"I just like people throwing things at me"

Nathan just made us laugh really hard! I was sitting on the bar stool while Hannah, Nathan, and Mom were sitting on the couch. Mom was reading to them. 

Hannah turned to me and said "Hey can you throw me an orange?" So I grabbed and orange and tossed it to her. Then Nathan looks at me and said "Can you throw me an orange too?" So I did. 

After he caught it he said "Okay, take it back. I just like people throwing things at me". And he through it back. We all laughed really hard! It was super funny.

Nathan At Brookes Burgers

Dad was out of town this week, so last night we went to Brookes Burgers for dinner. We all got a hamburger, but Nathan was funny (he's 10 now). He ordered a donut burger, which is pretty much a regular burger but instead of the bread buns, they're glazed donuts. But I think Nathan confused everyone at the table including our waiter...

"I'd like to get the kids donut burger," he said. "But could I have, like, an extra bun? Like another one I can put my burger on?" He was so confusing! The waiter tried to figure out what he meant, and mom tried to translate what he said, but neither one could figure it out quite right. So then we got our order and started eating, and Nathan got his donut burger. Then he said "Aw I didn't get the extra bun".

Sooo... when the waiter came to check on us Nathan said again "Could I have another bun?" By now mom knew that he wanted just a bread bun. He wanted to take the meat off the donut, eat the donut, then eat the burger with a regular bun. Once mom told the waiter what he meant Nathan got his extra bun. But it was still really funny to watch and listen too. 

Science Fair 2019

This year, Nicole participated in a full fledged Science Fair.  After 10 weeks of working through all stages of the scientific method, converting her research plan into a research paper, and creating a display, she and her classmates had one night to present their experiment to two groups of judges.  This is their big project for Challenge A, and one they were all prepared for.

In all honesty, there wasn't much inspiration for an experiment, so she picked something from sciencebuddies.com .  She thought it would be neat to learn about spherification. 

Spherifi- what? haha.  I'm a few months into this, and I'm still not 100% sure what it is exactly.  Basically, spherefication is taking a liquid or watery food item and adding sodium citrate to it to make the food alkaline.  Then you drop it into a bath of sodium...something, I forget...and it stays in little balls.  Maybe I should have had her write this blog! haha!  She was suppose to be testing how the pH affects the food's ability to become spheres.  Chefs use this technique quite often. 

Spherified Coca-Cola

Measuring the width of the spheres

Spherified Gatorade

Nicole shines at public presentations, and Friday was no different.  She loves this.

Giving her presentation to the first set of judges.

They were bold enough to taste her gatorade spheres.

Nathan & Hannah participated in the community's Geo/Science Fair.  Hannah studied sugar in food and learned how to measure out how much sugar is in some of her favorite foods. 

Nathan decided to learn about volcanoes.  Let's me honest....who can say they have graudated school without making a homemade volcano ?!? 

The Braves Game....oh...um...I mean...The Rays Game!

Outside of Tropicana Field

A few weeks ago the Atlanta Braves were in town playing against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Jeremy loves the Braves so we decided we were crazy enough to take the kids to a game.  Once I got over the sticker shock of taking 5 people to a baseball game :( get use to it Michele:( and the fear of a child having a tantrum in the middle of the stadium, we actually had a great time.

Jeremy walking his son into the stadium to see the field for the first time.  This was a big moment for him.  Jeremy I mean ;)

We got there early and watched the teams warm up. We tried to catch some balls out in right field during batting practice, but never got one :(

Watching batting practice.

Let me say...the Rays stadium is VERY kid friendly.  I would most certainly go back again with the kids.  They have a whole family friendly section.  We didn't get to explore much of it, but we did get to let the kids sit down and color for a while.  They also have a carnival game area (where the games are free to play...isn't that nice?)  If we want to touch the sting rays, we'll have to go even earlier next time.

We had seats with a great view.  We were in the upper deck....just to the right of home plate.  It was great.  The girls borrowed some binoculars from some neighbors and that kept them busy most of the game.

Hahaha...so silly!

Nate watched for quite a while and was busy eating snacks and lollipops, until I ran out of treats.  Then, he got to play on the phone :)

I took this picture, anticipating the steal. 

Isn't our camera cool?!?!  From the upper deck, this is the detail I got.  Clearly he was out!

It was  a wonderful family afternoon.

Golfing

Nate went golfing with Jeremy and Greg while we had our Fancy Nancy Party.  He was very well behaved, and apparently had a lot of fun.  At the end of each hole, when asked his score, he always said....."TWO".

Way to go Buddy! 

I need Jesus my dear one...just as much as you need him

The great thing about homeschooling is that God is always using me to teach my children (OK, I know you don't have to homeschool for that to happen...but this examples ties directly into our curriculum) Case in point:

A few nights ago I "lost it" with my children. As in...I exhibited no self control in my attitude, my words and my actions. It was terrible..and yet another time of teaching forg...iveness and repentance.

