holiday preparations- one way or another

What do you do if you are six years old, and you know that Christmas is coming, and your aunties have decorated, but all your mom wants to do is work on baking for Thanksgiving? You recruit your little brother, fill him in on the mission, haul out all the paste, paper, tape, and crayons, move chairs around and just hang stuff up on your own- that's what you do!

Naomi's wreath

A pop-up Christmas scene, by Naomi

A snowball, taped to the pantry by Josiah. Bet you never knew wadded up copy paper could be so festive! My camera just doesn't do it justice.

Naomi is so excited for Christmas- probably more so than others... She heard about the activity of Christmas Carolling- going door to door singing!- from Uncle Matt and Aunt Dani, and found it fascinating. In fact, the other day we were eating breakfast, and she was trying to convince me to throw off other plans for the day so that we could just Christmas carol around the neighborhood. On a Monday morning. I had all sorts of excuses, of course, like that we didn't have enough people, and that they didn't know many songs, etc., but none were holding water. She had comebacks. But when I told her that we couldn't carol no matter what because we had to run to Costco to pick up more Christmas lights, she was about to accept defeat... "Oh, man. There aren't any doors there to carol." But then- "Oooh!! I know! We can just go in the bathroom and knock on the little stalls and sing to the ladies in there! Yes!" Here is a girl who knows how to overcome obstacles!

This year I told each of the kids they could choose a dessert to make for Thanksgiving in Chimicum. They really enjoyed selecting and making the desserts, and the positive feedback they got later. It would have been a little overwhelming had Naomi not chosen to make Jello-Jigglers- no problem!

Naomi's Jigglers in progress

She decided to use no less than 10 cookie cutters to make them into shapes such as the tea-pot above, tulips, snowflakes, and so on. Why limit Thanksgiving to turkeys?!

First few Jigglers completed.

Eva chose to make Butterscotch Pecan Perfection Pie. We are not experienced pie crust makers, so had to follow the recipe carefully. Also, we did not want to use Crisco and used only butter, which I read makes it harder, so we had low hopes but were pleasantly surprised, and not too humble about the success of the crust! I guess it's not that hard.

Anyway- so the last step of the recipe said to shape the crust into a disc to refrigerate. As she read it, Eva asked me, "So a disc... do I make the hole in the middle or what? That's weird that she wants it in the shape of a CD..." I had to explain that the word "disc" has been around for ages before the invention of apparently the only thing she knows as a disc! Below- her pie, which we over did a little- my fault. Still tasted nice.

Josiah chose to make Chocolate Satin Pie- fortunately quite simple. He loved the whole cooking process, especially stirring at the stove.

After I took these pictures he said, "OK, now stop taking pictures so I can really focus!"

The finished product, before refrigeration. Looks a little unappealing, but actually tasted really good. I think next time we'll chose a healthier category for all this food prep, but of course this was fun.

So I'll have to do another post about the actual Thanksgiving celebrations, because I have too many great pictures to share- this post would be so big. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

looking back, and thankgiving acrostics

First, a few flashbacks to Thanksgiving 2005...

Keri tagged me with a little Thanksgiving activity- the writer is to write his/her name and list things to be thankful for that start with each letter. I thought it would be more interesting to have the kids do it- of course the things they say they are thankful for are a little forced due to the contraints of the letters and their knowledge of spelling... Anyway, here it is, in their own words.

Jason my dad

Octopus, and God

Snakes. I don't mean cobra snakes. I mean gardner snakes.

I love Eva.

Anika Addie Andrea

Hot spaghetti noodles.

Nice clematis vines- pink!

Anika Addie Andrea

Oatmeal

Mom

I (just myself.)

Everyone in my family

Veterans

Apples

And now, Andi, you can not be so bored since you have nothing to do except for wait around for me to update my ol' blog. ;) ha ha.

A happy thanksgiving to everyone; I hope you all enjoy your food greatly and your company even more.

drawings by Josiah

Josiah spends at least two hours of the day drawing and writing letters. (I mean single letters, not mail to others.) I have to clean the playroom floor every now and then- he usually leaves dozens of drawings there every day- and find some charming works of art! Just thought I would share a few of his latest efforts.

above, a bird

below, flowers drawn for me, in my favorite color. This was done a few weeks ago and was his first attempt at spelling (Josiah, Mama). Since then he has taken off with forming letters. Not necessarily the spelling part, just "drawing" them, as he says, on his own.

a robin with eggs

my home the desert

The kids and I are studying weather systems right now, and the other day we read about deserts. We looked at a picture and description of an oasis. After reading about the true occurrence of water in a dry land, I mentioned to the kids that "oasis" is also a term often used outside of the context of weather, like a loved one's home could be an oasis of safety and comfort while the outside might be full of frustrations and fears. Naomi nodded knowingly- "I know exactly what you mean using the word that way, mom. For us kids, the dentist office is an oasis of television. We don't get it anywhere else, but there, it is!"



'Tis true. The dentist office we started going to has a nice flat screen TV on a jointed arm for each patient. When Naomi had to get fillings last month, I was worried that she would have a hard time with the shots, drilling, etc. I even got Andrea to watch Josiah so that I could be with her the whole time. Sometimes you really know your child, and sometimes you are just totally off. This was a time when I was totally off. Naomi didn't even notice whether I was in the room or not. After donning her cool yellow glasses, and choosing Tom and Jerry and the Flintstones, she was gone to this world. Didn't even answer the doctors questions, like, "Are you still OK?" Response from her- wild laughter. After the procedure, which I don't think she noticed either, she sighed with pleasure from her cartoon fix, and said, poking her tongue around in her mouth, "Hey, there's something hard in here! Ha! I think there is a marble in my mouth! Ha ha! That is so weird!" "That's your tooth, dear" I replied. "It's time to go home now."



