Spencer and tractors

Spencer has always (always always) been fascinated by construction equipment. At 9, the interest is as strong as ever. He enjoys other things, but not with the same intense passion that he has for big machinery. Last week we placed an order with Amazon, and each of the boys picked something new. Paxton chose a playstation game that he'd played and liked at a friend's house, and Spencer picked a 1/16th scale forklift. The forklift arrived just a couple minutes ago, and he was through the roof with excitement. If you've ever seen Spencer get really excited about something, you know what I'm talking about... joyful, estatic, full-body excitement.

I know what we're playing with today.

The ER, sleepovers, and renovations

And so it goes...

Last Wednesday night, we got a call from Sandi that Isaac was in the hospital, and could we come. Mitch was back east on business, so she was alone with both Isaac and Anabelle in the hospital. He is ok now (and home), after lots and lots of tests, although they're still figuring out what's going on. But that night he had to spend the night, so we all went to the hospital to lend some help and some moral support. Mike and Spencer went to her house to take care of the pets and pick up some necessities, while me and the kids stayed at the hospital and played in the playroom with Isaac and Anabelle. It was a great playroom, and a great pediatric floor for that matter. The kids actually had a blast, and were very patient about the fact that we were there well past 10 PM. We brought Anabelle home with us to spend the night, so she wouldn't have to stay at the hospital, and the boys treated her like a princess... making sure she was happy and comfortable and had everything she needed. It was a very late night and a very early morning. A couple of crazy days. Thankfully everyone is happy and safe and home now.

We were going to go the first homeschool group party of the season on Friday, but decided to rest instead. Rest and pack up for our first official working weekend at the house. We got there Friday night, and started working first thing in the morning. The boys completely rose to the challenge, and worked as hard as I've ever seen them work. They both commented - more than once - how much fun it was, and how glad they were that we were doing it.

I started a whole new blog, just for house updates, and you can view it here

Our Flip Files

Sunday night, after we got home, we went to the grocery store for our poor empty kitchen. I saw someone, an older gentlemen, watching me and Spencer talking as I picked the coffee. I'm not even sure what we were talking about, but I know he said something sweet and then I hugged him. The man came up to me in the next aisle and said "You have a wonderful, well-behaved boy there. What a nice boy."

Random compliments feel good.

Halloween and a problem solved

The kids wanted to learn about why we celebrate Halloween, and where all the traditions came from, so we looked it up. I'd heard some of it before of course, but a lot of it was new to me too. This was a good site:

http://www.holidays.net/halloween/story.htm

Paxton just informed me that you can tell a hard boiled egg from an uncooked egg by spinning them on the counter. The hard boiled one spins faster. I am happy to have this information, because I've been keeping lots of both in the fridge lately, and always losing track. Thank you, Food Network.

And the demo begins!

In my state of post-conference euphoria, I neglected to mention some big happenings! We closed on our house last Monday, and it was very different than it was in NH. In NH, it was a big deal.. a table full of buyers and sellers and agents and title people. We signed papers, exchanged keys, shook hands & extended good wishes. Here it was just us, alone in a room with a "Document Signing Specialist" (a position I didn't know existed) All three boys came along. Paxton layed on the floor and read a science experiment book he'd brought with him. Spencer poured through the conference directory, looking up all his new friends; and Everett alternately drew and played with trucks. It was very strange, and kind of anti-climactic.

On Saturday, everything was ready for us to take possession. We met our realtor at the house first thing in the morning. He gave us the keys, examined the property with us, and chatted about our ideas for the place. Spencer was dying to get started on some demolition, and apparently so was Mike. The instant the realtor left they took down some cabinets. Spencer was still raring to go once that was finished, so we got him started ripping up the carpet in two of the bedrooms. He went straight to work, and we barely saw him for most of the day. They completed an outdoor project together too, digging dirt away from the foundation (there was a small termite problem) It made my heart happy to see Spencer working so hard. He truly is in his element when he has a hands-on project to tackle. Flipping houses is right up his ally!

Sandi and the kids joined us at the house in the afternoon, and we had lunch, played, and just enjoyed the gorgeous day. We stopped at Home Dept on the way home to put a deposit on our kitchen countertops, one of the last big projects we'd yet to schedule. It was a feel-good day of the highest order.

