After Dinner Ethne

This is After Dinner Ethne. She is in her thermals and ready for bed but she was wound up and ready to play. She went to the drawers in the kitchen and got a bowl and spoon and was feeding baby Camillna her dinner. If Garrett or I tried to do something she didn't like she would shake her hand at us and say "Neva, Neva  No! No! Touch it! Which translated means never never touch it because I am in charge. And the serious look on her face was absolutely hilarious. Since that night this has been one of her favorite lines. She tells me everyday at some point "Neva, Neva, No! No! Touch it!"

Garrett wanted to make sure that I pointed out to you that all of her best lines come from me.  I am constantly saying Ethne no! never never touch that it is dangerous. Or no Ethne that is daddy's etc...

She is such a funny girl. Some of her other favorite things to say are: shaking finger at teasing brothers "no, no, no, no, NO,NO". Or "I'n busy mama, I'n busy" (which she unfortunately also gets from me because I say that to her a lot during the day :( I am getting better though at just stopping what I am doing and paying attention to her. She really needs a lot of attention and in theory I would rather have a dirty house and happy secure child so I am working on that along with a million other parenting things. Right now is one of those transition periods for me where I realize I am off course and have been for long enough that I need a major direction change, so I am trying to be a different mother than I have been being and hoping I am now headed in a better direction.

Being a mother to 3 beautiful and brilliant children is hard and it is difficult to know what to do a lot of the time. I also feel like we are moving into another stage. Enoch is changing. He is growing up and I need to do some changing to make sure I am being the best mother I can to his new more grown up and yet more emotional self.  Of course now I am off on a totally different subject than my "After Dinner Ethne Girl". Love that girl. She brings so much happiness into my life just like her brothers and her dad :)

Seaside-A Favorite Spot

This is all the way around Island Bay where the seals are this time of year. It was one of several attempts for us to go out and see them, but it didn't workout. The gate was closed and we didn't have time to hike all the way out so without driving 1/2 way we just wouldn't make it there and back before we had to be somewhere else.  Oh well, one of these days we will make it there :)

Isn't it beautiful?  I LOVE it!  I will really miss it when we leave here.

The boys out exploring-

"Mom, That's Great Coloring"

This morning while the boys were coloring in their Waldorf books I was helping Ethne color the stripes on the tiger in her coloring book. Ezra looked up and said "wow mom, that's good coloring" He was quite surprised. Then Enoch looked up and said "Yeah! Where'd you learn to color like that?" I said I've been coloring since before I was your age so I've had lots of practice. They just kept watching and Ezra repeated "That's really GOOD coloring!"

Then I tried to hand Ethne the colored pencil and get her to finish the stripes herself, but she pushed my hand away and said "NO! you do it, you do it, I'n BIZZY" The funny thing was she was only busy watching me color. She wasn't doing anything else. She just didn't want to do the coloring herself she wanted me to do it.  Funny Kids!

We are loving this today and always- sing along with us please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwvazMc5EfE

I have loved this song since the first time I heard it as a child in "Sunshine Generation" :)  It is a classic and I am proud to report that my children LOVE it as well.  This morning Ezra asked me to sing it and I put on the Slim Dusty version above. They had me playing 1/2 a dozen times and tried to sing along the best they could. We checked the book out of the library two weeks ago and are still reading it regularly.  Ezra asked me this morning if we could buy the book from the library and then have a class on the song so we can learn all the words :)  So cute!

I am adding this now it is happening:
Ezra is having me play the song over and over as he looks at the book and sings along. SO CUTE!! I am going to help him learn the words and the video him singing the song. Now he is singing to this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXasKlTsjf8&feature=related
Another of our favorites.
I just have to keep adding to this because it just gets better and better. Ezra has now watched about 6 different versions of the song over and over and he says to me "mom, I really want to sing that song and be famous for it" LOL! I LOVE him!!!

Aug. Movie Night- "The Wizard of Oz"

I am kicking myself because I just realized that we didn't get any pictures of this month's movie night. It was the biggest one yet. We had expected 16 kids at one point but it got scaled down to 12 as one family of 4 canceled. That is 12 including my three.  All the kids seemed to have a great time and after we were into the movie I got to sit in there and work on all my overdue mending (two stuffed animals, one pair of pants and something else I can't remember).

So Lacey this is what we do for our movie night:  I send out an email with the date and time (we do 6:30-8:30 on one Friday a month) then the RS sends it out to the whole RS email list so that everyone knows. I tell them what movie we will be watching so parents know before hand and can decide if they want their kids to see it.  Then the night of, I make a big bowl of popcorn and spread out a huge blanket on the floor in front of the tv for them to eat on (it helps save the rug that belongs to the landlady and I can just shake it out and throw it in the washer after). Then when all the kids are there we start the movie and the fun begins.

I do it for ages 4 and up, because any younger than that and they will probably not sit through a whole movie and you have to remember to take them to the bathroom and could end up with several diaper changes all at once etc... (I don't at all mind watching the little ones, but I had to be realistic about what I could handle if it was a full house like this time). Also there is the possibility always that I will be home alone without Garrett's help.  The older girls are tons of help though. They help the little ones to feel safe and secure, they show them the toilet, or let me know to get a drink etc... They are really helpful!

