You Don't See That Every Day

Shh, don't tell my kids but I got them an educational gift. I'm a little late to figure this out, but I'm so glad I tried it! I ordered my 12 yr old a Tinker Crate, and my 8 year old a Kiwi crate. ((And no, I have not been paid to post this)) For the past few hours, (on a Saturday!) my child has been learning about hydraulics and robotics. Without me making her. Without me reading some dry textbook to her. My younger girl made a periscope. On her own, following the instructions. I remember doing hat with my brothers as an kid,but I wouldn't have thought of it for my kids. Last month Little K learned about the body, and sewed some felt organs. Miss M learned about electrical currents and made a paint spinner. They are so excited when they know the Box is on its way. Of course they love to get mail with their names on it. And they dig in as soon as they can. They enjoy making whatever comes in the kit, and I love that they are learning about 'science' even ...

Remember these? I came upstairs the other day to find a 'playground' that the girls had made. I love that they are playing with the exact toys I used to play with. We also have Lincoln Logs, and the square blocks that Avon used to sell back in the day when my mom bought things from them.

 Last week I had a bunch of blog posts .. did I spoil ya?  Yeah, we got back into a school schedule this week and the time flew away from me. Plus I took out a quilt that has been sitting next to my bed for a long time, taunting me every time I walk into my room, and I started to actually quilt again! Oh, it is nice to sit and watch Cosby Show reruns, or family home videos, and rock that needle back and forth through the quilt layers. I also started running regularly again. I have finally gotten rid of the nasty cold my sweet kids shared with me, and I can talk without coughing. So since we signed up for a 5k on Thanksgiving morning, I am having the kids run with me every other day. Some have made it up to 2 miles. Some haven't gotten past the first mile. Thursday morning is going to be fun! SO, last Saturday, as in a week ago - my girl had a swim meet.  I finally got the photos uploaded from the meet and the short walk out onto the beach.     ...

My girl turned 2 last month. And I looked high and low for just the right gift for her,. There are plenty of toys in our house, and books, and dolls, and other stuff. With 4 older siblings, this girl has plenty to choose from each day. So I wanted to get something just for her. I tried various venues and considered a few I found in the store. But I just wasn't about to pay $$ for the trike they were selling, and it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. When I was a little girl I had a push trike in the shape of a ladybug. 4 wheels, and large seat, 2 handles, no pedals - it was very basic, but perfect. So last Friday the girls and I were out looking at garage sales. Some friends are heading to Uganda to pick up their adoptive child, and we were searching for clothes to send with them, to give to the orphanage.  And we stumbled upon The Perfect Gift. I could almost hear the angels singing. Little K. saw it before I could get to it. She sat on it and smiled. And so I s...

Today was spent looking, pondering, playing. We relaxed most of the day, well some of us did. Some of us went upstairs and put up more sheet rock in the afternoon. But others of us had tea and watched a movie and played games. I got some gunpowder this year. (Along with a boatload of other teas! Someone has been reading my blog it appears.) G got some dynamite. Boy, that was a bit of a shock. Until we realized what it actually is. My mom made this ornament for Little K. It's one of her first - K's that is, not my mom's; she's a pro at that kind of thing. And my sister made each one of us a beautiful ornament also! Little K also got a doll for Christmas from Grandma that had matching dresses - I mean the doll's dress and K's' dress from Grandma matched, not that Grandma has a dress that matches the doll. K was pretty much thrilled by that gift. really, she is thrilled, she just doesn't like to sit still for a picture...

The morning started too early. This is a.m. Sigh. Why is it that the children can leap out of bed before 6:30 on this holiday, but it takes an act of Congress to get them awake and out of bed on a school day? Little K opened gifts from her grandma and aunt - new babies! She was so excited; she hugged them and kissed them and talked to them most of the day, carrying them here and there. Our Best Neighbors Ever gifted us with a retro Pac Man game - which the Boy tested out this morning before church. I don't think the girls have yet had a turn on it. And then after church it was time for photo op again. And again - getting the 20 month old to participate on my terms? Nearly impossible. We had to do a little trick photography with my husband helping out in the background. See if you can guess where he is. Finally Little K wanted to take a picture with her sister and their matching dresses. While dinner was cooking the girls played their new game - He...

I mentioned in a previous post about The Barn my brother made and gave to my girls. I want to show you just how amazing this barn is! My brother T. must have spent a lot of time and attention to detail. The doors open with tiny hinges, the gates swing open too. The roof comes off so the kids can easily reach into the tack room which has removable cedar plank flooring. Every gate and door has these perfectly spaced dowels. They had to have taken a lot of patience to put together. Even the ladder has perfect evenly spaced rungs! Inside the barn the corners are nicely rounded. The girls have been playing with it every single day since we got it. The first night we had it at home, all 5 kids were looking at it, oohing and aahing. Little K even got her head inside it, trying to crawl in. Big brother S. wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed playing with it too the first night. Now it sits in the girls' room, in the seat of honor for all toys - smack dab in the middle...

my parents, my brothers, sisters, some nieces and nephews. A long week has passed since I last wrote here. Sorry about that. But oh what a long and fun week it was.  We had swim lessons every day, along with swim meets for the older two. On Friday, out-of-town family started showing their faces in my neck of the woods, causing unbelievable comments to stream from my 12 year-old's mouth - in a good way. "Oh, what a shame," seemed to be his favorite taunt as they played games together. The cousins took it well and dished it right back at him. The chicken-bacon pizza we had with them on Friday night was heavenly - I even wrapped up the last piece and put MY name on it, so I could have it for lunch on Sunday. No-share pizza, that's how I roll. Saturday dawned extra early for me, especially since it was - gasp - raining. My nearly-oldest brother had (easily) convinced me to run in a 5k race with him and his wife before the family festivities began. It sounded goo...