I bought this water at the local convenient store, I went in to buy water and bought this one because I liked the shape of the bottle and the name.  Steve has been teasing me about it--that I would buy water based on the aesthetic pleasure it brought me, and the funky name, but I am not the only one!  There is a "Fred fan club" I googled it, people take pictures of their Fred water out in the world, like Fred on a beach towel, Fred riding the F train in Manhattan, Fred at a baseball game...  No I am not joining the Fred Fan club but I am enjoying my purchase even with all the teasing.

Behind Fred is the very best cups I have found for the kids, they do not feel like toddler sippy cups because they use a straw, and they're big (16oz).  The straw does not get all nasty like other spill proof cups because I replace it often.  It was so so worth the money.   I put a link below because it is hard to find them on the site.  So there you have it,  my little plug for Tupperware.

Tupperware cups

Steve took Chloe out on a Daddy/Daughter date. He came home and said that it was JUST like that car commercial where the little girl is in the back seat talking and he shuts the door, walks around and when he opens it she had never stopped talking.  Anyway, he took her on a date with one goal: to let her talk his ear off, she did, and they both came home happy.

She has been carrying her little phone around with her, holding it with her cheek against her shoulder while changing her dolls and cleaning her room, and so on.   Most of it is just her giving a play by play of what is going on right in front of her, but she says it all in a very important voice.

Later in the day when I was doing the dishes I walked past the hutch and did a double take.  My phone had been moved to the kitchen table and in its place, on the base was her little phone, "charging".

Would you like to hear my sad depressing thoughts on this subject?

When is the last time she will talk into a plastic pretend phone?  When did Jeff stop sitting on my lap? There was no warning, no "Pay attention Joanna, times are changing, he is entering into a new phase" alarm that went off, it was just one day, I realized "Jeff has gotten so big he doesn't sit on my lap anymore".  Or Eti, when he gets hurt I ask him if he wants me to kiss it and he hesitates and then says "Nah, I'm alright", when did that happen?!, it used to be that a kiss was the ONLY thing that would help!  Chloe still puts her hand on my leg when she is sitting near me, or on my shoulder, if I am showing her how to crack an egg, she would be standing in chair next to me and her hand would be on my shoulder.  The boys don't do that anymore.  All three of them have stopped hugging my leg.  They are slowly pulling away and ever so slowly growing up, it is subtle and mean, so mean and wonderful to see them advance at the same time.  Chloe's drawings have legs now and arms, it used to be only big circles with lines, more like a pac man.

A Faithful Mother's Reward

I read and journaled out on the front porch with Chloe, she had her little stack of books and I had mine and we sat there enjoying the morning.  I have a little antique book (1853), something I found in my Father's collection of books years ago.   It is so so so so so good, I go to bed every night sad because I feel like a loser mom in light of this mother who wrote this book but am inspired at the same time.  The author is unknown, the entire book was written as a letter to a cousin.  The author is describing her son who died when he was ten years old.  She writes relating her relationship with her son and hints at how she raised him, it is so much what I always imagined I would be like as a mom, but then in real life when I had my own kids...my own self followed me, not the "idea" of who I would be, but the old familiar me with all my flaws.  I am reading it and will re read it most likely as soon as I am through because I want to remind myself, there is still time, they may not be hugging at my legs anymore but they are still under my care, and I can still look to Christ to love them and train them and do better.

"I had early endeavored to impress on his pliant mind the belief that a far more excellent Being than his mother gave him his comforts and his pleasures." (pg 31)

"I early adopted the plan of imparting many of my lessons in the guise of simple tales or stories. To these he would listen with the most rapt attention, and as I always contrived them to illustrate some important truth, or inculcate some correct principle or feeling, their influence in his mind and heart was great." (pg 50)

"I usually accompanied my happy boys in an early walk, and when I had gone as far as my strength would permit, allowed them to take a wider range, watching with delighted eyes, as long as I could see him, my little cherry-cheeked darling...the very picture of innocence, health and hilarity.  When They had rambled far enough, they returned to seek me, and having told their adventures, and been gratified by my interest in them, seated themselves beside me, to hear the portion of scripture I had in their absence selected for the morning, and to join me in a short prayer." (pg 115)

I resisted the urge to stick my head out the van window and sniff the air like a dog, or like one of those women in a fabreeze commercial, but really isn't it one of the very best smells one earth?

