We're Moving!!!

Well not physically (darnit), but the family blog has a new address.



You'll have to go here to keep up with the Applegate Mavys from now on:

http://theapplegatemavys.wordpress.com

Here's the address in plain text for easy copy and pasting:

http://theapplegatemavys.wordpress.com

The Mavy Show

There are times as a parent when you just have to pretend you're living in a sitcom (I'm laughing to keep from crying sound familiar to any moms out there?). On The Mavy Show there are a few comedians, but at the moment, Liberty is stealing the show. In case you haven't seen her lately, she still has hardly any hair, and her head is literally off-the-charts big, which is funny in itself. She'll be three in March, and in the meantime she is every inch TWO. She has an opinion about everything, and as she told me this morning with a straight face, "I do it. I'm the boss."

A couple days ago I took her to get blood drawn for an allergy panel. She knew exactly what was going to happen, and she was not happy about it. When we got into the little room where they poke helpless kids, the Pokey Guy asked her, "are you Liberty?" Without missing a beat, she replied, "no, I'm Sadie."

Earlier this week, I was trying to convince her to put panties on. She thinks they're uncomfortable and unnecessary (like all clothes). We went back and forth for a while, until she told me, "I not wear panties. I not want to fight about this, Mommy."

Amusing

I read Scott Adams's blog occassionally (he created Dilbert). Today's post tickled my funny bone, so I thought I'd share -

I believe you can pray someone to death under the right conditions. What? You skeptics don't believe me? Lately the top guy in Iran, Ali Khamenei, is getting pushback from the faithful because the Supreme Leader's job description is feeling a bit too much like God's job, and polytheism is a big no-no under Islam. My theory is that if people in the United States start praying to Khamenei, his own people will stone him to death to protect monotheism. It wouldn't take many people praying to him to do the trick. A few thousand people might be enough. We could call ourselves Khameniacs and make t-shirts with his image. If praying to a false god seems like too much work, you can just tell people you do it. That sort of thing is hard to verify. The shirt would be ugly, but a good prank like this takes some sacrifice.

First Rule of Child-Rearing

Don't leave the butter in Baby's reach.


Notice the teeth? I am so ready to wean this little barracuda.

Little House Christmas

So the title has two meanings this time. We've been reading Laura Ingalls Wilder lately and I'm amazed at the simplicity and the spirit of the Christmas stories in these books. Obviously the pioneers didn't get Target ads in the mail; almost everything was home grown and home made. Laura and Mary and Baby Carrie each got a new pair of mittens, a homemade rag doll, and a stick of store-bought peppermint candy, and yet the day made such a deep impression on Laura that she was able to recall every detail 60 years later and reproduce it for the rest of us to enjoy. Inspired by Laura, and our own little house which can't handle any more junk, I'm making this a Little House Christmas.
I've been wandering around on the web, looking for some good homemade gift ideas for the kids, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the fun ideas out there. Here are a few for the crafty moms who read this -
Rostichery Everything from home-made play food to holder-keepers to a cradle made from an oatmeal box.
Mmmcrafts The cutest monkey doll I've ever seen, plus bunny and kitty dolls to boot. The girl monkey pattern is free.
Oneprettything Make your own ornaments.
Allcrafts Anything else you can think of.

Happy making!

Halloween in Pictures

Kitty and Pink Piggy,


Spider Princess Fairy,



Balloon Room at the Church party,

The Browns and the Mavys - family by choice, geography and chronology of kids.

Petroleum

So I did finally track down some information about gasoline. I had better luck searching for oil and petroleum lessons.
I thought I'd share my findings in case anyone else was thinking about doing "g is for gasoline." I find it easier to do science lessons together with letter of the week. It's appealing to all three of the girls. At this point, I figure I'm mostly teaching them how to ask questions about the world around them. How many of us really remember what we learned about spiders in 1st grade?
The Society of Petroleum Engineers, in an effort to preserve their industry, has a great website with lesson plans for teaching kids about oil and natural gas. They have very easy-to-understand explanations of how oil is made, extracted and refined and some great experiments to bring it home.
I also found this list of petroleum-based products - wow!

