This summer, Madeline and I planted sunflower seeds outside the fence around our garden.  Madeline choose the tallest variety of sunflowers, and they were incredibly tall, as a picture below attests.  Watching the sunflowers grow from a small seed to a miraculous Jack and the beanstalk tall flower was rewarding for my young growers as well as myself, because I don't have much delay of gratification development.  

Several days it seemed they grew six inches a day.  There is some amount of faith required for a child to plant a seed.  In fact, our other children saw more purpose in playing on the play set, than in digging a small hole to deposit the little seeds and watering them in the hot summer weather.  

Madeline seems to have a natural ability to delay gratification.  I remember driving to visit my sister in Pittsburgh one summer, Madeline was 4 years old.  I gave both girls a pack of smarties.  Ella ate all within a couple of minutes.  Madeline ate two and saved the rest for later.  She will often save something so long she forgets that she has it. 

She enjoys work in the garden, almost intuiting the promise that lies several months down the road.  She told me when we started planting that she was more excited about planting the garden than she was about anything else (I think she included her birthday)

Ella enjoyed more of the garden this year, especially the mint-mango lassi's we made all summer.  I really enjoyed the time we spent outside together, inspecting the growth of the tomatoes, destroying the potato bugs, and watching everything grow.  The boys enjoyed dumping dirt from the beds onto the ground, pulling plants instead of weeds, and throwing tomatoes at each other (one of my most vivid memories of the garden as a child).

Mint-Mango Lassi:

mint leaves (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup ice

2 mangoes 

2 cups plain yogurt

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (or honey)

Blend well.

This is Your Captain Speaking................

Sam has a tee-shirt that so aptly describes his temperament that it makes me chuckle when I put it on him.  From the morning when he awakens and screams, "mom, come get me up" until the moment when he demands to fly to bed like an airplane or hop like a bunny, he is full of emphatic demands.  He went through a stage a few weeks ago where he would request something and then always add in the strictest of tones, "Right Now".  "Mom, I want some water, RIGHT NOW", "Dad, put my shoes on, RIGHT NOW".  Yesterday, when I picked him up at a friends house, I learned his knew phrase, at a rather embarrassing price.  I walked in the door, and Sam ran away.  When I said, "Hi Sam, it's time to go home", he yelled, "I Don't Care".  He's been using it every chance he gets.  "Sam, it's time to change your diaper" incurs: "I Don't Care".  He yells it like an undisciplined 8 year old, while he's just 2 years and one week. The problem with Sam is that he not only talks precociously, but he yells whatever he is saying.  He yelled it today at Target when I told him if we wanted to earn a cookie at Target he needed to stop biting his brother, and keep his bottom on the seat.  He was sad for a brief moment when Max was the only one to get a cookie.  Then he quickly forgot it.

Happy Birthday Sammy.

He has little interest in toys or movies.  Ella was very verbal and curious as well, but she loved to watch movies and I had a small respite from all the havoc she wreaked.  He has an innate ability to find something to mess or tweak, he broke a guitar string on Ryan's guitar (which he had recently restrung) (Ryan accusingly asked me, "Did you see this happen"? As if I were responsible and somehow able to control this maniacal two year old.). Last Monday, when I was absolutely consumed with multiple tasks, he discovered that I forgot to put the rubber band back on the laundry cabinet, and he spread laundry detergent all over the room, then gathered Max and his hotwheels to make car tracks through the detergent (did I say he wasn't interested in toys?).  

