Early Readers

When I was a little kid, I remember loving the Frog and Toad books.
I recently bought one of these books (made possible by a grant from my mom!) and was surprised to learn that Joseph was unfamiliar with it.

Then I went to a parent-teacher conference on Monday and learned that Emily has been loving the Little Bear books and has just been going through them at school.
These Joseph remembered from his own childhood. So I added them to my Barnes and Noble shopping basket (this was also made possible through that same grant).

I love the old-schooly feel of both sets of books. I am excited for our children to discover the delight in reading these simple stories. It's nice that they appeal to both boys and girls with perfect humor for that age when kids are starting to read independently.

I might love books.

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, I have been totally slack about updating this blog lately... I'll try harder.
I love Valentine's Day and the sentiment that goes with it, but I am not crafty. At all. All of my creativeness is pseudo-creativeness, stolen from blogs.So this year, may we present,
Glow stick valentines!

What kid doesn't love a good glow stick? Plus, this year they decreed no candy on Valentine's day in Emily's classroom, so it works. Sorry about the bad picture. I really did try! It was taken outside on the sidewalk, if you can't tell.

This was Em's teacher gift.

And it was organic, all natural hand sanitizer, made in the US and not tested on animals. Because that's the kind of teacher Emily has. And let's face it, kindergarteners are grubby.

So basically, this year I decided to be Jess from Craftiness is not Optional (love that blog!) and copy everything she did. (Last year I was trying to be DesignMom.)
Thank you, internet!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

CrazyEl

We have been so busy for the last couple of weeks (RSV for both babies!!), but I was going through our pictures and couldn't resist putting this up.

You'd be surprised at how many pictures I've saved as "crazyel."
Photo courtesy of Caleb.

Protective instincts

Today Caleb body-slammed a kid that was making Emily cry.
I was really mad at him, but sort of proud too.

Repairs

When we moved into an apartment with washer/dryer hookups, we hunted and found a washer and dryer for around $100. The set wasn't new, but it was functional. We were especially glad to have it when we began cloth-diapering.

 The washer eventually seemed to become a little less effective. Then it stopped spinning or agitating all together. Calling a repair guy would have likely cost more than the washer. Fortunately, I've seen my dad deal with this before. If a washer won't spin or agitate, the coupling between the motor and the drum is the most likely culprit.

The plastic piece on the left looks about like it should, with two flat areas inside.  The piece on the right has been nicely polished into roundness by the spinning motor.  That makes it less effective.  We found a new replacement online for $4, lay the washer on its back, and pushed the new coupler into place.  Hooray!  Clean clothes again!  The hardest part of the whole thing was playing sokoban in the laundry/storage room to get the washer out and back in.  We need more storage space.

What we've been up to

I've been posting a few of my personal musings lately... I bet some of you (grandparents) are wondering what those crazy kids are up to.

Em in the author's chair in her kindergarten class. Her teacher says she is a "prolific writer."

Caleb and Baby Jacob will be the same size soon if Jacob doesn't stop growing.

I loved this. This was the kids' reaction at their first exposure to Yo Gabba Gabba. Elinor said, "I love this!" Caleb said, "Maybe I like this. I think I do." Emily said, "I don't like this... well, I sort of like this but I think it might be for younger kids than me." They were all mesmerized.

I love Playmobil. It is great for all ages (over 2).

I let Emily choose a recipe for us to make together. She chose strawberry shortcake. It was great except that strawberries are out of season and cost like $20/lb.

Joseph did a really fun singing time for New Years. He rolled up the songs and put them in these little poppers and then put them back together. I didn't think they would work, but Joseph was pretty sure about it. I guess sometimes it pays to mess around with fireworks as a youngster.

Yes, that is a baguette and a treaure map on the table there.

Emily is a little bit of a packrat. I throw away a lot of her stuff at nighttime, but sometimes it still gets a little bit out of control. I was impressed by how much stuff we pulled off the top of her dresser for her to go through. She's a good girl.

Also, one other thing. Yesterday I chose to use my time sweeping and mopping. Because of this dinner was not ready when Joseph got home and dishes were out of control. I just feel like I caught up this evening after the kids went to bed. Does that seem a little off to you?

Sea Foam Green is easy to spot.

