Tag: laughter

Thea’s Counting

Thea’s Counting

March 9, 2024

“Listen mom!”  Yells Thea, “listen Christina!”  She excitedly counts down from 20.  She’s been doing that for a while, but today had both of us in the living room when she was showing off.  She had just read a picture book to Laud and spelled four or five words from memory. 

“Wow, Thea! High five!” Christina smiles, “how many sisters do you have?”

“Wait!”

*excited little giggles and a hopping Thea bounds toward the barracks*

“Wait?” Christina laughs and looks at me, “there’s no one down there.” 

True.  Becky is at Pensacola.  Kimberly, Jaquline, Jillian, and Lucas are at gym.  I smile and laugh.  “She’s counting.”

Christina laughs harder, “she’s counting the beds!”

*Thea races in, jumps over Christina on the couch, and ends up standing in the corner of the couch* “Five!  I have five sisters because we have six beds!”

Christina is still laughing.  She pauses enough to give Thea a high five and comments to me, “she even subtracted herself from the total.”

“How many brothers do you have?” Christina challenges.  Thea smirks, “two but if you don’t count Laud, only one.”

“Why wouldn’t you count Laud?”

I’m hiding my face because Thea is conniving.  Little cheeky child looks pauses her bouncing to look straight at Christina and reply, “because he doesn’t have a bed yet, just a bassinet.”  Leaving us smiling and chuckling, my just-turned-five year old skips back to the playroom. 

I am so thankful for the joy God gives us through the smiles and laughter children bring to our home!

What cute funny antic made you smile today?

Thank you for reading,

Type at you later!

~Nancy Tart

Pumpkins

Pumpkin Memories

October 29, 2022

Pumpkins


We love pumpkins.  You cut off the bottom, scoop out everything inside and scrape all the yummy meat out (save it for roasted seeds and pumpkin pie!), decorate it with a silly face, and put a candle inside – now it’s an amazing nightlight that smells oh-so-good!

The first pumpkin I opened up with Grandma Jeanette; she was teaching me how to make her pumpkin pie.  My Daddy had told us long ago that the reason for the perfect pale color in most commercial pumpkin pies was due to the company using a hard squash instead of pumpkin.  Pumpkin cooks darker than winter squash.  Grandma Jeanette used everything.  I loved learning things from her because I can’t stand waste.  She came from the generation and grew up using everything!  Nothing was ever thrown away.  I loved that.  

Anyway, back to the pumpkin.  She opened it from the top with a big knife.  I was expecting puree like when you open a “pumpkin pack” tin can.  Nope.  Stringy spongy looking guts with spots of seeds reminded me of thick orange spiderwebs.  Grandma Jeanette took all that stuff and scraped with her big metal spoon until the wall was very thin.  Stringy stuff and tiny shavings that looked like slivers went into a big pot with a little bacon grease in the bottom.  She had a really cool method of basically pulling on the strings and all the seeds practically fell onto a pan on the counter.  She picked a few out.  (I have never been able to duplicate that easy seed removal and wondered later if she picked a specific type of pumpkin!) Seeds got tossed around in an oil and spice mixture and roasted in the oven.  The big chunks of hard pumpkin wall (not the actual skin, just the “wall” scrapings from inside) got chopped into smaller hunks and tossed in the pot with the strings and shavings.  Water added to the pot.  It was covered and cooked in a pressure cooker for however long we were sitting and chatting on the couch while the seeds roasted.  

When the lid came off, the strings and hunks had blended into a watery orange soup.  Grandma churned that around with her blender (it got handed down to me years later and had been manufactured in the 40s!) until it was smooth and now it looked like a darker cousin of the canned pumpkin I was so used to seeing.  

Now that was pumpkin pack!  

When Grandma Jeanette did it with me that year, she made all of it into pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas as family and friends always gathered at her house.  She froze the ones to save for Christmas.  I loved the heavenly smell!  She taught me some tricks about the pastry dough.  She sometimes short-cutted by buying premade dough, which she would prick with a fork, paint with butter and sprinkle with a bit of sugar on the edges to give it a “homemade” taste.  For my scratch recipe, she showed me how to layer and roll so it would be flakey.  Cold butter shaved into the mix.  Don’t overmix.  Don’t over roll.  NEVER freeze your scratch pastry.  Always bake the whole pie and then freeze – but it’s always best fresh.  It’s super fast and easy to make anyway, so I LOVE making pastry dough from scratch.

