Friends Make Everything Better

It seems like friendship is this year's theme. That makes me smile to my toes, really.

Yesterday morning, EmilyGirl and I slipped off for brunch with a friend and her daughter. It wasn't a long visit, but it was a sweet visit, and I'm so glad we went. Of course, the boys were a bit flummoxed. "Wait. What? Where are you going? Are we going? Should we load up the gifts now? You're going alone?! Weird." Can you tell Em and I haven't done anything like that before?

Em mentioned that she needed more felt. (We'd just bought her a huge pile of felt the day before, no questions asked, for a surprise she wanted to make for Easter. Already she needed more?) I raised my eyebrow. She smiled brightly. We stopped for more felt after brunch.

This was the surprise: Easter Baskets for everyone!

Then we all loaded up and headed to a birthday party for a very special little boy. He's turning four. Dear heaven, that's a cute, cute age. We weren't there five minutes before James had him in his arms, letting the little guy give him a tour of their chicks and chicken tractor. Although we'd built the chicken tractor and know it inside and out, James enjoyed the enthusiasm and joy of the little guy showing off his special things. 15 is a pretty awesome age, too.

Isn't that an idyllic setting? There are a lot of bodies hidden by flowers and trees. It was a perfect day to hang out with friends and celebrate together.

The kids gave the Little ones Easter baskets, homemade foam swords, and a shield (they made a sword for his little sister, because it's hard to observe a birthday with no gifts for you when you're wee tiny, and also so they can play together). Z and I apologized pre-emptively for all the things that are likely to get broken and bruised because of our involvement.

We came home, worked hard for an hour, and then the day disappeared into game time. The day was stacked pretty heavily with Highs when we did our Highs and Lows at dinner. What a great day!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

In Like A Lion

March was busy! March was cold! March was, all things considered, pretty awesome.

(The picture's from April. But the sentiment's the same.) Our Friday hikes have been a little willy-nilly, but we're getting the hang of it, getting out regularly, and have had a blast. The teen game day is one of the kids' favorite events of the month. They're trying to figure out a way to have it more often, but not have to clean for it more often. (If they can figure that out, I'm likely to say yes.)

I took James and John with me to the GHC convention in Greenville. Road trip (they're both excellent travelers), met up with friends (friends make every adventure more fun), and enjoyed some truly exceptional speakers. They were even treated to a celebrity sighting at the Greek restaurant we stopped at for lunch one day -- Mr. Steve, from MUS!

Except for the time I got to visit with David Kern. He was very generous and thoughtful. I, however, turn into Phil, post-freezing incident. (If you haven't seen Better Off Ted, go ahead and watch the episode where they freeze Phil. It's horrifying to have that happen in real life. But there you have it.) It happened when I tried to visit with Martin Cothran, too. I get around the rock stars of Classical Ed and I turn into a total basket case. I've gotta work on that. But the convention was an overall win, and the boys are already planning on attending again next year.

We visited with the NCFCA at a tournament in Birmingham to check it out and see about forming a forensics club for next year. The feedback was great, and the boys are interested. They sat in on team policy debate, persuasive speaking, and humorous interpretation, so they got a decent cross-section view of what's available. Hopefully, we'll be able to round up enough students to give it a go!

We've made *zero* progress on the house. Part of that is being out of the house all the time. By the time we get home again, we're all bushed and really only up for making a snack plate and watching a little Netflix or reading a book. The washer started leaking. We did wash on the front porch for a week, trying to track down the leak. Found it, and so that's done. The rest of our project time has been spent building archery butts and sleds, and chicken tractors. So, it's not all Dr. Who and Snack Plates...

There's a LOT of good stuff coming down the pike for April. I'm a little woozy thinking about it, but as it comes together, I'll share. (I got a Blogger app for Chrome - hoping that'll somehow make it feel easier to blog regularly again.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh, Such Beautiful Weather!

We have been on the go, go, go! The weather's been perfect - highs in the 50's and 60's, lows in the high 30's and 40's. The ticks aren't out in force yet, and the mosquitoes haven't arrived, either, so we've been out and about.

The Friday hiking club activities have been a blast. We've gotten to know some truly delightful young men with the hikes. Jase found Fairy Dust on the last hike (granite dust). He brought home an acorn cap full, but I think it's... still in the Suburban. Oops!

We made the drive to a town South of here for another game day with another teen group - it's a haul, but the group is great and the boys all voted that it's worth the drive. I've got to replace an oxygen sensor on the Suburban and see what else I can tweak to get the gas mileage up on that thing if we're going to keep pace with the boys' activities. In the meantime, some of them have said they'll be at the next game day here, so, yay!

Thankfully, there's still plenty to do at home. We spent a good portion of this past weekend working on the back yard. The leaves are burned and we have some good spots picked out for flowers. We had thought to stain, since there's no rain in the forecast, but we had the chance to play with sweet friends. The stain and landscaping can wait... these opportunities aren't for passing up.

And really, that feels like all we've done this month. Hike, play, read, work, laugh. It's been a good, good, month. For that, I am thankful.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Huh. That went well.

Oh, look, right after I got all excited about getting to bed early on a regular basis, here I am, up at the witching hour. Oops. The Bigs and I got in late tonight, the bed was full of Littles, and I caved to the siren song of solitude. Tomorrow's going to bring some stout natural consequences. But while I'm up...

