Yep, That's a Potty Seat...

on our freezer.

Now a normal person would, of course, ask, "Why is there a potty seat on your upright freezer?"

Because yes, that's odd.

Now maybe we are just super fruity artsy types and this is our idea of creating modern art on a shoestring.

But we're engineers, so that's out.

Maybe Sarah really wanted to use the potty and have a VIEW, so we plopped it, and her, up on the freezer.

But no, I'm a manic safety person and that would be unsafe...so that's out.

Maybe we're donating it and this is a good storage place.

But who would want a used potty seat (blech!) and we have another little man who will need potty training, so that's out too.

But the last is at least a close guess...it is a temporary storage place.

Because dear Sarah continues to entertain and exasperate during her potty training journey. She continues to do very well with the actual "using the potty" part.  We decided last week to store away the little potty because she can just put her little seat on the big potty, and that is less messy.

So I took the potty downstairs and stored it away.

And a few days ago, I heard slow climbing up the stairs, and then Sarah staggered into the room with the potty seat in her arms and exclaimed, "Mommy, I found my potty!" 

Thank you, sweetheart!

So I plopped it up on the freezer because she can't get to it.  And now I need to find a place in the basement where I can store the potty AND hide it from Sarah. I haven't gotten around it that yet.

Life is never dull around here.

Traveling is Hard (for Me)

One of my favorite movies is "Red".  Not a movie for kids, and I admit I like it with somewhat guilty pleasure. There is some language, not much in the way of unhealthy romance, and a lot of (rather funny) violence.

Anyhoo, there is one scene at the beginning of the movie when the female lead says, with a deep sigh, "I just want to travel. I'm thinking about Chili."

So that's normal, right?  Most people like to travel.  Most people like to go to exciting places and see new things.  That's natural. 

 So I like new places and people and things, BUT I have to admit that travel is VERY hard for me.

  I thought it would be helpful to share what I'm like, because maybe one of my readers has an odd kid like me...

 So I think it comes down, mostly, to control.  I like to plan ahead, I like to know where everything is, I like to know what is going to happen, I want to know where the bathroom is!

I also loathe packing.  I like to get things done well in advance, but some packing needs to wait 'til just before we leave.  So in my spirit I'm constantly wondering if I'm going to forget something vitally important :-).

  Travel is also inherently full of uncertainties.  And no place to lay my head is quite like my house.  Now sometimes that is a fine thing.  A little change is good. But when I'm somewhere away from home, I'm in a mild state of stress the whole time because my stuff is in the wrong place.  I'm constantly finding that some key item is in the WRONG place :-).

  So when I visited my parents this weekend we had a great fun, but I was also stressed off and on.  Because I needed my baby's diaper, and it was in the wrong room, or my big girls' needed something and it was in the room where the baby was sleeping. 

  I doubt most people can really relate to how I feel, because normal people seem to love traveling.  My parents and my brothers are globe trotters.  My parents went off to work for the Peace Corps back in the late 1960's and my dad's memoirs are amazing.  They'd go somewhere and catch a truck in some random town that was going vaguely in the direction they wanted to go.  They would drive for awhile and hope that there would be food and water to buy somewhere.  They'd end up (occasionally) in a small village in the middle of nowhere at night and would stay up all night.  Ok, readers, I am NOT THAT FLEXIBLE!!!

  So traveling is hard.  I like it, it broadens my horizons, but it is very hard on my level of peace.  So if you have a kid who seems stressed while traveling, maybe she is!

Beans

This is one of those times that having 10 mouths to feed is a very good thing.

That, my friends, is quite a hill of green beans.  Kevin doesn't like them canned so...we're stuck with eating them all in the next few days.  And you know what?  We can do it!  Daniel and I are particularly fond of beans with bacon, but actually, everyone likes them well enough.

50th Anniversary Celebration for My Parents

Yes, on August 23rd, 1963, my parents were married!

