Cardboard Box

Owen's imagination has really taken off lately. His new favorite toy is the top half of a cardboard banana box that we acquired when we went to the meat shop to get 50 "pounds" of beef stock bones and chicken backs for stock. (Owen calls all meat "pounds" because they weight it and ask us if that is okay when we buy it.)
This wonderful box has been a bath tub and shower - the upholstery attachment for the vacuum cleaner being the shower head and a drink coaster being the soap. I have even had the pleasure of bathing in this tub.
It has been a tunnel for Daddy's and Owen's trains:



















It has been a car:
Owen likes to hand us "money" from the car and say "bye-bye." He seems to be paying for parking.



















This morning it was a horse too. Riding a horse requires Mama to hum "Dum, dum," otherwise known as the William Tell Overture.

O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree

While I got started on some Christmas wrapping, Abram and Owen went out on one of their ~weekly excursions Friday, and came home with a "Mismas" tree. It is a small, live spruce. After I got a strand of lights on, Owen had quite a timehanging ornaments on it. He was interested in opening some gifts too, but he is learning about "wait"ing. Tonight, he was playing with little chicken who had to "wait. . . wait. . .wait" to drink water from a block.

Thanksgiving

Abram, Owen, and I celebrated Thanksgiving together today.
We prepared roast (local) turkey, green beans (frozen from our garden), roasted veggies (turnips, onions, celery, and ghee - all local - with carrots), cranberry sauce, "gravy" (actually a reduction of turkey drippings and extra chicken stock with the giblets and some hard boiled egg), and sauerkarut.
Before lunch, we played outside in the fresh air, and tried to teach Owen "Follow the Leader;" he sorta' got it and especially appreciated when we did silly things and smiled when he ended up the leader.
I was thankful for Owen and Abram who love me even when I'm grouchy. Abram was thankful for good food. And Owen was thankful for Biokult (probiotic which we were taking at lunch, having forgotten it during a rushed breakfast.)
Despite having eaten a rather substantial and late breakfast, Owen ate quite a lunch too. For dessert, we had two custards cooked right inside of pie pumpkin shells - a pumpkin custard and a coconut custard - really a plain custrad with coconut milk substituted for the milk. It was the better of the two. We ate the cooked pumpkin along with the custard. This was actually my second attempt at this. Last year, it was a flop with a larger pumpkin, but I think the secret is to use a small pumpkin and bake it long and low. I found a website that said the Colonial pumpkin pies would have been custards cooked in pumpkin shells; they would have eaten the cooked pumpkin too! We will definitely be using this recipe again:

Custard in a Pumpkin Shell

1 7/8 cup coconut milk
2 jumbo eggs
1 egg yolk
scant 1/3 c. honey
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
1 pie pumpkin ~ 6-8" in diameter

Preheat oven to 325 F. Cut around top of pumpkin and clean out stringy pulp and seeds. Save lid, wash both pieces, and drain on a towel while you prepare custard.
Mix coconut milk, eggs, egg yolk, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk by hand until smooth. Pour into pumpkin shell, leaving about 1/2" at the top. (You can drink any leftover; it's like eggnog!) Place lid on pumpkin. Cover loosely with foil, and bake ~ 2.5 - 3 hours, taking off foil and lid for the last 30 minutes or so. Cool. To serve, remove lid if it has been replaced, and slice through the pumpkin and custard as you would a pie shell and pie.
Enjoy!

Hershey Park

Cotton socks, alpaca wool socks, a wool diaper cover, long johns, pants, two shirts, a jacket, alpaca wool hat and mittens, and a snowsuit - that's what Owen wore out to Hershey Park last night to see the Christmas lights. That's not to mention that he was inside the baby-wearing coat I made! I think he stayed warm enough. It was pretty chilly. I'm not quite sure how cold it was when we were there, but it got down to 20F last night. On our way over, it snowed another 1-2", so there was a nice blanket on everything when we got there. They were just starting to clear it away when we arrived. It really made everything quite lovely!
Owen enjoyed seeing a sled dog show with huskies and Eurohounds (which looked more like Pa's pointers than the Wiki picture - in fact, I thought they were just some hunting dogs that had come along with the folks doing the demonstration until they told about them in the show.) They pulled some bikes and other wheeled vehicles since there wasn't enough snow to use the sleds (bummer!) Afterwards, the dogs came over for a visit, and Owen (who had been eating some contraband pate we smuggled in) got two nice wet kisses right on the lips from two different dogs. I didn't see any of the kettle-corn-eating kids get nice, wet, dog kisses!
Owen enjoyed a show of Christmas music, and clapped politely after every song along with the rest of the audience - even when he was nursing. He'd pop off, smile and say, "clap" as he clapped with the other folks; then, he'd continue to nurse.
He also saw reindeer (which he called cows) and rode on the carousel twice. The second time, Daddy held him on the moving horse. He was pretty tired at that point, but it was still fun.

