Chick Fil A at the Mall (Or: How I Learned to Multitask)

Any time I ever--and I do mean ever--take my kids to the mall and eat Chick fil A, I'm always taken back to my early days as a mom.  I reminisce about taking Noah to the Chick fil A at the Burlington Mall outside of Boston when he was a baby, along with my dear friend, Sara, and her baby boy.  

The mall could always be counted on to be a good outing.  It had a nice little play area for toddlers.  And as an indoor activity, it was of significant value in wintertime, when toddlers really cannot do a whole lot of playing outside.  Plus, Chick fil A was a treat, going to the mall was a treat, and playing with a friend was a treat.  It was a good deal, all around.

So Sara and I would meet there, scramble for oftentimes the last two mall high chairs, order our food, then sit down with busy, grabby toddlers for lunch.  We'd lay out place mats, clean little hands, cut food into tiny pieces, keep trash and all extraneous items out of reach of the little ones, try to keep the food on the floor at a minimum, and between all of that, try to feed ourselves and have a grown-up chat.  And I'll tell you something.  No job that I've ever had ever taught me to multitask like feeding a child at the mall.  And now that I have three, it's even more true.  You just never stop moving.  But lest you think otherwise, let me assure you that it is still a treat, and it's still a lot of fun for everyone, including Mommy.

So when I met my Houston friend (also a Sarah) at the mall this week with Clara and Jane, and when I started cutting food into tiny pieces and looking for a high chair, the deja vu hit. 

Tiny food.

Never stop moving.

Yep, this is familiar.

And it's sweet that it is still happening.  Because those were sweet days with my little Noah.  And they are sweet days now, too. 

Meet Elizabeth, Jane's best friend.  They were born a month apart and they love each other.

They were so happy to be there together. :)

They even got ice cream.  I mean, who needs a cow watch when you can have ice cream instead?

There's nothing like having a friend you love.

So, of all the things that could hold significance for me and be, at least a little, representative of my life as a mom of little children, mall Chick fil A's are one of them.  I think I will always feel happy at a mall Chick fil A.

Daddy's Got Big Lungs

Dad blowing your hair back = Joy.

Still joyous, even when your hair isn't long enough to fly backwards. :)

First Day of Kindergarten

Noah started Kindergarten this week!  And it has been a great week!

After the difficulties we had last year, I was afraid he wouldn't be excited, but for some reason, he had it in his head that Kindergarten was going to be AWESOME.  So he went into it with a great attitude.

My Kindergartener:

Right before Morning Assembly on his very first day:

Being a year older has clearly done him a lot of good.  He is much more school-ready.  Last year, we very frequently heard, "But why is the day so looong?" But on Monday, when I picked him up and asked him how his day was, he said, "It was great, Mom!  And it went by so fast!  It was over in one minute!" Y'all, that was music to my ears and an answer to prayer.

And, so far, our home school days have gone really well, too, which has been a real boost to my level of optimism, too.  We have been lucky this week and have been able to do school without Jane and Clara around--they have been either napping or at a friend's house, and it has made all the difference.  I am not being pulled in three different directions, so I can focus on Noah and don't have to rush him to finish a task because I have to go feed the baby or find something that will hopefully occupy Jane for another five minutes. I can focus on him, not push him to hurry, and not interrupt our task multiple times because of the other competing priorities in the house, and that has made a huge difference.  Of course, it does help that what we are doing is pretty darn easy for him--ordering numbers 1 through 5, for example.  But, hey, a few easy lessons are boosting our confidence, which is worth a lot.

 I made him the special First Day of School Afternoon Snack I mentioned: Pink Frog, along with root beer, which he specifically requested.

Handsome little dude.

I am definitely looking forward to this year!  Noah's right: Kindergarten IS going to be great!

In a House with a Bunch of Little Kids

How can it be that one of my kids misplaced one of Noah's school shoes somewhere in this house?  We have looked EVERYWHERE.  

It is only the 2nd day of school!!!

Aaaargh!!!!!!

**UPDATE**
 The story here is that one--it had to be one, right?!?--of Noah's school shoes disappeared into thin air on Tuesday.  None of the kids remember playing with it.  Nathan and I spent about an hour turning our house upside down, trying to find it.   We looked in every cabinet, scoured every bookshelf, looked under every piece of furniture, checked behind every door and in the back of every closet, looked through every toy bin and basket, and checked and double checked the car and the backyard.  No luck.  It has disappeared. 

I'm sure we'll find it in some random place eventually.  The problem is that it's his only pair of uniform shoes.  So I sent him to school in tennis shoes on Wednesday and explained to his teacher what happened.  She was pretty laid back about it, but I knew I did need to get those shoes ASAP, so I've ordered him another pair.  The thing is, they're not cheap, especially when you get expedited shipping.  But I'm not going to fret too much about it, since the one that was lost was half of the pair he wore for all of Pre-K that, luckily, still fit.  We were going to have to go up a couple of sizes soon, anyway.

