Happy Birthday to Phin!

Happy 12th birthday to our Phin-bin! He's funny and clever and curious and so so kind-hearted. Charles was 12 when he was born -- so happy to finally have a brother! All three of us are year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac so we're double each other this year!

To Realize Life While We Live It

It has been freezing freezing lately.  But it makes it so the radiators keep steaming away and my bedroom gets so hot!  It's positively sweltering!  And then Matthew wants to cuddle and I just can't take it!  There really is no completely comfortable place in my house, temperature wise.  Perhaps if I stood in the middle of the stairway between floors... I could set up a cushion for reading.

We saw Our Town yesterday afternoon. Have you seen it?  It was amazing!  I've read it before and thought it was so boring -- it is, after all, depicting how regular life is -- but seeing it played out was beautiful.  

"Oh Earth! You're too wonderful for anyone to realize you.  Do any humans ever realize life while they live it?  Every every minute?"

Gah!  We laughed, we cried.  So good.

We took the day off from school today so it is a rest day for me.  I still have the two yoga classes, but no schooling is happening and the boys have friends over.  This morning they were being so ridiculous -- just random loud noises for the sake of making a racket and asking questions like, "Mom, how many bowling balls do you see falling from the sky right now?"  There were also lovely things like, "How is it possible that the big snowflakes look so much like overripe dandelions?"  But I finally had to say that I am so sorry, but I just don't have any capacity for nonsense today.  Sometimes that is just how it is!

Sportsing

Busy day today with both boys basketball games and then hours of standing at Ibby's track meet.  She ran in three events, but they were very spaced out...  Her relay team placed 3rd in the 4x800 so that was exciting!

Winter Kissed Cheeks

Merry Christmas Eve Eve

::getting those gingerbread houses in right under the wire

::Final creation -- blurry


::two cuddle bugs

Nutcracker Battles

Strings!

Phin started taking cello this fall and he had his first concert today.  It was so nice to be with lots of our other homeschool friends!  And the boys loved the reception afterward, of course.

First Snow

I & M Canal

Another fun hike with our homeschool friends.  We walked quite a ways so I was glad I thought to bring my Lula toddler carrier so that Archie could comfortably ride on my back, and Phin found a little snake.  It was amazing weather and great company!

Mango Mango

Charles got a job!  We are so happy that he can earn some money... and be away from the house sometimes... They serve Thai style rolled ice cream and claim to be the only place in the state that does so.  We decided to pay him a visit today and there is no denying that it was pretty yummy!

Happy May Day!

I am quite sure that most people don't even celebrate May Day, but our neighbor happens to own a maypole, and if I was the proud owner of a maypole you had better bet your boots that I would use it!  We usually make a little craft with flowers to drop off at other neighbor's door steps and then we attempt to circle the maypole without getting too too tangled up -- it's so quaint.

Phin the Flower

We went to Nauvoo on Saturday and Ibby was able to do baptisms in the temple for the first time.  No pics of her on her special day, but I took a couple of the boys at the park we visited while we were waiting for everyone else!

A butterfly landed on Phin's leg and stayed there for several minutes.  He was so still  and watched it carefully.  Then when he was done, he shook his leg around and was surprised that the butterfly didn't want to leave.  It stayed attached to his shorts for a while and then flew circles around Phin's head multiple times before finally finding another beautiful "flower" to perch upon.

When the girls were finished we decided to let Lucy drive for a bit on the country roads around town.  She got her drivers permit the day before!  It is hard to believe that my third baby is that old and I got a little teary eyed at the DMV while she took her test.  It really all goes much too swiftly for me.

spring saturday

The weather has been so beautiful so we spent some time cleaning up the yard and then headed out to the soccer fields for a great, albeit quite windy, game.

"Mommy, is me being nice? I'll go to bed nice tonight, too." Oh, okay, I'll take it! A thank you to the hydrangeas for being a glimmer of loveliness through the long winter.

And another tooth down -- love that smile!

loose tooth

He lost first top tooth and the second front one soon to follow!

Phineas' Rainbow

My little Phinney saw me making blankets for all of his older siblings and started asking me when I was going to make one for him.  I hadn't necessarily planned on starting another so soon after finishing Ibby's, but he was so earnest that how could I refuse?  He really likes rainbows, so I chose to do this one from The Purl Bee.  They sell a kit, but it was $1 million, or $780 to be exact.  Either way, prohibitive.  So I set out to find 42 colors of yarn -- not merino wool, not hand-dyed -- being different colors was pretty much my only requirement.  I soon found that this project was not achievable using only local sources so I carefully perused the colors available at the Wool Warehouse in the U.K. and hoped for the pixellated, internet funny colored, best.  I ordered everything on Dec. 23 and I can't remember exactly when the very large parcel arrived, but as soon as it did I got right down to business.  It is actually a bit embarrassing that I was able to finish the whole thing in about a month -- I truly did manage to make dinner most nights and keep up with laundry!  I just tried to have it on hand to work on some squares wherever I may be -- except church.  I still refuse to crochet there, even though I am just sitting there... hmmm.  Maybe someday.  I get so impatient when I'm working on things -- I just want to finish as quickly as possible!  I refuse to comment on the number of korean dramas consumed during this time.

