It's Spring!! (So why is it snowing?)

Last night Spencer's cub scout den was invited to a Spring carnival put on by the Awanas group at a local church here. It was such a great time. The church was PACKED - I don't think any of us was expecting that many kids and that much activity! Once they got acclimated though, there was no stopping them. They were all given a stack of play money when they went in, that they could use to buy turns on different games ... obstacle course, throwing darts at balloons, beanbag toss, ring toss, basketball, and Paxton's favorite - a variation on the dunking booth, where the kids could throw water soaked sponges at the teenaged volunteers. It was a fun night, and I loved watching the boys having such a good time. They tried almost all of the games, and ended up picking a couple favorites. They both did the darts several times, and got better with each shot. I was really proud that they both did the obstacle course too. While they love to do obstacle courses in the driveway at home, up until last night, neither one of them ever really wanted to do something like that in front of a roomful of people. But they did great! They both spent all their "money" and earned a fistful of tickets that they traded in at the end of the night for prizes like bouncy balls, little plastic games, and cardboard airplanes. It was really neat. We all went home tired and happy, and both boys requested - several times - that we do it again sometime. Today we are home, and it's just as well because it is snowing like crazy. Still, we've had a little taste of spring this week, with several days of warmer weather. The taste was nice, but we're ready for the real thing.

Original poetry

Spencer and Paxton wrote poems today:

Once there was a chicken
His name was Icken
He cut down a tree
He cut down a branch
He didn't know what he was thinkin.

by Spencer

Once there was a cow
His name was Wow
I'm still a cow
And my name is still Wow

by Paxton

An extra dose of Dad

At my request, Mike took a sick day on Monday. We'd spent the weekend whining our way through colds and fevers and misery, and I really needed that extra day to gather my bearings. It helped. The boys got to play Monopoly and Connect 4 and Whack-a-Mole with Daddy, while I both rested and cleaned up to get ready for the week. For some reason, the week still seemed extra slow, so yesterday we took a field trip out to his office to meet him for lunch. We went to a great little local diner that serves breakfast all day. I love taking the boys out to eat. For one thing, I just really enjoy their company & conversation, as I always do. But I also like the chance to watch them shine in public, to see how confidently they handle themselves. Spencer and Paxton place their own orders, and have since they were able to talk. They know they can order anything they want, and they do. Paxton has gotten some strange looks when he orders Diet Coke (actually, I think the strange looks are more for us, his parents, for letting him) but yesterday he chose a root beer, which the waitress found totally normal. Yesterday was also the first time we ordered an actual kids meal for Everett. We got him a grilled cheese and he ate half of it! We didn't get dessert, and instead headed back to Mike's office to raid the candy basket. On the way out, someone commented on how cute and well-behaved the boys were, which made me smile half the way home. Spencer slept for most of the 45 minute ride, so Paxton and I sang along to the radio, talked about what a soundtrack was, and theorized about the strange-looking construction vehicle we passed, that neither of us had seen before. Life is good.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This has not been a very good week. Everyone has colds, everyone's on edge, the kids have been bickering more than usual, and I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we are more than ready for winter to be over. We are really feeling the claustrophobia that sets in this time of year (if not sooner) The boys were supposed to have an art show on Tuesday, but it was cancelled because of an ice storm. There was a scouts meeting last night, but Spencer was too sick to even feel like getting dressed. We've been in the house since Saturday. Yuck. I'm trying to focus on those little moments, those good little moments, because we did have them. Isaac and Anabelle visited on Monday, and everyone had a good time.... The boys got their Ladybug and Spider magazines, and we looked through those together. We did what we always do first, and pulled out the little games. We cut out and played a color bingo game yesterday.... We've had the Brio train track out most of the week, and have played with that nearly every day.... Paxton found a race-car math game that they got for Christmas a couple years ago. We lost the directions, so we had to make them up, but we had fun playing that too.... We read about Ramona's latest antics in Ramona and her Mother.... We pulled out maps of the United States, trying to find one that had the time zones listed on it. We finally found what we were looking for in the phone book, and talked about what time it was from California to New Hampshire. The boys thought there should be a different time zone for Maba and Pop and Aunt Didi since they live so far away. (an hour :).... We drank a lot of orange juice. And if my sore throat and sniffling boy are any indication, we're going to be drinking a lot more.

