First Day of School

I got this idea for a First Day of School Interview from Carissa at 1plus1plus1equals1.net.  You can see her interviews with her kids here.

I copied her format exactly, right down to the questions she asked. You can click on their blog names below to see the answers my children gave.

Princess



Little Man


Pookie



Here are some other pictures I got of them together.



The start to our school year has gone much better than I expected. We have already had a meltdown or two, but they were over quickly. And they are enjoying their curriculum changes, which makes the outlook for this year very bright!

Treehouse News - Up to speed...

Yes, I know.  I have definitely failed in updating here over the last few months.  I just looked at the last entry I had started in here and it was cut short by a hard drive failure.  I never really caught up after that.  Although, I have been trying to keep my priorities in line, as I said here a few months ago, so my kitchen has been cleaner.  *smile*

I decided not to try getting everything in here, but thought an update on the kids was way overdue.  Here are some of my favorite moments of the last few months.

Yep, we started school!

The new school space

Princess

My Second Grader

Princess has grown so much. She lost all her front teeth, and as her new ones are growing in she is looking more and more mature to me. Here are some of my favorite moments from her:

Princess was showing off her new toothless spot in her mouth to our neighbor.  Then, our neighbor shared that their puppy had just lost some puppy teeth, too.   Princess giggled, “Did he leave them for the doggie tooth fairy?"



While watching Pixar shorts, Princess concluded, “That Jack-a-lope is like God.”  I wasn't sure how to take that, so I asked her how.  She said that the jack-a-lope was like God because he accepted the sheep no matter what, whether he had fleece or was shorn.

Little Man drew me a picture of me driving in an 18 wheeler through the country, with lines in the back to indicate speed. I asked, “How fast am I going?” He answered, “About 150.” Princess said, “I guess the speed limit is fast in the country!”

I added red pepper to a dish, and Princess’ reaction was, “The peppers touch only the nerves that say, ‘I don’t like them!’”

We had been reading a biography on George Mueller who started his life as a swindler, but was a changed man when he became a Christian. One night, after reading only about the start of his life, this was our dinner conversation:

Me to Princess: “Where did your manners go tonight?”
Princess: “I don’t know. Maybe to a big beer party that lasted seven days.”
Ryan: “Good homeschooling, hon. I bet they don’t advertise that on the Sonlight website!”

One of the things we have covered in Language Arts recently is Compound Words. Princess’ eyes lit up after talking about them for a few minutes: “Mom! A lot of times we use Compound Words in knock knock jokes!”

One evening, the lights suddenly went out in Princess' room because she tripped the breaker.  She said, "Did I have a blackout in just my room? Am I gonna have to sleep somewhere else?"

Princess and Little Man were looking at books in the car.  Little Man asked what a "wosset" was.  Her response was, "That, apparently, is a wosset."

The kids wanted to play a joke on Daddy.  They asked if he ever played tricks on me.  I said, "Yeah, but not in a long time."  A short while later, they were planning their joke and asked me what I thought we should do.  I said, "I can't even tell you the last trick daddy played on me."  Princess said, "Well, I can tell you he next one we are going to play on him!"

Princess was not speaking very respectfully in her request one night at the dinner table, and I asked her to reword her request in a more respectful manner.  She complied and then said, "Do you want me to do an example of the really rude way of saying it?"  I said, "No."  She replied, "Okay. Well I'll be right here if you change your mind."

"I think I'm going to name my 105th child Dora."  I am not sure what she is planning on naming the other 104!


"Christ died to save us from our skins."  Princess immediately caught her error, but it has been repeated over and over ever since!

Little Man

My Kindergartener

Little Man is just starting Kindergarten. Some of the things he comes out with are hysterical, but I don't always share them here. Some things are just better to tell about in person...you know…with facial expressions and body language!  Here are some of the things I think will be fun even in type.

Ryan:  What would mommy do if we came home with a Puppy?
Little Man:  Run away.

I think Little Man will definitely be the strong, sensitive type. I was comforting him one day when he was upset and, true to his nature, he said, “What do you do when you cry? Does Daddy pick you up?” I love this boy! He is so sweet!

I can’t remember what question I asked, but I had asked about what someone wore for some reason. Little Man said, “I know! Whitie Tighties!” He had just heard the term, "Tighty Whities" for the first time a few days before and, clearly, he likes the term - even if he doesn't quite have it right!


I went to Starbucks to get my regular and Little Man said, “I think they are almost out of those…You keep on taking them!”

Ryan: Wow. you're doing a great job (on that puzzle).
Little Man: Thanks. It'd be better if I had a giant octopus helping me.


"You don't touch that. Even though it looks like a log...it's not." (In case you hadn't guessed...he is talking about poop!)


Princess was saying she wanted to be an explorer and go all over the world.  Little Man's concerns were natural, "You would need to pack a big lunch for that!"

A few years ago, we drove along the local river to explore the different parts of a river up close and personal.  Every so often, I will ask the kids if they remember anything about it.  Recently, I was checking with them again to see if they knew the name of the river.

Me:  "Do you know what it is?"
Princess:  "The mouth?"
Me:  "No, but good guess. The mouth is on the other side. Do you know what it is though?"
Little Man:  "It's nose? It has a mouth, it must have a nose!"

One night at dinner, Little Man prayed, "Please help mom to let go of her control and help us to be more obedient." We have been learning about character traits, like "self-control" and "obedience" but I thought his misstatement to "let go of her control" was probably a pretty accurate description of what I actually need.  Out of the mouths of babes...


While practicing his memory verses, Little man said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only forgotten son..."  He, unlike Princess, does not generally catch his mistake in this one.  hehehe

Pookie

My Preschooler

Pookie is an amazing beam of light everywhere she goes.  Sometimes it is like sunshine and rainbows, other days more like lightning!  She is always trying to make people smile and laugh.  As she learns more, it is fun to watch her try to explain things.  She doesn't always get the words right, but she gets her point across.  Here are some examples:

We went on a walk during one of the nicer days in May, and it was new for Pookie because we were letting her walk instead of riding in the stroller. We don’t have sidewalks, so we have to be very watchful of the kids and are training them how to take a walk safely through the neighborhood. After Pookie stepped out on the road, I picked her up to carry her. She was trying to convince me that I could let her walk, and she said, “I gonna try not to break my heart.”

