Preserving

We spent Tuesday morning picking raspberries (YUM!) and cherries (Tara is still laughing at my joyful dance of finding a ladder to reach those yummy bursts of flavor; I'm still trying to get cherry juice stains out of 'Nica's shirt). We spent that same afternoon at the beach with our kids, picnicking, playing in the sand, and having a great time.

Wednesday we took those 30 pounds of cherries and 3 pounds of raspberries and made:

strawberry jam
strawberry fruit leather

Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, we also bout a couple flats of strawberries ($1/lb). We also made

raspberry mango jam
cherry jam
dried mango
dried cherries

I still have some cherries ready to puree and turn into cherry fruit leather, but after making strawberry fruit leather, baking 2 loaves of bread, laundry, and gathering swim things and food for lunch and dinner, I didn't have enough time to do more than pit the cherries for the leather.

Yes, today we spent EIGHT HOURS outdoors, seven-and-a-half of which were spent at the pool. Travis was able to take the afternoon off (he was waiting for some chemicals he ordered to arrive so he could continue with his experiment; he went in for half the day to get some things done, but then decided that since he couldn't do much else and he was going to work on Saturday, he might as well take this afternoon off). So, we ate lunch and dinner at our friend's pool, played and splashed. I think my daughters look more brown than they ever have in their lives. I think Miranda got a little sunburned, but over a tan (so she's REALLY dark). All of them were beyond exhausted when we got home at 7:30 tonight. Whew!

And, what's on the agenda for tomorrow? Well, since I can't go to the beach (which is my first pick, but it's the Venetian Festival in St. Joseph, MI and there's a carnival set up in my parking spot and it'd be waaaayyyy too crowded) we are going berry picking and will bring home our yummy organic blueberries to freeze, jam, and turn into fruit leather. Mmmm, I love blueberries.

I love summer!!!

Oh, yeah, and I'm also supposed to be getting ready for my trip to visit family. Yeah, I've got a bit on my plate...

(Sorry, no pics of today. Need up upload them from some of the other activities we did with Nana while she was here. Maybe if I can create a time-warp to add a few hours to my day... anyone got any ideas how to do that? Even better, how about something that would allow instantaneous travel. That would save me SO much time!)

Life with Strep

February- Zoë got strep throat right after her baptism.
April 29- Miranda got Scarlet Fever (strep throat with a rash)
June 5- Megan got strep throat
July 4- Miranda got strep throat

So, aside from the fact that I really think there is a strep incubator in our house (I have also had strep twice in the last year, and I think I'm missing a time or two of one of the girls getting strep), it really stinks that Miranda got a fever the morning of Independence day.

Nana graciously said she'd stay home with Miranda while the rest of us went swimming as a family at a friends' pool, and while we watched fireworks with other friends later that evening. And, we cancelled our beach trip, berry picking, and postponed a few other things. I didn't take her to the doctor until Tuesday morning because I don't think fever=strep, so I waited a day. But, the petechiae on her oropharynx (ruptured capillaries in her throat) made me highly suspicious enough to request a nurse visit for a throat swab. It was positive, she started antibiotics, and woke up as herself on Wednesday morning: singing and conducting music, dancing, cheerful and sweet and kind and patient.

Not that she wasn't those things and a TOTAL sweetheart and so understanding that she couldn't play with friends, or go swimming. We did let her do some sparklers and watch a few fountain fireworks. But I still looked for her the entire time we were gone on Monday. I really missed her chatter and cheerfulness while we were playing at the pool and with friends. I missed her sunny and helpful kindness.

It's so nice to have my little girl back. And, once again, I pray with fervor in gratitude for modern medicine, antibiotics, and a mother's intuition to know when to take my child to the doctor.

Oh, and I am seriously going to beg my pediatrician to have us all swabbed to see if one of us harbors strep... my guess is it's 'Nica.

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium

Being a mom is hard. I don't say that to be trite or patronizing or condescending. It's just the truth.

It is especially difficult when you have to discipline. Even worse when the threat you have to follow through on means you have to give up something you really really want.

