This and That

• I'm kind of having some issues with how fast the kids are growing.  Don't get me wrong-- I don't really miss crying and bottles and all of that jazz, but one day I woke up to children who make references to pop culture and sigh at my ignorance.  They are just getting too big.  Case in point:

• With Carter in preschool, I went grocery shopping yesterday for the second time by myself in five years, and caught sight of a lady with two little boys who were about one year old and four years old.  The older one was running around the cart, and she was totally fed up with them... and here I was in the quiet.  Let's be clear:  I hate nothing more than grocery shopping with children, but suddenly I missed my little sidekicks!  I had to zoom down the aisle before the lady saw me tear up and thought I was completely crazy.  (And yes, there will always be summers.  And yes, I will again complain about the whining/running/fighting through the grocery store   But yesterday, I just had a little moment, so I thought it was worth documenting.)

• Moving along, we recently tried Audrey Hepburn's recipe for Pasta al Pomodoro. This sauce was fantastic! I think I used two cans of whole roma tomatoes and then ran the mixture through the blender at the end (Maybe not so Audrey-like :) )

• Speaking of cooking, I opened my Traditional Home yesterday and found myself a new kitchen.  It's a little different than what I normally gravitate towards, but it has so many layers of interesting:

via

• A few weeks ago, they baled the hay in the field behind our house, so we've been looking at these cool, round bales.  It's the first time that's happened in the six years we've lived here, and since we don't know how much longer we'll have the open field behind us, I decided to take some pictures. Jacob's pose cracked me up!

• 'Tis the season for gorgeous sunsets.  The light a few evenings ago couldn't have been more spectacular.  That orange-y yellow glow is starting to look like fall!

Happy Friday!

Carter's Turn

Then there's this one.

I don't think I have ever met a more headstrong kid, and that's saying a lot!  When he makes up his mind about something, no amount of coercion is going to change him.  For example. this summer he decided he wanted to do swimming lessons (I didn't even think he liked the water, so I wasn't going to push it.).  He took two months of lessons and had a grand old time!  If I told him he was going to take lessons, he would have freaked out, but since it was his idea, he was fine with it.

As it got closer to the time for Jacob to go to school, he decided he wanted to go, too.  Fortunately, I had registered him last winter for a one morning per week program, and last week we had Meet-the-Teacher Day.

He immediately started exploring the classroom.

When it finally came time for his first day, he was all smiles!  He w as so proud to carry his little backpack and put it in his cubby like a big boy.

His teacher said he was a "delight" to have in class.  I resisted the urge to ask if she had somehow mixed him up with another kid!  :)  Seriously, though, I think he was tired Jacob getting to do all the fun stuff and was ready to do something of his own.  He had made up his mind that he wanted to go to "school" like the big kids, and that was that.

Now if only he would make up his mind to potty-train... !