Ryan told Pookie one day, “You’re a piece of work!” She replied, “A piece of work?!! I (Pookie)!”


Pookie has been getting better at letter recognition, but she misheard me one day:
Me: Look, it’s a ‘W’
Pookie: “It’s not that a double me!”

I have mentioned before that I like cooking shows, and that Princess has given me critiques on my “presentation,” but there are other ways this has infiltrated our house. Pookie’s new request is that she be permitted to “go to the dessert round”!

We were on our way out one day and Pookie asked, "Can I bring Anna?" (You know...Anna Green Gables). Hehehe

Pookie was frustrated with trying to eat corn on the cob.  Her way of telling us was to exclaim, "I can't eat it...the buttons."

Pookie got stung by a bee...because I put her down in the grass and didn't see the bee.  She had been playing in the pool, and between the cold of being wet and being upset by the sting, she was chattering.  She started to laugh, "I make clicking noise with my teeth!  See?"

Pookie still loves footprints.  After playing in the pool, she was walking on the driveway.  She was showing off to me, "Fooprintz. I made it out of my feet!"

For Pookie's 3rd birthday, I gave out kaleidoscopes for favors.  The day after her party, she wanted her "Ida-cope."  Even after she slowed it down for me, "Ide-a-cope," I didn't understand what she was looking for.  I don't think I figured out until a few hours later what she was so upset about losing!  Now, she has started calling it her "Telescope."  At least I know what she means!

"I am gonna leave that for people...little people."  Pookie said this about the bib at the restaurant on the way to visit Ryan's family.  You know, the little people, not like her...she is big now.

Pookie's favorite birthday present, by far, was a little lip gloss purse.  "I can't find my lip gloss anywhere. I looked all over...downstairs,upstairs. I can't find my lip gloss anywhere!"  I also heard her singing "oh where oh where are you my lip gloss purse!"

Pookie has been having a difficult time in the car, because Little Man and Princess are in the back and she is in the middle.  I am always calling to the two in the back to give her a chance to talk, and working with her to make sure that she is asking politely for her turn to talk.  One day, I heard her say, "Uh, excuse me, Evan. I am going to talk to myself."  Gotta work on her understanding of when to ask them to be quiet...

Pookie also has interesting solutions for things:  "Little girls twirl (their hair). See? Like that. Every time they don't get hiccups by doing that."  I have heard of a lot of solutions to hiccups, but never that one!

After asking what happened to Little Man, Pookie said, "(Little Man) hurt himself by me."  She had been jumping on his belly while he was laying in bed.

When I said that someone turned up the chapstick too much, Pookie said "It wasn't me. It wasn't you. It wasn't a fox..." then proceeded to list everyone else in the family. 

Pookie has been enamored with butterflies lately.  She did a sponge capsule one day and thought it might be a butterfly. I said, "I think it is a farm animal." She said, "Yeah. It is a farm butterfly." (Thankfully, she was happy with the rabbit it actually became.)

Okay...so this was long, but I am glad I will be able to remember these stories in the years to come.  I hope you enjoyed them, as well!

Treehouse News - February

So, after hard drive issues on my computer, I think I am finally up and running again.  This blogging thing is turning into a once a month deal!  Oh, well.  I will just hope and pray that it gets better.  =0)

Just like January, February could pretty much be summed up in one word:  Coughing.  I was sick the whole month of February into the beginning of March.  I survived, and managed to write down just a few things of note for each of the children.  There were not too many pictures from that month, though.  I had to cheat and use a photo from the beginning of March for Evan for this month!

Princess

All I want for Christmas...

Princess *finally* lost that second top tooth on Valentine’s Day!  She was so excited that she broke out into “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” as soon as she could.  Here are some other quotes from her:

"Your kids are going to have a silly dad, Evan"

“Dad-nabik!” - I didn't realize that I had been saying, "Dag-nabit!" until she came up with her own version of it. She had the inflection right, though!

Princess and Little Man have really been into jokes, lately.  This is the progression I heard one day at lunch:

Little Man – What kind of a bagel isn’t a bagel?  A donut!

Princess – What kind of a donut isn’t a donut?  A bagel!

Little Man - What kind of a bagel isn’t a bagel?  A donut!

Princess – (Rolls eyes) I just heard that one.

Princess is really enjoying cooking shows lately, but I have never watched 30 minute meals with her...you would never know it by this next conversation:

“Oh, this is DELISH!  I love it!”
(Me to Ryan) – “What, no reaction?”
R: "I am crying on the inside"
R to Princess: "Could Mom be on Worst Cooks (in America)?"
Princess: "No." 
R: "Because this is too good?" 
Princess: "Yep."

Little Man

A Boy and his Buzz

I didn't have much written down for Little Man this month.  I know that we spent a lot of time talking about his upcoming birthday party.  So, one of the things I recorded during this time was his list:

- A remote control car.
- A Castle, not a Little People one, a real knight one.
- A knight costume.
- All kinds of cool stuff.

Here are a few more quotes from him.

"And we didn’t even plan it!" – Little Man said this when he found out that we were both the second children in our family.  He was so excited that he then came over and gave me a big hug!

“There’s also bumps to let you know there’s a chocolate chip around!” - Little Man's explanation of how you can tell a chocolate chip cookie is the real deal.

We sing to Pookie when she goes to the bathroom on the potty.  After singing her the song, Little Man said, “Now you say, ‘That’s my line!’”

Pookie

Bright Eyes

Pookie continues to amaze me with how much she understands and how she communicates those things to us.  Here are a few things she said during February:

“Uh, you have orange on your head.”  She saw my orange headphones in my ears.

“We are in the ‘dimin’ room!” -  This started a discussion between Princess and Little Man of what “Dining” means.  After discussion, they decided the dining room should be called the “Eating room” and the living room should be called the “Talking Room.”

“3…2…1…blastoff…to infini and eyon!” - This is Pookie's version of "To infinity...and beyond!" from Buzz Lightyear.

