Category Archives: Family

Here’s what we look like today.

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We have a dog again.

Chocolate lab, already semi-trained, 3-years-old and loves to cuddle.

The girls adore her and we’re teaching Elisha that “long-suffering” does *not* equal asking for more suffering.

I am so thankful to have found her.

The short story: We’ve been looking at the shelter a couple times a week the last few months.  We’ve looked at a number of dogs (even tried two out in our home: one for a few hours one for almost two weeks), but this is the one who is fitting.

She was an owner surrender with “not enough time for her” listed as the reason for giving her up.  She had a restless first night and barks more willingly than we like just now, but she has been perfect with the kids, strangers and the other dogs we’ve met in class and at the dog park.

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We’re all Sick

But we’re on the way better.

On top of the general yuckiness we all feel, Melody seems to be in that rough transitional stage between keeping naps and leaving them behind.

This morning Melody desolved over something and wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.  I found her bubbling in her room and scooped her up, pretending she was my doll and crawled into her bed with her protesting all the way.

I snuggled us both under the blankets and made all the silly comments about my squeeky doll (it’s a game we play reletively frequently) until she was giggly then calm, and we just lay together getting warm before she looked at me, all bright-eyed and cheerful again and we could just talk.

It’s interesting to me how much warmth, touch (and food, to complete the Comfort Trinity) work near-magic with these kiddos.  So sweet.

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Schooling Continues

I have a passel of pictures to upload once pictures are working again, but for now I wanted to say our approach to Kindergarten has morphed a few times now.

I’m glad I haven’t been saying each thing as we were doing it, but to recap, we began with the intent of hammering out the “3 Rs” during Nap-time so that it would be just me and Natasha, and got over with quickly so we could return to “regular life.”

The difficulty with that was we were neither of us in our best mental state during nap-time, and making school just the school work was too stark for Natasha.

So we’ve shifted to doing school in the morning, and we’re doing games during “school time.”

The kids have to be dressed before 9 a.m., but can play however they like until 9, when “Performance Today” starts on NPR.  I don’t usually have the radio going during the day (I like better the control the iPod offers) but so far I like the classical music (with the commentary/introductions) for the backdrop of our working time.

I have the younger two go off and play by themselves (all my children are *very* good at this) and we alternate the reluctant writer with games and other elements of learning that I’ve been given or am collecting from my reading.

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Not Ready to Go Away

School started today all across the district, so yesterday I told Natasha she’d be starting too.

This seemed to bother her quite a bit, and she said she wasn’t ready and didn’t really want to start Kindergarten.  She was so (quietly) intense about it, I was ready to say, You’re only 5, we can wait, before I got her talking more.

“I’m not ready to be away from you all day,” she said.  “I’m not big enough.”  Poor baby thought I was going to send her away to school (and with only one-day’s notice)!  I reassured her that I agreed she was too young to be gone, and that’s why we were homeschooling.

So we sat on the porch in the sunshine during nap yesterday and talked about what we would be studying today.

Today she excitedly told the mother of a friend that she was starting school today, and the fear seemed gone.  She wasn’t really interested in knuckling down to actual work when it was time (Can we play a game together first?) but since we’re doing such a focused (limited) time of work already, I didn’t feel a need (not yet anyway) to break up our school time with games.

So we had some “calendar time” where we practiced dates and the pattern of weeks; then I set a 15-minute timer and she worked on her letter tracers while I hand-wrote with her at the table, on a scene for my novel; then I had her pick which type of reading she wanted to do today and she chose to read aloud two stories from her sister’s “Beginner’s Bible.”

She wanted a nap after that (she ‘d been complaining of a tummy ache much of the morning) and now with all of them asleep after 3, I’m stuck again in my “mother’s quandary” of needing to actually wake a quiet house…so they’ll be ready to sleep at bedtime.

*sigh*

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More Growing Up

Natasha this afternoon, very carefully and polite:

“Now, when you’re done with the comics, instead of throwing them away, I would like you to give them to me, because I’m interested in comics now.  So many funny pictures.”

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Kids Being Mean

Natasha got her first taste of teasing and rejection yesterday, but (thankfully) I don’t think she fully realized that’s what was happening.

The back door was open and I heard the 5-year-old next-door protesting to his mom that the other kids were being mean to Natasha.  I went out then, but Natasha didn’t seem disturbed at all, only more serious-faced than usual.

