If T is the one to get the diapers out of the dryer, sometimes he puts Cupcake in the laundry basket and gives her a ride along with the diapers.
Things have been quiet on this blog lately, I guess because I've been feeling introspective and just not very chatty. I've been thinking a lot lately about habits and trying to break some of my bad ones. I've been doing a lot of reading and research about nutrition and exercise and I've made some positive changes (and lost ten pounds in the past month...but I still have a long way to go until I will really feel fit). I've been trying to eat more mindfully and be in tune with the way my body feels after eating certain foods. I've also been educating myself about conventional food production and why it really does make sense to spend extra on organic produce and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats when possible. The Meatrix is a good introduction to the unsanitary and inhumane practices of conventional meat production.
Through all the frozen winter
My nose has grown most lonely
For lovely, lovely colored smells
That come in springtime only.
The purple smell of lilacs,
The yellow smell that blows
Across the air of meadows
Where bright forsythia grows.
The tall pink smell of peach trees,
The low white smell of clover,
And everywhere the great green smell
Of grass the whole world over.
"Smells," by Kathryn Worth
Image from AllPosters.com
I'm giving my body a break from wheat for a while, so I've been searching out lots of wheat-free recipes. I made these delicious pancakes for lunch today. The batter is thin, so they turn out almost crepe-like. If you leave out the stevia (and vanilla and cinnamon, updated 3/2), I think they could also be a great "wrap" to hold sandwich fillings, but I haven't tried that yet.
4 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup gluten-free flour mixture (I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose baking flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
approximately 1/8 teaspoon stevia powder (or 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Blend all ingredients in blender for 10-15 seconds. Cook on lightly greased moderately-hot skillet, flipping once, until both sides are lightly browned.
D.L.F. was still talking to himself quite a while after we put him to bed tonight, so while I continued practicing my harp in the living room, T went into D.L.F.'s room to check on him.
"Mama is playing her heart!" D.L.F. announced.
This morning I finished praying before D.L.F. ate his breakfast, and he looked like he wanted to say something.
"Go ahead," I prompted.
"And please help Papa to throw the trash in the dumpster!" D.L.F. prayed. (A few minutes earlier D.L.F. had put a piece of lint in the garbage can, and I guess he decided it was full enough to go out!)
Cupcake is 8 1/2 months old now. She is such a sweet baby! We've started her on solids; so far, she's tried egg yolk, banana, spinach, carrots, applesauce, and yogurt, and even a taste of mild chili, and she gobbled them all up.
She isn't really crawling yet, but she can quickly get wherever she wants by scooting or rolling. She is holding herself way up with her arms, so I think she will be crawling soon.
She says, "Papa," "Mama," "hi," and "bye-bye," and she knows how to wave bye-bye. She also does the sign language for "milk" and "diaper." In our family, we (especially T and D.L.F.) often roar like lions at each other just for fun, and Cupcake has figured out how to roar in her own way when she wants to be in on the action.
D.L.F. likes to pretend he's grown-up by casually asking T and me to do things (whether or not they need to be done; D.L.F. just likes the asking part).
Today, among other things, he asked, "Mama...couldjoooo [could you]...ummm...put some clothes on Baby [Cupcake]?" (She was just wearing a diaper at the time.)
And, "Mama...couldjooooooooo put on your deodorant?"
Sorry, I'm having issues with uploading pictures, but here are a few more brief reviews of books I read last year.
First We Have Coffee and Papa's Place are collections of Margaret Jensen's sometimes-humorous, sometimes-serious stories about her mother and father, respectively. Many insights about hospitality, trusting God, and forgiveness may be gleaned from these books.
God's Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, by Elisabeth Elliot, is a helpful but not formulaic book about finding purpose and discovering God's will.
Mother (read it online for free), by Kathleen Thompson Norris, is a sweet story of a young woman trying to figure out what really matters in life.
Before I had my first child, I subscribed nearly 100% to the attachment-parenting school of thought and refused to read On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam because, ugh, put my baby on a schedule? How heartless! Hello, eight months of severe sleep deprivation. So, looking for a new approach when I was pregnant with Cupcake, I decided to at least glance at this book to see if I could pick up a hint or two and was pleasantly surprised to find very reasonable, not rigid, advice on how to help your baby fit in to your family and get the rest he or she needs. The most helpful thing I learned, which I am convinced has helped make Cupcake the good sleeper that she is, is to give baby a full feeding upon waking (not just "snacking" here and there), have some awake-time, and then put baby back to bed when he or she is drowsy but not yet asleep. I think every new parent can learn something from this book.
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, aside from having a goofy title, is a pretty good book. It shows how a woman can rejoice in whom God has created her to be, rather than feeling dissatisfied and unimportant because she is "just" a homemaker.
