Paid to Play

This morning:

Ari to her older sister, "Teja will you play with me?"
"No."
Ari pleaded, "Pleeeeease."
"Uh-Uh."
Ari bargained, "I'll give you a dollar."

And just like that, her sister was persuaded. Playing together ensued.


I'm still processing this one.

Just Like Her Mama

This morning Mateja said to her dad:

"Every night at midnight I get up and get dressed into my super hero clothes and fly to Hotel Valencia to hang out with my super hero friends. And sometimes the police need our help to get the bad guys. It's not a dream Dad. I really do that every night."

Wow. So super! She gets it from her Mama ;)

Good Gifts

Baby girl was crying all morning (I'm beginning to think she has started teething). Teja was "stressed" (her words, not mine). Once I was able to get baby girl calmed & down for her nap I connected with Tej. You'll enjoy this:

I returned from putting baby girl in her bed. Teja was sitting on the piano bench waiting to play me a song. The first words out of her mouth,"MAN! I am sooo stressed out! I'm trying to get rid of this stress." I knew why and offered Mom's understanding, "That was kinda stressful wasn't it? Let's just give our stress to Jesus. He'll take it if you want to give it to Him." Without missing a beat, she said, "Jesus, here is my stress! Please take it!!!" She acted as if she was grabbing at some pesky mosquitos and thrusting them upwards. I further encouraged her, "Now you can ask Jesus what He will give you in return for your stress. He likes to give us gifts." She continued, "Jesus, what will you give me back since I gave you my stress?" Silence followed as she draped herself forward over the piano bench. I was the expectant onlooker wondering what she might receive in return. Her long legs and arms swung slowly back and forth for a few seconds. Squeals and giggles burst forth as her arms, legs and hair began to boogie. I wanted to know why the sudden change. "What did He say?" She whipped her head up and exclaimed with enthusiasm, "He said Joy & Love! Mom, I'm sooo excited!! Woo Hoo!!!"

Now those are good gifts!

We laughed together and then we played a duet on the piano.

Let her stay there!

After a morning saturated with events that labeled the entire day "one of those" I retreated to my bedroom while Tej & Ari cleaned (so I thought) the kitchen. The area in the kitchen where they had been busy was in chaos. They had been counseled to play with their creations as long as they wanted but once they were finished they would need to clean it up. They were finished; it was time to clean. I exited the scene to let them figure out how to manage the task while I regained my sense of well-being (I can't even begin to go into details).

Some time later Tej arrived in my doorway. She was obviously a bit miffed about something. I questioned her. She replied with something like, "I cleaned up the entire mess all by myself. Ari didn't help at all." Hm. I offered my sympathy for the way that had worked out for her and then a praise for her completing the job.  A few especially quiet moments went by as she reflected. I knew those moments were especially quiet because while Mateja was rethinking her mopping skills, I was listening for little-miss-I-got-out-of-helping-my-big-sister-again. She's not the quietest child, unless... well... you know.  Finally, I asked the question: Where's your sister?  And her response: "OK. Well, she didn't want me to tell you, but... (a deliberate pause) she's stuck on top of the refrigerator!"

I let her stay up there.

(she figured out how to get down shortly after Mateja ratted her out)

A Perfect Husband

This is completely share worthy.
I overheard the two older girls playing together this morning (something they do quite well, HALLELUJAH!):

4 year old to 6 year old: "I found a husband for you."
6 year old questioned: "Is he perfect?" The 4yro answered: "yes"

Q: "Is he handsome?"
A: "yes"

Q: "Is he loving?"
A: "yes"

Q: "Is he kind?"
A: "yes"

Cousins!

Jet, Ari, Tej, Hava, Maya

Agree or Disagree?

Tej and her Dad were having a discussion the other day.  After disagreeing about whether or not Daddy had made a certain promise to Mateja (Daddy insisted I did not say that while Mateja insisted You DID say that.) Daddy finally said: "Let's just agree to disagree."  Mateja responded, "No. Let's do eenie-meenie-miney-mo."

Hava is here!

Much has certainly transpired since our last post.  You must have figured by now (if you hadn't heard yet) that baby has joined us and made us a family of five!  She is now two weeks old and she is PERFECT.  I am completely in love, all over again.

Havaleh was born at home just like her sisters before her.  It was my longest and hardest labor and delivery yet and by FAR the most difficult recovery time.  But I don't care.  I would do it all over again.  But thank GOD I don't have to.  Ha!  She is an absolute treasure of a child.  And, like I said, I am completely in love with her.  We all are.

 

 

I can't stop calling her "princess."  Mateja asked me the other day, "Mom, did you call me & Arielle princess when we were born?"

