My Buddy

Joe was feeling a little left out, what with all the awards and attention Finley and Z were getting. Today, I have good reason bang the gong loudly in his honor.

We went to pick up report cards today, and Joe made the 'A Honor Roll' for the first time this year. This, after the worrisome parent-teacher conference at the beginning of the school year. At that time, the teacher told me I should consider getting him 'tested'. He kept getting in trouble for playing with things in his desk. If only he could really focus, she told me, he would be an excellent student.

I wasn't really worried about Joe's ability to focus or learn. Joe was the toddler who would sit and play with one thing for long periods of time, determined to master whatever skill it was that toy required; I just figured Joe was one of those kinesthetic learners who did his best when he was moving. I was, however, worried about him getting trouble all the time. So I decided not to get him tested and just let things play out. If there continued to be a problem, I could pull him out to home school.

I never heard anything more after that conference, and his grades held steady. Every grading period, his teacher made the class set goals for the next grading period. Joe kept falling short each quarter, so at one point, Joe wanted to lower his goals drastically to make sure he could meet them. "How about we shoot for low A's." He agreed, and this time, he met his goals.

After Joe's teacher gave him a big hug and told Joe how proud she was of him, I asked her if Joe had stopped his fidgeting in class. "I just kind of got used to it," she said. "I learned to check in with him to make sure he was still with us." That sort of thing is what makes her an excellent teacher.

Just a Pinch

Zivah has been having GI issues for a while now... a nearly constant stomach ache since February. We thought at first it was only constipation, but after getting that cleared, the pain was still there. We're still trying nail down the source of the problem, so I took her in this morning to get some blood drawn.

I could see the anxiety on the nurse's face when we walked in. I doubt they take a lot of blood from kids. The pediatrician in the clinic is fairly new, so the majority of the patients there have been older adults. Besides, most kids (like Joe) think of needles, and the terror sets in as soon as they realize what is going on. "Does she know what's going to happen?" she asked. Yes, she did. I had told Zivah the night before exactly what was going to happen- how they would put a band around her arm to make the blood vessels stick up, then poke a needle in to take out some blood. I figured she could handle it. (Besides, I like to be honest about those sorts of things. How rotten is it to be surprised by pain mom knew about but didn't tell you?)

The nurse tried to make Zivah (and herself) feel better, complimenting her on her cowgirl boots and western shirt. I asked Zivah if she wanted to watch something on my phone while they drew the blood, but the needle was more interesting, and by the time I was able to pull up a Weird Al video on YouTube, the whole thing was over. She was a trooper- barely flinched when they stuck her- claimed it didn't hurt. The nurses were amazed by her calm.

"It's good I didn't get a Cinderella Band-Aid. I hate those things," she told me on the ride home. "Last time I got a Cinderella Band-Aid and I almost threw up."

That's my girl.

Lately On the Farm

It's spring time! And while it is always thrilling to see green and flowers after a long, dreary winter, the animal life is just as (or more) exciting.

So far this season, I have stumbled across frogs, a long-tailed salamander, large snails, a young rat snake, and a mama mouse with her four babies still latched on while she tried to run and hide from me.

Friday, a friend of mine nearly stepped on a little box turtle as we walked through some woods. I scooped her up, took her home, and named her Happy. She is currently living in a large watering trough I used last year as a planter. She likes to burrow in the soft dirt beneath the leaves of the plantain and other weeds. She's so good at hiding, the kids keep thinking she has escaped.

In other news, I have an incubator in the laundry room warming 15 eggs that are scheduled to hatch while some friends of ours are here for a visit. I am most anxious to see what pops out of the two off-white eggs in there. Those eggs were laid by Lizzy-Chick, the half-Polish daughter of our beloved Lizzy that we lost last year. We had Lizzy-Chick penned in with Fluffy-Head, Zivah's little silkie rooster. I wasn't sure at first if the eggs would be fertilized as Lizzy-Chick seemed to have thwarted every advance of Fluffy-Head's that I had seen. But he must have gotten his way at least a few times. When I candled the eggs the other day, both had evidence of an embryo and blood vessels growing inside.

