Knitting Through the Year - November

"Plans for this chapter have been scrapped in favor of describing the project on which I am currently and most actively engaged. I can think of little else. 
"The item, hot from the griddle, which I now unveil is the Moccasin Sock, the Breakthrough Sock, the Not-To-Be-Ground-Down Sock; The Eventually Totally Re-footable Sock. Call it what you will; all the above tentative titles apply." - Elizabeth Zimmermann, The Knitter's Almanac

This enthusiasm may bewilder. I will endeavor to explain.

This month's project, the Moccasin Sock, has a very unique design. Here it is, modeled by my lovely husband (who will happily comply with all manner of photographic nonsense if it gets him closer to a new pair of hand-knit socks):

Mustard and Light Gray Heather

Do you see the brilliance? No? How about this one:

See that gray sole? (Practically) every sock ever knit before now has been knit in the round, which convenient because human feet are 3 dimensional, requiring a tube-shaped sock to cover them and humans generally dislike trodding on seams. Thus, knitting in the round, whether you did it with 4 or more double-pointed needles or with two circular needles or with magic loop, was deemed to be necessary.

This Moccasin sock, however, is knit another way entirely: the leg and the top of the foot are knit back and forth, and then using gray, the knitter picks up stitches all around the edge of the foot and knits in the round on a circular or their preferred method, knitting towards the center of the foot, decreasing where necessary so that everything will lie flat, and then, when the sole is big enough, the stitches are sewn together with Kitchener stitch, which makes everything flat and smooth. The back of the leg stitches are likewise sewn together.

But why would you do this, when the traditional method of socks (knit in the round until you come to the heel, make a heel, knit in the round until you come to the toe, decrease for toe, sew closed) is so much simpler?

Here is why:

1. If you are intimidated by or simply dislike knitting using double-pointed needles.

2. If you don't have more than one circular knitting needle, or your circular needle is short. (It has to be long to use the magic loop method.)

3. If you prefer knitting back and forth to knitting in the round. Note that you will have to do a bit of in the round, but it's much less than if you were to use the traditional method. (This can be done with a circular needle if desired.)

4. If you want to use a different yarn for the sole and the top. This was, in fact, EZ's inspiration for designing this pattern: she wanted to use reinforced yarn for the sole of the foot but not the top, where it would be wasted.

5. If you only have one skein of special yarn and you still want to make a pair of socks.

Let me elaborate on that last one. If you are using sock yarn*, an adult-sized pair of socks requires at least 400 yards of yarn. Sock yarn is often sold in approx. 200 yard skeins. This yarn, Valley Yarns Huntington, a merino wool blend, was both lovely and economical but these descriptors are not often paired. If your heart is set on a yarn too expensive to buy two skeins, or if you simply have found an odd ball that you'd like to use up without making mismatched socks, this method will let you do that. You don't see the sole of the foot at all when wearing shoes, so it could be a cheaper color that coordinates, a color you want to use up, or even a series of scraps.

These are approximately men's size 10 socks, in a short crew style, and the yellow part used up nearly every bit of the 218 yards in the skein. As a side note, I would like to congratulate myself on finding such a cheery color that my husband will consent to wear. It's a great color, and almost perfectly matches a ginkgo tree in autumn.

Very difficult to get three children to look at the camera at once, particularly when you are on the way to get ice cream.

*Using sock yarn, or "fingering weight" yarn will produce socks that are "normal" thickness, suitable for wearing under dress shoes. Using worsted weight yarn will produce chunkier socks, more suitable for wearing under thick boots or as house slippers. The thicker the yarn, the fewer yards you will need.

 In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that the reason that there is only one sock in the photograph is that there was only one sock finished in November, as I was much consumed with a Nanowrimo project, Thanksgiving, and a sinus infection. However, I did finish the other sock before Christmas which was their actual deadline. I intended to photograph both of them today, using my own feet, but 'Stache wore them to work.  

Their Favorite Things

When you are 4 or 5 years old, your likes and dislikes are still capricious. Today's favorite may be tomorrow's ma'le*. So I thought that I would record what my children like. As of September 11th, 2017, 7:24 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, all of these statements are correct and truthful. An hour from now, who can say.

*This is the word that Mei-Mei says for "trash," but when I went to look up the tones, Google had no idea what I was talking about. I don't know if this is pidgin word that she made up, or if it is part of a Hebei province dialect.

All of the children love being Mama's Helper at the grocery store. Mei-Mei talks about who is going to help Mama a full week ahead of time.

Munchkin and Twinkle ask for oatmeal every morning. Cinnamon is usually desired. Brown sugar is, of course, best of all, but rarely offered. Sometimes they ask for ketchup instead of cinnamon. This makes their mother gag a little, but she gives it to them anyway.

Mei-Mei loves dippy eggs and chips. These are soft boiled eggs with baked chips made from corn tortillas and oil and salt. You can stab a piece of egg with the point of your chip and eat it that way, which means that forks are unnecessary. Dippy eggs and chips are her mama's favorite breakfast too.

Munchkin loves cuddling with "his" cats.

Twinkle loves the color green. He will always choose the green option. Except for vegetables, of course.

Mei-Mei loves using glue sticks.

Munchkin loves mashed potatoes and peas. Heavily influenced by How My Parents Learned to Eat, by Ina R. Friedman, he views these side dishes as a package deal and makes nests of mashed potatoes to put the peas in.

Twinkle loves spaghetti and meatballs.

 Mei-Mei would live in her My Little Pony nightgown 24/7 if given the choice. For a while, we even had a good-night song about her pony nightgown. As part of the song I was supposed to stroke the pony and Mei-Mei would become upset if I accidentally poked the pony in the eye.

All of the children love potstickers and homemade ramen and Uncle Pop.

Munchkin also loves sushi. The other kids will eat it, but he gobbles it!

Twinkle loves wearing crowns and hats.

Mei-Mei loves going to sleep while holding onto one of her parents. She doesn't always get to, but it is far and away her preferred method.

Munchkin loves having younger children around to take care of and explain things to. Unfortunately, his younger siblings don't count, as they are the same size as he is and thus considered equals.

Twinkle loves wearing multiple pairs of shirts and pants, even in warm weather. This completely befuddles 'Stache, who has on occasion discovered Twinkle wearing up to seven shirts. Twinkle is also an equal opportunity shirt wearer, layering t-shirts, night-shirts, and 'Stache's undershirts.

Mei-Mei loves to help cook and do little jobs. She is an excellent helper.

