Visual Poetry

     I began this day like any other, up before the sun and helping everyone prepare for their day. I scraped ice off of the car windows and wrasteled toddlers into their seats. Finally on the road to preschool I got into a zone where the details and hassels of life faded away. I zeroed in on my surroundings and this is what I saw.

     We live in a small town carved out of the middle of the Croatan National Forest. I drove along the winding road lined with a virtual wall of forest impregnated with a foggy mist. I miss the secure feeling of being surrounded by the mountains, but the forest and the fog embraced me this morning. All along the long country road, past the solitary mail boxes, one of which used a small palm tree as its post. Past the red and white farm house next door to a house that is trying its hardest to return to the earth from wence it appears to have come. Past a lone chicken clucking on the sandy shoulder, then left at the once white southern style church with above ground crypts. When I reach the little house that is being reclaimed by the woods, left again. I always pause and wonder about this house that the trees have overtaken. They grow up through the roof and chimney, their limbs burst through the windows. I wonder who once lived there and why they left their home. I wonder about the many happy nights the family must have spent next to the hearth cooking over an open fire. I always imagine that they were happy, in a little house in the middle of the woods, because I think I would be happy there too.

Jennifer

22 January 2015

Homemade Pizza

If you are ever fortunate enough to join our family on homemade pizza night, you might ask... What makes the Ryan's pizza so good???
     Perhaps its because its made by super cute toddlers.

 Or, maybe its because we sometimes cook in the nude

 Everything is definitely better when somebody is naked!!!

You may ask...What is that extra fibrous spice?


Well, I'll tell you.  It may be the taste of curiosity and mischief trapped inside the hair of a sweet little boy.  Lovingly sprinkled over our homemade pizza after a sibling hair cut.  Which took place behind mom's back as she did the washing up.
I do not get paid in $$, I get paid in joy!
 Jennifer

First Hair Cut

Andrew's first hair cut didn't occur until a month after he turned two.  There just wasn't much to cut before that.  Thanks to Emery for the great photos.

It Doesn't Take Much...

It doesn't take much to make us happy, just a foot ball for a good old fashioned game of catch.

A few snacks...

Yes, Tristan is eating dog food.

Apples taste sooo much better!

A mud puddle...

 And everyone just being together.
 

Terrible, terrible, terrible two

 

Terrible, terrible, terrible two

Has taken over my little Roo

He was such a sweet little baby boy

He fills my heart with love and joy

Now he's such an ornery Two

I hope that we will make it through

This two shall pass in time we hope

For Tristan's terribles, Lord help us cope!

A Few of Our Favorite Things

One of Alex's favorite things is giving Tristan piggy back rides.  Incidentally it is also one of Tristan's favorite things.

 One of Emery's favorite things is using the computer, and Andrew's is picking his nose while watching Emery play on the computer.

And here are a few of my favorite things...

Sucker!

What sucker?

 

 You cannot prove that there ever was a sucker.

 

Therefore you cannot prove that I took said sucker.

-Tristan

Sink Bath

Sink baths are always so much fun...Sink baths are always so much fun...

More fun photos to come, two  babies in a double sink!

Heavenly Father

     Alex is 11 years old now and nearing adolescence.  Tons of hormones, peer pressure, and temptations.  Through all of this, he loves his Heavenly Father.  He doesn't say much about it to me, but it is obvious when he prays.  He starts every prayer with, "My dear, kind, gracious, dear Heavenly Father".  Yes, he does say "dear" twice, every time.  Danny and I peek at each other and just smile.  He is a very sweet boy.

This is me

This is an actual photo of me taken yesterday.  When I am pregnant I am the meanest orneriest person I know.  I don't think it's entirely hormonal since two days ago I purchased the world's most enormous panties, for myself.

Blah, blah, blah and Loss

I have not blogged in a while, there are several reasons for this.  I have yet to receive a single comment on anything I have posted.  I must assume no one reads what I have to say.  I cannot blame you as I am an extremely garrulous person and very little of what I say has any real importance.  I am not actually looking for sympathy or wanting anyone to disagree with this generally known fact.  I am coming to know myself and although I have very many faults I also find that I have a great many redeeming qualities.

One positive thing about myself is that I love to sew.  I am coming to realize that I am much more of an amateur seamstress than I realized.  I have been sewing for six years and still I have often to explain what I have made.  My loving husband often smiles at me and says it's fantastic, rather like you would to a preschooler who presents you with an unidentifiable drawing.  Last week I actually placed my finger under the presser foot to hold something in place, rather than use a pin, and proceeded to sew directly through my finger nail.

I have a shop on Etsy, I will not give you the link, I am ashamed of it although I have made three sales.  I posted an experiment that turned out OK and I had no need for it myself, I can only assume that the person who bought it was in an extremely charitable mood.  The other items I have sold were gag gifts, a wide eyed green sperm and an accompanying egg pouch that it could penetrate.  It is a rather funny little thing, but I don't feel much pride in it as I would actually like to bring beauty, creativity, and some wholesomeness to the world.  I occasionally wish that I was a comedian, but I am not funny, and I don't really want my efforts at creating things to be laughable.

I am not funny, as stated before, nor am I extremely bright, I am neither very well liked or well respected (which I have earned), I am not accomplished or highly educated.  I am however a woman of experience, understanding, some wisdom, and aside from a couple black spots on my heart (metaphorically) I am very loving, caring, and compassionate.

