I'm starting the hundred push ups training program. Anyone want to join me? (Not you, John. We all know you could do about a million push ups in the blazing desert sun without breaking a sweat.) I'm out of shape and was only able to do 16 push ups today, but in 6 weeks I hope to be able to do 100 or more. I'll start week 1 tomorrow.



Aaron Scott, Landis and I went for a 6 mile bike ride yesterday and I realized just how out of shape I really am. It was hard to keep up with the quick and energetic Aaron Scott, and then he took a fall which scraped his hand and shook him up, so he ended up riding the last 1 1/2 miles or so in the bike trailer with Landis. It's hard work pulling 75 pounds worth of silly boys! I'm planning to join a gym that's about 2 1/2 miles away from our house, and I may bike there when the weather permits. After a few weeks I should be ready to challenge Aaron Scott to a race. :)

Happy Birthday to Aaron Scott!!

Aaron Scott, almost 6, at Goat's UF graduation.




Aaron Scott a few days ago.



Aaron Scott is 8 years old today! It's hard to believe that he is so old. He is looking forward to starting 3rd grade next Monday.

We picked him up for his birthday dinner. Like a good Ludwig, he chose to eat sushi, his favorite. The sushi was delicious! Now we are settling in for a fun evening of computer games!

Laundry

I love finding little things that are both cost effective and good for the health of my family and our planet, so I was very excited when I ran across these directions for homemade laundry soap. It's made from natural ingredients that are gentle on even soft baby skin and costs only a penny per load!

We're also planning to start line drying our laundry in order to hopefully negate the effects of an 8% rate increase that our power company put into effect this month. Electric dryers use about 6% of the electricity consumed in the average household. I'm planning to put the clothesline up between the garden and Landis' little playhouse. Hopefully, having to see it several times a week will motivate me to care for my sadly neglected garden again, even in the sweltering Florida summer heat, and Landis will certainly enjoy having more outdoor time!

A Recipe for Mischief

One mischievous toddler + 30 seconds of unsupervised time + an unlatched cabinet + a Crockpot = TROUBLE.

Really cute trouble!







Hmmm... I wonder what the proper cooking time is for Trouble Pumpkins? And how much of that hot sauce should we add to get just the right flavor?

In typical trouble pumpkin fashion, Landis has manged to fall off of and onto and slide across every piece of furniture in the house, the walls and the (tile) floor in the last week. Bumps and bruises abound, from his head to his toes.

He fell asleep one night in that cute little curled up, butt in the air position babies sometimes sleep in. Goat called me into the room and whispered, "Look at that cute baby. He looks like an Anne Geddes picture." I objected, pointing to all of the bruises and scrapes. Goat decided that he would make a great Anne Geddes picture - asleep in a boxing glove!



And, just for fun, here are some photos of Landis, covered in grease after "helping" his Daddy work on the truck. The truck is up and running!!!

These Things Only Happen to Me...

I had a really weird morning yesterday. I woke up and decided to jump in the shower, turned on the water and waited for it to get warm. I stuck my hand in and decided that it was too warm, so I reached for the cold water knob to adjust the temperature. Zap! The knob shocked me! Those of you who know me know just how well I function in the morning. My brain just doesn't turn on until about 2 hours after I wake up. So, I reached for the knob again, not quite believing that it had shocked me. Sure enough, it shocked me again. At that point, I decided to wake up my husband. I walked over to him and said "Honey, come make sure I'm not going crazy, please." I told him how the knob had shocked me. He touched it, and it shocked him. After a little bit of investigation, we found out that there is a short in the fan in the boys' room that was pumping excess electricity and causing the problem. We turned off the fan, and the knobs were back to normal. Goat is going to fix it as soon as he gets the chance, but for now, we are just keeping the fan off.

Black Eyed Pea Soup

I threw together random things we had in the house for dinner tonight and it turned out really well!

1 pound dry black eyed peas
water
salt
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c. fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 c. frozen spinach
3 oz. tomato paste

Cook the black eyed peas in the crockpot, covered with an inch of water and a little bit of salt for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add garlic and basil and cook on low for another 1/2 hour. Add in tomato paste, butter and spinach and cook until the spinach is ready. Serve!

I'm Jealous

One of the houses we walk past to get to the park has a miniature horse in their backyard. I want a miniature horse! (I'd settle for a goat, though, or a few chickens..)

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Landis in Gainesville

...having a great time with his uncles!