The Napping House

Karate!

2012-02-09T02:09:00.003-07:00

About 6 months ago I decided that I wanted to start aikido. There are no aikido places around here. There are a few martial arts places, but the one I loved is in the city, 45 minutes away. That's $40 a week just in gas, forget the price of the class. So I looked closer to home. Not as high of quality instruction, but more reasonable costs.

Then Matt started working nights and, well, I can't swing a twice a week class parenting on my own. It's too much to ask of friends to watch the kids that often and I couldn't have 4 kids running around the waiting area while I tried to concentrate on class. But the girls found out that I wanted to do it and they were *so* excited. You can't be a superhero without martial arts knowledge.

So the girls started karate two weeks ago. They love it. They're in superhero training.

For Ainsley it's specific water-bending training.

Hannah likes to keep her options open. She could join the Justice League, she could be Wonder Woman's protege, she could get her skills up before her mutant genes kick in in puberty, she could train with the Earth Benders ... Who knows where she could end up if she just gets her skills up where they need to be.

I hope to get Gray going ... I almost had him talked into it the other day.

I didn't set out to have a breastfeeding board on Pinterest.

2012-01-30T00:11:00.004-07:00

But I do. When you have pictures popping up on your feed of roller derby moms breastfeeding, motocross moms breastfeeding, women breastfeeding while talking to the president of Venezuela ... what's a girl to do?

And then these pictures come across my Facebook feed and must be pinned also.

I'm just waiting for someone to tell that mama to cover up.

I ended up with enough pictures that a breastfeeding board just made sense.

ETA:

Aboriginal mama

Sleepy. Soooo sleepy.

2012-01-27T19:10:00.003-07:00

We've had guests staying with us for almost a week now. Last night it all caught up with everyone.

They started dropping like flies around me.

I was stepping over bodies.

I only moved the ones that fell asleep on the floor. Those on couches or beds stayed right where they were.

They needed the sleep. They've been playing hard.

niū jiǎn chū detective agency

2012-01-25T22:43:00.002-07:00

The name combines China and detecting, perfect for her.

妞 niū "little girl"

检出 jiǎn chū "to detect / to examine and discover / to sense"

Inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest, this was my gift to Ainsley for Christmas. Her own detective kit. She's always asking if we have a mystery for her to solve and saying "Trust me. I can solve this."

I made up business cards for her with her agency name on them. They say "International Private Investigator. Based out of Idaho and China." I also made up a Detective Pass for her to wear at crime scenes. It has her catchphrase printed on it.

Other things I included were brushes, evidence bags, fingerprint lifting tape, a magnifying glass, and a flashlight.

Also, a fingerprint stamp pad, homemade fingerprint cards (our entire family has now been finger and toe printed), evidence swabs, a pen, and a detective journal.

She loved it, but it took awhile to grow on her. The Chinese calligraphy set took up most of her time for the first week after Christmas, but then she became a full-time detective. So much so that a week later I put this up on Facebook: "I made Ainsley a detective kit for Christmas. Today she came up to me and said "Mommy, I wish I could go back to the good old days when I wasn't a detective and everybody in the entire world and all of China didn't want me to solve their problems. 'Just find your own stuff', I want to say! It's just exhausting, Mommy. EXHAUSTING!" And she falls on the floor spread-eagled. Which you can't blame her for because she's exhausted. I really shouldn't have asked her to find my camera two minutes later."

Now it's down to a more manageable level. And she needs a new notebook.

Our house looks a little bit different.

2012-01-24T01:29:00.003-07:00

Ainsley loves China. A lot. I've been told that she was born on the wrong continent. By her. So it's not much of a surprise that the Chinese New Year was going to be a pretty big thing here. We hung up some Asian stuff that we got at the party store. Not authentic, but fun. Lots of red!

And construction paper Chinese lanterns.

She has her own 'China desk' where she keeps her favorite Christmas present - a Chinese calligraphy set - and she's got Chinese dragons taped up all around it. I wasn't allowed to take pictures of those because they might lose their luck - don't ask - so you get a side view.

Those are her calligraphy pens hanging from the board.

On Sunday night we added to the ambience with good luck posters that we painted and bowls of oranges the kids cut out of construction paper.

Sunday night we had dumplings and today we had noodles, for longevity.

The kids got red envelopes with money in them and a little present. Gray thought his Buddha was worthless, so I traded him for a Twix bar. We were both happy with that. Hannah got a monkey figurine (she was born in the year of the monkey and is proud of that). Ainsley got a 'Chinese waving good luck kitty bank'. I'll have to get a picture of it for you because she's going to make me. She is in heaven.

When I get my sewing machine back from the shop, they'll each get a new article of clothing that is red or orange.

What else? Oh, yeah - Hannah decided a party wasn't a party without a pinata. So she made one out of construction paper and packing tape. It took twenty minutes to break that thing.

And Ainsley wants me to show you her origami 'China girls'.

Technically they're 'Japan girls' because they're wearing kimonos, but we're not much for being technical around here. Our house has a distinctly Asian vibe right now. It's not a traditional holiday for us, but it is important to Ains, so we did what we could. It's been fun. I kinda hope she's still into China next year.

Today was a good day.

2012-01-09T21:06:00.002-07:00

I saw that on a poster on another blogger's wall in her home. 'Today was a good day.' I like that.

Today *was* a good day.

Finding fantastic apps for an iPad - it's amazing what is out there!

Making a 'Fun Family Things in 2012' poster for the wall. We're going to go camping. A lot.

Neighbors coming over to play all day.

Getting a model train to run!

Chili dogs because my girls are obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog who is obsessed with chili dogs.

Dance performances. A growing girl who insists on watching Mamma Mia in her own room with the door closed to dance and sing by herself.

Beginning of the year budget review and planning fun stuff for the future.

NCIS episode after the kids are in bed.

Today was a very good day.

Random.

2011-12-23T17:51:00.002-07:00

My pictures are getting away from me. I can't remember which ones I've shared (even though those are so few these days) and there are so many cool things we've done. Here's some really recent stuff.

The selling food man.

2011-12-19T02:06:00.002-07:00

Ains saw Zander sitting under the stool where he'd crawled while I was making lunch and burst into giggles. "He looks like a selling food man, Mommy!" And off she ran. A minute later he did indeed look like a selling food man.

And what will you have?

Too much joy...

2011-11-29T01:32:00.002-07:00

for a camera to capture in a still image.

TRAINS!!!

My night out with just my boys was too much fun.

Even the fabric store, where Gray insisted on carrying every bolt to the cutting table and both my bags out the door, thereby charming every woman within 'awwww'-ing distance.

What have we been doing?

2011-11-27T23:44:00.003-07:00

Painting faces.

Playing on Daddy's new phone.

Making gangster faces while crafting.

Napping.

Being spiders ...

and flies.

Eating blueberries.

Planning projects for the next week.

Napping.

Ainsley made a turkey cake for Thanksgiving.

Running really fast.

Taking silly pictures.

DINOSAUR POOP!!!!!!

Becoming mermaids.

Napping.
Indulging in 10 pm cooking.

Putting wilted celery to good use.

And napping. 'Cause that's how we roll around here.

Tap-a-tap-a-tap-a

2011-11-17T09:55:00.004-07:00

Ainsley is in dance this year and she loves it. She had her first performance this week.

In all of the times that I've seen her practice this dance in class, I've never seen her without that shy little smile when she skips with the other little girl in class. So sweet.

The teacher has them perform at five or so nursing homes before their 'big performance'. It's a lot of fun for them and for the nursing homes and since the performances are in place of class it's not a big hassle for us.

*Cute Gray pictures here.*

Food freedom.

2011-11-15T10:32:00.002-07:00

What that looked like last night.

Grayson, P.I.

2011-11-12T23:29:00.002-07:00

Grayson found the binoculars and has become a private investigator.

Zander is not getting a moment of peace.

From the "I meant to post about that files".

2011-11-12T10:01:00.002-07:00

We went to Oregon a few months ago and hit the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art while we were there. We had a reason to do that with 4 young kids - Ainsley is crazy about China and they had a Chinese collection there. She was in heaven.

One of the guides noticed her interest and gave her a personalized tour - wish we could have gotten more photos, but, um ... we weren't even supposed to get these ones. The guide showed her how each little window in this building had a little Buddha sitting in it. She wanted to make her own. We need to do that.

Hannah was not as interested, but certain pieces piqued her interest. Don't know why this picture looks like she's touching it - she was trying to point to a pretty color at the top of the piece. She wants to do some artwork like this. Pictures on tiles.

Gray and Matt did their own thing most of the time we were in the museum - Gray was not interested at all.

One thing that the girls really liked seeing was a wedding rehearsal at a beautiful reflection pond they had there. Romantic Hannah was blissed out.

Hello, camera!

2011-11-09T23:53:00.001-07:00

That is all.

Today we ...

2011-11-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Played.

And played.

And played.

And played.

And practiced tying scarves.

And made.

Really amazing - perfect to keep in the fridge for hungry-ish kids.

And dreamed.

Because the catalogs are a-comin'.

And ended with playing.

And sleeping.

And mixed in there was park-playing and dance class and playing with Daddy and errands. It was a busy, busy day.

I'm going to miss this.

2011-10-27T10:15:00.001-06:00

Having a farm road to walk down.

Also the killer style when they get older.

Grayson loves helping in the kitchen.

2011-09-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

And he has so much fun doing it.

That is all.

Family photos on the fly.

2011-09-13T12:07:00.003-06:00

A few months ago at an ice cream social at our house, I asked a good friend to take some family pictures for us. She has a fancy camera and a gift for kid photography.

They turned out so cute, though we're not exactly color coordinated.

Still, I love them - Ains in her cape, Hannah in her farm pants, Gray in his truck shirt, Matt in his shorts, me wearing a baby wrap.

And the silliness she captured when they did that.

I love that she went with the silly instead of putting the camera down and waiting for the 'good shots'.

all picture credit Rebecca

Sun Art.

2011-08-27T13:27:00.003-06:00

We have an art show to attend this weekend *and* I'm decluttering my craft room. Doing the latter turned up this paper so that we could have a project for Ainsley to showcase at the former.

Gray and I tried it first with his toys.

This was what it looked like after being in the sun for five minutes.

Then we rinsed it in water.
Not so clear. Instead of holding them under running water to rinse them, we poured water into a pan, added some lemon juice, and soaked them in that. Much more clear.

Once the girls (and their cousin) saw the process, they were all over it.

Ainsley's beach page

Hannah's beach page

My fantasy page.

That one looked like it would turn out really cool but we got busy with another page and left it in the rinse water for too long. Totally ruined it.

We ended up using all fifteen pages, so we have a few for the art show and one less thing in the craft room.

Submitted to Saturday's Artist at OLM.

A cheesecake kind of day.

2011-08-27T13:00:00.002-06:00

Want to take a walk through my day?

Add in hours of play with a cousin, lots of scooter/bike/trike play, swimming, banana waffles, avocado and fish eggs (Ainsley's favorite snack), painting nails, and seemingly constant monitoring of a sad-Hannah-because-cousin-left/want-attention-from-sisters-Grayson situation for the last hour before Matt got home from work. When we got the mail and there was a new Netflix superhero movie, I declared the living room a movie theater, made them all popcorn ...

and hid with Zander and cheesecake for 20 minutes.