"A boy can never have too many projects"

That's what Spencer said to me this morning, as we were untangling a ball of yarn so that he could work on his knitting. I showed him how yesterday, and it was the last thing on his mind when he went to bed, and the first thing on his lips when he woke up. It's a good thing he feels that way too, because our house is fast turning into a haven for partially finished projects. As I type, I can see more than a few, and being the giver that I am, I thought that I would share....

On the chair to my left is a woodworking kit, basically a wooden box filled with pine pieces, nails, and a kid-size hammer (which is sometimes used, and sometimes set aside in order to use the real thing). There's something that looks like an airplane hanging out of it. On the couch is Spencer's bridge-building kit. It included everything to make three bridges, and he's finished 2 and a half of them. He got it out yesterday, but I don't think he did anything with it yet. Between the couch and the piano is MY running project, my dvds and boxes and bubble wrap and envelopes. There's a card table that I just set up in front of the door to the basement, since we were running out of usable flat surfaces. (I get a little nutty when the kitchen table is covered for too long, so the card table - which is easy to move around even when it's overflowing - is perfect) The paint-by-number of a horse, which Spencer started on Sunday, is drying there, as is a ceramic Eeyore. Actually, Eeyore dried quickly, but he's sitting there waiting for his final touches. Also on the table is an archeology kit that is so much fun we've all given it a try. It came as a brick with 3 artifacts buried inside, and you have to dig excavate them. When you're done you can mix it with water, re-bury them, let it dry, and start all over again. It's drying now, and I'm excited for them to do it again, because Mike hid some quarters in there too when the kids weren't looking. Mike's model car kit is on that table too, along with a hammer, some safety glasses, and the zipper pull that fell off my purse. On the end of the kitchen counter is Spencer's derby car kit. It's been sitting there for weeks, waiting for us to get the rest of what we need to make it. Mike picked up a tool kit, templates, decals, etc today, so they can work on it this weekend. The derby is in two weeks, so they're going to have to be pretty intense about it if he wants to race it.

There's more in the other room, but that's what I can see at the moment. In a few more days, it could all have changed.

Tractors and Birthday Parties

It's a season of milestones....
Paxton is reading, Everett is crawling, and Spencer can make scrambled eggs, from start to finish, by himself. They're doing lots of other things too, but those are a few I've become aware of this past week.

Yesterday was Spencer's 8th birthday party, and it was such a fun time. We had it at a children's science museum (that we've never been to before, but that came highly recommended) It was fantastic. The kids - and the grownups - had a great time exploring and playing with all the exhibits, from legos and mini golf, to lights, electricity, momentum, and gravity. We had lunch on Spencer's carefully selected John Deere plates, as well as dyed-to-match green cupcakes. Maba and Pop, in keeping with the theme, got him a very cool John Deere tractor & baseball cap. He got a lot of other really neat gifts too... everything from hover crafts to paint-by-number kits to tinker toys to bug books. We got home, exhausted, around 5. We munched on all the leftover party food while Spencer went through all his new things, taking them out of the packages and planning what he'd play with when. The tractor was the first thing unwrapped, and we all had a little family gripe about those twist tie things that they tie toys to their packages with. Very hard to stay patient while they're all twisted off! He played with the tractor nearly non-stop, and was very excited when he realized that he could fit his other little tractor into the trailer of his new big one. We also blew up his hover disc, tested out his other hover craft (both very cool, both of which freaked the baby out a little bit) and played with a balloon helicopter he picked up at the gift shop. It was getting late when he remembered that he had archaeology and painting sets that he wanted to look at, so he left them on the table for first thing this morning. He was so excited and happy, which of course makes me excited and happy too. I can't believe he is EIGHT!! He went to bed around 9:00, his new tractor beside him on the floor, and his John Deere hat hanging on his bed post.

