Logical conclusions

We almost made it to the playground. But with just 20 feet to go before we reached the equipment, we happened upon this irresistible mud puddle. What happened next was inevitable.

"Don't you guys want to go down the slides?" I asked, half hoping I could coax them out of the mud and limit my mess.

"No!" yelled Caleb, a look of pure delight on his face. "Splash, Mommy! I'm makin' big splashes!"

I noticed. I also noticed that by now, their feet were soaked and their pants were caked with mud from their ankles to their knees. It seemed they'd be making the drive home in their birthday suits.

"You guys begged me to come to the park," I reminded them. "Don't you want to go play on the playground?"

Abby's splashing came to a momentary stop. She glanced down at her feet, then up at me with a look of confusion on her face.

"But Mommy," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Her arms were outstretched, her palms facing skyward as if she couldn't believe I wasn't seeing what she was seeing. "Mommy," she repeated, "there's all this mud!"

She was right. How silly of me to even ask.

Get this party started

In all honesty, I don't recall how we spent our Saturday evenings before the kids came along. But I can be certain it didn't involve being pushed around the basement on a pink Barbie ATV by a 3-year-old.

Let's get together

There's plenty I love about doing preschool at home. And seeing these two interact and work together is definitely one of the highlights. While Abby's doing the normal 3-year-old preschool stuff--crafting, cooking, reading, building, counting, coloring--Caleb's tagging along, and doing an impressive job keeping up with his older sister.

One of our preschool days was forecast to be much warmer than it actually was, so I found myself with some dead space on my lesson plan that I had hoped to spend outside. Thanks to a well-stocked pantry, the crisis of too much down time was averted with a little impromptu rice krispie treat making. (And yes, they're smearing chocolate on top of those rice krispie treats. They're called Chocolate Scotcheroos, and they're the best thing ever. I have my friend Leigh Anne to thank for the recipe. But I have only myself to blame for the fact that a tray of them lasts less than 24 hours around here.) Both Abby and Caleb are improving daily in their understanding and execution of taking turns. They make a great team, with Caleb demanding to add every ingredient, and Abby counting to make sure they each take the exact same number of turns pouring things in.
Later, Abby built alphabet roads out of blocks for Caleb to drive his trucks on. This random act of kindness caught me totally off guard, since Abby is usually pretty possessive of whatever she's constructing out of these blocks. We've talked a lot about why it's important to be kind to your brother, and how even when it's difficult, Jesus can give us a heart that is sweet and kind to others. After she built her letter z road and invited Caleb to drive his trucks on it, she proudly informed me, "Look Mommy, I'm sharing my blocks with Caleb. Is that so kind of me?" I assured her it was. "Now Jesus doesn't have to mess with my heart," she added.

Maybe I need a better way of explaining that one.

At Abby's request, we attempted to make a letter z zebra this week. Abby was gracious enough to tell me it was an awesome zebra, but Caleb was a little more honest, telling me in no uncertain terms that what he was making looked nothing like a zebra.

"There's no zebra, Mommy," he said, looking me straight in the eye. "It's a snake. It's a stripey snake." To his credit, I think he was right.

We worked on some more dot-to-dot counting activities, and Abby is still loving them. Caleb insisted on doing one as well, and proceeded to sing the ABC song as he pointed to each number. Abby was disappointed her worksheet only had ten dots, and asked that I please find one that counts all the way to 40, which, currently, is her favorite number, for reasons I will never know.

A quick survey of week sixteen at the Preschool of Mommy reveals that these siblings have come a long way since August. They have their moments, of course, but I find that the times I spend intentionally working with them while they work together--whether coloring, crafting, or cooking--are fruitful times when they are truly learning "how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity" (Psalm 133:1). I love having the opportunity see their relationship develop firsthand and to guide them in it.

When we started on this journey last summer, I received an email from a dear family member who I hope won't mind me sharing part of it. I've saved it and reread it often, and it has been such an encouragement to me:

Speaking as an "empty nester" you will never regret your times together at home with your young children. You will look back on it as the sweetest part of your life! It is your opportunity to mold that impressionable "clay," teach them about Jesus, and love on your kids like no one else can. Your close family unit gives great security to your children as they grow. My girls spend a lot of time together & consider each other best friends. That did not just happen. I specifically taught them to value each other and did not allow them to disrespect or mistreat each other.

