Sweet Moments Captured

Mustaches

I just can't help myself.  I LOVE to play tricks on people.  Some mornings when I'm watering my plants and a runner, dog walker, or stroller pusher walks by, I have to mentally and physically hold myself back from spraying them with my hose.  If you happen to walk by and see me smiling, know that it's a grimace that I'm barely holding back.  At any rate, I knew there had to be at least one little trick to take place at a giant family sleepover.  My childhood best friend and I were the queens of playing pranks during sleepovers.  So I planned ahead and packed some (washable) markers for attacking the children while they were sleeping.  My plan was merely mustaches, but the angry bird eyebrows just sort of followed suit.  It makes me giddy just looking at them.  A few mustaches were quite long due to moving-in-their-sleep children (how dare they!)  My sister bit my head off and made me pledge allegiance to NOT attacking her children (granted hers are much younger and she had JUST gotten them all to sleep).  Funny thing was, in the morning, her daughter basically begged to be "markered" so that she could fit in with the pranked cousins.  (Notice Miss J is nowhere to be seen in these photos as she promptly washed off the foul prank.)

(Love Miss M's fully-stuffed face here - and check out Little R sticking his tongue out as he concentrates on filling his pannekoeken!)

Ugly Brown Couches

 I grew up in a lovely home with an ugly brown couch and matching recliner.  Apparently it was what my parents agreed upon when first furniture shopping.  It was, so they say, plain and neutral and would go with anything.  To be honest, they became such a staple in the home that I'm not quite sure when they disappeared. I'm curious now if they were donated, trashed, or what.  At any rate, it seemed almost fitting that when we entered the cabin where our family reunion would take place that the first thing to catch my eye were the ugly brown couches.  A lighter brown, and yet just as hideous.  However, upon discovering their reclining ability and the surprising comfort of corduroy, those couches became the main hangout and even a source of disputes as we each tried to get a spot.

Once the kids were in bed (or at least out of sight), there were just enough seats for all the adults.  Here we played games, ate, and chatted.  During the daylight hours, the couches were sort of a conversation haven and unofficial hangout.  Jokes and stories were told (of both the long and spooky variety) and the topics that were brought up are too numerous and scattered to remember. (Circumcision anyone?)

I especially liked seeing kids who would wander over and listen quietly.  I wonder what they got from all that chatter?  I wonder what they're thinking.

Ugly brown couches seem to run in the family.

Family Reunion

The "S" family recently had our first "official" family reunion.  It's been years (does anyone know how many exactly) since we've all been together.  My parents, all of my five siblings, and our spouses/children travelled near and far to spend a couple of days together sleeping, eating, talking, playing.  It was a much anticipated, very worthwhile time spent together in a great cabin.  When asking my kids their favourite parts of the reunion, these were the responses I got:

PRIZES

TRAMPOLINE (how do I NOT have a picture of Uncle K on here?)

MINUTE TO WIN IT

Going "whooooooo" on the cups

CHOPPING WOOD

GUESSING PEOPLE'S FAVOURITE SONGS

I think I most enjoyed hanging out and watching all of our family members interact and just "be."

 

Can't wait for the family photos we were tortured into taking.
Looking forward to our next reunion.

Polishing my Craft

Summer days seem to have mood swings of their own.  Or perhaps it's just days with kids.  Or my days.

At any rate, earlier this week I had a lucky/unlucky day.

In trying to be more reasonable about what can be accomplished in a day, I've been trying to set one main goal a day.  I purposely posted on facebook: Goal for the day: trick the kids into having a water fight/car wash to clean my filthy van.

And... success.

Upon completion the phone rang and I picked it up to find out that I had won a prize at the library for participating in the adult summer reading club thingamajig.  What luck!

Feeling proud, I decided why not attempt one more feat for the day.  I invited Miss J to do a fun little crafty project I found online.  I am not crafty, but it looked easy enough, and she was game, so we pulled out our pencils, tape, and nail polish and got to work.
Source: http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2013/08/painted-pencils.html
What the pencils looked like on the blog:

What our pencils looked like:  (not bad, really, just never as good as what those crafty people can pull off)

What I don't have a picture of is what took place shortly thereafter.

As I proceeded to lift the bin with 30+ nail polishes up to the top shelf in my bathroom, I slipped/tripped/fell/lost my balance and all the nail polishes fell to the tile floor below.  I didn't count, but I would say between 7-10 of the nail polish bottles shattered, spilled and splashed all over the floor.  It was a disaster.  I just stood there looking down.  Glass pieces were everywhere, my foot was bleeding, and the slow puddles of red, pink, blue and sparkly nail polish were spreading.  What to do?  Cry?  Call a cleaning service?  I cursed the craft, buckled up my strength and began cleaning - thankfully cleaning supplies were in the bathroom.  Of course I was also "babysitting" three extra kiddos (combined with mine to make seven) still running around having a water fight.  Miss J saved my butt.  I hollered to her from the window and she googled cleaning help, brought me anything I needed, and basically did my babysitting job for me (including feeding all those crazy boys lunch) while I spent the next two hours cleaning up my own silly mess.  There is still polish in the grout and on my rug for me to get to... but overall the cleanup was successful.

