Lifelines

Ah, my girl, my princess is getting older. Certainly, she has a birthday looming large but it’s the subtle ways that grip my heart the most.

I’m alternately thrilled and sometimes just a wee bit saddened as I watch her babyhood slip into something a bit more grown. Thrilled because the changes that come bring me a charming little girl…hilarious and goofy, smart as a whip, loving and kind. She can be so shy sometimes but I like to look at that as a compliment to her security here at home. We know her as this crazy, rambunctious, little elf and when she’s comfortable, she’ll let you see that, too. She holds this piece of her close, sharing only with a select few, but when you’re in her “circle of trust”, it’s a no-holds-barred fun time.

And my God, is she full of personality! She runs this house, little old her, she really does. She’s as sweet as can be with Creux and can be positively devilish with Rhyse. Or as ornery as Rhyse, depending on her day. Sometimes they are the tag team from hell.

Greer’s got a strong idea of who should do what for her in a day. Me, I’m her personal slave and she likes it that way. She’s always had a strong preference for Mama, always, always, and this is one of the many constants about her. Especially when it comes to bedtime, she wants me bathing her, brushing those sweet teeth, reading her stories, tucking her in. Even if Charlie gets her completely ready, she will wait for me to come in and say good night and turn off her light. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes I’ve gotten there too late and she’s asleep before I tuck her in. I hate those nights.

A stickler for routines, this girl is! We’ll go to the library and bring home a basketful of books. And do you know how many we’ll read? About three in total. But there’s always one special one, a book that I literally read a million times over the course of three weeks. I read it so much, in fact, that she memorizes verbatim what the print says. And I’m not talking about Goodnight Moon, either. I’m talking about regular children’s books, the kind that take a few long minutes to read. The kind that by week three I have to go to a happy place in my mind to ease the pain of reading that damn book one more agonizing time. And then, I’ll read it but I’ll stop every few sentences and she will “read” the rest to me. Line for line. I know other kids do this, too, it’s a running parenthood joke, reading the same story over and over and over. But I’ve never had this happen before, the boys just never latched on to things the way she does. And I find it incredibly…incredible.

Another big difference I’ve really noticed has been her blossoming fantasy world. She can sit and play alone for a good chunk of time, talking to herself or whichever invisible friend might be lunching with her that day. She picks up little things here and there, “Cheers!” or (this one I’m still trying to figure out since it’s really new) “Let’s celebrate!” said with a high-five. ?? Dunno, myself. But it will come to me with amazing clarity soon, something someone around here will do a variation of it and I’ll go…”ahhh, that’s what she means!”

She’s almost completely potty-trained now, though not through the night. And we just, like two days ago, issued a ban on her small pot. I simply could not stand another day of cleaning it out. When she first trained, she was so tiny (she’s tiny by nature) and she felt really uncomfortable on our big toilet. We tried many seats but she liked her own, just-her-size one. She’d sit there, grab a Pottery Barn Kids catalog or Family Handyman,(depending on whether she felt like shopping for rugs or building a shed) and do her business. But then, I’d have to clean it up. A few times, the dog beat me to it (”Turd Burglar”) and then I’d be chasing her away from the kids all afternoon, horrified at what remnants might be left on her tongue. Dare she lick my baby after a poop consumption! But finally, after too many times of absolutely gagging while dumping the contents of her bowl into the big potty, I had had enough.

“Do you love me lots and lots?” I asked her.

“Oh yes, Mommy,” she replied.

“Well, if you love me lots and lots then you will never, ever rest your tiny but mighty tush on that baby potty again.”

Or something like that. :) The end result has been the same. She uses the big girl, FLUSHABLE toilet. Amen, sister.

A few things about Greer that you might not know:

She love tomatoes. She ate an entire container today for a snack. Hoping like hell that E.Coli has worked its way out of the tomato plants. In a large amount of trouble, if not.

She makes me do one thing in her room before I am allowed to leave for naptime or bedtime. A book removed, something picked up off the floor, something, anything. I rub her back, tuck her in, walk to the door, pause…”Mommy? Take dis book away, can go back to the libwary.” It used to make me crazy, until I realized that the little control freak (admitting here that I know which parent she inherited this lovely trait from and it ain’t her Daddy) in her just needs me to do one thing. If I smile and do it, she’ll go to sleep. If I refuse, she will have the mother of all meltdowns. Shrug. This is not the war for me to wage. At this point, I’m rather intrigued at what her request will be. Sometimes I see her looking wildly about the room for something out of place, any little thing. Sometimes I make sure it’s extra clean just to see what she’ll come up with. Ah, but there are always books on her bookshelf that “need” to be removed to Creux’s room. Little stinker.