But GRR.  For real.

The Last Day of Summer

Well, school starts tomorrow, which means that today is the very last day of summer.

I am not really ready for school to start.  That is to say, I have everything in order, we have all of Noah's school supplies, his backpack is packed, his uniform is clean, and I have even looked over this week's curriculum.  But I do not really feel ready.  Life is about to get really busy, and I haven't really wrapped my mind around it all yet!

We've been so nice and laid back this summer.  After school ended last year, I was just so relieved not to have to get three kids out the door at 7:30, and that, all by itself, made life at our house a little more fun.  But once June hit, I suddenly realized that I need to make sure this summer is super fun!  Summer's a mentality, not just a season, right?  So I made an effort to be more open to saying yes to just a few more messy play ideas and more intentional about getting some planned fun in while we had the chance.

To that end, Noah, Jane, and I sat down and made a Summer Fun List.  It included suggestions from them as well as me, and, happily, we have been able to check every single thing off (the zoo is forthcoming).

The Summer Fun List was a huge hit with the kids.  Every day, Noah would ask, "Mom, can we do the next thing on our list today?"  And both of them loved checking things off as we did them.  We'll have to make this a summer tradition.

And speaking of traditions, I'm intentionally trying to think up and incorporate traditions in our household.  For example, we have a cake (or half a cake) on each of the kids' half birthdays.  We also had a cake when Noah read his first book (a very simple reader, but we definitely wanted to celebrate!).  And here are my two newest ones: a family game night on the last night of summer, and pink frog on the first day of school.  Even the little things will make good memories, don't you think?

Happy Almost-Fall!

Playing with My Camera

I'm still figuring out this photography thing, and to start, I'm figuring out my camera.  I was playing around with some settings the other day, and I ended up with this photo, which I liked.

The Big Reveal: Janey Beth's Flower Blanket

 I finally finished Jane's flower blanket!

 

I have little doubt she will love it, considering that any time I happened to leave a square or two out, she'd clasp it to her chest and say, "Oh, Mommy!  Will you make me a blanket like this, please please please?"  And I'd just smile and say, "Oh, maybe one day, Janey."

The colors will suit her perfectly.  Girlish and childlike, simple and sweet.

 

It'll be a merry Christmas for my Jane to receive it and a very merry one for me to give it.

Here's the pattern (my very first!), in case any of you crocheters would like to give it a whirl:

Flower:
-Ch 4, sl st to join.
-Ch 1, 9 sc in center of loop, join with sl st.
-*Ch 3, skip sc, sc in following sc* four times.  Ch 3, skip sc, sl st in final stitch.
-{If joining new color for petals, bind off, then with new color, sl st in ch. 3 sp.}
-*Sc in ch 3 space.  Ch 3.  4 dc.  Ch 3, sc in same ch 3 space (one petal made).* five times, once in each ch 3 space.  Sc in first ch 3 space to join round.
-*Ch 5.  Carry chain behind petal, sc in the sc between the petals* five times.
-*Sc in ch 5 space.  Ch 3.  8 dc.  Ch 3, sc* five times, once in each chain.  Second round of petals made. Sc in first ch 5 space to join round.
-*Ch 5.  Carry chain behind petal, sc in the sc between the petals* five times.
-Bind off.

Square:
Round 1:
-With color for square, join yarn with sl st in any ch 5 sp.  Ch 3.
-In first ch 5 sp: 4 dc, ch 2, 3 dc.
-In second ch 5 sp: 7 dc, ch 2, 1 dc.
-In third ch 5 sp: 8 dc.
-In fourth ch 5 sp: 1 dc, ch 2, 7 dc.
-In fifth ch 5 sp: 3 dc, ch 2, 5 dc.
-Join with sl st in 3rd ch of very first ch 3 of the round.
Round 2:
-Ch 3. *Dc in each stitch to corner.  In corner, dc, ch 3, dc* four times.
-Dc in each sp to finish round.  Sl st in 3rd ch of first ch 3. (Each side should have 12 dc.)
Round 3:
-Ch. 1. *Sc in each st to corner.  In corner, sc, ch 3, sc* four times.  Sc in each sp to finish round.  Sl st in first ch 1.  Bind off.
Round 4:
-With contrasting color, join with sl st in any sc.  Ch 1.  *Sc in each st to corner.  In corner, sc, ch 3, sc* four times.  Sc in each sp to finish round. Sl st in first ch 1. Bind off.

Stitch squares together with a tapestry needle, first making the rows, then joining the rows together.

Edging:
Round 1: Join edging yarn with sl st in any sc.  *Sc to corner.  5 sc in corner* four times.  Sc in remaining stitches to finish round.  Join with sl st to first ch 1.

