3 little shoppers

Today we took the kids to the King of Prussia mall (4,000 stores to choose from!) to go back to school shopping.  As we went from store to store I quickly realized that each child had their own little way of doing things:

Zak: he liked anything and everything that we expressed a positive opinion about.  If we didn't look ecstatic about something, he would read our expressions and suddenly change his mind.  It really broke my heart to see how much he tried to please me by trying to guess what I would like most.  We also found out that he likes color and after being very careful to conceal our opinions we let him walk out of the store with the LOUDEST purple shirt.  I think it was the only thing that he truly picked out himself all day.

Eliot: Mr. Picky!!!  He was just the opposite of Zak and no matter how much we tried to manipulate him into changing his opinion he remained resolute.  He firmly told us that he didn't like stripes and would only wear a striped shirt if we made him.  I tried telling him that his engineer hat was striped and he liked that and he replied by saying, "A hat is a hat mom, I don't like stripes on my shirt."  By the end of the day we were able to get him to make a few concession.  He decided he would only wear a striped shirt if it had green stripes that went along the lower portion of the shirt ... we didn't find one that met his criteria.

Eliannah:  She likes pink! mostly hot pink and after picking up a pair of hot pink pants that wouldn't match anything she owned I knew this was going to be fun.  Once we made it over to Old Navy she got very excited about anything that was a dress or skirt and didn't want any pants at all.  While Phillip was over in the boys department I found some cute, burgundy, patent leather rain boots to try on her (Hey, it rains here and all we brought with us were sandals!) when we had this conversations

me: Eliannah, do you like these boots?

Eliannah: um... yeah, but only if I need them

(I go to put the first one on her)

Eliannah: Oh I like them!
(I put the second one on)
Eliannah: Oh, I need them, I do need them!

And so it starts ...  I know I've been there and done that!

I have to say, it sure beat going to the outlets in Pismo!

On a lighter note

I love going on dates with my husband but with life as crazy as it is I spend more time wishing for a date than going on any.  Here is a list of my top 5 fantasy dates.

1. going wedding cake tasting

With a 3 month engagement there were somethings we didn't get to do so I've always thought this sounded like fun. ( I wonder if it's like wine tasting but they let you keep the plate?

2. going on a midnight picnic.

This one started while we were dating.  I challenged Phillip to a game of "Battleship" and he said if I beat him he would take me on a midnight picnic in a golf course (because they are the best and most beautifully maintained parks around!).  Hasn't happened yet but I'm sure it will some day.

3. going camping together.

this one is more romantic to me than to him but I think a hike up to Domke Lake (the only way to get to this high altitude lake is hiking) and a couple days fishing in the warm clean deliciously clear glacial runoff lake would be fun.  Oh, and the only way to get to the bottom of the 5 mile trail up to the lake is by boat so it is ultra solitary and serene ... or at least that is how I remember it.  I haven't gone there since my senior year in high school.

4. spending the weekend in a yurt.

like camping but a little easier and lower maintenance

5. going "gunkholing" through the San Juans

there are tons of tiny little islands in Washington and cruising from island to island is called gunkholing.  It's a great way to explore, fish and sight see.

That's just the top 5 and I know each of them are more elaborate but I find romance in the thought fullness that goes into all the planning. How about you? What's your dream date?

Pet Peeved

WARNING! RANT AHEAD!!  

Ok, so people love their pets.  I get that.  I loved my dog Angel that I got for a birthday present when I was 7.  I had her until I was 19 and my sister took her to the pound the week before I got home from college ... but I digress.

People love their dog but I ask you - purse carriers? dog jogging strollers? dog car seats? doggie day care - we're not talking overnight boarding, we're talking a fun place to take your dog to play while you are at work.  Or a dog hotel ... or a doggie spa?

I also hate it when people call their dogs their kids, and say that dogs are people too.  Maybe I'm stepping on toes but when Psalm 8 talks about all the things God created  man is the only thing that is created "a little lower than the heavenly beings".  People have souls and poodles don't.

