Pancake Goddess in the House of Boys

Teeball in the village

Yelow Springs tee-ball is a treasure.  Our friend Bob got this picture of the boys with their friend (and Bob's son), Max.  Each year there are new P (for Perry League) caps, with a new color, and each year there is a mob of kids on the field, throwing dirt, yelling, running, hitting, catching and smiling.  It's definitely the least organized sport you've ever seen, and yet somehow it all comes together week after week, year after year, in pretty much the same way.  No one ever strikes out in teeball, there is no keeping score, and when the ball does finally get hit, there are parents behind the batter to throw out additional grounders to the 27 kids in the field.

As if this fine Friday evening ritual were not enough, coach Jimmy Cheshire also writes up an article about the kids several times during the season.  He's a fine writer and his love for the children is so clear.  I'll paste in an example from a few years ago (I'd link to it, but there's some scrolling involved, and this is easier. )
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Batter up for t-ball opener

By Jimmy Chesire

Perry League, Yellow Springs’ happy, happy t-ball program, opens its 2006 season Friday night, June 2, at 6:30, in Gaunt Park.

It’s the village’s noncompetitive beginners’ baseball program for girls and boys ages 2–9. Two- and 3-year-olds are welcome if accompanied on the diamond by an adult. There are no fees, no sign-ups, no registrations, and no requirement to play every week. Come when you can, come when you like. We will play on 10 consecutive Friday nights, June 2 through Aug. 4, and you can begin on any of those 10 nights, up to and including our final potluck trophy night on Aug. 4.

If you’ve got one of those remarkable creatures in your life, one of those Hi-Energy Love Beings — aka toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners and kids in their middle childhood — and if that creature is frequently flinging him or herself about; or if you have a little person often found roaring about in mysterious raptures we adults can only dimly remember; or if you have a kid who is occasionally going off like a rocket on the 4th of July, that kidder-roo seemingly exploding with an overabundance of something — zeal? passion? an early on-set dementia? — then we may have just the program for you: Yellow Springs’ exuberant, joyous, unpredictable and what some might call mildly demented Perry League.

We’ve got the bats, balls and gloves — gloves: which many of our darling young charges find clunky, obstreperous and as often as not, totally useless. We’ve also got both the beautiful Gaunt Park baseball diamonds every Friday night for the rest of the summer. All you need is the time and inclination — and, of course, one of those passionate pint-sized whirling dervishes, one of those Hi-Energy Love Bugs. Just bring her out, just bring him out, cuz we’ll be out there, ready and willing, looking to have ourselves a good time. You’ll find us lining up on the third base line and then running out to right field (it will not be a race this summer, Steffi Cooper, no, it will not) where we’ll do our peculiar Perry League brand of calisthenics — doing one thousand seven hundred eleventeen twelve push ups, four million twelve thousand two-hundred-teen jumping jacks and four hundred million zillion quadrillion trunk twisters. Right? Right.

We try to keep it simple and we’re serious about keeping it noncompetitive. There are no outs in t-ball, no runs, no scores and no one ever strikes out in the Perry League: you get a thousand strikes in t-ball. Every child gets a chance to field and bat a couple of times each evening. The first 100 or so kids showing up will get a free cap and a chance to buy the 2006 edition of the often beautiful, frequently glamourous, but always glorious Perry League t-shirt.

We’re a Yellow Springs Recreation Board program. United Way funds — which come through the good work of the Yellow Springs Community Council — get us started each summer. Then the sale of t-shirts, donations from generous parents, loving grandparents, awesome aunts, ugly uncles, silly stepsisters, bodacious brothers and the many supercalifragilistic friends of the program — with the Lions Club being uniquely and most sensationally supportive of us these past six or seven years (they’ve been paying for our trophies) — and gifts from the kids themselves, allow us to pay back the Rec. Board and pay for the program ourselves.

We welcome all the community’s children regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, ability or disability. And we work assiduously at being tender, patient, kind and loving to them all.