They were young things, only 20 years of age at the time.  It is such a pleasure, a delight, an inspiration to see them in love and happy together 50 years later.

Naomi, Lydia, Daniel and I drove north to their home on Saturday morning.  The afternoon was filled with friends from decades ago.  The man who introduced my parents to one another was there.  I remember him from my childhood.  It was a lot of fun seeing him and his wife.  I also ran into some contemporaries of mine from my teen years.  Again, it was tremendous to catch up with them and talk about all that has happened in our lives.  My big claim to fame was, of course, 8 children!!

I have 2 brothers, and both were there.  The younger is an extraordinary balloon artist, a professional. He entertained the children most royally.  The older of my brothers (who is 4 years younger than me) is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his first child in December.  My sister-in-law looked wonderful.  She is 5 months along and amazingly energetic :-).

Here are a few random pictures, in no particular order.

Lydia and Daniel, obviously.  Naomi took all the pictures I have, which means she isn't in any of them. But she did a great job taking pictures.

There goes Daniel, and that's me (in the dress) in hot pursuit.  There is a stream that winds its way behind my parents' property, and Daniel really was excited about falling in.  I didn't let him, and it required quite a bit of focus to make sure he didn't!

Sonic the Hedgehog balloon...

Yep, he's a charmer!

New Egg Layer(s)?

Our chickens have experienced trauma these last couple of weeks.  The older ones, all 8 of them (reduced to their present number, you may remember, by massacring raccoons) had been calmly minding their own business, secure in their pecking order and satisfied with life.

And then suddenly, 15 new chickens were thrown into the coop.  Wow.  Talk about shock!  Talk about needing to adjust to a new environment. Talk about lots of clucking and indignant pecking.

A few days ago, we started getting weird eggs. 

The one in the middle looks...odd.  Small, dark, with a thick shell.

 

Maybe from a young chicken?

 

We've only gotten 5 eggs per day and we have 8 "old" chickens so...it seems odd we're not getting MORE eggs than usual if the young ones are starting to lay.

 

BUT, the trauma of throwing the chickens together may have resulted in some of the older ones no longer laying.

 

It is really hard to tell.  So we hope.  We exult.  We dream...of the day when we are getting 16 or 17 eggs a day again.

More on Potty Training

I've done this potty training thing 7 times now, so you'd think I'd have it down.  Sarah is actually doing great, but I have to chuckle about all that goes IN to potty training.  You would think it is just a case of knowing when to go and then making it to the potty in time to go.

  That is a big part of it, but there is so much more.  If you are Sarah, you are figuring out:

1.  How to get underwear on and off.  Which hole should I use?  Why is it too tight?  What do you mean, I put both legs in the same hole??
2.  The purpose of toilet paper.  It is such FUN to throw it in the toilet.  Oh wait?  Huh?  You are supposed to dab it WHERE?  Um, that's weird.
3.  How to wash my hands.  This is also fun. Very fun.  Water, water, everywhere.  I like water.  I like water everywhere.  It is fun to have water on the floor, on the counter, even some in the sink. I like water.
4.  How to use soap.  Ooooh, soap!!  Soap is even more fun than water.  Soap is fun WITH water.  Oooh, look at the bubbles!  Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!  I like bubbles. I like bubbles on the floor, the counter, even on the sink!

  You get the picture. It is non stop fun around here during Sarah's potty training!

Cave Story Edited

  Cave Story is a weird little computer adventure.  It is a role playing game, I guess and it is, as I said, weird.

  The children were enthralled with it a few years ago, to the point that they memorized most of the dialogue.

 In addition to the story being fun, they discovered that there is an editor which allows users to create new levels and change existing levels.

 The last couple of weeks, we've seen a resurgence of interest in editing Cave Story.  Lydia is messing around with it here.

  It requires diligence and study because there isn't a manual.  Mostly, users just have to look at the code and figure out what code does what thing.  It is complicated.  It is fun.  And yes, it is educational.