I get that some people want a low maintenance - co-dependent relationship but what really made me furious was when I saw a sticker on someones window that said

really!  you want a fireman to risk his life for your dog???  and bring him to the hospital of your choice????  

Of course, I have nothing against pets, in fact, Zak has been asking for a dog and Phillip and I are considering it (don't tell him).  We love pets- as pets, not as people.  We love people as people who are made in God's image, and for whom God sent His Son.  I think it is very important to keep things in perspective  (and I know most of you do)

Ahhh ... I feel so much better now.  I apologize if I hurt your feelings.  Maybe you can change my mind about this and make me eat my words and print a lengthy and heartfelt apology and retraction.

PNW

I always get "homesick" for Washington this time of year so to me, this is really funny

The Pacific Northwest According To Frank J Fohn

1. You know the state flower (Mildew).

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5 You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "WALK"
signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted,
it's not a real mountain.  (SO true!!)

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best,
and Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye
salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon,
Yakima and Willamette.

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai
food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark
while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by
rain,"and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17 You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of
mind.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see
through the cloud cover.

20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and
you can actually see it.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but
still wear your hiking boots and parka.

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the
socks on.

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the
old ones after such a long time.

26. You measure distance in hours.

27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still

Raining ( Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk season
(Fall).
30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward
them.
 

I have to add: your summer wardrobe consists of "summer jeans" and a variety of "light" jackets.  Boy do I miss it ...

A week with Grandma pt 2

On Saturday we took the kids to their very first amusment park. Since they had never been on anything crazier than a carosel horse this was big for them. The great thing about Dutch Wonderland is that it was geared to younger kids (through age 10 or so) so there were tons of rides that all of us could go on. There was also a small water park component which Dad and the boys did while Eliannah and I headed to the hotel for naps. To end the evening they had their first taste of cotton candy. We split it 5 ways and even threw some of it away to keep them from bouncing off the walls all night.

Dutch Wonderland:

Near the end of the evening Eliannah asked us if she could hug the princess.  Several minutes in line later we took her picture (minus the hug). As we were walking away she was so distresses about missing out on that hug we stood in line again to get it right.  It made her day!

(Grandma has the pictures of the "Real Pirates" exhibit at the Ben Franklin Museum, the Smith Memorial Playground, our 2 mile walk down by the Shuykill Banks past boathouse row and into center city as well as many others.)  I can't imagine having more fun and she left us with about 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies too!  What a lady :)

A week with Grandma pt 1

Sleeping in (!!)
Eating out
Always having a clean kitchen
Huge breakfasts
The laundry elf
Happy kids
Happy me

Please Touch Museum:

What a fun musuem! It had great little "story corners" that were set up to resemble scenes from books like Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild things are (costums to put on, a giant bed to jump on, vines to climb etc.) and others. It also had a great theater and a wonderful puppet show. I would go back more often but they are closing and moving to a new location. Drat!

Strasburg RR:

On Friday we left for Lancaster county. Our first stop was the motel in the middle of the cornfields where everyone took naps. Our second stop was the Strasburg RR( we might have to go back when they have Thomas). We took a ride on the train "accross the fruited plain" as it were. Everywhere we looked there were cornfields, tobacco fields and hayfields. Green everywhere - beautiful! We eventuallly had to come back another day to do the miniature train, and the crank cars. Fun!

Dinning with the local celebrities

You may recognize them ... (that's me in the middle, I'm their biggest fan)



right now the "celebrities" are surfing the laundry down the stairs to the laundry room. Time to get off the computer ...

Psalm 1

... "And on that law he medicates day and night ..." - Eliot

We've been memorizing Psalm 1 as we wait for the bus and walk to our various errands and parks. I'm amazed at how quickly they've picked it up. Eliannah insists on saying "Blessed is the mockers". Oh well, I think Eliot's quote is closer to how I need to look at Scripture. I know I need to do a better job of "medicating" my sin-sick soul and focusing on Christ's grace in my life. Lately I feel like I have been waisting my time here. I have no projects to work on, nothing to keep me terribly busy and result is that I've had more time to meditate on the overwhelming number of failures and shortcomings - not healthy. Guess I'd better refill my prescription .... "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" Psalm 119:11

and for a real challenge ....

