Headline News

I keep promising updates, only to disappear for weeks on end.  So, for tonight, just the headlines... and maybe a few photos.

First, Corrie... Nearly six months old and definitely coming into her own personality.  She's happy baby in the morning and then (generally) ready for a nap about two hours later.  The rest of the day is up for grabs.  She's loving nearly every food put on a spoon within reach (except peas) and we can't seem to move that spoon fast enough for her.  She's mesmerized by Calla, Chloe and Lilly, although she hasn't yet learned the cold hard truth that Lilly is Not. To. Be. Played. With.  Calla figured that one out eventually, so it's only time.

And On to the Garden...

The first garden picture was Easter weekend, and the second was just a few weeks ago.  We've enjoyed fresh-from-the-garden spinach salads three or four times a week.  Tonight, we added fresh-from-the-fields strawberries that Calla and I picked earlier today.  Nothing like eating food that had been growing just hours earlier.  There's a big ol' mess of mustard greens that are ready to be boiled for dinner soon also.  We've got some time to wait before the beans, broccoli, peas, peppers and tomatoes make it to our dinner table, but so far, so good.

No story here, I just like the photo.  It's nearly impossible, it seems, to catch both girls smiling; this is the closest I've gotten in a while.  Look closely at Calla, and then look at the next photo...

See anything missing?  Say, a front tooth?  Yes, we've experienced our first childhood trauma, and if this is the worst it gets, we're more than lucky.  A late afternoon playground accident at school left Calla with one chipped front tooth and one smashed front tooth.  The chip could be repaired; the other one... alas.  Fortunately, we found a fabulous pediatric dentist willing to make an emergency appointment.  And even more fortunately, Joe agreed to take Calla so I could stay home and stay calm.    I still cried.  But Calla didn't.  Better yet, the whole process was so kid-friendly that I think she'll be happy to go to the dentist again in six months.  On the other hand, it now means that any dentist without a big doll house in the waiting room and a sparkly princess mirror in the procedure room will never measure up.  Even when she's 30.

And our final big adventure for today... Calla's first bike.  Thanks to one of Joe's colleagues with growing children, we inherited a "new" bike for Calla.  Her bike radar has been extremely strong lately, pointing out bikes everywhere we go.  She was thrilled to find a bike in the garage this afternoon, even if she's still working on how to coordinate the pedaling.

And as for Joe and me?  Working hard and trying to keep up with the kids.  Joe has not one, but likely two grants he's submitting in June.  I'm enjoying my part-time steady job and have found my other once-in-a-while jobs to be busier than usual.  I have two articles due soon for The Lutheran and a meeting this week for my work with The Alford Group.  So tomorrow, when/if I have some moments free, do you think I'll be working on any of those jobs?  Tackling the mounds of laundry that piled up today?  Nope, I'll probably be making strawberry jam.  It just seems like the thing to do when one has a fridge full of fresh, sweet local berries.  It will be my first time - I'll let you know how it goes.

That is, if I have another post in the next month or so...