baby owl arrives

baby owl arrives, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I cut out an owl family of four for John, but I wanted him to have at least one before I left for the hospital. I want to make a nubby stripey brown felted bowl for their nest. His baby owl in his belly has been hurting him for the past few nights. He has been eating a big dinner, pound cake with strawberries, and then his new favorite, "banana under yogurt".

birdland

birdland, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I made some bird pictues for over John's bed and put three bluebirds and a nest on his mobile.

5 dollars please for a drawing of a castle, a unicorn, or a paper airplane

5 dollars please for a drawing of a castle, a unicorn, or a paper airplane, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Our young capitalist is not getting a lot of traffic, but I love the word, "DROINE".

appalachian riviera

appalachian riviera, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I know, I'm never in the picture and now it has been two in a row. I don't know. It is my last week as a mother of two and the last time I'm going to be pregnant. I'm trying to just get over myself and take pictures. I have the pregnant nose and the puffy feet, and that is just the beginning of the atrocities.

I have to run. John has taken the children away for two hours and I want to do some house projects. Time dwindles, and the mind reels with the desire to paint woodwork, change toilet seats, and scrub the floor. There are owls to sew.

Yesterday I asked John what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer. A bird.

mama and ruby, 37 weeks 2 days

mama and ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Five days to go. I finally found a comfortable spot today, and I may be there until wednesday night...the puffy blue plastic blow up kiddie pool full of cool water and bits of grass.

black racer

black racer, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Days that begin with serpents looking into the bathroom window are not the best.Originally he was clinging to the screen staring in. For the most part I spent the day making food for the children...over and over again. There wasn't much in the house and they kept asking for things that we didn't have. I will never run out of yogurt again. Ella mopped the floors leaving monsoon sized puddles everywhere, and then we opened the doors and windows and let in some unbelievably humid air. I couldn't get the air conditioner to come on. John would not go to sleep in his own bed. It goes on. I'm too pregnant to function.

jumpy

jumpy, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

fifteen feet

Marriage, measured.

I'd be happy to be 15 feet away from my husband indefinitely.....if he had no internet access and didn't have to go to work. Camping, yes. Travelling, yes. The bathroom, no problem, but when the rest of the world and it's cell phones and tiny little handheld internets gets involved I'd have to lengthen my measuring tape.

end of school program

serious, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

running away from home

Well, just for the afternoon. Yesterday was my (GASP) forty second birthday, and it was somewhat an exhausted shamble of kindergarten graduation, lunch with four six year olds, nausea, aching bones, and feeling sorry for myself. Nothing a hot bath and a good nights sleep didn't cure.

I'm going out alone. To the craft store, the asian market, and the grocery store. Then I'm going to start on a bunch of my works in progress, because it is the first day of the summer, and we are having a baby in TWELVE days.

scooter at school

scooter at school, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

my tooth just fell out

my tooth just fell out, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

After letting this tooth hang on all weekend, Ella's tooth literally fell out this afternoon at the coffee shop. She feels like a big girl.

garter stitch baby shoes pattern

One 2 oz ball of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino
Gauge: 28 sts and 60 rows to 4 in

US 2 needles,, cast on 18 sts
K1 row
Work in garter st and inc one st at end of next and
every foll alt row until there are 32 sts.
Dec one st at each end of next and every foll alt row until 18 sts rem
Shape Heel
Next row Cast on 7sts, k these 7, then k to end. 25 sts.
K1 row
Inc one st at end of next row and 5 foll alt rows.
31 sts.
K1 row
Next row Bind off 18 sts, k to last stitch, inc in last st.
14 sts
K 14 rows
Next row K2tog, k to end.
Next row Cast on 18 sts, k these 18 sts, then k
to end. 31 sts.
Dec one st at beg of next and 5 foll alt rows.
25 sts.
K1 row.
Bind off.

Finish: Join back heel seam. Join upper to sole all around easing in fullness at toes. Turn through to right side. Can be decorated with small beads, ribbon, or piped edging.

gestational diabetes

So, one of the things that I don't do on this blog is actually mention some portions of my real life. Some of that is on purpose, and much of it is accidental. I may have mentioned in passing being tested for gestational diabetes and my expectation that I would fail the test. I did, and I've been on the diet for ten weeks or so. It is even milder than when I had it with Ella, but when you listen to that speech about stillbirth and fetal organ development from the diabetes educator, it can scare the living tortilla chips right out of your hand.

I went to a class at the hospital taught by two extremely overweight, no, they were morbidly obese, women. That was disconcerting, but I really do live in a small town, and they did know their facts. Apparently they just weren't applying them to themselves. They gave me a lot of printed information, enough to get started, but I feel sorry for all the people who just go with that amount of information for the remaining months of their pregnancies, or, if they have type 1 or 2 diabetes, for the rest of their lives. The educators need to tell people that they need to completely change the way they think about carbs, about food. If you don't eat any prepared food you can actually eat more food without feeling deprived. Soup in a can has starch added, as does most prepared food. I heard the educator telling some poor woman how to measure out a portion of Hamburger Helper, and I felt so sad for the poor faceless person on the phone. Throw it alway. Buy a box of Dreamfield's pasta, some hamburger, a can of tomatoes, and some cheese. Instead of having a half a cup of a chemically laden boxed meal she could have had a whole bowl. The Dreamfield's pasta somehow has so much fiber in it that it only has five net carbs per serving, and it is not brown and gummy.

