How we fill our days...now that we have 4 kids

I have been BUSY...BUSY...BUSY. The boys keep me running and I love it. We have only been home about a week and a half and we are working hard at keeping a routine. I find that all kids thrive on routine. It helps so much for them to know what is expected for each part of the day.

So our day if full of lots of play time.

We will spend more time outside playing on the playset.

Then after we used up all of our energy we have
lunch and clean up before nap time.

Oh...how we love our nap time.Yes...I rock him to sleep for both nap time and bed time (and I LOVE IT).
And after rest time we start all over again.


But most of the day...these pleading eyes look up at me and reach up for momma. And then...I spend my day holding my Little Man.

Stepping back and watching my little girl grow up.

As much as I have intended to be more consistent in taking the kids out on one on one dates...I have failed. This is an area I want to work harder at. Since I have a hard time doing things half-hearted, I tend to just not do something if I can't make it fantastic. So in the spirit of resisting the urge to have planned out a fantastic evening with clues to a special location...I just asked Tally as we were cleaning up the dinner dishes if she wanted to go out with me.

We headed over to a local book store and got a special hot cocoa and settled down to just talk. About all kinds of girly things and about nothing in particular. I just wanted to keep the doors of communication open. As our little ones grow up, I think we need to be even MORE intentional in our time with them.

We read a book together and used it as a tool to pave the way for more detailed talks to come. I just loved Tally's response to the whole thing. She is so mature and wise. At one point we were talking about finding appropriate people to go to if you need help or have questions. And it was her idea to talk to a grown up, she thought it would be better than seeking out a peer, since someone older might have already gone through the same circumstance and have better advice.
In the end I bought her a nice journal and gave it to her to use as a prayer journal. I shared that there will be times that others won't be there for her. Or worse yet, I will respond to her emotional needs the wrong way. But I reminded her that God is always there. Always listening. Always caring. She can use this journal to write down her thoughts and share them with God when she is struggling with something.

One of the best compliments

The other day I was sitting at a park with 2 friends while our children played in the kids play area. There was only one other mom in the park and she came up to the 3 of us and asked us how we got our kids to be so creative with how they play. She couldn't believe how our kids were playing so creatively. And then she commented on how unusual it is that they were older children (not just preschoolers) and playing dramatic play. As you can imagine, it just made my day. To hear someone notice, admire and comment on such a thing. We all thanked her for the comment and visited a few moments and mentioned that our children have spent a bit of time together.

Later I asked Tristen what they were playing and she told me all about it. This was an unusual park (no swings or play equipment), just lots of dirt, one slide (mounted on a dirt hill), a water source, a cabin, and a tee pee. She told me that they were playing farmer. This was the first time we had gone to that play area, I always thought it was for younger kids, and yet my 11 year old had just as much fun as a 4 year old. Making mud, pretending to be Laura from Little House, running around while someone was pretending to be a bear and chase her.

I love it that they didn't feel like they were too old to play. No one said it was for babies. No one squelched their creative play. In fact, they spurred each other on to be more creative as they worked as a group.

I wonder what makes some kids more creative in their play than others. My two have used dramatic play as the main source of their entertainment. (one of my favorite posts and sweet pictures HERE) Forget the toys and video games. Give them a pile of stuffed animals and some linking cube blocks and you might just find an orchestra. Here are their webkins playing instruments. They showed me each animal and what instrument they are playing and the sheet music they made for them to follow. Talk about creative play.

Catching my breath -

I have been running around trying to get oodles of things packed into each and every day. This is not how I normally roll. I am a homebody by nature. I love to be in my own nest, enjoying my space and my family. And yet, every day has been full of appointments and meetings and errands and needful. Trying to squeeze school in between all of it. Playing catch up on dentist appointments and remainders of moving.

Surprisingly one of my desires and goals is to SIMPLIFY my life and only fill it with things that are worthy. I am working on that. Trying to be selective of activities and events, yet it ALL looks so fun and interesting. I am praying for wisdom and discernment to make good choices. Knowing that every need does not constitute a call for me to respond. And embracing the truth that I don't have to be involved in EVERYTHING. Resisting the normal urge to participate.

So...we will skip heading to the store and library this afternoon. We will spend time in God's word as a family. Make a new recipe together (yummy dessert) and eat dinner around the table.

Introducing my "tween" girls

It's official. We have entered the tween stage. This was a big week here in the peapod. My little sweet peas are growing up. No longer little girls. They now understand what it means to suffer for beauty (well not just for beauty for the betterment of their mouth's health).