 And it appears that the incubator chicks won't be the only chicks born on the farm this year. One of the hens has started sitting on a clutch of eggs. I went to offer her some scratch yesterday, and she about pecked my fingertip off, so beware. That mama's serious.

Kitchen Progress

After six or so months of living with open cabinets, my mom and I put up the upper cabinet doors today. Although it was rather convenient to be able to see everything and just reach in and grab stuff, I didn't like the cluttered look. If everything was lined up perfectly and matched somehow, I wouldn't have minded being doorless as much, but the cleaner look makes me happier.

 One of Chris's worries was that white cabinets would give the kitchen a bland, sterile look. To help with that, we went with darker countertops and oil-rubbed bronze hardware. The doors really brightened up the room. But the wall of white did seem a little stark and overwhelming, so to bring a little more warmth and color to the room, I brought down our Angry Birds and perched them atop the cabinets. (I know, I know, Angry Birds is so 2012, but it's the only thing I could think of and find that would work. Besides, I still like to play the game. The physics of it and all...)

May-O-Naze

I don't know how she did it, but for at least 97% of my elementary school days, my mother packed my lunch. (I figured by the time my kids hit 2nd grade, they could fix their own dadgum lunch. This must be why my older two eat cafeteria food 97% of the time. My mother was/is much nicer than I am.) Anyway, sometimes she would make me PB&Js. Sometimes she made mayo and cheese, except I didn't realize at that age that the mayonnaise wasn't really mayonnaise. It was Miracle Whip.

That is probably why I never really thought much about "mayonnaise". It was only something used to moisten the bread and cheese. It was certainly nothing that would add a nice flavor to food. I think I must have been a full-blown adult, living on my own, before I even tasted "real" mayonnaise. I remember being taken aback by the rich flavor of a packet of Hellman's and wondering why anyone would ever choose to use Miracle Whip as a substitute.

A few months back, I was staring at the label on my jar of Hellman's, wondering if Joe was sensitive to any of the ingredients. Thankfully, he isn't scary-allergic to anything that we know of, but he's always hated peanut butter, and any time it has gotten in his mouth, he complains about it making his mouth itch. We also recently discovered that lentils are on the 'no for Joe' list. Several spoonfuls of soup, and his mouth and stomach were in turmoil. He spent the next day at home with the squirts. That got me wondering. If Joe is allergic to at least two different legumes, could he be allergic to soybean products? Tuna melts are a quick easy meal I like to force on the family, but Joe complains about his mouth when we eat them. Either Joe is making it up to try to get out of eating them, or something- maybe the mayonnaise- really is causing him to react.

I did a quick internet search, and everything I found said that highly refined soybean oil is typically safe for those with soy allergies, since it doesn't contain the proteins that cause reactions. Just in case, I thought I'd try to pick up a jar of mayo that used something other than soybean oil, but every single jar in our local Kroger used soybean oil. Even the jars boasting use of the healthier olive oil used a significant amount of soybean oil. "Fine," I thought, frustrated that there are no health food stores near us. "I'll make my own mayonnaise."

So I did.

I should have known to expect yellow. After all, I did use a fresh egg from one of our free-ranging chickens. Our chicken's egg yolks are such a deep orange, marigolds are jealous. And so my REAL mayonnaise was a beautiful, sunny yellow. And I can't get over it.

To be perfectly honest, this homemade mayonnaise has such a zip and zing to it, I'm not sure I'd like it for everyday use, and I really don't know if the kids will like it. I may have to figure out how to tone it down a little. (Less vinegar/lemon juice?) And to be even more honest... I love the convenience of Hellman's, even though the ingredients are less than ideal. We'll see if this homemade mayonnaise kick lasts.