Remember those morning exercises from George Orwell’s 1984? Those bastions of communism? My father in law does them every morning on my back deck. And my mother in law tries to teach them to Bean. I’m sure they’re really very healthy, I just can’t get over the Orwellian imagery.

I listened as hubbs taught his mom how to make microwave popcorn. It never seemed so complicated before. And she expressed awe in the technology.

My father-in-law seriously talking about how we should all change our religion and language, because Hebrews are all wise and rich.

My mother-in-law being paranoid about the neighbor’s 12-year-old son - “What’s he doing outside?!?” (as he walks home after the school bus drops him off)

My kids asking me to pretend to be their grandmother, with a continuous stream of “Be careful! Be careful! Slow down! Slow down!” coming out of her mouth (in another language, of course).

Answering the phone in my home and having to dig rusty Russian out of the recesses of my brain.

Trying to explain the importance of keeping a well-kept lawn in American suburbs, as well as the neighborhood deed restrictions, to someone whose concept of land involves pure farmland space.

Listening to my father-in-law, a neurologist telling me that Little Man’s medication dosage should be adjusted based on the fullness of the moon.

Having to convince the grandparents that the sand and water table on the back deck really isn’t a death trap - in spite of the fact that sand could actually get in someone’s eyes.

I could just eat him up! Especially when says, “When I grow up, I wanna be a fire fighter!”

Bean has been potty trained for nearly a year now, but still asks for help with wiping sometimes. And we oblige her - there’s something to be said for personal hygiene. Well, this morning I heard Bean in the potty patiently asking for help while I was being sucked on nursing. Just as the words “I’ll be there in just a sec!” came out of my mouth, Little Man, who’s still in diapers, went running.

Sopi! Sopi! (that’s what Little Man calls her) Waddaya need hep wit? I hep you! I hep you!

…followed by the sound of hubbs tearing into the bathroom to keep 2-yr old Little Man from wiping 4-yr old Bean’s messy little tushie.

We stayed in Florida for a week, loved the time with the grandparents, afternoons spent in the pool, and our awesome day at the beach. But hubbs and I both have jobs. (*sigh*) So we’re back home now, and it is good to be back.

We spent both Monday and Tuesday at doctors’ offices - the pediatrician, neurologist, audiologist, and ENT. We’re going back to the pediatrician today because apparently Bruiser (the newest addition) is underfed and malnourished. They couldn’t give him his shots at his regular checkup 2 days ago because he was so darn skinny. All my kids have had issues with weight gain in infancy, but this is beyond normal. So we’re headed back this afternoon to see if massive amounts of supplementing and virtually non-stop breastfeeding have solved the problem.

In the meantime, I’m trying not to focus on the fact that I feel like a dairy cow (albeit a dairy cow failing at milk production - which might turn me into plain old beef…). And between shuttling the kids to various doctor appointments (and entertaining them there with such ingenious things as “Who can find something round in the room?” and “Can you count all the lines in the wallpaper?”), I’ve also reorganized my family room. The playroom is next, followed by the kitchen and living room.

It’s nice to be home.

Shelling with gramma

Sandcastles with Papa

Watching the waves roll in

Considering the meaning of life…

Well, I didn’t churn my own butter or papier mache a lifesize replica of Michaelangelo’s David, but I did load a preschooler, a toddler, and a newborn into the suburban taxi minivan and drive (9.5 hours!) to Florida.

Here we are at my parents’ house (sans my wonderful hubby, who’s unfortunately on a business trip). We’re off to the beach tomorrow, so today’s activities involve shopping for pails and shovels, watermelon, and other beach items to keep the troops happy in the 95+ degree heat.

Hubbs will join us on Thursday, so we’re hoping to do another beach outing over the weekend before we undertake the long drive home. What a mighty good man! He drove down with me, only to fly up north for his trip. And he’ll fly back down here so I don’t have to make the drive alone. What a mighty good man.

As for my in-laws? They’re home alone for the very first time since they immigrated here. I left them well-stocked with all the food they could possibly need (including homemade bread and jam, a slew of pears, and a fresh artichoke that they will no doubt ponder if it’s really edible), but I’m looking forward to seeing how they managed with their imposed self-reliance. Maybe it was just the push they needed to feel comfortable taking bigger steps toward independence…

I just finished a slice of warm homemade bread topped with fresh homemade strawberry-blueberry jam. That was after hanging the curtain panel I finished sewing today for the kids’ room. Which I worked on after taking the kids on a playdate, which was then followed by the ‘rock concert’ they produced outside on the neighbor’s front lawn (which is at the perfect ’stage’ height next to ours) - they sang and danced to hits like “How much is that puppy in the window?”, “Rockin’ Robin”, and “Hit the Road Jack”. At the top of their preschool lungs. I think I should have charged our neighbors admission. Or at least a cover charge.

My goals for tomorrow? Reorganize the nursery closet, drop off donations my kids picked out for Goodwill,  churn my own butter, train for that marathon I always wanted to run, and papier mache a lifesize replica of Michaelangelo’s David.

This whole bio-diesel and alternative fuel trend has done a number on our grocery budget. The problem is, corn or corn-derived products are in just about everything. And if they’re not in it, they’re used to make it. But corn is now in high demand to produce alternative fuels, and that’s driven the price of corn up and up and up.

If you removed everything that depends on corn from your grocer’s shelves the grocery store would look more like a hardware store. With corn prices skyrocketing, the cost of everything else we eat is going up. And for my family, that has corresponded with a growth in the number of people eating our food. In the last 6 months we went from 4 people to 7 people in the house and our food budget is getting out of control.

Up until now we tried to control it by not eating out anymore and cutting back on convenience foods. We’ve been making our own bread, and lately making our own jam. But it’s still out of control. So over the last month or so my mother-in-law has been planting vegetables. Some are of her choosing (beets, garlic, parsley, potatoes - things that aren’t too expensive or that we don’t use much), but others are things I picked out - tomatoes, bell peppers, and… BLUEBERRIES! I’m looking forward to eating locally - as local as it gets - straight from our backyard. In fact, I made a salad last week out of lettuce, and beet leaves, and parsley from our garden. It was a bit of a hassle to clean all those leafy greens, but I have to remind myself that I don’t have to buy $1.99 bags of salad anymore.

So, with the cost of food skyrocketing, what are you doing to make it easier? I’m thinking about making my own cheese, but I don’t know if that’ll save enough money to make the time spent worthwhile. Any other ideas out there for frugal feeding?

Bruiser smiled today. It was his first smile, and it was the most precious smile ever beheld by human eyes. (Ok, so I’m a bit biased.)

And what else? I was going through Bean’s school bag today with all the stuff from her last day of preschool, and I happened across an “About Me” page they did last week. On the fill-in-the-blank question for what she wants to be when she grows up she wrote “Mommy.” She makes my heart smile.

1. More people to love your kids every day.
2. They can get up with the kids in the morning - and you can sleep in! (Oh happy day!!!)
3. You can have date nights any time, without hiring a babysitter!
4. You get help with housework.
5. Your mind will be expanded as you learn all the ways they used to do things, back in the day (or back in the USSR, in my case).
6. You’ll hone your skills for diplomacy - but it’s too bad the UN won’t accept ‘My in-laws lived with me’ as actual experience on a resume.
7. You’ll develop a new appreciation for your husband - for all the ways he ‘overcame the odds.’
8. You won’t have to worry any more about becoming prideful - it just won’t be a possibility.
9. Learn new things about yourself - like, what is the true extent of your patience?
10. Never be lonely again