The hardest thing for me to give up has been rice. I can't have any or my blood sugar goes through the roof. Even brown rice. Rice noodles are the worst. No thai for me. My fasting blood sugars were the worst so I have to eat a breakfast that would leave my two year old hungry, but at ten I can have a bigger snack, ie second breakfast, and by lunch I can eat a whole sandwich and maybe half an apple. My cholesterol is probably through the roof because of all the eggs and meat I've consumed, but Ruby has definitely been the salad girl as well.

Last night I actually wept over the GD for the first time. It was my anniversary. I had been in the car for four hours with the children, and then I found out I had to go drive another hour to go pick up John after work at a Mall in the big city. Someone had previously agreed to bring him home and then backed out at the last minute. Anyhow, I had brilliant idea that the nine months pregnant lady would find some sugar free ice cream at the Mall. None. And then I cried over ice cream. So, as soon as this child is born, hopefully weighing less than ten pounds, I'm going to sit in bed and eat ice cream, the real kind.

In retrospect I should mention that for some people with gestational diabetes, the diet just isn't enough and insulin is a necessity. I've been lucky enough to count my carbs and make it to full term while I've known others to take insulin twice a day and survive on premeasured healthy choice frozen dinners. We all do what we have to do.

john and daddy 8/12/05

john and daddy 8/12/05, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Happy Ten Year Anniversary John.

quick oya baka

His: John now says thank you to elevators when they open their doors.
Hers: Ella has been peer pressured into asking for sheets of toasted nori as a lunchbox snack. I love that school.

ten years

Who knew that my sciatic nerve was tired and achy and exhausted? I got the massage today that Ella won at a grocery store raffle, and it was absolutely amazing. It was done by this totally non threatening middle aged woman who managed to massage my sciatic nerves without making me feel the least bit uncomfortable.

It has been a goodish sort of week, but I've been too tired to write anything down. On sunday I spent the day with ten girlfriends eating good food and taking about babies and labor. I have never heard so many funny stories, and it was great to be there without any of our children. Ruby has been welcomed so sweetly into our community, and she isn't even here yet. I have a lovely red velvet bag of beans to take into labor...wishes, prayers, and hopes for Ruby's safe arrival. If I'm yelling for my bag of beans that is what I'm talking about.

Tomorrow is our ten year anniversary, and John has an out of town work trip arranged. Yes, chide him please. For the sake of togetherness the whole family is going with him and making a weekend of it. Did you know that the traditional tenth anniversary gifts are made of tin or aluminum?

miss ruby::kindergarten bathroom

miss ruby::kindergarten bathroom, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Yes, I am still pregnant

Thirty four weeks, four days. I look like I'm having triplets or baby elephants, and I can't get particularly comfortable. I saw the doctor yesterday, and she was measuring thirty five weeks and bouncing around. I got checked because of all the contractions that I've been having, but they don't seem to be doing anything. I only have two appointments left, one on the next to last day of school and a final one on June 6.

I added a few phone numbers to my speed dial this week in case I do indeed go into labor early, and this morning I did a whole load of baby laundry.

I feel like I have two speeds these days, stupor and slow. While in slow mode today I finished the sling chair covers for the porch chairs and sanded and repaired the wooden part of the chair. I rescreened the patio doors, made tabbouli, and quickly reverted back to the stupor mode. I actually fall asleep whilst sitting up.

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood

I've been ranting about Webkinz lately, and a friend sent me this site. Ella was asking for a Webkinz, and I finally found a way to sway her. I wish I could offer her a kitten or a puppy, but we did talk about virtual reality versus actual animals in our area that need food and care. I am happy to get her a stuffed animal that she can play with in her imagination, but we are going to donate some of her allowance to our local animal shelter so that a real kitten can eat a few more meals instead of buying a cheap hideous stuffed animal an online hot tub.

more mud

I need some mud management technniques around here. The two of them set up a studio in the driveway today, two stump stools and a flat rock. Then they wanted clean clothes and hands, and it was a bit cold for the hose. Oh, the mess. They love to play in dirt but can't stand to stay wet or dirty.

Ella asked me who she should talk to about that pottery wheel at Christmas, me or Santa Claus?

I'll have to show Ella where I used to dig my clay when I was a girl.

mud

mud pottery, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Every morning at six am the children and I sit down and watch Mr Rodgers. It is the closest thing I have to a meditation practice. One day last week Mr Rodgers went to visit a potter, and she went out to collect her own clay and then mixed it with volcanic ash with her foot. She formed her pot, smoothed it with her great grandmother's smoothing stone, painted the pot, and then fired it in her yard with a wood fire. Later she carved the pot.

