Chicken anatomy for Emily

So this morning I thought that I would cut up a whole chicken and slow cook it. This makes the meat fall of the bone, and it shreds easily, making it suitable for many recipes. Anyhow, as I am knuckle-deep in chicken yuck, Emily walks into the kitchen.
This is the convo that followed:

Emily: Oh mom, what are you doing with that?
Me: I am cutting up this whole chicken so that we can cook it.
Emily: Is that a cat chicken?
Me: No, but what is a cat chicken?
Emily: It is a chicken that is also a cat
Me: Oh. I have never heard of a a cat chicken, but this is not one. This is just a plain chicken.
(Emily at this point sees me whack off a leg and makes a face)
Emily: But what about the eyes and the teeth?
Me: Well, chickens don't have teeth, they have beaks, and the butcher already took of the part with the eyes.
Emily: Oh, well then it must be a fish chicken (We have already had conversations about how the heads with the eyes are already taken off of fish before we buy them. I think this is why she said this.)
Me: Nope, this is just a chicken.
Emily: Oh. Hmmmm....
(Emily walks away.)

Needless to say, I will be shocked if she eats dinner tomorrow night when she finds out that I am serving this chicken. Maybe she will forget. I will keep you posted.

Stephen Curtis Chapman on Larry King Tonight

I have my DVR set. We shall see if I can get through watching it without crying. Let me know if you anybody else sees it.

Mundane Malisa

So we are home again. I love my home. I love seeing the progress my garden makes while I am gone on a trip. I love being greeted by my pets. I love the stuffy smell of the garage when I first open it after a long trip. And I really love having my family all together.

Two weeks was too long. Emily and I were both painfully missing Scott by the end of the trip. We couldn't wait to see him. The entire flights home Emily told everybody about how she was going to see her daddy because she missed him, and I just about cried on the way home because I couldn't drive there fast enough!

So now we are back to our normal routine. Mundane, but lovely. I crave the schedule of a day, and the ordinary chores of grocery shopping and picking toys. I mostly really like the predictable nature of our family. I can count on it I guess, and that is why it is so comfortable.

Don't get me wrong, we had a lot of fun seeing everybody. We loved all the trips we took and the precious time we got to spend with family and friends.

But I am so glad that we are home! Remember that the invitation is always open to those who want to come visit!

Leaving this evening

I will be in Fresno Tuesday evening 7/29 if anybody is available. Let me know if you would like to get together. I will be checking the blog from my parents' house.

Growing up

Yesterday I had an amazing day with one of my students. She was in my class this past year, and is seriously a marvelous young lady. We ran into each other at Walmart, and she said that she was having an okay summer, but was tired of going to day care. So I asked her mom if it would be okay to come pick her up and hang out with her for the day.

We really didn't do anything exciting, but rather just did the normal things I had to get done that day. We worked in my classroom with Scott, helping him move anything out of my class that was his and needed to go into his new classroom across town. Lunch at Olive Garden, and random errands like the bank and teacher supply store.

But even though there was nothing really that special about what we did, I loved every minute of my time with her. We talked about silly things during the time that she helped me do whatever I was doing.Little things, like putting the shopping cart away while I loaded up the groceries, and helping me unload the dish washer.

I guess part of the reason why I loved being with her yesterday is because it allowed me to see how things will be with Emily when she is that age. I spend so much time worrying about things that I will miss when Emily gets older. The things she will no longer do, and the things she will no longer need me for. But yesterday made me realize that even though Emily is getting bigger and growing out of certain things, she and I will do new things. There will be different ways that we spend our time together, and though they won't be better or worse in terms of their significance, they will still be wonderful things.

Just a random realization I guess, but nevertheless and important one. Reflecting on my day with my sweet student allowed me to be at peace with Emily growing up, and not mourning the loss of eras that come to a close with her growth. I'm excited to see who Emily will become!

Hurricane Preparedness

On our way to Edisto Island we saw this gem. Yes, those are cinder blocks holding up that trailer. I bet that really helps the danger of storm surge. If I was in a hurricane, this is the house I would want to be in. Safety all the way.

When I first saw the beach houses here it took me a moment to figure out why the entire house was built up, so that the garage is actually the first story, and the rest of the house is built on top of it. I get that. But a trailer? Do they really think that is going to help?

THe first time we drove by it I wanted to take a picture to send to my dad to show him the beach house we were staying in, just to see what he would say. Then I started really thinking about the cinder blocks, and what is holding them together. I wanted to get close enough to see if there is any mortar, but when we went by on our final day, there was actually a car in front for the first time. I didn't want to be rude, as if stopping on the highway and snapping a picture of his house wasn't rude enough.

