Thankful Tuesday

1.  I forgot to mention last week that I received three lovely birthday cards from my three sweethearts, and we enjoyed some delicious brownie batter donuts for breakfast on my birthday. Dunkin Donuts is still selling them here in PA! Usually they only sell them in February.

2. I bought an unused Kumon craft book for 50 cents at a yard sale on Friday. Nadia and Ian have really been enjoying it, and it has been giving them good practice with cutting and folding.

3. It was wonderful to have my parents come and visit us for 20 hours on Friday and Saturday. We all enjoyed having dinner at Bonanza, and it was special to have them see Nadia and Ian play soccer on Saturday morning.

4. We had a fabulous time at Knoebels on Sunday afternoon.

5. Paul and I watched an excellent movie last night. I highly recommend "The Good Lie." Last week we saw "Unbroken," which was also good although I didn't watch the whole thing because POW camp movies are a little too "intense" for me, but certainly Louis Zamperini was an amazing man.

6. Paul's last lecture was on Monday. Classes are over! He's giving an exam next Wednesday morning.

7. Some trees have leaves and some have blossoms! My tulips haven't bloomed yet, but other tulips around here are in bloom. Tulips are my second favorite flower (followed by stargazer lilies). I was able to mow the lawn today without wearing any jacket. I mowed during Oliver's nap while Nadia and Ian played outside. I'm very thankful Oliver still takes a 2 hour nap almost every day.

8. Today is my 39th spiritual birthday. I am eternally grateful that Jesus was willing to pay the price for my sins so that I can spend eternity with Him some day!

9. Nadia has been assigned the part of Pepper for Annie! A few days ago she told me to just call her Pepper (instead of Nadia). Cracked me up!

10. Usually Nadia and Ian go to the worship service at 9:00 and go to Sunday School at 10:45. Every once in awhile their kids' choir had a rehearsal during the 10:45 service, and when that happened I usually sent them to Sunday School at 9:00. The last time that happened Nadia told me she would rather go to the worship service at 9:00. I was surprised, but I thought it was because that particular Sunday one of the children's ministry directors participated in a drama in the service. For seven weeks in a row (leading up to and including Easter Sunday) a different pastor did a dramatic monologue from the point of view of someone in the Easter story (ex. Barrabas, the owner of the colt used by Jesus for the Triumphal Entry, Joseph of Arimethea, etc.). The week after Easter two directors (not pastors) did one about the ascension. I thought that was the reason she wished she had been in the worship service that morning, but I was wrong. This past Sunday she chose the worship service over Sunday School. Paul wasn't at church so it meant she was sitting by herself (on a front row chair) for the first half of the service while I was on the platform with the choir. It was sweet to sit with her during the second half of the service. I don't think many six year olds would choose a worship service over a Sunday school class for grades 1-2. I was very proud of her. I remember in September of 2013 she kept begging me to let her attend Children's Church, but I wanted her to start coming to the worship service instead. I am glad that over time her desire to be in the worship service has grown. I pray she will always want to go to church!

11. Last week Nadia finished the Adventures in U.S. History curriculum, and I told her that I consider her to be officially done with first grade this week. In reality this week we already started our summer schedule for schooling, which means that on the days we're at home (which will be few and far between after this week), we'll do a little bit of schoolwork. Today that translated to only spelling because I had ladies Bible study this morning and mowed the lawn, and then we walked to the playground before dinner. I also finished reading Pinocchio to the kids at lunch today (it was about 200 pages long). Yesterday she read another chapter of Grandma's Attic to me, wrote a page in her journal, practiced the piano, and did spelling. The only textbook she did this year that was actually a first grade book was science. Everything else (math, history, reading, spelling, and handwriting) was somewhere between grades 2-4. She's half-way through the 3rd grade spelling textbook, for example.  Schools take snow days (which we didn't), but I'd much rather have off when the weather is nice! I have no idea exactly how many days of school we did this year because I don't have to start keeping track until Nadia is eight, but I am declaring first grade to be over for Nadia!

One week!