The beginning and the end.

2011-08-23T23:27:00.004-06:00

As part of our long weekend last week, we stayed for a few days with my grandma. She's fading mentally - just so tired from a good, long life - and we want our kids, and us, to have as much time with her as we can.

I've noticed that each time we visit she's just a little more tired, a little more absent. This time she was not so aware. She would drift in and out of sleep in the middle of sentences, she seemed a bit frustrated by being so tired. She wanted to hold Zander, who she has met three times but didn't remember meeting at all before, but was worried about dropping him.

We stuck him in his bouncy chair in front of her and the two of them had so much fun talking and laughing to each other. I've never heard her so silly with a baby, it was so sweet to listen to her chatting him up and encouraging his smiles and coos. And I've never heard Zander so chatty. He was chattering away so much that his shirt was wet with bubbles. He'd talk to her and she'd make sounds like she was in a conversation with him, then she'd talk to him about his life and he'd make sounds like he was listening to her. Then one of them would drift off to sleep. If it was her, we'd pick up Zander and then put him back when she woke up. So content with that situation, both of them.

It's so hard to see her getting so much older - she was a solid place for me in my childhood - but there was something so beautiful about the two of them together, one not far from the beginning and one not far from the end. 'Tis life.

One of those days.

2011-08-22T23:46:00.003-06:00

We had a long, long weekend out of town - starting on Thursday. By this morning, I was wiped out. When Gray got me up at seven this morning, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. When Hannah started describing in detail how tired I looked and snapped my picture, I wasn't sure I wanted to make it.

(She snapped my picture to document the hairstyle she did for me.)

We ended up making a full day of it anyway. We rearranged the girl's room and moved Hannah's style desk up there. Cleaned the hamster cages. Made popcorn, peanut butter sandwiches, stuffed zucchini, and innumerable breastfeeding sessions for Zander. Watched Star Trek cartoons (Did you know there were Star Trek cartoons? There are. And they're horribly awesome.) and Hello Kitty. Hula hooped.

Bounced on a little trampoline and made bracelets. Played "make the baby giggle until he goes to sleep". Played dolls and trains. I refused to put a cat in a backpack. Read lots of superhero and vehicle books. Made Lincoln Log houses for the dolls. Seven times. Played in the hammock.

Played on scooters and trikes and bikes. Played with kittens and Bella. Went to go check on the baby barn swallows. Hannah tried to put Ainsley and Gray down for a nap. She failed. Unless you count hysterical giggling as napping. Then she did pretty dang good.

Told stories with cookie cutters. Had a tea party. Talked about alliteration. Got silly with alliteration. Finally waved the white flag, loaded everyone in the truck and drove to town to buy ice cream cones. When Matt came home, this is how the living room looked.

What I love about this mess, though, is that every single thing I see in that picture was out because it was played with, not because it just got thrown around - which has been known to happen. There's the backpack (sans kitty), the books, the cookie cutters, the thread. There's the dollhouse and all of the horses and Lincoln Logs used in doll play. There's Zander. He's never been just thrown around, but he was played with.

What I also love about this mess is that it took ten minutes, tops, to clean it up. Hooray for having boxes and hooks and places for everything! (Once again, Zander should not be included in that - we don't have a box, hook, or place for him.)

We'll pull it all out tomorrow. Especially Zander.

As for me? I am still wiped. out.

Current Inspirations

2011-08-09T00:59:00.005-06:00

I just read about Irena Sendler. During WWII she saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, providing them with false documents, and sheltering them in individual and group children's homes outside the Ghetto. She was captured, tortured, and lived to see some of the children she saved reunited with their families. Beautiful woman.

And I want to go here - Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.

The kids and I have been drawing cartoons. We got some cool templates here.

Gearing up for International Day of Peace on September 21 and the Pinwheels for Peace project that we always do.

Spending way too much time on Pinterest.

One for strength.

2011-08-08T23:43:00.003-06:00

When I was naming my children, I wanted to give them a first name that was all their own and a middle name that they shared with someone I admire, someone that I think will help give them strength as they get older, someone they'll be proud to share a name with.

I share my middle name with my great-grandmother, a strong woman who lived an amazing life.

Hannah shares her middle name with Matt's grandmother, another strong woman who has lived her own amazing life. I got an urge to go get some history done with her, so we took a last minute trip into Star Valley, Wyoming to talk to her.

Have you seen Star Valley? It's unbelievably beautiful. Pictures just don't do it justice. This is the view out her front door.

She has lived there for her entire life. She has lived in this house since she was married at 17, a mother at 18. She's got the best sense of humor and a seeming complete lack of judgment for me, an apostate in the faith that is so central in her own life - and that is rare in that religion.

This is the first time in 12 years that I've gotten to sit and chat with her, just the two of us. There have always been husbands or cousins hanging around or kids and grandkids needing to be tended to. We got 3 1/2 hours of chatting and laughing and bonding in. It was brilliant. I came away with the feeling that we would have been great friends had we lived in the same area. And also that the world would have to watch out if she had been born 80 years later and not contained by the expectations of her time and place.

Zander slept through some of it, cooed at her through some of it, talked to himself through some of it, and wrapped her around his little finger for all of it.

I had 50 questions written out for her. 25-30 from Hannah and the rest from Matt, Matt's mom, and me.

Hannah's questions ranged from the typically 6-year-old ("Did you have a dolly like Nettie?" and "How many hotels have you gone to?") to some deeper ones ("Why are you such a strong woman? Was your mom a strong woman?" and "How do you stop from getting angry?"). The questions from the adults were the typical history questions - school, memories, traditions, advice to give.

She was such an open book, which made the interview by turns hilarious and heart-wrenching. Hearing her talk about her son in the runaway goat cart had me in tears as did hearing her talk about feeling that she was to blame for her first son being born with club feet - just different kinds of tears.

She pulled out a scrapbook that her mom had made for her out of a fashion book.

How cool is that?

I kept watching her, waiting for her to get worn out, but she seemed to want to keep talking. The 30 minutes we planned on talking stretched into an hour and a half of recorded questions and answers.

Such a treasure for my children.

And for me.

Happiness.

2011-08-04T14:53:00.001-06:00

And Ladybug Crackers!

Hannah's Question of the Day

2011-08-04T00:42:00.005-06:00

In which a conversation starts out with 'Do you believe people can see things that aren't there?' and ends with Dora and Diego. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Hannah: Do you believe people can see things that aren't there?

Mother: Yes I do. (followed by an uncharacteristically lengthy anecdote about a friend and her child who both have had experiences in that area) (it would actually be uncharacteristic if it was short) (but it was a good one!)

H: What about you?

M: Yeah. I remember when my best friend died a few years ago, I got a strong feeling that I should call her. I didn't. She died two days later and I'll never be able to talk to her again. I'll always be sorry I didn't listen. And then last week. I got a feeling that I should call your aunt and chat with her about her pregnancy because she was right at the end of it. I didn't do it and she lost her baby unexpectedly. I'll never be able to go back and give her that love and support right before the unthinkable happened. I'm sorry about that too.

H: Well don't say never Mother, you never know. (in a hushed spiritual voice) You just never, never know. (Apparently 'never' is ok for her to say.)

M: No, I think in this case, 'never' is a fair word to use.

H: (in a reverent voice) Don't say never Mother. You don't know what the future holds. One day a time portal could open up in front of you and BAM! you'll have the opportunity to go back.

M: That's true. That could happen. I shouldn't write that off completely, should I?

H: No. It's a good thing you have me to help you keep your belief strong. When would you go back to if you had the choice?

M: I don't know - I can't decide if I'd go back to a good time to relive it or back to a bad time to try to change it. If you had a time portal open up in front of you, when would you go?

H: That's a hard one. There are so many times. I think I'd definitely go back to before Dora* and Diego were invented.

So that's her Question of the Day :

"If you had a time portal open up in front of you, when would you go?"

Break out of lurkdom and comment so that I can give her your answer. :)

*Dora the Explorer. Hannah calls her 'Dora the Annoyer'.

Camping on a moment's notice.

2011-08-03T00:05:00.003-06:00

Saturday afternoon, Matt said "Let's go camping." This is something he would not have said before we got the camper. But he says it now and it is so fun to think "let's go" and thirty minutes later be gone.

That night was mostly spent playing games.

The next day was rainy off and on, but that doesn't matter so much when you're in a camper! We pulled out our camper craft box and the kids created. I read. Matt ... well, he was glad we weren't in a tent.

When it wasn't raining, we would head outside for a bit.

I just realized something putting this post together. My kids will have very little photographic evidence that I existed.

Well, it was a good idea.

2011-08-01T23:49:00.002-06:00

Even if it didn't quite work out.

We tried to copy this picture ...

on the sidewalk with chalk.

Don't know why Hannah looks so sad.

Visitors.

2011-07-30T01:53:00.003-06:00

We've had two nieces staying with us this past week.

Every day has included:
-horse riding
-swimming
-makeovers
-squealing
-popcorn
-sleeping in
-teasing
-making Zander smile

Because it's fun.

And taking pictures of Zander.

"Hi!"

"Yeah, I'll smile at you."
"Oh, ok. We're getting closer."

"WHOA! That's close!"

We'll be sad to take them home. They've been so much fun.

Paper bag building blocks.

2011-07-28T21:55:00.002-06:00

I've been decluttering like mad lately and decided I needed to do something with the huge stack of paper bags and newspaper I had. I could have just recycled them, I suppose. But looking at the two stacks sitting beside each other, I came up with a brilliant plan - at least from Gray's point of view.

Building blocks.

He helped me wad up newspaper sheets and stuff them in the bags. I taped the tops shut and then he had cheap, fast building blocks.

Fun to build with, fun to knock over, fun to jump on.

And fun to build with again and again.

Go jump in a lake.

2011-07-27T22:15:00.002-06:00

We went to a small local lake today. It wasn't impressive, but it was cool and wet and passably clean. We have some cousins staying with us right now and they tried talking all three kids into jumping in with them. Hannah jumped in and had to be pulled out, but it's Ains who's killing me in this picture. I don't know why she was pretending to be mad, but that face is pure Ainsley - trying not to giggle while trying to look intimidating.

Gray refused to jump in with them, but was more than willing to be their cheerleader.

He was especially enthusiastic in cheering their practice jump.

And then the actual jump!

My #$#* camera and I miscommunicated about when exactly I wanted the picture to be taken. Ah, well. We'll just grab another one.

Or not. Ainsley got water in her eyes. Her cousin put goggles on her and tried talking her into trying again...

But it didn't work. We ended up getting a great shot of the remaining three.

Which was lucky since Hannah got water in her nose and wouldn't have wanted to try again.

He's growing.

2011-07-26T23:42:00.003-06:00

So big. So fast.

He's over 14 pounds by now.

He's smiling.

He's trying to giggle.

He's holding his head up and sitting with a bit of help.

He's playing with his sister.

(He doesn't have much of a choice.)

He's grasping with his hands and holding on tight.

He's wrapping me ...
and everyone else ...

around his little finger.

At least he still has tiny, chubby feet.

It'll take some time for him to grow out of those.

Right this minute.

2011-07-25T19:56:00.002-06:00

Recovering.