ammonia
anesthetics
antifreeze
antihistamines
antiseptics
artificial limbs
artificial turf
aspirin
awnings
balloons
ballpoint pens
bandages
basketballs
bearing grease
bicycle tires
boats
cameras
candles
car battery cases
car enamel
cassettes
caulking
cd player
cd's
clothes
clothesline
cold cream
combs
cortisone
crayons
curtains
dashboards
denture adhesive
dentures
deodorant
detergents
dice
diesel
dishes
dishwasher
dresses
drinking cups
dyes
electric blankets
electrician's tape
enamel
epoxy
eyeglasses
fan belts
faucet washers
fertilizers
fishing boots
fishing lures
fishing rods
floor wax
folding doors
food preservatives
football cleats
football helmets
footballs
footballs
gasoline
glycerin
golf bags
golf balls
guitar strings
hair coloring
hair curlers
hand lotion
heart valves
house paint
ice chests
ice cube trays
ink
insect repellent
insecticides
life jackets
linings
linoleum
lipstick
luggage
model cars
mops
motor oil
motorcycle helmet
movie film
nail polish
nylon rope
oil filters
paint
paint brushes
paint rollers
panty hose
parachutes
percolators
perfumes
petroleum jelly
pillows
plastic wood
purses
putty
refrigerant
refrigerators
roller skates
roofing
rubber cement
rubbing alcohol
safety glasses
shag rugs
shampoo
shaving cream
shoe polish
shoes
shower curtains
skis
slacks
soap
soft contact lenses
solvents
speakers
sports car bodies
sun glasses
surf boards
sweaters
synthetic rubber
telephones
tennis rackets
tents
tires
toilet seats
tool boxes
tool racks
toothbrushes
toothpaste
transparent tape
trash bags
tv cabinets
umbrellas
upholstery
vaporizers
vitamin capsules
water pipes
wheels
yarn

Why My Kids Are Homeschooled

Mostly because my husband, who is smarter than most people I know (including me), is proud that he remembered who Herodotus is. It's a little piece of trivia he picked up in one of his useless college courses.
This post is inspired by a google search I just did. I want to give the kids a lesson on gasoline - where it comes from, what it does. Maybe when Daddy comes home tomorrow night we can do a few experiments. I don't do inflammables; I take a walk on the wild side when I operate the woodstove.
I went to the library this afternoon to get some books on fuels, internal combustion engines, petroleum, etc. I was dismayed to see that of the 10 books that came up when I searched the catalog, 9 of them were environmental religious tracts about evil oil tankers destroying the oceans and killing baby seals (with cartoon pictures of pathetically tarry seals), exhortations on the miracle of magical cars that run on vegetable oil, and terrifying horror picture books about our impending doom when our oil supply runs out. There was one book about where oil comes from, but it was at another library. I wasn't that suprised. The library association is notoriously liberal.
I was shocked when I ran into the exact same thing when I searched google for a

FIRST GRADE LESSON PLAN ABOUT GASOLINE

What the heck? Why does a first grader need to be indoctrinated about raping the earth? I totally understand briefly touching on the concept of renewable energy sources and teaching kids about recycling. Why can't I find anything about how fuel works? If a kid is old enough to understand that driving to gymnastics every week is killing baby seals, why isn't she old enough to understand how oil is refined to make various products that she uses EVERY DAY?

This is one of the many reasons I homeschool my kids. They have enough to learn without filling their heads with useless garbage.

And if anyone knows where I can find information about how gasoline works and how it's made, please let me know!

California Academy of Sciences

On Monday My Mom and Dad and my sister Angie took the kids and I to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. We had SO MUCH FUN! Most of the Academy is dedicated to fish. They have a pretty cool coral reef that kind of spreads out through most of the building. The girls' favorites were the penguins and the albino alligator. Actually, their real favorites were the blood pressure cuff by the anaconda aquarium and the electric shock at the electric eel aquarium (insert eye rolling).
Liberty's running commentary to me was all about where we would put the various animals when we brought them home. The stuffed giraffes certainly wouldn't fit in our house, but the fishes could go in the bathtub and the snake would like our houseplant by the kitchen sink. I guess she thought we were at a store? That's the only interesting place we go, so I guess it makes sense.
My Mom and Dad and Angie were awesome. They took Libi and Nathan almost the whole time so I could focus on the big kids.
This is in a tunnel that was all aquarium -

The indoor rainforest. There were moths and butterflies everywhere... very tempting!

In the prehistoric shark mouth.

The roof is covered in grass. Totally overpriced and over-hyped, but still very relaxing to be up there.

We went outside to the Music Concourse for lunch and the kids had lots of fun climbing on the stairs and railing.

Angie found a hugely fat Mamma praying mantis for the girls to look at. Sadie was the bravest.

