Yesterday, we decided a method of “divide and conquer” would work best with our agenda. Andrew took the twins with him to some far off county for work and I loaded Ellen and Adam up for a trip to the pediatrician. Ellen needed a well-baby check-up. I paid fifty dollars to have the doctor confirm that she is, indeed, well. Ellen demonstrated this by giving a rousing performance from her healthy colon. Being “prepared,” I had wipes and a diaper… in the car. A quick trip to the parking lot and lots of fumigation later, Ellen was once again pronounced “well.” Adam is also well, but since he’s been a bit late to walk and do some of the physical stuff, the doctor ordered an x-ray of his hips.

This required a trip to Children’s Hospital. Since I didn’t have the twins with me, I figured it was as good a day as any to make the trip. But first, I needed to make good on a promise. I told Adam if he was cooperative with the doctor, we would go to a playground. Seeing how it was 90 degrees by ten AM, I hunted for an air conditioned playground. This brought me to a McDonald’s™. That’s right, I darkened the door of a McDonald’s™. Don’t judge me.

About this time I decided I might need back-up at the hospital, so a friend of ours from church offered to ride along. Wise decision.

Also about this time, the pregnancy hormones rendered me completely stupid. I called Andrew, who was a good three hours away, to ask him where I was. I could give him the road names, but had no idea which direction to go from there. And, yes, we’ve lived here a year. But I believe I’ve mentioned that I don’t get out much. And if it’s not Target™ or the grocery store, I don’t go. I eventually found my way, but not without angst and muttering. (The stupidity continued into the evening, when I got us lost about three times on the way to dinner. And the road I got us lost on? The corridor I use the most. By the third trimester, I’m going to be in a padded room somewhere, drooling.)

Once we were checked into the hospital, we were ushered to a waiting room just meant for my toddlers. Ellen and Adam headed to the plastic slide while I prayed a hedge of antibacterial protection around them.

And then I heard the whimper and the grunting. Adam was in the midst of a potty crisis. I dragged him out of the waiting room and down the hall to the bathroom. My friend L. stayed behind with Ellen, only to hear them call Adam’s name as the door shut behind us.

I got Adam into the bathroom and removed his drawers. The underwear went straight in the trash. Again, do NOT judge me. Twenty wipes later, Adam’s legs were rendered clean. His pants were not. And, give me a little credit, I didn’t throw those away. Being a “prepared” mother, I had a spare pair of underwear. But no pants. He went pantless with style, I assure you. Nothing says “confidence” like an almost three year old traipsing down the hallway wearing a polo shirt, blue underwear, and Crocs™.

Adam sailed through the x-ray (probably because they wouldn’t let me go in with him and he felt like cooperating for Miss L.) They even gave him a pair of paper hospital shorts to “class him up” a bit. He is still proudly sporting his hospital bracelet, rubbing it into his brothers that HE got to go to the hospital and get a “scapelet.”

Now everybody wants to go to the hospital, especially for a groovy pair of shorts.

We made it home halfway through our normal nap-time, having officially pooped at every doctor’s office in Birmingham. Perhaps it’s the children’s way of keeping their directionally challenged mother on the right course for home. Like Hansel and Gretel, but with… well, you know.

There’s a lot more produce around our house lately. I’m in a bulk buying club and we have access to great organic fruits and veggies… in bulk, of course. Which is how we ended up with six heads of romaine in our fridge at one time. I’m terrible at remembering to feed people the salads in the fridge, but I tried really hard, not wanting to end up with six heads of DEAD romaine in my fridge.

The problem with this fantastic lettuce is that I still have a bit of a first trimester hang-up about eating leaves. They make me gag. But since I didn’t want to set a bad example for my children and not eat the green stuff on my plate, I created a new method for salad consumption.

I believe I’ve mentioned that my cravings for this pregnancy involve anything I can dip. French onion dip is a favorite, but I’ll do bean dip, cheese dip, fruit dip, just let me dip it, people! So I made some ranch dressing to go with the salad. And I turned it into a dip. I pulled a nice, long leaf off the head of romaine and rolled it up, sort of like a cigar. (Okay, I know, bad imagery, but it’s all I’ve got tonight. My apologies.) Then I dunked it in the ranch and ate it. Since all the leaves were rolled inward, they didn’t touch my tongue and I didn’t gag. Ta-da!

