Summer school- part 1

Ahhhhh, summer!  Even though school is "officially" not in session, as most homeschooling moms know, we never really stop teaching... and the kids don't put their brains on hold for the summer.  We get to do more of the "fun" teaching when we're not so focused on "book learning".  Yesterday was just one example...

After my midwife appointment (which is an hour away), we decided to make a day of it and went to Matthesien State Park near Utica, Il.  They have paths along a creek down in some Dells, and since it was in the 90's, (and I am 8 1/2 months pregnant), I figured it would be cooler and the kids could play in the water.  It felt so good...

The kids spent most of their time building a dam.  They searched for rocks and sticks in the water, and arranged them as to the best blockage of the small stream that leads from one pool of water to the next.  Then they filled in the crevices with sand and mud.  Although they couldn't get the water to completely stop, I did notice that the pool of water on the upper side had risen an inch or two.  Well done, kids!

While the bigger kids worked on perfecting their dam, the younger ones enjoyed playing in the cool water, tried their best to catch the minnows swimming around the edges, and found a little, tiny baby frog.  I don't remember ever seeing a frog that small.  I thought it looked like a big bug, until I looked closer...

After a couple hours of fun in the water, we hiked back up the hundreds of stairs (literally) to get to the car.  Although my calves are going to hate me tomorrow, all in all, it was a day well taught...  ;)

Caleb's 13th Birthday

I know I say this often, but, Wow... where does the time go?  Caleb is now officially a "teen"!  I know, crazy, right? 

 

Normally we have simple birthday parties with family, but we had decided that on each of the kid's 13th birthdays, we would make it a big deal.  They could have a "friends" party and decide what "fun thing" they want to do.  Caleb wanted to have a backyard campout and play airsoft.  Airsoft guns are like BB guns, but the BB's are plastic so, although they sting and can produce welts when they hit, they are not life threatening. It's similar to paintball, I guess, but cheaper and doesn't splat paint all over. 

Grandma and Grandpa Larson had just bought him an airsoft rifle for his birthday. He was excited to give it some good use at the party.

 

Caleb, his brothers and Elijah Baffa

Paul and Nathan, ready for the party

The guys and dads.  Most were decked out in cammo for the "airsoft wars".  They all set up tents in the front yard for the campout.  Though it was a "no girls allowed outside" party, they were all happy to come in for a huge pancake and sausage breakfast in the morning.  Funny, now that I think about it, there were very few bathroom users... inside, anyhow... One of the benefits of being a guy, I guess.  Since it was Labor Day weekend, we invited the rest of the families to join us for a Labor Day cookout around noon.  It ended up being a big, fun party and I'm sure it made his "coming of age" 13th birthday pretty memorable.

On his actual birthday, he got to pick what we had for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I thought he was kidding when he said what he wanted for breakfast... chocolate chip pancakes, bagel with cream cheese, scrambled eggs and sausage links...  Normally, he's not THAT big of an eater, but he ate it all!  Practically licked the plate clean.  From what other experienced moms have told me, I'm guessing that it's only a small taste of what's to come...

Selah

Yay!  I have a few moments with internet access (which I don't have at home, except for my phone... and trying to type a blog on my phone, with my thumbs is, well, frustrating.)  I'm not lsure where to start, so I am going to start with baby Selah.  She's growing up...

 

 Selah and Mommy- I tend to get a new baby carrier with each baby as I search for the most comfortable one.  I believe I found it. My ERGO. Even at almost 2 years old, she's still easy to carry in it.

 Selah got chicken pox in late spring or early summer.  Both she and Nathan were exposed several times, and finally got it on the third exposure.  She cruised through it as most of my kids seemed to.  Only very slight crabbiness on a couple days.   

Selah is getting spunky.  She was so sweet and mild when she was a baby.  Rarely cried or fussed.  She'd just pop her thumb in her mouth and was content.  She's breaking out of her shell, and now that she's talking, she's giving her opinion more and more (and loudly).  On the opposite side of that, she has an incredibly cute laugh when she's tickled or playfully chased by one of her brothers.  I LOVE hearing it =)

 The differences in the girls have been interesting.  Ellie is more inclined to like stuffed (and real) animals.  Grace has a natural way with babies (and loved baby dolls).  Selah is definately taking after Grace in that area.  She loves her baby dolls...

 ...and, like Ellie, is very girly.  She loves to be prettied up by her sisters.

Selah also just recently graduated out of being a "baby", into family chores.  As with each kid, her first chore is sorting silverware. She sits on the counter and sorts the forks, knives and spoons from the dishwasher into their holders.  Not only is it teaching her that she is an important part of the family by taking part in the morning chores, but it is also helping her learn a preschool skill (sorting by shapes).



Gardening

It's that time again!!  Spring is such a busy time around here.  The weather warms up and it's all I can do to make the kids finish their school before heading out to play.

