Humm....

Today I was cutting vegetables and minding my own business when I came across this. Wowser!! A conjoined carrot!

Tuber Roses

I've posted a lot today, but I guess I have a lot on my mind. (huge shock) These are the flowers I got at the farmer's market in Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday. They are called Tuber roses and have a smell similar to jasmine or gardenia. They are lovely!

Birds of Paradise

I personally found this fascinating.

Gwen

Here she is speaking!



This justs goes to prove that anything can be a game.

18 1/2 weeks

What does it feel like to be 18 1/2 weeks along with baby #2 many people have asked me lately. This picture pretty much sums it up.

Of course, that could have something to do with the peanut butter cookies that are now in the oven. Don't judge me! :) Seriously, I'm starting to feel the coconut. That's what I call the feeling of not being able to bend over without feeling like you're bending over a coconut. Quite an imagination huh? Well, not much else going on except we are painting like mad people on the hallway upstairs. I figure if we don't do some more house work now, I'm going to be so big I'm not going to want to do it and once baby comes... forget it! So, Ben is helping me in my goal and we are plugging along at a pretty good rate. Everything in this house is wood color, so we have to prime everything and then paint. Whew! I'd show you pictures, but would you really get goose bumps looking at pictures of a hallway? What's going on with you these days?

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Do you like to cook with your kids? This is a perfect one to have a kid help with I think. Um, Gwen didn't help me, but still. Only 4 ingredients. Can you believe it?

1 C peanut butter
1 C sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix, shape into balls, put on cookie sheet, flatten with a fork, bake at 350 for 16-18 min. I added chocolate chips just 'cause.

Meal Plan

Stuffed zucchini, salad
paneer stir fry, vegetable paji (spicy and non spicy)
roast, potatoes, carrots
green bean casserole, hamburgers
javaneze chicken
chili (made from left over roast) and cornbread
hash (made from left over roast and potatoes and carrots), salad

Vegetables

Here is Gwen carrying a purple pepper from our garden.


Here she is with a vegetable called a bitter gourd. Not from our garden, but from an Indian market. I am learning how to make a vegetable paji, which a friend made for us this week. It's delicious. It turns out I got the wrong kind of gourd. It's supposed to be bottle gourd, not bitter. I made a fool out of myself asking the kind Indian people in the market what everything was. I really would love to know how to make more Indian dishes since I love them so much and are healthy and require less meat which equals cheap!


Here's a close up of the bitter gourd. Apparently, it is pretty bitter. Sonia will tell me how to cook it.

I'm Obsessed

Disci-Plans and Mini Vans

Yesterday as I told you, we went to the library. One of the books I checked out is called "Discipline the Brazelton Way." I checked it out because in the table of contents it had a whole section on a year to 15 months which I thought was unusual. First off, I want to say that I use no method of anyone for anything. People sometimes asked me what method I used to get Gwen to finally sleep through the night... well, my own method, namely time and continuous effort! Anyway, back to the book. I am not surprised anymore that people say in books not to spank kids. I mean, lots of parents don't even want to talk about it if they do. It's just this quote that struck me... see if it "strikes" you. (pun intended)

"Using physical punishment today needs to be avoided as much as possible. I was switched whenever I 'deserved' it when I was little, but I don't remember anything I learned from it, except to hide the switch from my parents. Hitting a child is not respectful. It shows that you are bigger than he (which won't last) and it says: 'Violence is the way to settle issues.' In our present violent society, I can't recommend this as a way of helping a child learn to control himself.
I would avoid using force as a way to control a child. The goal for discipline is to teach the child how to control himself. Force won't lead to that. These days we can no longer afford to take the 'spare the rod, spoil the child' dictum so literally. It is time we took it to mean 'spare discipline, spoil the child'-- a challenging but essential warning for every parent."

I disagree with his opinion of what the goal for discipline is anyway. I believe the goal for discipline is obedience to God first and to authority... and of course, self discipline is an accompaniment to that. He acts like kids have the reasoning ability to know how to control themselves the right way all the time. I mean, I don't even think your brain is done forming until age 50! (at least the reasoning ability) I didn't like how he quoted the Bible and basically changed it. I'm talking about and reading about this because I am facing base camp of the mountain of discipline (or correction as I'm going to call it) with Gwen. She's too young to spank at this stage I feel, but definitely knows when she is about to do something wrong. She doesn't understand fully what I say, but enough. It is a tricky age I think to know how to discipline properly. It all started with throwing food off of the high chair. We have swatted her hand about that from the beginning and never treat it as a game. I ain't playin' that one, ya know? So, has it worked? Well... sometimes, but she still tries to do it. I have also taken the object out of her hand that she is threatening to drop and she doesn't like that too much. It's a puzzle really. Now she has graduated into wanting to stand up on her rocking chair and dive off. I have graduated to swatting her leg for such a thing after I tell her in a low voice and firm "no". I'm not getting worked up or anything, and I'm not angry when I do that. It is literally amazing to me to see her reaction to not getting her way of things. She gets really upset and then a second later will laugh at me whispering in her ear that I love her.

