The Easiest Gift in the World and Some Girls

I've discovered the ten-minute gift.  Thanks for this fabric remnant, Mom or Titi!  It made a nice scarf for Debbie, and there was barely enough for one small scarf for the birthday Bird who coveted it.  Now all I need is a picture of the two together...

No segue needed.

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Sisters on a couch!

Five Brides Plus a Bonus

Susie's always been enamoured with high romance, so when I cleaned out my closet, she was predictably drawn to my wedding gown and veil.  

I offered to let her try it on, and a few minutes later, we had the wedding march tromping through the upstairs hallway.

She got her turn and wanted me to take a picture.  (Shocking.)

 And then Millie came upstairs and (gasp!) asked that I take her picture wearing it.
"In the light," she said, "like last time."

So I did.

Annika soon came tumbling after.

followed by Pip

and Lu.

Your bonus is Monkey See, Monkey Do

and one Mama, thirteen plus years away from that good October day that sealed me to John Richard Owen.

Brother Pete, the Youngest Boy, and the Oldest Hoshue

Home on the Range

If you live or know anyone who lives in the Northeast U.S., you already know it's been a long, cold winter, so I won't belabor the point with details of how many degrees below zero it was on too large a chunk of our days.  (But...cold!  A lot!)

Bolstering my claim of "Cold!  A lot!" is the fact that John Wayne-- who normally only gets to spend sub-zero nights indoors--has been a nearly full-time resident of our house this winter.

He follows the sun around the house and claims for himself any golden patch that lands on the floor.

Poor cowpoke. 

The Substance of Things Hoped For

A couple of weeks ago, I received my seeds in the mail.

Then I went outside and took two pictures.

Around the House

Breaking the rules, five years ago he painted our fuel oil pipe with this, and since I never returned it after borrowing it for something else, I used it to paint the frame for your collage, Pete.

Good for a sick baby.

Good for a grin.

Life on the Couch One Fine Day

Quacky Birthday!

It's been five years since our fifth daughter came home with us.  Five years!  Five daughters!

Oh, Lucinda Hope, we love you so, with all of your cuteness and quirks and endearing oddities.  You will always be our favorite duck-horse.

The morning of Lu's birthday, I woke up with mastitis, which I'd been afraid would happen in the days beforehand and which kind of ruined my big plans to do a week's worth of birthday preparation in one, rushed morning.  Those Who Know are shaking their heads in empathy right now.  For Those Who Don't Know, just imagine me being hit with a sudden case of the flu-- aches, chills, fever, the works.

So, Annie, bless her heart, made Lu's birthday pancakes.

Millie made Lu's birthday requested supper of homemade pizza, and, Millie, bless her heart, also made Lu's cake and frosting, leaving only the frosting application to me. Tho' she begged to do that, too, I didn't know how she'd execute Lucinda's request of a duck-horse, her favorite animal.  Frankly, I wasn't sure how I'D execute that request.

It turned into a My Little Pony-Duck, which in my state, was more than good enough.

She was a pleased, little girl the whole day through, and she couldn't stop grinning.  Not one sourpuss gleam to be seen anywhere!

 Presents opened.

Big sister approved.

I didn't finish these gifts until two days later when antibiotics were kicking in and making me feel alive again. (Rocks from the dollar store, painted with several coats of acrylic, and sealed with Mod-Podge acrylic sealer.)

I love how these rocks look and feel, but after a month and a half of use, the paint is already chipping off.  I guess making a drawstring bag in which they jostle around together wasn't as brilliant an idea as I thought.  Oops.

Grandma gave her a baby doll, so I made some new diapers to fit-- with fancy wipes-- because every baby deserves such luxury.  (Lu's third present is not yet begun, Susannah's third present is unfinished, and now Annika's birthday fast approaches!  Ahhh!  And I should probably finish some more Christmas gifts, too, since it's mid-March.)

"I'm Just So Curious!"

Two weeks to the day after Lu's birthday, a Cuckoo Bird wanted to celebrate her birthday.  I don't know how she built a time machine to turn our plump dumpling of a baby into a nine year-old, but it's clear she did.  NINE.

Susannah asks me regularly if I think she's going to be a philosopher.  (Uncle Joel has placed bets that she will be by the time she's twenty.)  She takes forever and a day to complete most of her chores, usually not because she's lazy, but because she's lost in thought or busy firing a string of strange questions my way. (E.g. "Mama, would you rather be a zebra or a giraffe?" or "What would you do if you had to pick one of us children to never be born?" Ad infinitum.)

Millie made the requested birthday waffles and also outshone any fruit I've given my children by turning all the oranges into orange blossoms.  (Thank you, Little House Book of Crafts.)

You'll notice she still likes to pose.  She had to pretend to blow out the candle before she actually blew out the candle.

Mildred and Susannah wanted to make the birthday cakes and frosting, and I'm not one to say "no" to my children if saying "yes" lightens my load, so make them they did.  (And because Susannah's birthday dinner request is always hamburgers and potato chips, my day was made!)

Before too much time had passed, Zeke entered, dressed for the task and willing to help.

...to help steal from the sugar canister

and to watch for dropped batter.  You know, that sort of help.

I'd just finished the antibiotics I'd started on Lu's birthday, and I was feeling the lingerings of unvanquished mastitis on the morning of Susannah's birthday, so when she asked for a pirate ship cake, I groaned and then spent an hour on the internet showing her dozens of other cakes I thought wouldn't take as much time.

I should have just spent that hour decorating her cake because it was easier than I remember it. I'd forgotten that pirate ship cakes in our house entail slapping dozens of plastic figures on top of a plain-jane boat.  She wanted a blue ship, which meant the water had to be silver, which made for a wacky pirate ship riding through some wacky waves, which was perfect for our wacky, little lass.

(I told Millie and Annika to hold the brown blanket behind the cake not only to provide a plain background but also-- and mostly-- because our kitchen was so piled high with Astounding Mess that I didn't want it documented.  Now you know.)

The ship Susannah Wren.

Those cheerful sails belie the ruffians on board.  It's not enough to make the princess walk the plank, oh no.  One must also point a revolver at her head!

When Su asked me to make an island from the leftover cake pieces, I groaned again, but it ended up being our favorite part of the cake.  My mom had given us a box of graham crackers she wasn't using the week before, and they turned ragamuffin cake pieces into a sandy beach.

Turning nine years old means you must light your own candles, although Annika's cautioning hands are still present.  (Apparently, she didn't quite trust that nine-year old so close to paper sails.)

Poof!

And presents!  Happy, curious Susannah Wren, we love you.