Fun Gallerey

My kids are little entrepeneurs. They are always creating some business or a new product or a clever way to make money. They’ve sold everything from toys in their rooms to little homemade puzzles and finger puppets. They’ve made stores and shops, advertisements and coupons. Their businesses do okay at home, but Mommy and Daddy are only willing to buy so much and their younger siblings don’t have money. Business really booms when we go out of town, where grandparents are happy to shell out dime after dime for artwork or give an entire dollar for services. The kids love it!

This past week Brenna and Joshua created a new attraction. They’ve made something very similar before, calling it “Fun Gallerey” both times. Fun Gallerey was an amusement park of sorts, with rides (piggyback rides by Josh, I was told), little toys that they’d both made and found, a gift shop, and a food court. They had a front desk where they placed an open/closed sign, a list of attractions, a price sheet, and a tip jar.

All that is pretty normal for when they creative an attraction or amusement park or carnival in our family room. But this time they really increased their around-the-house advertising. 

They made signs and hung them all over the house, advertising Fun Gallerey and enticing parents and kids to come. Each sign had a delightful, amusing little slogan. I copied them down, word for misspelled word…

“Asome parents take their kids to Fun Gallerey!”

“Pupets, Rides, Toys- Fun Gallerey has it ALL!”

“Cool kids come to Fun Gallerey! Parents 10 cents, Kids 5 cents.”

“Don’t worry, parents. No broken bones or spraned ankels here at Fun Gallerey!”

“Stop taking your kids to the zoo. Take them someplace really fun with Fun Gallerey!”

“Fun Gallerey! For more informachen visit us at www.fungallerey.org or call 1-800-623-5323.”

It was so amusing to walk through the house and find these signs. I found myself chuckling as a read each one because the slogans were just so clever. I think my children could have careers in advertising!

Sewing Lessons

Brenna is now a self-appointed sewing instructor. She has opened a nice little sewing shop at our kitchen table and she is currently accepting  special orders for sewing projects and new students for a penny a piece. Madalyn was the first one to eagerly sign up for the class. It was 10:30 when Maddie signed up, but Brenna informed her that she had “an order to fill” for another customer (apparently Joshua had ordered a little bag to be specially made for him, but I don’t know what he paid for it). Brenna assured Maddie that classes would begin promptly at 11:00. Madalyn waited impatiently for class to start and cheered when it was finally time. Now my two girls are bent over a small, creative sewing project. Their hands are busy, their foreheads are nearly touching as they work. It is heart-warming to see. I am glad that my girls have such a sweet, strong relationship.

Bleck

It started last night at about 7:30pm. I began to feel pressure in my sinuses. Before long, my throat was sore and my nose was stuffy and my throat began to hurt. I knew I was getting a cold and I felt it would be a nasty one by how hard and fast it was coming on. Every hour I felt a little worse.

Rick went to get some Zi-cam for me. He figured it would be okay for me to take because it’s just zinc, but he asked the pharmacist just in case. When Rick told him that I was 8 months pregnant, the pharmacist said I shouldn’t take it. Oh well. Rick brought me home oreos and an Arby’s sandwich instead.

I stayed up late talking with Rick and his sister, Elaine, who was staying the night with us. When I finally went to bed, I slept terribly. I woke up once or twice an hour because I couldn’t breathe or had a hard contraction or needed to go to the bathroom. Asher slept with me last night and he was rather fitful all night long and then threw up twice in the early morning. It was not a very restful night’s sleep.

I’d planned to let the kids sleep in as late as they wanted to (so that I could sleep in as well), but everyone was up and going between 7 and 7:30 anyway. Brenna and Josh made oatmeal for all the kids and I was grateful because I really didn’t want to make breakfast myself.

I felt really awful this morning. Just as I suspected, this had turned into a real doozy of a cold. We spent the morning sitting around. Elaine and I talked (I felt bad that I was such a “bump on a log” while she was here) and we turned on a movie for the little ones to watch. Brenna and Joshua worked on the “store” that they started yesterday, adding more signs and more merchandise (little hand-made paper puppets) and even a little tip jar. They made coupons and had a sale as well, hoping to entice a few customers to come to “Fun Gallery,” which was the name of their store. Braden was smitten by his four-month-old cousin Hailee and kept insisting, “I think she really loves me!”

