Father's Day

I asked the kids days ago to start thinking about a father's day present for Buddy. Nyla was the first with an idea. She wanted to get him ice. It took Bohdin a bit longer but he came up with a grill. In true 5 year old fashion this is actually what he wanted to get. He's been talking about getting one for some time. We were discussing our corn several weeks ago and I told him how corn starts losing its sweetness as soon as it is picked. Ideally you pick it and put it in a pot of boiling water immediately. He thought we needed a grill outside so we wouldn't waste precious seconds walking to the kitchen. So Buddy ended up with a grill for Father's Day. He wanted to get a charcoal grill instead of a gas and we went to the store to pick one out. He picked out the one I thought we should get so I didn't have to try and steer him in a different direction. Bohdin actually gave it to him early. When they were unloading the box Bohdin thought it should go right next to the corn. We've used it twice already and it's been nice. We've had temps well above normal and today will be even worse. We won't quite hit record highs but when the kitchen is already hot and muggy at 8 in the morning it won't be pleasant to cook dinner when it heats up later.

Nyla went with me to the grocery store on Saturday and changed her ice idea to donuts. Then she wanted one in the car. I had one also because I realized I forgot lunch. Later that night we stopped at a different grocery store. Nyla came along again. I found a book that Buddy would like and Nyla decided she would give him the book and keep the donuts for herself. Buddy did eventually get one donut.

We didn't do anything special yesterday. I baked all morning trying to use up those blueberries. I accomplished all but one thing on my list which was the blueberry pie. The dough is sitting in the fridge and needs to be used so I guess I have to brave the kitchen sometime today or freeze it.

Blueberries

Blueberries are in season so we went blueberry picking yesterday at a blueberry farm in Indiana. It was hot but not as hot as it would have been if we had waited until today. We were there for over an hour and ended up with over 11 pounds of blueberries. They cost $2 per pound so it was a great deal. Bohdin did an awesome job picking and filled up the milk jug almost by himself. Nyla did a little bit also. When it was time to go we told Nyla and she said, "No! I'm not done eating yet.". She did eat a lot more than she picked.






Here we are after picking. Buddy is really good at taking unflattering pictures of me. I'm not sure there is a great angle for that belly. I don't grow cute pregnant bellies.


Nyla has been demanding that people make her baby talk while she makes a bear talk for the last week. We are all quite tired of it. The way she asks or rather yells it does not inspire us to want to play with her. This morning she was looking for her baby which she had left in the basement. Buddy told her it was by the computer so she went down to get it. Buddy and I were laying in the bed when she came back with murder in her eyes. She threw a different doll on the bed and stormed out of the room without a word. It was hilarious. An Oscar worthy performance for sure. Bohdin went downstairs to get the correct baby which was indeed by the computer.

Tears

I just read about another child's act of defiance and I decided to post Nyla's story. Nyla likes to sleep not just next to me but in my arms. She is not over the trauma of last summer yet. As my belly gets bigger and I burn like an oven sometimes it's more comfortable for me to not have her so close. Last night we were still sleeping next to each other but I was turned away from her. She woke up at 5am looking for me. She didn't feel me touch her or hear me say her name. Instead she somehow crawled out of the bed and fell, hitting her head on a book on the floor. I fished out the little light and turned it on so she could easily climb back up into bed. She was sad and crying and wanted to nurse. I said no. So then she wanted me to get her some lemonade. I offered her water instead. She stormed off the bed saying, "I mad at you". She went into the hallway and laid down crying. I just shined the light in her direction. She lets me know when she wants to cry in peace and this was certainly one of those times. Buddy had been sleeping in the other room and came out to check. As soon as Nyla saw daddy she went nuts. She cried hysterically and came running back toward me. She crawled back into my arms and fell asleep. It's not just that it was daddy. It was that he came near her. She would have ran away from me if I had tried to get close also.

