What to do on a rainy day....

When I was a little girl, we lived in Frankfort Square, IL on Acorn Drive. I loved it when it rained during the summer time. It was warm but, the rain made it the prefect temperature.

There was a sidewalk across the street from our house that had a dip in between two slabs. It made the perfect place for water to pool. It made the best puddle ever.

If it wasn’t thundering or lightening, I would beg my mom to let me play outside. I remember the clear-bubble umbrella she bought me. I didn’t need wellies either; I would just go out with my bare feet. I would jump up and down in the puddles. I would make the biggest splashes. I was wet, muddy, and had a huge smile on my face.

The sidewalk that made the perfect puddle would be all murky filled with water and dirt but I loved every minute of it.

I wanted my kids to have the same experiences I had with rain, puddles, and umbrellas.  I made it a point to get them all the rain gear they needed to make their own joy (of course when they aren't playing in the backyard without their clothes--my nudists). So no matter what the weather was outside (hot or cold), I would let them play in the rain. Of course as long as it isn’t thundering or lightening. 

 

I wish we had a place that they could have a huge puddle like I had but, it is the little things that count. :)

Jillian turns 3

To my dearest Jillian,

I can’t believe it has been 3 years. I remember when you were born and recall the actions of that day. You were so tiny and precious—we knew we had something wonderful.

We celebrated your 3^rd birthday at a Children’s Museum in Frankfort on May 12^th. It was a Hello Kitty themed party because you LOVE Hello Kitty. In fact, you won’t wear anything if it doesn’t have a kitty on it. Mainly all of your shirts have Hello Kitty on it somewhere. Of course, I made you a Hello Kitty cake. All of your cousins came and some of your friends from coop.

You received: Hello Kitty purse, Hello kitty shirts/shoes, Hello Kitty little figures, book, crayons, gift card, kitty sleeping bag, a baby that talks (I’m not sure if you are into it or not), Little Princess-by Tony Ross DVD, Hello Kitty towel, and Hello Kitty bathing suit.

Likes/dislikes/favorites:

Color: you love pink. I think it is incredible because you aren’t always a girly girl.

Food: You are one tough/picky eater. You don’t really like anything unless its bad for you. You like crackers, hotdogs, Keifer bug yogurt which you call your Baba, maple yogurt which I freeze for you and you think it is ice cream. It looks like ice cream because I put it in a ice cream cone looking container you can freeze.  Sometimes you like green beans. You love bread—especially Italian bread. You like peanut butter but sometimes I give you almond butter (of course all natural and organic). You like French fries, popcorn, baked snap peas, pretzels, and veggie sticks. I have tried to get you to eat chicken, fish and other things that are good but you always say—Yucky and blow a raspberry at me. I’m hoping one day you will change your eating habits.

You like to watch: Peppa Pig, Little Princess by Tony Ross, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, Wubbzy, Charlie Brown/snoppy, Richard Scarry’s Busytown, and some things that your brother’s like to watch.

Clothes: you are not a girly girl but you do like sparkly or shiny things—we call them bling (they are really rhinestones). You don’t like to wear clothes at home because you are just like your brothers. Sometimes you wear a shirt. I think mainly its easier so we can potty train you. You will only wear a dress if it has Hello Kitty on it. Mommy bought you a non-hello kitty wardrobe for summer and you won’t wear it. I am not seeking ways to put Hello Kitty on your clothes so you will wear them.

Playing: you love to play with magna tiles, you love the sand box and swings. Mainly you just love to help me as much as a 3 year old can.

Humor: you are a very funny child. You make us laugh all the time. Sometimes you are very silly but sometimes your Daddy encourages your silliness. You do things to aggravate your brothers but you do it for attention. You have a fake cry that sometimes is funny but sometimes can be a bit over the top.

Learning: of course you know now that you are homeschooled. You love to learn with your brothers and pick up things quickly. You will definitely surpass them when it comes to reading/writing. You love drawing with pens/pencils/crayons. You love to paint….I think you could paint every day. You are very creative and I love nurturing your creativity. Your vocabulary is incredible and you repeat everything that we say and then you use it yourself. So I make sure that I speak clearly and repeat things to you.

Personality: you can be very stubborn. If you don’t want to do something you cross your arms and say no. When we are walking and you don’t want to walk anymore—you just stop and won’t move. You cry very easily and are easily upset. But on the other hand you sometimes are tough as nails as long as something hasn’t bothered you.You love to act like a kitty making kitty noises and love jumping on people. You think that is funny. 

