{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

{pretty}

I ordered these pillow covers with our home state outlines on them from Etsy a month-and-a-half ago, and they just arrived a few days ago. They came all the way from China, many, oh so many days later than the production and shipping time estimates were. I was so annoyed by how long they took and I will never again order from an Etsy shop in China. It's just that they were exactly what I wanted and I couldn't find them anywhere else. This house has been one gigantic blank slate for me ever since we moved in in July, and I am piecing it together slowly. It makes me happy that now our entry is a fitting introduction to the rest of the house and who we are as a family. Kind of.  Little by little it's coming together. That green bench is something I picked up at a consignment store a few months ago, and immediately had second thoughts about it. I'm still not attached to it, but those burlap pillows make it a lot nicer to look at.

{happy}

Annie likes to get herself going as fast and high as she can on the swing, and then jump out.  We just got that swing a couple weeks ago and I'm really glad we did because Annie loves to swing.  The others like it but Annie LOVES it.  This picture was taken yesterday evening.

Earlier today just as Timmy and I were arriving home, we saw Tim being dropped off in front of our house.  He had just gotten home from his trip to New York.  Timmy asked me to let him out right there, so I did and he ran across the yard yelling, "Daddy!" I grabbed my phone to capture their happy reunion.

{funny and real - they seem to go together hand in hand, don't they?}

A couple days ago, I microwaved the last of the leftover chicken tortilla soup for lunch. It was the perfect amount to fill up the bowl and I felt satisfied that not a single drop would go to waste. Once it was nice and hot I squeezed some lime juice in and added a dollop of Daisy. Perfection. Then I made my way to the table, holding it gingerly with two hands. It was heavy and it was hot. I was sooooo close to my chair when it suddenly slipped out of my hands and hit the floor. I didn't even get a warning, never felt it start to slip. One instant I had it and the next, SPLAT! I could have cried. The mess was so huge. I was so hungry. I was sliding quickly into a pit of despair. Then it came to me: real. I grabbed my camera. It doesn't get any more real than this.

Proving Tim's point about why we should not bother reupholstering these chairs

Timmy and I were in awe of the scope of this mess. It looked like someone had projectile vomited, splashing the floor, the chair, the wall, the window and the curtains.

And I was all out of paper towels. But it made for a good story!

For more {phfr}, go to Like Mother, Like Daughter.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~Capturing the context of contentment in every day life~ 

I've gotten lazy about blogging again, so I thought now would be a good time to join Like Mother, Like Daughter and do one of these.  I say "lazy", but it isn't really laziness that's the problem. I have a whole lot to say; I just don't know where to start.  I think this is just what I need to get myself taking pictures and blogging again.  I'm going to try to make it a date every Thursday and see how it goes.

I have spent almost a week working on this post, and I have to say that pretty and happy have been really easy to find, while funny and real have been a bit trickier.  I'm treating it like a challenging assignment that just has to get done and doesn't need to be perfect.  I can do it!

{pretty}

A big southern porch like this one demands some greenery, but I am kind of a brown thumb.  No more, I say!  A couple people, my mom being one of them I think, told me that ferns would do well in this shady area.  A few days ago I went out and picked some up, and I shrieked for joy like a little girl when I saw how pretty they looked hanging up.  In my online research into care of ferns, I read that they have a "strong survival instinct."  I didn't know it was possible for a plant to have any kind of instinct, but that will serve them well at my house!  

{happy}

Annie and Timmy spend a lot of their time together NOT getting along, so whenever I see her reading to him, my heart sings. She reads to him often, especially on weekends.  At bedtime, too, when I'm reading something to Delaney that doesn't interest them, she'll read to him in his room.  On Friday evening when it got kind of quiet I said to Tim, "What do you think they're up to?"  Once in a while I catch them being good, and this was one of those times!  It really does happen, and it gives me reason to hope that one day they won't always be picking on each other incessantly.

{funny and real}

Pickin' and grinnin'

Just as we were arriving at the Y yesterday morning, Timmy had this to share with me: "Mama, I like my boogers better than your dinner."  I gasped, feigning outrage, and sputtered, "What?!  You like your boogers better than my dinners?  You don't want tacos tonight, you just want boogers?"  He said, "Well, I still like your dinners.  And I like boogers too."  Ick!