Random kid news:

Spencer taught me about the different kinds of symmetry last night while I was getting ready for bed. Paxton continues his immense interest in the computer, and they are both looking forward to a "Not Back To School" Party this week, a field trip to an air museum, and Halloween.

Paxton's Comedic Debut

Live and Learn!!

We just returned from our first-ever Live and Learn Conference in Albuquerque NM, and it was a RAGING success. We went with no expectations other than to soak it all in, and enjoy being around other unschoolers. We got that, and so very much more. The boys truly had the time of their lives.

It was amazing to be around so many other unschoolers (over 500!)... people who truly "get it." I've never been around a collected group of adults who treated my kids with such patience, kindness, and respect. I've never been around a collected group of kids who treated each OTHER with such patience, kindness, and respect. Kids of all ages working and playing together, helping each other, supporting each other. Teenagers stopping what they were doing to sit on the floor and give their attention to littler kids. Kids and adults alike gathered into inprompto cirlces of card games, hacky sacks, or guitar playing. It sounds corny to say it, but I honestly don't think I've ever been amongst a group of such peaceful, joy-filled people.

We headed out bright and early on Wednesday morning. The 8 hour ride went smoothly and relatively quickly, thanks in part to my laptop and a stack of DVDs. We made many bathroom stops, especially towards the end, and Paxton experienced a variety of ailments.... ranging from chapped lips to donut crumbs in his underwear. Still, we were all in good spirits when we got there, and excited to check into the hotel. We decided to skip the opening ice cream social, since it was nearly over once we arrived, and pretty much just crashed in our room after dinner. It rained at some point, and the kids excitedly pointed out a rainbow before we called it a night.

The conference officially started on Thursday, and the kids jumped in with both feet. Mike took all three boys to the Building Toys Funshop, where they played with all kinds of building toys from blocks and legos and tinker toys, to new ones we've never seen before. I was able to catch a couple of discussions while they were playing. The first was Sandra Dodd's Big Noisy Peace, about finding peace and calm in your household (and in your heart) amongst the noise and hustle and bustle that comes with unschooling. I also listened to Diana Jenner, an inspiring mom and unschooler who lost both her husband and beautiful little girl to cancer, and faces the world with grace, gratitude, and humor. After I caught up with Mike and the kids (and hugged all four of them) we broke for lunch and got ready for the Funshop that Spencer was most looking forward to: the r/c cars. Stopping only to watch a huge beetle on the front entrance of the hotel, we headed outside for over two hours of sun and cars and playing in the dirt. The last Funshop we hit that day was for playing dress-up, and neither Paxton or Everett were ready to leave when it was over. We checked out a local Mexican place for dinner (which was very very good) and the kids were excited to see some of their new friends there as well. That night was the first of two talent shows, and we were all exhausted when we headed up to bed at 10.

Friday was a whirlwind. There were more r/c cars and playing outside. Spencer and Everett made kites, Paxton made a homemade rain stick and a wallet out of duct tape. All three boys made collages. Everett and I got our faces painted. Mike, Paxton, and I all played chess in the chess Funshop. We went to an Art Trading Card (ATC) Funshop, which was something I'd never heard before, but was actually pretty cool. People made and traded decorated cards, ranging from simple to very elaborate. Both Spencer and Paxton came home with some really neat cards, and a desire to make more. We had lunch at a recommended local pizza place, and the boys enjoyed watching them toss the crust. Paxton decided at the last minute that he wanted to be in the talent show, and they squeezed him in. He picked 5 jokes, and practiced and practiced. He'd never done anything in front of a large crowd before and we didn't know what to expect. He went on at around 9:00, and spoke clearly and confidently and like he did it all the time. He told me later that he was a little bit nervous, but that it felt pretty cool hearing the people laugh and clap. The talent show in general was a blast. Everett slept through the whole thing, having konked out on Mike's lap 5 minutes after it started.