All of the children love watching me play Minecraft. There was once great concern and worry when I went exploring and got lost and could not find where my house was. Twinkle even prayed about it at bedtime, that God would help me find my house. When I finally found it, the children discussed the matter on and off for a week.

Munchkin loves reading the original Winnie-the-Pooh. I had never read the whole book before, only snippets and individual stories and Disney versions, which lack the charm of the original. It is Excellent and I wholeheartedly recommend it. (Knowing as I do so that this is hardly an original recommendation. However, if I, as a well-read adult and a well-read-to child, am discovering this now for the first time, perhaps my recommendation can help others who were similarly ignorant of A. A. Milne's brilliance.)

Twinkle loves saying Chinese words. We are learning Chinese as part of Munchkin's school program, and Twinkle is the keenest. Interestingly, Mei-Mei is not particularly better at Chinese than Munchkin or Twinkle. I think that, outside of the handful of words we still commonly use at home, she has forgotten her Chinese.

Mei-Mei loves baths, showers, hoses and water in most forms. She has never gotten out of a bath or shower without having to be told to do so.

All of the children love paper airplanes. This causes some degree of conflict at home, because once a piece of paper has been made into an airplane it becomes a PRICELESS TREASURE and if stolen, torn or carelessly trod upon, instigates immediate commencement of hostilities and the drawing up of battle lines.

In addition to the above, there are of course the perennial favorites such as ice cream, crayons, bicycles and hot dogs. I feel that these favorites have staying power and thus do not need to be documented as thoroughly as favorites that may come and go.

It is such a gift to be able to watch their personalities and interests develop!

A Tale of Eggs and Flowers

Once upon a time, I pinned this pin of flowers made out of painted egg cartons. I thought it was a charming idea, but would require a lot of egg cartons to pull off. Shortly thereafter, eggs went on sale and our weekly egg consumption tripled, making an easy job of collecting enough egg cartons for a whole slew of flowers. 

I collected clean cartons for about 2 weeks, befuddling 'Stache, and cut them into flowers. Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of the different shapes before we painted, but essentially I cut flowers with long pointed petals, rounded petals, zigzag cups, round cups, and fringe cups (to be the centers of my lilies and daffodills). I also cut leaves from the flat parts of the cartons. Pro tip: it's a lot easier to cut 4 petaled flowers than 5 petaled flowers, especially from an egg carton!

The kids and I painted them ...

And then I glued them to a cardboard circle, which I had also painted green ...

Making a pretty great wreath, if I do say so!

We used this paint, which was very cost effective since we wanted a lot of colors and these came in a set. A few of the colors needed multiple coats (I'm looking at you, yellow!) but most were adequate with one. (Later I tried these paints on wood peg dolls and they had very poor coverage on that surface, so I would avoid glossy surfaces with this paint.) It also cleaned up quite easily.

I have about 20 photos identical to this, courtesy of Mei-Mei.

Things I did right with this project:

1. Draconian color control! I asked the kids which color they wanted to paint, and then I gave them a specific flower shape for that color. Thus, all the flowers are (more or less) recognizable. One shape might have different colors, but each color (except white) only has one shape.

2. Painting in shifts. I would put two kids in their room to play and then invite the other to come paint. They got to pick their color and I would give them 3 flowers to paint. When they were done, I would ask if they wanted to keep painting, and if they did, they got 3 more of the same shape. Mei-Mei had an incredible attention span for this project! She painted all of the leaves (both sides!) at one sitting.

3. Clean up as we went. At the end of each child's turn, they had to go wash off their own brush and I would wipe down the table so there wasn't any wet paint of the wrong color to mess up the next child's flowers.

4. Arranged the colors to be balanced but still random. After all the flowers were dry (we painted them over about 3 days) I divided them by color and placed them more or less evenly spaced around the circle before glueing them down using Elmer's. Because I had different amounts of each color, it still looks organic and random because some are spaced a fifth apart, some a quarter, some a sixth, etc.

Things I did wrong with this project.

1. I started out thinking that the kids could cut the egg cups apart and then I would cut them into flowers, but this proved to be beyond their hand strength at ages 5 and 4.

2. Also, apparently all our non-sewing scissors are crap. Might should fix that.

3. I started out with all the kids painting and me supervising, but this proved too much wet paint to juggle at the same time. Painting in shifts (see above) worked much better and the kids got some one-on-one Mama time.

4. The back of the wreath is made of flat strips of egg carton, cut and glued into a circle. I wish that I had held off until I could find a large piece of cardboard to use for my circle. It's holding up so far, but I'm seriously worried that it may not last.




We hung it in our kitchen. I love that my kids painted nearly the whole thing, and that it makes our daily lives more beautiful.

Egg cartons! Who'd'a thunk?

I did a thing.

So, recently I did a thing. I (like 1 of every 3 women of my acquaintance) did Whole 30. The rules for Whole30 are here, but essentially they boil down to:

 - no sugar
 - no dairy
 - no grains
 - no alcohol
 - no beans
 - no chemical additives

Lots of vegetables.

You are supposed to follow these rules 100%. There is no internal discussion, no weighing of how "good" you've been all day vs. how "bad" that piece of cake is. You do not eat the cake. End of discussion. In fact, I was so fortunate as to make two birthday cakes for Mei-Mei (her birthday party was on the Saturday after her birthday but I couldn't not make a cake on the very first birthday she's ever had with us), and I ate exactly zero of either one. I did not even lick my fingers, which requires more strength of mind than I would have thought.

Here are my conclusions, with no attempt at order.

1. Eggs and avocados and tomatoes with chiles are life. Anything that is bland or uninspiring can be cheered up with the addition of one or more of those things. Fortunately while I was doing Whole30 (and now at the time of writing!) eggs at Aldi were a jaw-dropping 28 cents a dozen. I bought 6 dozen a week.

2. I know I just said it but: avocados. They are seriously the heavy lifters. Pretty much anytime you are trying to sub for dairy, avocados are what you turn to. Baked potatoes with avocados are seriously my new favorite thing, particularly with bacon and a poached egg.

3. At the very end of the 30 days, I made mayonnaise because I wanted to make chicken salad. I had always viewed people who make their own mayonnaise with a sideways squint, but it was shockingly easy to do and seriously delicious.
In a large mouthed jar or a 2 cup measure, layer:
1 cup oil (if you have no diet restrictions I would just use regular corn oil; otherwise use avocado oil or a very light-tasting olive oil)
1 room temperature egg
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Place your emersion blender in the cup or jar down to the bottom, piercing the yolk of the egg. Turn your blender on and very slowly, raise and lower the blender until all the ingredients have been emulsified. It is almost instantaneous, certainly less than 1 minute from oily concoction to hey presto! mayonnaise.* It makes about a cup and a third and kept for several days in our fridge and certainly would have kept longer if I had put it into a jar with a lid instead of an open container.

