So Proud of My Boys!

Last night was the annual Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts.  Our pack also held a talent show!  I decided that a Taekwondo demonstration would be perfect to showcase their (one) talent.  IJ has been fighting participating in anything because of how shy he is, but I knew (from experience) how performing on a stage really helps...  Plus he is a boy in a group of boys doing something super cool that most boys don't get to do: break boards!  I really hoped that this would be what IJ needed to help him make friends and feel comfortable with his peers.

So M got busy creating a demonstration for the boys that included some handwork, poomse, and board breaks.  Even before the talent show started and IJ and S were in their TKD uniforms, the other Cub Scouts were curious.  IJ came up to me and said, "The other boys think I'm awesome and I haven't even done anything yet!"  I could see his confidence increasing as the night (and the other talent) wore on.  IJ even hung out with the other boys instead of with me!

M introduced the boys by saying, "Some kids can play music, some can tell jokes, but my wife and I knew from the earliest days that our boys were very talented at breaking things." He then led the boys in their routine.  I expected IJ to choke up a bit at the start of the routine, until he got into the groove and found familiarity in the routine.  I just hoped he wouldn't start crying.  But he never did!  And when the boys started breaking boards (each broke four), well, it was AWESOME!  The boys are nearly black belts and can do all sorts of double and spinning kicks, and these made their demonstration even cooler!  When they were done and had bowed, the kids rushed the stage and asked if they could keep the broken pieces of board.  M let them.  There was a mad scramble as Scouts and siblings grabbed pieces of broken board!  My boys were ROCK STARS!

Watch out world!  IJ has arrived!

So Proud of Me!

Now that the sun no longer pulls me outdoors, I have turned to my other (other) love: sewing.  My machine was starting to act wonky and skip stitches.  I called around to a few places to get quotes for a basic tune-up and they were all more than buying a new machine!!!  Plus they were all an hour to drive to, one way! One place actually sends the machines out of state, just to open and oil the moving parts!  Heck no am I going to send my vintage baby out of state!  And pay for their gas!  I can use that money to buy a general manual on fixing sewing machines and teach myself!

 Sorry daffodils, you missed the sun!

But I'm even cheaper than that.  I went to the library, got a manual on fixing sewing machines, joined a Yahoo group dedicated to my particular brand of vintage sewing machines, and fixed it myself!!!  All in two days.  My hubby is so pleased that I "got under the hood and changed the oil" myself, that he is giving me $100 to spend on whatever I want (not that I couldn't buy anything I want anytime anyway, but still).  And he gave me a high-five.  I don't know which one I liked better.

So...(or is it sew?) I spent my one day off from school (we school four days a week, taking Wednesdays off) sewing up a storm!  I attached all the patches the boys have accumulated since September to their vests and finished off a dress for E that I started last year, before I moved!

E's Spring Dress (complete with ruffle!)

Handmade, from head to toe (almost)

This morning I quickly made my version of a pillowcase dress (blue, on E) out of a scrap of fabric and the leftovers from E's Spring Dress.  It took about 30 minutes to make.

 

F's dress (made of leftover diaper material) becomes...

E's shirt!

And vice versa.

As you can see in the above picture of F, the terrible twos are in full swing.  At least her clothes are cute!

Nettled

Grandad is like a toddler who has figured out how to get his own way...in a negative manner.  Instead of howling and throwing himself on the floor and kicking his feet (wouldn't that be a show?), he bugs and pesters and nettles us until we throw up our hand in exasperation and say, "FINE!"

Urtica dioica

The things he pesters about aren't even that important...to us.  They are so unimportant that I can't even think of any right now, except today's example.  Nettles.  Everyone knows that nettles are perfectly safe to consume and quite nutritious.  All you have to do is boil them to get rid of the sting.  And this is the perfect time of year to harvest nettles: when they are young and tender.  For days now, he has been bugging us about going out and picking nettles for dinner, claiming they are just like spinach when they are cooked.  I counter with, "Can't we just eat spinach?  We have a whole bunch of spinach in the freezer!"

M, S, and E foraging for food

I don't have anything against eating nettles.  I just would rather get old stuff out of my freezer to make room for meals we will actually eat and enjoy.  Especially when the baby is born.  And we certainly aren't starving to death.  The end of the world isn't quite here.  I'm sure when society breaks down completely I will be happy to consume nettles.

Make sure you wear gloves!

So yesterday we decided to go nettle harvesting.  And Grandad actually came out with us.  We harvested a whole shopping bag of stinging nettles.  My (celebrate the boy) dear son IJ was sent back to the house to put shoes on.  But why bother if you are going to wear shorts?  And use your bare hands to hold the nettles?

To wrap up the five minutes of fun, we headed around to the pond for some bubble blowing.  And yes, IJ was stung.  So were the rest of the kids.  They forgot all about it by the time the bubbles were flying.

