Christmas crafts in March

In the spirit of recovering from his illness (no more fevers today!) Tucker is working on a four hour nap. Have I mentioned that I love four hour naps?

Today during naptime I finally got around to doing the Christmas crafts that I was meaning to do in December and never got around to. Of course these are not time-sensitive or important in any way, and there are more pressing things on my to do list. But sometimes a gal needs some nap time craft fun.



I found this old knick-knack tree that I'm turning into an Epiphany wall hanging. I have little brass nativity people, and will arrange it so that Tucker will move the wise men one spot each day till the 12th day of Christmas when they will arrive at the baby Jesus. If only my numbers looked a bit more elegant... I think I'll probably blot them out and try again, or get stick-on numbers to put on top of them.


I also finished up the angel tree topper I was meaning to make. I'm not so sure about it. It really looks pretty funny, if you ask me, but I made it out of all things I had on hand, and I can at least put it away till our star versus angel tree topper wars at the end of this year. :)

I also took some frames that I got at my favorite thrift store, and painted them and printed out some new Christmas-themed pics for them.

This is one of the Bentley snowflake designs that I printed (the photos are in the public domain!):



This is a Renaissance painting that I brought into Fotosketcher to create an impressionist rendition of the nativity:





And this is a poinsettia, just for fun:



Austin, of course, is terribly confused about this sudden rash of Christmas crafts in March. Apparently, he completely missed that we *needed* more Christmas wall hangings in the first place.

What I have been doing when I'm not blogging...

I was the type of kid that got really high fevers suddenly. Well, it looks like Tucker has inherited my trait. Out of nowhere on Friday afternoon he woke up with a 102.6 fever. We can handle that, right?

Well, it went up to 104.3 Saturday at its highest which warranted a weekend trip to the doctor. But then, Saturday night, it spiked to 105.7!!!??? That is NOT what I like to see on the thermometer at 3:30 am.

Thankfully, it came down quickly and we avoided the hospital. And then Sunday, it was up to almost 104, and down to 95 last night (seriously, this wasn't a thermometer error). So we got a second weekend trip to the doc that culminated in a chest x-ray. Thankfully no pneumonia.

We keep thinking he's over it, and then it goes back up when the dose of Motrin wears off. In the wee hours of this morning it was 104 again.

It's probably some random virus that he picked up somewhere, but of course we're googling horrible diseases that can be acquired from poultry and other esoteric medical mysteries.

So that's been the hard part of the past few days. The good news is that Tucker is still a nut, and as long as he has some Motrin in his system continues to beg approximately every other minute to go outside to stomp in the puddles and visit daddy's truck and the chickens.

The other night we were in the hospital waiting for his chest x-ray at 11 pm after having all started our day at 3:30 am with his 105 fever. Doesn't this sound like a recipe for disaster? It would've been if I had been the patient. Instead, Tucker amused himself by knocking over the towers Austin built and chucking the blocks around the deserted waiting room. (The boy has a good arm, incidentally).

That is all to say, that this has been a long five days, and it is time to go to sleep....

The definition of insanity

I've heard that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, but expect different results. Well, I'm afraid I need to report that my son is insane. He has spent the better part of the morning screaming at the dog because the dog has his rubber ducky. Why does Ben have a rubber ducky, you may ask? Well, Tucker keeps giving Ben his rubber ducky. Ben takes the rubber ducky, and then Tucker screams because he wants the ducky back. Finally Ben drops the rubber ducky, Tucker picks it back up and then immediately gives it back to him... and then starts screaming.

Ahhhhhh!

More pics

Bye Henny, Bye Pa Pa, Bye Tractor at Beau Pre

Squirrel Nutkin

Tucker is like a little squirrel. He loves to collect little objects and hide them and organize them. Yesterday while I was painting some furniture he spent at least half an hour "driving" my car, and organizing the quarters I keep for parking meters. (He needs to be watched with quarters as he's not 100% reliable on putting them in his mouth, but getting better).