2011-07-12T17:37:00.001-06:00

Two weekends ago we spent a long weekend at a family reunion, then came home and went to an awesome Fourth of July party. Two days later we were off again to another family reunion for four days. Yesterday, just home from the reunion, I was ready to get everything back on track, cleaned up, put away ... you know the optimistic drill.

My kids, on the other hand, were wanting to rest and recuperate and work out stuff from what seemed like the longest week ever. So I surrendered and we did that. Cuddling and connecting and sorting out disagreements was the order of the day.

For Zander that translated to almost non-stop holding and nursing. For Grayson it meant lots of cuddling and dancing.

For Ains, this meant helping her ride her bike - newly training-wheel-less!! - and making clover necklaces and crowns which she spread around the house much to everyone's delight.

See the delight? That's not delight? Sure it is.

But see - even Zander was pointing fingers that day. "It was Ains. She did this to me."

Luckily, he got over it fast.

For Hannah, yesterday was survived by building her very own house that nobody could enter but her and having me cheering her on when she rode her bike (also without training wheels! Whee! Seriously. Whee.)

Also lots and lots of book reading on the bed for all ages.

Matt left us there in the morning and when he got back from work, there we were again. It's my go-to activity for calming and distracting.

After Matt got home, we went for pony and horse rides.

And we survived the day.

Today I'll catch up. Or not. We have friends to play with.

Maybe tomorrow.

What's making me smile this week.

2011-06-30T14:49:00.006-06:00

Ainsley making lots of 'specialty sundaes'.

This. Every time I look down.

Girls who are getting crazy comfortable in the water.

Their father's beat-up boots when he's sitting beside me watching their lessons.

Don't know why that makes me smile, but it does.

All three older kids chancing into one shot at the park.

And all four getting into one shot at home.

This again. I'm addicted. He's so sweet all cuddled up in there.

Beats the heck out of carrying a heavy car seat around.

Hannah working really hard at getting better with her violin.

And her amazing teacher - that makes me smile too.

Happy, huggy kid.
Bags packed for our reunion this weekend.

They've been sitting there since Monday morning.

Barn swallow nests.

There's even one peeking at you if you look really close.

A kid who is embracing summer with everything he's got - except for clothes.

At least he's wearing knee pads - I'd hate for his knees to get skinned up.

What's not making me smile?

Sleep deprivation that makes for a cranky mommy. But that seems to be going away a bit at a time as Zander gets more used to his body.

Wind. But that's nothing new.

Poorly written skirt pattern. Boo. Hiss.

Emptying the camera card.

2011-06-28T00:12:00.005-06:00

So, you know, lots of pictures, not much talk.

But first, I put up another sewing post here.

Lots of fun over the last few weeks.

Cousin fun.

Jammin' with a favorite aunt.

Breaking out the baby hammock. Glad I hadn't found a new home for it yet.

The kids breaking in our big hammock for this year. Finally. Spring and summer have arrived at once.
Naptime cuddling. She's my favorite child.

When I was loading the kids into the truck for swimming lessons, I asked Ains 'What is that hanging from your purse?' "Oh," says she, "It's just my lunch."

"My lunch on a rope." Peanut butter sandwich on a rope. Nice. She's my favorite child.

Brownie making.

He's definitely my favorite child.

No, wait.
Yum. He's my favorite child.

*sigh* I can't decide. I'll put that on hold for another 60 years or so.

But she's my favorite niece.

Just kidding. But she is awfully cute. And she looooves to hold Zander.

Hannah with her namesake.

Or is Hannah the namesake since Hannah is named after her? Yeah, I think that's right. Hmm.

Grayson learning to use the microwave.

He burned (not literally) through my stash of frozen sweet potato biscuits.

Ains playing with her Kachooz.

Have you seen these? Heaven help me, the fuzzy little things are everywhere!

Four generations. That's a lot of livin' right there.

And three LaDells. How many LaDells does the world need? We may have the market cornered, actually.

Ah, yes. The bacon dinner that Hannah made.

Bacon, spinach, and tomato pasta (sooo good). Bacon and spinach deviled eggs (divine). Bacon wrapped around spinach wrapped around cottage cheese (the girls ate the bacon and handed the spinach and cottage cheese to their dad). Watermelon. All planned and made by Hannah with me acting as the sous chef/safety inspector. Delicious dinner.

But then again, it was bacon and spinach. Hard not to be delicious.

At least she didn't find a way to mix bacon with the watermelon.

Right this minute.

2011-06-24T17:29:00.003-06:00

Gray came downstairs all groggy from his nap and wanted a cuddle. I was nursing Zander so I told Gray to sit in Zander's chair until I was done and then absentmindedly started bouncing him with my foot. The result - second napsies. Nice.

Lots o' love.

Ains doesn't want to be on the blog today. Fair enough.

Nature journaling.

2011-06-10T11:53:00.000-06:00

Beautiful warm weather. Of course we had to draw it.

It's the second time Hannah's nature journal has come out this year, the first time Ainsley's and mine have.

And Grayson still has no interest in nature journals when there are tricycles to ride.

Zander's birth story.

2011-06-09T09:56:00.002-06:00

You know what you’re getting into, reading a birth story, right? Good. You know that it can get long, right? With lots of pictures (trust me, they're safe)? Good. Read on, then.

The average length of a human pregnancy is 40 weeks. This means that you can give birth anytime from 37 – 42 weeks. I’m one of those who skews the average to the (very) long side. This picture was taken at 40 weeks – well before I gave birth.

On Sunday, May 29, about 6:30 in the evening, I felt a contraction. It wasn’t bad and I’d gone through a two day period two weeks before with steady contractions that were stronger, so I didn’t get excited. Two hours later, with the contractions coming ten minutes apart I still wasn’t convinced they meant anything. I went out to milk the goats and the contractions stopped. When I came back in, Matt had dinner ready and as I stood at the kitchen counter making a taco I was in the middle of saying something along the lines of “Oh, well. Another false start.” when my water broke. THEN I started feeling the contractions. You forget what a cushion that water is for the contractions until it’s not there anymore.

Throughout the last four months of my pregnancy, I’d been talking to the girls about labor and delivery and what to expect if they were awake for it. Both of them very much wanted to be there and I didn’t want the experience to freak either of them out. For Hannah I was worried about the emotional aspect – Mother groaning, maybe crying. For Ainsley I was worried about the physical aspect – the baby comes out of *where*on Mommy? Still, I must have missed explaining how long it could take because when my water broke and I looked up with a shocked laugh and said “My water just broke!”, Hannah started jumping up and down yelling “The baby’s coming NOW! The baby’s coming NOW!” and Ainsley came running over, put her hands in a catching position between my legs with her body in a full baseball catcher position and said in a very excited but serious I-got-this-covered voice “I’ll catch the baby! I’ll catch it.” That may be the hardest that child has ever made me laugh, and that’s saying something folks.

Then labor got started in earnest. The girls were so excited to be awake for it.

We hadn’t planned on calling the midwives until I’d been laboring for a few hours, but it felt right to call them right away, so we did and they said they’d be there in a few hours. Then I called my doula.

My doula showed up about 30 minutes after I called her – fast for how far out we live – and people, if I can give you one piece of advice to make labor easier it is this – find a good doula that you mesh well with. This was my best labor and I feel confident in saying that it is mostly due to this woman - not just what she did for me in labor, but for the influence she was on all of us.

How did we not get a better picture of her? Oh, yeah – she was the one taking most of the pictures.

We’re friends, but we’d met before the birth to discuss her job as doula and what we each expected. I’ve always thought of a doula as a ‘mini midwife’ and wondered what the point was. The point - at least it worked this way for me - is that you have somebody at your birth who is focused on you and what you need – it sounds selfish, but is so, so nice in labor, and what better time to be selfish than in labor? The midwives (or doctors) are focused on safety and health. Your partner may or may not be focused completely on you. In my experience, my partner wasn’t sure what to do to help me, so he pretty much just did what the midwives told him they needed him to do and I was left to labor alone. I thought I preferred that because it’s been my reality for the last three labors, so I asked Alicia to basically keep the midwives away from me unless it was something that absolutely necessary and to make sure that nothing scary was discussed around me – I had had a not-so-pleasant experience with the midwife’s assistant and Matt discussing a worst case scenario right beside me when I was in transition with Grayson and I didn’t want a repeat of that. She said that her job was to be ‘the most helpful ghost’. I liked the sound of that.

We went over the list of visualizations that I had ready. We laughed about the fact that I had included a visualization that wasn’t helpful to me at all – it had annoyed me to no end in my last two labors and irritated me when I wasn’t in labor – but every time I deleted it from my list, I’d find myself typing it back on. My doula’s job was going to be to suggest different visualizations if I appeared to need them. In the past, if I’d had to switch visualizations, I’d have a hard contraction as I either tried to wrack my brain for a good one or broke concentration to look at my list. She was ok with not focusing on me being ‘in control’ as my midwives pushed, but flowing with the contractions.

It was a bonus that she is very experienced with essential oils and massage in case I ended up with back labor. I walked away from our meeting feeling like the last piece had fallen into place and I was ready to give birth.

In the next few weeks, she sent me a perfectly timed message saying "How are you feeling? I know it can get hard when it's so close." and I was able to let loose about how tired and sad I was that the baby wasn't here yet.

All of that to tell you … Oh, it was so worth it, having her there – for all of us. She walked in as I was still getting into the groove of labor. Wandering around, pausing for a contraction, wandering a bit more. Within ten minutes of her arriving, I’d found my ‘place’, right beside the desk, and I wasn’t comfortable laboring anywhere else. She set about making it more comfortable for me between contractions - arranging chairs for balance and for resting on - and being there for me in contractions. Funny how labor can be different than you expected. I thought I wouldn’t want to be touched at all – and had prepared my Hannah for that possibility – but found that I flowed into the contractions and out of them much easier if my hand was resting in somebody else’s hand. Between Matt, Ainsley, Hannah and Alicia, I had a hand to hold in every contraction for the next four hours.

Alicia also kept reminding me to relax muscles that she could see me tensing up – my face, my hands, she even caught me out on tensing my toes one time, I think – and that made the contractions easier. She would suggest different visualizations when I needed it. I still don't know how she knew when I needed it. Physical clues? Intuition? Whatever it was, her timing was impeccable and guess what visualization carried me through labor? The one that annoyed me terribly the last two labors. The one that I couldn't seem to delete from my paper.

While I was busy laboring and Alicia was busy keeping me comfortable and focused, Hannah was busy keeping me hydrated (I think Matt counted 9 cups of juice and water with straws in them scattered around the living room the next morning – Hannah did a very good job), and Matt and Ainsley were busy filling the birth pool.

Oh, she was so proud to be given a real job that she knew was important.

When the midwives showed up, labor was clipping along really well, with contractions long and close together, but I was convinced I was still a long way off from delivery because I was able to laugh and communicate coherently between contractions.

Not long after they got there, it got even faster. Several contractions right on top of each other. A sudden hatred of clothes. An intense need to be in the birth pool. Then out. Then in. Then never wanting to leave it.

This was when Matt said he realized how grateful he was to have Alicia there. The midwives appropriated him for little things they needed, the girls needed help with things, and he didn’t have to worry about me. I heard him checking on things with Alicia and then going back to helping others which is a good thing for a man to be doing in labor. I vaguely remember her running interference with the midwives also - making sure my labor was uninterrupted, making sure the water was high enough and the right temperature.