I pray daily that my efforts will yeild such God-honoring results!

New tricks

As if he wasn't entertaining enough already, little Jacob's reached his "grabby" stage, making him even more fun than he was before. Toys, stuffed animals and mommy's hair are no match for our three month old now. In less time than it takes to say "Abby, don't give him that crayon," Jacob can lock eyes with a target and reach out to clasp it between his little fingers. He hasn't quite figured out how to let go yet, so objects that are attached to something else tend to cause a lot of frustration when he tries to put his fingers in his mouth and can't because he hasn't managed to disentangle his fingers from whatever's in his grip.

In other news, our littlest guy is finally eating again, thanks to a combination of mommy-intuition and advice from a pediatric gastroenterologist. Turns out all he needed was a heavy dose of zantac and some freakishly expensive formula and voilà: our happy baby is no longer a hungry baby. In just the few days since we found a routine that helps him eat well and hold his food down, we're already noticing a marked improvement in his dining habits and his chubby cheeks. We'll return to the doctor in a few weeks for another weight check, but for now, the stress level in our house has gone down significantly as we watch our baby beginning to eat again.

On-the-job training

The conversation went something like this:

Abby: Turn Sally's music on, Caleb. I'll buckle Jacob in.

Caleb: Sally needs a bottle, Abby?

Abby: Sally ate already, Caleb. Sally's going to have some awake time now.

Caleb: Sally's sleeping, Abby?

Abby: No, Caleb. It's eat, wake, cry, sleep. Sally and Jacob are just awake right now.

And she's never even read BabyWise.

Up to the highest height

Having kids does change everything. With toddlers in the mix, even our understanding of something as fundamental as the four seasons has changed.

Forget summer, autumn, winter and spring. Around here, we have Pool season, Park season, Sledding season, and, currently, we're right in the middle of Kite season.

The snow is almost a thing of the past and as March does her best to come roaring in like a lion, the wind is just right for heading outside early and often with a borrowed kite to see just how high we can send it soaring.

This means Justin gets to spend his Saturday mornings outside with Abby and Caleb while I snuggle inside with my warm baby, safely shielded from the fierce gusts of wind, and only occasionally step outside to take pictures from the driveway. I think I like this arrangement.

Halfway there

It was a milestone week at the Preschool of Mommy. With 15 weeks behind us, we've passed the halfway point in our at-home preschool escapades. And to celebrate, we added some brand new adventures.

Inspired by If You Give a Pig a Party, Abby had a special request for reading time this week: "May we build a fortress out of blankets, Mommy?" The answer, of course, was yes, and she didn't seem to mind that we substituted beach towels for blankets. (And I'd like to add that the grammarian in me is quite happy that both Abby and Caleb use "may I" and "can I" appropriately about 90% of the time.) We dragged the beach towels out of storage, redesigned the layout of the living room to suit our fortress-building needs, anchored our roof with clothespins, and set to work selecting just the right reading material for so spectacular a space.

The fortress was a huge hit, and our reading time turned into a reading hour as the kids lugged everything from Dr. Suess to Beatrix Potter across the treacherous terrain of the living room into the safety of our custom-built book nook. The towels lived downstairs for the remainder of the week, and I caught the kids constructing their own little lean-tos on more than one occasion.
A while later, I lured the kids outside for our first-ever scavenger hunt, which was really a sneaky way of teaching Abby to read a few more words and an excuse to wander around in weather that is just warm enough to thaw the remaining snow. Armed with their own scavenger hunt cards and a few specific items to locate around the neighborhood (ball, dog, cat, flag, cloud, etc.) we bundled up, sounded out our words, and wandered around the block until we'd checked everything off our lists.

Abby was like a little detective, furtively checking every yard and tree for something that matched the words on her card or Caleb's. Caleb, for his part, ran ahead of us at every turn and found huge puddles of melting snow to jump in while he waited for Abby to check items off her list.

Caleb and I spent a good bit of time this week arguing over whether or not he will hold a crayon properly. His debating skills are quite advanced for a 2-year-old, but he underestimates my persistence. I introduced him to the pencil gripper I found for him, and he was less than delighted with it. He has a lot of opinions for such a young guy, but given time, I'm pretty sure I can win this one. Maybe.