One more thing- when we got home, she told Josiah that she finally got to see the show about the vitamins. Now she's one up on him- she knows what those Flintstones are all about.

SALLY LITTLE SONG, BOOK REVIEW

Here is a book I have read recently. It is about a girl named Sally, and it's called "My Name is Sally Little Song" by Brenda Woods. My mom is going to ask me some questions about it, and I will answer them.

1. Does this book have an exciting storyline?

Yes. It is about a girl in a slave family. They all run away because she and her brother are about to be sold. They have a sad trip, because her mama dies when an alligator bites her.

2. Is the ending hopeful for Sally?

Yes, because her family finds the Indian tribe they were looking for, the Seminoles. Papa and Abraham build a house for their family, and they get to live there.

3. Why is the main character called Sally Little Song?

She is called Sally Little Song because at the beginning of each chapter there is a little song that she made up, and she sings them when she has a hard time that relates to one of the songs. She thinks that if she could name her brother Abraham, she'd name him "Abraham Big Feets."

4. Would you recommend this book for others to read?

I would recommend it three times three!

soccer this year

Eva's last soccer game of the season was Saturday; her team, Goal Rush, finished off a great season with a win over the Green Geckos. She really enjoyed playing this year, and really improved her skills. Scoring a goal with a left-footed kick was a highlight. Her team was able to really understand how to work together by the end of the season, and the girls were getting very good at passing and looking around the whole field. Amazing progress since the "swarming" days of U-6 soccer! It was fun to watch them all advance.

Beyond learning new soccer skills, Eva learned a few lessons from just spending time with new people...

1. If someone asks you to pull their finger, and you comply, the result may be unpleasant. (This actually happened.)

2. Many girls her age are wild about a singer who puts on a wig and pretends to be someone else- "Mom who IS this Hannah Montana? What does everyone like about her?"

3. Learning that all team members are going to get a potentially embarrassing nickname by next practice can be extremely nerve wracking... Eva was quite relieved when hers turned out to be just Eve.

All in all she had a great time- enjoyed her coaches and their lessons, and had fun with great group of girls. Thanks to all the family who made it out to watch her games, too- she enjoyed her big fan club!

Josiah helped himself to the half-time oranges.

Naomi and Josiah didn't mind coming along as they made friends with the other younger siblings of Eva's teammates. They paid no mind whatsoever to the soccer team, and instead filled the hours with picking blackberries, making "eggs" out of mud, climbing up on a huge rock and keeping others off of it, chasing each other with sticks, and so on. One of my favorite routines of game day was when the game was over, all the children had been gathered and we were walking to the van, Naomi would suddenly ask Eva, "Oh, what happened with your game? It's over? Did you win?" "Yes, and I scored a goal," Eva would reply... Naomi would gasp in surprise... "Yay! Wow Eva!" And squeeze her hard around the middle.

beware the listeners, and my affectionate boy

First, a conversation I overheard today while the kids were making puppets at the table...


Eva made a mistake on her puppet and sort of growled. "Rats!" she said. "If this happened to Andrea she would say, 'Rats! Ha!'" She said it in a sort of good-humored way that sounded just like Andrea! (My sis.) And I had never even realized that Andrea says this, but it's true. Then Josiah comments, "Know what else moms say? They say 'Shoot!' They say that when they're driving and they forgot something but they're already gone. Like if they forget to bring you a snack."


This proves a few things that really we already know, like that kids are excellent observers, indiscriminate rememberers, and most of all, repeaters of all they hear and see, regardless of it's worth! "Shoot!" though fairly harmless as expletives go, is not on my list of Quotes I want to Be Remembered By, but there is stands, none the less.




Next, a few pictures I've been meaning to post of Josiah and one of the several special little girls he's sweet on... Lil' Cousin Addie.












There was a time, of course, when Addie was very small and immobile. If Josiah wanted to hold her, all he had to do was to ask her mom or dad, sit carefully, and hold still. She really had no say.








Well, times have changed. Addie is a big girl now, a liberated woman, if you will, with walking legs and a mind of her own. Being held by her cousin is not usually on her agenda. Nor is holding hands. Nor having her cheek patted. But let me tell you, ALL of these things are on Josiah's agenda, in a big way. He is head over heels for her, and just can't bear to be near her without snuggling up. This creates a problem...









A few weeks ago Addie spent the day with us while Naomi went to Dani's house. While Eva was in piano lessons, it was just me, Addie and Siah, giving him ample opportunity to attempt closeness. He was rejected at every turn. She wanted to walk on her own, pick berries on her own, lead the way, etc. (I can't really blame her, of course... When you're only new in the world, and have a lot to discover, a chubby hand holding you back is really the last thing you would want.) As you can see in the pictures above, the chase was on. I had to remind Josiah constantly, "Honey, if you want to hug her you have to ASK." or "Siah, stop touching her cheeks! She doesn't want that! You must have her permission!" After being reprimanded repeatedly by me, and by Addie, he was near tears and said. "But mom, she's so soft. Babies like her are just... so... useful for touching! I love her." "I know, sweetie." I said. "So then give her her space." He got the picture, and hung back for the rest of their time together. He wasn't rewarded then, but a few days later... Addie spent a few hours at our house, and he did pretty well with "hands to yourself." But as they were about to part ways, Addie decided to give him a big hug! He smiled up in delight, what a surprise! And when it was over, she happily went back for another hug! A big win for Josiah- he could not have been more thrilled. The next day, the sweet memory still lingering, he spent hours making life size square-headed versions of himself and Addie out of blue construction paper, complete with white chalk eyes and little buttons, and taped together jointed limbs. He dragged them around as he played throughout the day; little versions of himself and his beloved, silently spending the day together in peaceful companionship.