All I have to say is... if there is ever a hurricane while I am in the Charleston area I will know exactly where to go for safety!

Adam: Can you really compare this to a pigeon?

Going Here tomorrow

We rented a house on Edisto Island with some friends. Should be lots of fun. Lots of relaxation. Lots of lazy.

We head out in the morning and our plan is to stop in Charleston (one of my favorite cities EVER) for lunch, and then head on down to the beach house. We are brining our bikes, as we hear there is a bike trail that goes all the way around the island. I wonder how long we could go without using the car?? :)

Plans may include fishing (?!) for blue crab, Charleston ghost tour, and/or a beach combing expedition to Otter Island. Nice.

See you next Saturday!

P.S. Fresno and Bako People: Em and I will be flying in to L.A. 7/24 and staying until 8/4. As of now we plan on staying in Fresno on 7/29-7/30. I am hoping that some of my favorite tower people will be in town the night of 7/29 and eager for a night out at Landmark, or wherever. :) I miss you all!

Any other possible solutions are welcome

When I was younger (and still on my parents' insurance) I was told by both my Bakersfield and Fresno dentist that I had no wisdom teeth. I guess I just wasn't made with any. (No wise cracks about me not being wise!) I always thought this was a wise (ha ha!) decision that God made, knowing how horrible I am with tooth pain, and my aversion to going to the dentist at all.

Now let me back a bit and talk about my dental aversion. When I was twelve I was just a couple days from getting my braces removed. I was playing outside with my dad, and asked him to throw me "A really HIGH POP FLY." So he did. And I caught it... with my mouth. I totally blacked out, and when I came to, my mom had just arrived home and was marveling at just how swollen I was already. Three hours of emergency oral surgery later, and I was back home to find out that my treasured mouth metal was to be with me for at least another six months. Nice.

Then comes pregnancy. How does this tie in you ask? Well let's just say that besides my hair getting much darker and my bladder permanately smaller, another after shock of pregnancy is that it "drops" wisdom teeth in some women, becoming impacted. So now my "non existent" wisdom teeth were very much existing in my oral x-ray. I found this out in winter '07. I came directly home and cried to Scott. It was horrible. And that was the end of that. I just figured I could ignore the entire problem, and hope that it goes away.


But that doesn't quite work. I was reading Katie's blog where she mentioned Denise's wisdom teeth extraction, and I couldn't help but immediately feel the impacted teeth. I don't know what to do about this, since going to the oral surgeon is clearly not an option. Wish them away? Pray to God to remove any wisdom he bestowed on me, including my now apparent wisdom teeth? Ughh.

If anybody has any thoughts on how to get rid of these pesky suckers I would greatly apprectiate it. (And for those mennos who attend church with my mother, please don't tell her. As far as she is concerned, I was never made with wisdom teeth. The last thing I need is her trying to talk some "sense" into me! :)

Hey Julie? You want some brownies?

I made brownies last night for my family. Not anything special, just the basic box brownie with a scoop of vanilla on top. It made me think of the summer of 2002. That was the "summer of the brownie" and "the summer of the failed cooler."

Julie had moved into the back sun room in the Vassar house, and Jenny was in China for a bit. With Jenny gone, Julie and I could make dessert every night with nobody telling us no, or reminding us of calories and fat content. It was fabulous. We went through too many brownie boxes to count.

And while reminiscing about that summer, I was reminded of the two weeks from hell when our air conditioning went out after Jenny got back. Now, this wasn't really an air conditioner, but a swamp cooler. Everybody knows that swamp coolers are great, until the temp goes over 100 and then they do nothing. This particular summer was very hot, as we all remember, and our cooler went out the very day that our landlord flew to Ireland for a two week vacation. It was awful. I was teaching summer school and Jenny was year round, so we came home every day and found some way to get cool. We went to a movie, Boarders, too much shopping at Marshall's, and I even seem to remember a great picture of Woody, Sara, Jenny and I in the back yard in the wading pool drinking some sort of icy adult beverage. I will surely look for that and scan it in for all to see.

Anyhow, I hope that I am not jinxing my air conditioner to go out by making many brownies this summer! :) That would be horrible!

Emily's Sunday Picture

Ever since we moved here we have left certain pictures on our fridge. Some are quite dated (Justin has dreads in one) but all are of our friends and family that we miss. Emily was asking me the names of the people, and pointing out the people that she now knows after the Colorado trip. I believe that is what inspired this piece of art. Watch out Ed, she may be displaying with you at next month's art hop.

One of the things that enamors me about Em is that she may not get to see these people very often, however she continues to think about them. That makes being far from you guys a bit more bearable.

