Enchanting Grandparent Part 3

If anyone is enchanting, it is Grandma Connie.  This is Ryan's Mom.  She is a very skilled retired 2nd Grade teacher who can mold kids in the palm of her hands.  There have been times of going over to Connie's house that I have returned thinking, "I did not know my kids could do that!"  I remember one time when she helped out with Soren's birthday party and the 6 wild children were getting a little out of hand with their foam weapons (hey it is Soren's party, of course there are weapons).  Without raising her voice or trying longer then 45 seconds, she had them all playing in a controlled safe fashion.  She is the master at Love and Logic.

Connie isn't just an enchanting Grandparent to the boys but an enchanting parent to us. She spoils us often with watching our boys at times, all day long, once a week.  When we go on family trips she lets us sleep in and takes care of our early risers.  We are sooooo spoiled.  You are the best Connie!  Thanks for everything!!

I am trying to find a picture but all my pictures are messed up so TBC......

Enchanting Grandparents part 2

Once a month Xander gets to go to Grandma Thompson's house (my Mom).  In June Xander struggled wanting to go because his preschool was having a lunch at the park that day and he heard there would be face painting.  I told Xander to that Grandma had some face paints and she was really good at it.  Way better then the people at the park and if he asked nicely, she might paint his face.  

I guess he asked really, really nice........and my Mom is crazy good!  

My Mom did make up for years at a children's play. As a kid I remember strange teenager parading in my house in the summer months getting their face casted and then my mom making Masks, pointy ears, big noses, large chins and other extras for the actors.  She could make a 10 year old look 80 and a 4 year old look like a lion - clearly.

 My Mom and Dad meet doing theater in collage. She was the beautiful leads and he was the tech genius backstage.  So before I was born, they dreamed of having a traveling entertaining family.  An american Von Trap family if you will.  My Dad wrote a play and they were building marionette in a back room of our house. We even had our front room turned in to a stage much of my younger years with a curtain separating it from the rest of the house. I remember my brother sleeping on the stage for many years as his room.  I can only imagine only having a curtain separating you from the rest of the house might have made getting sent to your room all day with just bread and water harder then if you had walls......but I digress.  Sadly the reality of having 6 kids in 8 years seem to suck this dream dry and they sold their marionettes when I was 12.  

  My Mom said Xander held still for an hour.  He was serious about getting his face painted and about playing the part of the lion.  He wanted my Mom to sow him up a lion costume right then and there.  If he kept nagging her the whole time I bet she would have done it, but as it was by the time lunch was over, Xander was onto new things.  His little 1 yr old cousin came over and he was worried about scaring him so Xander had his face washed off.  I was sad to have missed it in person, but these pics are great.  

It must be so enchanting to have a grandma like Grandma Thompson.  I know it was to have her as a Mom.  Love you Mom and thanks for everything!

Starting Young

When ever I work out in the shop and the boys catch wind of that, they want me to build them things.  "Mom can you build me a priate ship that my friends and I can sit in?"

"Mom can you build me a toy car?"  

"Mom can you build me a sword?"

"Mom can you build me an axe?"

"Mom can you build me the weapon I designed on this piece of paper?"

I can't tell you how many countless "designs" Soren has given me and requested I get to work.  He usually says something like this.  "Mom, it is really easy.  First you take a piece and you cut it like this (points at a part of the design).  Then nails these two pieces together and then put this piece on but first cut it like this......"ect.  

Sometimes I whip them up a sword or shield because they are quick, but I usually say no. I feel like I don't have enough time.  This has lead to them building things on their own.  But since they aren't allowed to cut anything they scrounge for scraps.  Friday before bed they built these.  

 This is Xander's sword he built and painted.  I didn't even know he could effectively nail wood together.  You might wonder which end you hold as the cross handle part is sort of long, but it is lying on its side.  

 This is lethal pokey thing Soren made and is now dismantled due to is lethal effectiveness.

