Random kidbits from our weekend camping

We packed everything up and Jeremy couldnt find a spot for the lantern that was really 'safe' so he told Joshypot to keep an eye on it. We pulled out of the driveway and drove for a bit. Started seeing new spaces and places and Kaity was looking out her window. Joshy started getting pretty stressed out and couldn't get his words out fast enough. He kept calling for Kaity "Quick Kaity Quick, look at this" and she would turn and look out his window which would infuriate him and he'd growl and start again. Finally he sighed REALLY loud and says "Look at the lighter, I need you to keep an eye on it so I can see the cool stuff too!" that sweet baby thought he literally had to stare at it the whole trip!


We stopped to get drinks and Kaity saw tree pollen floating in the air. In her best stricken voice she shrieked "OH NO" we all looked around and asked what happened. She says totally straight faced "It's SHNOWING in the SHUMMER" a'la the scientist from Horton Hears A Who.


The night before we left to go camping Joshua was having a hard time falling asleep so we had him practice relaxation techniques. He had been in bed for about 15 minutes and then I heard him hissing "DAD....DAD" in a whisper from the top of the stairs. Jeremy had run an important errand (i NEEDED taco bell!) and was gone so I told Joshy to get back to bed. He asked again for Dad and when I told him he was out running errands he decided I would do. I walked upstairs to see Joshua standing stark naked at the top of the stairs.
"I need clothes"
where are your pajamas?
"I taked them off......" looking at me like I should somehow understand what this means.
why?
"ugh, I was trying to go to sleeps and I couldn't so I did my relaxes and all the sudden my pees started coming out! I didnt even know I had to go potty!"
I managed to help him clean up and get back into bed before cracking up!

Kaity recently decided that she enjoys magic and would like to be a magician of sorts when she grows up. While we were camping Dave showed Kaity a few rope magic tricks and she practiced over and over. Upon driving home she decided to start planning her first magic show and how it would need to work. She decided she only had 3 rules for being her assistant, I wrote them down word for word.

1. You must do exact lines as they are written and follow all lines and cues

2. You must have a sense of humor and not get stage fright

3. Have fun

Please note the the only paying of this is having fun...so no cash.


This is not a camping note but earlier this week I took the kids to get bank accounts at navy fed. They were both so excited about getting them. Kaity had saved $50.88 without "killing the pig" (cutting open her piggy bank) and Joshua asked me to lend him some money to start his. While we were waiting for the bank all the processing to be done the teller told the children they would each need to come up with a pin number that would be private and only they would remember. Joshua said instantly "I GOT IT...." and Kaity started to furrow her brow and really sweat it. I told Joshy he needed to let me know what the code so I could help him remember it. He leaned over and in a hushed whisper says "eight six seven five three oh niiiiiiieeeeeiiiiiin" I have sufficiently 80's warped my children!!

These Kids of mine

I know they are in almost every post. I think I'm going to talk about something else and then they open their mouths and I'm entranced. Tonight they were both playing imagination, which is by far my favorite thing to observe them doing. As Joshua begins to master reading with more and more confidence Kaity is starting to envelope him into the games she used to play with TTSW. Tonight they were over the moon excited that they'd both gotten into "Heron" on the first try. Nobody makes it into Heron on the first attempt. Super K, Super J, and Batman. They are in pretty good company. I love these kids of mine.

Camping

Oh it's that time of year again. I love camping! We are not really rustic campers. We sleep in a tent...but on an air mattress. We don't use electricity for the entire weekend...except for Jeremy's cpap machine. We skimp on bathing and go heavy on star gazing. It's marshmallow roasting and rock hunting. It's a great big sleeping bag zipped together to make a gigantic schill sandwich. It's nights around the fire and mornings up with the sun. Birds singing and kids laughing, feet bare and summer welcomed. Now lets not go overboard, I refuse to camp where there is no flush potty, that would be uncivilized!

Mothers Day Wishes

I am thankful for the opportunity to experience mothers day. To have in my arms, after years of trying, a double dose of Schilldren to lavish me with macaroni pictures and burned toast. I still find myself wincing at all the "Happy Mothers Day...if you're a mom" choruses from everybody you encounter. I remember the sting of those words. "if you're a mom" if? or the "Are you a mom?" to which I would simply reply "No" while my heart screamed "But I ache to be!!" It feels like a cruel day to a mom who has yet to meet her baby. A Mom who has tried to start or grow their family and has been met with a challenge at every turn.

