Just Need a Little Faith

I stumbled across a tutorial on how to create a lush plant covered teepee, in which children can play. The pictures looked like hippie love and peace in physical form. I couldn't resist even a little bit. I probably should have. I don't have room for a giant plant structure, I don't really like fresh green beans (which grow up the stakes) and my kids are almost too big for this type of nonsense.

But they aren't quite too big. Not quite. Surely someone will eat the green beans. We will find the room!

Two days later, a couple trips to Lowe's, an outlay of $25, and we were ready to go. The younger kids and I pulled out a few power tools and got to work. It only took a couple hours, no one was injured, it went together easily, and we enjoyed being outside. Ethan even helped me to run a drip line. It went better than 90% of all family projects.  

We now have a naked wooden frame living in our backyard. Every time I glance in the backyard, for a split second I wonder why the ladder is out. Then I remember my grand scheme. 

Right now it looks pathetic and sad to me. Sam thinks it looks like a shrine to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. I am hoping that with some time, water, and a little bit of faith (in the Greek gods?) we will soon have a trellis covered with green beans and morning glories. Faith is always the hardest part for me. I never seem to believe a packet of seeds can grow into anything, much less a wall of greenery. I will let you know what happens when August rolls around! We will see if my faith is justified. We will see if Sam has the Greek shrine he is envisioning. Even if it works, I refuse to sacrifice a goat.

Welcome to the Tweens

Gracie girl is now 11.  I don't know how that even happened. But it did. And there is nothing I can about it. 

She loved going to public school this year.  She's loved making new friends and trying new things. She enjoyed basketball and was deeply disappointed that track and field got canceled only a week into the season. She was also despondent that swim team and gymnastics are currently canceled. Grace loves to be involved and part of a sports team (it must be a recessive gene). This has been a great year for her and she is looking forward to starting 6th grade in the fall. 

As they get older, the size of the gifts seem to shrink.

This year she wanted a bike computer, earrings, and a watch. She is getting so big.

Not too big to love a stuffed animal, though.

She will never be too big for that.

Michael's 39th

When Michael and I were dating we were wandering around Walmart a couple weeks before my birthday. I saw a super cute pair of pajamas and commented, "These are so cute! They would be a great birthday present!" I then wandered further down the aisle. I turned around to find Michael dropping the pajamas in his cart. I was aghast.

That was not how birthday shopping was supposed to work. You would thoughtfully, and secretly buy your loved one a present, and then look forward to their surprise as they unwrapped the gift. I explained all this to Michael. He was not of the same opinion, but he respected where I was coming from and put the gift back. He then bought be something else, at a later date.

Fast-forward twenty-ish years. I asked Michael what he wanted for his birthday this year. He was uncertain. I was tired. I then offered to just give him his birthday budget and he could buy what he wanted. He happily agreed. Michael went on an Amazon shopping spree, and received his cardboard boxes on his birthday. Do Amazon boxes count as gift wrap? In our house it did this year. 

Oh how my standards have dropped!

He enjoyed his birthday, even if I'm a slacker. His sister delivered cookies to his office, which he wasn't at. He took the day off work, but made time to go pick up a massive box of cookies.

(banana for scale)

For dinner I made him his requested dinner of gnocchi with fontina cheese. We had homemade gingersnap cookies with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. In years past I have made him a ice cream cake, but this year was all about simplicity. A cookie, a scoop of ice cream, some sliced banana, and a little bit of caramel sauce. Easy and still super yummy.

After dessert we watched Back to the Future II. Michael introduced the kids to the old franchise, and found it deeply satisfying they enjoyed it so much. I imagine we will be watching the 3rd one soon.

It was a markedly low-key celebration, like most of ours lately. It has been beautiful in its own way.

With everyone home we also made time to do some tie dyeing. A bag of activities was dropped at our doorstep by an almost-anonymous source that included tie dyeing supplies. We had a lot of fun making several creations, although they did not turn out as well as our previous attempts.

It was still a fun project that everyone enjoyed participating in. 

Happy Birthday Love! I hope the next year isn't one of so many interesting events.

Mother's Day

We spent a quiet day at home for Mother's Day this year. 

I had found a fun cake idea, so I made my own dessert. We enjoyed it with a scoop of ice cream after our home held church services. 

In the afternoon we went for a bike ride and found a quiet spot on the river to skip rocks. Despite a couple close calls, no one got hit with any rocks.

Someday I will put a flattering picture of myself on the blog. Today is not that day.

Michael made veggie korma for dinner, which the kids did not eat, but they did attempt! I had a delicious dinner and delicious lunches for the next several days, so I have no complaints.

It was a pretty laid back day. It was a great way to celebrate Mother's Day.

Cutting Our Own Hair

I blame it on Libby. She lulled me into a false sense of security. She asked me if I could trim an inch off her hair. Trimming curly hair is so easy. Even if I mess up, no one would even know. So I grabbed the scissors and hacked off an inch, then put her hair into the requested braids.

Her hair looked great, life was good.

Then Ethan asked for a haircut. He has been asking for a couple weeks. He even sent me a video. I tried, all I can say is I tried, and rejoice hairdressers should be able to open soon.

His before pictures.

His after photo. I was only allowed to take this picture after I agreed to play a round of Mario Kart with him. The 'do isn't horrible and if I were brave enough, I would cut more off. I am not brave enough. He is not patient enough. We are moving on with life.  He is wearing a hat.

Then Grace asked for a haircut. I was surprised, to say the least. I talked to her for a few minutes, to make sure she was certain. Her long hair has been so important to her for so long and I didn't want to cause psychological damage.

She was certain, so I grabbed the scissors. Girl's hair is easy.  She was very pleased. Although her braid isn't as long or flexible now, it looks so much nicer. I don't know why it looks so crooked in this picture; it's much straighter in real life.

Sam was the last in the roundup. He honestly doesn't care what it looks like, so there was no pressure. 

It turned out all right, but I'm not tempted to cut his hair again. Cutting boys' hair is hard! All the blending and shaping. Every mistake shows. I think we will leave hair cutting to the professionals from now on.

I think I should have stuck with the original title to this post: "Cutting our own hair; do not recommend."