I Like It

That's one of Alden's new phrases. He's becoming more and more verbal with complete sentences. When he scribbles over a picture he's coloring or over stickers he often says, "It's hiding!". So any of you relatives who get a card from Aldi-man will now understand his brilliant artistry. Alden's even branching out into math. His favorite math thought is, "3 10!". He says this any old time when he's running in the yard or counting jellybeans or just wanting to say something intelligent to impress the ladies. Wally once asked him if he was going to stay in his booster seat for more than 3 seconds (Alden loves to say he's done and then change his mind). Alden turned around, grabbed 3 bibs off the back of his chair and said triumphantly, "A 3!". He does take after his daddy. Somehow happiness and numbers go hand in hand.

Enjoying fresh peas out of the shell. They never do well in our garden, but they sure are fun to snack on.

Fun native American headgear: elastic headband plus 2 feathers. So easy! Why didn't I think of this before? We've had a lot of rain.

Although Rhianwen is above "hiding" things behind scribbles, she still loves drawing, coloring, cutting, and "writing". She's taken to making her own paper dolls.

She cut this one out all by herself (notice it's not a rectangle; she's getting good at rounded corners etc.). I put contact paper over them so that they last longer. It's so cute b/c she'll write their names on paper. This is usually what it looks like: AHAAHHHAAAAH. Then she'll ask me what it says. I try very hard not to laugh.

Making a turtle stepping stone. We even mixed the cement and poured it in the mold! It came out quite well. Thank you Aunt Clara and Uncle Brooks! Notice also that I caved and got Rhi a scooter (she adores it) and Alden a trike (also loves it). Now it's sometimes hard to lure them to our enormous back yard just b/c they want to ride around in the driveway all day. Hmmm, I just noticed Aldi-mans "boots". He never keeps his shoes on, so they get scattered all over the yard, and daddy gave up trying to fine a complete dry pair and gave him Rhi's old ones to wear that day.

Alden's first "big-boy" haircut. Instead of daddy doing it, he went to the barber. I actually really hate the bangs so we've already introduced hair product for my little 22 month old. How silly!

Look who can climb trees really well! Watch out Minkey and Zephir and any other sock-monkey bloggers!

My sweet beautiful girl.

She makes up these hilarious songs when I'm putting her to bed. Often, if she doesn't know how to keep going or finish, she'll stop and say, "Oh, I've got to check it out on the computer later." She mixes in Jesus with some crazy storyline in her songs. I really have to try hard not to laugh, but my face must give it away b/c she sometimes sings "And this is a silly soooong!". Then I just roll. I love it!

Driving in an ambulance.

Our playgroup visited the local fire station yesterday, and they had a blast! I can't get over how much the firemen let us do. We even got to see them go to a real emergency and come back. They also gave us frisbees and stickers and were so informative. It was really fascinating! It took the kids a little while to warm up b/c the trucks are so big, but then it was hard to keep them from treating the trucks like a playground. The firemen took it all in stride and were so relaxed about it. I just feel bad about all the little fingerprints on all that shiny chrome.

Boys aren't the only ones who love fire trucks!

Back at home it was back to the unglamorous life of pulling beets. Surprisingly, they did well, and now I have to figure out how to prepare them in an enjoyable way ;0) I'm also dreading pink stained clothing.

Ask Grandmama

Well, Wally whisked me off to NYC to see Phantom of the Opera for my birthday, so I have no idea what I should say about the kids. Grandmama and Grandaddy made every effort to completely exhaust them by the end of the day to ensure a good night's sleep. The zoo, sand, collecting chicken eggs, running through (Rhi) or being terrified of (Alden) the sprinkler, attending Bible study were all part of the good time the kids had. One of Rhianwen's favorite animals at the zoo was the tiger. Grandmama said it came out and wouldn't stop roaring. I guess it knew a kindred spirit when it saw our Clemson kids. It probably was trying to say, "What am I doing in Columbia?! Hey guys, can you let me out of this place?" When Aunt Clara asked Rhianwen if it was a Clemson tiger, Rhianwen said something like, "No! Because all his feet touch the ground." It took Clara a minute, but, apart from her stint at USC, Clara really is quite intelligent and figured out that Rhianwen was referring to our Mascot who walks around on only 2 feet, upright, like us and not like the tiger in the zoo.