I told Pookie I was jealous of something, and she responded, “Why you are jealous?”  I thought her grammar was pretty good for a 2 ½ year old!

“Dad is my friend.  I want my friend…I want Daddy!”

It is so much fun to watch the kids grow and change - and it is fun re-living some of their stories as I record them here.  I am so glad I can share them with you!

Treehouse News - January

So, this is my way of getting everyone caught up with all that happened in our lives the last four months...I will just give you a quick synopsis of each month.  (Well, after typing this one, I think some entries will be quicker than others...)

For the month of January, this is really easy.  The whole month can be summed up in one word...SNOW!!!

Can you find the rock wall?  That is at "ground-level"

And, boy, did we have a lot of it! It is funny to look at these pictures now, because it has been so beautiful here, now. But, in January, it felt like we would never see the yard again!

Back Porch

Front Steps

This was a great time for the kids, though.  They loved playing in the snow, and it was so peaceful outside that I (almost) enjoyed being out there, too.  The snowpants I got last year for Christmas made a huge difference.  If it were not for those, we not have any pictures of the kids playing outside!  I don't do cold...at least not well.

Princess

Sitting in a Winter Wonderland

Princess' big news for January was that she lost the first of her two front teeth.  Both front teeth were wiggly all through December, so she was pretty happy.  Here are some other "quote-ables" from the month.

"I'm growing up like you, Mom.  A couple is a LOT."  - Ryan always picks on me because I use a couple to describe a "few."  Princess must have heard us talking about that at some point.  I am glad to see that she agrees with me.  ha!

Little Man woke up one morning and exclaimed, "Where did all this snow come from?"  Princess answered, "God!"

Pookie was having a rough time, and was crying...loudly.  Princess couldn't take it anymore, she said, "She is screaming so loud it is like a hundred bees all buzzing in my ear at once!"

The girls were playing together in their room, and Princess decided to have "school" for Pookie.  Here is what I overheard, "Now, you know that this is the prince and princess preschool, but it is also church.  Now, there is a library here, but there are a lot more libraries...this is our library, there aren't many books, but it is fun!"

Princess is also starting to really think ahead.  She started getting dressed, folding her pajamas and making her bed before going to sleep on top of her blankets.  You know, to save time for the next day - so she doesn't have to do chores in the morning.  Ah...a girl after my own heart...I am definitely a night owl!

While explaining to Little Man what a "Tall Tale" was, Princess got a little mixed up.  "...then they get exhausting"  I think she meant "exaggerated".

Little Man

Playing in the tunnel Dad made

Little Man didn't really have any big changes in January, but he did have some fun quotes!

Little Man likes to sneak into our bed sometimes, and on one night he was tossing and turning and waking me up.  I was pretty annoyed, and asked him the next day what he had been doing.  "I was looking for a cold spot on the pillow."  So much like his Dad!

One night, Ryan was contemplating out loud whether or not Little Man should have dessert.  He said, "Is it going to make him all crazy?"   Little Man responded, "No, it will make me all s-l-e-e-p-y...(snore)"  I think he knows what we want to hear!

While having Bible time, we were talking about Jesus walking on the water.  I asked the kids how they thought Peter was able to walk on the water.  His answer?  "Maybe they had water skis."

There is a diner that the women in my family go to every so often for breakfast, while the guys go somewhere else.  One night, we decided to have dinner there.  Little man said, "That's not a restaurant, that's the women's breakfast!"  While trying to explain to him why it was okay, he said, "There's a grandfather in there, I guess that is okay."

One day, we were looking out at the snow piling up after Ryan had shoveled.  I told the kids that I might go out later and shovel so Ryan didn't have to go out again.  Little Man said, "You should do that!  That will make his feelings better!"

While gazing out at the snow one morning, Princess said, "I want to go out there today!"  Little Man responded, "Me, too, sister...me too!"

Pookie

"Blah!"

Pookie had a great winter!  She has grown so much in her communication and is a lot of fun to listen to.  Here are some quotes from her in January:

For the first story, I have to give two background points. The first is that Pookie owns a doll called "Kimochi Cloud" that helps preschoolers to understand emotions.  She hugs "Mochi" any time she is unhappy.  Second, this was said while watching Mater's Tall Tales.  There is a scene where McQueen is chasing after a Mater fan and trying to give him an autograph, the fan clearly wants nothing to do with McQueen.  Here is what she said:  "Poor 'queen.  He needs a hug (she puts out her hands to the TV).  He needs Mochi!"

Pookie is still working out pronunciation of some things.  She was very excited about the "Foofritz" (footprints) in the yard and told us every morning that the ones left in the snow outside the window (by the oil delivery guy) were actually hers.

I heard "I want lipgloss, mom" just about everyday this winter.  So, it made me laugh when she said, "I want lipgloss, Mom.  I want lipgloss all the time!"

Pookie was very excited about the prospect of losing teeth.  One night, after bath, she looked in her mouth in the mirror and said, astonishingly, "Oh!  Teeth!  Two...lost!  I need them!"

I know that Pookie knows that I love her because she tells me all the time, "Mom, I wuv you."  I am apparently doing okay with encouragement, too.  After making them hot cocoa one day, she said, "I so proud you, Mommy." 

We were getting ready to wash our hands, and Pookie didn't want the foaming soap, she wanted the moisturizing soap from Bath & Body Works.  She said, "I want the one with sprinkles."

This little lady LOVES to sing.  She just sings whatever comes to mind.  One of my favorites was a cross between the ABC's, the ones that she could remember, with Baa Baa Black Sheep.  It went like this, "Abcdefg...wxyz...yes sir, yes sir, three bags FUUULLLLL!"

And, if you have gotten all the way here, you get to hear from Ryan, too.  As he was trying to convince me that leaving the heat off for the first floor all day was the wise choice, his argument was, "Think with your wallet, woman!"

I am surprised that I had so much material for January!  I know that I was not really good about writing stuff down in the months that followed, so this may be the longest post.  But, all in all, I would say January was a good...albeit, cold...time.

Treehouse News - Christmas Memories

What a great Christmas season this was for us. I collected a few quotes, photos and memories from this season that I wanted to share.