I've got another bone to pick with this dude from the book. You know, I don't remember why I was spanked a lot of the times either...but I do remember some times. I'd like to know any kid that remembers time outs and why they were there too! Kids have a short memory span. Ok, enough of my rant. :) I try not to rant much on this blog. Not many people want to read rants.. or maybe that's just me.

Do you see this beautiful van? We are now the proud owners of a minivan! My parents came up in July and gave us their "old" van and got a new one for themselves. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed and cried like a baby. We are so grateful and thankful for their generosity and we are LOVIN' the minivan life! It will be so nice with two little ones.

Korea

Ok, so Ben, Gwen and I all went to the library tonight. I found a book on Korea so I checked it out. I looked at the picture on the cover and thought... "boy, don't they look warm and inviting." Here it is:

Baby Names

So I was looking at the meanings of baby names tonight. I looked up Georgia and it means "farmer". I also looked up Morgan and it means "great circle." I told Ben that and he said "well, that's better than a little rectangle."

Why is it so hard naming people????? Any suggestions?

Meal Plan and Babysitter

taco salad
scalloped potatoes, pork chops, steamed broccoli
beef barley soup
chicken and dressing, cranberry sauce
tuna sandwiches, salad

Tomatoes and Conversations

Here are the tomatoes I harvested just tonight. Aren't they beautiful? Woo hoo! I feel like such a gardener!


The weather has been so nice lately we ate out on our back deck the other night. Here are some dinner topics that have come up recently... so imagine what it will be like when our kids get in on the conversations.

Do spiders have brains? Well, then do earthworms have brains? How do spiders know how to make webs and I wonder what it feels like to have a web coming out of their nether regions.


Here is Ben trying to convince Gwen to try lettuce.

Ben let her have a bite of his ice cream sandwich. She liked it would be putting it mildly.


I have a new favorite TV show. I don't watch a lot of TV (which is good) but I particularly like this cartoon called Rupert. It's about a bear that goes on all these crazy adventures. This is kind of sad, but sometimes Ben asks me what I'm thinking about and I tell him all about the Rupert episode that I last watched. Here is a picture of Rupert. Don't worry... my next child will not be named Rupert.

Gwen Overload? I didn't think so!

I know I've posted lots of Gwen lately, but she's just too adorable not to!! This is today. She sat in her block box.


Tonight we got a child's rocking chair for her since she's wild about the one at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Craigslist strikes again.. $15. I hope she enjoys it.

Sometimes you just need a little Jackson 5. I was trying to sweep and mop and she loves to dance.



This is Gwen walking a few days ago. She has improved every day. She can almost cross a room now without falling. It's so cute seeing those first steps! Her first few steps were on Independence Day... don't think I'll forget that!

Hummm...

So I was reading to Gwen tonight from a book called "shapes" and these always make me think. I mean, how many kids know what an oil funnel is? Couldn't they think of another example of a triangle?


You really don't see many pig crossing signs in Kansas.

Meal Plan

burgers (with free buns given away at church), zucchini parmesan crisps
Leah's Mary Poppins rolls, roast (ok, so I didn't buy it last week), potatoes, carrots
tortellini spinach casserole, salad
teriaki glazed salmon, salad
chicken and rice, peas
oven fried chicken chimicangas

Home and The Farm

Gwen is all about fitting into small spaces. That task is getting increasingly more difficult as she gets longer. This is where we found her Saturday. :) Oh, and don't bother her, she's on the phone.


Today we went out to Ben's Grandma and Grandpa's farm. It's always nice to go out there to see the beautiful flowers and wildlife and hear pure quiet and eat home grown vegetables. Grandma graciously found some little dolls for Gwen to play with.


These dolls weren't just any dolls. You all know I'm amused by strange things.. well, this qualifies in my book. These dolls have the funniest expressions! Look at this one. It made me laugh out loud. I told Ben it looks like this doll has been smacked.


This one is winking. Since when have you seen a winking doll with its tongue out?

Trunk Monkey