Teeth

Deedo is cutting teeth in a big way. His two little front teethies have been pushing on his gums for about a month and since his gums look like they're going to explode, I am sure he will be sporting some front teeth by the end of this week.

And since the fussiness was about to make my head explode, we had to do something.

That something is this teether. I saw one like it at a baby shower last weekend and thought it looked amazing and weird. (And that's always what I go for in a teether?!)


He loves it. He can hold it all by himself (score 1), it actually fits in his mouth (score 2), and did I mention that it looks cool too (score 3)?

Give-away!

So, if you are one of those who will JUMP at the chance to get something for free (I most certainly am) check out Please Pass The Salt to (maybe) win a $20 gift card. Yay!

Speaking of rednecks...

So SPRING is finally here. Hopefully to stay. Yesterday we spent the morning at the park and it was glorious. Sharks walked all the way there and back, pretty much without incident. (One being that he had to go potty so I just took him behind a tree and pulled down his pants and let him take care of business. Not sure if that's ok to do, but no one was around, and if no one saw, well, who's to know that I'm a closet redneck...And the other incident being that he did get tired and just plopped down on the sidewalk, but since we were almost home I pointed out our house and he rallied his little legs and trotted home.)

I am amazed at how sponge-like his little brain is. I guess that's why it's important to fill it with Scripture, hymns, etc. right now while it's easy for him. Like on our walk, we saw some daffodils which Sharks pointed out and said, "Sythia." It took me a minute, but I realized he was calling it 'forsythia' which I had showed him the day before. I had told him it forsythia was a yellow flower...so he took that to mean all yellow flowers. Cute cute.

So on that note, I am looking for good music for Sharks and Deedo to listen to. Right now we only have one decent kids' cd, and I really want to fill their heads with age-appropriate stuff, not, um, pop music. Not that Sharks happens to know any of that. Right. Anyway, Sharks loves to sing so I think some good Scripture cds would be great...I just don't know of any that won't drive me crazy (not cause of Scripture, cause they're cheesy). Any ideas?

(For some reason, the Blogger won't split this into the paragraphs I typed. It just combines them all into one big one. I can see the paragraphs when I type, but when I look at the preview and when I post, it's all together. I have no clue how to fix that.)

The Amazing Spiderman, aka The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Did I mention that he's potty-trained? As of last week. Phew. I'm just saying, one kid in diapers is more than enough.

Also, he is a sweet kid, but boy does he hate having his picture taken. Seriously, he was happy in real life when I took that one.

Sunny Day

So I was just mentioning to a friend that I thought Anderson Cooper was attractive, er, um, intelligent. And that very day, lo and behold, there he was on Sesame Street. Love that show. I mean, today LL Cool J was on there and Oscar the Grouch called him 'Mr. Mama Said Knock You Out.' Come on. All that while you are learning your letters.

Chet didn't marry me for my housekeeping skills

I am kind of ADD. Anything that takes more than two steps to complete, forget it.

We have worked out some simple systems for stuff like the dishes (I wash, Chet puts them away), our closets (we each have our own), and the kids toys (baskets to separate Sharks' and Deedo's toys).

Pretty much every household task can be broken down into steps. Here are some of the ones I've figured out:

Vacuuming - 1 step (vacuum! love to do this!)
Mopping the floor - 2 steps (sweep first, then mop)
Dishes - 3 steps (clear table, wash dishes, put away dishes)

And the bain of my existence:
Laundry - 7 steps (take laundry downstairs, separate colors, wash, dry, take clean laundry upstairs, fold, put away)

My main problem is that there are so many opportunities to forget or get distracted during the laundry process. I always forget to switch it over (many times I have to wash my clothes twice because they sit in the washer for a few days before I remember to switch it over). Or I forget the soap (really). Or I forget to fold it. Or on my way to the basement with the laundry basket I pass through the kitchen and see the dishes spilling out of my sink. So I run the laundry basket downstairs and then run right back up to do the dishes. Oops, forgot the laundry. Again.

Anyway, I have finally come up with a method that works (most of the time). I put the laundry in the washing machine, set the kitchen timer, and go about my business until the timer rings. Then I switch over the laundry to the dryer and start the process all over again.

For now that is about the extent of my skills. But I do LOVE this post and I am totally making those cute little bins for our laundry once I get better at actually doing it.

Eat it. Please do.

One of the perks of being a stay-at-home mom has to be that I can make whatever I want for lunch each day. Today I was feeling the need for...crepes. With Nutella of course. (Not that I share the Nutella with Harkins. He gets crepes with peanut butter.)