Bohdin went to the dentist yesterday to get some cavities filled. He has certainly inherited my teeth as has Nyla unfortunately. We have to go back next week because he has an abscess in his front tooth and the dentist recommends removing it. That will leave Bohdin with two missing front teeth for at least a year. The abscess doesn't bother him at all but the dentist showed us the picture of the hole in his gums where the pus is draining. That bothers Buddy and I. It sounds so gross to have pus draining into your mouth. The dentist said we didn't need to be concerned about his ability to chew but I still worry. That seems like a long time to go without front teeth. I forgot to ask if it would affect his speech. There doesn't seem to be a good alternative though so hopefully it turns out well. Nyla needs to go to the dentist as well to get the cavity fixed her previous dentist was unable to do because of Nyla's lack of cooperation. This dentist is both male and doesn't allow parents in the back so he just wouldn't be the right choice. We're on the cancellation list of a female dentist so hopefully we'll hear from them soon. I will also ask Bohdin's dentist if he would make an exception for Nyla. I still think there is a strong chance that she won't cooperate even if I am there but I am positive it wouldn't work out if I am not there.

Sweltering

It has been hot and humid here lately with the forecast predicting things to get even worse. The air conditioning only seems to work upstairs in the bedrooms so the rest of the house can get a little warm especially the main floor. Cooking has not been enjoyable and we eat most of our meals in the basement. Bohdin seems to live in his bathing suit on the days we don't go out. Nyla is just naked most of the time as usual. She can't stand wearing wet clothes so she takes off either her clothes or her bathing suit after getting wet. It's a good thing our backyard is pretty secluded.

We went to playgroup today at a different location. The turnout wasn't great. There were only four of us there but that still made for quite a few kids. Towards the end Nyla was actually playing with the group. They all collected sticks, rocks, seeds, and pine cones to build something. It was the first time Nyla joined them in something. It was in the 90s today and quite humid so by the time we were back in the car we looked pretty ragged. Nyla's hair was wet with sweat. As I buckled her up she said, "I sweltering". I thought is was funny that she stole Bohdin's line. It was true though. She certainly looked like she was sweltering. She has never looked hotter.





I've taken a break from math with Bohdin because I'm not certain what I want to do. I want to make sure he really understands it instead of just being able to do it. That only gets you so far. It's what happened to me and most people. Yesterday in the car I paid $1.58 at the drive through. He said another way to say 58 is 50 and 8. I agreed. He said it a few more times then said another way to say 58 is 51 +7. I was really proud of that one. I think for now we'll play a lot of math games so he can practice math and hopefully understand why it is important. That's the goal anyway. I'm not sure how well we'll accomplish that right now but he's five so there is no rush.

Bohdin has been progressing well although slowly on his spelling. He feels more comfortable taking it super slow although it's not necessary. We've been on short i for about two weeks now. I held up flash cards today for him to read and he did well on short a, short i, short o, and short u. We'll formally do short o next but it was good for him to see that he could do it. I liked seeing him work on the ones he didn't know by sight. He understands how to sound out words he doesn't know but he certainly needs more practice. He was able to catch most of the mistakes he made but there were a few that he still couldn't get. I think he's doing really well.

I spent the weekend working on Bohdin's blanket and made significant progress. The back is mostly done. I brought it upstairs to see how it looks so far on the bed but keep forgetting to take it back downstairs. Instead of making the long trek back up the stairs I just started on Nyla's blanket. She is so excited. I'm not in love with the way it's coming together but Nyla likes it. I'm hoping it looks better when it's complete than it does now in pieces. I don't think the pattern Buddy and I chose suit the fabric but there is no turning back now. If nothing else it will be the pink and chocolate blanket that Nyla likes. Just like Bohdin's blanket it will be perfectly suited for her. She chose fabric with snowmen, dogs, babies, rabbits, etc. It is a reflection of who she is right now.

Visit

Buddy's parents arrived Friday afternoon. I should have updated more frequently and taken a lot more pictures. Bohdin and Nyla were both so excited to have them here. We were all glad to have them her actually. They drove up our new minivan which I'm slowly getting used to. I've had my car for 10 years now and I'm giving it up because I have to not because I want to. Buddy is going to drive it now and will surely not treat it well. He's been driving a V8 for years so it will be difficult for him to go down to a 4 cylinder. My car just doesn't have the power his does although that won't stop him from trying.

