White Guilt

We had our sidewalks and front steps replaced last week.  The crew of workers was made up entirely of Hispanic men.  A white man was in charge.  The Hispanic men avoided eye contact, spoke very little English, and worked from sun up til sun down.  The white man sat in his truck, talked on his cell phone, and walked around watching the other men work.  It was brutal to witness.

I felt so guilty sitting in my nice comfy house, watching these poor guys perform this back-breaking labor in the heat.  I also felt guilty knowing that we went with the cheapest place, and that these guys couldn't possibly be making a lot of money.

I don't really know where I am going with this post.  I just had this sick feeling in my stomach while they were working, and a week later, I still can't shake the feeling.

The tooth fairy is coming tonight!

Porgie lost her first tooth tonight.  She was beyond excited.  I was pretty excited too. 

 

I can't believe my baby girl is already getting her adult teeth.  Where has all the time gone?   How is she already this big?

Christmas Gifts

This is going to be our Christmas gift to the adults in our families.  Typically, we buy gifts for all the kids and I make something for the adults.  I love how these little jam jars turned out.  I am super proud of my domestic craftiness.

Strawberry Picking

In order to get over the devastating "mock strawberry" incident, we decided to go strawberry picking over the weekend.  The weather was gorgeous, the kids were super excited, and we found tons of beautiful ripe red strawberries.   It was a lovely afternoon.

Could this baby be any cuter?  We forgot the carrier, so we had to use the umbrella stroller instead.  Guppy didn't seem to mind.

  Porgie was very particular about her strawberries.  Only the best for her!  And that white dress?  WHAT WAS I THINKING?  It was completely covered in stains by the time we left the farm.

  Izzy really enjoyed the hunt for strawberries.  He was picking berries long after the rest of the family had stopped.  He had to show me every single strawberry he picked.  All 500 of them.  

We came home and made strawberry jam (which I am not entirely sure turned out correctly.  I think it is too runny).  I am giving homemade jam as Christmas gifts this year.  I plan on decorating my jars and making them SUPER cute.  I still have a few supplies to get, but I am almost done.  Pictures will follow soon. 

I talk about food too much

Okay, I did a little research this morning on strawberries.  It turns out that we have "mock strawberries."  The plants in my backyard are basically weeds.  DARN!  I really thought that seeds had spilled over from the compost and that we were going to get some delicious fruit.  Stupid weeds.  What a disappointment:(

We never did start our vegetable garden this year, which is a disappointment too.  It just feels like there is never enough time to get anything done on the weekends.  But, we did join a local organic farm's CSA.  We are SUPER DUPER excited about all the fresh fruit and veggies we are going to have this summer and fall.  There are lots of foods on the list that I have never heard of before, like amaranth, kohlrabi, and purslane.  It should be interesting.

Okay, that is enough talk about food.  No wait, I have one more thing to share.  I made a practice cake for Porgie's upcoming birthday party.  It turned out great, so I wanted to share a picture with you...

 

The blue layer turned out green, so it was deleted.  But I am was still pretty impressed with my awesome baking skills.

Accidental Strawberry Farmers

Last year my husband decided to start a compost pile to make fertilizer for our garden.  He created a simple little space behind our shed for the compost...

We throw all of our vegetable/fruit scraps, dead leaves, and grass clippings into the compost.  Honestly, I put food into a bin to go into the compost, but I never actually go behind the shed and dispose of the waste.  A few weeks ago, I was in the backyard with the kids and decided to go check out the ol' compost pile.  When I stepped back behind the shed, I noticed lots of plants growing all around the compost...

Upon closer inspection, I realized that these were strawberry plants...

How fun - right!  I am pretty excited about all of our strawberries!  I can't wait until the are ready to be picked!

Lackluster Parenting Skills

Guppy is at the stage where everything in our environment is a yummy treat to be eaten.  This morning he was sitting on the floor chomping away on something.  I had no idea what was in his mouth, so I shoved my fingers in there to retrieve the foreign object.  Unfortunately, he had already swallowed it.  Ugh.

