Lucas Turns 10!

Happy 10th Birthday, Lucas!

Lucas had his birthday just three days after we arrived in our new state.

I was worried about how swell of a birthday I could make for him.

However, Shane had it all under control. 

 Remote control.

 We did our usual presents in the morning, so that the birthday kid can have the day to enjoy them.

 Nerf guns from Aidan, Minecraft toys from Julia...

 A trip to the zoo right by our apartment!

 Phone calls from loved ones.

 Riding the tiger at the zoo... too hot to sit on!

 And Lucas requested a stick figure cake.  That was his costume on halloween, and he's enjoyed them ever since.

 Always a little help with the candles!

 Taking his plane out for a spin.

He's gotten pretty good, which is no surprise for kids these days!

The first kid with two digits... where does the time go?

He is really fun, loves to hang around his parents, which I think we should be soaking up.

Quite the wit, loves jokes, and is interested in everything.

We are really enjoying you today, Son!

One of "those" types...

Sometimes it is rather shocking to see ourselves mirrored in our children.  Sometimes a quality that seems only mildly bad on myself, I find totally unacceptable in my kids.  And so I have to do things like learn and grow in order to improve my example.

And then every once in awhile, you see some quality in your kids that reminds you of yourself and what a relief!  It isn't a bad thing! Yay!  In this case, it isn't a virtue.  Just a trait:

List Making!

Lucas made this list; my organized child.

The point of this list is to determine the pros and cons of different locations around our tiny rental that would make good hiding places.

There are vents around the house, and the kids discovered that you can eavesdrop really well through the vents when you are in the basement.  So they don't want a location where all their secrets could be overheard! (That's the oldest trick in the book!)

How To Safely Cook Onions

No Tears

Get That Term Right!

I just love some of our conversations with the kids.  It's so enlightening and entertaining!

At every meal, there is a constant flow of conversation, or at least some sort of noise.  Today's lunch conversation included talk of puberty, a new term that we have discussed in basic outlines during science.  There was some general speculation on when they would reach puberty, and then some comments about how I was in puberty.  So I corrected them, saying that I was past puberty.  Then I posed the question:

"What comes after puberty?"

Lucas shouts out:  "Adultery!"

Lucas Turns 8!

Happy 8th Birthday, Lucas!

It's all I can do to stop myself from starting every birthday post with "Wow!"  But I feel amazed that I am old enough to have an 8 year old.  =)  But the really amazing thing is Lucas.

"Lucas, we are so excited to be HERE in your LIFE!  Watching you grow is a pleasure, although we sometimes feel ill equipped to parent like you deserve.  Your manners and creativity are so fun!  Your lawyer-like penchant for chat is challenging, but often quite funny!  And you look so handsome.  Your adult self is showing a little more every day and it's wonderful to see you think, grow and learn."

So this year, Lucas invited the Dalrymples over for his birthday lunch and he had a Magic Treehouse cake.  It was so cute!  Our oven went on the blink, and so a friend recommended her friend as a good source for cakes.  She did a great job!

Lucas chose his birthday fare: grilled steak, watermelon and blueberries, rolls and orange spinach salad with honey lemon yoghurt dressing(a fave!).  

We had a lame-o scavenger hunt planned that was going to be REALLY BAD.  But Carrie saved the day with her creative clues based off some of the first 8 books in the MT series.  Whew!  Snickers in the bathtub? "Find this treasure where a pirate would wash his booty!" And the like.  The kids talked about it for the next week, which was cute, but made me feel bad at the same time that this was the first time I'd ever set up a scavenger hunt for them.

This year, Papa planted a very cool idea in Lucas' head.  "Son!  How about a nice, expensive Lego Mindstorms NXT!  Check this out on the internet, blah, blah, blah!"  So guess what I heard about up until a few days before the birthday?  "We can't spend that kind of money!  What a huge sum! Gifts should be capped at $X! We don't want our kids to have high expectations and be greedy!"  And the like.  Oh well!  Off we went to get the gift.  Except, oh no!  Sold out of all stores.  Not available online. Not available til JULY.  Shane scavenged one off of ebay and so it was only a few days late.  So one of the gifts for Lucas' birthday was a cardboard tube with a picture of the Mindstorm on it.  =)  His grandparents (both sides) exploded his birthday with multiple awesome gifts of the r/c nature and a huge box of insect books complete with light and sound, plastic bugs, bookmarks, snakes and alligators, stickers and candy and birthday money.

