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?

Beach Photos!

We've actually had TWO beach outings! Isn't THAT something? For those of you who know anything about me and beaches in California, you will know that going to the beach twice before April is a very big deal. Miraculous, actually. And God smiled upon me on both of those outings. Because I am His Favorite One, the sun was shining warmly, the wind was at bay, & the children were lovely. To add to all of this amazingness, Nathan was with us at only ONE of those beach outings. Can you see how totally miraculous this is?!?!??? (For those of you who don't know, I am NOT a Northern Cali beach girl, no, no I am not)… anyway, for those pics!

Making Memories

Spring. It’s here now. We’ve been busy making memories leading up to spring 2010. We said goodbye to Auntie Hannah shortly after we moved. It was sad to say farewell, but we will see her again in a few months. Yay!

Unpacking has been a treat and a chore. Doing the move during the first trimester of pregnancy #3 has proved interesting & far less productive than I had imagined. I recently had a flash back to 1st trimester of pregnancy #1 (just 2 months after we were married) of me on the couch unable to move. Nathan stood over me in disbelief and asked, “Don’t you want to get up and do something productive?!?” My response: “No!” I then immediately fell to sleep. I am one of those pregnant women.

Getting acclimated to the new house and the new neighborhood has been such fun. The girls are really enjoying it here. They LOVE our new “little town” which is the main street a few blocks from our new home. It’s lined with shops and restaurants most of which are unique to this area. We’ve done lots of walking on non rainy days hunting out our new favorite spots. During the rainy days we’ve spent quite a bit of time spreading out in our new space.

Mateja celebrated her sixth birthday with dinner and cupcakes with Grandma Betty and we later threw her a costume party! She created the guest-list this year. I sent the invites to her guests (and their parents). It was so wonderful having space to being able to host people in our home again. The kids all wore costumes to celebrate and ate mini-cupcakes. The games sort of never fully developed into anything and somehow most of the boys’ goodie bags were still here at the end of the day. I’m not sure what happened there… Arielle keeps asking for her birthday party now. Maybe I will manage the next party a little better.

About a week after the party, my cousin Myriah came for a visit with her two boys. Her oldest is three years old. He and Arielle had a BLAST together. It was so wonderful having them here for a visit. Now we owe them a visit! Unfortunately for Mateja, she ended up not feeling very well while they were here. We took her to Urgent Care a couple of days after Myriah and the boys left. That was a first for our family. It was so sad and frightening. She had her first ear infection. A dose of antibiotics did the job and left me feeling extremely grateful to live in a country where we could take our daughter to urgent care, have a prescription filled hours later and be administering medicine to help her. She was a different person the following morning. We are just ending her antibiotics, praise God, and she is back to herself. Now spring is here and she can enjoy making more memories with the rest of us! (I will have to post our most recent memories from the beach soon.)

Big News

So if you follow the regular happenings in our lives, you know we recently moved again. We’ve been looking forward to this move for quite some time. The girls especially have been excited about the move back to a house for the simple fact that they are free to run and jump and stomp without hearing the hiss of Mom & Dad’s “Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! So now we are in a house again and they are free to be loud. It’s wonderful. And once the torrents of rain cease and the sun begins to beat upon the concrete, we will slather ourselves with toxin free sun block and spend hours out back in our pool! I am foreseeing some really great naps this summer. We spent many hours and days at the apartment community pool last year. It was never enough for the girls. We enrolled both girls in swim lessons during the spring and summer. It was an incredible pay off to see them progress during that time. Now they are fantastic swimmers and will have lots of opportunities to continue their skills with (and without) more instruction.
The move really was our big news until we found out my sister Hannah was on her way to California for a surprise visit! That was fun and exciting! She had fun surprising Mateja (who didn’t recognize her until she said something) and her good friend Jenn. It was a short visit since she had to get back to China to start her new job as a Professor at an International Business University. Very exciting! She knew before heading to California that we were in the midst of a move. As per usual she rolled up her sleeves and helped me pack and wrap and purge and juggle the kids.
AND (more big news) she even brought birthday gifts for our SIX year old! Can you believe our green eyed girl is six years old? Technically because of the leap year thing her birthday isn’t on the calendar, but we celebrated on Sunday the 28th of February and will have a little party with her close friends sometime in March. We’ve had lots of planning to do for all of the festivities around here. And we’ve had to purchase new furniture to fill space in this house since we got rid of all of our furniture before we moved into the tiny apartment. It’s been fun and exhausting. I don’t know how I would have managed if Hannah hadn’t been here in all of her awesome sister-ness because that’s when the biggest news of all surfaced: Nathan and I found out that we are pregnant again!
So we are now preparing for another person to join our family at the end of September. Nathan and I are very happy. Our happiness pales in comparison to the excitement our girls are sharing. They are convinced that they will be having a baby brother. My brother Jared and his wife are expecting a baby boy this summer. It would be pretty cool if we had a boy too. Arielle is particularly excited because this will be the first time she experiences being a “BIG sister” like Mateja. There is lots of baby buzz in our home. I am doing well other than the steady bouts of nausea that hassle me daily and the exhaustion which levels me every other day. That should all end in a few weeks though and being in the new house is certainly adding sunshine (literally) to my perspective. Ari is back in preschool two full days each week while Mateja and I work through home school.
Our lives are about to change in a major way all over again. I think I have one box of baby things left from the girls (some blankets and booties and onesies) but I have NO baby furniture or other paraphernalia (actually I did keep the breast pump – sorry – TMI?). So we really will be starting all over again. It’s exciting and a little daunting. I feel confident though. Nathan and I are a great team and we’ve got mad love for each other which keeps growing! Yay! He’s really the hero of this household. The girls couldn’t have a better Daddy nor could I have a better husband. We’re a blessed family in every aspect and it just keeps getting BETTER! Life is beautiful.

