August 26

Months ago, I volunteered to photograph a charity golf scramble for an organization I think is fantastic. It was kind of a big deal, because it was an all-day thing on a weekday, so Chris had to take the day off work. Being the supportive husband that he is, he agreed. 

Today was the day, and before it was even time for me to leave, Chris had all four kids ready to go on a walk to the library, nature journals in hand. He later texted me that the nature walk was so much fun, and that the kids were so interested in observing everything that he takes for granted. I'm so glad Chris was able to get a little window into what our school days are like while I was out doing things like this:

Riding on the back of a golf cart as other volunteers drove me around to photograph golfers and sponsor signage.

Hanging out with one of my very favorite friends.

And - after a quick stop at home for the briefest shower ever after a sweaty day on the course - a trip to the hair salon for a new 'do:

She cut off almost 5 inches, and I'm feeling really sassy. Look out, World!

So. No pictures of kids, but a very fulfilling day for me. Thanks, Chris!

August 25

I woke up this morning to a very-excited Caleb.

"Mommy! Mommy! Come look at what I built!"

He was adamant that I get my camera or phone and take a picture of his latest Lego creation. New Lego creations are a daily (sometimes hourly) occurrence here; they almost always are some sort of fighter space ship or vehicle of some sort. That's why I was surprised by this one.

Pardon the bizarre composition of this image; I was still groggy and hadn't had my coffee yet. Can you see it? It's a Lego playground, and Daisy built something or other to go with it. It's blog-worthy because:

 1. He was so proud

and

2. It is not Star Wars or Ninjago-related.

I think this is specifically tied to Special Time with Grandmother, because they spend lots of time with Grandmother building things like houses and pools and non-Star Wars/Ninjago things. I'm so excited to see him expanding his vision and being more creative! Thanks, Gayle!

I have no idea what is going on here, but Eli was really happy. Don't worry, Mom. No Legos were lost in Eli's ear.

Once I got some coffee in me, I had Caleb bring his creation out to the kitchen for a real picture.

So. there you go: a Lego playground.

He has begged me to submit it to the Lego magazine (he's a VIP member of the free Lego club, and gets a free magazine each month. No, I'm not making this up.), but I just tried and apparently there are to be no real people in the pictures submitted, so I'll have to take a Caleb-free picture and submit it.

Also, at naptime, this happened: 

Sweet baby Eli, playing with the light-up letter E his GREAT Aunt Magggie gave him. 

(Don't worry, Mom. The lights aren't hot. He didn't burn his little finger.)

August 24

Another busy day. Seriously - how does it happen that we have so many busy days, all in the same week?

It has helped that I'm trying to get to bed earlier, though, and my sweet husband has helped me get my bearings each morning by waking me at 6:30 with a cup of coffee, then leaving me alone in our room for 30 minutes while I have quiet time and gear up for the day.

Today, Caleb and Daisy slept in - Daisy until 7:30, and Caleb until 7:48. That is super-late for my kids. Lily and Eli, however, were wide awake. We waved goodbye to Chris from the front porch when he left for work.

Today's busy-ness?

Since I recently signed up as a volunteer with the babywearing group I love, I made a last-minute decision that we would attend the babywearing meeting this morning. It was only 10 minutes away, so not a big deal.

Except that I also needed to drive 25 minutes in the opposite direction to drop off promotional stuff to go in goodie bags for a charity golf tournament I have volunteered to photograph on Friday, and the morning was my only chance.

So we did both. The kids were fantastic during the 45 minute drive, and they rocked the babywearing meeting. Eli got a little bit needy halfway through, but eventually I put him up in the ring sling (despite his protests!) and he snuggled in and fell asleep.

At 11 am.

Weird. I hope he's not getting sick!

I was so busy that I didn't take a picture, but it has been a very long time since he last slept while I wore him, and it was such a sweet moment. Before he fell asleep, he had one hand out and was gently patting my chest/mama metal necklace, almost like he was mimicking the rhythm of my heartbeat. 

Sweet baby.

We got home and had lunch, and then the little ones went down for naps. (A lovely surprise on a busy day: Chris' mom brought over dinner for us during nap time! Even better, it was her homemade beef stroganoff. Our kids are such picky eaters that we haven't had beef stroganoff since Caleb was a baby, but it used to be one of our favorites. What a treat!)

While the little ones went down, Caleb and Daisy worked on school stuff. When they were finally asleep, I was able to work with them on trickier stuff. My favorite part of the day? Science time. They took their new nature journals out into the back yard and found things to observe.

Caleb found a cicada shell. We examined its anatomy, talked about exoskeletons, and discussed why it had a big crack in its back. Pretty cool!