The sweetest thing

Last night I got home from Bible study to find the cutest thing ever. It was after nine, and already dark and Scott and Em were outside inside the tent that he had set up for them to sleep in. They were already inside of it eating ice cream and watching Monsters Inc. on the portable DVD player. Too precious. I thought it was the best thing ever. Emily loved sleeping outside with him. (I enjoyed my cozy bed) THe weather was perfect too, the highs in the mid 80's during the day, so it cooled down nicely for them. I think that might become their thing to do in the summer.

I guess I'm a hag

Our house is the corner house to the entrance to our neighborhood. Since living here we have had a couple instances where teenage nuisances have annoyed us. By us I mean both Scott and I, but really me.

About a year ago there were two cars driving through our neighborhood being all loud. The stopped at the entrance, one facing in the neighborhood, the other out, and took turns throwing their glass beer bottles out the window to try to land them in the drainage ditch. Of course they missed, and glass was strewn all over the road for every car to drive over as they later would enter and exit. Lovely. So what do I do? I go out with my pad of paper and pencil and take down the license plate number of the car facing out. (in SC plates are only put on the back of vehicles.) They caught on to what I was doing and drove off... one in and one out. Well, there is only one exit, so I waited in the bushes for the one car that had to go out so I could get their license plate as well. Sure enough, eventually they came out, but not until I had proved what a stubborn hard head I was, waiting in the bushes in my p.j.s armed with a flashlight and a pad of paper and pencil.

After that incident, I got a little leery of people getting the idea that I was the neighborhood hag. I didn't want egg thrown on my house, or plastic forks poked into my grass, so I decided I would no longer confront obnoxious loud teens in that way.

Which brings us to last night. I have always said one of my favorite things about living here was being able to sleep with the windows open so many nights of the year. Last night we had the windows open to give the A.C. a break. At about 2:30 Scott and I were awakened by loud screaming and laughter coming from the neighborhood pool. Now we have posted pool hours, but I have always believed that those pool hours were almost meant to be broken by teens as the secretly took a dip. Isn't that some sort of right of passage? So it wasn't really the trespassing (they don't live in the neighborhood) that bothered me, but the loud shouting and laughing that made me furious. The more it continued I worried about my three year old girl waking up and I was truly ANGRY. I didn't want to confront them, because my thought was, "if they are so disrespectful to make so much noise, they aren't going to listen to me politely ask them to leave." And I didn't want to worry about egg or forks.

So we got the sheriff's dept. number, and called them. They came just as the loud five were getting into their cars to leave. Lights were on, and I am sure that the teens weren't happy. I don't think that they got a trespassing ticket, which is good, but I hope they won't make a habit of that.

Yes, I guess that officially makes me a neighborhood hag. When we lived on Floradora my lovely neighbor Bessie (in her late 80's) would sit on her front porch with a potato gun and shoot it at cars that went by too fast. I guess I learned from the best? :)

Looking forward to the Fourth!

I think we will have some neighbors over this Friday for the holiday. I am getting so excited about it, though I am not sure who will even be able to come. Oh well. Regardless, I am already planning the meal. Grilled hotdog and hamburgers topped with avocado and home grown tomatoes. My mom's recipe for potato salad, a pasta salad with fresh mozzarella. And hopefully Em and I can get out to the peach fields this week so that I can make a fresh peach cobbler and top it with home made vanilla ice cream. Yum! Last year we had a big freeze over Easter weekend that ruined all SC peaches, but this year I heard that they are so good!

Other than that, I am sure we will have some fireworks. Though probably relatively tame compared with some of the things we see people shoot off. There are hardly any restrictions and there are actually entire firework warehouses from which you can buy almost anything. We CA people aren't used to that (though I did grow up with Royce's big cannon-like thing at our church 4th of July party!)

So yes. Fourth of July will be great this year. I have already decided. Now I'm off to persuade our friends to ditch their families, and spend the evening with us!

P.S. On Saturday, the fifth, there is a fireworks display over the lake that we plan to go watch. Well, actually I plan on going to watch and will hopefully persuade Scott that it is a good idea so that he will come to. Happy Birthday to America!

Why I feel blessed today

1. The library. When there is nothing else to do, and funds are running low, the library is always good for a nice trip out of the house. I don't think I have ever thought specifically about the library being an indicator of the privileged country we live in, but I did today. I am thankful to have free access to so many books, and to visit there with Em.

2. Scott is home with us. Yes, he is working very hard from home to complete a video series, but he is still under the same roof. He still gets to eat his meals with us, and he still gets to tuck Emily in for her nap every afternoon when she asks. He doesn't have to run off every morning to work like so many dads do. I am so grateful to have him home again this summer.

