Valentines

 I was terrible about taking pictures this year for Valentine's Day.  The kids were extremely excited for Valentine's Day to come.  I think they had been counting down for over a month.

The reason?  We have a nice Valentine's dinner together.  They each have a balloon tied to their chair, and they get a small gift.  It was tradition to do a fancy dinner and a gift from our Dad while I was growing up, and it has been fun to watch my kids anticipate the holiday.

Since my Dad is a connoisseur of good food, we always had a fancy dinner.  I am also a connoisseur of good food, but due to less time and more little bodies in my kitchen (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it), we do a fun, not fancy, dinner.

We always eat some variation of what we had this year: heart-shaped pizza, heart-shaped breadsticks, fresh pineapple in heart shapes, and a dessert, such as cream puffs with pink filling.

The kids lie in wait all day long for Joel to come home from work with their balloons.  They talk for hours about what the balloon might look like, how big it might be, and whether it will be similar to last year's.  This year, Joel walked in without the balloons.  The kids were aghast.  "PAPA," they said, "You forgot our balloons!!!!"  They didn't know I had bought them the day before and hid them in the trunk.  Neither did Joel.  He retrieved the balloons and all was right with the world.  Everyone enjoyed watching James discover the thrill of a bouncy, shiny, balloon.  He toddled around, shaking it and giggling like crazy.

And then, before everyone eats, the kids get to open their small gift.  Everett and Ashley had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.  Everett was so excited, in fact, that he dropped his gift (a piggy bank) on the floor before he even really got to look at it.  It shattered.  He tried to not be devastated but he was unsuccessful at fighting back the tears.  I explained that we could get him another one after dinner, but he still looked worried until we clarified that he would not have to pay for the new bank.  Only then was he able to enjoy his dinner.

The kids each got a dollar bill and two quarters to put in their bank.  This happened to be the exact amount that Everett owed Joel and me for the third school lunch he bought without permission in a period of a week and a half.  He had promised after the second time that he would never do it again, so when he bought the third lunch, we sentenced him to extra chores until the debt was paid off.  He already completed one chore, and had begun to realize how much work it was actually going to take him to reach the total.

After dinner, Everett and I drove to the dollar store where I had bought his bank.  As we drove, we talked about debts and paying them off, and I explained that if he chose, he could use the money he got that night to pay off the rest of his lunch debt.  I knew he really wanted to be able to hear the clink of the coins going into his bank, so I suggested that he put it in for the night and decide by morning.

The next morning, Everett presented me with his money.  He seemed to feel relieved that he didn't have the debt hanging over his head any more.  I caught him a little while later in secret with Ashley, talking her into giving him some of her money.  She was happy to help him out, and although I probably shouldn't have interfered, I reminded Everett that he could earn his own money and that he shouldn't be taking hers.  He happily agreed and looked forward to doing some chores so he could earn his money for real.  But when he completes his regular chores, he is always too burnt-out to want to do more.  We will see how that goes.

SO.  Although I was lame and didn't get any pictures of my children on our family holiday, I do have pictures of their valentines.  It is not as exciting, but it is something.  For some reason, Everett got it in his head that he wanted to make his own valentines this year, and I agreed.

This was the picture he drew.  It was copied from a drawing we found online, and it was a fun lesson in really paying attention to shapes, angles, and proportions in a drawing.  He did it all himself.  He began in pencil, erased many places he didn't feel were quite right, and then we outlined it in permanent marker so we could scan it and turn it into this:

It wasn't anything fancy; we printed the words on one color of construction paper, and the shark on another, and he cut them out and assembled them.

And then began the long task of hand-addressing them to twenty-five students, one teacher, and five aides.

Toward the end, the handwriting got loose, but they are still adorable.  In total, these took him three hours to complete from start to finish.  He did them all in one afternoon.  I was amazed.  I have never seen him chug through a project in that way.  He refused to stop until the last word was written on the last valentine.

We stapled small candy bars to the back and called it good.  Everett was anxious to take them to school.

Everett made an extremely large version of the valentine for his teacher.  For those of you who can't read six-year-old, it says: "Youre the best teacher Evr!!!!!"  Everett decided what to write himself and only asked for help on a couple of the words.  

We made his teacher chocolate-covered strawberries.  And when I say "we," I mean it.  So the strawberries looked a little sad, but I think they still tasted good!

Ashley made valentines too!  She wanted to do a bear on hers and found a tricky picture to copy.  I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted.