It was 12:30 in the morning by this point and the girls were fading. Ainsley distracted herself by cutting and taping paper into projects and making ‘cafes’ (special fancy drinks that the girls make) for everybody. Hannah would come help me through a contraction and then curl up on the couch for awhile begging anyone who would listen not to let her fall asleep.

That girl is a born nurturer.

I was moving well into transition by this point, but could tell only by the need to focus on resting between contractions. All of the sudden, I wanted to hold only Matt’s hand in contractions and I wouldn’t let him go between. I noticed a few flashes sometimes, but couldn’t process what they meant because I was so deep inside myself. The next day, I was looking through the pictures on the camera and came across this one.

This picture stopped my heart. Alicia captured such a perfect ‘labor moment’. Right between contractions, completely in laborland, leaning on my main support.

Not long after this picture was taken, I hit the contraction that tells every woman she’s almost there. I said, through the first tears of the night, “I can’t do this anymore. I’m scared.” And was met with “You ARE doing this. You’re almost there.” from Matt and “You are so, so strong.” from Alicia and I had my focus back for the next contraction. Two contractions later, I was pushing. Three or four after that, and his head was out.

Have I mentioned on this blog how much this baby moved while inside me? More than all three of my other babies put together. It was nearly constant it seemed. He’d wake me up in the middle of the night kicking. Baby movement is my favorite part of being pregnant, so I felt so lucky that this last child was giving me so much of it. He was moving throughout labor, even with all of the work he was doing in there. You’d think that when he was actually halfway out, he’d take a rest, but he didn’t.

In between pushes, with his head out and his body in, that baby kicked me so hard that I burst into laughter and said The baby just KICKED me!” It was ridiculously funny to me at the time because it seemed that the baby was saying “Why did we stop!? We were almost there! Get me out!” One more push and he was out.

And I cried for the second time that night. Hannah says that I kept saying "We did it, baby, we did it!"

We had told the girls that if they were up for the birth, they would get to tell us if it was a boy or a girl, that not even the midwives would see before them. I wasn’t sure the midwives would listen to me, so I’d told Alicia to please make sure that the baby got its genitals covered as it was pulled out of the water and sure enough, she did. I heard her say ‘oh, just a minute’ as the midwives were pulling him out but before they could see, and putting the towel corner over him. Hannah looked and then Ainsley did and they told us we had a boy. We were *so* surprised. We expected a girl!

One of the things that Matt loves about homebirths is that we get to pick when anybody else gets to hold our baby, they don’t tell us when we’re able to or when the baby needs to be taken away to be weighed and measured and everything else that takes precedence in the hospital.

Ainsley was our first homebirth and the experience of being handed the baby immediately and getting to hold her for so long was so great that he says he can’t imagine doing it any other way as long as we’re lucky enough to have healthy pregnancies and labors.

I was so happy that the girls were able to stay up until 1:30 to see him born. I was also happy that they were prepared for the birth so that it didn’t freak them out but was exciting. And they got to hold him before they went to sleep.

Which for Ainsley, was about five minutes after she held him. Hannah lasted until the placenta was birthed, looked at it, then went to sleep.

Then I curled up on the bed, they laid the baby beside me, and we went to sleep.

We woke up thirty minutes later because he was hungry and I remember thinking “I am so glad that I did this at home.” I was able to wander downstairs and get something to eat. A few hours later, when the afterpains hit, I was able to soak in the tub. A few hours later, I was able to introduce him to Grayson when Gray woke up and his sisters were able to hold him when they woke up many many hours later. I am sold on homebirth for our family. Bliss.

So that's Zander's birth story. I can say that his labor and delivery wasn't painful for me. It was hard work, don't get me wrong, but the focus and visualizations kept me moving through the contractions and not losing myself in physical sensation. The amount of support I had in this birth, from my partner, my children, my doula, my midwives, from the invisible-but-oh-so-tangible group of women around the world who knew I was in labor and were sending me strength, made it such an amazing experience.

Which I won't be repeating anytime soon.

Current Inspirations

2011-06-08T20:59:00.002-06:00

I don't know whether this toy is hilarious or not. It kind of freaks me out.

17 pyramids found by infrared satellite. That got us talking.

Cute, cute pants made to fit over a cloth-diapered bum. Seriously worth checking out.

The website I look at when I'm stuck sitting nursing a baby. Of course it leads to link-hopping to learn more, which leads to more sitting ... I now know who King Canute was.

Somebody asked for this - the color wheel that we have in our craft room.

Going to a ballet show.

2011-06-07T11:52:00.002-06:00

Zander's still so young, but we had tickets to go to this show and the girls would have been heartbroken if we didn't show up. So we got all dressed up and took our seats.

It was so worth it.

Seven days full of Zander.

2011-06-05T20:14:00.004-06:00

It's been a busy week. I can't believe that in four hours my baby will have been with us for a week.

We've all been getting to know him in our own way. Cautious poking.

Caretaking.

Mothering.

He's staring into his Daddy's eyes a lot and looking for him when he hears his voice.

I'm staring at him a lot, nursing a lot, sleeping a little.

The kids had Daddy home for the first few days and got their first camping trip on the lawn this year.

We've had amazing friends bring us dinner all week - what a blessing that's been.

Hundreds of pictures have been taken.

Because ... because babies are irresistible when they're sleeping.

We've spent a lot of time cuddled on the couch watching Batman. Gray even has his own Batman dance he does now when he hears the theme music. And I know more about Batman than I did a week ago - which is actually saying something since Batman and Company are such a big part of our lives.

And look at what happens when Mommy is nursing or holding a sleeping baby -

She gets to eat cookies right off of the cooling rack - why get a plate dirty? Oh, right. The crumbs.

We've been playing a lot more games this week also because I'm so sedentary. While playing Qwirkle the other day, this was my view to my left ...

and to my right.

And on the nice days, when the kids are wanting to be outside I can sit on a bean bag on the porch with either Zander, or, if he's ok with being put down for his nap, with my laptop, and have the kids come up to talk to me or cuddle or yell at me to watch what they can do.

And then I take more pictures of a sleeping baby.

Because he's irresistible.

And then there were four.

2011-05-31T23:14:00.003-06:00

He's here!

His name is Zander to most of us, Peanut to Ainsley. She's still frustrated that that isn't on his birth certificate.

He was born at 1:30 am on Memorial Day - all of 8 lbs, 7 oz. He's beautiful and squishy and kissable.

We're all in love.

The Art Garden - a fantastic new find.

2011-05-24T15:51:00.004-06:00

So excited about this. One of my friends started up a new website she named The Art Garden that has art lessons on it. She puts up at least two new videos each week for each lesson, one for the parents and one for the kids. This last week was about the artist Matisse (here is the parent's video and here is the kid's video).

My kids watched the video but quickly diverged from drawing shapes to asking random questions (Hannah) and drawing dragons (Ainsley). They weren't really drawn to any of his artwork that she showed, so we googled him and they really dug a few of his pieces that we found online like this one, this one, this one, ooh, and this one too!

They weren't sure that it would be fun to make, though. I told them I really wanted to do this and have them do it with me, so would they humor me? Pleeeeaaase? They did.

Once we got started, they had a lot of fun.

Ainsley's favorite one she made was this one -

Hannah only made one - but she was very meticulous with that one.

Then she said "You know, that teacher lady said that Matisse would do art as big as he was! Can we do that?" In true Hannah fashion, she'd been listening to the video while she was asking random questions. She kept peppering me with facts about Matisse that the 'teacher lady' had said during the video.

So we rolled out some paper and taped it up and they went to town again, this time with a much bigger canvas.

Gray woke up from his nap right before they were done and got in on the action. Then he decided Mystery Garden was more fun and brought it over to play with me while they finished.

I loved how this one turned out.

Especially the little shapes that were random placements that ended up making cool designs.

They each signed it in big letters. They thought that was pretty cool.

This week on The Art Garden website is 'Animals and Art'. I haven't looked at the videos yet because I wanted to get Matisse done. I just knew that as soon as the kids got started they would enjoy it, and they did.

Also, she has a private Facebook group you can join and have your kids submit their artwork for other kids to look at and comment on. Hannah has *loved* doing that. Let me know if you join - I would love to see your kids art!

Filling in the sand.

2011-05-19T22:38:00.002-06:00

I read a fantastic analogy about getting things done as a busy mom awhile back. Think of your tasks as rocks, gravel, and sand that you need to put into a gallon jar. Put the rocks in first, then the gravel, then the sand. If you put the sand in first, you won't have room for the rocks.

So I've been doing that with the 'before baby' list of tasks. The rocks are done - diapers are made, car seat is bought, blankets, diapers, and clothes are ready. The gravel is filled in - hot spots decluttered, food in the freezer, baby carriers ready. Now I'm filling in the sand, not hoping or expecting to get it all done - just doing what I can, when I can, as I feel inspired ... filling up the birth pool, working with the garden, working on my new website, but mostly relaxing and playing with my kids.

UNO has been a big hit around here lately.

Hannah's been interviewing me while I milk goats.

It's been so cold here. We get 1 good day for every 10 cold and windy ones.

So we make up for it by pretending we live in Hawaii.

We even went snorkeling in the tub the other day.

When it is nice, we don't get anything at all done in the house.

Even in the evening, Ains doesn't want to come in, so she and I have taken to walking down 'the farm road' every night after dark.

They've gotten camping fever something bad.

The microscope has been out for over a week, looking at everything from petals to fingernails to salmon bones.

Hannah had her last dance recitals. We're done with that until fall.

The littler ones wanted to put on their own performance.

It was fantastic.

Then the days get cold again and we are back inside. So we keep busy. Yoga.

Dollhouse.

More UNO.

And cuddling with the chihuahua.

So that's us. Enjoying cold days, loving warm days, filling in the sand.

Absorbing the last few days with three.

2011-05-09T22:19:00.004-06:00

We're down to the home stretch now. Two weeks - three, tops - until we are a family of six (gulp!) instead of a family of five.

So I'm using my body's signals to tone it down a bit to snuggle and cuddle and absorb these three while they're still my only three.

So picnics are the order of the day.

And loving this little boy who grabs his boots and coat as soon as he sees me getting ready to head outside - even if the girls don't come, I can always count on him to be with me.

And while he is frustrated with how big Mommy's tummy is getting and doesn't seem to comprehend the fact that there's a baby in there, the other two do. Very much.

There is much impatience about "When will this baby be here?" and "You better wake me up for the birth, even if you have to take me outside into the cold to get me to wake up!" and "Can I listen to the heartbeat?"

(Can I tell you how much I love having a midwife that comes to my house so that I don't have to haul three kids to a doctor's office?)

And my favorite "Can I talk to the baby?"

And I think the feeling's mutual, between the baby and its siblings. This is the first pregnancy where the baby is so crazy active when it hears siblings running and playing - nearly turning somersaults wanting to be with them. This could be interesting.

It never ceases to amaze me, this feeling of "I can't imagine my life with another one." changing immediately after the baby arrives to "I can't remember my life without you."

What's been going through the sewing machine.

2011-04-30T13:06:00.002-06:00

I keep forgetting to send you over to my other blog in case you're interested in the Great Stash Busting Project of 2011. I think these are all the ones I've forgotten to link to.