I do have to say, it's amazing how relaxed I can be without the kids, how I can pace through a book in 2 days, and how quickly we can walk without them. Sadly, we both could feel it in our legs after walking like that for 3 days! People always ask me if it's strange not having the kids with us, but, honestly, I feel like we are back to normal. Just the 2 of us, being spontaneous, relaxed, and together. We've really only had kids for a fraction of the time that we've been together, so "weird" is having kids. "Normal" is being without kids, strange as it may seem.

Back home, it's routine as usual. We spend a good part of our time outdoors and are ever thankful for such a wonderful yard for roaming. Of course, it never feels quite safe now that Alden knows how to open the gates! I feel like if I can't see him, then he likely has made a mad dash for the vast forest unknowns. So far, he hasn't quite made it, but I worry.

Alden in the safest spot in the yard, spotting our owl.

One of our owls. He's looking at us!

Celebrating my birthday with the kids. Cheesecake made by Wally to near perfection (although Junior's off Broadway was better...Shhhh.) For some reason they weren't thrilled with it this year. That's ok. More for me!

I asked Rhianwen and Alden what we should get Daddy for his birthday. Although Daddy tries to give me a hard time about being ancient, he's only a month behind me. She said, "A tool. Like a hammer." Alden said, "A balloon." So cute!

In an airplane comparing "owies" with a friend.

I'm a Little Teapot, Old and Fat

Rhianwen was singing the teapot song the other day with a variation (see title) I am not familiar with. It just made me laugh partly because it is a true description of most teapots and also because I was imagining Rhianwen as a little old granny singing that to her grands one day.

Neither old nor fat, but ready for a day at the Renaissance Faire as a princess. She got this new "cinderella" dress just for the occasion and was SO thrilled to be able to go out in public all dressed up. We did nix the shoes, in case you were wondering.

We had no princely clothes for Alden, but they still deemed him worthy of knighthood and even gave him a document proving he had endured the ceremony before the queen. We promptly lost it. Ah well.

A pony ride. She just loved it and wanted to do it again.

Future homecoming court? Who needs escorts, they're doing just fine on their own!

The first time Alden has ever been brave enough to touch a horse. We saw lots of jousting and acrobatics that day, and I think he realized that horses and humans do get along.

All in all we enjoyed the day, but would have liked to see more skilled artisans practicing their trade on site along with selling more practical goods for the home (although perhaps nice, I don't wear corsets or wield a sword routinely) . We also got to see Scottish dancing and some Highland games. It took a while for Rhianwen to feel comfortable with all these period people talking to her, but after a while, she warmed right up to it. She especially was thrilled to see fairies walking around the grounds. One fairy in particular spent a nice bit of time speaking with them at their eye level, and when she got up to leave, Rhianwen excitedly said to her friends, "Come on! Let's follow that fairy!" and ran off without us. I have to admit, I can see why people risk their sanity to go to Disney World after a day like this one. It is a lot of fun!

Enjoying the patio on a chilly evening.

Nanny Kim came for a visit while daddy had a very busy travel week. We always have a great time with her and this time got to celebrate her birthday.

She also was able to come to the nursing home with us for our playgroup program. The best part of that visit was when we played the games and had Singin in the Rain playing as one of the songs for the games. The residents were all singing it out loud! So fun. The room was quite full with all of us (around 15 kids, their accompanying adults, and around 15 residents). I'm always so thankful that God blesses our time there. The kids do amazingly speaking with the residents, giving affection, and enjoying every activity, and the residents and staff all glow when they see those kids dancing around.

Of course, you can't have Nanny Kim around without tea.

Rhianwen even has the posture down.

