Today's Project

We are trying really hard to get organized around here. Now that things have settled down a bit for the Badger in terms of school and training at work, he has had some time to attack projects at home. Our downstairs has been a mess. So, today, he took everything out of here:

And temporarily piled it in here:

And then the idea was that he would start putting everything away neatly in the storage room in a highly organized fashion. He did get all the food storage stowed under the stairs:

But that's as far as he got today. He was also working on the garage at the same time, since there was a bunch of stuff in there that needs to go in the storage room and the freezer needed to be moved, etc. etc. So though he worked tirelessly all day, it's going to be a 2-day project, at least. But I'm so happy about everything he was able to get done today! It's been so hard looking at all these boxes in a jumble all over the basement and wanting so badly to move them but not being able to. I love my Badger! And he loves me because I filed his taxes! We really couldn't get along without each other.

That reminds me of something. A few years ago my sister found a product called "Badger Balm" at the health food store, so of course she had to buy it for me. It came in a darling little box, which I still have, that has fabulous little badger drawings all over it. One of the pictures has the caption: "Seriously, if I were lost in some remote place, I'd want my Badger with me." Amen!

Coming Loose!

Bean's top front teeth are loose. The one on his right is very close to coming out, and we monitor its progress every day. It's hanging very crooked and it wiggles alarmingly, but no amount of raw apple biting has extracted it yet. We'll keep you posted.

Inflation

Do you remember when you were a kid and you tried to blow up balloons? I remember for years I'd puff and puff until my cheeks were sore without being able to get them to really take off and inflate. That was pretty much Fish's experience with Roo's birthday balloons. Maybe it was because he kept trying to blow up three at once...

The Difference a Year Makes

Here's Roo a year ago:

And here she is now:

They just keep getting cuter, don't they?

Roo is Two!

Boy, things are crazy around here. We've had major computer problems, which we're still working on fixing. Anyway, I do have some pictures of Roo on her birthday. The pictures that turned out all ended up being of her in her high chair, but that's pretty appropriate since she spends a good deal of time there.

Here she is at breakfast on her birthday with a rice milk mustache:

Here's her birthday dinner, a sort of chili-dip with chips that the Badger threw together because we were all totally fried that afternoon:

And here's Roo and her birthday cake. I made Eve's "World's Best Carrot Cake" again, but this time it wasn't the world's best. I didn't bake it long enough and it was practically RAW in the middle. I was so embarrassed! The outside edges were pretty good though. And Roo LOVED the cream cheese frosting. You can tell because in these pictures there is nearly no frosting to be seen.

Some Stuff About Me

A friend just sent me one of those "interesting facts about you" surveys and I thought I'd publish my answers on my blog.

1. Occupation? homeschooling mother, homemaker

2. What color are your socks right now? They say "Someone who loves me very much went to Boston and bought me these socks" and they have lobsters and hearts and stuff on them

3. What was the last thing that you ate? chicken corn chowder and homemade bread with lots of butter

4. Can you drive a stick shift? yes, when we got married we bought a car at an auction and it ended up being a stick so I learned on my honeymoon-- poor Badger!

5. Last person you spoke to on the phone. My sister Emily

6. How old are you today? 28 2/3

7. What is your favorite sport to watch? soccer or baseball when my kids are playing

8. What is your favorite drink? filtered water

9. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes..... and it pretty much changed the course of my entire life and I'm never doing it again....

10. Favorite food? butter

11. What is the last movie you watched? Don't remember-- I don't watch much TV

12. How do you vent anger? call one of my sisters and whine

13. What was your favorite toy as a child? Legos

14. What is your favorite season? autumn

15. Hugs or kisses? hugs

16. Cherries or blueberries? both, please. I love fresh fruit!

17. Living arrangements? I live with a Badger, a self-proclaimed six-year-old wizard, a four-year-old who is as wiggly as a fish, and a cute toddler we call Roo in a duplex smack dab in the middle of the United States

18. When was the last time you cried? President Hinckley's funeral

19. What is on the floor of your closet? plastic shelving units

20. What did you do last night? tried unsuccessfully to sleep while Little Four was doing an interpretive dance in my belly

21. What inspires you? creative beauty

22. What are you most afraid of? my kids getting hurt

23. Favorite smells? things being sauteed in butter

24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? cheeeeese please!

25. Favorite dog breed? Cocker Spaniel

26. Favorite day of the week? Any day my Badger is home

27. How many states have you lived in? FIVE, since I just moved!

Bean Takes Care of Roo

We were having a difficult time getting Roo to sleep tonight. The Badger and I were both busy downstairs and she was crying in her crib, so we sent Bean up to sing her songs and try to make her happy. In true Bean take-charge style, he got her out of the crib and proceeded to take very good care of her. He got Pink Blanket and Pink Cup and Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book and curled up in my bed with her. He must have done a very good job because this is what the Badger found when he went upstairs to check on them:

Roo and Bean are very, very close. Roo and Fish are doing better (like, Roo doesn't scream every time Fish touches her anymore) but Roo adores Bean and will sometimes call for him instead of me when she's sad.

I keep wondering how Little Four is going to fit into the sibling dynamic.

Their Best Fort Yet

Fish and Bean have discovered that the piles of boxes in their big room are the perfect beginning for all manner of blanket/furniture forts. I used to love to make forts when I was a kid and I would have been over the moon if I'd ever been able to have a set-up this cool!

Basket of Happiness

I just washed all the newborn girl clothes. So small and soft and cute! Sigh.

I'm trying to get physically and mentally ready to have this baby. I'm not there yet, but this helped.

Look at that cute pink hat with ears! Sigh.

Gettin' Some Book-Learnin'

Roo enjoyed a perusal of the Children's Dictionary this afternoon.