So, when I threatened that we wouldn't go to Shedd Aquarium in the morning if the girls didn't stop talking and settle down for bed, knowing how much we all wanted to go, I didn't think I'd have to carry out my threat.

I did.

They didn't go to sleep until almost 10pm. Aside from the fact that I was frustrated they were STILL talking at 9:30 at night, and that I had to tell them we weren't going and hear them cry (and my heart wasn't broken at this point because I was so frustrated and angry with them for not settling down), I was also upset because I didn't know how to extract myself from enforcing this punishment.

I made them work it off.

They had to finish ALL their chores, homework, and even clean out the van. I think they actually had more fun than I did doing their "make-up" work. Oh well. I got a clean van and still got to go to the aquarium. It turned into a win-win situation.

We got the aquarium in record time. It wasn't very windy (which is almost unheard of in the "Windy City") and so we opted to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather by eating our lunch outside. I LOVE my picnic backpack (but not as much as I love the second one I helped my friend make). It holds EVERYTHING I could want on a picnic! We had fresh bread, cheese, plums, mini colored peppers, and juice pouches. The bread also fed the seagulls...




Because the dolphins were being observed (a baby dolphin had died within 24 hours of its birth; unknown cause) there was no "Dolphin Show" just a Beluga demonstration. It was still fun. It was especially exciting to see Veronica get into the action and observe and participate.

We then walked through the AWESOME Jellyfish exhibit they had. It was so amazing to see tiny baby jellyfish. Their lifecycle is really cool! Maybe we'll study that for Megan's project at Kennedy when they ask us to focus on an animal... Here's a video Zoë took of them:

We then headed down to the lower level and to the penguin play place. They have little penguin suits for kids to wear and this rock-like playground for kids to run out. All 4 girls had a great time. It's definitely Miranda's favorite, but the other girls loved it almost as much!










It was REALLY hard to get a shot of all 4 girls. Miranda was jumping around the lighting was poor, and they really just wanted to go do something else. Still, I got a couple of all 4 girls.


It was really a blessed trip. We got there at the right time, and got home (eating CiCi's pizza on the way) at a decent hour. It was a 10-hour round trip, with only half that being driving time. The girls behaved BEAUTIFULLY and we all had a really good time.

These are the times when I love being a mom! even if it is hard other times.

Silver Beach Again

The weather has been most uncooperative and it has delayed our beach trips. We went alone the first week (friends had things pop up that prevented them from joining us). The next week we had a contingent of kids: 11 girls and 1 boy. And, no, if you included the adults it would've been 16 girls and one boy. Yup. Really.


Zoë and Nana worked together and got the kite into the air:




Tara was buried in the sand. She had so much fun that the other kids wanted to be buried, too. Even Veronica (but I don't have a picture of that*).





Hopefully we'll have another beach trip here soon...




* Veronica has lost my camera. Yes, I blame it on her because it was in my purse one night. The next morning I saw her pulling things out of my purse. And, despite reorganizing the ground floor of my house I cannot find where my 19-month-old decided the best new place to stash a camera would be. So, I have been borrowing Zoë's camera and that has been a little difficult. Hence the lack of photos these last few weeks...

CTR: Choose to Run

South Bend Stake Field Day, 2011

They had a 5K race for people to run. Despite the hard work, meticulous planning, maps and markers, the course was terrible. Why? Because in this quiet tree-lined neighborhood there were THIRTY-PLUS family Garage Sales this morning! UGH!!!


We SB Runners had donned our Running shirts with the old Sunburst decal and our new CTR decals. Tara and I were also running with our daughters,


and our girls even had CTR decals on their new running shirts:


I hadn't trained with Zoë at all. The week prior to the race I was "shadowing" a physician for CME (Continuing Medical Education), and I was basically working 6-hour days. This left barely enough time for dinner and I didn't make enough time to run with my daughter to help her "train". She didn't know how to breathe, how to pace, and she really struggled with a stitch in her side and sore legs.

But she finished! 44 minutes and 50 seconds for a 5K Not too shabby for a little girl who has never run 3 miles before in her life! Oh, and she wasn't the last person across the finish line. That made her feel better, too.



She wants to train, and she's excited for the next race.

Oh, what have I done???