The Wheel is Turning but the Hamster is...

...not dead, just home from vacation and jet-lagging something fierce and suddenly wondering if vacation is worth the work it takes to get ready to go and then all the catch-up work after getting home and ALSO the hamster nearly fainted dead when it saw the weedy jungle that once was the garden.

Sigh.

Yes. Yes, it is totally worth it. But it's hard coming home.

Sigh.



My to-do list, in no particular order:

~Weed the garden.

~Mulch the garden.

~Unpack.

~Do laundry.

~Fold and put away laundry.

~Never mind, that probably won't happen.

~Pull weeds.

~Chase the ducks and chickens back home no less than 973 times because when the cat is away... er, hamster, uh... this analogy is rapidly falling apart... Suffice it to say that since I've been gone and Nathan's hardly been home, my menagerie suddenly thinks it has the run of the neighborhood.

~Eat breakfast for lunch because I can't get out of bed until 10:00.

~Or is that lunch for breakfast?

~Do something about the May masthead that is still gracing this blog halfway through June.

~Turn on the TV when I'm up until 2:00 in the morning due to jet lag, adjust the antenna, bang on the top of the TV, fiddle with the buttons, stand the broom handle just so to support the antenna wire, finally get a station to come in, and sit down to watch Jay Leno, only to discover that JAY LENO HAS BEEN REPLACED BY ONE OF THE ASGARD.

~Sadly explain again to a tired and lonely child that no, we can't go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

~Pull more freakin' weeds.

~Thank my husband for buying us plane tickets and living without us for two whole weeks.

~Make a co-op order.

~Frantically pay the bills that are due TODAY.

~Weeds.

~Laundry.

~Wipe down the stove top which has been suffering from lack of my attention for two weeks.

~Did I say anything about the weeds taking over the world?

Yoga for Real Men

Who needs yoga...




...when you have little kids?



Not Grandpa...

Or Uncle Seth.

Real men don't wear tights and go to class.

They just find a little kid to help them practice their core strength.


And with enough practice, you can do superhuman tricks:




(Just kidding.)




Hmmm... I wonder if I could charge tuition?

Manly

Boys really just wanna be men.



They consider things like homemade potato cannons to be manly.



Don't ask me why.

It's beyond me.




Jonah's Uncle Neal, an expert in all things testosterone, knows all about manly. He took our younger brothers, Samuel and Peter, and Jonah out for some good old "male bonding."



Jonah knew how to be prepared:



I guess they liked it.

But even that wasn't enough of a rush. They had to break out some more artillery.

Jonah constantly talks about shooting guns, so these BB guns were right up his alley.





Sometimes having a boy makes my heart a little faint... but at least he has a Daddy and Uncles and Grandpas willing to instruct him in his natural manly instincts.

Bunny, Rabbit... Same Breed

Alyssa: "Are you my sweet little nephew?"

Jonah: "No. I'm a snuggle rabbit."

Like a Ton of...

I realized something today. Today and yesterday, I've been teaching my Mom and sister and couple of Mom's friends how to make artisan style sourdough bread. (Watch my Mom's blog for the whole story!) It was so much fun, and I love being able to pass on what I've worked at learning. Afterwards, upon reflection, I realized how fortunate I am to be able to pursue my interests like I do.

I'm sure you've heard all the debates between "stay-at-home" mothers and "working" mothers. How "stay-at-home" moms can get so stir crazy staying with their kids all the time and "working" moms are so much more "fulfilled." (I know I'm really generalizing, here, and I might very well get roasted for it. Of course, these feelings are not universal. I think this is just the social cliche-- common, but not universal.) I personally, would be stir crazy if I were tied to a day job. I would be miserable going to work everyday.

All the things that I do for the wellbeing of my little family --mainly in the realm of growing, preserving and preparing food-- are activities that I greatly enjoy and I feel so blessed to be able to learn and grow in these areas. I love making bread, I love cooking, I love gardening, I love raising animals. I have plenty of work to do. There is an endless amount of learning potential in all these areas. And I consider these things our equivalent of a second income-- only instead of earning money, I'm saving it. So really, how blessed am I? Essentially, I get to do what I love, and get paid for it. Isn't that everyone's dream?

Bored staying home with my kid? Bored serving my husband? No way. I've always been a person who needs to be constantly working on projects and learning new things, and I've got all I need right at home where God put me.

The Good Life

My youngest brother, Peter, was getting ready for his coach-pitch baseball game tonight. He showed off his uniform and said, "See? I have the number 7. I picked the number 7 because that's how old I am. When they were handing out shirts, I thought, 'Hm, I think 6... No! Wait, I'm 7!' so when they came around I got a 7! And now everyone knows how old I am! But even when I'm 8, I'll still want the number 7."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"7 is a good number. It's just... nice. It has this shape about it. They way it goes across and down-- it's a good shape."

"Oh... I see." I said.

"I would like to just be 7 forever, but still grow older. 7 is just good."

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Okay, well we saw no lions, one bear, and barely got a peak at a sleeping tiger.

But there are plenty of other attractions at the Oregon Zoo!


Like zebras!



And giraffes!


And really cute kids!

It was so much fun to see their excitement at getting "up close and personal" with the animals.

When I say "up close and personal," I mean UP CLOSE...



...and PERSONAL.




Very, very personal.




Jonah was just hilarious in his excitement. He was almost hysterical with delight, especially in the places where he could stand by glass and see the underwater creatures.



(Yes, those are his "tighty whities" there. He was jumping up and down with glee and didn't even notice that his pants almost didn't make it out of the stroller with him. Am I cruel to find this hilarious?)





The animals were cute and fun to watch, but I just couldn't resist all the cute kids.



Seriously. They're pretty hard to ignore.