When the princess gets mad

The other day at a church party, Ruby was seated happily on the floor playing with her toys.

All of the sudden a big boy (probably around 15 months old) came and plopped himself down right in front of her. This did not make the princess happy.

Soon her mild sadness began to turn into mild anger

The "mildness" didn't last long and the next thing I knew, my precious princess had one hand grasping the boy tightly and the other hand open-fist slapping the poor kid.

As you can tell, the boy was oblivious to the whole thing.

I know I should have scolded Ruby, but I was just trying so hard not to laugh. 

That's right Ruby girl! You tell him you don't like it when he gets in your space!

Brothers

One afternoon, when I was about five years old, my older brothers were left to babysit me. When my mom came home she found a mess in the hallway.

A couple of belts, an old Army blanket, and electric clippers.

"Hey Molly," she called. "What's this stuff here?

"Oh nothing," I replied. "Raymey and Josh and I were just playing a game."

"Can you tell me a little bit about the game," there was some concern in her voice.

"Oh, it's called worm," I explained nonchalantly, "No big deal."

"So," my mom inquired, "How exactly do you play worm?"

"Well, its easy, I had to lay on the ground and Raymey and Josh rolled me up with the blanket and put the belts around me since worms don't have arms or legs."

"OK. So did you like that game?" my mom was obviously worried.

"Eh, it was ok, until they told me that they had to shave my head because worms don't have hair. I was scared when they got out the electric clippers. But don't worry Mom, they only pretended to shave my head."

Raymey and Josh both have four year old daughters now. I wonder if they'll teach them the fun game of worm.

Getting out the grime

We all know that some places in the house just don’t get cleaned as well as others. A kitchen table can easily be wiped down, whereas I’ve never even ventured under the oven. I’ve found that there are some places in the house that should be cleaned[i] , but that aren’t cleaned very regularly because it is just TOO hard. So here I have my list of places that are VERY hard to clean along with the solutions I’ve come up with (maybe you can help me come up with better ones).

Problem:  Under Ruby’s chin. She has her cute chubby cheeks and her adorable double chin that are impossible to get a washcloth under.

Solution A: When she is lying on her stomach looking up, quickly come in and get all gunk out as fast as possible before she realizes what you’re up to and puts her head down

Solution B: Use a baby wipe almost like a piece of dental floss and slide it in the creases.

Problem: There is a lip on the sink plug that is big enough to let gunk and nasty grime in, but not big enough to clean it out.

Solution only (I wish I could think of a better one than this): Stick your pinkie finger in and fish it out.

Problem: A vacuum cleaner dated 1972 with no attachments makes it very difficult to clean the corners of our room.

Solution A: use a rag to wipe up the visible mess.

Solution B: buy a new vacuum cleaner (haven’t actually tried this one yet)

Problem: We have a very fancy looking soap dispenser in the shower that somehow collects grime at the spout of it.

Solution A: pipecleaners.

                Solution B: dishwasher gets some of it.

What other places do you find hard to clean? What have you done to fix the problem?

---

[i] I don’t think the “under the oven” necessarily NEEDS to be cleaned since no one goes under there anyway, right?

Caveman Camm: published with permission

When Camm is asleep he has this remarkable gift of imagination. He truly believes he is a caveman and talks in that vernacular.

Here is one such night:

I was nearing the end of pregnancy and so was waking up several times a night to use the bathroom, roll to the other side to try to get comfortable, get a drink of water, etc. On this particular night, I got out of bed feeling terribly thirsty. I began to put on my slippers as I knew the kitchen floor is very chilly in the night. As I was putting them on, I was interrupted by Camm:

Camm: Moll[i]. You change costume now?

Me: No, I’m just putting on my slippers to go get a drink.

Camm: You me bring drink too?

Me: Sure Camm, I’d be happy to bring you a drink.

When I came back with the drink I handed it to Camm. Without saying a word, he sat up, held it tightly in one hand, stuck out his tongue, and proceeded to lap it up like a dog.

Naturally, I began to laugh.

Camm (with obvious angst in his voice): Moll! You no laugh at me.

I continued to laugh. Camm, being a sentimental night-time caveman, began to cry. He buried his head in the pillow and repeated several times “You no laugh at me. You no laugh at me”

Then, all of the sudden he stopped.

