And so it begins

Joseph, our baby, is 9 months old. He is a commando crawler. He goes so fast that he looks like he is swimming across the carpet. We have had to run to catch him before he gets to the bathroom or the older boys' bedroom with all the Legos and rubber bands. It is a scary thought of what things will be like when he actually does start running.

This week, he has started pulling up on the furniture. And so begins the falling backwards and sideways because they how to get up but it takes more than a few hits to the noggin before they figure out a better way to get down. We learned after the first two boys that coffee tables are just not worth all the boo-boos.

And so begins the prayers that none of the falls cause any damage. It's not easy to move easily from the protect-the-head-at-all-costs infant stage to the rough-and-tumble toddler stage. And a few tears will be shed because they grow way too fast.

I think this boy needs lots of older siblings. He is non-stop movement. He has been ever since in the womb. He'll need children to play with and use up all that energy. We went to the free movie at the theatre. Joseph bounced up and down on my lap the whole movie. My arms were sore. Surely that counts as weight training, right?

When life gives you lemons.....

You make lemonade.

When life gives you a German Chocolate Cake terribly stuck in a bundt pan, you make German Chocolate Cake Crumble!

I made my husband a cake for Father's Day. I knew I should have greased and floured the pan but instead took a chance that the recipe was right and I could just spray a nonstick bundt pan. I am busy and always desperate for shortcuts. Unfortunately, this one didn't work. I realized it was stuck. I used a spatula to loosen the edges. Then a third of it fell out leaving the rest still stuck.

The baby was fussing with Daddy so I needed to get finished quickly. I grabbed a 9x13 pan and dumped it all in. I broke it up a bit with the spatula so that it fit in like a sheet cake. I poured the frosting over it. You would never know by looking at it what a mess it really was.

It was delicious. I got several compliments. And it was quick. I was able to get to a baby fighting sleep much quicker. Who knows? I might let it stick on purpose next time. Here's what's left of it.

Lowe's Build and Grow workshops

I have seen the announcements at Lowe's for these workshops. We never seem to be in town when they happened. And honestly, I didn't really know how cool they were. A few months ago, we started going to them and the kids love them.

One month, we made a recycling truck. Another, we made a flower truck for Mother's Day. This month they made Toothless from How to Train a Dragon. I love How to Train a Dragon. One of the greatest children's movies, hands down! We're going to have plenty of movies to see this summer with the free movies in the morning at the local theatre. And it would make so much more sense to wait til it's out at Redbox. But I'm tempted to go see How to Train a Dragon 2.

They are having a lot of cool projects this summer from How to Train a Dragon, Turbo and Monsters vs Aliens.

I've been tempted to go to the Home Depot workshops but for some reason or another, it never seems to work out. And the disadvantage to Home Depot is that only the two older boys will be able to do their project. I've been super impressed with the staff at Lowe's. They have been super helpful in making sure all four are able to complete their project. After the first workshop, I found a store manager to give a compliment for making the project so fun for all of them.

I ended up sewing the patches on and then ironing. Not sure if I am not ironing long enough or my kids are just too rough on them but we lost one patch. If you sew patches, make sure you have a thimble to push the needle through and a sticker (like from the end of the spool of thread) to pull it when the thimble can't quite it through.

And lesson learned......Never where white shoes to a home improvement store.

Happy Father's Day

In April 2000, I watched a young man play catch with a boy. He was patient and encouraging. I knew he would make a great father some day. When his roommate suggested giving my phone number to him, I wholeheartedly agreed. In May 2000, we had our first date. Exactly a year later, we married. And 14 years later, we have five children.

I am so grateful for my husband. He invest so much time and energy into our family. He has a lot of fun with the children. And he doesn't shy away from the not so fun activities that come with nasty diapers and yucky illnesses. Happy Father's Day! You are the best!

This Father's Day is a little bittersweet. I no longer have my father or step-father. I am grateful for my father-in-law and for the awesome man he raised.  And I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and the family within the Body of Christ. Those we have lost aren't gone forever. We pray for God's mercy that we have only a temporary separation. Prayers for the many who are separated by miles or death from their fathers this Sunday.

Green belts and temper tantrums

 The boys now have their green belts and can begin training for sparring. James is super excited since green is his favorite color. David will probably be the same when they move into the blue belts. They get their gear bags today.

I had to stay at home from the belt ceremony with a couple of still sick kiddos. Really hoping that was the last of it. I am getting some things more organized which is good. But really I am sick of this house! Ready to be back to our normal crazy schedule.

