Names

He may be writing right to left instead of left to right, but he wrote all of the letters by himself.

WAR

War has been declared. A victor has yet to be determined, though dedication and perseverance would suggest who might prevail.

Japanese Beetles have arrived in my garden

To be honest, the beetles have been here since early June (maybe even late May), but they have hit their peek and their focus seems to be the destruction of my pole beans. Yes, these shiny terrorists swarm en masse on my beans, eating, conversing, and propagating. I go out with my yellow bucket of death (read soapy water) and knock the little bugs into the depths of death. Sometimes, and I won't show pictures, I send some of the little boy bugs on their way to the next life very happy.

So while my neighbor's tree across the cul-de-sac show much signs of beetle damage, my beans are holey but strong. I will pick my first beans tonight or tomorrow. (Probably tomorrow because I have a yellow squash and the last of the peas waiting to be eaten.)

But the war will not cease until I have driven these pest into the ground to lay their eggs that will eat my grass and grow into the beetles that I will battle next year. So the war is far from over, but I might just win this year's battle and be better prepared for next year's.

I haven't forgotten y'all

But I've been busy and the computer is having problems which is why I am posting what I am posting. My loving husband is out-of-town (and the country) so he missed the momentous occasion last night when A-- started scooting across the floor army style. He also had a tooth pop through his gums (though with the bad nights, I'm not surprised that it popped, I just thought it would pop somewhere else). So I took a video of the crawling to show Papi in Europe. And then I figured I would post it on here as well. He is the biggest of my babies and he got the earliest tooth and started crawling the fastest. (I wonder if it has anything to do with size.)

Reminding myself

On days like today, I need a reminder of my children's qualities.

S-- is a boy who loves to give hugs and smiles. He is most content with someone and not alone. He will garden and read and cook with me. He is sensitive and feels things deeply. Perhaps this is why he can recognize when I am sad and try to comfort me. He is willing to try new things and eager to make friends. He is curious and determined.

F-- is determined not to let his size get him down. He will do (almost) whatever his older brother does. He has spunk. His attention span is shorter, but while you have his attention, he will be riveted to what you are doing or saying. He is more able to express his feelings than his brother. When he says, "I'm sorry; I won't do it again," he means it though he usually doesn't keep that promise very long.

A-- is a smiley, happy baby who is patient with being the third child. He loves to sit on laps during dinner and older brothers' bedtime routines. He likes to hold my hand while he nurses. I already sense that he will be able to keep up with his older brothers. He loves to be talked to.

My boys really are great, even on the days when they push every button I have and get me so frustrated I cry while trying to explain to them that they should not

throw blocks at me
kick me
kick the door to their bedroom
throw their food on the floor
throw their food at me
collapse on the floor because they don't get their way
hit me with toys or blankets or whatever is at hand
sass me
try to pull the refrigerator down
demand treats and/or surprises
disobey rules

I love them. I just don't always know what to do with days like today.

Moo-ve Over

We visited a dairy farm the other day. I've been wanting to go for about 6 months, but kept putting it off until finally we made it there. It was a great trip. The farm is family run, and they started bottling their own milk about a year ago. Since it is family run, they were so excited to have the children there and to let them be children. The children got to spray the hoses in the milking parlor, go out to meet the cows as they came in, get their shoes sprayed with milk, feed the goats, pet the calves, etc. Carmen, who led our tour, also let them go at their own pace, moving the ice cream cones to the middle of the tour, and pausing at the swing set for a while as well. She loved that S--was so curious of everything.



F-- got terrified by a tractor near the beginning (I don't think he'd realized how loud tractors could be), and anytime we were outside near the milking parlor, he would cry, "I scared, Mama," and climb into my arms. It was a little hard because I was carrying A-- as well.

The greatest thing was we paid $2.50 for fresh milk, picked up some fresh ice cream, thought about getting some fresh meat, and planned a return trip for a Farmer's Breakfast. All in all, it was great fun!

Growing Green THings

So our garden(s) is growing. This is the raised bed in the backyard. You see pea and bean trellises, kohlrabi, lettuce, tomaotes, three carrots, 25 strawberries, one cilantro, and too many bindweed sprouts. Yes, bindweed is trying to take over the garden, but I am giving it a good run for its money. If you have any suggestions for getting rid of it, I would love to hear them. The plan right now is to use chemicals (eek) on the garden after the final harvest.

But the point is that the gardens are growing, despite rabbits, weeds, and inexperience.

A Visit from Friends

We were lucky enough to have friends from Georgia visit us after Memorial Day. We had fun visiting a spray park (which they don't have in Georgia) and playing. It was great fun for all of us, and S-- wants to return to Georgia so that he could visit these friends again.

The oldest, still friends.

The middle children, both now much more talkative than when we left.

The babies.

Here's one of all the children together. (You can see our new couches, the new paint on the walls, and the new kitchen table in the background).