kids

Take That, Monday

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For whatever reason, Monday mornings always seem out to get me.

Petty arguments:  “Did you hurt her?” was my question. “Not that much,” was the answer.

Getting on  the computer without asking: Someone googled their name and so it was pretty easy to figure out who did it.  Another child said to them, “They [meaning google] don’t know who you are.  You’re not famous.  Yet.”  I couldn’t help but chuckle under my breath.

During school, Elijah was writing a short story and was trying to think of a title for it.  He was contemplating using  A Knight’s Tale until Nadine sternly warned him, “You can’t use Knight’s Tale.  Remember?  You will have to pay twenty-five million dollars!  And then you’ll go to jail!”  I’m glad plagiarism and copyright rules are strictly enforced around here.

Earlier this afternoon I was feeling the desperate need for some sunshine, so Jack and I sat outside to practice his reading.  After about ten minutes it felt like a bug flew into my hair.  There was an awful buzzing sound, which was muffled and then stopped when I shooed at whatever was there.  I thought it flew back out, until a minute later when I heard more horrible buzzing coming from my hair.  I shooed it again and asked Jack what it was.  He looked in my hair and yelled, “It’s a wasp!”  I then proceeded to scream and panic and scream some more.  I yelled for Elijah to come and get it OUT OF MY HAIR!  The neighbors must have thought I was being attacked.  I am petrified of getting stung.  The thought of a wasp or yellow jacket (which it turns out it was) stinging me on my head makes me shiver.  After some more stomping, head swirling, and yelling, miraculously it flew out.  I promptly put a hat on my head.

Even though there are fights and disagreements, there are also sweet moments.  At lunch Nadine looked over at Elsie and said, “What is your favorite food, Elsie?  I need to get to know you better, since we always get into fights!”

Right now they are outside playing “China”, and speaking in some unintelligible language.  There are two countries at war I think.  Betty may be the ransom, I’m not sure.  There are scarves and hats and lots of foreign dialogue.  We’re out to get Monday and make it fun!

Growing Betty

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Sometimes I just sit on the ground and watch Elsie and Betty play their games.  This particular day involved a cowboy hat and a load of towels hanging on the clothesline.  In and out they went, laughing and chattering.  Betty’s personality is quickly emerging as she approaches the big two.


She loves to play.  She just discovered that she loves apples, so now she fits in with the rest of her siblings when they each are chomping on an apple.  In fact, the other day Jack was eating a huge apple and his loose tooth came out and he swallowed it with the apple!  Oops!  He was very nonplussed about it and kept eating his apple.


Her pants are starting to look like flood-water pants, and her shoes barely squeeze on her little feet.  She’s been in size 3 for a long time!

When I asked Nadine what her favorite thing about  Betty is right now, she said, I love it when she puts her hands behind her back and just stands there.  It’s true.  Super cute!  Her favorite song is “Ten Men”, where we act out the story of the ten men that Jesus healed and only one man came back.  Then she brings one hand out and puts up her pointer finger and waves it around while we sing, “Thank you, thank you, Jesus…”  So cute.


When we ask her a question and it’s a yes, she excitedly says, “Da!”  When it’s a no, she shakes her head very fast, tilts her head down, and looks up with no expression on her face, except whatever her big brown eyes say.

A typical afternoon with Betty includes a few changes of shoes, running around with something on her head, and lots of giggling.  She also seems to leave a whirlwind of messes wherever she goes.  I think the main reason she makes messes is so she can clean them up.  She loves to help pick things up, sweep the floor, unload the dishwasher, and put things away.   It’s hard to get upset when I turn around and she’s smiling at me.

A Word Picture of Our Morning

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He doesn’t walk, he does backwards rolls into the kitchen.  The other boy doesn’t just walk, he  somehow makes his feet sound like elephants.  She hops on one leg, convincingly pretending that her leg is broken, because she’s always wondered what that’s like.  The other girl twirls her hair while she walks down the stairs, looking sleepy and disheveled.  The baby, unlike her siblings at that age, still doesn’t know that it’s possible to climb out of her bed, so she squawks and waits with her pink bunny and faithful fingers in her mouth.  She giggles when she’s rescued and immediately wants her shoes put on her feet.

Breakfast smells delicious.  There are perks to being low on milk, because it forces the making of chocolate chip banana bread.  The children are magnetically pulled towards the oven, then shooed back to the couch to wait ten more minutes for it to finish baking.  Their appetites are temporarily satiated by hidden pictures and books.

My cup of tea is almost finished.  The sleepy hair-twirler is on my lap, cozy pink blanket wrapped around us both.  Our morning begins, and I wonder what is being held in store for us today.