After admitting my crime to all the kids in my house, and reminding them about the song with the lyrics, "I made a mistake, but that doesn't make me bad," we biked over to a park to meet some friends and decompress outdoors, away from the sickening smell of nail polish.  As I described the whole hullabaloo to my friend who met us there, I could already laugh about it.  I suppose that's one of the best ways to get through my many coloured days.

Not one to give up, I finished the day making "crafty" little labels/tags for my closet bins that I had previously organized up to the point of adding labels.  Mission completion.

ADHD?

One little boy who frequents our home in the summer begins almost every sentence with, "No offense, but..."
Of course whatever proceeds to come out of his mouth is typically slightly offensive, in the best little kid sort of way.

Recently, one of his disclaimers was followed by him asking me if I had ever wondered if my son, Little E, had ADHD.  I'm not a pro at this parenting gig, but I have a few years under my belt and I'm practically a college graduate, so I calmly asked him a clarifying question, "What makes you think that?" I queried.

I'm so glad I asked.

Apparently Little E had been reading a book for over an hour, and every time this little friend called his name or tried to get his attention, he hadn't paid any attention or removed his nose from his book.  This little guy looked at me with deep concern, "He can spend so much time on one thing and not pay any attention to me... I think he might have ADHD."

Thankfully the other kids around took over the situation and proceeded to give examples of children who really had been diagnosed with ADHD, and to describe the symptomatic behaviors.  I just laughed my head off.

Them Fighting Words (& Faces)

My boys wrestle and play like puppies, but they very very seldom physically hurt each other on purpose.  For that I am grateful.  It's the words they use to hurt each other that break my tender heart.  I know siblings will always know the best way to love and hurt each other, but oh my, sometimes I wonder.

Jumping In

The first time in the lake is always a bit unnerving.  It's cold for starters.  I'm more of a wade in kind of person.  Slowly allowing each nerve layer of my body to get settled before freaking out the rest.  Kids, however, seem to just jump in.

Mr. Man used a little "incentive" and shouted out to the children, who were deliberating trepidatiously on the dock, that the first one in would get to pick a treat on the way home.
Miss J responded, "For reals?"
During which time Little J proceeded to jump and successfully be the FIRST one in
(he got hubba bubba gum tape on the way home).

After the initial jump, things get much easier.  Is it because they're already cold and wet?  Do they acclimate to the temperature?  Is the unknown now predictable and perhaps even comfortable?

Super hero pose

Oldest and youngest taking the plunge

This was my view from where I was laying down watching my children jumping into the lake.

After so much jumping in, exhaustion usually sets in.  It's not just the jumping, it's the "staying afloat" that tuckers one out.  I know how that is, don't you?

Even those who are the fastest, swiftest, little jumpers usually need to be held and hugged.  Whatever you're jumping into, remember to give yourself a break too.  Those who can acknowledge, appreciate, and ask for the love and help they need are typically the most resilient and best-practiced jumpers.

Play Hard

I got married way too young.

One of the benefits of getting married young is not having preconceived notions and ideas for marriage, family, and life.  Who thinks much about such things as a teenager?  So as each decision or issue has presented itself in our marriage, family, and life, Mr. Man and I have had to work together to figure things out.  It's not easy.  And we don't always make the best choices (I don't think there is always a "right" choice).  To be certain, we don't always agree.  And heaven knows we occasionally make separate choices.  But one decision we have made together, early on, is to go on a family vacation every year.  With.just.our.little.family.

Even as students we squirreled away small amounts of money for our planned-in-advance vacation.  We still have yet to do Disney (I have zero desire to EVER to Disney) or the most trendy or extravagant destinations, but I do love when our little family is on vacation.

Day-to-day in our family is pretty regimented for the most part.  We have budgets, schedules, and charts. We work hard.  Each and every one of us.  However, part of the benefit of working hard is having the chance (and, in Mr. Man's case - the time and the money) to play hard.

I think we're quite good at it.

This year we traveled back up to beautiful Flathead Lake with our camper and spent a week at a camping resort.  Seriously.  We were just meters away from the swimming pool, hot tub, playground, showers, laundry... delightful.  We booked our "spot" way in advance.  And it was perfect.

We were one of the only pop-up trailer campers there... surrounded by mostly elderly people from hot places like Arizona or Florida who were spending their summers camped out in humongous RVs (our site also provided cable and internet connections for those who had TVs, and our kiddos were happy for some ipad/ipod time here and there).  I can't count the number of retirees (walking their dogs) who stopped by to chat and reminisce about back when they had pop-ups and kids to take camping.  Either that, or they were curious with all the bikes and stuff just how many kids we had with us.  I always answered: "just four."

Typical camping site (neat, sleek, nothing outside)

OUR camping site:

Doesn't it look like fun?!
We're the party site!











The nights were warm.  We're very used to mountainous chilly evenings, and it was an unexpected change not to have to turn on our heater!  Unlike our "neighbors" we didn't have an air conditioning unit, but we did have the fresh night air and clothes and covers to kick off.

After the first couple of days we buckled down and made a small flexible schedule so that we would fit in the activities we most wanted to do.  We had some unexpected medical issues to deal with, the kids made some local friends, we discovered some new and exciting stores, parks, and boat rental locations, and even learned how to play pickle ball together!

I love me some family vacation!

After dessert every night and no chores or bedtimes, I have a feeling this week is going to be a little rough around here.  Play hard!