When she gets in the car, she has to get in the same door as everyone else (on the passenger side) even though her seat is on the driver’s side, requiring her to step over Creux. I have no clue why it has to be done this way but I am through trying to convince her to just get in on the other side.

Her favorite color is pink. You probably knew that already. If not, you might be blind. :)

She’s our dancing queen, she has an infectious giggle, she’s bossy and opinionated, she likes to be tickled, she adores “her boys” ,and she spends quite a lot of time watching herself talk and laugh in the mirror.

Most importantly though, know this: we couldn’t love her more and she has added so much to this family. I am so thankful for my daughter, my little shadow, she who brightens my every day and I’m having the time of my life being her Mommy.

Here she is, in rare form the other night, goofing off for Charlie and I. Silly little fairy princess…

Have you heard about Etsy? It’s a shopper’s paradise for all things handmade. And I am hooked!

Though not as hooked as my bow-making friend, Jen, who has passed on her love for this website to me. She makes and sells her lovely bows on etsy and when we email, I sometimes browse her “Favorites”, using the link to her site. Because she has superb taste and because I am low on free-browsing time (damn blog!), I peruse her selections and have begun shopping accordingly.

This has proved dangerous because I just can’t get enough of all the adorable personalized gifts-for-my-babies that etsy (and Jen’s Favorites) offers! Plus, I know what goes into these homemade-style, made-with-love trinkets because I’ve watched Jen over the past few years take her bows from a hobby to a downright smokin’ little business! I like the idea of supporting those who are, in many cases, moms with a little creative passion finding an outlet. Plus, these things are unique and cool and positively begging me to buy them. :)

I bought this cute tshirt for Greer to wear for her upcoming birthday celebrations. I knew she’d enjoy the big number “3″ (she’s very excited and asks me every day…”Am I three yet?”) and the hardest part about the whole purchase was…which style do I choose? This came from littlecupcakesco and I picked “Disco Dots” for my lovely little lady. It came within about three days, wrapped so cutely, and is now hanging in the closet, awaiting Greer’s big day (which is the 13th of July but since we will be on vacation at that time, we will be celebrating on the 4th with our family…rough life, this kid has, celebrating her real birthday seaside!).

Below is what I found in Greer’s party favor bag from Margot’s get-together…our new favorite bow! Greer loves that it has a “G” on it, knows it stands for her name, and calls it “my Greerie bow”. Adorable!! (And can be found on Etsy at pinkpolkadotsbows.)

More to come, for sure!

We’ve got birthday fever around these parts and today, it was my turn. I’m still 31 actually, until 11:44pm. Hey, every minute counts… :)

For my birthday, we deliberated between Kings Island and…well, Kings Island. This is what I really wanted to do but today, my actual day of birth, was a Sunday and we don’t do mega-tourist attractions on weekends. Being homeschoolers, crowds are our worst enemies. We’re a spoiled bunch who enjoy things like libraries and parks and zoos and vacations when the rest of the world schools.

BUT, we almost broke this rule because I really did want to go and my mom, Brit, and Stew were all planning to come, too. In the end, we stayed the course and decided Kings Island would be better mid-week sometime…so I picked an alternate activity.

We spent the day out at The Wilds, one of the largest conservation centers in the world. Here you board shuttle buses and drive through open-range areas to visit many rare and endangered animals in a natural habitat (about 10,000 acres!). The tour guides drive the buses and spew out all kinds of good animal info, are indulgent about stopping so you can take 27 different shots of a rhino’s arse (MOM!), and there are drop-off points where you can get out and wander a bit. Our kids loved the Lake Trail where we fed some gargantuan fish and lovely swans. Me, I was a nervous wreck due to Rhyse hanging over the railing the whole time. I thought for sure he was going to be the fish food.

My camera died shortly after we got there (argh) so I don’t have many (uh, any) neat animal photos which ended up being fine because really, I only feel shorted by the camel and some wild horses. Oh, and a massive rhino. Would’ve loved to show that one off, he was very impressively large and muddy.

But I did manage to capture some good photos of us, wild and exotic us, out for a day of family fun. :)

Thanks to my family for joining in and to Charlie for making my 32nd birthday extra sweet.

Thankfully, the rain held off so Greer’s friend, Margot, could have her little birthday party this afternoon.