He's a lucky duck! Quack.

So his day went well, he successfully turned 8 and I have another gray hair.

Funny story, just the other day I was asking Lucas if he noticed all my gray hair in the front.  He looks. Nope!  No gray hair, Mom!  I looked in the mirror and was like, gee!  There are TWENTY all in the front, surely you can see this!  No dice, Lucas can't see the gray.  So I press him and he finally says that yes, he can see the gray hair, but he doesn't want to hurt my feelings and make me feel bad about getting old.  Awww.  And I realized something else.  While that was very sweet of him, I shouldn't put that kind of pressure on him, either.  I told him that I LOVED getting old!  It meant I was a mommy and that I really hoped to be a grandma someday, too.  And I reassured him that if I was getting old all by myself while everyone else stayed young, I might be upset.  But getting old is normal and is supposed to happen to us all and we are lucky if it does. 

Sometimes I realize I am accidentally sowing seeds that I don't want growing, seeds of denial and discontent with aging.  But every birthday should be celebrated with joy and I (once again!) need to be the example of what it looks like to love living if I want my children to do the same.

Mom, are you the Tooth Fairy?

Yesterday, Lucas lost another tooth.

Last night he put it under his pillow.

This morning, he came into my room and said "no luck!"

I hastened to inform him that since I had not taken a photo of him with his tooth, I had asked the Tooth Fairy to wait one more day.

*click*

Tonight, as I kissed Lucas goodnight, he asked me if I was the Tooth Fairy.  I was non-committal, and asked him what he thought.  He discussed how the coupon for his DQ treat was all sparkly and amazing, but that the writing looked like mine.  !!  (I had no idea he could recognize my handwriting!) He didn't press for an answer, but then asked me if he could tell me what he wished for.  Sure!

He whispered, "Mom, I wish for a little extra time with you and Papa or a dollar if that doesn't work.  But first I wish for more time."

It's this kind of thing that just melts my heart!  No matter that we spend every waking hour together, no matter that we sat on the couch today for three subjects, one on one.  No matter that we collected eggs together, unloaded the dishwasher together and folded an origami Challenger and some other space craft as well.  He needs more time.  He values more time.  He would choose time with me and his Papa over money to buy stuff.

I'm off to get the paper and sparkly pen, but maybe Shane can write it this time. =)

The New Parakeet

After begging for a parrot for quite some time, we decided to let Lucas check out some books about parakeets from the library.

From there, we were hoping he'd be discouraged at the amount of work it is to take care of a pet.  Turns out, a mere four hours of play per day is nothing to a kid like Lucas.  He reassured me that he would want to spend at least 10 hours a day with a new bird.  I explained how long 10 hours was and he decided that 8 hours a day would be about right. =)

We wanted a baby bird, and a boy.  This is hard to do, since you can't tell the gender of a bird until it grows up and it's cere (the part around the beak) turns blue or white.  So we took our chances on gender and ordered a 6 week old baby.  Lucas bought his bird with his own money and brought it home on March 11th, my parents anniversary. =)

At first, this little birdy stayed in his cage because he was scared and we needed to figure out what his personality was like.  But soon, he began to eat out of Lucas's hand.  And then Mommy snuck him out of the cage... and he did great!  He is sooooooo friendly!

Notice this really cool cozy nest that Lucas crocheted.  It's his first attempt at a single crochet, first departure from a simple chain.  And the little guy snuggles into it, although at first he would fall out and be hanging by his feet to the bottom.

Now little birdie has found a niche on the bookcase... not a great spot for dropping little presents, so we've draped it with a small blanket.  He likes to sleep up there!

His wings are clipped, which is great for getting acquainted and doing a bit of "step up!" training.  No verbalizations yet, and still no sign if he's a she or what.  We'll just have to wait and see...

Meanwhile, this little guy is stealing all our hearts!

A Chicken Persepctive

As we drove into town the other day, Lucas and I had an interesting conversation.

He asked me "Mom, if I were a chicken, would I enjoy being a chicken?"

An interesting thought to ponder.  Both of them.

Why would he be wondering this?  However, if he can wonder what it's like to be a chicken, perhaps it isn't too much of a leap to then wondering what life is like for other people.

I wonder what he thinks about that I never hear?

