oh, to be young

Abigail relaxing. Really.

baby squash

Dad planted butternut squash this year as one of his experimental veggies in his organic vegetable garden.  When he brought one over for us to cook down into soup, we ran into a snag. You see, where we saw food Abigail saw a dolly.

For several days, she carried it around just as it was, wrapped tenderly in a blanket. It was only after Keats pronounced that her dolly was "creepy because it has no face" did she request that we add a face complete with curly hair to match her own. The face was such a success that soon after Abigail requested hands, clothes, and feet.

She and her Baby Squash had many adventures together before the poor squash finally succumbed to that malady which impacts all good vegetables which are frequently dropped, bashed, and run over by boys: rot.

We had a short funeral over the garbage can before Abigail unceremoniously dumped Baby Squash into the can. We heard a dull thud before Abigail went off to wash off her hands. She explained her reasoning so gently: "I don't want to have any Baby Squash juice on me. She was just getting yucky!"

Ah, the never ending depths of a mother's love.

piano runnin

Wednesday morning are our piano lesson days. In an ideal world, we are all up between 6 - 6:30 am in order to ensure we have plenty of time to get ourselves ready to go.

However, it is not always an ideal world, so usually our morning goes something like this:

7:15 - finally get out of bed; scrub face & teeth, get dressed. Skip makeup.

7:20 - wakes kids up gently.

7:25 - drag kids forcibly from bed/rip covers off body to generate movement.

7:30 - morph into Nag-Mom, which consists of reminding various Little Rutherfords every few minutes, "It's piano day - move faster!"

7:40 - check on morning chores to see what has been accomplished thus far: dishwasher emptied, paper recycling and piano books by the door, towel load started in washer, Abigail dressed, Elyas diaper changed (yet still mostly naked.)

7:42 - Bellow up the stairs that dad is due home in minutes and I'm telling on every child who isn't down stairs pronto!

7:45 - Begin assigning responsibilities to the bodies which are miraculously appearing before my very eyes. Send Keats back upstairs to put on pants, as they are definitely not optional.

7:48 - Greet Scott as he comes through the door. Remind Dawson to take commingled out back and return with the bag for drop off at the center on our way to piano. Go upstairs to get the rest off the dirty laundry and have a quick chat with Scott about his night.

8:00 - Morph into Super-Nag-Mom as I realize upon returning downstairs that every instruction I gave has been ignored. "Piano is a life skill and is not optional! Now GO GO GO!!!"

8:15 - Sit down for a moment to have breakfast with the kids. (Banana bread) Go over what school items they have assembled for their time at piano. Remind them of the items they have forgotten.

8:25 - Begin to load dishes as they come into the kitchen. Super-Nag the littles to finish their morning milk. Tell Dawson that if he can't focus he gets to clean every bathroom in the house all by his onsie this afternoon. Mind boggling how quickly he can change into Super-Focused-Teen.

8:30 - Alarm goes off on my phone reminding me it's time to start putting parkas on. Become Crazed-Super-Nag-Mom forcing everyone to increase their speed to that of light.

8:35 - Begin to herd Rutherfords to the van accompanied by backpacks, tote bags, packages to be shipped, commingled, and paper recycling.

8:40 - After only two "I Forgot!" trips back into the house, everyone is buckled and I start the car.

8:45 - Pull into recycling center and drop off our weekly accumulation.

8:50 - Pull into Dunkin Donuts where I order my standard reward coffee for accomplishing our getting out the doorness - XL Regular with extra cream and extra sugar. Pick up a Large Decaf cream & sugared coffee for our piano instructor.

9:02 - Pull into piano, only 2 minutes late.

Phew.

mish-mash

Our door dresser serves as a storage unit for gadget cables, hats/gloves/scarves, and girlie-hair stuff. The back third of the top is where we keep our bibles, glasses, cameras, and cell phones.

The front portion is supposed to be reserved for collecting items as we are preparing to leave the house or storage for people when they are visiting. However, family being family, it sometimes gets used as a catch-all on our way from one room of the house to another.

I came down one afternoon and glanced at the door dresser. I had just been putting some clean laundry away and wasn't thrilled to see more stuff to be put away. Then I sheepishly realized that most of it was my stuff anyway. (Thankfully I noticed before I bellowed at the kids.)

Then I was struck by the absolute bizarre combination. There was the People Magazine Scott had brought home. We do not live far from the Gosselin family of Jon & Kate Plus 8 fame & are frequently contrasted with their family when we are out and about in the community. Scott said he just had to read the cover article and brought it home for me to look at. We were both concerned at the portrayal of a family as "in need" living in their very, very, very nice home.

Then there was the cardboard box from Elyas's recent order of Tom's Shoes. We are so impressed with the company's dedication to helping others. Tom's motto is One for One, meaning that for every pair of shoes you purchase, they will give a pair of shoes to a child needing shoes in countries such as Haiti, Argentina, and Africa. We can't afford to purchase Tom's for all of the kids, but the Shoes for Elyas were the same price as the Robeez we usually buy and far less than the Stride Rites. And, as we have worked hard to become more deliberate in our decisions and use of money, we feel Tom's is a good fit when we can do it.

Then there was the book I had grabbed off the New Arrivals rack at the library, Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein. I thought it would mostly be the woman power, stick it to 'em,  hippie-feminista nonsense I have come to expect whenever I read something designed to educate me on the mine-field of life my daughters are wading through. However, the title intrigued me and so I planned to skim it and return it a few days later. Instead, I found myself engrossed and mesmerized as I read through thoughts on the "girl culture" that we largely avoid due to homeschooling. Shelby, Isabelle, Scott, & I had many discussions centered around each chapter as I read parts aloud and we discussed it together.