So, you-all ready to play a little t-ball? Ready for another fantabulous, mugglelicious summer of fun? Yes? Yes? Yes! Of course! Then come on out to Gaunt Park, Friday, June 2, 6:30–8 p.m. We’d just love to have you, to see you again, to play with you-all again. We really and truly and honestly would.

ryan offers you a bread-kneading tutorial

Why I find this video so amusing: 1. Kelly: time out, time out, time out 2. Kelly: I'm gonna give you a shot 3. Ryan gives Kelly a 1-second turn And on Kelly's face is chocolate, not a bruise, not that a bruise would really be surprising.

jamie's 8th grade promotion

Jamie with his best friend, Soccer Ball, and sporting his new Class of 2013 button.

pretty garage sale find

Now we have a place for those two summer birthday cakes.

summer approaches

(photo by Kelly)

We're all looking forward to the new pace of summer, which begins next Wednesday, the first day school is out.  Of course, the older boys' school work has waned considerably already. 

(photo by Kelly)

The three older boys will attend british soccer camp, and Ryan will go to one week of Antioch school art and water play camp. 

(photo by Kelly)

Yesterday, Ryan started digging a hole in the back yard. We'll see how large he can make it.  If anyone can think of more "real" jobs for a strong and curious boy who doesn't seem to care about toys anymore, please comment.

He's dying to mow.  Followed Daddy all over the yard.

Our strawberries are ready now - we all go out and raid the garden periodically. I think these strawberries are kind of weird and lame - they are mostly small and oddly shaped. Our patch at the old house must have had better/different plants. They taste fine though.

Planted dahlias from Bruce also - time will tell if I actually drag myself out there in the fall to dig up the tubers. 

I got maximum enjoyment from the peonies - we went out to cut many of them before the big peony-crushing rain storm, and delivered some flowers to friends. 

Jamie seems to have found a job  - we'll see how it works out. He's very excited.  Chen's is our local chinese place and he has a friend with a family tie to the owner, so this connection seems to be working for him.  We need to have the talk about the money he earns and how much is saved/spent.

Jeremiah's about to play his final game - his team could come in 2nd if they tie or win - we'll see!  

Kelly is the toileting rock star, dry night and day.  He's also bicycle master, balancing well on his balance bike (and even riding a true two-wheeler alone, although his legs are too short to get on and off without help).  He's been going to Laurie's with Ryan for about 3 weeks, and seems to have no real trouble with the separation. yay!

house things

Pita bread.  As it turns out, flat bread works better for sandwiches here.  They crumble less and bake more quickly.  For the kids, it's the seeming lack of crust (of course, they are ALL crust, but it works). They get stale faster, though.  Unless I make with all white flour, in which case they are gone before I can make a sandwich. Last week I made some salty pita chips with the leftovers - those were nice.  Next up, two other daily-eaten foods here:  graham crackers and tortillas. Neither could possibly be difficult to bake.  Less packaging in my house, yea.

I was out of food coloring, so we dyed eggs with koolade this year. It worked out fine.

This pink waste basket used to be in my grandmother's pink bathroom. It had a wide black velvet ribbon.  I've updated it, here, although I'm not really satisfied with the ribbon, now that I see it on.

This, friends, is a clean kitchen.  It was clean last week for 7 days in a row. It's actually still fairly acceptable.  That floral curtain is a tablecloth that doesn't fit any of our tables.  I love those little IKEA hooks.  Also, I spy, with my little eye, homemade playdough, a very old intercom we never use, a broom we never use, and some lighter fluid my sweetheart has still not put up  high.

Basil, fossils, rocks lined up.

These are no ordinary tulips. These tulips' bulbs were planted in APRIL!!!  

I know!!

For about a decade I've been trying to get around to planting bulbs in the fall. It's probably never going to happen.  These sat in the garage, dark and cold, all winter. They had a little green sprouting right in the bag,  so I just planted them.  Three days, leaves, 7 days, bloom.  What is this fall nonsense, really?  Tell me, disciplined gardeners, is something awful going to happen to my red tulips because they didn't go into the dirt in autumn? Will they explode?

Evan's conversation with Ryan

Ryan "Big Daddy" Scott

R: When I'm grown up and big, I won't be your son anymore.
E: Actually, you'll always be my son; I'll always be your dad no matter how old you get.
R: Really?
E: Well, Grammy and Granpda are still my parents. I'm still their son.

E: Even when you're a big man and have your own kids, I'll be your dad.
R: That's funny! (laughter) You'll have a Ryan and Kellen (his 2-year-old brother) and I'll have a Ryan and Kellen.

