Remember when we had a band almost? Carrie, Brady, and I used to play coffeehouse gigs roughly every two months. We were tentatively scheduled for at least four gigs (that were not coffeehouses) that were cancelled when Covid got trendy. We’ve all felt loss in different ways this year, and while its not the most important loss we’ve suffered in 2020, Covid took Rule of Three from me. From us.
I think we need to instigate practices through winter, and you guys can expect some outdoor gigs in the spring or something.
I make no promises it will not be a Hamilton heavy set of songs. You’ve been warned.
All of this being said, if you can think of any way we can play for people in the meantime, please get in touch! There is an added motivation to practice when we’re working towards something, and I miss that.
We did a gourd thing over here the other day. You may remember, but we hod ornamental gourds laying all around over here through the fall season. We had way more than we knew what to do with, but they were a super cute touch. The kids loved them. But some of them were getting a little soft, and it was just time to graduate them out.
Cher and I got it into our heads that we should open them up and try to cook something out of them. Ornamental gourd soup. Something super dorky. However, thanks to a quick google search, we learned that many decorative gourds are poisonous and should not be consumed. Sooooo we dodged that bullet and decided just to hack them up, in case there are any other weirdos out there who want to know whats inside ornamental gourds.
Observation number one is that they are WAY harder than you’d think to cut into!!
It became less of an attempt to saw through the shell and more a hack with an axe, kind of. My poor knives. I sharpened them specifically for this activity, but you’d never know.
Observation number two is that nothing especially exciting lives within these gourds. Like normal gourds, they have seeds. Thats basically it. They smell pumpkiny.
Some split better than others.
Clearly, I’m impressed
It did get a little too personal at one point…
Don’t worry, he was still happy, even when it was all over!
When I found a way that worked to get into them, I got a little too excited, and we had a couple of little explosions. Seeds and gunk everywhere. But man did we laugh!!!
It was all in all an entertaining afternoon, to say the least!
A shame I couldn’t cook them into some bizarre meal, but this was good too! 😆
Cher and I did not have the pleasure of being childhood friends. We knew of each other here and there, but never ran in the same circles. She has two tiny memories of me floating around high school, but thats about where that ends. I knew her name, but that was pretty much the extent of it. With all of that considered, we never got a shot at all that fun stuff you do as kids with your friends! Now, in our 30s, we’re doing it.
Our latest undertaking has beeeeeen…
Braids!
I remember being SO jealous of the girls who had their hair braided in all little braids! Ack! I wanted that SO BAD! Those around me were paying to have theirs done, which was not an option for me. Meanwhile, Cher has vivid memories of girls doing it for one another, or for themselves, regularly. She is a mad braider, though! You’ve probably noticed, if you’ve been around me much, that she’s kept my hair in cute french braids in the recent months. This time around, when she pulled the last one out, she opted to go ham and do that teenage girl ritual of aaaaall braids!
It was an undertaking. Two big days of braids!
That was day one! It was super productive! Day two started just as dorky…
But turned out to be even more productive!! Eek!
She is so meticulous, making the hair pattern super cute and intentional. I felt pampered and special and important, which while she enjoys braiding, I know was secretly her goal. She is a very loving person. I love you, Cher!
It was finally done!!!!!
We left the ends all crispy and kind of dreadlocked rather than elastics, which I’m really happy with. My hair is clearly desperately in need of a tune up, and a trim is a BIG part of that. We could get these out, but we’ll see. I may end up just hacking the ends off.
This just finished up yesterday, and I am already truly enjoying it!! Its low maintenance. I don’t shed. I can tie it up with itself, lol! But mostly, I enjoyed the relaxed hanging out with Cher, while the kids observed very closely, hahaha! Its been a cute couple of days! We’ll see how long they last!
I wonder whats next on the teenager catch up list…
I’ve been waiting, but we are here. We finally have sickness in our home for the first time since March.
Let me clarify. Wavy had that absurd rash in the summer. But in terms of a solid cold, we have been a picture of health. And while thats been lovely, I’ve been living with the nerves surrounding it, worrying about how the kids will respond after not being sick in SO long. Never being sick means their immune systems aren’t being pushed or exercised, really. Also, their mental tolerance for the discomfort is down. So, I’ve been nervous.
And here we are.
Laela came home on Friday with a runny nose, but her spirits were still up. Waverly quickly caught her cold, but she was just a little more tired. Everyone was fine. But it became clear that it wasn’t going to be a quick one, and I told Laela yesterday that she wouldn’t be able to go to school the next day – today. She understood.