Our Halloween Fun

This year, everyone was their own unique thing for halloween, but Mom seemed to give everything the same costume!  Hello Walmart sheets and ribbon!  =)

Also this year, we had our cousins Cora and Tyler come and visit!  It was their first experience trick-or-treating and after two houses, that was enough for them.  

Aidan was a White Wizard, with a really cool hat!

Tyler was an alligator, too cute!

Cora was a white fairy, and her mom made the cutest white and purple wand/circlet to match.

Lucas started out being willing for wizardry, but changed his mind to Harry Potter.  Papa made him a knockout pair of glasses out of welding rod.  Woo hoo for creativity!  His flexible wand of juniper and lizard hair was waiting for him outside.

Julia was a Crystal Fairy, one of the Crystal Fairies that Thumbelina went to live with after her adventures.  Just in case you weren't sure what a Crystal Fairy was.  She was asked if she was a flower girl.  =)  During the making of the crowns and wands, Calysta and I laughed at the differences: Cora's things were dainty and tasteful, Julia's flowers were huge and all over the place!  But my daughter knew what she wanted and love the result, so who am I to stand in her way?  (who am I to make something cute and tasteful, either?)

We always like to start out with a little practice at our own front door, both for pictures and to teach them manners.  It was the only house in which Cora felt comfortable walking up to the door!  

Even though we only went to the houses on our street, mind you on one acre lots, so not close together, they came home with their pumpkins over half full!  Way, WAY too much candy!  Lucas had apparently overheard Shane and I discussing how country folk often drive into town for more candy opportunities.  He informed us as we walked around our road that the country was the best place to trick-or-treat!  More fun and not too much candy!

Atta boy.  Indoctrinate them early, I say.

An Art Lesson

Fridays are the easiest school day of our week.  It was designed that way on purpose!  We love to have Fridays for extra reading time, science experiments, history projects and most especially: Art!

I chose a simple curriculum for art this year called ARTistic Pursuits.  It's a basic introduction to the visual arts, and is expressly for kids.  Each lesson is based on something an artist does, then what artists see, and where to find art.  Today's lesson was about how artists LOOK.  After we looked at a famous painting that gave attention to detail, we tried to remember everything we could see from the living room window.  Then we went to the window to see what we had missed.  That was illuminating!

Then for the most fun of all, we went outside, and tried to draw something in nature while paying particular attention to some detail.  Julia drew a beautiful castle complete with tooth fairy before I realized that my directions needed to be more specific.  Lucas threw a boo-hoo tantrum(because he can't draw exact replicas), until I became inexorable and would not let him off the hook.  Once we were clear on the lesson and over the tears, we had a LOT of fun!

Here, Aidan draws a juniper tree, or two close together.  His detail was the leaves of the juniper.  His special touch was a very elaborate play house that "Mom is going to build here soon".   Oh.  I believe that is a chimney I see.

Julia drew a tiny Alberta dwarf pine that has barely survived in the chicken yard this summer.  Her detail was also the needles, but I have to say, I like the detailed root system she's got going on underground.  

This is what Lucas was trying to draw: an ant hill with some sticks beside it.  He left out the truck.  But the boo-hoo part was that the ant hill first was drawn too small, then too tall.  And these ebony pencils brook no eraser!  Interestingly, he had tried to draw a grasshopper first, but he informed me tearfully that it had hopped away.  Shocking!

 I'd say ya did good, Son!  He included darker spots and depressions in the hill for his details, and I was pleased with his efforts!  We just need to do this more so that he can learn to master frustration in order to enjoy life.

Just a few funny things my kids have said lately...

Aidan was sitting in time out on the love seat.  After about twenty seconds he asked me:
"Are you ever going to let me get up at some point?"

Aidan, upon being kissed and cuddled up in his bed at bedtime when he didn't want to go:
"Waahhhh!  I'm so sad!  I'm the saddest kid.  I'm sadder than you will ever know!"

Julia, my early riser, climbed into bed with me for a few minutes in the early morning hours.  After awhile, Aidan joined us.  They talked for a few minutes, and then this conversation ensued:
Julia: "Mom, I wish that I had that like Aidan...  Well, I guess I shouldn't say that."
Mom: "What do you mean?"
Julia: "We aren't supposed to cub."
Mom: ??  "What are you cubbing?"
Julia:  "Well, we aren't supposed to, so I guess I shouldn't talk about it, right?"
Mom(wanting to reinforce such good reasoning but very confused): "What does cub mean?"
Julia:  "The Bible says we shouldn't cub other people's things, like their toys and stuff.  And we shouldn't want to be like them, but just be happy with what we have."