What We're Reading: Number the Stars

I have my sister Grace to thank for this fantastic read-aloud because she gave it to Delaney for Christmas.  Delaney read it herself first, and then asked me to read it at bedtime.  She then made sure to correct me on every part I misread or that she thought I'd misread (for example, she did not easily accept that "Kirsti" was not really "Kristi").  I first read this 1990 Newberry Award winner when I was about 12.  I know I enjoyed it but didn't remember a whole lot about it all these years later.  I never would have thought to read it with the kids because I mistakenly remembered it as being more of a Young Adult novel.  I soon discovered that Delaney's at the perfect age for this fictional story of a 10-year-old Danish heroine who along with her family, helps smuggle her Jewish best friend and her family to Sweden during World War II.

The story moves quickly and the chapters are very short which is perfect for those nights when bedtime happens a little later than it ought to.  But every chapter ended leaving us wanting more, and many ended with cliffhangers, making it nearly impossible to read just one chapter at bedtime.  Delaney was always disappointed when we had to end for the night, and a lot of times so was I.  We got sucked right in.

The story opens in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943, as Annemarie and her best friend Ellen are racing home from school with Annemarie's five-year-old little sister trailing along behind.  Then they are ordered to halt by one of the Nazi soldiers patrolling the city, and are interrogated.  We never again see the girls acting like carefree kids.  The presence of the soldiers is becoming ever more oppressive, and the girls and their families are growing more fearful as the first few chapters progress.  They've seen their country taken over, good food and new clothes have become scarce, and the people tiptoe around trying to avoid angering the increasingly edgy German soldiers.  Sometimes Annemarie wonders just how far her family and she herself would go to protect the Jews of their country from the Nazis.  She feels scared when she thinks about that, but then she remembers that she's just an  "ordinary person who would never be called upon for courage."  

One day, word gets out that all the Jews of the city are to be rounded up and taken away.  Annemarie must be brave and help her family as they help Ellen and her family escape.  Annemarie learns quickly about the bravery and sacrifice that ordinary people like herself are capable of.  This is based on the true story of the Danish Resistance and how they smuggled thousands of Jews to safety in Sweden.

Throughout the book, Delaney would sometimes interrupt with questions such as, "Who were the Nazis?"  I tried to explain to her about what happened back then, with Hitler and the Holocaust.  This book is an appropriate introduction to that subject for kids since the focus is on how the good people fought back, and does not go into gory details of Nazi atrocities.

We also talked about what it means to be courageous.  At one point Annemarie said to her uncle who had praised her courage, "But I was so scared!"  And he said that they all were scared, but basically, being courageous means you do what you have to do anyway.  It definitely got Delaney thinking, and she said to me, "Do you think I'm courageous?"  I could have said, "Sure!" but instead I said, "What do you think?"  She just looked thoughtful.  It is hard for anyone to know what kind of courage they'll have when they need it, and when you're a seven-year-old who spends half your life in the back of your mom's SUV, it's pretty tough to imagine being in the scenarios that Annemarie was in.  But I know she's got a big heart for her friends and is developing ideas of good and bad, right from wrong.  I liked having the opportunity to talk about these things with her.  As far as Annie and Timmy go.. they probably just enjoyed extra time to wrestle before bed.  I think Annie was listening maybe some of the time.

Bring on the next great read-aloud!

I didn't get anything for Valentine's Day.

Tim looked over at me with a wry smile last night and said, "I didn't get you anything for Valentine's Day."

I looked back at him and said, "I know you didn't get me anything."

Looking taken aback he said, "What do you mean, you know?"  It must have been something in my tone that made him think I was discontented even though the two of us have not really celebrated Valentine's Day for years now.  (We do get the kids some little surprises because that's fun.)

I said to him, "You do nice things for me all the time.  I'd rather you do nice things for me every day than wait for one day a year and get me some crappy chocolates --"

"Hey, maybe that's what I should do," he joked.

So, that conversation got me thinking today, about all the things he does for me, big and little.  This is true love:

- Wiping the splatters out of the inside of the microwave;

- Taking the kids out of the house for half of a Saturday, allowing me to clean the house without interruption and have time to myself;

- Kicking his dipping habit for good, losing 25 pounds (about five years ago), and working out regularly in order to be healthier and be around for us longer, and to set a better example for the kids;

- Managing the finances and saving and investing to make sure we get a decent retirement no matter what Congress does, while still getting to enjoy nice things now;

- Rubbing my feet at night while we watch TV;

- Cooking me a delicious dinner every Saturday night after the kids go to bed;

- Washing my car;

- Making me laugh, which is what won me over in the first place

These are a few things that come to mind, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot.  I would pick any one of the items in this list over a bouquet of roses or dinner out and a movie.  I know I'm a lucky woman to be married to a man who is so good to me.