You are sleeping through the night with your brothers. You have certainly grown up quickly. You are mostly potty trained but we are working on underwear during the day. At night we put you in a diaper because you don’t get up to tell us you need to go potty. I know you’ll grow out of this stage.

Everyone thinks you are so cute and you know it. You go up to people and use your “girlish” ways to get their attention.  You do this with boys and girls.

While I am writing this you are walking around naked with your new Hello Kitty shoes your Aunt Chrissy bought you for your birthday and your Hello Kitty balloon I got for your birthday. You asked for your “BABA” but you aren’t really interested in drinking it and returned it to me. You are too cute.

We are so lucky to have you in our lives and are grateful for every day that we get to spend with you.  We love you so much and can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

Happy 3^rd birthday.Love your Mom and Dad.

A nice way to end the perfect day…

It is Thursday and that means it Coop Day. A day where we pretend we “go to school”. We load up in the car around 8:15 am (if I’m lucky). We have to drive from Chicago to Oak Park and be there by 9:30am. You see our coop is a parent run enrichment program. Basically the kids play all day and do some learning. As they get older that changes a bit but for right now it is exactly what we need. It is a day to get out of the house and play with other kids. The downfall is that it is a day where you are always taking care of kids. There really isn’t much of a break until the very last part of the day.

Today was a bit different because we were preparing for our open house. The older kids like to show off their talents and decided to do a “show” for the parents. Although the younger kids weren’t involved too much, they fed off the energy of the older kids. It was very exhilarating but tiring. Trying to make sure that all kids are happy and their needs are met (this does not include my own).

So why do we do it if it becomes tiring? If you could just experience this energy and harness it, can you imagine its healing power?

Now on top of going to coop until about 2:30pm, we needed to pick up our car from the shop. The shop is located in countryside which was close to coop but then another 40 minutes or so from our house.

Jillian was already asleep before we even left the street to go to the shop. She woke up just as we arrived. It was around pm when we left the shop to head home. Sebastian then fell asleep in the car on the way home. Usually we don’t like it when the kids fall asleep during the day. This means that they won’t want to go to bed at a decent time.

They were tired when we got home but they usually get their second wind. All of their toys and videos have been waiting for them all day. They just can’t resist playing some more. This is called the waiting period until their Daddy comes home. Then a renewed energy emerges and Daddy then creates excitement. We both knew they weren’t going to bed at their normal time so we tried to do things to entertain them. By 9pm, I was exhausted. I was sitting in bed reading with Braedon sitting next to me. We were talking and playing angry birds together. Every once in a while Jillian would pop in wanting attention but would ultimately return to her Dad.

I then shut my book and tried to relax a bit. Then Dad realized that I was trying to go to sleep and then said it was time for the kids to go to bed as well. He gathered them for their night-time routine and then they all decided to snuggle up with me in my bed. I got up to do my routine and then helped get them settled in my bed. Dad turned out the lights and we said our last good nights and I love yous.

Then Sebastian said, “I don’t want this day to end.” I was thinking the same thing.

Sticky tactile fun

Once again, I am trying to get the kids on a creative exploration. I saw this idea on the crafty crow. A little contact paper along with some geometric shapes makes for a lovely wall mosaic.

I was trying to get an idea where all three of the kids would enjoy playing with the same materials. It also helps that there is little clean up and no messes.

Jillian's work is on the far right, Sebastian's is in the middle, and Braedon's is on the left.

Jillian just placed pieces randomly but then began to set them on their edge for a 3D effect. Sebastian made Wheeljack, one of his favorite transformer characters. Braedon's was more elaborate and came with a story as well.

Braedon's piece is a bad man who has stolen all of the jewels and the police could not catch him because their guns were ineffective. That or he said the man was infected...I'm not sure. Then he said he robbed people's houses and stole all of their animals because he loved them. Then the man was never seen again because he burned up in the sun.

This project lasted a good 10-20 minutes which is a record thus far. I'm not sure how long it will remain on the wall, but I would like to try other materials.

At least I got their creative energy flowing.