Wild Man

Bread

I just got my bread maker working last week. It's been sitting in a cupboard for about 5 years I think. Someone gave it to us, and I tried to use it once. The bread didn't turn out so I blamed it on the machine and went back to doing it the old-fashioned way. Then I got wise and started using the Kitchen Aid to knead the dough, then I had some more kids and quit making bread at all except maybe 3 or 4 times a year.
The breadmaker is AWESOME! The bread is great, it's so cheap it's hardly worth mentioning, and it's easy peasy lemon squeezy!! What a snob I used to be! The one I have can delay bake, so I set it to have hot bread ready for Ben when he wakes up at the ungodly hour of 6:00.
I'm still experimenting with gluten free bread, but when I get that right, I'm going to be one happy woman. The last gf loaf I made was a flop, but it smelled wonderful and looked perfect when I pulled it out of the machine. Libi was ecstatic - "That bread for me? I so proud of you, Mommy!"
Me too, Libi, me too.

Believe It or Not

Each of our daughters has her own bed (matress and everything).

My guilty pleasure is starting to tick me off.

Almost every night, Ben and I put the girls to bed then go hide in the back room and watch a show on Hulu. There are a few shows we really enjoy like The Office, House and Castle. Since that's only 3 nights a week, we end up filling in with shows that I like and Ben doesn't, or Ben likes and I don't. In the last couple weeks I've seen 3 shows that either laugh off or outright celebrate sex between teenagers. One was two 13-year-olds, and the other 2 were freshman girls with older boys (a highschool senior and a college boy). Granted, there was no actual sex scene, but the parents looked the other way while their girls took off with boys who were complete unknowns to the parents and even acted pretty creepy.
This really ticks me off. What ticks me off even more is seeing the ABC Family logo in the corner of my screen. Maybe I'm extra sensitive because my kids are growing up so fast and I'm going to have 3 hot teen-age girls in my home in the blink of an eye. Who are they supposed to date in a world like this?
Does no one at ABC CBS NBC or FOX take a minute before putting this crap on the air, to think about what kind of emotional trauma a 14-year-old girl experiences when she has sex with a college boy who could care less about her?
I'm really ticked off. Whatever happened to feminism? Real feminists should want to go back to the days when girls jealously guarded their reputations and girls who got into trouble went to visit their aunts in Arizona for a few months. If women are willing to put out to any creep who gives them the eye AND if women are willing to teach their daughters to do the same, what power do women have over men? We're supposed to be the guardians of civilization, and we've fallen down on the job.
As a parting thought, here are the words to that Everly Brothers classic, Wake Up Little Susie. What a long way pop culture has come!

Wake up, little Susie, wake up

Wake up, little Susie, wake up

We've both been sound asleep

Wake up, little Susie, and weep

The movie's over, it's four o'clock

And we're in trouble deep

Wake up little Susie

Wake up little Susie, well

Whatta we gonna tell your mama

Whatta we gonna tell your pa

Whatta we gonna tell our friends

When they say “ooh-la-la”

Wake up little Susie

Wake up little Susie, well

I told your mama that you'd be in by ten

Well, Susie baby, looks like we goofed again

Wake up little SusieWake up little Susie, we gotta go home

Wake up, little Susie, wake up

Wake up, little Susie, wake up

The movie wasn't so hot

It didn't have much of a plot

We fell asleep, our goose is cooked

Our reputation is shot

Wake up little Susie

Wake up little Susie, well

Whatta we gonna tell your mama

Whatta we gonna tell your pa

Whatta we gonna tell our friends

When they say “ooh-la-la”

Wake up little Susie

Wake up little Susie

Wake up little Susie

Speed Demons

Yesterday we took the kids next door to play with Big Wheels at Grandma and Grandpa's. I'm not sure if Liberty has ever gone full speed down their driveway before, but she acted like it was old hat. I almost killed myself chasing her down the hill at speeds I had no idea I was capable of. I did save her once, even though Ben thinks I'm a pansy and trying to make our kids into pansies, and Liberty didn't need saving. Once I got her on the right bike I relaxed a little.
It turns out I was right to worry, but I was stressed about the wrong kid. Sadie ended up taking a spill in the creek. Poor kid! Ben still says I'm trying to make our kids pansies.

Eve was very focused on winning. I don't think her sisters cared much who got to the bottom first. Their main concern was feeling the speed.

Poor Sadie!