Under the Fish Lights Again

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It’s hard to believe that a week ago we were driving home with five rambunctious kids, sad to leave the shore house, which no matter how long you stay there, is never long enough.  A week of school, finally unpacking, seventeen loads of laundry (or so), and twenty-one meals.  Yesterday I pulled a twelve-hour shift of non-stop kids, chattering, tidying, schooling, and somewhere in there a cup or two of hot tea!  My hat goes off to those mamas who solo it every day.  It just happened to be an extra long day of work and other commitments for Matthew, and the sound of his rusty old truck parking outside makes my heart skip a beat, and then settle into a gentle rhythm of, “He’s home… he’s home…”

Our time at the shore house was thankfully not plagued by any strange throw-up bugs, or deluges, and we made it through four days without going to the laundromat!  Now that’s exciting!  Playing Balderdash one night under the fish lights and laughing our guts out reaches pretty high on my list of favorite memories.  I had my handy-dandy voice recorder secretly going, and caught a bunch of hilarity that way, including the moment when the bench that Matt’s parents were sitting on collapsed.  I think we were super relaxed by laughing so hard, that thankfully they weren’t hurt… and so we laughed some more!

We also had fun with sparklers, taking bike rides, and drinking slushies.

One morning, some went fishing while some of us stayed behind and played super-woman and phase ten.

 

We also took a trip to the boardwalk one night.  I had a blast doing the screaming swing with Nadine again.  Elijah rode the go-karts and spun himself silly on the tornado.  Elsie loved the rides even more this year.  Jack was about a quarter-inch too short for the rollercoaster.  Betty wanted to do everything but couldn’t.  Next year should be epic!

Another Day in The Life

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It’s pretty awesome when it’s been a few months since something like this has happened, and then it happens when I least expect it.  Let’s just say I love surprises.  Matthew called me to say that I had to be ready to go out with him at 5:30 tonight.  “Wear work-out clothes, but bring something to change into as well.”  Oh boy.  That is what happens when you go on dates with a personal trainer.  SO, thanks to our amazing friend and pastor, Jon, who watched our kids, Matthew and I took off for an evening of fun.  I fought the urge to get grumpy about part A of our date.  We went to the cross-fit gym and my nerves stopped fidgeting once I got moving.  It was hard not to think about anything other than my shaking legs and the uncomfortably close feeling of about to puke.  But, like everyone said, after finishing I felt great.  It was also pretty cute seeing Matthew’s beaming face when I was all done.  Afterwards we grabbed something to eat and enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation.

That, coupled with another sweet friend bringing us dinner, made up for the especially tiring morning  I had.  After we finished school, I  finally caved and went to the grocery store.  It is pretty bad when the kids are eating graham crackers for breakfast… and lunch.  Despite low blood-sugar levels, everyone was especially energetic it seemed.   We were one of those families today at the store.  The boys were ninjas who were hungry for everything they saw and pretended to consume each item on every shelf.  Then somewhere between when I was paying attention and when I was reading labels on shampoo bottles, Nadine had been chasing Betty down the aisle and fell and skinned her knee on the linoleum floor.  It’s pretty hard to skin your knee on linoleum.  She started crying and saying she broke her knee, and the next thing I knew, there were people around us and someone fetched us bandaids.   She hobbled her way around the rest of the way, but it just seemed to fit the category of crazy-things-that-rarely-happen-while-you’re-shopping.

We also had to go to the dentist to get some cavities filled, (thank you, Grandma for your help!) which added another dose of real-life excitement to our day.  Tucked in there were our everyday messes and tears,

 

along with sweet moments and smiles.

Tomorrow we head to the shore.  Hopefully this time we won’t be plagued with the throw-up bug!  I am really looking forward to no agenda but family.  I was planning on packing tonight, but since I got whisked away by my lover-boy, it can all wait until tomorrow.  Good night.

Thursday Quotable’s

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When food is low, but you have one can of whipped cream hidden in the back of the fridge… tada!   Dessert in a can.  The kids had fun squirting it into their mouths.  Elsie preferred spooning it out of the lid.

Elsie says very funny things.  For instance, after watching the older two playing a chess game, she came up to me and said, “I want to play chest!”  Oh my.

Then she came downstairs wearing panties and a sweatshirt.  I asked her why she wasn’t wearing any pants.  “Uh, because I’m hot.”  Then why are you wearing a sweatshirt?  “That’s because I’m cold!”  Of course.

Upon having a little friend over who wanted to jump on the trampoline, Jack said to me, “She’s the customer!”  He proceeded to go jump on the trampoline with her.  The customer is always right!

I’m not the only one lamenting summer’s farewell.  Nadine said sadly to me, “But I haven’t even finished growing my tan skin yet!”

We have started school this week, and everyone has been super excited about the new books, new approach, and new year!  Before we step into our last day of school for this week, I have to share this cute sight that is sharing the kitchen table with me:

  Happy Thursday!

Getting Summer

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I find myself saying “Gotcha!” a lot whenever I pick up Betty.  It can be in a reassuring voice after she’s fallen, or in a fun voice as she is being tickled.

I didn’t realize this until today when Nadine said, “Gotcha.”  Then she paused before exclaiming, “I’ve never said that word before!”  Then she went on to say, “Would someone please explain what that means?” Seeing as though I was the only one in the room at the time, I took the liberty of explaining it to her.

