Art projects

Thursday, May 17. 2012

A-girl had to complete an art project using materials from around the house, yard or wherever. She collected for many days and came up with an elaborate plan of how she was going to make an Easter Bunny hiding eggs. She used paper, paint, plastic bottle, cardboard, bottle caps, twigs, toilet paper roll, pieces from a lei, a chip bag, plastic Easter eggs, dyed Easter eggs, toilet paper and created her scene.



LJ watched from the sidelines. After A-girl had completed her project, he started his. He created a house for me, with toothpicks as firewood in my fireplace, a table, a tree that he and A-girl designed and made, flowers, made from bottle caps and tissue paper, a bed and some other interesting things. He painted a grocery bag orange for one of the rooms. Apparently it was designed just for me. It has been pleasantly underfoot (reminding me of how much I love being a mom and the amazing gifts you receive) for the past couple of days and he keeps adding rooms and parts to his mansion. Love the creativity.

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These Four

Wednesday, May 9. 2012

These four keep me going. They make me smile, cry, learn, stretch, grow, challenge myself and show me so much about love (and sometimes all of those in 5 minutes) and I cannot imagine my life without each of them. They are so incredible and many times I look at them in awe and wonder. I love you guys more than words can adequately express.

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T-ball opener

Wednesday, May 9. 2012

LJ could barely contain his excitement over his first t-ball game of the season this evening. He was a little confused and disappointed that I didn't sign him up for the same t-ball league he played in last year but I signed him up with his cousin L (this park allows friend requests whereas the other didn't) and it is on the same nights we are at the park already for something else. He was a little unsure but was very intrigued since their team is orange! He had a blast. It rained (heavy at times) throughout the day and we had discussed with him the possibility of not playing but he was determined to play. There was a downpour right at start time but it cleared and they went out to play. He loved it! Now if only we could get him as excited for swimming as he is for t-ball and soccer. He is so terrified of the water it is crazy.

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Spring Soccer

Tuesday, May 8. 2012

Almost 6 years ago, L joined her first team in the Fuller Soccer league when she turned 5 years old. Following right behind her were AJ and A-girl. This spring marks the last of our crew to reach the milestone age of 5 that enables them to play on the 5-6 soccer teams. In true LJ fashion, he had to be convinced he wanted to play (insert told he was playing) and then spent at least 30 minutes Saturday at the kick off jamboree standing on the edge of the field by the parking lot refusing to move. He gets so overwhelmed by large groups of people (and there were school baseball and soccer fields full of them that morning) and withdraws. Luckily we were 30 minutes early as there was a break between the activities for the 7-8 year olds and the the 5-6 year olds so he had time to adjust.

As we were walking to get his team t-shirt, he told me he was going to be number 5. I didn't want to burst his bubble but there were many kids lined up to get shirts and they were all folded and being handed out randomly based on size. I explained that he might not get the number 5 because of all the kids, t-shirts and random distribution but he insisted he was going to be number 5. I had cousin L with me so the person behind the table handed me a small size shirt and a larger size shirt. We took them and quickly got out of the chaos and headed over to where the teams were meeting. Then, I pulled out the t-shirts and put on one each kid. As I opened up the larger one for LJ, I had to smile. His number was 5! "I told you I would be #5 mom! I'm really smart!" I thought to myself, "Ya, or really incredibly lucky!" LJ absolutely loved the drills and activities. Sure it helped that his Dad and his cousin were the coaches and that his older brother was helping out but he was so excited. He is on the team named the Tornadoes.....very appropriate for him.

This afternoon, we needed to pick up a pair of shin guards (required by the league) as he was wearing a pair of hand me down ones that fit A-girl and were too big. He was so proud of his new equipment. He also got a new ball because a dog at the park last summer got a hold of his and tore it up. He was so excited about his new gear that he told everyone on the field that would listen. He thoroughly enjoyed his first game of the season this evening. When we got home he told our neighbor all about his new equipment, his first game, his snack from the game and all in high speed "I'm so excited mode." We were all laughing because little Mr. "Say Nothing and participate in less" has finally come out of his shell. I cannot wait to see where his new found confidence will take him.





Brothers

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National Junior Honor Society

Monday, May 7. 2012

L was awarded membership in the National Junior Honor Society during a ceremony at school today. We are so proud of you!!!

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To Oz

Monday, May 7. 2012

The theater company we are part of, just finished 5 performances of The Wizard of Oz this weekend. What a whirlwind. I am always amazed that they can pull together such a great performance while rehearsing only for 5 months. This was truly a family affair. L, AJ, and LJ all had roles onstage while AJ worked hard behind the scenes doing whatever was asked of him. S was the microphone coordinator and with a limited number of mics and 70 kids in the show, he was busy taking mics from one kid and getting them on another. Hours and hours of hard work and dedication on the part of the actors and the production crew went into this play. The costumes and sets were incredible.


A-girl as a Lullaby League dancer.




A-girl is in the middle.



A-girl is the snowflake next to the Tin Man.


My two special Ozians.


A-girl as a Winkie. This was a hard costume make up wise and she had very little time to change from Ozian to WInkie to Jitterbug to Winkie again.


Jitterbug. A-girl is the first set of hands on the left.

LJ was in the Lollipop Guild and they had everyone laughing every show. There were 7 of them and they were quite a crew of characters. LJ and his buddy O are the youngest and each have just turned 5. The other boys are in Kindergarten up to 3rd grade.


Lj is on the far left.

L was an Oz singer (background vocals), an Ozian, a Winkie and a Jitterbug. She also had the really quick costume changes in the second half.


L is on the far right.


L is on the far left. The make up needs for this costume were heavy!


L is in the middle of the back row next to the guard and A-girl is seated in the middle of the stage.



Wonderful memories of an incredible performance.