The boys attended a Scout meeting tonight with this other Troop. It was... whoa. The difference in this meeting from what we've known as Scouting was astounding (and I'll probably spend the next month kicking myself for not moving them over there four years ago). Wow. They went just to see what they thought, and all three came to me after the meeting and OK'd putting in their memberships. They're all in. They're each in different Patrols - I think Jacob was a little unsure about that, but his brothers assured him that it'll be okay, and that they're still *right there* if he does need them. They reminded him that they were in different Patrols at NYLT, too. 

Pancake breakfast fundraiser at Applebee's in Decatur this Saturday, if anyone is feeling generously inclined toward donating to the boys' efforts to pay for Scout Camp this year! (I did the math on the drive home for three boys, plus getting Jacob geared up, and got just a wee bit queasy thinking about that part, but it'll come together. And for a positive experience, it will be worth it a thousand times over.)

Watched a new show in the quiet time tonight: Zen. It's a BBC America production. Rufus Sewell plays a character who is Not A Villain, which he does very well. The show is spectacular, but since I remember him mostly from his villain roles, I spent most of the first episode waiting for him to bring out the Count Adhemar or Adam the Vampire. He doesn't, and the end result is a delightful police show, as far as I've watched.

School went so well today. I kind of wish we could do a once a week plan and call it good. Everyone is so energetic and enthusiastic (and focused) about one day a week...

Oh, and with the absolutely beautiful weather we've had, today we had lunch on the balcony. It was fantastic, aside from the blinding light. Even with sunglasses on, we ended up shoveling the last bites in as we walked toward the door. I think the general consensus was that we'll try again for breakfast and hold off on eating lunch out there until there's some foliage to help buffer the glare.

Overall, as the Littles would say, "it was a pretty good day".

Kiss those babies!
~ Dy

The changes we've made

I'd mentioned before that we'd made some changes recently. Sometimes, we make changes and the effect is negligible. Sometimes there are stellar improvements in areas that needed it. (Not often, but sometimes.) And sometimes, we have to leap back like kittens confronted with something that moves unexpectedly. You just never know how a change will pan out, and I've been holding my breath for quite a while, now. But we're starting to see some good shifts, and I think we're headed in a good direction.

I've been getting up at five in the morning so I can work in peace before the day begins. This is good, and it's been great, but there was a lot of resistance to it (on my part, even though it was my idea). The hardest part was going to bed earlier and giving up my Alone Time. I mean, I guess technically if I'm in bed, asleep, that's about as Alone as it gets. But it's not the same as having time to watch (in peace) something nobody else in the house will watch without running commentary, or time to read larger chunks of meaty books without someone sticking a Lego creation in your face without warning. After getting ample rest for the past month and a half, though, I have to admit (somewhat grudgingly) that it's worth it. So, there's that. Nobody else is on board, yet, and that's actually okay, because if they start getting up at five, too, then there goes the whole plan.

We had our second game day for the teens last week. It was a wonderful crowd, and a delightful time. The whole thing played out differently than I'd expected it to, and that was okay. Instead of small, interest-oriented groups playing different games around the house, all the teens piled in around a table meant for half the number of bodies and played a game meant for up to four kids. Makes sense: they wanted to be together. They're creative and inclusive. Win-win. We (moms) hightailed it to the balcony, enjoying the sun and the company. We got a little loud at one point and the kids closed the balcony door on us. That made us laugh harder. Next thing you know, they'll be telling us to turn down the music and get a haircut. We probably won't listen then, either. I really enjoy the kids, and their moms. They're a blessing for which I am incredibly grateful.

I was reading yesterday, about homeschool burnout and how to recapture the joy. (It is February, you know.) James read over my shoulder, and said, "We do a lot of that normally, Mom." (Ohhh! He noticed! I decided to push for more insight.)

"So, are you enjoying your education?"

"Not really." (Should have left well enough alone, huh?) Then he added, "But I do acknowledge that it could be much worse. So I guess I'm happy."

(I'll... take it?)

John went camping with a Scout Troop that some of his friends belong to. It was a one night backpacking trip. It was very (very) hard for me to be okay with just letting him go after past experiences. But we knew many of the boys, and several of the adults, and as appealing as it may seem, they can't just live in hamster balls in the lower meadow. (Or that's what I keep saying. I may re-think that one if I find a hamster ball large enough.) Anyway, he packed and geared up two days early, without any prodding or help. He was Ready. His friends picked him up at six o'clock on Saturday morning, and we retrieved him Sunday after church. Before he'd leaped out of the truck, he'd already made plans to attend the Troop's next meeting, got details on the next outing, had info for James about new computer related badges and a thumbs up for JakeRabbit to go, too. He said the whole thing was fantastic, and he's ready to go again. Good thing we kept all our records and uniforms.

The playset has been reassembled to withstand the child equivalent of an F-4 tornado. Even hitting "hyperdrive" mode on one of the swings (touching chain to wood and getting your head above the top beam) doesn't lift a corner or cause any queasy leaning of the structure. We may have missed the window to stain it before the next rain, but we're definitely making progress. Yesterday, Z burned the leaves in the back yard, hopefully destroying a number of tick habitats and tick families.