Playing hooky

Mike took the afternoon off from work today so that we could take the boys to see Racing Stripes. We were planning on going this weekend, but the theatre we wanted to see it in is ending its run tomorrow. What a cute movie! We had a great time, and ate way more than our fill of chicken sandwiches, burgers, nachos and coke. It felt rather decadent seeing a movie at 3:30 in the middle of the week, and we shared the theatre with just one other family. Other happenings this week.... the boys have been in a contruction-oriented mood, and took apart and rebuilt a wobbly end table, nailed and glued and created about four different things out of pinewood, and helped me hang two new curtain rods. They learned to safely iron this week too. My poor curtains that I sewed about 2 years ago have been sitting folded in the closet just waiting for me to get around to buying the rods. We went to church on Sunday, to a church we haven't been to in a couple of years. I always remember it as a very relaxed and comfortable place, and this time was no exception. Spencer and Paxton went to the children's services, and LOVED it. They loved it so much that they nearly begged us to go back again, which I believe is a first for them. So we talked it over - more than once - and decided that it definitely wouldn't hurt to go again. And maybe again after that. It is an hour away, which is admittedly a bit of a drive, but we know that churches shouldn't be chosen based on their proximity.

"And since there's no place to go..."

Well the snow has stopped falling, but the ground and the trees are completely blanketed with the same kind of bright, clingy snow that always reminded me of the frosting on Frosted Flakes when I was little. It is so beautiful. With the exception of Cub Scouts, we have been home all week, and really enjoying it. We have spent an unusual amount of time in the kitchen, making everything from homemade bread to deviled eggs. Our reading marathon also continues, as does Paxton's computer playing. Spencer spent his fair share of time on the computer too, as he searched for the perfect thing to spend his last $20 on. We finally found a great online store that sold nothing but die-cast tractors and farm equipment, and he ultimately chose a little John Deere tractor with a plow and manure spreader. Now he just has to wait for the Big Brown Truck to bring it to him. Everett has been very busy this week, and keeping me on my toes even more than usual. For someone who is not yet crawling, he sure can travel. He loves to watch the big boys, and really got a kick out of the game they made up this morning, involving walking like a bear, kangaroo, robot, etc. I don't think it will be long before he is joining them.

Books, birthday money & computer games

It was a tiring weekend, so this week has been all about re-charging so far. For Paxton it has meant marathon sessions on the computer; and for Spencer, some computer time, some reading, and some helping around the house. His Beverly Cleary books came yesterday, and we started both Ramona the Pest and Ramona Quimby Age 8. We all took some time out yesterday to make collages too. I had an old pill bottle filled with small bits of cut-up credit cards, and the boys were entranced by all the shiny colors. We sat on the carpet and cut and glued and colored for half the afternoon. Spencer got $50 from his grandparents for his birthday, so he's been working on spending it. He spent his first $6 at the grocery store, on a little matchbox McDonalds set, and then ordered a new playstation game (Harvest Moon - Save the the Homeland) when we got home. It is an adventure/role playing game like their amusement park and zoo games, and sounds really neat. He has $20 left and is carefully choosing how to spend it. Tonight is cub scouts, and we're kind of bummed because Mike has a dinner meeting and won't be able to go with us. Spencer told me a few days ago that he doesn't want to do cub scouts next year. He has enjoyed it, and wants to finish out the year, but thinks he wants to try something else in the fall. He was happy to hear that he could try anything he wants, and that no one will pressure him to do something he no longer wants to do. I'm grateful that I grew up in that kind of environment as well. I was free to try, and then discontinue if I needed to, all kinds of things growing up. My never used, brand new, basketball shoes in my parents' attic prove it - a testament to my happy childhood.

Glue

All three boys are sick with colds right now, which always changes the dynamic in the house. I have to say though, that despite the obvious discomforts of the colds - and the messier house - the past couple of days have been nice. Spencer always gets very snuggly when he's sick, so we've had lots of time to read together. We read several more chapters of Pigs Might Fly, and finished Henry and the Clubhouse. He's been so into his books lately that we decided to get him some more for his birthday. He now has 16 used Beverly Cleary books coming from someone on Ebay, and he is tickled pink. Unlike Spencer, unless he is feeling really really lousy, Paxton just keeps plodding along with his normal day when he's sick. They were watching Zoom this afternoon, and it gave them lots of ideas for projects when it was over. They made their own chocolate popsicles in ice-cube trays, which always makes me smile, and then we all made homemade glue with skim milk, vinegar, and baking soda. I was pretty proud of the fact that between the three of us we remembered the recipe, since we hadn't saved it on tivo. It was fun, and the glue really works. There is a cubscout meeting tonight, but Spencer and Paxton both want to stay home and rest, which is always fine by us. We never turn down a chance to rest.

