Rachel caught a frog in the front yard

(Photos taken 2015-10-20.)

Brushing Tommy's teeth, the hard way

(Photos taken 2015-10-14.)

September Peanuts

• I sent Corinna to change out of the dress that was two sizes too small for her. She didn't want to change, so she hid. I looked for her and called for her for half an hour. Nothing. I started to worry that she had run off. As a last ditch effort before waking up Rachel and calling the police, I called out, "Corinna! I'm going to McDonald's!" Two minutes later she appeared behind me. "Where were you?" I asked. "In my room." "Where?" She showed me a space in her closet. I had looked there twice.
• It was dark in the kitchen. I didn't need the lights to wash my hands. Then I dried them on whatever piece of cloth was nearby. "Wow," I remarked to Rachel. "I don't know what I just dried my hands on, but it sure was dirty." I washed them again. Then I turned the light on. It was one of Matthew's socks.
• I'm supposed to help Isaac study for his spelling test.
  Me: "Confiture."
  Isaac: "It's too hard. I can't spell it."
  Me: "Sound it out. Con. Fi. Ture."
  Isaac: "It's too hard."
  Me: "Okay. Study some more and call me when you're ready to try again."
  Isaac: breaks down in tears.
• Isaac: "We'll start our own clan. You can be the chef." Matthew: "Why would I want to be the chef?" Isaac: "You can be the leader." Nice to see him mixing some French in with his English for a change. Usually it's the other way around.

August Peanuts

• David: "You are starting to look like a weight lifter. I can see muscles under your gut."
• Isaac: "You got me *books* for my birthday?" He was not pleased. Melissa: "Ooh! Can I read that one?" Isaac: "No, it's mine. You can read it tomorrow." He sat down and started reading.
• It's fun seeing Dad get excited about math. Today he showed Matthew how to prove the square root of two is irrational.
• Rachel took Corinna out for a haircut. The salon had Frozen on screen for the kids, so Corinna was willing to sit still. When it was over, she looked in the mirror. "Mom! I wanted BLUE hair!"
• Dad on Matthew, and public schools: "Matthew's a smart kid. But he's not used to thinking hard."
• Tommy (17 months) is amusing himself this morning by opening childproof bottles. That is why our living room carpet smells like Nyquil.
• Tommy's trying to connect his lego-like toy together. "Nee how!" [need help] I help him connect the pieces. "Ta-da!"
• Isaac: there's nothing wrong with my eyes. It's just that the letters were too small. And blurry.
• Homeschool with Grandpa update: Matthew (7th grade) is studying first year college chemistry. Melissa (5th grade) is learning to draw and to use a sewing machine. They are both studying math and history and French as well.
• Grandma and Grandpa are in Nevada for Telitha's new baby. They left assignments for Matthew and Melissa to work on while they are gone this week. Rachel told Matthew and Melissa to do an hour of weeding in the garden first thing before it gets too hot. They started a fight over who got to weed which patch. Melissa broke down completely into an angry shrieking puddle of stubborn. So I put her in the garage where she is yelling loud enough that Rachel, on the phone with me, can hear her. Ladies and gentlemen, the dark side of homeschooling.

July Peanuts

• 3 AM, first night in Washington. Woke up to Tommy crying. Grandma beat me to it and was rocking him. I took him to Rachel and went back to bed. Moments later I heard running, then puking. Wonderful. On the bright side, alone among our kids, Melissa made it to the bathroom. But not to the toilet. I got to clean it up with a hand towel, multipurpose cleaner, and baby wipes because that was all I could find in Grandma's house. Then Rachel made a second pass with paper towels and bleach.
• "Atomic" came on the radio at the gym. Me: Did you realize that Debbie Harry is 70? Chris: Who is Debbie Harry?
• The men are running the nursery in the Sinden ward. Activities include catching the tickle monster and feeding Bob the barfing racoon. The kids love it. Also airplane races: "Everyone put your arms up and make airplane noises!"
•  Kirsti scored 8 on her turn in Small World. Next turn, Brian scored 4. Melissa: "Wow, Kirsti. You're really good at this compared to Brian."
•  I put my laptop on the floor for about ten seconds while I dragged Corinna to the pantry for time out. When I got back Tommy had both hands on the keyboard and chrome was displaying the spinny beach ball of death. I had to force quit it. I should offer his services to Google's QA team.
•  Grandma: "Go change your shirt, Isaac. You've got oatmeal on that one." Isaac starts wiping the oatmeal off his shirt (and onto the carpet). Grandma: "Don't wipe it on the floor!" Isaac, still wiping it on the floor: "I didn't do it!"
•  Corinna: "Je veux regarder Frozen!" [I want to watch Frozen!] Me: "Not until Grandma gets back." Corinna, sings to the tune of *Do you wanna build a snowman*: "Je peux regarder Frozen?"
• Tommy's vocabulary at almost 17 months: Bye Ball Dad Shoes Hot Mama Ow Dog.
• Rachel fixed the printer tonight. "That's why you married me: to fix hardware problems."
• My mother showed Melissa our high school graduation photos. She didn't recognize me.
• I told Isaac he needed to eat something else for breakfast besides chocolate chip muffin.
  He looked around the fridge for something low-effort. "I'll have an apple." He pulled out one of Grandma Ellis's Red Deliciouses. I cut it up for him. After a few bites, he made a face. "There's something wrong with this apple. It's juicy, but it doesn't taste right." The only thing wrong with it was that it was a Red Delicious. I made him finish it. Rachel says that was harsher than she would have been.
• Melissa, to Isaac: "... someday, when you are older, I will sit on your shoulders and fart."
• Isaac hated "Inside Out," and said so half a dozen times during the showing--loudly. He doesn't want his cartoons to teach him anything. I loved it.
• Took Isaac to the optometrist. Turns out he is nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other.

Tommy caught his sister's pukes

The vomiting didn't bother him so much. But when I had to launder his blankie he was a sad sad Tommy.

(Photos taken 2015-10-05.)