The Advent activities were all so much fun. It was so precious to see the kids get just as excited over buying food for the food bank as they were over having sleepovers in each others' rooms.

This is how they were sleeping on sleep-over night

One morning the scroll read, "Ice Cream for Dinner Tonight!" This meant that we were going to a restaurant and they could just have ice cream if they wanted. Afterward, I heard Little Man having a conversation with himself in his room:

Little Man: Guess what? I'm having ice cream for dinner!
Reply (to himself): What???
Little Man: Yep, a calendar of mine said so.
Reply: (Little Man)?
Little Man: Yes?
Reply: Don't you have ice cream for dessert?

I didn't catch his answer, but it included an emphatic confirmation of the plan.

We ALL got in our PJ's for the Christmas Light Drive!

"They gave him SAP???" - This comment came from Little Man upon learning that Myrrh was the sap from a tree.  Did you know that?  I know I didn't!  =0)

If you are my friend on Facebook, you may have seen the video of the kids singing their carols. What you may have missed are some of the lyrics. Little Man sang "Angels We Have Heard on High" and here are some of the creative lyrics:

"Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing bore the things.
And the mountains in reply echoing their joyous springs.
Glow we are in excelsis deo."


He also likes to sing, "Re-keep, Re-keep the sounding joy!"

One of the days of Advent, we were making cookies for friends. However, Little Man kept sneezing all over the dough as we decorated. We decided we were going to have to think of something else to give our friends.  Princess said, "Playing together is a good present...you can't wrap that, though!"

Decorating the tainted cookies.  ;0)

I thought our Advent Calendar ended up very unique...with flying donkeys, Mary praying to a Palm tree, camels sitting on people's heads, and Baby Jesus floating in the middle.  Here is the final scene:

Advent Calendar Scene

We traveled to see Ryan's family, and there were a few memories I recorded from Christmas there, too.

Pookie was so excited while opening her presents that it was a joy for everyone to listen to her. I can't copy the inflection, but here is what she said while opening her first present - it was a bath time art set:

"I got sumpin! I got sumpin! I got yellow! Green! Orange! Blue! Pink! I love yellow."  (She gave herself a hug on that last statement.  So cute!)

Her next present, she said, "I got sumpin! I got a box! I got flowers!" She hadn't even found the present, yet. She was just so excited about the box it came in. =0)

Little Man just kept saying, "That's AMAZING!" with every present he really liked. Princess was not very vocal, but did exclaim, "That's just what I wanted!" when she opened her Twister Hopscotch game.

Little Man was so sweet Christmas evening. The kids were done with presents, but Great Grampy, Great Grammie and Nanny (their Great Aunt) came and the kids got to open the cards from them. Ryan read Little Man's card to him from Nanny, which had a comment that she hoped he was a good boy and that Santa didn't forget him. Before running back downstairs to play with his toys, he went over to Nanny and said, "He didn't forget me."  It was the perfect example of just how much he cares about people.

Princess with Nanny

At Christmas dinner, the kids asked me if they could sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.  It was so cute that they thought of that themselves.  Great Grampy was sitting next to me and asked, "Whose birthday is it?"  When I told him, he just smiled a little.  This may be a tradition the kids start all on their own.

Teaching Gr. Grampy about Superheros!

Reading a book to Gr. Grammie

A few days after Christmas, it was finally white with snow and we went on a sleigh ride.  The kids had a great time.  Then, we came home for some crazy carpet fun!

Crazy carpets in the driveway!

When we returned home, we had present opening time with my family. I missed most of what was said there, I am sure. Someone told me that Pookie said, upon opening her Kimochi cloud, "I found you!"

Kimochi

The other notable quote I caught was actually from their cousin. He saw Pookie take a chocolate out of the bowl, and wanted it. She wouldn't give it to him, but turned around and got one for him and gave it to him. He said to Princess and Little Man, "Look what your baby gave me." I don't think he knows her name. =0)

If you remember things the kids said or did, I would love to hear about them. Please post a comment below, or maybe on Facebook.  If any of you want to guess why this guy is so grumpy, you can post a comment for that, to.  Hehehe!

Grumpy Sheep

Treehouse News - Wedding Week Memories

I can't believe it has been a month since Princess walked down the aisle as the flower girl for her Uncle's wedding. I don't think I was prepared for how much it made me think of her actually walking down an aisle for her own wedding! Maybe it was the white dress, maybe the pretty flowers or the beautiful hair (thanks Kim!) but, something just made me sad watching her walk away from me down the aisle. I was standing with the wedding party at the back of the church so that I could tell her when she was supposed to walk, and to be there in case she decided she just couldn't go by herself. She was a trooper, though. It was a l-o-n-g aisle, but she picked up her head and determined to go by herself...without me. I was so proud of her! It was bittersweet, though. Just another reminder of how big my little lady is getting.

I want to remember so many things from that day, and I know I am probably already starting to forget, but here are some of the things I wrote down that I wanted to remember:

Princess:

Enjoying some TV before "showtime"

"Mom, someday, you might disobey the GPS." - We had made it to the salon fine using the GPS, but we had followed some advice to follow a different route at the start of the trip.  I was fumbling with the GPS maps trying to figure out how we were supposed to get back to the road we started on when Princess made this comment.

Princess is definitely not used to getting attention and it usually takes her a little while to warm up in a crowd.  When we got to the salon, she was a little overwhelmed by all the women in there.  She sat in the chair without cracking a smile until they started curling the front parts of her hair that she could see.  From then on, she giggled every time she watched the curl coming off the curling iron.

Princess was also given her flower girl gift by the bride at the salon.  She did not really give a reaction when she opened it, so we were not sure what she was thinking.  Rest assured, Julie, she loves it.  Here are two things she said in the next few hours that express her gratitude:  "I'll keep this forever!" and "I love it, it's my favorite thing!"

Little Man:

A happy boy who earned his slide time

The wedding day was hard for my Little Man.  He had to wait, sit and be quiet most of the day, with a lot of controlling done by his mama.  At one point, he was very upset that I was "mad" at him.  We had to have a little talk at that point to encourage him.  He did have some fun, too, though.