This is why I am transported into happy memories when I see a pumpkin.  I remember bumping around the kitchen with little Christina, Becky, and assorted cousins in and out of the house as we laughed and I listened to Grandma Jeanette’s stories.  

When I cut a pumpkin, I make pumpkin pack, but I don’t bake 12 to 16 pies the same day.  I use the canning pot and tools (all hand-me-downs from Grandma Jeannette, we still reuse some of her jars as well) to can the pumpkin pack for later pies.  1 pint makes one deep-dish pumpkin pie.  1 quart makes 2 deep dishes or 3 flat pies.  I love the whole process!  My plan each holiday season always includes a pumpkin and pumpkin pack and from-scratch pastry to make pumpkin pies.  I tell the stories of Grandma Jeanette and Christina, Becky, and the cousins bringing critters (lizards, toads, etc) into the kitchen and being told how cool they were before being shooed “back where they belong” to “take them home to their families,” yes, that’s why I say that about insects and critters my children capture.  I tell stories of our family because it feels so natural to do that while I’m canning.  Grandma Jeanette taught me to can.  She gave me our tiny library of books and pamphlets about canning, storing Florida produce, and food safety (old publications that came from St Johns County, University of Florida, and Ball, Inc with dates ranging from 1928 to 1965).  

Louis carves the pumpkin shell with the girls.  They love it!  If you open from the bottom, you can replace the candle easier and you can sprinkle cinnamon on the top (while the pumpkin is upside down and let it sit to sink in) and it will stick and make the house smell so good!

Pumpkins make me think of family.  Pumpkins make me smile because of the memories I have and the memories I hope I create for my family.  What food makes you think of happy memories?

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Let Thea Do It!

January 1, 2021

Let Thea Do It!

My almost 2 year old thinks she’s a gymnast and the gym is her second home. She thinks she’s a member of Civil Air Patrol like Christina and Kimberly. She thinks she can ride Lucas’ bike. She thinks she can build shelves like Mom. She also thinks she can hide from everyone in plain sight.

She thinks she can fly. (From any object straight into a big sister’s arms without warning!)

She’s been going to WGV Gymnastics attending the Parent and Tot classes (yes, we have classes for those just walking to 3 years old) for a few months and Lucas (big brother) has been doing the Preschool Program for a few months.

Kimberly is in competitive team and set up a workout area on the wall marked with degrees (set up with sticks, a protractor, and a pencil) and was like “I need to go from here to here.”

“I can do that!” Says Lucas.

Bingo.

“Let Thea do it!” Thea says.

Bingo.

Kimberly tosses her hands in the air playfully, “I give up!”

We laughed and asked, “Why?”

“My baby brother has a bigger split than I do!” Kimberly laughed, “actually,” she tries it, “maybe not.”

We all laugh because the littles are so enthusiastic about everything. They love anything and everything big siblings or friends are doing. Thea consistently tries to do everything her big brother and big sisters do. She walked into the front room last night and turned on the game computer, “play a game with Becky!” and the mouse pointer went straight to the correct icon for Becky’s game.

Thea loves to do it! Thea loves to do everything!

“Mom!” (I’m washing dishes, Thea is dragging the stool over to the sink…) “Thea can wash dishes, please?”

How do I say no? I hope she always keeps the can-do will-try attitude she currently possesses.

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Memories

February 7, 2020

Memories

My Daddy always said the internet was just another tool. I’ve chosen to look at all social media platforms in the same way. They are just tools. Use them but don’t allow them to steal time and energy from you.

One of my favorite things about Facebook is the “Memories” that pop up occasionally.

Like this one:

I laugh! I love our crazy, nerdy, quirky family! I want to watch the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy again – this will be a first for Jillian and Lucas. Sunday afternoon plans just made… epic Lord of the Rings Marathon likely while we play boggle, mancala, Catan, or labyrinth at the table.

What are you going to do with your family this weekend? At least find one thing that you can all do together to build a family memory… even if it’s swatting flies and randomly spitting out movie lines.

Type at you later!

~Nancy Tart

Frogger

Memories associated with one simple game…

August 6, 2019

Frogger!

Christina is jumping up and down with excitement in front of my bedroom door as Louis, Thea, and I are laying on top of the bed after church and lunch.  On Sunday, we usually talk about stuff and share a bit about each others’ week while he powernaps (how can he do that with his eyes open?) and I feed Thea.

“The Flea Market is open until 4!” Christina announces.  She’s been wanting to go for a few weeks now, yet we’ve always been too busy & yesterday we built the middle girls their new bed.