Easy to make, even easier to eat ;) So here you go, from the Joy of Cooking.


Crepes


Combine and whisk until smooth:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt


Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.


Place a nonstick frying pan over medium heat and coat with a little butter (don't really need butter if you've got a nonstick pan.) I use my smaller frying pan.



Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan, lifting the pan off the heat and tilting and rotating it so that the batter forms an even, very thin layer.





Cook until the top is set and the underside is golden.


Turn the crepe over, using a spatula or your fingers (I use both) and cook until the second side is lightly browned.



Remove the crepe and stack on a plate. Eat a lot of them, one after another. (Don't forget the Nutella. Or lemon juice and sugar.) Then take a nap. (I did.)

Review of "Wise Blood" by Flannery O'Connor

Though I have read a few of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, the only one of her novels I have read is Wise Blood. Here are a few of my thoughts on some major themes.

O’Connor often uses the grotesque as a metaphor for human sin and depravity. In Wise Blood she presents the reader with numerous grotesque people and occurences–if you have a weak stomach, you may want to pass on this one. There were a couple times I was thinking, what the heck?! and of course I immediately read those parts to Chet, because who doesn’t like to share something yucky? (You know you’ve done it, like “Ewww, this smells really disgusting. Here, smell it.” You know what I’m talking about.)

I am reading another book right now called The Life You Save May Be Your Own which is about four authors and their intersecting lives, one of whom is Flannery O’Connor. The author of that book, Paul Elie, notes that O’Connor spent her life feeling different from other people, an oddity, a freak, you might say (maybe growing up Catholic in the South was enough to do that.) Anyway, perhaps that is why so many of her characters seem to be lifted out of a freak show themselves.

Another main theme in Wise Blood is the search for truth amidst the reality of hypocrisy. Hazel Motes, the main character, is on a quest to rid himself of his religious past (both his father and grandfather were preachers). Rather than seeing the salvation of Christ as a gift, Hazel acts as though God were out to get him.

Hence fleeing the grasp of Christ’s salvation becomes his ambition; in a sense, he sees this escape as his salvation. He determines that he has no soul, therefore he needs no Christ to save him; thus in a turn of irony, Hazel begins to preach the 'Church Without Christ.'

Despite Hazel’s blatant rejection of Christ, he cannot completely remove himself from Christianity. The end of the novel finds him desperately attempting to create salvation for himself through self-flagellation (wearing barbed wire under his shirt and rocks in his shoes).

Overall, I am not sure what to make of this novel. I feel as though I have a basic understanding of the themes I mentioned, but I would like to get a little more of a grasp on O'Connor's presentation of redemption.

Wise Blood was a pretty quick read, definitely interesting, and I plan to read it again once I finish The Life You Save May Be Your Own in the hope that I will gain more insight the second time around.

If you have read Wise Blood, I would love to hear your thoughts.

(If you want to read more...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_Blood)

Who needs a double stroller?

See?

Right hand: car. Left hand: mouth.

In his own words, "Too tight, Mommy."

The Deeds

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my second child. We love this little guy! He is a joyful baby, very energetic, and he handles Sharks 'love' with aplomb.

Around here we call him 'Reach-Master-C' because he tries to grab EVERYTHING in sight. He even pulled a glass plate off the kitchen counter as I walked by holding him. (Needless to say, that plate is no more. Sad day.)


And I think he kinda looks like me! What do you think?

This is...Jeopardy?

So I have just realized that most of my posts are about Sharks. Well, hey, he's a funny kid, what can I say. And that's just where we are in life right now. On that note, here's another...

Yesterday we went to the WIC office to get recertified. The lady there asked us a bunch of questions like how much milk Sharks drinks each day (2 cups), how much he weighed at birth (8 lbs 10oz), and how much TV he watches each day.

For that last one, I stuttered out an answer about how we don't really have a TV, well we have one but it's the black & white TV my dad gave my mom when they were freshmen in college so it's not that fun to watch...and sometimes we watch Jeopardy. All the while thinking, why the heck didn't I just tell her that Sharks watches no TV since he just plays when it's on anyway. (Ok, so to be honest, I do watch Jeopardy every day. Tournament of Champions on all next week. Would LOVE to be on that show).

And I know the WIC lady was thinking, who doesn't have a real TV, what do you do in your spare time (she actually asked me that one), and the only show your kid watches is Jeopardy?