The lines are simple, but the perspective of the bear is not.  Ashley is extremely artistic, but I worried that it would frustrate her.  She refused to consider any one but this one, so I let her go ahead.

After two rough drafts ("They look great!" I tried to tell her, but she was not satisfied and began again), this was how her version came out:

Not bad, huh?  I showed her how to make it look furry like in the original, but the rest was her innovation.  Like Everett, she used pencil and then we went over it with permanent marker.

 

This is how hers turned out.  Cute, huh?  She was so proud of them.

And she didn't have to write any names but hers.  She had about half as many to do as Everett.

And her handwriting got away from her a little by the end, too.  I smile every time I see it.  I love these kids.

We attached suckers on the back of Ashley's and they were ready to go.  Yes, Ashley's two teachers also got some imperfect-but-made-with-love chocolate-covered strawberries as well.


That was a mammoth post to explain that we enjoyed our Valentine's Day.  Traditions add a lot of fun and meaning to life.  Valentine's Day is a good mid-winter diversion for our tired souls.

Winter Hike

A few weeks ago in January, the temperature raised to 50 degrees and we knew we had to get out of the house.  Where better to go than our local state park!   We've been in the spring and summer but never in the winter.  It was a different kind of beautiful.  Had I been prepared, I would have put together some sort of winter scavenger hunt.  We had fun anyway!

This picture is blurry, but I like it anyway.  I love my silly family.

There are plenty of places to climb in this park, which is why we like it so much.

Everett always likes to be king of the hill.

Ashley was thrilled to have found this heart carving.

The stream was almost completely frozen in places.  It would have been fun to explore it a little.

Along the trail were patches of smooth, slippery ice.  Everett found what looked like a giant's footprint.

Ashley went to investigate and couldn't get back off the ice.  We stood there and laughed while she slipped and slid everywhere but the last few inches to dry ground.  "You can do it, Ashley!" I'd call to her.  Panting nervously, she kept stretching her legs nearer and nearer to the edge.  If I were her, I'd have just crawled.  But she made it and she was very proud.

She had fun, even though we all laughed at her!

At the top of the trail is a nice lookout point.

There wasn't a whole lot to see to our untrained eyes, but we broke out the binoculars anyway.

And we enjoyed a snack break of the trail mix Ashley helped me mix up at home.

James stayed in the baby carrier the whole time.  Maybe we need to invest in a good hiking pack for this sort of thing!  He didn't seem to mind the close quarters.

I don't remember what was going on in this picture, but I'm including the pouty face anyway!

There were lots of old logs to sit on.

And the sun melted into the horizon as we left, weaving golden ribbons through the trees.

This was good timing.  It made our hike back down the trail all the more interesting.

The kids were disappointed to leave.  I think we all appreciated being able to stretch our legs and breathe the fresh air.  Even though in the winter we can go run around the gym if we so choose, there is nothing like being outside with a cooling, sweet breeze.

Milestone-Bath

One funny thing about James is that he has always hated baths.  Even when he was tiny, and I half cradled him in my arms while washing him off, he would howl and wail.  When  he got a little older and could crawl and pull up and play, I thought he would learn to love the bath.  No such luck.  Every time he got near the bathtub, James cried and tried to resist getting in.  

One time I changed his clothes upstairs near the bathroom and let him roam around completely naked for a while.  He seemed to have fun at first but then hastily crawled away from me and whined whenever I got too close.  After a couple of minutes, he tried to escape down the stairs, where I caught him and held him while he sucked his thumb fearfully.  The only thing I figured was that since he is only ever naked before a bath,  he was worried about being doomed to that fate.

A few weeks ago, we hit a huge milestone!  James, for whatever reason, suddenly liked the bath.  He smiled and played with his siblings the entire time!

So of course I had to get it on camera.

William loved splashing as hard as he could when he was about this age but has since grown out of it.  Looks like James is going to follow in his brother's footsteps.  William thinks it's hysterically funny.  And now I have another child who swamps the floor each bath time.

Christmas Tents

Sometimes I completely bomb with the presents I give the kids.  This year, we did pretty well.  I found these Discovery Toy fort systems on clearance and bought two.  They have been well-loved.

The best part about them is that they can be built any way you'd like.  Here is a double igloo:  the two domes share an entrance in between.