3. Emily. Just in general I am so in love. Today at the market she asked me if we could get a watermelon. Then she asked if we could have it with dinner, like maybe with some hamburgers? Then she asked if we could have baked beans with our hamburgers, and if we could cook it all outside. This convo was very "give a mouse a cookie" style. I just love everything about her.

4. Nap time. Scott and I have always joked that nap time was the re-set button that Emily needed to be wonderful the rest of the afternoon. Well, I think that nap time is the re-set button that I need too. It gives me an average of two hours every day to do what I need to get done, or what I want to get done. Simply fabulous. Some days I take a nap myself, surely more than normal these days.

5. My birthday present. This year I asked if I could get my flute all fixed up and in good working order again. I have so enjoyed remembering how to play, and practicing some developmental pieces to get back in my game. Makes me ashamed I ever stopped, knowing how long it took me to get so good before, and now I can play only beginner stuff. Oh well. I am having a blast.

Now I have to figure out if I am going to use this free time during her nap to take my own nap, or practice my flute. Decisions, decisions! :)

To our Tower Friends

Scott and I enjoyed hanging out with our tower group so much this past week at the wedding. I don't think I realized just how much I missed everybody until we were given the opportunity to spend such a time together again. And watching everybody interact with Emily was seriously a highlight. Raising her so far away from this group of friends would make one think there would be no impact made with her interaction. But last week proved this is not the case.

She talks about the treasure she found with her friends Adam and Sarah and Heather. And Heather taking her swinging and how high she climbed on the slide. She talks about the dancing she did with Justin and Jay and Adam, and the bees she threw on everybody. She talks of the "yada" and how that candy just wouldn't come out. She talks of meeting Thomas, and how he doesn't like the cats. And she talks about Madison playing with her.

I hope that she will remember those things and remember the people who were willing to get to know her.

I got "bumped" today

So yesterday I had a lunch scheduled with my fourth grade team at Olive Garden. I realized I needed a new day planner, so I ran into Staples before heading off the the restaurant. When I walked out and into the parking lot, I had to walk around the back end of an SUV that was parked facing out right next to my mini-van.

Just as I quickly rounded the back tire and around the side, I hear this spitting sound. You know the sound. The nasty sound that comes right before a big nasty ball of spit. I couldn't slow down enough because just as my foot went down around the side of the SUV, the driver spat. Now imagine this all happening at once. At first I thought surely I had a spit ball on my foot. But no, when I looked down it was the biggest ball of gum I have ever seen, and it was stuck right on the top of my black sandal.

The entire thing was too much. I laughed so hard tears came to my eyes. The driver, who was a nice older woman in her fifties, was absolutely mortified. I think she expected me to yell or get upset with her. But when I was laughing she had no choice but to laugh too. She got a tissue out of her car and cleaned off the gum ball from my shoe, all the while the two of us laughing about how bizarre the entire situation was.

A friend of ours once gave a sermon where he talked about the "garbage in, garbage out" idea. He poured a glass of OJ and used the example that if one of us bumped the glass we would expect OJ, not iced tea, to come out. Same thing with our lives. The more we fill ourselves with God's word, the more that comes out when we are "bumped" in life.

Emily is memorizing a verse from her sunday school class. "Be kind and loving to each other. Ephesians 4:32" That is what came to my mind as I was laughing so hard. What a gift that was. I was so thankful that when I got "bumped" laughter was the first thing that came out of me. It was a reminder to me of that sermon more than three years ago, and of the way we truly reflect... if we allow ourselves to.

Jay and Becky

We leave tomorrow! I can't wait!! So I am the type that actually loves planning to pack. I love making sure to bring extra "new" and exciting toys on the plane for Emily. I love packing her matching hair bows with her dresses. I love making sure I have everything so that we are super prepared. Totally fun. (Now I don't enjoy the laundry part that has to be done prior to packing... but that is why God gave me Scott!)

But you know what has been even more fun about getting ready for this trip? When people ask me why we are going. I get this big goofy grin on my face and my shoulders raise in excitement as I tell them, "Two of our best friends are getting married, 'MY' Becky is marrying Jay, and we just can't wait because it has been a long time coming!" And if there is time and I didn't totally weird them out to begin with, I tell them all about the "Jay and Becky History." I talk about Jay being a little tipsy that first night I met Becky, and how he told me that he always thought she was really pretty, (insert a tipsy "Jay" accent on "really") and I tell the story about "Bad to the Bone... FOREVER" and the story about how Jay ruined all potential with the two guys that tried to hit on Becky and I (because that seriously NEVER happened) and about how they were roommates for awhile, totally platonic, because they just hadn't figured it out yet. (At that point I always like to point out that I had it figured out by then for them!) And I tell them about Becky moving to Colorado just to see if this could work.