So we get to the Flea Market and she zooms to the one spot we always get our games from (always… I haven’t been there in over 2 years).  This guy has been in business for over 14 years – sold Becky her second PS1 and our current PS2.  Christina has been slowly building a game system & game disc collection of her own.  Today both Christina and Becky pull out their debit cards.  (This feels weird, as my teens are buying stuff with their own debit cards with their own money!) 

I’m a bit proud, a bit sad. 

Proud because Christina is managing college, CAP (2nd Lieutenant now), homeschool, work, and friends mostly on her own and doing a good job at it  Proud because Becky raises sweet, lovable Guinea Pigs (Kimberly and Jillian are also partners in this venture), juggles college classes, gymnastics, and her interests well. 

Sad because this additional sign of independence just shows me how quickly they are growing.

Usually Sunday is a no-tech day, but since we spent yesterday building the bed and deep cleaning, we allowed video games today. 

That’s how we got home, have all 7 children on the couch watching Christina and Becky “test” the two Lego Star Wars PS2 discs, enjoying the four slushies Becky bought while I got gas.  Sharing treats, laughing at the games, and enjoying each other’s company – I love this!

Then out comes Christina’s reason for going in the first place… she displays the original PS1 frogger game with a flourish and jumps up and down.  “Remember this game, Becky?” And they laugh. 

It’s the first game they remember Uncle Buddy playing with them when he brought in their first PS1.  They played that one as a 4-player for years (with the special “L” shaped extra Christina didn’t find this trip).  They played that with Aunt Mary and Aunt Stacy at the little house behind the Winn Dixie. 

Christina says, “Mom, the memories attached to this game are priceless!”

I smiled.  So true.  I remember playing this with my brothers and sisters (the only 4-player at the time) and the crazy laughter that happened with “bees bees all sorts of bees” and “racing cars” and “the hippos and crocs” and all the other fun nicknames for the levels we had. 

I’m watching now as they do another popular big family thing with fast games – pass the controller around after each “death” – taking turns and laughing…

Oh, now they’ve changed frogger’s name to “Gerald” – and keep lauging… “Off the rock, Gerald!”  “Not there, Gerald!” (occasionally tossing in other lines from Finding Dory too… my crazy, fun, family!)

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Fatherhood

June 17, 2019

Fatherhood

So, you know this huge thing called “Fatherhood?”

What comes to mind?  A parenting book I read when I was twelve (yes, oldest sibling perks!) said something like “the child’s view of God as a Father is directly impacted by their experience with their Earthly Father.”

Yes. So true.

I went into parenthood knowing this. (Songs like “He Wants to be Like Me” reaffirmed this giant responsibility.)

A Father is often the humor of the family too – in the photo, Louis had climbed to the top of the stump and challenged “Come Get Me!” … notice all the kids following!

Despite the failures that I’ve made as a Mom and that I felt repercussions of from my parents (they were AWESOME parents, but they weren’t perfect) – I understand the crux of all parenting: we are human.  We (Parents) are not Jesus and are not perfect.

Bingo.

That awesome thing called grace collaborates with the huge responsibility of parenting to create a vulnerable, praying, God-dependant parent capable of teaching the amazing love and grace of Jesus through their own transparency.

Let’s face it: most of the American culture makes fun of fathers.  (Ever seen the Goofy Salute to Fatherhood?) Even as early as the 1950s when there was still a bit of a patriarchal society present, cartoons and movies started to depict fathers as lazy, goofy, clueless bunglers who often caused more problems than they solved.

Although I laughed along with my Daddy at a lot of these early shots at the masculine father, I understood the bulk of media still left you understanding that the love and bond of a father to child was the glue of a family.  The unsung hero always was the silent sure strength of the God-following Father.

As time inched forward, the media continued to turn the American Father into a non-essential entity.

The opposite is true!

I consider myself a strong, independent woman when it comes to my life.  I am a Christian woman, but one of my strongest battles with myself is submission – first to my father, then to Jesus, and later to my husband.  I know this though…  I CANNOT be the mother I am without the encouragement and support from my husband.

If I had to do motherhood without my husband being my ultimate cheerleader and sounding board, I would have realized how unfit I am about three months into the first child.  I have the ultimate respect for people whose life circumstances have forced them to navigate parenthood alone.  I try to be an encourager to them and help those single parents in any way I can because I cannot imagine myself having that strength.

