Seven Quick Takes

I.

Yesterday, our homeschool co-op shirked all education responsibility and capitalized on this fantastic weather we've been having.  We canceled our regular classes and met at Happy Hollow Park instead.  The kids had a wonderful time romping with friends in the sunshine!  Bella insisted that the name of said park is "Happy Halloween Park".  She's such a goofball!

II.
Tonight is the Pinewood Derby!  I have a couple of very excited boys, ready to race.  I am pretty sure victories aren't in our future, since they care way more about appearance than speed!  PeterXavier made his look like a mouse, complete with wavy tail and Christopher's is a stylin' silver with gold stripes.

III.
Bella's been on a roll lately with saying silly things.  Last night we had a impromptu visit with friends down the street and her friend Helen was running around without a shirt on.  (Oh happy 80* weather in March!).  Later, Bella commented on her shirtlessness saying, "I bet Helen wanted to wear shirt, but it was probably in the wash-ish-a-sheen."  I'm not sure which is funnier - her pronunciation of washing machine or her assumption that Helen only has one shirt!

IV.

Grace, many moons ago!

Grace is very excited to have been invited to her very first over night at a friends house this weekend!  I can't believe she's ready and willing, as she is usually so shy.  I've been happy to see both her and Christopher grow to be so independent and confident.  When they were both really small (and my only kiddos), I caught a great deal of flack for indulging their attachment to me and not letting them "cry it out" either at night or to be left with other adults.  It's nice to see the all the Attachment Parenting talk that attached young children grow to be more independent bigger children might actually be true!

V.
On that same note, it's interesting that when you have more kids than the average joe, people stop giving you unsolicited parenting advise.  (They may give you other unsolicited advise, but let's just take what we can get here!)

VI.

Last night, we were driving around and passed a McDonald's with a playplace.  Bella commented on how fun it looked.  This set Grace off on a tangent about the horrors of McD food.  I was cracking up in the front seat as she described nuggets as "crushed bones, food coloring, and poison!"  Once she stepped down from her little soapbox, PX piped up "Well it tastes good to me!!"

VII.

My main agenda today is to knit an insane number of wool eggs.  I am participating in an Easter craft swap, hosted over at This Cosy Life.  I am a bit behind and more than a bit intimidated by the craftiness of the other ladies!  Yikes!  I'll share my finished product before I ship them out.

Happy Weekending!  For more quick takes, visit Jen.

Children, Children Everywhere

My brother and his family are visiting this weekend.  Ben has four girls, which brings the total number of children to nine.  This is a large number in and of itself, but add to that the fact that the oldest child is only nine and you have yourself a veritable circus!  (The exact breakdown, for the overly curious, is 9,9,8,6,5,4,3,1.5,1)

Thankfully, God has blessed us with warm weather and sunshine, so the kids have spent a good deal of time outside.  The other wonderful aspect of this little adventure is that the kids get along marvelously!

 .

Even the two youngest, Avila and Ronia, get along!  They love playing in the sink together.

There was a time when Grace and Angelica didn't get along at all.  But now, they love each other and spent hours turning the jungle gym into a magical fairy house.

Track Meet

The kids took part in a track meet this weekend with the Purdue Track Club.  They had a great time and all did very well.  Even Bella got to run the hurdles, although even the tiny ones were too high for her to jump!  She would run up to it, stop, step over, and then take off running again!

Christopher joyfully leaped over each hurdle, while Grace plowed through with gritted determination.

The most exciting part of the day was when BOTH boys took blue ribbons in their class for the "TurboJav", which was like throwing the javelin.  PeterXavier almost took off my head with his powerful shot!  But when he got first place for it, I forgave him!

Hey Girl (playing along)

Too funny not to play along!  Check out many more here.  They're fantastically funny!

Chef PX

PeterXavier has a love for all things kitchen related.  Be it eating the food or making it.  Lately, he has been making the other kids lunch a few times a week.  The other day, he even brought me a quesadilla!  

He was quite proud of the lovely yolk in this egg.

The girls are enjoying eating his little masterpieces!

Winner!!

The giveaway winner is . . . .

Alison!  

 Alison Troyer Price said...

Sarah, I liked That's a Wrap on FB

Thanks for playing, everyone!  

Seven Quick Takes

I

Not long ago, my sister wrote about savoring the quiet days at home with her little girls.  I absolutely know what she's talking about.  Except I'm half way on the other side.  I swear I used to have a nine year old boy around here, but I am starting to forget what he looks like . . . . yep, life gets busy.

II.

It's ill-advised to promise your kids a yummy treat without first checking to be certain your pantry holds all of the needed ingredients.  But necessity is the mother of invention, right?  Did you know that you can make make powdered sugar in your coffee grinder?  Yeppers.  Just grind up your regular sugar and add a bit of cornstarch.  Not quiet the really thing, but it will do in a pinch!

III.

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IV

Quick Take Three, courtesy of Avila.  She's into everything these days.  And talking a bit.  She says "'Ol' me! 'ol' me!" and makes this weird milking-a-cow gesture at me when she wants to nurse.

It's not doing much for my self-image.

 Double-fisted chocolate delight.

V.

I had a revelation the other day as to why PeterXavier is still not reading.  He's only 5 1/2, so I am certainly not concerned.  It's just that he so wants to be able.  Then I realized that the basic premise of reading is learning, applying, and following rules.  Well, shoot.  He may never learn!  "Rule Following" isn't in his make up.  I may have to take a different approach with this one!

(Sort of like his Uncle John who, in this picture, is wearing a cowl on his head!)

IV.

I'm hosting a giveaway!  Don't forget to enter to win!  It's easy and fun and the gloves are darn cute :)

VII.

Seven's a big number . . . .I'm fresh out of ideas.

Go visit Jen for more quick takes!