Moms' Night Out

I know I'm behind the rest of the population when it comes to seeing new movie releases.  I always wait until the library has a copy of the movie on DVD and then I wait in line (for months sometimes) for my turn to check the movie out.  I know there are other options (Netflix, Red Box) but I like our method.  The movie Moms' Night Out came in at the library just in time for Mark to go on a high adventure backpacking trip with Ian and Shane last weekend!  Can you say Mom's Night Out? Yes!

On the trail to Lena Lake

In years past, when Mark and the boys went on a Cub Scout adventure, I would stay home with the girls (and Daniel) and just enjoy a weekend off.  I didn't worry about cooking dinner or doing housework because the little people would eat anything for any meal and they didn't really create any messes or mischief because we watched movies all weekend.  But THIS weekend, I realized that my work load actually quadruples.  I have to manage the dogs, which means making sure they go out before bed and getting up early to take them out on a leash one at a time so they don't run off.  If I want a nicer looking floor, I have to pick up all the scraps of paper from Kai's ripping sprees.  I have to make sure the food gets put in their reach and picked back up so Heidi doesn't eat it.  And I have to clean up any barf or poop.  These are all Mark's jobs.  Then, I have to take out the compost, feed the chickens, and gather the eggs.  This was Ian's job this weekend.  And because I let the chickens free range for fresh grass and didn't close the gate when it got dark, I had to feed the chickens and close up the gate before I could take the dogs out since Kai is a chicken killer.  All this happened in the freezing cold early hours of Sunday morning with Heidi screaming at the door inside.

At least I didn't have to SLEEP in the freezing cold (they had ice on their sleeping bags).

And then there was the kitchen.  This is usually a two person job.  The three older kids rotate through dish washing/putting away and counters.  Evie was the put away/counter person and Shane was supposed to be a dish washer.  When the big boys are away, we still have six people using dishes, three times a day! And Heidi has some weird revulsion to me working in the kitchen.  Whenever I go in to make dinner or do some task, she freaks out and screams and hangs on to my legs.  This makes dish washing very difficult, which is one of the reasons why it is the kids' job.

The Scout Kitchen

Luckily for me, I figured out my weekend wasn't a true weekend off by Saturday morning, when the boys all left.  I chose right then to watch my movie.  Most people I know got to watch this movie at a women's night at church or with their sweetheart after the kids went to bed (haha).  I watched it Saturday morning with five kids, who all needed food at various times and a diaper or two changed.  I missed a few things, so I watched the movie again on Saturday night.  (Saturday Day was a whole different adventure that deserves a post of its own)  This time I watched the movie on a laptop in my bed with Lula and Heidi jumping around while the three older kids watched a different movie on the big screen downstairs.  I even went to bed at a decent hour so I could get enough sleep (there might be something wrong with me).

Mark on Upper Lena Lake

I made everyone watch the movie on Sunday night when we were all together again.  My older kids were able to understand a few things about their mom and they laughed at all the parallels between the funny moments in the movie and what actually happens in their life.  My husband, who already knows and mostly understands me, could really identify with the husband in the movie.  I just laughed and laughed.  And cried a little.  Because the movie is that good.  I appreciate the movie even more because of my movie-watching buddies.

First light, Sunday morning, highlighting the mountain top.

God is working big things in Mark and I right now.  We haven't had much quiet time together alone since they've gotten home, so we haven't been able to really talk about the metaphors in our lives.  Things like Heidi cutting two teeth and crying all night, Mark's busy work season starting again (did it ever stop?), Tuesday activities (can you say crazy?), Lula still refusing to be completely potty trained, Evie with the worst case of Horse Fever I've ever known, and trying to find someone to watch my kids during my 20 week ultrasound tomorrow have taken precedence over cozy conversation.  But thanks to this movie, I can tell you that I'm a very happy and content Mama Eagle sitting in my nest with my eaglets.  Which is a big turnaround from a few weeks ago, right?

Spring...it's Coming!

Family

We took advantage of a federal holiday and took a trip north to visit Ami and Laura and their families.  First, we have some adorable pictures of Erik:

 Then we have some of kids playing in Ami's back yard:

Then Charlie woke up from his nap and got to read a story with his Grandad and play with his uncle and aunts:

We packed back into the van and headed out to Laura's to meet Baby Emma for the first time:

I love being a Nana :)

Big Brothers

You might be a big brother if....