Um... I honestly don't think so but I can't remember.  Doesn't it count if I call them all princesses NOW??  :)  They are, of course.  They are all my princesses.

Do enjoy the few photos I am choosing to share with the world at this time.  :)  More to come in the future.

Quick Update

Lots of baby prep and hours spent schooling these days.  Not TOO much else going on other than the hottest days of the year so far are upon us (at the end of September!) - wowza!  Many of you know I gave birth to both of the other girls right at home.  We'll be having another home birth this go 'round.  We are staying very close to home these days.  Nathan has been INCREDIBLE.  He's been staying close to home these days too as he is able to work from home and help me out with meals and shuttling the girls here and there.  I have actually fallen asleep right in the middle of lesson planning and teaching a few times this past month (how is that even possible?).  Thank God Nathan was here to manage the kids!  Ari is back in preschool three full days a week and Mateja has started piano lessons, vocal lessons and dance lessons.  I'm just about finished with all of the projects that I REALLY wanted to have done before the baby arrived.  Last night was the final hurrah with one of the last big projects for Mateja's school room.  Whew.  I guess baby can come now?  I'm thinking she'll be here within the next few days.  Here are a few recent photos.



Working on Alphabetical Order



Working on our "Morning Board" (OMG - I'M HUGE!)



Here the treasures are!



School Photos!

We did it. We started school this year and are in the swing of things.  Though obviously with the lack of blogging, I've been a bit busy.  Tej is well into her first grade year and doing really beautifully.  Ari just started her first week of preschool this week.  Hallelujah!  That's what I have to say about that.  We've been plugging away since mid-August (man alive, we started early!) and Ari has been in the mix although now not so much since she's at preschool three days a week.  It's a welcome "break" as it allows Tej and I time for schooling in a more productive manner.  Anyway...

Here are a few photos of our journey so far.  MUCH more to share but for now only photos as I am getting ready to teach science & social studies next.  :)

We Love to Paint...

Yes. We love to paint... just about anything, everything, something!

I have been in "nesting" stage now for a while.  I think.  And oh - that could be its own post, but... for now: painting.  Part of this "nesting" has included a phase of trying to get my house (specifically my livingroom) set up to the degree that I actually like it when I walk in there.  You know, drapes that I like (well, LOVE) and maybe a piece or two of furniture that I love too.  And maybe a chair for someone to sit upon.  Anyway... along with the getting-the-living-room-up-to-likeable-standard project has come painting of furniture.  Woah.  What a project.  A fun project.  It has turned into weeks worth of sanding and priming and painting and rearranging and and and... the girls have gotten in on the action as well.

Nothing quite says it the way the photos do:

Tiaras!

no... the camping post isn't here yet BUT here is a post about little girls making tiaras.

First thing this morning Ari asked if she could watch a video.  Nope.  We are getting ready for school!  That means our schedule is changing effective immediately.  She thought that meant school was starting today.  She changed her focus and started asking if she could do homework (can Mom just make breakfast already?) so... that meant time to pull out a project for the girls to do.  Mateja was in on the action by now and convinced Ari that they would do a project from a fairy book.  By now Daddy had joined the scene.  I roped him in to help collect supplies.  File folders, crayons, stickers, tinfoil, tape, glitter.  Tiaras were born.  It took several hours from start to finish.  Totally worth it especially since today was Granny's (Abuelita's) 92nd birthday.  The girls decided the tiaras were in honor of Abuelita and that if she were here they would make one for her to wear too.

Happy 92nd Birthday Granny!

Play Date!

A camping post will follow soon but for now... this has been our day and it's just too good to pass up this post, if only for myself.  :)

Four kids at 9:30am. Three girls. One boy. Monsters vs. Humans in the closets. Bathing suits. Sting Ray vs. Mermaids in the pool. Four year old girl vs. Five and Six year old girls. Dinosaur movie in the living room. Mouse movie in the play room. Popcorn. Grapes. Brownie bites and bits of Cadbury chocolate. Water to drink. Messes to clean up. Sliding down the stair case on couch cushions. Train tracks! Barbie house. Lots of fighting with the four year old sister. Auntie here. Time for lunch. Sandwiches and such. Collecting clothes. "Your Mum is here!" "No!!!!!!" Little brother leaves. Auntie is getting ready to leave. Let's send Little Sister with Auntie so the five year old and six year old can play in peace.  Little Sister leaves with Auntie. Girls building "houses". Ran out of toilet paper in upstairs bathroom. Quick! "MOMM!!"  Mom to the rescue. More upstairs play time. It's much quieter now that we're down to two kids. They’re back in the pool. Six year old trying to teach five year old how to dive. I'm smiling. Uh-oh. Cleaning out bugs now. The recurring question: "How much more time to play do we have???"

