Cashen Happenings!

The Sparrow's Nest
by William Wordsworth

Look, five blue eggs are gleaming there!

Few visions have I seen more fair,

Nor many prospects of delight

More pleasing than that simple sight!

I started, seeming to espy

The home and sheltered bed,

The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by

My Father's House, in wet or dry,

My Sister Emmeline and I

Together visited.

She looked at it as if she feared it;

Still wishing, dreading to be near it:

Such Heart was in her, being then

A little Prattler among men.

The Blessing of my later years

Was with me when a Boy;

She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;

And humble cares, and delicate fears;

A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;

And love, and thought, and joy.

(This is a birds nest that Erin & Ruby found last week. Yesterday we noticed a baby had hatched, we are anxiously awaiting the others to break out of their shell. )



We have had quite the busy end of May, I'd thought I would share what else has been going on with us besides preparing for a new school term.

(I know this is a terrible picture but being the great mom that I am I didn't charge my camera & had to take this quickly, right before it died!)
Both of my older daughters have birthdays the last week of May. We are not real big on the birthday party scene but try to keep it more family oriented. So Eric took an extra day off over the Memorial Day weekend & we had him home for 4 whole days! It was wonderful but not quiet. My parents also came to help us celebrate the girls b-days & they brought my 2 older nieces. My mom watched our littlest one while we took all the other kids to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (GASP-I know, it is a really bad movie for little kids but it is a huge weakness for us, we are hooked & love them, we own the other 2 & will own this one when it is available) Anyway, we had pizza & cake & Ice cream for dinner & opened presents & played & played. We had a cookout over the weekend w/ my parents, Eric & I were able to steal away for a date night & leave the kids with my parents (pure heaven!!). My parents left on Saturday & my sister came on Monday w/ her 2 younger kiddos. So the older 2 were here for over a week altogether, it was like a week long slumber party for my kids.
We went on a picnic, the kids went for hikes, read books, watched movies, ATE a ton of food,
played at the playground, swam (sort-of) in the creek, hunted for frogs, lizards, and fish (which they dissected, yuck!), found a birds nest complete with eggs, and just really had a great time. I had a wonderful time just visiting with my sister, playing with our babies, and looking forward to our new ones. We compared & talked about school curriculum, our kids, life in general. It was so nice to have her here all week. We had a few funny moments, Erin & Ruby decided to make brownies one night. Erin uses my mom's recipe & makes them better than I do so I always let her make them when she wants. But this time she had a companion in the kitchen so her attention to detail was sorely lacking (keep in mind she just turned 8). She showed me the batter before she put it into the oven & it looked very soupy and frothy. We went through all the ingredients & the amount she put in (she was doubling the recipe so I had to check that she doubled her measurements correctly). When we got to the eggs, I asked if she had doubled the 2 eggs to 4 eggs, her face went pale, "It says 2 eggs, I thought it said 6 eggs". This took a minute to sink in. "So you doubled 6 eggs, you put 12 eggs in the mix?!" Not only did they put 12 eggs into the mix but they had miscounted & actually used 14 eggs!! So, dump the first batch of brownies & try again, this time she comes in to ask me something & I'm wondering why she reeks of mint. "Oh, we ran out of vanilla extract so we used mint extract instead." An entire bottle!! The girls, my kitchen, everything they touched smelled of mint extract. Luckily, I love mint & I don't think they put too much in the brownies, I think they spilled the bottle. The 2nd batch of brownies did turn out very good and we had a good laugh over the 14 eggs. Dad especially thought this was particularly funny. Then we have my little Jack, he is always thinking, he has non-stop questions, some of my recent favorites, "Mom are you 25 or 85?" This one he asks on an almost daily basis and of course I answer him honestly, "25 sweetie!" LOL! But my new favorite, during Bible study this week he wanted to know if Jesus was a Christian! I'm still not sure how to answer that but I said "yes". And then little Katy has learned to dangle off the bars of my treadmill, she and Seth hang side by side, they crack me up. Katy refuses to talk, she just makes funny vowel sounds for whatever it is she is trying to say, she'll be 2 in July. She says "mama", "dada", "abba" (Abby), "papa" (Grandpa) but other than that she just makes noises. She loves to taunt poor Seth by grabbing his blanket, wrapping it around her neck & running for her life with it. This, of course, sets off my little Linus & he screams & chases her. She is totally in her glory when he reacts to her. But for as much as she taunts & tortures him, he loves her. He loves to hold her hand and give her kisses. He always makes sure she is OK & I have to watch that he doesn't wake her up from naps b/c he loves to be with her. Why, I don't know, she is rotten, LOL!