Golf Lessons

Check out his grip!

Isaac got a few golf lessons from his Uncle David after a foiled attempt at swimming in his pool. It started thundering just ten minutes after the kids got in the pool. The water was a little cold for the adults anyway.

Messy

Messy= a blue lolipop!

And messier...

and messier..

and the messiest!

The kids were being supervised by their aunt and uncle, and look what happened! They had a great time getting muddy, but I am having a heck of a time getting the mud out of Isaac's cover-up.

Biggest Birthday Bash Ever!

We had a great turnout for Genna's party at my parent's house. In fact, the house was packed to the gills. Genevieve is so funny. She asked for this unicorn party at Mimi and Papa Boat's house and then told us that she wanted it to be a surprise. So anytime she would bring it up or people would talk about it. She would remind us that it's a surprise and ask us to hold on a minute while she forgot about it. Precious, precious girl!

So, this is the cake that she liked the best on the internet. She also asked for the unicorn to have a rainbow colored mane. So I came up with this...

She was dressed to the nines as she prefers. She told me multiple times throughout the party that it was the best party ever!

I didn't get many pictures from the party because I was busy visiting with family and friends that I have not seen in quite a while and hosting. We had tons of food- thanks to my mom, dad, and sister. All I did was the cake!

Opening presents was an event, to say the least, with 45 guests! She was sweet as pie, thanking everyone with hugs. Hannah kept everything organized for me while I wrote down what she got and from whom. When Genna opened a Rapunzel tower she turned to Hannah, put both hands on her face, and said, "Don't worry, Hannah, I'll share it with you." That was the best moment of the party for me. She is beautiful, inside and out!

This is Genna with her cousin, Jodi, who is the same age, but apparently quite a bit taller.

Super fun! I am glad the kids get to have family parties every now and then since that is something they miss out on living so far away from everyone.

Airplane Tricks

I guess you could say we are seasoned travelers. We have flown anywhere from one to four times a year since moving away from our home state. Many of those flights have been with just me and the kids because Brian was working at home or in another country. Several of those flights by myself have been overseas and in length of 11 hours or so. I have also traveled with a variety of ages of children. The most challenging would be an infant that can't walk only because getting on and off the plane carrying all your stuff is a little more difficult then. On the other hand, the babies always sleep on the plane at least a little which makes the actual flight easier than with older kids. With older kids, as I would consider all mine now at 6, 5, and 2 1/2 years of age, getting on the plane becomes easier because at least they can walk, and sometimes you can even get them to carry something for you. However, it is much less likely that they will sleep so I do not get any real breaks during the actual flight.

We just arrived in Texas (sans husband) on Wednesday, and this flight was a breeze. Getting through security was so much easier now that they can all deal with their own stuff and shoes. That used to be the worst part. When I have a baby that I can't put down and have to collapse a stroller and watch other children so they don't wander off, it can get a little tricky. We still hold up the line a bit, but who cares? We had one stop without a plane change (which is wonderful because rushing to catch a connecting flight is stressful) and were on the plane a total of 5 hours. I packed each child a little rolling suitcase full of activities to occupy them during the flight and a backpack for me with back-up activities, snacks, and two empty water bottles. We are now too big of a family to fit on one side of the aisle so we split up, 2 and 2. Hannah and Genna sat across the aisle from me, and Isaac sat next to me.

I was amazed that I never had to bust out my backpack of back-up activities or even most of my snacks. In the girls' bags, I always put a new coloring book or two since that will entertain them for a long time. (Seriously, they colored for about 6 hours of one of our overseas flights! Girls are great that way!) I also give them an activity book each and a blank notebook for drawing. They each pick out a small stuffed animal or two to take and miniature dolls. Gum, stickers, crayons, lacing cards, and books they can read themselves were also in their bags.

Isaac's bag had trains, cars, and dinosaurs. With the blank paper in my bag, I drew him a town for his cars with roads and destinations of his choice, like parks, swimming pools, and houses. He also had a Thomas water painting kit that we didn't even use. I guess we'll use it on the plane ride back. He also got two new coloring books, some books for me to read to him, and some stickers.

My backpack had an erasable crayon activity, a folder of paper dolls, a folder of home-made sticker activities, an old CD player with head phones, a book of stories and song CDs, and my Zune with kid music installed. I just remembered that Isaac did use the Zune once because he thought the "head bones" (AKA head phones) would help his ears feel better. (One of his ear tubes is clogged, and I guess this caused some pain for him this time.) So Sandra Boynton's Blue Moo soothed his ears until they made us turn it off for the official decent.

One way I make the things I pack stretch is to not let them get out anything but a stuffed animal and gum during the first take off. When the seatbelt sign goes off, they are allowed to open their bags and pick an activity to do. This rule makes them come up with something creative to do or alows them time to chill out and possibly fall asleep during take off. Once that bag is opened, sleep chances for older kids significantly decrease. Hannah actually did fall asleep during take off and Genna tried but couldn't get comfortable. Isaac looked out the window for a while. He kept asking me why we were tilting and if we were going to turn upside down.

