"Mendhi" paint

September was India month at Roses Prep! We read traditional Indian fables. We watched Riki Tiki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. We watched the Disney classic Jungle Book and III read the classic Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. He gave us a brief report on the differences between the two works. Shelby gave a book report on a classic fable, Nine Animals and the Well.

We tried to cook Indian food, but we couldn't find any recipes that didn't look disgusting to us. So, we spent some time in the library making fun of Indian food in the reference section. (I guess that counts as familiarizing them with it.)

We talked about the different religions in India and we discussed the cool Rangoli designs like the ones illustrated on the India poster in the background of the pictures. These designs are usually made with colored rice flour on the doorsteps of homes. Young women make them as a petition to the gods for good husbands. I considered letting the kids color some of the designs in our driveway with sidewalk chalk so that they could get a feel for Indian design. However, the Ten Commandments kept ringing in my ear. I didn't feel good about taking ANY chance on anyone seeing it and thinking we were petitioning gods. Nor did I want the kids to think it was okay to petition other gods. So, when in doubt, do without.

We talked about the Taj Mahal. Their dad and I checked out a cool video on the Taj Mahal and were planning on letting the kids watch it. Thankfully we previewed it for age appropriateness because after about 10 minutes on the Taj Mahal, the video segued to the other types of temples and alternative forms of ancient worship. This section including graphic images of statues and other images used to set the "worship" mood. I asked Hubby if they had taught him those techniques at the seminary he attended.

Our last Indian project was mendhi painting. This is usually done for Indian women for funerals or as part of a wedding party. It is usually done in henna and usually leaves residual color for about a month. We weren't that committed to authenticity in our study of India, so I bought Halloween make-up crayons at Wal-Mart and we "mendhi-ed" each other this afternoon.

BTW - the crayons were only $1 for a pack of 6. They only write when dipped in water. You don't have to press really hard for them to make good color, and the color really did wash off with just soap and water. We are going to go back to Wal-Mart and stock up on them. They would be great for Superhero make-up or alien make-up or wild animal make-up or anything else we might need to do. It's rare to find something so fun that is so inexpensive and really unlimited in its uses.

Baby Photos

About a week ago, my computer suddenly lost the ability to read the G:/ drive. Unfortunately, that's the drive that my camera card plugs in. I fussed at it impotently for several days, and then it dawned on me. Why not use the oldest computer trick in the book? Turn the computer off and on again. Alacazam! It worked. So, here's a week's worth of baby pics.


He finally found his toys. Ollie the Octopus is a favorite. He loves to snuggle Ollie and will cry for her.

The new high chair came and has ushered in a new era of eating. No more peaceful meals while the baby sleeps. He has to be at the table with us at every meal.

More toys. It's like he just figured out what all these things are for.

Both of the big kids have tried their hands at feeding him. III gave up after the first try. Rosy really seems to enjoy it.

Buffet Baby

Superman has developed his taste buds and found his empty stomach. We are thinking about changing his blog name to Hoss (like the redneck version of "horse") because he eats like a horse. Over the weekend last week, we convinced him to eat some of Aunt Cindy's mashed potatoes and some ice cream. When we came home, we sort of dropped the solid food concept for a day or two. Then, Wednesday night Hubby and I were eating and Superman was crying for my mashed potatoes. I ended up feeding him tons of them. Now he is eating baby food peaches, cheesy mashed potatoes, and ice cream with enthusiasm, and baby food chicken without enthusiasm. Of course, we have to give him a few tries with each food before he becomes a big fan of it. All of the books say to wait a while between each new food, so we are giving him a few days between introductions. He now screams when his little plate gets empty! Maybe all this good, docile behaviour we enjoyed up until now was just because he was weak and hungry. He has gotten very demanding since he started on solids.

We missed church this morning because I have severe allergies and my right eye is almost swollen shut. I rubbed it so much yesterday that I think I tore some of the skin right at the corner so it is very sensitive and painful.

We are going to Homecoming in St. Stephens this weekend. I will be taking Superman and Rosy. III and I don't travel well together so he is staying with Hubby. (It is hard to modestly breastfeed a four month old when you are sharing a room with a 10 year old boy! Also, III tends to lose his ability to focus and listen when we travel which unfortunately coincides with when I most need him to be able to focus and listen. All in all, without Hubby to supervise him, it is best for III to not travel with me.)

We had a busy week last week. Rosy had a doctor's appt. She visits her pediatric endocrinologist every 3 months. We got a great report. Her A1C (sort of a blood sugar average over the last few weeks) was pretty much right on target. It was a big improvement from her last visit when it was too high. We usually get a good report, but the last visit covered the three months right after the baby was born and Hubby and I weren't getting any sleep. It also partially covered the time when their mom was driving them back and forth to her new husband's home two hours away several times a week. Now that both of those situations are settled, we can monitor Rosy's blood sugars a little better.

