And Then There Was Joy.

We did crafts again today after taking a week off because the kids were all running temperatures off and on last week. This morning they all woke up fever-free and fairly happy. I say fairly, because Seth has still been occasionally grumpy enough for me to wonder if he is hurting somewhere, but with no other symptoms it is impossible to tell.

The kids wanted to do monster puppets. The book said to use juice cans, which we did not have, so I cut up paper towel tubes for them instead. I helped them get started with covering their cardboard tubes with paper and adding noses and eyes. After a bit, I just let them go at it with scissors and glue because they were doing so well on their own. You can see their creations. I made Seth’s for him, and after the pictures, he promptly tore it all apart and ate the pieces. In case you are wondering, Will is making a scary face. It was the only way he would cooperate for a photo.

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#1.
Elise: “Where is my pencil sharpener? It’s missing and I need it to sharpen my pencils.”
Me: “Well, think through where it might have been put.”
Elise: “It is always put back in the same place – in my craft box.”
Me: “Obviously not.”
Elise: “Yes it is, Mom! It is always put back where it belongs.”

#2. After picking our own peaches in a past the season orchard with an apparently very bored child, who complained most of the time we were there.
Me: “Did you have fun?”
Elise: “Yes.”
Me: “Really? Even after getting lost, having to go to the bathroom and being really thirsty?”
Elise: “Yep.”
Me: “Well, it was kind of hard to tell.”

#3. After Will sees me trying one of the peaches we brought home.
Will: “I want one! I want my own one.”
Me: “Here (cutting him a bite of mine), here’s your own one.”
Will: “No, I want my own big one from there (points to box).”
Me: “Well, try this piece first to see if you like it.”
Will: (Licks the piece) “Me no like this. Me have my own?”
Me: “If you don’t like that one, you won’t like your own.”
Will: “Why?”
Me: “Because they taste the same.”
Will: “Oh.”

#4. Will was trying to copy me by trying to get Seth to show off and say all the names he knows.
Will: Say Memaw Seth.
Seth: Mama
Will: Say Elise Seth.
Seth: Eese.
Will: Say Me Seth.
Seth (not even hesitating): Wull (that’s how he says Will)

#5. Elise finds a hangar that belongs in my closet.
Elise: Wow! Why is this hangar so big?
Me: That’s my hangar.
Elise: But why is it so big? My hangars aren’t this big.
Me: Because it is an adult hangar. Your hangars are kids hangars. I’m bigger than you, so my clothes are bigger than yours.
Elise (still apparently at awe at the sheer size of it): Well, this is like 3 times bigger than my hangars.

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“Mom, Mom, do you want to see my game? It’s called ‘me do this and then this.’ You play like this.” Will sticks a balloon in his mouth and blows air until the balloon pops out of his mouth. He gives me a smile like this is the most amazing game in the world. Then he runs off and comes back with two balloons. “Wanna see me do two balloons?” By the time he got to four balloons, I was actually quite impressed. Have you ever tried to blow up 4 balloons at one time?

In between the yells, screams, and arguments that are becoming quite common in our house, there are moments like this. In fact, if I am completely honest, I think these moments outnumber the other less enjoyable ones, it is just that since I feel responsible for their behavior, it is easier to focus on all the times they are at each others’ throats.

But the truth is, my kids really do love each other. They might not say it, but they show it multiple times each day. Like when Will climbs into bed next to Elise after she has been declared sick and says “Now me read you a book Eese.” Or when Elise makes a house for the boys on their new bunk bed with her blanket. And it shows up in the multiple times Elise will sit down and read the boys a book.

I know I worry about all the “bad” habits Elise is teaching the boys. I see her negative actions and words reflected in their behavior already. But there are plenty of good things she teaches them too. Because of her, the boys are developing a love of reading and books that they did not have before. With her encouragement, Will has discovered the joy of cutting and coloring, and making elaborate craft projects. Her interactions have encouraged them to develop very active imaginations (just like hers). It is so fun to watch them all play something as simple as pretending to be a family, to something much more complicated like trying to steal eggs from an angry mother bird (Elise is usually the bird). Even Seth gets into the play-acting now. Even her love of outdoors and wonder at God’s creation is shared eagerly with her brothers. I am sure that they will be begging to do school by the time they reach kindergarten because of her ability to show how learning can be so fun.