Abby, who enjoys being in charge much more than she enjoys being told what to do, still continues to amaze me with how well she is learning to read. We owe our success this week to Pinkie Pie, the tiny plastic pony, who was willing to review some sight words when Abby wasn't so keen on the idea.

With Caleb's help and some wooden blocks, we constructed a tiny village guarded by a large baby, and built a road leading to it out of our sight word flash cards. Every time Pinkie knew the word on a card, she could move forward until she reached the village. And since Abby is the only one who can hear Pinkie speaking, it was up to Abby to tell me the words that Pinkie knew. See what I did there?

We also started in this week on some more focused number recognition with some dot-to-dot worksheets from our Kumon numbers book. Abby is really into these, and after we finished the pages from her workbook, we had to flip through every coloring book we own in search of more connect the dot activities for her.

With half of our school year completed, I can happily report that the kids and I are still loving this home preschool thing. Planning and execution has gotten easier, and I'm finding myself more willing and more able to adapt to make our learning goals and our family needs mesh well. I've already picked up a few additional resources, and am eagerly looking forward to planning next year's Pre-K Lite.

What's on the menu

By itself, rice is not all that shocking. But when all you've eaten for three straight months is Mommy's milk, I can see how a mouthful of rice cereal could catch you off guard.

Following on the heels of his sister, the lazy eater, and his brother, the human vacuum, Jacob has decided to be his own man and set his own standards for eating. Standards which, lately, are limited mostly to not eating. So after a few days of suffering through a hunger strike marked by frequent screaming and infrequent swallowing during mealtimes, we beefed up his diet with a little breakfast treat.

Our first attempts at rice cereal were rewarded with a lot of really great expressions and about ten good spoonfuls that wound up in his mouth instead of on his bib. So far so good. Maybe we'll let him join us for waffles on Saturday.

My funny Valentines

For as long as I've celebrated Valentine's Day, I have celebrated a day late. My husband had the good sense to be born on Valentine's Day, and since I have a moral opposition to sharing holidays, we have, since 1999, celebrated Hallmark's greatest of holidays on the 15th.

But since Dunkin' Donuts doesn't know about my family's special circumstance, we caved in this year and decided the kids could celebrate Valentine's Day with the rest of the world. So Rebecca and I dragged the kiddos out for heart-shaped donuts and then let them burn off the sugar with a glorious morning enjoying the sunshiney goodness of the park. It was refreshing to be outside again after months of hibernation through the long, cold winter. They climbed, they ran, they bounced, they rolled, and they played more than a few clumsy rounds of Ring Around the Rosy. By the time we returned home, they were filthy and exhausted. That makes this warm-weather-lovin' mommy very, very happy.

Half-baked

I love birthdays. I take pride (a little too much, probably) in making a really big deal out of birthdays. I plan, I prepare, and I execute with cake, balloons, presents, cards and whole days dedicated to the birthday boy or girl. My husband's big 3-0 should have been no exception.

Should.

As far as birthdays go, his big day was an epic fail in my book. It was doomed for failure, actually, due to circumstances beyond my control. We spent the week leading up to his birthday fighting a losing battle against a stomach virus that systematically attacked every member of our family (except the little guy...he's too cute to get a stomach bug, apparently). This halted every good intention I had for present buying, cake baking, and meal planning. Even my plans to have the kids make cards for their dad were thwarted.

I almost pulled it off. But instead of a big birthday dinner, we dined on leftovers. And instead of presents, I had only a UPS tracking number to offer. Just when it looked like my one saving grace might be the individual hot chocolate cakes I baked in mugs for each member of the family, Justin dipped into his to find a cup of batter. Warm, half-baked delicious chocolate cake batter. He shrugged it off. I died a little inside.

Happy 30th birthday, Honey. Thanks for putting up with my shenanigans, and for loving me in spite of my complete inability to properly celebrate your big day. We'll try again next year.

Snugglesaurus

Abby has her frog. Caleb has his shark. And Jacob has his dinosaur.

And today, for the first time, he learned how to roll onto his side and grab hold of its little spikes.

This is how we found our little critter when we went to wake him up from his afternoon nap. The cuteness is almost more than I can handle.

Love letter

Abby loves things that are pink. And she loves things that are beautiful.

So it only made sense that when her dad saw this gorgeous display of color in the sky this morning, he put breakfast preparations on hold. "Abby has to see this," he said. And it didn't surprise me in the least that he went straight to her room, scooped her up out of her bed and flung open her curtains so she could enjoy this little bit of beauty with him.