Maybe it's that I identified with the main character in a lot of ways or just that it's a well-crafted, interesting, short novel, but The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel, is a book that has stayed with me. Set during World War 2, it's the story of a learned city girl who finds herself in a marriage of convenience to a farmer and befriends two Japanese sisters at a nearby internment camp, with some unexpected plot twists. (Update 2/6/2008: I just remembered that there is a scene in this book that is rather explicit, so I don't recommend it for young readers.)
The Road of Lost Innocence: As a girl she was sold into sexual slavery, but now she rescues others. The true story of a Cambodian heroine, by Somaly Mam. The title says it all. This is a graphic, heartbreaking book to read, but it's a story that must be told. I'm very glad I read it, even though it was hard to get through.
Anyone who has a sweet tooth will enjoy The Taste of Sweet, by Joanne Chen. It's a whole book exploring every aspect of sweetness--why things taste sweet, the science of artificial flavors and sweeteners, why some people enjoy and crave sweet things and others don't, and more. Fascinating.
The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey, includes lots of good solid advice about getting out of debt and saving for the future. Most of the principles are Scriptural, others not so much. Balance this book with Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions, and Eternity.
The Sisters of the Quilt trilogy, by Cindy Woodsmall, is not just another same-old, same-old Amish series. It is comprised of three books, When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends, which tell the story of young Amish girl whose family and community turns against her after she is assaulted by a stranger, accusing her of fornication rather than offering her compassion. She is forced out of her community and into the "real world," where she falls in love and studies to be a midwife, but is still tied down to her old life in many ways. These are Cindy Woodsmall's first books. I can't wait to read more by her. Her next book is supposed to be available in September.
I'm always on the lookout for a good book. I love seeing what other people are reading, so I thought this list of very brief reviews of the books I read in 2008 might be of interest to someone.
A Life Unburdened, by Richard Morris, is the personal account of a morbidly obese man who got into shape by ditching junk food and switching to traditionally-prepared food, a la Nourishing Traditions.
The Seaport Suspense series, by Kathy Herman, is made up of these titles: A Shred of Evidence, Eye of the Beholder, All Things Hidden, and Not By Chance. Themes of forgiveness and loving one's neighbor run through this series of whodunits. Quick and easy, yet convicting and faith-building, reads.
The Derby series, by Jamie Langston Turner, includes the following books: Suncatchers, Some Wildflower in My Heart, By the Light of a Thousand Stars, A Garden to Keep, and No Dark Valley. Quoting from a post I wrote last February, "Her quality of writing is a couple notches above most Christian fiction...it's obvious that Turner is intelligent and well-read. Her characters are quirky, which to me, makes them enjoyable. Quite a few of her protagonists are bitter middle-aged women, which is a change from the typical naive 17-year-old female main characters readily found in the 'Christian fiction' genre. All of Turner's books I've read so far have been challenging and thought-provoking."
Angel Unaware is Dale Evans Rogers' (wife of Roy Rogers) sweet, touching memoir of the Rogers' 2 1/2 years with their daughter, Robin, who had Down's Syndrome.
I appreciate Ami McKay's positive portrayal of midwifery in The Birth House, but I wish she could have done it without resorting to excessive debauchery. Not recommended.
Most books for pregnant women have a little bit of information about a lot of different topics, but The Big Book of Birth is exclusively about, well, birth. Erica Lyon leans toward natural birth but is not condemning toward women who choose to or must use drugs or interventions. Lots of good information. A must-read for every pregnant woman (and her husband).
I liked the Scripture-based approach of examining what God thinks about children in Be Fruitful and Multiply, by Nancy Campbell. However (and I don't have the book in front of me now, so I can't reference specific passages), I seem to remember thinking that this book goes beyond what the Bible definitively requires of married couples. Read it, but also make sure to search out for yourself what the Bible does (and does not) say regarding family planning.
Biblical Womanhood in the Home, edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, a Christian author and radio host I greatly respect, is a highly encouraging compilation of essays by well-known Christian authors on God's design for women. I got a lot out of this book.
Dwelling Places, by Vinita Hampton Wright, is darker and creepier than I feel Christian fiction should be. The style of the author isn't bad, but there isn't a lot of redeeming value in this book. 
Feminine Appeal, by Carolyn Mahaney, is a study of the seven feminine virtues in Titus 2: loving one's husband, loving one's children, self-control, purity, working at home, kindness, and submission. I found this book to be practical, encouraging, and Scripturally sound.
Part 2 coming soon!
T was trying to decide if he and D.L.F. should run some errands. T was looking through advertisements online and finally said, "I'm not finding any compelling reasons to go anywhere."
I said, "Well, maybe we should all stay home and have C-O-C-O-A."
D.L.F. said, "Let's have some C-O-C-O-A!"
T asked him, "Do you know what C-O-C-O-A spells?"
D.L.F. just kept saying, "Umm...umm...," hoping we would clue him in.
