Mulberries, summer heat, and our extra houseguests
What's in my hand this week?
Mulberries, and now black raspberries which can be treated the same way.
Two extra little boys, ages five and two. They visit many weekends, but this visit has had them here for nearly two weeks, and the five year old (we call him Blynken) asked me tonight if he could stay for a hundred nights. The two year old spoke to his mother on the phone and told her he wanted to stay too, but she shouldn't cry about it, he would come back sometime (he is very precocious). Beds for the boys are a bit problematic because the 2 year old is an acrobatic sleeper and falls out of beds, and the boys aren't quite secure enough to be put to bed in some empty room and feel happy about it. They want one of us with them. We don't all go to bed at decent hours, and the boys are accustomed to early nights and very early mornings. Soooo- their 'bed' has been a very nice, thick, cushy mat- it's really for wrestling on, but I picked it up cheaply at an auction. We can put this on the floor in any room, put a quilt down for a bottom layer and another quilt or sheet for the top and the boys are portable.
The quilt they sleep on is one I picked up at a yard sale. It's not terribly pretty, but it is very comfortable and very versatile. In the spirit of what's in my hand, I have used this quilt on the blanket to picnic on, as a tablecloth, spread beneath a table so kids can play with playdough and keep the floor clean, and to cushion breakable things when we've moved.
Also in hand, all these ways of keeping cool in the summer without breaking the budget. I don't remember if I included it in that post, but another way we keep cooler indoors is the use of foil window shades for cars- you know, the kind you unfold and set on your dashboard, blocking the sun from entering your windsheild. I picked up several of these one fall when they were marked down to a ridiculusly low amount. I put them up in the windows that get the strongest sun, and I know it drops the temp in that room at least several degrees.
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2 Responses to “Mulberries, summer heat, and our extra houseguests”
June 26th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Thanks for the post. What an interesting story! I see it was not diffuct for you to be with two small children! As for me I cant imagine how to be with one… You have a talent =)))
June 29th, 2009 at 10:32 am
I have lots of big helpers!=)
My 13 year old changed nearly all the diapers- she wanted to.
My 20 year old gave the 2 year old his bath.
My son gave them piggy back rides.
Our summer houseguest chased them and played with them (as did the rest of my older girls).
All I really had to do was cuddle them, tell them stories, and sing to them- the fun parts.=)
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