When All the Siblings Are Gone...

Sawyer is the only kid at home today, and he's milking it for all it's worth. Since his siblings all got to go to a sleep-over at the Velitchcov's house, Sawyer got a few treats of his own. A few.

"Would you like to go pick out a movie and get a treat at the treat store?" I ask.

"I know," he answers, " I can get two movies, and a game, and then go see a movie at the movie place, and get a treat there. That would be a good idea!"

"What about a pony, and a trampoline, and a pool?" I add.

He just looks up with a shy smile. Little munchkin. And now he's asking for help with something he confiscated from the freezer.

"What's that?" I ask him.

"It's the ice cream I said I was going to have, remember?" he says matter-of-factly.

I Can't Wait 'Til the Next Morrow

"I miss Hunter! I want to go back to Hunter's house, when can we go?"

"Sawyer, tomorrow we're going to the Velitchcovs," informs Tristan.

"Can we go to Hunter's on the next morrow?"

I wish we could, anyone would wish they could go to Hunter's house. Imagine the funniest guy you know, whose heart is sold on making it fun for your kids in the most creative way possible. And he does this because he loves them, and because his heart is yielded to God. Did I mention that Hunter is eighteen?

On one of these next morrows we are going to save up enough money and get him out here, or go there so we can see ALL the Hays.

Milestone of Childhood

Hey Tristan, stop bothering Greyson for a minute,
and show us what happened to you today.
Show us, show us!


Your tooth! It finally came out!


Curiously, it did not make eating the bad parts of dinner any easier.
"It looks like a worm with whiskers, Mom."
Beansprouts, designed to make a kid shudder.

How Canada Does Snow

Life goes on as usual when 8 inches of snow gets dumped on you in Canada. This is because they live with snow 5 months a year so they have developed a system to deal with it. An army of snow plows awaits any onslaught, and this is the coolest thing:

A mini-snowplow to do this to the sidewalks:


You can drive on the road, you can walk on the sidewalk because it's all clear. And it only takes half of our salary in taxes to accomplish this. Unless that's being used for the "free" healthcare. In any case, only half our salary.

There was another surprising casualty from the snow last night.

This was the fort before......

.

And this is the fort after. Wah. See that sign sticking up? That is a marker for the snow removal guys. It tells them this driveway has paid for their service, a.k.a.: please come ruin our fort with your snow blower.

.

Daisy likes to tunnel her head under the drifts and toss the snow high into the air, inviting you to play. Her attitude might just be the merriest part of this whole scenario. We should all try it next time we have to think about where half of our paycheck is going.

Work

I used to think we needed to live on a farm to raise strapping young men. But they're finding enough work in the suburbs. Whether it be outside....


Or in. Sawyer never asks. He instinctively knows where the screwdrivers can be found, and the batteries. He fixes toys at will.

It's "Would You Rather" Wednesday!

Fuel efficient transportation seems to be getting a lot of attention by our new President. Would you rather our new transportation system be:

Car-Free Cake Portals, with every stop just popping-out-of-a-cake away?


OR

Blink Portals, blink and you're instantly there?

School in the Corner....

Charley and Cassie came over to visit today. They got to do school in the corner with Sawyer.
"Can I tell them a story, Mom?" he asked. He felt very important.


And for recess they got to go into Kiki's girl room and play girl games with her girl toys.


Sawyer's face can tell you how he felt about that.

We've Got It Covered

Remember the days when this was the very, very, very first thing you did when you jumped out of bed in the morning?


Boxes are always good for a whole host of kidlife doings. They've been cars, spaceships, and in this case: places to hide from BadGuys.


A hiding place from BadGuys is a priority on a kid's list.


Tristan was SO happy he found just the right size box to camouflage himself in.


You can see the fleeting happiness as the thought dawns on him, that being in a box, he was protected from BadGuys, but now at the mercy of his little brother.


It was instinct. Sawyer rarely has this keen advantage.

Bet My Day Was More Interesting Than Yours.....

Sort laundry, pick up bread, get fingerprinted.

Have you ever been able to cross that off your list?

New Use For Cats:

If they'd just stay put, cats would make great mufflers for little kids. We'll have a high of-5 or -21 today. How's it look where you are?

"Mom, it's not even that cold outside, I don't need Fluffy!"

That's The Way It Is With Boys....

Sawyer loves to cuddle. He's teetering on the age where he's almost too big for my lap. During one particularly poignant moment as he turned to stare intently into my face, my heart swelled with motherly adoration. Then a sneaking suspicion hit me.
"Are you trying to see up my nose?"
"Yes." he answered unapologetically.

Courage Fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4KiRV2qrZk
Whether ye be a polished newscaster, or a simple peasant, we're pretty much made of the same stuff when it comes to this, aren't we?

At First Glance

Sawyer, in an oddly uneventful moment. He's munchable from the top of his head, to the tip of his t... . Oh.

I Said No

For being the conventional mother that I think I am, I must do a lot of things unconventionally for THREE sons to wake up and say this:
(And these are the first words out of their mouths, mind you)
"Mom, can we have Oreos for breakfast?"
"No."
"OH-uh!" Greyson groans in unbelief and disappointment.
Next up is Tristan's running commentary on what Sawyer is dragging out from the pantry:
"What are you doing?" I ask Sawyer.
"Those are Coconut, we're having them with the oatmeal," enlightens Tristan.
"Can we have these cookies, Mom?" Sawyer asks hopefully.

Can you guess what the conventional answer was?

