learning to lean

I am not the most spirit-filled person at 6am. Especially when it's 6am and I am changing wet sheets on the top bunk. True story.

I was driving home from my parents' house on Saturday night and all three boys were asleep. At a stop light, I turned around and stared in their sweet, sweet faces as they breathed deeply in absolute peace and relaxation and I felt so blessed. I am blessed. And in that moment, thoughts of wet beds and early mornings are about the farthest things from my mind.

But then 11:30pm comes and Jude throws up all over himself. And it's sheet-changing time again. But we get through it. And both boys {Noah had a fever} napped on and off all day on Sunday and today woke up feeling well enough to fight with each other so I sent them both to school. Also a true story. 

Last week while I was sick, Jamie took Blaise and Jude {on his non-school day} to the Y in the mornings and one morning, Jamie came to pick up Blaise and he was on the other side of the play area, away from the other kids. The childcare worker handed Blaise to Jamie and said, 

So Blaise had some difficulties this morning with other children.
He was hitting children.

On the head.

With a book.

Oh my. I laughed out loud when I heard this but not out of pride {of course I'm not proud} but it's just what it is. Poor kid has learned to hit from his older brother and is doing what he knows. So we're continually emphasizing his need to be gentle and not to hit. When we were out for dinner last week, Blaise was getting rough with Noah as he was grabbing Noah's arm and pinching him so I said, 

Blaise, be gentle. Gentle touches.

Blaise looked at me and then looked at Noah and embraced his arm and gently stroked it. Again, I laughed. He's a smart cookie and he knows. So we'll keep working on it, but it's good to know that he's learning to be gentle and understands how to do it.

And today after a wicked spin class at the Y I picked Blaise up and they said that instead of throwing a ball at the baby's head {!}, he waved instead. Progress indeed!

Right now I'm sitting in a very quiet house. Blaise is asleep. The boys are at school. I'm munching on sugar snap peas and hummus {I'm trying to be good although I totally sabotaged myself by buying a bag of peanut butter cups. Sigh.} and it's so quiet that I'm tempted to put some music on. But then I stop and just embrace the quiet. There is so little quiet in my life that I need to soak it up and remember what quiet feels like.
Today the wind is blowing and it's a winter wonderland out there. I am thankful for a home with heat and hot showers. I am thankful for a good school for my kids and a fridge with yummy food in it. I am thankful for parents who come and spend the day with us on Sunday to help keep the crazies at bay. I am thankful for Jude and his sweet heart that I see tuned towards Jesus, especially in prayers like this, "And thank you God for sending Jesus as a baby and that He died on the cross so I didn't have to die." Such a gem. Such sweetness in my heart.
Even though I am missing Jamie, I am learning how to lean even more heavily upon Jesus and His people.

Barcelona with the kiddos

Last year after our conference in Nerja, we took a train to Madrid and spent a few days there. This year we decided to go to Barcelona. We ended up spending longer in Barcelona and thankfully the weather was so much warmer than it was last year in Madrid.
We had some good moments and some hard moments, but I think that's just how it goes when you go on vacation with young kids.
We did a lot of walking.
We went to the science center which was really cool.

indoor Rain forest and aquarium

We had McDonald's! Actually we ate quite a bit of McDonald's. I think this is in large part to being kid-friendly and we've been in Africa for a year and a half. 

I think this probably qualifies as some of the worst parents. Feeding your 4 month old McDonald's. Sheesh.

My favourite day was our stroll along La Rambla. It's a street that's got a huge walkway down the middle where vendors sell delicious smelling ice-cream and candies or small pets or typical kitschy souvenirs.

Blaise happily slept in the carrier for the entire time and the boys enjoyed looking at everything we passed.

We went into La Boquieria {a really cool market} and drooled over all the delicious produce and chocolate.

They even have these people that pretend to be statues and if you put money into their bucket they do something funny and let you take their picture. I wanted the boys to come and do it but they were a bit apprehensive so I showed them with this guy:

Babywearin' and shooting a gun. That's how we roll around here.

I really wanted to take the boys for churros and hot chocolate. We walked down these incredibly narrow alley ways and went around a corner and stumbled upon this huge, old church with gorgeous stained glass windows. Amazing. I love Europe!

So let me tell you; this hot chocolate was exactly that. Melted chocolate with a bit of hot milk. It was incredibly thick. So thick and sweet that my boy with the sweet tooth {Noah. He takes after me.} couldn't even finish his!

We walked around Parc Guell and got some great views of the city:

We had a really good time even though we were all sick and made the most of our time in Spain.
As we plan our travels back to Canada we are still debating if we'll take some vacation days on the way - somewhere in the UK or Europe. Jamie and I dream of a vacation with just the two of us but for now, we plan our vacations to be kid-friendly. For the most part.

Suggestions for traveling with kids:

Consider renting an apartment instead of staying at a hotel. It's often cheaper, comes with all the amenities and you get the feeling of actually living in the city, instead of just visiting. You will also be able to save money by purchasing groceries and making at least one of your meals every day {for us it was breakfasts and often dinners}.

