Year: 2003

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Pop Culture

So there we were, on the couch (Jay and I) having an adult conversation. It was around 5pm and our first opportunity today to really talk together, as I had headed off to help hostess a baby shower almost immediately after church. I had recently returned home and we were enjoying a few minutes of rest before the supper rush began.

Well it seems Abigail got it into her head that she really wanted some of the dainty little cookies I had baked for the shower and so she started begging us for a taste. We told her she would have to wait till after dinner. As soon as she heard this she decided dinner had to happen RIGHT NOW! So she began asking us to get supper ready. Well, we generally don’t dine at 5pm around here and so we asked her to please wait, while we turned our attention back to finishing our conversation. All was quiet for a few moments and we relished the brief interlude. We soon learned the reason for the quiet when our two little redheaded children reappeared in the living room, each bearing a poptart with a few bites taken out.

“See??” Abigail exclaimed, “We got our supper!”

Now normally such behavior would not be overlooked in our household. It is not generally acceptable around here for children to rummage in the pantry for food without first consulting their parents. However, we were both so exhausted that we felt almost unable to protest.

“Ok, go sit at the table to eat your poptarts,” said Jay, smiling broadly. I could see the normal order of things slipping away before my eyes but I was too tired to even comment.

Four little feet skipped happily into the kitchen and two tiny bottoms obediently plopped themselves into their booster seats. When the well balanced meal was finished, Abigail again made her request for cookies. Her desire was granted (yes, I am ashamed to admit the parental units were STILL on the couch, talking!) and being the resourceful girl of 4 years that she is, she helped herself and Jonathan to one cookie each. She also very thoughtfully set their cups of milk on the table for them to drink.

In a few more minutes, Abigail returned to the living room to tell us “We have finished our supper! I’m going to wash my hands now. You’ll need to wash Jonathan’s hands and face before he gets down from the table.”

Pretty nifty, eh? So, how soon do you think she’ll be ready for babysitting? I figure as soon as she can get the diaper-changing thing down, we should be good to go out for an evening and leave her in charge!

As an aside, it should be noted that the lazy parents did drag themselves away from their frivolous conversation to attend to the needs of the household. The first thing we did was to all enjoy another supper together, this time featuring all four food groups!

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Long Time No Blog…

…and it’s not as though I’m feeling inspired to write anything new at this moment. I just feel we need to make some sort of explanation for our long absence from Blogdom. Life has seemed extremely busy and I guess we have felt uninspired!! We thank our faithful readers for your patience with us and apologize for the dearth of entries. Hopefully sometime soon, we will return to regular blogging. Take care…

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Red Truck Recap

The summer of 2001, we moved into a new home, leaving behind some rather cherished work done on a couple of rooms of our previous house. So we went to work in the new house, starting in the nursery. Now, lest one get the wrong impression, us going “to work” is a pleasant euphemism for a process that often stretches into the months. Perhaps this will change when the children are older, but we have a rather deliberate pace these days. Thus, for instance, the curtain rod I made about 6 months ago is still not installed in my daughter’s room (though I did install and finish the chair rail in a more timely fashion).

trucks_mural_small.jpgBut I digress. In October of 2001, we discovered to our surprise that we (as in, Tricia) were pregnant again. The nursery didn’t get finished out until shortly after the new year (of 2002), and Tricia was rather appalled that Jonathan was going to immediately have to move into an unfinished room. So she went to work around her 5th month of pregnancy on drawing, painting, redrawing, repainting, etc. Jonathan’s big boy room. She was trying for a design that matched the quilt he will use on his big boy bed one day (that red truck design from Pottery Barn, for those of you who know it… have I mentioned Tricia had also discovered around this time that one’s dollar could go a lot farther on eBay than actually in the store?).

She completed the room about a month before Nicolas arrived on the scene this past summer. At the time, I was still blogging on Cogito Ergo Blog, which didn’t have quite as much family related material, so I never made mention of her accomplishment. Well, I’ve decided it is high time I rectify this injustice. I have stitched together photos of the two main walls for your viewing pleasure: wall one and wall two.

