“i need a haircut, yes i do.”

my boys and their girl hair.  a point of much contention.  after the post with gideon sporting girl’s entire bow collection my father set straight to work making the boys indian headbands.  much more masculine, don’t you think?

my father-in-law, on the other, hand has yet to be convinced.  he offers to take the boys straight to the hair salon the minute he walks in.  followed by last minute pleadings right before he leaves.

but i will not me moved.  i refuse to be the slave of the haircut.  it never stays the way you left it.  it is always growing out and nagging you into another $10 visit.  not fair.  i have tried to cut hair myself, but my husband has outlawed this practice.  (numerous reasons.)  fortunately, i have found a solution.  indian hair.  it only needs cutting every six months or so, when you need to keep it above the shoulders.  the boys’ has finally got to the length where it is starting to stay out of their eyes.  in fact, it would have been there a lot sooner if my mother hadn’t whipped out her scissors within 10 minutes of them entering her house when i sent them on vacation.  i had foreseen this possible occurrence, of course, only i called with my friendly reminder 10 minutes too late.  i knew she was bad, but i didn’t think she was so speedy.

gideon also wants a bow and arrow for his birthday.  maybe a loincloth too.  i wonder if fair and fairest would even tan?

now i just need to think of their indian names.  any ideas?

our lord of a good end

marc brought back piles of bonfim wish ribbons with him when he came home from brasil.  this was before i had even met him.  when we did meet, one of the first things he did was tie a pink “senhor do bonfim” ribbon around my wrist.  i’ve worn one ever since.  the kids have always worn them too.  they call them “birthday ribbons.”  every birthday they get a new one.  although you never really have to worry about being saddled with more than three at once.  they do tend to get terribly mangy and fall off (you know, within a year or two).

my favorite are the red ones.  they just turn into tidy, kabbalah style pieces of string.  but whatever you do, don’t pick white.  after wearing a mangy one of those for a year, i’ve learned my lesson.  i was just thinking about these because we tied the last one on girl in february.  so i finally sat down and found a place to buy them online.  hooray for the handy ol’ internet.

i think the idea behind the ribbons was that you picked one up any time you had an answer to prayer.  (you can read about it here.)  eventually they morphed into “wish ribbons” and are labeled with names of different churches or saints.  the most common is “senhor do bonfim.”  which means, “our lord of a good end.”  that is how i like to think of them.  to remind us that we belong to a god who causes all things to work together for good for those who love him.

poor gideon

grandma sent a pile of new berets in the mail for baby girl.  unfortunately she didn’t have enough hair, so gideon kindly modeled them for us.

what a funny looking kid.

oh, but we love him.

blogging fresh from the church parking lot

believe it.

caramelized onion tarts

i ripped this recipe off my friend kimberly last week.  she had me over and stuffed me full of them.  it was delightful.  if you’re nice to me i’ll tell you how to make them too.

i guess the best part about them is that they are as easy as they are mouthwateringly memorable.  which makes them great for parties, weddings or even dinner (when you’re all by yourself and don’t want to share with anyone).  although i did take a picture of the last four leftovers, just for you.

so here goes:  thaw two sheets of puff pasty.  somewhere along there begin to caramelize two gargantuan onions with about a tablespoon and a half of sucanat.  do this over a medium heat trying to avoid any burnt edges.  towards the end add a couple splashes of white cooking wine.  meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and  cut each pastry sheet into nine squares.  place squares on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush tops with egg wash.  place a tablespoon of caramelized onion on top of each square, garnish with crumbled goat cheese and fresh or dried thyme.  bake for 20 minutes.

it’s a good thing, being friends with kimberly.  sorry, she’s taken.

just too cute

my sister sent me this sweet card the other day.  it’s just swell.  i had to share.

if you click on it, it will take you to the full size image.  i’m sure it will come in handy for something.  like bridal shower invitations or homemade valentine’s cards.  i think i will have to frame mine.  i bet it would even jive in the new nursery.