It’s been awhile since I’ve stated it, but I love having multiple children. I love watching the relationships develop. I love how attached they are to each other and how protective they can be of each other. Their relationships are so simple, which I think makes them stronger. Sure, they fight and yell and scream at each other when they get frustrated. We are working on that. But because they are so honest with their emotions, they don’t get bogged down with all the complications that adults have in their relationships. To them I think it is clear. I love you. Sometimes I can’t stand you, but I will always love you. And I will always forgive you. I hope that is true of them into adulthood. I hope they are building the foundations to relationships that will support them through life as they venture out on their own.

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This day is an example of how I can find laughter in my kids antics even when they are completely misbehaving. The morning started well enough. I woke when I heard the boys begin playing in their room. I kept dozing instead of getting up to work out. When I finally rolled out of bed, I checked Will’s diaper, my usual first task of the day. Hooray! He hadn’t managed to dirty it before I got up, perhaps that means he’d be willing to use the toilet instead of his diaper or underwear today. But no, it is almost lunch time and he has yet to go at all. That probably means he is saving it for his nap-time diaper.

Breakfast was English muffins. We are out of 2% milk again. Somehow we went through an entire gallon in just 3 days. Sometime this morning I decided to not follow the normal schedule today. Perhaps it started as early as 6:30 when I didn’t get out of bed to exercise. Perhaps it was at 8:30 when I noticed there weren’t THAT many clothes to fold, so it wouldn’t be horrible to put it off until tomorrow. Most likely it was when I sat down at my computer and started researching buttons. (Despite how it sounds, this is a necessary part of my day today). I got so into researching and searching for a supplier, I eventually made a conscious choice to not stop at 9:30 to do craft time as usual.

The morning was interrupted by several breakdowns concerning Elise. I have been taking a pretty tough approach with her talking back and arguing and this has resulted in plenty of tears, whines, and complaints. If the bad response to my directions or punishments goes on too long, I start adding more punishments on. So far, she hasn’t seemed to get a clue about how to stop, but I’m hoping if I stay consistent, things will start to improve. I am just tired of disrespect from her and have decided on a no tolerance policy.

To describe how this plays out, let me describe to you what happened the other day on the way home from Fayettville. Elise was complaining because she couldn’t hear the music above the boys (who are often quite rowdy and loud by the time we head home). Eventually her complaints gave way to ranting and raving at the boys themselves. Once her complaints and bossiness became unbearable to my ears, I turned off the music completely. “Mom, I want the music on,” she complained. “Well, you were complaining about the noise, so now it is quieter in here,” I said. “But Mom . . .” You can imagine the rest of the conversation. When she refused to stop complaining and arguing and accept my decision, I said that when we got home she could not play outside. This decision caused her to go into almost hysterical complaints, whines, and excuses. “Please, Mom, please, choose a different punishment.” When I assured her that this is the way it was going to be, she started screaming, and so I told her that now she would also not be able to read at all this evening. This produced even higher hysterics. I was finally able to calm her down some by explaining that if she kept complaining and screaming and basically throwing a fit, I would find something else to take away as well. After a bit of quiet crying in the back, Elise says to me: “You completely ruined my day!” “What?” I reply, “Elise if your day is indeed ruined, which is debatable, you have no one to blame but yourself. It was your own choices which caused you to lose your privileges.” “Well, you aren’t making me happy,” she said. We were home finally, and I started unloading kids and purchases. Elise, on her way out of the car, gives Will a solid punch stating, “It’s all your fault I got in trouble in the first place since you wouldn’t be quiet!” She was subsequently sent to her room with the instruction that she would receive suitable punishment for hitting her brother once I could think of one. She wasn’t aloud out until supper time. Just before supper I sat down with her and tried to explain her actions and my responses. Can you believe that after all that, she claimed to not have any idea what she had done wrong? So one by one, I listed the mistakes she had made and then ended by trying to explain that a punishment isn’t supposed to be something you like and how she should correctly respond to one, even though it makes her very sad. We had a practice run when I announced that her punishment for hitting Will would be going to bed early. She actually accepted it quite well. Perhaps she is learning, but after her actions today, I see that it hasn’t sunken in completely yet, I guess we’ll have to wade through the increasing punishments a bit more before she realizes how to hold her tongue.