Easter shirts.

Ainsley skirts.

And the Pants Post.

Easter - five days later.

2011-04-29T11:01:00.002-06:00

I wanted to share what we did for Easter because it was so much fun and this is kind of my journal.

One of our friends hosted an Easter party on Friday night, so we went to that. Hundreds of eggs for 25 kids and an adult hunt. So. Much. Fun.

The littlest kids got their own hunt in.

Gray was sure there were some more out there for him.

Then the big kids got a much more challenging hunt.

After dark, the adults had a hunt with flashlights. And kids. The kids were not about to stay in for that much fun.

This was my favorite part of the night - watching Gray tool around with three other boys about his age, making circles on bikes and trikes for an hour.

Matt has a tradition of setting up a treasure hunt every Easter. It gets better each year.

The kids get a map and have to follow it exactly - even if it means circling a tree until they're dizzy.

The girls have gotten pretty good at map reading.
And circling trees.
Gray goes straight for the candy hidden at each spot.

"Swing in the hammock" wasn't on the map, but it had to be done.

And then, for his big finale, the treasure - Pillow Pets.

In case you've ever wondered, this is what heroes are made of.

Budding out.

2011-04-25T13:59:00.002-06:00

The bushes and trees at Hannah's violin teacher's class are screaming into spring almost overnight.

So beautiful.

Look what we got to do yesterday!

2011-04-21T11:06:00.000-06:00

Spring fever demanded it, no matter how cold it was.

Partway through the playing, I realized that I was heading the same way with this pregnancy that I did with Ainsley's and if I didn't fix it, I was likely to be handing my husband the camera in the middle of labor and saying "Quick! Get a picture of my tummy while she's still in there!"

So I handed Hannah the camera and asked her to get a picture. "The picture is to show my pregnant tummy, so don't get too far back, ok?" Ok.

Whoa. That's close. Sorry 'bout that.

We're counting down in weeks, not months now. Deep breaths.

I really am that smart.

2011-04-20T08:33:00.003-06:00

I was busy doing something yesterday when Hannah came up and asked me what red and yellow make. "Orange." and she ran off. I heard her tell her sister "You should go ask Mother a question. She's really smart today."

Ainsley appeared by me. What's seven and nine? "Sixteen." She ran back to Hannah. "You're right!!! She really is that smart today."

See? I really am. Today.

Blowing out winter.

2011-04-19T07:45:00.003-06:00

It takes months to kick winter out. It won't be until mid-May that we are truly into summer weather for good. It's taking its toll on my oldest this year. We have had to stay inside all day, every day except for goat-milking and she's having a hard time with it. The wind is just too. strong. here when it blows.

So we find things to do. Lots of games - Connect 4. Guess Who. Gardenopoly.

Jump in the jump house.

Destroy the play room.

Go through the pattern books and match them up with fabric.

Work at the style table.

Sit in the sun coming in the window.

Dress-up.

I worked in the kitchen a lot.

So did Ainsley.

Found hidden stuff.

We made it through. We'll see what today holds.

Hannah's 'Boutique' Restaurant

2011-04-11T22:02:00.003-06:00

We were stuck inside for some of the afternoon today as the wind howled, so Hannah made a restaurant. 'Boutique Restaurant'. I love projects like these because they take so much energy and concentration and time as she makes menus and plans and sets up tables and makes food. Then is the actual restaurant when we get the food. Yum.

This time, she took it to a new level. She drew coloring pictures and had crayons ready in case any kids came to her restaurant. They did, and they appreciated the effort.

She also had puppets ready if coloring bored them.

Ignore his face and shirt mess. He ordered three popsicles. She was a very attentive waitress.

I want to show you her dessert menu. This is the front.

Apparently, she's warning you about what will happen should you order from it.

It wasn't an empty warning. I ordered 'a bowl of chocolate ice cream'. This is what I got.

As you can see, I then ordered a few more spoons. Then I ordered the waitress to sit down and help us finish it.

I'll be going to that restaurant again. And taking more people to share my dessert with.

Hawaii in my kitchen.

2011-03-29T18:57:00.003-06:00

If you're around Hannah for very long, you know that she *loves* Hawaii. It's one of her main obsessions. Hawaii and Style. Those are her two main obsessions. Well, Hawaii and Style and Superheroes. Those are her three main obsessions.

Let me start over.

The girl loves Hawaii.

We still don't know where she originally heard about it, where she got the idea that it is this beautiful place equivalent to heaven, but she did, and the past two years have seen lots of talk and learning about Hawaii.

Today she decided to make Hawaii in our kitchen. She ran into a problem. She's frequently made Hawaii in our bathroom which is easy - there's a bathtub there for the ocean. She had no such option in the kitchen. Well, there was the sink, but she didn't think of it and I didn't suggest it. I would have had to do the dishes.

She came up with another option.

The stuffed animal bucket.

It's funny how much work kids will do when they're focused on a goal. She and Ains hauled a lot of water to that tub, getting it just the right temperature.

She was Ains' waitress.

Then she got tired of being the waitress.

Bowling fun.

2011-03-24T10:00:00.003-06:00

About 8 months ago now, we were having an 'off' day. You know those days when every. single. person in the family is just ... off? Snarling, squabbling, all because you're just ... cranky.

So Matt had the brilliant idea of taking us bowling - the kids first time. It really was inspired. It was such a hit that we go about once a month now. Ains in particular *loves* it. She even has her special designated 'bowling socks' that she has to wear when we go.

This last weekend, we went again. Too much winter blah. It worked its magic again.

But I'd like to say one thing.

She needs to stop growing up.

Look how old she looks!

And him.

Carrying around a 6 pound ball like it's nothing. STOP GROWING UP!

And HER!

Oh. Never mind. She's good.

Cookie cutter stories.

2011-03-22T16:03:00.003-06:00

Literally.

It's the cutest use for cookie cutters.

It makes my years of collecting them worth it.

It adds ten minutes onto making cookies since I have to make sure they're washed before I use them.

But that is such a small price to pay for the cuteness.

We just added some doggie cookie cutters thanks to a great friend, Danni - everyone from Bella to Cygnus to Scooby Doo now make an appearance in the stories.

Right this minute.

2011-03-22T08:15:00.000-06:00

Well, 'right this minute' TWO HOURS AGO which is how long it took my computer to upload the picture. *grumble grumble*

Two girls hard at work at their 'style desks'.
Gray was sound asleep at the time and I was not about to chance waking him up with a picture.

Nu-uh.

No way.

Not going to happen.

Apparently I've been a mom for 7 years.

2011-03-08T12:00:00.002-07:00

That's what the calendar says. That's what her number of birthdays say. But it's not true. It was only a few days ago that she was like this.

I stared as long as I could but I had to blink.

And blink.

And blink.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

And look where we've ended up. Seven years she's been on this earth.

So a celebration was in order.

Swimming.

Presents.
(That one was obviously from her sister.)

A birthday sundae.

A birthday skirt.

And the best part of the celebration - the part I thought might not live up to expectations, but surpassed them - lighting Sky Lanterns. If you've seen Tangled, you know the possibility for this to be a romantic, beautiful experience. It was.

The lantern company sent an extra lantern - in pink, no less - so that's the one Hannah used.

They are so easy to light and set free.

And there they go.

A picture really can't do them justice. It was lovely. We have a few extra that we're saving to send off on a warm summer evening.

As an aside, I wish we could take snapshots of our inner selves so you could see just how much I've changed in the last seven years, from being this child's mother. Inconceivable, as a certain Sicilian would say.

Three years goes by so fast.

2011-03-03T20:35:00.003-07:00

He never really was this small, was he?

Couldn't have been.

But he was. And he was loved from the first moment we saw him.

All of us.

I hardly recognize him in some of these old pictures.

In others, not so hard at all.

Quiet and playful.

Giggly and loves horse rides.

Misses his Daddy when he's at work. (He spent 5 minutes dusting Daddy's picture on the family tree.)

Lets his sisters dress him up.

I can't do anything in the kitchen without him right there wanting to help.

There was never any question of his tractor going into the garage with the bikes at the end of fall.

He is so very loved.

Happy Birthday my quiet little guy.

I can't imagine our family without you in it.

The More It Snows

2011-02-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

by A. A. Milne

The more it snows - tiddely - pom,

The more it goes - tiddely - pom

The more it goes - tiddely - pom

On snowing.

And nobody knows - tiddely - pom,

How cold my toes - tiddely - pom

How cold my toes - tiddely - pom

Are growing.

This post brought to you courtesy of Grayson's current favorite poem.

Also, if you're following along on my fabric stash busting, I've got a new post up - Library bags and Library card wallets.

Life is dangerous.

2011-02-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

It is therefore only prudent when you protect yourself.

From flying game pieces.

Or unruly peas.

Or snow. Dangerous stuff, that.

Or little brothers.

He looks dangerous doesn't he?

Clay can be dangerous too.

And playing with matches.

Alright, she's got me there.

She's even gotten her brother in on it.

Though for him it may be more of a fashion statement.

Balloons are back.

2011-02-17T09:12:00.002-07:00

Balloons have been relegated to the game area for months while new interests have taken over. A few weeks ago Hannah wanted to play with them some more, so she started back up.

Poodles, of course.

And swords. Those are the fastest and easiest.

Then dragonflies.

And fairy wands.

Then Ainsley got into it, but she was not going to stick with 'normal' balloon items. She made her father a sleeping hat.

(and insisted on him trying it out that night)

Then she made herself a sleeping hat.

(and decided that it wasn't very useful)

But this ... this was the crowning achievement of the night. Ains and her daddy put together an entire warrior outfit. Helmet and all.

She designed it. The helmet *still* kills me.

She made her daddy an entire outfit too. She was the queen and he was her knight and she led him into several battles that night. Oh, how I wish those pictures had turned out.

Hannah was slow to the warrior party, but once she got involved, Ains let her be a knight also.

This holiday was made for her.

2011-02-15T07:33:00.004-07:00

Please. A holiday to celebrate love? That should have been Hannah's birthday. It's almost bigger than Christmas for her.

We've been working up to it for a week, making mailboxes,

making lots of little crafts.

Not nearly as many crafts as I had planned though. You see, Valentine's Day is so important that it can't be just one day. It has to be a week. So she took my craft ideas and recipe ideas and spread them out over the next week. A week filled with love - I'm not complaining.

I made foam lips and moustaches and stuck them on lollipops for the kids.

That was fun to find in the mailboxes first thing in the morning.

All day they were checking the flags on the boxes to see if they had any more mail. All day they were putting valentines in each other's boxes.

We made stamps for her to seal her Valentine's letters with. (You have to send the cards *on* Valentine's Day, she says, as they have more love in them that way.)

Then, though she didn't want to do the next day's project that day, she went through the ribbon she wanted to use for it and exclaimed over it and sorted it in ten different ways and then built a tower with it. Then she took pictures and asked me to share them on the blog.

Picture by Hannah

Flowers from Daddy.

The rest of the day was spent on a mix of Valentine's day and normal day stuff.

Tractor pulls.
The ever-present art store on the stairs.

Microscope time.

Diego - on dvd and on the computer. My son loves Diego right now.

Hannah teaching violin class.

Reading.

Picking out fabric for library bags.

Cuddling by the heater.

Farm chores.