Oh Happy Day!

We did it. We moved. ~ great big lovely sigh of relief ~


I'm sitting in the "breakfast nook" enjoying some coffee and cinnamon loaf (thank you Trader Joe's) and going through some emails. I haven't been on my computer in days. Kinda feels nice. I need to get some reading done. I need to get the boxes unpacked. I need to buy an island with a butcher block. Never a shortage of things to be done! Ha. Always plenty to do. The girls are really enjoying the space and all of the nooks and crannies. It's wonderful. They have their own play room where all of the toys are housed. Their bedroom is where the beds and books are. The girls have adopted one of the large hall closets as their “club house.” They are having a BLAST! (I’ll have to post some photos later)

I woke up yesterday morning in a new, unfamiliar place. It was quiet. It was bliss. Another fresh start is upon us. It was an odd year being in a tiny apartment but it was one of the best years of our lives so far. It was an incredible year for our marriage. It was a great year for me growing as a woman, a wife, a mother, a teacher, and so on. Now we're in a new year with a new home. Oh Happy Day!

Feb. 01, 2010 - part of a day in our life

Today was Monday. The first action item of the day for the Mitchell girls (directly after completing breakfast, of course) was to attempt to build a working CD player utilizing hand sanitizer, vacuum parts and “lost things”. I’d say it was somewhat successful. Imagination is such a gorgeous thing! Second item of the day was “mountain” (box) climbing. Not my preference. Third item of the day: talk about love and get a head start on creating valentines for Ari’s preschool Valentine party. Here is a teensy snippet of that conversation:


What is LOVE?
ARI: Love is hugs and smiles.
MATEJA: Kisses, hugs, being nice to each other and playing nice.

Fourth item of the day: SNACK TIME while I listened to a random play list including Lionel Richie, Paolo Conte, Misty Edwards, Isaac Hayes, Laura Hackett, Cory Asbury, Michael Hedges and a few others. It was then onto "play time" which involved plastic Easter eggs, a paper umbrella from Thailand, “Raja” and “Nala” their two stuffed tigers and a Hello Kitty lunch bag (full of great items) all used in efforts to attack dinosaurs.

Time to make lunch: Fettuccine with chunky tomato sauce, cream, & spinach. Red bells and refreshing water on the side. Time for more painting and crafting after that. Girls went down for naps. Michael Buble accompanied my greenhouse researching online. I got back to completing valentines for the kids and dreamt of making some hot creamy drink. Then I shook myself. "SURELY I will get something done today!!! I have packing to do after all and those toilets MUST be cleaned. Stop tweeting. Stop researching green houses. Stop creating already!" The girls are up from their naps now.

-- This is when I exhaled a great big sigh and then rose from my place at the table where my hands were gripping my favorite pair of scissors --

I cleaned the toilets. I packed boxes. I administered time-outs. I gave hugs. I washed mirrors. I helped when help was asked. I brushed hair. I packed a sewing machine. I popped a bag of microwave pop corn and then served it to my treasures. I mothered. I laughed. I wished I had done more. It always looks so much better in black and white...

SURELY I'll get more done tomorrow. Surely.

Ones We Love

Tonight I sift through photos of our little Mitchell family during some of our holiday excursions and seclusions. We are full of life and love and expressions! I take pleasure in each photo and how it takes me to the instant where the memory was created. Don't you love it when your photos take you to that marvelous moment? Each image reveals a glimpse of who we are as individuals and as a family. My heart is happy within me. This is our love. This is our family. I hope you enjoy these Mitchell snippets we share with you. Lovely New Year be yours, friends!

It's a New Day!