Of all the people who have been outside so far this year, raking, climbing, working, playing, roaming, frolicking, and just hanging out, guess who got the first tick of the season? Yep, the one who stays indoors cleaning, reading, and working. What's up with that? Time to put garlic back into the rotation.

Youth group has been a huge hit.The boys are all comfortable there. They enjoy going, and have found their strides with the new groups of people.

Our small group is neat. I appreciate that others take the time to invest in a smaller, more intimate setting, to allow people to get to know each other better.

There were more changes, but I've forgotten what... 

That happens more often than I'd like to admit.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Playset

We've wanted to build a tree house for ages. But when you're working with various personalities, and time demands, projects don't always get off the ground. Or into the tree. James and John are no longer interested in having one, and Z and I both got a little panicky last month about never having a tree house for the children!

Craigslist to the rescue! Sort of. We found a standard play set. The ad said it was "gently used", and the price was good. It was a bit of a drive, but we called it a Date and justified the trip.The whole thing turned out to be a reminder that using Craigslist can be a cautionary tale. Ask for more detailed pictures and measurements before you make a drive to pick something up. We knew this, and yet... well, I guess we just needed the excuse to spend some time in the car, alone.

"Gently used" included a two foot wide hole in the middle of the slide, and a good bit of rot on the wood that made contact with the ground. That actually made us laugh, and laughter is good for the soul. The "paid $1100 new" set can actually be purchased brand new today for $600 at Wal-Mart. I know they're fond of price droppers, but I'm guessing that's... not it.

So we offered her what we were willing to pay for it, and she acknowledged that she was probably making out pretty well, all things considered. We dismantled it and brought it home. Yesterday, Z and the kids spent the day putting on better quality wood and reinforcing the frame. They cleared a spot in the back yard, and the Littles could not be more excited if we'd built an actual tree house. So, that's good. We also bought some stain to protect the pieces that are still solid, and will have it cleaned up in no time.

We think we can replace the broken slide with sheet metal, using the existing frame. That'll be less static-inducing, and a little faster. Also, less likely to give way while in use, because regardless of one's definition of gentle use, I doubt we'll fall into that category. In the end, the cautionary reminder was good, but everyone is happy with the results.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Week in Review

We had Snow Week!

 Not just a day, but four days of snow and fun, cold fingers, wet pants, snowball fights and gimpy snowmen. It was wild, and wonderful!

Then Friday was so beautiful we were still able to get out and hike with friends! (The hike also involved cold fingers, wet pants, and a fairly awesome 11th Doctor snowman. But it was warm enough that we only needed light jackets and t-shirts. Double bonus, if you ask me.)

This coming week of school is going to be... hard. We're all sort of girding and trying to find a way to not cringe when we think about it.

Jacob had his second week of communicants class. I ran some errands to get ready for small group, and so missed most of it. Of course, this was the night they asked some pretty in-your-face questions about church membership (and we don't plan to join this church, but it's a somewhat nuanced position that's challenging for a 40yo to explain, let alone a 10yo...) JakeRabbit sounded like he'd handled it fairly well, though. He's cool like that. And he enjoys the class, overall.

Our small group also had its first gathering. That was, oh man, so nice. Good discussions, a lot of laughter, and some very real conversation about things that matter, and why. I'm glad we're in this group. Hopefully, we won't be the weird ones. (Or if we are, maybe it will be in an affectionate way...) There aren't any teens in the other families, so James sat in with the adults. He may be the one to pull up our average score from the judges - such an insightful kid, and so thoughtful.

So now, it is with a good deal of gratitude, wet clothing, mud on the floors, and wood chips in the foyer that we head into another week. I can't complain. (Obviously, I can't clean, either.) Right now, it's all about the Good Stuff.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And then...

WeStayedInsideForWhatFeltLikeForeverAndEver.

But it wasn't forever and ever. It was only a few days where the high was in the 20's. The kids got a kick out of how cold their faces got just going onto the porch for wood. I contemplated (for the first time in quite a while) putting a woodbox in the wall so that we could just open a lid on the inside of the house and reach in for more wood.

Thankfully, that urge passed. I don't think we'll do any more work that involves removing and replacing brick. Not willingly, at any rate.

We did get out to the Space & Rocket Center to see the DaVinci exhibit. If you have the chance, check it out. It's a pretty neat exhibit.

 We had a few striking memories from it:

* DaVinci was more of a genius than we realized (and we went in *knowing* he was brilliant).

* So are the historians who could tell his tank was not, in fact, a space ship. I'm still skeptical. ;-)

* DaVinci's handwriting was atrocious, but James was able to read some of it using a mirror app on his phone.

* It makes me smile that he thought to do that.

* The exhibit is a perfect blend of hands-on and do-not-touch displays. I'm the only one of us who ended up missing one of the do-not-touch signs and touched something I shouldn't. Thankfully, John playfully smacked my hand and shook his head. He may also have mumbled something about not being able to take me anywhere.

* We need to go back. An hour and a half wasn't nearly long enough.

