Joys for Boys

There are few things in the life of this 3 year old that I believe would bring him more joy than running around the yard in his tiny 2T sized boxer briefs...
...filling up his dump truck with water from the hose, then dumping it on the one part of the path that will make a puddle, then bringing over a little tiny matchbox dump truck and driving that around in the muddy water...
...... and of course when you're that busy with your work, you don't have time to go in the house to pee, so you just go ahead and pee on the grass.  Somehow you don' t have to train boys to love these things.  It just seems to come with the territory - boyhood.

Back on the Radar

Just wanted to let everyone know that if you are interested in following the AMEN blog, we have a recent post after a long time of nothing.  We should be posting more frequently now that we are going to be crafting again.  Here is a copy of the most recent post for your viewing and reading enjoyment:

“Oh my gosh! It smells like a Christmas tree!” That’s what Ann said when she opened up an old notebook, and we started to look through all the cute phrases and Christmas poems we wrote about a year ago. There were pine needles from last year’s tree accidentally stuck between the pages, the scent of which filled us with anticipation for the coming months. The months when the crafter can work feverishly, and the cold of fall, and then winter, awakens the inspiration that has been hibernating all summer. We are once again inspired, and just beginning to make a new batch of fun handmade items, which will hopefully be sold at some upcoming local Christmas craft faires. We will be peddlers, selling a wide variety of things - gift tags for example. Can you feel the cuteness? Updates will be forthcoming!

One Week of Dad

As you probably know, Erik has been home this week! It has been a busy but happy week at the Nappier homestead. During his week here, Erik has built me two vegetable trellises, set up his new tool boxes in the garage (very gleefully), and collected all the papers and receipts needed for "the audit". We also are getting a home security system installed some time today, and in the midst of all that, we managed to pick out a puppy. What?! A puppy? That's right, a puppy. Updates on that matter will be forthcoming, but for now, I will share some pictures of fun family time we were so blessed with this week.

Erik surprised us and tricked us into thinking he wasn't going to be there till late that night.  So then we were out for a bike ride, and Elliot, prophet that he is, started saying, "Is daddy at our house?"  I kept telling him no, that daddy wasn't going to be there until after he was asleep in bed, but he kept insisting, "I think daddy's waiting for us at our house.  We better hurry, mom."  What do you know?  He WAS waiting for us, and greeted me with a glass of champagne to toast his return!  Then of course the next thing to do was build a giant castle with the boy.

We had a family outing day and went to Morro Bay.  After a great walk on the beach we went to a really crappy restaurant for lunch, but managed to have fun anyway.  Here you can see that Elliot and Erik were taking turns making funny faces.  Like father like son, eh?

Yesterday we got to hang out with Sean and Monique, and their little son, Sinjin.  Elliot was so thrilled to have a friend to play with, and they both had a blast riding in the wagon, playing trains, and going in the sand area.  Check out Elliot's I'm-a-great-host smile.

It was a great time just relaxing with our friends.  A week is too short, 

but it is way better than nothing at all.

The next step for Erik is a six week Refrigeration class in Piney Point Maryland.  After that, he will be home for real, and will be able to stay with us through the holidays.  Halleluia!  It will be so nice to have him back!

Meanwhile, things are going to be busy here, what with the coming of the puppy (in two more weeks), the ducks (as soon as the duck house, "Featherfield Park" is finished), planting a winter garden, and hopefully lots of crafts!  AMEN is going to be doing some Christmas craft fairs this year, and I am so, so, so excited about it!  It is going to feel so good to create again.  I kind of have that anticipatory feeling like you get when you take the first step onto an escalator or a moving sidewalk.  Like you are about to go on a little bit of a ride.  It's that first step that's the wobbliest, but after that, it's just cruising.  What will you bring me, future?  Let's see, let's see!

Sharing a Laugh

We haven't been doing much lately, but here are a few 

photos of normal everyday stuff from around our home:

My raspberries are going crazy right now, and producing more fruit, and much bigger fruit than they did in the whole spring and summer.  What a treat!

I recycled my sunflower stalks into a funky little tee-pee for Elliot.  The outside is a table cloth, and the door is a flour sackish thing.  It's all held together with clothes pins, except the stalks are tied together with twine at the top.

He had a great time playing in his "little house".

I'm so glad I have a yard, and a dirty sand pit for him to play it.  

I hope he remembers this fondly when he grows up.  :)

Elliot and I shared a good one this morning, making funny sounds at the breakfast table.  Just in case there is any confusion on the subject, all the sounds are coming from the mouth.  ;)  I love when Elliot laughs out of control, then I start laughing, and then he starts laughing more.  It is one of the best things we do together!

One thing I have really been enjoying is doing some fall baking.  I made the Rosemary Apple pie from this month's issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  It was amazing!  But, kind of a lot of work.  If it sounds delicious to you, you should pick up a copy and make it.  I also made these delicious bran muffins!  They are so yummy and also very, very healthy, so I will give you the recipe.  Don't you love how bran has this naturally sweet wheaty taste?