So, happy Valentine's Day, honey!  I didn't get you anything either.;)

Delaney says

On the way home from school Friday, Delaney said to me, "Today at school we made these poles that the Native Americans had.. that have people on them.."

"Totem poles?" I asked.

"Yes!" she said.  "And I put Alexa on mine but not you."

"Huh?"

"We were only allowed to put five people on them, and I really wanted to put Alexa on mine.."

"Alright, let me get this straight -- you put yourself, Daddy, Alexa,.."

"..And Timmy and Annie, and I wanted to put you on it too, but I really wanted Alexa."

"So I'm not even the 'low man on the totem pole.' I'm not even on the totem pole, but Alexa is?!"

"I know, but I really wanted her on it because she's my favorite cousin.. (blah, blah, blah)..  and we've seen each other pee."

"Well, that really forges a bond!"  Not like me giving birth to you, that's meaningless.

I'll tell you what..

Fun times

Just when I thought the stomach bugs had already made their rounds and were gone for good, we were hit with a real doozy.  When all was silent a couple nights ago, I sprang from my bed at the sound of retching.  A long night and an even longer day followed.

The stricken child had complained at bedtime about her stomach hurting, so just in case I had left a bucket by the side of her bed and told her, "It's right here if you need it."  But when she had been shaken from her slumber by the heaves, her only thought in her distress had been to come find us.  But first she got her bed pretty thoroughly.  Then her bedroom carpet.  Then she stumbled through our door and and got a good swath of our carpet too.  At that point I helped her to the toilet but by then she was just about done.

Tim immediately attempted to rinse off the bedding and then he threw it in the washer (what, Tim was home when a kid was sick?!).  Her comforter was a complete loss, but that was okay with me since I'd been looking forward to getting rid of both of those comforters anyway.  This just made it easier.  In the meantime she's got a nice old quilt of my grandma's to use.  She got sick a few more times that night and by morning seemed completely better, albeit without much of an appetite.  I kept her home from school anyway, and we spent the entire day home.  I spent most of it de-pukifying the bedrooms and doing laundry while she and Timmy happily watched TV.

The carpets were the thing that stressed me out most.  This is base housing carpet so it's already not a picnic to begin with.  It was stained and worn everywhere on the day we moved in.  Even freshly vacuumed, it looks awful.  I've never been able to clean anything out of these carpets using any method.  But I was pretty sure this was the worst thing that's ever happened to them.

I remembered an article a friend of mine had shared on Facebook a few years ago when I had been desperate for help.  I  recalled that I had had some success with these instructions on how to get vomit out of carpet, and I had pinned it on Pinterest.  So I opened it up, read it, and got to work following all the steps.  It is very entertaining reading by the way, but it has some gross (and funny) illustrations too.  Maybe don't look at it unless you really need it and at that point you've already seen worse.

At some point in the process, I read that I should "blot" or "dab" at something, and after a few futile-feeling attempts I said to myself, 'When have I ever successfully blotted or dabbed anything out of anything?'  And I know this was not advisable but at that moment I started to scrub like my life depended on it and I had nothing to lose.  Blotting is for sissies!

I am so happy to say that the barfed-on carpets are now no worse than they were before, and after vacuuming up the baking soda clumps I will be done.  Yesterday I said to the culprit, "I beg you, please don't ever come find us to tell us you are throwing up while you are still throwing up!"  Use the bucket I give you, or better yet get to a toilet, and then I will come find you, I promise, and I'll hold your hair back like a good mother should.  But please don't ever make me have to spend all morning cleaning carpets again!

Then after we picked up the other child from school that afternoon, I said to all three of them, "Now you've each had a turn and we are done!"  We'll see how well they listen to me.  They're lucky they're cute.

Day in the Life: Winter 2015

Today is Wednesday, January 28.

