our study of India but Bohdin didn't care. He was more interested in the Native American flutes. We didn't have a chance to really study them but we'll go back next year when we'll give ourselves more time to look around. The weather was gorgeous. It was the coolest day we've had in months with highs in the 70s. Nyla went all out with a long sleeve shirt and hat. She would have worn gloves also if she had found them. It's supposed to be back to 89 tomorrow but we enjoyed it for that brief time. Maybe summer will eventually end.