Things are busy at our house and we're all still adjusting. I'm trying to make sure each kid gets the mom time they need while also feeding them. And sometimes I clean something. The house is kind of messy these days. Here are some moments from our lives lately. Groundhog Day!! I made a little treasure hunt for the kids in which they learned things about groundhogs along the way and got a little groundhog filled with candy at the end. They liked it but they did fight about who would read/find/hold/look at each clue along the way. We somehow got through it.
I made mini chicken cordon bleus (groundhog looking) for dinner with mashed potatoes for them to hide in and broccoli trees. The kids liked that - playing with the food more than eating it, but still.
Anna, my sweet and strong willed daughter, is doing jobs to earn back some of her toys that have been confiscated by mom due to bad behavior. It seems that as far as jobs go, she cannot be bribed (Matthew and Grant have their price and will do jobs for "screen time"), but when Anna wants to do a job, she will usually do an excellent job. She washed all the windows in the kitchen and dining area for me on this day. She loves washing mirrors and windows.
Matthew and I revisited the failed lemon battery experiment, this time with a multimeter. We determined that we probably have enough voltage but the current was too low to run our clock. The solution (I think) connect another battery in parallel. We would have tried it but I didn't have enough lemons. ;) Will revisit again. The troubleshooting reminded me of my old job as a scientist in the aerospace industry and made me miss it. We had a lot fancier equipment to troubleshoot with at my old job but did use digital multimeters from time to time. ;) Matthew made nail and magnet designs after we were done.
And on the other end of the table, Scott was also in his element, working on our taxes.
John, Grant and I have started "Mommy School" a very short, more structured, learning time each day with mom. They like packing a lunch for it - a few snacks that they bring in their little lunch bags from the kitchen into the living room and eat when we are done with learning time. We watch some short educational videos and do some games on the computer. Grant practices "reading" (I use that term very loosely here) and John practices letter identification. We read some stories and sometimes watch a "how its made" video. And usually color something or make a simple craft at the end.
John and Grant love it...so far. Grant is so cute about it. During dinner he prompts everyone to ask him how school was today for him (Matthew, say "How was school, Grant?") John likes it too and recognizes more letters than I expected.
John really misses the grandmas (my mom and Scott's mom both visited us recently). Once they left I think John has felt a little bit neglected by me. He wants me to hold him a lot. He'll come up and ask to be held (by saying "Hold You?") frequently. He always wants to be held when I'm nursing Emma. And often when I'm cooking too. Poor kid. Here he is sitting by me on the couch while I feed Emma asking to be held and crying. Sometimes I put her down to hold him, sometimes I have to feed her. When I do hold him he likes to snuggle and then sit in my lap and play with his cars. He also likes to drive his cars through my hair. It's like he's my baby bird in the nest. Poor John.
And speaking of my parental neglect, there's Anna. We've been having a few more conflicts than usual. As much as she loves having baby Emma here, I think she also feels like there isn't enough mommy time to go around. We're working on it. She loves holding Emma though. This was just after some conflict over something - I can't even remember. But there was a lot of crying. Like I said, we're working on it.
Something Anna and I like to do together is cook. But it has to be something she wants to cook/her idea. I am realizing maybe I am as unbending on some things as she is, and trying to bend when it is appropriate. I wanted to make sugar cookies for Valentine's Day so all the kids could help cut out and decorate them, but Anna really wanted to do cupcakes instead. Usually I just say no to things like that (see, I am part of the problem!) thinking she should not be so demanding/learn to accommodate others/I am the mom etc. But I let her set the agenda on that day for a change.
So the other kids didn't get to participate as much on this one, 'cause there was no cutting out and less decorating, but they didn't care that much and enjoyed eating the cupcakes and helping with the frosting. It was ok.
She picked the frosting color and helped me make it. Then I frosted while she supervised and she decorated with sprinkles, with a little help from the boys.
I liked this picture 'cause it looks like she is telling me what to do, which she often is.
It's good to have a mind of your own.
Scott made his famous and much beloved chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's Day. Anna was looking forward to it for quite some time. She also told me some of the reasons why she loves Dad -
1) He makes "DEE-LICIOUS" chocolate covered strawberries
2) He throws her up in the air, unlike her friend's dad
3) He is not bald, unlike the same friend's dad. ;)
I'm glad she didn't say these things in front of said friend's dad. I hope she didn't anyway.
You can see Anna eating some chocolate covered treat Scott let her sample. See, he is the best. We love you Anna...and Scott!!
The finished berries. Dee-licious indeed!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!
