Time For Fun

Time is a precious commodity. When we find a little extra (or more often, dump everything off the calendar) I just want to sigh and savor each bit of it. It's usually gone in such a flash that it only shows it's full value in retrospect. 

Matt and Mary are kindred spirits where music is concerned. They don't just listen. It's not just something for the background. They absorb it. They immerse themselves. Here they are listening to music on Matt's phone. 

And here are the rest of the nuts. 

New Christmas

Utah is having a very snowy December. My favorite kind. My birthday is in December so all the most exciting things for me growing up happened between the end of November and New Years Day. Thanksgiving meant lots of family. Loud and crazy were the defaults. Then loads if Christmas decorations would go up. My birthday was always trimmed with red and green and twinkly lights. Choir Christmas concerts, press cookies and Swedish jam sticks for all the neighbors, manneheim steamroller 24/7 (in spite of all the bratty complaining from us children - I'm glad my mom listened to the music she liked in spite of it and hope we didn't diminish her enjoyment of it too much), taking plates to the neighbors. And cold, snowy weather. Ice and snow. My love for it is undoubtedly linked to it's presence during this time of year. 

The holidays look different to me now. I am seeing them with the eyes of adulthood. There is less magic now. And the markers of the season that sent that thrill through me  when I was growing up are gone. It's hard for me to feel in the Christmas mood when it doesn't feel like Christmas. We have been enjoying 60 degree weather and rain for a week. The rowdy family gatherings are a thing of the past. Now it is the (comparatively) quiet celebrations with just our children that mark the passage of each holiday. No choir concerts. No manneheim steamroller (though that one's by choice). We do have cookies. 

But, this isn't my Christmas. This is what Christmas will always mean to my children. Playing board games with their siblings. Watching White Christmas and Muppets Christmas Carol. Telling stories about the houses and people in our Christmas Village. Spending the entire day opening presents since we're not on a schedule. The unpredictability of North Carolina winters (will it snow or should we break out the sandals?  No one knows!). 

And the common thread through out. Through all of the traditions is a babe in Bethlehem. The magic of the season really does come from the love we feel for and from our Heavenly Father. Cutting through all the other stuff, you find love. Love that finds joy in our joy. Love that comforts us when life throws us curve balls. Love that is there literally through rain or shine or snow. Love that transcends tradition and just is. So, Merry Christmas, however we celebrate. I hope each of us will feel the savior's love. 

Christmas Sunday

I'm a pretty casual person, but every so often it's fun to dress for a special occasion. I love my sweet kids. And poor Kate was not happy about the photo shoot. 

And here is Emily modeling the dress I made. Not too shabby and quite a learning experience. 

Oh the a Weather Outside Is...Delightful

I love winter, and wish we had snow more than one skiff per year, but there is something to be said for 60 degree weather a week before Christmas. After school, the kids went out to ride bikes and Kate had her very first stroller ride. How strange that she is five months old and had never ridden in a stroller. The wrap in many ways is much more convenient. I think her siblings were much more excited about her inaugural ride than she was. But at least she didn't scream the whole time like Ben did. 

And, the following pictures are how the girls entertained themselves during Matt's meeting on Sunday. Selfies and sibling shots. 

Love Christmas!

Why is a bright green tree covered in bright lights so magical?  I don't know, but I love it. Christmas is so wonderful!

Foodie

We love the Food network in our house. But perhaps we watch it too much. Joe critiques dinner every night (in a respectful way) and asks for things like berry compote with his pancakes. I'm great with that because I love baking and enjoy cooking. For his birthday cake he wanted mint chocolate cake with a dark chocolate ganache. It turned well, and was soooo yummy! It tastes like thin mints. Yum yum yum yum yum!

I cheated and used a box chocolate cake because, darn it, I'm tired! I added a bag of Andes mint pieces to the batter and baked it in two 9" rounds. For the center frosting, I brought whipping cream to a boil then removed it from the heat and added crushed mint leaves, covered it and let it sit for awhile. Then I added it and green food coloring to powdered sugar until I got a good consistency. For the ganache I took some of the mint infused cream and brought it almost up to a boil again then poured it on bittersweet chocolate chips that I had poured into a glass bowl. I whisked them together then poured it over the top of the cake. Easy and so delicious. 

Great idea, Joe. 

Holey

We hadn't been to the ER for awhile. That should have been an indicator. We were due. Even when Joe came to my room I didn't think it was that big a deal, then he showed me. 

I could tell he was trying to keep it together. He said, "Mom, Ben pushed me off my bed and my ear really hurts. Is it bleeding?"  I had my typical - it's not that bad so just buck up - mind set. Then he showed me his ear. The cut was an inch long a couple centimeters wide and so deep it almost went through his ear. 

"Is it bleeding?"  He asked again, more than a hint of panic in his voice. I said it was bleeding, but it was ok. I got a tissue and quietly asked Em to go get Matt - the expert on all things medical. Matt does not do blood. Really. He took one quick look then looked away and said, "Yeah. He needs stitches."

"Stitches" is a scary word for kids. Joe was a champ though. He fought back the panic and then said, "Hey, mom!  I'm Fred Weasley!  I'm holey! Ah ha ha!"

After 5(!!!!) hours at the urgent care office, we are home with Joe's ear all stitched up. Happy birthday to Joe!  At least it wasn't on his birthday. Just the day before. 

And he's excited to explore the "whole world of ear related humor."

Good morning!

Someone slept hard!  Good morning, Sunshine! Love the hair. 

The New Normal

Today we are at the science center. 

It's been rough the last few weeks with school. Kids have been sick and I have been feeling a little frustrated and a lot overwhelmed. This isn't how homeschool was supposed to be. I was supposed to magically become an uber organized and crafty super mom. But I'm still just me. I decided to take a week off to regroup and evaluate. The result was that I'm feeling much better and I have yet another strategy. So far, so good and here we are at the science center for a no-stress school day. 

Three different homeschooling moms told me to be patient and give me and the kids a year to get out of the public school mode and relearn how to learn. I didn't believe them. There were good habits from school that I wanted to keep, weren't there? And my kids love learning, it couldn't possibly take that long for them to get used to this. 

They were right. 

Especially with a child like Mary who is very task oriented. She wants to know the specific expectations and then do them. Finding just the right way to implement my educational philosophies with her needs has taken time. But we have already reaped so many benefits. 

Mary is starting to read without anxiety. She wrote in her journal last night without flipping out about making a mistake with her letters. She and Will have a much closer relationship than they did. Mary and I have a closer relationship than we ever have. (Well maybe for the last few years or so at least). Mary is so much more confident than she was two months ago. And she is little by little taking the lead in her education. 

There are still a lot of hold-overs. For instance, yesterday we were making gingerbread men to celebrate Christmas the Danish way (in honor of Hans Christian Andersen -after seeing and LOVING Frozen over the weekend). It was also part of our math for the day. Halfway through the ingredients, Mary glowered at me and said, "Hey! This is like math!" Later we talked about why we learn math. She said it was so we could move up to a higher level (thank you NCLB and common core testing).  I said we need math for lots of things, like baking for instance.  

I'm slowly muddling my way through, hoping I'm not messing things up. It's so much easier when they're tiny and dependent on you for everything!!

Ben took this selfie with my phone.