5:00 a.m. I hear an alarm, a very pleasant-sounding chimey melody, and I realize it's Tim's, not mine.  Good.  I see the time and think, have fun!  I nod back off and he gets ready and heads to the gym.

6:00 a.m. My turn to get up.  At the sound of my alarm, I reach over and turn it off.  The promise of taking my first sips of coffee in solitude compels me to swing by legs over the side of the bed instead of falling right back asleep.  I've managed to keep up this habit for several months and it is one of the best things I do for myself.  I totally understand not doing it if you're not getting a full night's rest, as I know many of my peers do not.  Getting a head start on these kids in the morning is very advantageous.

I brush my teeth, make my bed, and head out to the living room with my coffee and phone for morning devotion.

6:40 a.m. Timmy comes out and asks if he can wake up the girls.  I usually wake them up at 6:45, but I tell him to go ahead.  We've got a laid-back Wednesday in store.  This is the hardest part of the day right here between 6:45 and 7:35, just getting everybody up and going and out the door.  Sometimes that part goes okay, sometimes great, and sometimes very, very badly.  I never know what kind of a morning it's going to be.

The top sign says, "No trespassing, pirates' property."  The bottom one says, "No boys aloud exept Daddy.  Secret code 'frozen' (written backwards and upside down)."  Annie also penciled in "Mama is not aloud" one time when she was mad at me.

7:15 a.m. Tim is back from the gym and starts making his usual breakfast of oats with peanut butter, honey and bananas.  He enlists the help of Delaney to stir the oats while he gets dressed.  She's already completed her tasks for this morning, eaten breakfast and I've already fixed her hair, so things are going well today.  Annie's eating breakfast at this point and she's not in a mood to have her picture taken.  So I back off with the camera with the caveat that one day when she's reading back through these kind of posts, she might wonder why she isn't in them.  Just a thought.

A few minutes before it's time to leave, I check the forecast on my phone.  It's a chilly day in the Lowcountry.  34 right now and only 47 for the high.  I tell the girls they'll need jackets and hats.  They both wear gloves too, but Annie doesn't want to wear her hat.  I decide that's OK.

My reminder must have made a difference to Annie because she agrees to pose for a picture with Delaney a little while later.  It's Delaney's idea for them to take a picture with their little tubes of Chap-Stick.  They've got to have that today!  I notice for the hundredth time that these girls have outgrown these jackets and it really is time for new ones.  Especially poor Annie.  

7:35 a.m. This has been an easy morning.  This is what every morning ought to be like.  Kids have done what they're supposed to do when they're supposed to do it, and I am not frustrated and barking at everybody.  Why can't it be this way all the time?  We part ways, Tim to work and the kids and I to school.  Timmy is in his pajamas still, because we're going to be coming straight back here after we drop the girls off.

8:30 to 10 a.m. Timmy and I get back to the house.  On the agenda this morning is yoga at 10:30 and nothing else.  I let Timmy watch TV after he gets dressed.  I have my customary breakfast of three eggs and a banana.  After I clean up the breakfast mess I spend some time perusing the local buy/sell/trade groups on Facebook.  I'm getting to be a little addicted to tell the truth.  It's that, what did we call it in psychology.. intermittent reinforcement.  You never know when you're going to see a great deal pop up.  Usually it's little things.  A week ago I swung by someone's house on the way back from school and picked up a couple pairs of 4T jeans for Timmy, $3 each.  A couple weeks before that I scooped up a pair of little Sperrys, excellent condition, for $5.  People leave the things on their front step and you just grab and go.  I've had all kinds of luck finding things for Timmy, not as much for the girls.  No luck at all finding stuff for my bare empty house.  Then what do I see in my feed this morning?  This beauty.

I nearly swoon.  This is my dream table.  This table was hand-built in North Carolina, most likely by that same guy who advertises in Craigslist but never returned Tim's emails while we were still living there.  It's 8 feet long and 3 feet wide, so definitely adequate even if it's a little narrower than we'd prefer.  And it's only $300 for everything!  Amazing deal.  It sells within seconds and I'm disappointed and relieved at the same time.  I have no business looking for a new table and chairs.  We just bought a set used a few months ago and it's nice enough even though the upholstered chairs are driving me crazy.  No, we don't need a new dining table.  Why can't I be content with what I have?  What we could really use is furniture and decor for the still bare and unfurnished areas of our house that embarrass me and keep me from inviting anyone over.