Margot is the daughter of the Jenny who is my old friend (14 years!), my sorority sister, my once-upon-a-time bunkmate. :) One of my very favorite people in the world world, this Jenny is. Maker of deliciously cute bows (now being sold at all Cookie Cutter hair salons!) and mommy to Margot and a new baby boy expected to make his debut in August.

Margot and Greer are womb-mates :), both Jenny and I finding ourselves pregnant and due within two weeks of one another. Our pregnancies linked us closer and once we had the girls, we began seeing each other monthly.

Fond memories I have, Jenny coming over with baby Margot to “play” and both of those little girls who had about two hairs on their head, adorned with tiny, pretty bows. (Jen and I used those two hairs wisely!)

Greer and Margot have grown up together…Jen and I try and place them in classes together up at the rec center when we can and they spent a year dancin’ the days away up at Straub.

Yearly, we attend Margot’s birthday party and always have such a wonderful time. Jenny comes from an amazingly sweet assembly of family…I always love talking to her mom, her sister, and her mother-in-law. (I love it so much, in fact, that I completely neglect my infant who takes advantage of my lack of attention to help Jen redecorate. (So sorry again!)) Margot is so lucky to be loved by so many wonderful people, all who show up to watch her enjoy her special day.

Under threatening skies, party plans changed from tshirt tie-dye fun to just…fun! And my gang so enjoyed themselves…as the state of Margot’s playroom will prove. (Damn! Sorry about that, too!) Typically children’s birthday parties are overwhelming and we leave frazzled with the kids hyped up on sugar. But this was the perfect gathering as far as we were concerned. Intimate… it seemed close family and friends only, and slow-paced, down-right relaxing. It was wonderful to just sit back and enjoy Margot’s day with those who love her the most.

Three years ago, Jenny received the best gift ever on her own birthday when she delivered her daughter so it’s with lots of love that I say…Happy Birthday to you, two! Thanks for inviting us to share in your day, we had a grand time, and hope that it’s the start to a wonderful new year for you both.

To be quite honest, it sounds less like music and more like a dog’s tags clinking together but how I do love this windchime Rhyse made at art camp! It took me a few days to stop looking around for the wandering pup I was sure that was in my yard but now I know it’s just Rhyse’s sweet chimes. :)

Lately with all these storms blowing in, I’ve been outside and have had the opportunity to really enjoy his handiwork. And you know he just loves having all his garden arts on display. A birdbath, a stepping stone, windchimes…welcome to the House Of Rhyse!

I have many cool art things to post but here’s what I had handy:

The shot of below is Chas’s bookshelf in the schooling room. (Rhyse has one also, on the other side of my work table.) Through the years, he’s made everything displayed there and gobs more but most recently the red splatter paint paper-mache piggie. This room will be painted soon (I hope…it’s close to the top of my never-ending list of Things I Would Like Done Sooner Than Later). I suppose I’m setting a goal of by the end of summer so this schooling room can be nice and cheery and finished before it’s time to hunker down and do some learning. (And then hopefully my mind won’t drift into what shade of orange would look warmest in here while I should be focusing on pesky algebra formulas.)

The last photo is how I’ve kept their artwork for this past year. It’s a combination of both boys paintings and drawings and it’s been fun to tack new pictures up all year long. Chas has many really nice paintings on canvas that I would like to frame and eventually put up but we’ve all enjoyed this revolving mural of sorts that they’ve made!

It’s been so busy around here that I’m playing Blog Catch-Up! So here’s a few words about how we celebrated our Daddy on Father’s Day.

We held true (almost) to our No Gifts policy (a much-needed indoor grill was purchased and given but trust me when I say, this was a gift for the family cuz we all benefit when he has a good cooker in his arsenal!) and spent a relaxing morning in, under gray cloudy skies. We had planned to see the new movie at COSI but it would have required hustling and who wants to hustle on Father’s Day? (Not us!)

We’d been tossing around the idea of a day-trip to Amish country and by lunchtime, the sky had cleared and it suddenly became a day worthy of a family outing!

Charlie had, at some point during work travels, stumbled upon Lehman’s (a “general store”) out in Kidron and he’d often raved about it, wanting us all to see it, thinking it was a really neat place. So we loaded the car, piled the munchkins in, and hit the open road.

We couldn’t have picked a prettier day to be out…way out… in farmland. It was positively gorgeous, a picture perfect afternoon and truly much more quaint as soon as we started seeing those black buggies loaded with Amish families.