Tally got braces and Tissy got a retainer. We knew this was coming. It wasn't a surprise, but yet I am not sure I was ready for this. Not just financially, but emotionally. My girls look so mature and grown up. I am not ready for them to grow up. I have enjoyed every stage and I am determined to enjoy this tween stage too. I think if I embrace it with positivity, it will help them adjust to all the changes that are going on.
Here is Tally's sweet little mouth. Not only are we dealing with an "over jet" but lots of crazy positioning of teeth. Most of that is from a mouth injury from when she fell as a 3 year old. Talk about consequences.
One of the things for me that has been hard to accept, is her smile will never bee the same. I have loved that front tooth that has it's own special way of presenting itself. I love her just how she is. She has been so excited about getting braces. She understands it is a big deal and costs a lot of money and that she must be very responsible. She will get the head gear to go with it in a few weeks. I bet that will be another adjustment for her. =(Here she is afterward. She got a free ice cream from Baskin Robins as a special treat from the orthodontist. Only soft foods for a few days. That and lots of pain meds. Click on the picture to see it larger to see those beautiful teeth. Her bands are orange and pink.
Here is Tissy with her new retainer. She recently had a baby tooth removed (the filling fell out and it wasn't worth replacing) and in order to maintain the open space for the adult tooth we decided to go with the retainer. It will not only hold that space open (her mouth is tiny and has significant crowding) it will also prevent her from digging her teeth up into the roof of her mouth. She too has the over jet that Tally has. She sounds just adorable with her retainer. All lispy and cute. Not to mention she looks as cute as can be.

So there you have it. My two tween girls. And I guess that means I am not the young mom anymore with little kids. We are all learning to cope with this in our own ways. And I am learning to let them grow up.

Precious Moments

I love these tender moments. Chuck and Tissy enjoying an early morning together.
I know that I don't tell him enough...he is such a good daddy. These kids adore him. I caught them looking at a catalog together at breakfast one day. I hope the kids always have fond memories like this that they hold dear.

My little helpers

There are times that I don't even realize what helpers my kids are. They are almost always with me and they so quickly jump in and help in ways that seem so natural to me, but are unusual in so many ways. Tonight we had some friends over for dinner and I was preparing all the taco fixings while the girls entertained our friend's kids. I noticed that they are often right by my side getting things out or serving drinks or finding ways to serve. There are times, like tonight, they serve me by helping out with the younger ones. These little boys were entertained by Tally and Tissy in the bonus room with coloring, playing with cars, games and videos. The girls act like little baby sitters and keep these busy little guys happy and safe so the parents can visit and enjoy the adult conversation.

What I noticed is how their absence was noticed in the kitchen. They are like my right hand girls. They know how to load and unload the dishwasher. They are learning to be observant of what needs to be done when we are hosting friends. They tidy the table when they are finished eating and clean up the plates. They are such a blessing to me in so many ways and it just struck me tonight what a treat it is to have them around. Often doing these things without being asked.

I often hear Tally ask if there is anything she can do to help. Or if there is a job that Tissy can do. They are such helpers around the house and a blessing in so many ways. They have really embraced the idea of being part of a "stick together family" and work as a team. They often ask if I need help with something before they go and play. The other day they voluntarily turned off the TV to help unload and put away the groceries while I visited with my mom. Again...blessing me and others with their actions.

I am so grateful that God has blessed me with such thoughtful girls. Ones that bless me and others with their actions and attitudes. In no means am I trying to act prideful but noting their actions, but just acknowledging their help and the blessing that it is. I understand that it is God's grace that they are who they are. I just missed them tonight in the kitchen and realized that they were helping with the little ones instead.

Learning to love one of Daddy's favorite toys

The other week when were out at yard sales and found this race track for matchbox style cars. Chuck snagged it for a buck and it has been a pretty good toy to use all of our cars with.


And when I say...ALL of our cars...I mean ALL of Chuck's cars. We have a huge collection that were Chuck's when he was a little boy.

The idea is you race them against each other and which ever one wins, goes into the win pile and the looser goes into the looser group. Then you keep racing the winners against each other and add to the loser group. Finally you are down to just a few cars to find out which one is the fastest car.Here the winners are lined up against the track and the rest are losers. The point is to find the fastest car. And the race always seems to come down to the same few cars. There is a green one that wins every time and is the champion.
Amazingly enough, we play this on the weekends for hours. You can imagine that Chuck loves it. And the girls love anything when Daddy plays along. Bonding time for sure. And all for a dollar at a yard sale. Well...the dollar and all the cars we already had.

enjoying the play set

We finally got our play set up and the girls have been enjoying it so much. We have had this play set for 5 years. We have had it at 3 houses now. After much hunting, we decided to go for the Rainbow play set and it has been a good investment. I'll be honest, they aren't cheap, but they come with a really good warranty. When we were moving this last time, we took it apart in just a few major parts and loaded onto the truck in big pieces. We had to order a lot of replacement wood to take care of the rotten areas. After the replacement wood arrived (under warranty) we hired the local Rainbow play set place to come and replace all the wood and put it back together.

