young king arthur

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my neighborhood? We love living here in large part because of our fantastic neighbors. Because of one of our neighbors, Emma had to opportunity to participate in the local elementary school play, Young King Arthur. She had a truly wonderful time as one of the narrators.

The play was really well done, as far as elementary productions go. We really enjoyed watching. Even Slade who went twice!

Emma had to deal with a very busy few months while practicing for the play. It is quite obvious that she does not enjoy being overly busy or having scheduling conflicts. Still, I think it was worth it for the chance to participate and I think she would agree.

More pictures here:
http://deerfieldplay.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post.html

inspired

 Once a month, I meet with my homeschooling friends for Mom's Night Out. We meet to discuss a book, homeschooling, parenting, and life in general. Add in a treat and it makes for a delightful evening. This month, we were lucky enough to listen to our brilliant, book-enthused friend, Shauna, practice her presentation for an upcoming conference. She shared a lot of great insights into how to get your children reading but it was one small idea that totally changed things for me.

I've really struggled with finding a regular time to read out loud to my children. I've tried the afternoon, but once school time is over they are ready to be off doing their own thing. I've tried bedtime, but I am usually ready to be off duty by then. When Shauna shared how she reads her kids out of bed each morning, it was major light-bulb moment for me.

I immediately put the idea into use and it has been wonderful. I read to Emma first in her room. We're reading The Secret Garden. Then I get Slade out of bed and we go sit on the playroom couch. He is quite interested in Greek mythology so we first read D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths and are now reading The Golden Fleece. Then Nathan comes out to the couch. Our current read is Indian in the Cupboard. After that, I head upstairs to make breakfast while they get dressed and tidy up the rooms.

My plan is to read to Anne and Sawyer in the afternoon. I haven't been as successful in getting that implemented but I am still hopeful it will happen.


I'm thrilled with how a small change in our schedule can make such a difference. Thanks, Shauna!

protected

The sacrament hymn as just beginning, as I looked down to Slade's legs. He lifted them up and pulled up his pant legs to reveal shin guards. I asked him why he was wearing them and he told me that they were for protection.

After church, his Primary teacher approached me. She wanted to tell me what Slade had shared in class. By then, he had moved the shin guards to his arm. He told everyone that he was wearing shin guards to remind him of Jesus. Why did they remind him of Jesus you say? As Slade told his class, "They remind me of Jesus because they protect me just like He does."

Awesome.

land of the sun

We headed down to Arizona for a long weekend to keep my parents company. They were there on babysitting duty while Dana and Rob were in China. We came on Friday and left early Tuesday morning. Not a lot of time to do anything too exciting. Just lots of cousin time which is exactly why we came.We spent our time...

--feeding children then cleaning up after children
--giving Lauren lots of baths since she only knows how to have blow-out diapers apparently

--playing the Wii or watching shows on Netflix. Dave started watching Stargate Universe at night after the kids were in bed. I watched movies on Dana's computer. Good chick flicks like Morning Glory and Persuasion.

--having a proper afternoon tea

--getting pampered at the Linder spa

--going to church
--eating as many popsicles as you can get your hands on

--playing at the park, eating pizza, holding puppies

 --playing in the backyard

--playing in the pool. For Dave, this meant sitting in the backyard and playing Angry Birds on his phone.

Our drive home was not nearly as uneventful as our drive there. The way home included a missed turn and consequent detour plus lots and lots of throw up all over the backseat. We were glad we came and got to see Mom and Dad and our AZ cousins. We will be back but definitely not in the summer!

12 on 12 | march | arizona edition

[click to enlarge]

1. The kids spent a lot of time out in the backyard. Slade was thrilled to be in short sleeves and shorts again.
2. Grandma and Sawyer played a little baseball.
3. We went to Anthem's city park to enjoy the beautiful weather and a picnic lunch.
4. Pizza for lunch!
5. Anne was tired, grumpy and prone to wander. Emma to the rescue!
6. Sawyer took this very close picture of me.
7. So fun to see Emma laughing with her cousins.
8. A lady had four puppies at the park which she graciously let the kids play with. Nathan was in puppy heaven.
9. It was a lovely 80+ degrees outside. Perfect for picnics in the park but swimming? Our children could not resist the pool. Brrrr.
10. Emma and Avery had a British afternoon tea, complete with proper attire and accents.
11. You can't really tell from this picture but all the kids were sitting out in the hot tub in total darkness. Dave was reading with a flashlight. Water is so irresistible.
12. Sawyer and Jane played Guess Who before bed. Over the course of our visit, that game got good use. Who knew it was so entertaining?

green

Green pancakes and smoothies for breakfast.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

two cute

Our sweet and sassy Annie turned 2 last Sunday. She went to bed the night before with a fever. It was clear she wasn't feeling great that morning. She had the traditional number pancake with sprinkles for breakfast and only ate a few sprinkles.

 

 

Once Dave returned home from meetings, we had her open presents.With a pout on her cute face, she began. Fortunately she decided presents were fun after all.

Because she had a fever, cough and runny nose, we kept her home from church. After watching an episode of Dora, she fell asleep and took a long nap. After church, both sides of our families came over to celebrate with us. To prevent too much spread of germs, Anne mostly stayed in our bedroom watching Dora. She came out to blow out the candles on her cake. Once again, she had the most adorable sad face through this birthday activity.

Annie's history with birthdays has not been good so far. Last year, she spent her birthday stuck in a car on the way home from California. This year she spent it feeling sick and sad. Hopefully next year she will truly have a happy one.

Now for the party details! I wanted to do a "cute as can bee" party. As always, my plans were much greater than my execution. I spent most of the week before her birthday feeling awful due to a pregnancy-related ailment. This left me with just Saturday to get everything ready. I made a garland and bee decorations, made Jello and chicken salad, baked and frosted two kinds of cupcakes, baked a four-layer cake, tried to cover the cake with fondant and failed and then figured out how to salvage it with a too small amount of buttercream. It was a long day. I was completely aware of the fact that I am the one who cares the most about such party details. After finally going to bed when a feverish Anne needed me to lie down with her, I wondered if the time spent was really worth it.

Judging by the satisfaction I felt and the way the treats all got devoured, I guess I will conclude it was indeed worth it. What can I say? Parties make me happy!

sick and tired

This is what the end of February looked like around here:

After about a week of everyone (except me, thankfully) getting sick with fevers, coughs, runny noses, headaches, and upset stomachs, I am glad that February is over!