Talent Show

Today we were flying from Hawaii to Minnesota.  It was a really long flight.  We were all exhausted, having left our hotel at 6 pm and arriving home at 7 am Hawaii time 12 Minnesota time.  I fell asleep while reading to my 4th, during the second leg of the trip.  When I woke up, it was to the sound of my oldest #1 reading to #4.  I driffted off to sleep again.  My oldest has a real talent for helping with my youngest two.  I am so grateful for his help.  I am often inspired by his patience with them, as he teaches them.  I cherish his example.  I am excited to see what kind of father he will be.  I know he has been blessed in his life, to have younger siblings.

#1 reading to #4

Being in Hawaii really helped me see what a good swimmer #2 is.  He is such a fish.  Every morning at 6, he would wake up, get his suit on and hurry me out the door.  We went straight to the ocean.  Our favorite place to be.  I would swim with him on my back, out to the edge of the cove, and let him swim in on his own.  He puts most of his body in the water.  He just keeps his eyes nose and mouth out.  He is so happy and natural in the water, and especially the ocean.  I loved how quiet and calm he became with the slow rhythmic waves.  I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on a coast some day.   He can also crack a coconut with his bare hands and climb a tree like a Samoan.  Both good talents, if he was looking for a career at the Polynesian Cultural Center!

Here is #2 at 5 am

#3 showing off his tree climbing skills

#3 is a camera man.  He takes the video camera whenever he can.  He takes videos of our family, others families, people on airplanes, in restaurants, and lately he has been exploring the inside of things with the camera-(toilet paper rolls, mouths, milk jugs.  With all of this trial and error, no doubt he is developing a real talent for cinematography.  We saw a great how to make your film look natural, from the cinematographer(Devin Graham) of our favorite Hip-Hop Vilonist, Lindsey Stirling.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Y8kWf4dmQ&feature=player_embedded  here is the link.  #3 watched it several times.  On Saturday he went up to a lady in Hawaii who looked Asian.  He had the camera and said konnichiwa - I didn't even know that he knew that word!  She of course answered back.  With a strew of words, that he caught on Camera.  Thank you Devin Graham, and thank you to whomever taught my son that useful and relevant "good afternoon".

This is a video from #3

Here is one of #3's pictures

#4 is diligently working on his fine motor-skills of coloring.  He uses a pen, and he makes a tiny line or squiggle and he tells me what it is.  I have never had any of my boys do this, and it makes me wonder what creations of writing, art, or tie flying will morph out of these tiny precious minute motions.

#4 , sporting some new shorts Momma made him for vacation, pockets are essential!

This isn't from vacation, but isn't it adorable?!

I have decided that #5 has a real talent to make people smile.  She looks at others, smiles her big million dollar smile and then glances away shyly or engages them with a giggle.

Look at those cute little dimples and smiling eyes

My Husband has a real talent for keeping us all together and helping us to run smoothly.  He also never seems to loose his cool in public, which I love.  He keeps his game face on and works everything out, but keeps his personal feeling for private times, so that no one would ever know there was a problem.  He is my confidant and friend, and after 6 days of busy vacation, I love him even more.  

Hubbin and #5 in paradise

Watching the boys run into the water at 6 am

My mom went with us too.  We were so lucky to have her along.  She was a much appreciated extra set of hands.  #4 begged us to fly to Grandmas house instead of ours, and #5 cried when Grandma left us to head back to Idaho.  #2 said that his favorite time with Grandma was when he snuggled with her in her bed.  The talent I want to showcase for my mom, is that she treats everyone like they are part of her family.  Whenever she speaks to anyone, the are instantly endeared to her.  When we got off the bus and the hotel member gave us our lays, they were excited that we were the family they had heard so much about from my mom.  They were so happy for her.  It is like that with everyone she meets.  They are happy to help her because they can't help but love her too.

 

 The only proof that I went to Hawaii with 5 kids.  This is us- the whole family.  I love that my family is getting so big.
Yes my family is full of talents, and I am proud to showcase them.

My post card life

I do not live a better homes and gardens postcard life.  I live a postcard covered in peanut butter that is being used as a dust pan, because the real dust pan is out in the dirt pile being used as a shovel, and the only reason I need a dust pan in the first place is because a glass is broken on the floor and my baby needs a place to crawl, so that I can put her down, so that I can seperate two of my kids to keep them from killing eachother because one of them is wearing the other ones clothes, post card kind of life.

Last night I was laying in bed.  I had this totally indulgent thought.  What if I just stayed here.  What if I moved a tv and vcr and all of my books in to my bedroom.  What if I only eat chocolate, and never ever again, ever take care of anyone or anything.  What if I didn't believe in consequences, rules, moral values, or a judgement day.  What if I just quit and never felt anything ever again?  I let myself indulge in the delightful thought for a while and fell soundly asleep.  I tried not to think of any of the negative side effects of living a secluded hermit lifestyle.  Of course there are many.

This morning when I got up to take Hubbin to work, I saw our neighbor taking her two pre-teens girls to school.    I asked Hubbin, wouldn't it be easy to only have two?  Of course, he was a little nervous by this thought.  Thinking that maybe I regretted our decision to have 5 or that I was thinking of not having anymore.  None of this, of course, is true.  It is just some times fun to indulge in thoughts of ease.

I don't think raising a family is meant to be easy.

I just showed this picture to #1 and he said, "Hey that looks like our house."  

Some times people think that because I have 5 kids I may have a lot of good advice for them.  My house looks like this picture more often than not.  See the cheese grater up there on top of the cabinets?  It is up there because even if the kids could climb that high, She probably would be there in time to stop them, before they got it.  See the fruit on the counter?  She bought that in hopes that her kids would make healthy food choices.  See the apple jacks and the cake and the jello- those were all bought during a mercy plea "I will buy these if you promise to stay with me in the store for the rest of the trip."  Now the dog eating the spaghetti, that is just good home management(not waisting scraps and saving on dog food expenses).  The children feeding themselves are all signs of ingenuity, self management, and independence.  And, in case you didn't notice,  Momma is also getting a hot cocoa break.

One of my friends was having a problem keeping her children from teasing.  What advice did I give her?  It is going to be OK,  Compliment them when they do well, help them understand the importance of serving,  and read them Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.  And don't worry that they are not getting enough attention- It sounds like they are giving each other plenty of attention!

Another one of my friends was worried that she might not have her baby (10month old) weaned by the magic age of 18 months.  What did I tell her?  Enjoy your baby, he will be grown up before you know it.  a 10 month old is very different from an 18 month old.  And, there is no way your baby will be taking a bottle to work when he is 22.

My advice comes from practical experience.  The kind that some would call the school of hard knocks.  Here I am writting my advice to you, while my lawn is full of dandilions gone to seed, and my baby is sucking on a crayon by my feet.  And, I should be packing my family for our trip, and cleaning my house.   Those of us that may seem like we can manage it all, or those of us that seem like we have our hands full, probably can and do.  And so can you.
Keep up the good work. It is good work!