Fast Forward to today....our new memory verse for the week comes up in our My Father's World study. It is....Proverbs 29:11 "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Yep...we brought up the other night and how mommy acted like a fool because I gave "full vent to my anger" and not like a wise man who keeps himself under control. Then...Nicole confesses, "Mommy, the other night when you were mad, I wanted to remind you about our Bible verse "Pleasent words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Because your words weren't very sweet or healing.

*sigh* Yes my dear one. I need Jesus just as much as anyone else. Such great conversations can come from our sinfulness along with great rejoicing over God's grace to cover those sins with the blood of Jesus.

I share this...not to get everyone to remind me I'm a great mom or to make me feel better about my attitudes. No...I was wrong and acting in full fleshly sin at the time (and I knew it!) But to remind you to take those moments, seek forgiveness and reconciliation and draw your children back to their need (and Your need) for Jesus.

It's Potty Time!

Nathan is potty training...I mean, potty trained.  I mean...potty training. Well, I'm not sure what I mean.  I guess it depends on the day.  Nate has been potty training for about 2 months.  That is 1 month, 3 weeks and 2 days longer than the girls potty trained.  It has been hard.  It has been frustrating.  Yes, I have cried and prayed through it...and I still don't think we are done.  Well, since he just wet his undies again, I know we are not done.  BUT...he is in undies 24/7, 100% of the time.  He has been for a while now...which is why I guess I can declare that he is potty trained...but really, he is still training ;)

Whew, boys are harder than girls.  At least my little guy is.  He did horrible at first, then ok, the really good...then worse than horrible, then ok, then bad...and for the past few weeks it's been great.  (I define horrible as "several dirty (i.e. poopy) underwear changes per day".  I define bad as "never once going pee in the potty through the day" and I define great as "Only pees a little in their undies when they realize they have to go...or one accident when we aren't at home".

So, as you can see...I have very loose definitions of success here.  Apparently, this is somewhat normal for potty training boys (maybe girls too...I don't know...my girls were a dream! - and it felt like it at times).

I would like to label this next section as

"Things my daughters need to know when they become mothers and have to potty train their son."

(Nathan, I apologize now for any embarrassment I cause you as a grown man when you read this.  I promise not to break this article out at your wedding...but I may at the birth of your firstborn son ;)

1.  Your son MUST run around absolutely naked for the first few days.  I made the mistake of keeping undies on him for a while thinking "When he has an accident, at least it won't spray around everywhere and will form a little puddle at his feet."  A mother of a boy told me this was wrong thinking.  Let me explain.  There is a good chance your little guy has NO IDEA what his little "pee pee" is for, except perhaps for grabbing (which mine rarely does because he always has clothes on...I like clothes, I force my children to like to wear clothes too...unless we are potty training ;)  A little boy MUST SEE HIMSELF pee.  As in...he must see it come out so he knows what is going on...and why it is happening.  This was our first step of success.  My poor little guy had no idea what I meant when I sat him on a toilet and told him to pee.  After a day or two...he had a better understanding ;)  Now, it's up to you when to clothe your child again I guess.  Once I could tell that Nate had this concept down, we put undies back on (again..I am "For" clothes).

2.  You son MUST sit BACKWARDS on the toilet.  Ah, yes...This...This is the key to successfully potty training a boy.  At least in my experience it is. 
   
Let me stop here and say this first....for the first two years of Nathan's life...I was constantly asking about what to do when I started potty training him.  Does he sit? Does he stand?  No one gave me a solid answer.  So...I sat him on one of those dorky little Cars potty seats with a lame excuse for a pee pee splash guard.  Since the splash guard wasn't tall enough, I would force his little, you know...down into the toilet, because as it was, it would just allow pee to be sprayed in my face, which would induce more crying (by me of course, he would probably laugh).  I also bought a really expensive Baby Bjorn potty seat, with a more respectable size of a splash guard.  However, it was a super hard seat and hurt poor little guy's tush (haha...man up, right?  I'm sure Nathan will be utterly embarrassed when he reads this as a teenager...then, completely grateful again as a father.)
   
Anyway...back to the issue at hand.  A very wise mother of 5 boys all under age 8 gave me extremely wonderful advice that No One every suggested.  Put him on the seat backwards.  Backwards?!?!?  I don't understand...why?  Put him on and you will see. 

The pee will *almost* always go down in the potty (once he's figured out how to make it fly high over the seat...deal with that immediately ;)  So....accurate aim is important and backwards potty sitting sure helps with that.

Remember rule 1 and the importance of a boy seeing himself go potty.  Well...think of all the entertainment, just a little bend at the waste and he gets to see himself in full action.  It's a boy thing I think...and it works ;)

Finally, the seat is narrower towards the front, so his little tush is supported.  He's not holding himself up...dangling over a pool of nasty water that he most certainly will fall in if his arms give out.  Nope...not gonna happen with a backwards sitting boy.