Nanny Kim brought some special gifts along from Uncle Skipper and Great Grandpa. Uncle Skipper send a really cool bracelet and sand toys that change color in the sun. The kids are having so much fun with those! And Great Grandpa sent a GIANT rabbit (affectionately called Mr. Rabbit from the book Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present which used to be in our possession but for the life of me I can't find). I love the book because of how the girl thinks about, seeks help for finding, and finds a gift that her mommy will like despite the girl's lack of resources...yes, my birthday is coming up ;0) Anyway, Mr. Rabbit is nearly as tall as Alden is. The largest stuffed animal we have. I have to say, I've taken a liking to him too. He's so personable and jaunty sitting in the little toddler chair that we have. Rhianwen's slept with him every night since he's made our house his residence. It looks hilarious to see him take up as much space in her bed as she does. I keep worrying we'll hear her fall out of it one night.

We've instituted a reward (mommy language)/bribery (daddy language) system for potty time and for Bible verse memorization. Admittedly, the children were doing a fabulous job memorizing already, but I was so proud of Alden one day for doing such a good job trying to say those huge words and remembering, that I gave them a jellybean, and, as all parents know, if you do it for one child, you have to do it for both and this becomes an expectation and a strong motivation. We learned James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." One thing that really helped them get this verse was using signs for prayer, powerful, and effective. By the end of the week, when it was time to say our verse, Alden would say, "ffectiv, jeyeebean!" before we even started. Usually when we give Alden the reward, he says, "3:9!" even though it's only one. Rhianwen hasn't had an potty accident all week (mostly because of the jellybean incentive but also b/c one day I told her that fig newtons make you poop and she took it literally, "I eat a fig newton, now it is time to poop.") All this has made me conclude that Jellybeans are "powerful and effective".

Alden also knows that turning on the charm is powerful and effective in mommy's book. One day he came up to me, gave me a big kiss, said, "I love you!" and then said, "I so sweet!"; he's heard me say that a lot about him ;0).

I finally gave in and let Wally build a sandbox. It's huge and filled with "free beach sand" that ended up being from a frat party. They dumped 55 tons of sand in a parking lot, had a huge party, then put it up on craigslist for free. Just like frat boys...somehow smart and insane all at the same time. The sand smells like beer and I just pray there is nothing else in there...bodily fluids come to mind. Wally said he sifted out his fair share of flops and beer bottles. I'm an even braver mommy than I thought I was when I agreed to this sandbox thing.

Rhianwen has been waiting for sand to use the big shovel like daddy and mommy do. Our ground is too hard for it and we haven't let her stomp on it until we got the sandbox. She's so proud of herself :) I love how Alden is trying to play with her and she just won't have any of it.

Why the sandbox probably really doesn't add much more work to the clean-up process. I've told my friends here that we should have a photo contest this summer to see whose kid could win the grubbiest prize. I think mine would. Any other mommy out there want to take me up on the challenge? It'd have to be all on their own doing...NO staging!

We had a surprise visit from Grandaddy and Grandmama yesterday. We've really been pining for them. So it was a fantastic time even though it was short. Here, Grandaddy is reading Tuesday, a book with very few words but one of our children's top 10's.

Bedtime story with Grandmama.

In talking with multiple moms in completely different circles recently, I've learned that often blogs just make them feel like they don't do enough/aren't creative enough/are too _______ (fill it in) and just feel more discouraged than anything else. I hope this blog doesn't make anyone feel that way. Although I feel like we spend most days at home, being uncreative, and sinning a lot, it may seem in blog form to be more adventurous and struggle-free. Anyway, I've realized, that the top thing my kids, and I'd venture any kids appreciate the most is simply time spent with them doing what THEY have come up with to do. Usually in my house this involves sitting on the floor playing dollhouse or kitchen. Simple, initiated, organized and run by my tots (NOT by me). They react to this kind of time together more positively than any other activity I do with them. If you are taking time to do that, it is the most important thing you could ever do! I've decided that on days that we are home, I will carve out time just for that. I'll put aside my educational agenda, my "crafty/creative" agenda, my chore agenda, and ask them what they want me to play. It usually makes a WORLD of difference in their attitudes and mine! Of course, most of you are probably rolling your eyes and saying "Duh!", but for me, I have to be aware that there are times when I need to just be another kid on the floor with them, not their teacher, protector, leader, memory-maker, but just their friend.