Such a wonder they are to me, I am fascinated and in awe of this little sub-culture of peaceful people. They were out in full force…on the roads we passed buggies full of sweet families, with little ones crammed between mom and dad. We oogled their very well-tended yards and homes (laundry drying out on the line, tidy little gardens out back) and I was surprised at how much their homes really resembled ours! I suppose I tend to think of them as somewhat primitive but you couldn’t tell from the outside, anyway. Yeah, they all had barns and many had farms but for the most part, it could have just been Mayberry.

As we drove past, there was one particular place where there were many women sitting out front in a circle, and playing inside the circle were a number of little children romping about while the men were out playing basketball. So neighborly, all out together. It was refreshing to see and damn if I didn’t want to stop and join right in! (Though would have run for my car when they mentioned butchering the chicken for dinner. Ha! Who am I kidding, I wouldn’t last a day out there but it’s fun to daydream.)

Charlie and I were probably driving the kids crazy with our repeated, “It’s SO gorgeous out here!” Even I was getting tired of saying it over and over but really, it was!

We did make it to Lehman’s and spent a good hour or two wandering around inside the store. It was very neat and the kids loved the toy section (lots of good woodens in there!) so that’s where we spent the bulk of our time (and money). It’s a very unique place if you ever find yourself with a day to kill and don’t mind wasting a tank of very painfully over-priced gasoline. :)

It would have been lovely to wander around Berlin for awhile, in all the touristy shops (in defense of those, I purchased a lovely quilt up there a few years back and don’t regret it, everybody’s got to make a living, right?) but we’d run out of time. Most places closed at 5:00pm so we stopped for dinner in the area and then had a fantastic, just-as-beautiful, sunset drive home.

I have no pictures of the sights we saw because the Amish don’t like to be photographed and while I could have easily gotten a few “harmless” ones off, I didn’t want to be an ass. :) Suffice it to say, they only add to the beauty of the scenery out there.

These photos are of Chas and Greer playing around together at dinner and of Charlie cradling his new son on their first Father’s Day together.

One of the best days we’ve enjoyed lately, this one ranks high on our List Of Favorites!

I have no idea what transpired during dinner last night but Creux stuffed himself silly and then he lost his mind.

Charlie and I were sitting at the table after our meal, just talking, gathering the strength and energy to tackle cleanup and bedtimes. And we look over and see Creux crammed up inside one of the cabinets, big mitts wrapped around a vinegar bottle from waaaaaay in the back. The photo I captured is not nearly as good as his first attempt, when he truly was inside the cabinet with only his chubby little legs hanging out.

From there, he was unstoppable…like a little wind-up toy on crack! He crawled around under the table, checking out his leftover dump-offs and paused to untie Daddy’s shoe. He went though the little tunnel our console table forms (Only if you’re under two, that is, is it a fun tunnel. For those of us well over the age of 2, it’s known as That Pain In The Ass Place That’s Hard To Clean) into the family room. Turned around, came back, immediately shoved impressively large head under yet another small table. Followed dog around for a bit before heading for and scaling THE STAIRS! (See next post for a ridiculously good time at the Martin household! :))

Continued craziness from previous post:

So he blazed a trail thoughout the downstairs with all of us giggling and following hot on his heels. The kids are all just nutty by the point so we (try to) shuttle them off for jammies while we (try to) regain control of things. Ah, but when we said, “Go get your pj’s on!” all four of them listened.

We heard the pounding of three sets of feet on the stairs and then the thud, thud, thud of Creux’s massive paws (seriously, check out his hands the next time you see him, they’re like baseball mitts!) right behind them. So I shag him, see him playing at the foot of the stairs, and decide to indulge him a bit. But then, he hikes one of those little legs up, hoists it onto the next step, and just takes off! I couldn’t believe it, it was like he’d been climbing for ages. He just automatically seemed to know how to maneuver his body right up those stairs!

Naturally, I called for Charlie, my camera, and the kids. :)

One of my most favorite things about this family is that no matter what you’re doing…whether it’s something big like a scoring a goal at a soccer match or reading aloud from new, harder book or something small like pooping in the potty for the first time :) or newly climbing the stairs…we come in droves to cheer you on.

So Creux’s got Charlie and me behind him, (I’m encouraging him while snapping these photos) with Charlie playing safety net, and the kids hollering like crazy at him from above. Creux was out of his mind gleeful! Every few steps, he’d fall back and Charlie would catch him and oh, that was just oodles of good, scary fun. Then he’d get right back on his climb and methodically, stair by stair, he made his way to the top. At some point, I moved from my position behind him to above with the kids but I kept getting shoved out of the way so these were the best photos I could manage without sustaining grievous bodily harm from Creux’s Cheer Squad. :)

The last ones are of Charlie playing “Caged Monster” to Greer’s “Damsel In Distress”.