This morning, when I went to get her up, she assured me amidst her sniffled that she felt so much better and could definitely go to school. Regrettably, I told her she wasn’t allowed at school with a stuffy nose right now. She broke down and cried. It sucked. She was SO disappointed. Wavy was all stuffy and hoarse, too. And because two wasn’t enough, Solomon was raspy, coughy, and sweating like a beast. And all three were GROUCHY!
I called Laela’s school, and texted her teacher directly, as well as Solomon’s preschool teacher. Then I triple checked with Dekker and Rowan, and confirmed that all was well with them. It was, and they were excited to go to school together!
Its not my favorite being sick over here. It changes plans and options. Its something to preface everything with. I’m already over it, but I’m assuming its not over us just yet. Le sigh.
Luckily, they’re terribly sweet kids, and pretty easy to have around, grumpy or not.
Today seems like an appropriate day to share with you what Rowan knows about Remembrance Day. The information is iffy, but the blog post will be short and sweet, just like him.
*
A few years ago, back in the olden days, there was a war. All the daddies and grandpas had to go, even if they didn’t want to. Lots of big brothers, too. Some of them even died. It was so sad. They had to have guns, and they didn’t want to use guns. They wanted to use their swords instead. They usually used swords. But they had to use guns this time. (Friends*) daddy died in the war… Maybe it was her grandpa… Or someone else. But it was so sad, mommy.
*
I say again, details are iffy, but I really liked the bit about the swords, haha! Perhaps he’s picturing a more “Lord of the Rings” style war.
Kids are cute. That’s really the moral of this story. Good try, Ro!
More outside time makes for happy, cold, exhausted children, hahaha! But happy comes first in that list for a reason! The kids have truly enjoyed the snow in the backyard! Dekker managed to find the picnic table, and it became a fort!
Some like it outside, but some like it inside 😉
This was me enjoying some time in bed, crocheting, watching YouTube. As per usual, time was cut, but it turned out to be super duper extra cute! Rowan, Wavy, and I watched some Hamilton clips and baking videos. It was still an excellent time upstairs, with some little friends. I love them.
I suppose there are SOME good things about snow storms.
If you remember, I mentioned briefly last week that I would be away this weekend. I was quiet about it, because with ALL the new covid restrictions and the numbers of cases rising, I didn’t want to fuss with the judgement, haha! That being said, the people who gathered were VERY respectful and careful and followed every guideline carefully! We had SUCH a fun weekend together, working on projects, staying up late, eating delicious food, and watching the snowstorm build outside. There was a lot of talk of staying an extra night, but once we came to the conclusion that nothing would be “better” weather-wise the next day, we all decided to make the trek home.
Cher went to my house to watch the kids so Brady could come pick me up without the added risk factor of bringing all the little ones along. Thank you, Cher!! And thank you Brady for coming. That was so reassuring for me, for our passenger and friend, and for the other friend who was waiting to convoy. We ALL felt some relief to have a strong confident winter driver along! I know their husbands felt better about that, too.
Brady arrived on time with a beautiful smile on. His attitude was positive and light. We promptly got stuck in the parking lot, as our van doesn’t float on top of packed snow at all, but rather pushes right down to the ice underneath. He and I worked together and got it out in no time, and we putt putted our way to the highway.
The wind was really the biggest problem. Our van was strong on the icy highway but the wind wanted to push us off. Praise the Lord, we ALL made it home safe!! Everyone!!!
And, just in time, too!
Believe it or not, there’s a picnic table behind the trampoline!
Its COVERED out here!!! Our town worked HARD, LATE into the night, clearing roads for our community!! It would still be pretty foolish to go anywhere if unnecessary, in my opinion. Bradys work for the day and his physio have been postponed. But why go anywhere when there’s fun to be had here?!
If it was unclear, turns out the kids are super into it!
Perhaps today is a good day to get some more Christmas going! Or gift making. Or both. Music. Treats. Comfy clothes. Ack!
Imagine having a 3am bathroom break and when you’re done, you go to leave the bathroom, but as soon as you open the door, a zombie walks in before you even get the momentum to get your foot outside. You do a double take because it looks like your honorary nephew, but it moved slowly, it groaned and it only had one eye open.
As some of you may know, I stay at the Borns sometimes. This started during COVID because I needed somewhere to study and focus. Sometimes I would stay 2-3 week stretches, go home for a week, then return.