And just in the process of telling this wonderful history (that could fill a history text book maybe?) I get all excited again. What fun our friends and I are all going to have as we get to share in their big day with them. The entire day will be fabulous... no, the entire week! Okay, I feel compelled to be actively packing or something!

P.S. The dresses becky picked are gorgeous too... which really helps a bridesmaid be totally excited!

Learning through people watching

So today after church the three of us went to Panera for lunch. Yummy. One of my favorite spots. It is a chain, though maintains a cafe appeal and has great food. It is normally very quiet, though full, and can be found filled with coffee drinkers and bread eaters who enjoy the newspaper.

Today was quite the exception in the corner where we sat. To the left of us on a large table was a group of five boys, one dad, and one mom. The mom and dad were not a couple, rather both had their son in the group from my observations. These boys appeared to have some sort of affiliation with a team, which I later gathered was a tennis team. They were in town for a tournament or whatever.

To be brief, let's say that all but one of these boys, all around 12ish, will grow up to become the stereotypical frat boy. Today they were obnoxiously loud. The farted, popped open their chip bag, complained about the cucumbers in the salad, and made fun of each other's interests in music. They annoyed everybody around them who longed for the typical "Panera Bread Atmosphere" but these boys couldn't have cared less.

One particular boy was being grilled by his friends after they saw he had "hollerback" on his iPod. They were relentless, and the hazing he got from his friends seemed to be blind in the eyes of his mother. She was too busy talking with the other father about the expensive private school where she sent her son, and the new mercedes her husband bought her. (Not a judgement, just an observation.)

As I listened to the talk these boys gave to the other, I began to feel sorry for him. The kids in my class would never talk like that to each other in class, and I all of the sudden prayed that they would never talk to each other like that anywhere in life. I wanted to grab this boy and tell his friends they were total punks, but like that would get him anywhere!

Then, the parents' conversation turned to the professional tennis match they had just watched where some big pro I didn't recognize made a huge blunder and lost the match. At this mention by the father, the mother turned to her son (the one being relentlessly teased by his peers) and said, "That is exactly what you did! You ruined the entire match with that same mistake, just like you did last time! You had better not do that again or you will never get a college scholarship!!"

Ahh.Shudder. I think it made me throw up in my mouth a little when I heard that. Now not only did this poor kid have punk friends, but it appeared his mom was one of "THOSE" parents. Those parents I remember from coaching swimming who took all fun away from sports and drained their children from healthy competition so that they burned out and quit long before college. Potential or not, that is no fun for some kids. It wasn't for this kid. Again I felt the desire to swoop in and save him from this entire situation. But of course I didn't. Couldn't.

But I prayed for that boy that maybe today was just an exceptionally bad day. That somewhere else in his life he had a parent/friend/teacher who talked to him appropriately, and who used words that lifted him up and encouraged. And I thought about times when I could have been that mom, either in the classroom, or as a mom myself or spouse. Not realizing how important and effecting my words are. I remember the book Choice Words that we read for professional development, and how applicable that book is to me with every interaction I have with people.

I don't know why today's interaction effected me so much, but it did. So much reflection due to such a little incedent. Maybe I need to re-read that book again. :)

Its beginning to look a lot like summer!

This is the last week of school. Good thing too. Everybody is ready to enjoy their summer. The kids are out tomorrow, my last day to sign out is Friday, and then my mom and sis arrive Saturday. The rest of the fam gets here Sunday and will stay until Tuesday, and then Mom and Sis stay till Friday. THen the following Tues. we fly out to Colorado! What a busy couple of weeks! I can't wait! It is such a blessing to know that no matter how far away we are from family and friends, that we can fly out or have people fly in to see us. I am so thankful for that. It is seriously a wonderful gift.

On another note... Em is quite the testy three year old this past couple of weeks. Scott has been the stay at home dad for a couple weeks now, and despite Emily's putting Tide detergent in the aquarium, marking her arms and legs with highlighter, breaking my african violet pot, and spilling yogurt on the carpet, it has been a great time for them! :) Em seems to crave independence so much. She is very mature in some ways, but she is obviously not old enough for me to explain that she can't do everything by herself. Right now her biggest quest for independence is to go into a public bathroom stall all by herself and have me use my own. That apparently in her world is a very big deal. So, it should be an interesting time. All this traveling will be a great time to talk with her and try out new examples of that independence.