Ella is determined to find her own clay and bake a pot now. At school they have been making pinch pots, and she can't wait to be old enough to use the pottery wheel.

dress up and ride

dress up and ride, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

6

6, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

back in the day

lalasandeater, originally uploaded by styro.

John has been tasting the sand lately, and I was reminded of this picture from back in Portland.

language

Remember all the months when little John did not talk. His small friends spoke in complete sentences, and he said, "mama". Last night he said, "I need my own ipod". For the record we don't give two year old's ipods around here, but Ella has been yipping about having one. I don't even think that she really knew what it was, but she won a raffle at the grocery store, and in her mind the only prize she remembered was the word ipod. In reality, she won a one hour massage. John loaded up a little ipod shuffle with lots of Beatles and Dan Zane and she thinks she is really a big girl.

I never talk about politics...

because other people do it so much better.

crush still for sale

house, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Every time I think I'm over this house it comes back to haunt me, this time at a lower price. And hey, now it is summer so it won't need heat. I know, I feel like I can barely walk so I want to move to the fixer upper of the century. Maybe I lived here in a previous life. All I know is that I could live here for the rest of my life.

friday

Back in August I sold most of my baby things at a yardsale. Ella was starting kindergarten. We were old. We were done with swings and bouncy seats. Weeks later, I knew we might be needing some of these things just one more time. Luckily, John still slept in a crib, and I had the pack and play for travelling. No one bought my car seat with the missing base, and I still had a few boxes of baby clothes.

Over the past few months a lot of nice things have come my way to replace the things I got rid of. Today my friend put a bassinet in my car when I was over at her house. I've never used one before, but it could be great for beside my bed or in the living room in the afternoons. I think that the only thing that I need now is a swing, and I want to get one of those low portable ones like I had last time, a swing that doesn't take over the living room.

Of course I can look at those sleek mod baby magazines and want a space age stroller and streamlined birch bouncy seat. I want a moses basket and an extremely organized diaper bag. Then there is the question of a nursery. It doesn't exist in this house.

Luckily each child seems to need less and less "gear".


I counted the days today. Forty.

32

It is finally May, and Ruby has reached 32 weeks. At my doctor's appointment yesterday she measured 34 weeks, but she has been a bit ahead since 17 weeks. What is a centimeter or two? The doctor was even saying that she could end up weighing in the eight pounds range, and that sounds lovely to me.

ella::right

ella::right, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

city improvisation

city improvisation, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella's creative movement class had their final program this morning. The girls did a nice job in the "big girl" dance studio. I have no ideas about how to take a picture in there, a dark room with a bright stage.

author's tea

author's tea, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella's class studied bookmaking, and each child wrote and illustrated their own book to read at an evening author's tea. Ella's was about two fairies and a unicorn at a sleepover.

pink

pink, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

backwards sun hat

backwards sun hat, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ruby's blanket

ruby's blanket, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I finished one little project.

banana::dirt

John was just crying because Ella was explaining the process of composting to him. He did not want his banana to turn into dirt.

gemini

Ruby's birthday will most likely be June 12, and that seems so far away. The doctor thinks that is the first day of her thirty eighth week. I thought she would be induced the first week of June, but this is the week later. Yesterday she was measuring normally again after seeming to be three or four weeks ahead at my last visit. Apparently she was doing some yoga moves at my last appointment and poking her little self out as far as possible.

John put his sheepskin back on his bed last night and crawled in. I think we have achieved toddler bed success. Tonight, however, he fell asleep at the dinner table.

big boy bed

Tonight is John's third night in the toddler bed. He has some definite ideas about the change. The crib went into storage until after Ruby is born. John tossed out sheepskin, pillow, and blanket declaring them "for a baby". He made the fleece into a rug and proceeded to sleep on it on the floor after looking at three books in his big boy bed the way that Ella does.

Whenever we say "big boy bed" he points out that it is actually quite low to the ground. It also has a door and a gate.

We got a few canvasses today to do some fabric collages for the walls in the children's room, and I'm making them some fabric leaf mobiles. I'm making John a stuffed fabric owl, green and brown polka dot with button eyes. When we got in the car to head home this morning John said, "Home all day--make art!"

Amana 22, almond

I've recovered from the refridgerator. I just had to tear up our thirty year old almond colored Amana 22 and scrub all it's grimey parts and throw away some yucky old food. Then I hit the freezer and purged it of it's freezer burned lima beans. I wiped it down with some lavender spray, got a new box of baking soda, and I'm over it.

stunningly quiet

This week has been a big load of crap. I thought that I had allergies, but when the allergy medicine did absolutely nothing I realized I had a head cold. Of course. I have no immune system. John has been working twelve hour days most days this week, and I feel like all I do is make the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drive the carpool. It is like Groundhog Day, over and over again.

So here we are on Saturday morning, and John has taken the children to town--to the farmer's market, the grocery store, and out to lunch. I'm going to clean the house, but at least it is quiet.

...