One week from today Nadia, Ian, and Paul's parents will be starting the drive to Florida in our van. They will be spending two nights in Fernandina Beach, Florida with Aunt Diane and Uncle Jim before they pick Oliver, Paul, and I up at the airport in Orlando on May 8. I started packing a few days ago because I was trying to do an inventory to see what I had in the way of summer clothes and shoes for Nadia, Ian, and Oliver. Oliver has plenty of clothes because of hand me downs from Ian. The vast majority of Nadia and Ian's shorts and shirts were not purchased as sets but rather were purchased individually at yard sales or from clearance racks. I was pleased that I was able to pair tops and bottoms up pretty easily. I made a short list of shorts that would provide matches for the shirts that currently don't match any of their shorts. I discovered that Ian and Nadia both needed sandals. Grandmas are quick to help out. Paul's mom got Ian a pair of denim shorts (which go with just about anything), and my mom got Nadia two pair of sandals. I am going to a large community yard sale this Friday and Saturday; if I don't find Ian a pair of sandals I'll be heading to the mall this weekend so he'll have some for Florida. He's been wearing the same sneakers for 19 months, but the hole in the front of one of them was getting rather large so I pitched them in the trash can this morning and brought out a pair the next size up from his closet.

I am hoping that Oliver can go a whole week without any accidents. He had gone more than two weeks without any not that long ago, and then he really fell apart over the past 10 days. Three times over those ten days he had a #2 accident while on a playground (twice at the indoor one at our church and once at an outdoor playground). All three times I had taken him to the bathroom right before he started climbing, and he had peed on the potty every time, but obviously I can't schedule when he goes #2. He hadn't had a #2 accident in weeks, but we only recently started going to playgrounds again. I guess while he's up there playing he doesn't want to come down and go to the bathroom?

Then on Wednesday morning he wet the bed. I thought well it had been a few weeks since I washed his sheets so it didn't bother me too much, but then when the same thing happened on Friday I decided to start waking him up if he slept past 7:00 am in case that was the problem. On Sunday morning I woke him up at 7:00, but he had already wet the bed. I was not happy about washing his bedding three times over a period of five days! Our water bill is already way too high. We miss our previous home, which didn't involve a water or sewer bill (which at this house costs us about $125/ month). I am going to try even harder to make sure he doesn't drink anything after 6pm, but sometimes he gets himself a drink. Then to add insult to injury, on Saturday afternoon he had a #1 accident on the kitchen floor. It had been months since that happened. Sometimes it feels like potty training will never end with this boy, but I know that's not true, and I know that some kids have a much harder time than Oliver is having. This too shall pass. Aside from wetting the bed yesterday morning, he didn't have any accidents yesterday.

Below you will find a short video of Nadia playing the piano this morning. Last week she started playing songs that involved playing more than one note at a time. This was VERY exciting to her so she learned this song rather quickly. Now she's working on some songs that involve playing three notes a time (two with one hand and one with the other hand). It's so much fun to watch her learn! Ian wants to learn to play the piano. I haven't decided yet when I'll start giving him lessons.

Oliver's first roller coaster!

After church we headed to our favorite amusement park, Knoebels. It's so nice to live less than an hour from this fabulous, family friendly park! We spent six hours there, and it only cost us $58 for the five of us. Nadia rode the Twister roller coaster 3 times with Paul, the Phoenix roller coaster 5 times with Paul, and she rode the Phoenix 3 times by herself. Ian is tall enough this year to ride it, and he says he wants to give it a try. I hadn't bought him the handstamp that included the big roller coasters, but I told him next time we go he can ride the Phoenix. Ian's favorite ride today was the kiddie roller coaster. Oliver rode that roller coaster for the first time today. Aside from one incident in the bathroom when Oliver tried to climb out of the stroller while I was helping Ian snap his pants (and Oliver's pierogies and a jug of red juice in the stroller were spewed all over the bathroom floor), we had a really wonderful time. Although the weather was 20 degrees cooler than last weekend, it was warmer than yesterday and warm enough to be pleasant, although we did tell the kids "no" to riding either of the wet rides today.

It should be warmer the next time we go, and then they can enjoy the flume and Skloosh. Nadia is too short to ride the brand new roller coaster. She might be tall enough next summer. Paul has no interest in ever riding it, but I would like to give it a whirl the next time we go to Knoebels. Oliver didn't get a nap; so he fell asleep on the way home, which was VERY late for a nap (about an hour before bed time). When we got home I tried to wake him up and even offered to let him watch one of his favorite shows, but he just asked to go to bed so I put him to bed thirty minutes earlier than usual. Ian also slept on the way home, but he woke up as soon as we pulled in the garage and played with Legos some before going to bed. Nadia fell asleep right at the very end of our drive, and it was hard to wake her up, but then she also played for a little bit before going to bed. Hopefully they'll all sleep well. I think we're all tuckered out! I took over 100 pictures today. I'm just posting a few of my favorites today. I'll share more over the coming days. Also, just for fun here's a video that the pastors of our church made for a banquet last year.  Enjoy! :)

She's Pepper!

