Staycation April 2012

Life has been a little busy lately, and we were in need of  a good relaxing vacation that was free.  So we had a staycation this past weekend.  The rules were NO WORK, just FUN and FAMILY TIME.  We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and hung out around the fire in the backyard.  We got up early to go garage saling on Saturday.  The boys scored some Star Wars light sabers and Star Wars pajamas for free!    Then we went hiking at our favorite place--"the Blue Hole"!  The boys threw rocks in the water for over an hour.  Even Levi got into the rock throwing fun!  After we came home to camp in the backyard.  All five of us roughed it.  :-) We wrapped up our weekend staycation with a bike ride along the Tennessee River on the River walk and picnic.  Clark and Michael rode tandem, and I pulled Joel and Levi in our bike trailer. 

Sometimes you just need to take a break from it all.  Amen???

My little Darth Vader

Baby Levi and Princess Leia

One of many dangerous Jedi battles

Easter Day at Our House

After spending the past two weeks discussing and learning about Easter, we were glad that it is finally here! 

We made several crafts and projects that revolved around the cross and the tomb.  The boys especially enjoyed acting and telling the story of redemption to anyone who would listen.  Clark has been telling everyone he meets that Jesus loved them and died for them to rescue them.  That is so sweet to my ears.

Today Michael and I taught children's church.  When we got home from church, Joel started throwing up in the yard.  So we canceled our Easter lunch plans and stayed home.  A tummy bug is going around, and we were not sure what was going on with him. 

So we ate a little lunch, and then we had our egg hunt in the backyard!

Levi loved putting the candy straight into his mouth--wrapper and all.



The best part: Eating all the chocolate!



My Littlest Buddy

My poor third child will have less pictures taken of him and less fuss made about everything. So I decided to honor him in a post all his own today.   Sorry, Levi.  Mommy is so busy now days. 

Levi turned one a few weeks ago.  Two days before his birthday, Michael had to rush him to the children's hospital ER because his oxygen levels were so low even after breathing treatments at the doctor's office.  They predict he has asthma, but they can't diagnose until later. 

Because of wheezing and low oxygen, he now has to do breathing treatments quite often.  Only time will tell if he will out grow this or grow accustomed to this new challenge of life.

Here's a list of interesting facts and accomplishments for our littlest buddy:

Walks forward and backward for months now

Running fast

Has only two teeth

Climbs stairs when no one is watching

Eats two slices of pizza (no problem)

60th percentile in weight

50th in height

says a few words like mama, dada, jaja (Jack our neighbor)

his eye color is a mix between blue and green and hazel (so we are still waiting for that to settle)

hair color: light brown

Has extreme separation anxiety now

afraid of most dogs

Loves Goldfish

A Beautiful Day at Our House

Beautiful....I am overwhelmed with the beauty all around me-- my family, the new green world, flowers, life, the little plants in my garden that will one day feed my family, God's grace, the Cross.

Today we enjoyed this beautiful day homeschooling.  We focused heavy on phonics and reading.  We read It's Not Easy Being a Bunny and Peter Rabbit for the 50th time.   It is so beautiful to watch Clark grow in literacy.

Today he said the funniest thing.  We were reading The Bear Escape, and I asked him if he knew what escape meant.  This is his anwer.  "Yes, Mommy.  Escape is when you have to run away from an ominous bad guy who is wishing you harm." 

 That boy cracks me up.

Here we are all cuddled up reading.  We made bunny masks to act out the stories.  The boys love me chasing them around like Mr. McGregor while they act like little naughty rabbits eating my carrots.   I actually get them to eat a whole bag of carrots each time I read that book.  :-)

Beautiful...this is the view I see of my feet almost all day and everday.

Beautiful weather...We got outside today to play.  The boys found all kinds of life and fun things to explore.  We found something extra special outside today.

Clark and Joel will show you....

Wasp lavae!!!!  Some people actually eat them, but we didn't today.

God's creation is BEAUIFUL. 

I hope you enjoy the beauty that surrounds you today.

Candy Party for Clark's 5th and Levi's 1st

To make life simple, we decided to combine Clark's 5th and Levi's 1st birthday parties!  It was a hit.  Clark loved sharing, and I was able to put a little more energy into one big party rather than two small ones.  Clark picked the theme in December after seeing a picture of another candy party.  I got to work creating our home into a candy lovers' paradise.

Here's the boys' Candyland cake.  With a chocolate swamp, ice cream cone mountains, and lollipop forrest, I copied the traditional game board.  The top of the cake is covered with a thick layer of whipped cream.  The sides are frosted with butter cream.  YUM!!

One night when Michael was out of town, I decided to make game boards to show the boys' lives.  Clark and I painted it together.  He did a really good job painting all the colored rectangles.

I also got a refrigerator box, and I made it into a Sweet Shop Photo Stop booth. 

All my guest were able to pose for a sweet shot while the camera took pics on auto!

We had carnival type games at the party to keep our little sweeties busy.  Here's one of our games: Gumdrop Toss.  Others were Skittles Toss (water balloon throw game), Chocolate Swamp, Jelly Bean Race where you use water guns to shoot plastic eggs across a table, and Candy Bingo.  During each game, the kids earned tickets to buy candy later.

