What I've Learned This Week

1. Don't assume that "NO REFRIGERATION REQUIRED"--printed boldly and proudly on a package--means that no refrigeration is required ever. Mold and gross-looking funk will grow on your nitrate-free pepperonis if you don't refrigerate them after opening.
2. Don't assume when Claire's keyboarding teacher tells her "Mr. Qwerty" invented the keyboard and spelled his name within the key pattern, that he's joking. A quick Google search and two-day discussion/argument with Claire convinced her to set him straight.
3. Leaning over and resting his head on the shopping cart is more comfortable for my crawling-but-not-yet-sitting-up son. Though strapped in, Collier does not sit well for long in shopping carts.
4. Don't assume my son's crying screams during his diaper change are because his big brother head-butted him. Don't automatically fuss at the big brother; the baby's cries might be from having his finger pinched in the wipes container. Oops.
5. A baby who's normally happy while he's being fed might be upset and fussing during mealtime because he's sitting on a small school bus.
6. Claire's enthralled by a boy who sings. Here was our conversation tonight as we rode home:
   "Mama, did you ever have a crush on a boy?"
   "Oh yes."
   "Did you ever watch him sing?"
   "Yes, actually."
   "Didn't it make you like him all the more?"
   "Definitely."

An Overdue List

As cute as my little banana is, I need to update.

1. I traveled to the farm earlier this week for a quick trip with just the little boys. I attended the memorial service for a friend (and close relative of my good friends from home) who died last week. The service was sweet with his mother, sister, and brother all sharing some memories. The friendly reception that followed was appropriate for Mountville, and I got to see lots of friends. And someone always remarks, "We never seem to all get together except at weddings and funerals."
2. We enjoyed curried butternut squash soup tonight--so "gish-shish-shish" as Hamilton likes to say. Claire wasn't a huge fan, but I think it was the curry that might have been offensive to her. Perhaps I overdid it.
3. Hamilton and I enjoyed our new moms and kids group at church this morning. Usually I just drop him in the nursery, but today we started a new program where we'll be doing activities together. We played with Play-Doh and mixed colors with a paintbrush. Hamilton was far more interested in mixing the paints together rather than using brush strokes to apply the paint to paper. After about 45 minutes of my staying and playing in the room with him, he was enjoying bubbles with the other kids. With no prompting, he came up behind me three different times to quickly hug my back before running back to the bubbles. It's like he was so excited that I was playing in his nursery with him, though he never said anything--just the quick touch.
4. Last week I took Collier for his six-month checkup. He's 16 pounds and over 27 inches long. He's starting to go up on all-fours and rock back and forth. He'll probably be crawling soon, though his rolling, scooting, and reaching are propelling him well for now. Sometimes it's so hard to keep him on his quilt.
5. Claire has taken to wearing Halloween-costume cat ears whenever she's not at school. If her dress code allowed it, I'm sure she'd wear the furry things during class. She's a little cat-obsessed in this season of her life.

Some Cute Things

Yesterday Hamilton was singing his version of "Jees Me," and I recognized a few other words. After "Jees Me" and some humming, he clearly said, "Bible tells me so." Oh so cute! Later in the afternoon Claire heard him singing it, and she was so impressed. She tends to make a much bigger deal about things than I, so Hamilton continued to say, "Bible tells me sooo" all evening as his new default phrase. Past default phrases have included "muh hi be-ah" (more hay bales) and "Pah Joe Ten-see," which roughly translates to Papa Joe is in Tennessee. I fully expect him to continue his obsession with "Bible tells me sooo" all week at least.

During lunch I worked with Hamilton on saying his full first name, not just his Grady-given nickname of Hammie. He finally said it! Though it sounds like Hammie-ton. Then we worked on Taylor and Morgan, which he thoroughly enjoyed saying. I also repeated each sibling's full name to him; and when I said Mr. Morgan's full name, Hamilton smiled when I said "Hamilton" for his daddy's middle name. Then I asked, "Do you know Mama's full name?" He thought for a second, cut his eyes, then said, "Mama Tay-uh Mor-ghiun."

Collier tolerates all sorts of loving and hugging from Hamilton. He tolerates Hamilton's lying on top of him like he's destined to wrestle with his brother one day. Collier doesn't even cry with Hamilton's 28-pound body nearly smothering him; Collier just reaches his hands up to each side of Hamilton's face, and they look at each other. Hamilton babbles to him in his singsong voice, and Collier squeals with delight.

Claire has started writing her yet-to-be-published story again. And, her obsession with cats has reached new heights, for the main character turns into a cat in the fifth chapter. Then several days ago she told me, "I'm so jealous of my book. I wish I could turn into a cat." I'm not sure when she'll be finished with her book, but I'll be sure to post it once she's finished. She did ask me the other day--with a bit more pride than I was expecting, "Mama, have you ever written a book?" Well, no I haven't.

Claire, the Author

As we walked in the house this afternoon after picking up Claire from school, she asked immediately, "Gray, can I type up the story I wrote in my journal?"

