Bye bye Button
Good evening. I hope you are well and enjoying all surrounding you or at least, coping with it. I am feeling really relaxed and happy with my surroundings at the moment. I had almost two hours alone this evening to garden, surely a good way to begin a peaceful evening, although my back may be sore from wheeling barrows of mulch down the hill. The sounds I hear at the moment are Beethoven’s Emperoro Piano Concerto Number 5, Jedda snoring, Matt watching a movie in the other room, and crickets chirping, all pretty peaceful. I am inhaling the fresh air through the window and the smell of the coffee in my cup, brewed with a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. Looking out the window, I see nothing in the dark but my reflection in the dirty glass. If I choose to look around the room, I will see piles of clean unfolded laundry, bags waiting to be unpacked from our last outing, a big pile of freshly picked spinach, colorful toys, spilled food and dirty shoes all over the floor, but clean dishes, thanks to Matt. But I am avoiding eye contact with the mess so I can actually focus on something besides the seemingly futile work of cleaning up a room that will be trashed all too soon.
The girls and I have spent a lot of time at home this week, and for the most part we were not ill. Most of the time we had no plans and just let the wind blow us wherever it willed. We spent time outside: hanging laundry, playing with, chasing, and feeding chickens, working and playing in the garden and sandpit, and playing on the little playground. Since I was the only adult around, there was no hope of any extra entertainment. So they had to make use of each other and quite enjoyed themselves. They whined less and played independently, which is a nice change.
What adventures we had. One afternoon I took them on a bike ride to the neighbor’s place, about one kilometer down a weedy gravel road, over cattle grates, bridge and up and down hills. I thought Jacinta might practice on her bike, a bit naïve of me. Jacinta lasted about three minutes on her bike and then ditched it in the grass, saying she’d run alongside. That lasted another three minutes. Keith has always talked about the old days when he carried his three kids to town on his pushbike. I remember being eleven and doing the very same thing with my friends, minus the baby strapped into her seat at the back. So quick thinking, I decided I would “have a go.” Jacinta sat on the bike seat and held onto my hips while I stood and pedaled while Genevieve giggled with delight to have Jacinta up at her level. We did it! Both the neighbors and Matt doubt my intelligence, but hey, nobody got hurt, we had a good time and we made it there and back, remembering to retrieve the little bike from the weeds.
Another adventure this week has been gathering fruit. As the nectarines and plums are so close to being ripe, the girls are wanting to eat more and more each day. Jacinta told me that she has a nectarine tree in her ear. “Do you want to know what it said Mommy?” She then whispered in my ear, “It said, ‘I think I will be ripe next week.’” There are still strawberries, but the turkeys and slugs get most of them. The hunt is still quite entertaining. Our kind neighbors are sharing their white mulberry tree with us, and it is ready for the picking. It is a lovely tree just next to our orchard with low hanging branches and shade. Genevieve can sit alone in the crook of the tree and munch. Jacinta is a hoarder, collecting twenty berries and counting them, but not eating any until she has “enough.” She then sits down to enjoy. Genevieve and I munch while I pick. It is going to be a fruit feast from here on out, unless the fruit bats and turkeys get it all, which seems unlikely.
One morning I suggested we try and harvest a few blackberries. Knowing I would be without adult help, I brought along Genevieve’s highchair and strapped her in to prevent her from following me up the ladder. She was actually quite happy in her little chair watching. I decided to go to the fruitiest part of the tree, and perhaps the most dangerous. Jacinta advised me against this, wanting me to go up on the shed instead, but there were no mulberries up there. There is a defunct rusted out water tank sitting under the tree. Knowing it was not very sturdy I carefully placed my ladder on the edge of the tank and planned to just stand on the ladder, never setting foot on the old tank. I climbed up slowly, as slowly as the old tank collapsed and the ladder sunk with it. It was pretty funny, and again, luck was on my side. Not many mulberries though, that’s when we decided white mulberries would probably taste better anyway.
Chickens were another source of entertainment. Our hens are laying very well, but have become quite bold and a bit scary to Jacinta. She doesn’t spend much time playing in the pen now. The chicks are also growing brave enough to sneak out the holes in the fence so we spent some time chasing chicks and patching up tiny holes in the pen. One night the mother hen and all eleven chicks escaped and fell asleep in the shed. Mid-sleep, we packed them up in a little cage. I kept them locked up in this cage and then in a pen in the garden until the next day when our friend Nelly came to pick up eight of the chicks and a rooster, no mummy hen though. Jacinta was fine with this, understanding that we can not feed them all, nor keep any more roosters, just as long as we kept a few chicks. We tried to catch the wild clucky hen that lives under the house for Nelly but failed on the first day. The next day, I did successfully trap her in a large cage, in addition to a hungry rooster awaiting Nelly. Unfortunately, that night, something hungry dug its way into the cage and devoured both chickens. Ahhh!!! I unintentionally sacrificed these poor chickens, how terrible for them. I’ll get over it and I guess they already have, as they are probably being digested. There is a chance that they both dug their way out to go on a Bremen Town Musician Tour, and just left a few feathers behind to fool us. Or so I can pretend to allay my guilt.