Once the seatbelt light goes off, the girls always pick coloring first. In fact, they colored, drew pictures, and read for the first couple hours. The last two hours, they were reading and doing their activity books. Isaac and I read books, colored, played cars on the paper town I made, and took many trips to the bathroom. He fell alseep after a snack and then was woken up by his ears hurting and that's when we turned on the Zune.

I still can't believe we killed that much time without using the really cool activities I brought. Although it certainly isn't a relaxing thing to do, flying with kids doesn't have to be stressful or miserable. I do recall feeling with each impending birth that I wouldn't be able to fly alone anymore, but it was always fine. This time I am not worried about flying alone when Speck joins the real world, but travel is getting more expensive the closer we get to filling up our pew.

More Gardening: the kids plant vegetables

We finally decided our seedlings were ready for planting. Hannah and Genna planted a tomato and a cucumber plant. Isaac planted two more cucumber plants. Daddy will take care of them while we are in Texas and then they will be helping take care of their plants when we return. I also planted their potato plant that we grew for and experiment in the Lowe's bucket with the bottom cut out. I planted it about a month ago, and it is doing really well. I planted our basil that we started from seeds and some dandelions on all four corners that are supposed to help keep the bugs away. I doubt they have any effect on the ant problem we have out there.

The girls' tomato plants

The girls' cucumber plants

Potato plant

This is really an unexciting picture since these berry bushes are just sticks right now, but I am hopeful that they will grow and blossom into bushes covered with raspberries and blackberries.

This is my attempt at growing tomatoes upside down. I read how to make one of these online instead of buying the $10 or more plastic kit. So with just a piece of newspaper, an old hanging basket, some dirt and a tomato seedling, I was able to make this. I hope it works and that Brian can keep it watered while we are gone. I have to admit that I don't have the best history with hanging plants, so this may be a long shot. I am better when stuff is in the ground.

This is part of my herb garden hanging right outside my kitchen window, off the deck. I also have sage and oregano (not shown) on the other side of the box. I couldn't get a good picture of it all. I am hoping these basil seedlings can make it through all these thunderstorms. They seem so delicate.

Now we water and we wait.

Speck's Nursery, Under Construction

I have not had the burst of energy in my second trimester that I usually get this time around. Some friends have said it is because I have more kids to contend with, but I think it's the homeschooling. Homeschooling sucks it all out of me at the beginning of each day and then I am done. As of Thursday I officially began my third trimester, and I have really only had a few days with energy and motivation to get things done, above and beyond the call of duty (or everyday chores.) Isaac's transition out of the crib has forced me to start working on the nursery. I now have all the furniture arranged and baby stuff in the room. Here is Speck's bare bones nursery...

As you may have noticed the light behind the crib is a safety hazard. This room is the only room without main lighting, but it has an outlet that is connected to a switch. I just need to find an alternative to this floor standing light.

Here is the other view of the room with the closet door open. We are really tight on space in here since I have to keep our guest bed in here as well.

Now I need to get to work on the decor. I always base the kid's rooms on a famous artist and a few of their paintings. This time I am thinking I only need one painting since the room is so tiny. Here's the one I fancy, Port St. Tropez by Paul Signac.

After locating a print of this painting and framing it, I think I may use Isaac's old bedding since it fits my German crib and is neutral in color. Then I might add this personalized clock, embroider a few sailboat pillows like these, make a sailboat quilt, make or buy a sailboat mobile, and find some solid black-out curtains in one of the colors from this painting (red, blue, or yellow). I may add a little rug if I found one I liked, but that is pretty much all I plan to do. Oh, I almost forgot! I want to include my Papa Boat's painting of a sailboat that I have in Isaac's room on a shelf right now.

Here is a sailboat nursery that I really like and has inspired me a bit. Just don't expect mine to look the same. It is a jumping off point. That's all.

And, no, we do not have a real name for Speck yet! All you dying to know what it is can blame that on my husband. I have to start working on his Christmas stocking soon which starts with embroidering the name on the top, so the pressure is on. But for now, he is still Speck.

Transitions

Transitions can be scary for parents. I mean why rock the boat when everything is running smoothly, right? However, babies, toddlers, and kids, are always growing and changing which makes transition necessary. I dread them even though we have rarely had any problems with them. Because they are nerve-wrecking, I make sure whatever transition we are doing is a process and not a cold turkey event. I never ever do anything with children cold turkey!