I had no idea they had to take almost every piece apart and put it back together again. I think it was worth hiring the professional on this one. It looks like a huge puzzle with no picture to follow.

Most of the wood is new. After being in a REALLY humid area, a lot of it was rotten and needed to be replaced. I have been impressed with Rainbow and how they stand behind these products. It has been a joy to work with them.

Can you believe it is 5 years old??? It looks practically brand new. We were able to find a spot in the yard that gets afternoon shade from a hack berry tree. The girls have really enjoyed playing out there and the neighborhood kids have been over to play a few times too.

This is one of my favorites...a new place to read.Sorry for the lack of posts here in the Peapod. We have been busy and today's activities included checking out a dentist, orthodontist and getting 2 teeth pulled for Tissy. Prayers appreciated for my little one.

lacing cards

Here is a quick and easy craft to make with your kids (or to make FOR your kids). Find cardboard boxes with cute bright pictures on them (save them from cereal boxes, toy packaging, snack boxes, juice pouch boxes). Cut out fun shapes or objects on the box and punch holes on the sides. Tie some yarn to each lacing card.
This post was for my friend Lea who is looking for creative ideas for her toddler and preschooler. I used to teach preschool and loved it, and still have lots of ideas for little ones. I am a fan of rotating out toys each day. When I was teaching preschool each day the kids came in to the room I had something different on the table. Play dough, puzzles, counting bears, lacing cards...and I changed it every day. It encouraged them to play with something that they wouldn't choose off the toy shelf themselves.

More ideas to come.

Birthday Treasure Hunt

Here we are, just one week in our new home and we get to celebrate a birthday. My little one is 9 today. Wow. It has flown by and I feel like it was just yesterday that I was posting this post about her (HERE) with some cute old pictures.

With the rush of moving and this birthday so close to moving in, we decided to rely on a family tradition of doing a birthday treasure hunt. We hide her gifts and give her clues to find them. Now that she is getting to be so mature, we made the clues a bit more difficult. So if you want to join us on the hunt...here we go. A little info on this hunt: she had to figure these out on her own. She was given 2 "shout outs" for help. One family shout out and one mobile/cell phone shout out. That is when she was able to ask for help from someone in the family and then ask anyone on the cell phone. This is what the hunt started with...

9 is the number of the day
9 clues will lead you on your way
to find 9 gifts around our place
and put a smile on your face

Happy 9th Birthday, Tristen!!!

Our family has four of these
You have the smallest one
It's basket is the place to look
To start the birthday fun.

You'll find your next gift in a bed
Where you wouldn't want to sleep
How will you know what bed it is?
It's METAL, RED, and DEEP.

This one really stumped her. She used a family shout out and asked Tally for help. Tally helped her figure it out. She needed to figure out that the bed was the truck bed.


It's icy cold inside of here
Your words might freeze if you shout.
When you look inside of me
Don't let the penguins out!I always tell the girls to shut the fridge or freezer door otherwise they will let all the penguins out. Just something goofy I say, but she knew that this meant the freezer.


There's a big black cave that's made of steel
where a stranger leaves us things.
Open the door to see inside...
what did your birthday bring?
Here is Tissy reading her birthday cards from family that is scattered all over the country.

Rabbit ears will point the way
but NOT the ears on Clover
The V they make points to a place
That the ears are watching over.

This one was hard for her too, but she figured it out without any help. Since we haven't hooked up any TV, we have been using an antenna so the girls can watch a bit of PBS at lunch time.

Sit on the phone book while you eat
and get a drink of water
Underneath is where you'll find
another gift, our daughter

This one took her to Clover's cage (where she like to sit on top of an old phone book and scratch and nibble)

Flip a switch to start the flame
Then sit and raise your feet
Now that you've raised your piggys up
Look underneath your seat

Now this clue also stumped Tissy. She decided to use her mobile shout out and call Grammy for help. Good thing Grammy could help her figure out that she had to sit on the couch before she put her feet up.Climb to the top, then drop & flop
The way you do each day.
4 BROWN doors will look at you
The bottom 2 guide the way.
This took her to the bonus room (at the top of the stairs above the garage where they flop on the bean bag chairs).


Now look around and you will see
2 teeny tiny doors.
One is empty, one is not
to look, get down on all fours.
That was the end of the treasure hunt. It was really fun to watch her figure out the clues and find her gifts. Then Tally gave her a gift that was the hit of the gifts (calico critters). Tissy was thrilled with it.Then we went to our favorite lunch...Japanese steakhouse. We all love this food and of course love to watch the show of cooking at the table. We have discovered they have a lunch price which makes it more affordable.



It was a great day and loads of fun. Tristen is such a sweet spirited girl and we are so blessed to have her as part of our family. I am enjoying her determination and the drive that she has. It is a joy to watch becoming such a lovely young lady. Happy Birthday to our sweet little "pinkie".