On the go

Saturday we went to my parents house for the weekend. We visited for most of the day, and the boys played with Maba and Pop while Mike and I went out to a movie. On Sunday, we all went to a snowmobile radar run that was done as a fundraiser for a friend and co-worker. It was a good time. Spencer went with Maba and Pop first thing in the morning, while we stayed back at the house to wait for the younger ones to wake up. It's neat seeing him grow into this older, independent boy. We got there a few hours later with Paxton and Everett, to find Spencer on the back of a snowmobile! Pop was taking him on his first-ever ride. Paxton rode next, and it ended up being the highlight of the weekend for both of them. Spencer was so excited by it all that he didn't know where to look, and while Paxton was a little less enthusiastic about the snow and cold, he was fascinated by the snowmobiles, and especially by the dirtbikes also racing on the lake. Even Everett got caught up in the excitement, looking all around, and making car noises. Yesterday was a trip to Aunt Didi's house for a playdate, and we all agreed it had been too long since the last time we'd done it. As is usually the case with our conversations in the car, we came home with a list of things we needed to look up... this time including when they first starting building roads, how long ago the great flood was, and what year the first car was invented.

Badges, baking, and BVD's

This was a busy week, considering we spent the whole week at home! We had a playdate scheduled, but it was cancelled, and the day of their homeschool playgroup was a freezing, just-want-to-hibernate kind of day, so we skipped that too. Spencer is getting his wolf badge, along with his first gold and silver arrows, at his pack meeting tonight, so we spent a good part of the week finishing up some of his requirements. We talked about fire safety, religion, camping.... it ran the whole gamut. We both look forward to sitting down with that book and seeing what else there is to do. He's finished all his achievements now (and is among the first 3 boys to do so!) and is now working on electives. Among those he tried this week - sign language, writing in a secret code, and measurement. He also had to bake a cake last night with Mike. They are having a cake auction tonight to raise money for the tsunami victims, and the scouts needed to bake their cakes themselves with a male partner. He picked a strawberry cake, and decorated it with Dale Earnhardt Jr (of course :o) It's really cool to see him having so much fun being involved in Scouts. Last night I finally got around to sewing on his Bobcat badge, his numbers, and his council patch, so he's all good to go. We also worked on the house this week, STILL trying to get it back into shape after the holidays! The boys have been great helping out with putting things away, cleaning, de-cluttering, etc. I have 65 DVD's currently strewn all over the couch in the living room (ok, it's DVD's, not BVD's, but I was going with the B theme) so they're not helping with the clutter, but I'm still having a blast buying and selling. I'm beginning to think we need another computer. Between ebay and email and the internet and games, this one is almost constantly in use. I'm on an email list that sends me the link to a new educational website every day. Sometimes I just delete them, as they're often way too schooly for us, but once a week or so we get a really cool one. Yesterday's was awesome - full of word games - and both older boys, myself, and even Mike, have spent a great deal of time playing there. I like internet games too, because they never wear out, get lost, broken or scratched. I have four tabs open on my browser right now, because Paxton likes to leave his games up so they'll be ready and waiting for him in the morning!

New games and thank-you notes

The kids' Zoo Tycoon game came this Saturday, and they pretty much played it without pause all weekend. It's really cool. After they learned the basics of the game, they quickly started experimenting to see what would happy if they let the lion out of it's fence, or put a zebra in with a tiger. Fun stuff! They have some very elaborate games saved, zoos with typical zoo animals, as well as marine life and dinosaurs. Neat. I also found a lego set of Spencer's that has been missing for months, and he was very excited to get it back and put it back together. It is a futuristic looking loader with a million tiny pieces, and it took him and Mike the better part of an hour to put it together. The only problem with legos, and a lot of their toys lately, is that now that the Everett is getting more mobile, they can't dump them all over the floor with the same abandon when he's in the room. We're having to be extra vigilant. Everett is fast and he is clever, and he will reach for those teeny tiny parts in the blink of an eye... all with that sweet little grin on his face. We finally did our Christmas thank you notes this weekend too, and it was a big group project. Mike printed pictures from the digital camera on the computer, I wrote up the notes, and the kids helped decorate them and sign them. I learned something about Paxton - he needs to have white-out very handy when he's writing, in case he's unhappy with one of his letters. It's always so interesting to see those different personality traits emerging. Finally, we had another beautiful snowstorm this weekend, and the boys happily bundled up to go out and play, only to come in a few minutes later when they were getting cold. There are snowpants and hats and mittens and coats and scarves strewn all over the place. This is truly a house of happy and free children.