A memorable moment in the Mitchell household:

It was the morning of New Year's Day. It was a very special morning because Nathan was home with us and it wasn't a weekend. As is our custom on a special day that Daddy is home we let the girls have a choice between two activities. First day of the new year, Nathan asked the girls if they wanted to go to the gym or go eat donuts. Both of my girls separately chose the gym over donuts. Huh? So guess where we were on the first day of the year! All four of us.

Happy Fit New Year! :)

'Twas a Happy Christmas Morning!

Day breaks. Feet skip and trip down the corridor. Excitement bubbles from five year old lips. "It's Christmas morning!" Stockings dumped out. Bubbles blown and floating. Soap is spilling. Nails polished. Saliva dissolving chocolate melting in mouth not on hands. Purses hung on shoulders shrugged. Squeals and laughter and gasps of air. "We're hungry!" Coffee brewed. Pancakes flipped into maple syrup dipped. Now paper tears and ornaments fall. Boxes thrown and ribbons mauled. Happy, happy, happy Christmas morn. Music. Jumping. Showing and shoving. Marking. Dumping. Sharing and hugging. Happy, happy, happy Christmas morn. Crying now. "She's pushing me!" To your room, NOW. Assembling large toys. Next year we'll do this ahead of time. Live and learn. "Can I come out now?" Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere. Time for lunch. Christmas Eve feast leftovers! Ah... what a happy Christmas morning.

Home in the Motherland

Yes. We are all home again. Sure it's been ages since a post... what can I say? November flew bye, which means it was crammed full of great stuff that we Mitchells busied ourselves with. Highlights: a birthday celebration; a best friend's engagement; lots of airplanes and trains and taxis and buses and boats, even an elephant; a trip to China; a trip to Texas; a trip to Malaysia; a trip to Thailand; lots of family face time; lots of turkey; lots of curry; girls' first bonafide sleep over (gasp!); a Christmas tree in our living room...

Today Mateja informed me that the Motherland is where Mothers can go. They only have to pay one dollar to get into the Motherland. And there are no other people in the Motherland other than mothers, of course. And the only things that are really in the Motherland are massages (do they have Thai massages?) and quiet time and peace. Oh and once you pay that one dollar to gain entrance, everything else is free.

It was a Happy Columbus Day!

We had such a happy Columbus Day!

Nathan ended up having the day OFF of work and so... we had a WHOLE list of activities planned. And I mean a WHOLE list. Our list had lots of house projects (including cleaning the carpets) and family projects (sorting through the girls' closets to yank the summer clothes) as well as outside of the home projects (shopping for winter clothes for the girls!) and our favorite type of activity: the FUN one! Every year we go to a pumpkin patch. This year was a fun pumpkin patch outing as the girls were able to ride a carousel and a train and go through two different corn mazes! Yahoo! And then, of course, as tradition has it the girls get one small pumpkin each and Mommy & Daddy get to share a pumpkin - it's the sacred pumpkin that will be the starter for all the pies and muffins Mommy will begin making this season. (not sure why I started writing in third person...)

Surprisingly we accomplished almost everything on our Columbus Day list (the carpets must wait for another week). Not sure when I'll get started on the pumpkin pies, but the change in weather has got me in the mood for some baking! I made some delicious granola with raisins and cherries and apricots today. (thank you Sisi!) I feel like baking bread or cookies or... pies very soon!

Enjoy these Mitchell family pics from our Columbus Day! (pumpkin pie photos will show up soon!)

What's Jail Mateja?

Today Mateja educated Ari on what happens to someone when they break the law.

Mateja to Ari: When people don't obey the law, the get put in jail. You don't want to go to jail do you?

Ari: No, Mateja...

Mateja: OK. Then you need to put your seat belt on because that is disobeying the law.

Ari: What's jail, Mateja?

Mateja: Jail is a stinky place. And the pillows are hard like rocks. And they give you blankets that are hard like rocks too. You don't EVER want to go to jail.

Me: Have you ever been to a jail?

Mateja: No and I don't ever want to go.

Me: How do you know they are stinky if you have never been to one before?

Mateja: I don't know. I just know they are.

Rich Perspective

Nathan and I talk somewhat frequently about the move we made earlier this year from our spacious four bedroom house to this tiny apartment in Santa Clara. There were several reasons why we chose to move here. Sometimes we remember our former "glory" in that big house and miss those days of space and "luxury" in San Jose. We know we made the right decision. We know we are in a temporary place. We know that eventually we will live in that big, beautiful home God has for us, somewhere and it will be BLISS! And while we know we made the correct/right decision in moving here, sometimes it feels like we fell backwards off of a cliff and have little to show for all the work we've put into our life... Recently Mateja sat on the couch of our downsized, tiny apartment living room and said, "I'm so glad we're rich!"


There's some perspective for you.