Today is the first day in about two weeks that we've been able to dig our car out of the snow. We got about 18 inches of snow--virtually unheard of around here. We've had to postpone most of our Christmas plans until next week, but we did read the Christmas story and act it out with figurines from the manger scene. T's parents sent some gifts for the kids...a little wooden train set for D.L.F. along with a conductor's hat and red scarf (which Cupcake has claimed for herself).
D.L.F. has been saying this for a long time, but I don't think I've ever posted it here. Whenever he is really struggling with something, he will say, "It's too turkey!" (he means "tricky").
We are really snowed in here with about 8-10 inches of snow on the ground, and our balcony has over two feet of snow (the snow is really fine and powdery and blows off the roof onto the balcony).
We don't have chains for our car, so we're not going anywhere for a while.
As I am writing this, D.L.F. is quoting this little poem from one of his books--"I am just a wooley sheep; please help me count myself to sleep!"
T told me this morning that he had dropped one of his prescription thyroid pills in his bathroom and hadn't been able to find it. T had to leave for work, but I prayed and prayed while searching every square inch of that bathroom several times, wanting to get the pill before D.L.F. did. T's pills look very similar to these homeopathic teething tablets we used to give D.L.F. (which he liked because they were sweet). I searched the rest of the house, too, thinking maybe the pill had bounced out or got tracked out of the bathroom, but it was nowhere to be found.
D.L.F. seemed to be acting normally, other than looking a little puzzled as to why Mama kept crawling around on the bathroom floor. Still, I began to fear that he had already swallowed the pill, so I called poison control just in case. I described the pill and was thankful when they told me that just one wouldn't hurt D.L.F.
A few minutes later, D.L.F. was laying on his tummy in the kitchen looking under the fridge (what can I say--he's two) and found a tiny piece of lint that he wanted to throw away. I went with him to the garbage can, and when we opened it up to throw away the piece of lint, T's pill was lying right on top of everything! D.L.F. had found the pill, but had fortunately put it in the garbage rather than his mouth. What a relief not to have to to wonder "What if...?"!
T has been volunteering lots of his time at a local homeless shelter for families. He's been setting up computers and doing lots of techie stuff that I try to understand, but really don't. All I know is that when he tries to describe to me what he's doing, these words come up a lot: VPN, firewall, server, network. I just smile and nod and say, "That's great, Honey."
D.L.F. is a quick memorizer. It's fun to hear him reciting poems and singing songs. His tunes are becoming more accurate and recognizable. He wasn't into puzzles for a long time, but just today I got some out and he seems to be getting better about putting pieces where they belong. He and T had colds last week, but they are better now.
Cupcake is getting in two more teeth. She is sitting up well on her own and is a very cheerful, adaptable little girl. I let her take a piece of banana off my plate the other day. When she put it to her mouth, her eyes got wide and she got so excited. She sucked on it until it got too slippery to hold. That's the only solid food she's had so far. There are a lot of good reasons to delay solids.
I have been listening to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss when I go for walks (except the past few days--it's been too snowy and slippery to walk), doing a little light reading (the first two books of the Seaport Suspense series by Kathy Herman), crocheting a wool diaper cover for Cupcake, and researching various options for taking some college classes either online or in the evenings.
This past Sunday we finally put up our Christmas tree and manger scene. D.L.F. helped set up the tree, but we put the manger scene up after he had gone to bed. The next morning, he was playing in the living room and all of a sudden he looked up at the manger scene on the mantle and said in astonishment, "There's people up there!"
(That was "red fire truck," if you didn't catch it.)
I have enjoyed reading Catherine's 7 Quick Takes every Friday. Here are mine for the week:
7 Quick Takes
1. The battery in our bathroom scale is almost dead. I am considering not replacing it, because I kind of like it when I step on and the screen says, "LO."
2. The one night that you toss and turn and can't get to sleep until 2:30 A.M. will be the same night your infant (who usually sleeps through the night) will wake up to nurse at 3:30 A.M.
3. Just because it is sunny outside does not necessarily mean you don't need a coat. Especially if it's December.
4. They're not kidding when they tell you never to use chlorine bleach on cloth diapers because it will make them deteriorate faster. We have three sizes of cloth diapers--newborn, regular, and toddler. The regulars are the only ones I've ever bleached, and they're just about dust rags.
5. If you need an addicting entertainment option in your life, watch a show called "The Pretender" on hulu.com.
6. My camera can create a secret, hidden sub-folder and put pictures in it without my permission, causing all manner of angst and whining about losing the cutest. pictures. ever. of my daughter. But my resident geek darling husband figured everything out. My hero! ::swoon::
7. I got this squash to use as part of our Thanksgiving centerpiece. D.L.F. liked it because he thought it looked like a shark. T says it looks like a zerg, which is apparently a creature from a computer game called StarCraft, which I have vague recollections of trying to play with T when we were dating. What do you think?
Bizarre Squash
Zerg
(Image from StarCraftWire Gallery).
For other people's 7 Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary.
