Wholesome Family Recreation

My idealistic self has always been anti-video games.  Well, for my kids.  In high school I was a big fan of Tony Hawk on the Playstation and Dr. Mario on the old-school original Nintendo.   And we have had some rockin' good times with friends and family on Guitar Hero. So I should clarify that I lumped video games into the category of "Things that are okay for adults but not kids" or at least not my kids.. and in moderation of course...

ANYWAY...  

I WAS adamant that we would never own a gaming system. That was until I watched my kids dance with Scott and Jess to "Rasputin" [Just Dance 2] and then we had to have a Wii. 

We love us some Just Dance around here.  In our dream house, I would set up a room with a big tv and no other furniture, just wide open space for us to bust our moves.  It's a family affair.

We only have two Wii remotes, but that doesn't stop the whole gang from participating.  Kids are such good sports that way.

**As a side note.  As with most aspects of parenting, my idealistic self has compromised to my realistic self.  That is not to say that reality requires a compromise of principles, just that some allowances are made when the benefits out-weigh the cost, or we discover that the cost wasn't as severe as we had perhaps imagined.  Or we just become really good at justifying.  This Mormon Message is a little cheesy, but was certainly a good reminder of  my ideals. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CstRqAlAZf0

Easter

This year for Easter I really wanted to do something religious, something that actually related to the purpose of the holiday.  Thank you Pinterest for this one.  Or actually, thank you Allie. 

[Photo & idea are hers.]

Resurrection Rolls

You take a marshmallow, white and pure, representing Jesus.  The cinnamon and sugar represented the oils and spices they anointed his body with.  The roll represents the linens and then the oven represents the tomb.  As we prepared the rolls, Richard read from the bible, John chapters 19 & 20.  It actually went really well.  I think the visual lesson was effective and all the kids sat quietly and listened in reverence.   Then of course when you remove the rolls from the "tomb" the linens are left but the body of Jesus is gone.  You get it...

Anyway it was fun to give birth to a new tradition and have it be a success. 

Here is the Easter gang- naturally one picture wasn't adequate to capture all their darling faces. 

HONY

Have you heard of Humans Of New York? Brandon takes pictures and interviews the people of New York city.  Not only are the pictures amazing to a sheltered Idaho girl like myself, his clever captions are hilarious. 

I haven't been this captivated online since I discovered Pinterest.  Here are a few of my favorites.       [Captions are Brandon's.]

Two things about this man:
1) He had this very endearing quirk where he always had to be holding something in the air. The first time I tried to take his photo, he held up a bag of chips. When I convinced him to let me hold the chips, he pulled out an umbrella and held it up instead.
2) He was perhaps the most stylish homeless man I’ve ever encountered. Whether or not you agree with the “look,” I honestly would not be surprised to see a dry-cleaned version of that outfit on a fashionista in SoHo.

Hands down the most adorable solution to the economic crisis: Tax the Princesses

Clearly her love is electrifying.

I love that there are cultures where a father and son can walk arm-in-arm without a hint of self-consciousness.

And to think he wanted a son.

“What’s your favorite thing about your wife?”
“I can’t say that in public!”

Was laughing pretty hard during this one.
Her mom kept saying: “Do it Brown Sugar! That’s right! You a superstar!"

”Now for the million dollar question.”
“What’s that?”
“Did you break the foot while riding the unicycle?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“OH MAN, I thought I was going to have a great caption.”
“Well, there is good news.”
“What’s that?”
“I broke it playing Quidditch.”


There are OH SO MANY more, but my kids need to eat now.  Check it out!

Well MY child...

My children are destined for greatness...

Simon is learning the ins and outs of the tv remote for a childhood and lifetime of couch potato living. 

 And Miriam, through no effort on my part, has the makings of the most peppy cheerleader there ever was. 

And Eli, well, his taste in clothes indicates he's got the hipster thing DOWN. 


As for Cameron- he's got the skills of a captivating story-teller, but that post is still in the works...

Person #3 turns SEVEN

Eli's birthday was on Friday, and Cameron's was on Sunday, so we threw a combined party on Saturday with the cousins who were visiting from Vegas.  It was great fun! Cameron and Eli shared the recliner while siblings/cousins presented them with gifts.  There were Legos, books, Just Dance for Kids, lightsabers, and Cameron got a watch, which I think looks so grown up on his little wrist.  

