A few pictures the kids took

I keep finding these silly pictures on my camera!  I can't bear to delete them, though. Some of them are actually pretty good!  So here they are:

   Sarajoy loves to play with wash cloths.  She thinks it is so funny to run in the laundry room and steal something from a basket and run off with it!  I keep finding random towels, socks, and clean underwear lying around my house.

 Simon is on a Buzz Lightyear kick! 6-26-10

 Nathan took this picture of Honey the day we moved out of our Spanish Fork house.

 9-2-10

I don't know what kind of disease you would call this.  Gout, maybe.  

We have this box of beans that the kids play with like sand.  I love how the big kids always have fun with it even though I get it out for the toddlers.

 She's still learning not to eat the beans.

 Brandon is great at seeing the funny side of life!

 I know.   He's Awesome!

Locks of Love

I have LOVED for my girls to have long, beautiful hair for me to play with.  It can get to be a lot of work, so I thought it the perfect solution when Ruby decided she wanted short hair.  Then I only had one girl to do fancy hairdos for.  Then Daisy started talking about a haircut since her hair can be so hard to brush.  I sort of ignored her until I discovered that she had cut quite a chunk from her hair one day when trying to remove an elastic.  I figured I could hide it and let it grow out, but I decided to ask her if she was really serious about wanting short hair.  She was so excited when I showed her the Locks of Love website.  She thought it was great that her pretty long hair could help someone else.  It proved to be a great thing since we had such a busy summer.  I think she looks just darling!

I am missing their lovely long hair, though.  Ruby says she wants to grow hers out, and I am glad!

June 25, 2010

Before...and After!

 I don't know what she had on her face, but I love the way this picture shows off her haircut.  Ruby took it.

 Amazing how beautiful they can be when they're grumpy!

Big Girl!

Sarajoy is my first baby to be a climber.  I consider myself lucky for that!  So far she hasn't done anything too dangerous, and she seems to have a really good sense of balance when she's on things.  Its pretty surprising to find a less-than-one-year-old up at the counter, though!

Week of June 20, 2010

Sometimes

Sometimes we do all of the things we've planned for a school day.

Sometimes my kitchen looks absolutely stunningly clean.

Sometimes our family has a really healthy diet.

Sometimes my kids look absolutely adorable, clean, cute hair, matching outfits, the whole works.

Sometimes the laundry is all clean, folded and put away before the next laundry day.

Sometimes I can open my home to friends on a regular basis.

Sometimes I get enough sleep.

Sometimes I take a shower...or fix my hair...or put on nice clothes.

Sometimes I go to the temple regularly.

Sometimes I can read to and snuggle my babies.

Sometimes I sing my kids to sleep.

Sometimes I make side dishes.

Sometimes I dust.

Sometimes I read something for my own self improvement.

Sometimes I read something just for fun.

Sometimes I read the Ensign cover to cover before the next issue comes.

Sometimes I pick and preserve bushels of fruit.

Sometimes I live within the budget.

Sometimes I do something special to show my husband how much I appreciate him.

Sometimes I keep in touch with old friends.

Sometimes I blog or scrapbook to preserve the wonderful little life I live.

Sometimes I write Thank You cards.

Sometimes I remember to take pictures and home videos.

Sometimes I do visiting teaching.

Sometimes I do something creative or crazy or fun on the spur of the moment.

Sometimes I shop around or use coupons to get a good deal.

Sometimes I exercise daily.

Sometimes I speak kindly and lovingly to my children and husband.

Sometimes our family scripture times and home evenings are truly inspirational.

Sometimes I rotate my kids' clothing right when the seasons change.

Sometimes I play with my children.

Sometimes I grow a beautiful garden.

Sometimes I get to watch my son's soccer games.

I think I should be doing all of these things regularly, if not every day or every time.
But I'm not.

I keep thinking if I study and plan and make charts enough, I will find the perfect schedule that makes just enough time to do each thing really well.

I don't think it is possible.  I don't think it will work. 