...you can teach your little sister to love worms...

Valentine's Day

As I gazed upon the hideous paper mess on my school room table this morning, I remembered my first foray into toddler crafts.  The year was 2004.  Ian was 21 months old and Shane was 5 1/2 months old.  I took them into the craft store and bought red tempera paint and blank cards.  My great idea was to make Valentine's cards with Ian's hand prints and Shane's footprints.  It was the first time one of my great ideas turned into a "what was I thinking" moment.  Ian wanted to flip the paint tray over and smear paint all over the house.  He screamed when I wouldn't let him and he ended up in the bathtub quickly enough.  Shane cried when I stuck his foot in the paint.  The result was a bunch of smeary cards that I lovingly labeled and mailed off to all our relatives.

2004: We are all so young and naive

I didn't learn anything from that experience (but I never mailed off Valentine's cards again).  I still let them paint as toddlers and I still let my current toddlers paint.  And cut.  And glue.  And color with markers (every single thing I own has been tagged by a toddler graffiti artiste).  Right now their messes don't bother me, but ask me again next week.  I might change my mind! This afternoon, I caught Lula pouring school glue into a cup full of pennies.  I'll clean it up tomorrow (wink, wink).

Daniel has been a bit of a stinker about Valentine's Day.  I made him (and the rest of the kids) Valentine's Day cards out of the paper mess on the table and the first thing Daniel did was drop it on the floor and say it was a piece of garbage.  Rat.  Then while we were snuggling (because yes, I don't take anything he says seriously) he said that I was fat, but at least people who were attacking me could bounce off my fat as my defense so it might not be too bad.  When he wanted to watch more and more TV, I decided it was time for us to go outside.  But the thing about Daniel is, is that if I want him to go outside, I can't just say, "Let's go play outside," because he will say NO and come up with a water-tight reason to not go outside.  This time, I said, "We are going outside.  I'm going to chase you around the house four times.  Then you will chase me around the house once.  How many times are we going to run around the house?"

And he was gone! (this is quite possibly my most favorite picture of Daniel ever)

Then we just enjoyed being out in the fresh air and let the chickens out to eat some fresh grass while the dogs were locked inside.  When the dogs are inside, Ling Ling comes down for a visit.

I'm thinking she might start avoiding Lula now too...

Now, this is what my real Valentine and I did today: We packed up the babies and drove out to the library, the appliance parts store, Fred Meyer, and Costco.  We returned an overdue movie, bought a part for the broken (again) dryer, returned shirts that were too big, and bought food and diapers.  There is nothing like spending quality time with my love getting things done.

As soon as we got home, I pulled the drum out of the dryer while he got the food put away and wrangled the four older kids for taekwondo.  He left again while I stayed home with the three little ones.  When he got back, we made pizza for dinner and got on our screens.  Today was just another normal day, but getting to spend it thinking more lovey dovey thought made it that much more special!

Finger Painting

For mess-free finger painting, add paint to a ziplock bag, squeeze out the air, close tightly, and adhere to a window.  I used BioColor paint and double-taped where the bag opens.  Just make sure your kids know to keep sharp objects away!  This was a fun way to add some bright color to my grey and dreary school room.

I Hate February

Hey, it's time for my annual I Hate February post!  I'm tired of the cold wet weather, I'm tired of being tired from the flu, I'm tired of being stuck inside with a bunch of bickering kids that are still recovering from the flu...

...I'm tired of homeschooling (nothing sounds fun), tired of cooking (nothing sounds tasty), and tired of cleaning (nothing stays clean anyway).  I have a huge list of things to do and a huge desire to get it done, but the tired doesn't go away long enough for me to battle my Goliath.

I'm tired of battling Daniel on every decision that we make throughout every single day. Every meal. Every activity. Every encounter with his siblings.

We finally agreed on a movie for him to watch while I got my Wednesday afternoon cleaning done.  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is quite possibly my least favorite besides SpongeBob, Scooby Doo, and Speed Racer.  But it kept him quiet and non-combative while I sorted and tossed a notebook I made about ten years ago:

Heidi moves the pages from the paper recycle to the garbage

The notebook was full of magazine clippings about organization, crafts with kids, decorating, you know, all the fun stuff a new bride and young mother dreams about.  I felt pretty sad and slightly discouraged that ten years later I am no closer to achieving my decorating style and color palette in my home. 