For as long as I can remember, we've been using the beauty of the sunrise and the sunset to remind the kids of God's glory, God's greatness and God's love for them. Abby can easily tell you that God made that sunrise, and that He made it for her to enjoy and to show His glory to the world.

"Did He make it pink because I love pink?" she'll often ask. And we can tell her with confidence that yes, He most certainly did. Because God loves her more than she can imagine. He loves her so much more than I ever could, and for that I am so thankful. Like any parent, I'd lay down my life for my children. But Jesus already did that for them.

And it's moments like these, moments when we stop everything to share with our children the love and glory of the Savior, that remind me what raising kids is all about.

Parenting is not about just getting through the day. It's about treasuring every moment, and making every moment count. Because once that moment passes, we can't get it back. And like it or not, the way we handle every moment is teaching them something about the world, the God who made it, and their place in it.

I'm so glad we didn't miss the sunrise this morning.

If you build it...

...he will come.

And he will single-handedly destroy it.

Abby's learning the number one rule of being a big sister: Never turn your back.

Get a grip

I usually start each day of preschool with a flexible plan for how we'll spend the morning, a list of activities we'll do together, and one main goal. Since technically Abby's the one in preschool and Caleb's just along for the fun ride, usually my main goal is focused on something I want her to learn or understand. This week was different.

Caleb, my little lefty, has been allowed to persist in his horrible full-fisted grip. Forks, spoons and crayons all get manhandled in the same way, with all four chubby fingers wrapped around them as he uses his entire arm to control his scribbling and eating. I was advised early on by a veteran mom with a background in handwriting education to avoid poor utensil habits at all costs. We were so careful with Abby to ensure that she knew early on the proper way to grasp a fork or a crayon, and we worked dilegently to see that she did so. And it's paid off. Caleb, I think because of a lefthandedness that his parents didn't know how to handle, has gotten away with murder when it comes to eating and coloring.

This week, I resolved to fix that. My methods are not cruel, though they may be unusual. In fact, he seemed to think the car band-aids I used to help him maintain a proper grip were pretty awesome. I can see how this method of retraining his muscles to hold a crayon properly could get a little expensive, so I'm planning on picking up a cool pencil grip I found at a school supply store. And one of these days, maybe he'll unlearn his bad habit.
In honor of letter x week, we made an x-ray craft and read books about the human body. Ever since Caleb broke his arm and Abby got to see the x-ray of what the inside of an arm looks like, she's been more than a little obsessed with bones and boo-boos and how our skin sticks to us. We read about the five senses, and she was fascinated to learn that different parts of her tongue can taste different things and that there are nerves connecting all of her insides to her brain that help her see, hear, feel and understand what's going on. We also read a story about a character named Abby who goes to the hospital in Richard Scarry's book What Do People Do All Day? Abby loved the part where the little girl went to sleep and got her tonsils out. Caleb loved the ambulance and the "chair truck" (or wheelchair, as most of us know it).

We had a milestone moment this week when Caleb, for the first time, correctly identified a letter of the alphabet. He recognizes his name, but usually won't tell me the individual letters. But this week he properly identified the letter A when I pointed to it. (One letter down, 25 to go.) Abby, meanwhile, is doing great with her sight words, and spent her time building her own words with play dough while I built letters for Caleb and helped him build sharks and dinosaurs to eat them.

Abby's excitement for reading is growing day by day, and she loves to flip through her books now and find words that she can read on her own. She asked me to read a book to her one day, and when I told her to get started without me while I finished cleaning up the kitchen, she opened it, pointed to a word she knew, and pleaded, "But Mommy, I don't know all these words yet. I only know this one." Of all the big girl things she wants to do, reading is certainly one she is most looking forward to. This makes her book-loving mommy very, very happy.
Poor Jacob is learning you're never too young to start learning at the School of Mommy. Before his morning naps he's always happy to join his sister and brother for story time. When he wakes up, it's usually craft time for the big kids and tummy time for the little guy. This is not his favorite preschool activity. After he's had a few minutes to practice his squawking and work on his upper-body calisthenics, we'll regroup for some singing, dancing and reading. These activities elicit a much more pleasant response from our youngest pupil.

Two options

Either I'm a little biased, or he actually is the cutest baby you've ever seen.

I say we let the grandparents decide.