Things I Didn't Know About My Kids

Even though I'm with the kids 24/7, I still miss things. It's kind of crazy around here sometimes. Here are a few things I've learned about the kids in the past few days,

• Eve is a very dynamic reader. She insisted we all settle down and listen up in the car today so she could read us a story. What feeling she puts in to every sentence! She must be looking ahead a little, because she EXCLAIMS when there's an exclamation point.
• Liberty can count to 8. I found this out when somebody was about to get in trouble. "ONE," I said, and Liberty followed up with, "2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!"
• Sadie can sound out 3 letter words. I discovered this in our reading lesson yesterday.
• Nathan is easier to handle when I'm not around. I went for a walk with Monica today and left the kids with Ben. I usually have to nurse Nathan 4 times, and feed him baby food once before 10 am, but he was perfectly content to snack on Chex and follow his sisters around the house this morning. Then again, Chex crumbs stick to my feet wherever I walk in the house now.

Day at Meadow Vista Park

I love Meadow Vista Park! We had a lovely time there today, running around, playing on the jungle gym, and feeding the ducks.

What God Likes

As we were getting ready for Church yesterday, I had this tete a tete with Liberty:
Libi: I bring my baby to Church?
Mommy: No.
Libi: God not like baby at Church?
Mommy: Sure.
Libi: I bring crayons to Church?
Mommy: No, they're too noisy.
Libi: God not like crayons at Church?
Mommy: I guess not.

What Little Brothers Have to Put Up with

I figured he was whining and hanging on my leg because he was hungry, but he just had to wait because I was making lunch for his sisters. I finished them up, threw some applesauce in a bowl, and what the...?

Liberty had put all of this in his onesie -

Leavitt Meadows - Finally!

We used to go to Leavitt at least twice every summer, and sometimes 3 times, but the last couple summers for one reason or another, we weren't able to get up there. I wasn't complaining too much. I love being outdoors, but I really like to sleep and breathe, and both of those are difficult for me at 7,200 feet on Sonora Pass. This Labor Day weekend we made it! The kids had fun playing with us, Grandma and Grandpa, Great Grandma Mavy (who spent an entire day clearing and burning deadwood) and Uncle Lyman, but I think next time we'll make sure to bring friends their age. Eve told me on the way home that she had a lot of fun, but, "everybody cries less at home." She thinks Nathan should have his own tent next time. If only they could make them sound proof...
We went on a fun hike to a beautiful waterfall. Lyman took pictures for us. I'm going to have to get those from him. I don't like heights, so I didn't enjoy the part when we climbed up close to the water, but once we were down again, I was happy I strapped on a pair and didn't blubber in front of the kids.
Grandpa cut down a tree that was dead and bound to fall on the kitchen this winter.

The girls and I were very impressed when Daddy pulled down a tree with his bare hands! Move over, Paul Bunyan!

After the tree was down, Eve and Sadie used it as a balance beam. Grandpa taught them a game for deciding who should get off to let her sister pass.

Lyman just played with everybody the whole time. I wish I had thought to get a picture of him when the girls chased him up a tree and then Sadie tried to get him down with his walking stick. What a good uncle. He'd make a great Daddy too, Ladies ;-)

The kids had a bath in the wading pool and Nathan had so much fun being naked I didn't have the heart to put clothes back on him. Ben assured me that there'd be no lasting harm from dirt and leaves.

And a few more random cuties...

In Case Anyone Was Wondering...

Ben at age 7,

Nathan at 7 months,

Clarification?

When Ben read my post, he didn't get it. It makes sense to me. Adam found the peach tree, and, like Jason, spent the day sitting under it eating peaches. He didn't want to share his find with Eve. She spent the day wandering around the seedier side of Eden and ran into the serpent. Those apples looked great only because she'd never experienced peaches! So, please, tell me. Did I write a bummer post, or is Ben a victim of post-literary public schools?

Eden in My Garden

I think I know why Eve ate the apple. Adam found the peach tree first and didn't share. What's tempting about an apple when peaches abound?

Water Olympics

The girls decided to play in the boat yesterday afternoon. Libi was being so cute with the hose that I opened the door a crack to get it on film without anyone seeing me.

Why do the kids always react to my presence with whining?

Anyway, I didn't catch Libi exploring the physics of running water, but I did get a pretty spectacular stunt by Sadie.

I was pleased to see that Eve made an effort to comfort her sister. I hope that dynamic continues.

The Sleep of the Just

When you're seven months old and sleepy, you just go to sleep. And you don't hold grudges when your Mom wakes you up trying to get some photos.

Here's another example of his sleep-anywhere skills. I was putting the girls down for a nap and I thought to myself, "I haven't heard Nathan's voice in a while." I went to check on him where he'd been playing in the living room, and there he was -