The girls and I planted about 30 tomato and 25 various pepper plants within the last few weeks.  To that we've added green beans, zucchini, acorn and butternut squash, cukes, pumpkins, watermelon (which I can never get to grow right), cantalope, tomatillos (a mexican tomato), cilantro, basil, a new strawberry patch, a couple new grapevines, a raspberry bush (more like a stick right now), and a blackberry "stick" bush.  Nice, huh?  Yes, we have been VERY busy.  I need to put on a current picture.  The garden looks beautiful.  All plants and no weeds (til the hot weather hits).  We lined it with haybales in hopes of eventually building up some really good, healthy soil.  I've heard that you can plant things in the hay bales and they'll receive adequate nutrition, so I'm trying it.  I have tomatoes, peppers and a couple tomatillo plants in them. I guess the only thing different is that the haybales tend to dry out faster than the ground, so I need to make sure to keep them watered regularly.  

My three girls helping plant the tomatoes.

Caleb, Seth and Noah each have their own garden this year.  They cleared the weeds from a patch of land and got to plant whatever they wanted in their patch.  Caleb is working on  a 200 pound pumpkin.  He feeds it milky water almost daily.  Noah has an assortment of plants.  A sunflower, a couple green beans, a pumpkin plant, a few cucumbers, and a marigold.  Seth has, well, nothing... except for the grapevine that I planted in his patch yesterday.  He worked hard to pull the weeds and overturn the dirts, so maybe he's just taking his time to plan??  One thing's for sure, if he doesn't get it planted, he'll be harvesting nothing but weeds pretty soon.

Tooth fairy

Right now around the Larson house, teeth are falling out like crazy and the tooth fairy’s about to go broke! Noah, Ellie, and Grace have all lost baby teeth in the past two weeks and I believe they each have at least one loose one hanging in their mouths.

Gracie just lost her first tooth today. She was so proud. She’s had two teeth loose for about a week and earlier today I heard a delightful squeal on the stairs, followed by a “MOM, I lost my tooth!!” As each of the kids do, they proudly displayed their tooth to me and go on to oogle and gawk at the new-found hold in their mouths. She smiled a big smile and pushed her tongue as far as it would fit through the little opening in her bottom set of teeth.

Later this morning, as we were driving I heard “happy sounds” coming from the back of the van. I thought it was the baby, but it was coming from Grace’s side. I said, “Grace, is that you?” She replied with a big grin, “I’m can’t wait to show dad my tooth!”

　

Ellie has lost quite a few teeth in the past couple months. She’s missing both of her top teeth (although one of her permanent one’s started coming through before she even lost the baby that it’s replacing). She’s lost a few bottom teeth already (with big ones growing in) and has another loose one about to pop out. I am always both sad and excited when they lose their top teeth. Sad, because I know it is a step out of babyhood and they will no longer look the same. Excited, because their smile has outgrown their baby teeth, and I love to see how they look with their grown up “beaver teeth”. I think they are so cute during those years that their teeth look just a bit too big for their mouths.

We have been doing the “tooth fairy” thing since the beginning. I used to be right on top of it, but now the kids usually have to remind me (several times) to “call or text the tooth fairy” and tell him or her that they’ve lost a tooth. Sometimes they’ll wake in the morning to find their tooth still there and they remind me once again.

Recently, we were at a friend’s house when Ellie lost a tooth. Out of the kids hearing distance, my friend mentioned how she puts a little “fairy dust” (glitter) on their pillow, under their pillow, and on the windowsill. She even suggested planting a wet spot on their face (without waking them up) and sprinkling a bit of glitter there (the tooth fairy gives kisses, you know). I thought, “What a great idea! It sounds so girly and Ellie will love it!” So I did. The next morning she found her money, but didn’t comment on the glitter, so later, as she was getting ready for bed, I excitedly pointed out the “fairy dust” on her pillow and on the windowsill. She was amazed and bewildered, and I was proud of myself for being so clever. After the lights were out and everyone was tucked in, Ellie called for me. When I went to her room, she had tears welling up in her eyes and told me that she was scared of the tooth fairy and “fairy dust“. “But you knew that she came, didn’t you? How come you weren’t scared before?” She replied, “Because… I thought the tooth fairy was YOU.” She had already caught on to what the older kids already know. I had to confess. She wasn’t about to go to sleep knowing that some creepy fairy was getting in through her window. I took her to the bathroom so Grace wouldn’t hear (wouldn’t want to spoil her childhood fun, right?). Grace followed close behind anyhow and refused to leave… so now they both know. I even showed them my stash of freshly lost teeth to confirm it. We worked out a deal, though. I can still be the tooth fairy and they’ll pretend with me so I can still put money under their pillow… Who came up with this tooth fairy business anyhow?