One of his favorite activities is going to the chicken coop to see if they have laid any eggs. He loves to carry them back, and is so excited to put them into the egg carton in the fridge... seeing all those eggs together really gives him a thrill. Of course it's a problem when they have to go back in the fridge and he can't play with them, which is why he now has a egg carton full of pastel plastic Easter eggs that we substitute. Making sure those plastic eggs stay where they belong, and seeing if they have anything in them is really a full time job.

Tucker enjoys coloring now, but even more importantly, likes to organize his markers. His markers live in the back of his big red car, and he often spends a lot of time bringing them back and forth from his coloring table, and making sure they all belong in the car.

Tucker also likes assembling his trucks. The other day he spent about an hour bringing his trucks from all over the house into our tiny little downstairs bathroom. It was a little army of trucks.

On a totally unrelated note, Tucker learned how to kiss yesterday. I came home from swimming and he was sitting on my lap, and I was tickling/kissing him, and he decided that HE was going to kiss mommy. It hurt it was so cute! AND I got a LOT of baby kisses.

Voluntary Simplicity

Austin's Aunt Carol emailed me at the beginning of the year, soon after I started this blog, wondering what I think about voluntary simplicity. We didn't have a very long correspondence on this subject, but it set me thinking and I've come back to that phrase several times since then.

I love the idea of voluntary simplicity, of somehow living in a simpler and more intentional way, of seeking to get off the hamster wheel of constant motion and consumption that seems to be the default these days.

Choosing simplicity is like choosing to only buy wrinkle-free shirts, or clothes that don't need dry cleaning. You give something up (in this case a certain clothing choice) but you get something in the bargain (time spent ironing, money for the dry cleaner). Sometimes choosing simplicity makes sense, but sometimes not. Depends if you like wrinkle free shirts, right?

The point is, you don't want to choose simplicity and bypass something you enjoy or is really important. For example, I recently joined the local YMCA. It is far simpler to go for a run outside than to drive 40 minutes round trip to the gym. But I enjoy the pool, and I don't enjoy running. Hence simplicity gets sacrificed and I joined the Y.

So, like life, it all comes down to priorities and a balancing act. I often find it ironic that choosing simplicity in consumption often actually increases the complexity of my life. Take our clothesline. It would be great to use it regularly and opt-out of unnecessary clothes drying, but honestly, when push comes to shove, it's a lot simpler to put the laundry in the dryer. This same scenario works itself out with heating the house with wood, having a big garden, (really the list could go on and on). And it's worth it, at least some of the things, some of the time.

But what I strive for is the type of simplicity that actually saves both (human) energy AND consumption. Like not wrapping presents in a Christmas stocking (no wrapping, no wrapping paper). Like choosing to only have a TV antennae, freeing up the time and money otherwise devoted to cable.

You know, figuring out those areas where less can be more, where small can be beautiful, or where my standards don't need to be quite so high. :)

Pemmican, the original energy bar

Austin has wanted to make pemmican, an old Native American food for the hunt, for ages. What IS pemmican? Well, it's dried meat that's been ground up, mixed with dried berries, with beef lard (suet) poured over it, moistening it and holding it together. Lots of calories for the hunt, and no sugar! Mmmmmmm....

On Valentine's day, we were going to go snowshoeing in West Virginia and I decided I'd make him some pemmican as a little Valentine's day present for the trip. Except it was about 70 degrees that week and all the snow in West Virginia melted. I conveniently forgot about it till the last minute as well, and unfortunately, a gal can't dry meat in an hour on a Saturday morning. It's the thought that counts, right? (Or is that what's incriminating in this little Valentine's day story?)

Anyway, I did finally get around to drying some venison jerky last week with the idea of making pemmican. We even got beef suet at our local Mennonite farm where we get all our meat.

The problem is that as a former vegetarian, even the idea of pemmican is revolting to me. The process of creating it was an act of love and revulsion at the same time. I ended up having to put the dried venison piece by piece in the coffee grinder to get it to a fine powder, mixing it with currants and prunes and then heating enough beef suet in the microwave so I could pour just enough over the mixture to moisten it (before just about dying from the smell...). Then the berry-meat-lard mixture hardened in the fridge.

