A "Bunch" of Weirdos

 This is the story of how my kids turned a boring dinner into a laugh-until-you-almost-pee-your-pants ordeal.

 I was feeling a little frustrated and annoyed with my day...we were in the middle of Gregory's work week of night shifts. My least favorite part of being alone with the kids at dinner is that after all the stressful prep, fielding their pleas for snacks and little hands stealing food from the cutting board; is that when we finally do sit down... they seem to lose interest in eating. We can sit there with Jackson for a half hour, begging him to just FINISH YOUR DINNER. Elliot also loves to stand in his little chair, making it bounce dangerously and giving me heartburn while I try to feed him macaroni and cheese.

 But, somehow, the mood was turned around with a bunch of broccoli. A camera, some vegetables and our weird personalities made finishing dinner that night a ridiculously funny experience. Apparently the weirdo gene is a dominant one, because we have certainly spawned a bunch of lunatics. Often, I find myself getting frustrated because I cannot keep these kids on a schedule or really get anything done in a timely manner. But such is the nature of childhood - who am I to complain when they would rather take absurd pictures of broccoli than just finish up and get onto the next task? Thanks, my children, for keepin' it real.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Thanks to my Mom and my Aunt Mitzie sending me seeds for a tropical egg plant about six months ago, I now have my own strange looking fruit-bearing plant in the midst of oregano, tomatoes, peppers and kale.

This might qualify me as a crazy plant lady, willing to grow anything green without promise of real fruit or flowers. My neighbors have already caught me talking and apologizing to my porch garden for sometimes negligent care.

I promise you the seeds were sent from Florida and didn't just "appear" at a exotic plant stand during a "total eclipse of the sun". (If you aren't already following the Little Shop of Horrors reference, there's no need to explain it to you.)

But this little seedling turned into quite the interesting plant! It hasn't talked or ask for blood, it is just producing cute little egg shaped fruits that (according to more plant nerds on the internet) promise to taste like cantaloupe.

Seems innocent enough, right?

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Learn How to Snoop

  Do you look in the medicine cabinet when you are in the bathroom at a friend's house? Do you survey bookshelves and pictures on the wall? Do you make quick judgements about them? Does a clean house give you the impression that a person is neurotic or open to new ideas? If you were to survey a strangers bedroom - would you be able to tell if that person were male or female or extraverted, for that matter?

 Why do I ask, you ask?

 I recently finished the book Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You. The author, Sam Gosling, has researched personality and how we interpret or display our attributes through our stuff. Where we put our stuff, in what rooms of our homes and where on our work desks we place family photos (if we do at all).

 While many people would say that "stuff" is not important, it is interesting to research why we hang on to things and how we decide what to do with them. If you think about it, decorating the spaces around us is very unnecessary. Paint color on the wall doesn't make it safer or more sturdy. Hanging pictures is then actually destructive to those same walls! Do we need fancy patterned sheets or to keep books after we have finished them? All of these aesthetic efforts are part of our overall effort for self-expression.

 Duh, I know. But not everyone realizes why exactly they conform their spaces to make it feel more like "home". It is either an important form of displaying your values or just a perfunctory duty to put stuff in a room. I have seen people in cheesy furniture showrooms who literally bought everything on display: down to the weird napkin rings and stock art.  Personally, that would be a nightmare. I couldn't think of anything less welcoming. Yes - I always oooh and aahhh at the Ikea displays and take note of how the colors are mixed together. But I realize that it's important to me to have a high percentage of personal items on display, things that the author would call mood regulators. Reflections of my family and my experiences make me happy. Prints of random flowers and beach scenes do not.

 The book reads much like a textbook because the author gives an overall recap of personality research. Studies of hoarders. personal websites, office spaces, front porches and bathroom cabinets. It's fascinating what you can tell about a person if you are looking for the right clues. Think about a world where you wouldn't interview for a job, but the potential company would come and inspect your bedroom. They would be able to tell if you were agreeable or honest based on your bedside table.

 One of the more interesting sections was about the types of quotes that people include at the bottom of emails. (I know this was a more popular thing to do five years ago, all of this research was done before Facebook exploded.) You can tell a lot about a person in that simple gesture.

 So, if you are like me and stay up way too late reading at night, this is an interesting read!