Ooohhhhhhh!

Mom: "That's right!  And that word is "covet" and that was a very good girl...etc, etc..."

Lucas says lots of interesting things, too.  Lately, we've been working on the idea that just because something sounds right doesn't mean it's true.  He's very good at giving us all information, but sometimes his information isn't quite correct.  So we practice the idea of checking our information, both ideas that we want to pass on and ideas we get from others.  Kinda takes the fun out of correcting others!  (Which is kind of the point, in a way.)

Love Notes

Not long ago, Lucas was feeling sad and blue.  Julia took the initiative to cheer him up, and worked on a little project for him.

Then she came to me and asked if I would write down a poem she made up.  I was so curious to see what it was all about, since this would be the first poem she has ever shared with me.

Huddle up next

Go on a date

Snuggle with love

Jump on the trampoline with Lucas

I loved it!  So did Lucas. =)

And then there was Father's Day:

More artwork, and this year, I had the kids finish a sentence telling why they like having Shane be their Papa.  I think he liked it.  =)

Julia:

"I'm glad you are my Papa because you're handsome, you work hard and I love you.  When you look at me it makes me smile."

Lucas:

"I'm glad you are my Papa because you take me to special places like Karting and because you're so fun, so nice and I love you."

Aidan:

"I'm glad you are my Papa because of your great work and how you tickled me yesterday and you are very nice."

Lucas Turns 7!

Such a common thing, to be amazed every year that our children grow.  To exclaim that it doesn't seem like they should be this big!  This old!  This grown up!  But it's the first time that MY child has turned seven, and it's the first time I've parented a seven year old.  So I'm going to go ahead and be amazed. =)

Lucas turned 7 without any difficulties or trouble.  He just woke up that morning and it happened.  8:20am rolled around and *bing*!  Seven he was.  I couldn't help but think of his birth as I made breakfast, a combo that seemed natural.  There was so much I didn't know back then, including HOW to listen to my body that was supposed to guide me on this natural journey.  My body did try to guide me, but I didn't know how to listen.  Lucas was a homebirth, and he took his sweet time in arriving.  The pushing stage lasted from midnight to 8:20 the next morning, and there are few things as discouraging as the moment I saw the sky begin to lighten and I had no baby in my arms.  But no complications, really, and he was healthy and sound.  He was so tiny, just 6 lbs 12 oz and I got to cut the cord.  He was a people person from the start and there are so many things about how he was as a baby that are SO like he is today.  The talking, the cute face and expressions, the caution, the need for relationships.  He looks like his father and "emotions" like his mother. =)

He got his little party this year, with his adored buddy, Ethan and family.  His theme was icebergs and I could have done better with a little more thought.  I goofed.  He wanted a red cake, so I made a red velvet cake base and then put blue gel on it.  See?

The cookies with whipping cream on top are small ice floes.

Not really well thought out.  Needed to have white icing first!

Anyway, we mounded up cake and covered it with whipping cream and topped it with animlas from both polar regions.  Polar bears and penguins, take advantage!

Ice berg cake and homemade pizza was the birthday request!

An embarrassed glance during the singing...

Blowing out the candles!

We wanted to make ice berg punch.  We mixed blueberry juice and ginger ale, then put clumps of vanilla ice cream in it.  Don't do this.  There's a reason people put sherbet in punch and not ice cream.  It curdles the milk.  But in our innocence, we made curdled milk punch.  Mmmm.  Shane made the punch and I have to poke a little fun at him, because instead of putting clumps of ice cream in it, he mixed it in.  He was not aware of the ice berg theme, I guess.  Even though he'd been all over Albuquerque to find a plastic polar bear for the cake.  =)

This year, Lucas' main gift was a rock polisher.  As we speak, it is on week 2 with the coarse grit, tumbling away.  3 more weeks and he might have polished rock!  We'll see how often this gets used... =)

Thank-you Emma and Ethan for the joy you brought to ALL the kids!  How does it feel to be better than Santa?