Camm: Moll. Water I drink. I pee bed?

Me: I don’t think so. You never have before.

Camm (in an almost high-pitched squeal): I pee bed. I pee bed.

And with that he ran to the bathroom.

 I tried to fake sleep so as to avoid another Caveman Camm encounter upon his return.

---

[i] For those of you who don’t know, Camm calls me “Moll”. My family nickname has always been Molly. With a name as short as “Camm” I guess two syllables is even too much. So I became “Moll”

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

One of my 2012 New Year’s resolutions was to celebrate EVERY holiday on the calendar (even the ones that usually are just passed over without much thought such as Earth Day and Columbus Day). So yesterday was Martin Luther King Day. To tell you the truth, I didn’t celebrate it with as much oomph as I should have. I know there were service venues and memorial walks that I could have attended but didn’t. Sometimes a day off is a day off and that’s all you want.

I did do something (small as it was, but something nonetheless). Camm has the book Why We Can’t Wait  by Martin Luther King, Jr. I snatched it from him and spent a little time thumbing through it. Here I am going to write some quotes I particularly liked as a little tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. and all who sacrificed so much fighting for equality.

“Human beings with all their faults and strengths constitute the mechanism of a social movement. They must make mistakes and learn from them, make more mistakes and learn anew. They must taste defeat as well as success, and discover how to live with each. Time and action are the teachers” (p. 43).

I make mistakes regularly, but am I learning everything I could from them? Probably not. I think this is a great reminder to really look at the mistakes I make and figure out how to do better. How can I use those mistakes to help make the world better?

“Somehow God gave me the power to transform the resentments, the suspicions, the fears and the misunderstanding I found that week into faith and enthusiasm. I spoke from my heart, and out of each meeting came firm endorsements and pledges of participation and support. With the new unity that developed and now poured fresh blood into our protest, the foundations of the old order were doomed. A new order was destined to be born, and not al the powers of bigotry or Bull Connor could abort it” (p. 68).

Am I seeking from God the ability to translate my negative feelings into faith and enthusiasm? That’s the only way that I can ever make a difference.

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity” (p. 86).

Though so much has changed since Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this text, we still have far to go until men are truly equal. Now is the time to do something about it.

“There was a time when the church was very powerful—in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being ‘disturbers of the peace’ an ‘outside agitators.’ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were a ‘colony of heaven,’ called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be ‘astronomically intimidated.’ By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.”

Am I willing to be ridiculed for doing the right thing? Do I do the right thing despite opposition?

“No one could discuss racial justice with President Eisenhower without coming away with mixed emotions. His personal sincerity on the issue was pronounced, and he had a magnificent capacity to communicate it to individuals. However, he had no ability to translate it to the public, or to define the problem as a supreme domestic issue. I have always felt that he failed because he knew that his colleagues and advisers did not share his views, and he had no disposition to fight even for cherished beliefs.”

Am I ever guilty of believing in something yet doing nothing about it? That’s not real belief. If I truly believe in something, I should be motivated to do something despite challenges or ridicule.

I hope these quotes are inspiring to you as they are to me. Let us always remember the sacrifices of those who have gone before us and strive to sacrifice ourselves to fight for freedom.

SHOTS!

My friends with babies older than mine warned me that watching shots is so hard. Well, I'm tough, I reasoned. I can do this. It can't be that bad.

Ruby turned two months and we were off to get the shots. I went alone with her as I knew it couldn't be that big of a deal. 

In the waiting room I began to get nervous. You know that knot in your stomach? I said a few prayers under my breath and quietly prepared myself.

The nurse came out, "Ruby." I gathered my things and began the long journey back making sure to have the pacifier handy. "We'll put the pacifier down. They always spit it out anyway and it just gets in the way," the nurse explained as she removed Ruby's prized possession. 

The next few moments are too painful to recapture on paper, but here's a picture that was taken just moments after the shots.

Now I send Camm when Ruby needs to get shots.

New Year's Trip to Colorado--by Ruby

I had a super fun trip to Colorado for Uncle Josh's wedding. 