On Cameron's actual birthday we had a little party with the other side of the family.  It was basically three days of birthday parties.  I'm not sure how that math works out, two kids, three parties...

Cameron is everything I could ask for in an oldest child.  He is responsible, conscientious and obedient.  His love language without a doubt is words of affirmation, and the other day when he brought his report card home he beamed from ear to ear while I read the comments from his teacher.  Then when Richard came home he asked him to read it again.  He loves attention, he is the boy in primary who drives everyone crazy when he raises his hand for every question even when he doesn't know the answer.  He is confident and comfortable in conversation with adults, even if 70% of what he tells them is fictitious.  (We are working on that, more about it later.)  He has a sensitive conscience and he is the only one of my children for which "the look" is an effective discipline tool.  I know we'll have our work cut out in keeping him humble, he has that irrational self-confidence.  But I don't antipicate losing sleep at night over this kid. 

times four

I know I've said it multiple times on here but having four kids is SO busy.  Every day I feel this way.  I hesistate to complain because, first I'm really grateful for my kids and secondly four is fewer than five, six, seven, etc.  But it's a busy life.  

The other day we took Simon to his one year well child exam.  He weighed in at 17lbs which puts him right in between Cameron (18lbs at one year) and Eli and Miriam (16lbs at one year.)  We grow 'em small 'round here.

Anyway, at the pediatrician's office everything was different.  They had remodeled and it looked bright and fun.  I commented about how it looked so different, and asked when it had been done.  This led me to ponder when I was last in the office, and the receptionist looked it up.  January, three months ago. 

Three months!

Three months is not very long but it was a big deal for me because prior to my last visit we were in the pediatrician's office at least once a month for the year before that.  Well child exams, infant check-ups, follow-ups to ER visits, ingrown toenails, flu shots, and so on. 

It was satisfying to have managed a three month reprieve from the office that knows us well by now.  In the past after each weight check Dr. B and I discussed possible reasons for and solutions to our smaller-than-average offspring.  This time she just smiled and said "I'm fine with that weight."

But alas, we go back in two weeks for Eli's final vaccines and exam before kindergarten.  It was nice while it lasted. 

In any case, it represents to me all the other facets of parenting. We do everything times four. Thankfully age variance gives us some reprieve for now, only two kids need dental appointments. But you get the general idea. Especially if you have kids of your own.  

I know I'll look back on these days with fondness, but for now I just feel like I can't get ahead. 

Forget getting ahead, I can't even catch up!

We're Goin' to the ZOO ZOO ZOO

We made a couple trips to the Zoo in the spring.  (Spring of 2012 that is...)  The first trip was with Baca and Aunt Brittany and Grace.  Somehow we didn't get any pictures of Brit and Grace, or Baca for that matter...

 Simon had a soggy diaper that leaked through all his clothes, and if Simon were my first child I would have been prepared with a spare change of clothes in the diaper bag.  But alas, the fourth child just gets wrapped in Baca's sweater.  

 Our second trip to the zoo was with Eli's preschool class.  Mrs. Hardy had little clipboards for each of the kids with a list of animals to look for.  

 Eli's preschool class. 

And we have a 5-year old again

Eli's Super Mario birthday party with cousins and friends.



A litte Mario memory....

Wonder what five-year-olds wish for...

The party crew.


Eli is, like most of us, a paradox.  I know I've talked about it before but he can be our most affectionate child and our most distant child.  He is smart, but a bit lazy.  When he decides to work, he works hard, but its nigh impossible to get him motivated.  He is aware of his siblings and concerned [in excess] about their well-being.  He has hyper-sensitive senses: hates loud noise, weird food textures, bright lights, he can smell his favorite foods from a mile away and his fears are a little bit on the phobic side.  He loves video games and computer games, it has been and will continue to be a delicate balance of regulating them.   He has a great sense of humor and will be the family member who puts us in fits of laughter by reciting movie lines.  He lives the phrase "stop and smell the roses" like it's his religion.  He loves to look at maps and the GPS on my phone.  For his birthday we gave him our old digital camera because he loves to take pictures and I still haven't deleted the 300+ pictures he took on my phone. 

He has his niche in our family and we feel so blessed to have him.