On the Subject of Curls

I love this girl. And I love these curls. And I can't decide what to do.

Her hair is getting longer and consequently, more difficult to brush, and consequently, less frequently brushed, and consequently, ratty. It's still cute, but if you look closely it's ratty.

I desperately want to cling to those curls, though. I wish I had a crystal ball to tell me what is going to happen when I give her a first haircut. Are the curls going to revive after I get rid of some of the weight, or are they baby curls that will be gone forever with the first snip?

Point #1 in favor of the haircut: I think the curls are genetic. Weston still has very curly hair, he just keeps it short. And, from what I can tell, all the curls in the Ricks family are quite capable of enduring the test of time.

Point #2: The other day we went to open gym and I saw the cutest little 3-year-old girl with blond, curly hair. Well, maybe she wasn't quite as cute as mine, but her hair was looking much better. It was pretty short and the curls were glorious. I asked her mother if she had ever cut it and she said yes. She told me that before the first hair cut, the curls had been weighed down so much that they were essentially gone. And now they were as springy and beautiful as ever.

But, I can't seem to shake the possibility that if they are only baby curls, they will be cut off never to return.

What is your opinion?

April Fools Day

Not that I really get into April Fools Day, but the boys were pretty excited about it so I figured I should do something to play along. So, what started out as an obligatory holiday observance ended up as something I was actually quite delighted with. Probably because it turned out so realistic and they fell hard for it.

I started with a bowl of chocolate cake.

Then I piped butter cream frosting to make it look like spaghetti noodles.

Then I made meatballs out of peanut butter, honey, dry milk, melted choc chips, chopped nuts, and rolled them in crushed rice crispies.

Then I dipped them in strawberry jam and poured some extra "spaghetti sauce" on top.

Then I served it to my boys.

Yes, they were very pleased to be having cake for dinner.

Unfortunately, I can't claim this as my original idea. But, I can claim originality on the meatball recipe. According to Our Best Bites, they were supposed to be Ferraro Roche. But I really didn't think it worth a trip to the store so I determined only to use what was on hand.

Mom, Let's Read

I love to read with my kids.

Really.

Trouble is, the adjustment to four kids means that at any given moment I could count at least 4 things that have to be done next: Feed the baby, change the baby, make breakfast, lunch, dinner, do dishes, laundry, teach violin, get Annelise dressed, change another diaper, Boys' piano practice, Peter's math lesson.....you get the point.

The other trouble is that I was raised with the mentality that leisure should ONLY happen when all other tasks are done. Well, folks? Guess what. My jobs are never done.

So, a few weeks ago when I was gathering up library books to return, I started to realize that I had hardly read any of them with my kids.

I was sad.

At that point I made a goal.

Do you want to hear my goal?

My goal is that, whenever one of my kids says, "Mom, can we read this?" I will try to stop whatever I am doing and read with them, if I can. After all, how long does it take to read a kids' book? Usually not more than 10 minutes. And then I can carry on with the endless barrage of work I have to do.

So, it's been going pretty well so far. As I said, it is only a goal. That doesn't mean I am always successful. Sometimes I am doing something I can't put down. Or that next thing to do really is the next thing I have to do. In fact, now that I have a heightened awareness of the occasions on which my children ask me to read to them, I have realized that there is no earthly way I could possibly always keep up with Annelise. (That may have something to do with her crush on Steve from Blue's Clues and the fact that we have a Blue's Clues book from the library that she wants to read over and over and over again.) But, in general, it has increased the frequency with which we read together and I am happy about that.

So, with that said, I've been wanting to tell you about two of our faves. We discovered both of these at the library and when we had to return them, I just clicked right on over to Amazon and ordered my own.

Orangutan Tongs by John Agee is, quite simply, hilarious. We repeat them, we laugh about them, we have some of them memorized. I have difficulty trying to comprehend how anyone could come up with anything...indeed, so many things, so clever. We have several favorites, not the least of which is....

