This here's for you, Ol' Bill

The boys are currently playing cowboys. Jackson has chosen the name "Bill" and he's "digging in the salt mines". They've decided Mary Clement is the mother/cook (gender binaries, anyone?), and they have her making "Wild Beans" and "Salt Mine Grits".

Tough Life

She doesn't have a baby doll, so she makes do with what she's got.

IronMan,

Or a fridge magnet (see how she's brushing her hair):

Jackson and Harry have a digital clock in their room and aren't allowed to get up until it reads 7. This morning as they waited for that magical number they set up a "play date" for later in the day.

So. . .um. . . just wondering. . .

a) Where did you get the term "play date"????

and

b) Isn't your entire life a "play date" with your brother?

Another from Harry, tonight. We tell him to get dressed for bed, so he goes in his room, strips down, then comes back to stand in the doorway of the bathroom completely in the buff, reporting to Jackson and me, "I don't like people to see me naked, so I'm going to shut the door of my room while I get dressed. I'm going to go tell Daddy." He then heads into the kitchen to tell Matthew and Mary Clement, windows on both sides of him wide open.

Harry, tracing lines and curves on a page (learning to hold his pencil properly and write), is muttering under his breath to himself, "Maybe they want me to do this so I can be young and healthy."

A recipe for you

[Matthew writing] The boys helped Ruthie make muffins the other afternoon, and after, Jackson asked to do his own baking. So Ruthie set them up with bowls, flour, sugar, and water, and they went to town all over the kitchen table. They actually baked and ate their creations and have been telling everyone that they now know how to cook. Jackson had me transcribe his recipe that night (see below, I suggested the name). Ruthie let them have another "baking day" yesterday--a very sweet thing since it absolutely destroys the kitchen.

Harry is very creative. The first time he added bananas in his, and then yesterday he came up with a special drink containing water, sugar, flour, kiwi, and strawberries. He walks around sipping it like it's the elixir of life--and offering us drinks. It's like sipping high viscosity sugar water with chunks of fruit lodged throughout. Actually, that is what it is. Jackson is more detailed, making sure to crimp edges and artfully arranging fruit on the top. Here's one of his creations. I had a variation of panopache, baked with strawberries in the middle, for breakfast this morning.

Jackson's Panopache:

1/4 c. flour

2 Tbs. sugar

Mix up.

Add 1/8 cup water. Stir and Bake.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Fields Forever