For these amazing birds that entertain us and give us good protein, I have been pondering creating a movable pen that I can use in the garden. They love unused garden bed to scratch up. They do the weeding, till the soil all in search of insects and fertilize the soil. All the materials to create such a pen are lying around here in dangerous piles, no need to purchase anything, except for a real practical idea and some motivation. If everything is in one spot and I needn’t hunt down tools with two girls hanging off me, I accomplish things. But this is often not the case. My friend Anissa is different and luckily has been spending a lot of time here. She is energized by the things that wear me out. So we made the movable pen this week, in addition to clearing a few more garden beds and planting seeds and seedlings while the children played in the sandpit and also pretended to be chickens inside the wire cage while we constructed the little pen.. Two real hens tried it out today, seemed happy for a few hours and did not escape. Bonus.
With no major outings this week, we still did quite a bit of socializing. Since Anissa and the kids were the only ones who came for French class on Monday, we thought we’d switch gears a little. We taught them some gymnastics first, since both of us moms were gymnasts. (I was sore for a few days following). I had playgroup here instead of canceling it because of the rain. All the moms helped out with cleaning and caring so it worked out pretty well. Jacinta had her friend Adelle over to play one day. That same evening Anissa and Craig brought the kids over after dinner for a movie night. The kids eventually slept and we were able to watch and discuss a movie on how Cuba survived Peak Oil because they had to pull together and dive into local organic agriculture to feed themselves and recreate true community. It’s no wonder how little I know about one of the USA’s supposed arch enemies. Cuba is an inspiration, not because of its communist standing in the world but because of its tenacity in dealing with exclusion from the global market. I knew their healthcare system was pretty awesome, but now I know they have even more to teach us in these uncertain times.
I can’t see Western governments humbling themselves to embrace and learn from Cuba’s experience any time soon, given how much flack Obama is getting for the mere mention of his willingness to even sit at a table with Mamhoud Ahmadinejad. Imagine a US president getting advice from a communist nation, hee hee. It seems that many countries forget to look outside their borders for ideas. We can only hope that things are changing now with so much free information floating around.
Floating…well, a jump but…Genevieve took her first swimming lesson this week. She watched Jacinta first, who was delighted to be back in the warm water with her swimming teacher. When it was her turn, slowly and bravely Genevieve marched up to the edge of the pool. She lost her nerve when she realized she was getting in the water with a “stranger,” but stayed in for the whole 15 minute lesson. She floated back and forth with Cheryl, using all the different toys, noodles, kick boards and mirrors that Jacinta uses, whimpering from time to time. That evening she said over and over, “lay down…Cheryl…simming.” She practiced kicking and laying down in the bath tub, it was beautiful.
Matt tried so hard to make it to their swimming lesson, but work has just been really busy. I took a few pictures and movies which made him feel better. He is on call this week which is a bummer, and also had a little stomach flu. Now that the nights are longer, Matt’s trying to work outside a little bit after work, inspired by the major urge to clean up and organize. He and Jacinta worked on putting together the roof racks on the car, which ended up being the wrong size. Today he worked on his storage shed: clearing the space, gathering materials and beginning the foundation. He needed the tractor for something, so Evie had her first tractor ride. She lasted a long while, even clapping and saying, “Yay!” when it was all over, so happy for the ride. Both girls get so excited when Matt comes home from work, following him around for a good while. They must need a change in adult energy and know that he will probably make them giggle.
We have so much fun as a family getting the girls ready for bed, if we are all awake enough for the routine. Tonight Genevieve said, “bye bye button.” She was talking to her belly button who was being locked away in an all in one pajama. Jacinta gloated that she was wearing pajamas in which she could still touch her belly button so logically, Genevieve dove into her big sister’s belly button. Jacinta is unpredictable as to what she will find funny, cute or unacceptable. Today in the car Jacinta decided to “assist” Genevieve in placing a pair of training pants on her head. Genevieve, also unpredictable, found this hilarious. So I drove through town with Evie’s head hidden inside her pink undies. At some point they fell off and she sweetly called out, “Cinta…help….hat.” Jacinta laughed and explained to Evie that she would have to wait until we got home and she could get out of her car seat to put the undies back on her head. Jacinta loves to be a helper, she sits with Evie while she is trying to wee on the potty. Genevieve actually did her first wee on the potty this week, a fluke though.
