one moment....

Shark Pedicures

More Fairy-ey

"Mom come look at Ava!"
I was called into Ava's room.  I could see that she was set up, posing.  I couldn't see why, at first.
   "Look mom, I'm just like Cyrus.  But more Fairy-ey"
Ah.  She was remaking yesterday's blog post, her way.

Ava with her babies, Lucy and Sue accompanied by 14 of their fairy friends.
Very fairy-ey indeed!

The Starting Lineup

Remember those free hats from the baseball game?
They have been well loved.
(mixed in with older hats, and yogurt cups shaped like team hats)
 Cyrus's personal baseball team has never looked better.
Introducing:
Monkey
Mama Bear,
Rainbow Bear, 
Bunny,
and
Oscar

The Big Game...

.

Our Annual trip to watch the Diamondbacks was a perfect success.   Ballpark dinner, winning game,  great seats, Native American pre-show, and a grandslam.  They even gave us hats as we entered.  (more on that later!)

Gratitude Mondays..

Here's what I'm loving today...

~A baby who babbles...

(oh baby talk, how I love thee)

~A little girl who sings along to a wide variety of music...

(just like me!  Now I have a singing partner in the car!)

~A little boy who yells in excitement, and is proud of it..

("I'm shouting baseball, I'm just so happy!")

~A partner who puts lotion on my feet and legs at the end of the day...

(I'd marry him just for that)

~A trip to a baseball game...

(more on that later)

~The food at the baseball game!

(for me that's pizza, frozen yogurt, and kettle corn)

~sunrise

(even if I only usually see them when a baby is sick, or I'm camping)

~Over the top ridiculously silly knock knock jokes.

One Moment

My sweet baby girl being a sweet little mama.

Baseball two ways....

From me...
Matt took all three babies to a community baseball park near our library to throw balls with Cyrus.  My children seem to think that 'baseball' and 'Diamondbacks' (the name of our local pro-baseball team, for our out of country readers) are interchangeable words.  I got to sleep in, and they came home with doughnuts.  An awesome day for all.  I thought it would be fun to have my children tell the story of their little outing.



 The words of Cyrus, age 4

Diamondbacks and Baseball Park
At the library there was this old old old baseball field, but there was a plate and then me and dad got to play baseball.  And I just once smacked the ball and than daddy tells me to throw the ball and then he caught the ball then we went to the library park, then we went home.  First we went to Fry's (grocery store) and the we went home, but I didn't get anything.  Then I went home and played with my train track.  And I really love to play with daddy's train set.  And I really want to play baseball again someday, on a stay at home day. ('stay at home day' means a weekend, or day when Matt doesn't go to work)

The words of Ava, age 6
photo credit also goes to Ava

The Day at the Baseball Field.
In the morning we woke up and dad said he'd take us some place special for Cyrus and him to play baseball.  We were going to take Sol with us so he wouldn't feel alone.  We didn't know what the place was.  Then we got there and it was the Diamondbacks field.  It was a place were children could play baseball.  Sol and I went over to the grass while Cyrus and dad played baseball.  And we got kinda hot on the way home, but that was okay.  Sol got kinda sad in the end, but that was okay.  I knew another most perfect place.  Cyrus thought that a baseball field was the most perfect place, but I knew another most perfect place that I thought would be better.  It had two big grassy fields.  It's were we had Cyrus's birthday.  But, the Diamondback's thing was fun, we've never been in a real Diamondback's field.  Daddy played as the pitcher or catcher and Cyrus would play the batter.  Cyrus would attack the plate before the ball came.  The plate didn't look how we thought it would look.  We thought it was a square, we didn't expect it to be such a silly shape.  And then we went home.  The end.

Chalk it up to imagination

As part of our daily rhythm my family observes an hour and a half of 'quiet time' every day.  A time for each of us to be alone.  A time of quiet play, reading, creating.  Alone.  I love quiet time for the obvious reasons, but there's more to it than that.  I love what comes out of quiet time.  I love when my children show me a drawing, a game, or  a story that they've made.  It's like a little window into their imaginations.

Some of my favorites are they chalk drawings.  There is something about the vibrant colors against the black of the board that seems to really inspire my children to take their drawings a step further, and sometimes in surprising directions.