Seeing Kids

This is a link to the "The Lost Teapot" post.
First, take heart.  Motherhood is hard, but God knows our frame and is mindful that we are but dust.  If you are not sure what following Christ means the first step is to click here.
For those who already are following Christ--
I hesitate to give you any steps to help fix how our kids can get lost in the busy-ness, because those very steps can just add to the routine.  But rotating these has helped me in the past. I don't do all of them all the time. And most of them came not from my brain, but wise women whom God knew I needed!

Pray before you put your feet on the floor in the morning-  "God, give me eyes to see".


Make a prayer notebook with pages for each child. Quality page- list qualities you'd like to see in them.  Strengths- list those they have.  Weaknesses- list those.  On another page list Urgent requests that will resolve themselves within a few weeks.  And on another page list Long-Term requests- those things that will take some time.  Use these pages on a daily basis to help you pray for your kids. You can't neglect someone you're praying for.

Sometimes a change in routine will freshen your eyes--when they get up in the morning say, "everyone get in the van, right now, in your jammies!" and then go through a drive-through for breakfast treats.

Give back scratches as they fall asleep at night and don't talk. Listen. You'll find a little window into their soul.

One thing that has never failed me, is the haunting echo of John 15:5--"apart from Me you can do nothing".  If I start my day with Him, and immerse myself in God's Word, He never fails to nudge my heart to see my children in little ways, all throughout the day. Snatches of the verses I have memorized are a powerful sword!

Why Do I Keep Trying This Recipe?

I bake every day, but I wouldn't call myself a "Baker".
And this is why:

Kind of like you cook everyday, but don't call yourself a "Cook" because the idea lends an air of proficiency that maybe is not there?
This is what the Raspberry Muffin recipe looked like going in: so much promise.

Non-health minded individuals can tune out here for about 5 seconds and I promise you won't miss anything.
I tried to break down the phytates by soaking the whole grain flour in an acid medium because I've learned this makes the nutrients more absorbable.
Yes, these muffins had more nutrients, but you had to eat them with a spoon. So somethin' still ain't right.
TUNE IN HERE- There is something so yummy about brown sugar and raspberries that I'm going to keep trying these every month or so, when I've forgotten how much time they take and the probability that they'll work. Muffin roulette.

It's "Would You Rather" Wednesday!

Would you rather....
Have the secret power to instantly bestow the perfect hairstyle on anyone you meet?


OR

Have the power to jump over traffic in your car?



Please vote on the side bar-------->
I know there are many daunting decisions we all face in a day, so I thank you for your consideration.
LET THE RECORD SHOW: Did jumping traffic win? It's hard to tell between the comments and actual votes. So it's still a mystery.

Authoritarian Society and Missing Eyeballs

The kids are having a rip-roarin' good time playing with the large stuffed animals they got for Christmas. Amidst all of the breathless laughter I can hear a definitive chain of command:

"I'll give you ONE more chance to be good" says Kiki's tiger.

"Kiki, he didn't lose it in the first place. KIKI, he didn't lose it in the first place. KIKI, he didn't lose it in the FIRST PLACE." pleads Greyson.

Apparently there is some major ignoring going on here. But Greyson continues, unabated-

"Let me be second in command, please! Say 'O.K.' Two little letters, just say 'O.K.'"

"If you ask me to say okay one more time than you're not second in command." Kiki returns.

"Go get Aslan, where is he?" Greyson suggests.

"No. He's on a journey with the blind boys."

"What are they doing, getting executed?"

"No, educated, they are learning in a special blind school so they can raise their own family."

Poor little blind boys. Daisy has an affinity for stuffed animal eyeballs. She removed almost all of them while we were away on Christmas vacation. She was bored.

At least the blind boys can contribute to the drama.

Consumer Version Now Available

We were watching our favorite detective show "Monk" and it was featuring a lie detector test.
"Do they really make lie detectors?" Greyson asked.
"Yes."
"Can we get one?"
"No, they're too much money."
"Mom, that would be great, to see if Tristan is lying!"
This made me laugh because I could see that he was thinking of all the times Tristan denied being in his room and messing with his Legos.
"How much are they?" he asked hopefully.


The accused.

Desperate for Companionship

Something happened between the animals while we were gone on vacation. They must have been desperate. Can you see who is hiding behind Daisy?


The cats now tolerate close quarters with the dog. Daisy and Merry share the bed top and Jupiter even allows snuffles into his fur.

How Not To Make Chocolate Milk....

I don't like all the junk in prepared chocolate milk mixes, so I've taught the kids to make it from scratch with plain cocoa and sugar. It's a little more work as you can see....

"Uh...Greyson?"

"What, what?"

A Well Stocked Grocery Store

I use to complain because I could not find some basic items at my local Canadian grocery store. But things may be turning around.....

Aren't you glad to know that I can now get a six pack of shower caps? In assorted colors!

Three Little Haircuts....

I used to cut all of the boys' hair, until Sawyer came along. His hair was straight as straw and showed every mistake. Nonetheless he lasted through 4 years of mom haircuts. Then I broke down and we visited the shop down the street in our neighborhood.

He wasn't real excited about it.





But it turned out pretty good in the end.


Tristan's hair was always easy to cut. I'd just pick up each curl and snip it. This was his first professional style.


There go the curls!


He picked out a cool picture in a book and had the lady copy it.


He liked it in the end too.


Greyson was an old timer in the chair. His hair grows like dandelions and is about as poofy too.


Voila! It takes about 6 weeks and then he'll need another one.


We thought Daddy might be upset about the loss of Tristy's curls. But he liked it just fine. Hopefully the curls aren't gone forever.