Monday

I'm here! Wow, it's been a while since I've had chores done AND kids asleep at the same time :) Mimi is hanging out with her Grandma today for some "girl time" which means Ernie and I (and Mr. Man) are having our own special day! I found a sweet piano series for Ernie, and she's loving having weekly lessons, which we did this morning. We had a great trip to the library, and I don't expect to see E at all for another few hours. Sakes alive, that girl loves to read. Today it's a whole stack of "Buzzy" books (a young zebra boy who has much to learn) and a beautifully illustrated story book "Snow White and Rose Red." I checked out Despereaux because I've never read it, and wondered when Ernie might be ready for it. I also checked out the first volume in the "Little House on the Prairie" series- in the next year, we'll be reading that series, and it might be time to start! If she's not interested in reading it, I'll see if she's interested in listening to me read it.

So much has happened in the last week and a half, friends. See that bread up there? I made it...I made bread for the first time since November! And, if you know anything about bread, you can seee HOW BADLY I did. Wow. Apparently 4 months is way too long to try and remember a recipe- I quadrupled the yeast. Yowza, it's tall and tasteless. How 'bout them apples? Sure looks pretty, though :)

Remember I teased you about what might end up in a sad, empty little corner of the yard? Sad no longer (and only slightly empty), it's the greenhouse! Time to plant some tomatoes, oh yeah! We'll get some shelves in there, get the watering situation set up, get it anchored to that patio....and Myrnie will be in business. Sweet, sunny, warm BUSINESS. Huge, huge, H.U.G.E thanks to the able bodies who helped make this happen!! (Because, I'm sure it's no shock that Mr. Man [aka the newborn] and I were no big help in this endeavor. Ahem.)

The cole crops. Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. Stringy and gutless. Guess who's going shopping for seedlings this week! Oh well, the kids enjoy watering them, and there IS something to be said to sprouting seeds around children. It's good for our souls, I'm sure. Next year, I try heat mats and the GREEN HOUSE...

Oh, and only the most important thing for last: my husband's family came to visit for a whole week! Mom, Dad, sister, and brother- it was fantastic. Once they finished painting his grandparents' house (because they're awesome like that) we painted the town red. We visited Wonder Daddy at his brand new office- it's gorgeous, in a historic old building with original woodwork and fancy scrollwork in the elevator. The kids loved seeing a fancy toy shop in town, and we all had lunch at an old outdoor market- crepes for everyone! (Except me...I found REAL dok bokki, and had to have it. I mean, I'd only ever eaten dok bokki that *I* had prepared, so what exactly is it supposed to taste like?? It's delicious :) The girls spent hours playing "Guess Who" and "monypony" with various relatives (that's Monopoly, for those un-initiated in Ernie-ese), and loved being with everyone. Even MORE family joined us later in the week when two aunts and their kids came for a big family dinner Friday night. The baby was much loved-upon, I assure you!

Speaking of our Mr. Man, he's six weeks old now. Yikes...that's not very old, but it seems like it's been forever. You know? And yes, he's still a fabulously calm baby. Yes, he likes to party for a few hours after his sisters go to sleep, but he'll stay snoozing for 3 or 4 hours at a time, so I can't ask for more. Actually, I can. I want his SISTER to sleep! I suppose it was my fault- I served all the kids' dinner last night at my family's weekly Sunday Meal. There was one pink plate, and rather than having two wailing girls I decided to have three wailing girls, and gave it to Siu Jeun. So, none of the girls ate anything. Not a bite. They all ran off to play, and ate their half-slice of cake when we all ate dessert. Mimi was up at 2...and 4...5...6...and 7! Whee!

Oh, and yes, you read that right: everyone got my dessert. It's my radical way of feeding kids. I serve dinner, and they can eat it or not (or choose bread.) If dessert is served, they can have their share. But if they're still hungry, they can have their dinner! I figure I don't want to make life into a calorie-eating contest. "I'll give you a cookie if you eat all this other food first!" Nutritionally, not perfect every day...but if they're going to eat dessert ANYWAY, why force feed them more? Obviously, I don't serve dessert very often.)