Good humor, this is a good word for the week. I sometimes forget to laugh with my girls. Sometimes I take my “job” as a mom too seriously, feeling an everlasting need to teach and be an authority figure. I find myself reminding Jacinta to laugh more at Genevieve, rather than getting terribly frustrated. I guess this is best way to learn from ourselves, seeing our own undesirable behaviors come out of our children and realizing that it is a slight problem. I forget that I should probably change myself first, before preaching what I have not learned to practice. I am a woman of too many words, but I’ll try. Laugh a lot, especially at yourself this week, I’ll try too. Take care,
Peace,
Shana
The girls and I have spent a lot of time at home this week, and for the most part we were not ill. Most of the time we had no plans and just let the wind blow us wherever it willed. We spent time outside: hanging laundry, playing with, chasing, and feeding chickens, working and playing in the garden and sandpit, and playing on the little playground. Since I was the only adult around, there was no hope of any extra entertainment. So they had to make use of each other and quite enjoyed themselves. They whined less and played independently, which is a nice change.
What adventures we had. One afternoon I took them on a bike ride to the neighbor’s place, about one kilometer down a weedy gravel road, over cattle grates, bridge and up and down hills. I thought Jacinta might practice on her bike, a bit naïve of me. Jacinta lasted about three minutes on her bike and then ditched it in the grass, saying she’d run alongside. That lasted another three minutes. Keith has always talked about the old days when he carried his three kids to town on his pushbike. I remember being eleven and doing the very same thing with my friends, minus the baby strapped into her seat at the back. So quick thinking, I decided I would “have a go.” Jacinta sat on the bike seat and held onto my hips while I stood and pedaled while Genevieve giggled with delight to have Jacinta up at her level. We did it! Both the neighbors and Matt doubt my intelligence, but hey, nobody got hurt, we had a good time and we made it there and back, remembering to retrieve the little bike from the weeds.
Another adventure this week has been gathering fruit. As the nectarines and plums are so close to being ripe, the girls are wanting to eat more and more each day. Jacinta told me that she has a nectarine tree in her ear. “Do you want to know what it said Mommy?” She then whispered in my ear, “It said, ‘I think I will be ripe next week.’” There are still strawberries, but the turkeys and slugs get most of them. The hunt is still quite entertaining. Our kind neighbors are sharing their white mulberry tree with us, and it is ready for the picking. It is a lovely tree just next to our orchard with low hanging branches and shade. Genevieve can sit alone in the crook of the tree and munch. Jacinta is a hoarder, collecting twenty berries and counting them, but not eating any until she has “enough.” She then sits down to enjoy. Genevieve and I munch while I pick. It is going to be a fruit feast from here on out, unless the fruit bats and turkeys get it all, which seems unlikely.
One morning I suggested we try and harvest a few blackberries. Knowing I would be without adult help, I brought along Genevieve’s highchair and strapped her in to prevent her from following me up the ladder. She was actually quite happy in her little chair watching. I decided to go to the fruitiest part of the tree, and perhaps the most dangerous. Jacinta advised me against this, wanting me to go up on the shed instead, but there were no mulberries up there. There is a defunct rusted out water tank sitting under the tree. Knowing it was not very sturdy I carefully placed my ladder on the edge of the tank and planned to just stand on the ladder, never setting foot on the old tank. I climbed up slowly, as slowly as the old tank collapsed and the ladder sunk with it. It was pretty funny, and again, luck was on my side. Not many mulberries though, that’s when we decided white mulberries would probably taste better anyway.
Chickens were another source of entertainment. Our hens are laying very well, but have become quite bold and a bit scary to Jacinta. She doesn’t spend much time playing in the pen now. The chicks are also growing brave enough to sneak out the holes in the fence so we spent some time chasing chicks and patching up tiny holes in the pen. One night the mother hen and all eleven chicks escaped and fell asleep in the shed. Mid-sleep, we packed them up in a little cage. I kept them locked up in this cage and then in a pen in the garden until the next day when our friend Nelly came to pick up eight of the chicks and a rooster, no mummy hen though. Jacinta was fine with this, understanding that we can not feed them all, nor keep any more roosters, just as long as we kept a few chicks. We tried to catch the wild clucky hen that lives under the house for Nelly but failed on the first day. The next day, I did successfully trap her in a large cage, in addition to a hungry rooster awaiting Nelly. Unfortunately, that night, something hungry dug its way into the cage and devoured both chickens. Ahhh!!! I unintentionally sacrificed these poor chickens, how terrible for them. I’ll get over it and I guess they already have, as they are probably being digested. There is a chance that they both dug their way out to go on a Bremen Town Musician Tour, and just left a few feathers behind to fool us. Or so I can pretend to allay my guilt.