I think I'm relatively open-minded towards food, as gals go... I never tried any of the squirrels Austin hunted, but I allowed them in our kitchen and in our freezer. I allowed Austin and Josh to butcher three deer this season in our side yard, and even let them hang the deer from a tree, for all the neighborhood to see. Pemmican is in the same category--it's allowed in the fridge, but I most certainly am not going to try it.

I did let Austin give some to Tucker this afternoon, though. It's kinda tricky thinking of fun snacks for Tucker because we don't really have much snack type foods around (nor want that sort of thing in the house). Austin ended up breaking off pieces of pemmican for Tucker, who devoured them like they were chocolate. Like father, like son....

Grow, little veggies

Snow is on the ground, but our first seeds are already in our garden (sugar snap peas), and we have four flats of starts in sunny spots indoors. Maybe not everyone keeps flats of starters in their upstairs bathroom, but it seems to be working well. Tucker goes in there regularly and points at them.

I'm excited for our garden. It has been two years since we really had a great garden, and I've missed it. Austin wants to plant corn for the first time. We're also trying to establish a berry patch. We even are thinking about reusing old windows that are in the basement to make a greenhouse and seriously extend our growing season. A couple years ago we had fresh greens through January, and that was just with a cold frame!

This year will be a bit rough, though, in terms of the garden's soil quality. Last year we choked the grass out with newspaper and cardboard and mulch to establish the permanent no-till beds. This year we'll plant right into those beds, which will at places entail planting through a layer of still-present newspaper. But it works really well at suppressing the weeds, and we will build up the beds with our compost, and if this garden is like our last one, by next year the soil will be looking pretty good. I love thinking that (God willing) we hope to be here 10 years from now... what will the soil be like then? More importantly, what will our fruit trees be like then?

So far Tucker likes the garden, too. When we're outside he goes down to it so he can swing the gate. (The only problem with this is that the dog takes advantage of the baby and goes into the garden when Tucker's manning the gate.)

Lenten vows

I forgot to wish everyone a Happy Ash Wednesday last week, but now we're firmly in the Lenten season (although the local country radio station held a belated Mardi Gras celebration on this past Saturday night, which was amusing to me).

Anyway, for various reasons this year I want to try a non-food Lenten "fast." Part of the goal of giving something up is to make room for God in our lives, to pick something that will call to remembrance Jesus throughout the day.

I decided that I would fast from critical thoughts. I only decided this after coming to terms with the fact that it's okay to pick a Lenten vow that I'm going to mess up on. I mean, if I gave up chocolate, it is so cut and dry. It is hard, but the possibility of success is real. Banning a certain type of thoughts for six weeks, especially in a "realist" like myself, is equivalent to setting myself up for failure. What overcame my reluctance was a friend who gently reminded me that having to rely on the Lord to withstand whatever temptation, and on His grace when I fail, is really a good place to be during Lent. She also suggested chanting "cancel" in my mind after inopportune thoughts. :)

Anyway it has been interesting so far, because immediately on the first day I was confronted with issues like "is disliking a house's architecture having a critical thought?" and "does this ban only apply to thoughts about other people, or does it extend to my interior dialogue about myself?"

Anyone feel like chiming in on the comments with what you're doing for Lent?

Food glorious food

I just mentioned in the last entry that Tucker can really eat when he wants to. Last night we went to our favorite hole-in-the-wall diner in town for dinner. They don't have a kids' menu, so we ordered Tucker an adult hamburger and fries.

When he saw the food he just about flipped out, he was so excited. He ate almost 2/3 of that hamburger and half of the french fries. It was really impressive. (Keep in mind he weighs like 25 lbs--that's a LOT of food for a little boy.)

Then he put the take-home container on his head. What could be more fun?

Actually, there were lots of highlights of our dinner. One was when he realized he could see the street from our booth and he pointed out to us all the trucks and buses that went by. THAT was exciting.

He also really enjoyed eating cheerios from the hoods of his matchbox cars while we waited for our food. He even had a little matchbox ambulance that he was able to squeeze a cheerio into.

He saw his favorite clerk from our grocery store, eating with his wife. This guy looks like kind of a gruff older man, but every time he sees Tucker he melts into a smile and says "That's a fine fellow there."

Ah, good times....

