09/22/2007

Today's post will be a smorgasbord of thoughts from the past several days. If you find yourself confused or disinterested, just skip ahead to the next paragraph for a new topic and change of pace. By the way, this is totally how my mind works anyway--very little congruent about it. So, here's the week in review:

Nathan got an early birthday present from Grandpa and Grandma Jones. When we were at IKEA, a child's art easel caught my eye. It had a dry erase board on one side, a black board on the other side, and a place to hold a HUGE roll of paper for those times when finger painting is most to your liking. I just loved the easel and knew Nathan would have tons of fun with it. So, happy birthday to Nathan from Gpa and Gma! The easel is getting tons of use. Nathan particularly enjoys the dry erase part of the set-up. He enjoys calling out an object ('horsey', or 'Boo', or 'ants') and then watching Mom or Dad draw it. Another benefit of spending so much time coloring is that Nathan is learning his colors. Yesterday we were particularly taken by the color green. "Where green go?" Nathan asked me. I picked up the green marker and said "Here it is!" "Yes," Nathan said. Then I proceed to draw a large green box on the board. I color it in. "Green!" Nathan declares, "Pretty!"

Nick is completing the first week of his new 'diet.' Really, it's nothing hard and fast like Atkins or South Beach, but Nick is just trying to keep an eye on his serving sizes and avoid snacking binges. I have a theory about this. When Nick was growing up, his family was among those that were required to 'clean their plates.' My family, on the other hand, was never part of the 'Clean Plate Club.' We were encouraged to eat well, but were allowed to stop when we were full. Not Nick. And I've decided this started a bad habit. Nick STILL feels compelled to clean his plate, the serving dishes, and the refrigerator (if possible) before considering his meal complete. Thus, I feel totally justified in allowing my children to finish eating when they are full. I will never pull out the old "there are starving children in China" line. For one, I see absolutely no connection between me finishing my meatloaf and Lin Yang getting a meal for the day. But, secondly, I always hated the carrots that were cooked with Pot Roast, and since my eyesight has never been bad, I see no reason to eat the awful things even if people around the world ARE starving. If I were starving, I would eat them. But, fortunately, I'm not.

Yesterday night both children took baths. Nathan wanted to drop Crayola Color Fizzes into his bath water. Had I not been so occupied with cleaning Nia up, I might have noticed that things got a little out of hand in the color department. Nathan dropped approximately twelve color fizzes into his bath. The combination of red, blue, green, and yellow turned the bathwater the exact color I would label 'Algae' if I were a Crayon-namer. Nathan didn't mind and happily splashed around in the tub despite its nauseating hue. Thank goodness the colors don't stain! I would hate to have a child the color of that water. Nia's bath was less eventful. She was carefully submerged in the bathroom sink, lathered up with Johnson's, rinsed, dried, powdered, diapered, and dressed in PJ's for the night. Her water was pristine. Perhaps the next time I invest in bath colors, I should avoid the variety pack. After all, 12 blue tablets would just turn the water a deep blue...not that horrible brownish/green.

On Thursday, Nia and I will be taking a plane trip up to Chicago. Nia is going to witness her first Navy Boot Camp Graduation Ceremony (so am I, now that I mention it!). Nathan and Daddy will have some 'man time' here at the house while us women globe-trot. We will return Saturday night. Kyle graduates Friday morning and then leaves to fly to Florida at 1pm. We will only have a couple hours of 'free time' with him. He has requested Mom bring an apple pie. Apparently they didn't have these kind of delicacies at boot camp. Mom was able to talk to Kyle on the phone yesterday for about 40 minutes. This seems an eternity compared with the usual 30 second phone calls he is allowed to make. Mom asked Kyle if he was glad he enlisted. "Oh, yes!" I find that response to be a positive thing since, whether or not he is glad he joined, he is stuck!

Speaking of boot camp, here is an interesting story. At boot camp you are not allowed to chew gum. As a general rule, when a guideline is given by a yelling Drill Sergeant, you should follow it. But, a not-so-bright recruit had a buddy send him some chewing gum in the mail. This particular recruit was headed into Special Operations (like Kyle is), and is a fabulous swimmer. I guess maybe he could swim in 6 minutes what Kyle could swim in 11 (at least at the beginning of boot camp. I suspect Kyle is quite an excellent swimmer nowadays). Anyhow, he decided to chew his gum while on duty and was spotted! When asked about the gum, he decided to lie. Kyle thought this was probably the straw that broke the camel's back in regard to this sailor: he had caused quite a bit of trouble prior to the gum incident. His punishment? The recruit has been removed from the Special Operations Division. His stay at Boot Camp will be prolonged. He will be considered "disqualified" and will spend the remainder of his contract time with the Navy (years!!) on a boat as a paint chipper. Can you imagine? So much wasted potential over a piece of gum!

Fall has arrived at our house...at least in terms of our culinary agenda. This week's meal list included stuffed squash (which was, by the way, delicious!) and Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. I love fall time. Here in Texas it isn't 'crisp' and chilly like in Michigan, but we still have the wonderful vegetables and fruits of fall time. Because we go to the market each week, we have the benefit of choosing the ripest, most flavorful fruits and veggies from local farmers. Apples, pumpkins, squash....yum! I can't wait until rhubarb and cranberries arrive. I love the colors and flavors this time of the year. Hooray for Autumn!

Lest this post become a novel, I will now sign off. I hear Nia squeaking anyway. It may be time for a brief morning constitutional followed by a coffee run. This is tradition in the morning for me. Wish some of you could be here to join me.