I sleep in the spare room in the basement, where the bathroom separates my room from the boys’ room. Solly never leaves his bed, but I am still very aware of his existence because he is the rooster in the family. I will never forget the first time I heard him bright and early singing “OLD MACDONALD HAD A KYLE AND A CHILD EE I EE I OOOO” and for a few months, Old Macdonald was his go to song. Sometimes I would listen on purpose because the things he says are sometimes so ridiculously funny.
Dekker is more subtle about things. For example: I never know when he is awake until I hear giggling in the bathroom, right next to me. Sometimes it feels like he is in the room WITH me because the ceiling isn’t finished yet, so sounds come through differently. I am SO happy that no one was giggling at me in my room though. I don’t think I could take that kind of judgment.
Now what I do is I keep the light ON when I open the door so I don’t get AS startled, I have even opened the door slowly just in case, or tried to pee quietly so I can hear if he leaves his room to come wait for a turn. It’s a very crafty system I have.
Dekker has a very special relationship with the bathroom mirror. It isn’t always noticeable at night, but in the day, he LOVES to chat with himself. He sometimes forgets I am over and has complete conversations with himself. I have heard him make fart sounds and laugh, interview himself, pretend he is someone else, and the most recent… ONLY giggling. I know I shouldn’t be mean, but sometimes I knock on the wall and I see what he says. He totally thinks someone is at the door. But sometimes it helps him to get going faster because he will linger while the rest of his sibs are upstairs waiting to pray before bed. (I read this to Dekker just now and he laughed and said he LOVED this)
Dekker: “Now what are you writing?” Me: “Everything you just said.”
Maybe I made the boys sound totally annoying to you, but to me, I just love them so much. I love their quarks and their weirdness. I love having my metabolism boosted also. Good for the ticker.
A couple weekends ago, I spent a night housesitting with Cher, and playing with some itty bitty foster kitties! Being the dorks that we are, we named them. We tried our best to figure out their genders, which was harder than it sounds because yes, they were that young! But, we tried, and we named them names that we liked!
To be clear, none of this is serious. They will not be rehomed with these names or anything even remotely close to these names. It was just for fun.
Here is the mama cat. We think her name is Albatross, which while creative, we weren’t fans of. I accidentally took to calling her Bird Cat, as in “What should we name Bird Cat?” It became her accidental name, but I think Cher took to calling her Birdie after I left. Probably nicer.
Bird Cat had SIX kittens!!
It was fun to watch her love of them, hug them in to feed them, clean then, and pick them up and transport them where she wanted them. She’s a good little mama.
In no particular order, these are her kids!
Timber will be first! Cher’s favorite. Timber was originally named that because he fell over a lot. I think he looks like a little big cat.
Timber’s almost twin is Miss Meowie. The goal had originally been to name it Mr. Meowie, like Mr Miyagi, but then we figured out the cat was a girl. Not willing to sacrifice the name, we changed the pronoun and carried on.
The oragnest cat we called Apricat, which I’m pretty sure is super witty. It was a good fit for this little boy.
The slightly less orange cat we called Cornflake. She’s cute and patchy and super fluffy.
The patchiest kitty of them all we named Furgie. Furrrrrgie. I don’t honestly know how we got there, but it was an immediate click. Another little patchy girl.
And Jeeves is last, because she was super shy and took a little longer to get out from their little safe space beneath the bed and brave the rest of the bedroom. I probably favored Jeeves the most. Her moustache and tux leave her looking all fancy. Plus, she played with me, and batted at me before she even played with the other kittens.
Four girls and two boys. We think, anyway.
They were SO cute and SO soft and not sharp or dirty or peey or poopy or noisy. Easiest little group of babies ever! It was fun to snug with animals. Its been a while 🐱 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
Today was the day that the school kids put together a Remembrance Day presentation at school. I realized late in the game that they need poppies. Being that we never go out anymore, there is no donation poppy box in sight, and like so many other years, I was caught a day of two before the day they were needed, poppiless.
So this year, I made poppies!! And I’ve got to say, I really like how they turned out!
Rowan’s bananas. Rowans bananas. Rowans bananas are bananas.
They are far from perfect, and they’re a little bigger than average, but the kids were SO happy with them! Rowan even requested I make one for his teacher, which I thought was cute. They were so quick and easy, so why not?
The idea to make them and sell them for a donation crossed my mind, but I believe someone else in the area already does that (?) so I won’t unless there’s actually a need/want, but I was happy with how they turned out, and the kids were too.
