Can't think of a cutsie title for this one...But it is cute.

James began sitting up by himself last week. He gets better at it every day. He's entered, what I consider to be, the best of babyhood. He laughs, and jibber jabbers, and plays with his sister. Siblings are great. So what if they fight later, at least they keep each other occupied. I was an only child and practically begged my parents for a baby brother or sister until I was about 14, and realized that people might think that it was MY baby, and that would be so not cool. I love how my kids think they are so hilarious. Hannah will run circles around him saying something goofy, always in her high pitched jokey smurf voice, like, "Look James, my ears can't touch each other - HAHAHAHAHA!" Then James does his adorable baby laugh that sounds like a fusion of a motorcycle and a bird hiccuping, if you can imagine, which then sends Hannah into belly laughter and pure glee that her joke pleased the baby, and then decides to do the same thing continuously, until some one gets hurt.

We also have felt a little tooth making it's appearance on James' gums. So I thought, hmmm, he's sitting up, he's teething, he salivates at our food every time we eat, perhaps he would like to start solids. Now, those of you whom have not entered the tricky world of parenting, may not know how controversial the timing of introducing solid foods is. When Hannah was born it was 4 months, but about a week after I began feeding her (which was a wee bit earlier than 4 months old - but more of that shortly) a bunch of bored, over payed pediatricians decided to make it six months. The last thing I heard was between 4 and 6 months but no earlier. But forget them! I decided this time I would do it whenever my baby seemed ready. So here we are. And for the record, I think solids are pretty unnecessary for babies. They are just practice food. If, James wasn't showing interest, I would be just as content to wait.

When Hannah was a baby we lived with my parents. And another FYI for those of you without kids yet - your parents and in-laws WILL want you to start feeding your baby solids when they are 5 weeks old. They will suggest all kinds of things that may make you wonder how you are still alive today. She was about 3 and half months when I succumbed to the pressure. Hannah made a giant mess of rice cereal all over her face and shirt. It was adorable.

Feeding James was so different. He actually opened his mouth, tried to grab the spoon, and as I slid the spoon into his mouth and then back out sliding across his upper lip, he sort of looked around the room with a very serious look and I could see his little mouth moving. He looked as if he had just coughed up a giant loogie and was was unsure what to do with it. Should he ask for a tissue he could spit it out into, or would that be rude? Maybe he should just gulp it down. He decided the latter. I spooned him some more organic brown rice cereal, and he kept eating it, looking completely underwhelmed the whole time. The whole thing was very anticlimactic and without any mess at all.

Maybe he was slightly disappointed in the bland taste. I will mash him up some bananas later today to invigorate his sophisticated palate. And you wonder what stay at home moms do all day!

Newsflash: The Health Care System is Wacked

My poor neighbors. It is tragic that in one moment a family can be financially stable, set for retirement, with minimal worries, and the next it can all be gone. In a way it restores in my mind that everything on this earth is temporary. I'm a mere vapor after all. But while I do live, and I don't feel like a vapor, I shudder at the thought of what has happened to the kind couple - a couple whom are only a couple years older than my own parents - next door to us.

The husband, B, has had a massive heart attack. His aorta burst open a month ago. Yes, burst. It's a miracle he is still alive. With the rupture to his aorta sutured up, other areas of his body have been falling a part - mostly his kidneys. So he's looking at about 5 more months of enduring a very expensive hospital stay. And now they are broke. Insurance has run out. Their only hope now is Medicare. Please pray for them. His wife D, as you can imagine is going through my worst nightmare. They have a rental house that has gone to hell - it became a party house whose tenants aren't so great at paying rent, and with the crappy market it would be a doosy to try and sell. D has recently had to return to work since her sick days are up. I can't even imagine. D said that if she sold everything they owned they wouldn't be able to pay for the medical bills. This is crazy. This shouldn't happen. But it does. It could happen to any of us. Lord have mercy. Please pray for them.

Interesting article some of you may appreciate (those of you who are Ron Paul fans). I found this on a local midwife's blog:

http://ancientpathsmidwifery.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!1B55934B87D1D099!931.entry

Can you pinch an inch...Or two?

Yup, that's Sara's (bluecanopy) Simeon next to James. They humored me with their grins, enhancing their already dashing and boyish good looks.

Our Day at the Happiest Place on Earth:

In reverse order.

Whew!

Birthdays, old friends, and new friends, and just plain living life has kept me busier than usual. Hannah turned THREE! Time has flown. We celebrated with a day at Disneyland, (thank you, again, for the d-land hook-ups, you know who you are) and then a little party with family and a couple of friends the very next day. Just a few days later Jason turned 32. I made pumpkin pie and fresh whipped cream to celebrate.

A couple days a week, Hannah, James and I go to a little home-learning Co-Op. I'm most likely not going to be a homeschooler (I see myself being more of the obnoxious cup cake making room mom) but I like the idea of learning at home for now. Hannah really enjoys being with the other children, and the moms are really cool people. I tend to gravitate to homeschooling mamas. Maybe it's because they don't drive Hummers, they live simply and somewhat green, dislike Bratz dolls, and don't feed their kids fruit snacks on a regular basis, as though it were real fruit. Was that judgemental?

I've been trying to read more. Last month I finished Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. It is my favorite book now. I loved it to the very end, and I fell in love with Alexei, as I think I saw a bit of my quiet, gentle husband in him. It took me a good while to get through the book because my little ones kept me distracted from it. How I miss the days of closing myself off to the world for a couple of nights to enjoy a good book. Right now I'm finishing Madeline L'Engle's A Wind in the Door. I recently re-read A Wrinkle in Time, which was much more enjoyable than A Wind in the Door to me. I'm hoping to pick out a classic to read after this. Any ideas for me?

Hopefully I'll update more soon. I was planning on posting some pix but blogger is being a turd and won't do a thing for me. Anyone else notice this today?

Glorious Garlic!

Right now, I just finished an onion bagel with parmesan garlic spread paired with sun dried tomato sauce, and I can literally smell my own garlic breath. I love garlic. And I think it's pretty fantastic being married to someone who loves garlic too, so we can both have garlic breath together and not even bat an eye. Yesterday we visited Jason's dad, who is a superb cook and he made us grilled artichokes and we got to dip them in lemony garlic butter. MMMMM.

I really love to cook with garlic too. I put several cloves of it in my roast beef, which, I must say I make a mean roast. It sits all day in the crock pot with the onions and gets carmelized and you could spread it when it's time to eat. And my mom taught me how to make a very easy salad dressing with it. Just mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and minced garlic, a little salt. You could also use wine vinegars. Whatever.

Look at me, posting a food blog. Ha!

What's your favorite way to cook with garlic - or just to eat it?