I love my girl

I hate to admit it, but one of my worst pregnancy symptoms is always IR-RIT-TI-BIL-I-TY. I'm thankful that it has seemed much better so far this time around. But Sunday...wow....Sunday I was grouchy all over the place!
Usually, if I take a nap (pregnant or not), I run a great risk of waking up grumpy from it. So I often skip them. 
But this grumpy Sunday afternoon, I did finally doze off on the couch for a little while. Not long at all after I awoke, there stood Brooklyn, freshly awakened from her own nap. I had been mulling over a little snack for myself when she whispered, "I'm hungry." Then the little sister read my mind, "I want ice cream," she whispered again. We hardly ever have ice cream, so her mind reading was quite impressive.

I grabbed the carton of chocolate ice cream, one spoon, and my baby girl and we headed to the big middle of Mama's bed. And shut the door. And do you know? All those giggle and ice cream bites later the grumpies I'd fought all day were gone for good. 

Such a happy little time with my little princess. :)

In other little princess news, Greg headed off to work as usual just after daylight Monday morning, leaving me in bed for "just a few more minutes" (riiiiight). But not as usual, he returned to the bedroom just moments later, carrying a half-sleeping Brooklyn. He had found her curled up asleep, outside her shut bedroom door. Apparently, sometime in the night she had gotten up (probably for a drink) and the door had latched, shutting her out of the bedroom. Poor sweetie pie had just laid down in the floor and gone back to sleep.  Isn't that the saddest thing you've ever heard?! 

She never did go back to sleep Monday morning, but those early morning smiles and cuddles were worth it. 

School Update and Some Random Pics

It seemed to me that it would be a good time to catch up on how school is going around here, so, without further ado, an update on our 2013-2014 school year:

We are absolutely loving Easy Peasy (allinonehomeschool.com). Dale is on track to finish year 5 by the end of May. Which is pretty impressive, considering we didn't really get going on it full swing until January. Among other novels he has read Alice in Wonderland, and is currently working on Little Men. He's developing his writing skills, learning how to write a five-paragraph essay and be aware of creative language and complex sentences. He already  has a whopping vocabulary, so it's nice to start to see that come out in his writing now and then. The biggest hurdle we have with school is quality control. He is able to do most of his work independently, but I have to stay on my toes checking it or things get a little less than his best.

Accidently matching for church a few weeks ago.

Pretty much since the beginning of his "official" school career, Alan has been on a January to December calendar instead of August to May. Which is one of the beauties of homeschooling, really. He has never been behind or ahead, but right on schedule. That hopefully explains the fact that he began his 2nd grade work in January. He will not finish Easy Peasy level two in May, but will be able to complete the work with flying colors in November/December. He is learning a lot of grammar (nouns, proper nouns, action verbs, linking verbs, subjects, predicates). He gets frustrated with me for making him write exclusively in cursive, but his cursive is steadily improving and is already better than his print. 

The look on his face when I asked him Easter Sunday if he wanted go hunt eggs.

After letting Khan Academy fall by the wayside for several months due to web layout frustrations, I decided to check it out again recently, and I'm so glad I did! It's all different, and I love the changes. It's so much easier for me - and the boys- to see what they have done and what they need to do next. Also, lots of lower elementary concepts and exercises have been added, so Alan can do it too. Very, very pleased with that.

We are doing our usual read-through-the-Bible again this year, pretty much the same way we have done all but one of the last 5 years or so. We are currently mid-way through  II Kings, pausing a bit there to cover the prophets. Not sure at what pace I want to proceed through the rest of the Bible, whether to start the New Testament in August and take two years, or pack it all in to finish by early summer. Dale and Alan notebook most of the Bible lessons. They also (Alan particularly) like worksheets printed from Calvary Chapel Curriculum. 

We have covered a few science/history/social studies topics together this year, including animal habitats, Russia / the Olympics (which has made the boys interested in all of the news in Ukraine this spring), and currently, earthquakes.