I suppose I'll continue with this disgruntled housewife post while I rest before I start my next project. I think I'm feeling slow and pregnant. I don't usually use the hormonal excuse, but I think that has to be part of it. Early in the week John was wondering when I planned on going back to work. Honestly, I find that humorous and sad at the moment. I'm eight months pregnant, have a two year old and a six year old, and honestly I can't think of a way to make a blessed cent at the moment. That question threw me into a funk that was later magnified by a visit to a new house with a friend of mine who was house shopping. The house was pretty ugly, a Brady Bunch tri-level thing that offends all my basic sensibilties, but the inside was completely redone, beautiful furniture, glowing hardwood floors, and the piece de resistance, the stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. Of course they all matched. The kitchen also had a tile floor and nice countertops. So, for days I've been on the verge of crying over a stranger's stupid expensive refridgerator.

Big Boy Unpants

We've talked about underapants before, but today John saw something that gave him a little thrill. Elmo Big Boy Unpants. He wants to wear them.

He is talking up a storm. He still has a baby owl in his belly, and hopefully we are setting up his big boy bed this weekend.

stick and dotty

stick and dotty, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

afternoon

sand::box, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

smoochie

smoochie, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

He loves her so much, even though her incessant singing has been driving him crazy. Today she was watching a documentary on Dr. Seuss, and he set up two stools right in front of the television and started singing at the top of his lungs because he wanted her to turn off the television and play Legos with him.

When asked where he learned so many words so fast he responds by saying, "Ella's Head".

The Eight Week List

1. paint bedroom. a great chocolate brown.
2 print photos on camera

4. fix closet doors
5. stitch 2 simple curtains

7. make leaf and bird mobile out of fabric
8. fabric wall art for children's room- leaves and birds

10. sew porch chair seats
11. wax bath and kitchen cabinets
12. John's photo album
13. Ella's scrapbook

15. spread mulch




20. Clean and organize laundry room.





Come on over! I honestly believe that I can do all of this before Ruby is born. I just need to start knocking them out, and I thought that posting my list here would be a nice kick in the pants.

I started the crocheted blanket yesterday and ended up working on it for seven or eight hours. John wanted to play outside so I sat in a lawn chair most of the afternoon. I'm addicted. I can take the blanket with me and work on it while John is napping before we work at the school. I haven't crocheted anything in decades so it took me a while to get the hang of it again. I kept accidentally decreasing by not chaining at the end and was making little pink triangles. I've already change my original pattern choice, but, well, it is just a square. The body of the blanket is the pale green, and the edging is either going to be a ruffled pale pink or pink crocheted flowers.

John just took the children to the farmer's market, so I have to go face my room and it's piles.

science museum with granny and grampy

science museum, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ella with ice cream

ella with ice cream, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ruby::mirror

ruby::mirror, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Here is someone you don't see every day. I'm somewhere between 28 and 30 weeks depending on which doctor is doing the math.

science fair

school science fair project, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella showed her project to all eight grades plus the parents at the evening science fair. Of course the kindergarten projects were my favorite. How many books can you pile on top of an egg before it cracks? We are so proud of her. It was definitely an oya baka evening. She was explaining her "procedure" to strangers, shy but proud. She sprouted four kinds of seeds, but when it came down to what she valued as a conclusion, she wanted to talk about which sprouts tasted best and which ones colored the paper towels the prettiest colors when the seed coat opened.

rolling the dough

rolling, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

easter sunday

chocolate face, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Eggs in egg cups :: ham biscuits, :: oyster stew :: easter baskets ::puppet shows :: a playroom cleanup ::goodwill boxes :: folding baby clothes :: john and ella churning butter :: ella talking a mile a minute ::

early spring

pensive jbp, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

how low can you go?

Third trimester. Coughing constantly. At one point this week I was actually wearing a pullup.

All I can do is laugh.

At one point I thought I was coughing up blood. (It was a nosebleed)
Then I thought I was spotting. ( It was sock lint)

whose immune system is this?

I never used to get sick, but this winter I've been a regular at our local family practice. Throw in my regular prenatal visits, the high risk clinic in the big city, and my children's germs, and I feel like I spend much of my life in a waiting room. Here in the third trimester I'm seeing the OB every two weeks, so I'm going even more often.

I passed the three hour gestational diabetes screening, but barely, so I'm going to the diabetes educator next week. Hopefully if I just avoid choking down one hundred grams of warmish orange dextrose, my blood sugar will be somewhat lower.

Now I have bronchitis. Where is my immune system? I'm going to brew a vat of green tea and watch The Wire.

failed

I failed my one hour gestational diabetes test, so I'm going to the hospital tomorrow at the crack of dawn to do the three hour test. I'm gonna fail it, so I went ahead and started the diet. I'll miss the rice.

I had GD when I was pregnant wilth Ella, but then with John I managed to pass the one hour test twice and give birth to an almost eleven pound baby.

oatmeal molasses bread

4 cups boiling water
3 cups rolled oats
7 cups all purpose flour
2 packages active dry yeast
2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons salad oil
1/2 cup molasses

Pour the boiling water over the oats in a large bowl and leave to cool. Stir in 2 cups of flour and the yeast. Allow to rise, uncovered, until doubled. Punch down and work in the salt, salad oil, molasses, and enough of the flour to make a smooth pliable firm dough--about ten minutes. Children cannot overknead this bread! Divide into three equal pieces and from into loaves to fit three buttered loaf tins. I brushed the top with water and pressed on some whole oats. Allow to rise again, uncovered, until doubled in bulk. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 40 to 60 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when removed from the tins and rapped on the top and bottom. Cool on racks before slicing.