This is a riffle Soren built and painted.  This actually fits under his arm quite well and it was a bit worrisome that he knew just know what to do with this.  

I don't know why I buy toys.  Scraps of wood, cardboard, tape, glue and some paint can keep the boys busy for a very long time.  Granted it does make a lot of mess.....

Enchanting Grandparents part 1

My boys are so lucky!  They have the most amazing Grandparents that are so close to them.  Ryan's parents are just 25 minutes away in Issaquah and my Mom is 25 minutes away in Bellevue.  Not only that but they are AMAZING Grandparents that love to spend time with my kids are are magical when they do.  

Gandpa Howard - Ryan's Dad - has a great shop and is quite handy.  Saturday, after spending the whole day at Grandma and Grandpa's, the boys came home with these.

A sailboat for Soren and a motor boat for Xander.  The boys were asking me if I would make them a boat in the shop the other day and they were turned down.  Grandpa on the other hand is magical and whips these puppies up per request on the same day.  What an enchanting Grandpa.  Soren has been known to design his own weapons and grandpa goes out in the shop and makes them per his specs.  How cool is that?  The down side was Soren was coming home will many weapons every week.  Grandpa has built awesome castles and pirate ships out of random things - wood, pipes, cans, cardboard ect.  He is so creative.  How lucky my boys are to have such a great Grandpa!!  Thanks for everything Grandpa Howard!  You are the best!!   

Week At a Glance

Wow.  It has been a whirlwind and I am sitting confused in the aftermath.  Super briefly my week

Friday biked solo 45 miles - checking out a dreamy trail I want to take my kids on.  It was suppose to be 60 miles but I got 2 flats and didn't have a kit to fix the second one, which lead to a 6 mile walk and a phone call to Mom.  Bummer.  Stayed the night at my Mom's for a little sleepover and was pampered.  She is the best.

Saturday - More hanging out and talking with my Mom, then off to home to do some work around the house with Ryan.

Sunday - Church with new calling in primary.  Afterwards giant (like 13 families giant) potluck with friends at my house which turned into a camp out with 5 families in my backyard, a fire and lots of sticky, yummy smores and a 2am bedtime.

Monday - early rising to make giant pancake breakfast with crazy good toppings for the 5 families that stayed plus 2 more that came back.  Then off to work at 1pm until midnight.

Tuesday - Get boys off to school, feed animals and sleep!  Be confused and groggy the rest of the day and get little done.  Catch up with people on phone that have been behind on.  Wake up several time in night with Xander and his coughing spells

Wednesday - Get Soren off to school, Xander stays home with terrible cold. Help a friend with Dr. appt and medical issues for almost 4 hrs.  Garden for an hour and get less done then I am suppose to around house.

Thrusday - today.  Attend funeral for a 23 yr old woman who I was a YW leader to years ago.  So sad. Meet for a 4th year Girls Camp meeting.  Meet a new neighbor who just got milking goats yesterday and make new friend.  Clean up side of road that has a bunch of trash on it because Soren really wants to (love that boy).

I am so behind.  I have list of stuff I am suppose to get done daily, weekly and monthly.  Uhg.  Projects up the wazoo and garden/animals that need daily cares. A house that needs constant organizing and cleaning.  Patients that need medical care, a bank account that needs filling, and boys that need teaching and loving and a whole lot of memory making and gobs of food.  A husband that needs attention and TLC and a church calling that needs my focus and time.  Girls camp that needs planning and extended family and friend relationships that need building and serving.  All the while cultivating my own spiritual strength and knowledge, health and physical strength so that I can do all that.  And what do I do?  I watch tv.

Sigh.  This is where I get confused. I am pretty sure I can't quite fit it all in, in one day or even week just to attempt to repeat it.  How do I balance you and create effectiveness.  Efficiency?  Success?  You look impossible. I guess I will just go watch tv. It all seems so less impossible come 8am.......but by 8pm, you look impossible again.  I am feeling confused on how to balance it all......I should probably just go to bed.  Good night world.  See you on the flip side.    