For Tyler and Brooklyn we have been loosely following Hubbard's Cupboard's Bible and Rhyme curriculum - working our way through major stories of  the Bible and the Alphabet, along with appropriate matching crafts and occasional nursery rhymes. We sometimes sing songs, do hand rhymes, play with playdough, or get out special puzzles and games. We spend about 30 minutes of each day devoted to "Preschool Time." Tyler is ripe for learning to read. Not sure yet when I'll start official "lessons" with him. Meanwhile, Brooklyn has picked up on most of the letter sounds herself.

(I don't think she found any letter sounds in these giant eggs, though.)

I make it a point almost every day to read to Daniel and Brooklyn individually (and often Tyler, too), and then Tyler, Alan, Dale and I spend half an hour in a chapter book. We've read a couple of "Little House" books recently, and currently, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. It's one of my favorite times of day, and I think everyone else's, too!

When all else fails, blame the monkey

Sometimes random items become the "it" item of the day at our house. Yesterday it was one of those little ink stampers...the kind you can order from those prize magazines for 9.99/gross. Tyler was enamored and covered himself with blue smilies. He and Alan both decorated their bellies with smiley "eyes" and a smiley dots smile, with their own belly buttons for noses. By the time I discovered what had happened, it was time for supper and church. There wasn't time for a bath, and we don't usually take one after church on Wednesdays. I was just glad all smilies were concealed by their clothes, and no one at church was any the wiser. We put everyone to bed, late, as usual for Wednesdays, and thus ended another day.

Decided to do today's preschool activity outside since it's been so beautiful out!
T-Toothbrush painted T's! :)

Most nights I sleep all night without a peep from any children. Most of the times if a child is "peeping", it's Tyler. Sometimes he's telling me he's thirsty ("Your water glass is on the table"), or that he has to pee ("Use my bathroom"). Last night, as usual, it was Tyler standing by my bedside in the wee hours.
Tyler: Mama?
Me: What sweetie? (I don't always answer so nicely.)
Tyler: Will these blue smilies come off me?
Me: (Laughing inside in spite of the wee hour) Yes, sweetie, they will.
And off he went, back to bed.

Don't let those GREEN stamp marks on Tyler's forehead confuse you. They are, in fact, different from the blue ones on his belly. From a new stamper they found this morning. Where are these things coming from!?

Daniel was up before 7 again this morning. This time Greg was already gone and it was Alan that sprung him from his crib. Which was just as well, because that meant Alan was up before 7. I really like it when the big boys are up and showered before I have to tell them to. Or at least one of them. Daniel wasn't as impressed with the shaving cream trick today, but I still managed to get showered without him playing in the toilet or digging out all the feminine items from under the counter (it wouldn't be the first time - for either).

Daniel participates more all the time. He really liked this one! (And check out the one-legged photo-bomb in the background)

Even though we mostly follow a schedule on weekdays, I've been cheating it for weeks now by skipping the morning walk. I tell myself I like having that half hour to catch up if we've gotten behind already, but the truth is, I think I've been letting us fall behind because I don't want to take the walk. My midwife's office recommends walking two miles a day. Two miles!? Seriously? Who has time for that? And frankly, the 3/4 mile route we take for our 25 minute venture wears me out.  But, the kids like that half hour and I suppose it's good for all of us, so I put it back in today. And I guess tomorrow as well. And all next week. We'll see. If I do it long enough it will get easier, right? ....right?

This afternoon after school and naptime I was sorting through a stack of papers in our bedroom. Brooklyn, (who has a nasty habit of having an f.i.t. when she doesn't get her way (we're really, really working on that) ) asked for some play time on my phone. When I said 'no', she turned her head away from me towards a stack of greeting cards I had set aside to save. This one happened to be on top:

And so, mama said, "no phone games" and Brooklyn burst out, slapping in anger, "I hate that monkey!!!"

Because of course, it was all the monkey's fault.

Everybody always blames the monkey.

Two wrongs may not make a right...