 The two pictures above are cell phone pictures, but I loved the moment so much that I also captured it on my big camera.

Examining the cicada with a stick, with nature journal and magnifying glass in his lap.

Checking out its claws.

Daisy, meanwhile, chose to observe the raspberry bush. Her decision may have been swayed by the fact that there were several ripe berries on the bush, ready to be picked and eaten.

(She chose her shirt today specifically because it had a daisy on it.)

Can you see her observations in her nature journal? She was quite proud. She wrote the date and the temperature, then traced a raspberry leaf and added some details. Then she drew the berry, and how the berries grow on the branches.

Then she looked up and saw a bug on our patio umbrella, so she drew it.

Later, I helped her sound-spell "bug" and "raspberry". She was so happy with her accomplishments!

Caleb was also proud of his work. He also wrote the date and temperature, then he drew the objects he observed from afar, and "zoomed in" to also draw close-ups. I thought the technique was pretty clever!

I love how engaged the kids were. Caleb was finished, but then a particularly lovely butterfly flew by, so he sat down and drew it, too. I hope to make this a daily thing for our home school, and on not-so-busy days we will go on adventures to find things in places other than our backyard.

Then Daisy and I tried out a carrier that I borrowed from the babywearing lending library.

I would like to become a babywearing educator, so even though I really want to borrow *all the wraps*, I decided to borrow a carrier I'm less familiar with. It was a wise choice, if not a fun one. Still, I like the carrier quite a bit, and 32-pound Lily and  40-pound Daisy both fit really nicely in it. It's made for toddlers, though, so Eli is not big enough to ride in it. Daisy loved it, though!

Then we did more school, got dinner ready, ate, and went for a family swim (at our YMCA pool, because for some reason our neighborhood pool was closed, but we didn't realize it until we had already promised the kids a trip to the pool and everyone was loaded in the van wearing swimsuits. We were glad we had a back-up option!

August 23

It was a hectic day today!

We had a birthday party in the morning, got home in time for lunch, Caleb had speech, then Special Time with Grandmother, then soccer practice for Caleb and at the same time, a photo session for me.

The birthday party was a swimming party, and I knew that I was taking a chance by taking all four kids to a pool party by myself. But since they have consistently done well in every pool they've been to, I thought it would be fine. I was wrong. The pool was much deeper than they were used to, only Coast Guard approved flotation devices were allowed, and they weren't allowed to play on the steps to the pool.

In other words, I had 1 capable swimmer and 3 who either had to sit on the edge of the pool or have my undivided attention. 3 kids and 1 mama = we had to leave. It was so disappointing for everyone, but the kids had really good attitudes about it. 

When we got home, I made them a special treat to compensate for the missed party. 

What I mean is, they basically ate Puppy Chow for lunch. Whatever.

Gayle dropped Caleb and Daisy off right on time, so Caleb had just enough time to change into his soccer clothes and eat a quick dinner. Then my mom came over to stay with the little ones while I had my photo shoot and Chris took Caleb to soccer.

Then it started raining, and my photo session was cancelled. Boo! But it meant that the hectic evening suddenly became a pleasant afternoon visit with my mom.

Also, she brought new crayons and nature journals for the kids! They were thrilled.

Eli was so excited to have crayons of his own!

Hi, sweet baby!

(He adamantly chose his shirt today. Funny kid.)

Lily woke up from her nap while Grandma was here, and when she woke I told her I had a surprise for her in the piano room. She ran in to find Grandma, and was so happy!

When she saw all of her new crayons, she was even happier.

This is a very happy little boy.

August 22

Our homeschool co-op doesn't start meeting until after Labor Day, but we started easing back into the school year today. The first big change: I started waking up earlier. Boo. But the mornings are much more pleasant when I'm up earlier, rather than later. Today, for example, I had time to read with Eli before our morning adventure. He is totally in to books now, especially ones about trucks and machines.

He brought this book to me (Mighty Movers) and when we got to this page, he patted the motorcycle and said, "Papa!"

He knows that Grandpa rides a motorcycle, and he thinks it's super cool.

Is it just me, or is he not a baby anymore? I'm issuing a decree that as long as he wears zip-up footie pajamas, he is still a baby.
He will be wearing footie pajamas when he is 18.

I've been doing a lot of planning and imagining about what our home school year will be like, and one of the things I really want to make a staple of each day is outdoor adventure time, with nature journaling. Today we got to join up with some other moms and kids for a hike through a local conservation area, which was so much fun! The area was surrounded by neighborhoods, but was still pretty woodsy, with mulch or dirt paths through forests. 

Perfect!

Blurry action shot, but you can tell that we were having fun.