Once upon a time I wasn't a mom, I was struggling. I longed to be pregnant. I ached to have a child. My body betrayed me and my face could only smile in the crowd for so long before I would have to hide. This day brings all that back just a little. I hear "Happy Mother's Day" in chipper tones but remember how much it hurt.

We used the time we were a family of two to dream of what our family would look like. We armchair parented our way through the situations our friends with children found themselves to be in. We started traditions we would eventually fold the Schilldren into as they joined our brood. So Happy Mothers Day to all my friends who have already added to their family of two. And Happy Mothers Day to those of you who are still waiting to meet your babies, take heart.

Wash Your Face, Clean your nose
Oh my word, don't run with those!
We don't hit, Please don't shout
Close the door-heats getting out!
Kiss that owie, Dry this tear
Hold my babies, soothe their fear.
Teach them always, hold a hand
Building castles made of sand.
Feed them daily at least times three
Take them where they need to be.
Lead them by choices I make
Mend their heart, should it break.
My kisses are what heals each wound
My songs at bedtime, nightly crooned.
Making memories spun in gold
For us to share when they grow old.

There are days

that I feel like homeschooling is about as exciting as watching paint dry. There are days when I feel like homeschooling is about as futile as trying to catch water in a net. There are days when I feel like friendship is this elusive relationship that looms just beyond my grasp. I laugh and talk and enjoy people but there is a lack of depth and connection that goes beyond the surface. There are days when I feel like the tasks at hand are mundane and routine and not inspired or creative or even ending in accomplishment.

Then there are days like today.

Days that I wake up and as I set my feet on the floor beside my bed I can see the sunshine peeking through the curtains. Before I make it all the way down the stairs I hear the giggles of well rested children.

We schooled on the go today because I had so many errands to run. We went to the post office and stood in line spelling words and reading signs. My breath caught in my throat as I watched Joshua studying the signs. His eyes are the exact same color as the line on the horizon where the sky meets the ocean and his expression nothing short of determined excitement. When did my baby become this big ole, Mohawk sporting, Lego building, sign reading kid?! I love that Kaity didn't feel lost in this moment, she didn't pout over the attention her brother was receiving as he tested out his newly found skills, she beamed with pride. We stood in line and got our packages mailed and headed back to the van.

I started giving Kaity and oral spelling test and one of her words was "enemy". She was thinking and Joshua tried to help her out. If ever she doesn't know exactly what the word means she will ask for it to be used in a sentence. He asked "What kind of 'emm-inn-ee' do you mean Mom? The bad guy kind or the candy kind?" He has called M&M's 'M&E's' since forever. She didn't correct him or laugh at him, she accepted his offer of help with a smile and set off to spelling.

Sitting in the waiting room of the bank for any period of time with children of any age is not my idea of a good time. It's usually a matter of crisis management, bartering and threatening and praying for behavior that won't deem anybody *that* kid or *that* parent. Today I sat in a lobby filled with random recruits and schooled while we waited. Kaity worked further on her spelling (she's almost to the end of the textbook and really eager to finish a subject for the year) and Joshua worked on subtraction. I looked up from our seats and saw 2 recruits watching the children. One guy was spelling along with Kaity as she was given words and the other was using his fingers to show Joshua the math as we read the problems out loud. Neither was showboating or distracting, it was kind and thoughtful. It made my kids feel important and made those guys feel connected. They eventually started talking about 'back home' and were called to have their banking needs met, as was I.

I came home to a long rambling beautifully eloquent letter from my kindred spirit. She is truly my Diana Barry, the kind of friend that no matter how long it goes from visit to visit or call to call it seems like minutes the moment I hear her voice. It made me weep and made me thankful.

There are days. Days when I can be muddled. disappointed. disconnected. discouraged. I can. it's all my choice. or I can remember (or be reminded) that the Creator of my days is a giver of good gifts. of clarity. of joy. of connection. or encouragement. The days are the same...the filter is mine.