So, back to today. Ten o’clock arrived and I did take a break to pop some popcorn for snack time. I sat the kids down at the table and returned later to find the whole bowl of popcorn dumped out on the table. When Will saw me coming he quickly ducked under the table to hide. He had a small pile of sugar on the table in front of him and the sugar spoon from the sugar bowl that he’d been using to transfer the sugar. Seth was yelling in his chair to be let down. Not, as I found, because he was full of popcorn, but instead because he wanted to share in the sweetness Will had discovered. I ended snack-time, cleaned up all the crumbs and sugar off the table and swept the floor. I explained to Will that he had to be done with snack now because he was stealing the sugar. “Seth do it,” he politely lied.

A phone call came in, an interesting one, actually. Half way through, something crashed in the kitchen. That is the moment that the sugar bowl died. I led Seth away from the mess and finished up my phone call. Then I returned to clean up sugar from the chair Seth had been standing on and the tile floor. I picked up the remnants of my sugar bowl and stacked them on the counter. I’m thankful Elise didn’t see it, as she tends to be pretty dramatic about losing precious things like this. Later as I was holding Seth I realized, he still had sugar caked on his cheeks. “You have sugar on your cheeks,” I laughed. Seth, thinking this was a great discovery, begin scraping it off his cheeks and sucking his fingers. He has no regrets, why would you put something as tasty as sugar in a bowl anyway?

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We’ve started a new craft time at our house. I know I sometimes tend to go through a day mostly only spending time with the kids when I have to. This means of course that many of our interactions are negative as they happen when I am trying to break up a fight, trying to get them to clean up their messes, or finding out what they’ve been doing so quietly for the last 5 minutes. To help remedy this, I put together a new schedule for the remainder of the summer and each morning for 30 minutes we all sit down and do a craft project together. Even Seth can get involved in many of the things and it gives Will a chance to develop a bit more fine-motor skills. Here are some pictures of one of the crafts we did this week. If you are looking for a fun, simple cheap idea for crafts, this was a good one. I bought the posterboard for just under a dollar each sheet (they might have even had cheaper ones, but I wanted the thick ones). Each kid got a sheet and they were able to do both sides of the sheet, so they got two different art pieces out of it. First, I had them lie down on the sheet to mark the head placement and did a few marks to mark the approximate size of their face. This was Seth’s favorite part of the whole thing, he kept lying down on his sheet wanting me to trace him again. After they got up, I made an oval where their face was and told them to draw their person or animal or design with the oval as the face. When they finished, we cut out the oval and ta da! They could dress up as whatever they created. Will and Seth both had help on their drawings, though on the side you can’t see of Will’s he has created an abstract art piece that actually is quite interesting when you add his face to it. (By the way, Will’s eyes are closed because he seems to think he’ll get a flash whenever I take a picture even though I hardly ever use the flash.)

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We had a great time today visiting Terra Studios. I’ve never been before, and I have to say it is a great place to spend an afternoon with your kids. Complete with studios for glass sculpture and pottery, many of the items that are made there are displayed throughout the grounds.

We arrived at noon and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the picnic area. Seth was still tired from staying up for fireworks last night, but Brennan (who had apparently had a good morning nap) was able to get him laughing.

Trash trolls kept guard over the grounds and encouraged you to discard your trash by feeding them. Seth was a little nervous, but the other kids were excited about depositing their trash from lunch into the wide open troll’s mouths.

After wandering through the woods, discovering creatively placed sculptures, the kids all took a run through the labryinth. We were there with some friends, so all the kids made quite a group. Pottery observation started at 1:00, which excited Elise. She said after the day was done that that was her favorite part. The lady making bowls had a great time joking with her audience of kids. She got them all laughing and even shared some clay with each of them. Most of the girls decided against keeping the clay once they felt how slimy it was. But Will had a great time creating different things with his piece and carried it around with him for the rest of the time we were there. After the pottery, we explored some more of the creatively decorated buildings and watched the glass craftsman making the bluebirds of happiness.