Red, White and Blue... and Yellow ... and Green..

So in honor of the Olympics (did anyone see the women's gymnastics final?) I have been teaching the kids good sportsmanship. We just finished "snakes and ladders" and the loser had to shake hands with the winner and say "Good game". Later today we will use a stopwatch in the following competition

1.) Washing the dishes (Zak's new job)
2.) Putting away toys (all kids)
3.) Putting away laundry (Z and Eliot)
4.) Making our beds. (all of us)

It is amazing how little time those chores take when you just get down to doing it. I'll have to post times later ...


*** Beginning of rant: And if anyone saw China beat team USA, who really thinks those girls are 16? And if they are 16 why does one of them have a missing tooth which is more typical of prepubescence? Why can all of them practically walk straight under the balance beam without ducking? Is it fair to put children into a competition of such national importance? Is it right to rip them away from their parents at age 3 to go off to a training camp far away? As you can see I wanted team USA to win for ideological reasons more than patriotic ones. ... *** End of rant.

When the kids take over the camera ...

Here's my scrawney little Incredible Hulk.

Good for a laugh

Mischief Makers:

The funny thing is that she allowed him to "help" her make a silly face.  I don't know which one is more full of mischief!

OLYMPICS!

AHHHHHHH I love the Olympics! Last night we had some people over to watch the opening ceremonies which were awesome. Zak was a bit disappointed that there wasn't any swimming at the ceremony so we are watching the prelims today and will hopefully watch Micahel Phelps take a gold tonight in the IM. (I miss being on swim team!) Eliannah was very excited to watch swimming with me today until she found out that the 100m "beyifly" race didn't involve any butterflies. I may be "off the grid" for the next 17 or so days ...

Community Service

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I grabbed some grocery bags and went up and down the street collecting trash. The kids just loved it so we did it again today.
You would have thought they were going trick or treating! Eliannah was upset that she didn't have as much trash in her bag and would come up to me when I picked something up with her bag open and look offended if I didn't fill her bag. 

Lately I've been feeling like we need to do things for our neighbors. My first attempt was to make cookies but, as it turns out, the neighbors don't like peanut butter cookies.

My second attmept was to make refridgerator cookies. Everyone loves chocolate right? One important thing I will remember before making 3 dozen cookies is to wash my hands after peeling and chopping the garlic for dinner! Oh well. You can't mess up picking up trash right?

Long overdue

A very long time ago I had started what I thought would be a blog series on  "How to teach your children hymns".  It's been awhile but now I am finally coming back to it.

In our family Phillip and I know the first verse of many different hymns and since we are without a hymnal and a piano we've just been teaching the kids the hymns that we know (or at least the first verses).  Sometimes we pick a hymn that goes along with what we've been learning in church, sometimes it's one that goes along with what we've been reading in the Bible or another book, sometimes we pick something that suits a child's particular need (example: child is working on being thankful so we teach them "For the Beauty of the Earth")

Some of the easiest songs to teach a young child are things that are straightforward, without imagery that is beyond their comprehension.  You can't expect a kid to understand  "Crown Him with many Crowns" without a lengthy explanation about who the Lamb is, why he is on the throne and the hope that we have of heaven that is found in the book of Revelation. (Or maybe you can, I'm a terrible explainer.) There are also ones that are a bit too vivid like "There is a fountain full of blood that flows from from Emmanuel's veins" - we are not going there for a few years!

Another thing that make a song easy to learn is if it has a simple refrain.  Three examples of this are :

Christ the Lord is Risen today.  (Even if the child can only sing the "Hallelujah" that's a start!)

What Can Wash Away my sins?  (Great question and answer song)

Hallelujah Thine the Glory (we are teaching this one to our kids now since our catechism questions are dealing with the trinity and they already know Holy, Holy, Holy)

You can also teach them the music the way illiterate congregations learned throughout history.  Have Parent A "line out" the song.  This means that they sing the first line, and then Parent B can join the kids in repeating it.  If you are a terrible singer and still want to teach your children hymns without damaging their ears you can do this with a recording and hit pause after every line.  The only problem with doing things this was is that if you try to teach your kids all 57 verses of a favorite hymn they aren't going to have the attention span.  I would suggest explaining the song for them line by line, going over the song a few times in whatever way works best and then singing it together as a family throughout the week.  If mama is singing the same song as she does the dishes, the laundry and as she fixes dinner even if the kids aren't practicing they will still be picking it up.