His real passion though, is water.  He is enthralled with simple water.  When you move him from one water activity, he quietly goes to another favorite spot and resumes his fun. He drags chairs over to the kitchen sink to turn on the faucets and fill and empty cups.  He fills numberless cups, water bottles, bowls (anything that looks as if it has a cavity) with water from the refridgerator, and then transports it to the sink (usually kitchen, but if he's in trouble and we are watching the kitchen sink, he's been known to transport it to the laundry room sink, bathroom sink, and outside over the deck), and persists in dumping into the cavernous bowl.  He is not tall enough to get more than 20% of the water into the sink.  He will also transport water from one cup to a bowl or another cup, and back and forth until the water has escaped it's containment and is all over the floor.  The only time he strays far from me is for water's sake.  He will go up to my bathroom, climb onto the side of the bathtub, which acts as a stool for him to reach my sink, and he will take whatever containers he see there and dump water, or he will clean toothbrushes and other items that do not need to be cleaned.  His new favorite hiding place is the bathroom on the main level, because it hides him from view, and it's not too far away from me.  I will often realize that I've heard the water running for 5 minutes and know that Sam is playing in the sink.  This is another usual flood zone.  To add insult to injury, Sam now locks the door when he is done playing in there, and I cannot unlock it (it has a really tricky catch that only Ryan can get), leaving me, Max and the girls running upstairs every time we need a toilet.  The oddest aspect of his infatuation is that he cannot stand to have water on his seat when he is eating.  If he spills water or milk or any other liquid, he will carefully get down from the chair so as to not get wet, and say, "ooh mommy, I spilled water", and he won't sit down again until I've wiped it all up.

Ooh, I must say it's cathartic to get this fanaticism off my chest.  

However, this post's purpose was to celebrate Sam's arrival two years ago.  

Max and I had a wonderfully adventurous day with Sam.  We went first to the gym, where Sam somehow managed to fall of the teeter-totter and scrape his chin.  The workers told me he didn't even cry.  Then we went to a toy store where I was hoping the boys would sit for music/story time, but when they saw the train tables they refused to do anything else but play with trains.  There Sam intimidated a boy twice his age and size who had come over to investigate the train table as well.  Sam gave him a menacing look and said, "No, you can't play here". He walked away head between his shoulders and even when I and his grandmother encouraged him to come back, he was hesitant.  Sam had been practicing that line on a little 1 year old who ran away crying when he said that to her, and he figured it would work.  I explained to him we would have to leave if he said "No" to another child.  We did end up leaving early.  

Birthday boy getting a back-ride from Madeline

At home, he enjoyed wrestling and rides with his big sisters.  We had chocolate cake (which Max wouldn't eat- he said he only likes pokemon cake now) and ice cream, and opened presents, and the Ryan and I lay exhausted on the couches while all the kids build a game out of the dumps trucks Sam received for his present.

augh.  This string is killing me, take it off.

Three hat Madeline

While much of the time, I can hardly keep up with Sam's antics, I am amazed by his sweetness and also his curiosity.  He is so different from Max who will play for hours entertained by his toys, while Sam is not interested in toys for toys sake.  He is so loving, always giving hugs, kissed and zerbers, that when I am not exhausted, I count myself lucky to associate with him.  He's definitely a keeper.

Time away begets a desire for more time away....Our visit to the Cities

Ryan has the duty of putting the kids to bed.  This is trying during normal days, but quite unfortunate for him at the end of the first day back to school.  Everyone is tired, and very sad about starting up a schedule again.  Everyone is also hungry and thirsty, for some reason summer meals develop into multi-course buffets that last for hours, and those days are gone.

Fortunately for Ryan and myself, we got away for 36 hours this weekend without the kids.  We asked Bethany and Eric if they would mind watching our kids when they stopped over at our house on their way out to Idaho.  Bethany knew what she was walking into, and she assured us that watching our kids was a very effective, inexpensive form of birth control.

Ryan and I had a splendid visit to Minneapolis/St. Paul, and our kids had a blast with Bethany and Eric.  I'm not sure how long they played the Wii, but it didn't kill them.  I forgot to warn Bethany and Eric about Sam's antics in church, in particular in the very public sacrament meeting.  When we got home Sunday night, I asked with trepidation if they had survived without injury, and they looked at me like I was crazy.  "He was great", they assured me.  Max, on the other hand, looked through them like they weren't there, and when they asked him to do something, he would just say, "I don't want to do that", and not do it.