The writing on the table

...and the mirrors and the windows. The boys got some window markers in their Christmas stockings, and we are just now getting around to really using them. These are the neatest things!! We started out with windows, then moved onto the glass coffee table, and then leaving each notes on the mirrors. They write so nice, and clean off so easy. Our coffee table, at any given time, is now covered in an eclectic assortment of doodles, drawings, words, and numbers. I think every home should have a set of window markers! Paxton's sickness was thankfully in and out even faster than we'd hoped. By the end of the day on Saturday, he was up and eating and playing, and solved his Veggie Tales computer game for the third time. Mike went through their stack of computer programs, carefully sorting out the ones that don't work on this computer, replacing broken or missing cases, and just generally re-organizing them. They were really excited about that, and it inspired me to order them another game, Zoo Tycoon, which from what I hear they'll really like. Last night, we all piled in one bed to watch the first American Idol for the season. The boys just love that (except for Everett, who was trying to nurse himself to sleep and looked annoyed everytime someone would sing too loud or screechy) Today is a quiet morning, followed by an afternoon playdate at a friend's house. It occurs to me that we haven't been out of the house since last Thursday, so this'll likely be rejuvinating for all of us!

New Year bugs

It was a good week, but our weekend, so looked forward to as a nice weekend of rest, has started out with a stomach bug! Paxton is the only one who has it so far, and is handling it well, all things considered. He is snuggled up on the couch watching his second Blue's Clues tape. Every time one of the kids gets sick, I always seem to mentally try to count back the days to see where they could have gotten it. It likely came from Cub Scouts on Thursday night, which was actually a great meeting. Spencer was very, very excited to get presented with another award, a Progress Toward Rank badge, which will hold one bead for every three achievements he finishes. We've never placed much emphasis on external rewards, but it warmed my heart to see how very proud he was to receive that little plastic triangle, and his first two beads. We also talked about the tsunami at the meeting, and how the den will be raising money to help the victims. Yesterday, the big boys got to play with Uncle Joe while Allison and Everett and I went to lunch at a great little diner that serves breakfast all day. It was a fun day for everyone, and we all turned in early. Now, we're just praying that this stomach bug makes a quick exit and doesn't come back.

The Big Three-One

Happy Birthday to me. Sunday I had a wonderful day spending a girls' day out with my sister and mother (who also just had a birthday), and capped it off by meeting all the boys in our lives for a nice italian dinner out. Yesterday, the day of my birthday, was special in no small part because we finally sold the station wagon! The couple who bought it was a very nice, conservative older couple, and I had to laugh (on the inside) at the picture they got of homeschooling. Paxton was in nothing but underwear the first time they came, and the second he was playing playstation in mismatched pajamas at two in the afternoon. When the wife asked Spencer what he'd done that day he answered the way he usually does, "played," as if it was a silly question. She was happy to hear that he had read a book though. He actually has four books going right now, not counting all the books we pull out to look things up. He's reading 2 of the Boxcar Children books, Pigs Might Fly, and Henry's Clubhouse - a book I was excited to find for him at the used bookstore, since he'd enjoyed Henry Huggins so much. Today we spent a long time making little people out of pipe cleaners, and Paxton got the idea to give them parachutes, which started a rather lengthy trial and error process to find what worked the best. Paxton was playing Thinking Things Science on the computer today when there was suddenly a big popping noise, a blank monitor, and the smell of burning plastic. We were without a computer the rest of the day, and I feared the worst, but it was something Mike easily replaced when he got home from work. I'm thankful I'm not single.