After the kids played the games, they took their tickets and their baskets to the candy store and bought candy.  I hit up the stores after Valentines' Day and got all the loot for 50% off!  Each child was supposed to go home with their basket full of candy and a new toothbrush.  However many of my peeps did not want to take the sweet stuff home with them. 

Here's some of our candy decorations: colored plates in cellophane and tons and tons of balloons.

Joel is having fun digging in the Chocolate Swamp for prizes.

Here's my three big boys posing at the Sweet Shop Photo Stop.  I love my boys!!!

Here's Clark digging into his main birthday gift: 3DS (thank you Craigslist!)

He loves videos games! And he is obsessed with Mario Brothers and Lego Star Wars.

Thanks to all our friends and family for making it an extra special SWEET day!

We love you all.

Here's some of our very special guests.

What's Cooking Today? Laundry Soap!

 Yes, I cooked laundry soap today.  I decided to try it out a few months ago, and so far SO GOOD!
The benefits to making my own soap are:

• It is dirt cheap.   All the supplies to make multiple batches cost way less than one small bottle of premade detergent.  I estimate the cost is just pennies a load!
• It takes less time to make the soap than to drive to the store to buy it.
• With simple ingredients that are more natural, the soap is better for our skin and the environment.  (or at least I hope)

Four simple ingredients: washing soda, borax, bar of soap, and water!!  Even a one year old can do it!!!

Here's my dirty boys wearing CLEAN clothes!!  That big jar behind them is one full batch.  It cost about a dollar to make and last us months!

Here's the link to the recipe I use below. 

Happy laundry day, everyone!

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

My Big Babies

The other day, the boys were playing in Levi's room, and it got strangely quiet.  I peeked in to find Clark and Joel inside Levi's crib with pacifiers in their mouths!  They were playing like they were babies.  As I smiled back at them to assure them I understood and approved of their play, tears started pooling in my eyes. 

Wasn't it yesterday that I would sneak in and watch Clark sleep in this very crib with his bottom poking up and  his blanket held tight in his tiny hand?  Wasn't it just moments ago, that I would rock Joel asleep and lay him down milk drunk?  Just for a minute, I sat down and watched my boys act like babies and remembered that just yesterday they were my babies.   

How Hot Is Your Water?

I have to admit that we don't follow football, but we did the American thing last Sunday and turned on the television to watch the Superbowl.  It was the first time that our five year old and three year old had seen commericals and mainstream tv.  They had no clue what to expect, but we got them excited about the game during dinner. 

As we watch with excitement, the first commericals begin to run.  In no time, our children had been exposed to numerous alcohol ads, vampires, bars, nudity references, greed, foolishness, and various other influences that I would never let my children be around in real life.  Michael and I both reached for the remote at the same time.  With sadness but holding true to our convictions, we turned it off. 

Why did we turn it off you might wonder.  It was a great game, or at least I'm told.  We did miss it all, but I feel we gained more.  We maintained innocence and blissful ignorance today.  Yes our children will be exposed to this one day, but why should they be today?  I have to wonder if I would  never allow them to be around that in real life, why is it okay on t.v.?  My children don't have the tools they need to decipher all the media and influences.  It's my job as a parent to guard them until I feel they are ready. 

It reminded me of the frog and hot water analogy.  You know the one where if you drop a frog in a pot of hot water, he hops out.  But if you slowly increase the temperature, he'll just stay in and get boiled.  I guess we are all frogs.  We are all in pots of water with the temperature rising.  It's our job to keep our eye on the thermometer, or we will get boiled.  Not only we will get burned, but our babies will too right along side us.

Disclaimer:  These views are just  my convictions.  I don't think anyone else needs to agree with me or like what I say.  I do not in anyway think badly for those who do not think the same way.  God's grace is sufficient with all of our parenting struggles and questions.  We are all trying to do our best with what we know.  Living is a very hard job.  I hope this post will encourage you to think about where there are areas in your life that might be getting too hot.  Don't be afraid to jump out of the pot, my friend!

Boom, Boom and VaRoom, VaRoom

 We have had two LOUD firsts lately.  The first one was the boys experienced firecrackers for the first time.  It was an exciting experience with Joel and Levi crying and scared to death.  Clark on the other hand LOVED it.  He held the Roman Candles as they boomed in the sky and popped other fire crackers.

Yes, they are crying so loud that I can hear them over the popping of the firecrackers.



He was so into this!!

By the last one, Joel decided not to be scared anymore.  He did a couple of sparklers!!  But I didn't get a picture of him.  I was frozen and ready to go in.

 Then our 2nd new and loud thing was MONSTER TRUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Daddy took the big boys to the Monster Truck show, and they LOVED it.  With hearing protection, they managed to have a blast. 

Teething, Stomach Flu, and Mycoplasma Can't Stop Us From Smiling

We have been under the gun lately with illnesses.  Last week we suffered from an awful stomach flu that was accompanied by body aches, head ache, and the other stuff.   All five of us had it at the same time.  Clark threw up every 20 minutes for 13 hours.  Poor Levi has not eaten much in nine days, and he still has a very messed up stomach.

  Then this week, we have had a horrible cold that I believe is mycoplasma which is a bacterial based cold that often leads to pneumonia. Itchy irritated eyes are also a sign of this illness. 

And little mister has cut his first two teeth on the bottom. 

There is nothing like getting really sick to make you thankful for good health.  I thank God for my healthy kids and husband.  I know this may not always be, but today I rejoice in the gift of health.