"Walter and the Waiter"

Walter Witter called a waiter: "Waiter, over here!
I want some water, waiter. Water, waiter! Is that clear?
The waiter brought some water. Walter Witter shouted: "WRONG!
This water's really watered-down! I like my water strong
The waiter brought more water. Walter Witter was upset.
"This water's dry!" said Walter. "I like my water wet!
Bring me wetter water, waiter!" Walter Witter said.
The waiter brought a pitcherful and poured it on his head."

I Did It, I'm Sorry by Caralyn Buehner, is a favorite of mine for a different reason. It teaches basic moral principles in a fun and interesting way. Each story outlines a different scenario with its own unique moral dilemma. This is followed by a multiple choice offering of what the character should do. Once the children have thought over the options, they choose if the correct answer is a, b, or c. Then they check to see if the answer was correct by searching for the letter hidden somewhere in the illustration. They don't ever seem to tire of this game, which I love, because it gives us lots of opportunity to talk about making correct choices.

I'm always open to more suggestions on top-notch books to read with my kids. Knowing there are offerings like this out there, I just want to find and devour them all. What are your favorites?

Game Over

All right, ya big bunch o' yella-bellied party poopers. (Sorry, I just had to say that.) Time to move on...I have other stuff I want to blog about.

I am posting the answers, even though Marec was the only soul brave enough to commit her guesses to the comment board. The good news is that Marec, you were almost exactly right. I confess, I threw in a trick photo just to throw you all off. It's Adam.

See the answers below....

Let's Play "Who's Who"

I was looking at some old pictures of my babies and could not believe how much Angelyn and Annelise look like the same baby. Can you tell who's who? Leave your guesses in the comments and I will post the answers when I get a chance. (ps...don't post your reasons for your guesses. No fair if you have the advantage of familiarity with our clothing and baby accessories.)
I know some of these will be too easy. But I hope not every one will be a dead giveaway.

Annelise

Annelise

Adam

(I used to carry him around in Jonette's pink moby. I had a lot of people ask me, "How old is she?" "well, she's about....." I got tired of trying to explain why I was carrying my baby boy in a pink wrap.)

Annelise

Angelyn

(Kind of too easy since her cheeks haven't totally filled out yet.)

Annelise

Annelise

Namesake

Definition of NAMESAKE

: one that has the same name as another; especially : one who is named after another or for whom another is named

Do you wonder why we chose the name Angelyn?

No, it was not the fruit of our own creative genius. But that's not too far off. It originated with my parents. Or, if my distant memory serves me accurately enough, I recall my brother Mike making the original suggestion. But I was only 4 or 5 at the time so there could be several versions of how the name really came about. The point being, here she is. My sister...

Angelyn Richards Foster

holding our sweet little one.

Of course, she goes by Angie now, and has done for as long as I can remember.

Let's see...how do I do this without embarrassing her too much? Simply stated, I love the girl. Her most defining characteristic is a heightened sense of awareness of the feelings of others. This among many other admirable qualities. I could drone on and on about how we talk several times a week and how she is one of few souls by whom I feel truly understood. But, I won't.

This photo is all about having sisters. I love it.

Fast forward to last Summer. Weston and I are in the midst of that hopeless search for a baby name we both like. During one of several brainstorming sessions, he suggests the name Angelyn. Suddenly in my mind all others are excluded. It is somewhat unique without being too bizarre, it is really, really pretty, and as far as namesake goes, we both felt we couldn't ask for better.

Of course there were some "ifs" about it. One question being how Angie would feel about it. This was second only to the quandary about whether it would be too similar to Annelise. In time, both obstacles were surmounted. So, we may have invited trouble by having two daughters whose names start with the same syllable, but I really don't care. And just for the record, both names were chosen for their beauty and any similarity between them is purely co-incidental.

Angie, thanks for letting us use your name, and for the person that you are. I have been blessed with many, many wonderful friends. But, as Jordana would say, You're my Bestie.

Ah, Motherhood. She makes it look so easy!