Elaine left for the airport a little before lunch. The kids cleaned up quickly so that they could pass “inspection” while I made lunch. I opted for the easiest lunch possible. I basically grabbed various foods (string cheese, lunch meat, yogurt, and so on) from the fridge, and the kids ate on paper plates.

I managed to start a load of laundry washing and to fold the load of towels that was in the dryer from the night before. I am glad that towels are so quick and easy to fold. I put Asher (who is still not feeling well) down for a nap and started another movie for Maddie and Braden to watch. I debated taking the school day off because I feel so yucky, but I decided that I’d rather save our time off for later. However, we won’t be doing afternoon classes today- history, geography, and art.  Brenna and Joshua are sitting next to me working dilligently on their homeschool work.

I am sitting on the couch, hoping that my eyeballs don’t pop out and that my ears don’t explode. There is so much pressure inside my head and face. I think I have a sinus infection, as opposed to a “regular” cold. My chest is so tight that I can hardly catch my breath, even while sitting down. My right ear is killing me and my throat is so sore. I ate a few oreos this morning, but I haven’t had an appetite for anything. I really need to try drinking something so I don’t get dehydrated. I am having a lot of contractions today and dehydration will just make that worse. My cold is so intense that it’s making me queasy and I don’t know if I can keep anything down right now. I just feel horrible, and it’s getting worse.

We’re going to have an easy week while I deal with this cold (it seems like such an incredible understatement to call the way I feel a “cold”). I plan to keep the house tidy and to keep up on the laundry. We are going to continue with homeschool as well, but I will cancel our afternoon classes this week- no Latin, history, geography, science, art, or creative writing until I feel better. I am not sure about the kids’ activities. Brenna has gymnastics today and Friday and Joshua has football practice for the next three nights. I really want them to attend (and, of course, they want to go as well), but I don’t know if I will be up for taking everyone.

I HAVE to feel better by this weekend though. We have our practice for the Primary Program on Saturday morning, and as Primary Chorister I need to be there. My friend’s baby shower is Saturday from 11-1, but I don’t know if I will make it. Brenna has a gymnastics meet on Saturday and she needs to be to the gym by 11:30. Joshua has a football game at 1:30 (but he needs to be there at 12:45 to warm up) and I am in charge of end game treats for the team. Rick will take him while I stay at gymnastics with Brenna.

For the first time in our years as parents, we have to split up in order to support the kids at their various activities. I wish there was a way that we could both attend both events, but at least Brenna and Josh don’t have to miss games or meets and at least they will both have one parent and a few siblings there to cheer them on. Rick will come back to the gym after the game and Brenna should be done at the meet by dinner. We have already decided that we’d like to go out to eat that night to celebrate Brenna’s first real gymnastics meet.

So between the Primary Program practice, the baby shower, the football game, and the (day-long) gymnastics meet, I’ll be running all day long. I really need to be at my best again. Wish me luck!

Crazy Glasses

We made “Crazy Glasses” at our recent family reunion. The kids each were given a pair of plastic sunglasses and all the craft supplies that we could pull together to decorate them with. We had pom poms, pipe cleaners, stickers, glitter, fake jewels, feathers, and so on. The mommies took up hot glue gun duty, while the kids let their creative juices flow. Here are my kids modeling their cute, creative and very crazy glasses…

 

 

The Mean Lady and the Smell of Pledge

The kids were completely engrossed in an elaborate adventure game this afternoon. They were lost orphans who were sailing around in an old boat and looking for a “nice” volcano to live in. I needed them to do their chores because we’d put them off for the entire day so I called them to me and made a proposition. We could all play a game, a continuation of their orphan game, in which I would play the part of a mean lady who captured them all and made them clean her ship. Or they could just clean anyway. The kids were all for a game.