I also tossed a bunch of scrapbooking paraphernalia that I know I will never use.  I can still remember the day the now faceless, nameless mother brought her scrapbooking castoffs to toddler playtime.  I was pretty excited to receive all these hand-me-downs because all the little things that make scrapbooking Scrapbooking cost so much! But I never used them because they never quite matched my pictures and I wanted to wait for the set of pictures that fit them just right.

But why was my Wednesday afternoon cleaning project getting rid of my old dreams? Because I had to make room in my cupboard to store my not-so-old dreams just in case I use them in the future.  Right about the time Ian was in kindergarten and I knew homeschooling was going to be a big part of our lifestyle, I invested in Lentil Science.  I was convinced that Lentil Science was the coolest thing ever, so I bought the Deluxe set that included all the parts so I wouldn't have to locate them myself.  I got all the labels on and the photocopies made, but then we moved here.  And I never really unpacked it.  A bin full of lentils is fun, there is no doubt about that.  And Lentil Science is something my kids would totally dig (pun intended).  But managing lentils is not happening and I have a whole group of unmanageable kids coming up the pike.  Mark said the other day that only crazy people let their little kids play in bins of beans in their house.  I'm tired of being called crazy (add that to my I Hate February list above), so Lentil Science is packed away until I no longer have a two year old digging around in my cupboards.  It'll be too late for Ian, who starts at the middle school next year, and probably Shane.  Maybe Lula will be the one to enjoy all the great discovery-based activities. 

Weekly Report

The flu hit us and hit us hard last week.  I've been sick for a whole week already.  So, for the sake of keeping records, here is a quick run down of all the important event (and there were several):

Ian on the climbing wall (with a fever)

First, Ian, Shane, and Mark spent last weekend camping in the rain and mud at Camp Delezenne for the annual Klondike Derby.  Although the weekend events were all noteworthy and important for the boys' personal growth, I think the fact they camped in the rain and mud was the most important.  All the boys in the troop know how to set up a tent, they just have only set them up during summer camp (and other fair weather trips).  This was the first time their skills were really tested.

The Klondike Derby

Shane's sleeping bag was so wet, you could wring water out it.  He didn't even bother sleeping in it by Saturday night.  The other boys didn't fare any better; many moms wrote letters of complaint to the rest of the troop when their boys got home.  Only Mark and two senior boys managed to stay dry.  How? Well, if you are setting your tent up in the rain, start with the rain fly.  That will keep your ground tarp dry so the water doesn't soak through the bottom of the tent.  Also, take your wet stuff off outside the tent.  Once you bring in your wet boots, pants, and jacket, the rest of your gear will get wet.

Evie lost a tooth

Second, both Evie and Fiona lost teeth.  Evie swallowed hers and I paid her a dollar to not ask questions about the tooth fairy while I was sick.  Fiona now has the adorable missing two front teeth smile.  Fiona also tested for orange belt in Taekwondo on Saturday.

Fiona lost two!

Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday, and just like last year, my parents offered their empty house to us.  But this year there was a twist.  The key they left for me didn't work.  When problems like this arise, Mark is ready to just pack up and go home.  But I stood there and thought for a second...and stared at the office window...and noticed they failed to push the window lock all the way down.  We were in within seconds, much like that burglar that cleaned them out when I was in third grade...

Purple Screen of Death

When we turned on their complicated cable box/TV system, nothing happened.  My sister tried to help, but to no avail.  Once kickoff started the game, she was gone.  So we piled onto my parents bed and watched the game on the tiny square-shaped TV in their room.

Seahawks lost, oh well.

The best, and most important thing that happened this week was the birth of Emma Rose:

Because of this flu, I was unable to attend the birth.  I was feeling healthy during Laura's labor and had three sick kids at home.  Her midwife was fine with me coming up, but I decided that although I was feeling fine and had no symptoms, I could still be contagious.  And there is no way I would expose a sweet newborn to a germ.  And thank God I didn't.  This is one wicked evil virus.

Laura had a perfect homebirth.  I am so proud of her.  First births are never easy and even with all the preparation in the world, nothing can actually really prepare you for labor and delivery.  Laura did not even have an easy labor, but she did it!  And she has the sweetest little girl.  A few weeks before Emma was born, Laura was measuring behind in growth and they were worried Emma would be a tiny little girl.  But she ended up a whole 7 pounds 2 ounces!

We are so looking forward to meeting our new granddaughter, but not until all the sickness is gone.