Tucker the snow man

This has been a disappointing winter for snow, but we finally got enough of a dusting last night that the world was white when we woke up. Tucker noticed it as soon as he saw his first open window.

He spent his first five minutes awake nestled among his blankets downstairs pointing at the whiteness, to make sure I realized it was different.

Tucker: points at snow
Me: It's snow.

[Pause]
Tucker: points at snow
Me: It's snow.

So, that's how we spent a long time this morning.

After Tucker ate 1 and 1/2 waffles and a full banana (that boy can eat!), we put on his snow boots and explored the world. At first he wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing, but it didn't take him long to become enthusiastic.

In fact, it became a cosmic struggle (okay, slight exaggeration) to get the boy back inside. He is an outdoor weather boy... like father, like son.

Haircut madness

I gave Tucker his most successful haircut this morning. I'd been waiting for him to get involved in bathtime fun to attack his ever-growing floppy mop... but he has not been that interested in baths lately. Mostly he wants to jump out as soon as possible so he can get wrapped up in his yellow towels.

So I tried another tactic today: I sat him down in his high chair and gave him a lollipop. (Sugar may be an inflammatory agent, but it sure helps with hair cuts!)

His dad is sad Tucker no longer has a mullet, but I'm pretty proud of my mad hair cutting skills. :)

Where oh where is my cell phone?

Answer: in a special hiding place, known only to Tucker. (Actually, I observed him taking it out of its special hiding place, so now I know where it is too, finally!)

Other snapshots from this week...

*Tucker started closing doors, waving and saying "bye" to me this week.

*Last Thursday Austin asked Tucker, "What sound does a chicken make?" and he said "bok bok." Of course, he refuses to say it again, probably out of stubborness.

*In church on Sunday after I picked him up from the nursery he saw a man facing away from him with dark hair and a blue blazer. He ran up to him and hugged his leg and yelled "Da!" Of course, it wasn't Austin, but it's the thought that counts, right? (When he did see his dad ushering, he about went ballistic trying to get out of my arms....)

*In the mornings, I read the Bible in the den, and I tell Tucker it's Bible time and he gets up and hurries to get his Bible and sit next to me like a big boy. His favorite part about the Bible are the lions. He points them out in Noah's ark, and in the Creation story, and in Daniel and the lions' den. You know, I hadn't really thought about the importance of lions in the Bible till now. :)

By the way, my camera's broken, but one of these days I'll get it fixed (or properly disposed of).

Tucker's New Tricks (2)

Tucker keeps on getting new tricks. This week he learned how to take the caps off the markers by himself and color. He made his first real works of art... multi-colored scribbles, which are hanging up on the refrigerator.

He was so into coloring yesterday that he started trying to color his afternoon snack (you know, draw ON the bread...). He looks like such a big boy deciding to go over to his table and color--and being able to do the whole process by himself. Leaves more time for Mommy to blog!

His other new activity is watching Baby Einstein. Previously he hasn't had any interest in the TV, but Baby Einstein is rocking this little boy's world. It isn't something that entertains him while I do something else, though... he is only interested if he is sitting in my lap, while I narrate what everything on the video is. Still, he has been sick for six days now, and a half hour of Baby Einstein a day is a welcome diversion for both of us.

What else? Tucker is REALLY into books right now. Last night, I hid several that he wanted read to him over and over and over and over again yesterday. Yes, it's bad to hide books from a sick child... but I was about to fall ill myself from all the repetition! His favorites are the ones with pictures of babies/kids and with trucks, so we went to the library and got some new alternatives to break up the monotony.

Other than reading Mighty Movers approximately 100 times yesterday, we're having a quiet week. Tucker's wheezing and has a fever, but apparently my friends' kids are all dealing with the same bug.

In Memoriam: Michael T. Errecart 2/18/50 - 8/4/03

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
-by e.e. cummings

While the cat's away...

...the mice play.

(Okay, so I actually took these pics, but I like the idea of my guys frolicking in the sun yesterday while I was at the swim meet.)

Like a beached whale

Way back in high school, we would practice splashing in the water like Shamu, the killer whale. In college, our coach made a very unfortunate comment about wanting no beached whales on his team (!).