Going to Coldstone Creamery for their Valentine's special - free ice-cream for the kids, $1.50 ice cream for the adults. Yum.

Picking up a heart-shaped pizza for $6 - who doesn't love V-day specials?

Letting the kids dream at the pet store.

Then home to eat and go to bed.

Or not.

More Valentines made for everybody. Daddy gave them his.

An experiment about how useful opposable thumbs are.

Very useful.

More reading.

Bed, finally.

Yes!

It was a love-filled day.

Cause they're crazy.

2011-02-10T19:38:00.003-07:00

Hannah's cousins told her that they were having a bonfire.

So we had to have a bonfire.

We knew our little cold-hating redhead wouldn't last longer than ten minutes - if that.

Turns out that she stayed out there for thirty minutes and Hannah headed in after ten minutes.

Ains is so ready for spring to be here.

The day in which Hannah realized that 'Museums are my thing!'

2011-01-13T13:31:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was Hannah's violin lesson. She got a violin - purple, no less - for Christmas and has been wanting to start lessons ever since. Last week was her first lesson, this week her second. Since she's taking lessons from a Suzuki instructor, I have to pay close attention in class to take practice notes for her, so I have to bring stuff to keep the other two quiet and engaged.

Done and done.

After class we had a few hours to kill before Ainsley's gymnastics class and it was too cold for parks. We decided to go to our local museum. It's small but has cool stuff.

Like this replica of a human skeleton. We hadn't seen that before. It captured imaginations.

And this one always sucks Ains in for some reason - a recreation of a living space in a cave for American Indians that lived in this area.

They also have a room with art that changes every so often. The last time we were there there was a bloody and gruesome settler/Indian 'Hamlet on the Plains' display. We had to stay well clear of that one, but now they have abstract art in there. Ains loved this painting.

And Hannah, after spending 20 minutes having me read signs above dinosaur bones to her declared "You know, Mother, museums are my thing. They really are. You can learn so much here, and what's the point if you're not learning?"

Ainsley looked at her like she was nuts and ran back into the room with fluorescent lights where Gray was already giggling at his shoelaces.

Teddy has a tea party.

2011-01-11T12:23:00.003-07:00

But he missed it.

You see, he told Ains he wanted one, so she enlisted a lot of help to make it happen.

She sent Gray to go get all of Teddy's friends.

She set Hannah to work making tea cakes.

I was assigned popover duty.

She put everyone in their proper places.

She wrote the invitations and handed them out.

"Daddy Come to my Tea Party. 10:30." We took it to work and put it on his truck seat.

Then she set the table and we waited until 10:30.

Gray made sure he sat beside his elephant.

At exactly 10:30, Daddy showed up for the tea party.

Have I mentioned how much we have loved moving so much closer to his work?

We all got lectures on proper behavior for a tea party and were required to call each other "Ms. Hannah", "Ms. Sarah", "Ms. Grayson", "Ms. Ainser", and "Mr. Daddy".

It went on politely for longer than you would expect before it started to break down. How often can you politely shake your head 'no' when your sisters are politely stuffing things in your face before you just want to start boxing Daddy?

Not that often, that's the truth.

And Teddy? He's MIA, so he missed the tea party that he asked for. Poor guy. He's lucky she saved him a brownie.

Now the tea party's cleaned up and Ains is setting up a movie theater complete with a pie store...

and a popcorn store.

For the record, my to-do list has been thrown out for today.

And I've been informed that nothing electronic is allowed in the theater except for the movie, so I'll have to post this and shut down. Scooby Dooby Doo, here we come!

Current inspirations.

2011-01-04T09:32:00.002-07:00

Planning our Chinese New Year - because Ains is all over anything Chinese right now. :)
- using this page, this page, and this page. Oh, and I've already ordered these. SO excited to get them!
Do you have any suggestions?

This video about the earth's population is fascinating Hannah right now.

And this video showing sled dogs and polar bears playing together is fascinating me.

So wanting to make these for Hannah's birthday.

And I need to go buy some vodka - to go with my vanilla beans of course.

And I wish I knew someone with a kindle that I could make this for.

Letter Day

2011-01-03T19:11:00.002-07:00

We've declared Monday to be 'Real Letter Day'. Hannah wants to start writing real letters to friends. I made her a Letter List to go above her computer and she goes over it to figure out who to write to next.

Right now, writing everything she wants to can get really frustrating and tiring, so she writes as much as she's inclined to and I transcribe the rest for her -verbatim, which makes for some funny letters.

She signs her name and writes the addresses on the envelope and off it goes. She is loving this.

Ainsley has decided that that looks like a lot of fun, so she joined in today.

Now I need to make her a Letter List. Should I make one with pictures of the person beside the name? I'm thinking yes ....

Our Christmas Morning.

2010-12-29T09:47:00.003-07:00

Started out with anticipation.

It was so worth it.

The girls were counting on getting something very specific.

And there it is. Hannah, especially, has not been parted from it very much over the last week.

Hannah knew exactly what she wanted to make for her family for Christmas, so I helped her out.

They were much loved.

Did I say much loved?

Matt played dolls with them for hours.

The day ended with satisfaction - and a show. Of course.

*Many of these pictures were taken by my father.

Our to-do list for today.

2010-12-28T11:38:00.006-07:00

Hannah's, Ainsley's, and mine.

Gray just bounced and giggled when I asked him what he had on the docket for today. Then I had to go look up 'docket' for two curious girls. That'll teach me to use phrases that I don't really know the back meaning for - apparently I'm running a court of law here.

Today Hannah is going to:
-dehydrate pears
-play Gardenopoly
-have a game of Quirkle
-practice violin
-put on a show with my violin

Ainsley is going to:
-play with Gray all day
-play with Hannah and Mommy
-Eat

I am going to:
-cut out Hannah pants
-sew produce bags
-menu plan
-Reading Eggs
-sew violin cloths

Looking at that, I think that their lists look like a lot more fun.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T17:25:00.004-07:00

Ours have been busy so far - tomorrow's the final day.

Lots of present making.

I tried my hand at tracing another pattern.

And then gave it up because the cutting board was needed for much more important things.

Grandpa comes tonight - the whole family is excited for tomorrow.

Tis the Season

2010-12-20T08:55:00.003-07:00

For lots of cooking. It seems to come with the winter weather. Inside more means cooking more.

(But first, go check out Ainsley's new apple pants. So cute! - the pants too. :) )

Ainsley goes for the sweet things like marshmallow fudge.

Hannah goes for the feel-better things like marshmallow crackles. (Same ingredient name, different basic ingredients - this is made with marshmallow root.)

Gray makes anything and everything that he can. He just loves helping.

Applesauce making was huge a few weeks ago - the girls insisted that I be Ma and I call them Mary and Laura.

Ainsley is big into pie-making these days. On this day, she asked her father for help, so she got to make a chocolate pudding pie - with extra flair, of course. Sprinkles in both the crust ...

and on top.

It was verra crunchy. Yum.

Oh, and her hair - I have to show you her hair.

She can wear it in pigtails now. Happy Day!

She loves how it looks.

New pants and a Tree.

2010-12-16T14:00:00.002-07:00

New sewing post up over here.

We got our tree up last week and this is the first year in nine years that we have a store-bought tree. Usually we get one while we're in Wyoming visiting family - it's a tradition, hunting for the perfect tree in the perfect spot (too many trees in one place) and hauling it back down the mountain. Didn't happen this year, so we went to a local greenhouse and got a tree.

I forget what a magical thing this is - decorating a tree in the house.

So much glitter to be distributed!

Ornaments to be dug out and put on the tree.

All that we as adults did this year was get the boxes out, untangle lights, and help where asked. The girls did all of the decorating.

Gray just wanted to wear the hat and play.
So our tree is so clearly decorated by kids. All of the ornaments in the same spot, all of the lights in one area ...

It's perfect for this season of our lives.
Happy Holidays!

A new puppy and Grayson being goofy.

2010-12-14T08:49:00.002-07:00

It's a cuteness overload post.

I finally got a border collie puppy. Oh, she's sweet. Come over to my other blog and help me name her. Pretty please?

And then there's Gray. He found his sleeping bag the other day, hauled it up the stairs, and spent the next few hours rolling around in it.

Every time I turned around, there he was, giggling hysterically because he'd been able to bump into my legs.

It kept him busy for a very long time.

Especially when he got stuck under the craft table for ten minutes.

Just look at that smile.

This moment is perfect.

2010-12-01T11:41:00.003-07:00

Well, that moment was perfect. This very moment sees Gray running nekkid around the living room trying to tackle an ever-patient cocker spaniel, Hannah sketching a cat in the kennel, and Ains coloring in an activity book. This moment is pretty near perfect too.

Sewing/knitting posts.

2010-11-30T10:21:00.003-07:00

In this sewing and knitting heavy season, I wanted to share what I've been making but didn't know which blog to put it on. I decided to put it on my other blog, but will link to those posts on posts on this blog in case you're interested.

I've started a stash-busting series of posts, but today's was just a needed-to-be-made post ... Hannah's new coat.

Busy, windy, sore throat day.

2010-11-30T09:05:00.004-07:00

Two kids had sore throats this morning, it was windy outside, and the snow drifts had us locked in anyway, so we had a busy day mostly spent inside.

Lots of games - chess, Animal Yatzee, Dragon's Journey, Guess Who.

Marshmallow crackles - so soothing for a sore throat.

A tent house.
It started out small but there were ... issues over who was to be allowed in. Hence the three separate houses attached by table tunnels.

Every blanket in the house.

Mailboxes even.

Dancing to Christmas music.

This little guy *loves* dancing, though this shot is unusual. Normally he looks like a velociraptor when he dances.

Remember on my Halloween costume post when I said he's not into costumes? Yeah. He is now. If he has a choice, he'll be squeezed into this costume.

Playing with Halloween clearance scores. Black nail polish and lipstick were in a pack together for ten cents.

Black wig was 50 cents. Awesome.

She felt very glamorous.

Then baking cupcakes and making frosting for four very special birthdays.

Dance recital.

Then the birthday celebration for Moongem (the unicorn in the back), and Nettie, Moonshadow, and Rosie (the dolls).

There were a lot of candles.

That's enough for one day.

This was a long time coming.

2010-11-29T08:04:00.008-07:00

Since Hannah was one year old, I've been collecting puppets. Cute, inexpensive puppets are hard to find - and they're one of the few things that I look at and think "I am not even trying to make that." I've seen a *lot* of cute handmade puppets, I've just got no desire to make them myself. (The few handmade puppets we have are from family Christmas presents or from this hilarious episode.)

So I've been collecting them where I find them. Garage sales, thrift stores, dollar stores, clearance sales, IKEA ... I've got two that are really golf club covers but are some of the cutest. :)

And ever since Hannah was one year old, I've been planning on making a puppet theater. Not a fancy one, mind you, just a simple piece of fabric on a tension rod. Two seams to sew. For the last five years I've been planning this. About three weeks ago, I finally did it.

I was pushed more by the need to get our toy room organized than by a desire to finally get it done. The basket of puppets sits down in the toy room and when I clean the room, I am inevitably picking up all of the puppets which have been used as projectiles.