Saturday just ended up as a work in the yard day. We have a big yard that always needs attention. I hadn't finished mowing before they arrived so that was completed. Over the course of the visit some other areas of the yard were addressed. The hollies are trimmed and the back of the yard that had turned into jungle was mowed. It looks much better now or it did on Saturday anyway. Now it's almost time to mow again.

Sunday Buddy took his parents to the historical arms museum in town while I took the kids to the science museum. They are just a block from each other. The robot exhibit is in its final days so we had to do the robot arm one last time. Bohdin tried to convince Buddy to go to the science museum by saying the history museum would be there any time but this was his only chance to do the robot exhibit. The kids had fun with me while the other adults were able to see the museum without the distraction of little kids.

Monday we did a tour of the Buffalo Gap bourbon factory in Frankfort. I found it quite interesting. None of us came out bourbon drinkers but I can appreciate the process of how it is made. The kids did not find the tour fascinating at all. After lunch we headed to Shaker Town in Pleasant Hill. We arrived later than intended and only had 90 minutes to look around. Bohdin and I spent a good deal of time with the broom maker. Bohdin wanted to grow broom corn so we could make our own brooms but we don't need to since we are both proud owners of a Shaker broom. The most interesting part was the solo vocalist who sang and spoke about the Shaker worship service. The kids were mostly bored here as well. Bohdin liked the brooms, Nyla liked ordering the goats to eat her leaves, and they both collected goose feathers.

I think the funniest part of the visit came one night when Bohdin was getting ready for bed. He used the toilet in the bathroom where Papa was taking a shower instead of our bathroom. When Bohdin came to bed I told him that he shouldn't have used that bathroom because Papa needed his privacy. Bohdin said, "Don't worry. I didn't see his penis. I was too busy talking to him."

We suck

Bohdin and I went out to check on the chickens this morning and found them dead. I noticed two and didn't look for the rest. The one I had the best view of had been partially eaten. I'm too pregnant to get on my hands and knees to search out the rest. I can't believe we were only able to keep them safe for just over 24 hours. We have no idea how it happened. Maybe a raccoon? We are very despondent. We have to build a Ft Knox structure to keep our chickens safe. I don't know if I'm willing to risk more chicken lives this season.

We went to a homeschool fair this morning to look for used curriculum. I did find the geography curriculum I wanted to use for Bohdin next year. The savings from that were not enough to offset all of our other purchases though. There were so many books for sale there at such great prices. We came home with lots of books, three computer games for Bohdin, a board game, and some other stuff. We'll definitely go again next year. It felt brutally hot and Nyla became quite uncooperative as we made our way to the car. It took at least five times longer than it should have because she either wanted to lay on the ground or stop and look at books.

This actually happened weeks ago but I remembered today. Bohdin was bouncing around so I commented to Nyla that there was a kangaroo. Bohdin denied it since he had no pouch. Somehow the talk moved over to babies. I said something to the effect that perhaps he would have a baby someday. He said he couldn't since he doesn't have a uterus. I was surprised to hear that response from the same kid who thinks girls pee out of their butt.

New chickens

We've been dragging our feet on getting new chickens. Every day we would look at the ads on craigslist but never did anything about it. Buddy called yesterday and said he had a lead on Ameraucanas chickens which lay pastel colored eggs. They are supposed to be pure bred but I don't know or care. I loaded the kids up and we finally took the plunge on some new chicks. These are about 8 weeks old I think and hopefully all girls. We should be getting light green eggs someday. The new chicken coop isn't quite ready but we can keep them safe enough for now. The kids don't seem quite as excited about this batch of chickens. I don't know if it is because they are bigger or because it's hot outside.




The hot weather has really helped our garden take off. This is our first time growing corn and we're liking it so far. The corn seems to grow several inches each day. It's encouraging to see that kind of progress in something besides weeds. We have been harvesting a few strawberries every day which is surprising. We learned our lesson about planting warm weather crops too early. With the exception of the corn nothing else liked being planted before May. We shouldn't have disregarded the advice about waiting to plant until after Derby. The last frost had been weeks prior to that but the ground just wasn't warm enough yet. Lesson learned.

I woke up early one morning to see ducks in the garden. I had seen them previously in a neighbor's yard but I had never seen them fly into ours. I don't mind them since they didn't damage anything. I could do without the rabbits and deer though.