Look Out World! Three kids to look out for in the near future.

 Josiah has been wanting a big boy scooter for the longest time.  A Razor, just like the neighbor kids always had at VM.  We got him a cool Buzz Lightyear one, more appropriate for his age and size, for Christmas.  Obviously he knew he got jipped and barely rode the thing.  We saw this Razor at a yard sale and so I picked it up!

Josiah learned how to ride a scooter before he could even walk.  

 Maryn is making big plans here, as you can see in the above picture.  She is planning world domination.

 I took a picture of this little chart because these looks like/ sounds like charts have been an immense help to me when I am trying to get my kids to understand my weird words, like "self-control," "compassion," "patience," etc.

Feeding Minnie Mouse

Owen LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, much to my dismay.  I hate that show.  I don't know why we have it on our tv, but when he was terribly fussy one night we turned it on in hopes he would calm down and he's been hooked ever since.  It gets him to sit for five minutes or more sometimes.  I'll take it!

FlyLady, Friends, Work, Church, Outside Play, etc.

I was looking back at my blogs from a few months ago and thought I might need an update on a few of these things.

FlyLady:  First of all, I was feeling a little bad about FlyLady, but now that I've looked where I was back in March, I can honestly say I've progressed.  Moving did give us a chance to declutter a lot, and now that we are settled, I don't feel overwhelmed with toys like I once did.  The kids rooms and the play area are staying pretty nice.  Messy of course, but manageable.  I kind of wish we had nicer bins or organizers, etc.  Who doesn't?  It would be nice if everything matched perfectly!  :)

Friends:  It's been hard to make friends here, since they aren't right across the hall anymore.  I'm feeling quite a bit lonely and trapped sometimes.  I have plenty of friends--it's just hard to get together with them for some reason.  I mean, I'm used to hanging out with other mom friends at least once a day, every day.  And I know that's not really normal, but it was my life for the last three years, and adjusting to normal SAHM American life is a little rough.

Work:  John got a job with Home Depot and will no longer be working for Target.  We are excited and maybe a little nervous about this new opportunity and change.  

Church:  We are loving our church more and more.  Being closer has made a huge difference, and we've made friends with families who have older kids and teenagers who love on our little kids, which is truly fantastic.  I really like teenagers/tweens, surprisingly.  ;-)  I kind of forgot that.

Outside Play:  This is Booneland, for real.  I mean we live in a place that used to be thick forest.  The bugs and the weeds are outrageous.  I made a homemade mosquito repellent that is working pretty well, and i"m proud of myself.  lol!  But I can't manage all the weeds!  Our garden is doing really well with mulch laid down but our yard is psycho.  

Josiah:  Josiah is now performing at the high end for his age in all areas, including his expressive language, receptive language, and whatever else.  We are loving our new little man.  He is such a tender hearted warrior boy.  Loves superheroes, wrestling and Peter Pan.

Maryn:  Maryn has become my little friend, my sweet helper, as I manage these wild boys all day.  I'm so grateful for her companionship and winsome little ways.

Owen:  Wild thing.  Tasmanian devil.  ;-)  I just posted this on facebook:  Happy 14 months to our mischievous and adorable littlest, Owen Michael. He's still nursing with no end in sight, walking around pretty well, loves to bite whenever he's mad, kiss whenever we say I love you, and has a cute little chuckle. He never likes the same food twice, except beef. He loves ground beef. Lol.

Artsy Maryn

Do you have a child who shows gratitude often?  Josiah has been so precious, saying thank you when we wash his hair, and thank you when we give him medicine, and just at any point in the day he gives us hugs, kisses, and shares his love with us.  We pray before dinner, but if we have a second course or dessert, he feels we have to pray and say thank you to God again.  

I feel as though I have tried and tried to get Maryn to say Please and Thank You since the day she was born and yet she still struggles with these words.  But as I was looking through these pictures, I see that she is grateful, and she does notice the beauty in small things.  She also works hard to make things even more beautiful.  She just has that eye for all things lovely.

Maryn notices the beauty in weeds and thistles (notice our weed garden behind her, which she loves).

Here she is making a memory box like Josefina had in her book, Meet Josefina.

Ooh, who is this little fairy person?

Maryn and I decorated this t-shirt today.  She loves it :)
And she kept saying, "I love having girly time with you, Mommy."

You're welcome sweet Maryn.

:)

This Week's News

While we were in Ohio, Daddy cleaned out our front living room.

Now our front living room is just one huge play space.  It's like a dance floor.  We usually have dance parties at least once every day.

It's been too hot or mosquito-y to even play outside very much.  But I made a homemade mosquito repellant that works rather nicely.

John has been making fun of  me because I changed my political party and am now registered as a Libertarian. He thinks I want to smoke marijuana, or something.

But really, the fact that raw milk is illegal here in KY just started me thinking about all the outrageous laws we have.

Isn't Owie Badowie so cute?

This little man has amazed us.  Not only has he grown an incredible amount, he has also been exited from the speech therapy program and passed all the areas of the test he had to take with flying colors.  He is doing well across the board, even by state standards.  

Maryn said this is their boat to cross the river back to Mamaws.  I asked her what river they would cross, thinking she'd say something funny.  But she answered, "The Ohio River!"

Rice play :)

Painting with things we found in our yard.

Painting a rock.

Painting outside really has its benefits. It stormed shortly after we painted, so that washed away some of the paint, and they washed off in the pool or hose.

Some men came to redo our neighbors' driveway which was flooding. We had a great time watching them and learning about concrete.  So, we took them brownies and they offered to do our driveway as well, courtesy of the great city of Louisville.  I guess the government isn't so bad afterall.  :)

All three kiddos completed their summer reading.  I'm so proud of my library champions.