...but sometimes they can lead to one.

Tonight Dale was cleaning up the supper dishes and, in true 10-year-old fashion, carried Brooklyn's plate to the next room. He wanted to know if he could eat her leftovers. 

And, in true 10-year-old fashion, he dropped the plate, food side down.

Fortunately for the carpet, most of the food landed on Brooklyn's blanket. This, however, was more of an unfortunate development for the hour before bedtime. Said blanket should have been safe in its bed, not the playroom floor.

THE blanket, the ONE that we MUST have for sleeping, was now dirty. :-/

We proceeded with our bedtime routine as usual. When I tucked Brooklyn into bed I gave her a sweet, soft little blanket printed with pastel cupcakes. When she balked, I talked to her like a big girl and reminded her the other blanket was dirty. (She had seen and noticed it herself.)

The age 4 and up crowd sat together in the next room and finished our bedtime prayers, but we could all hear Brooklyn crying in her bed for her blanket.

As soon as the last 'Amen' was said and the boys all scattered for last minute hugs and potty stops, I looked up to see Dale with a wet soapy paper towel and a certain gingham and flower print purple blanket, scrubbing away.

A little spot cleaning and he presented his sister with THE blanket she needed. 

I love that boy. He's alright, you know.

December 7

Today. Oh today was full.

It started at bedtime last night when I agreed to let Alan (and Dale) make pancakes for breakfast this morning. Alan has a Paula Deen kid's cookbook checked out from the library and wanted to use the pancake recipe from it. The problem with most recipes is they do not feed our large family. I have no problems increasing them, but that complicates things for a 7 year old. 

So, before I went to bed I hastily re-wrote the ingredients list to increase the recipe by a half.

This morning I awoke to the sounds of Alan and Dale clinking, working, and arguing in the kitchen.
Soon, Dale came and put my handwritten ingredient list under my nose and asked if I really meant 1 1/2 CUPS of baking powder. Goodness, no! I squinted my sleep bleary eyes at the list and complimented him on catching that mistake. 

It didn't take long for things to disentegrate in the kitchen, so I peeled myself from the bed to go set things right again. The pancake batter looked fine, but was not holding together well at all. Those boys had a fine mess. I began tweaking and working and trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

This is when I learned my second mistake. When Dale came to ask me about my mis-written recipe, he asked if I had SWITCHED cups and teaspoons with the ingredient below baking powder. In my sleepy state I answered "yes". This is how it was written:

1 1/2 c baking powder
1 1/2 tsp sugar

The sugar amount was RIGHT, but he thought I switched them and I said 'yes', so those boys put one and  half CUPS of SUGAR in those pancakes. 

They were truly CAKES and didn't need syrup at all!

In the end, everything was edible so it all worked out.

Greg spent a lot of the day rearranging furniture. We decided our original room arrangement needed a little tweaking since moving in, so we've been working on that as we can.

I went shopping with a friend this afternoon. Thrift-store / antique store shopping. It was really nice to get out and look at pretty things and have woman-friend conversation with no kids around. 

After I got home I started some split pea soup and worked on putting out some more Christmas decorations.

After our soup we all settled in for more hot chocolate and another movie. Charlie Brown Christmas this time. This is the one Christmas movie we own, and Daddy found it today it the furniture rearranging. Yay!

And, mark today down as a red-letter day, Miss Brooklyn is in a big girl bed! This is an essential next-step in the potty training process. A girl can't very well get to the potty when she's stuck in a crib, now can she?

As predicted by her mama, daddy, and three big brothers, she is enjoying her new freedom. Not long after tucking everyone in, we could hear little feet thump-thump-thumping and a sweet 2 yr old voice chanting "kangaroo! kangaroo! kangaroo!"

This could be a long evening.....

Dec 1

Ok, y'all...I'm going for it:
I, who have blogged only once in 8 weeks, am going to attempt...
drumroll....
25 days of Christmas!