Report cards went out at Roses Preparatory Academy last week! (FYI-That's what we named our Home School as a joke when we thought that Rosy would only be homeschooled for K4 and maybe K5. Now we're sort of stuck with it because she really likes it. III pretty much hates it! Even their little brother on their Bio Mom's side attends Roses Prep.) Rosy made all As in her academic subjects and an Average in her penmanship. Penmanship is graded as Excellent, Average, and Below Average. III made a collection of As and Bs with one C. We are really trying to walk him through a process this year of determining when he needs to study and how much study time he needs. Kate Gosslin (John and Kate Plus 8) pointed out that boys and girls are different. She said that she never had to show any of her 5 girls how to put on their pants, but that with all three of the boys, she had to teach them how to put on pants. I believe it. Things that seem to be just part of functioning to me and to Rosy are real challenges to Hubby and to III. Rosy and I are trying to figure out how to train Superman so that he can be a manly man one day who is capable of thinking like a woman. Of course, this brings up the concept that God specifically designed men and women differently to suit the purposes for which he created them. It's a hard call, but I don't see any reason not to try a little training on the little one! Maybe he will at least be able to find things in the fridge and pantry without hollaring for his wife one day!

Ice Cream with Gram Sam

Thursday night, we finally found a food that Superman would eat...ice cream. Our pediatrician says that we need to be teaching him to get rid of his "tongue thrust" instinct. Apparently, babies automatically push everything non-liquid out of their mouths until they learn differently. Gram Sam fed Superman his ice cream Friday night. Aunt Cindy has a great camera and got some really good shots.

Superman is learning about high chairs. Gram Sam got him a Winnie the Pooh one that matches his Pack n Play at her house. We ordered his big wooden one for our house and it should be delivered today or tomorrow. He loves the one at Gram Sam's. I hope he will like the one we got him.

Baby Dedication

Superman's Dedication service was really nice yesterday. We had written a simple service and it only lasted about 10 minutes. Hubby welcomed everyone and explained the concept of Baby Dedication. Then Hubby's Uncle Joe and Uncle Terrel and my Uncle Edward (all of our Dads' brothers) said prayers and did readings. We closed out with Hubby dedicating the baby to God and asking a final blessing. Then, we adjourned to a small reception in the fellowship hall. It was not a fancy, formal occasion, but it suited us perfectly. We had all of our living aunts and uncles except one of my mom's sisters and her brother. We are very blessed.

Pachyderms for Palin

I spent time Saturday afternoon surfing the web looking for onesie ideas. I saw several great ideas and will probably be making Superman a whole collection of Palinwear. But, as I surfed, I saw one that had a baby elephant and said, "Pachyderms for Palin". It hit me then that it was the perfect slogan for Big Al and Sarah Palin. So, here's Superman in his new outfit. The back says, "Roll Tide Republican".

Hubby wants me to send the pics to Sean Hannity. I'm pretty sure that I won't do that since I'm not licensed to use either the Republican Party's elephant or Big Al.

Oh, What a Night!

This picture looks innocent enough, but it is a bad scene when you look closely. Somehow we messed up Superman's schedule last night. We bathed him right on time (10PM), but he wasn't the least bit sleepy afterward. We gave him his nighttime bottle anyway and Hubby tried to get him to sleep. Nothing worked, so around 11PM we gave up and put him in his Jumperoo.

During this whole ordeal, I was frantically sewing as I tried to finish his Dedication gown. Because we now live in a smaller house and I have to sew in the living room, I try to do my sewing when III and Rosy aren't home. My goal was to finish the gown other than hemming on Friday night and then I would have time Saturday afternoon to hem it up.

At about 11:15, Hubby points to the Jumperoo and we realize that we have a sleeping baby in a place where he can not be left for the night. OH-NO! We tried UNSUCCESSFULLY to move him to his Pack and Play. He woke up enough that he couldn't go back to sleep. We ended up having to bring him back into the living room and put him in his bouncy seat. Now, it's closing on midnight and I'm sitting on the couch feeding him another bottle that we hope is going to be the clincher. NOPE! We try the swing, breatfeeding, rocking, and every other trick under the moon. Nothing worked. At 1:15 AM, I took him to our room and laid down in bed to feed him. He fell asleep finally, but he woke up when Hubby tried to move him to his Pack and Play. He started fretting, but it was 2AM and I had had enough. So I used a stern voice and told him "NO" and he quieted down after about 5 minutes.