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed a big breakfast buffet at the hotel. We all went to the Wikki Stix Funshop, where we again met up with new friends. I listened to a discussion on living by principles instead of rules, and it was both interesting and inspiring. Paxton set up camp in the back of the main hall, where a guy was demonstrating his game, the Egg Game - Basically a stone egg, spun and balanced on a round board. Paxton played it for nearly 3 hours straight, while Mike, Spencer and Everett played water games and races outside, and I bounced back and forth. In the afternoon, I listened to a discussion on parenting myths. (Some examples: If you let children have unlimited access to tv or video games that's all they'll do... If you let children eat what they want, all they'll eat is candy....If you don't teach them math/grammar/spelling (fill in the blank) they won't get into college....If you don't punish children, they'll become hellions.) I'd prettied much debunked all the myths in my own heart, but it was re-affirming to hear new takes on the matter. Spencer and Paxton made and shot water rockets, and spent most of the rest of the afternoon running around in the courtyard with their friends, and playing with someone's Styrofoam plane. We bought raffle tickets, a bumper sticker, and our very own Egg Game to take home. That night, there was a Mexican banquet and dance. Thankfully, we arrived just in time to get a table with friends. The food was ok, but the conversation and laughter was better. We ducked out pretty early, and retired to the hall. The boys joined some other kids playing with boxes and cars in the hall until the wee hours of the night. We finally went up to our room around 11.

Sunday morning, we slept late, and resigned ourselves to the fact that it was time to pack up and go home. We're already trying to figure out if it's feasible to make next year's conference in North Carolina. Paxton and I both won something in the raffle... he won a window art kit, and I won a book by Sandra Dodd (which kept me happily occupied for most of the ride home) Spencer was disappointed that he didn't win anything, but felt better after a long nap in the car. The ride home went very quickly. We talked about the conference for awhile, and then moved on to talking about 9/11, the meaning of the word "politics", mud flaps, storm clouds, and hubcaps.

It was an incredible trip.

And now, some more pictures!



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Home inspections, big backyards, and pen pals

This has been an exciting week! Monday was the home inspection at the new house. We were there for over 2 hours - the inspector was there for over 3 - and the boys were very patient throughout the whole thing. Everett and Paxton goofed around in the backyard, and rolled around on the carpet. Spencer was very interested in what the inspector had to say, and listened intently while he brought us around the house to show us his findings. With Spencer's memory, I'm sure that he knows just as much about the needed repairs as we do.

Along with the inspection, we took notes, made measurements, and starting planning our renovations. The boys decided where the swingset would go. We fantasized about grilling on the huge back patio.

With the inspection, appraisal, and financing all in place, now we wait... Wait, pack, and go back to life as we know it until it's time to close. We had a playdate yesterday at the splash park, and the boys just exhausted themselves playing in the water and the sand. This weekend we're heading to a barbeque at some friends' house. Paxton is good friends (and email penpals) with their son, and it's really sweet to see the relationship growing. Spencer has two penpals now too, through good old-fashioned snail mail, and it makes checking the mail every day even more exciting .

Happy Birthday Paxton

6 years ago today, my Pak-man was born. Every birthday, every year, I go over it all my mind: The birth, the baby, the first year. Paxton's birth was the one where everything went right. It was fast, REALLY fast. It was quiet and peaceful. Because of some complications, both Spencer and Everett's deliveries required about a zillion people in the room. But with Paxton, it was just us, the midwife and a nurse. He was the only one of the three that I got to hold immediately after birth. It was the only time that Mike got to cut the cord. It was like a movie birth.

As a baby, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and he still does. He cried a LOT in that first year, but he laughed a lot too. He was passionate and adventurous and funny and smart. He's still all of those things too, and so much more. A snapshot of Paxton at 6: He loves to tell jokes and plays games. He's a computer whiz. He loves his family and his friends and his fish. He loves math and science and learning new things. He loves to laugh. He likes riding his bike, running around till he's red in the face, and trying any kind of new sport. He has a huge heart, and shows it in a million ways.... from the way he surprises me with a big out-of-the-blue bear hug, to the time he used his own quarter to buy Everett a Barney doll from a yard sale, just because he knew he'd love it.

We love you Paxton!! To the moon and stars and back.

