Rocket Week!

      I decided about a month before school let out that I wanted to do this summer differently.  Not only did I want us to do normal fun summer things, but I was feeling really ambitious... we are going to do it all... books, projects science projects, crafts, experiments, cooking, art, music, letters, math, games, and every free community activity I can get my hands on. Well, not only all of that, but I thought, every week we will center all the activities around a special theme to pull it all together and really have an amazing summer! I know what you are thinking... she's crazy! Yes... a little bit. And of course over-ambitious on how much I can get done with a 6 year old, 4 year old, and a 9 month old baby.
     My inspiration for the theme idea came from all the summer's my mom did "summer camp" for kids when I was growing up. She always had a million crazy-creative-resourceful ideas that made every day a fun experience. That's what I want for my boys. I spent much of last summer very hugely pregnant... and very hot... and mostly in front of (sorry to say) some sort of kids show.  I don't want a repeat of that( the extensive tv time, not the pregnancy.. although I also don't want a repeat of that either)!!!
     So, the first week of no school and we are off to a pretty good start on ROCKET WEEK, which with a unanimous vote from the boys deserves an extension over through next week as well. I thought I would try to keep up on everything and post all the fun things we are doing throughout the summer. Here are some of the things we've done so far...

5...4...3...2...1...BLAST OFF!  This was our rocket snack... they even made it to the moon!

This is suppose to be a cardboard rocket... it turned out to be more challenging than I had imagined.

The love being the pilot (however, there is only room for one...)

Rocket activity/behavior charts and Rocket themed books

Lunch one day... (cheese roll-up rocket with red pepper wings)

This was a small experiment to show them how combustion works.

We did this experiment too about thrust... very simple. Wish I had gotten a picture of them doing this, they had so much fun!

We also borrowed a stack of books from the library all about space, the solar system, astronauts, and all things ROCKET! We are having a great time. Even though the days are really busy this way, it makes them more fun and purposeful. We're making messes, mistakes, and lots of memories and loving every minute

LadyBug Park

Today we collected ladybugs in baby food jars, read stories in a tent (in our living room), and made lots of roads for Elijah's cars to drive on.

The ladybug adventure wasn't quite what I had planned. Both of the boys love ladybugs, but we don't see too many over here for some reason. Last week, however, we saw hundreds down town. I'm not kidding- hundreds! We were strolling Sherman Avenue just for something to do (if you know the area, there's this little sitting park between some of the shops, with benches). So on the park benches were all these ladybugs, in the cracks, and on top of each other; they were everywhere. So I told the boys we would come back with jars and collect them for our roses -which are getting eaten and are also covered with aphids (ugh, just typing the name gives me chills- yuck those are some nasty little bugs!) Ladybugs are known to take care of nasty little situations such as these, so you see just how perfect my solution is? Free ladybugs!

Looking outside I knew it wouldn't be the pleasant stroll we had last week, with the sun in our faces, but now that school is out, my general response is: "why not?" So we went with our jars, walked the few blocks from the parking lot to the park with our teeth chattering. Luckily I had an extra coat in the back of the car for Owen to wear, or he would have frozen... for some reason daddy's often forget that kids still wear coats even when it's not snowing. Anyways, we got to the park are it appeared to be ladybug-free. No speckles of red covering the benches. But then I saw one, hiding just on the edge. "Elijah, I see one!" I hollered. He ran over and nearly squashed it trying to pick it up and get it in his jar, but it got there just the same. Then we saw another, and another in the bush just next to the bench. That little bush had several crawling on the underside of it's leaves. Now Elijah was excited. "Look, daddy," he said. "Mommy and me found a whole bunch!"

We spent the next twenty minutes scouring the place for scattered ladybugs playing a good game of hide-and-seek. We eventually came out with about fifteen ladybugs, well... fourteen and a half really since the once Owen picked up didn't quite make it.

They were so proud riding home with their jars full of ladybugs. When I asked Elijah if he wanted me to put his on the floor, he responded very quickly, "no! I want to keep them on my lap!" Owen kept unscrewing the lid to his jar and letting the ladybug crawl just to the top, them he'd put the lid back on. Once it got out and started crawling on his hand, I think it kind of freaked him out. "Mommy, it's on me, it's me!" he said.

All Fourteen and half of them are now safely living in my rose bushes, hopefully doing some good eating! I'm not sure if that will be enough to save them, but it was worth a try and it sure was a lot of fun for Lije and Owie!

The tent we put up on Monday. This really surprised them. Everyday we've read stories in there, which is my favorite part, but I think theirs is just going in there and being silly. They kick the side of it, bring flashlights in there and toys and cars. It's like there own little hide-out. But when it's story time, they listen. Mommy brings out the special stories, the ones that I keep on the top shelf that I don't want torn or stepped on, the classics, like, "The Five Chinese Brothers," "Where the Wild Things Are," and "Love You Forever." Okay, I guess I can't really call those "classics" per se, but they are in our house anyways. All three of those I remember vividly from my childhood, and they are cherished!