Even if it were possible, it would not have room for:
random acts of kindness,
wiping a nose dozens of times in a day,
cleaning up vomit or other nasty things,
staying up all night with a fussy baby,
an unexpected phone call from a friend,
scraped knees,
lost shoes,
yard sales,
clothes that don't fit,
changing nap schedules,
googling something- like the difference between a Linden and Catalpa tree,
finding a good deal on birthday and Christmas presents,
broken appliances,
headaches,
pets, (even goldfish)
helping a child through a tough day or experience,
misspelled words,
science experiments,
holidays,
and all of the other wonderful things that sometimes feel like they're getting in the way.

So why do I plan, if I know my plan is bound to fail?
We're supposed to have houses of order, right?
And we're supposed to slow down and simplify, right?
So how do I choose which things to do each day?
How do I accept that each day will look a little different from the one before and the one after?

I pray.
And pray.
And pray.

I still make a plan, just for guidance.

I try to listen.

I accept that a shower might be pointless since I will be instantly covered with baby's runny nose the minute I finish.  And then I'll sand the deck.
I accept that the kids don't need to look spotless and made up today if we're just going to be home.
I let the rest of my list go when I realize something spontaneous is happening that is much better than what I planned.
I move forward even though a rough night with a sick baby has once again foibled my plans to get a head start on the day. 
I bottle peaches and try not to wonder if I should be correcting a math lesson instead.
I cuddle and read to my toddler while the disaster in the kitchen waits.
I make arrangements regarding a used play kitchen I purchased online while my kids play hide and seek and devotional gets put off for another few minutes.

I am grateful for the Holy Ghost.

I find that every minute, I am forced to make a choice about how I spend my time.  It is not always a clear and logical choice, or even a matter of right and wrong.
It is often a matter of what is most important RIGHT NOW.

I have been experimenting with trying to live more by the Spirit for the last few days.
I have not "accomplished" the things I had hoped to do each day.
It has been interesting to let the days unfold this way, and it feels less frantic.
More peaceful.
More loving.

I think it is okay.

If I live by the Spirit always, it will be okay to keep doing all of those good things sometimes.

....

Tea for Two

I have been blessed to have my children come in pairs by gender twice.  It has been lovely.  They don't always get along, but they are truly each others best friends. 

I hope it will be the same for Simon and Sarajoy.  I know if I reach back into the depths of my memory, I can remember a time when Nathan and Brandon fought quite a bit.  And Ruby and Daisy used to constantly fight over me, which is incredibly exhausting. 

So it is probably more related to age than gender, but either way it is a difficult phase. 

Simon is an intense person.  He takes offense VERY easily.  He doesn't like to share.  He needs a lot of personal space.  (He is also incredibly adorable, loving, and fun.) He loves to tease his older sister, but he certainly can't take it from his younger sister. 

Sarajoy is silent, but smart.  She knows exactly what is going on around her.  I don't know her exact motivation for tormenting Simon.  She is, after all, only 15 months old.  But she knows his buttons.  They too like to fight over me, but it doesn't stop at that. 

One day, she was toddling around when she noticed Simon's sippy cup on the table.  She walked over, reached up, grabbed it, and walked over to the stairs to sit down for a drink.  Simon was busy with fridge magnets, so he didn't see any of it.  After a moment Sarajoy walked over to Simon, got his attention, "eh....eh...eh...", and held up his cup.  Then she ran away. 

Really?  Did my baby just do that?

This one is even better:
Simon has been enjoying a fairy book of Ruby's that has little things to find on each page.  One of them is a cute little teapot.  One day, Simon "took" this little teapot from the page, and was carrying it around.  It was imaginary.  Invisible.  He brought it over to show me, and I pretended along with him.  He set it down on a bucket in the kitchen.  Sarajoy walked over and grabbed it.  There was quite a ruckus in the kitchen for several minutes until Ruby saved the day by taking the teapot from Sarajoy and giving it back to Simon. 

Maybe I was the only one who couldn't see the teapot. 