I stopped in the middle of picking them up one day, walked into the craft room, dug through my fabric stash, cut some fabric the right length, sewed a hem on one end and a tube on the other for the tension rod, put it on the rod (which I've had in the craft room *for this very purpose* for three years), and put it on the stairs. Then I went back to the toy room, threw all of the puppets in the tub and hauled it upstairs also. Within 30 seconds, I had two big kids upstairs using the theater - and puppets - as it was meant to be used.

Ainsley insists that a show needs an audience - and one momma does not a sufficient audience make.

For some reason, Ains is always the announcer.

"Are you watching, Mommy?"

Hannah tells stories and sings songs with her puppets. Ainsley *tries* to tell stories and sing songs, but if she can't remember the song or think of more of a story, the puppets involved suffer for it. Every song ends with "And then the lion died" or "Then he died" with the poor puppet falling to the floor in front of the theater. And I still laugh every time.

I also had one 2 1/2 year old using them as projectiles *over* the theater (hence the floating lion).

Now the toy room is more organized because the puppets are not adding to the mess anymore and the puppets get played with at least once a day because their basket is upstairs in the game area in plain sight. An added bonus is that they get picked up almost immediately because if they don't, they're right in the way.

Success all the way around.

The first big snow.

2010-11-24T07:53:00.007-07:00

I don't like change. A few months ago, I lost my photo organizing program in a computer crash. I've been nearly crippled blogging-wise without it, but I couldn't pass up sharing our first snow day. (and some cool owl pictures here)

The hairy cocker spaniel is in heaven.

Hannah woke up, looked out the window and said "SNOW! First I'm going to the bathroom, then I'm getting dressed, then I'm getting in my coat, then I'm going outside and throwing snowballs, then I'm building a snowman, then we're riding in the sled, then I'm going to drink hot chocolate and then we're having pancakes!" And then she breathed.

Gray didn't notice the snow until I opened the door with him beside it. Then he squealed and giggled and squealed again.

We were getting those two dressed to go outside when we heard Ains wake up upstairs. The first thing she said was "YAY!!! SNOW!!!" And all was right in my world.

So out in the snow we went. And snowballs were first.

Gray was trying, but couldn't get the snow to go more than 6 inches, so I had to stand really close to let him hit me with it.

His face when he was hit was hilarious.

Not amused.

Then Ains had had enough of the cold, so she went inside with Bella.

The snow was too dry for a big snowman, so a snowbaby was all that got built.

Hannah talked Ains into coming back out for a sled ride.

Then they made hot chocolate to warm up. You see that jar that says 'Super Family Size' on it?

That translates to "Ainsley Size". Not even kidding.

Hot chocolate with a side of hot chocolate powder. Not much better.

For the next few days, our clear, drifting snow days turned into freezing, blowing snow days, so we've stayed inside and gotten some projects done. It looks like winter is here.

How's homeschooling going?

2010-11-02T09:17:00.002-06:00

At lunch yesterday, Ains looked at her glass and said "Milk is a liquid, right?"

Yes, it is. She's been obsessed with labeling things 'liquid', 'solid', or 'gas' lately so the question wasn't unexpected.

Then came 'Yeah, because I drink it. So it's a liquid. And I eat the pizza, so it's a solid.'

And Hannah piped up with 'But you don't fart it, so it's not a gas.'

Yeah, don't worry about us. We're doing just fine over here.

"Happy Halloween!"

2010-11-01T09:47:00.004-06:00

Halloween is almost as big as Christmas for my dress-up girls. Over the weekend, we went to Halloween parties, out to eat, and then trick-or-treating. Everywhere we went, Hannah was saying "Happy Halloween!" to every one she met and soaking in all of the different costumes.

I didn't make the costumes until the week before Halloween because the suggestions kept changing. They changed after I began the costumes, but they were locked in by then. I put a picture of each of their choices up on my laptop and they would randomly come by, look at them and remind me of little details they didn't want me to miss. Because of the costumes they chose, I got to work with fabric and techniques that I'd never worked with before. Scary and so thrilling when it actually worked!

Hannah chose to go as Raven from the Teen Titans - a relatively obscure anime cartoon that the kids love.

She looked fantastic. Like Ainsley, she was insistent about the details. I didn't get the belt figured out until the morning of the first party. I tried several different ways and finally hit gold with yellow puffy fabric paint on the red fabric circles which Matt then hot glued on a gold ribbon. The only thing we bought with her costume was the tights.

She's lived in her costume since it was finished.

Ainsley chose to go as She-Ra. I used McCalls 5727 for the dress and it included a belt, arm cuffs, and boots. It turned out *so* cute! She was very definite about what the outfit should look like and was sad - though not overly so - when I accidentally made her red boots instead of gold boots. Luckily, her cousin was going as Wonder Woman and needed a pair of red boots. Otherwise, She-Ra would have had red boots.

I hit a wall, though, when it came to She-Ra's crown and the decorations on her dress. I have no experience with applique and it has always intimidated me.

I started with the crown and appliqued the red jewel on it - much easier and cuter than I expected. Then I went through a few 'wing' cutouts trying to get those right - getting them to stay standing up straight ended up needing not just interfacing but a layer of fleece. Sewing the feather lines on the wings ended up being very fun.

I hand sewed the wings onto the crown.

Then I tackled her dress. That was scary - if I messed that up, I would mess up the dress itself. Two hours before the first party. I ended up hot gluing the pieces where I wanted them and that really helped. I was so excited when it worked!

She ended up being *almost* completely satisfied with her costume. She-Ra has bigger nursies and blonde hair. I couldn't get our blond wig detangled in time and I wasn't even going to address the other one.

Gray, unlike his sisters at the same age, really didn't care what he was dressed up as, so we dug a Spiderman outfit out of the dress-up box for him. Two minutes after he was in his outfit he completely forgot he had it on.

We went to a family party at the local college.

Lots of games, lots of candy, lots of really cute outfits to look at.

A few costumes werent' so cute - there was one college girl helping at the booth who seemed to not realize that this was a family party and was dressed as a sexy bat - you know, if bats wore booty shorts and corsets with their breasts hanging out - so that one made me laugh. Cute costume in the right situation - at a family party, she looked really out of place. There were also two - only two - guys in really scary masks. I was proud of Hannah who went up to talk to one of him even though - actually because - she was scared and asked to touch his Pinhead mask to be sure he wasn't real.

And Hannah actually got recognized once! A college girl dressed in a really pretty princess costume stopped her and said "RAVEN!!! Oh, that is the coolest costume!" Made Hannah's day (and mine, to be honest). Ainsley never got recognized, though one lady stopped me and said "He is so cute! Is he Thor?"

On Halloween night we went to Trick or Treating with my sister's family.

I was surprised that after an hour, even the promise of more candy wasn't enough to keep them going. I was fine with it, just surprised.

After all, they had been running for the whole hour.

Ooh, one more costume picture. My sister's little year-old lion.

Superhero birthday party.

2010-10-27T21:43:00.006-06:00

Ainsley's birthday party had a superhero theme. It was the first time that we did a party for friends also and I was having a hard time thinking up good ideas. Facebook friends to the rescue. The party was so much fun that I wanted to share the games for others who need ideas.

My cousin and her daughter helped me make 12 little capes for the guests, which turned out really cute.

The first thing we did was have the kids do an obstacle course to train them as superheroes. It went around the yard and culminated in them rescuing stuffed animals. They loved it and did it four times in a row. Wish I'd gotten pictures of it, but we were too busy cheering and guiding.

Then we played Superheroes and Villains. Two of the moms were villains and the kids were the superheroes. They got to chase and capture the villains and tie them to chairs with toilet paper.

Then the villains would break free and it would all start over.

It was *such* a blast. After the first villain run, one of the villains had to give up her life of crime because it bothered her son to see her being chased. Another villain - with an infant, no less - stepped up and the game went on

and on ....

and on ....

until the toilet paper rolls were used up.

Then the superheroes got to clean up their town, eat cake, and play around as long as they wanted. We had emptied our swimming pool and filled it back with only three inches of water and a bottle of dish soap. The kids would stand in the water and we would pull a hula hoop up over them to make a bubble around them. It almost worked on the shorter kids, but only got waist high on the bigger kids. Then they used the hoops to make huge bubbles.

It really was a brilliantly fun party.

Ains only wanted a few things. A scooter. A book about Dragonology. A skirt.

I wanted to put up some pictures of the handmade goodness she got, so here is her (very) ruffly skirt. *Very* ruffly.

Seriously, I never want to see ruffles again.

Hannah made her a pillowcase.

She drew a picture of a unicorn, transferred it to a piece of muslin and embroidered it, picked out fabric to match and I sewed it into a pillowcase.

Darling.

Then there's the present my sister gave her - a knitted superheroine doll.

It looks cute in the picture, I know, but people - it is so. much. cuter. in your hands. You can't help but fly her around.

And the detail is wonderful - look at her cape.

I want one.

Windy days.

2010-10-26T08:27:00.004-06:00

We had a massive wind storm come through here and stay for three days. Crazy 50 mph winds with 'gusts' (that lasted for forty minutes) of higher winds that tried to blow trees down, grills off of decks. Not play outside weather.

We stuck around inside except for short screaming runs outside to take care of animals who were themselves hunkered down and not going anywhere.

So we've had lots of cookie making. Hummus making. Cracker making. Brownie making. We're going to be much harder to blow away after this storm.

Lots of curling in a warm blanket and watching Rainbow Brite.

Lots of super hero play - X-men, She-ra, Black Cat, Justice League, Ladybugs ... so glad that we're in a house with a circle from the living room to the kitchen for them to run around. So glad no-one's busted their head running that circle yet.

Grayson sometimes joins in the Ladybug superhero game (one of them is a ladybug and the others are aphids) and sometimes they let him chase him just as himself and act terrified which makes him giggle as he's roaring. A lot of the time I'll find him playing in the toy kitchen or pushing his cars around, completely content to be playing on his own - so different from his sisters at the same age. Sometimes he joins me in the big kitchen stirring stuff up. He's started to really enjoy that.

This morning the wind is gone and there is frost on the ground. The cold temperatures aren't going to stop my kids from going outside today, I'm thinking. Three days stuck inside is enough.

A regular rainy day activity.

2010-10-06T14:05:00.003-06:00

We don't get a lot of rainy days around here, but when we do, these yoga dvds are *always* pulled out.

The girls are really into it. Gray is kind of into it - especially the 'shaking your joints out' part.

But see here, how he's starting to look down, noticing something on the ground?

Yeah, we lost him.

Downward tractor.
Still not paying attention.

But we had him for all of two minutes. That's a record.

Wanting to be included.

2010-09-30T08:16:00.003-06:00

After a summer break brought on by a cracked arm, Ains is back in gymnastics.

This means that Gray and I are back behind the fence watching. Watching for five minutes until he breaks into squealing because he wants to be in there too and I have to haul him off to a different part of the gym.

This time, though, things were unexpectedly different. This time Gray decided to try to do the movements outside the fence.

Wish I'd thought of encouraging him to do that.

It kept him busy and happy.

For all of 15 minutes.

Then they moved to the trampoline and he couldn't follow. Back to exploring the rest of the gym far away from her class, but it was a glorious 15 minutes.

Blogging away.

2010-09-17T16:28:00.002-06:00

or Away Blogging.

I have a guest post up at The Mahogany Way! Mahogany Way is my friend Darcel's blog and well worth checking out!

Restaurant fun.