And, of course, there was my standard morning cup of coffee which I am forever losing. I take it with me all over the house for most of the morning and it isn't unusual for me to call out, "Has anyone seen my coffee? I've lost it again!" The kids love it because for all the things I remember (both the important and the mundane), they don't understand how I can loose a mug filled with coffee several times a day, day after day. It really is ridiculous.

There it all was in one place - the miss-mash of my interests assembled before my very eyes. It was like looking at a representation of my brain. I could see for just a moment the contradictions of my Physics and English Literature majors: the gossip magazine, the philanthropic shoes, the culture wars book, and my caffeine addiction all rolled into one.

Which then lead me to look at the children a little differently all day. I found myself wondering if I pigeon hole them without intent, expecting each one to follow a set path based on what I think should relate to their likes and dislikes. It lead to a lot of conversations over the next several days: Why would you do it that way? Why do you like this and not that? What do you think about  . . . ?

It is much easier to presume we know someone based on stereotypes than to take the time to investigate further. I learned a lot about my kids during those chats, and they in turn learned a lot about themselves and each other. It was, in all actuality, very cool.

Now, the challenge is to remember.

halloween humor

Before I post our costumes for the year, I thought I should take a moment and share some stories from our night.

Elyas, who actually remembered the whole Trick-or-Treating process from last year, spent most of his time with Scott. We would take turn accompanying them up to the door in order to absorb some of the more charming Halloween moments. Elyas really enjoyed just looking at everything on everyone's porches. The candy seemed to be an afterthought, although a happy one.

At one home, Elyas was given a list of candies to choose from. He held up one finger, did a no-no-no motion, and stated: "M&Ms. Please." The homeowner said that he didn't have M&Ms. Elyas looked him in the eye and said, "No thank you. I'm finished." And then he walked back down the stairs. At another, the owner's had done a great job of creating a very creepy home and were all dressed up on their porch to add to the drama. Elyas, though, wasn't a fan and finally asked Scott to take him away. As Scott carried him down the driveway, Elyas announced in his singsongy way, "That was a creeper!"

We were surprised at the mild weather given the 9" of snow which had fallen just two days before. It was a nice surprise though, as it meant we were able to stay out much longer than anticipated and we could really enjoy the lights and decorations once it became dark. And the darker it became, the more families were joining us on the street. Towards the end of our loop of the neighborhood, we were all commenting on the overwhelming Dick-and-Jane feeling to the night.

At one home, several children joined ours on the stairs to someone's home. As the first of the costumed kids began to make their way back to the sidewalk, my dad grabbed one. As the kids struggled, my dad held tighter and began to say things like, "I'll never let you go. No matter how you struggle." I looked over and realized that the kids my dad had grabbed was not one of ours. Thankfully, everyone was laughing as the released prisoner ran off to join his friends.

It was a great night, with lots of fun and laughter. It was nice to have Nana and Papaw along with us after several years of their traveling during the Halloween season. I managed quite well on my crutches and all total we hauled in over 60 pounds of candy.

Our annual candy breakfast was a smashing success, accompanied this year by a reading of the cauldron scene from Macbeth. And then, the kids all moved seamlessly into their daily routines accompanied by some friends who had come to spend the day with us.

It was a lot of fun. And now, without further delay, the snaps:

all 8 in their finery

Shelby as Amelia Earhart
She had toyed with being a surfer,
but the snow put an end to that notion.
As it was, this costume had the most positive reaction
of any she has ever worn!

Dawson as Dylan Haigh
A family friend whom Dawson admires.

Isabelle as a Ranger's Apprentice.
Based on the series of books by John Flanagan, this is the first year Isabelle branched away from admiring Shelby's ideas and simply came up with her own costume. The result was something she felt a great deal of pride in.

Tucker as Legolas.
His original intention was to be a Moria Orc, but when Aunt Jenna told him she had found a Legolas  costume, his eyes lit up and he changed his mind immediately.

Keats as Mario and Aidan as Luigi
When we made these costumes last year, it was with the hope that they boys would want to wear them again this year. Success!

Abigail as a Wood Fairy
Abigail was the Wood Fairy last year as well. She loved the costume so much  that she would check on it as it hung in Daddy's closet all year. This costume was lovingly made by Aunt Jenna 11 years ago in order for Shelby to wear it at the age of 4.

Elyas as Buzz Lightyear
This costume is a hand-me-down from the twins beloved Buzz and Woody days.

The haul
Weight total? 68.5 pounds.

end of an era

We received our first iMac with the 1998 release of the colorful g3 computers. For weeks, the youth group would come to our house for Youth Group Monday and just want to play with the computer. Our home computer had always been a Mac, but now we were completely sold. The simplicity of the all-in-one machine was just what this family was looking for.

Alas, as time always does to electronics, our lime green iMac's era in our home has ended. It is still in great working condition, but it just can't keep up with today's software. And so, as our new iMac is being tweaked and our now-for-school eMac is being is being stripped down, we are prepping our greenie for shipment to the Apple recycling facility in California.

It was a good, long run.

missing mom

Just a quick view of what happens when mom can't walk and the soccer game temperature is 41 and rainy. While we spread most of the family responsibilities out amongst us all, laundry is still pretty much my job. None of the kids had ever seen the laundry room piled in the manner, so when it happened on October 2, they had to take pictures!