Olivia and Veronica are in track. They had their second meet this week. Liv took first in the 440 with a very strong lead.

Here’s a groovy picture of her in the high jump.

She also took 3rd in the relay.

Veronica’s team took first in the relay, which is funny because I don’t think any of them are particularly fast. They must be really good at the handoff.

She also did the 440 and ball throw. It was a gorgeous afternoon and we all enjoyed being outside.

I periodically look out at the pond, even though we checked quite thoroughly for life back when Khan was rescued and found none. That was two months ago. Today, there was a spot of sun hitting the deep end and I saw what looked like a black fish sunning himself just under the surface.

I freaked.

So I grabbed a bucket and ran down the stairs to the lower deck. He was still there, but by the time I could grab the net, he’d vanished. Stinker. I’m amazed that he’s lived this long, and somewhat horrified at the conditions in which he’s spent the last 2+ months. We had to drain the pond to find him. And he’s not black.

We spent about 2 hours acclimating him to clean water, and he’s in with Khan now. Khan was totally freaked for the first few minutes, now they seem inseparable, which is really cute. I guess I’m going to need to get a bigger tank sooner than I intended. Probably a 20 gallon.

The new guy has yet to realize that Nate’s bubble-action treasure chest isn’t going to eat him.

Khan was 3 inches when we found him. He’s 4 inches now. Chocolate-boy here is 5 inches, and quite bashed up. He’s got some ugly scars on one side. Hopefully, they’ll heal. I put salt in the aquarium to help with that. It seemed to work well on Khan’s sores.

It’s late. Nate’s still at work, the kids are in bed, so I had a little too much fun taking pictures of the new roommates for you.

I thought these were great, but then I thought why not see what kind of pictures I’d get with Carol’s fancy-schmancy camera and 100mm lens (that I still have. Want it back yet, Carol?). And yeah. What a difference.

I love that tiki!

No, I’m not taking my goldfish too seriously, I’m having fun with cameras. And yes, I did take pictures of his good side, but they were all blurry. To avoid obnoxious reflections in the glass, I had to turn off all but the three lights hanging directly above the aquarium, so it was really quite dark in my kitchen and fish move a lot.

(added sometime later)

Wait, wait, here’s one!

And I’m totally putting the camera away and going to bed now.

I like to write blog posts, I really do. I just haven’t been able to thing of anything to talk about. It’s pretty weird. So, I might babble on a bit to see if anything comes.

Max just went through a massive eating/growing spurt. I think he’s tapering off. He does this, where he’ll go quite awhile not being very hungry, then a couple weeks of constantly eating. It does crazy things to my milk supply. I feel like once I catch up to his increased demand, he’s done.

And that’s interesting conversation, eh?

Let’s see, what else. Most of this year I’ve been great at planning a menu, going grocery shopping once a week, staying within a very conservative budget… It’s a-typical for me, being that organized, and it’s been kind of fun. Last week, and possibly the week before, I don’t remember, that all collapsed. We’ve eaten out more than we should and I got sick of it quicker than I thought I would. So this week we’re back on. Last night, I made turkey meatballs with gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce (a family favorite). Today, I cooked a chuck roast in the crock pot with a jar of BBQ sauce, shredded it, and am now letting the liquids reduce and thicken a bit with the lid off. We’ll eat it over rolls for some messy BBQ sandwiches. It kind of tastes like brisket, actually. I’m currently boiling cobs of corn.

Should we start talking about the weather next? 🙂

Seriously, I want to write, I just feel boring. Hopefully, this will be that boring post that gets me out of the funk. Well, it’d be nice anyway.

Max is almost crawling still. He rolls around a lot and scoots. Clark wakes up every morning and greets me with a quiet hug. Very cute. I didn’t know he was up this morning, so he freaked me out with a leg hug while I was standing at the counter in the kitchen.

We finally took Clark’s birthday money from the Grandmas and went to the toy store last week. I swear I can add, but somehow I totally miscalculated and was shocked at the checkout. The kid scored. However we bought a $20 set of Buzz Lightyear walkie-talkies, and they sucked. If you get far enough away from each other to use them, all you hear is fuzz. While returning those today, I dropped Max’s blanket in the parking lot without realizing it. (How did I turn in to someone that does that??). I panicked when we got home from our errands and I went looking for it to swaddle him for his nap. Fortunately, we hadn’t gone too many places so I was able to track it down and some kind soul turned it in. It’s a much admired blanket (Brandi). Someone could easily have made off with it.

That’s it for me today. Max is trying to type and the corn is going to beep at me soon.

Don’t give up on me. I’ll be back.

Clark can be so considerate, not only for a just-four-year-old, but for a human being.