*Note that since this recipe contains raw egg, you do NOT want to put it on a sandwich that is going to sit in a hot car while you're at Six Flags. Quick exit from the fridge into your mouth is best.

4. Whole30 is seriously expensive. During this month, 'Stache was making his usual cheap breakfasts and sandwiches, I would make separate breakfasts and lunches for me and the kids (Kids: Oatmeal? AGAIN?") and then a Whole30 or Whole30-friendly dinner. (For instance, I would make fajitas for 'Stache and the kids and I would just have the spiced chicken and onions and peppers.) And our grocery bill still rose by 60%. And that's with eggs at 28 cents a dozen.

5. There is nothing, but nothing, like cream for your coffee. Over the course of the month, I tried various concoctions and really, there's nothing like milk. On day 31, when I had my first sip of espresso and milk, it was very nearly a religious experience.

6. I was shocked by how much I apparently had been eating without realizing it. Melting chocolate for the kids to dip strawberries in: well of COURSE you lick the spoon while you're waiting on the microwave! Um no, you can't. 'Cause of Whole30. It took a ridiculous, embarrassing amount of willpower and focus to not break Whole30 in moments like these. It wasn't that I was particularly craving chocolate at that moment, but the habit was so deeply ingrained that breaking it was really, really hard.

7. Apparently wasting food is anathema. I discovered that a lot of my eating-without-realizing-it moments were finishing off the kids' plates. Hey, there's half a cheese sandwich left! Can't waste it! Um, you have to. Because of Whole30. Even worse was when it was something that I really liked. My very hardest moment in the whole 30 days was when at Mei-Mei's birthday party, I was cleaning up and some kids hadn't touched their cake. Three layers of Victoria sponge cake! With homemade pink vanilla icing! The WASTE of it! It was gut-wrenching, but I didn't eat a bite. I think if this fearsome trial had occurred on day 2 instead of day 17, I totally would have caved. Knowing I'd forfeit two weeks of hard work was a powerful motivator.

8. Once you start having to read labels, EVERYTHING has sugar! Or dairy, or flour, but especially sugar. Salsa has sugar. Beef broth has sugar. Dried fruits that are not labeled as "sweetened" have sugar. Sausage has sugar. Someone explain this to me.

9. One of the things that is rough about Whole30 is that you have to actually think about your food. (Of course, this is also why it works.) There are no mindless, stop-by-Chik-fil-A, pop-that-pizza-in-the-oven meals. Which mostly was fine, but occasionally ... it really bites. Particularly on grocery day when you're driving home at dinner time exhausted and there is nothing at all that is quick in your car and the internet serves up suggestions of paying actual money for salad-hold-the-raisins-salad-dressing-croutons-cheese-and-chicken-sauted-in-questionable-oil. My go-to lunch at home was potato and avocado and bacon. Which is awesome and I ate it about 100 times because I had no idea what to cook for lunch. People who are better prepared than me make large batches of things so that they can have something ready-made, but somehow this did not actually happen while I was doing Whole30. I blame the lack of caffeine.

10. It is incredibly easy to eat a low-calorie diet while on Whole30. (Well, sure, once you toss out bread, pasta, milk, butter, and sugar, no wonder!) While on Whole30 I was also using an app (Sparkpeople) to track my calories. In order to lose weight on the schedule I wanted, I was supposed to eat 1200-1500 calories a day unless I exercised. That seemed like a scary small number in the beginning, but most days I struggled to even break 1000 calories. And I was eating potatoes! And bacon!

On what planet do these words even make sense coming out of my mouth?

11. My best take-away from Whole30 was portion control. I have had a difficult time with portion control as long as I can remember. If one piece of pie is good, two pieces of pie are better. It didn't even have to be sweet: I can eat mashed potatoes and peas for DAYS. But with Whole30, the foods were good but not indulgent and I think that helped. I was able to retrain my brain: one bowl or plate of food = dinner. No seconds. The two times I overate (Can I even TELL you how remarkable it is that only overate twice in a whole month??) I could actually tell. It felt uncomfortable now, even though it was an amount that the month before, I wouldn't have blinked an eye at.

12. I lost 17 pounds. That was nice.






I posted all of my meals on Instagram, which was very helpful to keep me honest. 
To follow me on Instagram go here. 

When Mama is taking pictures of her food every day, pretty soon everybody needs pictures of their food every day.

The Sales Pitch

Several months ago, Munchkin and I were having a mother-son date and, needing to kill some time, wandered into a dog-grooming business. We stood off to the side and watched the employees and the dogs for a while. Munchkin did his quiet glowing thing that means he’s having an awesome time but isn’t going to actually express it. Two days later, he announced his firm desire for a dog.

Fortunately, ‘Stache and I had discussed this before, so I had an answer ready. “Munchkin,” I said, “Here’s the thing. Before we get you a dog, Mama and Daddy need to know that you can be responsible enough to take care of one.” And then inspiration struck. “You could show us,” I suggested, “by taking care of the cats. You can feed them in the morning and scoop their cat box.”

Munchkin promptly agreed. And, since the beginning of November, he has fed and scooped very nearly every morning with a cheerful attitude and a willing heart. Which is, frankly a great deal more than could be said of either me or ‘Stache. However he has often needed to be reminded, which is a fairly key factor, from the parental evaluation perspective. Also, since that initial conversation, ‘Stache and I added an extremely high-spirited three-year old girl to our household and incidentally decided that three pets and three children and two parents would about do for the present.

This evening over his birthday dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and English peas, Munchkin, in true labor boss fashion, laid down his terms and announced a strike. “Mama,” he said with deliberation and precision, “I will feed the cats for one more day. And then – I will say, ‘I want a dog!’”

It was my unfortunate task to break the news that, given the size of our house and our yard, we could not have more than three pets. I pointed out that Pippin, our “male” cat likes to go on adventures and maybe sometime Pippin might find a family that he liked better and stay with them instead. Also, it was likely that eventually we would move to a bigger house and that at that time, we could probably get a dog. I assured him that Daddy and I did want him to have a dog, but that this was just not a good time.