I talked with her and she came inside with me.  Then she told my one of the girls in {neighbor-boy}’s yard was being unkind.

“She was making fun of {neighbor-boy}—saying he was in love.  And he’s not in love, he’s just a kid.”

I found the observation fascinating, and what I got out of the collective event was that the visiting children noticed the children’s friendship, tried to tease them about it, and like good friends, they noticed the intent-to-harm their friend over the attack on themselves.

Or at least expressed themselves that way.

I think there’s something precious in that sensitivity; I hope we’ll see it continue.

p.s.
Melody was coming out of our car  a couple of days ago when it was so sunny, panting for effect, “Wow, that car is freezing- Hot!”

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Snapshot Update

Two weeks ago, now, Jay and I droe to Anchorage and back, leaving Friday afternoon and returning Saturday night.

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The next weekend the Renaissance Faire got rained-out, but the girls still got to wear their costumes:

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On Saturday to Papa and Grandma’s, and Sunday to church.  Yes, Melody wore a shirt under that vest.

I find I didn’t get a picture of Elisha in his bi-colored “jester” outfit, but Mom got several, so I’ll have to get hers.

He didn’t really care for it on Saturday (thought we managed to “trick” him into wearing it, which is no small trick these days).

But when Elisha saw the girls in their costumes on Sunday he was excited to put his on again, and as soon as Jay tied the back you would have thought he was wearing a cape, because he began at once to make these flying leaps between pieces of furniture.  I felt a little shell-shocked.

Something about costumes, I guess…

That same weekend a bird flew into our garage:

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Elisha was the first to notice him (Jay and I couldn’t figure for the longest time what he was so excited about).

He was still stuck after hours with the door open and it took some getting to get him out, but it was finally accomplished. (A flashlight in a dark garage and a dry humidifier figured largely in this process.)

Just this last Saturday we did a lot of biking around, and Jay found a way to fit all three kids (and yes all buckled) in the bike trailer.

3-kid-trailer.jpgYet another moment when I’ve marveled at the perfection fo God’s timing and design in giving us children of these ages and sizes.

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Quiet Time

As I write this Natasha is creating stories behind me, and telling them to and with the toys that are here in the living room.  I told the kids stories most of our (long) walk today, practicing concentration, volume and breath control as I pulled over 100# alongside an active road.

It just tickles me to see her feeding off shared experiences rather than the latest movie.

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Lots Going on Here.

Busy here lately.

  • Spent some time today talking with a couple Suzuki teachers, trying to nail down price and protocol for starting, and I’m totally understanding now why my friend was hedging when I asked her how much she was spending for her two kids’ lessons.
    • I’m even uncomfortable to write it in this post, since we’re still kinda considering it.  (E-mail me if you really want to know and I’ll say).
    • If we go this route we’ll be dropping broad hints that “more music lessons” is a great birthday/Christmas/un-birthday present: share in the investment and reduce clutter all in one efficient gift.
      • Okay, so it would just be not adding to the clutter, not reducing any.  😉
  • Elisha held his paintbrush in a perfect upright hold today.  I was so surprised I looked for the camera, wanting a picture, but couldn’t find it.  He changed his hold later, but was able to go back when I encouraged him to change.
  • I have turned the kids’ rooms and sleeping arrangements all around
    • Melody traded rooms with Elisha.  I moved his crib into the blue room and set up a toddler bed (from under the house) for Melody.
    • Natasha got a “new” toddler bed, too, and everyone got to pick out sheets today.  I washed them during nap and the girls are sleeping on them now.
    • I got both the big beds out of the blue room, and I’m in the process of rearranging the other pieces of furniture.
      • Tonight I organized my craft shelf for the first time since, hmmm, Melody, at least.
  • I am back to four baskets of laundry to fold, and still have to put the yellow room back in order, but I’m liking the new arrangements so far.  (I still hope to move the big book case in the blue room, too.)

While trying to decide about Suzuki I keep saying,  How could I eve be considering this?  There is *nothing* I do every day except eat and sleep!

But just before I started this post I realized there’s one more thing.  If it’s not every day it is pretty close: I write.

And I guess I sing and talk, too.

It’s randoms like these, along with an indefinable something, that haven’t let me trash the lessons-idea just yet.