We met Paul and my parents at Bonanza for dinner last night for my birthday dinner. Nadia and Ian had been there before, but since it had been 3 1/2 years since we had eaten there, they didn't remember it. They loved it! The buffet was free for Oliver, and it was $1,99 each for Nadia and Ian. Nadia declared part way through the meal that she wants to eat here on her birthday and that this is now her favorite restaurant (instead of Friendly's). When we got home I checked my email and found the cast list for Annie. Nadia was chosen to play the part of Pepper. Twice she will sing one line of a song as a solo (one line in "Maybe" and one in "Hard Knock Life"), and she has about eight lines throughout the play in terms of speaking parts. Pepper is the toughest orphan and is 12 years old. Nadia was thrilled. She kept exclaiming, "I have a name!". I hope she has a lot of fun and that it's a great learning experience for her.

My parents spent the night at our house last night and then joined us at the soccer field for almost 3 hours to see Nadia and Ian play in their soccer games this morning. It wasn't raining, but it was COLD. This cold snap is really increasing our anticipation for our trip to Florida!

Feeding Grandpa some caramel corn 

Snow?!?!

Five days ago we had a high temperature of 83 degrees, and today it snowed. I am not kidding. You could see snow swirling around the daffodils that are in full bloom. I had put away the kids' winter coats, but we had to get them back out to wear this morning as it was about 39 degrees when we left for the homeschool co-op. I'm glad the weather is supposed to be warmer next week because these temperatures are not friendly to ladybugs. I kept telling myself today that in 2 weeks we'll be headed to Florida. We won't need winter coats there, ha ha! I had planned to mow the lawn yesterday or today, but it was too rainy yesterday and too cold today. I was not willing to mow the lawn while wearing a winter coat. That just seemed wrong. I think I'll mow on Saturday afternoon when it's supposed to get to the low 60's. The kids wore their winter coats to soccer practice this evening.

They hatched!

We received our ladybug larvae and food on April 3, and I put them in the "Ladybug Land" and started giving them two drops of water every other day. They grew in size quite a bit over the next two weeks (and molted many times as well). By last Friday almost all of them were in the pupa stage. Only a couple of them attached to the walls so I was really nervous about the ones that were on the bottom of the habitat, but today they hatched! When the butterflies hatched last year, we were blessed to actually be able to watch most of them coming out of their cocoons.

I was hoping to see some of the ladybugs come out this year because they emerge as soft, pale adults and then in about an hour their exoskeleton hardens and their spots appear. Unfortunately when we saw them this morning they already had their spots. We fed them two water soaked raisins today. I am planning on releasing them outside in a week because they can live up to one year outside whereas the longest they'd live in the habitat would be three weeks. This is the best way to teach science, in my opinion! I will take some pictures of them before we release them.

P.S. I am enjoying my new lens! My most favorite lens is the 50mm one, but sometimes I can't back up enough to use it (because I have a crop body camera and 50mm really is a lot farther for me). I was able to get these today without asking the kids to move. I just snapped (using my new 35mm) while they were playing on the iPad. Proof that I just snapped is the fact there is a Kleenex on the couch (which I wish wasn't in the photo but I am not going to take the time to Photoshop it out). This is real life, folks. Further proof would be the Mr. Potato head eyes on the floor under the couch in the first photo, and the fact that Ian for some unknown reason is holding an ice cream scoop from the play kitchen. :)

Thankful Tuesday

1. The kids enjoyed playing dodge ball at gym class on Friday morning. This week it will either be kickball or soccer depending on the weather

2. The weather was heavenly on Saturday (high was 83) for the kids' first soccer games and a 3 mile walk in the afternoon. I was thrilled with how Ian played soccer!

3. We enjoyed having Paul's parents up to see the soccer games on Saturday and to church on Sunday to hear the kids sing. Ian has improved so much over the past year when it comes to singing on a church platform!

4. Nadia, Ian, and I enjoyed seeing the musical, Mary Poppins at Milton High School on Sunday afternoon.

5. Oliver didn't take a nap yesterday (albeit I tried for one solid hour to get him to do so). I think it was because he took a three hour nap on Sunday. I think two hours is the longest he should nap. I was very relieved when he took a two hour nap today.

