Sand Plums and Soapberries

Saturday afternoon we had some more spring-like weather here, so we did what we love to do most-- go outside!! Mike stayed home with Lucas since he wasn't completely up to par, while the girls and I met my dad at Martin Nature Center for a walk. Growing up, my parents took me outside on a lot of "adventures." We went bird watching, hiking, camping, and exploring. Some of my favorite memories with them are of being outside in nature together. Time sort of stands still for awhile when I am in the Great Outdoors with my family.

Leah and Hannah "running the logs".

Ready to explore

Geese flying in a bright blue sky

Frozen pond

Papa and Hannah watching for birds

Leah on our "swinging tree"

We found a bird' s nest on the trail and spent some time wondering if the mother bird was worried that she had lost it.

Tiptoeing across the stream

While walking the trails at the nature center, my dad would stop and point out different things: a Sand Plum thicket, the thick, rough bark of a Hackberry tree, or a bird's nest high up in a branch. He would bend over and show the girls a Sumac bush or reach up to pluck a few berries off a Soapberry tree. At one point Hannah told him, "You sure know a lot about a lot of things, Papa!" Then Leah chimed in, "Yeah! You know all about trees and bushes and berries and prickles!" I am so glad they get to hang out with such a smart, gentle, patient and knowledgeable Grandpa.

Late Sunday Post

My Little Man has been running a fever today and has been having some seriously stinky, explosive diapers, so....I haven't had a chance to write much today. Instead I've been doing lots of the following: smelling dirty diapers, cleaning up a cute, but stinky, baby bottom, doing laundry (and lots of it), repeat.

His fever has broken and he is currently snuggling up next to his Daddy, his favorite green blanket in hand, watching The Golden Globes in the dim light of our living room. His sisters are in bed, and I think I'm going to go collapse on the couch and watch with them for awhile.

Hope you had a great Sunday!

Resourceful

One of the many character qualities I hope for my kids to develop is resourcefulness. The definition of resourceful is "the ability to deal skillfully and promptly with new situations or difficulties."

I hope that when a problem arises, they they learn to quickly and effectively look for a solution. Whether that be in a friendship or problem at school, or even as simple as learning to whip up a meal for themselves using whatever ingredients they have on hand. I hope that they "see the glass as half full" in life, and are able to tackle the bumps in the road along the way.

This week I saw a bit of resourcefulness in my Leah Bee when she came to me with a Barbie in hand saying that she had nothing for her to wear to a ball. Apparently we have more Barbies than appropriate ball attire for them to wear.

My suggestion to her? Try to make your own ball gown. So she did. She tried to make one out of paper first, but it was too stiff and just didn't look right. Then she discovered coffee filters. She cut and taped and fiddled with the soft filters until she had fashioned the perfect Barbie party dress. She was so proud of herself too! I think that girl just may be developing some resourceful qualities indeed.

Dance Central

Lately we have been having a dance party at our house every evening. We got the girls (and us too really) a Kinect for Christmas. We have a river rafting ride, an animal game, and Dance Central which is by far our favorite. I mean, with dance moves called "Love Warrior", "Sky Taffy", and "Booty Bump" how could you not love it?!

Our favorite thing to do is have dance battles. Each player gets to choose a song and a dancer to follow along with. I personally love "Rump Shaker" with "Miss Aubrey," a British Pop Princess who can talk a lot of smack.

My girls always pick "Pokerface" or "Pump Up the Jam" with "Dare," another British gal with pink hair, neon colored clothes, and upside-down heart shaped sunglasses. We have been practicing our moves and are getting pretty good, ya'll. Here are some photos from last night's dance extravaganza.

Me mid jump with the kids ready to join in at any time.

Leah"Dare" Galloway

Hannah ready to "Throw it Up"

Lucas watching on as I get my groove on.

Everybody Freestyle!!

So who wants to come over this weekend and have a dance battle?

Resting My Brain

I did something completely lazy and self-indulgent this morning. And afterwards my brain and body felt completely rested. You see, after the whirlwind of our morning routine getting the girls dressed, fed, ready for school, and out the door, I felt really exhausted. Just mentally wiped out at 8:30 am. Sad, but true. Then my mom called and told me that her doctor decided he wants to open up her chest again to clean out the infection. The surgery will be today at 2:00. Then I played with Lucas until he went down for his morning nap at 9:45.

After all of that, I went back to my bedroom to make up my bed. I stood there a minute looking at my comfortable, soft sheets, and then I did something I usually never do-- I crawled back under the covers, turned out the light and closed my eyes. Unless I am sick, I hardly ever get back in bed again during the day. But my brain needed to be quiet, so I decided a thirty minute rest would be alright.

