Thickankles

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Zoya is playing soccer this fall, and what a great player she is! She has clearly inherited her dad’s athleticism on the field. She gravitates toward defense and ends up saving all the goals when she’s in the game, although last week she scored 3. We’re trying to get her to be more competitive (do you think that’s a bad thing when she’s only 5?) and to be more aggressive when going for the ball. When I told her before the last game that she should kick the ball instead of waiting for her teammates to kick it, she replied that she didn’t want to kick it because her teammate would cry if she didn’t get to kick it, and Zoya didn’t want her friend to feel bad. Competitive and sweet, too – what more could you ask for in a little soccer player?

Picture time

Go Little Ducks!

Inspecting the Turf

"Strategizing"

A Boy and his Dog

Dylan had a sleepover with a friend a few weeks back, and they hauled the mattresses out to sleep on the floor. This is the scene we awoke to the following morning:

Note the percentage of the bed that Dylan occupies compared to that which Cooper has taken over.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Death to Drosophila

While I appreciate the contributions of the common fruit fly to the world of science, their never-ending presence in my kitchen is a different matter entirely. As much as I dislike the little !@#$s silently hovering over my fresh summer fruit, I have resisted using any kind of chemical to kill them because a) said chemical would occupy the same space as our food, and b) I have small children in the house and I’d prefer not to introduce potential carcinogens or other nasties that may cause them neuroses or reproductive harm. So this is my solution (I can’t take credit for the idea, but I can’t remember which website had the instructions):

Jam jar + APPLE CIDER vinegar + funnel-shaped paper + tape = certain death, without undesirable side effects (for the peeps in the house, anyway)

(husband watched as I stuck the camera lens down the jar to capture the essence of drowned fruit fly, and immediately proclaimed that I had way, WAY too much time on my hands:))

If you try this in YOUR kitchen, here are a couple of hints:
1. Make sure the hole in the bottom of the paper funnel is not too big (I usually keep it at about 1cm or slightly less). Otherwise the flies can find their way back out. Don’t forget to tape the seam in the funnel too – they are sneaky buggers and find all the little cracks.

2. The tape must cover any and all gaps between the mouth of the jar and the paper.

3. You have to remove the fruit (I just throw mine in the fridge) at the same time you put the traps out. I should probably just keep my fruit there in the first place, and I probably wouldn’t invite the flies in, but then I can’t eat it when I want to because it’s too cold and my teeth are very sensitive!

That concludes this episode of Useless Tidbits with Wendy.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Scenes from the Garden

We get so much joy from wandering through our garden(s) and harvesting the goods! I thought I would share some of our enjoyment.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Summer Update

On the trail at Twin Falls

Summer has been fun and fairly busy so far (I offer that as an excuse for not posting for so long). Husband is teaching 4 classes on 2 campuses, the kids have been busy with sleepovers and swimming lessons, and I've been gardening and cooking. A friend and her 4-yr-old daughter have moved in with us for a few months, so we've all been adjusting to a bigger household (not to be confused with a bigger HOUSE, which, considering there are 6 of us now, would be really nice!).

Dylan has been busy hangin' out with his friends. He spent 2 days with friend (and neighbor)Adam in Shelton, WA , where he had a great time paddling boats on the Sound, eating fresh veggies from the garden, making prehistoric racecars out of a clay deposit found on the property, and serving as a delicious meal for all the mosquitoes in the area (fresh meat!). Seriously, this kid could have been a connect-the-dots activity, he had so many bites on him (and he claims to have used repellant).

Zoya has learned to ride a bike without training wheels! She is so determined once she sets her mind on something - I love that trait in her (she's just like her dad), although it is a bit frustrating when the thing she sets her mind on is something like, oh, say SHAVING HER HEAD! (that's why her hair was cut this short a year ago)

We are making an effort to go hiking every weekend, and so far have been on a couple of really lovely trips. The kids (especially the older one) complain and grumble the whole way, but we both feel it's important to expose them to nature so that hopefully, when they're grown, they will appreciate and enjoy the soul-cleansing power that it offers. I am grateful to my parents for taking us on hiking and camping trips as a kid, and hopefully our kids will feel the same way. Eventually.