Why I love homeschooling

One of the reasons anyway...

Paxton wanted to write his thank-you notes for his birthday gifts today, so we sat down to do them. He really does them by himself, and my job is to answer questions about spelling and punctuation.

He was on his third card, and suddenly turned to me and said "Look! I think that's the best 'G' I've ever made!"

I get to be there.

Party time

Well thanks to Ally, Paxton's party had a rough start.... Wednesday I made the cake, only to have her snatch and eat it off the counter while it was cooling. Yesterday I made another, in between dealing with the blood and the vet and chaos that ensued when she sliced her tongue by licking a can.

By afternoon though things had settled down. The party went VERY well, and I think all the kids had a great time. Paxton was nervous at first - so nervous he didn't even eat any of his cool cake - but he warmed up in short order. He had a blast playing all the games, and cashing in all his tickets. He loved playing with his friends, and he got some really neat gifts. Spencer used his tokens sparingly, and was the only one who still had some left at the end of the night. He spent most of the party hanging out with his friends, and playing racing games. Everett loved all the little car rides, and fed his tokens to every one he found. We stayed for over 3 hours, and were happily stumbling out to the car when Everett got whacked in the head with the door. I went back in for some ice, and he fell asleep on the way home... holding the ice to his head.

Today we hunted for bugs with Paxton's new bug kit, played with his new army guys, and ate ourselves silly on leftover cake and candy. It's a happy happy Friday.

A few of my favorite pics :)


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A boy and his guitar

My parents were cleaning out their attic, in preparation of selling their home. One of their finds? My old guitar, a prized possession when I was in elementary school.

Spencer has been wanting to learn to play the guitar. My parents have been wanting to get rid of their old stuff. It was a perfect match. I nearly started crying when I saw how excited he was when the UPS driver pulled up.

He has barely set it down, picking out notes, strumming and humming and singing away. It needs a new string, but is in otherwise great condition for its age. Spencer is taking great care of it, carefully putting it in and out of the case every time he wants to use it. I'm so excited for him to learn how to play it, both because I just really enjoy the sound of a guitar, and because I know it'll give him a great sense of accomplishment to master it.

My baby's growing up.

Happiness

Having a ball

This weekend was filled with neat things, large and small. First, we heard about our house offer... but chances are, if you're reading this you already know all about that! We're all very excited to be buying a house, and I'm particularly excited about picking all the tile, cabinets, appliances, paint, etc. Fun stuff!

We also went to Walmart, where soon-to-be six year old Paxton picked his present: a spiffy new bike. He rode it off and on all afternoon. Last night, we tried out our anniversary present from Sandi and Mich.. an icecream maker ball. The icecream was delicious, but even more importantly, the boys had a blast rolling the ball around to make it.

And today, I made the lipbalm that I've been wanting to make for months. Paxton helped me fill the tins, Spencer helped cap them, and Everett helped by keeping Daddy busy. He reached a finger into the colorant I was using - bright red, no less - and proceeded to spread it all over his body. When they say a little bit goes a long way, they're not kidding.

I've uploaded some new pictures to Photobucket under August http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b48/thriceblessed/ and just in case you didn't notice, I have a fancy new blog template too, courtesy of Erunginung. :-)

Homemade pizza, and my son, the calculator

Spencer was in the mood to cook yesterday, so we made a trip to the grocery store and got some pizza fixings, some cookie ingredients, and the making of a graham cracker and fruit snack they saw on Zoom. We all made our own individual pizzas for lunch, even Everett. It's always fun to make pizzas, and they were GOOD, really good. We made the graham cracker snacks last night, and the cookies today.

Tonight we were sitting around the table talking about fixing up houses, and going over the potential budget for one particular house. We'd come up with $18,000, and Paxton - who's still not quite six - said, without missing a beat, "If it's $800 to fix the air conditioner that will only leave $17,200." He did not get his head for math from his mother, of this I am sure. But it's a skill he enjoys, and takes great pride in. I thoroughly love hearing what calculation he's going to come up with next.

