Use it to Catch Something Bigger

Enoch is eating some of the poppy seed bread I made and he asked me this

"mom, if we were surviving which would you rather do-eat this now or use it to catch something bigger?
I said what would you do?
He said "I sink (think) I would use it to catch somesing (something) bigger.
I said I think that is what I would do too.

He thinks a lot about surviving thanks to survivorman :)

How Old Are You When You Are Resurrected?

Enoch: Mom how old are you when you are resurrected?
Mom: I don't know
Enoch: Are you an old person or do you be a child again?
Mom: I would guess you probably are not really old or really young but somewhere in between
Enoch: But how old are you? [when you are resurrected]
Mom: I don't know
Enoch: I guess we will have to wait until we die and are resurrected to see how old we are
Mom: Yeah probably
Enoch: Mom, you'll find out soon
Mom: Why will I find out soon?
Enoch: Cause your a parent and soon you'll be a grandparent and then you'll be really old and die and then you'll be resurrected and you'll find out how old you are

Favorite Products so far of 2010

Lighter Fluid--Thank heaven for it and Thank heaven that my mom taught me to use it in the laundry! I guess after raising 7 children my mother knows a lot about channeling energy and having a pyro daughter who collected lighters for a number of years my mother has finally been successful at channeling my energy :) I now use lighter fluid for more practical things like cleaning clothes.

Did you know that lighter fluid gets out grease stains even after they are set in the dryer?

AND did you know that it also gets PAINT yes I said PAINT out of naughty little children's clothes?

Yesterday Enoch and Ezra were in there beds in time out and Enoch found the paint from painting his pirate ship and he threw it across the room to Ezra. Ezra then opened it and wiped it all over himself, his clothes and the bed :( Talk about angry parents and needing to channel energy--whew! Those boys are much more than I bargained for.

Thank you Mother from the bottom of my heart!

Beaba Babycook:

This is my babyfood maker. I have made my own baby food with each of my children, but it has always bothered me the amount of time and dishes it takes to do it. Not when they are older so much but when they are younger. We eat almost all of our vegetables raw around here so to cook any is a big pain for me. I hate waiting for them to steam and dirtying pans just to make a little baby food. NOW all that has changed for me. Ethne eats so many fresh vegetables now. This little thing steams and purees in a very short period of time and it is completely hassle free. Oh and the freezer trays are just wonderful. You can pull it out of the freezer and pop one serving out and then put it back in the freezer without even disturbing the other servings. In an ice tray you always pop out most of the tray while trying to get one out. I wish I had had one 5 years ago :) Thank you CA Grandparents again from the bottom of my heart. I never want to live without it.

Cuisinart Waffle Iron

I love homemade whole wheat waffles, but we used to never eat them because it takes so long to fix them for the whole family. Now however we eat them once a week at least. This waffle iron can feed an army of waffle lovers in no time at all and boy do I have an army here when it comes to waffles. I have a healthy low-fat, no egg, recipe that is just wonderful and so they are also guilt free :)

Thanks for the Christmas present Grandmommy and Granddaddy

VitaMix

This is not new to me but I am feeling quite grateful for it and all the use I get out of it. While it is definitely NOT the blender for everyone, it is a lifesaver in the Garrett Fry household. I use it almost daily. We have spinach smoothies about every other day and we juice in it, make soup in it, puree vegetables in it, and more. It can handle ice and frozen fruit the way other blenders handle liquid :) Mine is just a refurbished one, but I have had it for two years now and it still works like a dream.

Kitchen Aid Mixer

Another oldie but goody, this mixer is something else that saves the Garrett Fry family hours of time. I use it almost daily as well as I mix up waffles, naan, muffins, mashed potatoes, deserts, biscuits, and anything else that requires mixing.

Front Porch Junkies With Picts From Last Summer

The boys sat on the front porch and told each other stories for about 20 min. It was really funny to hear them talking. It was really fast and really long so I only got to jot down a little but they kept me amused.
Story as told by Enoch on the front porch: Once upon a time there was a funny old dad named Garrett Hertz and Garrett Hertz had a child named Ezra Hertz and he had a child named Enoch Hertz. and Enoch was a funny man and he lived with an Enoch named Enoch Cox and he loved going bowling and would go bowling. And that is the end of the funny old coot story.

NEW STORY: And there was a little old bear named Ethne Cootz and she was a cute old bear and she loved her momma and there was another little girl and . . . . (missed a lot here) and Ezra your name is spelled in Spanish
Ezra said: my name is E-S-O-P
Enoch: Ezra's name is spelled O-S-P-P-P

Enoch: Ezra now it's your turn to tell a story and don't just start it. Tell the whole sing [thing].

