Peace Under Fire

So this afternoon Owen wanted to make a fire in the backyard. This activity is on my list of "things I don't do," so I quickly said so and told him to wait til his dad got home. Except I must've left a smidge of hope there because Owen kept up his petitions until I started to re-think my position. First, is it cold out? Nope. A rarity. Is is windy? No. Sunny? Yes. Do I have time? Yes, dinner will take an hour in the oven, so I can start it now and go outside (must stay true to my nature by consulting the to-do list). Still trying to sway him, I told Owen that our fire pit was in the trash but if he wanted to dig a hole in the yard, put rocks/pavers around it and find the wood for it, he could go right ahead and make his own fire pit. See how hopeful I was that this thing would materialize?

He was unflinchingly committed. I looked outside 5 minutes later and he is digging long-forgotten pavers out of a flower bed with his shovel.

Darn.

Well, I figured this might happen so I went out to help. And we actually did it. Made a fire-pit, built a fire and made s'mores at 4:15 on a Thursday afternoon. If that's not homeschooling at its finest, I don't know what is.

When I came in later I looked at the house. Disaster comes to mind. But it was one of those fine days that I realized that peace will have to come before perfection. I had been outside and enjoyed the fresh air and the kids, and we were all at peace when Papa came home and dinner time arrived. The house was not in peace, but it rarely is. I noticed something else though: I wasn't exhausted. There are some days where I am SO on a mission to get the house in order, have the kids do their chores, get dinner on the table, etc that I am an exhausted wreck even if the house is decent. And because I'm not happy...well you know how the saying goes. No one else is either. I decided my to-do list is exhausting me and I've got to find a way to cut that cord. Not sure how we will escape being featured on the next episode of "Hoarders" if I do that, but for now, baby steps...

Snapshots

Yesterday I was watching Owen and made a note to drink him in. He was riding his skateboard across the street, holding a rope and twirling it like a lasso. I don't really think he was trying to lasso anything, but the act of twirling it looked pretty fun.

All day he's been experimenting with that rope. He first asked for one so he could put it in a tree and climb up the rope into the tree. The only reason he wants to do that is because they climbed a rope up a rock face on the north shore, and his mind is like a steel trap. He successfully climbed a tree with it. Then he used it on their pull-up bar in their room. It broke; he found another one. Aaron showed them how to attach it to their zippers and pull their brother around by the zipper. Hmmm....

I think he is at the perfect age of boyhood and i want to remember him this way. He lost both his front teeth this week and today he has a new toothless smile. I've been waiting for him to lose his 2 front teeth, because to me, it's the perfect picture of boyhood.

Asher. Sweet Asher. They both got their hair cut short yesterday and it is so cute. He is growing up so fast. He is super sweet to Hannah. Tonight she was particularly upset and I kept asking for him to get me things- wipes, pacifier, etc. Each time I asked for something his eyes would light up, like he was thinking, "Yeah! That will make her happy!" He really takes good care of her. Owen does too. Today he watched her for over half an hour in exchange for some computer time. It was a great trade.

Asher is my dreamer. He can be found in la-la land fairly often. I have to remind him to do things often because he gets distracted by...everything. His great ideas, other things he wants to do, his brother... He prays for the same things every night: a pool, a playdate with his friend Liam, his grandparents. He snuggles with me every morning before the rest of the family gets up and drops into bed quickly each night. I love you Asher Sam.

Hannah is definitely 16 months. She is busy. Tonight we were having a particularly long and boring night and I opened up my craft drawer. I let her play with some buttons and things and turned to my phone. When I looked back up she had opened a container of glitter and it was everywhere. While I cleaned that up she opened another one.

But she is super sweet. She blows kisses, she waves. She points to dogs excitedly, and loves looking at books. She is great at wrestling with the boys. I went to KC this weekend with a friend and she definitely became Papa's girl. I heard she held her own with the fellas quite well.

...sorry- pics won't load. Will try again later!

Sweet Hannah's Birthday

1st Birthday

Hannah having a snack before the party. Yes she's eating on the floor. That's where she hangs out most of the time.

Here she is watching a movie waiting for her guests to arrive. Love the ipad.

I'll give you a little smile, but that's all you're gonna get!

Trucks, Guns and Jesus

So the big news around here is we are getting a new road. A new mailbox was set up for us across the street, the orange barriers with the lights on top were moved in last week, and the signs and detours have been sitting to the side, just waiting for Monday. They started tearing up the road at the corner, and today they made their way directly in front of our house. Whenever we have been bored today we go sit on the front steps with a snack and watch the action. There are so many people walking through our yard and dump truck after dump truck pulling up to haul our street off to whatever location.

So this has added a bit of entertainment to a strange time. Asher is on his 3rd day home sick. Owen is in a lull- homeschool is winding down and sports haven't started yet. Hannah is teething her molars. Aaron is off work. Everyone is IN MY HAIR. Ahem. This afternoon the kids have provided much-needed laughter, so I had to blog it or I will forget and never believe it happened.

