Maybe I should consider actually sleeping at night (I’ll have to take the issue up with Hazel)

At church today when a speaker was talking about emergency preparedness, he said, “The price of staples could suddenly triple,” and I honestly sat there thinking how easy it would be to acquire enough to keep a stapler fully loaded for a very long time. And wondering how he came to choose that rather [...]

After the laundry’s folded and the baby’s bathed and the dishes are run, a-meandering I go

This post was fun to stumble across; it was a contest (already ended) to write a 50-word complete story including the words “tiara,” “sparkly,” and “princess.” The entries are in the comments. I’d go back through them and tell you my favorites, but instead I’m going to sleep. Here’s the link.
Oh, what the [...]

More parenting wisdom for the ages (that I really ought to have already known, but I persist in learning things the hard way)

Rose started kindergarten today, wearing the dress my grandmother Grace made for my mom’s first day of kindergarten, that all of my mom’s daughters and granddaughters have also worn.  (My brother Spen, the photographer, happened to stop by this morning in perfect time to take photos, so I’ll post some once I get them from [...]

I think he means he wants to be a chemical engineer

My brother Spencer asked Henry, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“A robot!”
“A robot?”
“Yup! Like my Daddy!”
Remarkably lifelike:  Dean with Hazel in May
Henry wearing one of his robot shirts (also in May.)

Speaking of which, are dead horses frumpy? (What if it’s just their heads? As depicted between satin sheets in a mob movie?)

[I'm not sure how low I'm stooping by re-posting stuff from Facebook on my blog; likely very low.  But, see, there's not a complete overlap between my blog readership and my Facebook friends, yet.  Perhaps it could be said that frumpy is as frumpy does . . .]
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Zina:
I like to look at pictures of trendy [...]

Model children

Rose has already chewed the neckline of her shirt and gotten several yogurt spots on it. Which makes me all the more glad it was a quick-and-easy project.

When parents stain things, they do it on purpose

Dean: “You know, none of our dressers are finished as nicely as that first one that I finished for Isaac when he was a baby–the one that Henry uses now.  It’s because I did so many coats.”
Me: “So, you didn’t give your beloved son a coat of many colors, but you did give him a [...]

Tees tease

I might take better photos tomorrow, but I had so much fun making these latest iron-on transfer t-shirts that I couldn’t wait to post pictures. This is my new favorite quick creative project.  The gratification is near-instantaneous, they only cost a few dollars to make, and my kids love wearing them.
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The striped one was Photoshopped [...]

I’m just happy they don’t say “cry-ANN” for “crayon” like my sister Lili used to do

Just lately Henry’s started pronouncing Isaac’s name as “ize-git,” with a hard “g.”  No matter how many times we have him repeat “ize” and then “ick,” as soon as he tries to put them together, it becomes izegit.
Also, when she prays Rose has for some reason always said “Please bless about” instead of just “Please [...]

Much weightier than the things Dean and I quarrel about (if Dean and I ever quarrelled . . .)

Rose and Henry are both distraught.  They were putting on their bibs to eat popsicles, and Henry offered to hold up Rose’s hair for her so that it wouldn’t catch in the snap, but she asked me to do it for her.  I innocently complied, and Henry was deeply wounded as well as infuriated.  When [...]