walk

walk, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

thanksgiving day

thanksgiving day
Originally uploaded by ellajohn

tractor

tractor, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

apparently shelly's cookies are very good

apparently shelly's cookies are very good, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

bouncy seat queen

bouncy seat queen
Originally uploaded by ellajohn

How long have I had this camera? I can start to record all of little John's juicy goodies, soon to be classics such as "That no freaky me out". Maybe I could even get him to sing Brown Girl in the Ring.

John just took the big kids to the recycling center and the dump. Oh, the simple joys of saturday. Ruby just fell asleep on the floor after a long quiet play session with her own feet, and I have brewed a press pot of coffee. I have this notion that I'm going to scrub all the floors tonight.

I'm off to buy a pottery wheel.

miss ruby, coy

miss ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

You may have noticed the lack of posts recently. I'm determined to get back here, but I've been cooking, cleaning, crafting, driving, changing poopy diapers, doing first grade homework, Christmas shopping, party planning, needle felting, crocheting, Santa shopping, falling asleep in my chair at night, and dragging myself from my bed in the morning. There just isn't enough coffee in this world. We've had snow, colds, hacking coughs, and some of us lost our mittens.

I'm so looking forward to a two day school week next week. That is just what I need.

oh, I look like my daddy

oh, I look like my daddy, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

five months old

five months old, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Christmas Trolls

We were at the public library today researching the Hopi Indians and picked up ten or so holiday books. Tonight we read Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett, and I'm recommending every little bit of it.

Today I have actually watched a movie in German, done some needle felting, made three little troll dolls for the nature table, and put three hot meals on the table. Rooms have been vacuumed, and nails have been trimmed and filed. Daddy did lots of laundry and dishes, but for me just making something and watching a movie has been a coup of sorts. People, I read a book this week, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

looking back

ellajohn, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Someone asked me yesterday just how hard it is to go from two children to three. If only there was some sort of mathematical computation one could do.

john at five months

my son the flirty austrian mountainclimber, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I keep getting asked what John looked like at Ruby's age.

I'll be right here

John, 3, just came to the top of the steps and shouted down, "Mama, do you need my help?" I said, "No, I'm fine." He shouted back, "I'll be in my room if you need me."

the ripe old age of twelve

We carpool with a seventh grader. As we pulled into the school parking lot he spied a Hummer and let out a long disappointed exhale and said, "When I was young this used to be a hippie school."

Ten miles per gallon in the city, fourteen on the highway.

princess of peace

self portrait by ella, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I think that it happens at every house with children. The time between dinner and bed gets a little kooky. Around here I think the word is raucous, so I thought I'd try something new. I appointed Ella the princess of peace for that period of time. I told them they could have me one hundred percent from dinner to bedtime, no dishes, nada. Just baths and stories. I made a warm lavender bath for them, lit some candles, and put on a lullaby CD. Then we read a Jack and Annie book for Ella and a Curious George book for John, and they were both asleep by seven thirty.

It worked nicely with some backup from Daddy, and we'll try it again tomorrow.

running in boots

running in boots, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This morning we raked leaves in our local park with about fifty people. Then there was coffee and pie in the woods. I got to sit in the sun and talk with a friend for a while. She is expecting her first child in a few weeks, and I was thinking back to the month before Ella was born. I was living in Oregon, and she was born exactly a month after September 11th.

Blue::Virginia

cartwheel, cartwheel

My children had no idea that a person with brown skin had never been president. Ella scoffed at the notion that a woman had never been president.

Everything I know about politics I learned watching the West Wing. Seriously. I also can't talk about politics. I am very opinionated but cry easily when people start getting ugly about it.

Sarah Palin didn't know that Africa was a continent.

At last we will have a president will character, integrity, and intelligence. I don't envy him. He has a tough row to hoe, but I think he can be a great big community organizer. Maybe we can even change the whole system and give up on this ugly tit for tat, red versus blue, jesus versus science, big hair versus little hair extravaganza we call partisan politics.

It was so ugly that I got small minded and contemplated skipping my family Thanksgiving because I think that everyone else who will be attending voted "the other way".

I am hoping that the Obama administration brings this country some very practical things. First, we need a car that gets more than 34 miles per gallon and costs less than 20K. We, as in me. We can put a very smart robot on Mars, but we haven't figured out an alternative to gas powered cars.

Won't it be nice to have some little girls in the White House again instead of some boozy celebutants?

yes we can.

cartwheel, cartwheel.

so 7

so 7, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This one is trying my very soul lately. Everything drops to the floor the very moment she is finished with it, and I am so tired of bending, sorting, and organizing her small world of purses, wallets, quarters, and post it notes.

Tonight she read me the same book twice with a great deal of pride. She was reading so smoothly. She liked the word "ceased".

As we were cleaning her room this morning we measured her on her sunflower on the wall and she has grown two full inches since June 4.