Immediately dismissing these reassurances, Munchkin launched into a new plan. “We – we could take down the cages and we puts the cats in them and then we takes them back to the kitty house [animal shelter]. But we keeps Sofie and then – then we have two pets – “ he counted on his fingers, “ – we have Sofie and we have my puppy dog.” He gave a firm nod, content with his awesome plan and succinct summary.

It was then my even more unfortunate task to convince him that no, simply marking “return to sender” was not a viable means of ridding oneself of an unwanted pet. All while shushing ‘Stache, who stepped out to the hall to burst into laughter in peace, and forcing a serious expression on my own face as befitted the serious discussion at hand.

However, if there are any cat lovers out there who would like to own a beautiful short-hair male-but-neutered cat who’s had his shots, is good with kids and likes to play outside on occasion, I will make you a very good deal. 

Seriously. 

This is my brother's dog, not Munchkin's future dog, but I couldn't not post it.

Mei-Mei Log, Week 4

Day 22 Thursday Munchkin, Twinkle, Mei-Mei and I went to the aquarium. It was very quiet except for one school group. Mei-Mei was very content on my back in the carrier. She continues to love escalators and leaned down to grab the railing as we were going up. On the way out, Munchkin had a melt-down because I would not hold him as well. Later that afternoon, ‘Stache was carrying Mei-Mei up the front steps and tripped and both of them fell flat, but neither suffered any permanent effects. At dinner, Mei-Mei was more interested in feeding her peas to Munchkin than eating them herself.

Day 23 Friday We visited a friend who has a young daughter the boys’ age. Mei-Mei was quiet and stony faced and stayed on my lap the whole time. After a while she started crying for Baba. She perked up when we went outside to the car. My friend has two large dogs and Mei-Mei was fascinated and jumpy around them. When I put her down, she wagged her rear end back and forth, imitating the dogs wagging their tails. At naptime she delayed going to sleep and then slept for an hour, until ‘Stache woke her up. She was very unhappy and being woken up and only wanted to cuddle for a while. At bedtime went to sleep at 9.

Day 24 Saturday We left the house at 9 and drove 2 hours to my parents’ house for their Christmas party. Mei-Mei sat on ‘Stache’s lap for about 2 hours, then started getting up and making short forays. She was calm and content as long as she could see ‘Stache or I but not especially animated or boisterous. At about 2, ‘Stache took the kids upstairs for naptime. Twinkle was the only one who slept but everyone rested. We left about 7:30. Mei-Mei was not very happy about getting in the car and being separated from ‘Stache and I, but she went to sleep after about 30 minutes.

Day 25 Sunday Fairly quiet day. ‘Stache left after dinner to watch a movie at a friend’s house. Mei-Mei cried a bit when he left but then acted normally. Went to bed with me without crying except for occasional you-won’t-let-me-get-out-of-bed stuff. Watched a video with me for about an hour. Then self-entertained for a while. Watched me cruise Craigslist. Snuggled with me but very restless, changing positions all the time. Eventually wound up hugging my arm and chewing my fingernails. Fell asleep about 11pm.

Day 26 Monday Went to the bookstore with the kids. Kept Mei-Mei in the carrier, but she kept grabbing at books. Went to Sam’s for lunch. Mei-Mei ate a soft pretzel and some of a Coke. The boys were fragile and fractious all day. Mei-Mei was restless, constantly wanting up down play with me talk to me do something else. I think part of the problem is that we were not able to have any outdoor time. Went to sleep easily at 8. Woke up at 11 puking. Threw up a couple times, and then went back to sleep.

Day 27 Tuesday No more throwing up. 

Thank you for reading the log of our first four weeks with Mei-Mei! As you can see, things are still not without challenges, but we have seen such improvement in bonding, eating and sleeping since we came home! 

Mei-Mei Log, Week 3

Day 15 Thursday

Day 16 Friday Mei-Mei and I did a craft together, dyeing fabric for Christmas presents. She has a very long attention span. We worked together for about 1 and a half hours. She was delighted each time we pressed the fabric down and then lifted it up to see the colors. Munchkin and I went to see the Nutcracker after dinner. He loved it. 

Day 17 Saturday

Day 18 Sunday After supper she was playing with notecards and tape and kid scissors. She tore a card into a square and held it over her eye. She wanted me to cut it into a circle, which I did. She took a large piece of tape and taped the circle over one eye. Then she did the same thing on the other eye. She was extremely pleased with herself and trotted off to show ‘Stache.

Day 19 Monday Rainy. I cut the boys’ hair. Attempted to trim Mei-Mei’s bangs. She stood still but I didn’t do a great job of it. All of her hair swirls from one point. There isn’t a natural part. She had a sweet time with our cat: hugging, petting, forehead bonking. Kissed the cat and thought it great fun. Stayed up until 10 pm. She won’t kiss me yet.

Day 20 Tuesday We’re seeing more normal sibling interactions. Normal wrestling, normal squabbling. We went to Chik-Fil-A and while we were in the playplace, we overheard Munchkin talking to a little boy, telling him about Mei-Mei with a very proprietary tone. “That’s our sister. Our Mama and Daddy went to China to go get her. Where did your parents get your sister?” The clearly non-plussed little boy said, “Uh, uh, I think my parents got her in my mama’s belly.” Mei-Mei took a nap in the afternoon and then did not go to sleep until after midnight.

Day 21 Wednesday No nap, just stayed on the bed with me. She has an amazing ability to self-entertain. She kissed me two times today and let me rub noses with her several times. Don’t know yet if the kisses are a today-only deal. She stole and wore my glasses several times and is completely delighted by it. Went to sleep about 8:20pm. 

Mei-Mei Log, Week 2

Mei-Mei is eating normally for a toddler, so I am no longer recording it. She generally eats well, but occasionally refuses to eat anything at all. 

Day 8 Thursday

Much high spirits, running around house. We went to get our Christmas tree today. We got in car, Mei-Mei was mostly quiet for first 30ish minutes, occasional comments. Then started getting a little upset. It was a long way to the tree farm and we had to double back to a gas station for cash. She was better after I held her for a bit in the gas station. She was interested in the tree farm. I had her on my back in the Tula. Eventually wanted to get down and run around, after about 35 minutes. When we were driving home, she was fine for the first 30ish minutes or so and then wanted 'Stache or me to hold her. Didn’t ever take a nap, mostly was able to be quiet on bed for a while. 'Stache had to go to Urgent Care after supper. The kids and I watched a Thomas and Friends video. While watching Thomas, she pushed buttons on the computer. I held her on my lap and she screamed for 15 minutes. Eventually calmed, watched the video a while, got sleepy. I took her to the bed, she cried for about 10 minutes. I held her and she went to sleep.