And that is exactly what I did. I closed my eyes and was completely still for about half an hour. The only sound in the house was the hum of the heater which lulled me into a state of half-sleep/half-consciousness. I thought about what I needed to accomplish today. I thought and prayed about my mom's surgery this afternoon. Tundra saw this as a golden opportunity to get some snuggling in with me, so she settled in next to me too.

Thirty minutes passed, and I got up, took a hot shower, and now feel like I can face the day.

Do you ever have to just stop and rest your brain like that?

Just Like Sister

Brushing his teeth with Leah

This little boy of mine wants to grow up and do things just like his sisters do. He is thrilled beyond belief when they allow him to play with them as they build with blocks, color a picture, or play with their stuffed animals. He smiles and squeals loudly when they chase after him saying, "I'm gonna get you!" And when they kick a ball around with him, he just beams with delight.

He is usually the first child up in the mornings. I take him into the kitchen and feed him his favorite breakfast of waffles and yogurt, then I ask him, "You want to go wake up your sissies?" He instantly raises his hands up in the universal way of expressing, "Get me out of this high chair!" He smiles and starts waving as soon as we begin walking down the hall to their room. He likes for me to lean him down to each sister so he can give them a hug.

My hope for these three kids of mine is that they grow up to have a loving, healthy relationship with each other. That they spend time together, even as they move on and have families of their own. Nothing would thrill me more to see them together laughing, encouraging, and serving each other. As an only child I missed out on an opportunity to have a sibling to share life with, so I am excited to watch these three grow up together.

Lord, help me teach these children to love you with all their hearts, minds, souls and strength, so that they can in turn love others as much as they love themselves. Help them to work out their differences in a healthy way, and plant a seed of unconditional love for each other deep into their hearts.

Must Have Toys

When I first became a parent a little over six years ago, I had no idea the mass toy accumulation that was coming my way. It is staggering how much stuff one can acquire for such a small human (or humans in our case). We found ourselves weeding out toys into a giveaway pile about every six months and constantly planning out what creative methods we were going to use to organize and store what was leftover!

Well, after six years, we have discovered that there are about five basic types of toys that get played with the most. If you have a little one, make sure to stock up on the following.

1. Wooden Blocks: These get played with over and over and over again. The girls love to build castles, a zoo, and most recently a Wipeout obstacle course (Ya know, after the show Wipeout? They love that show.). And Lucas enjoys building a block tower and then knocking it over, again and again and again....
2. Books: I'm not sure these count as a "toy", but having a stocked library of children's books at home is a wonderful thing. Not only do we read books throughout the day and especially at bedtime, but the girls will play school and read their books to their "students" (aka stuffed animals). You just can't go wrong here!

3. Dress-Up Clothes: We have a big plastic tub stuffed full of various costumes and dress-up clothes. The girls still love to pretend to be princesses, fairies, ballet dancers, etc. They like making up their own costumes too. My tips for a good dress-up box: 1.) Go to the store the day after Halloween to stock up on various costumes usually marked down 50% or 75%. 2.) Check out your local thrift store or Goodwill for old prom dresses, funny old coats, and sparkly tops (for girls especially!), 3.) Go into your own closet and look around. My girls love to put on my scarves and high heels. Throw on some sunglasses and they feel like movie stars! Hours of entertainment, I tell you!

4. Stuffed Animals: For some children, dolls might be a better option, but my girls have never gravitated toward dolls. Barbies, yes, but baby dolls, no. Instead they LOVE stuffed animals. They play school with the animals, take them to the animal doctor, sort them out into families, replay favorite books, etc. Each and every one has a specific name and personality too!

5.) Food: We have a large box full of both wooden and plastic food and dishes that the girls still play with quite frequently. The photo above is of a picnic spread just waiting for some stuffed animal visitors. A good kitchen set is a bonus (we used to have one until we literally wore it out), but it is not absolutely necessary if space/money is an issue. My girls happily play without one now, but did enjoy "cooking" on their old kitchen stove.

In addition my girls are crazy about horses, Barbies, and dinosaurs, but they go through phases with those things. For a few weeks they will be engrossed with a dino drama, but then as soon as it started, the dinos will go back into the box for awhile. And of course I would recommend always having plenty of paper, crayons, markers, watercolors, play dough, etc. on hand for drawing and creating. But I consider those things in the "art supply" category instead of "toys".

What were your favorite toys as a child? What about for your child/children now?

**Parts of this list might be different for boys, but I am basing this off of my experience with little girls!