Rewarded

Mateja and I arrived at my prenatal appointment. We were gathering our things to get out of the car. I asked her if she would please carry her school bag. My request was met with Attitude. Yes. That’s with a capital A. I turned to her and said, “Tej, what is with this attitude that you’ve been having the last couple of weeks? What’s going on in that heart of yours?”


Great big sigh, pause… and then the response: “I’m tired of being your servant.”

Me: “OK.” (My inside voice: “Lower your eyebrows, erase the smirk. Do NOT laugh. Do NOT react. Just listen!”)

Her: “I have to serve you and Daddy and you don’t ever serve me. I’m just getting really tired of it.”

Me: “OK… (my turn to pause) Well, perhaps that’s the way you see it from your perspective. But maybe there is another perspective. I think Daddy and I do a lot for you and your sister. We cook you food and do your laundry and make sure you have the things you need. But even if we didn’t, I think perhaps the perspective that you’re missing is the one about the rewards you’ve gained by learning how to have more responsibility. Every time Mom gives you something to do that is a big responsibility it’s actually a reward for you. You’re becoming older and more mature. I couldn’t give you the reward of driving the car yet because that is a really big responsibility and you’re not ready for that yet. But you are learning lots of responsibilities when you help us set the dinner table and do dishes and that is a great reward. Did you ever think of it that way? You’re actually receiving rewards when Mom and Dad give you responsibilities. We’re not asking you to serve us, we are simply rewarding you with more ‘big girl’ responsibilities.”

She thought about it for a short time. “Mama, I’m so sorry!” She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me. “I didn’t realize all of that. Thank you so much for this lesson, Mama. You’re the best. I love you.”

Being a parent… is there anything more difficult AND rewarding at the same time? What a wonderful responsibility.   :)

The Difference Between Girls and Boys

This week Mateja (6 yr old girl) had her good friend (6 yr old boy) over for a play date.  They spent the first portion of their play time swimming together and then ended up chatting by the steps.

Hear is a portion of their conversation overheard by me.

He was telling her in depth about the great adventures of Link and Zelda from his video game.  After several minutes of engaging story time (he was quite the engaging story teller!), Mateja said, "OK. Can you talk about something else?"
Him: "Sure! What do you want to hear about?  Mario brothers?"
Her: "Um... don't you know anything about princesses?"
Him: "Yeah, of course.  Zelda IS the princess.  And in Mario there is Princess Peach.  I can tell you all about those!"

I simply could NOT wipe the smile from my face or wait to tell his mother.  :)

May into June

The end of May brought with it a wonderful surprise from Thailand: My brother, his very pregnant wife and their doll-face daughter arrived a week prior to our anniversary. They stayed with us for a few short days. It was great seeing our three girls spend some much anticipated cousin play time together. What little treasures they all are!

We headed north to celebrate our seventh anniversary, which Nathan still calls our honeymoon. We made a quick stop by the Palace for a memory lane photo. ~ SIGH ~ It was a gorgeous (and quiet) weekend away without the kids. Every conversation we had was completed without interruption. It was so... odd and incredible. Nathan’s job has been very demanding even more so lately as his responsibilities have increased. I know the time away for him was a breath of fresh air.  Our friends rallied as the stand in family that they are to watch our girls and juggle them so that we could have that special time (thank YOU friends!!!)

I have been trying to compile my list of things to do with the kids this summer. It looks something like this: swimming, movies, parks, zoos, reading, games, swimming, hikes/trails, library, cooking, dancing, camping, swimming, farms, aquarium, bike rides, walking, museums, painting, swimming, bowling, beach, videos, projects… Obviously, we will be spending lots of time in the pool swimming. The weather has finally begun to warm and even got hot for a day or two. The girls have been in the pool every day for a week or two now. I think I’ve been in once. I’m such a pansy. I really like the heat. So if it’s not HOT out I am probably not in the pool. That will change soon, I’m sure.  I took the girls bowling last week to see if that was something we could continue on a regular basis throughout the summer. Ari lasted about a half hour before she decided she wanted her own lane. She lost interest fairly quickly but Tej was totally into it which was fun. We’ve had a few beach days so far this year that have been really enjoyable experiences (every time actually).

I took the girls to the movies this morning thinking I would get a great monetary deal since it was morning. Wrong. I ended up at a 3-D showing of “How to Tame a Dragon” which ended up costing me over $40 once the tickets were purchased and goodies at the concession stand (INSANITY) but the girls were thrilled with their first 3-D experience (especially Mateja - she kept telling me how "awesome!" it was). Again Ari sort of petered out before it was time to go but Tej enjoyed every minute of it PLUS we had the entire theater to ourselves. Bonus, especially since Ari started bouncing around and climbing on seats near the end of the movie – you know, during the climactic part of the film!  It was a fantastic date with my girls that falls under the "priceless" category.

