settling into summer break

We are about three weeks into summer vacation.  The first week was very exciting with our roadtrip to Maryland and back.  The last couple weeks have been much quieter as we settle into a comfortable routine of play, creativity, exploration, and even rest.  The days do seem calmer without the need to rush off to school and back.  I wonder how that could be since the littles were only in preschool and kindergarten.  I am also excited about the possibilities that could mean as we start our homeschool journey in the fall.

Here is a glimpse into one of our days this week.

These big brothers take their role in life seriously (unless of course they're "learning about animals" by watching wildkratts when every dvd, blanket, and board game could be pulled out around their feet and they wouldn't have a clue how it happened).  They even like to call themselves "achachi" the Malayalee respectful word for big brother.  As for Ezra, he loves being part of the pack and delights in his brothers' attention, and as a mamma, I love that.  So much so, that sometimes it's even worth forgoing the usual "get down off the table" and "don't make a mess."

Wouldn't you know that we've jumped back down into the 60's after being near 100 degrees for a few days.  Other than the difficulty of figuring out which clothes to keep out, I'm not complaining.  When the sun is out, these are perfect temperatures to be out playing in the dirt.  So, with little helper in tow, I went out to plant a few more veggies and check on our seedlings. 

I don't think I will ever tire of seeing how buried seeds sprout into new life.  Reminds me of this verse always, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels--a plentiful harvest of new lives."


little feet in the dirt

 

gardener in training

The boys and I refilled our tiny sandpit.  We found an old brush and funnel at a yard sale for 10 cents each.  They've had so much fun playing out there.  It was definitely worth the little investment.

notice the critters that have come out to play.  they keep asking for a real pet (especially jude). 



oh, it's a smiley face!  and i thought i was called over to see some sort of interesting sand castle design.

And to wind down the day, we tasted our first home-made popsicles.  They had each picked out flavors the night before.  Nathaniel had a layered one with strawberry banana and blueberry-almond.  Jude decided on strawberry banana for himself and Ezra.  Ethan, he came up with pear and peach - something to do with matching his green holder.  I could do a little personality analysis just based on this activity. I think we will be making more of these.  I might even have to try these fudgesicles.

My goodness, what a long post!  I suppose these summer days also gives me more time for blogging.

imposed rest

So I thought a couple days of imposed rest might be useful since the boys haven't been able to shake this cold/cough thing they've got going on.  Not too sure that it's worked.   So I gave up on that idea and we were out and about today catching up on errands.  But yesterday, this is where you could find us...

all cozied up downstairs with our critter friends...

and our snacks and fruit and veggie smoothies.

home for the weekend

You wouldn't know seeing them running about during the day, but our boys have been fighting off a cold and horrible cough for the past week.  The worst of it is at night when it feels like I take turns comforting children throughout the night.  The twins are both on their "sick beds" which are blankets spread out on the floor.  For some reason, this is kind of a treat especially when the blankets migrate into mommy and daddy's room. 

So, we've stayed home this weekend even keeping the younger three home from church today.   Despite the coughs, we've had a good and productive weekend.  Saturday was spent outdoors with lots of weeding for me.  The big garden bed is finally clear after removing about five bags of stuff.  The boys stayed busy painting the swingset and deck.  Today we stayed indoors more as we tried to force rest on the little people.

 hard-working boys.



aren't they funny with their footwear?  i can even say now with some proof that it runs in the family (bottom right).  

{but really adult boots were worn for protection while spray cleaning the deck.  MD friends, yes, he did use the beloved deck wash}



not a bad place for a nap.  it would be better in a hammock, don't you think?

 a cool, refreshing break... yeah for the first watermelon of the season!

the beginnings of a quiet sunday morning.

 and another nap.  this time in his highchair.  and yes, he stayed in his pj's all day.

he's awake and helping mommy finish up a quilt.  more on that later

{beck, is that the sort of crochet dish scrubbie you use?  this is the first one i made that is now a play pincuhion for ezra}

every time i spread out the quilt, he would come and lay down on it or in this case just rest his head on the fabric.  i suppose we can now say that it's "kid-tested"

a whole lot of flowers from the mister brought home after he and nathaniel went to church.  just because.  now, isn't that nice?

and one flower pot (or old ash bucket) planted.  more tomorrow.

wow, that's one picture-filled post.  hope you had a good weekend too!

warmer days?

Well, today we got up to 96 degrees up here in Rochester.  As is becoming a sort of custom, the kids and I got loaded up in the car to run some errands and let mommy stop at some yard sales.  It is a bit of an addiction, I admit.  Thankfully, the littles are quite amenable and have found ways to keep themselves amused.

