Day one was mostly tracing letter “c” and reading lots of “c” books. And a trip to get ice cream to celebrate.  And science with Daddy:

spaghetti bridges

That has nothing to do with “c”, but Craig had to test the experiment he was doing at school the next day.

But day two included…

Dress up

Samantha climbing (that starts with “C”!)

And caterpillar cookies!

It was a delicious day!

[In the car, on the way home from Craig’s work]

Craig: Lucy, were you good today?  Did you help mommy?

Lucy: Yes!  I pushed Samantha down!

Jury is out on how or why that was “helpful”.

Well, we knew Lucy was stubborn, but we attributed that to her being the oldest child of two oldest children.  But it appears it may actually be genetics, because Samantha has a stubborn streak, as well.  For example, we had burritos for dinner.  Samantha was in her high chair, happily eating rice until we all sat down to join her.  Then she got very upset.  We offered her different things, including pieces of tortilla, but nothing worked, so we took her out of the chair and Craig was holding her.  She still didn’t settle down, and we had the impression that she wanted what the rest of us had to eat.  So Craig rolled up a piece of tortilla to look like a burrito, and she grabbed it with both hands and munched away happily.  Here’s the evidence:

On further thought, I realized that the only reason we survived dinner last night was that we had red beans and rice, and she had sweet potato and rice.  I’m so not ready for this.

We also picked up some basil for tomorrow night’s dinner at the farmer’s market today.  It looks like something out of Harry Potter to me, or maybe something Craig and his brother could use to fight the zombies they have a sudden interest in.  I’m really looking forward to cooking with it. : )

Lucy gave us the synopsis of Samantha’s birth this morning.  It went more or less like this:

“We drove to that house, and Mommy pooped in the bathtub.  You (Mommy) did a good job.  And that was Samantha!”

And we laughed.

Later, I heard Craig doctoring Lucy’s scraped knees while I was feeding Samantha.  He said, among other things, and over her screams,

“You know, a lot of your pain is psychological.”

And I laughed.  Hard.  Never a dull moment here!

We told Lucy we were going to go to the doughnut shop with B-Bob and Mimi.  She says, with great enthusiasm,

“I can get a vitamin doughnut!”

I said, “Huh?”

The mystery has been solved.  Apparently the sprinkles on top of the doughnuts are “vitamins”.  Who knew!  I feel healthier already.

Lucy has had quite a bit to say on our little trip to Georgia and North Carolina.  Here are a couple of her latest statements:

[Just after Lucy woken up this morning]

Craig: I’m going to eat you!

Lucy: I don’t want to!  I don’t taste good!

I know I said a couple of quotes, but now I can’t remember the other one (two?) and neither can Craig.  If they come to us, I’ll add them on.  In the meantime, Lisa’s wedding was nice, although we didn’t stay long at the reception because the girls (and I) were tired, and they have done remarkably well in the car thus far.  Visiting with Chris and Kelly is always good, and we’re keeping busy perusing their books and discussing cooking, gardening, kids, world peace, and other important topics.  More to come, when it’s not so late and my brain is a little more functional.

Here are a few pictures of the girls and our visit to my parents in Texas.

Grandpa and Samantha.

Blowing bubbles in the backyard.

Uncle John assisting with the water table thingy.

Swimming.

Yes, that is a polar bear in her mouth.

Sunflowers from my parent’s front yard.

She got herself into the wagon, except for a tiny push from me when her second leg got stuck.  I fear we have a climber on our hands.

The whole family.

The news so far for my Dad is good.  He is in the hospital and they did one dose of chemo (apparently there are four doses in each round, and they expect to do six rounds total) and that went very well, so they expect him to handle the treatment pretty well.  Mom says he looks and sounds better than he has, so that’s good news, too.  He should be home Thursday or Friday, and then he gets a couple of weeks off before the next round of treatment.  Thank you so much for all the prayers, I know they are helping!

Since my dad starts his chemo tomorrow, I thought it would be a good time to start a novena for him. I picked St. Joseph, since Dad used to teach industrial arts and enjoyed carpentry until he got sick. Maybe in a few months he will be able to get back to his shop!

Here is the novena I’m doing, but I found several others, so if you want to pray any of them along with me I would love the company!

