Library day

The library is a great place...
I love going there alone... and with one kid... sometimes with two kids... with three kids it becomes stressful... and with four kids it is painful.

I will count it as a great victory on the day that I can quietly walk in and out of a library with all four of my children and my pride intact... but until then we will have library day at home.

Library day at our house goes like this...
* I go to the library by myself or with 1 to 2 kids.
* pick a bunch of books on a variety of topics
* line the books up on the floor
* watch what the kids like reading
* refine selection for next time

The "lining-up-of-the-books" is a new and exciting addition to library day... I think my meager attempt to recreate the "library feel" goes a long way in the eyes of my 6 and 7 year old. Max has a new favorite genre - comic books.
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Light the night... a celebration

Our boxes were packed, the walls were bare and I was second guessing our decision (a very familiar feeling at that point).

We colored and hung signs on the bare walls, the kids decorated the table and I prepared a very fancy meal of hotdogs, fruit salad, Capri Suns, and Doritos. 

Several months prior, I bought sky lanterns for our special neighbor trip to Black Water Falls... but as it turned out, densely forested state parks are not the best place to release fire balls into the sky. Everyone was very disappointed.

So we made up a special occasion and called it our "light the night party". After our gourmet meal everyone got their pajamas on and we drove to our neighborhood park.

We tossed the frisbee until it got dark, lit the lanterns and smiled as they floated away. It was special.

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Fashion, fabric, and Back to the Future

On days that I go to the library to write, I usually try to pick up a few books that I think might spark the interest of my big kids. Right now Max is into animals and Maggie is into fashion.

Much to my daughters dismay... I am not very fashionable. I have a uniform that I really like - jeans and a gray t-shirt. Sometimes I wear green.
 

I do, however, have a thing for fabric. The pages of this book are filled with gorgeous "vintage" prints that made me want to dive right into the 1950's.

Back to the Future was last weeks "Family Movie Night" selection (capitalized and in quotations because it's kind of a big deal). The humor was a bit over the heads of my kids... but it sparked some fun conversations.

Max would like to go back to see dinosaurs. Maggie would like to go back and be a princess. I would like to go back and fill the DeLorean to the gills with 1950's vintage floral print fabrics.

Most likely those fabrics would sit on a shelf until all my kids are in elementary school... but someday I would turn them into beautiful warm quilts.

Leave a comment if you have a favorite online fabric shop... I am looking to get some over here on Ben's next trip to the states (December). 

Roses and a party

The house we are renting has a beautiful rose garden. I didn't used to be a huge fan of roses. They seemed too traditional, romantic (and prickly)... I tend to gravitate towards casual and unsentimental things.

If given a choice, I probably would have opted for a less formal garden filled with hydrangeas, zinnias, gerbers and cosmos. But I must admit... having fresh cut roses in my kitchen everyday has been a beautiful (sappy) blessing. I love them.

We took a small arrangement to a party this afternoon.  New friends, warm sun, delicious cake, and lots of laughter all around. It was a great day.

Gardening with my fourth child

A few observations...

*  I am taking pictures while my child
    eats dirt.

*  "Gardening" did not actually happen
     on this particular day

*  This is my fourth child... and there
    are a lot of things I just don't care
    about any more.

*  Clothing and children are washable.

Disclaimer - I did have to change a particularly gritty diaper this morning... but they all look the same after 13,800 (a rough estimate on the number of diapers I have changed to date). Jonah's bottom was a bit raw - but nothing a little miracle cream couldn't take care of.  
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stresstrated

stress·trat·ed
: to feel stressed and frustrated at the same time.

We had a stresstrating morning... let's be honest - getting four humans ready to walk out the door is always a bit stresstrating. But this was a particularly difficult (and special) day.

Maggie was an elephant in her class play, Max was starting cricket practice, Jude was hanging on my leg and Jonah was cutting teeth... food had yet to be eaten, bags had yet to be packed, and we were running LATE.

In the heat of the moment Maggie invented a very useful word when she yelled "MOM, why are you getting so stresstrated?!"

I had to pause... first to reflect on the brilliance of the newly created word and second to wonder if my stresstation was a useful emotion for this particular moment.

So we regrouped and "hit the reset button" (a tool I sometimes use with the kids to change the direction of the day). We were late for school... and the world did not end. Maggie was a lovely elephant, Max had fun at cricket, Jude got some cuddle time, Jonah got some tylenol and I got a nap... not worth the stresstration.

Pumpkin party

Last weekend we celebrated an American tradition with some of our new friends... pumpkin carving party.

Go pro... or go crazy

This past week Ben went back to the States for a week to take care of some work business. About 25 hours into my time "alone" (in a new country, on the other side of the world, with four small children... who just so happened to be on school vacation)
I realized that I was going to need to step. up. my. game.

I have had several of these "come to Jesus" moments in my career as a mother, when I realize that I might lose my mind if I don't get organized. Usually when this happens I cry... and then send out a desperate (and sometimes whiny) plea for prayer... and then I get a big glass of coke zero, pick and appropriate pandora station and "go pro".

In Steven Pressfield's inspiring book called The War of Art he talks a lot about becoming a professional... it is a book written mostly for artist, musician and writers, but I have found a lot of  crossover in all areas of my life... including parenting.

On this particular morning, my organizational crisis had to do with chores... more specifically, getting my kids to do them. I have been gathering resources on this topic for a while and have tried a few packaged systems (like this great one from Dave Ramsey)... but I wanted something that felt simple, adjustable, clean and also incorporated some handwriting practice for my kids. This is what I finally came up with after a week of adjustments.

daily unpaid & weekly paid must be done before extras
there is a bonus if some of the daily unpaid are done without me having to ask

I am happy to report that I didn't go crazy... and (by the grace of God) had a wonderful week with my kids. Chores got done and we had heaps of fun exploring New Zealand. In other news... Jonah is crawling.

Inspired...

This short video is a family favorite at our house...
Max got inspired.

music by Josh Garrels
art by Daniel & Arian Armstrong

Fresh Fish Tacos

Fishing is a celebrated tradition in our family. We enjoyed our first, fresh-catch dinner in New Zealand...
it was a good night.

Sugar Snaps

Starter seeds are growing...

Alyssum
Basil
Broad Beans
Capsicum
Chilli Pepper
Cosmos
Forget Me Not
Gerbera
Heirloom tomatoes
Iceland Poppy
Nasturtium
Peas
Pumpkin
Snapdraggons
Snow peas*
Sunflowers
Radish
Zinnia

Tree house

The kids have logged hours of "work time" in the tree-house behind our garage. It was pretty beat-up when we arrived but is coming along nicely.

It is nothing like this... but functional and comfortable enough for a 6 & 7 year-old.

5 minute artisan bread

In 2005 I boarded my first international flight for two months in Kigoma, a small town in Western Tanzania.

There weren't any traditional grocery stores and I didn't speak any Swahili... meat came from the butcher on the side of the road, veggies from the bartering ladies at the market, and baking items from a small shop in "town".

At the time my repertoire of meals was about as "limited" as my ability to communicate in Swahili... it was sink or swim.

I must have inherited a bit of prowess from my home ec teaching mother, because I quickly fell in love with the dailyness (and adventure) of making a home in Africa.

Baking bread was a tradition I swore I would keep, when we came back to the States. I haven't baked much bread since 2005 - turning a new leaf here in New Zealand... it smells great.

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