And today, being December 1st, will be:

Day One

Today we returned home after 8 days/7 nights away for Thanksgiving.  Usually I'm a Wait Till After Thanksgiving to decorate kind of girl, but with Thanksgiving being so late, leaving less than 4 weeks until Christmas, we decided to go ahead before leaving town and put up our 2! trees, with lights. We'll get to ornaments one day this week.

As a last-minute touch on the way out the door last Sunday I threw on a (wrinkled) tablecloth and centerpiece to come home to.

While I was still unbuckling babies when we got home today, Alan ran ahead and plugged in both trees!

Miss Brooky didn't nap on the way home this afternoon like she normally does. Once she had her blanket in hand after bathtime she passed right out in Daddy's recliner. That almost NEVER happens around here!  

After we scooped her into her bed, the rest of us gathered 'round for the first night of the new-to-us advent reading list we are following for this year. 

The reading was supposed to come from John 1:1-5 ("In the beggining was the Word..."), but the way it was written next to "Dec. 1" made it look like 1 John 1:1-5, and that was what Daddy read to us at first.  Which I think was no mistake at all. How fitting to sit in the glow of our newly lit Christmas tree and read:

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." I John 1:1 and 5

Hallelujah! God has sent His light into our darkness!

Happy Birthday, Miss B!

Miss Brooklyn is 2! We started her day with our traditional candles-in-the-breakfast!

Made a trip to the swings...

Posing with her silly brothers:

Opened some birthday mail from a church friend:

And we ended the day with more candles. 

And cake. Every birthday needs cake!

(I love Daniel's amused look.)

Then came party day! We started with presents. Wouldn't you??

New outfit:

Modeling her princess slippers.

Another outfit:

Ooooooh...

A couple of her favorites.  Daniel loves the baby doll stroller as much as she does.

She does not love Daniel loving the baby doll stroller.

Marshmallow cupcake sucker:

Cake time!  Brooklyn loves flowers, so we made them this year's party theme.

The whole party gang.

Miss Princess insisted on a spoon, not a fork, to eat her cake.

And politely wiped her mouth when she was done. :)

We followed all that with a birthday photoshoot with Mimi!

You can see more of the shoot here, and be sure and 'Like' the Simple Journeys Photography page while you are there! :)

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Brooklynisms

Brooklyn, the same Brooklyn I spent months worrying about because she wasn't talking, has become quite quotable.

Before I forget them, a few to share with you:

Me: I love you, Brooklyn!
Brooklyn: I love Daddy!
------------
Me: Daniel is so cute! Brooklyn, isn't Daniel cute?
Brooklyn: Me cute!
--------------
Tonight at supper all the boys were enjoying passing a can of parmesan cheese for their pasta.  Brooklyn didn't want to be left out of the cheese action.  She waved at the can and pointed at her plate. "Powder, Daddy! Powder!"  
--------------
A couple of weeks ago we got to spend a weekend with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, Logan.  Brooklyn and Logan have a mostly Instagram relationship.  They each love to see the other on their Mama's phone, and they were each happy to actually see each other in person!  But all that happiness only goes so far.  Once during the weekend Brooklyn came up to me, clearly upset, and saying, "My legs! My legs!"  I thought maybe she was hurt or something, but as I let Logan slide from my lap to the floor so I could check on her she began to pat my now empty lap and repeat, "MY legs! MY legs!"  So I see how it is.  She can share Mama's lap with a baby brother but a girl's got to draw the line somewhere.

Round and round...

The end is in sight.  Once next week is complete we are calling an end to the 2012-2013 school year.  The end is pretty arbitrary, though.  Current math and phonics books were finished weeks ago.  We've only loosely been following our schedule the last few weeks, and our learning will continue to a certain extent throughout our summer break.  It's just what we do.  Nevertheless we all see next week as a closing point and I think I am just as ready - or more so - as the boys.

At a time when I have so much on my plate and on my mind, I am trying to slow down.  Breathe deep.  Enjoy the dailiness of life with these 5 people of varying ages and personalities.