E: Well, your kids won't be you and Kelly. How many kids are you going to have?
R: 6 boys and, like, 100 girls.
E: That's a lot, you'll have to have a house as big as a castle for that many kids.
R: Well, okay (holding up both hands), I'll have (pause) ten kids - five girls and five boys.
E: Okay.

E: What will you name your kids?
R: (with no hesitation) Armen, Churry, Blur, Maya, and Trya.
E: Wow. Those are cool names.
R: Also, Rocknroll.
E: Rocknroll Scott?
R: Yeah (chuckling)

R: And Rocknroll Wecandoit
E: (laughing) like, "Wecandoit" as the middle name?
R: Yeah.

recent art by jamie

The above isn't so recent but recently scanned in.

J's discovered Stephen King recently. 

Also been working on hands and feet.

pi day socks

I finished these socks on pi day, March 14.  They're knit in worsted weight yarn so they're nice and warm, but not too heavy to go with clogs.  When Grandma was dying and I was visiting often, I brought these, and she wore them for her last couple of days. 

April

I hope this doesn't become a monthly-post type thing.  Between family crises and the effects of facebook and twitter, the blog has been neglected.

Last month, my grandmother passed away. I'm waiting on a CD with some nice photos from my father, and I'll make a post about her.

HAPPY 8th, Fynn!

Earlier this month, we went to see F's soccer game and had a birthday party for him at the playground. It was a beautiful day. Ryan and Kelly super-hero-ed around the track while F played his game.  The bigs kicked the soccer ball around.

Katie's friend's baby found her way into Jamie's arms - he looked very comfortable with her.  

catch up

Gram was here in February. She and Ryan did these mosaic hearts - very crafty, those two. 

This is the big rock at a nearby park where the kids play soccer. Ryan always climbs and often asks me to take a picture.  Last time I only had my phone, which takes crummy pictures. 

Playing in the curtains.  Not allowed, and somehow I think he didn't get that message when we chose to admire his cuteness and photograph him doing it. 

Ryan's birthday

The timing here is pretty pathetic, since he turned five on Feb. 19, but it's not really that different from people who put together a scrapbook or photo album months years after the fact. Right?  

Grammy brought over this festive cake, covered in his favorite fruit (possibly favorite food?).

Family feast - Ryan's menu: hot dogs, mac and cheese, something else I'd remember if I'd written this post in February.

As usual, Ryan did his birthday with glee and ease. None of that high-expectation angst, sugar rollercoaster or late-day meltdown.  It's all joy, all day when Ryan has a birthday. It's been that way every year.

Our sweet friend Sally Dennis came to do a musical, dance-ical activity with the kids, which was right up Ryan's alley. He had friends and cousins to the gym and we made crafts, ate cake, bounced balls and generally did the kind of running around 5-year-olds need to do in February.  

oops

not sure why comments were turned off before but now they're back to normal

Thanks to Stefaneener for patiently repeating the name of this great top-down pattern she had recommended for probably 2 years before I managed to give it a try.  Now I can't seem to knit anything else.

Ryan has been snatching and threatening to permanently tangle, I mean play with this bright orange cotton yarn since I bought it in the fall at the Wool Gathering.  Finally used it for the first top-down sweater and it was a joy to knit, even in cotton, which I don't usually love.  

 

After it was knit up, the bright orange looked even brighter, but it's perfect for the kid who likes to run off in public regularly.  The cotton is right, too, because he always runs very warm.  Sometimes he wears the sweater alone.  This is Ryan on his fifth birthday.

just for the record

Since mid-December, we've had:

-odd coughing illness that hangs on for weeks (3 of us)

- stomach virus (all of us, to some extent)

- strep throat (3 or 4, not sure)

- ear infections (both ears, Ryan)

- conjuctivitis (both youngers)

- infected penis (one younger boy, to remain unnamed) - now

- cold/sore throat - 2 of us, now

- sinus infection - 4 of us, now

Found this image by doing a google image search for "poor me."

Honestly, we haven't been that unhappy or cranky around here, but I would just really like to get OUT of this house more.