Like the photo included with this entry, you’ll see some odd artifacts from the stitching process… this was my first time gluing multiple photos together. But hopefully it doesn’t detract too much from the fantastic job Tricia did with the painting. I suppose I should have included a picture with the quilt, but you’ll just have to take my word for it that the walls match exceedingly well.

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Top Ten Technological Treasures

(Ok, Treasures may be a bit overdone, but I was looking for another “T” word!!)

As we are dealing with illness in the family this week it occurs to me just how much easier our lives are in many ways due to the advances in technology over the last century. I am very thankful for tons of little things that I know I take for granted every day but which truly do enhance and simplify our day to day life. Here are a few examples of those common graces for which I am today grateful as we here in the Horne household battle various manifestations of bronchial/upper respiratory infections:

1. A cozy, centrally-heated home despite the 22 degree temps outside
2. Disposable kleenex, diapers, wipes, and dinnerware
3. Tylenol to suit every age and body size
4. Refrigerator/freezer to keep our food fresh for many days
5. Microwave to warm leftovers
6. A wireless connection and laptop so my poor sick husband can work a bit from home
7. Antibacterial soap and Clorox wipes
8. A phone which makes communication with doctors, friends and family feasible
9. TV and computer games to help entertain and comfort sick children
10. The Blog, of course!!

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Clipped Wings

How many couples, a year after having their first child, are still reckoning with that feeling of having one’s wings clipped? With our third child now six months old, I can still sort of feel some nubs on my back, but referring to wings seems far fetched in and of itself. This hemming in, however, does not strike me as being unique to becoming a parent. I suggest it is more generally associated with aging and the various passages one passes through over the years.

In youth, many feel some sense of a wide open future. That openness erodes over time as one chooses a college, signs up for a major, enters a particular vocation, gets married, etc. In each of these choices, “If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice” (I can’t remember who Rush was quoting, I can only remember the song Free Will). By the time a person is even in his thirties he often looks back at his college or high school days as a time of wide open vistas.

Most people, at some meaningful emotional level, experience a real sense of loss as they realize that they are ever more hemmed in by past decisions, that there are fewer and fewer forks in the road ahead, and that the forks are further and further apart. I’d like to propose, however, that this reaction is misplaced, or at the least needs to be displaced over time.
Continue reading “Clipped Wings”

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Gag Me with a Turkey

I am so nongraceful. A few moments ago as I was preparing to roast the turkey for supper, I (as is my usual practice with raw meat) lifted the bird up toward my nose to do a smell test and see if everything seemed fresh and AOK. Well, I seem to have misjudged the distance and ended up rubbing raw turkey all over my mouth and nose. YUCK!!! It’s amazing we end up with anything edible around here given my apparent clumsiness in the kitchen! I have sanitized my face and the turkey is cooking nicely. Let this be a warning to you to be on your guard next time you have an enounter with a raw turkey.

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Puppy Love

IMG_0893_small.jpg Earlier this evening while Jay and I attended to Abigail and Jonathan post-bath, we left Nicolas on his blanket in the play area downstairs. Given Nicolas is such a happy baby, he very much enjoys playtime with his toys and is quite able to amuse himself. Shortly after we left him we were surprised to hear little giggles coming from the playroom. Our faithful dog, Sid, a golden retriever mix of sorts, had evidently taken it upon himself to guard the baby in our absence. He was laying as close to Nicolas as a dog could without sitting on top of him. Sid was alternately licking the baby’s face (which was what made Nicolas so happy) and having his ears, whiskers and nose pulled on by tiny baby fingers. It looked painful to me, but Sid didn’t seem to mind. He even smiled along with Nicolas for a few pictures!!

It reminded me of how thankful I am for Sid, though I know he does not get as much appreciation around here as he deserves. He is so sweet with our kids, even with Nicolas who has no knowledge of how one should treat an animal. Instead of getting up and leaving when poked and pulled on, he patiently stayed alongside the baby and even entertained him. Sid is a big dog and if his behavior were other than gentle, it would be prudent to remain concerned about his level of interaction with the children, but as it is, I feel much more safe with him around than not. What a good dog!