Dino-tails

I took time off in October to rest and mourn but couldn't sit still, so I decided to make dino-tails for the kids to wear trick or treating.  They were a hit with a few people and I ended up selling over a dozen more and I was happy for the project to keep me busy.

Trick or Treating

Happy Halloween

Weekly Planning Meeting

Sometime in the last year or so Will and I started having a weekly planning session on Sunday evenings.  We go day by day and discuss the regular things that happen as well as any other special things planned.  These meetings have been so helpful and alleviate stress caused by frantic realizations that we're double-booked.  It's also necessary now that there are five people and generally, four different schedules to accommodate.

About a year ago, we added a new component to our weekly planning.  We have assigned a cleaning chore to each day of the week.  For example, on Mondays the bathrooms are cleaned and on Wednesdays I don't clean anything because that's grocery day and that's enough for one day.

We've started something new this week, thanks to another suggestion from Ellen and her time with another mom who has several kids and stays organized.  She and her husband also have a weekly planning time but during that time they discuss what particular thing they'll focus on with each child...and possibly themselves.  So, this week the "thing" we're working on is making sure that the kitchen is clean before bed.

Hmm.  Will went to bed an hour ago and I'm about to fall in bed myself.  And, well...the kitchen isn't clean.
How about we start tomorrow.

-----

Will had to leave soon after dinner on Tuesday and I was really quite exhausted but with Adriaan's help we managed to get the kitchen looking acceptable.

Last night, I cleaned up while we were waiting for Will to put the finishing touches on dinner.  We ate later than usual because Michele joined us after taking Ado to soccer practice.  The twins were already in bed asleep and dinner was peaceful, so nice.  There wasn't much to do after dinner but rinse plates, put them in the dishwasher and start it up.  There really is a secret here...to clean as you cook.  Or, to have dinner ready and waiting while you clean up and then serve the food.  We lack the self discipline and motivation to clean a messy kitchen after our bellies are full and happy.  I would be more motivated to clean if I knew that as soon as it was done, I could eat!

Uh, today is Friday and I think we've done a pretty good job this week.  It seems like one of us has to be in charge of getting the kids ready for bed and the other can clean the kitchen.  The days of team work (as in doing things together) seem to be on hold.  I'm much faster at kitchen cleaning so it tends to be me in the the kitchen and Will with the kids.

10.24.11 -- I did well this week at...

Monday:  This morning was Mom's Club at Redeemer Prez.  We discussed Dobson's book "Bringing Up Girls."  The children got to play with friends.
Adriaan came with me to Hobby Lobby to purchase fabric and supplies to fill an order for Dino-Tails!  I'm so looking forward to this little job I have for the next few weeks.  Perhaps another batch of orders will come in and keep me busy until Christmas.  We've been discussing home school expenses and could use a source of income to cover the curriculum fees.


Tuesday:  The twins had their 2 year well check!  Eden is 20th in weight, 25th in height.  Sebastian is 50th in height and 75th in weight.  He jumped from the 50th to 75th in weight which caused concern for the doctor.  Seb also has a large belly that gets hard from time to time and he has a smaller appetite than Eden.  So, we had to go for an ultrasound just to make sure all was well.
After the ultrasound Seb and I had our first Sebbie-Mama date at starbucks.  He drank milk and ate graham crackers and I had a chai tea latte.  We had a nice time together, just the two of us.  He was absorbed in his excitement over cars, trucks, buses and planes all visible from our outside table near an intersection.  We didn't have much of a conversation.  He was mostly yelling, "hi bus!" and "bye bye bus!"  The same comments were made loudly toward cars, trucks and planes.
We went out to eat to celebrate selling the Explorer.

Wednesday:  My desire was to combine something I needed to do, grocery shopping, with something that would be fun for the twins, playing at a park.  So, we went to central market.  After buying our groceries we spent 30ish minutes on the play ground.  I talked with another mom who I've seen at different story times and we realized that she lives on our block and has a little girl Adriaan's age.  In fact, her daughter, Nora, goes to school with Jette (our over the fence neighbor).  Nora also has a little brother who is 19 months old.
I'm thrilled to find another family in the hood with kids the same ages as ours!
I got to spend a good bit of time in the garden and the twins helped.  We were spreading the composted horse manure around the newly dug beds to prepare for sheet mulching.  I used a large shovel and wheel barrow but even with their tiny shovel and easter egg they were able to move a bit of compost here and there!

Thursday:  Rough day on the trying to be a good mom front.  The babies spent a good amount of time in the toy room.  Another wave of grief hit me and I didn't want to be anyone's mama.  At the end of the day, everyone was alive, had been fed and were kept clean.

Friday:  So, to attempt to make up for a dismal failure yesterday I got out of the house with the babies.  After breakfast, I started dinner in the crock pot and we got out of the house.  We went to the arboretum to play on the cows and then met friends at the North Village story time.  It was our first time at that story time and probably my favorite.  The librarian does a great job, it's energetic and not too crowded.

Native Wild Flower Meadow

I attended a free class at the Natural Gardener this past weekend and learned a good bit about how to create a wild flower meadow.  We don't have gobs of open land needing to be cultivated, but a small space in the back yard bursting with color each Spring would be glorious!  In my day dreams, we have an amazing bluebonnet patch and can take pictures of our kids in our own yard instead of finding some safe place near a highway.  It really is an odd tradition to photograph our children in weeds, but bluebonnets are incredible!

10.17.11 -- I did well this week at...