When we got to the photo location, we parked right next to a playground...that we had to tell the kids they could not go on.  Little Man had just woken up to the exciting view of a playground, and then was told he could not go on anything.  He was bawling...loudly...by the time we were supposed to take pictures.  This is when Ryan decided that bribery was the best option..."If you smile for the pictures, I will let you go on the slide."  As you can see, he enjoyed it!


"I promise, I will give you a hug." - When we were all seated at the reception, Little Man leaned over and said this to me.  He then leaned over and gave me a big hug.  Apparently, they have been talking about promises in his Bible Club group, and he wanted to make me a promise. It was really sweet.

"That was a good one!" - After Ryan's prayer at the reception, half the reception hall heard Little Man's praise for his father's accomplishment.  Poor Ryan was left wondering why people were laughing at him when he was done praying. =0)

Pookie:

Enjoying some spinning on the dance floor

"My potty...(we) forgot it." - We told Pookie at the beginning of her trip that she could not use the potty because we forgot it at home.  Toward the end of our trip, we heard her talking to herself in the back seat about the missing potty.


Spinning in her dress. - From the moment we first tried her dress on her, Pookie started spinning around in it.  She absolutely loves to dance, and was not going to miss the opportunity to twirl that skirt!

Passing time with Mommy - At the reception, it was difficult to keep an overtired toddler entertained at the table.  I tried walking with her, hoping that she would be able to fall asleep.  That didn't happen, so we went into the next room and she spun around and ran around until I thought she would hurt herself.  Then, we started going around the room counting everything from plates in a curio cabinet to the shades on the windows.  She did so well, considering how tired she was.

All three of the kids enjoyed dancing to the music just before we left for the night.  It was great because they really had the dance floor to themselves.  They had such a fun time!

They also loved walking back to the car, and I was thankful we could get to the parking garage through indoor tunnels.

The final fun quote, though, comes from about a week after we got home.  Princess was getting ready for dance class, and Little Man saw her putting on tights and a skirt...he sighed and said, "Are we going to another wedding??? (ugh!)"  He was pretty happy to learn our trip was going to be much shorter.

Treehouse News

Things have been much busier around here than I expected them to be.  I knew that starting home school would be a big undertaking, but was not thinking of all the other things that would be going on.  We have started our homeschool year, Preschool for Little Man, had a birthday party for Pookie and Princess and have been cleaning out at the house - both inside and out.  It has been a crazy time.

I have been saving quotes for a few weeks now and I  keep thinking that I need to get them up here, so I am finally getting to that.  I also have a blog post I started over a month ago that was supposed to be about our first week of school - ha!  We are now in week six, and will have to just get an overview of the last month and a half (or two months, if it takes me that long to get to it!).

Princess

Princess is officially 6 years old.  She is very excited to be so grown up.  She is a big first grader, who is about to lose her first tooth.  I cannot believe how big she is!

Here are some of the things she has been saying and doing:

Prayer:  "Lord, I do love you but, sometimes you freak me out because you tell me what to do.  Amen."
"I am only suspicious on Sunday." - I am not sure what that was about!

We have been coloring some pictures for Little Man's preschool curriculum at home - they often have stick figures of children or families.  Princess has been drawing in an extra stick figure when there is not enough to represent Pookie.
The kids were trying to guess at something, Little Man asked, "Is it Chocolate?"  I answered, "No."  Princess asked, "Is it a food product?"  I was surprised at her for the wording, but also that she picked an appropriately broad grouping to start her guesswork.

Princess and I have been working a lot on her handwriting, lately.  One of the things she has a hard time with is getting her letters to "sit" on the line.  As we reviewed her handwriting page one day, I pointed out this problem from the day's writing.  She said, "Sit right, you horrid things!"  in mock indignation at their inappropriate placement.  It was so funny!
Princess has been announcing every so often that it is, "Just because I love you day" and giving gifts and drawings out to others on that day for no particular reason.
Not sure which one was funnier, Princess or Pookie, but they had a bit of a role reversal one morning.  I heard them playing baby and Mommy in their room in the morning - only Princess was being the baby, and Pookie was being the Mommy!
"The milky things are on my palm tree." -  "What?" was my response to that!  Then, she said, "You know, the things with milk in them."  Ah!  She meant the coconuts!

Little Man

The biggest news for Little Man is his new year of Preschool.  He has been working at home with me on a preschool curriculum, but also attends the same Preschool that Princess did, and I hope Pookie will, as well.  He loves it all!  He is growing in his ability to read at home, and has a favorite friend at school.  He loves his teachers, and even wrote them a note to tell them so - he brought it with him to his first day of school.  

Here are some of the things he has been saying and doing:

 Getting ready for church one morning, DH had put a dress on Pookie.  I said, "Do we need a diaper cover for her, too?"  Little Man responded, "Mom, it's called a 'pull-up'"  While trying to continue my conversation with DH, I responded to Little Man, "Not that, the thing that goes over the pull-up."  DH had responded that we did need one, but Little Man didn't think so, "No, we don't need that..."  He was not done his sentence when I started putting it on her, and he responded to my action in an exasperated tone, "Well, I guess we can put it on."

Little Man is quieter than the girls, but he has a few key phrases he has been using, lately.

"No Kerplaimo" - This is supposed to be "No problemo" which he sometimes says correctly.  But, if I try to correct his own special pronunciation, he repeats his own.
"In a jippy" - This should be "In a jiffy," but he has flat out refused to say it that way.
"You Bet!" - This is his answer to anything that he thinks is a good idea.

Also, on his first day of school, we looked in his box to find one of his first art projects.  It was clearly made for Princess.  It had her name on it in pink letters, and a pink flower sticker on it.  I thought it was so awesome that one of the first things he did at school was to make a present for his sister.

Pookie

This little lady's vocabulary and ability to communicate continues to explode in little bursts.  Sometimes, I am not sure why she is saying something, but I know what she is saying.