The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

Enoch and Ezra in the backseat of the car the other night:
Ezra crying and yelling: "YES THEY DO STEAL HONEY"
Enoch: "NO they DON"T"
Ezra: "YES THEY DO STEAL HONEY"
Enoch: "How do you know?"
Ezra: "Because my mom TOLD ME THEY DO"
Enoch:" Tigger sinks [thinks] they do but they don't."
Ezra: "Hefalumps and Woozles DO steal honey"
Enoch laughing to himself: "HA HA HA Ezra sinks [thinks] that Hefalumps and Woozles steal honey."
Mom: Ezra honey don't get upset. Mom didn't say that Hefalumps and Woozles steal honey. They don't steal honey Tigger just THINKS they steal honey.
Ezra: Why does Tigger say that?
Mom "well Tigger says a lot of things that aren't true. He says things before he really knows something. He just kind of makes it up on the spot. It is like when he says 'Tigger's love honey' before he even knows if he really likes honey. Then he tastes it and he says 'yuck, tigger's don't like honey. And then he says 'Haycorns is what Tigger's like best' before he knows if he likes haycorns...
Dad: Haycorns? What are haycorns?
Enoch and mom simultaneously: Haycorns are acorns but piglet calls them haycorns.
Dad: "Tigger or Piglet? You just said Piglet"
Enoch and mom again simultaneously: "Piglet and tigger and pooh call them haycorns"
Dad: "Oh"
Ezra: "and it's like when tiggers say they like thistles and they don't?

Bord of this yet??? I guess we can end it there. Pretty funny!

What Does it Mean to Stay Married?

This is Enoch a year ago at his 4 year birthday party. He has grown so much since then it is hard to believe. He is such an amazing kid with a memory like an elephant as the following story illustrates.

Enoch remembers everything he hears. This is a particularly difficult thing for us his parents since we can't talk about anything in front of him. The other day I called my sister Camilla who knows everything about every old movie star that ever lived. I asked her if Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz stayed married or if they had ended up divorced. I was pretty sure they were divorced but couldn't remember for sure. That was a week ago at least.

Wednesday night Enoch was talking about staying married. I asked him what it means to stay married and he said:

"I know! I sink it means you just don't marry someone else until you are done marrying the person you are married too." Garrett got into the car and I asked Enoch to tell him what it means to stay married and he gave this version:

"It means you don't get unmarried to the person you are married to until you get old and die"

Incidentally Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were divorced after 20 years of marriage :(

Let's Play Survivorman and I'll Be A Turkey

Today Enoch and Ezra are playing "Survivorman". Enoch is Survivorman and Ezra is a TURKEY. That's right-a turkey! Not just any turkey though one that watches survivorman's show and learns how to survive.

That is the funniest thing I have heard yet I think. Enoch asked me to cut matches out of paper so her could split one match into two (a trick that survivorman does to stretch out his one match). I wish I had the time and memory to write down all that they have said and done while playing survivorman and turkey. It has kept me giggling for hours.

Prodigy

Last night I had my first violin lesson since I was 4. The plan was that I go to six lessons and then when I have learned to play the first Suzuki piece then Enoch can start lessons and I will be prepared to help him. Suzuki is a unique method of teaching and it is heavy on the parental help.

I was quite excited because I love music and have always wished my parents hadn't taken me out of violin-although I completely understand that there wasn't money for both piano and violin so no worries mom.

Anyway, the lesson went great. She said that we covered in one lesson what most people take weeks to learn. She asked me to do several things and then repeat them. It was kind of like going to the chiropractor or physical therapist where they have you jump through a few hoops and you are asking yourself all the time--what is this for??? She said I was a natural and that it was amazing how my posture, my fingers and my hold were so natural and perfect the first time. She said that every time she had me re-place the violin and my fingers the hold just seemed like it was a perfect fit.

I felt like an overeager puppy and just did each task quickly and waited for more. She kept laughing and was giddy to have someone so eager to learn. She was also very happy that I had already read the first book she asked me to and could relate what she was saying to what I had learned in the book. It was a lot of fun. The lesson was supposed to be 30 min. long and when I got back to the car I realized for the first time that I had been in there an hour and 15 min.--whoops! I am still surprised she didn't kick me out. She even took me in another room and let me try out a really nice piano and assured me that all my piano skills would come back quickly once I had a piano to practice on. She asked me to play a piece and it was quite embarrassing thinking of how I used to practice 3 hours a day and how now I can't even remember basic theory :( But she seemed confidant that I would be able to pick it up again very quickly. I sure hope she is right :) She mentioned how fun it would be for me to be able to accompany Enoch on the piano. She said kids really enjoy that.

It was a great experience and it looks like Enoch will be starting violin in 3 weeks instead of 6 so that is exciting too. He is thrilled to be able to play. I am glad he is eager.

When I got home last night I walked in the door and told Garrett it looked like I was a prodigy... He said "At your age?"
Funny guy!