Two minutes later we hear this humming coming from the corner and I kid you not, Sharks is busting out the Jeopardy theme song. He would have made Alex Trebek proud. The lady stopped typing and looked over at me like, "Are you freaking kidding me?" (But she did ask him to sing it again for her before we left).

The one in which my 2-year-old questions my domestic skills

I was in the bathroom fixing my hair when Sharks walks in, looks at the floor, and pronounces, "Dir-ty," before proceeding to point out exactly where said dirt was.

Awesome.

In my defense the tile is ancient and looks worse than it really is.

Yes, Linds, YOU are on the blog

One of my best friends from college came to visit this weekend. It was so refreshing to see a friend that I have known for almost 7 years (!) All the preliminaries out of the way, we were able to enjoy just being together. I felt young and free again (that is to say, not covered in spit up or drool) so we met up with another college friend for drinks (that is to say, water...we are on a budget, people) and dinner and we partied til the wee hours of the morning (that is to say, 10pm). But we did come home and watch movies and stayed up late talking just like back in the day.

In addition to all the sentimental girly fun, we were especially glad to see her because it was Sharks' birthday (can you believe I have a 2 year old?!) and they have a special connection, mostly due to Lindsey's not-exactly-subliminal messages. Ever since his birth, Linds has been trying to teach Sharks that she is Aunt Favorite. She tempts him with gifts, with hugs, with stories, and promises of beer when he grows up. And during this visit, Lindsey accomplished her mission - Harkins now calls her "Fave-wit." Close enough.

We love you, Linds! Come visit again soon!

Read It and Wait

I love love love to read. I'm kinda obsessed. In a typical week I read at least 2 - sometimes 3 - books (if they're modern fiction) and maybe 1 book if it's a classic (those take me a little longer). I am trying to read through a list of 100 classics but I seem to keep getting sidetracked by all the books in the library. And by bookclub. And by recommendations from friends. (Did I mention that I really like reading?) The only problem is that I forget a lot of what I read and that is lame lame lame. Plus I compare myself to Chet who seems to remember every word he has ever read (so maybe that's why law school is kinda his 'thing'). Anyway, in an attempt to help myself remember, I am going to try to write and post a book review each week. I am still working out exactly how to write a book review (you'd think I'd know that already. ahem. English major here. ) So get ready. Book review coming soon.

And if you have any suggestions...how to write a review, books you've enjoyed, books you want me to read first and review to determine whether you should read it...send 'em my way.

P.S. When I say I love to read, I mean I love to read fiction and the occasional memoir. Nonfiction...not so much. So if you recommend a nonfiction book, I'll probably say that it sounds interesting, and ask you to write a review to determine whether I should read it. But recommend fiction and I'll go check it out. Really, I will.

Maybe Chet can take him as Show & Tell

For class tomorrow, Chet has to answer "no" to the following hypothetical: Should parents be held liable for the crimes of their minor children?

As we discussed this I said, "Well, we aren't trying to raise robot children."

Which is when Sharks piped up, "Ro-bot."

Did I mention that the car was just in the shop YESTERDAY?

I think we are a tough family to help.

Our car broke down on the way home from small group tonight. We thought the car stopped because it ran out of gas (that would make it my fault). Strike 1. I didn't have my cell phone which has all the important numbers in it, so Chet hightailed it back to our friend's house for help.

That left me stuck in the car with two seriously overtired chillens. Sharks did pretty well, all things considered, and I think he understood what was going on because he kept repeating, "Car broken. Pops help. Battery." ("Broken, battery" is typically his phrase for anything that isn't up to his standard. Bruise on his belly - "Broken, battery." Big splinter of wood peeling off the door - "Broken, battery." Any toy that doesn't make noise when Sharks thinks it should - "Broken, battery.") Deedo just cried.

After maybe 20 minutes, Chet made it back with our very kind friend (let's call him Mr. M). We loaded up the kid's in Mr. M's van and headed home. Of course, when we got there we realized that we had left the house key in our broken down car. And our neighbor who has our spare key was out for the evening. Back to the van. We made it to our car and then we couldn't find the key. After much scrambling and searching, we located it on my side of the car. Oops. (I had told Chet I was sure he had it.) Strike 2.

Back to our house. We actually made it inside this time. Chet and Mr. M and a gas can headed to the gas station, where Chet realized he didn't have his wallet...after pumping the gas. Strike 3. Poor Mr. M just can't get no satisfaction out of helping us.

Back to the car, where the guys realized that it wasn't that we ran out of gas, it was the battery.

And that is when I realized that Sharks might be a genius.