Kiss those babies, and stay warm!
~Dy

Circus and Friends

I-65 was particularly treacherous after the ice coated most of the state last week. The Thursday circus showing was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, because the troupe was stuck in Southern Alabama. I'm glad they weren't stranded on the Interstate, or injured trying to get North.

Still, we already had a lot of plans for Sunday, from Sunday School and service, to Candlemas dinner with friends, to small group and youth group. We don't handle Busy well under the best of circumstances, so I was hesitant to try to pull this off.

But Circus.

And little ones who had been guarding their tickets zealously for longer than they've not lost anything in a while.

We didn't want to skip church for the extra time.

We were all looking forward to our time with friends, though, and weren't willing to give that up.

Thankfully, they were willing to come to the circus with us! We enjoyed a lovely meal with them and headed out, convoy style, for the rest of the day.

By the time the show began, Jase has been going 90-to-nothing for ten straight hours. Z and I were starting to fret a little. I mean, the rest of us had been going that hard, too, but we're a bit more grizzled than the little guy... and there was cotton candy! (There were also cheesesticks in my purse, and about the time we all needed a little protein, those came in handy.)

He was so stoked. And with every new set of performers, he was amazed. "That's impossible! How can they do the impossible?" (Z and I felt the same. We kept whispering back and forth, "I can't do that. Just so you know." And we can't. No chance, even with ample warning and a personal trainer. We're well-matched that way.)

He thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the show, and about the time he started asking if we could go home now, they announced the grand finale. Perfect timing!

Z and I have never been to a circus together. We've never taken the kids. I have no idea why - this little show was really fantastic. It's heavy on human performers, which was very fun. (I'd planned to take more pictures, but at the beginning the Ringmaster said no digital recording of any kind is allowed, which I thought meant photos, too. Then at the end, he invited people to upload photos of the show to the troupe's Facebook page. So. Misunderstood that one. No pics for us.)

Em was enthralled with everything, from the costumes to the acrobatics, although she did murmur, wide-eyed, a few times, "Oh, no. I don't think I would like to do that!" And the boys enjoyed the performances - on one level, they appreciated the skill and effort that goes into this kind of thing, but on another, just the pure thrill of daring. I love that they haven't lost that.

Meanwhile, outside, the temperature outside plummeted by 15 degrees, and a cold, hard rain moved in. Z let us wait beneath the pavilion while he went to look for the car, and he said the rain was so heavy he nearly walked right past the car without recognizing it. We were all pretty played out for the day, and the idea of driving through that into town for another two hours of activity seemed... daunting. We bailed. We came home, started a fire, ate soup, and crashed like tired zombies.

I guess we're learning how to handle Busy well. Whether it's getting things together to get out the door, taking care of business while we're out, extending grace and kindness to ourselves and each other, or being willing to adapt as things go, we're doing pretty darned well. We're even better about remembering to stash protein for while we're out. I'm proud of us - of the kids, of Z, of myself.

We had a wonderful day, but it was very definitely a team effort that made it happen.

Kiss those babies!
~ Dy

We got out!

So, remember my concern that Jase wouldn't take kindly to the whole Hiking thing? I didn't know there would be rocks:

Gorgeous rocks! Big rocks! And they were everywhere! I knew we'd picked a winner when Jase filled me in on what I'd missed (in the short time it took me to take off my own pack and go climb with them):

"It was huge and slippery and kind of scary, but James helped me get up there! And then John helped me jump over the hole near the edge. And then we climbed some more. And Mom :inhale deeply: THANK YOU for making us come! This place is awesome!"

I even got a hug for my efforts.

James and John got in on the action. Emily could happily spend days on the trail, seeing all there is to see. And Jacob? He was amazing. We hiked about 1.5 miles, but covered a lot more than that with segues over the rocks, vertical coverage, and other miscellaneous distractions (including a stop at the creek). I'd estimated we would hike "not nearly long enough for the 10yo, but a little bit farther than the 5yo will willingly go", and that turned out to be just about right. I'd brought chocolate for that last leg. One square of chocolate will buy me about 30 yards of complaint-free progress. 20 yards if it's steeply uphill.

That said, we have got to go more often. The two littlest aren't quite as... adept at scrambling about on rocks as the older ones are. (That's entirely my fault - when I only had two or three, we went somewhere every week, and they learned to scramble shortly after they'd learned to walk.) You have to have a good relationship with your own center of gravity to be comfortable on rocks, and you can only really develop it by getting out there and exploring it. So, we'll go. I spent too much of  our time on the trail trying to control my own breathing, catching myself from yelling, "Watch out!" by making weird squeaking noises and clearing my throat a lot. We went with new friends; I'm sure she thinks I have a verbal tic and a nervous condition.

Jase wasn't daunted, though, and he did a fantastic job!

(There's a 40' drop on the other side of that rock. If this were video, you could hear me squeaking to myself when he got to the top.)

I'll follow his example. It's a good one.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Old and Cold

I feel like I'm 97, shuffling about with my cardigan and hot tea, talking about the weather. But not talking about the weather right now is like tossing a slipcover over the elephant and trying to pretend it's a beanbag chair.

Do you know how cold it is right now? It's so cold I don't have to tell the kids to keep the door shut. That's cold! The wind chill is -5 at the moment. I understand if you're in Wisconsin or Maine that's not a big deal. Down here, we have native plants that are staggering about in shock, gasping, "It's the big one, Ethel!"