The only rule we have is to not eat on the couch: (we eat on the floor and then wash hands and sit on the couch). I am not super strict about it but most of the time the kids remember and then I don't have a lot of grease spots on the couch to clean off. The first month I let them eat on the couch and then I had to clean off a lot of grease spots and it took some time so now we don't do that anymore. This last time someone brought these really yummy whole wheat, vegan cookie bar type things and they had melted dark chocolate on top, so although it isn't  a rule we had the kids eat those at the bar where they could eat and watch and then wash hands before going back to the living room. It worked great and no one minded.

If you still need more reasons why you should Start a monthly movie night then here are a few more:
You will meet lots of new people and get to know the kids Nathan will be hanging out with.
You will have something fun to do on Friday nights when Aaron is in school or working and you and Nathan are home.
You will feel good because you are helping other parents go out on dates and thus providing service that is fun for everyone. Service always makes you happy.
It will make you popular :)
You will get to make more of the treats you love to bake, but will have lots of people to help you eat them.
People will bring treats to you and share recipes :) I have been really impressed that most of what is brought is on the healthy side. I love that!
Nathan will LOVE it. My kids look forward to "Movie Night" all month.
You will get to sit and relax with the kids for most of that time and can mend, sew ( I just started a new hand sewing project I can do in the evenings and during that time). I am hoping to learn to knit and do hand embroidery.
And I really like the idea of doing this with my kids as they are older as well so that Garrett and I can keep tabs on their friends and get to know them and what they are up to. Surrounding yourself with your kids and their friends is the best way to have influence over their lives and get that really important "window to their soul".
And I said this in the last one but I love that I am able to keep tabs on what my kids are watching since they are so sensitive to movies and being scared etc... And since we are really strict about potty humor and other objectionable material in kids movies.

So 3 cheers for movie night and YOU starting one in MO :) Go Lacey!!!

July Movie Night-How To Train Your Dragon

This was our July Movie Monthly Movie Night. We had 5 kids besides our own so a total of 8 children.

These next two "Monthly Movie Night" posts will be dedicated to why my Sister-in-law Lacey should start her own movie night in the area where she just moved :)

My boys enjoying the comfort of an older friend. They really do adore having "big sisters" around and I am glad these girls are so wonderful and let them snuggle up and enjoy the movie together. (Lacey: Nathan needs big sisters)

I love Ben's face here. They get so cute when they are watching something and it excites them.

All my pictures this month ended up with red-eye and this one was so funny with the red-eye. Becky I hope you see this one and click on it to enlarge because it cracks me up. (oh and Ethne was just looking at it and saying-"oh Pa-ka, Pa-ka")

My favorite thing about movie night is that I get a little window into each of their souls. I may have said this before but it is worth saying again. When you watch a child watch a movie you get to see their faces and hear their comments and what it reminds them of and it is really sweet.  You see their fears, the dreams, their hopes, their view of life and they share little tid-bits with you about what was funny, scary, cute, worth repeating etc...  (This will be a good thing as your kids get older and are selecting friends. You can see what their friends are like and have some positive influence in their lives hopefully).

Each child is really unique and a gift from God. It is fun to get to enjoy them all together and see them enjoy each other.

These are just some of the reasons we love having movie night.

Lacey you really should start one in your area. This is something we have decided we will do wherever we go. It is fun for all the kids, all the parents, and if you host it at your own house you get to have control over the movies your kids are watching and people bring you good healthy treats to eat :)  Thanks to all of you who did that it was really thoughtful and everyone enjoyed them immensely.(Lacey: I only make popcorn each month but I know you would have fun making new things each time).

After "How To Train Your Dragon" was over we watched the little shorts in the special features and the kids were all laughing SO HARD that the parents could hear them out at the street when they got here to pick them up. They were so funny Garrett stopped what he was doing on the computer to come and see what was so funny and then he and I couldn't stop laughing at their laughing.

These are just some of the reasons we love movie night and think you will love it--The next post will have more good reasons :)

Ezra the Father Figure

Ezra is being extremely Fatherly right now. We are having some Thai Coconut Soup I made the other night for lunch.
First he said "mom, can I put a bib on Ethne?"
mom: yes
Ezra approaches Ethne not sure how she will react and says "um, mom" (hesitantly) then he boldly declares "um mom, if Ethne says no I can handle it!"
mom: OK

Boys on for seconds and there isn't much left at the bottom of the pot. Enoch didn't want any mushrooms so most of the veggies got dished up to Ezra.
Enoch just said "mom, I didn't get any mushrooms or anything just broth"
Ezra: "Enoch would you like some of MY mushrooms or carrots or something?"
Enoch: "no, I didn't want any"
Ezra: "No THANK you you mean. That is the polite thing to say"

Ethne's birthday outfit from CA Grandparents

This is the little tutu dress that CA Grandparents sent for Ethne's b-day. It is freezing cold here so we winterized it with a sweater and leggings and she LOVES it.  Such a cute kid and it matched the bow Ragan sent us when she was born (the one we had to wait months and months for her to have enough hair to wear )

She is playing with the little blow dryer and mirror that someone gave at her party. She was really funny with those. The mirror has already broken and been tossed but she pulls out the blow dryer whenever I use mine :)

Afternoon Tea

Enoch and Ezra found these little creatures in a "Friend" magazine a little while back and wanted to make them for afternoon tea, so as soon as we had all the necessary ingredients we put them together. 