Delicious. Forgiving. Toddler friendly. John baked some tiny tins of overkneaded dough with no salt, oil, or molasses and even they were good. I made this when the oven was half dead, and it still wasn't too bad. Today I'm making it in our new oven, and it should be fairly miraculous.

ella's friend snowboarding with a chicken

ella's friend snowboarding with a chcken, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

rainy friday

rainy friday, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

girly

ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This one was on Flickr too, but she just looks so girly that I thought I'd post it here too. Ella said, 'Mama, did you know that your insides were so lumpy?" She has Ella's lips.

miss ruby

miss ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

She weighs two pounds and loves to wiggle. We didn't get many 4D pictures because she was a jumping bean who refused to show her profile, but we got what we went for, hand and lip pictures. It was short and sweet. Baby John munched on his crackers and Ella watched the screen. I kept getting a neck cramp, so I really couldn't see well. The wrinkly ultrasound tech smelled like she just smoked three packs of Marlboro reds. We got a CD of pictures to bring home as well as a DVD of the whole exam.

Earlier in the day I'd gone to our family practice to find out that I have....a cold. My blood pressure was 102 over 60, so I'm wondering if I've seen so many doctors that I can't even raise a normal blood pressure in a doctor's office. Better than the opposite, I suppose.

forest run

forest run, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

little kite

little kite, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

it pours

Now daddy has a sinus infection and I have sore throat , hacking, and general exhaustion. I can handle it as long as the kids are sleeping, but the days are like torture. I have let them watch about seven hours of pbskids today, and, oh, the guilt. I had to go over to the hospital this morning and do my one hour gestational diabetes test. The hospital is about seven minutes away so I drank the vile orange liquid, waited forty minutes or so, and then drove over. My doctor does make it easier than most by allowing a no carb breakfast, so it was not too bad.

My sweet sick husband let me take a nap this afternoon. He had one earlier. I got a funny compliment as well. "How do you do this all day?" It is just different for me. I'm not quite as exciting. Right now they are doing improvised yoga poses on a yoga mat in the kitchen.

Tomorrow I have my bonus 4 D ultraound. It is nice to be headed to one that is relatively stress free. We are planning on taking both of the children as well and making it a family event. Today I'm not even sure how many weeks pregnant I am, but Ruby is stretching her skinny little limbs from my ribs to my pubic bone. Long and strong.

typhoid ella

It was monday morning, the first day of spring break, and it weather report called for sunny and seventy. March finally. We headed out to the Jefferson National Forest for a hike and then to the playground to meet some school friends. Ella played for about twenty minutes and then sat next to me for a while and asked to go home. At first I thought that she was just tired, but we stopped by the grocery store, and she was pale and feverish. We had to go to after hours at the doctor's office, and they think she has pneumonia, perhaps as a result of the flu.

Yesterday the stove died.

leap year

I substituted in Ella's kindergarten class this morning. There are fourteen five and six year olds with lots of very important information to share. We did calendar time, read and wrote a story, and did show and tell. We talked about leap year and lion's skeletons and had an overall wonderful time. I stayed for their music practice, and they sang about trees and a song about making a significant difference almost made me cry. I heart that peace loving school.

We had Ella's parent teacher conference this week. She has already achieved the reading goals for kindergarten and has strong math skills. Her teacher said that she is responsible, well behaved, and a pleasure to be around. Sometimes I wonder who she is at school? Apparently she is neither sassy nor demanding.

I heard something a few weeks ago that reassured me one hundred percent about the school choice we made in the fall. In the public school the student teachers are being used to tutor the middle fifty percent of classes in "bubbling"--filling in the scantron sheets for standardized testing. They are also learning test taking strategies such as which answer to bubble in when you do not know the answer. The lowest achieving twenty five percent is not tutored and neither is the upper twenty five percent. Someone thinks that this strategy is the best way to achieve the goals set forth by No child Left Behind. Ella's day is filled with reading, math, spanish, science, social studies, music, writing, and even just plain playing outside. There are no report cards or standardized testing, units are theme based instead of skill based, and the teacher is always open and available for questions or concerns.

On thursday the lower grades went to the middle school classroom to "experience" their giant 3 D model of an atom. Ella is not completely sure than she didn't shrink down to Alice in Wonderland proportions to actually enter the atom.

just looking

1896, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I realized that Ruby will probably be here in thirteen or fourteen weeks. I'm not really thinking about moving, just window shopping.This old farmhouse, albeit small, has a lot of the things that I've been waiting for, chicken friendly, the porch, the high school, the garden, the view, the clawfoot bathtub, and the proximity to school and work. Right now I'm more concerned with cleaning the piles off the top of the refridgerator and organizing the drawers. Of all of my unfinished projects, I have to do three years of scrapbooking very quickly if Ruby is to ever have a baby book.