I-65 was a crazy mess, and we've tried to keep an eye on local friends. But wow. 

Thankfully, this should put the kabosh on the tick population for 2014, and that would be all kinds of wonderful.

School's going well this year. First term was pretty fantastic, once you grade on a curve for all the reasons they can't live on their own yet.

Jase loves his phonics lessons (using Memoria Press' Classical Phonics and the First Start Reading workbooks). I think some of it is peer pressure. Em used that, and she got to make beautiful pictures and read books together with the rest of us. Everyone else was already reading by the time he had any cognizance of the issue. So, to his mind, this is how you learn to read. And it is happy making.

Em's finally over King Harold's death, but I doubt she'll ever be a fan of the Normans. (This makes me laugh. Seriously, I had no idea. When I was her age, I didn't... oh, where to begin. No clue. Anyway, she cracks me up.)

Jacob has thoroughly enjoyed Ambleside Online's Year 5 program. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him learn, and hearing his narrations. This is possibly the first year (out of... *phew*, ten) that narrations have come easily for any of us. It's a huge relief.

James and John are working together on a modified schedule of AO Yr. 7. James has additional Logic, writing, and programming work, and that seems to be working out well for him. It's hard to tell. John is nailing it. He's engaged and, if not enthusiastic, at least paying attention. Mostly. My hope is that the various developmental highs and lows of growing up hit at somewhat staggered intervals - more for me than for them. They've each only got to get through it once.

And that's about it. Time to throw more wood on the fire and see what we can get done today!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

That was fun.

It was such a cool weekend.

EmilyGirl left a note for the tooth fairy.

So sweet. And she's completely on to me, but doesn't seem to mind.

She also put the tooth into an origami box she'd made. There was a hole in the top so the fairy could document that yes, the tooth is there, but Em was really hoping to keep the tooth. I did not know this at the time, and now have a frankly fantastic addition to my Collection Of Things That Will Probably Freak Out My Adult Children After I'm Dead: a stray tooth in a paper box! But really, it's just too awesome to release back into the detritus of the crafting area and allow to end up in the back end of a vacuum. So I'm keeping it.

The guys made chips and queso to take to youth group, so not only did we get to be helpful, but the kitchen smelled magnificent all afternoon Sunday. (If you think a small Mexican restaurant smells magnificent, which we totally do. Someday, someone will come out with green chile scented candles. I live in hope.)

Z repaired the dishwasher for the happy price of a bottle of Lime-Away. And some creative application of elbow grease and a pointy thing. I don't know. We walked in halfway through, so all I had to do was get a little calcium build up off the sprayer arms and then dance in the kitchen during the test run. He did the sleuthing and heavy lifting. It worked out perfectly, too, as the boys have been doing dishes by hand for a little over a week - just long enough to be pretty appreciative about unloading the dishwasher this morning.

Also, after some particularly disgusting failures over the last several months (and with the help of a friend who said, "Use this recipe, but use that method,"), we managed to make homemade mayo successfully today. When it works, you feel like Penn Jillette. (When it doesn't, the feeling is closer to Gob*.) But seriously, that's a simple thing that's geeky-cool. If you haven't tried it, yet, and you have a stick blender, you've gotta try it. Truly, I don't know how the people in the demonstration videos don't geek out over watching it happen every. time.


Kiss those babies!
~Dy

*Gob Bluth, definitely not Penn & Teller... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nvxv2R01po

Punt!

At 9:30 Friday morning, the thermometer read 6 degrees. We tapped it. We stared at it from different angles. Then we looked at each other and decided to wait...

At 11:30, it was up to 11 degrees. Didn't even bother checking to see if it needed tapping that time. We realized we are ill-equipped to venture any farther afield than the wood pile in this weather, so we opted to delay the hike and instead fired up the hot chocolate and read books.

So, in all, it was a great day. We got the living room above 64 around noon, and that necessitated a party. Jase had already begun partying the minute we decided to punt.

Who doesn't love a good party? So that was nice.

Today, it was lovely. But by today, we needed more wood, so that worked out well all around. The woodpile is stacked and the porch is full, now. That leaves tomorrow to play outside and enjoy the relatively balmy weather (supposed to get into the 50's!) We'll hike then.

I visited a friend this afternoon (book party! Love those things!) and upon my return, EmilyGirl showed me her latest Big Joy: she lost a tooth! She loses teeth so slowly that when one finally comes out, we're all vaguely surprised to learn she'd still had it. If this one makes it under the pillow, it will be the first tooth that hasn't been swallowed/lost/irretrievably damaged before it could be redeemed for cash. She's pretty excited. We've got two and a half hours until bedtime and it's still accounted for. Odds are looking good!

Kiss those babies!
Dy

So, it's winter...

Shouldn't be surprising that it's cold, should it? But it's not Southern Cold right now. It's just plain Cold. Crazy Cold for Alabama. And it's been that way all month, with one lovely break last week. It happens. It only lasts a month or so, but it does happen. We're rather appreciative of the wood stove, yet again. (I don't think we've ever looked at each other and wondered if that was a good investment.)

