Story Writing

It probably shouldn't surprise me that my eldest daughter spends almost all of her time "writing" stories. From about five years old on if I didn't have my face in a book I had my pen in a notebook, writing. There are whole boxes of stories like these sitting in boxes in my basement. Cheyenne is definitely my kid.

Although at barely five years old her actual writing ability is limited, her imagination is not. She locks herself in her room or hides in the tent on the deck with a notebook and pens, gathers with crayons and journals at my feet while I feed the baby, or at the breakfast bar while I cook and all day long, she writes and draws stories about mermaids. This one is about a mermaid who meets a young man traveling in a submarine.

"Mom, how do you spell move?" "Did I spell Mermaid right?" "What letters did I miss?" Her natural curiosity for language and how it works excites me. She's really understanding writing not only as a tool for communication, but as a form of creative play. I love it.

Frugal Cooking- Graham Cracker Pie

I was rummaging around in my pantry looking for something else when I noticed a graham cracker pie crust that was about to expire. Well, what is a frugal girl to do? I couldn't just let a perfectly good pie crust expire, so I made my Great-Aunt Beulah's Graham Cracker Pie. Confession time here, I spent the entire day accidentally calling the new baby by his dad's name, but I was still able to make this pie from memory. I know, it's kind of wrong. This recipe is obviously taking up valuable storage space in my brain that could be used for higher priority items. Like my kid's name. But it is a really good pie.

Here's the recipe.

1/4 c cornstarch
2/3 c sugar
1/4 t salt
2 c milk, scalded
2 beaten egg yolks
2 T softened butter
vanilla

3 egg white
6 T sugar

In a saucepan, mix cornstarch, sugar and salt. Gradually add scalded milk and heat until thick. Temper egg yolks (add a little of the hot milk mixture to them) and mix into the custard. Cook 5 minutes. Cool a little. Add vanilla and butter. Pour into pie crust.

Beat the egg whites and sugar into a meringue. Top pie with meringue and bake at 350 until golden brown (maybe 5-10 minutes. I don't keep track of these things).

Luckily the baby demanded to be fed as soon as I was done with the pie. It gave the pie time to cool and set. Normally I am of the opinion that waiting for pie to cool before eating it is for suckers, but it was nice to have it solidified instead of running all over my plate.

Green Hour- Great American Backyard Campout

Yesterday was the National Wildlife Federation's Great American Backyard Campout. We started the event by spending some time with our friends the ducks at the pond in front of our house


followed by a dip in the pool

and hot dogs on the grill.

The whole family pulled together to set up the camp site. Cheyenne and Zach even put together our new outdoor table, which has been sitting in a box in the garage since April.

We played go fish and made popcorn on the camp stove.

We played with sparklers.

and ate s'mores, which Bella had renamed "choc-clouds"

During a brief rain shower we came inside and read The Boxcar Children, Surprise Island, a favourite of mine from childhood.

Then it was off to bed.

In the morning we made egg sandwiches on the camp stove. We grilled the bagels.

It was a blast! Next year I'm thinking of organizing a neighborhood campout with games, songs and plenty of food. There is a huge park across the street with 20 acres of oak forest for hiking, a lake for canoeing and a brand-new visitors center that is reopening in August. I wonder if they would be interested in participating?

Little Mommy

When Cheyenne first found out that we were having another baby she was so excited. She told me "You can be the big mommy, I'll be the little mommy and Bella can be the big sister!" She has certainly lived up to her promise. Baby James is a very mothered little boy. In fact, I think both the girls have taken to the roll of little mommy quite well, playing with him, giving him pacifiers and blankets and kisses on the head. It's fun to see them together and it's fun to see how grown up and responsible the girls are getting.

Bryn Dial

That's the name of our house, Bryn Dial. It's Welsh for Hill of the Leaves. I've always wanted to name my house. Particularly as this house has now been inhabited by three generations of my family, it feels right that it should have a name. Today, while brushing up on my Sesame Street Welsh using the BBC's Learn Welsh website I came across this house naming application. I plugged in a few facts about my house, like the fact that it's on a hill with a view of a pond and woods and it gave me a few suggestions. I liked Bryn Dial, firstly because I can actually pronounce it and secondly because it really fits. I'm thinking of making a plaque to hang in front of the house. Maybe try my hand at painting or wood burning. Maybe something like this.

Perpetual Childhood-Embracing My Inner Peter Pan

We are really a very silly bunch of people. I was thinking about that tonight as we were swimming and goofing off, only to look up at the clock and realize that it was 7:00PM and we hadn't so much as thought about what we were having for dinner.

As I hungrily scarfed down my mac and cheese, carrot sticks and rainbow jello (Cheyenne's brilliant dinner suggestion) I felt like I was 6 years old again, playing outside until the last possible minute before running home for dinner, hoping I'd be on time and my mom wouldn't be mad. Only now I'm the mom and there's no one to be mad at me. The thought made me smile.

I remember thinking when I was a kid, "when I grow up I'm going to play outside until dark and eat macaroni and cheese and ice cream every day and never make my kids go to bed." Of course, as happens to most people, I have become more serious and less fond of macaroni and cheese (although not so much the ice cream) as I've aged. Still, I love those moments where I don't act my age, where I do something silly or irresponsible or just plain fun without a thought to bedtimes and nutritional value. I love momentarily inhabiting a world where the dishes are less important than cannonballs into the pool. I hope I never get too old for that.

Domestic Bliss

Something has come over me the last few days. After over a week of running back and forth to the hospital I'm thoroughly enjoying being home. My domestic side has kicked into full gear. While the baby sleeps and the children play I've been baking, making tea, tidying up the house, fluffing pillows and making beds. While he eats I've been reading stories to the kids, catching up on my reading and writing and just watching him, completely in love. I'm loving all the simple little moments; the smell of a freshly bathed baby, the sound of the girls playing happily in their room together, the site of James and his Daddy napping together on the couch. I'm even considering having company this week.

I don't remember being this pulled together so soon after having the girls. It's kind of surreal. I gave birth 11 days ago. It seems impossible that we are already finding our rhythm as a family, but we are. This baby seems to have folded himself nicely into our lives. I feel so much more confident this time than I did the last two times. It's a big deal, yes, but I know how to care for a baby. I don't sit around all day worrying that I'm going to mess him up for life with every move I make. I don't feel guilty for taking time for myself. I don't have the time or energy to waste on useless guilt and worry. It's very freeing.

This kid, being my third in five years, gets less attention than the other two ever did as babies, but paradoxically, he is happier, easier and we are all enjoying these baby days much, much more. There's probably a lesson of some kind in that. I'm a little to tired to figure out what it is right now, but no doubt it will come to me with time and better rest. :)