One of my friends also told me that just about any song you can think of has been recorded and posted on youtube.  Just as a suggestion, if you decided to use youtube please select a singer or choir with good diction and good sound recording quality beforehand to prevent any problems.

I've found that some of the best music that the kids respond to is anything sung by kids.  The Cedarmont Kids have great recordings. I also like the ones put out by Joni Ericson Tada and Bobbi Wolgumuth (these recordings include hymn stories for kids in a book that comes with it.)

Last year we taught the kids songs that went with the seasons, taught them a few favorites and found some great arrangements that we hadn't heard before and have enjoyed learning as a family.  I normally hate hymn arraignments of any kind since I find many of them to be sloppy and of a very poor musical quality (who knew I was such a snob?) but Phillip and I have really enjoyed Hymns for All the Ages and Hymns from Around the World  (if you heard me sing at the Women's Conference, I borrowed some of their ideas when I sang Softly and Tenderly.)

One last resource that I recommend is the index in your hymnal.  Depending on what kind of hymnal you have you can look up hymns by Title, First line, Author, Meter and Subject.  This is very helpful for browsing as well as finding something fast.  One of the things I really love to do is find a hymn with great words that maybe doesn't have the most tuneful melody.  If you know how to use your imagination or you know how to look up a hymn by meter you can find a hymn tune that you like and use it on any hymn that it fits.  One example of this is Anne Steele's beautiful hymn "Father whate'er of earthly bliss" which sounds much better to the tune of "There is a Balm in Gilead"  It takes a wee bit of work to make it work but it looks like this when you are done (I omitted a few words here and there to make it work.)


(to the tune of the refrain)
Father, whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let
My humble prayer, arise:

(to the tune of the verse)
Give me a thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessing of Thy grace impart,
And make me live to Thee.

(to the tune of the refrain)
Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine
My life and death attend,
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey’s end.

It would also work to lead into "There is a Balm" since the pain behind the one hymn goes beautifully with the hope behind the other. As none of these songs have any copy writes on them it is fine to do what people have been doing for centuries when you mix and match hymns and hymn songs.

If you decided to do some hymn arraigning at home you can teach your kids several songs to the same tune (like you may have done with the Abc song and twinkle twinkle little star). This might make more songs accessible to your kids with a little less work involved and you don't have to get very fancy since many songs can be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace.

Since all of this makes perfect sense to me I'm sure I did a terrible job explaining. Go ahead and comment if you have a question. If you couldn't tell, I love music, I love singing and I love the great spiritual truths we can find in hymns. I think I'm going to brush up "Father whate'ere" for tonight's bedtime routine. What are you singing to your kids?

Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton-NY-Trenton-Camden-Philadelphia

So I've had a bit of a blogging backload. Once we found out that Phillip would need to continue working from Philadelphia until mid-October I kind of pouted for awhile and felt so sorry for myself I didn't feel like blogging about our great adventure. Also, the only place I get free wi-fi is in our back patio and since I am made of sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice the mosquitoes come running as soon as I make my apperance. No amount of citronella candles, deet bug spray and long clothing seem to deter those pesky little blighter so I have avoided them.

Now that I've adjusted to the idea of another couple of months here I am making the most of it. Earlier in the week we had decided to meet up with Zak's best friend Caedin who was in New York with his family for a conference. His mom and I worked things out and I was all set to come until Phillip realized that we had planned my trip for Friday - not Saturday when he could come with us. 

For the record, I love my husband very much but I didn't know how little he thought of my navigating skills until he almost canceled the trip. He was so concerned he took the train halfway to NY with us just to spend time with the kids and help me get from the bus to the subway to the light rail and finally the train into NY. He left us with a worried wave as we boarded the train and since  I had forgotten my phone so he left me with his so we could keep in touch.