This afternoon I looked out the window to check on Owen. He was talking to a utility worker with one of those wheel-things that makes lines in our grass. I figured that guy could fend for himself and went downstairs. Next time I checked on him he was walking around the driveway with his bb gun. I explained he needed permission and supervision to use that darn thing and went back in the house. Ten minutes later Aaron comes down to me. "Do you know Owen is walking around the yard with his bb gun?"

"Yes- he's shooting birds. He was told to put it away." What I really wanted to say was, "Can you take care of that, seeing as you bought him that thing, and taught him how to use it?" But I bit my tongue til it bled.

Ten minutes passes and I go to check on him again. He is in the front with a different worker. They are watching a mini-excavator-thing dig a hole in our yard. Owen is shooting the breeze with this guy. "Owen!" I was worried about a) the mini-excavator driven by who knows who; b) Owen around that hole; and c)the poor worker who had a shadow. I told Owen to scoot back, tried to talk him in to coming inside, etc. "I told that guy I have only driven a 3 wheeler!" he responds. Which means he's not listening to me, and he's begging to take that thing for a ride.

I watch out the window as Owen moves from sitting where I told him to standing next to the worker, and Owen's mouth is running. I decide to take Hannah to the front steps and watch. As soon as I sit down I hear these words come out of Owen's mouth, "How much do you make an hour?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Horror.

And then, "I think you make about 30?" I laugh so hard and so loud that the guy looks back at me, smirking. I have to wipe the tears away. This is so typical. I cross the street to check the mail and Owen sees me. "I want to come!" At the mailbox I whisper to him that it's rude to ask someone how much they make. "He said he makes quite a bit!"

5 minutes later they are finishing up and the man says "well, it was nice talking with you." He's way too kind. I tell Owen he can go play with a friend down the street and as we walk down together I ask what they've been talking about. With a big smile he says, "I asked him if he knows Jesus! I told him about those trucks you know..." Oh boy. Aaron and Owen saw these trucks rolling through town proclaiming that May 21 will be the end of the world and Jesus will come back. Owen is totally interested and has been talking about it a lot (so has Aaron, by the way). No filter here. No. filter.



So sweet Asher was totally passed out on the living room floor during all of this. He is in bad shape with a bad stomach ache. Today while laying in the bath he says, "Mom- it's like a pattern. I lay down, I eat, go to the bathroom, take a bath. Lay down, eat, go to the bathroom, take a bath..." If could just get in a boy's head for 10 minutes I think I would be fascinated. Or scared. Fascinated or scared.


Later I found out that Owen also told his friend down the street about Jesus and the trucks. Aaron thinks he's a little evangelist. I just think he's fascinated with the trucks and the story line. Like I said, if I could just get in a boys' head for a few minutes...

No Respect

These are the things I've heard today. By the way, it's noon.

"Mom, can I please play Wii by myself now?"
ie, mom you suck and I don't want you on my team anymore.

"OOH what's that bad smell??!" said the child walking in the door from school. That would be dinner in the crockpot, dear.

"Mom, it's making me gag!" "Then spit it out in the trashcan."
HURL all over the floor NEXT TO the trashcan. The culprit? An orange slice.

Can't wait til this afternoon!!

HS Realization #2

He sleeps! That wonderful thought occurred to me a few weeks in. For the last year and a half, Owen has stayed up waaay past his bedtime. We'd put him to bed between 7:30 and 8. After Asher dropped off to sleep he would settle in with a book and eventually we'd make him put it away. We wouldn't hear a peep for hours, and then he'd pop upstairs wide awake, declare himself scared or thirsty and put up a royal fight to getting back down in his bed. It was exhausting every single night.

It seemed that no matter what the consequences were, he wouldn't go to sleep on his own. The only thing that put him to sleep is if one of us laid down with him until he fell asleep. I'm especially tired by the time they get to bed, and I just want a little peace. What I don't want is to lay in bed for 30 minutes waiting for Owen to drift off. But if we skipped that step, we would pay.

On nights that we have small group here, he was up later. It's like his brain can NOT TURN OFF. Our friends would leave around 9 and then he would stay up negotiating everything from a 2nd dinner to sleeping on the couch, carrying on, talking, arguing...not even settled down until 10. Then the sleep negotiations began.

A few weeks ago I realized that he goes to bed immediately now. Like we say goodnight and don't hear another peep out of him. It's so odd! I'm still not used to it. And on small group nights, we can still put him to bed and he goes right to sleep. It's not related to sickness or growth or anything else that I can tell. The only change is he's not in school. I really think he's just more peaceful. I like to think that his mind is not so hyped up and conflicted. It's been weeks and it's holding true.

Kind of amazing.

Homeschool Realizations

1. The kids are with me. ALL DAY. Except A, who goes to school for a few hours.
2. Going to Target, the grocery store, the chiropractor, the bank - OFF LIMITS. Too much work.
3. I have to care about adjectives, weather science, and geometric shapes. A lot.
4. THE POTTY TALK AT THE DINNER TABLE: IT'S GONE. HALLELUJAH. Which makes all of the above totally worth it.