Round 2: Ch. 3 (counts as first dc).  In the same sp, 5 dc.  *Sk 2 sc, then sc in following sp.  Sk 2 sc, then 6 dc in next sp.*  Repeat from * all the way around, fudging a bit to ensure a 6 dc fan is placed on each corner.  Join with sl st to complete round.  Bind off.

When it's Hot

When you live in Houston and you go on a picnic when it's 100 degrees outside, and all of a sudden you see a fountain, well . . . 

I mean, what option do you have, really?

 

Soaked to the skin and so happy!

A Southern Summer Memory

There's been a point in my life when I regularly carried chickens by their feet.

Surprised?

It's not something I've done in a very long time.  The years and newer (and very different) experiences make that memory feel far removed sometimes.  But although I have never not been bookish, I also had a country cousin who made sure I spent only so much time indoors every summer.

When I was a child, my family took an annual summer journey to rural southern Mississippi, where my grandparents lived.  We had family upon family upon family there; cousin upon cousin.  And since they were outdoorsy, we spent a lot of time outdoors with them.  I have memories of hide and seek games lasting long into the night, "cooking" with the overripe and unusable veggies from the garden, swimming in the pool, hiking through the cow pasture and fishing in the cow pond, playing with the puppies and kittens which were always present, and so on.

One summer, my cousin and constant companion, Stacie, and I spent a lot of time in the goat pen.  The goat pen was situated on the side of a gently sloping hill near everyone's houses (conveniently so--it's awfully handy to throw your leftovers and scraps over the fence behind your house and be gratified that someone will thoroughly enjoy them).  The grass had been so thoroughly devoured by the animals over the years that it was now nonexistent, and the hill was just composed of red dirt with the occasional crack running down its entire length.

Stacie and I started out trying to catch a chicken that had gotten loose in the goat pen, I believe.  That is not an easy task, let me tell you.  Even harder is trying to catch a goat who doesn't want to be caught.  We eventually got the chicken, but we gave up on the goat.  And we got our light blue jeans sufficiently stained with red dirt in the process.

The next day, Stacie got the idea to place a hose at the top of one of the cracks of the earth.  We put on our swimsuits and Keds and had a marvelous time lazing the day away playing in our girl-made creek.  Sinking our feet into the cool mud, experimenting with how we could divert the water to our liking, making tributaries that branched off of the main downhill crack, building little houses for ants and frogs.  A couple of tweens making mud pies is what it would have looked like, but that would be a very sad and inept description of our fun.

No, that interpretation would have been to put a productive adult's filter on our summer fun.  To see spending a day in the goat pen as insignificant, unimportant, perhaps even foolish activity.  But I'm glad that the adults did not come outside and say, "You need to come in now," or "We need to run to the store; come get cleaned up!"  No, they just let us play in the mud all day.  Which was anything but frivolous.  Nope, it was what childhood play should be all about.

Awry

How does a free outing turn into an expensive outing?

This is how:

You go to the museum on the free day.  "Thursdays, 3-6pm," they say on the website, "come and enjoy all the exhibits for free!"  What they don't say is that half of Houston shows up at 2:55pm, and that you should not expect to find a parking spot.

So, because your son has been looking forward to this museum visit for WEEKS and has especially been excited about it all day today, he cries and cries that he will not get to go, regardless of the fact that you promise that you'll cough up the admission fee and take him in the morning.  So you take all the kids to get frozen yogurt as a consolation prize.

Then, you go home and look up the cost of admission, which turns out to be more than you expect.  A museum membership for the year will pay for itself in two visits, so it makes more sense to get that.

FREE---------------------->EXPENSIVE

How did my plans go that wrong??!?

Well, you know, at least they are super adorable.  (Especially when they get frozen yogurt.)

Cozy Spots

Jane is an expert at coziness.

She makes truly cozy looking nests for her stuffed animals and dolls.

Her bed is the comfiest in the house, I'm always telling her.

And she knows a cozy bed when she sees one:

She loves Mom and Dad's new bedding. "Mommy, please can I go to sleep under your blanket, and Daddy can carry me to my bed later?"

Sweet sleeper. :)

11 Months Old

Clara is 11 months old today!

She is a precious little thing.  I've really enjoyed her babyhood, and I'll be sorry to see her turn one!

She has learned to wave, and she loves the fact that we love it.  She gets quite a reaction--lots of coos and encouragement and enthusiastic waving back at her.

Clara loves to eat.  She pretty much eats almost all finger foods now, especially blueberry waffles, toast, peas and broccoli and sweet potatoes and other veggies, all types of fruit, crackers, and cereal bars.  She's also been lucky enough to run across a bite of chocolate chip pancake that her sister obligingly dropped on the floor.  And yogurt.  Oh, yes, she loves yogurt.  This is her face every day when she realizes her most delicious yogurt has all been eaten:

Such despair!  Did you see the tear?

Thank goodness there are some good things in life other than yogurt.

For example, these girls love each other.

 A fact which makes me happy. :)