Our kids, good and bad, big and small, I love them all :)

Owen

I was just thinking about how different is each child of ours as I took Owen upstairs after he nearly spilled chia seeds all over the kitchen.  I was actually putting the Chia seeds back and found that he had hidden carrots in each of our kitchen cabinets.  He really must be the "baddest" toddler I've ever had, maybe because he has more room to roam, I have less time to keep an eye on him, and he has two older siblings to teach him bad things.  He also bit Josiah today, which is not unusual, but this time he really broke through the skin and peeled off a part of Josiah's skin....on Josiah's back, the poor thing.

Now that you think I'm crazy for pinpointing one of my children as the "worst," I will just go on to say he's also the "cutest."  He bats his eyelashes at me and gives me a bashful little glance when he is trying to manipulate me.  He also understands a lot that is going on.  He isn't talking a whole bunch.  He does jabber a lot and repeats a lot of words, but his big strength is he understands.  For example, I really struggle with getting to Josiah to just follow my directions.  It's really an obedience issue for Josiah (and he's pretty tired in the evenings).  I told Josiah to pleeeeeeease find his other shoe.  Josiah wandered around aimlessly not quite knowing what to do, and Owen went and found Josiah's other shoe straight away, without any trouble.

Another unique thing about Owen is his love for books.  He loves to read books with people!  My other kids have not been crazy about books like him.  He also can't fall asleep with us at all; he's always wanted to be in his own bed and is pretty particular about his bedtime routine already.  He loves TV, too!  He's my first kid who will really sit as a toddler and watch it.  It's kinda nice.  :)

Josiah

Josiah does require a lot of patience as well, in a different way than Owen.  So many times a day I think, are you HEARING me!!!????  And I know he is as his hearing has been tested recently by our ENT....it's like he wasn't hearing well for so long, we required little of him, and now he is hearing and functioning at a higher level and he sometimes thinks he can play dumb.  He's also just not doing things very independently.  He's happy to just let Mommy dress him while his body lies completely limp.  I always thought I would train my kids to do things for themselves, but with Josiah I feel we just got off to a rough start with him.

We are also still struggling with sleep with Josiah.  Ugh, it's no fun!

Considering he just started talking and hearing normally in February, he is doing splendidly.  He is really a typical three year old boy with exceptional athletic ability (I think!).  We've been learning about the human body (so far cells, blood, bones and skin).  Maryn is totally grossed out by it all and can't remember a single thing I teach her about it.  Josiah is completely into it!  I caught him looking at all the anatomy books today.  John and I keep saying he is probably going to grow up to do something that helps people/rescues people.  Even though he does kind of like to beat up people now, he seems the type to be able to stay calm in stressful situations and remain focused.  Again, just like his daddy.  Always so much like his daddy.

Maryn

We've been doing school this week pretty hardcore.  Yeah!  We're learning about the pilgrims and the human body, Claude Monet and George Frideric Handel, Lewis Carroll, memorizing addition facts and reading lots of books.  Yeah, we're kind of all over the place right now.  Maryn loves history, math and science.  She can't get enough info in her head about pilgrims, wants to do more and more math flash cards all the time, is still addicted to puzzles, and loves anything to do with engineering, nature, etc.  But she does not enjoy learning about anything "gross," meaning blood, bones, and the insides of bodies.  lol.  It's probably safe to say she will not be a doctor ;-)    We see her doing something in the area of art, architecture, design, using math to make things beautiful or make things make sense.  Which is weird to me, but whatever.  She is reading well but doesn't enjoy learning "how to read," she just wants to memorize the words and read.  She's not interested in the phonograms, but if a reading game is in the form of a puzzle or something like that, she is into it.  And she loves word finds and crossword puzzles.  :)

I haven't been taking many pictures with our nice camera because our SD card is full, but you can check out facebook for pics on our school days lately.

Fire Engine #4

 Owen loves to sit on these stairs and read.  He is my first toddler who has LOVED to read.

 Here we are at the fire station "Fire Engine #4!"  It was such a nice field trip.  Josiah was super excited.  When the four fire fighters came out, Josiah said, "I'm Josiah.  This is Maryn.  I have a basement.  I like your boots!"  The firefighter said, "I like  your Batman shirt!"

 Here's a small group of kids learning about the oxygen tanks, which way about 70 lbs.  Here they were also learning about the oxygen mask and a special alarm on the tank alerting the team if one of their team members is lying still for more than 30 seconds, so they can save him.

 Josiah tried on the oxygen mask!  I'm so glad he wasn't scared of it.

 This is a firefighter/EMT, the sergeant, another firefighter/EMT, and the fire chief/EMT.