Good times around here, good times…

Since I’m still nursing quite frequently, I’m rather forced to sit and relax a few times a day and so I scoot into my bed and…read! Most times, Greer steals what I think will be “my” time by dragging in her book basket and wanting me to read to her or just wanting to chat. She likes to chat. (A lot).

Anyway, I thought I’d pass on a few of my recent favorites since it’s summer and who knows, maybe you’ll have two seconds to sit on the beach or at the pool and read. (I believe this is called “heaven”. :))

One that I just could not put down was Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. It takes place in Amish country (a place that I have a probably not-so-healthy fascination with…barn raising, anyone?) where an young unmarried Amish girl secretly gives birth in her family barn, falls asleep and wakes up with empty arms. A dead infant is later found under some blankets and the book centers around her guilt or innocence and the trial that follows. It was a terrific read and kept me guessing right up until the end. Loved it.

Rhyse and I really enjoyed More Parts by Tedd Arnold. It’s a great little book that’s all about a young boy’s understanding (or not) of those “play on words” we all like to use. His dad would say, “You crack me up!” and the boy would envision his dad literally cracking into pieces. We had a lot of fun with this one and I realized how confusing our language really must be for little learners! Our slang is really…odd and hard to explain but this book does a good job of poking fun in a “hey, it’s confusing to him, too!” kind of way.

Who Are You, Baby Kangaroo? was a cute introduction for Greer to many different baby animal names. A little puppy dog wants to know what the baby kangaroo’s name is (joey) and in rhyme-y form he asks other baby animals if they know. (”Cygnet, cygnet, can you give me a clue? Can you tell me the name of the Baby Kangaroo?”) (I know this by heart, by the way.) And the cygnet (or baby swam, for those of you who could learn a thing or two from this children’s book :)) sends him to someone else until finally they reach Kanga’s mommy. Sweet, educational and quick, which is important to me on late night storytimes. :)

Happy Reading! And I’m always looking for something good to add to my book bin if you have one to pass along. I have some good ones lined up for our beach vacation but realistically, I probably will do nothing else but attempt to prevent Creux from eating sand sandwiches. ;)

When we had Chas, we knew we’d have others…and a lot of them. :) This big-ish family was always the plan. We’re good for it, we enjoy the chaos and (duh) just love them crazy.

But I never realized what a gift these siblings would all be to one another.

I don’t come from a big family, mine’s rather been broken and pieced back together here and there, some parts more successfully repaired than others. I have no contact with my father, I have several half-sisters with whom I have no relationship…one I do have minimal contact with but wish I knew better and two who are complete and total strangers to me..these are on my father’s side. I was raised by my mom, it was just the two of us until I was about Chas’s age and then she remarried and had my adorable baby sister when I was in middle school.

Charlie comes from a much different family, he being the last of six. I would guess that his older brothers were probably the same way with him and his sister (who are both a considerable bit younger than the first four boys that his parents had) as Chas is with his younger siblings. I know I was delighted also when, at 12, I had a new baby sister to love on and now, as she grows up, I feel as though I have a new friend.

Chas is a sweet, sweet boy and it always tickles me how much he enjoys the Littles. He charms Greer to no end, indulges her in her little fantasy world and takes time out to teach her something, put her helmet on for her, help her get dressed. And with Creux, oh, he’s just melts my heart. He can’t walk into the same room as him without stopping for some kisses or a bit of rough loving. It’s in some of these moments that I realize how grown he seems, able to appreciate some of Creux’s babyness in the same manner Charlie and I do, almost in proud parent-like fashion. He’s fiercely protective of his siblings, watchful and patient, too. But most of all, loving.

He leads this family of little people, the proverbial “big brother” and we couldn’t be any prouder of him. It’s just naturally beautiful, how this family grows and blends together and I’m so thankful that they all have each other.

I took these from a distance at the pool the other day while Rhyse was at his swim lesson. Chas caught my attention when he walked up to Greer and I happened to snap that sweet shot of them. Then he took Creux from me and laid down to play with him and I was alternately laughing at their antics (Creux nearly ripping off Chas’s lip!) and near tears at the display of joy and love between them. It was a true feast for my mother’s eyes, seeing my oldest so clearly infatuated with my youngest and how strongly and visably that sentiment was returned to him. Rhyse, Greer and Creux are wildly adoring of Chas and Chas is absolutely, without a doubt, the best, most-loving brother on the face of the planet.