"Ow, Kiss!" - She was mooning me when she said this.
"Mom.  Check On.  (Little Man)" - She said this when she was about to cross a bridge at our friends house to go see Little Man.
"Superfast!  Tickle, tickle." - This was followed by trying to tickle my lips.  Not sure why...
"Nackup" = Napkin
"Pooh-boo" = Pooh Bear
"(gasp) A-prise me!" - She had been shouting for me to come get her, and when I opened the door, she gasped and said I surprised her.
"Mmmhmmm.  it's true." - Princess was trying to convince me of something in the car, when Pookie added her convincing endorsement.
"Pin, Pin a-den.  You busy?" - Translation, "Spin, Spin again.  Are you dizzy?"
I left Pookie in bed after reading some nursery rhymes, when I realized I forgot to get something for Princess before I left the room.  Upon reentering the room, I found Pookie, foot in hand, doing "This little piggy" to herself.
"Talk your mouth!" - "No talking with your mouth full!"
"Pick a you lou" - "Peek a boo"
"Piggy Head" - This means she wants a shoulder ride...a Piggy back, only higher...


I love that each of my kids makes me smile so much.  There are so many more things they do and say that I forget to write down.  I am just glad I get to save some of them and share them with you!

Treehouse News

No, we are not building a treehouse. As much as we all would love that, it is not in the plan, yet. So, let me explain a little. I wanted to have a design for my blog that would be a little more permanent. In thinking about that, I have gone back to the verse that helped me name this blog, "A longing fulfilled is a tree of life." I am hoping to design something using a tree type theme (more on that another time...) I was also looking for some way to name our updates about the kids so that it was always the same. I figured I would go with the tree theme. I hope that I get around to designing the new look so it will make more sense, but I am going to start naming our posts about the kids stories and quotes as "Treehouse news." Hopefully, this will help the grandparents find their favorite stories. =0) I am also hoping it will help me write them more often.

For now, I will start with our most recent "news". It has been a while, so I will just give some highlights.

Princess

Princess Enjoying TWO books

I have been watching this little lady, of late, and I am amazed at her firstborn tendencies. As a second born child, this is killing me! I have been getting some insight from some of the other firstborn's I know (thanks, Dad!) so, I am learning to see her differently.

Here are some other things she has been up to:
- If I find Princess quiet somewhere, she is either reading or coloring. Her creativity with color is so much fun to watch.
- She loves to wear MY sweater when she is cold. The other day, my DH said, "Don't worry, someday she wont fit into your clothes anymore." Funny...she is only five and I already have to share my clothes with her!
- Everyone she meets is her best friend - From the child who would not LOOK at anyone as a baby, this is a real turn around. She talks to everyone. The other day, we spent an extra five minutes at the checkout so she could finish her story to the cashier.
- Just so you know, her vocabulary is also expanding...I am not even sure where she got this one:

P - "We used to have fires all the time." (In the fireplace.)
Me - "We will again."
P - "When? When winter sets in?" (For the rest of the day, both Princess and Little Man were looking forward to that time when "winter sets in")

- We have been getting books from the "Teach me how to be Good" series. We read the book on being rude, and I often remind the kids that they should not be rude to each other. Here is the response I got one day from Princess: ""That wasn't rude. I read the whole book, and that wasn't in there." Yep...love that comprehension!
- "Mom, you're so sweet, I'm never gonna leave...not even when I am grown up and supposed to."

Little Man

Cooling off by the air conditioner

I have been at a loss with Little Man for the summer. He needs structure and he needs to run around...he hasn't had much of either. Things have been changing around so much that our structured days took a backseat to opportunities for fun. When we have been home, we haven't had much time out because of the heat - and Little Man has a difficult time with the heat. Even when we have gotten out, he is the first one ready to go in.

Here are a few examples of what he likes right now, and a few quotes:
- Solving mysteries - We have been reading some mystery style books lately, and he has really gotten into it. One night, after Pookie's birthday party, I left a cupcake wrapper and candy bar wrapper downstairs. The next morning, he came up to tell DH, "I have a CLUE! Two Clues! A cupcake wrapper...and a candy bar wrapper!" After doing some sleuth work, he discovered who left them. =0)
- Rain Boots - I got rain boots for the kids so they could go out in the rain, and they have REALLY enjoyed jumping in the puddles with them. Little Man, however, does not like getting rained on. So, he is generally in a jacket with his hood on!
- Love for Pookie - He has been writing notes and drawings to tell Pookie that he loves her. It is so sweet!
- This summer dressing up has exploded as an activity in our house. Little Man likes dressing up, but has informed Princess he does NOT want to be the prince! I guess that story line has gone on long enough for him!
- Starting to love books - I love that I am finding him more and more often with an open book quietly looking through it. It is going to be interesting teaching him to read because he guesses correctly so often!
- This is a conversation we had in the car on a day when the kids had been in front of the TV ALL DAY (Confession time for me, I guess...)

LM - Can we watch a show?
DH - No you already had enough shows today from the sound of it.
LM - No, we didn't have that many.
Me - Yes you did. You watched...(I started listing off the titles)
LM - That's only 4.
Me - Oh, then you watched...(I listed two more)
LM - That's only 6. That's not a big number. I want like 10.
DH - Do you know how many shows I watched today?
LM - No.
DH - None.
LM - Oh, well when we get home we can watch a show and then...

I didn't hear the rest of what he said...I was laughing too hard.

Pookie

Pookie after her first bath with "Baby"

This little firecracker has had a wonderful time the last few weeks. She got to celebrate her birthday 4 times the week of her birthday, and now "Happy Birthday" is her favorite song. (It has nothing to do with the singing Pooh Bear balloon I bought her for her party...guaranteed to play at least 50 times! I thought DH was going to lose it!) The picture, above, is her with her new bath time baby doll - she loves it!