Sam drinking a "green" smoothie before we left

As for Ryan and I, we enjoyed every minute of our time away.   We were able to indulge our eccentricities without complaints from our children or each other.  I find Ryan's quirks rather endearing.  Like how he was talking for weeks ahead of time about how excited he was that we would be staying in a hotel for the first BYU game, since we don't have cable, and he reserved in advance the prime evening hours.  I happily brought my new book, "In The Garden of the Beasts", and looked forward to sitting in bed reading it during the game.

He indulged many of my oddities, like finding a "healthy" fast food option in the Mall of America, and walking three miles through sketchy territory to find some Malaysian restaurant I'd read about. (Come to think of it, many of my oddities involve food). I didn't have the address, or even know what Malaysian food entailed, but I was intent on finding out.  The Malaysian restaurant turned out to be a gem.  We had a cozy table near the window with candlelight atmosphere.  Our waiter helped us choose two authentic entrees, which we discovered to be delicious.  We enjoyed savoring the coconut chicken rice and fried noodles with seafood, talking about all the delicious meals we've eaten over the years, and relishing the BYU win.

Aside from the company, the two wins of our trip were the fabulous food, and the chance to explore the architecture and outside area of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  We had some random conversations like why I never wanted to live in a house like the ones surrounding the lake, and how Ryan would love to learn to windsurf, and I would never like to even get close.

Ryan and I on the famous Stone Arch Bridge with Minneapolis in the background

St. Paul used to be known for the "Best Flour Money Can Buy", as well as logging.  Here's the old Pillsbury building alongside the Mississippi River.

One of about 20 random photos I found when I downloaded the pictures.  Ryan said he enjoyed taking pictures of me where-ever we went.

Beautiful view of Minneapolis from the St. Paul side of the bridge.

Eating breakfast at Modern Cafe, whose specialty is roast hash-browns.  

Ryan and I after breakfast at Modern Cafe

Ryan inside a Rose Garden beautifully maintained by the community, free and open to the public.

The sailboats and wind surfers fooled us into thinking we were closer to the coasts than we actually were.

We biked 12 miles around three lakes.  The houses that overlooked the lakes all looked like this, perfectly manicured and beautifully designed.  

Everywhere we went, we talked about how we should do this more often.  We reluctantly went home Sunday afternoon.  We were still thinking of how we could get away again, but Bethany and Eric mentioned they were never driving cross country again.  I hope it wasn't the stay with our kids that did them in, but I must say I was disappointed to hear that.  Not only because we enjoyed our time away, but especially because we enjoyed having them visit us.  We convinced them to stay for Labor Day, and enjoyed a barbecue that night, with, once again, great company and great food.  

And then school started the next day....................

A Bad Combination

I have found a sure-fire bad combination for me, yet am unsure of which to get rid of.

Frustration on the Tennis Court + Watching "The Wire" (questionable language)= Jenn mouthing inappropriate phrases that Ryan can decipher all the way across court.

10 years and counting

My sister Bethany is 10 years younger than me, and was married a week after my 10 year wedding anniversary.

It seemed oddly fitting that our 10 year wedding celebration was a 20 hour (one way) trip to Virginia with the products of our 10 year union, followed by 6 nights in 6 different beds with again the increased number of 6 Swapp's in the same room, followed by a 20 hour return trip to Minnesota.  How different from our honeymoon 10 years ago.  Our wedding suites had more space, luxury and rest to share between us than the space we divided between our kids, taking what was left-over for ourselves.  On our honeymoon, we only had to mediate between how much time we spent reading, eating, and enjoying the beach, all pleasurable options.  This trip was fraught with intense negotiations about how many times one could reasonably watch I Love Toy Trains without yelling, and how we could approach a non-violent response to the unnamed person who killed the batteries on the Leapster 2 right after we had stopped at the gas station, ensuring there would be no more Leapster 2 until the next stop 5 hours in the next state.  (Just so as to not appear cruel, we brought Max's old potty chair in case someone needed to go:).