Bride and groom busy 

Let me back up and tell about the WHOLE trip:

Adults always complain about no leg room on the planes.
What about me? I had no head room...

I got to hang out with cousin Madeline. She's a cool big girl.

Cousin Grant stayed by and watched.
He was too shy to get too close. Silly boy.

Madeline thought I was trying to kiss her.
Really I was trying to pull her hair.

Madeline let me play with ALL her big girl toys.
It was so fun. She kept bringing me more and more.

We had fun at the wedding too. I have a new Aunt Rachel. That makes two Aunt Rachels and one Great-Aunt Rachel that I now have. Cool!

Mommy wore these shoes to the wedding. She calls them "Ruby red slippers".
She says she got them because I'm her Ruby.
That's nice, but those don't look like slippers to me, but considering how many times she looked like she was slipping and nearly falling off of them, maybe they are "slippers."

Miraculously, she never fell all the way to the ground (though it was pretty close lots of times)

This is my baby cousin Gauge.
He's a full two weeks younger than me. So I'm the big girl!

Cousin Lydia is such a pretty flower girl!

Come on, enough with the paparazzi.
I have a lot of important food I need to steal off of Mommy's plate. 

Cousin Grant is my role model.

I can't wait until I can play with them!

OK, Mom. I know you're busy talking.
But must I get lost under all this hair?

When my Mom told me I had to take a nap,
 I was very relieved to get rescued from the boredom by Madeline!

asparagus

I mentioned that I hate canned asparagus in the top ten grossest foods blog, but I think it deserves its own blog.

When Camm and I were getting married, his sweet little grandmother gave us a bunch of canned foods. The asparagus was one of the cans that never looked too appetizing.

A couple of days ago Camm decided he wanted to cook dinner. I decided I’d make a side to go with the wonderful chicken I could smell. I looked around the house—in the fridge, the pantry, other random cupboards—but I couldn’t really find ANYTHING (that’s when you know it is time to go grocery shopping). Then I came across the asparagus. Hmmm…Can’t be too bad. I love fresh asparagus.

Since I’ve never eaten it or cooked it, I went to the internet to find out what to do with canned asparagus. I found a couple of things as follows:

“I totally disagree with asparagus in a can. I think it tastes awful.”[i]

“Oh, canned is not a good way to experience Asparagus for the first time....It is very good but be ware that it is much better fresh and steamed….PLEASE DO NOT EAT Asparagus out of the can. It would be an awful way to eat it for the first time. It's so nasty out of a can! Go to the grocery store and buy fresh!”[ii]

Of course, these comments didn’t stop me from wanting to try it. After all, we had it. I couldn’t just throw it away, right?

So I chose to sauté it. What should I season it with? I thought. I rummaged through the cupboards and just started putting things in it.

Oregano . . . cilantro . . . oh there’s some Ramen seasoning—may as well try it . . . salt . . . garlic . . .

I reasoned that with all that seasoning, it couldn’t possibly be gross.

Camm made beautifully delicious chicken. The asparagus, on the other hand, was not beautiful, not delicious, and not something I ever want to experience again.

So, I grabbed the dish and headed for the trash. Camm stopped me and urged me to throw it outside, “We need it as far away as possible.”

I opened the back door and TOSSED it. Somehow I tossed it right onto the side of my house.     

I think next year I’ll use this instead of a Christmas wreath.

---

[i] http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/361080

[ii] http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070817131129AAJRFvB

MY TRIP TO THE MUSEUM by Ruby

Mommy and Daddy took me to the Museum of Natural Life.
They told me I would get to see LOTS of stuffed animals.
I have some stuffed animals of my own that I love playing with.

I've loved my stuffed animals ever since I was a tiny baby.
 Look at the excitement on my face here.

I was sure excited to go play with so many at the museum.
Here I am in the car! Let's go!!!

What are these things?
They don't look like my stuffed animals at home

Mommy, what happened to these animals? No, seriously what happened?

My parents just make me take lots of pictures. I wonder
where I could get a pair of antlers like that for me.

Posing again. This time with Mommy

Afterwards we went out for lunch.
Look at me sitting up so tall like a big girl!

Come on parents! Get me some FOOD!

Maybe the waiter will help me...
"Excuse me?"

Oh, its no use...