She was unloading the dishwasher at the time.  I had just sat down after teaching school all morning, cooking lunch, and doing some other things.  Nadine said, “It must feel good to take a break!”  I chuckled at her comment, nodded my head, and sipped my tea. I had just started my lunch.  Somewhere in between scrounging up five lunches with very little food left in our cupboards (I’m determined not to go shopping this week), cleaning up multiple spills, cleaning up one messy baby, laying said baby down for her nap… I finally sat down for my lunch.  This is what often happens after the feeding frenzy we call lunch.  Our kids are eating machines.  I can pretty much honestly say that our fridge is empty.

There is a little milk left, 4 eggs, one block of cheese (which is odd to still have), and a bag of peppers,which has now been roasted and pulverized into salsa.  There is a jar of jam, a few olives and some mustard.  Oh, and relish and garlic!  We have some ice-tea too, but that is about it.  We’re out of cereal, bread, and fruit.  We have many tomatoes and butternut squash.  It’s so adventurous cooking only with what you have!

Speaking of cooking with what we have, our garden has been such a blessing this year!  For the past few days, this is what I get, plus some squash:

Every dinner includes tomatoes.  I find that if I just roast them up, blend them up, or cut them up right away, not one goes to waste.  They are just pure loveliness.  Elijah took these pictures of the gardens this week:

I relish every color, every flower, every taste of summer.  I will be hanging on to it with my last bit of strength, even while fall sneaks up to take its place.  The changing of seasons is like a game of musical chairs, except there is only one chair.  As the music of summer starts to fade, and the rhythm of fall is about to begin, I feel badly for the one about to get kicked out into the march of time again.  I just want to grab summer forever and say, “Gotcha!” and never let go.

Jack’s Treasure Shelf

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Climbing onto the top bunk is like climbing into another world.  A world full of imagination and intrigue.  Jack is organized, precise, and treasures memories as much as shiny things.  His love language comes in the form of gifts.  He keeps everything special on his shelf.  I had to capture it.  His pockets used to fill to overflowing with treasures.  Now he keeps them more contained in a box or on his shelf.

Oh, sweet Jack.  I hope you always treasure life.

 

Second Annual Kids’ Day

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Our second annual Kid’s Day was a huge success!  It began with a breakfast of waffles, chocolate ice-cream and bacon!

Our first stop was the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia!

The kids have been begging to go there for a long time.  First, we explored the giant heart!

Nadine and I also rode the “sky bike” high above the atrium!  It was scarier than I thought!

Then we sat on the front steps and ate popcorn.

 

 

The highlight for me was when Matthew bought me cotton candy!  I looked at the street vendor with the same longing as a little kid.  Something about never getting it growing up, makes cotton candy, chocolate chips, and m&m’s all things that will never grow old for me.  Cotton candy.  Oh, my heart.

Our next stop was Grandma Weldon’s where we dropped the little two girls off, since they aren’t super restaurant savvy yet.  Then the five of us went to Red Robin for supper!  It was delish!  Their choice of eats.

Our last stop was a mini-golf place, where the three of them played 18 holes.  Elijah was most consistent, and Nadine came in second.  Jack was the winner of the most holes-in-one and his first two shots were both a hole-in-one.  On the second one, Elijah’s ball actually bumped Jack’s ball, which ricocheted off the edge and then rolled into the hole!  It was exciting!  

It was a great day.  We’re so thankful for our five amazing blessings.  It’s exciting to celebrate our family together and make memories in this way.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Magical Dream

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“Last night I had a magical dream,” Nadine said this morning.  When she tells us her dreams, it is best to get comfortable.  Sometimes it can take the entire length of breakfast, as she picks apart every detail that she can remember.  Underneath all of those curls, there is a very active mind, which doesn’t even really stop thinking while she’s sleeping.  Her description of her dream went on, “It was also interesting, weird-ish, and strange-ish.   Santa gave me a magical spray that made everything invisible.  I tried it on everything, and it never ran out!  I even tried it on a witch, but it didn’t work on her and she told me to try it on someone I didn’t like.  Then I was a lifeguard at girls’ camp!  We went up the hill and the car was cardboard so we kept falling out of the car.  The witch came back, and she did kung-fooey on me but I kicked her with my legs.”  Kung-fooey.  That is my favorite part of her magical dream.  Like Kung Fooey Panda.

Other early morning conversations have gone like this:

Nadine and Elijah were discussing different colors that portray different holidays.  Some were quite obvious, but then they moved on to more difficult ones.  “What about April Fool’s Day?  asked Elijah.  “I think Green, purple, and tan?”  “Presidents’ Day?”  he asked next.  “Brown, black and white.”  “Why?”  “Because their hair is brown, black and white.  Some are blonde and bald too.”  Of course!

Then Nadine told me a very vivid dream that gave me shivers up and down my spine, “I saw Jesus and He said, Follow me, and I will show you something wonderful.  Do you think it means something?  Like that Jesus is about ready to come and get us?”  Elijah answered, “I don’t think so, but I hope it!”

That would be beyond magical.  It will be perfect in every single way.