Fall is coming

It has been a quick summer - a good summer - but we're looking forward to cooler days again. The boys' homeschool group is getting geared up, and they'll be having a "Not back to school party" in a few weeks, as well as lots of field trips. There were some field trips throughout the summer too, but we were too busy hibernating, watching tv, and playing to go to most of them. :)

Some of my favorite summer pics (and a few other random ones just because):


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What we're learning from Spongebob

Spencer has been watching tv with the captions on. I'm not really sure why (and have never gotten more of an answer than "because I like to") but if the tv is on, it's a pretty safe bet that the captions are on too. They read along, they laugh when there are mistakes, and they ask me questions about what they're seeing. I realized today that not only do the captions say WHAT people are saying, but also how it is being said. Spongebob said something "fondly", Patrick sounded "trance-like," someone else was "snide." We talked about what all those things meant and how the way you say something can change its meaning.

Learning is everywhere.

Reading

We went to library yesterday. I love our library, both because it's close and because it's huge yet inviting. The kids played in the play area for a good hour before we ventured out to actually look for some books. Their picks this time? Everett got the book "Bark George" because he liked the dog on the cover, a story about Maisy, and a book about flying on an airplane. Spencer got another stack of books about construction vehicles, and car mechanics; and Paxton loaded up on Judy Blumes, a Spongebob book and a book about Amelia Bedelia. I went looking for him this afternoon, and snapped the above picture when I found him.

Now that it's summer, I'm seeing all these ads for summer reading programs, and getting a jump on reading for school, etc etc etc. I'm glad that none of those things are a concern for us, and that our summer (and our reading habits) will seamlessly blend into the next season.

Weekend Projects

It never fails that several months after Christmas, one of the boys will find a gift that was put on a shelf and forgotten about. This time it was a book about battery science, complete with battery and wires and motors just waiting to be played with. Paxton and I made a battery operated robot bug on Friday, then Spencer and Mike built a motor and made a doodle pen. Cool! Yesterday, we had a lazy Saturday morning breakfast of pancakes and eggs (made almost exclusively by the kids) and then spent most of the day out and about. First up were trips to Target and Trader Joe's; then to a boat store, an auto-parts store, and Home Depot... all for supplies for Mike's truck-tweaking project. Something to do with the air intake. The boys were very patient throughout all the store hopping, and were particularly in awe of the boat shop, that had everything from boats and trailers to kneeboards and tubes and water-skis. When we got home, Mike brought his project into the kitchen table so he could be social while he worked on it. Everett was more than happy to help, and the older boys got a kick out of the test drive around the block once he was done.

Swimming, playdates, and scorpion parties

July is almost over, and we're getting ready to ease into another month. We seem to go from insanely busy to nearly a stand-still, but the past couple of weeks have been pleasantly in between. We've gone swimming more than once, which is an odd experience in 110+ heat - the water is like bath water. The boys are getting more and more confident in the water, and I'm enjoying watching them learn... Paxton by jumping and kicking and sputtering and trying again and again and again; and Spencer the same way he learned to ride a bike: slow and steady. Everett is loving the water too, and has discovered the fun of jumping off the edge into our waiting arms.

We went on a playdate last week, and had another yesterday. Sandi, Mitch and the kids came down and watched the boys while Mike and I went out on a (exceedingly rare) date to the movies. Spencer apparently suggested a surprise party for our return, and we came home to a house decorated with streamers, paper balloons, and my personal favorite: giant paper cut-outs of scorpions. At least we can laugh about it.

Other random kid-related news:

Everett is talking up a STORM, and there is nothing he won't repeat.
Paxton is about to turn 6, and is trying on a new attitude for size
Spencer is currently fascinated with physics, and spending a lot of time playing with a new protractor.

We're still searching for another flip house, since our last one fell through, and spent yet another afternoon driving around scoping out possibilities. We've had our moments of frustration, but won't let ourselves lose momentum.

Everett

I stayed up way too late last night, going through old pictures of Everett to make a montage. Spencer and I were both crying by the end... him because the old pictures made him miss New Hampshire, and me because, well because it's exhausting to visit all of those feelings of love and wonder and heartbreak and happiness and pride all in one sitting. And set to music, no less. I love my boys so much. Here it is if you want to take a look.


Everett Michael