6. The flowers have started blooming. So far the daffodils and hyacinth are in bloom. Beautiful! I will be mowing the lawn for the first time this year sometime this week. Hopefully soon the trees will be green!

7. Oliver, Ian, and I enjoyed having dinner at Perkins yesterday while Nadia was at gymnastics. Because I used a coupon for a free meal, our bill including tip was less than $7. Nadia and I enjoyed dinner at the Watson Inn tonight. Because my meal was free, our bill was less than $10 including tip. I brought home half of my chicken parmigiana. It was lovely to have that one-on-one time with my daughter!

8. I really enjoyed watching The Miracle Worker with the kids (the 2000 version). I remember enjoying the 1979 version of it when I was a child. Similarly, I have been enjoying seeing Pollyanna again (1960 version).

9. Paul and Nadia came home with flowers for me yesterday. Nadia picked them out. They are so pretty!!

10. Paul's last labs were last week. He met very briefly with his two lab sections this week, and next Monday will be his last lecture for the semester. He is looking forward to having about four months off of teaching and is hoping to make progress with a research project.

11. I received several lovely birthday cards through the mail and a couple in our mailbox at church. It's so nice to be remembered in some cases by people whom I haven't seen in awhile.

12. Most weeks there are only three people I talk with on the phone - Paul, my mom, and Paul's mom. Today I also had the treat of talking to my sister, Yvonne (who lives in Turkey)! Her whole family serenaded me with the birthday song. Loved it!

13. I received several wonderful birthday presents. Yvonne gave me an air pump for blowing up air mattresses. That will make it much easier than blowing up by mouth! Paul's parents gave me some money. Paul gave me three wooden letters that spell JOY (photo prop I hope to use with the kids in the future), four new cereal bowls, and a step stool so Nadia can get things out of a kitchen cabinet without climbing onto the counter (which is what she had been doing lately). My parents got me three things for my camera (lens, reflector, and white balance filter). Photography has been my favorite hobby the last few years. I look forward to learning how to use the new "toys" as I take pictures of my three precious, dearly loved children.

Nadia's Legos!

In February Nadia saw an Elsa Lego set at Walmart and decided she wanted to save up enough money to buy it. I was dubious that she could accomplish this task because including tax it cost $42.40. In the past she had never accumulated anywhere near that amount of money. She worked very hard over the past two months to earn the money. Almost every week she cleaned the bathrooms and did other extra chores. Most of the time she was earning the money one dollar at a time. The two exceptions would be that I gave her $7 for stopping sucking her thumb at night, and I also gave her $7 birthday money two months early. I did that because I was so proud of how hard she was working toward her goal. This morning she earned the final dollar by helping me clean the three bathrooms, and after she finished her schoolwork I let her open the box of Legos. She was SO excited. She put together about 2/3 of the castle today. I'll take more pictures tomorrow of the finished project. While she was at gymnastics Oliver smashed it on the ground (on purpose), but I rebuilt it before she came home. Nadia did a great job with following the instructions to build the project!

Nadia holding "Sparkle," her beloved stuffed animal

Step in Time

This morning the kids and I were out the door at 8:05 to head to church. The kids' choir sang "Jesus Loves Me" in both services. They sang two verses in English while doing it in sign language and then sang the same two verses in Spanish. Our church has a worship service in Spanish every Sunday and also provides an interpreter for the deaf for one service. I wasn't at a good angle to see Ian for the video in the 9:00 service. Paul and his parents came to the second service, and Paul thought he was recording a video (at a much better angle to see Ian), but he forgot to hit the record button. Ian has come a LONG way over the past year. A woman I saw after the first service came up and told me what a good job Ian did. Yay, Ian!

Paul's parents graciously offered to take us out to lunch as a birthday treat, but I had tickets to take Nadia and Ian to see Mary Poppins at 2:00. I had made spaghetti and meatballs before leaving for church this morning so they came to our home to eat that instead. We loved the musical. The special effects really impressed Nadia and Ian. My favorite part was the "Step in Time" song and choreography. It was interesting to see what parts of the musical were the same as the book and what parts were the same as the Disney movie. The show lasted three hours including the intermission, but Oliver napped for three hours so Paul was able to work while we were gone as Oliver had just woken up a few minutes before we arrived back at home. Since the kids won't be able to sing in the musical the kids' choir is putting on at church next month, I didn't take them to the rehearsal this evening and don't plan to take them back until September. Nadia had her audition for the Annie musical on Friday afternoon. I can't wait to find out what speaking part she'll have or what solo she might get to sing! She memorized Annie's lines for the scene with the officer and the stray dog (Sandy) and also sang the solo "Tomorrow" for the audition.