E with Bubble Action

Bubbles are hard to photograph

Bubble blowing is all about technique, IJ reminds us.  "Technique, technique!"  One of my favorite SpongeBob episodes is all about the technique of bubble blowing.  Squidward loses his temper, follows the techniques outlined by Spongebob, screams into the bubble wand, and creates the Masterpiece of All Bubbles...which then carries him away.  Silly, but hilarious.

We did indeed have boiled nettles for dinner.  The leaves tasted...just like spinach!  Amazing!  And the stems were tough and fibrous, just like asparagus!  Let's see...I'm sure I have a child here that hates cooked spinach and asparagus more than any other vegetables... A, you are lucky you weren't here for dinner last night!  The kids and I cleaned our plates, not because we like nettles and cod, but because I made strawberry ice cream with my VitaMix for dessert!

Serf's Up, Dude!

"I'd rather be a serf than a lord because then I could spend all day at the beach!" ~IJ

Of course he was joking.  The real reason (I think) was because The Story of the World paints an idyllic picture of serfdom: spending all day farming, harvesting fruits and vegetables, eating thick dark bread, and hardly ever eating meat.  Whereas the lord would feast for hours upon meaty beasts and then strap on his armor and go to war for the knights.  Yes, IJ has an issue with eating meat that has any fat or bone or gristle.  It makes him gag.

After our Middle Ages reading out on the blanket in the pasture in the sun (and getting my first sunburn of the year- in February), we went to the beach.  S wasn't able to join us because he is up taking a Taekwondo test with M.  We love the beach.

First stop, building castles (you know, to go with the Middle Ages theme this week-although IJ probably wasn't thinking about history by the time we got to the beach).

Second stop, admiring the movements of a sand dollar.  I really missed these guys when I lived up by those wild, rocky beaches of our old home.

Wanna cookie?  For those who need to hear this juicy bit of D Family lore... When M was the single dad to his wonderful girls L and A, he took them to this beach on a regular basis.  When A was about 2 or 3 years old, he asked her if she wanted a cookie.  She did.  And took a bite of a sand dollar, much like the one pictured above.  And ever since then, we have tested the gullibility of our 2 and 3 year olds with this same trick.  E fell for it last year.

Third stop, sample seaweed.

Fourth stop, go wading!  Doesn't this just make you want to have an older brother?  I always wanted one, just like IJ (without the teasing streak- I think he'll out grow it).  F enjoyed going out in the water...until her boots filled with cold Sound water.

Fifth stop, Operation Save the pycnopodia helianthoides!  This one was being eaten alive by a seagull.  Can you see the seagull foot prints all around it?

This one was trying to get away from the seagull!  Look at those cool, cool tracks!  A marine invertebrate scientist's dream!

A friend to all creatures, except hungry seagulls (who need to eat too).

As E rescued the second sunflower sea star, F started to melt down.  She cried and cried because the "sar-ish" was gone.  That was my cue to start heading back the other way.  F's boots were so full of water she went slosh-slosh as she walked.  But as a true D Family trooper, she walked the whole way back to the van...

The End!

Outside School

We had school outside yesterday.

Three little monkeys, swing from a tree

Teasing Mr. Alligator, "You can't catch me!"

The cat is lying at the base of the tree, next to the boots of one of my monkeys.  She has turned out to be a pretty cool cat.  She likes to hang out with us when we are outside.

And she is very tolerant!

The girls playing with their brothers' old dump trucks

What F looks like when I sing

Our darling F threw a fit last night when I took a pen away from her.  She didn't have an afternoon nap, so when I took the pen she was abnormally upset.  She held her breath until she passed out and then immediately fell asleep.  At 6:00 pm.  And woke up at 8:30 pm, just in time for us all to go to bed.  She spent most of the night quietly staring at M and I as we slept and dozing off a few times herself.  But at 3:00 am she was up!  And we got up with her.  M built a fire, we watched some Thomas the Train (for old time's sake- S was a chronic early riser), and F and I were back asleep by 6:30.  Today should be interesting!

Valhalla on Earth

What another great day!  I had to take a quick (as in 45 minute) trip to the market to pick up some milk and when I got back my kids were watching TV!  Ack!  Curious George is cute and all, but TV while the sun is shining?  And on a school day?

I immediately turned it off.  And the kids came running asking if they could build boats just like Curious George and go float them in the pond.  I was so not prepared for this (TV inspiring learning?).  So after asking a lot of questions about how his boat was made and how they planned to make their boats, I said YES.  As long as the boats were Viking Longships.  And they were sending warriors that had fallen in battle to Valhalla.  IJ started to groan.  "Don't you see?  If we make boats and pretend they are Viking boats, then we are doing school work.  History!  If we just make boats and go have fun, this is your playtime and I'll make you do history later!"  He saw my point.

