O Likes COTC

Good thing she's got some choppers.

Heh-cut Mommy

As we sat on the deck, shucking corn for tonight:

Mama: Should we cut your hair in a bit, Zach?
Zach: Yeah! You cahn be Heh-cut Mommy!

We'll see if that really happens. Some of these things sound like a good idea until they start buzzing.

Hello, Butterfly

With a sprained ankle in an ice bath, you can pass the time using your zoom butterfly watching.

Later that Night

Well, my Friday night double-header was cut short in about the third inning of the first game when I slid into third base and felt a good pop in my ankle. I tried to get up, but couldn't put weight on my leg.

Our team officially called it a rough night when, shortly thereafter, another player re-pulled his hamstring. He and I shared company on the bench with our leaky icepacks.

It became apparent that I was not going to be playing the rest of the night, so I called Scott to see if he could come get me. Given that he was watching the kids at home, it took a bit of doing (thanks, Janell!!) to get them situated before he could come down to Littleton to get me. (Side note: Little Zach chose this night to stay up, asking questions about the map in his room and to just generally chat until about 11pm! Again, THANK YOU, Janell.)

So Scott got down to the field, literally (not the best idea) picked me up, and drove us to the closest ER for an x-ray. I was x-rayed and evaluated fairly quickly, told that the ankle wasn't broken, fitted for crutches, and then made to wait for the administrator to "check me in" before we could go. Gotta love the ER.

After a stop at the gas station for some cereal - patient's wish - we got home a little after midnight. Thank you, Janell, for spending your Friday night on our couch.

We were told that the first few days are critical in the recovery process. Elevate and ice, and stay off it. Scott, who's had an injury or two, made himself the not-so-nice-but-very-effective home-care nurse. I was ice-packed and elevated in bed, and made to rest on the couch for the next couple of days. Boy, those ice baths for the foot are not - I repeat, not - comfortable at all.

The swelling did go down some, and the pain did go up, though it was never completely unbearable. At least as long as I didn't put weight on it. The several times I did catch it on something, I didn't quite catch the four-letter-words that escaped. I wish I could remember the "explanation" I gave Zach for one of them...

Wouldn't you know that timing was such that Scott had 4 day work trip, starting the Tuesday after my injury. That was an interesting period. Me hobbling around after two little energizer bunnies, determined not to be completely inadequate. And being SO grateful that both bunnies could walk. I do not know what I would have done otherwise. I did lose a few pounds during that time. It takes quite a bit of energy to keep up with bunnies and to use crutches going up the stairs and bummin-in down the stairs and to get so sore from the crutches that I reverted to hopping around instead. Whew! And, boy, it's hot out when it's summer in CO and you're hopping all over the place. The funniest (sad kind of funny) scene was probably when I was hopping up the hill of the Target parking lot, using the cart as my crutch, my crutches hanging out the front, with Olivia sitting in the cart, and Zach hanging onto the front. Quads burning, sweat dripping fun.

*I'm writing this post 3 months later, and just in the last couple of weeks have I finally been able to walk, and almost run, normally. Finally.*

A Coupla Extras

My friend (and Jewelry Designer) Carey had a few they-be-so-much-quicker-without-kids errands to run before their trip to MN, so she dropped off Lucy, age 4, and Quinn, age 6 to hang with us for a bit.

I wasn't sure what we might need to do to keep all age groups occupied, so (like the anal nerd I am) I planned out some activities and had them written down:

- bus ride (yeah, believe it or not, I didn't take this one on.)
- scavenger hunt
- painting
- build-your-own ice cubes
- lunch
- making lollipops
- and maybe a few more items I can't remember.

We did accomplish quite a few of the above and a few others. It was fun to have the extras in da house! Poor Olivia napped throught the photo session, I guess. She was there, and she did munch down some chicken nuggets.

Checking out the spider ("check" next to that item on the scavenger hunt list)

Zach, Quinn, Lucy spider-watching
Artistes! (check out Lucy's chic shades and smock)
The innovative painter assembled his own work area
"Voila!"
Zach's Brad-Pitt-realizes-his-ex-stole-his-phone-in-Ocean's-Eleven face
The Thinker
Fixing an owie with the Nemo cold pack
The last Big Project: the fort!