The were supposed to be butterflies actually but our pretzels were too big to fit as wings so we made them into snails instead. To make: spread cream cheese on a stick of celery and then put in your pretzels :)

Enoch's Lost Another Tooth

The posts you will read for the next week will be catch up posts. We had a lot going on in the month of July, so we took lots of pictures but no time to blog them-So here is one of our July back posts-

Enoch lost his 4th tooth--His first front tooth was lost in May and now his second front tooth is gone. He looks so cute and talks so funny. We love it! The toothfairy left him a $2 coin for each of his top front teeth. He/She must compesate for inflation and the $ difference between here and the USA because for his first bottom tooth he got $1 American, for the second bottom tooth he got a $1coin NZ and then for the top two teeth he got $2 coin each :) Not bad for a 6 year old. 

Ezra and Ethne wanted to get in on the picture taking as well-Ezra has the last little bit of blue marker on his face. He did that himself for who knows what reason.

Ethne Girl. This morning when I told her she needed to go out of my room and knock before coming in she went out and knocked. I said who is it? and she said "Ethne Girl". I love when she calls herself that :)

Ezra Really Is a Comedian

This boy is so funny he keeps us in stitches. He has a memory like an elephant and brings up movie or story quotes on a regular basis (mostly from I Love Lucy) and he and Enoch laugh and laugh and laugh.Today we were eating our apples and peanut butter snack outside and soaking up our Vit. D. There was a bug on Ethne's chair that caused a bit of a stir.  When I got the bug off, Ezra started singing "bugs, are like girls, except their quite dif-fer-ENT!..."  It was SO funny! We all died laughing.

 There was a Valentine's Day Winnie the Pooh they saw recently and there was a song that went like this "Girls, are like boys, except their quite dif-fer-ENT!..."

We all got a big kick out of it! Thanks Master Ez for your wonderful sense of humor that keeps us all smiling :)

I just went back out and came back in to write down the one he just said:
He and Enoch were sword fighting with sticks and he said "you SHAKE in dis-BELIEF!" Apparently another quote from the same movie :)

"Pa-Ka Did It"

Where in the house is Baby Camillna? That was the question we were asking ourselves for about 5 days. No one could find her anywhere and by day 5 I was starting to get really worried. New baby doll, from the Grandparents, Ethne's favorite toy...hmmm...

So at first I thought it would just show up. It is a big doll and how long could it go on hiding? There really aren't that many places it could be.  Well by day five I was starting to panic a little and I questioned all three kids over again. Where was it when you saw it last?? Who had it?? Did you put it somewhere?? Who did??  All the answers were the same as before--WE DON'T KNOW AND WE DIDN'T DO IT!!!!!!

Ethne had been insisting that Ezra's friend Parker had taken it when he was here for Ezra's b-day party. I knew this couldn't be true for surely the mother of an only child (a boy) would notice a big baby doll in tow.  But she was sticking to her story. THEN she changed it just a little that it made more sense.  She said "Pa-ka (that is what she calls him) DID it". So now we were getting somewhere. So maybe-just maybe when he was playing in the toy room he put it somewhere. I went into the toy room and thought-OK if I were a 5 year old boy, where would I put that doll??  I looked around and thought-yes! I opened the oven of the play kitchen and there peacefully sleeping...was Baby Camillna :)  We were all so excited to find her that we did a little happy dance :) Hurray for thinking like little boys ;)

The King and Queens Catapult

This is Ezra and Ethne's playtime game of the day.  Ezra called it "The king and queens catapult".

This is how they set it up down the hallway:

Ezra thought Ethne was being so funny. She kept making the funniest faces and they would laugh and laugh, and Ezra would boss her around telling her what to do and how to do it.

This is how the catapult works. Ethne (the Queen) sits in the beanbag and Ezra (the king) goes to the end of the quilt and puts the stuffed bird on the blanket and catapults it over the queen's head. So So funny to watch these two play this game. I love watching them play but it is the best when they don't know they are being watched.

Another First in The Fruit World

We just ate one of these the other day and had no idea what it was or where to buy it. Garrett found it in the fruit basket at work and brought it home for all of us to try. It was SO good. I have looked for them in two different grocery stores and neither had them. I am hoping we will be able to find them soon. Luckily a friend knew the name and I googled it and found the video.


Check out this video of how to eat a Mangosteen. http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-eat-a-mangosteen

 Ethne wants some-"more mommy, more"

 These are the garlic shaped cloves of the fruit. They are soft and sweet and really yummy! Can't wait to try it again.