However... tomorrow night's low is supposed to be 8 degrees, with a high on Friday of freezing. Yeah, for those of you in Florida, you read that right: it'll eventually, with a good deal of effort and focus, get UP to freezing sometime after noon. This isn't a big deal (there are always books to read, soup to make, you know), except we have our first group hike planned for Friday morning, and I'm thinking we're not likely to have a high turn out with this forecast.

People start hemming about when it's not going to top 50. When the high is 32, they just stop talking to anyone suggesting we go out for the heck of it. And rightfully so. We're all wired differently. I do get that. I mean, they'll be out there in flip flops and tank tops at the height of Summer without breaking a sweat while I'm dragging myself from shady spot to shady spot, working feverishly to stay hydrated.

And then, there's Jase. Poor thing. Not an ounce of insulation on his wiry little frame, and very little enthusiasm for being out in the cold in the first place. (I forget, he was born here. This is his Normal. He's got his flip flops by the front door, just waiting for the chance to be worn.) I wonder if we know anyone who would take the littles for the morning in exchange for letting me take their teens hiking? Hmm... I think I'll get on that and see what we can work out. Jase will thank me, and so will anyone else who decides to brave the cold and didn't want to hear his play-by-play about just how miserably cold it is. (Have I mentioned how articulate he's become lately? Bit of a double edged sword at times, but there you have it. Quite articulate, that one.)

Z and John worked on the forge some over the weekend.

Em and I worked on her room a bit more. (She loves beading, but doesn't like to wear jewelry, so we're taking on projects that will get some actual use around the house. Kind of fun!)

Jacob's been drawing and drawing. If you have a budding artist, and you need a gift idea - the articulated drawing mannequins are phenomenal. Z looked at me like I was nuts when I put one in the basket for Christmas, but it gets used daily. We don't even ask him to put it away when he picks up, now. It just lives on the breakfast bar, like a weird wooden joint fairy. Love that thing.

Oh! And, we've been working on creating a family vision this week. The kids have had some great input regarding what their ideal home philosophy would look like, and what their visions are. The Official Family Vision isn't finished yet, but it's coming along. I'd started out just hoping to make it something that reflected a general perspective that included most of us, but they're working to turn it into something that reflects each of us as individuals, expressed through the family as a whole. Far more than I would have been able to do on my own. Funny how that works, eh? Good stuff, this.

Kiss those babies, and stay warm!
~Dy

Shortened Attention Spans and Gifts

Between Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, my attention span deteriorated quite a bit last year. That was embarrassing, if visually stimulating. This year, I determined it would be better to seek balance and set the example for our home, by bringing life (particularly the bigger chunks and meatier content) back into focus.

We also decided we'd actually do some of the projects we've pinned on Pinterest. The boys insisted we photograph the outcome. I'd love to think they want a record of the fantastic projects we make together, but the truth is they're hoping for something they can submit to PinterestFAIL sites.

Our first project, however, was a total win. We made these adorable play tents for the Littles of some very dear friends:

EmilyGirl handled all the sewing - from threading the machine and ironing the fabric, to sewing the hems and sewing on the ribbons. The guys did the woodwork, which was quick and easy. We sealed the wood so that the tents can be used outside without rotting by August.

The tents are sturdy, but they break apart so that for travel the boards lie flat on the fabric, you roll the fabric around the boards and secure with the ribbons at the corners. They'll fit in the trunk, on the floor behind the seat of the car, or in a footlocker.

I tried to get a picture of the littles inside them, but they moved too quickly. Here, Little M had just chased JakeRabbit out of hers and gone into it when she saw the camera, stepped out to pose, and then her brother had something fascinating to show her. My phone isn't the best camera, and I suspect I'm getting old, with slow reflexes. But the picture was sweet, and it's the only one that shows some detail on the tents without being blurry.

They loved them. EmilyGirl is now ready to make ALL THE THINGS. The boys are on board, but I suspect for different reasons... we'll probably have a little Win and a little Fail this year, but we'll have fun doing it together.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And then, she wasn't so little anymore...

EmBaby should probably be officially EmilyGirl, now. She's eight. And she's... amazing.

I've never lived with someone who was so intuitive and who could so clearly see the beauty in things. She makes us all slow down and really see the beauty in the world around us. If we don't get it, she'll explain it. (And she lives, you know, with Us. So she's very good at explaining.)

Because of her, we have more dancing in our lives.

Because of her, we have more gentleness in our lives.

Because of her, the boys are more empathetic to others' feelings than they would have been with just me as the female of the house.

Because of her, I see how much fun it is to be a girl.

Because of her, we have more sparkle. It's not just glitter, although there's plenty of that, but everything sparkles in her eyes, and we see it.

Because of her, the world is more beautiful.

Because of her, we are more willing to look for the beauty. As much joy as she brings in sharing it with us, it's also somewhat elating to be the one to find it first and share it with her. Because that sparkle? Oh, my.

Happy Birthday, EmilyGirl! We love you so very much!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

That Was Exciting!

A friend on Facebook put out an offer to her local peeps to join them for hiking once a week. Nothing formal, nothing fancy, just a chance to get out there and go. I don't know if it's the winter chill setting in, or the aforementioned reading of trail blogs, or the creeping knowledge that if I don't get on it I'll soon be at a place where I won't be able to get up and go... whatever it was, her words inspired me.