The Friendliest Birthday Boy in the World

I cannot explain how it happened... but Elliot is turning 2 years old tomorrow. He is running at almost Olympic-like speeds, playing jokes on us and expanding his vocabulary every day. His favorite phrase is an emphatic, "Hey... that's mine."

And this boy loves being outside and riding in the car. Today, he was happier just sitting in his carseat for twenty minutes before we were ready to leave.

Happy Birthday Elliot! I have never known a more social baby... his cute little face makes friends everywhere we go!

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Libraries are for Reading?

When we first moved to Buffalo, I visited all of the nearby libraries searching for our best fit. It was difficult to find a suitable substitute for Sewickley... with their fun storytime and separate upstairs children's wing (less shushing by all involved!).

The Clarence library has fun kids programs, a beautiful building, Lego club, Quaker religious meetings (kind of cool, right?) and a nice corner set aside for raucous "readers".

Obviously I should have put all my focus into finding acrobatic equipment! At least Ayla was enjoying the books! One reader down... two to go.

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The Flavors of Summer

 It's hot and I am THIRSTY! Good thing I live in New York and have plentiful supplies of soda water everywhere I turn.

 This is my official nerd post featuring Polar Seltzer's summer flavors. The only one missing from this photo is Ginger Lemonade (really... it's as if they are reading my mind). Mint Mojito is absolutely divine and I am seriously considering my own soda water stockpile in the basement.

 I'm not saying this stuff is better than a beer on a sweltering hot day... but it's pretty close!

Cousins, Friends and Countrymen

 Blog? What blog? With the warm weather, sewing projects, summer vacation, gardening and subsequent large quantities of zucchini to cook - my writing has taken a literal 50th seat behind all of my other priorities. It's not that I don't want to write, it's just that I seem to run out of time (and energy) every day. (Case in point: during the course of writing this first paragraph, my kids fought and bit over Legos, fell and scraped a forehead and screamed bloody murder instead of taking a nap.)

 And after a month of internet silence: where does one begin again? I can't just write about an ordinary day of weeding. Although, when I think about it, I have devoted posts to that very thing in the past.

 So I shall begin with our recent road trip to and from Minnesota, with stops in Chicago to visit friends from college. I was first inspired to take this trip out to Rosemount, MN to party with my brother in celebration of his 40th birthday! Before last month, Ayla and Jackson had not seen their cousins for almost three years. Then.... knowing that I would be driving through Chicago, I was graciously hosted by Sara and Shane on our way out, and then Amy and Phil on our way back. In one trip, I managed to catch up with three different families (and meet their newest additions).

 What makes me totally insane is that Gregory was not able to take this trip with us. Four days of driving with three little kids in the car? No amount of highway bingo, library books, snacks or movies can keep roadtrip insanity away while logging 32 hours in the car. Thankfully, my sister was with us for 3 days of driving: my only solo stint was from Buffalo to Chicago on the first day.

 We celebrated my brother's 40th in frat-party style - beer pong, quarters, the "ice luge" and some fake mustaches. Needless to say, the kids had their own party downstairs with pizza and movies. Not only was it fun for me to spend time catching up with my family and friends - my kids really loved playing with "new" friends at every stop.

Creepster.

When one mustache isn't good enough...

 Adding three kids to any household is always a literal madhouse, but they managed well (enough). Sure, Jackson spent some time being kicked out of girl-time and crying his eyes out - but it's no different than at home! It was absolutely adorable to watch Ayla, Jackson and Elliot bond with their cousins and friends.

In the stunning botanical room at Chicago's Navy Pier - with Evie, one of our gracious hosts!

The minivan at nearly full capacity with five kids!

Cute cousins.

 The most quotable moment was at my brother's house, while all of the kids were swinging together and hanging out in the backyard. Ayla and Troy (who are only 2 months apart in age) seemed to be connecting. They were swinging side by side, and then Troy started pushing Ayla in her swing. Then we all heard in his cute, little voice, "Does your bike have twaining (training) wheels?". This is what six year olds would talk about at dinner parties!

 Now we have returned safely to Buffalo and are surviving every day of intense heat. I hope to keep you updated with posts about the garden, summer festivals, blueberry picking and trips to the wading pool.