Well, yesterday, I did my first masters swim meet.

The good news: I'm still alive to tell the story.

The bad news: I have a lot of work to do.

Actually, it was a lot of fun, and as I have never competed under the name "Jackie Jamison" before, ALL of my swims were personal bests (riiight).

It was definitely inspiring. I watched a 96 year-old woman set two national masters swimming records (in the 50 breast and 50 free--both swims around 2 minutes each). She even did the 100 IM, which was impressive.

Probably more inspiring to me for my stage of life were the legions of other former swimmers who are in really good, competitive shape and swimming some pretty good times.

Hopefully this motivation lasts as I swim alone at the YMCA day after day over the next six months....

Concealed pistol purse

I had never heard of a concealed pistol purse until Thursday night when one of the speakers at an event I was attending finished her talk by saying "I have to run... am going to a gun meeting!" Then she said as she was walking to the door: "Have you ever seen a concealed pistol purse?"

Keep in mind this was a Christian volunteer event, not that that has anything to do with guns or no guns. But it was an unexpected twist, in any case. We all kind of looked at each other (and I thought of Emily Grant, of course). Anyway, she showed us the secret compartment where the pistol hides. I don't know for sure if one was in there, but I definitely imagined a pearl handled pistol.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tucker enjoyed his first lollipop courtesy of Jo Jo today. He enjoyed it immensely, but not as much as seeing Henny and Pa Pa tonight. Tucker is going to miss his fan club tomorrow! I am going to miss them too (and they're babysitting!!!). Thank you, Helen and David!

Best Baby Products Ever

I have all these friends right now who are expecting, and I have been reflecting on the neatest baby products we've come across so far. You know, the things you wouldn't necessarily think of, but are really ingenious.

Gerber Lil' Snacking Bowl - toddlers can put their hand through the flexible lid into this bowl so that snack time in the car isn't always disastrous.

The Nosefrieda - This one is really obscure, but those little nasal aspirators never worked for Tucker when he was congested. This ingenious little device looks a little suspect hygenically (because you actually suction the mucous out with a long tube)... after using it, trust me, it is totally wonderful.

Roebeez - I'm such a fan of those little leather shoes that stay on infants' feet no matter what. NOTHING else does the job like them (the generic brands at Target are great, though!).

Washable bib - This may not seem like brain surgery, but think how many bibs you go throughout a week? A lot. Helen found a plastic bib that you just sponge off and voila, back to new.

Bebe au lait - Okay, I never actually used this, but it's a "nursing cover" and looks great and is definitely something I would get for a baby shower gift. (It's closely related to the Hooter Hider....)

I'm sure I'm forgetting other things, and will add to this list as inspiration strikes me.

Walking the leash

Tucker sees me holding Ben's leash on our walks, and he wants to. Of course, Tucker is no match for an 80 lb yellow lab, so I usually let him hold onto part of it while retaining ultimate control. This often leads to a tantrum because Tucker wants to do it by himself. He is definitely reaching the "I want what I want, when I want it!" (to quote Fr. Glenn) stage, even though he can't use those words yet.

Anyway, he has started "walking" other things all by himself. He gets Ben's leash out of the cubbies near the kitchen door and walks around the downstairs (or the yard) walking the empty leash. Today, he chased after Henny and PaPa's car after they left, walking with Daddy's tape measure (he held the end where the tape measure comes out while the big metal part followed on the ground about six feet behind him). I should've gotten a picture, it was pretty ridiculous.

But I didn't. I tried to upload a video I got of Tucker boxing a balloon, but alas, our satellite internet balked at 15 MB. T minus two weeks till DSL!

Food Reviews (1)

The highlights of this weekend's food included popcorn this afternoon, of course, and managing to avoid having to eat Austin's infamous salmon cakes. Salmon cakes COULD be a good idea if they weren't made out of the gross kind of canned salmon that has the bones still in it. Austin claims you can't really taste the bones (they're these weird crunchy circular things), but what he really means is "you can't taste the bones if you don't have taste buds." (Hi, sweetie, so glad you're reading this!)