2010-09-14T22:52:00.005-06:00

Silly girl.

Silly girl with a missing tooth.

Silly boy trying to ignore even sillier sisters.

(This is the playmat I made almost a year ago. It is well loved and used so often and shows no wear and tear yet. He still runs over the sheep, but he uses that motorcycle track much more than I thought he would.)

Blast from the Past

2010-09-13T11:54:00.004-06:00

Searching through my old posts today for one a friend was looking for and I came across this one.

And that's the main reason why I blog. I'd forgotten about that day. It makes me smile how very similar our days still are two years later.

Oh, and this one - a freckle-less Ainsley!

Ainsley being a hero.

I found the post my friend was looking for - a comparison of the sizes of the planets, but the link isn't working. I googled for it, but all links lead back to the Techdo page which is defunct. Major bummer.

I did find the World Sunlight Map page again. Just as cool this time around.

I KNOW!

2010-09-07T19:58:00.000-06:00

"I know, I know, I KNOW!!!"

Hannah says that so often after hearing my answer to a question she asks.

Today I was already having a hard day, so when she said that I said "You know, it makes it really hard for me to want to answer questions if you already know everything."

"I don't know everything," she said. "Like, I don't know what type of unicorn I'm going to see in the future, just that I'm going to see one. If you have any insight into that, I'd be grateful."

Today centered around chocolate.

2010-08-30T23:48:00.005-06:00

It started with Gray talking Ains into getting the chocolate milk mix canister for him. He decided it would be better to bypass the milk entirely and put it straight in his mouth. He didn't use a spoon.

Can you tell how covered he is? His face and hair turned dark brown when I showered him off.

I got him cleaned up and went to go help Ainsley with a project. Ten minutes later I found Gray at the kitchen table doing this.

When you got needs, you got needs.

Hannah decided that her father was the best father in the whole wide world and as such he deserved a cake. Fair enough. We looked through The River Cottage Family Cookbook and found a recipe for chocolate cake.

It was an interesting recipe - you didn't have set amounts of sugar, flour, and butter. You had to weigh the eggs and then use the same weight of the other three ingredients, so I pulled down our scale and set Hannah to work expecting to have to be hovering and helping her. It turned out that all I had to do was write down the weight in grams of the eggs and she could compare the weight shown on the scale and measure the other three ingredients just fine without my help and with quite a bit of impressive self-correction.

It may not seem like much, but she's not had any formal instruction in less than/more than, bigger than/smaller than, addition/subtraction. I still have my niggling, suspicious worries sometimes about the big scary math issue with the way we homeschool. This helped put some of that to rest. Like she said, "It's so easy Mother. Seven is bigger than five, so if I want 175 grams and I have 153, I still need more. I don't need your help."

So I stepped back.

When the cake was done, they wanted to put 'a ton' of candles on it. We only had 3 1/2 Toy Story candles (please don't ask about the 1/2) and that wasn't nearly enough for the best Daddy in the world so we used matches.

The result was predictable.

(and the cake was delicious, btw - great recipe)

And as for Ainsley's chocolate contribution today?

She cooked me a chocolate cow.

Cake recipe - (very, very basic - go to the book for more in-depth instructions)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
softened butter (not melted)
sugar
flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare cake pans.

Weigh eggs, note weight. Weigh same amount of butter and beat until very soft. Weigh out same amount of sugar and beat it with butter until very fluffy.

Weigh out the flour (if making chocolate cake, substitute 30 g of chocolate for 30 g of sugar) and add the pinch of salt to it.

Break one of the eggs into the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Add all eggs one at a time in the same manner. Add some of the flour with the last egg to prevent curdling. Stir in vanilla extract.

Add flour to mixture and fold in. Consistency of mixture should drop off the spoon - if it pours off, add a bit more flour (or chocolate, of course!), if it sticks to the spoon add a tablespoon of milk at a time until it is the right consistency.

Pour into cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes until knife inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

In which we meet The Phantom of the Farmyard.

2010-08-27T23:19:00.007-06:00

A whole bunch o' summer snapshots.

The Phantom makes an appearance.

The county fair brings out the crazy.

(that's the only Hannah picture in this post - not because she's been doing nothing, but because everything she's doing I have blog posts planned for)

Gray tries to convince us he's old enough to water ski.

The youngest get their groove on at an outdoor concert.

Ains makes a wish upon a star.

Seriously. That's what she's doing - with her little clasped hands and her upturned face on a horse bareback by herself. I think I deserve an award for not eating her up before now. Better than chocolate, that cuteness.

Skippy Jane Jones tried to ride Gray's trike.

But she got distracted by the ribbons. It could happen to even the most reasonable kitten.

There was air travel.

Though she's declared that she doesn't want to be a space traveler. "I'm gonna be that wady that twains seals at the ocean." So that's that.

Play in the living room in a life jacket.

Just in case. Better safe than sorry.

This had nothing to do with the fact that I overran the bathtub last week. He's too young to connect the dots. I hope.

Boat rides.

And we've still got a month of summer!

Yee haw, Cowboy!

It's a ritual everywhere, isn't it?

2010-08-23T17:24:00.003-06:00

The backyard campout.

My girls thought of doing it at 8:30 at night, so it was getting dark when we set it up.

Then Hannah brought out 29 books for us to read, they fell asleep, and it thundered and poured all night long. It was surprisingly relaxing. The girls slept in the next morning.

It's not like waking up in the forest, but it's not like waking up in your bed either.

Definitely more exciting than the boring old bed.

I did not teach him that.

2010-08-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Sometimes our kids do stuff and we don't know where they learned it. Like when Hannah was barely three and walked into the room with a pool noodle that she'd jammed two knitting needles into sitting on her shoulder, aiming it and saying "Pew! Pew! Pew pew pew!!!"

She'd made her own bazooka and we still don't know where she got the idea.

Yesterday when I was doing chores, I looked over to see Gray sitting on the grass-shooter-tube-thingy that we had taken off of the lawn mower, aiming it around at things and giggling maniacally when his sisters pretended to run away screaming. The dogs just looked bemused.

Once again, I don't know where he got the idea.

But the one thing both kids' inventions have in common is that they didn't go for little handheld stick varieties - they went straight for the big stuff. Should I be worried or proud?

Filling our days.

2010-08-18T22:03:00.001-06:00

Making flags. "Mercan flags" with stars and stripes and everything.

Drawing super-heroes.

Origami.

Lovin'.

Three very unique children.

2010-08-18T00:18:00.004-06:00

We went on our nightly walk down the 'farm road' tonight and I was struck by how unique these kids are.

There's Hannah wearing high heels and with a teddy bear safety pinned to her shirt.

There's Gray with a life jacket and a badminton racket.

There's Ains with her bunny (and eventually her shoes) tied to her handlebars.

On the way home, she let Gray do what he loves most of all these days - sitting on her back fender while she pedals.

It's very generous of her because it doubles her work load.

Button Venn diagrams.

2010-08-05T14:13:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I wrote "Ains is busy dividing her button stash into 'pretty' and 'cute' piles. She deliberates a long time over some of the buttons - one button got over three minutes of thought out (out loud) debate." on Facebook. Laura said "Sounds like a Venn diagram is in order!" That sounded too cool to pass up, so we did it.

She caught on really fast and was sorting for over an hour.

Then she found some that were neither cute nor pretty but 'awesome' and 'cool' and one was even 'stupendous'. These got their own space outside of the diagram because she didn't want me to draw her a new one.

It's amazing how closely she had to study some of them to get the classification just right.

Hannah wanted to do one, so I made her a diagram with her specifications - 'cute', 'pretty', and 'interesting'.

She's played a Venn diagram game on Zoombinis - Island Odyssey, so she was off and running as soon as I put it in front of her.

*If you want to connect on Facebook, just email me at unprocessedfamily at gmail dot com.

Remember when we had 14 year olds visiting?

2010-08-04T00:25:00.001-06:00

Now it's 11-year-olds. Two of them.

And we're having so much fun.

Found on the camera.

2010-07-29T13:10:00.000-06:00

Looks like a Hannah picture.

This one's an Ainsley picture. Lemon peel on a kitten head.

Must be a Hannah picture. (Ains got an itty bitty fracture on her arm.)

I love little discoveries like this. They help me protect the kittens better in the future.

How's she fitting in?

2010-07-28T00:40:00.001-06:00

It's been four months since Bella came home.

She's doing just fine.

Look at that. I mean, really. They were made for each other. One loves to dote, the other loves to be doted on. They take turns.

I'm not saying that she's happy with *everything* that goes on around here.

The cats she could do without.

I know it looks like she's hiding her face in the bag in that picture. She is. Skippy Jane Jones is a cranky kitty.

But on the whole, her life is pretty dang perfect. She has a little girl who thinks she's a princess (which is convenient, since *she* thinks she's a princess' dog), acres to chase voles in and a cocker spaniel who can dispatch of the voles she finds, a momma cat who will sometimes deign to play tag with her, another little girl who loves to rough house with her when she's in the mood, a little boy who loves to cuddle with her when he's in his car seat, a big, gruff man who pets her when he thinks noone is looking, and a woman who is secretly making plans to make her a new bag for Christmas because she not-so-secretly adores her (though that plan is not selfless, as it means that the woman won't have to look at the leopard print bag anymore).

And that, my friends, was the longest sentence I've ever written.

The Napping House

Karate!

I didn't set out to have a breastfeeding board on Pinterest.

Sleepy. Soooo sleepy.

niū jiǎn chū detective agency

Our house looks a little bit different.

Today was a good day.

Random.

The selling food man.

Too much joy...

What have we been doing?

Tap-a-tap-a-tap-a

Food freedom.

Grayson, P.I.

From the "I meant to post about that files".

Hello, camera!

Today we ...

I'm going to miss this.

Grayson loves helping in the kitchen.

Family photos on the fly.

Sun Art.

A cheesecake kind of day.

The beginning and the end.

One of those days.

Current Inspirations

One for strength.

Happiness.

Hannah's Question of the Day

Camping on a moment's notice.

Well, it was a good idea.

Visitors.

Paper bag building blocks.

Go jump in a lake.

He's growing.

Right this minute.

Recovering.

What's making me smile this week.

Emptying the camera card.

Right this minute.

Nature journaling.

Zander's birth story.

Current Inspirations

Going to a ballet show.

Seven days full of Zander.

And then there were four.

The Art Garden - a fantastic new find.

Filling in the sand.

Absorbing the last few days with three.

What's been going through the sewing machine.

Easter - five days later.

Budding out.

Look what we got to do yesterday!

I really *am* that smart.

Blowing out winter.

Hannah's 'Boutique' Restaurant

Hawaii in my kitchen.

Bowling fun.

Cookie cutter stories.

Right this minute.

Apparently I've been a mom for 7 years.

Three years goes by so fast.

The More It Snows

Life is dangerous.

Balloons are back.

This holiday was made for her.

Cause they're crazy.

The day in which Hannah realized that 'Museums are my thing!'

Teddy has a tea party.

Current inspirations.

Letter Day

Our Christmas Morning.

Our to-do list for today.

Happy Holidays!

Tis the Season

New pants and a Tree.

A new puppy and Grayson being goofy.

This moment is perfect.

Sewing/knitting posts.

Busy, windy, sore throat day.

This was a long time coming.

I really am that smart.