Snow!

This morning we woke up to the first blanket of snow this season - Owen's first nice snow! Daddy made a "tatta" (frittata), and we enjoyed some warm cider. (Gosh, some homemade hot chocolate would have been nice too!) I poured a mug for me and one for Abram and planned to share mine with Owen. Owen, however, had other ideas. He decided the "cider" needed to sit on his tray, and I could share a bit from time to time. On the way out to the market and the farm to get good things to eat, Owen got to play in the "hnow" a bit while sporting a suit passed down through the Ring cousins.
At the farm, he got a second chance to test out the snow and play with some little Amish kids building a tiny little snowman, and when we dropped Daddy off at work (the "office" in Owen-speak), we saw some big (college) kids building a really big snowman - much taller than they were. After nap time, we are planning to walk back over there to "play" as Owen requested and see the completed snowgiant.

Toddler Gym

We joined a toddler gym co-op for the winter. It was only $40 for the whole season plus open or closing duty twice a month. It is open two mornings and one evening a week, and Owen likes to go and play with the other kids and the toys. Here he is cooking a red hot dog at the kitchen - one of his favorite spots. He also likes the tents and the toddler roller coaster. Last week, he enjoyed wearing a lovely pink tutu around for a while, but he's not usually a fan of dressing up.

Salvation Army Score

I've been on the lookout for a Visions Dutch oven for a while. Owen and I stopped by the SA and found this one in perfect condition for only $7.99. We also found a pair of PJ's for Owen and a string games book.
Here it has chicken soup with broccoli, mushrooms, and onions cooking in it. That's pretty much the recipe. I just cooked the veggies in chicken stock (made from last night's baked chicken bones), added left-over baked chicken, and salted to taste. It was quite tasty.

Yesterday we met Ben and Tracy at Gunpowder Falls (Maryland) State Park to hike. It was a bit chilly, but we kept warm as long as we were moving. Along the way Owen pointed out "leaves," the "river," and "fire" (dead limbs that were begging to be picked up and made into a fire. He also said "turhturh" (turtle), and I think he wanted to see a turtle, but there were none out and about yesterday. Ben and Tracy brought along a warm picnic with soup and hot tea in thermoses. (I didn't get to try Tracy's pumpkin soup as we are still off of dairy; I had some meatball soup instead.) Owen was sleeping in the carrier on Abram, so he had a bit of frittata (left over from breakfast) as we walked along later when he woke up. After eating, Owen needed some milk to wash it down, so we switched the carrier and Owen to me, and he nursed as we walked along. We started out with a hat and socks on his hands. He wore the hat a good bit, but the socks just had to go! His poor little hands were really cold by the time we got back to the cars. I have knitted him some mittens that I was planning to give him at Christmas, but I think he might need them before then!

Sleep

Here's my Sleeping Handsome out for a nap on the couch. These days he normally wakes up around 7 or 7:30 and is cranky and ready for a nap sometime between 10:30 and 12. I nurse him to sleep, and he usually gets anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours napping alone in the bed. Sometimes he wakes up part of the way through a nap and needs to be nursed back to sleep. Then he might end up on the couch, the spare bed, or on my lap at the computer for the rest of his sleep. His normal bed time is 8, but occasionally, he stays up as late as 9. He is still waking quite a bit at night and we are looking for a solution to this problem.

Rocks!

Owen's collection of rocks recently got a boost from our favorite geologist, Carolyn!
While back in the states for her sister's wedding, she went through her old rock collection and sent us some; there are some really great ones in there.
We keep them in a little jar on the shelf, and Owen will request, "rock," sometimes. We get them down and talk about them - what colors they are, that they are rough, smooth, big, "bitty" (as in itty bitty). We line them up along the seams in the floor, and recently, Owen has started throwing them. We put them away when this happens. In the picture, Owen is showing me the "puhrpuhr" pumice (sent by Carolyn in another package).