For these amazing birds that entertain us and give us good protein, I have been pondering creating a movable pen that I can use in the garden. They love unused garden bed to scratch up. They do the weeding, till the soil all in search of insects and fertilize the soil. All the materials to create such a pen are lying around here in dangerous piles, no need to purchase anything, except for a real practical idea and some motivation. If everything is in one spot and I needn’t hunt down tools with two girls hanging off me, I accomplish things. But this is often not the case. My friend Anissa is different and luckily has been spending a lot of time here. She is energized by the things that wear me out. So we made the movable pen this week, in addition to clearing a few more garden beds and planting seeds and seedlings while the children played in the sandpit and also pretended to be chickens inside the wire cage while we constructed the little pen.. Two real hens tried it out today, seemed happy for a few hours and did not escape. Bonus.
With no major outings this week, we still did quite a bit of socializing. Since Anissa and the kids were the only ones who came for French class on Monday, we thought we’d switch gears a little. We taught them some gymnastics first, since both of us moms were gymnasts. (I was sore for a few days following). I had playgroup here instead of canceling it because of the rain. All the moms helped out with cleaning and caring so it worked out pretty well. Jacinta had her friend Adelle over to play one day. That same evening Anissa and Craig brought the kids over after dinner for a movie night. The kids eventually slept and we were able to watch and discuss a movie on how Cuba survived Peak Oil because they had to pull together and dive into local organic agriculture to feed themselves and recreate true community. It’s no wonder how little I know about one of the USA’s supposed arch enemies. Cuba is an inspiration, not because of its communist standing in the world but because of its tenacity in dealing with exclusion from the global market. I knew their healthcare system was pretty awesome, but now I know they have even more to teach us in these uncertain times.
I can’t see Western governments humbling themselves to embrace and learn from Cuba’s experience any time soon, given how much flack Obama is getting for the mere mention of his willingness to even sit at a table with Mamhoud Ahmadinejad. Imagine a US president getting advice from a communist nation, hee hee. It seems that many countries forget to look outside their borders for ideas. We can only hope that things are changing now with so much free information floating around.
Floating…well, a jump but…Genevieve took her first swimming lesson this week. She watched Jacinta first, who was delighted to be back in the warm water with her swimming teacher. When it was her turn, slowly and bravely Genevieve marched up to the edge of the pool. She lost her nerve when she realized she was getting in the water with a “stranger,” but stayed in for the whole 15 minute lesson. She floated back and forth with Cheryl, using all the different toys, noodles, kick boards and mirrors that Jacinta uses, whimpering from time to time. That evening she said over and over, “lay down…Cheryl…simming.” She practiced kicking and laying down in the bath tub, it was beautiful.
Matt tried so hard to make it to their swimming lesson, but work has just been really busy. I took a few pictures and movies which made him feel better. He is on call this week which is a bummer, and also had a little stomach flu. Now that the nights are longer, Matt’s trying to work outside a little bit after work, inspired by the major urge to clean up and organize. He and Jacinta worked on putting together the roof racks on the car, which ended up being the wrong size. Today he worked on his storage shed: clearing the space, gathering materials and beginning the foundation. He needed the tractor for something, so Evie had her first tractor ride. She lasted a long while, even clapping and saying, “Yay!” when it was all over, so happy for the ride. Both girls get so excited when Matt comes home from work, following him around for a good while. They must need a change in adult energy and know that he will probably make them giggle.
We have so much fun as a family getting the girls ready for bed, if we are all awake enough for the routine. Tonight Genevieve said, “bye bye button.” She was talking to her belly button who was being locked away in an all in one pajama. Jacinta gloated that she was wearing pajamas in which she could still touch her belly button so logically, Genevieve dove into her big sister’s belly button. Jacinta is unpredictable as to what she will find funny, cute or unacceptable. Today in the car Jacinta decided to “assist” Genevieve in placing a pair of training pants on her head. Genevieve, also unpredictable, found this hilarious. So I drove through town with Evie’s head hidden inside her pink undies. At some point they fell off and she sweetly called out, “Cinta…help….hat.” Jacinta laughed and explained to Evie that she would have to wait until we got home and she could get out of her car seat to put the undies back on her head. Jacinta loves to be a helper, she sits with Evie while she is trying to wee on the potty. Genevieve actually did her first wee on the potty this week, a fluke though.
Good humor, this is a good word for the week. I sometimes forget to laugh with my girls. Sometimes I take my “job” as a mom too seriously, feeling an everlasting need to teach and be an authority figure. I find myself reminding Jacinta to laugh more at Genevieve, rather than getting terribly frustrated. I guess this is best way to learn from ourselves, seeing our own undesirable behaviors come out of our children and realizing that it is a slight problem. I forget that I should probably change myself first, before preaching what I have not learned to practice. I am a woman of too many words, but I’ll try. Laugh a lot, especially at yourself this week, I’ll try too. Take care,
Peace,
Shana
posted by Matt & Shana & Jacinta & Genevieve Henry at
12:11 AM
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