The past two weeks have been a blur of fevers and mucus, pbs kids and mint tea.

mateer paneer

1 large onion, quartered
11/2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp whole brown mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic
1 15oz can tomato sauce ( I used fire roasted diced tomatoes)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 ten oz package of frozen peas
3 tbs reduced fat sour cream
1/4 tsp sugar
1 8-oz package of paneer ( 0r a pound of firm tofu)
cayenne pepper or green chili pepper to taste if you aren't serving this to little people


1.Puree onion in food processor
2. heat oil over medium heat. add mustard seeds, cumin, and bay leaf. cook one minute.
3. Add onion and garlic and saute until gently browned. stir in tomatoes, coriander, garam masala, tumeric, salt, and paprika. Simmer ten minutes or until sauce thickens. Add a bit of water if it is too thick.
4. Stir in peas, sour cream, and sugar and cook until peas are heated and then fold in paneer or
tofu.

Top with chopped cilantro and serve with basmati rice or naan.

oya baka

oya baka, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

A few days ago I had a little talk with John about how he was going to be using the toilet before his baby sister was born. I also told him that he was going to spend the whole night in his own bed and that he was going to be getting the big boy bed. While I was upstairs getting the pajamas last night John took off his diaper and peed in his potty. Ella was sitting in the tub and says, "Mama, apparently he has been listening." Even stranger, he called from his crib about four times last night for sips of water but stayed in until seven when he called out, "DAY".

no pox

The nurse's first word was "measles". Then "strep rash".

Luckily the doctor breezed in saying "drug allergy". It was the Augmentin she was taking for last week's ear infection. It was her last day of a ten day course and suddenly the majority of her body was covered in a red itchy rash. The most dense areas are on her hands, feet, knees, and face. She spent the afternoon in a benedryl haze watching Snoopy Come Home. When it ended she claimed that she hadn't seen it and we started it again. She is a little irritable, but I think that she would like to go to school tomorrow to show off.

I'm tired. I've spent the last five or six nights sleeping with my hand on one or the other forehead.

from flu to pox

Ella went back to school today only to return home feverish and rashy. One of the boys in her class has the chickenpox, but the rash isn't classic. It seemed to start on her wrists and ankles and move to her trunk, back, hands, and face. I suppose I'll know by tomorrow. I discontinued her antibiotic just in case that is the culprit. (It would have been the last dose of a ten day course)

John was feverish this morning but by afternoon was merely drippy.

granola

granola, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I made about four pounds of granola today after little John and I made a trip to the natural food store on sunday. He likes to shop there because he gets to push the toy shopping cart around the store. I didn't use a recipe but this one has rolled oats, molasses, honey, sea salt, almonds, golden raisins, apricots, dates, and cranberries.

hat

pullup hat, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

102

Ella has had a fever for two days and is especially pathetic when she wants her father to carry her up and down the stairs. She has been under a quilt on the sofa watching pbs kids all morning. I'm tossing things into piles in the playroom, and John is loving it. He has found all the toys he didn't even remember he had. I invited three families with kids over for dinner next saturday, and I am determined that they will actually be able to play in there. Since the Christmas onslaught it has merely been a toy storage area, a room I glance into and get angry, but by saturday it will be the puppet playhouse, ella::sushi restaurant, and happyplace once more.

23 week crazy

So, I'm going to whine for a minute, and then I'm going to get it together and get on with the good stuff.

Yesterday two people told me that I was huge. Strangers. What do you say ?"Thank you!" or perhaps " Thanks, I'm 23 weeks pregnant, short-waisted, and I haven't pooped in two days!" I think I'm just tired enough to have very little patience with people. I feel like everyone is wagging their finger at me, and I just want to wag mine right back. One grandmother has made a fuss about Ruby's first name, and the other is making a ruckus about her middle name. I can't keep up with the dishes or the children's constant messes, and Ella has been sick and especially dramatic this week. Oh, the tears. By taking a fifth job at Ella's school I've determined that five is two many, but I'm not a quitter so I'm going to make it to the end. May 30 is the last day of school.

Alright, I'm going to do some dishes and do my hair and try to find something to wear. I'm going to see The Vagina Monologues tonight with some friends, so I should just be happy that I'm getting out of the house alone for a while. Just laugh. My pants are all either too loose or too tight. Ditto underwear.

going out

John and I are going to Floyd to see the WIYOs tonight for an early Valentine date. Grandmarie is keeping the children, and we are spending the night in the country. I'm asking myself how in the world I'm going to stay up for the show.

My OB visit was pretty uneventful this week. Little John pretty much stole the show when he rolled in with a doll stroller full of his little buddies and books. He was so funny pushing it through the hospital. I knew the doctor had a patient in labor, and I thought we might have to wait. I've gained six pounds and my sore veins in my leg aren't a huge deal. He said that I shouldn't sit still for more than an hour, but how often does that happen. He looked over my last ultrasound and noted that we didn't have any pictures of Ruby's face or hands, so I am scheduled for a 4D ultrasound next month. Those 4 D pictures are almost too clear, and I'm thinking that the kindergarden class will really love them. I have my first gestational diabetes test in four weeks too. I take the test a few times since I had GD with Ella, and I would really like to have a smaller baby this go round.

thursday kind of tired

I've been working at Ella's school for three days now, and today I had the second graders at lunchtime. I got some maternity jeans yesterday, so I spent the day with somewhat rowdy kids while my pants kept falling down. I started an extra job at the school this week for some extra tuition money, and I hope I can make it through May.

