After seeing this idea in a few places, I decided to give it a try. A trusted pancake recipe + food coloring equals rainbow pancakes! No gold at the end of these, but the kids had a blast eating them and I am more rich because of their joy.
Month: March 2012
A Growth-full Week
It’s been the inevitable low after the high. A great weekend, followed by some real-life hard times. What better way to break up the monotony than taking a field trip to a local farm/veterinary clinic? So, yesterday we headed out to some friends’ farm for some animal fun.
Nadine was in her glory, feeding the baby goats and petting the horses. Betty wasn’t as sure about the goats at first, but soon warmed up to them. She also got licked many time by one of the dogs until she giggled. It was so adorable.
Jack was super brave to ride the horse bare-back in his crocs. He’s brave in other ways too. The other day I was watching him from the bathroom window. He was outside, tying a karate belt to a tree branch. Next, he climbed the tree and tied the other end to a higher branch. Then he jumped down and grabbed hold of the loop he just made. After a quick tug to make sure it was tight, he confidently hoisted himself about four off the ground and started to pull himself up by the rope. All of a sudden, one end came untied and he fell flat on his back with a thud. I expected tears, but he lay there for a second before brushing himself off and standing up. I came outside to make sure he was okay, and before I could ask him, he said, “Mom! Guess what? I just made a trap and it works!” Pause. “I tested it.” Oh, my.
I know the Lord has great plans for that boy. When he’s not being tough, he is super sweet. He’s been diligently working on his letters and numbers. I found that counting to a hundred while pulling out a measuring tape is right up his alley.
Betty has been changing so much this month! She still gives us “the look” with wrinkled nose, furrowed eyebrows and a loud squawking sound to accompany it. We are working on our manners and today she learned how to give high fives. Her favorite thing outside is to collect rocks, put them into something and give a high five after each rock. She’s sporting seven teeth, with more popping through very soon. She loves to talk with her hands and tell stories with much inflection. Perhaps a linguist?
There is something satisfying about watching boys whack things with sticks. Their language isn’t with words, but rather with loud noises and a mutual understanding of sounds and war-like cries.
They are very different than girls.
Girls are pretty and sweet. Even with a drooly mouth, this one still looks beautiful.
So, even though I’ve been challenged to my core this week on wife-hood and mother-hood, I’m so thankful for the rewards each day. Hugs, forgiveness, love, smiles, and little glimpses of growth in hearts and minds.
Slimy Breakfast
This morning I ate something I’ve never tried before, but read much about. Odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid… well, they actually expand in liquid. Poured into some mango juice, they were completely palatable. Chia seeds. Yum. Really, not that bad. I’ll let you know if I notice increased or at least sustained energy! We have been walking down quite a unique road for the past three weeks. White flour is being replaced by the different colors, shapes and sizes of seeds and grains. Matt has been eating gluten-free, raw, whole foods with an occassional vegan cooked meal thrown in there. I’m slower to get on the band wagon. Old haunts call my name from the cupboards that are slowly being emptied of food that has become normal to me. A new normal is taking their place. I’m excited but nervous. Why I should be nervous to embrace a lifestyle that guarantees more health benefits? I guess because change brings out this hidden fear inside most of us. There is also a huge learning curve as I sprout and dehydrate different concoctions to make bread that he can eat. The reasoning behind all this change is really just a culmination of seven years of being plagued by Wegener’s Disease. Seven years of unsuccessful and expensive medicine, surgeries, and relapses. We’re determined to give God a chance to heal Matthew by using the things He has already created. He is able!
Pixie Dust That Glows
Four years ago our little Elsie Rose was born. On Sunday we celebrated that joyful day!
There was a constant sense of urgency throughout my pregnancy, and the doctors wanted her born by her due date or else they told me I would have a C-section. Long story short, she was born on her due date, just after midnight, six hours before they had me scheduled for a C-section. I wasn’t planning on showing up for it, but it was such a relief not to have to go through with fighting them about it. She was born in a hurry… my birth record sheet says 3 minutes from 6cm to when she was in my arms. It was intense and hugely powerful. She has always been a super independent little girl. Her curls have straightened out a bit this year, but her personality is just the same. She still enjoys changing outfits throughout the day, coloring for hours on end, and playing princess with anyone. Yesterday she got Jack to play princess with her because she let him wear her new birthday ring. It worked like a charm! That boy loves jewelry, sticks, rocks, shiny things, oh, and his new orange bandana that his Uncle Jon gave him this weekend. He told me that he’s going to wear it forever. 