Anyway… that’s about it for right now.  You know more will come - eventually!  :)

Baby Number Three News

In case you haven't heard the news:  It's a GIRL!  We're having another girl!

Nathan and Mateja were equally shocked to hear the initial news.  Arielle was THRILLED.  She squealed and clapped her hands and danced about the exam room.  She will get to have a baby sister just like Mateja got to have a baby sister.  She's very happy about the prospect of painting her baby sister's toe nails pink and making her "adorable" - how exciting!

With few exceptions (three) friends, family, and strangers have been predicting/hoping along with us for a boy.  Needless to say, we didn't have a single girl name chosen for our newest little treasure.  The hunt is on... and will likely not be revealed until after the birth of the newest baby.  In the mean time I also have to gear up my efforts to acquire new (baby) furniture & paraphernalia.  AND decide if we are making any changes to how we parented from previous efforts (cloth diapers perhaps? Baby Wise?)  anyway ~ it's all very exciting to be CERTAIN.

Our FOUR year old!

Well we are the proud parents of a four year old. Happy Birthday Arielle! Now you are FOUR!!!! We had a small, FUN birthday party for her the Saturday before the actual big day. There were six girls total (2 of which belong to us) which was totally manageable. They all had parents here too. Even more doable! Bathing suits, sun block, squirt guns, dress ups, cup cakes, nail polish, piggy-back rides (correction: it was a buffalo, a bull and a horse that the girls were riding upon), a dance off, water colors, and presents including a new bike from Mom & Dad!

It was a full day and a fantastic celebration! It was actually the easiest birthday party we’ve ever thrown. I think it’s because I’m pregnant and I sort of boycotted another birthday party this year unless we only invited a few children and Nathan was responsible for almost everything… I’ll have to remember to do it this way again. My grandmother says you should only invite as many children as the age of the child being celebrated. In this case because Ari is turning four so we should only invite four children. I like that advice. I guess we did it “right” this time!

Mateja was a bit disappointed that Daddy didn’t buy her a bike for her birthday back in February. Looks like she will be getting a bike too now (probably this weekend) & we'll have to get helmets of course & then Nathan & I will have to get bikes too in order to keep up with them! It’s going to be a fun summer!

Here are a few photos of the celebration as well as the day of her birthday and a few other things we did to celebrate the girl. Enjoy!

"Weather" & "Spring Time" Projects

You may or may not know this, but we are a home schooling family.  Actually, I home school Mateja.  Ari goes to preschool two FULL days a week right now and she'll go three full days starting September.  Anyway, today I braved it and did a few projects with BOTH of the girls.  This was a major deal for me.  Ari takes a lot of my attention and focus and ENERGY whenever we are working on a project.  Today she was amazing!  Both girls had fun (Mom did too!) and Mateja was asking for more work to do...  I was a bit drained though so we'll save that "more work" for tomorrow.  Here are a few of their projects today (heavy focus on "weather" and the "season of spring")

Here is Ari's painting of what the weather was like today.

Here the girls drew pictures of things they like about spring time.

These are "Spring" envelopes we each made.

ALL Fun and Games!

I was hoping to bake stuffed mushrooms today. It's a little bit of a project to add that into my regular Monday routine plus extra laundry and dishes from Easter weekend. (And believe me, when there is no dishwasher appliance in the house, dishes tend to quickly pile up and need to be scheduled into the regular routine). My schedule has since been thwarted. The girls and I were in the front yard enjoying the brief outpour of sunshine instead of the rain that’s been coming down all morning when Ari said her bottom needed to go potty in the bush (just to the left of our front door). I thought she was kidding. It was play time after all. Boy was I wrong! I was actually so shocked that I started laughing. It was either that or start crying. Well the laughing sent her a pretty strong message. “Way to go Ari, you’re hilarious!” I think that’s the message she got out of it. So she started laughing too. Then she started itching. I will spare further details about the itching, but… you can figure it out. I ended up hauling her off to the back yard to strip her down. I even threatened hosing her off. She thought that sounded really fun and decided I ought to turn it into a game for her. Everything is a game when you're three. Well, I couldn’t pass the opportunity bye. She was rapidly yanking ALL of her clothes off, so I ran for the hose. It almost sounds wicked, but I really enjoyed blasting her little body from the waist down while she danced and twirled and screamed and giggled with delight. I found myself giggling. And now to do more laundry. How can I turn that into a game?