I have also been selling things.  Since I wrote this, I have been finding it easier to let things go.  A couple weeks ago I sold the pack 'n play and our infant carseat and base.  That was a no-brainer for me when I looked at the sticker and saw that it expires in August 2017.  Yesterday I posted our double jogger for sale, finally got Tim's blessing on that because he didn't want it to go even though we have not used it in the longest time.  I've gotten a lot of interest in it and this evening I have someone coming to look at it.  Selling is fun too, and a great way to clear the clutter.

Just what I needed, another reason to be attached to Facebook.

I get an email from Tim Sr.  It's a photo and the message, "Who do these kids look like?"  I already have this picture and love it.  It's Timmy Jr at the age of 3 with his sisters Sam and Kathy, who were 7 and 5 at the time.  Just like our trio.  Baby Karen was not in the picture, probably because as the fourth kid there are no pictures of her, as the family joke goes.

10 a.m. We leave for yoga at the Y.  This is the first time in about three weeks that I've been able to make both the Monday and the Wednesday classes.  There's always something interfering, like the 24-hour bugs that were circulating a couple weeks ago, or an appointment somewhere.  I first started going to yoga when we moved here just because it was at a time that worked for me at a place that has on-site childcare included, and I knew from past experience that I've had positive results come from it (like more flexibility and no aches and pains).  But I wasn't really excited about it because I remembered how antsy I used to feel in a yoga class, with all that dim lighting and deep breathing and holding poses and stretches for a long time.  But now, a few months later I find all of it invigorating and not boring at all.  It's challenging too.  I was sore for a day after Monday's class, but a good kind of sore like muscles had been working.  I didn't think I would like anything as much as I liked Piyo, but if I had the choice now, I would pick yoga over Piyo.  I also don't think it's an accident that my running has improved as long as I've been going to yoga regularly.

I have a big man wrinkle right between my eyes that appeared right before I turned 35.  It doesn't make me feel old at all.

This gorgeous little tree makes my day every time I come home.  I cheated and used a picture I took a few days ago on the right because the one on the left doesn't really do it justice.  What a lovely surprise, this flowering tree in the middle of January.

12:00 p.m. We get back from yoga and I get lunch for Timmy and me.  For him, it's the usual: fruit pouch, cheese stick, PB&J.  I reheat some of yesterday's chicken tortilla soup.  I made it in the crockpot yesterday.  It is phenomenal, and it's the only recipe I've found that meets my three requirements for a good crockpot meal, which are: 

1) It is a complete one-dish meal (If it's a crockpot "meal" that still requires sides to be made separately, that's no good to me, and that would include something like pulled pork that needs to be served on a bun and with a salad.)

2) It is ONE step - dump things in the pot and turn it on.  No pre-cooking of anything, no dirtying of any other dishes.  I'm OK with draining and rinsing beans, though.

3) It is delicious and at least three of the five of us will eat it on any given night.  

It is unbelievably hard to find a crockpot meal that fulfills my requirements.  An obvious idea would be beef stew, but we discovered that beef has a very unpleasant taste after being in the crockpot all day.  A friend told me that you prevent that nasty taste by searing the meat first on the stove, but that's a violation of rule #2.  (That nasty taste actually prompted Tim to make our old crockpot disappear years ago because he thought we had a bad crockpot but I was still trying to make it work.)  I am always on the lookout for new crockpot recipes and would welcome any suggestions.  I've been making the tortilla soup once a week lately, and I don't want everybody to get burned out on it.

After I take my soup out of the microwave, I put a few drops of lime juice, a few slices of avocado, and some crumbled tortilla chips on top.  Yum.

12:20 p.m. Tim gets back from work and we talk about our day so far.  He asks what's for dinner and I tell him that stir-fry is on the menu and we're going to use the shrimp we already have in the freezer.  I tell him I thought about buying beef yesterday for stir-fry, but I couldn't justify it when we already had perfectly good shrimp.  It's the shrimp that I picked that's not the kind I was supposed to get.  I find shrimp to be confusing.  Tim says, "Yeah, but it needs to be thawed, peeled and de-veined.."  "You'll show me how to do that!"  I say brightly.  But what I really mean is that he's going to be there and he's going to do it.  He changes and goes for a run, and I wrap up lunch with Timmy and get him down for a nap.