There was just one weird part. 

When we got home, I asked Caleb and Daisy to spend time drawing the most interesting things they observed on our hike. Here is Caleb's summary:

He drew:

1. The sign at the entrance to the park.

2. A empty, broken sign that used to be a bulletin board.

3. A blue wildflower

4. A fallen tree with wild roots going everywhere

5. Orange fungi that looked like carrots wearing hats

6. A little hole at the base of a tree

7. The weird part. Can you figure it out?

There was a part where the path ran alongside a neighborhood, and all of the yards were fenced. One yard in particular had a wrought iron type fence, with little black spears. Inside the yard, there was a bush in front of the fence. Some poor young buck got into the yard, tried to leap over the bush to get out of the yard, and ended up getting impaled on the fence stake. 

By the time we happened upon it, the poor thing was recently deceased, and its head ran right across the path. It was pretty horrifying to see, but Caleb was fascinated. At first, I tried to keep him away from it, but then I realized that it's part of life, and so I let him get closer to examine it. It's not something any of us will forget soon.

We got home in time for lunch, but then I checked my email and saw that a bunch of homeschool workbooks that I had sent out for printing were ready, so we headed to the office store to quickly pick them up.

It was not a quick trip.

It was not an easy trip.

It was awful. 

We left 45 minutes later with out the workbooks and copies, and we were all hungry and tired. Plus, I was so angry and frustrated and annoyed that I was shaking. The rest of my day was a waste, but at least we had a great morning and I had book club in the evening. Hooray for that!

August 21

Did I mention that Chris is training for a half marathon? 

He is. 

He's about halfway through his training, and today he did a 9-mile run before church. He's so respectful about his training, and often chooses to get up and run before dawn so that he doesn't disrupt my routine. Today, though, I got up with the little ones at 6:30 because he was out running. I knew to expect him back at a certain time, so we all waited out on the front porch for his return.

Caleb was still asleep.

Even though it's August, it was surprisingly cool out, hence the blankets. But it was great weather for a 9-miler!

Eli was eating half a banana, stuck on a reusable popsicle stick (a morning favorite around here).

Lily was snuggling her baby and didn't want her picture taken.

They were so excited when Chris finally ran up the street!

Then we all ate breakfast and went to church and Costco. After church, my mom stopped by on her way home from her church. We sat on the porch and chatted while the little ones ran in the front yard, and it was lovely.

See? Sweet snuggles from my boy. I love him!

What I don't have pictures of is how funny Lily was. She plays Ring Around the Rosie while spinning around a street light in our yard, except she doesn't know the words. So for the part where it goes, "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!"

she sings,

"Package, package, we all fall down!"

and she calls the game "Package".

It is so funny!

August 20

All I have for today is this iPhone image of sweet Lily, perusing her Calico Critters catalog.

Auntie Grace gave Lily a set of critters for Christmas, and ignited the funniest little passion in our girl. She loved them!

Grace sent Lily another set or two for her birthday, and then Lily chose to use her birthday money to buy a triple bunk bed for her "babies". Each box comes with a little catalog, showing pictures of all the other sets. (Of course it does.)

Lately, it has been Lily's favorite reading material. She really wants a house for her babies now. Good thing it's only a few months until Christmas!

August 19

No pictures of the kids today; just a picture of a caterpillar.

Actually, how about a video first?

While I was getting ready to make dinner, Caleb called for me to come see what he had discovered. It was a caterpillar hanging from a thread  from our back door frame! It didn't look calm, though. It was frantically spinning and curling into a J-shape, almost like it was trying to form its chrysalis, but in a manic manner, while holding a gray clump.

 It was so bizarre that I posted the video to Facebook and asked friends for help. We determined that it had probably attached itself to the door frame, then fallen. The gray clump was what had initially attached to the door frame before it fell. Someone suggested using hot glue to attach the gray clump (which was attached to the caterpillar, but not a part of the caterpillar) to a stick and putting the stick in a more appropriate place. As I waited for my painfully slow hot glue gun to heat up, the poor little caterpillar it fell for real, onto the ground.

Caleb was initially very interested in the caterpillar situation, but at this point he grew so anxious that he had to go inside. Poor kid.

However, it was still dragging around the gray clump and I was afraid that it would have no energy left after all of its hard work, so I attempted to rescue it anyway.

My rescue attempt. No glue touched the actual caterpillar.

I thought I was doing a good deed, but apparently I wasn't. Eventually I became concerned that the poor guy would die thanks to my hot-glue fix, so I freed him. Be free, little caterpillar! I hope you grow into a beautiful butterfly!