Nevertheless, the company was bar none.  Ironically, we spent two of the nights with two separate friends we had known since before we were married.  They both now have a plethora of children themselves, and the kids were in hog heaven (as my dad would say).  Madeline and Ella had their first sleep-over with friends their own age.  Max shared a tricycle with a flaxen-haired beauty(the beauty part must account for something, because with his brother it's apparent he is not developmentally ready for sharing).  We went swimming and jumped on the trampoline, played with kittens and watched the kids run.  We ate Indian food and Pizza and stayed up until all hours of the nights, talking about things we talked about many years ago, as well as some things that we had learned about in the past 10 years.  Our kids were interchangeable, they belonged to the collective group of four, and we all took care of them.  Despite the drop in luxury, the increase in the amount of work, the lack of personal space or time, we had so much fun together.

Some might say that it was in part due to some added flexibility I've developed.  I spent hours planning food and entertainment for the 40+ hours in the car.  Initially I tried to figure out how I could incorporate spinach and onions into our diet, and how to make the car ride a substitute for school education.  I thought of quizzes and educational books on CD.  I thought of boiled eggs and whole wheat bread for breakfast.  But instead, I bought a Leapster 2, I checked out 25 pure entertainment videos from the library (with 4 historical fiction), and (and here you must use your imagination), I bought chocolate covered donuts for breakfast, and sugar cereal for snacks.  I was able to overcome fears instilled in me as a child that sugar makes kids jump through through the roof, and take a chance that we might survive a trip with movie watching as the primary use of time.

 Yes, my sisters will all admit this is a change in behavior, a far cry from the threats they made when I was married about how deprived my children would be of toys for the sake of something other than education.  So, there we see, 10 ten years has brought good changes!!! And for entertainments sake, Ryan and I spent several hours of the long trip talking about the ways we would love to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.  We talked about a tennis and spa vacation, we talked about an Eastern European trip back to Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary (the one place we really wish we had gone when we lived there in 2003).  We never managed to get to far into the planning with reality setting in, but I have wonderful pictures in my mind.  This trip, probably more than any luxurious trip we might have taken, made me realize how much fun we've had together over the past 10 years, and how much we have created together.

Max, Cannon, and Madison share Graeter's Ice Cream ( must have when traveling through Ohio)

Madeline and Ashley share a secret over Ice Cream

Max and his Flaxen haired beauty

Fun visiting the Ownby's.  Madeline and Ella were friends with their triplets when we all lived in Richmond.  Now they live in Indianapolis with two more boys and a baby girl.

The girls bounced the boys

Cookies on the trampoline.  We traded them one cookie for each 15 minutes they spent outside playing.  We had to cap it off at two cookies when Ella stuffed her pockets full and decided to spend the night outside. 

Max's Wonder Pets Redition

Max wants to marry............

Recently, we went shopping for school supplies, after I had tennis league.  I couldn't figure out why Madeline and Ella became enthusiastic about my tennis league when just a couple weeks ago they complained about the death of brain cells from boredom that resulted from spending an hour and a half there.  This time, I noticed they brought their purses, and learned that they discovered the gumball machine upstairs.

Since they had their purses, they were ready for school shopping.  After the first store, I explained to them that we were only going to focus on what was on the list, and that I needed to concentrate so I could find what was on sale.  In short, I asserted that we would buy nothing unless it was on the list.  To which Ella promptly informed me, "Well, then, I might have to run away, since you won't ever let me buy anything".  I informed her she was welcome to buy her school supplies.  To which she replied, "She would maybe drop out of school, because she was interested in more things than school supplies".  

We did get to the other store after stopping at my friends house.  Maybe I was feeling bad or worried, but her grandkids were having a lemonade stand, and I bought each child lemonade and a cookie.  They were in better spirits while we finished up school shopping.  

I was watching a cartoon with the kids, and had the following conversation with Max:

Max:  "Mom, those guys are getting married" (big smile)

Me:  "yes, they are getting married.  Do you like that?"

Max:  "yes"

Max:  "I am going to marry you, Mommy" (big smile).

Me:  "you want to marry me"? (big smile)

Max:  " yes, I marry you".

4th of July- Max and Ava swimming on the sandbar at the Zumbro river.