I put on my gruffest face and gave the kids silly nicknames like Orphan Without Teeth and Orphan Who Likes to Wrestle and ordered them all to clean. Giggling and pretending to be frightened they got right to work and jobs were done in no time. They were all delighted with my “mean lady” persona.

I grabbed Asher and retreated to my room for a moment, wanting to check my email and facebook. Braden found me quickly.

“I love you, Mean Lady,” Braden said with a grin.

“I love you too, Littlest Orphan.”

Braden beamed up at me and then danced and skipped and hippity-hopped out of the room (every step he takes these days involves some sort of enthusiastic movement). As he left, I heard him sigh, “Oh, that mean lady really is SO nice!”

A few minutes later, Asher and I headed back downstairs. The strong, intense, overpowering smell of Pledge hit me like a wall before I was even halfway down the stairs. And then I saw my sweet little “orphans,” who were all still caught up in our game as they continued to clean. They were wearing aprons (gifts from Nammy and Papa last Christmas). Joshua had a nearly empty bottle of Pledge in one hand and a rag in the other. Maddie also had a rag. Brenna had a swiffer-style mop, on which she’d used her elastic hair tie to secure a rag of her own.

The kids had used a full bottle of Pledge dusting spray to clean my tile kitchen floor. They were so cute and so proud of their work. Even though my Pledge was gone and the strong smell in my kitchen was making me gag a little, it still made my day to see my children that way. I hope I always remember their beaming faces, alive with innocence and imaginative play and the sense of a job well done. They are such sweethearts.

Monsters by Brenna

Brenna loves to sew. The beautiful, stuffed-full sewing kit that she received as a birthday gift from Nammy and Papa last year has been well-used.

Lately Brenna has been sewing “monsters” for the other kids. They are cute, cuddly little creatures made from scraps of fabric. They have button eyes and little red lips and cute feet. Maddie’s monster even has a bow in her hair. Each monster is unique and the kids love them.

Van Gogh

For “art appreciation” today, we studied Vincent van Gogh. We looked at his paintings, discussed his life, and then attempted to duplicate his painting style. The kids used lots of paint and worked to make swirls and texture in their paintings, just as van Goghonce did. The kids learned a lot about van Gogh’s life, his work, and his style (and they remembered it too) and we all had a great time painting afterwards! 

Brenna’s painting…

Joshua’s painting…

Madalyn’s painting…

Braden painted himself as much as he painted his paper. But he was having fun (and it was non-toxic paint) so I let him get creative with his paints…

We used the Usborne book Art Treasury by Rosie Dickins as a jumping off point today. It’s a great beginning art book for kids and so far we really like it.

Birthday Planning

Joshua is planning the theme for his upcoming birthday. And while he’s at it, he also decided to plan for birthdays in the future. He made a list this afternoon, outlining themes for his next 20 birthdays. He’s got all this birthdays planned until he turns 26 years old.

Spiders, Candy, Skiiing, Pop, Star Wars, Spiderman, Pizza, Batman, Iron Man, X-Men, Rock and Roll, Clowns, Dinosaurs, Lucky Birthday, Warcraft, Wrestling, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Farms, Cookies, Puppy

One of my personal favorites is Pop, as in a party theme of Root Beer and Sprite and Orange Crush. I also think it’s cute that he picked Rock and Roll, because I’m not sure he knows what rock and roll even is. And it’s funny that most of his chosen birthday themes are about sports, super heroes, or food. That’s my boy!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

When Rick got home from work at 7am, I was up- and had been for several hours straight and most of the night- with my sick little Asher. Rick wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day and then traded me, taking Asher and handing me a plate of food, a new CD, and bouquet of flowers. I sure enjoyed the delicious breakfast he brought me- a mushroom, swiss, and bacon omelet from IHOP! It was yummy!

About halfway through my breakfast, I started to feel queasy though. Rick sent me back to bed, as I’d been up most of the night with a very sick seven-month-old. I curled up in bed, with my queasy stomach still complaining, and listened to the happy sounds of my sweet children as they started to wake up for the day. A few hours later, Rick woke me so that he could sleep (he’s working nights right now).