We are happy to have such a little grown-up man in our lives, and it's just a constant reminder that our parenting must keep shifting with his needs.  It's getting a little harder in some ways... the accountability to myself just increaces daily.  But in other ways, it's just more rewarding and fun!  =)

Time and School Happeneth to Us All

You would think that a mother who is at home with her kids almost ALL of the time would not feel worried about spending enough time with her kids.

NOT SO!

You would think that actually schooling your children would count as time spent together.

NOT SO!

You would think that when you work on a school subject or activity with someone, that eye contact would be a no-brainer.

NOT SO!

No, this WonderMom realizes as she kisses little boy neck and cheek goodnight, that she's neglected someone. And too often, it's more than one kid that has been ignored.

The truth around here is that Lucas gets the most attention. By his nature, he demands large amounts of time and is CONSTANTLY in your face about it. He talks constantly, asks questions, persists for answers, implores you to LOOK (thus getting the eye-contact) and in general lives his life in constant connection to people(usually Mom). He's naughty for attention and helps out with chores for attention. For example, today he shoveled the snow off the sidewalk. This was quite the feat, since he had to bash the shovel on the ground to knock the load of snow off EVERY SINGLE TIME. A mom can't ignore things like that.

But Julia and Aidan are less demanding. Julia is just quieter. She needs someone to notice her, and anticipate her needs. She doesn't ask for attention, she just gets mean. (Which makes me look ahead and realize I need to do some training or she'll be in poor form for a spouse or companion.) Aidan is not very needy and can spend hours on little projects, games or activities with the most he needs being a snack. When he does need some snuggle time, he comes and gets it. But because he plays so well by himself or with his siblings, I only interact with him for the few structured school activities or when it's time for him to do a chore. We have a scheduled storytime each day, and that is good. But it's still not ALL that is needed for interaction.

And this brings me to another, similar issue. How in the WORLD do I homeschool three little kids and give them each the time they need? Julia does go to her school three mornings a week, and I'm glad she does so she can get some learning time. But I school her the other two mornings and even when she is gone, I have trouble juggling Lucas and Aidan. The kids are too little to be sent off to do work by themselves. Lucas has some copywork he can complete on his own, as well as some spelling activities. But most other stuff we do together, combining the explanation and instruction with the actual activity itself. And he will learn to do more things on his own, but that isn't a reasonable expectation for a first grader to homeschool himself. Aidan is really taking off, and is passing Julia up in the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, by Wise/Bauer, of the Well-Trained Mind fame. But it would be ridiculous to expect him to practice words with short vowel sounds on his own. Clearly not an option.

So I have to figure out what things each kid can do on their own and keep a tight eye on a three-point rotation schedule!! And I haven't had success with that, yet. Not even with a two-point rotation! I'm wondering how a timer might help me out. It might keep me on task, so I don't abandon someone too long. And it might help keep them on task, too, knowing that when the timer rings, they can do something less structured, like playing, coloring, etc. I'm sure it's worth a shot.

Because right now, I find that I'm teaching a full day to Lucas, then a pre-school day to Aidan and two days a week it's a Kindergarten day for Julia! And the overlap is VERY minimal!

Well, I feel better just articulating the issues. I'm excited to homeschool and I enjoy teaching them. I just want to do an exceptional job. They deserve it and I shouldn't waste their time at home if I can't do their education justice.

It's a Sign

A few months ago, Lucas put this sign on his bedroom door:

(For the room is filled with poisonous gasses. Do not enter.)

Recently, a few more signs have appeared.

Like this one I liked so much:

I'm very curious about it's motivation and purpose.

Then there's these two signs:

(For this is a spy room. Do not come in unless you are a spy.)

A bit redundant, but extremely clear about their purpose.

And then as I was appreciating slightly better spelling and somewhat better attention to spacing, this sign caught my eye.

(Turns out, it's not my son, which explains the spelling and spacing improvement.) It makes a person wonder, is this a bait sign? Tempting someone to enter a forbidden room, possibly filled with poisonous gasses? Come on in! (cheerful grin, cheerful grin) yes, we'd love to have you enter our facilities! (more smiles) Step right this way... BAM! We've now trapped you in the poison room, bwahaha!!!!! For the victory is MINE!!!

Or maybe it's a sign for friends, and you aren't supposed to pay attention to it unless you are part of the "club". Woe betide the little sister who thinks it's for her!

I wonder if my husband would notice if I started taping signs to our bedroom door.

"For the room is filled with pheromones and not laundry. Enter if you are my man."

Can't let kids have all the fun!