The Store

My husband co-owns a triathlon store here in town. My mom and I recently went on a "decorating binge" and painted it, added some signs. etc.





Don't know why the pics are all grainy, but it's truly beautiful inside! Check it out! lvmultisport.com

Who is teaching your kids

 This is a really great article from the Thoughts on Parenting Blog
 called "Who is Teaching Your Kids?"

Sometimes I'm a little impatient when I play sports with my kids. They're 5 and 3, so they can't really do anything yet. Selfishly, it's not much fun to play soccer, baseball, or Frisbee when there are that many drops, misses, and wild throws. I actually caught myself yesterday wishing that someone ELSE could teach my daughter how to play Frisbee so I wouldn't have to.

Then she caught one.

And there it was. After a few more tries, a perfect throw. Then another catch. We were playing Frisbee, and she was thrilled to be mastering a new skill. I was proud and happy for her, and that's why I really, truly, want to be the one to teach her so many things.

So I started thinking, "what else do we ask others to teach our kids?" Would I be willing to let someone else (for free or a fee) teach my kids...
...to hit a tennis ball?
...to ski?
...to play soccer?
...to ride a bike?
...to tie their shoes?
...to tell time?
...to cook?

Of course, we often pay others to teach them some things that we can't do ourselves. For example, I would have to pay someone else to teach my kids...
...to play piano.
...to play violin.
...to draw.
...to dance.

Then there is the academic side of things. Do I really need someone else to teach them...
...to read?
...to write?
...to count?
...to add and subtract?
...to read a map?
...to understand the natural world?

Then I realized that most children who attend school are learning from someone other than their parent(s) how to...
...resolve conflict.
...communicate effectively.
...solve problems.
...make decisions.
...relate to others (adults and children).
...show empathy and compassion (or not).
...be kind and generous (or not).
Not to mention developing their entire world-view under someone else's watch.

Of course, we don't live in an ideal world, and many parents have to work full-time to make ends meet, so their kids have to go somewhere (like school). I also know that there will be times when I need others to teach my kids complex subjects I know nothing about (like calculus). I just wonder how many of us actually think about what we're trading when we send our 6-year-old children to someone else for 6, 7, or even 8 hours a day.

Raising children (or, as some would call it, raising adults) is the most important job I have ever had, but nobody pays me for it. I put in my time, energy, sweat, blood, and tears, and no one will see any results until my kids are grown. I don't know about you, but if they make it -- that is, if they become successful, well-adjusted, intelligent leaders in the world -- I want some credit for their success, even though it means risking the blame for their failures. Besides, I have a hunch that teaching my kids to read will be even more fulfilling than teaching them to catch a frisbee!

Food for thought huh? Pass it on!

What were we doing while treehouse was being built?!

Over the summer, while my parents were in town, my dad built Elias a treehouse. Mom and I were "busy" keeping the kids occupied. Aka swimming.....

Baby in Daddy's Hat

Someone always plays with hats.....

Here he is in Daddy's hat

Caterpillar Drama

You may remember our death experience with our recent caterpillar experiment....well, we got to try again....in a BIG way.

We have a big side garden, and there's a bed of grapes....one day a friend was over and happened to notice like 20 caterpillars on the back of a leaf! Weird....didn't think much about it...we must have been busy because I really didn't think about it for awhile...maybe a week or so.....(big mistake!!)

The next time we went to look at them, there were not so many clustered...and I though, cool, they're dying or going away (nope). Came in and started researching what they could be.

Meanwhile I decide...hey, this is a cool free experiment for everyone..I'll put a bunch in a cup and give them away! Yeah, no buying mulberry leaves, etc, we'll just give away the leaves that are already damaged. So, I offered them up to local homeschoolers....figuring I'd let them come get some in the next 3 or 4 days and then I'd kill them off over the weekend (another bad bad idea....)

Well, I did give many away (if you have some, kill them after you watch the metamorphis...they are nasty nasty procreating buggers!!!)

It was while gathering them that we realized just how many we had....and how many had already become moths, and how many more eggs were laying around. Ohmy....but still I waited till the weekend to kill them!

Anyway...turns out they are Grape Leaf Skeletonizers (AKA Harrisina Americana). Beautiful caterpillars and even more beautiful as moths. If they just didn't lay eggs they'd be perfect! Or eat my grapes......

So, we researched organic killers and found a great one...BT...bactillus thuringiensis....it is a bacteria that does not affect humans but kills these little buggers. I felt bad...but I had saved as many as I could....

Now every day I am out there swatting the moths with a toy shovel, clipping off leaves with eggs and dipping them in boiling water...and trying to get rid of these pests/educational opportunities. (They are weighing heavier in the pest category lately....)