 Our little group!  We had lots of babies and toddlers there with us, too :)

Kindergarten and Preschool! Week One

I planned to start school with Maryn a little more hard core than ever before on Monday.  But the kids were playing so well outside, I just let them play all morning (and we were at the ER with Josiah until midnight the night before).  A similar thing happened on Tuesday, and we skipped Motor Skills.  Then Wednesday came and eh...we did phonograms and of course read our Bible, practiced our Awana verses, did some little writing practice (because Maryn has a strange love for writing on lines), and did some Fruit Loop Math.  :)  Maryn came to me with all of her capital ABCs written on paper, and told me to circle the ones she needed to practice.  So she practiced S and B.  That day Maryn also read two books to me that were upper Kindergarten/Early First Grade levels for the first time, and she did very well.

Today was Thursday and I was at a doctor's appointment ALL morning and came home absolutely exhausted.  So we just sat on the couch and read Maryn's math book (Life of Fred:  Apples) and did the short activities at the end.  Then we read a large chapter in her book "A Pioneer Sampler" which all the kids enjoyed.

Maryn and I have been reading Milly Molly Mandy before bed, which she loves.  Maryn and Daddy make up stories for their bed time ritual.  For Josiah and Owen, I read a book with them of their choice and so does John.  In the mornings, we always do some sort of Bible reading.  Usually it's just right out of the Bible, but sometimes we need to practice our verses for Awana and read those books and sometimes we read from a children's Bible.  Right now we are reading from Chronicles, about King Solomon.  We just finished up 1 and 2 Samuel.  I love the Old Testament.  We enjoyed reading about Samuel, Saul, and King David.  I can't wait to read about Elijah.

I think this may be kind of how our whole school year goes.  I'd like to work a little more on phonograms (more than once a week), do more guided reading (more than once a week), and just keep the television off more often.  So much learning takes place naturally when the TV is off.

I'm regretting signing the kids up for Motor Skills and wish I had used the money to do gymnastics or ballet.  Josiah will not participate at Motor Skills, so I drive 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back (traffic is bad those times of day) and get home right at supper time.  It really makes for a miserable day.  I was looking forward to the time with several of our former neighbors, but by the time we get there, I'm exhausted and frustrated, and spend most of the time just trying to keep up with Josiah and Owen.  Sigh.

And of course I committed to teaching Cubbies this year, making our Wednesday nights almost absolutely tragic, as the kids finally fall asleep around 10...and still wake up at 6...meaning Josiah must take a nap the next day....meaning he is then up till ten the next night....

It seems like things at church are just not going very well (long story, but fyi, it doesn't have to do with the leadership, it's just a lot of little things) and now John works so far away.  I wonder why we moved to this area of town now, why I committed to Cubbies and Motor Skills, why I don't like Beth Moore Bible studies anymore, why am I complaining on my blog about everything, and why do I not like the busy life...compared to most people, our lives are not that busy.  Why am I reminded every day that I am not cut out to be a mother of three (almost four) small children?  I know for a fact that they are no more annoying than most children their ages, so why do I get so upset and annoyed by them?  I have been keeping the house too clean.  Seriously, I know I should not be cleaning as much as I have been.  But I just feel helpless in every other area.  At least I think I can succeed in keeping our house nice, so that when John IS home (when all the rest of us are sleeping), maybe he'll feel comfortable and like I did something for him.  Which is totally silly, and defeating.  None of the encouraging mommy blogs are encouraging to me, that all the other moms say "This was so encouraging!"

I know I need to focus on the gospel.  I need to get off Facebook and focus on the here and now.  And go to sleep (now).

I have ONE more week of first trimester to go, and after that hopefully I'll be a little more....cheery.  :)

Happy 5th Birthday, Maryn!!!

Maryn turned five early this morning and we had a wonderful party today at noon with some of her best friends.

We couldn't invite all of our church AND seminary friends over for a gigantic birthday party, so we just invited a few friends who we knew would be home during the day.  Because of that I'm posting some pictures here on the blog instead of facebook and ask that if you repost these pics, please don't tag me.  :)

 Mommy really made sure this party-loving, decoration crazy girl got the party of her dreams.  I did it up right this time!

 She was so, so, so very excited for her big day.

 We had a cake and ice cream sundae making station, so the kids got to choose from strawberry or funfetti cake, fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, maraschino cherries), whipped cream and sprinkles.

 We wanted to make sure all the Strawberry Land girls were included in the party preparations.  So Lemon Meringue made the lemonade and Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Torte, and Cherry Cuddler all helped provide the fruit.

 Josiah and Maryn loved seeing Gracyn and her new baby brother.  They used to be our neighbors and we miss them very much.

 Maryn had six little girls here to play with and she spent a majority of her time playing with her buddy, Eli.  :)  I love the friendship these two have, especially since Maryn used to pretty much hate him.  :)

 The Erdmans and the Powells.  Minus Aidan.  Oh, here he is....