Needless to say, I managed to get 40 minutes of sewing done in 5 hours last night. So, I had to get up early this morning and tackle the Dedication gown. It's actually coming along really well. All I have left is the tucks at the bottom and hemming. This picture shows it with the outfit under that he will wear with it. I'm pretty pleased with the way it is going so far.

Palin Onesie

Since I obviously don't have enough to do, I've now come up with a passion for Superman to have a Sarah Palin onesie. I have the iron-on paper that I can print on and put a design on a onesie, but I don't know what I want to put on there. My best idea right now is to take the Republican elephant with McCain / Palin written on it and put it on the front of the onesie and to put something like "Trigg's mommy rocks!" on the back. Of course, I am considering something along the lines of , "If she can handle 5 kids and look that good, 50 states is going to be a breeze!"

I am welcoming any suggestions. Bonus points if you manage to tie the U of A mascot Big Al and the Republican elephant into the same design idea.

First Cereal!

I've always wondered why people show pictures of their children eating things and spitting them back out. I still don't know why the other people do it. My baby is really cute doing it, so I'm posting the video for you guys. It's actually not too gross since we were just trying rice cereal with apples. We later tried peaches which got pretty much the same results but with more of an orange tint.

For several weeks now (since Sun. August 31st), Superman has been having and loving rice cereal in his bottle. Our pediatrician suggested that he might be ready to try eating spoonfuls of cereal. He was not. We'll try again in a week or two.

Martha Stewart Live!

It's baby arts and crafts week at our house. Superman's baby Dedication service is Sunday, September 21st at our home church, and I am scrambling to get everything ready. Any of you who know me well already know that I can't be normal about anything. Everything has to be a complex production. Well, trust me that his Dedication is no different! Hubby has really helped me realize over the last few years that the rest of the world doesn't expect me to be a modern marvel Martha Stewart , but that I create those expectations for myself. I have worked hard to pare down this production, but certain things had to be done.

LOCATION - The first question was "Where to have the Dedication?" If we have it at our church (where Hubby pastors), we can pretty much rule out most of our family attending. That would include my dad since traveling is fairly difficult for him. We might have Hubby's 2 aunts and uncles, but I'm pretty certain that most of my extended family wouldn't be able to make the trip. If we have it at our home church where family can attend, then none of our church family can attend and we impose ourselves on a congregation that we haven't been an active part of for over a decade. We debated this for months and finally came to what we believe is the right choice for our family. We are going to have a private Dedication performed by Hubby and 3 of our uncles on a Sunday afternoon at our home church in our home town. We didn't want to leave our current church family out, but when we had to decide whether or not to have the event so that my dad could see his first infant grandchild dedicated, the choice was clear. (I noted that this is the first infant grandchild because my parents have 4 other grandchildren, but we missed the infant phase with them.)

WHEN - We decided on September 21st because it is my Mother's birthday. Last year, on her birthday we surprised her with a visit and gave her a poem telling her that we were pregnant. It seems fitting that one year later we would return to the same place to dedicate that child to the Lord.

CLOTHING - I'll bet that no one is surprised that Hubby and I disagree on what a BOY baby should wear for a Dedication service. Hubby was apparently picturing a nice pastel blue Jon-Jon sort of outfit. Well, I've been dreaming of cathedral length christening gowns ever since Hubby proposed to me. So, we compromised. Superman has a new white bubble outfit trimmed in soft baby blue. AND, over that he is going to wear a sleeveless, scoop neck cathedral length christening gown. Once the actual service is over, he can take off the gown and just have his bubble. This style was in the Strasbug catalog a few years ago. They don't make it anymore, so I searched online and can't find a pattern for it anywhere.

This is where arts and crafts week comes into play. I picked a pattern that had a regular long gown with flat pleats adorning the bottom. The same pattern had a sleeveless slip with it. So, I combined the bodice of the slip with the skirt of the gown. BUT, I wanted embroidery on the bodice. Of course, I couldn't find an embroidery pattern that I liked so I searched for clip art. I found what I liked and copied it onto the fabric. I spent most of yesterday morning embroidering and cutting out pattern pieces. The pattern is still under construction because I wanted to sew this gown like an heirloom sewing piece with all the seams hidden. I assumed that since this was a christening gown pattern that it would be that way, but I was wrong. I think I've worked out how to sew the bodice and how to line it so that the back of the embroidery won't be visible. Wish me luck on this one!

INVITATIONS - Even though either me or my mom has pretty much talked to everyone, I wanted to send invitations. While babysitting Superman, it took almost a whole day to print and assemble the invitaions. I finished them around 10:30 last night and they will go in the mail today.