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A Very Special Wedding

Saturday, April 28. 2012

Today we celebrated a very special wedding. Grandpa A got married to Grandma J. It was absolutely beautiful and we are so excited for them as they begin their new life together. Grandma J went from one grandson E to 6 grandchildren. What a wild beautiful bunch of kids!

Congratulations you two!!!!











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Dance Competition

Sunday, April 22. 2012

Last fall, L decided to dance more and as a result will be going to a couple more competitions this year. She is really enjoying it and has made some great friends from her line.



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Happy Easter!!!

Sunday, April 8. 2012

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Great Advice

Wednesday, February 29. 2012

As a parent, you often talk to children about things, giving explanations, suggestions and ideas. You are often left wondering though if the retain any of it.

LJ is one of those kids who do no like to interrupt their play with the call of nature so he leaves everything til the last minute, barely stops long enough to go, is pulling up pants, washing and drying hands all and once and back in the play almost as quickly as he left.

Today, I had gone into the bathroom and could hear LJ standing outside the door. I figured he would just open it and walk in but today, he stood outside and quietly but matter of fact stated "You should really stay in there long enough until it is all out before you go back to what you were doing."

Great advice buddy!

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Arm or alarm

Tuesday, February 28. 2012

LJ fell asleep last night in the car while going to get his sister form dance. Unfortunately it was just long enough to give him enough energy and make sleep at home in his bed come quickly. In an effort to help him calm and fall asleep, I was laying with him. He was not ready to sleep but instead his mind was racing.

"Mom, how old do you have to be to put stuff in your alarm pits?" And so started our deodorant and arm pit discussion.

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Perhaps we need to review

Thursday, February 23. 2012

This morning, I was reviewing the chapter on government with A-girl in preparation for her unit test in Social Studies. She wasn't pleased to be working with me as her brothers were outside playing and she desperately wanted to join them. She wasn't really very focused. I would read something to her, ask a question, she wouldn't be able to tell me about what we had just read (Which isn't in character for her as she usually remembers things) so we repeated it again. I was thinking that the second time through she seemed to have gotten most of what I was reading to her, she was remembering the lessons from the past few weeks (there were a lot of days off in there so I think that was part of it as she only has it a couple of times a week and this was info from the past month or so) and I felt much more confident the second time through the review to proceed to the Review Questions at the end of the unit.

Me: "What is the name of our president?"
A-girl: "Obama......Broccoli Obama." Then she paused and said "No that's not it. But it sounds just like Broccoli."

I suggested "Barack" and she said "Yes! That's it!'

The next question was "What are the 3 parts of government?" She replied "The president, congress (we had just went over and over that as it wasn't something she was remembering) and....and....and.......the clothing store....Justice!" Well she got the answers they were looking for in the book but perhaps not in the ways they were hoping!

She proceeded through the next questions with little difficulty. It was time for her test. I was secretly hoping there were no questions about Broccoli Obama and Justice Clothing store, the President and the Supreme Court being parts of the government. Amazingly enough, she went on to take the test and did fine. Perhaps she or I (or both) need a break.......a really long one :-)

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Did I actually hear or say that???

Friday, February 10. 2012

Often throughout the day, things are said in my house that leave me wondering if I actually heard it correctly, or if I actually said that. Wondering, could this actually be happening in my house.

Things heard recently include:

Me to LJ and AJ: Boys! AJ! Untie your brother right now! Running through the house with a rope tied to LJ's arms is not safe.

LJ! Please come and take these toys out of the freezer! (apparently he was making them cold).

Please put on a coat before you go outside. (said several times to LJ and AJ as they tend not to wear coats).

me to AJ while out running an errand when the temp is 4 degrees F: Where are your socks?!
AJ: I don't know. Somewhere at home.
Me: Are your feet not cold?
AJ: Not really. Its not like its that cold out or anything.

L announcing as we left Girl Scouts last night: Mom, hurry. I don't want to be late. M is saving me a spot at the bar(re)! Several mothers stared at me in a bit of shock wondering if they had heard her correctly. Of course they were thinking bar and not the ballet barre.

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Heading to State

Sunday, January 29. 2012

The three older kids had their Sectional Swim meet today to qualify for State. The top 3 swimmers in each race from each of the 4 sections advance automatically to the State meet regardless of time. There are 4 additional "Wild card" spots taken from the entire State and those are based on time.

After the results were tallied, L, AJ and A-girl are heading to State. Both relay teams (Medley and Freestyle) for all 3 kids qualified. L also qualified for her 50 Breaststroke (placed third), AJ for 50 Back (placed first), 50 Fly (placed first) and 50 Free (placed second). A-girl also qualified for her 25 back (placed first) and her 50 Freestyle (placed second). Their other times were close to getting wild card times but just not close enough.

At the State meet, they run 2 heats of 8 swimmers in each heat and they will place 1-16th. This is the first year that A-girl qualified for a personal event so she is very excited. Way to go you guys!!

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We are a ski family!

Saturday, January 28. 2012

Today was the first time skiing for me and L this season. S had taken the other kids a couple of weeks ago. It was great to be out as a family even if it was disjointed. I had to work so S took the kids out and I met up with them. The girls had a special dance practice so they and S left early and I stayed for a little longer with the boys. It was a beautiful day.

For the first time in our 11 seasons of skiing (L started on skis at 18 months because she was determined to do it and refused to sit and watch while we were on a ski weekend with a bunch of friends), this is the first time all of our children were independent on the hill. They are obviously at different levels of independence but the big stride forward today was that LJ was able to manage the 3 tow ropes and the bunny runs at the hill we go to all by himself. He even went up the chair lift (with assistance from mom) and came down a run with a tiny bit of assistance at the top. LJ loved skiing. We had a hard time getting him to come off the slopes.





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