People have been telling me that some things at Wegmans are much cheaper so Steve and I did our grocery shopping there this last time.  For me it is more fun than clothes shopping, there are so many foods that you cannot find anywhere else, your mind just gets all caffeinated with ideas for meals.  I found this Jasmine tea which is green tea with real jasmine in it and tasted like Summer, I sipped it ever so slowly like it cost a thousand dollars and ignored Steve as he made gagging sounds next to me and telling me how awful he thought it was.

As I was making this soup I was thinking that the kids would not go for it, there were so many new tastes and foods, but we all loved it.  It was very authentic and fresh, I made a note to myself to double the recipe next time because everyone would have liked more.  Eti ate his with chop sticks. 

Vietnamese Beef-noodle soup (Cooking Light)

8 cups water

2 cans beef broth

2 cinnamon sticks

1 piece peeled fresh ginger

4 ounces rice noodles

1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak cut

2 1/2 T shallots minced

2 T rice vinegar

1 T peeled fresh ginger

2 cups fresh bean sprouts

1 cup fresh Basil

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup minced green onions

3 T fish sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 lemon for juice

1) Combine first five ingredients, bring to a boil, simmer 30 min. Strain, discard solids. Return broth to the pan.

2) Place Rice noodles in a large bowl, cover with cold water. Let stand 15 mins. drain

3) Combine beef, shallots, vinegar, and ginger in a large ziploc bag, seal and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

4) Saute in pan about five minutes, stir in bean sprouts and next six ingredients.  Add to broth.

5) Place noodles in each bowl, top with broth mixture, garnish with lemon.

I must have been upstairs folding laundry or something and called down to Steve asking him to get the oven pre-heated 350 degrees. I had made Beef Stew and wanted biscuits to go along with it.  When I got down, this is what I found.  He humors himself and tells me that if he ever dies these are the things that I would miss.

It is so quirky because it is a state park but it's called The Pothole (classy).  It is a glacial hole, 38 feet deep that was discovered by miners in 1884. We took the kids out to go hiking here and to take a peer down into the hole.  We were all impressed to find snow at the bottom that had not melted yet, in the photo you can see the shadow of me and one of the kids waving at you.

At the end of the day, Steve said it was "as near a perfect day as you can get"

There is over 150 acres at the park and many different paths to choose from all branching off from one another. We gave each child a turn to be the leader and decide which way to go.  I wish there was aerial footage of us zig-zagging through the woods.  Each child matched his personality.  Jeff calculated where the van was and headed in the direction that would bring us around in the most logical way.   Chloe relished the power of all four of us behind her waiting for her decision, "Ummm I want to go here, now I want to go here" none of it made much sense and seemed more to do with the joy of making her own choices.  Her cheeks were all red and flushed it was 85 degrees and felt like the 95.

Eti left the path altogether taking us wherever his curiosity led, we ended up in a thicket with prickers and no sign of a path anywhere, Jeff the logical one found it and got us back on track, and even when we were finished taking turns Eti never got back on the path but climbed down the mountain side his own way. 

I enjoyed the path, I could see so far with no leaves obstructing my view, some breeze had picked up and it felt so good on my face.   Eti was off in the distance climbing on rocks and Chloe was behind holding Steve's hand, Jeff came alongside of me and said softly

"Do you feel that breeze?  I prayed and asked Jesus to please send some wind for little Chloe she looked so hot and I wanted her to cool down." 

His heart is so tender.

After the hike we took the kids out for ice cream

I made iced tea and stromboli

They played in the sprinkler and water slide

Steve and the boys played baseball

They listened to The Velveteen Rabbit laying the dark in their beds, just before falling asleep.

I agree, it was a good day, slow, and full of life