I am excited to be around my husband!  I was on a softball team (church, yes, I’m an athletic maniac but wasn’t on an actual team until I was in my late 20s and it was just for one season with my church family).  Louis was working sometimes 100+ hours a week for our family at the time.  The company I had just closed.  He’d never made it to any of our games (I took all the kids with me; they loved it and hung out with their friends & some of the church ladies who came to encourage us bounced my baby around).  One day he showed up and I was so excited!  (I was told I squealed like a little girl; don’t remember exactly.)  I love walking with him.  I am excited when we do something as a family – or when he’s going somewhere and says, “hey want to go with me?”  Because I know he likes his alone time.  I get way too much alone time at my office – I relish gym coaching because of the other encouraging women I work for and with and the chattering children I love.  I will chatter way too much sometimes.

Our church sermon was on how Fathers aren’t perfect (only Jesus is) and how their honesty and relationship is their connection with their children.  It’s the way to disciple.  We aren’t perfect, our children aren’t perfect – bingo!  Common ground.

I know how important real, honest, God-fearing Fathers are to the fabric of our family.  I know how hard it is to buck the media’s garbage portrayal of our roles and follow God’s plan instead.  I am so thankful that I have a husband who is pursuing God’s heart.  His passion for Jesus makes him a better husband, a better father, and a better friend.  He helps encourage me to pursue God’s heart.  (Told you I’m competitive.)  He isn’t perfect, but he is constantly improving.  A challenge arises and he rises above it.  He’s always leading in love and with a determined drive that is totally contagious.  His passion for Jesus, life, and family (okay, and sports) is encouraging.

And he doesn’t think he’s “so much” – he compliments and lifts me up consistently.  He makes me feel like I’m doing well despite whatever challenge I feel I’m failing.

At church, we pulled in on Father’s Day (neither of our fathers went to church as adults) and he comments, “wow, church is crowded on Father’s Day.”  Yes, at our church, the culture of encouraging each person to follow God individually, corporately, and in their family is persistent.  (I was afraid we lost that when our previous church folded.)  I am so encouraged that Louis has found a church with a culture of lifting up men as fathers; the vital leaders in their homes, encouraging and holding each other accountable.

Thank you, Jesus, for fathers who choose to take the hard road and follow you; they are raising up the next generation of world-changers.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next later…

~Nancy Tart

Goofy Meme

A meme shared by their uncle provides for a funny, entertaining morning!

March 2, 2019

Goofy Meme

One thing Christina and Becky like to do is look through my FaceBook feed.

Hilarious laughter exploded one morning as I showed them a meme one of my brothers shared:

20190227_133010.jpg

Becky adds:  “Me: Uncle Buddy, Uncle ChaCha, how did you get in my birth room?”

Kimberly, Jaquline, and Christina went into laughing debate over which of their uncles would fit which roles.

Christina and Becky decided this would be the most awesome thing to do after their first baby’s birth.  Becky started talking about how it would be her and her husband mimicking this exchange.

I told them to do a ToyActs video play with it.  (Don’t know if they will.)

This did turn the entire breakfast table and schoolroom into a discussion that led into movie/book differences, how nerdy our family is, a few recitations from the movie, and one of the girls looking at Thea and saying, “You’ll understand this soon enough.”

Their interactions certainly kept an amused smile (and a few chuckles) on mom’s face.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Laughter

Children create laughter – especially the funny antics of a preschooler!

August 6, 2018

Laughter

On Saturday, Christina mentioned in passing this now rather infamous line: “I have a brother, Mom, nothing embarrasses me anymore.”

Fast forward to Saturday night: we’re at church, listening to an awesome message, where the pastor mentions “taking off” all the things the world assigns to us but God doesn’t want us to carry.

At this apropos moment, Lucas races into the sanctuary holding his clothes, yelping “they got water on them!”  (He can’t stand anything dirty on his clothes, mud covering his body, sure, but not on his clothing!)

Christina whisked him away to the bathroom to dress him, red as a coke can.  I would have gone but she was too fast – I think, because she was embarrassed to be related to him at the moment.

However, I was grateful he had left his big boy pants on (briefs), and a friend leaned over (she also has a 3 year old boy) and whispered, “well, he did just say to take it off.”

We moms can laugh at that – as we understand that everyone has had at least one embarrassing moment in their life.  But my poor teenager is the big sister of an almost-streaker preschool brother who is almost-streaking in front of friends she would like to impress.

I seriously bet (as they are also big siblings) that they’ve been embarrassed by a younger sibling at some time.