But we did get to see eggs, caterpillar, moth stages...and loved doing so!! See, we can even turn pests into learning!

To spray...add liquid BT with water and some vege oil...it helps coat the leaves and stay!

Granny's Old House

Today we drove past Granny's old house in Titusville. Wowsers! It went from 1 story to 2 story!

Dang! I want to knock on the door and ask if we can see the inside! I can't even imagine it all updated and redone!

Big Brother

Elias LOVES being a big brother. He loves Sebastian, he loves modeling correct speech and behavior (most of the time) and he just loves spending time with him. Recently he found the tshirt I had bought for him to wear when Sebastian was born. 3 years ago! And put it on! And kept wearing it! I might have to buy a bigger sized one!


I am so blessed.

My sister and Sebastian

My sister Marian with Sebastian. She loves them so much!

Toddlers and Gum

Here's another, "What's wrong with this picture?"

Sebastian was NEVER allowed gum. I left the kids with my mom for a week while Chris and I went on vacation, and I come back to THIS! No moderation in babies! ACHH!! Well, at least now he's getting, "No gum in the pool" and "spit it out".

Losing the hair

My stepson Forrest came over the summer.  Poor boy doesn't like combing his hair...but wants it long.  That doesn't work for us! Here's the Before.....
 
Here's the After......
 
Here's the small animal that was left behind!


And, after a week or so, his forehead really cleared up. What an improvement!

Boulder City Train

About 45 minutes away we have an old train that you can ride. It takes you about 7 miles out, then turns around and comes back. It's fun! They let you walk in between the cars, and some are open cars that let the breeze through. Sometimes they do seasonal things such as The Santa Train. But this last time we went, it was just a field trip to learn about the train and it's role in history.

Here's Elias and Zanthippie (our neighbor)and Sebastian...showing off their tickets

 

Sebastian was a big boy and handed his ticket to the ticketmaster  (after a little struggle!)


Hanging out the window (get your head back inside!)






Walking in between cars


Group picture at the end
 
Wave to the engineer!


It was a fun day!

Elias and Cassidy

Elias has been friends with Cassidy since she was born.  We don't get to see her a whole lot these days, but she came over one day to play and Elias wanted to take her swimming. However, she didn't have her bathing suit with her.

To an 8 yr old, thi is NO PROBLEM! "Mom, I have an extra one, remember my cars one?!?!?!?"

He has no clue he's a boy, she's a girl and that means different kinds of bathing suits.  I tried explaining for about a minute...but they were both so excited that I gave in.

I gathered up the bathing suits, and a shirt for Cassidy and handed them out.  "Mom, she doesn't need a shirt! I'm not wearing a shirt...she just needs the bathing suitttttttttt"  Oh. no, I didn't expect that one!!!

It all worked out, but was such a  cute story I had to share!






Such innocent children, such innocent fun.....wish it could stay this way forever!

Mice

Well, a trip to the Pet store, which my husband warned against, resulted in exactly his fear...more animals. But at least they are teeny animals...and very cute!

I grew up with mice. We had so many it got out of hand. But I loved them so much! So, when Elias wanted some at the petstore, how could I refuse?



Petsmart tells me all their animals are girls....that was the deciding factor. I sure didn't want to end up with 200 mice! Aren't they adorable? They are named Rosalina and Jackson. Thank you Disney Channel.

In this shot you may not be able to tell, but I was very worried....when this mouse was hanging upside down in her new home, I wasn't too sure she was a she.


It's been a couple of months now, and there are no babies, so either she's a he, and so is the other one, or Petsmart was right and they are both female. Regardless, there are no babies, and they are still adorable!

Mini Mexican Soccer Player

While we were in Mexico, we bought the boys some soccer Jerseys. Dad got a bunch too! Here's Sebastian's




It's a great conversation starter too!

Whats Wrong With This Picture?

Right about now, the men are stumped, the kids are like, "What, what's wrong? I hung them up!" and the moms are going
1) where's the missing bottom rack towel? And is that really folded nicely?
2) WHY is a tag showing on the top rack?!?

Can you tell I have lots of little people who wipe hands, lose towels to the floor and sometimes do and sometimes don't, put them back up? 

Oh, the joys of motherhood! Guess I better enjoy it before I end up with perfect towels all the time, and no children making messes.

Magic Show

I have so much STUFF available for the kids to play with, learn from etc, and it's easily accessible to them. On this day, Elias had his friends Connor and Chase over. They decided to do some Magic Shows. We have 2 or 3 different magic kits. It kept them busy for quite awhile!  And, Elias is at that super cute age where they think you're really amazed!