Learning about Ireland

If anyone knows me well, you know I love homemade decorations. It brings back memories of making paper chains, hearts, snowflakes, and other miscellaneous holiday items. So now that I have kids, I can pass down the tradition to them. Except there is just one problem. My boys don't like doing crafts. I know sad. I'm hoping this will change as they get older, but in the meantime I will continue to present them with the options. Jillian is very eager to do the crafts. I try to gear any craft towards her age---2. Not an easy task but we are getting there. Mainly it involves stickers, markers, or paint.

March is a great month for our family. Both Rich and I celebrate our birthdays but more than that is St. Patrick's Day. Both of our families migrated from Ireland and its great to teach the kids about their heritage. Every moment I can, I try and teach them a bit of Ireland. They are still a bit young to really understand but I show them where it is in relation to America. I teach them about the religion, culture, and the green wonderful land. My poor city kids don't really understand that there is an abundance of land outside of the city. We look at pictures and videos.

Today, I stole a moment with the 2 youngest because they wanted to participate. We made shamrock window clingies--as I call them.

I traced shamrocks on green paper, cut them out, cut out their insides, purchased some "sprinkles", cut out some contact paper, and then attached more contact paper. Instant decorations and instant conversation. They were so busy trying to put on their Irish men and clovers, that I couldn't resist just talking to them. Ok, this lasted all of about 2 minutes, but heck every minute counts.

We are wishing everyone a early Happy St. Patrick's Day.

 

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011

I can’t believe that Christmas has passed but we still have some gathering with family to come.

I try to have fun throughout the December period to make the winter/Christmas time go fun and fast.  We go to a museum 1x a week or something else. This year we went to the Nature Museum and Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier. Winter Wonderfest is always fun and it gets better as you guys get older. This year you went on some of the bigger slides and were more interactive. Poor Sebastian who is a dare devil wanted to go on a slide that was for the older kids but he was too little. Soon enough he’ll be big enough to do it all. One attraction the boys really enjoyed was driving the dodge police car. I think we rode those about 3x this year. I’m hoping they don’t outgrow it by the time Jillian is big enough to enjoy everything as well.

We didn’t make it to the Museum of Science and Industry to see all of the trees they have on display from throughout the world. I’m hoping that maybe after our vacation in Indiana that we might be able to go.

Our first family celebration was with Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Durkee. We went to their house on a Saturday and had dinner with them.  We then exchanged gifts. Braedon received a Knex Sideswipe Transformer, Sebastian got a playdoh transformer set and Jillian got a fire truck. Sebastian did not like his gift and wanted Braedon’s. I told Grandma what the kids wanted and well…she did what I suggested. He was very very upset and she suggested we take it back to get what he wanted. Jilian got a firetruck because she isn’t into girly things just yet. She loved her truck.

We were planning to visit Rich’s family starting on Friday, but a dear friend and teacher of his died and he wanted to go to the funeral. We headed out on Thursday instead, just one day earlier. We stayed at Uncle Janssen and Aunt Nicole’s the first night. It was fun to hang out with their cousin Teagan.

Staying in Indiana…

We always try to find and interesting place to stay when we come down. Hotels are fine but they don’t accommodate us as well as we would like. Especially with little ones who love to drink milk. A refrigerator and microwave is always needed.  This year Rich found a River Cabin in Shoals for us to have our visit. It has 2 bedrooms, a living area, kitchen and 1 bathroom. Its located right across the street from the White River. The scenery is the best part. There are hardly any neighbors and just the forest. Very peaceful. On Friday, we arrived at the cabin and just hung out. We then went to Mamaw and Pappaw’s house on Saturday to have some fun with them. We then spent Christmas with Mamaw and Pappa and Aunt Michelle. Uncle Janssen, Aunt Nicole and Teagan were sick. Cousins Tyler and Darby were with their father. The kids got to open their gifts from Mamaw and Pappaw. Braedon got the trio joker set and trouble game, Sebastian got the trio batman set and war/match/old maid card games, and Jillian got a grocery cart with groceries.  We had a nice lunch and played for the day. We then retired back to our cabin to play more.

We did encounter a few issues with our cabin. The hot water heater wasn't working properly and they had to come and look at for 3 days. Overall we really like the place. 

Everyone gathered at Uncle Janssen’s and Aunt Nicole’s for another celebration. The kids opened tons of gifts from all the Aunt’s and Uncles. They got rumble cars, flying helicopters, Transformers (ranchet and ironhide), hello kitty purse/shirt, wuggle pets, horse cart with horses, books and some other misc items.  We hung out for a while and then came back down to our cabin.

