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!

Lifes Education

Wow, I tried to write the title 5 times.  It just didn't say what I wanted it to.  Life has so much education in it.  You don't have to go to a school for 8 hours a day to learn.

I found #1 in the guest bed one night, shortly after we had started homeschool.  This was when we had just discovered the magic tree house books.  I was so excited that he was finally reading chapter books independently, that I just let him read as late as he wanted to.  

#1 has easily finished 100 chapter books since we started homeschooling.  (pre-homeschooling he hadn't finished any) He has written a handful of  thank you cards, letters to friends, and love notes to grandparents.  He has written 3 "books", though I think one of them-his book of spells is a work in progress. (All of this is self directed-meaning I say it is writing time and he chooses what to write)   He also keeps an on-going Math book, Science book, and handwriting folder.

 #5 with her big brother, #1 learning to fly

This is not to mention the daily conversations about our nation, politics, the gospel in action, gardening, house cleaning, parenting, laundry, daily chores, family rules, nutrition, bicycle maitenance, etc.  As well as learning some basic cooking skills that have fed the family.   Of course, there is also our trips to the public library bi-weekly.  One of the Librarians is his favorite.  And she works on Tuesday-so we have got to go on Tuesdays.

This is a basket of books and books on cd ready to be returned to the library on one of our bi-weekly trips.  

We also have the boys in a childrens choir.  Their first concert is next week!  

The second Tuesday of every month finds us at a ballet.  This is one of the Ballerinos.  He was amazing.  #1 loves dancing and he was so excited to meet a real dancer.  

Life looks a little different for #2.  He does all of the appropriate school requirements-but for him that is not what he is learning-it is just what Momma makes him do before he can go learn.

 This is a science project using baking soda and vinegar to blow up balloons.  We had finished science for the day.  I had cleaned everything up, and went in to the bathroom to give #5 a bath, when I found this.  I guess the instruction stuck.  

Here #1 and #2 are discovering how hard different rocks are.  Following this experient was a lot of research and discussion on drill bits, diamonds, and learning about many different types of rocks and their uses.  It was student led education.  

 This is one of the reasons why I love my little #2.  This is an intricate game that he has played consistently for over 3 years.  He plays it with his brothers, and he is the creative master mind.  I often find detailed game sets like this all over my house.  My kids are so awesome!

This is #2 my little water bug.  I swear this boy has gills.  He never loses his smile, the entire time he is in the water.  I am sure by the end of every lesson he has recycled most of the pool.  

Isn't #2 handsome?

#3 is like a little recorder.  He may be my only auditor learner.  He walks around the house spouting off interesting facts or math problems.  The other day he said, "Mom do you know how many Presidents were born in Virginia?- No how many- 8"  OK so for those of you who are Judy Moody fans, you will recognize where this came from, but still I thought it was impressive that a 5 year old would remember Virginia.  This boy L_O_V_E_S anything that has to do with Natural Science.  So, if I want to make him really happy I take him to the Non-fiction section at the library and let him choose 5 books.  This week we learned about rocks, deep-sea prehistoric monsters, why boogers are green, and fun things to do with vinegar and baking soda.
He is such an eager learner, and my easiest one to get through the required homework of the day.

Those dimples are so cute!  

Flight of the bumblebee- Blair Witch projects- you've got nothing 

This is a recorded shot of #3 finding and stealing the camera.  

#3's favorite thing to do is take my camera and make documentary films.  I have several hours of recorded video from this creative mastermind.  

#4 is a Space Cadet!  He loves anything about space.  I am reminded of my big brother, when ever I listen to this 3 year old teaching me about the satelites.  I have really enjoyed looking at the pictures in the books I check out for him.  Nebullas, formations of new stars, aurora borealis seen from space, and even the history of a telescope have all been fascinating to me.

#4 in Dads hat and #1's glasses- When I see him looking this big I dread 15 years from now when he is ready to move out!