- Potty training - I can't believe how well Pookie is potty training. She has had two or three accidents all week. We did go out a few times with pull-ups on, and she did need them. At home, though, she has done wonderful. Today, in the car, she told us she needed to go. We were a few minutes from home, but when we arrived she was still dry and went on the potty. You go girl!!! We had an awful time finding panties that would fit her, though. Size 18m just doesn't seem to exist. Luckily, we found some really narrow 2t/3t. They seem to fit her okay. We will be trying them out this week.
- Singing, dancing, dressing up - I can tell how much she adores her brother and sister because she wants to be where they are and doing what they are doing. She is ALWAYS singing, and if she has a dress on there is dancing to go along with it.
- Quotes -

- I dropped a towel going from the washer to the dryer. I said, "Whoops." She responded by picking it up and saying, "Tain choo, wackum". (thank you, you're welcome) and then throwing it in the dryer for me.
- I asked, "Do you want me to carry you?" "Umm-hmm, carry me." I find it interesting that she used the correct "me" instead of "you."
- "Watch me mom!"
- Dictionary of terms: Cuckoos=Blues Clues
Tepup=ketchup
Fa-fish=goldfish
Yam=lamb

I hope you enjoyed our long update here. Hopefully, I can keep up with their news a little better so I don't feel like I need to tell you everything that they have been doing. I am so proud of them, and how they are growing. I hope you have enjoyed some of their stories, too.

Playing with Photoshop

I have been interested in Photography for years. I love taking pictures of kids. Before I had my own, I used to sit my neice down and just click away on my camera. When I found out I was pregnant with Princess, I was blessed to be able to take a photography course as on of my last college courses. I have always been grateful for the experience. I learned that I had really good composition, but I was frustrated by my lack of contrast in many of my pics. Though I am still learning more about that, and other actual photography tricks, I have been amazed lately at what Photoshop can do!

My first thoughts about this came from a new blog I have been reading, mycharmingkids.net. This amazing woman has four small children, one on the way, and is a photographer, among other things. The link above goes specifically to the section on "Photography Lessons." Some of the tricks I knew, but I have been learning a lot. One thing I always lamented was that the colors in my photographs were not like I would see online or in magazines, etc. Well, as it turns out, I am not such a bad photographer. I just didn't know I was supposed to change everything in Photoshop. I am still really looking forward to taking better shots straight off the camera, but as "McK Mama" said on her site, "...I just love to take a super photograph straight out of my camera and kick it into high gear so that it becomes a super work of art."

So, I thought I would try a few of the tricks. I chose that photo because I knew it was flat, and I didn't try to make it perfect, but it is pretty cool how much more the photo stands out.

Before

After

While I enjoyed playing with this photo, and learning to work with the color, I was a little shocked later at some before and after photos that I found here. I knew photos in ads and magazines were edited, but I had no idea how much. I think the sad thing to me was how fake some of the people look. While photographers have always played with lighting and color in the dark room, I think the people in some of the photos from that link lost their character. (I especially disliked the cute girl whose freckles were airbrushed out. I like freckles!)

While I think I will play with my photos...fix the lighting, boost the color, etc...I don't ever want to change them so much that they are no longer the photos that I took.

Little Miss Independent

I had alluded to Pookie's tendency to just go ahead and get whatever she wants in my last post about the kids. She is the only one of my children who will go into the closet and grab whatever she wants and start eating it. She did not start out being sneaky about grabbing stuff, but that has evolved as she figured out I would take it away when I found out. *smile* Her tendency to run away with things has expanded to non-food items, as well. After my last post, I decided to start keeping track of the things I have found her with. Here are some of the things I remembered to write down:

• Raisins - by far her favorite snack! They get stolen more often than anything.
• Body Spray - Not only did she take it from my room, I found her spraying it on herself frantically to get as much out of the bottle before I took it.
• iPod - When she knew that I saw her, she ran to try and put it back where she found it.
• Goldfish - We have the biggest box I could find...she can't even get her arms all the way around it.
• Scissors - Another thing she knew she wasn't allowed to have...thankfully I got to her before she went running with them.
• Chocolate Covered Almonds - She doesn't even like them! I think she thought they were the chocolate covered raisins. hehehe
• Make-up Bag - AGAIN! Thankfully, I found her before anymore red got on her face.
• My Keys - This one is kind of funny, because I have found the doors to the car open when she played with them before.
• Chip Bag - At 10am, a little after breakfast, I heard her plop down on the floor with a bag. When I turned around, she already had the clip off and was eating.

Here is an example of what it is like when I catch her in the act (at the end, she is telling me to turn the camera screen so she can see herself...)



Last, but certainly not the least...yesterday, she came up to me with my espresso beans. She had taken the bag out of the box I keep them in, opened it and already had a few in her mouth. She said, "Coffee!" Then, she started to chew them. The look on her face was priceless! She looked like she was confused by why something that mommy likes so much would taste so horrible. I wanted to grab the video camera, but it was downstairs. I asked her if it tasted good, she said "mm-hmm" (yes). A few seconds after I figured out what she had in her mouth, she spit them out. So, I only got a picture of her pointing to them on the floor. Still, I wonder if she has learned anything from this valuable lesson???

Pookie pointing to the beans on the floor		The beans by the bag

How Will They Remember Me?

Every time I make a decision how to spend something, time or money or energy, I tend to second guess myself. That was definitely the case at lunch the other day.

So, we were getting ready for lunch. The kids were all around the table, and I was getting the food ready. I decided to sing to them. Have you ever heard "This is me" by Laurie Berkner? It is a very fun song that the librarian uses during story time to get all the kids moving around before they have to sit and read. I did my own little version, (along with descriptive actions...)

"This is [Little Man], This is [Little Man], I love [Little Man] and his energy...
He likes to jump up and down (jump, jump, jump)
He likes to race his cars (vroom, vroom, vroom)
He likes to run all around (run, run, run) 'cause he has energy
Oh, I love [Little Man], I love [Little Man], I love [Little Man] and his energy"

I knew I couldn't leave the two girls out, so I started in with Princess:

"This is [Princess], This is [Princess], I love [Princess] and her energy...
She likes to dance ballet (do-do-do-do-do-doooooo)
She likes to run and play (run, run, run)
She likes to act all crazy (blah, blah, blah) 'cause she has energy
Oh, I love [Princess], I love [Princess], I love [Princess] and her energy"

Not to be left out Pookie was already chanting "Me! Me! Me!" So, I went on:

"This is [Pookie], This is [Pookie], I love [Pookie] and her energy...
She likes to spin around (spin, spin, spin)
She likes to hop up and down (hop, hop, hop)
She likes to sing little songs (la, la, la) 'cause she has energy
Oh, I love [Pookie], I love [Pookie], I love [Pookie] and her energy"

The kids had a good laugh, and Little Man immediately started HIS own version:

"This is Mommy, This is Mommy, I love Mommy and her energy...
She likes to type on her computer (type, type, type)
She likes to watch movies (whoa, whoa, whoa)
She likes to lay in bed (sleep, sleep, sleep)

At this point, I interjected, "So, she can get more energy!" and we finished the song. The next day, as we were singing again, Princess wanted to add her own illustration of how I get energy, and said, "She likes to drink her coffee (sip, sip, sip)."