Day 9 Friday 'Stache has a pre-pneumonia infection in his lungs. He got antibiotics and a nebulizer, which seem to be helping. Mei-Mei went to sleep at about 9.

Day 10 Saturday The boys joined us at 5 am. ‘Stache sent them back to their beds at 5:30. We got up at 7:30.

Day 11 Sunday

Day 12 Monday The honeymoon seems to be over. Munchkin and Twinkle have only complaints about Mei-Mei. Twinkle asked when we were going to be taking Mei-Mei home. The fact that Mei-Mei doesn’t follow the rules really bothers Munchkin.

Day 13 Tuesday

Day 14 Wednesday A friend came over and we watched the kids together outside. Mei-Mei was rambunctious, happy. Not shy. Enjoyed pushing Twinkle on the swings. Munchkin was fragile, apt to fall apart whenever Mei-Mei did something he didn’t like. 

Mei-Mei Log, Week 1

I love reading adoption blogs. Such wonderful stories, great insights, helpful tips. But one blindspot seems to be the month after the child gets home. There's lots of posts leading up to the adoption, maybe a few posts in country and then everything goes dark for a month. This is understandable, for the same reason that bloggers don't tend to be really chatty in the first weeks post-partum: you're sleep-deprived and living in a whirlwind. Which I definitely am. But I thought a record of the transition from day 1 to day 30 might be helpful, so I am keeping a log. 

Warning: This is unlikely to be scintillating. 

Night 0 (10pm EST) 

My parents, brother and sister met us at the airport with Munchkin and Twinkle. Mei-Mei was stony-faced and clingy. When we put her in her carseat she cried for about 1 minute and then no more the rest of the way home. (15 minutes) Her first flicker of interest came at home when the boys brought out their new lightsabers. Her first smile was while hitting Grandpa with it. She was delighted by the cats and picked them up by their back ends. She petted them a few times, yanking her hand back when they made sudden movements, and hit at them a few times. 

She went to sleep at 2 am and slept until 11:30am. She went to sleep on 'Stache's chest.

Day 1

Things she ate today: 

Blueberry yogurt cup

3 bites dressing, 2 servings ham

Lots of small cups of tea

No dinner 

She goes back and forth between being hesitant and wanting to be held, and throwing herself into playing with the boys. Liked digging in dirt with shovels but was distressed by leaves, dirt on bare feet.She has a small cough. Shares food easily. Likes lightsabers. Likes her new tea set, copies Danny in taking tiny sips of tea with the little spoon. Talks about cats a lot. She hit them 2 or 3 times and was reprimanded. She seems much more willing to be held by me than when we were in China. Napped 3:30-7 in between 'Stache and I on our double bed. 

Night 1

Went to bed 11pm. Liked laying/sleeping on 'Stache’s chest but cried whenever he tried to roll her off. Wouldn’t sleep in the little bed at all. Cried and cried when we tried to make her. Slept in little bed with 'Stache for 1 hour, then woke up crying. Did this until 6 am, when we got up. Wouldn’t be held by me. 

Day 2 

Things she ate:

Blueberry yogurt

2 or 3 bites grilled cheese

Almost all of a 6 oz can of mushrooms, drained (she found this can and asked to eat it)

Tea with honey

Lots of frozen peas

Frequently wanting to be held. In the morning she wanted to go outside and see neighbor children but wanted me to hold her. Very interested in bikes, pushed/pulled on Munchkin’s tire to “assist” him. Slept 1pm-3pm. At end of day she went out with 'Stache and the boys to play with neighbors, was comfortable with a good bit of separation between her and Matthew. Much playing with trains and duplos.

Night 2

Went to sleep lying next to Matthew at 7:30, slept until 11:30. Very awake, didn’t want to go back down. At 1:30, gave her 1 tsp Benadryl in OJ. Slept 2am-8am.

Day 3 Saturday

Things she ate:

Vanilla yogurt

Peas (mostly dipped in ketchup)

½ egg cheese sandwich (dipped in ketchup)

Tea and animal crackers

No dinner

Played independently with boys with duplos in their room for a while. We all went to a nearby park. I carried her in my Tula carrier. She took our green plastic shovel with her. Had a glorious time with the boys at playground, shoveled bark and dirt, climbed the plastic “stone” pile, went down slides with boys over and over. Did not know how to use spines, just used stairs or stone pile to climb the play structure. Napped 3-5pm. Stayed with 'Stache while the boys and I went to grocery store. 'Stache said she walked around a bit looking anxious because she woke up and we were gone. Hugged Munchkin and Twinkle spontaneously when we got home.

Night 3

Slept 9pm to 4:30 am. Didn’t want to go back to sleep. Resisted until 6:45, when we got up.

Day 4 Sunday

Things she ate:

2 square waffles with syrup

3 boiled eggs without yokes

1 piece bread w/pumpkin butter

Brownie

Sm portion noodles

Lots of mischief and mayhem. I said "That is not a toy!" a lot today, about a bottle of bleach, an antique book, 'Stache's work phone and a table knife. Today was very stressful. The honeymoon is starting to wear off. It's hard to parent in language other than your own. She is big enough and active enough that you really have to watch her every minute. Constantly working defence. Slept 1:30-4.

Night 4

Slept 7:30pm-1:30am. Didn’t want to go back to sleep. Gave 1 tsp Benadryl in OJ. Slept 2:30-6:45.

Day 5 

Things she ate: 

Multigrain cheerios w/ milk

Yogurt

2 chik nuggets, sm waffle fries

Sm handful yogurt covered raisins

2 cheesy breads, 1 piece pizza

I took her to the doctor's office. She was fine in the car. Quiet/clingy in the dr’s office. Howled and struggled when she got shots. I took her to Walmart to get her a bike but she wasn't interested in one. She was very interested in the nerf guns, so we bought one of those. She took a 30 min nap in the car. She was in a good mood when we got back. Played outside with nerf guns. Extremely rambunctious after supper, chasing/being chased by the boys all around the house.

Night 5

Slept 8-1am. Cried for an hour. Slept 2-5:45. 

Day 6 Tuesday

Things she ate:

2 boiled egg whites and a few bites of bread

Home made mac and cheese

No dinner 

A friend of mine came over, 'Stache ran an errand while she was here. Mei-Mei spent most of the visit in my lap. 'Stache tried to get her to take nap on little bed, she cried/screamed for about 1 ½ hours. Eventually he persuaded her to lie down on her bed with her cheek in his palm for about 20 min. After that he let her climb into our bed and she slept by him until 6.