So, we were a three-car family for a while, which is ridiculous since we have only two drivers and we are poor students.
Today marks the end of that era. We sold our sea-foam green Windstar today. I have been feeling strangely nostalgic about getting rid of a few of our things lately. This van was no exception. My parents gave it to us while I was pregnant with Elinor and we drove it for a couple of years. It was always so easy to find in a parking lot.

But today a stranger climbed in and drove it out of our lives forever.

Running

I really like to run. I am not very fast, but I still like it.
So, here's a little known fact about me - I had not ever set foot in a gym until about a year and a half ago when my friend Reianna took me to the YMCA with her for a trial workout.
I have always just run outside with minimal equipment. Shoes, running clothes, hair tie. Sometimes a watch. Never an iPod or headphones. It is energizing and rejuvenating to me to be able to run in the peace and cool of the morning, with my thoughts wandering in every direction.

Recently, with the busy-ness of four kids and the shorter winter days, I have tried running a couple of times on a treadmill at the Y. Only because it was late at night and the thought of running outside made me nervous.
Friends, I hated it. Outside, an hour long run, maybe around 7 miles, is what feels comfortable and natural and good. Inside, I am counting down probably once I hit the 10 minute mark. I plug in, and spend the time watching materialistic people hunting for way-too-big houses on HGTV. I am never able to run for longer than about 40 minutes, usually at a much slower pace than what I would do outside. And that is a stretch. I come off it feeling like my brain cells have atrophied and I do not feel relaxed or rejuvenated in the least. I feel like I have completed a workout, which is not the main reason I run (let's be honest - after four babies, it is part of the reason I run, but not the main one).
We will keep the YMCA membership for the kids' programs and lessons, but I think I will stick to the trail.

Reading

I am a bookworm. For as long as I can remember, curling up with a book has been one of my very favorite things to do. I taught myself to read at a very young age - I remember reading all of the Wizard of Oz books and the Chronicles of Narnia before we left Australia, which was when I was eight years old. I remember my dad telling me that reading is good, but all the very smartest people he knew read non-fiction books. I still stuck with fiction, but I am trying to make up for that now.
I would love for my own children to love reading. Emily is old enough now that she will sit and listen to me read to her. It has been so much fun choosing books that she would enjoy and reading them aloud to her and to any other kids that will sit still for long enough. In looking back through the books we have read, it is interesting to see the different time periods represented:

Little House in the Big Woods was so interesting! It is set in the 1870's, I think. Emily liked the story and Joseph and I loved hearing about how industrious and self-sustaining the family was.

 Betsy-Tacy is the latest book we have read. It is set right around 1900 and is very charming. I love how well behaved the little girls are and the little town they live in seems so safe and cozy.

 Joseph and I continually marveled at how nine-year-old Beezus is allowed to take four-year-old Ramona all around town. At one point in the novel, Ramona is left outside Beezus' art class to play in the sand box all by herself until the art class is over. Needless to say, Ramona doesn't cooperate, but the point is, it was normal and safe for a four-year-old little girl to be left outside, by herself, in the city. Emily was very entertained by Ramona's escapades in this book. I think it is set sometime in the 1950's.

 Ivy and Bean. I have mixed feelings about these books. They are set in modern times, and I liked that Emily could relate so easily to these girls. However, they are very naughty. By the fourth or fifth book I decided it was just too much and we are done with them. It was fun while it lasted, though!









We've read a couple of other books, and Joseph is currently reading a chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh to them every Sunday. I am hoping to read the first Boxcar Children book after Betsy-Tacy and I have a few others lined up. I have been concerned, though, that all of these books have been aimed at little girls. Once Caleb is old enough to sit still for more than two minutes, I plan to start reading for him as well, but I will have to change my repertoire. I am thinking My Father's Dragon, Indian in the Cupboard, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web, Chronicles of Narnia... I dunno. Hopefully I will find something to catch his attention and help him fall in love with books.

Happy New Year!

I am excited for 2013. We are gearing up for some big transitions for our little family. I am trying to not overwhelm myself with resolutions for the new year. I am excited to try some new things though.
Here are some pictures of the two oldest that I love, mostly because I love those two kiddos, but also because it shows them being active and athletic.

Happy new year!