I would also assume this aids in transition to going pee while standing.  I, for one, am not brave enough to explore this option quite yet.  At such a time, I do plan on incorporating Cheerio target shooting into our potty moments.   

I did finally get him to pee outside last week...here's hoping there will more of that in the future...you know, when we're camping or probably just about any time he gets a chance ;)

And that...is my potty training for boys advice.  Don't breathe a word of this to my sweet little guy until he's a strong young man I can claim "forgetfulness" that I ever wrote this post :)

Camping

Our poor, sweet little Nicole has been asking us to take her camping for about 2 years now.  Last year was a wreck...and during camping season here, we just couldn't.  So...this year rolls around and we are in transition from moving our lives.  We kept trying to find a weekend to go, but it just wasn't working.  So...finally, a few weeks ago in early April, we put the tent up in our own backyard.

Nicole was appeased...all she wanted was a campfire and a tent.  Mommy was happy because I really didn't want to be in the woods with three children and a puppy dog.  Daddy..well...there was a fire, so that made him happy too:)

The kids "helped" set up the tent and loved every minute of it.  Nate and Hannah enjoyed playing inside the tent together and yelling at Lucy the dog to stay away. 

The best (ok, scariest...looking back now, we can laugh but this could have been really bad) part of the night was when the kids wanted to roast marshmallows.  Jeremy said to them "First you have to find a stick".  Nathan reaches into the fire pit and grabs a stick that is on fire!!!!  Jeremy was right there and controlled the situation immediately.  Nate was perfectly fine.  Mom and dad...well...we were a bit on edge after that ;)

Nathan got stung by a random wasp at night while exiting the tent.  That was weird.

Surprising the  kids all slept in the tent all night long! (yes...I stayed in the tent too...even though I kept thinking about how close my couch (or even my bed) was.  Lucy stayed in her kennel...maybe sometime she can stay out with us though.

I very much enjoyed camping the backyard.  Clean up was fairly easy.  I wasn't afraid of wild animals since we have a fence, and bathrooms were close by.  All in all...it was a great family weekend.

Playing Hookie

We played hookie today....well, sort of.

Jeremy has not felt well this week, and it's been questionable if the kids were battling what he has, or if we all just have allergy issues (pollen levels are high).  I would prefer to chalk it up to allergies, but this morning when we woke up to go to CC....the kids all said their throats hurt (this may have been their excuse for a cough drop), and all still had the sniffles and sneezes pretty bad.

So....for the sake of the other kids in the nursery, we skipped CC this morning.

However, my poor husband would have come home to a crazy lady tonight if I had to stay in this house one more day with the kids.  It's been a rough week (lots of boo boos...lots of potty training, and some bad attitudes and fighting).  We needed out....NOW!

We packed the van up with our bicycles, lunch and snacks and took off to Lettuce Lake Park.  I had no idea what to expect because I had never been to this park, nor do I know anyone who has been the park.

Riding down a bike path

It was the perfect day for us!  I love this park!!!

We rode our bikes around a 1.25 mile loop (twice), walked on their beautiful boardwalk through the woods and to Hillsborough River, played on the play ground and even saw a (homeschooling) teenager riding a unicycle!

It was just what I needed with the kids.  A new adventure, outside, with few rules and lots of fun. 

We saw alligators and turtles

Alligator (there were two here, but I just took a picture of 1)

click on this picture to make it full screen.  You can see two alligators and several turtles on the same log

I'm so happy this came out...this turtle was really far away, perched on a log sticking out of the water

And...a few more turtles

Some familiar birds....

A white ibis I think

A White Egret.  This one was hunting.  It was motionless...and then it would see it's fish and snatch it out of the water.  It was cool to see.  We saw him get a couple fish.

and some strange birds.

I have no idea what kind of bird this is.  I've never seen one.  It was huge and very fluffy

If you click on this and make it full screen...you can see it's beak open as it's catching a fish

We climbed an observation tower

Nate is saying "Shhh" as we climb the tower

And this was our view

A view of the river from the tower

This is the same picture above, except zoomed in as far as my camera would let me.  I saw a bird...and my camera got it!

We saw an Eagle's nest (if you click on the picture it will go full screen and you can see the bird getting ready to take off.)

I don't know if this was an Eagle or an Osprey.  We saw it fly into the nest...stay a moment, and then fly away.  I think we saw it later with a fish in it's talons.  Click to zoom this one in and you can see the bird's wing....he was getting ready to fly away again.

Nate ended up falling asleep on our last bike ride. 

We took one last bike ride...and it knocked Nate out :)

Nicole had a journal and would draw pictures of animals and insects she saw...and we talked a lot about ecosystems and math....that counts as a school day, right?  I love homeschooling ;)