I really do not understand why because it isnt like I shy away at bugs. I kill roaches and pick them up with no problems. We see ants and spiders all of the time and I try to not instill on her that that bugs are there to kill us.  However I have noticed that Mike and others have sort of fashioned her into believing that bugs are evil and should be killed and feared. I am sure even I have had some guilt in this. She is also really into things being clean and I know that she equates bugs with dirt.

This Monday Mike sent me this link that talks about how girls may be primed to fear spiders. I really do not like the article and want to cry bull hockey on it. I believe that children can read our reactions at a very young age. Just how my father said that my son took falling down “like a man” when he didnt cry and just how the first thing people said about when Kate fell and cut her forehead was “I hope it doesnt scar her beautiful face”… we all say and do things that have gender stereotypes built into them.

Every time an article comes out that links having an X or Y chromosome with something it bothers me.  There is a really famous one that many Wolrd of Warcraft widows have cited in marriage related communities about how men are wired for video game addictions.  This article also discusses how this relates to aggression and being territorial.

Raising a child in a world where they are not automatically primed for certain things because of what society tells us is hard… almost impossible. As much as I like to try to raise my kids in a way that gives them equal opportunity to do what they believe is best for them the world makes it hard. My son gets called a beautiful little girl because of his long hair. I am asked why kate wears boy shirts and I see post after post about how OK it is to use a baby carrier that is pink on a boy. My answer is always “if it wont make them burst into flames it is ok by me”. In reality, it doesnt affect the child if they wear a color that society does not think they should be wearing. It doesnt affect the child if their hair is long or short and it wont make them grow a penis/have it fall off.

I even have friends who say “my husband would never go for XXXX” regarding their sons. LIke that their husbands would never allow their son to wear a pink diaper, or a shirt with flowers on it. My answer has always been, “then your husband needs to get over it”. If your husband/partner is seriously affected by their son wearing a color that is not on the blue/green color spectrum then the problem is with your partner, not with the clothes.

Why do we keep doing this to children? Why keep perpetuating the ideas that gender limits us so much?

If Kate is afraid of bugs, so be it. We will still learn about them and pick them up. Part of our plans for this fall is to study bugs in our homeschooling classes by picking them up and counting their legs, wings, body segments, etc. We will not change this because she thinks that they are gross because she still needs to learn about them. Calvin will learn about him at his own pace (when he stops trying to eat them) just as Calvin will also learn how to dance with mommy and he will do a plie.

At first I saw it as a bore, ugh… it takes me 15 minutes to get to work, then 15 minutes to get to the car. This just makes my commute longer in my eyes… so annoying. But after a while you learn to really enjoy it. The hustle and bustle of downtown in any large city is like a symphony. The honking and the screeching. The birds and the brakes of the busses hissing…  then there are the smells. The exhaust and the grass. The beer from the concerts the night before that have been spilled all over the floor. The homeless people asking for handouts. The broken glass. No, this is not the most attractive few minutes ever and sometimes it is really almost scary… but on mornings like today’s it is glorious.

There was a slight breeze, and you could see the sun rise above the skyscrapers. It was brisk but the walk helped warm me up.  Leaves were turning on the floor of this concrete jungle and it was so quiet I could hear my dry hair crinkle as I moved. My shoes clicked and clacked along the floor and my keys in my bag jingled… I remembered why I love this time of year.  The heat is slowly dissipating and the morning starts off with dew on my windshield.

There is a very small amount of time when it is actually enjoyable to walk in downtown and this is when it starts.  Walking in the wintertime can be fun if you are properly dressed to handle the cold nipping at you from every angle but this time is when the weather really makes it wonderful. You can feel the sun kiss you lightly while you feel the breeze cool you down.

Unfortunately I know what this means. It means the end of summer in my city. Fall will be here before you know it. If the sounds of the school buses didnt already give away to the end of the days of sunshine and popsicles. This weekend is Labor Day weekend and we will make the treck to the inlaws for our quarterly meet up with them. Their home has lots of trees and space where the kids will play and run around.

I guess we should bring their sweaters.

Since Mike has been out of town I know that he has not been eating well so I made a salad for dinner to help his body recover from the evil crap food that he has been eating in Austin.

I used the fruits from our CSA share this week and veggies. It has beet greens, apples, citrus, and more.

I put some honey covered walnuts in it and make a citrus and apple cider vinegar dressing.

The bad:

I made baked fudge.

I baked it in some ceramic loaf pans that i have. One for me, one for Mike.