More seriously, though, I made up a recipe for protein bars for Tucker as a snack, because we're sick of giving him crackers and stuff like that for snacks. Obviously the no milk-no egg-no nut allergy thing makes baking for Tucker a bit creative, so this recipe may look a little odd, but it was surprisingly good. (I do have to admit that at church today one of the girls sitting across from Tucker said "that looks AWFUL!"

Anyway, on that promising note, the recipe is: 1 c ground flax, 1 c wheat flour, 1 c oat flour, some coconut milk (can you tell I don't measure very often?), some olive oil, 1/2 cup rice protein powder, a couple teaspoons baking soda and baking powder, and a can of crushed pineapple with the juice.

Obviously the pineapple is pretty sweet, but Austin couldn't tell the bars didn't have sugar in them without me telling him. We've eaten 2/3 of the pan between the three of this in two days, so maybe I'll need to make more for Tucker this week.

We also tried our first overnight crockpot hot breakfast cereal. We put in buckwheat groats, wheat berries, and some oats, with water and some apple juice and raisins in the crockpot overnight. The raisins were a little funny--all of the sweetness had drained out of them so they became these nondescript blobs that didn't taste very good. Overall, I think we both like the idea, but the grains need some more flavor. Next time I would add chopped up apples and dates and skip the raisings. Also, if anyone is tempted to make this recipe with small children, I suggest NOT giving anyone with an immature digestive tract these grains... let's just say Tucker had some interesting digestion issues this weekend!!

What else? Austin also made some great crockpot ribs. (Liz, the secret is cinnamon. Don't discount the crockpot, or ribs, until you try a cinnamon rub first....)

Better stop writing before this post makes me hungry!

And now, the rest of the story....

I forgot to mention in the last post that this weekend has been beautiful. It was 59 degrees when I woke up this morning. One of the kids at church was sitting next to an open window during coffee hour and said to me "this is like Spring!" And it is! It has been wonderful. I was painting some porch tables today and Austin had to remind me to paint them in the shade so they wouldn't dry too quickly. Now THAT is a problem I like to have.

Anyway, now that we've covered what Tucker's done this weekend, here's some pics of what we've been doing.

Austin spent the weekend working on the shed extension.

I spent the weekend lounging in the hammock and taking pictures. (Okay, maybe I did a little painting too....)

What does Tucker do all day?

Richard Scary titled one of my favorite children's books ever "What Do People Do All Day?" Check it out if you don't know it, it's pretty fun.

In any case, the level of busyness in that book reminds me of the level of busyness in Tucker's day. He is a perpetual motion machine. But what exactly does he do?

Well, he chases. He gets chased. He runs around in circles, usually around the coffee table, or the kitchen island, but sometimes around the whole downstairs.

He lets Ben the dog know he is loved. (Constantly.)

He takes things out of drawers and brings them to us (shoes are his favorite--today he spent a long time with Austin's flip-flops on his hands, and an equally intense time arranging my garden shoes).

He spends a lot of time taking things out of containers, and putting things into containers, though his organizational style is a bit unique. For example, recently he determined that a whole drawer of craft supplies needed to go in his truck. Right now he's trying to put ducky into a metal lid. (This is apparently a very serious undertaking....)

He also spends a lot of time helping with basic household activities. He loves to press the buttons on the washer. He could spend all day taking the cover to the dog food off and feeding the dog. He loves to take the silverware caddy out of the dishwasher, and stand on the dishwasher door to get a better angle at the rest of the dishwasher's contents. He also LOVES to sweep. Nothing beats a broom (I hope he keeps that sentiment when he's a teenager).

He has a special talent for pointing out trucks and cars. And cows.

He has another affinity for finding hidden pacifiers and duckies (well, really for finding ANYTHING hidden.)

He also has an amazing sense for when anyone in the house is eating. He is especially good at eating Daddy's breakfast.

He's even added a couple new tricks to his repertoire recently. One is incessant clapping. Austin and I are curious if he learned a song in the nursery during Bible study that involved clapping, or what. In any case, he loves to walk around clapping, and loves it even more if we join in. He's turned into the little drummer boy over the past week.