So yesterday morning after our Bible reading and morning routines we ditched the schedule and to-do list and headed for the hills.  Ok, it's not that hilly, but we drove out to the country to check on the garden after the previous day's storm.  We also had a turtle that had been captive in his box in the laundry room long enough.  It was time for a new life for Sammy Turtle.

Before heading to the garden we stopped off to visit with my Dad and Grand-dad.  What a privilege to be able to sit and visit mid-morning on a weekday, a baby in each lap.  Checking the balance scales.... yep....definitely out-weighs "doing school".  

Then it was on to the garden where some of us dodged the standing areas of water from all. of. the. rain., and some of us sloshed right through.  For Tyler, who was wearing his trusty rain boots, that was no problem.  But as I loved on Alan in a brief moment of stillness that afternoon I asked him his favorite part of going to the garden.  "Getting my shoes wet," he answered with a smile.  Wet tennis shoes...again.  They'll dry.  They always do.

Mr. Turtle was released, camouflaged in the brown leaves beneath the oak tree.  Marked with a 'B' (I'll just leave you to wonder about that one) in case we ever see him again.  Bees were watched.  A butterfly observed.  A slilpper squirmy tadpole was caught (and released).  A tiny katydid was spotted and examined.  Slimy mushrooms that looked like squished raisins were plucked.  The garden was explored.  All of this weighed against "doing school"..... and real life wins again.

Upon our return home routines resumed, math worksheets were done, spelling words practiced.  Rooms cleaned, dishes washed.  "Real life" of a different variety, but necessary.

My last slow-moments of the day before the hectic rush of brushing teeth and tucking in and straightening up the messes the whirlwind left behind were spent combing my sweet girl's hair after her bath.  She loves singing and being sung to lately.  She sat with her vintage Fisher Price van in her lap - one little person left to ride - and I combed as we sang "The Wheels on the Bus" over and over and over again.  I'm glad that song has lots of verses anyway!  We'd barely finish one set of "alllll ...through...the townnn!" when she'd be asked for "moe! moe(more) town!"  So off we'd go again.

And here I sit, the verse of yesterday's trip all through the town complete and the wheels on this bus are already going round and round.  I've ditched routine again already just to write this blog post and one little person has woken early and joined me.  We'll proceed with this day, trying to soak up all the good parts, not fret over all the not-so-good parts, looking for balance in all the "real life" - the parts that demand our attention, and the parts that quietly wait for us when we're ready.  And the wheels go round and round....

Gardening, warts and all

We've been spending more and more time out at the big family garden recently.  It's mostly my Dad's garden, but all of us like to help out so we can reap the rewards!

Rewards that have already started coming, like fresh green onions and, now, new potatoes.  There is something fun and almost addictive about digging potatoes.  Your best luck comes underneath the biggest plants, the ones that have a sprinkling of pointy purple blooms.

For the most part, potato digging is done blindly, with one or both hands buried in the dirt at the base of the plant, feeling for potatoes.  Some of them are just under the surface.  Others are deep enough I am buried up to my wrists in the soft sandy soil.  You have to determine by feel if the potato is big enough to pluck up or if it needs a few more days to grow.  Because of their roundness there is hardly any way to bring them up except for getting your fingers underneath and then bringing your hand up like a scoop.

On our first potato digging this year I was surprised to come across a potato so soft it was nearly mushy.  Why would this potato have rotted under what appeared to be a perfectly healthy plant?  I scooped and pulled, working the lump up to the surface, perplexed the whole time about what exactly I was feeling.  With my other hand I pulled back the lowest leaves of the plant and squinted at the dirt covered lump.  Was that a mushroom?  

And then the sandy lump blinked.

It was a toad!  A knotty brown toad just the size of a ripe potato, and completely covered in sand.  I laughed at my find, thankful I hadn't given it a good, hard squeeze!  After the boys all had a turn inspecting our unearthed amphibian we returned him to his home under the potato plant.  I hope he eats all those beetles I keep seeing there!