OB appointment tomorrow.

in case you were wondering

My lack of posts comes down to one simple fact. I can't stay awake. Ella and John go to bed at seven thirty, and I walk downstairs, brush my teeth, walk back upstairs, and go to bed. I have no choice. I have been asked what it is like to be pregnant at almost forty two, and all I know is that it is taking a lot of sleep. Food, on the other hand, is a little less interesting. I gained, lost, and gained and am now hovering at my exact pre-pregnancy weight.

Ella says that when she is eighteen she is changing her name to Mattie.

whole wheat irish soda bread

whole wheat irish soda bread, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

the buttered bread

the buttered bread, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

good::sunday

::Spiced pancakes with pineapple on top :: Playing the violin :: Drawing the violin :: Turning the living room into a boat :: Dancing in the bathtub ::

guitar

guitar, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I think he looks a bit Beatlesque. John reminds me of his sister lately. He loves to dress up and dance or play an instrument. He loves harmony and Gregorian chanting, and of course speed banjo. Ella's school went to see the Cassatt String Quartet on friday morning, and he has been playing the violin--one finger playing the four opposite fingers.

He talks up a storm,well, for him it is a storm, even requesting his peanut butter and jelly sandwich "whole" at lunch today. Yesterday we were reading some Sesame Street board books, and I realized that he has Ernie and Bert confused. And Bert's name is Burp.

girl power

We got back our amnio results this morning, and Miss Ruby is chromosomally perfect and 100% girl. To celebrate we went out for Mexican food and the big reveal. Ella was happy and surprised. She was perhaps most thrilled with the fact that it is a girl, and that there will be three girls and two boys in the family. Her first question was, "When are Granny and Grandmarie coming?"

miso salad dressing

1/2 cup roughly chopped yellow onions
1/2 pound extra firm tofu
1/4 cup miso
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cup chopped parsley
1 cup water

process until smooth. keeps five days in the fridge. addictive. eat on salads, steamed vegetables, potatoes, or grilled fish.

john's first sentence

Can you guess it? "I am Bob" (the Builder) He used a slighly incredulous tone thate made it especially hilarious. He has been gaining new words practically every day since the start of the holidays.

New Years Resolution Number Two

Number Two kind of expands on number one, but we are giving up conventional fruits and vegetables on the dirty dozen list. I better finish my New Years resolutions by the time January is over. When is spring? I want to eat a salad grown by someone I know.

Highest Pesticide Residues
Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery*
Cherries
Imported Grapes
Nectarines*
Peaches*
Pears
Potatoes
Raspberries*
Spinach*
Strawberries

*highest residues among the samples

Lowest Pesticide Residues

Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Sweet corn
Kiwi
Mangoes
Onions
Papaya
Pineapple
Sweet peas

self

self, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I was pregnant at the beach so many months ago, and seeing this old photograph made me think of taking some pictures of my expanding belly. And now we have made it to nineteen weeks today.

The belly is a bit beyond looking like I had a few too many Christmas cookies, but I can still fit into some regular clothes. The morning sickness is gone for the most part. The children's back to back stomach bugs were a challenge. Yesterday John went through about twenty diapers full of yellow stinking foam, but that was better than Ella's six days of random projectile vomiting. Those are truly the trenches of motherhood.

I was at Target the other day and allowed myself to walk down the baby aisle for the first time. I bought a package of white onsies with rose patterns and a pale pink and brown striped boppy cover. Liz has me excited about cloth diapers and making my own diaper covers.

snowman

snowman, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

snow day

Ella has her long johns on under her jeans, and there is a surprise Flexible Flyer in the car. A friend of ours back in Portland gave Ella a pair of size 2 pink Sorel snow boots that she found at the thrift store. Five years and five moves later she is finally wearing them today.

cleaned the paint right off the wall

In my first attempt to get the house together ..i.e.sanitary since Thanksgiving I decided to bleach some mildew from the ceiling above the bathtub. If bleach touches paint it will have to be painted. Hooray.

I scrubbed all the floors and toilets. I haven't mentioned that Ella threw up about six times this week. I'm not sure if I'm disgusted or have the beginnings of some sort of nesting. My attempts at organizing the children's art supplies today made me downright pissed off. We have more stuff than I even imagined. Our basement playroom looks like a toystore exploded in there. I'm going to work on it again tomorrow. It just feels out of control.

She doesn't need a crayon, pencil, or pen until college.

ruby

ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

girl

It is a girl!

I had a fetal echocardiogram today because of John's heart problems, and the cardiologist got some good pictures and pronounced her "normal". I also had the level II ultrasound this afternoon and everything looked normal. I had an amnio as well. I am forty one and would like to spend the next five months enjoying my pregnancy instead of worrying. I often wish I was one of those women who have no tests and give birth in their vegetable garden, but for me a bit of science is reassuring.