Mike had his in a nice glass container. With ice cream.  He is civilized… that cannot be expected from me.

I ate mine right out of the pan

Baked Fudge

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 to 325 degrees.
Beat eggs until light in color. Beat in sugar until just combined.
Add cocoa, flour, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix gently until well combined.
Pour batter into four large ramekins or 1 8-inch square baking dish.
Set ramekins or pan into a larger pan halfway full of water.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until upper crust is crispy and the rest of the batter is firm but not set. Toothpick should come out…not clean, but mixture should not be overly runny.

I ate mine with ice cream, you can make a whipped cream topping for it.

I shamlessly stole this from Pioneer Woman. Bless her soul.

Kate has a wagon. Mike gave it to her for her birthday earlier this month, it is a large radio flyer monstrosity that she loves and cries for when she isnt in it…. Mike and Kate take walks around the neighboorhood and see the lights and the reindeer. She loves them and he loves seeing her smile..

Our neighboor doesnt have very many people who have decorated. We live on a busy street so to me it is our civic duty to give the kids who are passing my our street something to see when they are driving on it.

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I started chopping this weekend and tonight is the first push of baking for the holidays. Since tomorrow is christmas eve we have to have the snacks ready for family to come in to town.

Since my cooking usually involved a whole hell of a lot of onions I chopped a few onions in preperation.  They are safely stashed in our fridge and ready to be used…

The rest of my hoy trinity of cooking are green peppers and tomatoes. Again… I usually use tons of both of these I made sure that we have some available for use. I will be cooking for a long time for the next two days and prepping up the food saves me tons of time.

This is for my pot pie. I am really excited about this one it is a recipe that I first tried at my friend Janis’s house and that I am taking as my own baby. Crust and all. Speaking of crusts I am venturing into crust making this week… I am a little worried about it because I must be honest with you. I SUCK AT BAKING seriously folks I cannot follow directions so to me this crust stuff is rocket science.

Mike being the wonderful husband that he is went out and found me a nice pastry cutter like this.

so that i can make the perfect crust… i hope that it works because this crust was amazing at Janis’s so I have to recreate its flaky goodness. Anyone want to come over and try and help me do it?

*crickets*

yeah I thought so.. chickens.

elvis

Good Morning Elvis.

Stained glass

Good Morning West side of the house.

stained glass two

Good morning east side of the house.

Sunday mornings make me happy.

Today she visited a family with a newborn and as we were leaving (with our baby) she went back asking for the other baby. She then patted Shake and Bake in the head and said “My baby” and then patted the newborn in the head and said “my baby too” and then said “Baby come home, come on baby, come on.”

my little monster

I love my little girl.

I have never disinfected a trash can before. I wonder if this is something else I can add to my inadequacies as a mother/wife. I have washed one out, I have cleaned one, I have even bought one… but never disinfected one. Ever. We cloth diaper and even then I have never disinfected our diaper pail either. That memo must have been part of the ones sent out when I was on vacation. My mother was never a great housekeeper so I have missed a great deal of things that most people just consider normal when it comes to being a homemaker. (yes I am blaming my mother for this.)

Tomorrow a friend of mine whose boyfriend lives down the street from me is having a garage sale. I have been planning on having a garage sale to raise some money (I sell tons of things online but sometimes a garage sale is just faster and you dont have to pay shipping. I am getting rid of a few of the kid’s toys. Mostly the ugly cheap stuff that are never used, are taking up space, and are just eyesores. I am also getting rid of their clothes and my clothes that is too small or that will never be worn.  I like purging things. I do it when I feel like I have no control over situations and it makes me feel better. (Please someone do e-diagnose me some kind of crazy mental issue because of that last sentence.)

The way I see it, the less stuff I have in the house, the less stuff that has to be cleaned. We have a cluttered home because that is what happens when two people who have each had their own homes for years move in together and dont like throwing anything away.

Baby # 2 is due very soon and we will be 4.

Katherine is talking up a storm, eating everything in sight, and learning her letters and numbers. She loves babies and puppies and kitties. She is such a girl sometimes… except when she is climbing and being a monkey child.

Baby #2 will either be Rebecca or Raymond I believe… those are the names that we all can sort of agree on.

I am not too fond of Raymond but MIke seems to like it and it will grow on me. I love Rebecca.

I have a feeling this is going to be a boy based on a few things that I have put together…. but it could be anything. I just hope it’s human!!

This is the family blog of Alma, Katherine and Michael. Hopefully family and friends can use this to stay up to date with our lives.