November 5th

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's mercy he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!

I've always loved the story of the Guy Fawkes Plot. Have you told your kids this famous story of intrigue and daring?? They'll love it!

Wow

It was fun to see that a couple of you actually had some great ideas for posts :) I'm saving Laurie's for later, 'cause it takes a little more work, but I've been cogitating over it...

Septembermom, about helping you son's reading comprehension... You say he's very visual and has trouble keeping his mind on his reading? Is this only with school related material, or also with "free reading" type things-- ie, fiction? If it's reading of all kinds, I'd recommend that you try out some graphic novels. Obviously he does eventually have to learn to read regular books, but perhaps motivating him with a more graphically exciting genre will lead to more proficiency and interest in reading in general. And you might be surprised just how much great stuff there is out there in graphic novel format. For example, did you know that the classic Boxcar Children Series is now available in graphic novel form? There's even a graphic version of Cinderella!

If he reads fiction fine and only has trouble keeping focused when he's working on non-fiction reading, then my solution would be to try having him read out loud. Not as much fun, but will certainly help him stay in touch mentally with what his eyes are seeing. This is the problem I have. I love to read fiction! As long as the word pictures are flowing through my (also very visually oriented) brain, I'm good, but as soon as things start to get technical... whoo baby. I'm gone! :) Any time I have to follow directions or memorize facts, I HAVE to either say it out loud or graph/outline it with a four-color pen. A Bic Four-Color pen is the only reason I survived freshman history. And economics. And calculus. Blech.

Hosanna asked about our trip pictures... Well, I did post as many of them as I could. Crappy hotel internet and all... I have tons more as well as a super cute little button that Dawn made me (thanks, Dawn!) and I'd planned to post all the pics and link up all the posts to that button in my sidebar, but.... I just got un-motivated (sorry, Dawn...:( ) Perhaps your request will motivate me once again! Who else is interested in seeing more pictures?? Anyone?

We're over the flu...

... but I still have the blogging blahs. I'm still reading and commenting here and there and I'll be back eventually, but... meh. I got nothing to say. Anything y'all want to know? Stories you want to hear? Questions you've been dying to ask me if I'd only just shut up long enough to hear them?


Now's your chance :)

"Judah asserts his male autonomy in the face of female manipulativism": or, "It's even harder out here if you refuse to be a pimp"

Sofi, screaming: Aaaah! He's drinking out of my water bottle with his germy flu mouth!!! Stooooop!! Moo-ooom!

Judah: No!

Me: Judah, you must ask your sister nicely if you want to use her water bottle.

Judah: Sofi, puhyiy use you wadah boddle?

Sofi: Ewww, noooo, that's gross, you have GERMS!! Noooo!!!

Me: Judah say 'may I please use your water bottle deeear sister?' You have to charm her.

Judah: Puhyiy use you waddah boddle deee sister?

Me: How can you resist that, Sofi?

Sofi: You have to charm me Judah, you have to make me feel sorry for you...

me: Judah, say 'I love you, dear sister, may I please use your water bottle?'

Judah, thinking about it: Ummm. No.

My Way Better Than Oatmeal Recipe

I really hate oatmeal. Really. Hate. Oatmeal. So does J. In fact, we just pretty much didn't eat it ever until we had kids. But then, oatmeal just seems like one of those things you feed kids. Like pbjs. What kind of parent lets their kids grow up without pbj or oatmeal? I ask you.

So I began to fix oatmeal. And found it wasn't quite as bad as I had remembered, but still not my favorite. J still hated it. Then enter my mother, with all the new research on soaking your grains to get better nutrition and all that. So I started soaking my oatmeal over night. Definitely made it taste better. And then. Last week. My sister revealed to me a whole new world of oatmeal. An Oatmeal Nirvana, if you will. Oatmeal from Heaven. Here is that recipe--complete with some minor changes to make it my own:


Way Better than Oatmeal

Soak oatmeal overnight in enough liquid to cover. You can use 1) water with a tablespoon of vinegar, 2) whey, 3) yogurt, or 4) kefir (my personal favorite).

In the morning, heat up about 1/4 stick of butter in a large frying pan (cast iron works great) till sizzling. Add sloppy, soaked oatmeal. Smoosh it up around the pan till the bottom of the pan is covered and sprinkle with salt. Stir and flip occasionally, adding more butter when needed, until the oatmeal is cooked into small, crispy chunks. Basically, you want to treat it like scrambled eggs.

Serve hot, plain or with a trickle of maple syrup.

You will never think about oatmeal the same way again!

Oh brother, here we go again

I suppose I shouldn't get so negative so quickly, but after last winter, who can blame me? Judah appears to have the flu. Which is totally bogus, since he's the only one we decided-- after weeks of research, discussion and indecision-- to vaccinate! It just goes to show you... Although exactly what it goes to show, I have no idea.

A sick toddler is a sight to behold. His eyes are all droopy and bloodshot and he has this awful, hacking cough. For the moment he's fairly cheerful, though, reveling in the novelty of Daddy-home-from-work-early-to-play-"fight da ba-guys". He's also getting quite a kick out of the squeaky, cracked voice he's sporting at the moment. :D It's sooo pitiful and he knows I'll give him pretty much anything he wants when he asks me in that orphan-child-from-Africa tone of voice. What can I say? I'm a sucker.

I read a cool birth story today (part one, part two, part three) Birth stories are my drug of choice. When I'm down I go find some and they make me feel better :) I guess y'all recognize the name Dooce-- the original mammy-blogger. Having her speak up about natural childbirth is great. She's so articulate and poetic. I just loved her story! Have to give this one a language warning though, just in case it bothers some of you. Enjoy!

I'm off to enjoy some fresh pumpernickel bread.