 I missed getting pictures of the McFarlands and the Wiggers, and Gracyn would not look at the camera!  But we had ten little kids here, plus three toddlers/babies.  And two pregnant mamas.  It was a lot of fun!

 This is our "pin the strawberry on the vine" game.  Who did the best?  The two and three year olds!  Josiah was the winner!!!

We ate three large Papa John's pizzas, one with Maryn's favorite toppings (mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, extra cheese, sausage) and my kids were the only kids who would eat that one, lol.  Ella Grace devoured three pieces of pizza plus her ice cream and cake! We listened to Strawberry Shortcake music and played in the kids' rooms, and played outside.   All the girls got cute reusable Strawberry Shortcake cups with fun favors inside (mostly jewelry, accessories and candy).  The boys got reusable Batman cups with fun favors, too (candy, disc shooters, sunglasses, Batman stuff).

I think all the kids had a lot of fun.  I even enjoyed it, too!  I like simple parties, and although the decorations and the food did take a lot of time and money, Maryn was so happy....She just LOVES this kind of stuff.  She is such a girly girly girl!

I totally did not plan well and we aren't going to be able to have Maryn's favorite for dinner tonight.  Pasta instead.  This mama is too tired to make chicken and mushrooms anyway!

Maryn, I love you sweet girl.  And I love having parties in your honor!  I just hope somehow we can make your brothers think that they don't need big parties too, or we are going to go broke.  Haha!  Maybe we'll say the 5th Birthday is special?

Pampered Chef Party!

Don't forget to visit my Pampered Chef Catalog Party at pamperedchef.biz/seelye!

When you order from this party, you are not only getting some great products, helping me earn some cool products, but you are also helping support a sweet military family.  My friend Melissa's husband is in the army and has served our country for a number of years.  I think this Christmas, if John lets me, I'm going to try to buy gifts from people like this, who are working side jobs like selling Pampered Chef, to support their families.  Most people have a few favorite things from Pampered Chef.  ;-)  What are yours?  I love my PC Spatulas!

Beautiful Chaos

Life is really in a state of beautiful chaos right now.  There are little piles of tiny things here and there, placed high on shelves--a sign that we have a toddler who wants to put everything in his mouth.  The items are usually an assortment of tiny toys, writing utensils, bottle caps, sticks, rocks, coins.  There are little love notes scattered through the house as well, adorned with stars, hearts, and often the words "I luv yoo ______," which indicate there's a little girl here eager to begin kindergarten.  There are golf balls and clubs, hockey sticks and swords, sand, dirt, leaves, balls of all shapes and sizes, signaling the presence of a three year old boy.  And now we have slobbery bones and a water dish that constantly has water all around it but not necessarily in it--the evidence that a dog lives here.  There are stacks and stacks of insurance envelopes and new employee binders, indicating that someone just made a career change.  There are strange books strewn all about that no one would ever read for fun, signaling someone is also in a seminary church history class.  There are children's books, learning materials, lists, schedules--all evidence that preschool and kindergarten take place here sometimes, whenever the mood strikes us.  There is whey and raw milk and fresh butter and cod liver oil in the fridge, garden vegetables, gobs of leftovers sitting in the refrigerator, salmon in the freezer, and something is always soaking or cooking on the counter--signs that we are trying to eat healthier.  And now there are pregnancy books mixed in with the seminary books, there are snacks on my bed stand, folic acid supplements on the counter, all evidence that someone here is pregnant.

Are these people crazy?

I think one thing that happens as more and more kids (and pets) are added to a home, is that we learn to let things go.  We learn to do more in some areas, less in others, and just let things go.  Fly Lady has helped me get a hold of our laundry and dishes, and I feel good just knowing there is never a pile of laundry to do or fold, or dishes to wash.  Our sheets are usually pretty clean, the carpet is pretty vacuumed, the beds are made.  The lawn should have been mowed days ago, the house might smell a little like trash or diapers, the kitchen floor is never really "clean," but that's okay.  My kids watch TV, I'm just not there with the no-TV rule...not yet.  I get on facebook and text too much.  I'm not perfect, and I'm not beating myself up about it.  I'm doing what I can, when I can, with the knowledge that I could probably do more, could probably be better at a lot of things, but also knowing it takes time to get there.  I have years to grow.

God works on me in little snippets through my day.  I usually do my best to sit down with my Bible alone in the morning, or with the kids at breakfast, or later in the day, or all of the above.  I have verses we are memorizing, hymns we are learning or listening to again and again, and always a book I'm working through on the Kindle.  Bibles, Kindle, verses, etc., are all over the place and I pick them up when I sit down or look at them while I cook.  God works on me as I prepare food, and as my kids say hilarious or sweet things, and he works on me after I've lost my temper, and he works on me when they act just like me, and their ugly behavior is like a mirror...