August 16

I'm actually writing this on August 23, because I have slacked and not blogged or picked up my camera much for the past week. Oops. With school starting and all kinds of last-minute photography things popping up, I've just been busy. 

But I'll try to do better!

August 16, for example.

All three big kids needed to see the dentist, so I scheduled a 7 am dentist appointment. Normally, I am still in bed at 7 am, and around 7:30 Eli climbs back into my bed for his second nursing session of the morning. When he finishes, the girls usually join me for a snuggle, and we don't really get moving until close to 8. But today, I was up at 6 and we were out the door at 6:40. 

Why so early?

So that Chris could come, too. He stayed in the waiting room with Eli while I went back with the big kids. It was a perfect setup, and totally worth the loss of sleep! All three kids did great - no cavities, perfectly compliant, and the hygienist and dentist didn't bat an eye when I declined x-rays, fluoride, and sugar-free popsicles. Win!

Mandatory "Done with the Dentist" photo. Caleb doesn't look thrilled, does he?

But he was thrilled later, when I told him that we were going to see Jenny at work for breakfast. He's always up for a restaurant breakfast!

The kids were insane at Jenny's store, but luckily we were the only customers there. 

When we got home, we did an awesome science experiment. Actually, we started it yesterday, and finished it today.

This is Edward the Egg:

It was an egg from our friendly local chicken farmer, and we dropped it in a glass of vinegar yesterday afternoon. Gradually, the vinegar dissolved the hard shell until all that was left was the membrane enclosing the yolk. It felt like a really firm water balloon, and we could kind of see through it when we held it up to the light.

Pretty cool, huh?

Once everyone was done examining it, we took it outside and Caleb threw it down on the sidewalk with a mighty splat. 

It was just like an egg-filled water balloon.

Awesome.

August 15

Somehow, Do-Nothing Monday has morphed into "Do All the Grocery Shopping, and Maybe Take a Trip to the Library" Monday. Boo. But the kids are getting back in to the routine of going shopping with me, and starting to remember how to behave at the grocery store, so it's not so bad. Plus, it's good real-life experience for them. 

Lily put together an especially fabulous ensemble for the library and grocery stores. She wouldn't pose for a picture, so I had to snap this one of her as she walked away from me:

That's a sparkly, skirted leotard.

I learned later that she had shorts on, too, bunched up inside the leotard.

Shockingly pink dressy sandals with faded, too-big, stretched-out Hello, Kitty socks.

Unbrushed hair, with a stretchy headband creating that fancy pouf.

And her "Green Pinkie", a blanket from my childhood that she often pretends is her "'carf".

Goodness, I love this girl.

And my boy! My big boy! As we wrapped up at our last grocery store, I allowed each kiddo to choose a special apple as a reward for good behavior. (Don't think I'm too fabulous; they also had suckers at Trader Joe's.) It started because Caleb has been asking for days to get Golden Delicious apples. I don't like them, so instead I let each kid choose one of whatever variety they wanted. Caleb finally had his Golden Delicious apple, but he was only 1/3 through it when he said that he didn't want it anymore. He seemed really sad, so I pried a bit and found that it hurt his tooth. I took it from him and promised that when we got home, I'd cut it into slices for him.

When we got home, I didn't even have a chance to cut it up before he emerged into the kitchen with a bloody tissue in his mouth and a tooth in his hand.

Friends, my big boy has lost his second tooth!

This tooth-falling-out business has me all kinds of emotional. We worked so hard to get those teeth in in the first place - late nights, lots of gnawing, fussiness - and now they're just falling out, willy-nilly! And now he looks like a gap-toothed big boy, and I have to acknowledge that he is a SECOND GRADER. 

Not cool.

I may lose it when the top two fall out, but thankfully they don't seem to be loose yet.

I spent the afternoon working on our bookshelf project, and then Chris continued after dinner. They are now officially secured to the wall and to each other. Next comes trim, and then the filling of the shelves! (Trim may take a while, so the filling may come first.)

It's a good thing I spent naptime securing them to the wall, because Eli has decided they are fun to climb. Uh-oh.

He also thinks it's fun to stand in them. Lily agrees. However, now there are shelves in their spots. Eli tried several times to use the shelves as a ladder, so I will have to keep a close eye on him. At least I know they can't tip over!

These kiddos are so funny. They thought they were hot stuff, hanging out in the bookshelves! Chris took a picture with my phone, and Eli immediately ran over, demanding, "See? SEE???"

Only once he saw the picture on my phone was he satisfied.

When the shelves were all in place and they couldn't stand anymore, Eli and Lily each lay down on the bottom shelf. Eli declared, "BED!" and then said, "Night-night!"

Funny boy!