Getting ready to leave the garden recently, we handed our first broccoli harvest to Brooklyn for her to hold while we gathered up and finished up.  Next thing we knew, there wasn't much left to the broccoli.  We all agreed it was a good thing we didn't ask her to hold a potato!

Graduation Day

We knew the day was coming soon, we just didn't know when.  

On a whim, it turned out to be today.

Tyler graduated from his booster seat at the supper table...

Brooklyn graduated from the high chair to the booster...

And Daniel joined us at the table!

I had forgotten how much happier a fussy suppertime baby can be when they are simply up high with everyone else!  

Daniel wasn't the only one that was happy.  Brooklyn was Miss Big Stuff sitting at the table!  She was in a silly mood, showing out for everyone, but still ate her supper like a big girl.

And speaking of eating.... somebody had his first solid food tonight!

Mashed avocado.  Went down like he's been doing it all his life.  Welcome to the table, Daniel!  Happy graduation day to our babies! :)

Brooklyn's Spiritual Side (is lacking)

We've recently gotten back into the habit of having a family devotion time most evenings.  

Like anything else that goes on around here, you never know what may happen. Lately Brooklyn has taken it upon herself to keep these times interesting.

Our bedtime prayers routine with the boys involves taking turns saying our "thank yous" and "please helps" from the youngest to the oldest: Tyler, Alan, Dale, Mama, Daddy.

Someone is usually bouncing Daniel and Brooklyn tends to roam free.  Did you catch that? Brooklyn roams free.  That explains a lot already, doesn't it?

One night last week we had each said our prayers and Daddy was finishing us up, when without warning Brooklyn turned on the nearby cd player.  Which was on the radio setting.  So in the middle of our talking-to-God thoughts, we are interrupted by the middle of a blaring.... Bohemian Rhapsody. 

 Which is, unfortunately, not nearly as funny in the retelling as it was at the time.

Trust me, it's tough to keep (and regain) your composure after that.

And speaking of composure, none of us even tried tonight with Brooklyn's second stunt.  Her timing in impeccable.  

Greg had read Psalm 24:1-2 about the earth being the Lord's and everything in it.  We were talking about contentment with what we have when Greg quoted Paul from I Timothy 6:8.

Greg: "and having food and raiment let us therewith be content."

Lightening McQueen, quite enthusiastically: "that's what I"m talking about!!"
 (via a toy button pushed by Brooklyn)

You know how Lightening loves his meat & taters!

Digging Holes

We've had a couple of crazy days around here, surrounded by a work crew repairing our house's foundation.  Day 1 was all outside, and today they worked inside, as well as finishing up outside.

Of course, we didn't even attempt school with all of this going on.  Even so, as much as the boys enjoyed watching all the action I could easily see by mid-day today the negative side effects of being out of routine.

But all's well that ends well, right?  And seeing those brick cracks disappear and not having to fight to open and close doors definitely counts as ending well in my book.

Fifteen holes like these were dug around the outside of the house:

Some in concrete, some in dirt. Metal poles as tall as me were driven down them underneath the house, and then jacked up to raise the foundation.

Inside, there were 8 dime-sized holes drilled into the floor and through the foundation.  In each of these holes the workmen sprayed some super-powerful, hot and steamy expanding foam, which lifted the foundation from underneath.

(My man tells me it's polyurethane.)

Not coincidentally, I've had "On Christ the Solid Rock I stand" in my head for a couple of days. "All other ground is sinking sand", right?
That and "He Lifted Me". :)

In other news, Brooklyn is still quite infatuated with Daniel.  He's her favorite person.  One morning recently we were setting the table for breakfast.  Brooklyn made sure Daniel was taken care of:

Isn't she a sweetie? 

Me & my girl:

When a little girl has big brothers...

Random pictures from Mimi's camera

Because they are fun pics.  
And because I'm feeling too lazy to think up an actual blog post.
But mostly because I like the pics. :)