Everett and Ashley love to build a fort and sleep in them with the little lanterns we gave them.  Those lanterns are complete battery killers (we should definitely get re-chargeable batteries), so more often than not, they are dead when the kids try to use them.  

Ashley tries to remember to turn hers off after a few minutes, but she usually forgets.  At any rate, she creates a pretty cozy space in there.  I don't know how she has room to sleep once she gets all of her stuffed animals in there, but she is happy as a clam and it is fun to see her so bubbly.

Everett is more methodical.  He is really careful to save his batteries, and everything he brings in has a specific place.  I wish his room always looked as neat as the inside of his fort does.

Sometimes Ashley likes to build a castle.  I have to help her, but it doesn't take too long.  Once we cover the structure with a sheet, it turns into a pretty fun hideout.

Ashley decided to make flags to place at the top of each tower.  She just doodled these out very quickly.  I wonder what her drawings would look like if she really took time on them.  Sometimes I wonder if I should try to find some kind of art class for her.

I thought she'd make rectangular flags, but apparently she wanted this shape.  Even though Ashley still doesn't know all of her letters (for whatever reason, she really hates talking about them still), at least I know her cutting and drawing skills will be up to par for kindergarten.

On this particular day, Ashley decided to make a watch-cat for her castle.

I asked her why the Cat has two dots on its eyes, and she said, "So it can look cute!"  I think she has been watching too many Japanese cartoons!

Movie Night With Our Little Beggar

Sometimes, especially during the cold, dark, winter, we have a family movie night like we did a couple of weeks ago.  We watched Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'hoole, which was excellent all around.  We all enjoyed it.  Ashley swooped around the house like a mighty owl for days afterwards.

The kids especially enjoy the snacks.  Joel took them to the grocery store and let them each pick out a kind of candy.  William went by color and chose orange Reeces Pieces, Ashley chose sparkly Sweetheart candy, and Everett chose Jolly Ranchers.  (Needless to say, I banned William from the choke-able Jolly Ranchers.)

The kids love sitting by Joel, especially if he is holding the popcorn bowl.

James, if he is awake during the fun, goes nuts trying to get ahold of the snacks.  He tries his best to climb up onto the couch, but he is just a little too short.  Mostly, he just gets ignored.

But William seems to feel that James gets too close for comfort.

This is what James looks like from my side.  Here, you can clearly see the five stages of begging:

1.  Hope

2.  Indignation

3.  Desperation

4.  Anger

5.  Dismay

Poor James.  Fortunately he can usually find someone to share with him, and when we get tired of hearing the yells, grunts, and whines, off to bed he goes with a belly full of snacks!

Everett doesn't mind the distracting baby.  He has a weak spot for our little James.

And so does Ashley, but if she is interested in the movie, no one and nothing can break her focus.

On Love: Quotes and Stories from the Kids

Ashley and William get along well.  Ashley commented, "I just love playing with my brother William because I love him." 

William says, "I love him too!"

When ever I tell William that I love him, he grins and says, "No you don't!!!" as though the whole concept is ridiculous. 



Sometimes I say "I love you!" to William just so I can see his bemusement.



******

Ashley and I were listening to "Tale as Old as Time" from Beauty and the Beast.

"This is from Belle's movie!!!" she exclaimed.
"I always loved Belle. She was my very favorite," I said.  "She loved books and so did I."
Ashley paused before stating, "you know, Mom, Belle isn't real."
"She isn't?" I asked, "How do you know???"
"She is just from a silly old movie, that's how.  But you can still like her if you want." Ashley gently reassured me.



(I'm glad she protected me from feeling utter devastation.  Someday I may need her to do this for real.)

******

One day Joel and I were conversing with the kids about our recent anniversary. 
"Papa and I got married, and it was the best day in our lives."  I said as Joel and I hugged.
"Yeah, and then I was born, and that day was even gooder!"  Everett added enthusiastically with a fist punched into the air.

******

Everett got married this summer to our neighbor's granddaughter.  She had visited several times and each time she and Everett built on their affinity for one another.  She is a whole head taller than him but neither of them seemed to mind.

Together with Ashley, they found a vast collection of fake flowers in the basement and decided the thing to do would be to hold a wedding.  I came down to find Everett and his new wife sitting closely together on the ground in perfect companionship.  Niether spoke or looked at each other.  I don't think they knew what was supposed to come next. 

I didn't particularly want to give them the chance to get creative (after all, Disney itself teaches that a kiss is a post-requisite wedding activity), so I spurred them on to a different activity.