It's all crazy, but it makes me happy. I'll post pics of the gown when it is done!

Happy Grandparents Day

We were late with our Grandparents' Day card, so we videotaped it. This is the Grandparents' Day Limerick. We are studing limericks in poetry right now, so we chose this form. Don't you wonder what an onomatopoeia poem about Grandfathers would sound like?!?!?!



Grandparents' Day came and went
With no card from us being sent
So if you don't mind
We'd like to rewind
And do it again like we meant

Dearest Gram Sam and Papa Deet
You're cool, you're fun, you're sweet
(Can you tell we're studying limericks?
It's one of Mommy's home school gimmicks.)
No matter what, you guys are a treat.

Happy, Happy Grandparents' Day!
It's all we needed to say.
This greeting had to be filmed
The baby can't talk so at least you can see him.
But as you can hear - it's really from Shelby and Trey!

Bear Feet

Superman had problems with his footy pajamas last night. He spend 20 or 30 minutes trying to find his feet.

This video may only be cute to his parents. I'm so into him that it is hard for me to have perspective on what the rest of you will think is entertaining.

One Giant Step for Mommy-kind

It was hard, but I did it...I left Superman in our church nursery tonight. This was his first adventure into a multiple child setting. Let's be honest...this was his first adventure into non-family child care. Up until this point, I have only left him once or twice with Hubby and once with my mom.

We visited the nursery week before last and decided that Sunday nights were the perfect time for us to adjust to being in the nursery. We usually have 3 ladies in the nursery - Mrs. Renee, Mrs. Linda, and Miss Kayla, and we usually only have 2 other kids. I thought that the one-to-one ratio would really soothe my nerves. I talked to Mrs. Renee this morning and she told me that Mrs. Linda and Miss Kayla were out of town, but she had lined up Mrs. Annette and Miss Katelyn to help her this week. Mrs. Annette and Miss Katelyn are wonderful ladies, so that was fine with me.

Imagine my panic when I arrived at church tonight and there were 2 other kids in the room! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm excited that families were there. It just surpried me and made me cautious. How would 3 ladies hold 5 kids? Then they pointed out to me that 2 of the kids were big kids and wouldn't want to be held. So, I left little Superman. He had a great time and they said he was very cheerful and happy. He made a stinky diaper, but he didn't do that until the end. I got there in time to change him. So, thanks to Mrs. Renee, Mrs. Annette, and Miss Katelyn. What a big adventure!

And, even though he is in the car seat in the pics, they did free him. Miss Katelyn was holding him and walking him around the room when I got there.

Crimson Tide! and the Storm Rolls In

Superman was very excited about his first Alabama game. We went to my parents' house to see the game. He was so hyped about it that he fell asleep about 2 minutes before kick-off. He was sitting with Uncle Joey for the first part of the game. He has three Alabama outfits, and we worked really hard all day not to mess up the one he was wearing in case it was the one that would help the team win. I explained how "lucky" outfits work. I hedged my bets and told him that if the team loses it may because he had on the wrong outfit. I explained that we can only lose 2 times during the year or he will be out of "lucky" outfits. Right now, we are wearing the others during the week and saving the one outfit for game day. So, don't blame us if Alabama loses. We are doing our part.

We went to my parents' house Saturday to spend a long weekend. Things were going very well until Alabama's governor started talking about reversing the flow on traffic on I-65 and making it northbound in all lanes. That indicated to me that I had better hurry up and get back to Florida before they closed all my roads. I didn't want to be breaking through some police barricade at the state line with Superman in a stroller and Rosy's insulin in my breastmilk insulated bag waiting on Hubby to pick me up on the other side. I remember stories of people not being allowed back into New Orleans right before Ivan and I was not going to be caught on the wrong side of the state line if they closed the roads and borders. So, I loaded the kids up Sunday morning and headed home.

Thankfully the weather was fairly mild and we didn't see a lot of hurricane activity. Hubby and I woke up a few times during the night to check the weather reports, but it really wasn't as bad as most thunder storms.

Since we couldn't do anything else anyway, we went ahead and had school today. We are planning to take 2 or 3 days off later this month when we go to St. Stephens to dedicate Superman. I took Rosy and Superman outside this morning while the wind was still blowing. It made his hair stand up like a little mohawk! When we came back in, I tried to put him in his Jumperoo so that Rosy and I could have school. He refused to be put down and so I had to prop him up in his Boppy pillows and let him attend Phonics class. It was really cute because I was teaching with Rosy in front of me and Superman to the right of me on his pillows. Twinkle is not in the picture, but she was sitting right to the left of me. We actually had 3 students in Phonics class today! But, that's not unusual for us.