That wasn’t the last antics of the night by Lucas – as service was closing, two tennis balls bounce into the sanctuary followed by two three-year-old boys and a toddler.  It seems they were playing “doggie fetch” and Lucas was the doggie…

Later all three of them come running in, drop noiselessly, and begin rolling across the floor.

Yes, children fill our lives with laughter!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

 

Goodbye Spring!

April 27, 2018

Goodbye Spring!

Jaquline says “goodbye spring!” as we drop Christina and Rebeccah at their final exam.

“Goodbye spring?” I ask.

“Yes, goodbye spring classes,” Jaquline laughs.  “Now we have summer classes!”

I smile.  Yes, today is the final day of spring classes for the dual enrollment students.  Although Kimberly, Jaquline, and Jillian don’t really transition into anything different at this point, Rebeccah is doing two refresher arithmetic courses over summer while Christina gets a week break and jumps into Psychology and more algebra.

For our family, spring classes shifting to summer means transition from every day at the college campus to later classes twice a week.

The transition brings expectation: we “kick summer off” with an awesome event where we are an annual vendor.  Our textbook money and hopefully some residual book sales will come from this year’s participation in the Alpha-Omega Family Fun Fest.  (If you are reading this before 8pm on April 28, 2018, come see us at Francis Field, Saint Augustine!)

We have a family trip planned.  Christina goes to summer encampment with her fingers crossed that she’ll be accepted as a flight sergeant.  Kimberly is training for running in any kid-friendly 3K or 5K Aunt Katy or I find.  She’s super excited to get to run with her sister-cousin!  We are expanding our chicken flock and livestock base.

We always find things to be excited about and wonder what God has planned for us in each new season.

I silently pray for God’s wisdom and guiding hand in our transition and exciting new season we are entering.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a moment of reflection!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

Baby Mode

June 20, 2017

Baby Mode

Babies have several levels; there is no-sleep level, walker level, mobile level, and want-to-be independent level.  Then they graduate into toddler level and you’re off to the races.  Really, off to the races begins with baby’s birth.  When you hear Momma yell: “It’s time!” the race is well underway.  There are endless modes baby can choose from as well.

Random strangers say “Oh, your baby is so sweet!” but as soon as they turn the corner “Angelic Mode” shifts into “Cranky Mode with supersize red food dye on top.”

My personal favorite is “Grandma Mode” – this is characterized by sweet, innocent faces and nuzzling into lots of adoring hugs and kisses.  It makes everyone go “Awww how sweet!” then it’s time to go.  “Tell Grandma bye bye,” – cutest little wave and shy away ever!  But as soon as you drive off, “leaving fun mode” comes on and it’s ferociously scream “I want Grandma!” at the top of his lungs.  (This is related to “Auntie Mode,” “Bestest Uncle Mode,” and “Cousin Mode”)

“Snuggle Mode” is nice.  This always turns on when mom, dad, or big sister has something vital to do (like make food, do schoolwork, or remove the insect that is causing the dog to break the sound barrier).  Baby enters snuggle mode and the world stops until he is really asleep.  Don’t ever try to lay him down while in “Half-Sleep Mode” (this is where your stemware shatters with the ear-piercing squeal announcing that he had not received enough snuggle time)

“Goofy Mode” is the most wonderful of baby modes – and this mode continues into teenagerhood.  This is when anything and everything from “Boo” faces to tummy tickles to doggies kissing sister’s feet makes baby laugh.  Not just a little chuckle, but a deep belly laugh that makes everyone else in the house laugh too.

Laughter is Baby’s superpower.

Sometimes even in “Total Demolition Mode” laughter emerges.  Mom can be cleaning up one mess as baby is making two more yet when she sees the marker masked bandit excited to show her his masterpiece of tape and sequins decorating the couch, Mom just can’t help but laugh.  (Maybe a bit of insanity laughter, but still laughter.)  Of course, those stories make everyone at the family reunions laugh (or the lady’s group, church, PTA, etc.)  This is because anyone who has experienced baby knows the memories are what you carry with you.

God has entrusted us with His little angels (they are His first) for a short time.  18 years goes by so quickly.  Before you are done cleaning up messes, your baby has toddled off to school and instead of screaming because he’s hungry and can’t express it, he is asking for the car keys.

Enjoy the baby levels, different modes, and ages of life.  Remember that laughter can turn any situation into a happy memory. Who knows?  An artistic mess might be framed and remain part of the wall to show your Grandchildren, “see, this is what your daddy did to my wall when he was your age.”

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

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