Now, as all this was going on, I was actually not having a very good week and was feeling quite sad about my kids' description of me. To fully appreciate the mommy guilt, you have to have a little background. For the previous two weeks I had been distracted by projects on the computer. I have a very tenacious personality, but sometimes I can be way too focused on one thing and not pay attention to the other things going on.

For example, we had lost the video of Pookie's "cosmetology" because the disc in the camera was bad. So, I had been moving our home videos into the computer so we would be able to capture more of those moments on the hard drive. I got into the middle of it...I had to be at the computer all the time to check if the last one had finished, start a new one, save them, label them with the correct dates, etc. I didn't just do a few of them so we would have room on the hard drive, I wanted them ALL done. Good goal...bad execution.

By the time we were singing our little lunchtime song, I had been feeling guilty about my inability to prioritize when I am in the middle of something. I thought, "What am I doing? These are things that can be done in pieces - I need to be present with my kids when they are around. I need to pay attention to them first." Their little version of our song made me think, "Is this what they notice about me? Is this what they will remember? I do so much for them...do they not know?"

After feeling guilty for a few days, I remembered a video a friend of mine had posted on her blog about the "invisible woman." You can watch it here:


In this video, she says that others may not see, but God sees. He knows our efforts and the sacrifices we make. I didn't notice until today, but at the end she says this, "They will never see - not if we do it right, not if we do it well." My kids should never feel the weight of the sacrifices I make for them.

As I thought about writing this, I remembered something from my childhood. A single time that I was encouraged by my Mom. This interaction came during a phase in my life that we really did not get along very well. I cannot tell you what we argued about during that time, I can't tell you what punishments I got; but, I can tell you about the t-shirt with the teddy bear and rainbow on it that she gave me as a "Thank you" for helping her around the house.

Maybe what my kids will remember is that one day, while making lunch, we sang and danced and laughed together making up songs about each other. Maybe that is what I should remember, too. Hopefully, that is the legacy I will leave.

Everyday Fun

During the first few months of Princess' life, I read articles on the importance of jotting down little quotes and memories so that you would remember them over the years. I have never been as good at this as I wish I had been, but I am still thankful for the articles because I know I have captured more than I would have without them. I used to send out emails with collections of some of the things the kids had done or said, and decided that I would try to resurrect the habit here. So, without further ado...here are some stories, quotes and pictures from the last few months.

Princess:

Wedding Dress Shopping

Princess is going to be in a wedding in October, so we went dress shopping. She had fun trying on all the poufy dresses, if you couldn't tell by the picture! =0) We also went to get our hair done together. Although we went to the kids' salon, she sat on the women's side with me. She was VERY excited to get her hair washed professionally. They don't usually do that for the kids, but she asked me on the way to the salon, and asked them as soon as we got there. For those of you with Facebook, you can see more pictures of her in the dresses on my page. (If you don't have a Facebook account, you can email me and I will send you the link.)

Recent Princess Quotes:
"I don't sleep ever! Except at Christmas, I pretend to so I can get presents!"

After I tickled her, she turned the tables and tickled me, singing a song from her Memory Verse album, "Do unto others what you would have them do to you, to you!"

She introduced herself as Mater, from the movie Cars, saying, "Shake my wheel!"

"On hot summer days, hot chocolate turns to water! I love water."

Little Man:

RCMP Boy

This shirt was a present from the kids' auntie who is in RCMP training. Little Man was so excited about it, that he grabbed his fireman's hat (the closest thing to the RCMP uniform he could find) and declared that he was an officer! We quickly took some photos to send to her (sorry for not getting them to you sooner, auntie!).

Little Man also finished his first year of preschool. He is looking forward to summer, and asks to go in the pool every time he sees the sun shining. Unfortunately, the big pool he would love to swim in isn't even ready yet. ☺

Recent Little Man Quotes:
"I was shade bathing!" (He said this to me after disappearing while playing outside. I found him laying in the grass under the tree.)

Princess had already been sick a few days in a row, and had a fever. When Little Man acted strangely one afternoon, I knew it was time to take his temperature. Sure enough, he had a high temp and needed medicine. He immediately started crying and pointed at her saying, "[Princess] touched me!" It is nice to know that he really understands the concept of spreading germs!

Little Man doesn't like it when characters in TV shows do things they are not supposed to. He came running upstairs the other day because a character was disobeying. When the show ended, he said, "Phew! I thought that naughty boy would never stop!"

Pookie:

Learning Cosmetology

Ah, yes. Doesn't she look so innocent? So angelic? So...red? No, her stitches did not open and bleed, Pookie is just experimenting with my make-up. I wish that I took pictures every time I find her with something she is not supposed to have, I could probably make quite an entertaining album. Here, she is using my eye shadow brush to apply a cream blush to her chin. Whenever I find her with something like this, she runs away trying to get as much done as she can. (i.e. if she is eating, she stuffs her face as fast as she can until I catch up with her.)

Recent Pookie Quotes:
When we say, "I love you" to Pookie, she now responds, "I love you, too."

I asked her if she wanted to help me find something, she responded, "Help you to find them."

She was VERY excited at having strawberries for lunch the other day, and was serenading them as she ate, "Strawberry, strawberry strawwwwwberrry..."

Pookie always remembers to say her prayers. Usually, it is just a series of "Jesus esus esu es jesu" and then "amen" However, at lunch the other day, she included her apple and her boo-boo in her prayers.

I know that I will never do it justice, I will probably never catch it on camera, but I hope I never forget her singing her favorite bedtime song, "Jesus Loves Me." The facial expressions she makes are so cute, and her memory of the words is amazing to me.

I hope that you have enjoyed our stories! If you would like to see more pics, you can check Facebook or email me for a link.