A taste of summer

The high was supposed to hit 78 degrees today. I am not sure what the actual high was, but I think it was at least that warm. Whatever the thermometer said, it was a gorgeous day that felt like summer. I wish it was here to stay, but it was just a taste of things to come. The kids got up earlier than normal today. Even Nadia was up at 6:30, which is unheard of for her, but it actually worked out well because we needed to be out the door a little after 8:00 to get to Nadia's first soccer game of the spring season. There are seven girls on her team, and they place five on five. Her game was at 9:00 in Mifflinburg, and one girl couldn't make it today. Paul's parents met us at the field. It wasn't Nadia's best game, but I am confident she'll get back in gear as the season progresses. Since Paul isn't coaching her team, it means I'll always have help watching the boys during her game, which is a big plus. Today the ration was four adults to two kids during Nadia's game, and most of the games in the fall I was watching both kids by myself (and trying to take pictures of her game), which was VERY challenging because Oliver didn't want to stay put. I also think he's matured some and will be easier to handle, although he did try to dart on the field once during Ian's game because he wanted DADDY.

Immediately after Nadia's game we hopped in the van and drove to Ian's 10:30 game, which was at a field about 15 minutes away from her game. I thought the game was going to be a total disaster because he did NOT want to shed the light coat I let her wear as he watched Nadia's game. It had warmed up a lot during Nadia's game, and he definitely didn't need a coat, but he always goes through a struggle when he has to switch to wearing short sleeve clothes. He entered the field crying his eyes out over this. Lovely. Thankfully he got it together by the time it was his turn to play on the field. There are ten kids on his team, but they split the team in half so that five kids are playing five kids from the opposing team. They play three on three. Ian did much better at kicking the ball than he did during most of the games in the fall. I was very relieved. At one point he could have scored a goal as he had a breakaway and was kicking the ball down the field, but then he ran a little ahead of the ball. As a side note, I know Ian's shorts just look plain ridiculous. I am going to buy him new ones that are much SMALLER. Those were the smallest ones our league had available. Nadia has been wearing her same uniform for a little over two years, and it finally fits her now!

After Oliver's shorter than usual nap, we headed to the playground. I let the kids pick which one, and they picked one that is a longer walk. I forgot to bring water bottles, but since Paul was home grading exams we were able to call him, and he drove to meet us and delivered water bottles. We were very grateful! I made the mistakes of having this long walk be my first time wearing sandals this year. Oops! I also discovered I need to buy Ian a pair of sandals. I did find some that fit Oliver. This evening I also discovered I should have gotten out the sunscreen for the first time this year. Oops! After dinner we watched some more of the Miracle Worker (about Helen Keller), and then we spent some more time outside. Paul took a break from grading to work with Nadia for about 30 minutes on her bike riding skills. She is getting better at learning how to ride without training wheels! She hasn't mastered it yet, but I think the end is in sight. Whew.

One of my FB friends posted a link to an article that listed the 100 best places to take kids in DE, MD, PA, VA, and DC. We have already taken the kids to sixteen of the places (the two in italics we haven't been to yet but plan to take them to this summer): Crayola Experience, Maryland Science Center, National Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, Sesame Place, Pirate Adventures on the Chesapeake, Port Discovery, Maryland Zoo, National Aquarium, Bushkill Falls, Hersheypark, Six Flags America, Knoebels, Strasburg Railroad, Air and Space Museum, and Colonial Williamsburg. I also saw twenty places listed in the article that we haven't been to yet that I'd like to go some day: Great Wolf Lodge, King's Dominion, Assateague Island, Newseum, International Spy Museum, Mount Vernon, Idlewild Story Book Forest, Independence National Historical Park, Luray Caverns, Landis Valley Museum, Gettysburg, Franklin Institute, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Turkey Hill Experience, Fort McHenry, Medieval Times, Historic Ships in Baltimore, Please Touch Museum, Dorney Park, and Busch Gardens. The article was written by a newspaper in Maryland so naturally the majority of places listed were in that state, which is probably why only 36 of the 100 caught my attention.