This weekend, while Matthew and I relished having two nights away at a marriage retreat with church friends, the kids had fun at Grandma Weldon’s. It was awesome that Aunt Heidi and Uncle Jake kept a running list of funnies that they said. The one that sticks out in my head is that when Betty was getting her diaper changed Elsie said she didn’t like poopy diapers. Jack then reassured her that, “There won’t be any poopy diapers in heaven.”
This week Betty has been sporting a tiny Pebble-ish pony tail on top of her head. The loud squawking sounds she belts out speak volumes, as do her brown eyes.
It’s hard to resist such cuteness. She stood by the coffee table, and waited for someone to shell out the chocolate cupcakes. She is an unashamed lover of chocolate.
One of Elsie’s presents was a specially made-by-Jack cardboard robot named “Elsie-bot”. She was proud to hold it up in front of herself and be a robot. I love their creative ideas.
I’m so thankful for my Elsie Belsie Rosie Tootsy Pooky Cutie Pie. (Those are lyrics from a sweet song her Aunt Heidi wrote about her.) In fact, I think I will close with that song. It sums her up so perfectly.
Curly hair, button nose, big brown eyes and pretty painted toes.
Oh, how I love my Elsie Rose.
Here she comes, there she goes, with fairy friends and pixie dust that glows
Oh, how I love my Elsie Rose.
In polka dots and pretty bows,
Busy Town is where she likes to go.
Elsie Belsie Rosie Tootsy Pooky Cutie Pie. She’s my Elsie Rose! I love you so!
A Beautiful Birthday
Today was my birthday, and it was truly a special day. All week, the moment I sink into the driver’s seat before going somewhere, the kids have broken out into a hearty rendition of “Happy Birthday”. I’ve felt the excitement growing. I love birthdays. Then this morning it arrived! I woke up and was served a delicious waffle and hot tea by my husband. He took the entire day off work just so I could have some time alone. He shooed me out of the house and I perused thrift stores and had lunch at my favorite cafe with a good book to keep me company. I perused more thrift stores and didn’t feel the rush of people needing me. The press to answer questions and solve problems was lifted for a few glorious hours. Notes, messages, a few cards and lots of love was poured out today. Matthew took the kids out on a mystery trip and came home with something I’ve always wanted but would never buy for myself: a glass tea-pot and flowering tea. Nadine mopped the floors for me. Then, I invited some girl friends over for some much-needed hang-out time. When my sister arrived, she said she brought one more thing with her. Thinking she forgot something in the car, I just about fainted when my other New York State-dwelling sister popped out from around the corner! What a delight to see her face and laugh our guts out all together. I’m so bummed I never asked my fabulous photographer friend to take a picture of us sisters together. But, here is a snapshot of my day in part:
Chocolate,flowers, tea, sisters, friends, messages, more tea, surprise packages, drawings, and many renditions of “Happy Birthday” have made today so incredibly delicious.
Alternators and Roses
Everyday joys in my life include sunny days in February and water-gun fights. Water-gun fights that lead to washing the van with buckets of water. My oldest daughter wearing my rain boots and they fit.
Little helpers and sweet by-standers.
Big brother who knows just how to make little sister smile.
This week, it was time for Betty to try her sweet self out in the cozy coupe car. Even though her little feet didn’t quite reach the pedals, I mean, ground, she still had a blast. Elsie is a good play mate and loved pushing her up and down the sidewalk.
I am reminded, however, that we all have a breaking point. A time when life gets crazy and our hair stands on end and we just want to say, “Aaaaaah!”
I’ve had some of those hair-standing-on-end kind of days this week. Matt’s truck broke down again and after a state trooper pushed it from the Schuylkill Expressway (Sure Kill Distressway, for those of you locals) to the King of Prussia Mall, he was rescued by my brother-in-law. The next day we spent a couple hours in the parking lot with the wind blowing furiously at us. He successfully changed the alternator and now it’s purring, or at least working again. I can still hear him coming home from about a block away, but it’s a comforting sound. Sometimes hard days produce lovely endings, like when Matthew comes home from work with a handful of these beauties.
There are many many busy hours in my day. I love sitting down in the evening with my herbal tea and flipping through pictures in my head or on the computer. It’s quiet. The noise is somehow frozen into silence in those pictures, but I can still hear their voices and squeals and chatter. Last night we baked two cakes. The boys decorated one and the girls decorated the other. We enjoyed the special treat and made a mess. Jack’s mouth turned blue and my fingers are somehow pink. It was so much fun!
Life is beautiful, especially when it involves a snazzy blue cake and pink deco cupcakes loaded with red-hots. My life is full of ordinary days sprinkled with extraordinary joys.
Grow Old With Me 