To you, blessed Joseph, 
we come with confidence in this our hour of need, 
trusting in your powerful protection. 
Your loving service to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God 
and your fatherly affection for the Child Jesus 
inspire us with faith 
in the power of your intercession before the throne of God.

We pray, first of all, for the Church: 
that it may be free from error and corruption, 
and be a shining light of universal love and justice.

We ask your intercession for our loved ones 
in their trials and adversities, 
that they may be inspired by the love, 
obedience, and affection of the Holy Family, 
and be to each other a mutual source 
of consolation and Christian fidelity.

We ask your intercession, also, 
for our special need(s)... 

(Mention your intention here...),

and to keep us all under your protection 
so that strengthened by your example and assistance, 
we may lead a holy life, 
die a happy death, 
and come to the possession of everlasting happiness in heaven.

Amen.

So I apologize for that.  Life is crazy, even though “busy” might not be the most appropriate term.  Here’s the update,  and I promise that I’m going to make an honest attempt to get back on the blogging wagon.

I’m frantically trying to finish two sewing projects, plus the mending of diapers, except that we managed to leave all our cloth diapers, except the ones the girls were wearing when we left, at home.  And this week has taught me, in case I needed reminding, that I hate disposable diapers.  There is a whole post in itself there.  This is why I feel busy, despite spending most of my days at home on the couch.  (Ok, not most, but as much as I can manage.)

We’re visiting my parents this week, and Craig flew out of DFW to a teaching conference in Chicago on Tuesday, so the girls and I have taken over my parents’ house.  This has been a fun week, except that hanging over our heads is the fact that my dad appears to have lymphoma.  They’re getting the final diagnosis and setting up a treatment plan tomorrow, so many, many prayers will be needed in the coming months.  My dad doesn’t like a lot of attention, so the outpouring of good wishes he has gotten just from his friends and family has been a little overwhelming for him, but he’s hanging in there so far.

My mom’s knees, which were replaced one month ago tomorrow, are doing really well, so thank you for all the prayers in that area.  She is walking with a cane out of the house and without a cane at home.   My brother, on the other hand, is going to have surgery to clean up a couple of disks in his spine which are pushing on his nerves and causing pain in his leg.  Then he has to lose a good bit of weight so it doesn’t happen again.  Anybody with tricks to get someone very reluctant to start a serious (manageable) weight loss program, I’d love to hear them.

The girls are being themselves.  Lucy is everywhere at once, and bombarding Grandma and Uncle John with requests to “play play-doh”.  We went to the mall to ride the carousel yesterday, and that was fun.  She still refuses (usually) to use the potty, but she goes of her own accord to the bathroom to poop in her diaper.  I think it’s a step in the right direction.  Samantha’s scoot is getting faster (I tried to post a video, but it was too big and I don’t know how to fix that), so we’re having to watch her more closely than ever.  She scoots on her left shin and right foot, which is funny but very effective for her purposes.  She has had her four top front teeth come in all at once, and the last one is almost through after two weeks or so of suffering.  Her teether of choice is still whatever scrap of paper or book is within reach.

Merton has been left in the back seat of the car this week, and I have yet to go dig him out.  I’m not quite half way through the “Reader”, but I have every intention of finishing it.  I have gotten distracted by A Tale of Two Cities, which I am enjoying much more than I had expected.

What else?  I’m sure I’m forgetting lots of important things…but I guess that’s a good start.  We have a busy rest of the summer (for real) with Craig’s last week of summer camp, a visit from Fr. R.B., a wedding in Georgia, and then a road trip to visit friends.  Then Craig starts school, and I am *officially* a stay-at-home mom and homemaker.  (Not just a teacher on summer vacation.)  At that point I’m hoping to start researching the homeschooling stuff in earnest, so hopefully some of that will spill over onto here.

I leave you with the quote of the week from Lucy:

Lucy: I want [something she shouldn’t have – I don’t remember what]
Grandpa: I want a new car.
Lucy: [in all earnestness] Well, you can share Grandma’s car.

This approach never works for Craig, either.  But he doesn’t usually get such witty comebacks.  And now that they are both awake and I can only distract one of them with breakfast, adieu.