The Potty Chart

After our first stab at potty-training I thought eight stickers per prize was too steep. We gave up after three stickers. Now we're on our second go-round. After one week of no day-time diapers, eight stickers is a breeze. He almost gets a prize a day. I should have stepped up the sticker increments for each prize after the first few.

The naked toddler approach took some friendly fire at a recent girls' night out, but I must say it has worked for us. Our only accident was while wearing underpants. While naked he hasn't had a single accident.

He also doesn't mind that we are using flower stickers that I've had since I was 13. It's about time I got rid of them. What was I saving them for? Not this.

Packing up Short-term Food Storage and the Slippery Slope of the Pregnant Mind Toward the "Less is More" Philosophy

I am trying to limit each box about 40 lbs. Canned food is heavy and my sympathy goes out to any who help us move it down the stairs and across town. Thus my efforts to use my food storage are lately re-doubled. But I am trying to be realistic about what we can eat in a week and a half. I just made blender wheat pancakes and twinkie surprise cupcakes from the Everyday Food Storage blog (see my favorites) and they were both great.

One sad thing about this pregnancy is that the very thought "food storage" tends to nauseate me due to a history of failed experiments and spoilage. I employed the "use it up" proverb suffering through a whole can of oatmeal thinking it just tasted old when it was actually spoiled. Luckily I didn't get sick. And I couldn't understand why Kari raved about potato pearls until I opened a can last week that was only 2 years old and they tasted fine. I shudder to think I may have fed both the oatmeal and the old potato pearls to Samuel. The food in question was from a former VT who moved overseas. I suspect she may have stored the cans in her Houston garage. I, on the other hand, am completely at fault for such failed attempts as "sneaking cracked wheat into (insert inappropriate main dish here)." Enough about me. Think about this expert advice:

If you ever have to eat your food storage, you’ll wish you had stored the food in the house and the furniture in the garage.

I am planning to eat all mine. It's crazy not to, given the amount of money and effort it takes to gather, catalog and maintain the supply. So as we house-shopped, I considered where we'd keep food storage. Currently in our 900 sq ft apartment I have about 35 cases and 10 buckets of long-term items that fit easily in less than half of 2 separate closets. The closets of our new house won't be quite so accommodating, but each closet will get 10 cases or so. The closets-only-solution will be a problem in 5 years or so, by which time I hope to have a true year's supply for at least 4 adults. So I have been brainstorming what things will be relegated to the garage in favor of having food take over various parts of the house. And not just relegated to the garage, but also relegated from our lives.

When we downsized to the apartment I got rid of more than half of my shoes and clothes. That was easy compared to getting rid of some of Samuel's baby clothes and accessories. And I only regret getting rid of our ice cream maker EVERY time I see a recipe for ice cream - pretty often. But perhaps a better approach is: the less we take on, the less we will need to give up. This was about the time I started the "Less is More" blog, as giving things up was much on my mind. (But what are things? Discuss.) To an extent Joseph and I have tried to make this a ruling principle of our lives, often to the confusion of our acquaintances and even close friends. Try telling me that at the garage sale 2 weeks ago when I dropped $8 for 40 Hot Wheels and another $12 for random kid stuff. That was a hit to my food storage budget, the name I give to any unassigned cash. It's something I can always justify. I don't know what I'll do once I actually have "it all" (a year's supply).

Samuel's Carousel Seat

There's not much competition, but this is where you can find us. I think the bench makes it more like riding on a train. He won't sit anywhere else.

no more rent...

If you haven't heard, we aren't leaving Houston after all. Psych! If six months of investigating graduate schools left us disillusioned, imagine what 5 years would have done. So we threw in that towel and decided to buy a house with some shade. We'll send our new address out after we move. We will be less than 400 meters from a library and the park and ride closest to downtown. We will miss living near the train/zoo/park/children's museum and the great people in Maplewood 2nd, but we felt compelled. I will happily be vacationing in Utah while Joseph and Paul do all the moving, so I have been and will be busy packing to help make a smooth transition.

Canadian Folk Singer - Stan Rogers

Uncle John and family recently sat me down to listen to/watch a DVD of Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers. Wow. It's been too long since I listened to a sea chanty, much less a contemporary sea chanty. I promptly checked out every available CD of his music through interlibrary loan. One of them even came from the SLC library system - Fogarty's Cove. I also got Home in Halifax and Northwest Passage. It reminded me a bit of the Revels concert we went to a few years ago at St. Arnold's (not a church - a local brewery). There's nothing of redemption, the dignity of work, or anything so magical in most contemporary music, but it's all here. After this, I won't mock Canada - quite - so much. In fact we're headed up to Montreal for our big summer vacation in a few weeks, but as many Quebecois will tell you, that's not really part of Canada.

Whit-n-Staish

I was going to post this on Whitney's birthday, but why procrastinate. I just listened "Bye Bye" by JoDee Messina and it took me back to this era:









(Make a shape!)

Whit was driving The Bagel* down 800 West in Orem by Mountain View, belting out every word. She didn't have any inhibition about singing in the car with others present. I've loved the song ever since. But Whit-n-Staish go back way further:

















Whitney or her parents were arguably the first to call me Staish, something few are allowed. But no one else says it quite right. The Debenhams just give it a special ring.

After they moved (were we 9,10?), Whitney gave me the poem Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold. I have always remembered this and Whitney is the goldest one I have.













I think this was the day we joked about Samuel and Matisse getting married, the same way we married off my brother to her sister, oh, is it 25 years ago?

(Bagel: beige Subaru wagon hatchback with sunroof, complete with shellacked bagel ornament)

Who's been in the kitchen?

When I finished baking, Samuel still wasn't done yet, so I gave him a cup of flour and a sifter with 2 bowls. Samuel's so covered in flour, he just blends right into the wall, as you can (or can't) see below.