So I offered the same thing here, locally. We're going to go. We're going to hike. We're going to be out there every week. Come hike with us.

And for a very brief moment, I felt like the nerd at a tailgate party, suggesting we all get together to discuss Star Trek action figure history and development. (Which is funny, because I know nothing about action figure history and development, unless you count Lego Ninjago. I know more about that than I wanted to. But hopefully you get my point. I was certain I'd just lobbed a lead balloon over the social wall and everyone would stare at me like I was lost.)

But it was out there. No taking it back. I gave myself a pep talk ("What are you, twelve? Suck it up. You like this stuff. Someone else might like it, too. Go get more coffee and chill out.") And then I didn't check my email for 24 hours.

You know what happened?

Yeah, you're smart. I'm sure you do.

Scads of people want to go hiking! The response has been so positive, and much larger scale than I was anticipating. I'm so encouraged and excited! This is going to be fun! Maybe a little crazy (that's a lot of people...), and a titch chaotic at first (I don't know what I'm doing, really), and I'm braced for a learning curve (on my part - I'm relatively certain they're not all as uncoordinated as I am)... but FUN!

If it wouldn't be entirely weird, I'd drive to each home and just hug each of them to tell them thank you for being willing to do something new. I might just ambush people at the trailhead and hug 'em then.

Or, you know, not. If you're among those going and have a strict No Hugging By Ambush policy.

Heh.

Still, totally stoked!

I hope you'll let my dorky story serve as a voice of encouragement for any of you who are holding back on putting yourselves out there. Do it. Smile, say hi, say what you want to say. Invite people to share in something that excites you (except MLM sales pitches - nobody really gets excited about people sharing those) to play games, go for walks, learn something new. Even if they decline, you'll have put something good out there. Go for it.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Trail Blogs

This morning, as Z and John were getting ready to head to TN for a youth hunt, I sidled into the kitchen and mentioned that I need to quit reading trail blogs.

"Why's that?" Z asked.

"Because it makes me want to drag you all out there and do some HIKING!" I explained.

"Heh. Yeah, you do need to stop."

But I couldn't. And as I kept reading, I realized I have at least a couple of potential hiking buddies in the house. Let's take a look, shall we?

Z: Not a hiking buddy. He will go if there are deer, elk, hogs, or varmints he can shoot. But for general Going Into The Woods Just For The Heck of It hiking, he is not the one. As a matter of fact, he can go long periods of time without making eye contact just to assure he's not asked to participate. The up side of this is that I know someone will feed the children while I'm gone.

James: Ohhh, not so much. He'll go, if I ask. And he'll try very hard to find something nice to say about the experience. He's a lot of fun to be around, and he's the most likely to say yes to trying a new restaurant or campfire meal, or venturing off the beaten path to see if there's something new around the corner. But on his go-to list of things to do "for fun", hiking does not factor in anywhere on the list, at all. So, he's a good emergency call, and I would gladly throw a few extra bucks on his Starbucks card as a thank you for going, just because I really enjoy spending time with him. (He would say that if I really loved him, I wouldn't make him go, at all.)

John: He'd go. He'd out-hike me and have to worry about leaving me breathless and dehydrated somewhere on the trail. But he'd have coffee and dinner made when I finally got my sorry, out-of-shape self into camp. Actually, he'd likely come back for me. And maybe would bring chocolate and jerky to share. John's a definite hiking buddy. Plus, he remembers the first aid kit. I always forget a first aid kit.

Jacob: He has never turned down an adventure. There have been a couple he's asked afterward if he could not do ever again, but for first time attempts, he's usually game. And, he scampers. He still gets that rocks are for climbing and stones are for skipping, and that exploring is the bulk of the fun. He might not go more than a few times, or he might go with me anywhere, any time. But I can almost guarantee he'd be willing to give it a shot at least once.

EmBaby: She's really more of a Let's Make Something Pretty girl. She loves walks, and nature, and pretty scenery. But I'll have to tread carefully introducing her to hiking as A Thing. And not ever let on that she could be home, crafting, instead, because that will always win out. Always.

Jase: I don't know. He hates everything new, but as soon as it's over he wants to do it again. He complained through the entirety of Swallows & Amazons, but the night after we finished it, he staged a protest that we weren't reading it for bedtime. When I explained that we were done with it, he insisted, "Well, then just start over again from the beginning! It's my favorite book, ever!" He did that when we visited the Nina and Pinta replicas, when we visited a new church, and when he had to get new shoes (because he had outgrown the previous pair), and when we watched A Town Called Panic. (For the record, it's an adorable movie, but we are now thoroughly sick of it because every time he gets to pick, that's what we watch.) So he might go. And he might love it. But there is a likelihood that we'd end up hiking the same stretch of the Pinhoti over, and over, and over again... Of course, he's five. Maybe if I get him hooked now, he'll be a hiking buddy for life?