We cut up a 2-liter bottle and an empty milk carton, slapped together some PB&J, and headed down to the pond. 

And raced boats through the culvert (much like Winnie-the-Pooh and his pine cones).

 And had a picnic.

Celebrate the Boy

And got some Vitamin D. 

These kids are covered in goose bumps!  They thought they were going to go swimming.  Until they got about knee deep and changed their minds!

Even M came down.  Doesn't he look like he is posing for some Woodsman Magazine?  Hubba-hubba!

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging in the pasture on a blanket in the sun, climbing the cherry tree, kicking the soccer ball, and tossing the baseball.  This is going to be a great week!

Wild Day!

E found the first flower of the season!  She says that soon, when Spring comes, the dandelions will be all over the place.

So we went outside (schedule be damned)!  We actually did stick to our schedule and got everything done that needed to be done.

Check out this hair!

You can't tell where the hair ends and the forest begins!  Only three more weeks until Crazy Hair day at Pioneer Club...then he gets bush wacked!

I wish he would wear this helmet wherever we go until then...

A New Week, A New Schedule

The schools have Mid-Winter break all week down here.  Which means that all kid-related activities are canceled!  No YMCA, no Scouts, and no Pioneer Club.  I noticed that the school up there in our old hometown had a long weekend for Mid-Winter break that included President's Day...not much of a break, but I always thought have a week off from school less than two months after Christmas and less than two months before Easter (I mean Spring) break was stupid.  Especially down here where the rich people live.  I thought it was designed for the rich people to take a week to go skiing one last time before the snow melted.  And this year there is no snow, so nyah nyah on you rich people!

So now that my YMCA days are over and the rest of our activities are on break, I have one whole week to dedicate to schoolwork and housework.  No running off in the afternoons.  No insane marathon days on the road with all four kids.  No disruptions (at least until Friday when S goes north for his Taekwondo test).  And I had a three day weekend that my dearest husband insisted I take off.  I literally sat around all weekend.  And yesterday when I thought I was feeling better, M made me take one more day off.  He knows from experience that once he starts feeling himself again, he usually knocks himself out on the first day back to work!

This morning I awoke bright and early and created a schedule for this week (and this week only).  I am going to whip these kids into shape and teach them all sorts of useful things.  Like how to unload the dishwasher.  And wash the kitty prints off the windows. And how to wipe up the bathwater they spill.  Their (and my) day is split into 30 minute increments, much like the Managers of their Homes people.  Starting in 15 minutes!  Will I have sucess?  Of course!  Look at the weather!

Can you see all that sunshine?  The sunshine that is now bouncing off my computer monitor?  Like a message from God saying, "Get off the computer and get to work!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

We celebrated like any parents-with-many-kids-and-a-baby-on-the-way: We left three of them with Grandad and took F errand running.  We went to the dump, the grocery store, and the hardware store.  We pretended F was an only child expecting her first sibling.  Cashiers and grannies fawned all over her, her big eyes, and her cute hand knit pants.  We do like our little jokes.

Our real celebration was heart-shaped Boboli pizzas (the pizza says I Love You by the way) and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle marathon.  Heroes in a half shell!  Turtle Power!

Was this my most romantic Valentine's Day?  Not at all.  But it was just what I needed.  Last week completely wiped me out.  I'm thankful M has a day off tomorrow; he has been so incredibly helpful as I've slowed way down.  Maybe I'll take a Mid-Winter break after all...

Another Great Seymour Day

But this was the best!  Our dear dear friends, the J Family, came all the long way down here to enjoy the day with us!

These boys look like they're lookin' for trouble!

The leaders were brave, brave people taking 15 kids out in a canoe (in the pouring rain) all by themselves.

Watching them paddle away around the point into the bay was the hardest part for me.  Until after lunch.  Then this was the hardest part:

This is a 37 foot climbing wall.  See the child in the red helmet?  That one is mine.  Which child?  Let's get a closer look...after they reached the top:

Can you see HER now?  Yes, that is E!  Freshly four years old and out-climbing her older brothers!  No fear whatsoever!  Um, scary!  She absolutely loved climbing the wall, all the way to the top.

And when she headed back to me, she said "See Mom?  I told ya I could do it!"  And she got right back in line to climb the wall again.

Anyone who knows S knows how competitive he is.  He couldn't be out-climbed by his little sister! Red helmet is E, blue helmet is S.  They stayed about even:

And at this point, S decided he had had enough and came back down.  E finished at the top one more time.

After our exciting day at Camp Seymour, our friends came back to Twin Firs for a Valentine's Day party complete with cookies, candy, and Pokemon card trading.  What a great day!  And what a great day to end a week!