Katie Rose and John Micah go back and forth with their moods. One minute, they are playing happily together. The next, they are at each other's throats. They were fighting over a mylar balloon that had lost its string. James came up with a clever solution and added a piece of yarn and a paracord to the balloon. They were long so both could take the balloon in opposite directions and hold onto the balloon without being in each other's face.

Yesterday, I was organizing some school and arts & crafts supplies. I am making the entertainment center into an activity center. Not long ago, I found a huge disc organizer that looks like a photo album. I think it holds like 250 or so discs. I was able to put all our DVD's, most of our CD's and even our computer discs all in one spot with space to spare. Most awesome thing ever! In the process, that left a lot of space empty in our entertainment center. So I am organizing it to hold activity books with dry erase markers, phonics books and flash cards.

I have two slightly bigger than a shoe box plastic totes that I used for worksheets and coloring books. I stacked them on top of each other and set beside the entertainment center. Little did I know that it automatically became the favorite seat in the house. John Micah sat on it. When he got up, Katie Rose swooped in with her pillow, blanket and kitty telling John Micah to go away. He became distressed. A screaming match ensued. Nevermind that there are many other much more comfortable seating areas all over the house.

I guess all kids have some ridiculous arguments. But it's these nonsense things that can drive you a little crazy. Knock-down drag-out temper tantrums over things that are intended to prevent disappointment or keep them safe, like giving a new piece of gum instead of allowing them to put the piece that dropped in the mulch back into their mouth or making them stay in the van til everyone is strapped in the stroller when you are parked near a busy road. I guess it's a reminder to teach them that in life, you won't always be praised for doing the right thing. You may even be ridiculed for it. But it's important to do it anyway.

Pizza party

After spending several weeks without going to a restaurant in order to save up for gear bags for the older boys' taekwondo lessons, we treated ourselves to lunch out. We had intended on going to Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe. They have a location near the Birmingham Zoo that we had visited before. As we were walking to the Cafe, we passed Bob's Victory Grille. We changed our minds and decided Americana sounded better. 

The staff were very attentive. They seemed intent on making this our favorite restaurant. They fried up some dough and covered it with cinnamon and caramel for a dessert to share. No charge! The little ones had coloring pages with a little container of fruit loops cereal or something similar. Several people came by to see if we needed anything.

The most memorable part was the older boys getting to play with dough at the counter. They played and played. Their food came. They wolfed it down. Then went back to playing with their dough. Once they were done, a staff member baked their dough and then covered it with olive oil and Parmesan (or something similar) cheese. The boys were tickled and exclaimed that this was the best restaurant ever. 

Now we need to try to get some swim lessons this year so we need to eat at home as much as possible. Last night, I decided to make pizza. I converted a recipe to make three crusts. I made two for the little ones, my husband and I. I divided the third and let the boys make their own. The rising time of the dough allowed us to gather all the ingredients to let them customize it to their tastes. 

James said, "I'm so excited I could burst!"

With this week that we have had with illness and not being able to get out to do anything fun, it was a great activity to counteract the blahs. 

 

What we are reading

 Homer the Library Cat is a cute little book for my daughter who loves all things cat. We've read it several times since checking it out last week from our library. She is four and we've also begun Hooked On Phonics. Listening to the sounds are also helpful for her two year old brother who has trouble repeating some sounds. Because this is something special for Katie Rose to do, John Micah doesn't want to miss out and is following the audio of the letters and phonics. Because John Micah is trying to do her thing, Katie Rose is motivated to focus on it. Competition has it's benefits.

We love Eric Carle! His books are always so fun and creative. The Greedy Python has entertained all the children from the oldest (10 yrs old) down to the youngest (9 mo old).

Last week we were able to see Tommy John at our local library's summer reading program. The children loved it! We had to leave a few minutes before the end for ENT checkups and they hated having to leave. This week we have a tummy bug plaguing our house so we missed the reading program this week as well as VBS and other things. Hoping we get back on track next week and don't miss any more fun programs. 

The older boys have a goal of twenty books read by the end of summer. I'm trying to get them interested in some sort of youth fiction. They tend to gravitate towards non-fiction and smaller books. Week before last, I tried some books from the How to Train Your Dragon series. They loved the book with all the dragons but they wouldn't read the book, How to Twist a Dragon Tale. May have to add a pizza buffet reward if they finish a chapter book in an interesting series. I'm not above bribing my kids to get them motivated. 

Their school also gave links to 50 free ebooks. The disadvantage to it is that it is an audio recording as well. It entertains them but not so sure it is really improving their reading when the audio is doing the work for them. But regardless, we have a reading-filled summer.