Night 6

'Stache was sick and couldn't have her go to sleep on his chest, so he slept on the couch. Mei-Mei cried like a lost soul for an hour. She wouldn't let me touch her. I gave her a tsp of Benedryl in orange juice and she gradually collapsed onto the bed and slept from 9:30-6am. 

Day 7 Wednesday

Things she ate:

A few bites of biscuits and gravy

1 lg biscuit w/ pumpkin butter

Tea with honey

Leftover mac and cheese

Sm portion rice and beans

Screamed when I tried to make her sit on my lap for story time. Eventually hung out nearby while I did “school” with the boys. I made birdseed ornaments with the boys and Mei-Mei stirred the mixture. 'Stache and I took turns trying to get her to go down for nap on little bed: nothing. Only crying or sitting and holding. Eventually just sat by herself on the little bed for a while. After naptime 'Stache and I had a council of war and decided that trying to make her sleep in the little bed was doing damage to the bonding process and that having more room in our bed would help her sleep through the night. We found a $190 king-sized mattress and boxspring and a local appliance store. Mei-Mei "helped me” and 'Stache move stuff out of our room and our new king mattresses in. Very enthusiastic about new mattress, jumped on it with boys. Addressed me as "Mama" for the first time. 

Night 7

After dinner I took Munchkin to Walmart to buy king-sized sheets, leaving Twinkle and Mei-Mei with 'Stache, who is still sick. Twinkle and Mei-Mei were bickering over poking the cell phone while watching a Thomas video. 'Stache gave her a half dose of Benadryl in OJ at 7:30, she went to sleep 7:45, slept soundly until 6. 

Baby Steps

We are now in Guangzhou, China. From now on, all the paperwork has to do with Mei-Mei’s visa to the US, and the consulate that handles this is in Guangzhou.

Flying here was, if not a piece of cake, much easier than anticipated. Mei-Mei and ‘Stache wandered through the airport while we were waiting for our plane (We had given ourselves LOTS of extra time to get there because it was another high pollution day and we didn’t want to be stuck in traffic and miss our flight.) and ‘Stache let Mei-Mei pick out a drink. I say “let” but really I should say “encouraged” because Mei-Mei did not seem to immediately grasp that she could choose. Although everything we’ve learned indicates that she was well-taken care of by well-meaning people, choices have probably not been a regular part of her life. However, she seems to have grasped the concept and nearly sweet-talked ‘Stache into buying her a $10 plastic helicopter. Which, given that they do not share a common language, is quite a feat.

Walnut milk makes everything more bearable.

She was very content on the airplane as long as she was on ‘Stache’s lap, which meant that take-off and landing were rocky, but everything in between was fine. Fortunately we had a bag of snacks that her nanny gave us, so we found interesting things to eat for the terrible times when she had to be in her own seat. She deigned to accept mini Oreos from my hand, but otherwise didn’t want me to feed, touch or comfort her, even a little bit.

Every so often, all through the day, she would get teary and reach up for a hug from ‘Stache. But mostly she seemed to be resigned, if not happy.

The next day, Wednesday, was better. After breakfast (juice and yogurt for her, big American breakfast for ‘Stache, part-American, part-Chinese for me), we went to the “Kiddie Land,” which is an outdoor courtyard for kids. It was absolutely the best decision we could have made. Our stoic, clingy little girl blossomed into the happy, exuberant child we had seen in pictures and videos. Mei-Mei ran round and round the playset, darting in out of the plastic doors and flinging Wawa (her doll) down the slides. She would climb onto the swing and let ‘Stache push her once and then jump off, giggling.

All of this, though, was strictly Daddy-oriented. If I got too close or tried to pick up Wawa or hold her hand, she would frown and fling her hand out of mine or demand her Wawa back.

But after she had played on the playset a while, we drifted over to the water feature. ‘Stache and Mei-Mei sat together on the wall and contemplated the water for a moment. Surreptitiously I yanked a handful of leaves off a nearby bush. I demonstrated how one could take a leaf and drop it into the water and offered her a leaf.

She threw the leaf into the water, found the experience to be delightful, and asked me for another leaf.

It was the first time she had willingly interacted with me since we drove away from the notary’s office. Naturally, I gave another leaf, and many after that. After a few minutes, we discovered that there were dry leaves under some nearby monkey grass, allowing us to stop pulling live leaves off the bushes, but ‘Stache and I agreed that even if we were forced to pay a “bush damage” fine, this beautiful little interaction between Mama and Mei-Mei would have been worth it.

Here she is telling me that she wants "Si!" [Four]

At lunch we saw even more of her personality come out. We had gone out searching for lunch and discovered what became out standard lunch place. Should you find yourself in want of lunch while at the Marriot in Guangzhou, turn right out of the front door and turn right at the corner. Continue on this walkway past the 7-11, past the large reddish Indian-esque statues, past the “Cheese Coffee” store, until you come to this sign:

We’d love to tell you the name of it but we've no idea. We just know that you can get 2 large bowls of noodle soup, 1 order of dumplings and 3 bottles of water for 45 RMB (about $6.70) We think it’s awesome and Mei-Mei would appear to agree.

At first she was happy just dipping her chopsticks in the sauce and licking them off ...

And then she started actually drinking from the plate!

This girl LOVES her soy sauce! 

We're Leaving for China on Wednesday

Wow
.
*Gulp*

Wow.

Wednesday. Wednesday. Wednesday!

We have been traveling/trudging/crawling down this path for so long. We used to have a card on the fridge saying "July 2010." My heart was bursting to adopt way before 'Stache and I even met the "length of marriage requirements." July 2010 was the earliest I figured we could start applying and meet the requirement by the time we were matched with a child, so having the card on the fridge was my little reminder. An encouragement that even though it seemed a long way off, that day was coming.

Well, God had different plans. He took us along a different road, to a life filled with two wonderful, rambunctious boys. But He planted that desire for adoption. He kept it alive through long years of waiting, piles of paperwork and fine print and now, in 5 days, we are getting on a plane and heading east. In 10 days, we'll meet our daughter for the first time.

Once upon a time, or rather on November 15th, 2015, after the boys went to bed, I was thinking about how discouraging the adoption process was. We had just been turned down for a referral the day before. We had been solidly turned down 3 times, and there had been several other referrals I had been hopeful about but they hadn't panned out. I told 'Stache that night, "If this is what the Hong Kong process is like, I don't know if I can do it." What other options did we have, though?