I've asked little John a few times if the baby is a boy or a girl, and he has always said, "Gael". He is so smitten with Tess and Phoebe that I think girl will fit into our family nicely. Two years ago when Ella found out she was having a brother she was a bit devastated, so hopefully this will be the girl she was hoping for.

mind spinning

So, my ob/gyn is a very quiet inobtrusive middle aged man with three children. When I was pregnant the last time he used to do ballet positions with three year old Ella during my exams and teach her knock knock jokes. To be honest he is the only doctor I've had as an adult who actually seems to make a genuine human connection with people. The other day when I was there we were talking about my level II ultrasound on thursday. There was a med student there from the osteopathic college,and the doctor comes over and gives me a hug and says, "We will be praying for you."

How strange is that?

ligurian farro, bean, and chickpea stew

1/4 cup olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 1 minced
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
3/4 cup farro or wheatberries, 4oz soaked overnight
1 1/2 cup chickpeas (1/2 pound soaked overnight)
1 dried red chile
1 1/2 cup cranberry beans (soaked overnight and drained)
salt and freshly ground pepper
freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

In a large pan heat 1/4 cup olive oil, add garlic and onion and cook for five minutes.
Drain farro and chickpeas and add to saucepan with chile, add water to cover generously. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook over low heat until chickpeas are almost tender, 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and continue simmering until completely tender, 20 minutes.

While this cooks, in a separate pan cook the cranberry beans until tender, 2 hours. Transfer 2 cups of the cooked beans to a bowl and mash to a coarse puree and return to the saucepan.

Drain chickpeas and farro. Discard chile. Return to one large saucepan. Add cranberry beans with their liquid and minced garlic and simmer. Simmer with salt and pepper, stir well. Add a bit of smoked paprika. Serve in hot bowls passing olive oil and grated cheese.

So, this soup is nothing but beans, wheat, water, and some seasonings. It is so rich and wholesome and earthy, and I've got to make it again this weekend.

resolution number one--organic strawberries

January moves forward and I haven't really contemplated the traditional New Year's resolutions beyond those involving having a healthy baby. Topping the list though is strawberries and berries in general. No more conventionally grown fruits. I don't buy them at home, but I have often turned a blind eye in restaurants or other people's homes. The levels of pesticide found in these fruits has got to far outweigh the benefits of eating the fruit, and because the berries sprayed at different times in their development the poisons aren't rinsed off with a quick spray in the sink.

Peggy Mars of Earthbound Farms says," Although those conventional strawberries may look as lovely, there are definite differences. A typical grower of conventional strawberries may use methyl bromide, chloropicrin, Captan, malathion, Diprom, Vendex, Kelthane, and Avermectin to bring a crop of strawberries to market (371 pesticides are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use on strawberries). Any of these may show up in your strawberry basket in the form of legally allowable pesticide residues. On occasion, residues are found to exceed even current legally allowable tolerances, the safety of which has been called into question by Consumers Union and other reputable groups, especially for children. "

There is a balancing game in this as well. I can just hear big girl saying, "I don't eat poisonous strawberries." She has a school friend who is not allowed to eat cake or snacks at birthday parties and I always feel a bit sorry for him to be so obviously excluded from blue cupcakes or sprinkles. Of course, my teeth feel like they are melting when I see my own children biting into those colorful swirls of processed and sugared fat. The mama I am thinking of tells her son and others that he is "allergic" to so many things that she has to bring "special", ie, organic, food for him. I'm wondering if there is a middle ground; I'll be offering to bring a platter of fruit to every party. I do like making those carved watermelon baskets.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we'll be able to buy a CSA fruit share this summer to go along with our weekly vegetables. Until then, there are lots of organic choices at the local supermarket. They do cost a little more, but isn't it worth it?

ob appointment

I had my first post pneumonia ob appointment today--very reassuring. All measuring well and with a galloping little heartbeat.

having a big time

Hope yall have been keeping up with Hillbilly Savants lately. I love this post about a local song played during this time of year. I was thinking about it today as I was trying to clear the house of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes.


Hooray Jake, hooray John
Breakin’ up Christmas all night long
Santa Claus come, done and gone
Breaking up Christmas right straight along
Don’t you remember a long time ago
The old folks danced the doesey-doe


I cooked my pot of blackeyed peas today and made some stewed tomatoes, Scott Peacock's recipe with the buttered toast on top from this month's Gourmet.

i'm going in

im going in, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Christmas, yes there was Christmas. Ella isn't in too many of these pictures because apparently she couldn't keep her nightgown down in the unwrapping frenzy. She was there, I promise.

Santa brought Ella the fairy treehouse that she had actually prayed for, but she was quite nonchalant about it. She says, "Oh, there is that treehouse that you love, mama". John got a wooden workbench and all sorts of wooden tools and a toolbelt. His word for it all, "BOB". Ella was thrilled to get a Quadrilla marble run and architectural castle blocks. I'm still wondering where it is all going to go.