Cyrus

age 4

It's no surprise that Cyrus was dreaming about space.  He talks about it.  A lot.  A lot.  I was surprised by his detail.  I didn't even know that his space shuttles ever took on this particular shape.  With two American flags (of course), and flame of yellow, orange, red and blue.  His sky is filled with stars and comets, planets, suns and excitement.  You can tell that this is something that he put a lot of work and care into.

Ava

age 6

 While Cyrus dreams of space exploration, Ava is working out some geology.  The first picture is of a camp ground with a well that brings up water from an underground spring.  Notice that there are some caves underground also.  This is something that we talked about while camping 2 or 3 summers ago, and she just made this picture a few weeks ago.  I love how she saves bits of information and works things out in her own time.

The volcano Ava drew this week.  It was accompanied by a very detailed story about a princess and some bad guys who took her jewels and hid them underground.  When the volcano erupts it will "bring the beautiful princess sparkling jewels out above ground again."  I really wish I had written that story down.



I am so eternally grateful for my time with my babies. 

This mama is inappropriate.

This is my
Little Lion Man.
Adorable
Happy.

So,
I know it's not at all appropriate,
but
I find myself singing this to him when I get him out of his
many
daily baths...





I usually clean up the words a little.
That makes it better?
Right?

Gratitude Monday....

Here's what I'm loving today....

~Pintrest...

~Celebrating my sweet nephew's eleventh birthday....

~A little boy who loves his father's childhood baseball bag...

(an heirloom for sure)

~A little girl to read Little House in the Big Woods with...

(I think this has replaced Charlotte's Web as her favorite story)

~A baby who likes to 'sing' with me...

(heart melting)

~A partner who helps to manage my library holds list...

(and picks up books on his way home from work)

~setting up next years curriculum....

(this can be all consuming, but still so exciting)

~Creating my very own morning circle for next school year....

(I mean for my children, of course)

~Coming up with a perfectly tailored social studies program...

~Crafting Montessori style preschool activities for next year..

OOOh, and coming up with a music curriculum on the spur of the moment...

(what was that I said about all consuming?)

Here's to a new week!

One Moment...

My older sister. 

Late in the night.

Loving my fevered sick little baby.  

Giving my arms, and back a rest.  

Offering just what we needed when we needed it.

The B.F.G. (s)

Allow me to introduce my little sister...

A mother of 4.
A military wife.
Living out here for a year without her husband.
She really doesn't like bugs very much.
Or frogs, or lizards.
Loathes scorpions.   
Let us not get started on Alligators.
It seems like she can't stress enough times to her sons that their little friends in nature aren't allowed in the house.
Or near her.
Let me introduce her two boys...

 






















As much as she doesn't like these crawling, flying jumping, skittering, slithering things, it seems her two boys LOVE these things.

Now let me introduce her dilemma...

 Living in the foothills of an Arizona valley as they do, they have loads and loads of creatures. 

Her boys are having the best time "exploring" their new environment.

My little sister, being the trooper that she is  

(military wife pun intended)  

has to decided to come to terms with these B.F.Gs.   

(Big Friendly Giants for anyone who isn't a huge Roald Dahl fan)  

Since my last visit she has found a new one that lives in her garage.  

She sees it every day as she goes to and from her car.  

She's decided if she names it, maybe she can live in harmony with it.  

She asked my children to help her come up with an appropriate name.

Daisy Rainbow Wolf.

Hopefully next time I visit I will capture images of Daisy. 

I'd sure like to meet her.

Popsicle Perspective...

It's going to be a long strange year of change for my little family.  My partner and I are in the position to make some big changes.  Nothing crazy, just normal life stuff.  We both just really don't like change. 
In times like these I look to our babies.  This year is special to them.  They have cousins in town (2 hours away)  for the year.  (military family)   Cousins to enjoy the year with, the way my babies should.

Popsicles

 Dress Up

 Pool Time

Spray Bottles

Friendship

Laughter 

It's a matter of perspective.

This time will pass.  

I have a choice.

Should my energy be focused on the uncertainty of "what ifs?"

Or should Matt and I just enjoy the popcicles.

Exactly.