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Seth is 19 months old, but we were behind on vaccinations and missed his 18 month well child visit, so we took him in today. He weighed 24 lbs 12 oz and was 32 1/2 inches tall. That puts him in the 90th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. Pretty much what he’s been running. The doctor checked him over and said he looks perfect. He has met all his milestones, even verbally. I remember I was already concerned about Will verbally at 18 months, but I was counting up Seth’s words yesterday and got over 20 before I stopped counting. According to the nurse’s questions, he is supposed to have at least 8, so I guess he is doing fine.

We had missed both his 12 month and his 15 month vaccinations, so we needed to get quite a few shots today. Because of the combo shots now available, they were able to combine them all in three different actual injections. I had dosed Seth with tylenol before we left and brought his special lovey in case he got upset. The nurse handed him a yellow duckie as his prize and he happily started chewing on it while we positioned him for his shots. First shot, no obvious reaction from him. He merely lay quite still looking very serious. Second shot was the same. Finally on the 3rd shot he winced slightly and whimpered. That was it! I put his pants back on and stood him up and he started smiling and chewing on his “uckie” (his name for the duck). We even lost the duck on the way out to the car, and he didn’t even seem to notice.

Perhaps Elise will have learned a lesson in not over-reacting by observing Seth’s calm behavior. :) I had to break the news to her today that she is still missing one childhood shot (she kept stating to everyone that she doesn’t need another shot until she is 16). What she didn’t realize is she needs a chicken pox booster sometime soon since they were out when I took her in for her last round of shots. She wasn’t really happy, but didn’t start bawling like she would have just last year, so perhaps we are making progress. :)

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Here is my second attempt at sewing a button up shirt from scratch. The pattern probably needs a little more tweaking, especially in the sleeves, but overall it turned out very well.

My first attempt, pictured below, was a long sleeve shirt, which was good as I learned the process of inserting a sleeve placket, something I’d never done. On this short-sleeved version for Seth, I learned some new techniques that helped to make this shirt look a whole lot more finished and professional, all things I will use when I am making shirts to sell this fall.

According to my shirt-making book, all seams should be hidden, so that you have no raw edges. In order to accomplish this I had to learn to do flat-felled seams. Both by hand for curved seams like the shoulder seam and with a felling foot for straighter seams like the side seams. The result is a double seam that hides all raw edges and lies flat so that it doesn’t add any extra bulk.

In my quest to make the process faster, easier and more professional, I not only invested in the felling foot for my machine, but also bought a hemmer foot, which double rolls the fabric while sewing for the hem. It makes the hem easy to do in one step without ironing, and results in a pretty professional looking hemline. I had a bit of trouble learning to use this foot, if you are working with thin cotton fabric like I was, make sure you have a pretty small needle, mine was making too big of holes in the fabric and once punched it down into the machine so that I had to take part of the machine apart in order to release it without ruining my whole shirt. But with a smaller needle and a slower sewing pace, I was able to complete the hem. With practice I think this will become much easier.

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Elise Logic
Elise found a turtle the other day. She played with it all day and begged me to let her keep it in a box. I told her no, and warned her that it would probably be gone by morning. As expected, the next morning she ran out early and searched the whole yard, even checking the road and came back disappointed. “Well, she probably found a new home,” I said. “Mom,” she replied. “It is not a girl.” “How do you know?” I asked. “It is not a girl,” Elise said. “Because we named it Brandy.”

Will and Seth Antics
The other day I went to take a shower after breakfast, leaving the two boys alone in the kitchen. I knew this was asking for trouble, but I didn’t really think about it as I enjoyed my shower and got dressed. When I returned I found Seth sitting on the floor with John’s rice cereal box, eating cereal out of the bag. Will was nowhere in sight. Well, that’s not too bad, I thought, and put the cereal away. It wasn’t until a few moments later that I caught sight of the brownies without their lid. Careful inspection revealed a trail of brown chocolate crumbs from the kitchen all the way to Will’s room. I found him there hiding under his play table munching on as many brownies as he could carry in his hands, which thankfully, because they are really crumbly brownies, wasn’t very many.