"Sure," I said, pleased but wondering what prompted her not only to write a story but to want to type it on the computer.

Claire was glued to the computer for the rest of the afternoon typing away until dinner. After dinner and bath, she brought me her printed story to read. It's fantastic and really cute. There's a clear voice in her writing that's entertaining and easy to read. As I praised her for the work she'd done so far, she said, "Do you think I could get it published?"

"Maybe," I said encouragingly.

"I mean, like, a kids' book publisher," she clarified.

Then Claire asked if we had enough time to watch a movie tonight, since Mr. Morgan had mentioned a family-movie-night earlier. As Mr. Morgan and I debated whether we had enough time, Claire said, "I thought I could finish my story if we didn't have time for a movie."

We gladly encouraged her to go finish her story, since she was so excited about it. As she sat down at the computer, Claire said, "Now, I'm going to be my author self."

The writer in me is feeling so proud but a bit "upstaged." I haven't written much of consequence this week, and I haven't even started on my fictional-character writing assignment from writers' group last week. Now 11-year-old Claire writes a whole children's book in one day.

New Year

We celebrated this coming new year in a low-key way that's acceptable to most in our household. Mr. Morgan does not tolerate crowds, so we rarely venture out on New Year's Eve. And, we'd been with family and celebrating Christmas for nearly 10 days straight, so we welcomed the respite. We spent time doing family things that we don't often get to do during the week, like playing games, eating dessert, and watching movies. We enjoyed the beautiful weather yesterday and today, with Claire's taking the opportunity to paint outside both days and Hamilton's running around the backyard for most of both afternoons.

Claire and I spent the morning shopping and running errands, and it was some good, girlie time together. One of our first stops was Target where the Christmas decor had been replaced with Valentine's stuff. We passed the greeting cards, which were all red hearts and roses, and Claire said sarcastically and a little exasperatedly, "What, Valentine's Day already? Really?" I guess some traits of mine have rubbed off.

St. Nicholas

While decorating the house tonight with all our Christmas decor, I came across our stockings. I asked Claire if she'd like to hang the stockings up on the mantle, and she was delighted to do it. I quipped, "Who wants to hang the stockings 'by the chimney with care'?"

Claire replied again, "I do!" As she headed into the other room to hang the stockings, she added, "In hopes that Jack Nicklaus soon will be there."

GPS

Mr. Morgan emailed me this story about his morning adventure with Claire.

As we were driving to Chick-fil-A this morning, I noticed Claire leaning over in her seat from the back to see something in the front. I asked her what she was looking at, and she said, “I want to see when the GPS changes to white.” (The GPS changes from night colors to day colors based on the sunrise time.)

I told her that it probably wouldn’t change until after we had breakfast at Chick-fil-A since it was still early. I offered to let her hold the GPS on the drive, and she gladly agreed. When we arrived, she handed me the GPS. I asked her, “Do you know what ‘GPS’ stands for?”

She replied, “God’s Personal Satellite?”

I laughed and said, “No, Global Positioning System. It tells you your position on the globe.”

She said, “Ohhhhh. But couldn’t it be God’s Personal Satellite?”

I said it probably could, so we could go inside to eat.

Lo and Behold

Mr. Morgan relayed this story to me about his morning ride with Claire to school.

This morning as we were getting off the interstate I commented on how dark it was given the time. I said it felt like nighttime. Claire replied, "Yesterday I looked out the window at like 9:45 [am], and it was dark. I looked out five minutes later, and, ho and below, it was light out! It was so weird!"

I discreetly asked her again what she said--to make sure I got it right, and she said, "You know, ho and below. Or whatever."

Fresh from the Farm

Just in the nick of time last week, I signed up for a Charleston-area community supported agriculture (CSA) program. We pay a fee here at the beginning of the spring harvest season, and we get a box of fresh-from-the-farm produce every week. There's even a drop-off/pickup spot here in North Charleston.

Last Thursday was our first day, and we're still eating on the produce from our box. We've been eating on the delicious lettuce all weekend, and I used an onion tonight in my main dish for dinner. We're trying the beets, though I've never cooked fresh beets before. I found a great recipe on the CSA Web site, so I'm hoping it'll be good.

I like the idea of helping a local farmer, especially having grown up on a farm myself. And, I like the idea of introducing my family to new veggies and testing my cooking skills on different veggies that I've never tried to cook before.

UPDATE: The beets turned out just fine, though they were small for all the effort. Then I got an email today from the CSA that informed me they're "baby beets." I assume they're supposed to be small, but they were delicious.

Mr. Morgan had never had beets before that he could remember, and I don't think Claire had either. We gave her one to try at the beginning of dinner, and halfway through we heard, "More beets please."

In Claire's typical, out-of-the-blue fashion, she asked in the middle of dinner, "Where do dyes come from?" I let Mr. Morgan answer that question, which included that "people back in the day" used things like beets to dye. Claire's response, "That's what I thought."