Noodle-Making Day

(Gunshot Fire)
May the holiday season begin!

I don't really know how long ago it started.
Well...our involvement in it anyway.

Noodle-Making Day.
The day before Thanksgiving.

I know that Paul's grandma, GG (Great-Grandma), has been making noodles for years, but I'm not sure when we joined in. It was probably around the time when Thanksgiving came to Judy's house...which happened to be about the same time that Carrie became old enough to hold a rolling pin.

Tradition.

Today, the little boys enjoyed a snack while waiting to roll out the dough. Josh couldn't wait to roll!

The snack, you ask?
Goldfish...but not the cheese ones...these are called "Smores Fish!" Chocolate flavored fish, honey flavored fish, and little marshmallow fish (like the marshmallows in Lucky Charms). Very yummy!



Mentoring at its best.




You just gotta love an electric mixer!
It's amazing how quickly noodle-making goes now that Grandma has an electric mixer.



Carrie has gone from "Noodle-Roller" to "Noodle-Cutter" to "Chief Noodle-Mixer." She is the one who will carry this tradition on to future generations of Atkinson children. I can just see us someday heading on over to Carrie's house and making noodles with all of my daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

Are you ready to have that torch passed on to you, Carrie?



One of William's favorite things to do on Noodle-Making Day is to sift the flour.
We shall call him "Noodle-Sifter."



I cannot tell here if Matthew is the "Noodler-in-Training" or if he is "Noodle-Commander."



Ah.
Question answered.
See that little finger?
He is definitely "Noodle-Commander."
So he thinks.



Joshua is finally getting a chance to do what he came to do...try his hand as "Noodle-Roller."



You are never too young to start rolling!



How many times do you suppose GG has done this?

I would guess that she could make noodles in her sleep.

And I would also guess that there have been many years when she has dreamed about noodles...especially since the noodles would dry on sheets and towels on her bed.

Now the noodles are left to dry on Grandma's spare bed, the GG bed.



Joshua dreams of the day when he too can be "Noodle-Cutter."
I think that the age that we set for the big kids was Age 7.
So until then...



More flour?



"Noodle-Cutter."
(Better than being the "Cheese-Cutter." Sorry...I couldn't resist!)



Hey!
What's that?!
Joshua has been promoted to "Noodle-Cutter!"
"Some kids get all the luck," says William.



And what were the big boys doing?

This was Paul's first year ever to come to Noodle-Making Day.
He's still recovering from hernia surgery.
I think that we will not let him go back to work. We're all going to miss him when he goes back.



Would it be simpler to use the noodles that you find in the freezer section at Walmart?
Yes.
But it wouldn't be as much fun!

Sometimes you have to make a choice.
Sometimes simplicity in life comes with the quietness of tradition.

A Squirt of Pledge, Fuzzy Socks, and a Hardwood Floor

dis·claim·er (ds-klmr)
n.
1. A repudiation or denial of responsibility or connection.

"Hey, Carrie! Get your disco ball and let's slide on the floor!"
That was Josh.
He remembers a time last December when they danced in the living room with only the glow of the Christmas lights.

This year we have no area rug...due to a tragic incident with a tube of sunscreen.

Rather than the dance hall, our living room has now become the skating rink.



"The floor isn't really slippery enough to slide on," says Carrie.



"A squirt of Plege might help," says........DAD!



"And some fuzzy socks!"











Hey...
Wait a minute.
What's that on the zebra print blanket?



Matthew?!
Not you too!





Just so you know...

I had nothing to do with this.

No trips were made to the hospital.

And my floors have never been shinier.

My Funny Little Elves

A facebook friend of mine found this gem!

Do you know that after I made my video, I laughed until my sides hurt.
My dad won't get to see this if I leave it only on facebook, so I'm posting it here too.

Enjoy, Dad!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Eighteen Months and Counting

When we got home from piano lessons last Wednesday, I realized what a gloriously beautiful day it was in our part of the country!

On top of it being so pretty outside, it just happened that Matthew turned 18 months old!

Hence...the recurring theme of my life...

"WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!"

It was almost 12:30.
The kids were hungry.
I was hungry.
The thought went through my mind, "I need to take some pictures of Matthew...later. Later, after lunch. Or maybe later after nap."

Then another thought..."Don't wait!! Time certainly isn't waiting!"

So, doing something that I don't seem to be doing much of lately, I seized the moment...



Yes, he does have something in his wet, drooly little mouth.
I did bribe him with candy corn to make him sit "still" for pictures.











Hey, is that candy corn on the pumpkin?



Yep.









Maybe this will encourage me to do more than just survive.
Maybe I will join the ranks of those who really proclaim "Carpe Diem!"

Tractors, Tears, and Treats

What a treat it is for us to go up to visit my dad and Gilda on the farm.

It's the place I grew up...from infant to marriage.
It's the place I returned anxiously to every summer after a long year at college.
It's the place that will always hold a certain sort of magic to me.

No matter how old I get...or how long the road between me and the farm...that place will always be home to me.