I was washing dishes this morning. Clark was watching the end of a movie on the computer a few cupboards away when the phone rang. I answered it, had a little conversation, and as I hung up I noticed the movie was silent. I asked him if he turned it off. He said yes. I asked why. He said, “I want you to hear on the phone. You were talking to someone.”

It’s a very little thing, but not at all uncommon. They all add up to one heck of a sweet little guy.

We’re having Abby’s teacher and her family over for dinner tonight, so I’m working towards that. We also have a number of social plans this weekend.

I haven’t really had time with Nate in weeks, with his work being crazy demanding and all the partying going on with birthdays and such this month. I told him last night that after this weekend (and dinner Monday night with one of his brother’s families), we need to scale back so I can get caught up on the basic maintenance of our life. I’m so behind. I go and go all day and don’t get to a fraction of all that needs to be done. So this is my public commitment to myself to not make any commitments whatsoever ’til I feel in balance again.

Liv had her birthday party dinner on Friday night.

Papu came out and was quite sociable, but we fed him first. And I was still a neurotic case, worried that someone would get bit because there’s nothing quiet and calm about 10, 11 year old girls at a party.

We finally blessed Max at church on Sunday. He and Dad look so nice in their white shirts.

I’m totally ready for April to be over. I’m tired. And I have SO much to do today. As well as the rest of the week.

I need to start another pair of relaxing socks.

Out of the blue this afternoon, Clark walks up to me and says,

“I hate Papu.”

“Why?”

“Because. He eat Liv.”

Oy, he’s so stinkin’ cute.

I just came back from the store where I purchased supplies to host a dinner/movie/birthday party for Liv and 8 or so of her friends. We’re making Bats and Cobwebs, a baked pasta dish with bow tie pasta, slices of italian turkey sausage, and chunks of mozza that melt into the “cobwebs.” Since it isn’t Halloween, Liv decided to call it Ribbons and Bows instead. They’re watching Penelope tonight, so I also bought a big box of popcorn and Junior Mints. I’ve got a bag of balloons and a couple colors of streamers so they can all decorate/destroy her bedroom.

I like these older parties. They’re easier than the younger ones in many ways. Provide food, they’ll entertain themselves. Of course, I still have to get the house clean and cook for a crowd.

I should take my mom’s approach, as in, “It’s your birthday. Which means I birthed you. You should be throwing ME a party!” 🙂

I’m in! I’m in! I’m in! I’m in! I’m in! I’m in! I’m in! I’m in! I’m in!

I registered for THE class I wanted SO bad! Remember a couple years ago when I bought The Shepherd’s Rug at the Black Sheep Gathering? Well, at Black Sheep this year, one of the authors is teaching a class on rug braiding with wool roving. I’m really excited. I’ve carded a batt, divided it into three strips and braided it.

I think it turned out pretty cool.

I wonder if I can do a whole rug that way?

… when your computer is determined to die (i.e. spontaneously shut off) whenever it thinks you’re making it work too hard.

Or at all.

So, I’m typing on the laptop with one hand (something I’m getting better at out of necessity) because Max won’t let me put him down. Still.

Basically, I’m signing in to say a quick “HELLO!” to y’all and I’ll be back as opportunity presents itself.

Now I’m off to try to make bread one handed ’cause I took the last loaf out of the freezer this morning. Should be interesting.

It’s in the exact same place it was when I photographed it on Monday. Only now, it has some books on it because no horizontal surface in this house is safe from the kids and their accompanying “stuff” that just accumulates.

Everywhere.

I’m trying to re-claim my clean house. My children are trying just as hard to destroy it. Since there are significantly more of them than there are of me, I’m losing and it makes me cranky.

That’s pretty much what’s going on around here. Oh, and
-Abby’s home sick
-Max won’t let me put him down unless he’s sleeping
-I have two little boys coming over this afternoon so their moms can work at the school
-I’m trying yet again to get some batts made for my etsy shop and have encountered setbacks. But I’m persisting
-I want to go to sleep

Yup, that’s it.

We’re all seemingly healthy. Max is slowly working towards his pre-sick sleeping habits. We’re still struggling to get Clark to eat, but he’s doing ok right now. It’s helpful knowing he’s not allergic to cheese. The kids are on Mid Winter Break this week, so I’m making them help with the Monday-morning-reclaim-the-house-from-being-trashed-over-the-weekend chores.

I’m torn trying to decide how to spend my free time, what little I have of it. I’m on a roll with the songwriting, but I also really want to card some batts and knit a Pi shawl, not to mention the other little shawls I wanted to get done this spring.

And I think I’m going to start exercising regularly again. (Oh please, oh please). I’ve done pretty good at cutting down bad snacking and sweets over the last few weeks and I feel a lot better about myself for it. I really want to fit into my clothes better.

I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to post this week with the kids being home and all. I haven’t felt very talkative the past couple of weeks, but if I have anything interesting to say, I’ll be here.