Raspberry Bran Muffins

1c whole wheat flour

1c wheat germ

2 3/4c wheat bran

2/3c oat bran 

1tbs buckwheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground ginger

3 tbs oil or melted butter

2/3 c honey

1 1/4 c milk

1c nonfat plain yogurt

2 eggs

1c raspberries

1/4c dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the dry stuff.  Combine the wet stuff separately.  Then mix the two together.  Fold in the berries, and spoon generously into lined muffin pan.  Bake 20-25 min or until toothpick comes out clean.  Yum!

Pruning

I decided this week that I think fall is my favorite season.  Maybe it's just because it's a nice change from the baking summer sun, or maybe the coziness the makes me want to make soup and craft at night by the fireplace.  Or the color changing leaves (though that's quite to a minimum here in California), or the feel of school starting.  I don't know what it is, but for some reason it gets me happy.  

This year I am especially excited to plant a fall and winter garden.  My seeds came in the mail yesterday for all my cold-hardy vegetables.  I will soon be planting onions, peas and beans, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, beets, potatoes, winter-hardy lettuces, sugarloaf radiccio, and many others.  This is my first time, so I am not sure how it will go, but I am excited to try.  The idea of planting in fall brings new excitement to a season which is typically reserved for pruning.  Actually, I love pruning as well.  It always makes me think of the bible verse, "Every tree which does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matt 7:19)"    Most people probably don't think this is a very cheerful thought, but I do.  It always comes to mind when pruning, as I am pruning out the weaker branches (maybe not the whole plant!) and knowing that even though my plants are about to look pretty chopped up and bare, the plant will be stronger and healthier for it, and I will see the benefit come springtime when it explodes with flowers or fruit.  And, of course I love compost, too.  (The very word has come to take on a refined and luxurious connotation whenever I say it... compost.  Mmmm.)  I get to take all the trimmed and pruned branches, and feed them back to the dirt, so my garden will benefit from it with the next planting!  

Today I am thinking that I need to do some pruning of my life.  Maybe there are plenty of things in my life that I do for fun, or because I have always done them, but what should I really be doing with my time - with what adds up to my life?  Yes, it's a good time now for me to re-assess, take out the clutter and energy-suckers, and get on with the business of living.  Anyone else?

Ah, and another thing about pruning... the best part is that I get to take whatever remnants of flowers are left, and fill the house with giant bouquets, the garage with drying herbs, seeds, and lavender, and my table with the last of the vegetables.  Bountiful life!  I'm not sure why I am getting so deep this morning, but I can't think of anything better to do........  on a foggy morning in fall!

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

Tons of kids have probably been writing essays of a similar title the last couple weeks, so I thought I would throw mine in as well....

Annie thoughtfully sent me a picture disk of our summer visit to the VanZante Family and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk - an occasion on which I very regrettably forgot my own camera!  We had a great time hanging out, and got to hear the free concert on the beach before heading home to San Jose for the night.  Then the next morning we walked over to a local coffee shop for breakfast and coffee.  Aren't we quaint?  ;)  A great time was had by all, and we were so thankful for the gift of getting to see our beloved friends.

Here we are after we had just arrived, standing in front of the bumper cars.

Elliot rode the merry-go-round twice.  He's getting really good at posing for the camera.

Me cherishing a moment with precious Dustin.  He is such a sweet and mellow baby!

Elliot loves his Auntie Annie.

Me with a lap full of extreme cuteness.

Yearbook Yourself

Thanks to Erin for the out of control laughter brought on by the yearbook yourself website and creating these.  What more is there to say?  I think these pictures speak for themselves.  

Block Head

At first, he only wanted the blocks arranged perfectly in a cube shape with no empty spaces and everything lining up exactly.  I was glad to see him branch out today when we (mostly he) build this "giant castle/pirate ship".  He worked so carefully and creatively, and surprisingly didn't even get frustrated with the towers toppled time after time.  I put this little video on just as an experiment.  It's a real cliffhanger.  I hope you can handle it.  ;)

The End of an Era

This is the last of the summer lettuce.  This evening just as the sun was going down I did my final harvest of what I had planted in May, and then ripped out the bolting plants.  Now it's time to plant some new ones for the fall - cold resistant varieties.  Yes, fall is here.  I could tell for sure this morning when I woke up and the house was freezing.  I had to go put on my bathrobe because I was getting goose bumps!  That hasn't happened for a really long time.  

Today was an interesting day for us.  Here's what I originally had planned:  mail packages at the post office, get the car smogged, go to the library, and go to the car wash.  That would have worked out just fine any other day, but I had forgotten that today is Labor Day!  Duh!  That, and I also tried to unlock the front door with my car key clicker thingy.  Not a great day for the old brain, but it ended up being nice anyway.  Elliot and I had a date at Starbucks for lunch, and in the afternoon went to Target (of course I forgot to bring the things I was planning to return) for a meander through the aisles, and I got Elliot some wooden building blocks.  He has never had any before, strangely enough, and he played with them from the time we got home, till it was time for bed.  He's such a perfectionist, it cracks me up.  I kept trying to help, but he would say, "N-n-n-no.  That's not gonna work.  It needs to go like this."  

Also, what do you think of the new template?  I think I am going to change it back, but I need to make a custom header like someone I know.... only I don't have the energy to do all that right now.  Happy Fall everyone!