On the way home, I looked back to find Jude shirtless because it was "sooo hot."  These temperature jumps make it hard for little (and not so little) bodies to adjust.

So, I decided to put out some water play... The boys had fun despite the water still being chilly.   The neighbor boys came out to play.  Jude and Ethan rolled down a hill.  And when they were done in our yard, they hopped the fence to the neighbor's and used their hose to create a water slide.   Carefree, childhood days.  Does it make you nostalgic?  

Ezra does love the water, but the cold direct spray was a bit much, so I set him up his own little area to splash away.

And then I realized.  Oops, what about dinner?  This is a common occurence during the summers around here.  Am I alone?  I had thought about making some fish since we've had so much chicken and so on.  Well, some cod, calimari, scallops, tomatoes, portabellos, capers, spinach, and spaghetti later... we had our meal. 

It stretched the boys a bit, but I'm all for that.  I think overall, they got what they needed and we had an enjoyable home-made, nutritious meal.  I'm trying to encourage myself to do this more in lieu of calling the mister and asking him to pick something up.  Now, if only I had written down how I made it.

spring days

 

spring, finally.  we see dandelions everywhere. so yellow. gorgeous.
[as long as it's not growing in our yard, according to the mister]

 

i have received so many boy-handled gifts this past week.  we have a little collection basket by the front door for all these sorts of precious bounty.

 

even the youngest has contributed.

  

we've had many walks.

 

we've enjoyed the neighborhood park.

 

we've snuck in some learning outside school.  he's making mommy's grocery list which ended up being mostly pictoral.

 



his little brother snatched up the paper to try it himself.

 

we've reacquainted ourselves with all the fun, mostly-thrifted outdoor toys and shared them with our neighbors.



we've enjoyed dinner al fresco as much as we can.  the boys enjoy it so much and it makes clean up so much easier for mama.

around the house

As of last night, N has one-less tooth and his mama is so excited and sad/anxious/nostalgic at how big her first baby is getting.  He is beyond excited as he's been waiting for this happy occasion for over a year now.  He's been shaking it for about a week and yesterday, he came to show his daddy and without a single tear, mid-coversation, his daddy just pulled out the tooth.  I was most surprised given that I remember teeth pulling as an event with lots of tears, running away, and other high-strung antics.  *cringe*

My parents have been living with us for over two months.  Today was their departure day, and it is a transition!  I am thankful for the time we had together and for the bonds that span the generations.  This morning, Ezra joined his appacha as soon as he woke up for some snuggling...

some music and dancing...

and looks like he needed some coffee too...

The older three.. well, I found them spread out on the bed with their assorment of creatures.   Jude and Ethan literally travel through the house with these friends and make up stories and chat incessantly with each other.  I suppose N decided to join them today. 

Take a closer look, what do we see.  Oh, it seems that everything has been injured and in need of medical attention.  I hear the airplane was attacked by an eagle mid-flight.  The others, I'm not quite sure but I did make it clear (I think) that they could only allow three more injuries for that's all the bandaids they had left.  We shall see, I suppose.  This is why we buy the cheap stuff.

And finally, a glimpse of how we are enjoying spring in MN, force it and bring it in indoors.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with our recent spring weather - we've had winter weather advisories which brought snow, freezing rain and other such silliness that should not be seen in the spring!  But, I am thankful that we didn't see the 6 inches predicted and that the snowblower got to remain tucked away! 

daddy's home to help with homework

It's a special treat when daddy's home to help with school work.  Here's how it looks. 

discussions

working oh so hard

uh, there's someone extra and he seems to have lost a shirt.  typical, really.

and another... he seems to be a bit more cautious in his approach. 

maybe it's time for a break?  i'm thinking ezra thinks his brothers are pretty fascinating creatures.  I would have to agree.

chefs and judges

I am desperately behind on posts but instead of playing catch up today, I thought I would just enjoy today's antics from my two talkative, moody, extremely imaginative goobers.  But first,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So, back to the goobers... J & E can often be found playing some sort of imaginative game together, particularly when big brother is at school. It usually involves a lot of play acting and discussion, they are in character and need to be addressed accordingly, and they happily spend hours moving around the house chit-chatting and make- believing.  I love watching and listening them and wish I could somehow record all their chatter.  Today, I managed to take a few photos without getting the usual funny faces.

playing "chefs and judges"  (can you tell we probably watch too much foodnetwork tv?)



jude (the judge) telling ethan (the chef) how to cut his vegetables



the judge getting in on the rolling action.