salsa

hubby made the yummiest salsa for lunch today.  we served it up with plain ol’ quesadillas with walla walla sweet onions cooked up inside.  dipped in salsa and topped with sour cream, it was quite perfect.  the magic ingredient was dried pasilla chilies.  give one a whiff next time you pass them by at the grocery store and you will know what we’re talking about.

so here goes: fry one pasilla chile pepper and 1/2 t cumin seeds in a little oil (just don’t burn it!).  process in cuisinart with one small onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 medium tomatoes, 3 tablespoons lime juice and 1 t of salt.  chop a fourth tomato to add later to vary up the texture.  and chill.

we actually had to divide the recipe when it was done so we could alter it according to our own special needs.  hubby likes to taste his food in all of it’s blunt reality.  i like to put salt on mine.  this recipe is kind of a compromise between the two.  so feel free to adjust the salt, lime and tomato to your liking.  (the more tomato the more toned down the flavor.)

just thinking

girl got some money for her birthday from grammy, so i think i will purchase her this red crib set.  and my mother gave her money for curtains.  (i know, it is what she has always wanted.)  so now i’m one step closer to decorating her room and one step closer to kicking her out of mine.  i can’t believe she’s been in there a year.  at least baby number four will be sure of a room.  even if she will still have to share with little jael.  as long as i’m not the one sharing, that’s okay.

the picture on the right is one of the fabric picks for curtains.  all the choices are pretty crazy, so i might want to find a way to use them as trim on something more docile.  my idea is to decorate around these boy/girl prints i picked up at a yard sale.  my mother conveniently has the matching figurines to go with.  (even if i will have to pry them out of her cold, stubby fingers.)  but they are pretty irresistible.

here are the two other fabric choices.  any votes?  i don’t think i’ve found anything perfect.  but maybe they will do better paired with something solid.  i still need a curtain design as well.  maybe some little cafe curtains?

the room will house a crib, rocker and changing table/cabinet.  and they all need painted.  i am kind of thinking of painting the rocker a bold yellow, like below.  and the crib and changing table a real muted green.  or even a yellow white.  but the bottom left picture sums up the color scheme i’m leaning towards.  i’m just not sure how to use it.

and i really do like this crazy ikea rug.  which i might be able to use if the rest of the room doesn”t end up too much on the wild side.  which it usually does.  although i am trying to skill myself in the art of moderation.  in everything excepting my kitchen, of course.

like there’s no tomorrow

i’ve been busy making baby number four.  you know, with my mid-morning nap, my afternoon nap and my evening nap.  it really is a very tedious business.  even though i do have incredibly easy pregnancies.  i don’t get sick, i just feel the need to go into hibernation for a few months and then i’m right back at it.  and i can deal with hibernation.  the laundry and my husband however cannot.  my heart bleeds for them, truly.

but i am happy.  i love loving babies.  i think the world spares no pains in teaching us that children are a nuisance and even worse, they’re hard on the environment *horror*.  well let me tell you about your car and your cow eating habit…  really.  children are meted out with such fear and caution it’s hard to discern if we view them as a blessing or a curse.  i believe they are a blessing.  and i mean it.  when you think of the wild abandon with which god made the world you have to wonder what he was thinking.  why did he do it?  just so they could screw it up and he would have to come down here and die for all the ingrates?  i think it’s because the love of god is a love that is driven to create.  it finds it’s greatest joy in giving itself up for another.  our currency is a little bit different.  we watch out for number one.  number two and number three kind of screw up the agenda.  and there is nothing we like less than sacrifice.  but i think our god revels in sacrifice.  there is no self in heaven, but the giving of self.  when you guard yourself you have your reward.  but when you give and eternity gives back to you in response – you have everything.  this is the currency, joy and power of the trinity.  and this is what god lets us in on when he gave us the blessing of children.  self destroys and misunderstands this blessing.  but sacrifice receives and enjoys it.

i don’t plan on having children “irresponsibly,” but i plan on having them enthusiastically.  i believe they are the best thing we are given on this planet and i intend to order my life accordingly.  i don’t want to have as many children as i can “afford,” i want to prioritize my life around affording children.  i don’t need a $20,000 car or a $200,000 house.  i want an ugly car and a home, brimming with beautiful, loved and desired children.  piles of them.