Of course life learning at our house isn't all smooth sailing.  A few days ago #1 made a clean cut right through a fifty dollar extension chord, with the hedge trimmer. #2 has learned that you shouldn't climb the tree unless momma is watching.   #3 and #4 stold candy from the store and had to learn all about repentance.   # 5 has finally learned not to crawl up the stairs.  This momma bought several bars of chocolate and exhausted all of her trusted confidants, to self medicate.

#4 was #3's froggy side kick 

After all of this, my kids received a package from my brother.  Wow, I am not sure that I have ever blogged about him before.  He is 17 months older than me.  He intuitively understands me better than most people.  We went through a lot of the same hard things growing up.  My #2 is the same age as his little guy.  He is one of those people that I can go months with out talking to and then pick up the phone and chat with him for 2 hours without missing a beat.  He is a real soul friend!    Any way, this soul friend of mine sent my boys a package the other day.    With a note attached-  "It could be worse".  However, there was no return address.  Imidiately when I opened the package I started to laught and figured I had a pretty good idea who it was from.  I called my brother and he just giggled.  He has the cutest giggle!  :) Thanks Bubba.  I needed the laugh and the boys needed to blow off a little steam :)

"It could be worse"

Forgive the spelling and gramar on this.  I am not even sure what is misspelled-because I am writing this on my husbands computer and its set language is portugese :)  So everything I write is underlined in red.

#5

I love this baby! She is such a sweet girl. Whenever her brothers or Dad walk in to the room, she lights up. They can't help but be drawn to her. It is so fun for me to see the unity and love that she has brought to our home.

I can never be grateful enough to my Heavenly Father for sending me this little girl.

She is a little food eater. She has two teeth on bottom and one tooth on top. Today, I gave her a baked potato-pealed. She ate the whole thing and licked her fingers when she was done.

She has a cute little quirk. When she was just little # 2 would try to scare her with his Halloween mask. It is a skull. She got to the point where she would just laugh at him. The other day I was reading a science book to the kids about a human skeleton. I realized she was laughing, so I looked to see what she was laughing at, and it was the picture of the skull on the page. Every time she sees the book she laughs. It tickles me, to think about how adorable she is! I am hoping that this little video will work, if not I will have to figure it out tomorrow.

Spring AKA The ants go marching

Spring has sprung at our house. The sunshine called our names. We all ran outside in 3 fewer layers than we have worn all year. Lovely spring. Wonderful mud. Freedom in flip-flops. Bonfires. Garden plans. Yard work. and Bugs! Yep it is that season again.

There is nothing like an ant marching through your living room at 10:00 at night to inspire you to a spring clean! Last night battling all odds, with the little ones tucked in bed, we cleaned the entire main floor of the house, hopefully staving off those foragers until the bug man can get over here and spray.

We have another motivation for spring cleaning around here. Every time it rains the basement floods. And, the other day we got our first spring rain. So, we mopped the basement. I am starting to wonder if spring cleaning didn't first come about because of these seasonal changes.

So, the house is all clean for spring, and in order to keep it that way, I intend to spend as much time as possible out side.

We have big plans for our yard this year. Several raised garden boxes are in the works. A solar powered water feature is on the dream board. The boys have even cooked up something major, our very own neighborhood park with a mansion in the tree.

Yes spring is here, so bring on the farmer tan, because vitamin D here I come!

I Love Me!

I am a...

running

homeschooling

vegan

blogging

hiking

joint teaching

picture taking

cross country with my family driving

reading

creating

learning

gardening

walking

remodeling

plumbing

painting

creating

dish washing

meal cooking

metamorphing

pioneering

natural birthing

elimination communication'in

nursing

skirt, flip-flop, long sleeve t-shirt wearing

grain eatin'

blog reading

documentary watching

baby having

temple going

tire changing

workshop attending

hair cutting

fingernail painting

guitar playing

singing

babysitting

music listening

phone talking

regrouping

girls night goin'

cookie making

online shopping

library card holding

whole food eating

scripture reading

painting

drawing

piano playing

Minnesota Public Radio listening

voting

church going

tithe paying

bill paying

envelope spending

Loved

Me.

http://mormon.org/me/2Y7X/Erika/#

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