Guppy loves to chew on markers.  He has never been able to open them, so I happily oblige and let him gnaw on the darn things.  The other day Guppy was sitting on my lap with one of his beloved markers, and John walked into the room.  He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "What the hell are you letting him do?!"  I turned the baby around and he had an open marker in his mouth...

About 10 minutes after the marker incident, I sat Guppy on the floor in the playroom.  I was in the kitchen making dinner, and I looked over and seen Guppy chewing on a Nerf dart. I grabbed it out of his chubby fist, but I was too late...

How in the world am I suppose to separate all the big kid and little kid stuff?  I have a feeling that Guppy is going to have a very interesting diet for the next year or so.

Relic of the past

John and I bought our very first computer in 2000.  We had just moved in together, and I was in college.  The teachers required all papers be typed, so I was spending a large portion of my time in the computer lab on campus.  John's dad had given us an old computer, but it was barely usable.  After a month or two of complaining, we purchased a fancy new computer.  It was so fast!  And so modern!  We loved it and kept it for 5 or 6 years before finally updating to something newer.  Instead of tossing it out, we kept it for the kids.

I decided that it was finally time to let the kids have their very own computer.  After an extensive search for a decent looking corner desk and chair (it took weeks!), we finally dug the computer out of storage.  I was surprised by how BIG it was.  And loud.  And oh my god, it is SOOOOOOOOOO slow.  It instantly made me want to go buy them something newer and better.  But then I remembered that they are kids, and they really don't care if it takes Word 5 minutes to load.  As expected, they absolutely love the old hunk of junk.  They are currently conquering Paintbrush. 

My personality sucks

I haven't been blogging a lot lately, because I feel like I whine too much.  Whenever I start a new post, the only things that come to mind are complaints.  But I am not an unhappy person, and I don't want you to think that I am miserable.  I am actually very happy.  Apparently, I just really like to complain.  Today I am embracing my personality flaw and writing an entire post of complaints.

#1 - My baby won't sleep.  He sucks at falling asleep and staying asleep.

#2 - I am fat.  I have tried and tried and tried to stop eating junk, but I can't.  I am blaming it on the sleep deprivation.

#3 - My house is entirely too small for 5 people.  I think we need to build a separate house just for the kids.  That would be nice.

#4 - I have a canker sore in my mouth.  OH MY GOD, it is painful.

#5 - My dog stinks.  I can't even remember the last time we gave her a bath.   We are horrible pet owners.

#6 - Porgie's birthday is fast approaching, and I am so not looking forward to throwing her a party.  Birthday parties are overrated.

#7 - The woman who bought our house in Kentucky foreclosed on the property and it is on the market again.  The pictures make me sick.  She ruined our house.  It looks awful.  And it is appraised for half of what we sold it to her for.  I know that it isn't my house anymore, but I still feel like she ruined one of my most beloved possessions.

#8 - My son has been acting weird lately.  I am not sure what his problem is, but I've decided to change our daily routine at home.  TV time is being severely limited, and outside time is being greatly increased.  Fingers crossed that he will stop all his strange behavior.

#9 - I am currently mad at my mom.  She called to tell me that she probably isn't coming to NJ this summer.  I don't know why I get all worked up about people cancelling their trips to NJ, but I always do.  I guess I just feel a little disconnect from my family, and when they don't come to visit, I start to feel like nobody cares about my little family.  And that hurts.  But I know I am being over-dramatic.  Ugh.

#10 - I am in a dinner rut.   Nothing sounds good, which just makes me want to eat out.  Then I remember that we are poor and eating out really isn't an option.

Man, that felt good!  I love to bitch and moan.

Disappointed

After Porgie's birth, I pumped exclusively for 6 months.  When I decided to stop pumping, my period promptly returned.  I nursed Izzy until he was 2 years old.  My period didn't return until he was 13 months old.  But now, despite breastfeeding my baby a million times per day, I think my period has returned.  I've had light spotting for the past two days.  I am quite miserable about this horrible turn of events.  I was really looking forward to a full year without periods. 

I think I am going to go buy myself a milkshake and piece of pie.  Maybe it will make me feel better.  Sniff, sniff.   So sad.