Happy Birthday Xiney!

Well, we had some drama for the birthday weekend! See, we had planned a medium-sized big party for Xiney's birthday, we were gonna fill our small house with friends. Then, on her birthday she woke up with a fever and spots on her cheeks, that we figured out through a series of internet searches and phone calls, may well have been Rubella. Can't take chances with stuff like that, so although she was feeling fine the next day, the party was called off.
Well, Maxine was fairly devastated. She doesn't distinguish between "birthday" and "birthday party," to her its not a birthday unless you have a party with people. I guess lying around laguidly on her actual birthday watching My Little Pony three times wasn't festive enough.
So the next morning, Jason went to work, and it was just Xiney and I hanging out, and I was trying to make the day special for her, even though the party was off. I made a the oh-so-crunchy cake you see above (made with millet, whole wheat pasty flour, and sweetened with maple syrup - how ya like me now?) Maxine wanted to do the cake and candles in the morning, because of the ever-important birthday wish that she has been planning out for months. "With just the two of us?" I asked. "Uh-huh."
So I lit the candles and we started to sing, at which point she stopped me and said, "Mom, can you sing it like there's a lot of people here?" That's when I lost it. So I'm crying, and trying to sing. The candles are burning, and I'm being a big baby cause I'm sad for my baby girl, who's cheerful enough except she wants me to stop blubbering and sing really loud. I did my best.


Luckily, the day got better. I had been talking to Gwen about the rubella issue, cause she's insanely informed about everything relating to children and parenting. Shortly after the Lonely Cake incident, she called and said, "Ya know what? I really would like to expose my kids to give them immunity, how about we have a little party?" Yes, yes, come on over! So we got to work making the kitchen look festive:


And we ended up having a lovely party with our good friends. The kids did their usual play-til-exhaustion, and we had a good time talking to Gwen and Neall. And the kids tested the "summer clearance" pool.


So that was Six. Maybe we'll still have a Labor Day party, I'm getting better at planning them, as long as you keep in mind that you never know what to expect.

Fault

One morning, a couple weekends ago, Maxine woke up next to me, and the first words out of her mouth were, "All I can think about is Fault. Fault, fault, fault!"
"Felt, honey. It's felt."
She has trouble with that one. I guess she does think about it so much, for some reason it's now cemented in her brain as "fault."
But anyway, Xiney's on a big felt-board kick. We had some felt board stuff aquired from a toy trade, that she adores. So I got on ebay looking for felt sets for her birthday. I found a few, but then had a flash of DIY ingenuity, and soon Maxine was drawing on an old piece of craft felt with a sharpie. She made this set entirely by herself, aside from the cutting with which I helped. I was totally impressed with her painting job, she has a really patient hand with detail. Also, she made clothes and shoes for the people that matched up perfectly, which she did just by eyeing it. I was very proud to see her skills in action.

Picture Ketchup

Make that catch-up. I thought the catchy title would grab attention. Get it, CATCHY?
I know, I'm in rare form, but my mood is starting to lighten. As some of you know, I put in notice at the job that was ruling my life, and I'm starting to feel the lightness of freedom approaching. And a trip to California to see my dear Bonnie! And my Little Bean starting kindergarten!
Well anyway, I thought I'd dig through the files of this summer and show you some random shots.


This is what our flower bed looks like. Weeds, with the occasional tiny beauty unfolding. Must have an eye for small detail to like it like I do.


Jason got his sleeve done! The old Strawberry gets a background, planets and instruments and explosions in the sky. Wow!


He loves it.
Meanwhile, my countercultural vanity is taking a different form:


Here are my six-month dreadlocks. The natural growth of my hair starting to resemble tree branches. I still keep them covered almost always. And from the back:



Maxine still enjoys belly dancing...



And here's the promised blueberry pie pic:

"My heart is a boy."

"Hilarious" is Maxine's new word. Everything is *hilarious*, said with all the emphatic drama of an almost 6-year-old. Well Maxine is hilarious. Check out our conversation first thing this morning:
I'm lying on the couch and Maxine comes and lies on top of me. "Can I watch a movie?" she says. To stall her from turning off her brain, I say, "Your body is sleepy, I can feel it."
"What does my heart say?" she says.
"Only you know your heart," I said. Then thinking about it, I changed my mind. "You can tell people's heart by looking in their eyes," I told her. "Let me look in your eyes."
I gazed into her twinkling and clear eyes. "Your heart is... merry... and loving."
"My heart is a boy," she replied.
"Oh really?"
"Yes. My heart says silly words."
"Like what?"
"Like 'Gonnyslobber.'"
This made me cackle, so she continued.
"Wallallah wallalllah... Duffalow... Teefa."

Some pictures of me with Her Goofiness. Also featuring the rad dress my brother David gave me, from Guatamala. I basically live in it now, when I'm at home.