Natural Cleaners and Wipes

I saw this post on another blog, and I plan to try making some home-mixed cleaners too.

Does it seem that I might clean more, too? :)

I DID once buy a super-cute broom that was to inspire me to sweep more. Actually, I do enjoy sweeping more using it. It's got pink, leopard print! I thought better of gifting similar brooms. Even though I'd never have meant it to imply someone else should sweep more, I can see where that impression might be drawn.

So...here are the recipes. Thanks, Dana, for letting me reproduce them here!

Glass Cleaner
2 parts vinegar to 1 part distilled water.

Sometimes I add some antiseptic essential oil such as lemon, lavender or tea tree. Oh, three or four drops.

Store in reusable, spray bottle.

All Purpose Cleaner
2 teaspoons Borax
20 oz of distilled water
10 oz vinegar
2 drops of your favorite dish soap
A few drops of essential oils if you wish
Store in reusable, spray bottle

Scrubby Stuff
A box of Borax
A box of baking soda
A few drops of essential oil -- here my favorite is lemon and rosemary
Store in ziplock bag (or plastic, lidded container) with scoop

Do you do homemade cleaners? What are your recipes? My Radical book club friends also passed along a great recipe for homemade baby wipes:

Baby Wipes
1 roll of paper towels (I usually use Kirkland or Target brand, which are nice because they're the choose-your-size version, but it's probably "greener" to go with the 7th Generation brand, or similar)
2 cups boiling water
1.5 Tablespoon baby oil (I use Burt's Bees apricot baby oil, but I've heard grapeseed oil is great as well)
1 Tablespoon baby shampoo
2-3 drops tea tree oil (it has anti-fungal and antiseptic properties, awesome stuff)

* Using a non-serrated kitchen knife, cut a roll of paper towels in half, so you end up with two "short" rolls.
* Place one half of the paper towels in an airtight (cylindrical, if possible) container. Save the other half for your next batch of wipes.
* In a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, boil the water.
* Add the oils and shampoo and stir.
* Pour the mixture over the paper towels. Let the liquid seep through the roll. After about a minute, pull out the cardboard center of the roll, and the center-most sheet of paper towel, which may have glue from the cardboard. Careful, these may be hot, but it's much easier to get them out right away.
* Cover the container, and when you're ready, pull the towels from the center.

These wipes are great because you know exactly what's going on the kiddos' bums (and faces or fingers).
To make them ToGo, pull out several, and fold them into a reusable wipe containers.
One final tip, from Sarah the natural guru: place this formula in a ziplock baggie, and tape it to the bottom of the wipes container, so you're all set next time you need 'em but can't recall the ingredients. Or maybe you've got a better memory than we do - congrats!

Finally, I didn't invest in a cylindrical container like the one pictured. I just make do with the rectangular box that Huggies wipes come in. I place the roll of towels in vertically, in order to let the "potion" seep into the paper, but once it's all saturated, I lay the towels horizontally, and pull from one end. Some brands of paper towels are thicker, and harder to fit in the Huggies box, but we manage!

*Oh, just one more thought: When our kiddoes were infants, we didn’t use paper wipes at all; we just used warm water on 4” square pieces of old t-shirts, which could just be thrown in the wash and reused (kind of a la cloth diapers). I wonder if putting those scraps into a container and pouring the wipes potion over the top would provide an even “greener” option for wipes. I haven’t tried that, but have thought about it. Just putting it out there!

Bus Ride!

When the car had to be in the shop last week, I didn't relish the idea of being stuck in the house all day. But, living in the burbs, with a tire missing on our Chariot (as if I could really pull the two of them!), we aren't within walking distance of too many attractions.

The Bus!!

Zach would probably be content to just ride the bus around, without even getting off. But we decided to actually accomplish something, and mapped our route to the library. I wish I could say we used the bus more often, but I've been intimidated. So, this was our first trip. We loved it!

This is where we boarded, so close to our house. Of course, this is a staged picture. When we took off, we were running up the hill to the stop, in time to get there just before the bus arrived. Phew!

