Saying goodbye to TV... again!

About two months ago, our landlord asked us if we could "babysit" a TV in the upstairs apartment while it sat empty.   "Sure!" we replied!  We were able to use a DVD player and have really enjoyed watching movies.  There are those certain moments when it is just so convenient to put a video on for the kids.  But then it seems those moments become more and more common.  And then the kids start to ask for it more often then I'd like.  It sort of snowballs.  Our big thing, too, is letting the kids fall asleep watching a movie.  By the end of the day we're exhausted so it's just easier, but we end up missing out on those precious bedtime moments.

Well, last week new tenants moved in upstairs and so the TV had to go back.  Once again we are living TVless and once again I'm loving it.  We do have an option to watch videos on our computer, but this computer is my lifeline - for really important stuff, you know, like checking my facebook and writing my blogs, right? ;)  No, seriously, we really don't want to use the computer for videos because it is very important to us.  So we decided as a family to have movie night once a week - you know make it a big deal with popcorn and excitement and have that be that.  It's amazing how fast the kids adjust to it, too, and come up with way more creative things to do.

First night without the TV!

It's better this way!

more co-sleeping

Kai's Poem

I woke up this morning and found a poem sitting on the table, evidence that Kai was busy before I was even awake.

Mik

My Mik can bring and

he has a ring

and he can sting

and he is a king.

It's written in purple marker with an accompanying illustration.  Wow, it really brought a smile to my face! 

Counting Blessings on a Monday

198.  A relatively successful church attendance for the family.
199.  The way Kai takes charge and organizes his day, filling it with fun and productive activities.
200.  Play-fighting with lots of laughter.
201.  The silliness of these boys.
202.  Prayers and advice at women's Bible study.
203.  Hide and go seek at the park.
204.  Writing in my journal consistently again.
205.  Your powerful majestic lightning and thunder.
206.  bookshelves
207.  re-arranging furniture.
209.  benadryl
210.  Walking with my neighbor.
212.  My neighbor starting to homeschool.
214.  Provision
215.  rain, rain and more rain.
217.  Our awesome backyard.
219.  Getting our brakes fixed on the car so quickly.
221.  Christians in Jaco.
222.  Our amazing hermit crabs that are somehow still alive.
223.  Never having to even think about trash or stress about dishes because my husband is so on top of it.
225.  Feeling a flow with homeschool.
226.  Finally, a flexible schedule that Kai likes and sticks to.
227.  Little boys washing dishes.
228.  Koa learning to swim.
229.  Finding a little soccer club for Kai and he loves it.
230.  One-on-one time with Jude.

Cheap Thrills

Happy Birthday, Baby!

I'm a little bit behind, but here's my journal entry from the night of July 26 and July 27, the day Jude turned three.

The sweetest family moments always seem to happen when everyone is piled in our bed.  That's where we were last night when we started sharing funny stories about Jude, remembering his life and thinking about his Birthday, how he's turning 3.  Here are some memories we shared.

Ezzy remembered standing on the sidewalk with Jude at our house in Granadilla, waving at cars and shouting, "HONGA!" because Jude couldn't make an "L" sound, so that's what he said instead of "hola!"  silly!

Then I remembered how he would stand on the balcony at our house in San Francisco de dos rios and shout at the guard, "GORDITO!" because that's what the guard called him everyday as he rolled by in his stroller.  And also how he would hear the lottery man coming down the street and would echo his call shouting, "LOTERIA!" in a funny, deep voice just like the loteria man!  And the way he would zip down the stairs on his belly so fast!

Everyone cracked up laughing remembering these moments.

Jude's First Birthday

Jude's 2nd Birthday

Today he's turning 3 and Kai says, "Now he can talk good when he plays.  And he doesn't destroy everything anymore."  He's learned how to play with his brothers. 

This morning I woke up and Jude had snuck in the bed in the middle of the night.  He was right behind me hugging my back.  I woke up before him with Koa and we watched him sleep.  So peaceful.  When he opened his eyes I said, "Happy Birthday, Jude.  You're three years old now." 

He looked back at me and said, "But I'm still a boy."

"Yes.  You're still a boy."

Then he rolled off the bed to go find his brothers to make sure he's not missing any fun that might have started without him.

...Singing happy birthday, three candles sparkling atop a Mickey Mouse pancake.  Blow the candles, Jude!  Jude attempts to blow, but Ezzy blows them out.  Ezzy and Kai have hardly been able to contain their excitement all morning.  When can Jude open his presents???  After his pancakes... it's so hard to wait, it's just so exciting! 