Boys' Afternoon

Although Owen was a bit sick last night and threw up this morning, he seemed to otherwise feel pretty well. Abram had been planning on spending some daddy-baby time with him this afternoon, so they didn't cancel their plans. (No pictures - 'cause I was at home ALONE doing laundry, preparing dinner, and other fun stuff!)
Owen proudly announced, "office!" as he rolled out the door on the bike. I think he thinks "office" is any exciting place away from home although he does identify Abram's office when we drive up or go in.???
They biked downtown to the library which apparently closed on Sundays. I think that's pretty odd. Owen loves the library ("liber") because not only can he pick out new books to read but he can also play in the carpeted circle with puzzles and puppets.
Instead, they went to the North Museum, just a few blocks from here. When they returned home, Owen reported he had seen a "nake" (snake), an "owl," a "dog" (actually a stuffed wolf), and a "cow" (this he apparently did not actually see today), "pa" (Abram tells me this means they saw a quail like Pa Billy raises), and a turtle ("tuhrtuhr"). They have a reptile room with live reptiles and a collection of preserved specimens too. He and Daddy also went by Daddy's office where Owen found the "type writer." It's certainly odd what he picks up.
It was great for them to have some time on their own and for me to have some time to myself too.

Saturday

We got our new (used) camera in the mail yesterday (thus the Halloween pictures!), so I am back to keeping you better updated.
Today we got a new (used) grill off of Craigslist for $35! Abram had to take it apart to get it in the car. Even counting the $15 adapter we had to get for the propane tank, it was a bargain. I guess November 1st isn't the beginning of the grilling season in the Northern Hemisphere.
So after we get this thing taken apart and in the car, we headed by Lowe's to get the adapter, and while we were there, we happened to find a large majesty palm on sale and a wagon for Owen. Actually, it is a small utility cart, but it is a great, sturdy wagon on sale. I had suggested to Mom that this would be a great Christmas present for Owen, and seeing as we're a billion miles away and wagons are usually not checked as luggage onto airplanes, we had arranged for us to buy one here. It was on sale and was the last on left for the season. Owen enjoyed riding around Lowe's looking for the other stuff with the plants.
On our way home, we were a sight rolling down the road with a not-so-small-once-you-try-to-get-it-in-the-car wagon in the front passenger seat (which was reclined all the way back), a majesty palm taller than me sticking out of the back passenger window, a grill stand attached to the bike rack on the back of the car, and Abram, Owen, and I stuffed into the remaining spaces in the car. Luckily we made it home safely without any damage from the stuff falling on us or from the odd looks we got at red lights. I just smiled really big at the people whose eyes got big at us. :o)

Daddy and Owen put the grill back together when we got home, and they cooked some steaks I had marinated in anticipation of our acquisition. They also gave the jack-o-lantern a second spin with a "noder candle" - all things fire!

Halloween

Yesterday, Owen (dressed as "bones" and I attended a Halloween party given by our friend Kelsey and her step-mother, Heather. Owen tried coloring a mummy and dancing during the musical tombstones game (like musical charis) but really enjoyed the selection of toys Kelsey's siblings share. On the way home we picked up a pumpkin at a local garden center. When I asked if he would like to take it home to carve it, he said, "fire." He just loves fire, and somehow had put it together that we would have a lit candle in there.

After Owen got rested up with a good nap, we "open, open, open(ed)" the pumpkin, dug the seeds out (Owen wanted to give these to the birds), and carved it. Owen enjoyed poking the pumpkin carving tools inside the pumpkin and trying to call birds to come eat the seeds.
After dinner, he and Daddy put a candle inside and lit it. Owen requested "candle, noder" (another candle) this morning.
Owen donned his bones costume again (I'd washed it after the party and lunch), and we went trick-or-treating. We didn't actually collect any candy as Owen doesn't eat crap, but we enjoyed walking in the evening and seeing some friends. Our first stop was at Mr. Bob's down the hall; we had seen him in the lobby of our building Thursday, and he bemoaned the fact that he wouldn't have any trick-or-treaters. I suggested we stop by for a visit so he could see Owen in his costume, but warned him Owen couldn't have any candy. He had a big red apple and a magic, fold-out pumpkin for Owen. We walked over and saw our friends Jill, Donna, Shawn, and Angie who were all handing out goodies. Shawn and Angie's cat had a wonderful pirate costume. I was impressed that the cat seemed to like having it on.