It's, Um, A Kind of Cake?

Ah, school projects have begun!  I'm so grateful for these days where school projects are fun and involve twigs and quality time with Daddy on the back porch.  Andrew's class has been studying Abraham Lincoln, so they were given the assignment to build a log cabin from the materials of their choosing.  Andrew, my literal and straight-laced boy, naturally chose sticks.  He cared nothing for embellishment, but enjoyed using the hot glue gun tremendously and followed the log-laying pattern precisely.  I'm trying to imagine what Elsbeth will do when it's her turn.  A Twizzler cabin with glitter marshmallow chimneys surrounded by dragon-laden forests perhaps?

The finished product. Phil noted it might be a wee bit drafty, but it was the most spacious cabin among the lot.

Here's Miss Imagination herself, very into coloring these days.  She can spend 2 hours on a coloring book, especially if you have a fresh orange marker available.

You know those days where everything seems to be going so smoothly and the children have been peaceful and happy and many chores have been accomplished and day is quietly winding down and you're contentedly fixing supper while patting yourself on the back for clearly doing something wonderful and right?  Yeah, I had one of those about a week ago. And you know what comes next.  The Lord laughs His kind, good-natured laugh. 

I can't remember everything that happened, but I know things got crazy in a big hurry beginning with Elsbeth falling apart (to do with waiting for supper, I believe) and ending with several wild crashes down the stairs that momentarily stopped my heart. Fortunately just a plant, not a child.  Andrew had decided to make a sling shot by tying one end of a stretchy exercise band to my planter on the landing and the ensuing mess was really something to behold.  Here he is preparing to help with the clean up.  Look how penitent he looks, poor lad.  I told him to look sad and sorry for the picture and he said he didn't know how. 

Confession: I am a productive procrastinator.  I'm probably the best that I know.  This means that when there are jobs to be done that I don't want to do (which is always), I find other things to do that are lovely and way more fun and often create more jobs I don't want to do.  My latest distraction is making bread.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Dinner Rolls

Biscuits ("Mama's Biscuits" from the Mitford Cookbook)

Yum.  I recently spoke to an elderly woman who lives out in the country, and she remembers her mother making biscuits three times a day, some for every meal.  I'm not quite there yet, but I'm pretty sure I could eat them three times a day with no complaint. The Fiery One prefers hers with apricot jam on top.

So presently it would not be unusual to find Andrew eating a lovely slice of fresh bread and jam for breakfast while wearing his school uniform that we dug out from the bottom of the hamper.  

And finally, big thumb-sucking news!  I think Els has nearly kicked the habit.  I wouldn't have been overly concerned about it yet to tell you the truth, but as a part of her thumb-sucking ritual she would  also rub the side of her nose until it bled.  I can't believe this didn't hurt, but it never seemed to bother her in the least, and she was never without scabs on her sweet little snoot.  I tried the nasty nail polish stuff (which she sucked off without hesitation).  So we moved to taping her thumbs with medical tape during the day, which ended up working pretty well.  But at night, she'd pull the tape off or try to suck her thumbs half asleep and end up with a loop of tape in her mouth, which didn't seem like a good idea.  We put socks on her hands, but those came off as well.  Finally, inspiration struck.  Tights!  I cut out the elastic in a pair of her tights, leaving them connected in the back, and it's worked beautifully!

You may now feel free to heap on praises for my new invention.  Still trying to think of a name.