Note: I just wanted to point out that just because some of us are ready for the sun doesn't mean you can't still have a little fun!

"Swimsuit Blues"

"I hate you swimsuit, oh yes I do; I hate you swimsuit, it's true!"

I am convinced that since the beginning of time, out of all the articles of clothing... women have struggled with the swimsuit most of all. What style, what color, are all the right parts covered, and then of course, does it make me look fat?
Since the age of twelve, I've been among the strugglers. I wasn't allowed to wear a two-piece then, but that wasn't the problem. I couldn't wait for my slim stick figure to turn curvy. Then, my blue velour one-piece with the yellow flowers made me feel young when I wanted to feel grown-up.

The next phase didn't come far behind- the phase of nothing looks good on me, I'll just cover it all up! (I may still be stuck in that phase... a little). I spent the majority of my teen years wearing what looked like a tank top and shorts to the beach. Which I don't regret in any way... in fact I'm glad I didn't have the nerve to wear an itty bitty bikini like some of my friends. Part of the swimwear problem is that inappropriate scrimps of material are passing off as accepted/expected beach attire.
I never could pull off the two-piece. Even the ones that were actually decent, well I couldn't bolster the confidence. I made two attempts. The first, I found at Target my freshmen year in college and dreamed about wearing it, and how if I just lost a few more pounds it would look perfect on me. It was sort of like a tube top- pink and black blocks of color. I convinced myself to buy it just before school let out for the summer. The only time I wore it was when I spent the day with my then boyfriend (who is now my hubby), climbing up to a waterfall. I wore shorts with it, but felt horribly self-conscience the entire time, and vowed to myself never to wear it again.

My second attempt was on my honey moon. I decided to buy my first ever bikini, hoping that only my new husband would see me in it. Those hopes were met, the two of us walked down to the hot tub at our hotel... and that is the only time that bikini ever saw the light of day (with a towel wrapped around most of my body).

So here we are again, summer is practically upon us. Swimsuits started glaring at us in January, oh the cruelty, now half of them are on clearance! I haven't bought one or been seen in one since the honey moon. Why bother? When we go to the beach I wear shorts or a sun dress, but there's that part of me that still wishes to find the perfect suit. One that hides all my bad parts and accentuates the good ones. (the few that are left after two babies).

I think I might just have a sickness- fear of swimsuits? if you don't already agree with me, you'll understand after this- So Target lured me in again. I was just minding my own business, buying the usual diapers when the swimsuits called out to me, "just take a look, a little gander... dream a little." "Why not?" I said to myself, oh yeah I also talk to myself, add that to the sickness list. I looked, I admired. And then on the clearance rack, she sang out to me, the perfect suit, or so I thought, a vintage fifties styled black and white polka-dotted one-piece! Half off... should I try it on? I did. The dim lighting hid most of my thunder-thighs, then it occurred to me, I could buy shorts to match! It was looking good. Okay, I'll do it. I bought the suit feeling very optimistic. It actually seemed like a good idea, I smiled all the way home about it, thinking about playing with the kids at the beach in my polka dots and little shorts with sailor stripes and anchors on them.

I returned the suit and shorts this morning. I know, what you're thinking- sickness. It's true. I tried them on when I got home. What was I thinking? It didn't look good on me. But what swimsuit does, or ever will. So I'm back to tanks, shorts and sun-dresses this summer. What about you? Are you crazy like me with insecurities so great you hide behind regular clothes? Or maybe we're all in this together, a little insecure here and there. We all want to look and feel great, so what's
the big deal?

Plan To Be Spontaneous!

I love summer mornings… when it is still cooler outside than it is inside, dew sparkles in the blades of grass that need mowing, and everything looks and feels fresh. Most of all I think I like the idea that I get to start anew myself. I don’t know what is in store for us (which used to scare me to death- living without a schedule that is). Now it is exciting just to be. We never know where we’ll end up or what we might get a chance to do that day, and I’m beginning to really embrace that.
Martin and I discovered a new phrase that seems to encompass our lives so completely, “Plan to be Spontaneous!” I love it! Of course my instinct is to plan, plan, plan until I’ve worked out every detail, but sometimes that really sucks all the fun out of life. I’m learning to let things go.
Each day holds so many possibilities. Elijah and I were discussing all of the fun things to do in summer this morning. His favorites were: mowing the lawn with daddy (he loves pushing his toy mower exactly in step with daddy- it is one of the cutest things ever), going to the library, getting ice cream, and going to the beach to build sand castles! The conversation started in the garage. He noticed our sled in the corner and wanted to go sledding! I prodded him with questions trying to get him to connect that it was entirely the wrong season for that. It fascinates me the way kids think, though. They see something they want to do… and what should stop them? Certainly not lack of snow!
Today I am thankful for so many things! I thank God for my boys who teach me more about life and myself than I would ever know without them; I thank God for my husband who constantly surprises me with love and care that I don’t deserve; and I thank God for seasons that come to us with such detail we will never understand it all. What a blessed life… what a Love He has for us!