Then the thought struck: I had just turned 30. One of the China program's inflexible rules was that both parents must be at least 30. We hadn't met the requirements for the China program when we started the process, so I hadn't even considered it before now. But now I considered it, and on a whim, went and paged through the Waiting Child list for China.

Cute kids ... more cute kids ... Oh. It's you. 

Now I had been paging through these lists for months, trying to find the Hong Kongolese kids among the Chinese kids, and there had been lots of kids who caught my eye, tugged my heart, made me wonder how they'd fit in our life. But Mei-Mei wasn't like that at all. It was like I recognized her. My eyes were cruising along and then stumbled spectacularly because in a long list of maybes and definitely-nots and I-could-picture-hims and what-ifs, there she was. My daughter.

And on November 14th, 2016, I'm going to meet her.

Wow.

Too Much to Tackle?

My Works in Progress are getting out of control.

That slight echo you just heard was 'Stache shouting "Amen!" He's been a great sport, but ... given the opportunity to heave a beleaguered sigh - he will heave a beleaguered sigh.

Things on the radar:
(Note: My storage cubes are stuffed with projects that have fallen off said radar. I have a very good track record for finishing projects ... eventually. The stuff in storage will probably get done, but it might take a few years.)

1. Linen quilt.

Last week I ran a nicely appointed little sweatshop making my summer clothes, which are all about LINEN. I can't wait to show you, but Munchkin hasn't quite mastered the camera and I'm always knee deep in supper preparations when 'Stache comes home. But anyway, I took the scraps that were leftover and made a cute little modern quilt.
Prospects: Dim. This one's actually teetering on the edge of the radar. I don't have a baby in mind for it, so my motivation is struggling. (If anyone wants to buy this one, though, I'm pretty sure the motivation would perk right back up!)

2. Mei-Mei's Liberty toboggan. 

My sister gave me Liberty yarn for my birthday, and I knit a little vest for Mei-Mei and made this toboggan from the leftovers. This is how you wake up one morning with a huge stash: You get yarn for a vest, and you have a nice bit left over, so you make a toboggan (aka ski cap, aka touke, aka beanie), but even though you had gobs, way too much to toss, you don't have enough, so you need to buy more, but then you have leftovers from that ...
Prospects: I love love love this yarn, because it's soft and wonderful and wool (down with acrylics!) and because it's New Mexico colors, which always remind me of 'Stache, which is a little funny because he isn't from New Mexico; his grandmother was. So to see this project is to be inspired to finish it, but I will have to go buy yarn to do it. And I feel guilty buying yarn when I have so many many things to finish.

3. Justin's sweater. 
This is my brother-in-law's Christmas sweater. Clearly still in the planning phase. I've done my swatch and I've gotten the measurements from my sister, so I need to sit down and do the math to design the sweater.
Prospects: Reasonably sunny. Definitely going to be done by Christmas. (Knock on wood.) The plan is to take it to the beach, where I will actually see my brother-in-law, which should be fairly motivating.

4. Cushion for boys' room.

I have a beautiful vision for the boy's room which involves making a window seat out of a metal trunk, so I want to sew a cushion for the top of it. Clearly I have some work to do.
Prospects: I really want to finish the boy's room, so I'm very motivated, but I still need foam and I'm hesitant to make the cushion cover without the stuffing and Joann's trips are a little arduous with the boys, so it might be a bit before I manage to buy the foam.

5. Slipcover for boys' room. 
The other major part still lacking from the vision for the boy's room is a slipcover for a chair we're moving in there. This chair has been through the wars: we got it several years ago off of the sidewalk when our neighbors moved, and it is definitely due for a slipcover. I have found fabric I'm crazy about but haven't bought it yet.
Prospects: Again, very motivated, but you need lots and lots of fabric for a slipcover and upholstery fabric isn't cheap, so this might need to wait until next month's paycheck hits. However, I should do the math and check if Memorial Day sales make it doable. Also: making a slipcover = lotsa work. Might be a long project even once I have the fabric.

6. Molly's quilt. 
Once upon a time, my sweet sister got married (to Justin, of Christmas sweater fame) and I made her a quilt top using heirloom quilt squares that belonged to our grandmother. I promised I would hand quilt it and ... I have not. And now, with two kids, soon to be three, I think I've resigned myself to the fact that it just isn't going to happen. I think I need to unpick the handquilting I've done and machine quilt it.
Prospects: Still going to be hard to manage. I don't have a space to lay the quilt out to rebaste the backing, so I have to find a space somewhere else I can commandeer. Also, I'm nervous because this is a really special quilt, and I'm something of a machine quilting newbie.

7. Mosaic table. 

This project, for which I saved broken plates for 7 and a half years, is one I'm pretty excited about.
Prospects: Good. It's standing on our porch, impeding traffic, which is fairly motivating. Breaking plates with the tile nippers is simple, though hard on the hands. I hope to have it done soon.

8. Twinkle's hat 

I'm making this from a really cool Noro yarn that is like a very thin roving. Think knitting with raw wool instead of spun yarn.The knitted fabric is very fluffy and warm. I'd like to make Twinkle a new toboggan and mittens for Christmas.
Prospects: Right now I'm on fire for finishing, but I've only just started. Also, the weight of the whole list is making me wonder if I should work on something else just to get something off the list.

9. 4 (count them, FOUR) Christmas gift bags. 

I'm making reusable gift bags out of the leftovers of another quilting project. I love these bags and reusable gift bags are great when you have inquisitive toddlers who can unwrap a present in a New York minute but can't manage knots yet.
Prospects: I've done all the piecing, which is the biggest part, but I still have to iron on interfacing, make linings, make drawstring cords and assemble the bags. Right now the bags are still on the radar but we're taking a break.

10.  Hedgehog mittens.
I am making Munchkin hedgehog mittens for Christmas. I love love love the way these are going to look (pattern coming soon!) and I love everything hedgehog-related, but I am seriously running out of steam doing the prickles. They take an AGE.
Prospects: Eh. Definitely done by Christmas, but motivation is pretty low right now. Also, they appear to be missing.

11. 100 Wishes Quilt.

In northern China, which is where Mei-Mei is from, they have a lovely tradition where when a couple is expecting a baby, they collect pieces of fabric from 100 of their family and friends and make a quilt. Then when they wrap their baby in the quilt, it's as if they are wrapping their baby in the well wishes of all their family and friends.
Prospects: We're still collecting and I hope to have all the pieces by the end of June.