I think you understand.
It's not that where I am right now with my precious Paul and my dear children is not home...it is!
There is just something about that place where you grew up.
I would like to think that someday my kids will be just as sentimental about their childhood home as I am now.


I guess that's what makes it so hard to ever think of moving from here. You can physically grow out of a home, but a piece of your heart will always be there.
Always.

Here is one of the things that makes the farm home.

Tractors!

This particular tractor, "The B," was the very first tractor that my dad ever drove. How old were you dad? Seven?
My mom and brother bought this tractor from a relative down the road many years ago and gave it to Dad so that he could restore it.

It has given many rides to many grandchildren in the past 13 years!




Here's one of the newest little farmers getting ready to take his first ride on The B. He's thinking it over a little bit.



Well...maybe next time.



Here's a more willing subject.



And don't forget the other tractors on the farm...even if they are the garden tractors!



Carrie is getting some last minute pointers from Uncle Robbie before she drives The B all by herself!



"Wait for me, Brandy! I wanna swing too!"



"Oh, how I love to go up in a swing...up in the air so blue!"



Josh found out how much he really likes watermelon!
And how much he liked to get them with his fork and share them with Brandy.



"Hey, didn't you try to take me for a ride on a noisy tractor today?"



"Mom...should I be worried?"



Not a bit.

Full Circle

Carrie has come full circle today...back to her starting point.
Well, sort of.

Take a look at this, and you'll see what I mean.

On December 4, 2007, I drove Carrie to the orthodontist to begin her journey as "The Wearer of Braces."

Look at that bright, optimistic smile!



A few hours later, reality began sinking in.
And so did the pain of braces.
I think you will notice that her smile isn't as bright in this second picture.



And now here we are, almost 22 months later.
Again, we start with that bright, optimistic smile.



A few hours later, we have a...
What's that?!
Look at those pearly whites!
Look how straight they are!

Look how old she looks!
How beautiful!



Wow.
What's her Daddy going to say?
If he shakes his head when she gets a new pair of girly shoes or a new lip gloss, what's he going to say when he sees "Baby Girl" tonight?

Full circle.
Well, sort of.
And I think it was worth it.

The Insightfulness of a Four-Year Old

This summer, my dad and Gilda and our family got web cams.

Here's a picture that Josh took of himself with the web cam...

 

What a blessing those little cameras have been for our family...especially the youngest members, Joshua and Matthew. I knew it would be fun for Dad to be able to see the kids whenever he wanted, but there was no way for me to foresee how meaningful it would be for the little boys...the ones who can't quite understand why they don't get to see Papa B and Grandma Gilda without driving for three to four hours.

But in the past few months, we have been able to watch Papa B eat one of the first ears of corn out of his sweet corn patch...butter and all. Josh has shown him cars, trucks, and light savers (sabers). :) Matthew has sat waving his little hand and blowing kisses. One afternoon, Josh was talking to Papa B and thought of something that he wanted to show him, so he took off running to his Lucky Drawer. On his way there, he hollered back over his shoulder, "Hey, Mommy! Leave Papa B right there!"

And there's nothing for me like seeing my dad sit and belly laugh over something that the kids have said to him. You just can't get all that from a telephone call.

Today, I realized how much a part of his life that web cam is for Josh.

He was sitting there on the arm of the couch while I was reading a book to William. Suddenly, he said, "Hey, Mom! Wouldn't it be neat if God had a web cam?! Then I could talk to Duke!" Duke is the dog that we had before Josh was born. We talk very fondly of Duke and have several pictures of him that Josh likes to look at.

Then he added, "And you could talk to your mom."

On a day when I am silently thinking of those who are already waiting for me in Heaven...Grandpa Bellman would have been 91 today, and he and Grandma would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary...I get teary.

What else is going on in that little head of his?

Where Do the Sticks Come From?

Joshua, Matthew, and I decided to take a quick trip to the local apple orchard this afternoon while William was at his robotics meeting and Carrie was at basketball practice.

The reason for the trip was to buy some of their big, beautiful mums and to pick up another bag of Jonathan apples...my favorite pie apples.

Of course, we ended up with a few other things...some apple cider, a pumpkin roll, and a caramel apple-making kit. That last item was Josh's pick.

When we got home, Josh could hardly wait to open the box for the caramel apples.

After checking out the tub of caramel, he pulled out the sticks and said, "Hey! I know where the orchard gets their sticks! They sneak into the doctor's office at night and get them!"



"Yep! These are the ones! They taste like the ones at the doctor's office!"



This is Matthew, enjoying his apple cider and pretzel stick.



This picture was taken before Josh decided to play doctor with Matthew.
"Open up and say 'AHHHHH!'"

No, Josh!

Money Trouble

Josh bought a Penny Gumball Machine with his birthday money. This week, he got a dime stuck in it, and we all thought that the Penny Gumball Machine was done-for.

Daddy to the rescue! Paul got the dime out and gave Josh instructions to use pennies only.

This morning, Josh asked me if I would get a gumball out of his gumball machine for him.

He said, "Remember...only use the grayish, reddish, greenish monies."

Joshua's description of a penny.