"This looks boring," I said light-heartedly.  "Why don't we go upstairs and color?"

That pleased the newlyweds and third-wheel-Ashley, so we all went upstairs.  I left to get supplies and when I returned, I saw that Everett had scooted his chair against our special visitor's and had his arm around her shoulders.  They both looked contented in their new set-up.

I am not quite ready to deal with this,  I thought.  They're five years old for crying out loud! I tried my best to hold back my laughter.  I succeeded.  I also succeeded in putting some distance between the love birds. 



Alas, the relationship was doomed from the outset.  A two-hour-plus living distance for children who cannot drive or even make phone calls well greatly hinders any hope of a successful long-distance relationship.

The next time the girl visited, she and Everett seemed to have forgotten all about their summer wedding, as I knew they would, for there is lots of other fun to be had.

******

Considering the summer nuptials, I was not too surprised when Everett began talking about a girl in his kindergarten class.  I don't remember how he initially spoke about her, but his embarrassment gave him away.  As soon as he told us her name, he immediately regretted his candor.  His ears flushed red and he couldn't stop himself from grinning embarrassingly. 

For weeks afterwards, Everett would cover his ears and say, "I'm not going to talk about it!" whenever one of us mentioned her name.

"What do you like to play at recess with her?" We'd occasionally ask.  "What kind of snack did she bring today?"  "What is on her backpack?"  "Does she ride the bus?"  "Do you sit with her at lunch?"  "Is she taller or shorter than you?"

These were all questions we ask about all his other friends, but Everett blistered each time we brought her up.  He'd also still grin from ear to ear and turn bright red.

One day, Everett opened up and explained that he does, in fact, love her.  "How do you know when you love someone?" I asked.  Everett didn't have a good answer.  (How many poets have struggled to answer this same thing?)  But he did tell me that she loves him because he found a cat book for her one day in their kindergarten classroom and she really loves cats. 
"How do you know that she loves you?"  I wondered aloud. 
"Because she told me." Everett shrugged simply.  And that was the end of the conversation.

Partway through the school year, I found an envelope with a heart on it in Everett's backpack.  It was from the girl.  The card in it had "Love, {girl}" written in a kindergarten hand.

Everett wrote a note back (with an illustration of the two of them) to give her but chickened out at the last minute.  "I'm changing this," he announced to me.  "Here.  This is you and me now."
"Why don't you want to give it to {girl}?"  I wondered.
"Because if I did it would be SO embarrassing."

So it stayed on our refrigerator for a few weeks.  I wish I had scanned those notes so I could include them with this entry.

A few weeks later, I discovered that Everett would answer any question about this girl if I asked it in a whisper.  I don't remember what I asked, but Everett suddenly felt the need to elaborate on his feelings.  But he refused to tell me unless he could say it with a whisper in my ear.




"I can't help it," he whispered, "Whenever I see a beautiful girl I just fall in love with her."

And that is that.  I had always wondered what drew Everett to this particular girl.  Everett is friends with many girls in his class; in fact, he may have more girls as friends than boys.  But as soon as I found this girl in his class photo, I understood completely.  She is probably one of the only girls who is around Everett's height, and she could easily be considered one of the cutest.

It has almost been 100 days into the school year, Everett tells me, and his interest in his special friend has not decreased.  While we don't condone girlfriend/boyfriend relationships (maybe when I am 18, Everett tells me), it is nice to know that he has so much love to give.

"Gingerbread" houses

My hat goes off to all you people who make gingerbread houses from scratch.  I do not think I have it in me.   So, we used graham crackers and a hot glue gun!

It worked very well.  Since my family was here, we had plenty of adults to help my over-excited and sugared-up children.

William was fine with whatever his Aunt Maddy chose to do.  "How about putting a life saver here?"  she'd ask.  "Yeah, that's right!" William would say, over and over again.

Ashley and Aunt Amanda worked together in perfect harmony, as always.

William lost interest in the house (cabin?  bungalow?) after a while and focused completely on how much candy he could siphon from everyone's building supplies.

Everett was especially proud of his rainbow swimming pool and high dive.  He refused to eat any candy off his house; instead he picked over everyone else's house and complained indignantly over the next few days whenever he saw candy missing from his house's facade.  This of course encouraged Joel to specifically target Everett's creation.  

If we use graham crackers next year, I am definitely using my hot glue gun again to put them together.  They were easy and turned out pretty cute!