12:45 to 2:30 p.m. Tim is home for the rest of the day because we have a conference with Annie's teacher this afternoon.  I opt to make tea and hang out with him instead of taking a little nap the way I usually do.  He makes his lunch which consists of a lot of eggs and maybe some fruit.  He decides we should go out to eat tonight.  He says, "Look up that place in Bluffton that everybody liked."  Hmm, OK.  I am surprised.  First of all, we hardly ever go out to dinner, like only a handful of times each year.  Also, it's the end of January, which is a spending freeze month.  But he's the budget master so if he wants to go out, we'll go out.  

20 minutes before it's time to leave I realize that I'm still wearing my yoga pants and Cape Cod hoodie.  I jump up saying, "What am I doing?  We're going to talk with Annie's teacher and out to eat and I'm still dressed like a slob!"  Tim says, "How set are you on the idea of going out to eat?"  Now he's backpedaling .. the man can't make up his mind.  

In a jiffy I've thrown myself together.  I fail to notice how dirty the mirror is when I take this picture.  I promise that's not snot coming out of my nose, it's a smudge on the glass.

2:55 p.m. We leave for school.  How nice for all us all to be going together today to drive the maze of downtown Beaufort streets together.  We pick Annie up quickly and easily, cut over five blocks to get in Delaney's line, but it is really long.  Tim has to turn and try to get to the end of the line.  No cuts, no buts, at least in theory...  I don't know why the line is so long today.  I start to worry that we won't be back to Annie's building for our 3:45 appointment.  Meanwhile, Timmy has been telling me every two minutes since we left home that his belly hurts.

3:45 p.m. We've got the girls and are now arriving back at the K-1 building for the conference with Annie's teacher.  Timmy says, "I gotta poop!" Impeccable timing as usual.  Tim takes him to the bathroom and we are a few minutes late for our meeting, but oh well.  The kids wander around the classroom while we sit down with Mrs. C.

She tells us that Annie is a great student, and if she could clone her and maybe a few others, she'd have the easiest class in the world.  She says that she has already met her math goal for the year, and she is already reading as well as a first grader at the end of first grade.  She says socially she is coming out of her shell and interacting more.  It's hard for me to imagine since I've seen her go out of her way to not even look at teachers or other students, but there is a whole chunk of the day that we don't see.  She shows us samples of Annie's writing.  Recently she wrote a little fairy tale that goes, "Once upon a time there was a princess.  She ate an apple, then she ate another apple and then she died."  Oh, Annie.:)  We once again marvel at the difference between the way Annie wrote her name at the beginning of the school year (so shaky) and the way she writes it now with so much more confidence.

Mrs. C remarks after prefacing that she knows we move a lot since we're military, that Annie would also do really well in a more traditional, structured classroom setting.  In her classroom there are several stations set up and students enjoy being allowed to move freely from one to another, but Annie will just get a math worksheet from her and sit down and work quietly on it.  "I think Annie would honestly be happiest sitting at a desk with a stack of worksheets."  We all agree that Annie does seem to enjoy busy work and that structure and order really suit her best.  She doesn't really know what to do with options.  The point Mrs. C makes about Annie in a traditional classroom is helpful to me and I tuck it away.  

We chat for a little while longer, and Tim makes a point of letting her know that we appreciate what a great job she's doing, and that we have noticed how much Annie's learning in just a short few months.  

4:00 p.m. or thereabouts, we take the kids and go.  Tim stops by the seafood market for some fresh local shrimp already peeled and de-veined, for our stir-fry.  The shrimp we already have will stay in the freezer another night.  By now I am so hungry.  When we get home Tim tells me to get everything "prepped" and then he'll come cook.  He collapses in the la-z-boy where he'll probably take a cat nap.  Can't blame him for needing a break when his day starts at 5.  I set the timer for Delaney to do Khan Academy (math games) on the computer for a half hour.  Timmy keeps me company while I start the rice and cut up the veggies.  I feel myself becoming clumsy and short-tempered as 'Hungry Rachael" begins to take over.  I have to concentrate really hard on NOT cutting my fingers with that big sharp knife.

Timmy wants to help me by first by organizing the container cabinet -- even he's noticed that it could definitely use some help -- and then by taking a few pictures.  He has a hard time getting his little finger to reach the shutter button but he doesn't do too badly.