::rainbow in embryo

 ::rainbow in stacks

 ::rainbow grid

 

::together at last

 

 ::happy boy with his rainbow!

*update I thought I should add which stylecraft colors I substituted for the ones offered at Purl Soho.  I also have a chart that I made if anyone is interested.

✽ candy floss ✽ fiesta ✽ bright pink ✽ fondant ✽ soft peach ✽ pomegranate ✽ raspberry ✽ shrimp ✽ lipstick ✽ matador ✽ claret ✽ gold ✽ spice ✽ copper ✽ camel ✽ saffron ✽ sunshine ✽ citron ✽ lemon ✽ bright green ✽ lime ✽ meadow ✽ petrol ✽ sherbet ✽ spring green ✽ aspen ✽ turquoise ✽ aster ✽ teal ✽ cloud blue ✽ royal ✽ denim ✽ silver ✽ grey ✽ graphite ✽ bluebell ✽ lavender ✽ wisteria ✽ violet ✽ plum ✽ magenta ✽ clematis ✽

The yellows and the greens were the most difficult to match, I thought.  And some of the ones I thought I would use with the pinks I ended up using with the purples.  

Magic 8

Happy Groundhog Day!  Did the groundhog see his shadow where you are?  It is very sunny here today with a balmy temperature of 7˚!!!  So we have six week left of winter.  Which is how it usually is.  It is 7 weeks until the Spring Equinox so that sounds about right. Often it is still chilly in April, and Matthew always always always complains, but it is like in the 40's and I patiently explain that that is Spring weather!  Silly man.  It snowed all Saturday night and all day yesterday so they declared a snow day from church and we enjoyed the beautiful falling snow.  It was also the superbowl, but we didn't watch it because we don't have t.v. AND we don't really care.  

This morning Phin found a magic 8 ball in Lucy's room so he came down to ask me how it worked.  I told him that you ask it a question, but he couldn't think of one so I suggested asking if it would snow tomorrow.  It answered with a simple yes.  Then he looked at it and asked, "Is Jesus real?"  That's the only question he could think of?  So I hoped for a good outcome as he shook, and then looked and it said, "It is certain."  So great!  I then explained that, of course, it is just a toy and that we shouldn't take it too seriously.

I've been studying Spanish every day with an app on my phone.  I guess I'm getting pretty good, because Lucy did a trivia challenge (another app) all in Spanish and I got all of the questions right and totally won!  Whoop!

The End of an Era

So last night at dinner, an earnest six year old boy looked up at me across the table and seriously asked, "Is Santa Claus still alive?" I put down my fork and gave him a long look because, well, he's six! With everyone else chattering on around us, I finally just shook my head very slowly back and forth. His face fell and with a shaky, but brave, voice he quietly whispered, "I thought so."

Memorial Day

We just set out for the parade and then to the cemetery, but as we were passing Wesleyan I heard a badump, badump noise and mentioned to Matthew that we just might have a flat tire.  Sho' nuff that is what it was.  We were all just going to stay there while he put on the spare tire, but then Archie mentioned that he needed to poop.  So I walked home with the boys and Matthew went to see if there are any places open today that can take care of the tire.  Fun stuff!!!  But it is giving me a chance to write in my blog and I don't even have the baby today, yay!!!  He is really sweet and all, but it is tiring taking care of a newborn.  I heard the saddest story about a woman in California who had three daughters ages 2, 1, and 2 months and she killed them all last Friday.  They said they found the mom naked, in a daze, covered with blood.  My first thought is that she probably was just wanting to take a shower, but they were screaming at her and she just lost it!  I just feel so bad for her!!! And her husband!  And her whole family.  Oh my goodness.  It can be hard to take care of babies.  And moms need support.  In the past, people were usually living with their parents, aunts, uncles, etc.  Lots of people who could help hold babies or cook or clean, but now people are so separated and alone.  We ended up being able to get to the parade and over to the cemetery to go on the trolley with Miss Jen Jen.

We always enjoy romping around cemeteries!

It has been a busy week.  I had the annual mother's day tea last Wednesday.  I have moved it to a park since there are so many people now.  I put table cloths and flowers on two long tables and people proceeded to sit their children at the pretty tables and then the women were all sitting at un-table-clothed tables.  That was the only buggy thing.  Everything else was lovely -- the weather, the food, the people.  So I guess it is worth all of the headache.  There was also the Bent School carnival.  The kids had fun, but we didn't stay very long.  I missed Ali Harvey's graduation party.  It was on Friday and I didn't remember until Saturday afternoon.  NCHS had their graduation on Saturday and BHS will have it next Sunday.  Charles is doing a graduation party with Sam at his grandparents house on Lake Bloomington.  I don't know how many people want to go clear out there, but we will see.  It should still be fun.

I've been working a lot in the garden.  I spent tons of money, lots of time and effort, and then I just have to hope for the best!  It hasn't rained for a long time so I have to walk around hosing everything down.  Rain dance, rain dance! 

I'm reading an interesting book about Energy and people's auras.  I haven't gotten very far so we'll see how it develops :)