My kids thought this looked like fun. Ian demonstrates his dipping prowess here.

And now that I’ve shared my hormone-induced moment of genius with you, I believe I hear a bowl of french onion dip calling me. Peace out, from the Big Dipper.

Many moons ago, we used to have something in the sidebar that showed what we were reading. But we took it down when we weren’t updating it. Well, okay, we weren’t really reading much, either. Correction: I was not reading much. Andrew always has a book in tow. I go through stages of Reading Rebellion, where I refuse to crack a book. Then I get a book I want to read and I check out for twelve hours until I’ve got the thing conquered. I like to blame it on all the reading I did in college, but since those days are getting farther and farther behind me, that excuse is wearing thin.

I digress.

What I was trying to do is answer a question. Jen in Al asked : What are your children’s favorite books?

They have many favorites, of course. A few of our “must haves” include :

The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

The Little Red Train Storybook by Benedict Blathwayt

But the current favorite, of both grown-ups and kids, is The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I first read about this book on several different blogs. I was skeptical about all the high praise it received until I saw a copy in a bookstore. The drawings are first-rate. Really fascinating for little kids and big kids. Different perspectives, bright colors, and friendly faces are all captivating for our children. But the words… those are the real scene-stealers. The author begins and ends each story from the Bible with a look at the bigger picture, the bigger story, and ultimately, pointing to Jesus. She breaks down complicated aspects of theology and sanctification and makes them easy to understand, without removing the beauty and awe.

The story of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden is told with such sadness and heartbreak over the broken relationship, the broken creation. I had tears in my eyes while we read. Jacob’s story is told through Leah’s eyes, a perspective I’d never thought much about. The author describes her as the girl “no one wanted.” At the end of the story, she points out that it was through the line of Judah, Leah’s son, that God would send the The Prince. “This Prince would love God’s people. They wouldn’t need to be beautiful for Him to love them. He would love them with all of His heart. And they would be beautiful because He loved them. Like Leah.”

I could go on with the examples, but this book is really exciting to read as a family. As the children are grasping the meaning of the familiar stories, our conversations are getting deeper and more interesting. And even when we’re not reading the book, if they’re sitting still, one of them always has it and is poring over the pictures, or telling his brothers the story he remembers.

While I’m on the subject of books, and since this blog isn’t only about the kids, I thought I’d give you a book or two that Andrew and I are working through. The first is Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham. Great, practical thoughts about how to use the Scripture as a blueprint for raising our children “in the fear and admonition of the Lord.” A good read no matter how big or small your family is. We’re reading it as a couple and are enjoying some good conversation because of it.

Finally, from our own personal devotions, we highly recommend The Valley of Vision. We have a leather bound copy that sits between our two stuffed chairs. The kids know that it belongs with the family Bible. It’s a collection of prayers written by the Puritans. They are timeless and full of rich depth, humility, and passion that is so missing from our lives and culture. They’re also easy to read to the children, who may not understand everything, but they can sit still while one of us reads.

These are just a few of our current faves. I’d love to hear some of yours. Leave me your top three in the comments!

I figured it was time for a Baby Bump Update. Because I just love discussing my girth.

Here we both are at about twenty weeks along. Dopplerina has been growing. Consequently, so have I.

Another little girl in our household has done some growing, too. She’s been walking for a few weeks now, but I haven’t been able to capture a really good video of it. The other day, I found her some sweet shoes for fall and brought them home. Because we all know I have a problem saying no to little girl shoes. (Or big girl shoes, for that matter.) When I put them on Ellen, we both discovered they’re the squeaky kind. I eventually figured out how to remove that nonsense, but I’ve left them in for the time being. Because it amuses the girl so much. See for yourself. (I am sorry that you will have to turn your head, but there was no flipping the picture without spending thirty dollars for a Quicktime upgrade. I love you, guys, but… no.)

Ellen Squeaks from Lora Fanning on Vimeo.