Angels

K looks miserable there in the snow, but he really was happy to be flapping around.

testing something out

I've been wishing for a while that I could add multiple photos to a post at once, rather than individually, which is tedious.... I'm going to use all these dining room table shots of Ryan to test out my new method. Crossing fingers...

Hey, not bad!  

it's so hard to be sick

Ryan has conjunctivitis, and his eyes look dreadful. He cries that his eyes hurt; his nose is raw. He spends a good portion of the day with his eyes closed, asking where we are and what we're doing.  I dribble breastmilk into his eyes whenever possible, but obviously he's not a fan of that remedy. When K had this last week, it was just one eye, and only 2-3 days. R, though, gets things worse and longer every time, and he's not as tolerant of my attempts to help him get well. 

We went to the doctor (again), who recommended some drops and another round of antibiotics - it was for strep a couple of weeks ago. Poor bunny... when did we become a pink-medicine family?

The cousins will likely come down with the pox soon, and I'm not at all sure I can bring myself to expose him.  I've always felt the vaccine was a silly idea for a disease that most kids weather without all that much suffering. I'm not sure that would be true in this case.

Here he is, pre-pink-eye, giving me the finger. 

Nah, I'm kidding. He does have a fairly decent potty mouth, though, thanks to a few around here who don't hold their tongues well (yea, I'm one of them). 

Another Ryan update... he's finally memorized Eenie Meenie Miney Moe.  Something he can work on with his eyes closed.

making the best of it

Since December 19, at least one person in the house has been sick in some way. We've had respiratory, intestinal, throat issues, etc.  No one has been terribly sick, but we've all been sick enough to stay in most of the time.  We've all done a lot of this (well, the youngest four of us have)...

The cat is not the only one who appreciates a good nap in the sunny living room. 

The kitchen has been busy.  I saw an idea on a blog (tried to link but I can't find it now for the life of me) to cut foam or heavy paper into shapes and design a robot - very simple cutouts... Instead of attaching them, we put magnets on the backs of each piece (cut up that magnetic calendar the realtor sent us) and built the robot on the fridge. The pieces can be mixed and moved to customize the new robot each time. A great excuse to get out the pipe cleaners and button jar. After the robot, it was decided that a snowman would be fun as well. This kept my crafty 4.5yo busy for over an hour.  

We also got behind in consuming our precious local raw milk.  So I decided to make butter, and (oh, dear internet, how I love you) found some great photos of the process.  I'm sure some of you know - in the scheme of organic food buying, organic butter is so expensive.  This homemade butter-making was a joyfuldiscovery. 

Yes, KitchenAid, I love you too.

And some of the wackiest knitting I've ever done. These "pocketbook" maryjane slippers are so much fun to make, and very quick. I don't know where I found this hideous yarn, but it is actually so horrible I love it, on my feet, in the privacy of my house.  

Merry Christmas, 2008

 

We all had a lovely Christmas this year. There were a few small mishaps and sources of anxiety (which cousin was last puking and who did they breathe on?) but it all went fairly smoothly. 

I was hoping to make these nice tree images into a new blog banner, but I couldn't figure it out in time. I love this old elf ornament from my childhood. The crocheted stocking in the center was made this December for Myrtle.  The stocking second from the left was made last year for Ryan.

 

After we moved, it took us many months to get pictures on the walls and other decorative stuff out. One of our favorites is this fabulous branch Ryan found in our yard at the old house. We hang seasonal treasures, art work, and nature items.

Some socks I made for Kelly last week.

Four balaclavas for four sweeties, to use while sledding, shoveling, walking to school or bus.   You would think that getting a group picture wouldn't be so difficult with only 1/4 of their faces showing. Still, eyes can be crossed, hair can go in the eyes, we can look down into our laps... it took a while as usual.

My friend Lizz at ZooLoo Naturals made these custom carvings of the boys. Aren't they cute? Her wooden animals are lovely and her children do some beautiful felting.

A couple of highlights...  rescue safari boat, "Mammoth" crocs for the toddler...

 

MOON SHOES!

And not pictured here, #1 son, not the slightest bit impressed with the crack of dawn christmas, declined to be photographed but was happy with some new shoes, jeans, iTunes card, and an incredible large canvas from Grammy.  [note to Grammy and Grandpa: can we get those photos off Grandpa's camera and into email?]