 

Morning conversations

It is 6:15am - the TV is locked off.  Everyone is in my bed.

Q "Soren why are you waking up so early?"  This has been a daily occurrence for weeks.

S "I hear a crunch, and it wakes me up.  It goes crunch, crunch crunch I don't know what that is."

Q "Okay......Xander why do you wake up? "

X "It starts right here"  pointing to his big toe, " and it goes all the way up here," sweeping his hand all the way up to his head, "and then I am like awake.

Curse that big toe!


Later this morning.   Soren has some red yarn that he has tied to a fork.

S "I need something I can climb with this."

X "You can climb the fridge."

Q "Wait what?  Lets talk this through before you do anything.  You want to climb something with the fork?"

S "Yeah" and Soren air climbs and stabs his imaginary object with the fork and uses it for leverage.

Q "So you want to climb something like a tree."

S "Yeah! Come on brother, lets go climb a tree."

Soren slips on his boots with his boxer shorts and a over sized shirt that makes him look naked on the lower half.  Xander runs off in just a pair of shorts and rain boots.

Thinking their apparel will help limit what they can do outside as it is cold, I yell out, "Just bring me back my fork..........still straight."

Later this morning.

X "Mom, do you have any cardboard?"

Q "How big do you need it?"

S "like this"  Spreading his arms as far apart as they can go."

Q "What are you going to build?"

X "A secret hide out."

S "With knives and weapons."

Q "No knives.  I will look for some cardboard."

It is 7:35.  We get a lot done when the TV is off.

Take That Satan!

For FHE (family night) a couple of weeks ago I did the plan of salvation which is basically the meaning of life using these visual aids 

http://www.theredheadedhostess.com/most-popular/plan-of-salvation-for-kids-and-everyone-else-too/

It went really well and was interesting how much they asked questions and how much they seem to understand.  Well, a couple of days ago Xander asked some follow up questions and somehow it came out that Satan is sad/mad when we do good things and happy when we do bad things whereas Jesus is happy when we we do good things and sad when we do bad things.  Now, if you know Xander well, you know, there is something about how his brain ticks that makes him a perfect candidate for reverse psychology.  He cannot help himself but do the opposite.  Reminding him of things he should not do is a very bad idea.  Telling him to do bad things, is a sure way to get him to choose the right, share,  eat new foods, ect.  It is twisted, I know, but it is so effecting that we just can't help but do it all the time.  In fact, reverse psychology is so effective he has been known to cry while he shovels food he really doesn't like in his mouth and say, "stop playing this game.  I don't like it."  So although he knows he really doesn't want to eat the food, he has to because we told him not to.  It is so strange.  

Yesterday Xander got into a money making mood, which means he offers to clean the whole house and does it.  I was painting some doors in the garage and Xander kept running in and telling me all the chores he had done and all the money he was making.  Then one time he was telling me that he had helped clean Soren's room too and then added,

"What would Satan say about me cleaning Soren's room."

"Oh Satan would be mad.  He would be like, "No, don't clean his room.  Dang it.  You are being way too nice.  Arg!"  I said in my best theatrical voice.

"And what would Jesus say?"  he questioned.

"Oh, Jesus would be like, 'Yes!  This makes me so happy, what a wonderful boy he is!!'"

Xander giggled in delight and ran off.  5 minutes later he came back,

"I cleaned up the whole living room by myself.  Now what would Satan say?"

"No!  Noooo!  NOOOOOOOOO!"  I hollered in my best evil villain voice.

This time Xander adds a dance with his giggles and then runs off.  5 minute later he reports again about his good deeds he has done and we review mostly what Satan's response would be and sometimes Jesus response.  It was so cute, so fun and very effective.  I love having another tool to help Xander do good things.

Take that Satan!