Saturday this and that (and Five for Five Update!)

First the Five for Five update! Remember this post from one year ago (and a few days)? I just wanted to let anyone who signed up - Jessica, Reba, Debbie, Kelly and Sarah-Paige - know that I am three down and two to go!!! Two of you have received something from me, but I won't post about it yet until all are finished. My goal is the end of the month...I promise it won't have anything to do with lice.

:; :: :: ::

Today, sadly, was still about lice. But it was also a really good day with my kids.

 I made them Dutch Baby with blueberries and homemade peach jam this morning. They deserved the breakfast they dream about.  Eliza did the dishes - she has claimed her daily chore - and then we moved on to the other work of the day. Picking lice. Sigh. Another trim up for Ani, and another movie on, and there we were.

 When we were done we stood in the kitchen eating leftover pizza and decided we had to get out in the gorgeous sunshine and do something that had nothing to do with lice. It was perfect.  "Mama, I think the only thing that would cause my heart to break would be to be without my family. Of course, when it's time for me to make my own family I'll be ok then."  There was hand squeezing and new haircut tossing, puddling jumping and clay stomping. The walk was just what we needed.

 We went and chose some new movies at the video store that we never go to, picked up comfort food to make for dinner (noodles and fake meatballs that were then dubbed feetballs but only because it sounded so great), and home again so that mama could spend an eternity in the shower with her special comb and the movie could be watched.  Eliza told me tonight that she thinks she's tired of movies...never thought that would happen.

 I made and ate my fourth massaged kale salad in a week and put last summer's ramps pesto on my noodles. It was like a little love note to me.  Over dinner we started talking about China; our friend  J. suggested that we all learn some things about China this month and share resources, food, ideas, what we learn. I brought it up earlier in the week, but we got a bit derailed - maybe tomorrow we'll delve into the bag of books from the library and see what interests - but tonight I thought I'd find out what we already know about China. Apparently it was a lot. Eliza right away came up with the following:

- she knew right where it was on the map

-  there is a huge, long wall in China, and it is the biggest wall in the world
- silk and paper making came from China
- the flag is red with stars

Ani mentioned that in the Magic Tree House story about China, Jack and Annie find themselves in a large tomb filled with big plastic soldiers (I think she meant clay).  We decided we definitely had to find out more about that. When I asked what else they wanted to know about, Eliza said she'd like to know why women get in trouble for having more than one child. I think this went back to a conversation we'd had about deer population control which morphed into some wonderings about how we keep the human population under control (her connection, not mine).  She does not forget these things.  And she'd like to know more about the food.

 Ani's bedtime wonderings went something like this..."Why do animals have wattles? You know, how on the ostrich - or is it the osprey? (we giggled about this) - the ostrich...no....not the ostrich...but it's kind of like an ostrich...it has a blue and red head?...oh yes, cassowary...why...why do they have wattles? and turkeys?  and roosters?" (can you hear the talking slowing down? Must look up wattles tonight)

A cup of dark cherry tea and an episode of Buffy for me tonight (I missed them the first time around). We've got more of the same tomorrow...