When we finally arrived in NY (5 hours after we started!) we easily found our friends and decided to spend the day in Central Park since we had 5 rowdy children to manage and didn't relish the idea of taking them site seeing. It didn't take us long to find a park area that was shooting water everywhere. It also didn't take long for the kids to get drenched! (It was so hot I knew they would dry off quickly so - why not?)

After we dried ourselves in the sun for awhile we had lunch and headed straight back to the park. Central Park is so huge you can't walk far without finding a play area, a field full of picnicers or smelling some pot. We decided to go check out the lake and possibly rent a boat. Once we got down to the water we chose to just look at the boats and find the turtles that live in the stinky green water. A couple of sponge bob popcicles later it was time to say good-by and start our long trip home.

Central Park:

Here is where things went dreadfully wrong for Phillip. As soon as I got into Pen station I dutifully called him to tell him that we were o.k. and would be taking the first train we could back to Trenton. He mentioned a different way home that would be faster but we agreed to discuss things once I got to Trenton. Unfortunatly for him, the cell phone died and I decided to come back home the same way we had gotten to NY. This meant that we would take a train into Camden - the 5th most dangerous city in the U.S. which I found out later, (Philadelphia makes top 25 too!). I was able to get on trains without having to wait very long so I couldn't make it to a payphone until we got into downtown Philadelphia around 10:30. After calling Phillip and leaving a message I looked around for a bus stop, realized we would have to wait too long and just hailed a taxi home. When I got there my frantic husband was just writing me a note before he went out to start looking for us. He was so worried. I felt so bad for him but a tiny little bit of me felt very loved and very greatful for such a sweet husband. He was only too happy to fix everyone a snack and put us all to bed by midnight. What a trip!

Note for the Grandmas: the train trips were very long but we had a great time playing 20 questions and I kept them entertained with lively stories (I'm practicing what I've learned about interactive storytelling).  

New England part 2 (Sunday)

Sunday we planned on going back into Boston but decided instead to go to Plymouth where we took a tour of Mayflower 2 (a replica that has duplicated the journey of the original twice. Since the kids were uninterested in actually learning much about the boat Phillip and I took tons of picture of all the signs so we could read them later. They loved it!



After Plymouth (and yes, we missed viewing the rock) we went to Plymouth Plantation that had a replica of the settler's village and a Wampanoag village. Since the people in the Wampanoag village were actual Wampanoag and not actors there were signs all over warning us to be sensitive to their culture and to not call them Indians or (even worse) Native Americans. As soon as we saw the first hut Zak and Eliot ran into it exclaiming for all to hear "A real Indian village"!. So much for cultural sensitivity.

One hut we went into had a women explaining how the Pilgrims had been thieves and had exploited the kindness of the Indians. I was a little shocked but in some ways prepared. When we were in the visitor's center I had read about the Day of Mourning that the Native People had started celebrating in 1970 the day after Thanksgiving to remember how their way of life was lost when the Pilgrims invaded their land. Eye opening. I never heard the story that way.

In one of the huts was a friendly Native Person Chief sitting in a motorized wheelchair. He was so friendly and so nice we felt more comfortable asking a few questions. After he was finished explaining about his headdress he paused and looked at Eliot and asked if he had any questions.

Chief, "And what's your name"
Eliot (in awe) "Eliot"
Chief: "My name is Bob, do you have any questions for me?"
Eliot, "I've never seen a real live Indian before," (I cringed, waiting to hear his reply)
Chief Bob, "Well now you have met a really big fat one!"

He was so gracious and funny we stayed there for a while but the kids were disappointed that there weren't any bows and arrow, tomahawks, or spears so we moved on to the Colonial Plantation which I don't have any great pictures of because it was raining and we were asked to go through it quickly since it was raining and they didn't want any of us to get struck by lightening (a real threat over here I guess).

We had a great time in the craft center where we could see artisans throwing pots, embroidering and woodworking. I wished we could have stayed longer but the kids were getting tired and we needed to start our long trip home. It was a lot of work but worth it!!