Of course the brownies were nothing compared to this morning’s antics. Seth transitioned to a big boy bed yesterday and so this morning he didn’t have to wait for someone to get him up to start his day. Elise and I snuck out early to go on a walk (and even though I heard the boys up and moving around in their room we successfully made it out the door without them noticing). Partway through our walk, and a decent distance from home, Elise informed me she needed to go to the bathroom. So we cut the walk short and headed back home. Once there we discovered that the boys had decided not to wait on breakfast. Under their play table (apparently the place to hide food) there was the food processor (which I mostly use to shred cheese) plugged into the wall, a large block of cheddar cheese, and a tub of sour cream. All three items were quite messy, and the floor was decently bathed in sour cream and cheese chunks. I guess I should just be glad they didn’t cut their fingers on the food processor.

Elise’s question of the day
“Why do we have pictures on our panties when we can’t see them under our clothes?”

A lesson in Williamese
Will doesn’t believe in using negatives. At least not when making statements. He’ll say no quite readily when asked to do something or when asked a question. But if he were to say that he doesn’t like something, he phrases it like this: “Me like this.” The important thing is that he shakes his head while saying it and to him that is enough to show the negative on the statement. It gets a little confusing if you aren’t looking at him when he speaks.

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We officially moved in to our rental house on Saturday. It will take many weeks I am sure to unpack the piles of boxes that line the walls, but it is live-able at least. Each time now we head back home after errands or other short trips Will asks: “new house?” Everyone seems to be adjusting well to our new living arrangements. As far as I can tell here are everyone’s thoughts on the matter:

John
John has mentioned the quiet atmosphere of our new neighborhood. Though we are on the same street we were before, we are on the quieter end of town. Occasionally we get a noisy vehicle go by, or hear the train behind us, or can listen to excited kids as they arrive home from school. But overall, it is a quieter house than we are used to. He and I both have also mentioned that we enjoy the more compact living arrangement. Instead of being so spread out and compartmentalized, this house has one large living area and then bedrooms. It is still pretty big, but the layout makes it feel much more manageable. John has also shown great excitement over his garage. He’s already added some move-able shelving and started making plans for his work table.
Miriam
I am loving my new office. Since John has moved to a downtown office for his work, I have the 4th bedroom for my work space. I have plenty of room for my sewing and computer work, all next to a great big window. The light is excellent, and the space is secluded enough to be quiet, yet close enough to kids that I can work while still keeping an ear out for trouble. I am also loving my upgraded refrigerator and my dining room that sits right next to the kitchen instead of around the corner.
Elise
Elise couldn’t be happier about her pink room. She instantly claimed it for herself and it was the only bedroom we didn’t need to repaint. She is thrilled to be able to disappear into her room to have some alone time, and she is convinced that she will sleep so much better now that she doesn’t have to share. She did actually fall asleep during naptime today, so maybe there is something to that theory.
Will
Will is adjusting better than I expected, at least for now. He seems excited about his “woom,” which is painted “bue.” Both the big kids were thrilled to find out that the owners left the playhouse and trampoline in the back yard and they have been making good use of them. Will likes the garage too, as it has enough room to ride his tricycle around in.
Seth
As I expected, Seth hasn’t shown much preference to where he is. He is sleeping in the bue woom with Will. John’s making them a mini-bunk bed, but for now, Seth is in a play pen. He was extra grumpy today, but I think that had more to do with the busy weekend than with the new house.
Pooka
Our cat is the perhaps who I worried about most with the move. I wasn’t sure she would survive, but even she seems to be adjusting quickly to her new living arrangements. We moved her litter box and food into the garage and she seems fine with that arrangement. She splits her time between the garage and the house quite happily and has actually even seemed more carefree, playful, and affectionate since the move. We are keeping her from the outside for now, until I can be sure she won’t take off for home, but I think she is going to be fine.

I’m sure we will all have times we will miss something about the “old house,” but I am not feeling as melancholy as I expected. I do still have to go over there to clean up our mess before we officially turn it over to the new owners, but it doesn’t really feel like home anymore with all the furniture and people here.

Thanks to everyone who helped us move. It was greatly appreciated!

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