Christmas Captions 2020

Will got rainbow Goldfish crackers in his stocking; that's a pretty good start.

An original Slinky for Declan.

Aiden wanted "The Deep End," the newest book in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.  He's read all the others, and I have to admit they are pretty funny!

I found this jumpsuit/romper on Amazon and sent the link to Tim.  Such a sweetie, he remembered and surprised me with it.  Let me tell you, the reviews did not disappoint, I literally wore this thing for three days straight because it was so comfortable.  I wore it all of Christmas Day, then paired it with some gold earrings and a denim jacket for church on Sunday, then another day this week just to putter around the house doing laundry, etc. I plan to get at least one more in black, and maybe even the navy blue/roses one.

I also really wanted this simple little Timex watch (also from Amazon) which Tim was super surprised about because I have never liked gold, but it has been growing on me the last couple of years.  I wear this watch everyday, and everyday Will pushes the Indiglo button and makes it light up :-D

We got this toy vacuum for William (apparently we buy everything from Amazon.) It is his favorite toy.  After coming to see me in the mornings, he goes straight for his little vacuum.  It's so adorable, he just loves it.

Caitlin read the two books that came before this pre-teen graphic novel, and was so excited to spy it in Walmart a few weeks ago.  I flipped through it a bit and while the storyline is relatable for "young people nowadays" (how geriatric did that sound? lol...) the part that sold me was that the main character's baby brother's name is Will, and he's under 2.  Wow, just like our Will, how perfect is that?

Declan is sort of a goof, so we knew this floppy little T-rex hand puppet would have us all in stitches.  Unfortunately, Will is terrified of the thing, so we had to put it away for a bit.

Caitlin picked out this giant shark for Corey and we figured he would play with it in the bath, but he actually plays with it all over the house.  The other night, he put a pull-up on it and tucked it into bed next to him.  Such a card.

Brianna drew an adorable picture of Tim in a multicolor shirt.

I told you Declan was a goof.  Brianna got a hair-styling doll head thing from some relatives and Declan is modeling it for us :-P

Okay, I am such a sucker for big brother/little brother stuff.  Aiden is helping Corey to build his new Lego Minecraft set, and Corey is listening to Aiden's headphones.  

Adorable.

So sweet.  Be still my heart.

Dressed the babies in their new Christmas jammies, unfortunately, Will's had a little too much Christmas at this point.  I thought he would do better if I held him during the picture, but this was the best we could get.  Considering how the rest of 2020 went, I'll take it.

Well, tomorrow's Brianna's 7th birthday, and the last day of the year.  Here's to you and yours, our hopes and prayers for a great 2021.  I won't say all of 2020 was terrible; for our family it was actually very clarifying, if that makes sense.  We learned what was important, what we were capable of, the value of family time, how much we appreciate our freedoms, and just how blessed we really are.  I have no idea what 2021 will bring, but I have the feeling that it will be a year of personal growth for us, to apply the many lessons we learned this year.  Once everything is opened up again and the whole virus thing has quieted down, I have a feeling that many will not take that for granted (me included) and will boldly pursue dreams that had previously lain dormant.  Speaking for myself only here, I think that before the pandemic, I thought I was not able to pursue some interests and dreams, because of my various domestic duties.  During the lockdowns, I realized that I actually was able before, and the limitations were only in my mind.  Knowing that now, I am finally willing, though not yet able.  May 2021 provide the opportunities that I am now ready to pursue.

Personal Growth.

Maybe that will be my defining phrase for 2021.  We'll see. And I'll post it here, don't worry.  To you, from us, Happy New Year :-)

Funny Conversations with My Kids

Caitlin: (playing with Evelyn) "This is my oldest baby."

Aiden:  "Where is your other baby?"

Caitlin:  "Oh, she's sleeping."

Me:  "Yeah, which is a miracle considering all of the noise you guys were making earlier."

Aiden:  "Yeah, it's amazing. Brianna is actually an amazing baby, because she was born on New Year's Eve.

(Then in a whisper)  "That's the day Jesus was born."

Choo Choo!

We are chugging along here with homeschooling at our house. I will try to remember to do a catch-up post soon, to fill in the biggest blanks of my absence from this blog. For now, I will just blog about where we are at.

Aiden turned seven in September and started his first grade school year at home on July first. Caitlin is five, and started her kindergarten year on July first as well. Declan turned four in August,  and he is along for the homeschool fun when he shows interest,  and when he does not, he gets to be a little kid,  imagining and playing for at least another year (maybe two) until I feel he is ready to begin his formal education.

I am not using a formal curriculum this year (we purchased and tried out an all-encompassing package from Sonlight the year before last, and felt overwhelmed by it.) No, this year, I am piecing things together from here and there, with my handy printouts of the California State Standards for Kindergarten,  First, and Second grades as my guides.

I love it this way.

I sketch out a rough lesson plan everyday for the following day, based on what we've accomplished today, and what I think needs repeating/skipping, etc. I do not feel overwhelmed or overscheduled by doing things this way.  If someone "gets it," then we move on. If someone needs to take a break from a difficult new concept,  then we move on to the next subject, and revisit the former one afresh in the morning.

I have changed things up today by setting up our folding table in the kids' room for school (we usually do school at our kitchen table.)  I put a baby gate up in the hallway, and got the Lincoln Logs down for the three littles to play with while the big kids work on their lessons.  This way, I can supervise everyone, the toys stay in the kids' bedroom (a house rule), toddlers and babies can't crawl/wander off into parts unknown to rummage through things that they shouldn't,  and the big kids can't slack off and book it from the table when I am helping/chasing the littles, because we are all in the same room.

So, Ha.

I am also praying that this helps the house stay tidier.  Can you pray for that, too? We need lots of prayer for that.

The littles that I didn't mention in detail yet are Evelyn, who just turned two in September, is sharp as a tack, loves to play "mommy" with her dollies, and is very entertaining besides........and........

Wait for it.........Brianna!

Yes, I've actually been absent from blogland for so long that I've had another baby since my last post.

Wow. (I'm not the only one who's ever done that, right? I mean, has anyone?)

Well, we did have another baby after Evelyn; fifteen months after Evelyn, to be exact.  Yep, a plump little cutie pie who ended up being my first "anti-jka" pregnancy (look it up, it's legit...and complicated) which meant lots of extra blood tests, ultrasounds, appointments with various specialists, and sobfests on my part. Such a stressful time full of unknowns.  So, we named her Brianna Faith. Brianna is an Irish name meaning "strong", and Faith was something of ours that was stretched and which grew tremendously during that time.

Brianna was also my first c-section baby.  When the OB nurse checked my cervical dilation,  she decided I was seven centimeters; she also decided that what she felt did not feel like a baby's head, but something of which she was not quite sure! After another nurse checking, and finally my personal OB checking, the latter performed an ultrasound in the delivery room and confirmed that baby's presenting part was, in fact, her bum.  Oops! It wasn't that way a few days before at my last check up! Oh well, off to the OR for an emergency c-section. The whole thing was a total miracle, and we're amazed at how blessed we are that she was born perfectly healthy.

Now that we're mostly caught up, here are a few pictures to wrap up this long overdue post:

Caitlin giving a wave.

"See my drawing, it's the Tower of Babel!"

Declan is building his out of Lincoln Logs.

Matching haircuts for the boys.

Brianna banana.

Caitlin Joy.

Beautiful.

Do We See A Pattern Here?

I pretty much write this blog for myself, as a sort of online scrapbook, but if you are one of the few that checks in every few months in hopes of catching that rare post, today is your lucky day!

I popped in and updated my tickers today; you may have noticed that our youngest, Declan, recently turned 2, and our oldest, Aiden, turned 5 on Labor Day.  Did you also notice my pregnancy ticker?  No need to update that, because it is indeed current, and yes, I really am 40 weeks and 4 days preggo, but if you've been reading since my last pregnancy, then you know that's nothing new for me, right?  As in, our last baby was 16(!) days overdue when we finally used that old tried and true castor oil method of home induction.  Well, it worked then when I was 42+ weeks, but we've tried it twice this time in as many weeks, with the expected gastric results and some contractions...that fizzled out after a few hours and were never very strong to begin with.

So...

I find myself the watched pot that never boils.....again.  Hopefully that changes soon, because we are eager to meet our lovely little lady, and I dream of sitting/walking/sleeping/existing normally again.  I will keep you all posted should there be any updates in this area...


In other news, Aiden started kindergarten in August!  He is doing well, coming home with tales of new songs, friends, and the usual kindergarten activities.  If you've followed my blog for awhile, you'll know that we had taken a homeschooling approach up to this point.  Well, with the new baby coming and all, we decided to utilize our local public school for this school year, and....see how it goes.  We have also discussed (and agonized) in great length the many social implications of public schooling (both good and bad) and those feelings have certainly impacted our decision as much, if not more than the convenience of some one else teaching Aiden while I am caring for a newborn.  I am continuing to encourage learning in our everyday life together (maybe I'm just a geeky fact-lover, but I've always explained the why and how of the world and life in general to my children, in age-appropriate terms, of course.)  We still do crafts and school-type activities at home like we've always done, though I am gearing things to stay in line with his kindergarten curriculum when necessary.  For example, Aiden's school teaches Modern Manuscript Handwriting, which transitions more easily into cursive.  I wish I could've anticipated this little detail before I had taught Aiden to write in what his teacher refers to as "ball and stick" letters.  Oh well, the kid will be diversified, right?

Another development over this summer, is that I finally decided it was time that I learn to knit...so I did!  I've always wanted to knit and used to pretend to do so when I was a young girl.  I checked out multiple beginning knitting books from my local public library (for free of course! Sweet!) including the ever helpful "Knitting for Dummies."  It has been a process which I am sure will continue for a long time, since I am nowhere near ready to knit up a lovely lacy cardigan like I dream of doing someday, but I have knit a few pairs of mittens for the children from a booklet I picked up at JoAnn's.  I agree with other knitters that, once you have the basic rhythm down, knitting is very relaxing and satisfying as you create an entirely new and unique textile.  In short, I have found a new hobby that I love, and I would encourage anyone to pursue their dreams of learning a new skill, no matter your age, or the skill level required.  (Hey, they probably have "Rocket Science for Dummies", so why not give it a try?)

That is all for now, though I'm sure I've left alot out, so when they come to me, I will add more updates of our summer adventures.  And I promise to add some pictures of all of this fun eventually...where's my camera?....and certainly will write a prompt blog post when this baby comes out....someday.  : )

Splashy Photo That I Promised and Kool Aid Update

Here is that splashy photo that I promised, which my dad took on his camera phone the other day, then emailed to me.  Well, it's not the best photo, but at least Caitlin is looking at the camera!

Here are some pictures of the kids inside their toy tub at my dad's house.

Rub a dub dub, two babes in a tub!

Kool Aid Update

Okay, I promised to let you all know how the homemade Kool Aid Dishwasher Detergent worked out.  I have used it approximately 6 times and have not noticed any powdery film as I mentioned in my previous post on the topic.  It appears to work great and as long as I wash all of the food off of my dishes before loading them into the dishwasher (I always do, anyway) the dishes come out sparkling clean and not a bit green or lemony-lime smelling.  I think this recipe is a keeper, which is great because it is so inexpensive to make, and I even made up a large jar of it with a nice label and bow, and gave it to some friends of ours.  Yay for frugal homemade recipes!

First Water Play of the Year

It is starting to warm up in our neck of the woods, and I decided to give the kids their first official outdoor water playtime of the year. It has been met with much enthusiasm and other than trying to wiggle 14 month old (chubby) Caitlin into her swim diaper and then two pieces of swimwear (did I mention chubby?), it has been an easy and relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Aiden (who'll be 3 in September) remembers water play fondly and couldn't wait to get suited up. Caitlin, who was only a few months old last summer, is getting to experience all of this wonderous wetness with the excitement of someone who has just made a new friend. She has moved into the dirt and will probably soon discover mud, so I will post some pictures of the cooled-off cuties, and head out there to supervise.