It is good for me to know myself, all of me.  Then no one can say anything about my charter that I am not already aware of.  No one can lessen my opinion of myself.  I am grounded and stable, I know me and I like me.

We had a great loss today.  Danny's brother passed away this morning.  Jeremy was 34 years old, only 13 months older than my husband.  They were thick as thieves.  As a child Jeremy had a strong sense for self preservation.  Any time anything a bit scary came up he would say, "Danny do it first."  And any time anything came up for which he could get into a bit of trouble, he would say, "Danny did it!"  Danny rode a horse first, and apparently Danny also wet Jeremy's pants.  Danny became so accustomed to being blamed for things, that when he picked every blossom off of his grandmother's flowers, he proudly announced, "Danny did it!"  There are many good things to be said about a good man, but I am not the proper person to present a eulogy for him.  It will not be here, however I think we will spend a lot of time at home and among family remembering this wonderful man.

Guess What!

Yes, this is an announcement.  I know it's soon to say, but we're sooo excited!  I'm already 8 weeks along and due in early September.  The babies will be 15 months apart.  There will be ALOT of diapers at our house!

Inefficency

Yesterday as I stepped out of the bath tub I realized that there was no towel to dry myself with.  Apparently I am the only one in the house capable of stocking clean towels in the bathroom, and I had forgotten that day.  I checked the floor below the towel rack because little hands often pull the towels down while drying, and NEVER pick them up.  Thankfully there was a hand towel there, better than nothing.  As I began drying myself a patch at a time.  I was getting dryer, but unfortunately dirtier.  I ran dripping wet and nude out into the hall for a fresh towel to finish the job.  I questioned my husband about the hand towel which he told me he had used to wipe shavings from the tub before his last bath.  He laughed at me and asked why I would use a towel from the floor.  I replied in my own logic as explained above.  Apparently I am also the only one in this house capable of putting a dirty towel in the laundry basket.  Alas, such is life.  Motherhood, I have discovered, is equal parts hard work, fun, and laundry.

Fun Family Pictures

Here are some pictures of our kids this summer.  This first was an accident that ended up being a lot of fun.  I dropped the watermelon while unloading the grocery cart that was determined to roll away, so I brought it home, cracked it the rest of the way open and gave the kids each a spoon and a bowl placed five feet away to spit seeds at as none of them actually made it into the bowl.

And on a rainy August afternoon, what better to do than to spend time collecting snails and lining them on the fence rail?

A camping trip with a newborn is not so much fun, however, sitting atop the Sinclair dinosaur at the gas station next to the highway made up for the sleepless nights, kind of.

Here we are at Sugar house park, tons of fun and sooo much cheaper than a water park.  You're also allowed to throw rocks in the water here, so it's even better than the water park.

 

 Princess Emery in her tutu.

A naked Andrew

And the first day of school.

Tons of fun, I love being a mama!

Four hours is not enough sleep

Early this morning I was mixing both my coffee and a bottle.  I gave Andrew his bottle and he vigorously sucked it down, then I sipped my coffee and thought it a little bitter.  I always mix my coffee the same way so I wondered why I needed another spoonful of sweetener.  In retrospect I wonder if Andrew got a little Splenda with his formula this morning.  Oh well.

I know this LOOKS bad

I know how this looks, but Spartacus really is a good dog.  It's just that this week Andrew learned to crawl and as far as he is concerned, nothing is off limits.  Spartacus however feels that this is unfair because he is forbidden to chew on Andrew's toys, therefore Andrew should be forbidden to chew on Spartacus' toys.

The kids got to see Santa this year, I think it will be the last year that they are all true believers, so here is a photo with the magic of belief intact.

A quick blurry snap shot because the baby is of course terrified of Santa Claus.

I'm still sewing a lot, like everyday.  Here are some pictures of my recent projects.

This is a purse and a coin pouch, it's reversible, I'm selling it on my online shop and my advertising line for the reversible feature is "Because sometimes you feel like a slut, and sometimes you don't"  Yes, I think I'm funny even if no one else does.

Charity sewing for Christmas.

And lastly a wreath for my brother Billy's grave.  That's all I have to say about that one.

Motherhood agrees with me, and so does domesticity, with the exception of cooking.  Things in the kitchen are much worse now that my dishwasher is broken.  I refuse to do dishes more than once a day, and since I only have one sink, there's no wash side and rinse side.  This makes doing dishes even more grueling and I avoid it for as long as I can.  That means that when I went into the kitchen to cook dinner tonight, I had to wash three days of pots, pans, and cups (I think I must own at least a hundred cups) before we could eat.  Needless to say, dinner was running late tonight.

Proud Mama

Today little Roo learned to crawl.  You know, on hands and knees rocking back and fourth.  A few inches at a time.  I am so looking forward to more spilled dog water and splashing in the toilet, it's just what comes along with the joys of watching your children develop and grow.

Who's who?

All of our babies pretty much look the same, here are some examples...

The first two pics are Andrew, then Emery, and then obviously Alex.  I love the nose picking one!
I also love to take pictures of when my kids are being naughty, that's why I have so many pictures of Emery.

 There are many, many more, but my children are calling so I must go.