Yellow Wallpaper

Yesterday was a glorious day with clear blue skies and reasonable temperatures. I doubted the forecasted winter storm, especially when it was still clear at eleven last night as I went to bed. We woke up to several inches of snow and more falling hard. It's finally stopped now, but as I look out the window I'm grateful that we did our errands yesterday and can just stay home today. We're a little low on baby formula but should have enough to last through tomorrow. I've had a few moments of panic when it comes to keeping the older kids busy all day. Thankfully they're finally getting old enough to mostly just entertain themselves and they've spent a lot of time playing together quite nicely. It makes my mommy heart proud to see how well they are getting along today. It also makes my teacher brain happy because I'm finally figuring out my challenging class schedule and syllabus for next semester (I have one section that meets twice a week and one that meets o...

I haven't blogged for a week now. The other day I said to Mr. Fob 'why do I feel like my life is so amazingly busy right now?' Well, I had a third child, I started working part-time, and my computer is usually downstairs in the basement office where my husband is working. This is good for reducing my internet usage, but also bad because it reduces my internet usage. Plus I need to have a clear mind to blog and lately my mind is not clear very often. Last week I had to grade 32 papers. I should have had more, but both my classes had several people flake out. That's to be expected at the school where I'm teaching, but still a little disheartening. I've had one student who managed to miss nearly half the class days this semester who has repeatedly sent me emails trying to figure out some way to avoid having to take the class again. Sorry dude, the first lesson you need to learn in college is the importance of showing up for class and doing the work. I also went to ...

Last week S-Boogie was trying to write something and asked me to spell a word. Before I could answer, Little Dude stepped in and spelled it for her. Perfectly. Today in church he finished coloring his picture, turned it over and drew a church, then wrote "This is hevinly fathers cerch " on it, without asking me how to spell the words. He is four-and-a-half, she's seven, and he has nearly caught up with her in his spelling and reading abilities. A few months ago Little Dude figured out how letters work and took off running. He can read and spell really well. S-Boogie is actually on grade level as far as reading goes and recently brought home a report card that had perfect grades in all her academic subjects (her only low grade was in 'school behavior', which encompasses staying on task and following directions). This new dynamic has honestly had me a little worried. I have a brother who is slightly less than two years older than me. I started reading when I was th...

We ended up skipping countries that start with O and only did one with R. Peru: We read a few books about Peru and colored the flag. For dinner we got together with my sister-in-law who had served her mission in Peru. We ate papa a la huancaina , lomo saltado , rice, and chicha morada . It was all delicious, even though the kids didn't like it very much. Philippines : We read some books; I found a few good story books that the kids liked, especially this one . For dinner we had two of my favorite foods, pancit and lumpia . Neither turned out quite as well as I remembered my Filipino friends making them when I was a kid, but I guess that just means that I'll have to make them again some time. Poland : We read books and colored the flag; I had a hard time finding any story books about Poland and so we didn't get to read any. We did eat some pierogi , which were really tasty and big hit with the kids. I also tried making some cabbage rolls stuffed with brown rice but they di...

This afternoon S-Boogie had a dress rehearsal for her dance class. Waiting the hour for her class to finish has become increasingly difficult as P.Bibby has gotten older, and I knew that today would be especially torturous for both the baby and Little Dude because we were in the Senior Center and there was nothing to do (plus the heat was on high and it was exceptionally stuffy). Today's weather was somewhat moderate for December so I decided to take the kids over to the park next door for a little bit of playground time. When I got there I realized that P. Bibby was probably big enough to try out one of the swings for babies. I was right; when I put her in the swing and started gently pushing it, her face lit up in a big grin and she began giggling. I love her giggling; she is my first child to giggle so freely and so often at such a young age. She really is a delightful baby and nearly every day I think about how much fun she is and what a joy it is to be her mom. And every time ...

A few weeks ago I found a deal online for half-off a fresh Christmas tree, delivered to your home. I'm always a fan of a bargain, plus I'm lazy and liked the idea of home delivery, so I ordered a tree. I thought it was going to be here over the weekend but it didn't show up until today. It is spectacular: a giant noble fir with thick, green needles and an overwhelming smell of pine. The tree takes up an entire corner of our living room. Its heavenly. So we let the kids stay up late decorating the tree and drinking hot chocolate. We listened to Frank Sinatra and discussed all of our special ornaments, though I think my little candy canes that I bought at Pic-n-Save twelve years ago have finally bit the dust. The kids were thrilled with the tree and I am so grateful to have a lovely home with room for a beautiful tree and a mantel just right for hanging stockings. I have a feeling that this is going to be a wonderful Christmas; the kids are old enough to be excited about ever...