"How old are you Jude?"

"I'm 6!" 

"No, he's three," says Ezzy.

"I'm 3!"  Big smile! 

For his birthday Jude received a xylophone, a Mr. Potato Head and a kickboard that he calls his "sufboard."  He opened his presents this morning after his pancake breakfast and it touched my heart how he immediately shared with his brothers without a thought or a fuss. 

Jude....

Your name means "praise" and your life does bring praise to God.  You are so joyful, silly, friendly.  Your smile lights up a room.  You love people, you're outgoing.  You love to play and you love to make people laugh.  You love your brothers so much.  Your smile, hugs, kisses and love fill my heart with warmth.  You are a joy.  You're a treasure.  I'm so glad you were born 3 years ago today, my little gordito.  You radiate love.

{this moment}

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Rainbow Rice

Another Pink and Green Mama Activity!  This one is too fun and easy not to share.  I think this is probably one of the best activities I've done.  

Just put some rice in a ziploc bag.  Add a few squirts of hand sanitizer (or rubbing alcohol will work too) and a few squirts of food coloring.  Squish it all up to dye the rice.

 Here are all our colors drying in their bags.  They dried really fast.

I poured the colors into a clear container, look how cool it looks!

Jude was thrilled with this!

 

Add some toys and get ready for lots of imaginative, sensory play!

Mixing it up is so much fun!

 

Here's a video of Jude playing in the rice.

Mad Hungry

Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys

I just got this book in the mail from my sister.  Isn't this just the most perfect book for me?  I'm going through it and underlining with a pencil!  Listen to the introduction

"Men eat differently from women - they eat more, they eat constantly, and they eat passionately.  They ransack a packed refrigerator and scrounge crumbs from an empty one.  They eat standing in front of the fridge, and they eat with their fingers.  They always make a mess and never notice.  They are all appetite and no pretense.  'What's for dinner?' is the most important, most burning question.  Food is everything to them and food is nothing until there is none.  And if they're 'mad hungry' with no food in sight, life is a living hell.  But feeding them well is what many of us love to do and few jobs feel as satisfying.  It's what keeps them healthy, keeps them happy, gives them some of their fondest memories and teaches them to cook."

I love it!  Thanks Bop, you're the best!  Recipes to follow...

peacemakers

I've mentioned quite a bit on this blog some of my thoughts on sibling rivalry. Having 4 boys so close in age, it's a topic of huge importance for me. I need to have peace in this house. When the boys play nicely together, it just warms my heart. But on the other side, nothing irritates me more than my children fighting. In all of parenting, it's probably the thing that I dislike the most. So, all that to say, I am really trying to teach my children the life skills they need to get along - like communication, problem-solving, identifying feelings, and also more spiritual issues about love, compassion, kindness, sharing and preferring others. Little by little, we're making progress! Our theme the past week has been "peacemakers." So, I put together a video by the boys. I already shared it on facebook, but I thought I'd share it here too!



I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject and any ideas you have? What works for your family?

Learning to swim... Jude style

Those who know Jude, know his infectious personality, his win-you-over smile and contagious laugh. When it comes to learning how to swim, as in most things he does, he doesn't hold back. Right now he has us laughing watching him do belly flop after belly flop. He just runs head first into the pool! He's not one to be left behind, so he's doing double-time to keep up with his big brothers!

Our new place... i LOVE it!

Is Jude a baby or a big boy? We're not sure!

Hosted by Cecily

A homeschool afternoon

Start out with a little "pool" because it's so hot!

When everyone's nice and cool we take our supplies under a shady tree on a blanket - alphabet blocks for the little ones, create-a-calendar for Kai and our read-aloud.

Everyone's busy!

I love these blocks - they have the letter and then a little something inside that starts with the letter - great for learning those letter sounds!

A happy baby!

Kai works on his calendar and I read him the last chapter of our book, The Hundred Dresses. Yes, I teared up a little at the end! These books are so good. They lead to some great conversations, too.

Time for a little snuggling!

Kai runs inside to see what our next scheduled read-aloud is and brings it outside to check it out - it's Johnny Appleseed. He's anxious to get started!

Some kisses from Jude

I love this boy.

Giggles.

He's still happy and talking away! I think he just loves being a part of it all.

We even manage to get some math done, too.

Way to go, Kai!

What a lovely afternoon. Time to go make dinner!

Photo Story Friday is here!