Someday, the little love notes will be gone.  The piles of choking hazards placed up high will be gone.  The sweetness that exists between my hubby and I when I'm pregnant will change to some other kind of feeling.  And the sports equipment lying all around will be gone as well.  When did my children become old enough to write love notes (M), play baseball (J), or be able to open the dishwasher by themselves and pull out knives (O)?

As children get older, and as we add more, we learn to let things go.  That realization that they really do grow up, they really will leave, and this phase of life really is special, changes something in us that nothing else possibly could.  

So, it is chaos.  Beautiful chaos.  That means, it's chaos I'm okay with.  I'm comfortable here, sitting on the couch with one child sleeping beside me, one child doing puzzles and singing in the next room,, a dog sleeping below me, a toddler sleeping upstairs, and a giant mess in almost every room of the house.

Psalm 121:1-2  "I lift up my eyes to hills, From where does my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, who made Heaven and earth."

Happy NOT Back to School Day

I was just introduced to homeschool group from our church.  I had no idea there was one, and I am seriously elated to have discovered them!  They actually discovered me.  I feel special.

They had a NOT Back to School Fun Day at a nearby splash park and playground.

 Yes, it is a very large group and we know some of the kids a little bit and some of the moms a little bit.  I hope we get to know them all a lot more.

Here's my kids' NOT back to school picture:

Owen is missing from both pictures.  In #1, he was tired and clinging to me.  In #2 he was taking a nap.  He's getting some molars in!  Poor baby.

We had a blast at the Splash Park.  And I'm really excited about all the upcoming opportunities and events this fall may bring!  We have a class at the seminary for both big kids called "Motor Skills," which I guess is just like a gym class.  And Moms don't have to stay so I plan to walk the track or something with a few friends and former neighbors (Elise, Bekah, Stacy, Sarah) and their babies, and Owen.

We are also teaching a Cubbies class (Josiah's Cubbies class) on Wednesday nights.  And the kids will be tagging along with me to Women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings.  So that's a busy two days and then hopefully Mondays and Fridays will be relaxing days where we stay home.  Thursdays will be grocery and errands day.  Yippee :)

Josiah is THREE!

Josiah had an awesome birthday.  His birthday was Monday, the day after we got back from Tennessee, so it was kind of low key.  We woke up and tried to get moving quickly so we could get some groceries (cake, ice cream, etc.) and go to Party City, where we got 6 balloons and a big Spiderman balloon.  My kids LOVE balloons and always request balloons, party cups, etc. for their parties.  They had no party hats, but they did have this adorable (and really nice) Spiderman ball cap, so I bought it, along with Spiderman decorations, cups and plates.

Josiah LOVED this card from Great Grandma Erdman.

 We had Josiah's favorite meal:  Hot dogs, french fries, and broccoli.

He loved the grilling game we got him, too.

 Josiah is a pretty humble and sensitive little boy, so when we sing Happy Birthday to him, he just glows and gets a little bit embarrassed/shocked that everyone is singing to HIM!

His cake had a Spiderman action figure on it that said outloud, "Happy Birthday from your friendly neighborhood Spiderman!"

He chose cookie dough ice cream to go with his cake.

He loved it :)

Make a wish!

On Tuesday, we took Josiah out to a really fun and delicious pizza place called Old Chicago.  On Tuesdays, kids eat for $1.99 and can make their own pizzas.  It was so cool!  They each got their pizza dough in a pan, a good amount of cheese in cups, plus two toppings of their choice.  My kids are so funny.  Maryn chose mushrooms and olives (but used a lot of sausage off my pizza and Josiah's...she loves sausage), and Josiah chose sausage and pepperoni.  John, Owen and I had the "Chicago 7" and it was mighty delicious.

I hope we can spend many more Tuesdays at this restaurant.  YUM-O!

Amd Josiah, you are so big.  We are so proud of you and the young man you're becoming.  It drives me nuts when you climb into our bed and caress my face and my arms, but I love that you're cuddly and sweet, sensitive and silly.  I pray you someday marry a wife whose love language is physical touch.  :)  And you're not dating anyone until you're married.  ;-)

Fun in the Sun!

We are trying to enjoy every moment of summer even if that means getting eaten up by mosquitoes.  The mosquitoes are mutants now and resistant to my homemade repellant.  I put OFF on the kids today and it worked well.  :-/ I'll have to invent a new formula of my own soon!

Someone spit sand into Owen's hair...

Covered in sand and popsicle juice!

Popsicles and homemade Clif bars!

Owen, when did you get so big?

Throwing water balls at each other.

This picture is from today.  What beats apples, peanut butter and sidewalk chalk?

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.