Earlier in the week, Brenna had worked hard to make a delightful little Valentine’s mailbox for our family, using a big shoe box and a bunch of carefully cut construction paper. All week long, our family had filled the mailbox, adding homemade valentine’s to each other. When valentine’s arrived in the mail from grandparents and far-away friends, we put them in the box as well. Rick and I added a heart-shaped box of chocolates for each child and “conversation” hearts for Braden, who is allergic to milk. It was neat to watch the kids eagerly filled our mailbox with valentine’s for each other. This morning we finally let them divide up the valentine’s and open them all. They kids were so excited!

Several times on several different days, Joshua asked me how to spell “beautiful” and then how to spell “eyes” so I wasn’t surprised when many of his cards sweetly proclaimed, “I love your beautiful eyes.” Maddie enlisted Brenna’s help to cut out construction paper valentine’s, and then drew darling pictures and signed her name boldly across each card. Brenna had put a great deal of thought into each of her valentine’s and wrote personalized messages to each family member. She even made a valentine for our dog, Sophie. There was a sweet feeling in the room as the kids exchanged cards and read what everyone else had written to them. They each proclaimed this the “best Valentine’s Day ever.”

I made a Valentine’s Day breakfast for the kids, with heart-shaped french toast and homemade applesauce that I’d turned pink and covered with pink and red sprinkles. Our plates looked particularly festive because we used huckleberry syrup (thanks, Aunt Alice and cousins!) It was a yummy breakfast and the kids licked their plates clean afterwards.

After breakfast, we finished up some valentine’s that need to be delivered in the neighborhood or mailed to friends that live farther away. I should have done them earlier, but it’s been a little crazy with Ash being so sick lately. The kids worked hard to neatly write their valentine’s. Brenna made a list of friends, and wrote personal messages to each one. Joshua also had a list of friends that he’d made. Madalyn only picked two friends to write to- cousin Kate and our neighbor- and she carefully wrote their names and her name on each card all by herself. Even Braden got in on the act, and insisted on making several valentine’s for his cousin Eli. We’ve been practicing writing and with a little help, he even wrote the B from his name, saying “down and then around and around” in the most adorable way, as he did! Then he’d triumphantly shout, “We did it!”

I canceled our Valentine’s Day Party because of Asher’s RSV. RSV is so contagious and most of our kids’ friends have baby siblings. I’d intended to make some Valentine’s treats with the kids this afternoon, but Asher had such a miserable day that we didn’t get to it. I spent the day holding him, rocking him, trying to comfort him. We’ll bake Valentine’s treats tomorrow when Rick is home. That way, one of us can hold Asher while the other can help with the cupcakes.

We had a lazy day. We stayed in pajamas and played together all day. I rocked Asher much of the time and talked on the phone with my mom and two of my sister-in-laws. I got a few chores done, in the brief moments that Asher slept on his own or played willingly in his exersaucer. I snuggled other kids when I got the chance, helped clean up in the girls’ room, and made homemade pizza for dinner.

Asher hasn’t eaten much all week. Yesterday and today his ear infections made sucking very painful and he didn’t really eat anything at all. I think he’s lost weight; he feels lighter and his chest seems thinner. But his ears must be starting to feel better because tonight before bed, he actually drank four ounces from a bottle! And then he actually slept on his own, in his bed for several hours in a row! I put the other kids to bed and took a bubble bath.

Rick is working tonight. I miss him every night that he’s gone, and knowing that it’s Valentine’s Day makes it even worse. But I feel better knowing that Rick took next week off! It will be wonderful to have that extra time together!

It’s Magic

Brenna was quite excited to show me a magic trick she’d created. She dropped a ball into our little “training” toilet, closed the lid, and then with exclamation of  “now you see it, now you don’t,” she yanked the removable bowl backwards and opened the lid to show that the ball had, in fact, disappeared. With an “abracadabra,” she slid the bowl back into the toilet, opened the lid again, and revealed the ball. Brenna’s magic trick was a tad gross, but it was also quite creative and it made me smile.