On Tuesday, we just hung out watching videos, playing, reading stories and of course it snowed. Yup, snow hit today and it was fun to see their reaction. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring their snow boots. I brought all of their gear for ice skating but I didn’t think it was going to snow. Oh well, hopefully there will be more snow in our future.

Tomorrow is our last day and we are hoping to go ice skating with Uncle Janssen, Aunt Nicole and cousin Teagan in Bloomington. We’ll then head back to the cabin to get us prepared to leave for Chicago on Thursday. There is a lot to pack up. I have been trying to keep things in order and cleaned up as much as possible.

We still have a small celebration to look forward to at my sister’s house. The kids will be excited to get more presents.

Christmas was good to us this year and we can’t wait to see what 2012 will bring. 

Sebastain's 5th birthday

Dear Sebastian,

Five years have past and I certainly can not believe that you area big boy. Again, I remember when you were born and the state in which you arrived. You have always been a very strong child and continue to be. I am hoping this will carry with you throughout your life and into adulthood. I want you to have all the confidence in the world that you can do anything that you set your mind to do.

You are very good at story telling and often tell us of your imaginary Dad. I’m not sure how this person came into your imagination, but you seem to bring him up at certain moments. You say, that you played games or had toys at your Dad’s house.  We would ask you how your Dad is doing and you said he died. I’m guessing with the recent death’s in our family (Great-Grandpa Durkee, Great-Grandma Barber and my mother Cathy) that you have also included him as well. It  does make for a great laugh for all of us but you are so serious when you mention him. You have what I call the stone face, you can say something whether it is truthful or not with a straight stone face. You do no waiver. I’m thinking you might make a great lawyer or businessman.

You still have issues controlling yourself. You get upset when you haven’t eaten (low blood sugar) and we guess that it also has to do with your sugar intake as well. You definitely have a sweet tooth and love candy, chocolate, yogurt and well….Sugar. If you don’t seem to get your fix then you get very upset. You used to throw fits, but we don’t allow that any more. We either put you in your room until you can calm down or you go to you room yourself. Occasionally we will have to put your “ink” to sleep.  This is was a song that Braedon would sing saying something like rocking his ink to sleep.  And well your father just adapted that to putting your ink to sleep.  He basically holds you until you fall asleep but these days its really until you calm down.  You generally don’t take naps but every once and a while you need one –heck who doesn’t?

You are very smart when you want to be but very stubborn. I want you to tell me that you know things…letters, number and etc. but you don’t want to tell me when I want to know it. Typically you will tell me when you are talking about something else. So I keep trying to teach you things and hope that it will somehow sink in. I think we are in for an up hill battle as far as teacher-student is considered but we will see.

You sometimes get along well with your siblings but you tend to be the instigator of the fights.  You really know how to push their buttons and make them upset. At times you are so good at it that you don’t even have to say anything.

But to the opposite, you are the most loving and cuddly one. You always want to make forts and snuggle up…something I loved as a child and still love to do. So when you ask me, I try to accommodate you whenever I can.

You do like when we read books, right now you really like the little critter books but will listen to some of the stuff we read to Braedon and Jillian. I’m teaching you to read but it isn’t going as well as I would like for it to happen but I guess just continuing to read to you as much as possible that again it will sink in somehow.

Your favorite things:

Color: green, froggy blanket, transformers video game—which you are very very good at and I can tell that you will be a very good video gamer like your father, you love butter—forget what its on—you’ll eat it right off of it, you like transformers, legos, cars 2 cars/things related, and love to be naked just like your brother.

For your birthday we got you 18 matchbox army vehicles because you play army video games. You wanted to see the vehicles and play with them yourself. You asked for a dinosaur cake this year and I did my best. :) 

There are times when you wake up at the crack of dawn again but sometimes your sister beats you to that….it must be an age thing.

You are still learning how to put your clothes on..you give us such a hard time but you can certainly do it when you want to. Your shoes, we got you Velcro shoes so you can easily do that but you “seem” to not want to do it. One day you will.

You used to never want to pick up your toys but now you seem to be a leader. You are still a fundy bundy (another adaptation from the silly symphonies funny little bunnies cartoon). This means you still do and say things that make us laugh.

Overall you are a very smart, loved and smart boy…we can’t wait to see what the next year will bring to us.

We love you very much,

Mom and Dad