Can you see how excited the kids are?! For all the talk of getting to ride the bus, finally being on board with all the shaking and noise was a little scary. But I'm guessing next time it will be nothing but wiggles and giggles.

"It's coming! Der it is!"

Now that we've got the process down, our plan is to make an afternoon of it: We'll pack some lunch, ride up to the library, walk over to Whole Foods for a free cookie and something yummy for the adults, bus to the park to play and eat, then roll on home. If you're in the 'hood, please join us!

Da weeows on da bus go roun an roun, roun an roun...

The Moral of the Story?

The moral of the story is...
Don't sleep in, unless you're prepared to deal with the consequences.

Eek, so, yes, I overslept on Monday morning, after a wakeful night. When I woke, I jumped up because I heard some noise in the kitchen.

Here's what I found:

1) One little Poppet, still sporting his pj's, complete with a half-sucked throat losenge stuck under his armpit.
2) The refrigerator door, wide open (for how long, I wonder?).

3) Aforementioned Poppet crouched under the table with a sopping wet napkin, "Ine cleaning up da mess, Mama."
4) Above the Poppet, the source of da mess:

* Not one, but two gallons of milk, pretty much empty.

* A 1.75 quart pyrex bowl (because they're low enough on the pantry shelf) filled to the brim with a half a cup of Cheerios and most of the rest of the milk that didn't overflow onto the table and floor.

* The box of Cheerios, in case more were needed.

* One of Daddy's bike bottles filled three-quarters full of, yes, more milk.

* Several other kid cup options, that probably weren't cool enough for a breakfast made made by the "aww-by-mysewf" Poppet.

* Various other random things that maybe we can chalk up to the toddler too?

5) Close up of the spread.
6) In other morning activities (seriously, this all occured in less than 20 minutes. Why can't I be that productive?), Little Poppet had retrieved the craft scissors (note to self: store these higher up) and some paper to do some cutting.

We all need to go through this at least once, right? At least it wasn't pancake batter and a hot stove???

And we wonder...

...why meals take so long. There's a lot of other stuff that goes on, at least at our house, during mealtimes.

Oh. Is that not how we're supposed to run the breakfast show? Hmm...help, please!

Wet Duet

Grandma Marty and Zach had been doing a fab duet series, but this one got a little off track...

Radio Flyer Kids

The kiddoes got to enjoy a little time with Grandma Marty and Grandpa Tom last week. Zach just got a scooter from Auntie Steph and family, and he had to show off his mad skillz.

Not to be outdone, Olivia ran the Retro Rocket down the sidewalk.

Participation, Pretty Please!

Hey, Faithful Readers -

Many of you are all over the country and around the world. Stateside, the headlines have been wrought with crazy weather reports. I hope you're all safe and as comfortable as can be.

What's the weather like where you are? You should be able to leave an "anonymous" comment if you don't feel like signing up for a Google account. Please?

Lakewood Report: Today was sunny with patchy clouds and lots of wind, which seems to be the staple of our spring here. The tallest blooms in my flower baskets are leaning to the east from all the blustering. Our high was 71 degrees, and we're expecting to get down into the high 30's for tonight's low. Thankfully, we're not in any extreme weather situations here.

Deep Thoughts by Zach

Zach: Why’s it called poop?

Mama: I don’t know. (Thinking: "This REALLY isn't my territory. Where's Daddy, when I need him?)

Zach: It* goes into your mouth. Den into your tummy. And den it comes out poop.

Zach: An afterthought: Den it gets to be poop in da tummy factory.

*I'm pretty sure the "it" refers to food, here. :)

GOTC 6/10/08 still $3.89

In other HIGH news, today's high was 93 degrees!

It would have been a great beach day, had we a bit of shade and a cool drink to sip. As it was, we kept the shades drawn and stayed out of the heat. Olivia has an open wound on her toe, so we couldn't go cool off in "the drink." Soon, my friends, soon.

"AC? What's that?"

Olivia was quite fascinated with the cold air flowing out of the air duct!
Tap, tap, tap, giggle. Walk away. Walk back. Tap, tap, tap...etc.