I'm pretty sure this is the first time this mom has had to break up a fight over an imaginary toy. 

I'm getting some great ideas for inexpensive Christmas Presents...

..

School week September 20-25

History:  Picked grapes and made grape jam.  Grapes are mentioned in Leif the Lucky and Columbus.  We also canned and froze peaches.  We read some more chapters of History of Us discussing different nations and cultures of American Indians.   Also making our way through Courage of Sarah Noble, Sign of the Beaver, and Guests with Ruby, Nathan, and Brandon respectively.
We had a wonderful time making Indian clothing from paper bags.  We made leather-like vests and decorated them.  We made up Indian names for ourselves and put them on headbands.  Brandon went the extra mile and made his vest with sleeves and also made himself a loin cloth!  Each of the kids (Including Sarajoy :) ) Made little teepees.
Mom went to a Mom's night out to learn all about washing, carding, and spinning fleece.  Very fun!

Science: We had a really great time talking about friction.  We put a hook screw into a large block of wood.  We used our spring scales to drag it across different surfaces to measure the friction.  We tested our strength on a Mason Jar.  I could never fasten it tight enough that Brandon needed the jar gripper.  We tried pushing the stroller around with the wheels locked.  We had a wonderful time finding out what life would be without friction by trying to walk on a floor covered with shaving cream!

Math:  Nathan and Brandon got through lesson 10 and each took a test.  Brandon got 100%.  Nathan is trying very hard to get an A.  He got a 75%, but was frustrated that two of the questions on the test were things not covered in his lesson.  We worked through all of the problems he missed.  This is a good experience for him!

It's That Time of Year

When harvest time comes bearing down upon my neat little schedule that I've worked so hard to implement. 

It happens every year. 

Why do I think I can pick and preserve fruit AND do our regular routine that already takes up more time than we have?

Maybe we should start school in August so we can just plan on taking a harvest break. 

Or maybe I should remember that harvest time provides lots of learning opportunities and lots of memories.

We picked grapes at dusk for Family Home evening on Monday.  It must have been the right time of day because it is the first time we've picked grapes and nobody has complained.

Today, I read aloud to my older 3 kids while they skinned grapes for jam.  We'd take turns reading and skinning and straining and changing diapers.

And eating Fruit Loops. 
I seldom buy them, but they were on a great sale, and I knew the kids would enjoy them as a treat.  They made a lovely emergency lunch in my steamy, sticky, complete disaster of a kitchen.

The kids stuck it out through the first batch, and helped a little with batches 2 and 3, but they were tired of the kitchen.  They were playing so nicely together and keeping the little ones out of my way.  Lots of love and learning going on there, so I let them be. 

Then I was alone.  And something was missing.  The house was quiet.  Too quiet. I looked for what I needed, but couldn't find it.  So I just kept working until I could stand on my feet no longer. 
I took a break when Dallin got home to put my feet up for awhile and read. 

Dinner was over, scripture time through, kids in bed.  I still had a batch of fruit leather to make and a HUGE mess to clean up.  I was so happy to find what I needed before I had to start the next phase of my project. 

There is something about this time of year that makes me NEED Little Women.
I don't remember when I first chose to listen to this book while I processed fruit, but it was a perfect match.  Now, I discovered that I really long for it.  Working alone this afternoon, I could almost hear the lovely story in my mind.  The library copy was out.  I found a free download, but it was the wrong voice.  I listened to several samples, and realized that I not only need the story, I need Barbara Caruso's voice. 

Then I found it!  For $10 I could download it from Amazon.  I figure that if I'm going to listen to it every fall, it will be a good investment.  In minutes, I had it downloaded and playing on my computer.

Ahhhhhh, that's better.
I quietly set to work, welcoming the old friends and stories for our yearly reunion.  I laughed out loud at Jo's antics.  I warmed at Marmee's tenderness and wisdom.  I marveled at the lovely strength of the March family, and hoped again that this year we could become a little more like them. 

And I didn't even get that far into the book. 

I better go find some more fruit!
...