Ellen told me about what she learned from the Redeemer Mommy Time this week (I missed it because of the accident).  The focus of the discussion was "Mommy Guilt" and one take-away from the time was to take a minute at the end of each day to recall what you did well/right.  I often feel constantly busy but as if I'm accomplishing nothing and I can easily feel like I'm not doing enough.  I can feel that even the little I manage to accomplish isn't done well enough.  So, I thought I'd give this idea a test run to see how it could be a source of encouragement.

Monday:  I helped Adriaan start a Quiet Time Journal now that he's interested and willing to write and draw pictures.  We read a page in a children's bible and pick out one sentence for him to copy in his journal.  Sometimes he'll draw a picture too.  He's been asking for homework and to do home school even though he goes to City School.
After dinner, we had a pine cone painting party.  The cones came from Houston and after painting them I made a festive fall swag for the front door.  Every time that Seb sees it, he says his new favorite word "Wow!"

Tuesday:  We had play time with fun friends, Heidi and Tirzah.  First we played in her backyard in the little houses and on the swing set.  Then, we went to hobby lobby and to the library.  There was no story time so we had our own time in the children's literature section.  They have a great selection of board books and the babies were thrilled at not having to share my lap.  Eden carried a book over to Heidi and just sat on her lap, claiming the spot.
Before dinner we spent an hour outside as a family, playing together and working.  I finally fertilized the tomato and pepper plants with Flower Power and Will hung the chicken's scratch canister.  Will also took the training wheels off of Adriaan's bike and thanks to the balance bike Ado took his first bike ride on two wheels!  Later, Ado told me "I might get up before 7:00 tomorrow morning to practice on my bike!"

Wednesday:  I got the babies involved in helping load the dishwasher after breakfast.  They enjoyed getting to place silverware and bowls in the washer.  I would assign groups of silverware or individual bowls so they would be less likely to compete over an opportunity to place something.  Then, I stopped what I was doing and read books with them after Seb patted me on the leg and asked "books, books?"
I brought the little table and chairs into the kitchen to give the babies a place to sit to eat/drink and be near me while I'm working on cooking/cleaning.
Before bed, I got out a picnic mat and the lacing toys and played with the kids.  The rule is that the special toy isn't allowed off of the mat.  I'm hoping that this will limit mess and loss of toys.  I've had homeschooling on the brain and I'm eager to home school again next year.  I think a little special toy on the picnic mat training will be very helpful next year.

Thursday:  It was a low energy day, but I finally started another "school" book with the babies.  We're following the suggested reading list in Before Five In A Row (BFIAR).  We'll repeat it again next year but spend more time on the academic disciplines as we read each book.  For now, it's just simply reading the same book each day for a week or two.  This week our book is "The Big Red Barn" and the library happened to have two copies!  They enjoy pointing out animals and saying the sounds each one makes.
In the late afternoon we all went over the fence to play and hang out with Suzy, Jette and Zoe.

Friday:  Today we all went to the pumpkin patch in Elgin.  We met friends there (3 moms and 8 children), quite the gaggle.  Swinging seemed to be the favorite activity but the hayride, crazy maze and duck races were a lot of fun as well.  I think I may have managed to snap a few "good" pictures.  The secret, I've learned, is not trying to get a nice picture of all three.  Get good ones of each individually - that's the best way!

Saturday:  So, we started out rough when someone knocked on my door at 6:45am.  We're not sure *who* it was since Adriaan has no recollection of knocking.  Since it woke me up, I'm pretty sure that I wasn't dreaming.  I was dreaming one of those dreams that I didn't want to end.  In the dream I was holding someone I love so very much and whom I never had a chance to meet.  I saw big blue eyes and light brown hair, darker than the rest of the kids.  I'm not sure if I was looking at a boy or a girl but the eye shape and big cheeks were familiar, they looked just like the other three.  It was heartbreaking and I stayed in bed for a while just to settle all the emotion.
Will arranged for people to care for the children so that I could attend a class on Wildflower Meadows at the Natural Gardener.  It sounded like Adriaan had a great time with Michele at his soccer game.  He even managed to sweet-talk her into a trip to McD's!  The babies got to play at the Rees' and when I arrived to pick them up Seb was in the swing and super happy.  He was bummed to leave and cried the whole way home.  Eden kept trying to fall asleep on the drive home so I'm assuming she had a great time running around!
Adriaan played with Jette all afternoon.  They're such great friends.
After the babies woke from their nap we all went over the fence and watched spiderman cartoons, played on the drum set and ran around the back yard!
Today was a good day for the kids because they got to spend time with friends and I was able to do something I enjoy, the class on wildflowers, which was refreshing.

Sunday:  Happy Birthday Sebastin!  Happy Birthday Eden!
We celebrated with a picnic dinner at Mueller Lake Park.  After an hour of playing on the play ground we had dinner, juice boxes (a very special treat) and chocolate cake!!!  Adriaan enjoyed the open spaces to ride his bike.

The Swing Set

Will processed though recent events by getting outside and working with his hands...

He Makes No Mistakes

 

He Makes No Mistakes!

My Father’s way may twist and turn,
my heart may throb and ache.
But in my soul I’m glad I know,
that He makes no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
my hopes may fade away,
but still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,
for He does know the way.

Though night be dark and it may seem
that day will never break;
I’ll pin my faith, my all on Him,
for He makes no mistake.

There is so much I cannot see,
my eyesight’s far too dim
but come what may, I’ll simply trust
and leave it all to Him.

For by and by the fog will lift
and all things plain He’ll make.
Through all the way, though dark to me,
He made not one mistake.

A.M. Overton (1932)

A retired pastor, who lost his beloved wife,
wrote this incredible poem during her funeral service.