5:15 p.m. Delaney's turn at the computer is over and now Annie is allowed to log on to Reading Eggs for a half hour or until dinner is ready, whichever comes first.  She is very tolerant of having her brother and sister right at her elbows the whole time.

I let Tim know it's time for him to take over and I go out to check the mail.  When I come back in I tell Delaney, "It's your lucky day, girly!"  She's got two letters today -- one from her cousin Alexa in Massachusetts and the other from her Auntie Grace in Ohio.  She is so excited.  She opens them both and reads them in about two minutes flat.  Isn't snail mail fun?  Delaney has three pen pals now -- Alexa, her friend Lily from NC, and now Auntie Grace.  We're trying to get her to follow through with the the writing and mailing process because too many times she starts a letter, maybe finishes it, but then it will never find its way into an envelope.  Or it does and then sits around for a long time until we remind her to address it and put it in the mailbox.  Or it gets lost, but as far as she's concerned she's done her part and now she's waiting for a letter back.  The only reason she gets a letter from Grace is that Tim snapped a picture of a sweet note Delaney had written to her and then left on her bed.  She can't seem to get it through her head that her good intentions alone do not result in someone receiving a letter from her.  We'll keep working on that.:)

5:45 p.m. We sit down to eat at last.  I am starvin' like Marvin!  I also know that at any minute I have my person coming to see the double jogger.  So I eat fast.

About 15 minutes into the meal, Tim tells me he sees someone driving up so I go out to meet her.  She ends up passing on the stroller because her car seat adapter will not work on on an older BOB model.  I feel bad that she's gone to the trouble of coming out here for nothing.  She was even kept for a minute at the gate while the Marine called me to verify that I was expecting someone.

6:30 p.m. With dinner done we tell the kids to start getting ready for bed -- pajamas, teeth, and picking up their rooms.  Delaney's in charge of their bathroom sink today so she has to wipe it off.  I need to supervise Timmy because we are still unable to tell him to change into his pajamas and pick up his room, and then expect to see it done.  I've tried the reverse psychology thing, i.e., "I don't know if you're a big enough boy to change into your pajamas," but he hasn't taken the bait so far.  He will do it himself if I stay and watch and coax him through it.  

6:50 p.m. Annie assists as I make the girls' lunches for the next day.  We are getting low on everything.  Not many snack foods left.  I do the commissary shopping on Friday, and I never seem to get enough to last all week.  The cupboards are getting bare.

7:05 p.m. Off to bed!

Before lights out I read them a chapter of Rush Revere and the American Revolution.  My mom gave it to Delaney for Christmas and it's a fun book.  It's like a Magic School Bus for American history and Delaney eats it up.  Annie has the camera now, and she takes selfies and shots of Timmy's feet. 

He still has cute little baby feet.

7:30 p.m. Prayers are said, kids are in bed.  I check my email and I have one from Carolyn, Tim's mom, with pictures from the blizzard.  She says, "You show a flowered tree and this is what we have.  Good old New England."  Here is my favorite picture of the bunch:

One of my kids would be the one to open that door.  Eek!

They might be jealous of us this time of year, but come summer I am jealous of them because they don't have the kind of heat and humidity that forces you to stay in the air-conditioning from 9 in the morning until 9 at night.  And their pools don't feel like bathwater.  Plus, there is so much more to do in New England.  Here, if you don't want to fish or swim, your only option is to drive to Charleston.  Every place has its pros and cons.

I get on Facebook and message the next person interested in the stroller and we arrange for them to come over tomorrow.  I think this thing's going to sell quickly.  I do my bible study reading.  I finally found a bible study!  Or rather it found me because the mom of the other Delaney and Timmy who live down the street invited all of us in the Officer Spouses Club a few weeks ago.  I jumped at the opportunity.  I'm so glad to have this.  I was sad to leave my bible study group in NC and hoped I'd find another here. 

9:45 p.m. We both head back to bed.  I make fun of Tim like I always do for wearing a hoodie to bed.  He takes it off before he goes to sleep, but this is his pre-sleep ritual: hoodie, iPad and earbuds.  And coffee -- he drinks coffee as he winds down for sleep.  Who does that?

My hands are so dry and cracked just from walking outside this morning without gloves and then washing my hands a hundred times since.  He laughs at me as I put gloves on over my lotioned hands before calling it a night.  I guess we both have some strange ways.