We have just completed Isaac's transition to a big boy bed. As I said, it is a process in our house. The first step was talking about when it would happen. When we were talking up potty training, I would explain that once he could keep his undies clean and dry then he could sleep in his big boy bed. (There is no reason to move a child sooner to a big bed if you ask me.) Once I realized that he was on his way to being potty trained, we started talking more specifics. I told him stories at bedtime about a little boy who moved to a big boy bed and what his #1 rule was. Then I reviewed this rule with him until he memorized it. This is the easy part for him since he and Hannah are my rule reciters and followers being the first born boy and girl of the family. (Don't get me wrong, Genna is very obedient, but not for the sake of the rule.) Our #1 rule for sleeping in a big boy bed is, "Never ever get out of bed without Mommy or Daddy there." He has to call for us when he wakes up. (For those wondering, this rule goes away once they are closer to 4 years old.) Anyway, we continued to recite the rule, and I always have him tell others his #1 rule when he moves to a big boy bed just as an extra way to practice. Next we talked about where his crib would go. He liked this part as well since it is going to be his first gift to Speck, his already thoroughly loved baby brother. Next step is to tell him the exact time he will be making the transition so he is ready and expecting it. Preparing kids is so key in getting them to go with the flow and not be caught off guard. Anytime I forget to prepare them for something, I always pay for it in the end. Another good idea when making this transition is to make the first time he sleeps in his big boy bed at night when he is less likely to fight sleep. Naps at this age do occasionally get skipped and that is no way to start off this new experience. I told Isaac, "Tomorrow night you are going to sleep in your big boy bed." We talked some more about it and our #1 rule. He was concerned about falling off so I explained we would put up a rail which he quickly renamed a "blump," his new favorite made up word.

When it came time for sleeping in his big boy bed we got in his new bed together and pointed out all the same things that were in his crib are now in his big bed to make him feel cozy, recited rule #1, and did our normal routine. He did great and called for me in the morning. He started sleeping in his big boy bed the night of Mother's Day. We have had no problems as of yet.

Now, if your baby/toddler does not like his crib or won't sleep well in it, don't expect to follow these steps and have magic happen. Don't fool yourself, a baby that won't sleep in a crib will do no better in a bed. The only reason a child would prefer to go to sleep in a big bed is because they have no boundaries and feel confident they can get out whenever they please. My advice is fix your sleep issues before moving them into a big bed. If they are little Houdinis, escaping out of the crib, buy a crib tent if you have to. But really and truly the best way to teach a baby to sleep and self sooth is to do it when you have all the control, meaning they can not move yet. More on that and other transitions when Speck makes his big transition from his peaceful, warm womb to this loud, bright world and the sleep training begins...again!

Isaac is not a happy camper because his mean mommy barged in when nap time was over and forced a camera on him. He was not ready for a picture.

This corner is where his crib was and where his train table will be when we return from our trip to Texas. Hint, hint, Husband!

Baltimore Zoo

We finished Z week last week, and this week we went to the zoo to tie up the school year. Last we week we read about zoos and how they work. The National Zoo is a little lacking, but this was a really great zoo. We even invited one of the girls' friends to join us. Originally, we had planned on waiting until the afternoon to go and picking up Brian early from work on the way. However, this turned out to be too difficult since this zoo closes at 4pm. So we headed out earlier (10:30am or so) and still left the zoo right at closing time. It was a full day, but a fun one.

By the time we got there, had a bathroom break, and rode the tram into the zoo it was lunch time. So we picnicked here.

The kids all watched a Baltimore Raven fly around for them.

In the monkey house, the girls posed for a picture for me.

This was really a highlight of the zoo, feeding the giraffes...

I really enjoyed watching the chimpanzees the most, but the kids loved the children's section of the zoo with thing to climb on in between exhibits.

Playing birds in a nest, Hannah was the mommy bird, of course, bringing food back to her babies.

Isaac is a bear!

And last, but not least, we found the petting zoo. One of the goats ate a hole in Genna's pocket, but she didn't mind. I'm guessing maybe she had some food in there at some point and the smell was too irresistible for the mischievous goat.

I was happy we got to review so many of our animal facts we have learned this year. The kids were happy and well behaved. So after 4 hours, at least as many bathroom breaks, and some Dippin' Dots we left the zoo. Isaac was asleep in the car before we were out of the parking lot and the three girls played games and talked all the way home.

What is clean?

Well, that depends greatly on who you ask in this family!

Hannah would tell you that your hands are not clean until they have been washed with soap and water. She comes in the house to wash her hands if she touches sap or a mushroom or anything suspicious.

Genevieve would tell you that if they look clean and you can't taste anything on them then they are clean. Genna said to me the other day (during a picnic after Hannah realizes that she forgot to wash her hands,) "I can't taste any dirt, so I think mine were clean," as she is eating her wrap.

Isaac would tell you they are clean if they aren't sticky with peanut butter or chocolate. He asked me if he could please go taste some dirt after I said he needed his hands washed so he wouldn't have to taste the dirt on his hands with his lunch.

Its all in the perspective, I suppose.

Friends in town

Some old friends were in town a few weeks ago! We haven't seen them since Hannah was 3 1/2 years old and Genna was barely 1 year old and we moved to Germany.

Now this is why it took me so long to get this post up. I dug out old pictures of the kids together. I scanned them in because it was easier than hooking up my old hard drive. Here is Riley (left) and Genna (right) when Genna was less than a year. Riley is about 6 months older than Genna.

Here they are today at 5 years old.

Here are Camden and Hannah when they were 3 years old (top pic was taken in the mall, bottom pic was taken at a dress up birthday party). Camden is a couple of months older than Hannah.

Here they are today at 6 years old.