His other new trick this weekend is a bit more concerning: watching TV. He has never shown any interest in the TV till this weekend when he sat down about three feet from the TV and was transfixed at 10 minutes of PBS commercials. Today he was mesmerized by the LeBron-Kobe NBA battle. I suppose he was doomed from the start to like watching sports in our household.

Tucker's Train Noise

I think I've finally figured out how to export and trim videos for the web. This is a video of Tucker's train noise, which is very similar to a high-pitched, insistent whine. It's not. He's actually imitating a train. Let's just say, we don't like it when he plays with trains too long because of this noise!

Tucker's Favorite Game...

...is chase.

It doesn't need to involve someone actually chasing him, for him to THINK someone is chasing him and run away. For example, Ben the dog does NOT chase Tucker. Ever. But Tucker gets a lot of entertainment out of their make-believe chase scenes. This is how they go: Ben moves vaguely in Tucker's direction. Tucker giggles excitedly and runs away. Ben sees Tucker giggling and runs in the opposite direction. Tucker gets even more excited.

However, I do have the opportunity of playing real chase games with Tucker regularly. Our downstairs rooms form a vague oval so you can run from the family room to the dining room to my office through the bathroom to the sunroom to the kitchen and be back where you started. When I was on the phone with my mom the other day, Tucker and I spent half the conversation doing loops around our downstairs "track." We went around at least 5, maybe 10 times. We usually have to do at least one loop before I can catch him and bring him upstairs for a diaper change.

He is also getting adept at selecting things that he can't have, in order to get me to chase him. I was installing some more baby latches on a few cabinets today, and somehow Tucker managed to abscond with the power drill two separate times, and the scissors once. He didn't even protest when the items were (quickly) taken away--he just wanted the thrill of the mommy chase.

2009 Innovations

Some people would be reviewing various tech gadgets, but our 2009 innovations are decidedly lower key than that.

Here they are:
1. The YMCA - What can be better than having a place I can go that entertains Tucker while I work out???

2. The Discovery Museum - This is the ultimate indoor playground with legos and train tables and lots of kids to watch, and lots of mommies for me to talk with.

3. Mother Goose Time at the library - After being utterly terrified that I was planning on leaving him there, Tucker decided that singing and reading books on a multi-colored rug is just about the best idea ever.

3. Sleep! - It is amazing to be actually rested these days... bodes well for the rest of 2009!!!!

4. High Speed Internet - Supposedly this is coming to us this month! (Note: I'll believe it when I see it.)

5. Swim meets - Yes, I'm doing my first swim meet in 10 years this month.

6. Skype - Not sure Tucker has really figured it out yet, but the grandparents like it a lot.

7. Baby chicks - We have 8 baby chicks arriving in March!

I'm sure there's more new Jamison developments in '09 that I've forgotten to add, but this is a start.

Sneezy the Dwarf

Have you ever thought of your life in terms of the seven dwarfs? Like one day you're Happy, another day you're Bashful, Grumpy, Sleepy, Doc, etc. (Can anyone name the dwarf that is remaining? Answer at the bottom of this post*....)

Well today, because it's a Sunday, I am Sneezy. I am almost always Sneezy on Sundays.

I'm allergic to dust. But besides the occasional problem with vacuuming, I do pretty well... until Sunday rolls around. Church clothes are my nemesis. No, it's not that I'm allergic to dresses and skirts, it's that they are much less frequently worn and washed than everything else in my closet (and tend to need dry-cleaning at a high rate).

It is pretty common for me to actually have to leave the service because I've been disrupting everyone with my incessant sneezing. In fact, it is routine for me to receive the sacrament by just having the wafer dipped in the wine rather than sipping the wine from the cup because I don't want the person at the altar next to me to be distracted by the fact I'm drinking from the same cup they are and have so clearly been "ill" and sneezing my whole way through the service.

Why do I bring this up now? I decided recently this course of events had to stop so I have been getting dressed an hour early, to test whether I can successfully wear an outfit without an allergy attack. Today, I have already run through two outfits that made me ill. I am waiting for my nose to settle down so I can try another. I only have 15 minutes left till take-off.

(And yes for all you wondering, I do take anti-histamines... claritin does nothing for me, but I'm a fan of zyrtec, a new one.)

*Answer: Dopey