So, if you know us and love us and want to participate in this wonderful project, send us a piece of fabric or clothing that at least 9"x9". Any kind, any color. Comment or message me if you need our address. We will think about you every time we see it! 

Things to Love

Today I was talking to a friend, who has no children, about children. She said something that made a deep impact on me. She said (and I paraphrase because I had not enough coffee in me at the time to engrave her exact words on my memory):

When you get married, you get a lot of comments from non-Christians, whether they're married or not, that bash marriage. Jokes about funerals, the "old ball-and-chain," stuff like that. Christians are usually really good about being positive when they're talking about marriage. But there's no difference when they're talking about having kids. Christian or not, parents almost always bash having kids. 

Gulp.

Yes. That we do. When my kids are misbehaving, I want sympathy. I need support. A place to vent. And so I'll post something witty on Facebook to let off a little steam. I'm an external processor, so my closest friends hear a lot about our parenting struggles.

Because it is a struggle. Parenting is not really designed to be easy at any time, and some phases of life are naturally more challenging than others. (Hello, having two toddler boys at once!) But if you took all of my comments about the boys to people other than 'Stache and the boys, would your conclusion be, "Libby thinks her boys are wonderful and that children in general are a blessing?" Um. Maybe not. Complaining comes more naturally than praising. The boys themselves hear more "You're Mama's favorite Twinkle in the whole world!" than "TWINKLE! You are making Mama so UPSET RIGHT NOW!" (Although the last one isn't exactly an unknown phrase in our household.) But remembering to talk positively about them to a third party? That's harder for me. I have other things that seem more urgent to talk about.

But I want to do that. I have two amazing, lovable boys, and I want to tell you about them.

These are a scattering of things I love about my boys.

***

Munchkin has the warmest brownest smiley eyes I have ever seen. Sometimes, when he is very pleased, he won't smile with his mouth, but his eyes will just beam. My grandfather died recently, and during his funeral, I realized that Munchkin has his way of holding back his smile until it wells up in his eyes. My grandfather used to do that when he was telling stories. He enjoyed telling jokes so much, and he'd tell it to you with a straight face, except for his smiling eyes giving him away.

Twinkle's hair is the color of wheat in the sun, soft and smooth. When he was younger, he had these two curls on either side of his ears, and he always reminded me of a duckling, or a baby owl, or something equally precious. He looked exactly like a Raphael cherub. 

Munchkin insists on wearing pants at all times. If one is not in the bath or in bed, one's lower limbs are to be clothed.

Twinkle, on the other hand, is blithely unaware of any reason under the sun why pants, or even underwear, should be necessary, regardless of the company, temperature, or time of day.

When one of Munchkin's friends is unhappy, Munchkin always goes to them and strokes their arm or holds their hand. If it is a much younger, preverbal child who is crying, he will confer with me on what his friend needs: “Mama maybe he needs my blanket. Mama where's his pacie? Mama maybe he needs his mama.” He will then fetch items of comfort until the child stops crying.

When Twinkle is successful in the bathroom, he immediately runs to Munchkin and says “You needa say Good job Twinkle!” because if Munchkin does that, then he will get a treat, too, and Twinkle is always eager for Munchkin to join him in having a treat.

When 'Stache comes home, both of the boys spring up in the air, shriek for joy and then dash in the direction of the front door. When I return after being gone for the whole day, they run outside to meet me and then stop short on the porch or in the yard, milling about and trying to look diffident and unconcerned.

Munchkin's favorite thing to eat at Sonic is the chicken strip sandwich, which he describes as, “I wanna chicken, and a salad [lettuce] and a top [bun].”

Twinkle is always up for a snuggle, although he has the attention span of a guppy. Think of it as a “power snuggle.” Intense, joyful, and a little sticky-sweet around the corners.

Munchkin is very careful when he eats and although he does not have amazing table manners, he is usually a very clean eater. As a consequence he never believes me when I tell him he has chocolate (/yogurt/soup/strawberry/peanut butter/...) on his face and resents my attempts to clean what he believes to be an already clean face.

Twinkle is the world's messiest eater and has cheerfully resigned himself to face scrubbings as the cost of eating lunch.

Munchkin and Twinkle are both eager for “Jesus stories” at naptime. I have to stand in a certain spot, because that is the story-telling spot, and I must begin all the stories with “Once, Jesus was with his friends ...”

Munchkin holds his chin when he's considering something, because he's seen me do it. He also likes to begin his deliberations with “Hmmmmm;” another clear imitation.

Twinkle enjoys getting cozy under the covers and sometimes at bedtime will pull the covers up to his chin and ostentatiously close his eyes and assume his “sleeping” expression, which says, “What a good boy am I!”

Munchkin and Twinkle's favorite movie is Prince of Egypt. It is one of three movies that they have watched all the way through. They have watched Aristocats 2 times, King of Dreams 5 times, and Prince of Egypt about 50 times. They reenact it a few times a week, racing through the house on hobby horses and shrieking “We will break the chain of the dynasty!”

Munchkin likes spicy foods and believes that this is because he is older than Twinkle, and that it is part of the natural process of growing up.

Twinkle is enormously proud of his ability to heave himself up and over the back seat of our van and shows off at every opportunity.

Munchkin is so tender and loving with our cats. He likes to lie down beside them and gaze into their eyes. He hugs them nearly every day. 

Twinkle's favorite thing is for me to hold him in my arms and rock him back and forth singing "Rockabye Baby." If I was willing to do this 10 times in a row, he would be up for it, and would probably ask for an 11th time. 

Munchkin has never met the cheese he didn't like, and has a particular fondness for goat cheese. So far, cheeses Munchkin has tried and enjoyed include chevre, several degrees of cheddar, habanero cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella, Colby, pepperjack, Provolone, Gouda, Edam, Havarti.

Once I found Twinkle drinking straight espresso left over from breakfast, right from the pot. He loved it and asked for more.

Munchkin is much better than I am at remembering to water the tomatoes, and eagerly drags the hose from the front yard to the back, after first extracting my promise that I will not turn on the water while he isn't looking.

Twinkle has more mischief and glee in his little finger than Shakespeare's Puck. His smile is ear-to-ear, so wide his eyes almost squeeze shut. His shoulders hunch up and quiver with excitement.  

***

Having children is like watching magic. It is like watching a miracle that gets a little more miraculous every day. You should have one, get one, or borrow one. They're the best.