Friends and Neighbors

The snow (several inches now) is giving the boys lots of opportunity to play with the girl across the street. They seem to follow the same pattern every time... some serious sledding, then back inside for a top-secret game they made up, involving strategy rooms, walkie-talkies, and lots of whispering. It is kind of funny how they cycle on and off with her. Sometimes they don't play together for weeks or months at a time, then will suddenly be together every day for days on end. Also of note: Mike did his brakes yesterday on the Saturn, which meant Spencer was right there by his side to assist, ask questions, keep him company, and come running in to give me frequent updates. Last night we all went to dinner at our new friends' house. I'd gone over with the boys for playdates before, but it was the first time that we'd all gotten together with husbands and everything. We had such a fantastic time! It was Spencer who really got us all together, when he bonded instantly with their son of the same age at homeschool group a couple months ago. Now that we're pretty much resigned to the fact that we're going to be making friends through our kids, we've experienced a few different scenarios... including when the kids get along famously, and the grown-ups not so much, and vice versa. So it was very nice indeed when we realized that not only were the kids (6 altogether) playing beautifully together, but the parents were also having a great time, comfortably chatting and laughing the evening away around the kitchen table. After dinner the kids dissappeared to the playroom in the basement, surfacing only to show us their latest creations - including a cereal crusher made out of tinker toys - as well as to get sympathy for their various tumbles. You know it's been a fun playdate when 2 out of six kids go to bed with a new, joyously aquired bruise.

Snowstorms and station wagons

Yesterday was our first good snowstorm of the season. It was beautiful. I was really surprised that the boys didn't go out to play in it till much later in the day, instead staying inside to continue with their Christmas toy marathon. They also helped me with my whirlwhind house cleaning because we had someone come over to look at our Buick Century, which we've been trying to sell unsuccessfully since July. This was very exciting for all of us, and sparked a flurry of questions about buying and selling and cars in general. Cubscouts was cancelled, but they weren't too disappointed because their friend from across the street came over to play. They started out outside, but soon came in to show off their new racetrack. The day ended with another dvd sorting party, filling one whole wall of our living room with more than 10 stacks of movies ready to be listed. Cool. We're all looking forward to the weekend, with a dinner with friends and a day with the grandparents in the works.

Carschooling

Yesterday, we finally got back out and about, after staying close to home first with sicknesses, then the holidays. It was great to catch up with our homeschool friends, but one of the best parts of going anywhere always seems to be the car ride! The boys and I have such great, spontaneous discussions... the kind that I sort of wish the doubters could witness - the people who don't think unschooling could possibly work. Every day is different, but yesterday we talked about the purpose of the sun and what would happen if it were closer or further from the earth; we talked about the Titanic (this was fascinating to them and took up most of the half hour ride); we talked about Tyrannasaurus Rex and what he ate; we talked about money, and why it still costs me real, actual cash even when I pay with a credit card or debit card. Good stuff. All this while singing along to the soundtrack to 13 Going on 30. The boys also helped me get my dvd's ready for ebay yesterday, carefully sorting and stacking them into little groups. When the time comes, they're also going to help with the packaging, printing out invoices, etc. They're going to earn a little paycheck for this, but they're just as excited by the project as they are by the paycheck. I hope they never lose that.

Happy New Year

Spencer and Paxton tried really hard to stay up for New Years, but they both only made it till around 10:30. We decided to just stay home for the holiday, and it was really nice. Mike and I rented a few movies, stayed up till 2:00 AM, and for the first time I can remember, didn't even watch the ball drop on tv. On New Year's Day we went to a party at my Aunt and Uncle's house, and we all had a great time. The boys all had belated Christmas presents to open, they played Foosball, played on the computer, and otherwise just mingled happily. We got home at 9:00, and while they didn't stay up till midnight on New Year's Eve, they did stay up till midnight on New Years Day! Still on an emotional high from the party, they played a few rounds of Paxton's new game, Mr Mouth, watched some tv shows they had on tivo, and kept us company while we did some more bidding on dvd's on ebay. It was after 12 when we all finally went up to bed. The boys are still raring to go, but I am feeling rather droopy! Mike is getting our new (used) computer ready to go today, and we promised Spencer that we'd all play his new game, Cranium Cadoo. We have a busy week coming up, with Cub Scouts and homeschool group both starting back up after the holiday vacation, but it'll be nice to get back into a somewhat normal rhythym again. I always get very excited in January.... I love the idea of a new year, fresh starts, and new possibilities. The New Year always makes me try just a little bit harder, whether it's learning a new skill, or having more patience in a difficult situation. That's one thing I'd like to pass on to my boys.