Buddy: When I used to hike, I thought it was so neat to come upon other hikers who had a trail dog with them. The dogs are generally friendly and well-behaved, and of course they're healthy and active. It seemed like a great way to live life, if you're a dog. Well, Buddy didn't start out as much of a traveler, but he's come SUCH a long way this year! Over the Summer, we took him for a well check, and he didn't throw up in the car. Then, last month, we went to hike with friends and he jumped in the car. Considering our previous means of getting him in the car involved treats, bribes, Benadryl, and a pulley system, this was a shocking turn of events. So we took him. And he hiked. SUCH a happy trail dog. I think we'll ease him into trail hiking this year so he can enjoy the outdoors, too.

And so that's the plan for 2014. We're going to hike! Get out there, and have fun! At least, until the ticks are active. Then we may default to water-based activities. We'll see. I'll bet James has some helpful alternative suggestions...

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Library Day

When we first moved here, we got library cards. Of course. The Madison County library system is wonderful, and it made the loss of the St. Mary's library system sting a bit less (although that's still the most amazing library system I've ever seen in action).

Well, when we bought this place and started tearing it out, and tearing more out, and rebuilding, and... next thing I knew we were on the Most Wanted list of offenders for late fees. Oops.

And then, I forgot. And when I did remember, it was usually at eleven-thirty at night, and it was really embarrassing. So I forgot again. (Not intentionally, however well that may have worked out.) So I just bought books as we needed them.

The main library in our county has the monitors on the unfiltered computers facing toward the children's section, readily visible to anyone who is unfortunate enough to glance up at an odd moment. And our wee local library really isn't the place for people who read a variety of things. It tries, but it's small, and it has some organizational issues. So, we stopped going to the library in general.

But after a while, I ran out of bookshelves, and Z seems reluctant to take up what little square footage we have left with yet more bookshelves... (Something about moving and books and heavy and books and boxes and books.) What are you gonna do? In my case, I wrote myself a note about the fees and started saving bits here and there to repay.

By December, I'd pulled together the funds to repair our reputation with the big library system, plus fees for membership since we live outside that county now, and we went to the main branch. It was worth it just to see the kids' faces when we walked in: three beautiful stories, an atrium, a dedicated children's section, a huge variety of resources and options. Plus, it's just a beautiful building. The aesthetics are delightful. James whistled lowly and whispered, "You weren't kidding about real libraries!"

Yeah. :happy sigh: It's beautiful, isn't it?

We're on our third round of checkouts, now, and no late fees. (Knock on wood.) The older boys are quite comfortable venturing out on their own, finding books and curling up somewhere to peruse them at leisure. James has found a happy spot somewhere quiet, where he can read in peace, and it makes him very contented. Em and Jase are a little overwhelmed with so many books, and we spend a lot of time exploring the shelves as well as sprawled out at the tables reading and talking. They're having fun.

Returning our books today, Em leaned over and whispered to me, "The Bearskinner was a really wonderful story." The librarian smiled.

Is there anything quite like a great library? I don't think so. There are many delightful things in the world, but a home for books is something special.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Not Since May??

I knew I hadn't blogged in a while, but since May? Wow. That's going to leave a dent in the kids' memory album (because honestly, I gave up on keeping those about two weeks after John was born, so the blog is pretty much it).

2013 wasn't a great year. It wasn't horrible, and in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't even A Bad Year. It was just hard. It was a year of upheaval and disappointments, of finding out people don't always care about your children like you thought they did. And that you weren't as diligent about protecting them as you thought you were. It was a year of remaining in limbo. There wasn't much positive I could say about much of what was going on.

That year, my entire family decided to take it in turns so that when I sat down at the computer someone took it as the Prime opportunity to talk to me, or sit next to me and eat things that make a lot of noise when you eat them, or just sit and stare at me (oddly, that wasn't the most bothersome of the three choices. weird.) Since I couldn't write about what was going on in general, and it seemed weird to make them Go Away so that I... didn't write, I turned off the screen and spent more time with them. We talked. We ate. We sat and stared at each other. It was good.

That turned out to be the best thing possible, and it contributed to our getting through 2013 without alienating each other or running off to Juarez to apprentice as streetside bootmakers. I'm glad for that. Not that some of the boys wouldn't make excellent bootmakers, but if that's the path one of them chooses, I want him to be driven by passion rather than a desire to get away.

I did get to take a road trip for my birthday (complete with stops at interesting places, a schedule that only needed to coordinate to grown up bladders, and really great travel food). It was a week filled with lovely people, a fantastic seminar, and so much wisdom and beauty that my brain wanted to explode. That was an amazing experience. I am so thankful to Z for helping to make that happen.

As of right now, we're still in limbo. Z is still looking for openings out West. The house is still a work in progress. The boys are no longer in Scouts (although it has nothing to do with the national membership changes - it was local and general issues - the timing of it made the whole thing a little bizarre, though). Jacob completed his Arrow of Light, and James and John managed to earn Life rank, although they didn't have it awarded to them before they left the Troop. I don't know what that means for the future, or for their plans. If it's important to them, they'll let me know.

The positives we have on our side are in droves, however. The house is keeping us warm and safe during "The Polar Vortex of '14". Everyone is growing and maturing beautifully. Z and I are on the same page most days and having a great time with each other and our family. We have a somewhat-viable-kind-of-sort-of-plan (with a thousand contingencies) to deal with the choices that remain. (Ha! Limbo!) We have beautiful friends, many blessings, and hope for the future.

That's not a bad way to start the year. Not bad, at all.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy