Little Boy

The Mother of Boys - Miriam Sieber Lind

Praise to the High One for giving me joys

Peculiarly sweet, I'm the mother of boys!

Mud puddles, torn blue jeans, toads, whistles and worms.

The furred and feathered and whatever squirms.

Black knuckles, bats, arrows and thundering noise.

They're all in a day for the mothers of boys.

But, ah, 'tis a dear joy to turn the blue eyes

To the manifold wonder of earth, sea and skies.

And, ah, 'tis a dear joy to watch a small hand seize

The hand of God in the knowledge of these.

Spare me, oh High One, to praise Thee more when

This mother of boys is the mother of men.

A Week of Normal - In Pictures (and a few words too) - MONDAY

This group of posts has been rolling around in my head for some time now.  I was just never sure how to make it happen.  I thought about posting every day for a week...but we all know that won't happen, and if I try and spread it out over a long time period I will lose interest.   So I just decided that I will start posting, in no particular order, different days of our normal week.

Monday:  Not everyone's favorite day of the week to be sure, but I have kinda grown fond of it.  We start every Monday morning "Shoppin' with Papa".

I could probably write and entire post on my love for ALDI.  (Sad, but true) We start the trip here and end at Checkers.  I also have a lot love for Checkers, but no pictures to prove it.  

Everybody in?

Slave Labor.  

I usually push and send my runners to grab the food, but Ani wanted to be "in charge" of the cart this time.

"i-phone"

Papa always brings his i-phone and buys treats throughout the trip.  Here Micaiah has a "meat tack" (stick) - (gross, I know, but so tasty).  Papas just have a special knack for being able to get by all my Mommy healthy foods/no spoiling rules.  Typical "Papa treats" may include, but are not limited to...turns with the i-phone, meat sticks, donuts, poptarts, popcicles, lunchables, kid's cuisine, soda, juice boxes, coin operated goodness (mustaches and rings are a huge favorite), and no shopping trip is ever complete without a coin operated pony ride.

Where was this when I was a child?  I wasn't even allowed to put sugar on my cereal!  Oh the injustice!  

Of course Papa is not only along to "spoil" the kids, but to help entertain the crew and help me maintain some sanity while grocery shopping with 4 squirmy kids.  I must say he does a fabulous job of both!  Thanks Dad.  When we started this 7 years ago, I had no idea how much I could look forward to grocery shopping!

  The rest of our day is usually spent hanging out at my parents house.  When school is in session we bring our  books and Gramma helps with lessons.  School is so much more fun when mom isn't teaching.  When school is not in session we find a myriad of ways to entertain ourselves.  Yesterday the mulberry tree was heavy with fruit.  Unfortunately so were the birds, as they tried to drop gooey mulberry missiles at us  from above.  The kids, however, were not fazed and had a great time picking and eating all the delicious purple goodness.

  I was going to make mulberry jam with their bounty, but I think more berries made it into their mouths than into the bag.  We'll still try for a small batch.  After playing and naps we all eat dinner together.  Sometimes it's just us and other times it's a crowd (ok - I guess we can be a kind of a crowd on our own).  But because of all the fun and family Monday had found a special place in my heart.  

Baby Giggles

Zayin...My quiet storm.  So thoughtful and watchful.  You seem to be absorbing and processing everything you encounter through those two beautiful blue windows.

photo by Angie Dykshorn

You are quiet and charming, though your lungs are well exercised.  I often wonder what is going on in that little head of yours...are you preforming mathematical equations, or pondering the meaning of life?  The way you constantly furrow your brow, it must be something weighty.  But just when I think you are all melancholy and seriousness you break into the most beautiful smiles and giggles.  You, Sir, are an "old soul", with a very silly sense of humor.

...And as soon as you can talk, I'm dying to know what you are thinking!

Hair to Share

Today was an important day for me.  I was going with my mom to get a hair cut.  My hair was long, itchy, sweaty, heavy and tangly.  I was ready for a summer hair cut.  I wanted to cut my hair so that it would be just below my shoulders.

My mom and I walked to the hair cutting place.  I think it was called Great Clips.  In the shop I was signed up for my haircut.  I looked at a few hair styles, but I ran out of time.  I got ready for cutting.  First my hair was combed out.  Then she sprayed me with water and combed some more.  Next she asked how I wanted my hair.    So I told her...  She asked me if I wanted to cut it a few inches shorter, so that I could donate it to Locks of Love.

Locks of Love helps kids with cancer get a wig for after their hair falls out.  I was scared to cut it short, but I thought about all the girls with no hair.  I wanted to do it!  She asked me again, and I said "Yes! I'm sure!"

 Before it looked like this.  The old me!

After I looked like this.  This is the new me!

This was a good Day...And I can still do pig-tails!

A Very Merry Un-Birthday To You!

Charis' 8th Birthday Party...er...Un-Birthday Party!

"Im late, I'm late, for a very important date.  No time to say hello, goodbye!  I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"  

- White Rabbit.

From mid-February until last weekend this quote was on a continuous loop in the back of my mind.  I love parties and planning around a theme (I know I've said this before).  They are fun and exciting, but for some reason when it comes to my kids birthday parties, I drag my feet.  I dread figuring out what weekend will work, who to invite, who not to invite, and using the postal service wears me out.  When all those things are accomplished, the rest is actually fun!

So since we missed Charis' actual birthday, and any weekend remotely close to her birthday, we decided to have an UN-birthday party.  We made the invitations with the quote above and invited her friends to celebrate their un-birthday's along with Charis.

After everyone arrived we loaded up the kids and drove them "through the looking glass" to Wonderland! (a.k.a. Gramma Sally's Garden).   It's a land where nothing makes sense, but everything is Wonderful!  We played several games...

Kick the Milk (A Gramma Sally original) There is no point to this game.  You just run around and kick empty milk cartons.  What could be better.

Fishing for Bugs - Instead of using bugs as bait to catch fish in water, you fish for (magnetic) bugs in the dirt.

Silly Hot Potato - A small package is passed around until the timer goes off.  Whoever has the package when the time is up gets to open it.

Inside is a small gift and a piece of paper with something silly written on it.

All the kids then have to do/act out whatever is on the slip of paper.  This one was make a funny face.

After all the games we loaded back up and returned to our house for a Mad Hatter Tea Party and un-birthday presents.

We also decorated "tea cups" for them to take home.

I didn't have many pictures turn out from this part of the party, but we will still have the memories.  Though it would have been nice of me not to procrastinate, I loved that we could do Charis' party outside and that we could have a party that didn't focus completely on her.  She still had a little "It's my birthday" syndrome, but much less than usual (thank goodness no tears this year).