Find some indoor and outdoor activities so you can plan your days according to the weather. We had a really windy day which made it seem colder than it was (around 10 degrees). We spent most of that day walking around the Science Center.

Don't be so driven to complete your agenda of "SEEING ALL THE THINGS" that you all end up miserable and tired. We had many meltdowns and the stroller that was intended for Blaise, ended up being used by Jude while I wore Blaise in the carrier. Everyone wins!

Be flexible. And then laugh a lot and do things you wouldn't normally do {like eat McDonalds almost every day or let your kids stay up later than usual}.

What are your tips for traveling with kids to places that aren't specifically geared towards kids? {ie. Not a resort with kids program, Disney World, etc.}

learning 2 things

1. how to hold things.

2. a love for sophie the giraffe.

5 things i've learned since becoming a mom: hold on

in honour of my oldest "baby" turning 5 next week {what?! how did that even happen?}, i was inspired to write about 5 things i've learned since becoming a mom.

hold on

i don't mean that we as parents should hold on in an unhealthy way. i mean hold onto those moments. those fleeting moments that may be your last with them because they've moved on to the next development. breathe in that newborn smell and close your eyes. soak it up. feel the softness of their skin, the pinkness of their feet. cherish the way your toddler wants you and only you for comfort. listen to the stories your 4 year old tells you with such imagination and attention to detail. one day they might not be as forthcoming with their thoughts and stories. hold onto those moments. hold their hands. they might not {and probably won't} want you to hold their hands forever.

blaise gets some "daddy time".

as a first time mom i was really just focusing on surviving those first few months. i had a mild case of post-partum depression and i was in a dark place. i was anxious and paranoid. it was difficult for me to hold onto those moments and yet somehow my memory of noah as a baby is far more vivid than of jude as a baby and probably than my memories of blaise as a baby will be. i'm not sure why that is {although it probably has something to do with not having two older boys to keep busy and take care of}, but i do know that i spent lots of time holding him, rocking him, crying while nursing in the middle of the night {again} and stressing over every little thing. he was my world and i focused nearly all my energies on "keeping him alive" and relishing in his every new development. this is why i smile when i see first time mom's post tons of pictures of their baby's first *insert any "first" that a baby can have* or a 10 minute video waiting for their baby to roll over. they are "holding on" to those moments and they want the world to know about this marvelous new development with "the cutest baby in the world". {because every parent thinks their child is the cutest.}

cuddles with a sick noah

as a third-time mom i am well aware of the fact that this time is precious and will fly by far more quickly than i am prepared for - and not just with blaise, but with my older two boys as well. i will not always have a three and {almost} five year old. jude will not always say "yup" in that quiet, cute way. noah will not always want or need me to read him stories. blaise is growing faster than i thought was possible.

more cuddles with a sick jude

yes, it's hard. yes, it sometimes sucks. yes, it's incredibly sanctifying to be a mother and a parent. there's nothing like a little mirror to show you all the ugliness you never knew you had in you.
God knows that i fail at this every.single.day. but regardless, it's something i've learned and continue to learn.
so hold onto your babies while they are still young. they will never want or need you like they have you now so hold onto it and remind yourself of this every.single.day. on the days when i don't remember what's really important at this stage, it's all-too-easy to get resentful for my lack of "me" time, or the way they always need me or want to tell me something or show me something and want me to play with them or read them a book. it's crazy how quickly i become self-centered when this time is so limited and my children are so precious. what is honestly more important that pouring into my children, spending time with them and teaching them? i can't think of a single thing.

and so in five years as a mama, i've learned the importance of holding on.

fun and free resources for kids at home!

this morning involved
listening to disney songs and feeling our bodies move to the music.
exercise {for me} on the stationary bike and reading under the tuscan sun.
a brief quiet play time for the boys in their room {and a subsequent mess of cars, blocks and books covering both their beds.}
a relatively unmessy but definitely poopy accident by jude.
laundry {both washing and folding}.
a free, fun and educational activity that suited both my boys' learning levels.

this free printable can be found here  {a fantastic site. check it out!} and is all about matching colours and words in an ice cream store!
i decided to split the activity into two - noah's involved matching popsicles to the correct colour word and he really enjoyed sounding out the colours and trying to find words that matched {or at least matched the first letter}.

noah decided he wanted to tape his popsicles down after matching them to the correct words.

jude's sheet involved matching up the right ice cream scoop to the cone with the same colour on the top. i hadn't planned on this happening, but both activities fit where the boys are at exactly.

and jude decided that he wanted to glue his scoops onto the sheet.

this was a really simple and easy activity to do with both my kids and teaches about colours and fine motor skills {or at least, it ended up doing that as both wanted to affix their "cold treats" to the paper}.
and they focused on an activity.
for all of about 10 minutes.
awesome.

some other great resources for fun learning that we make the most of in our house are:

we give books - a free, online library of books that you can read to your kids just like you would a book. not as great as holding a book, but when libraries are limited {as they are here} it's a fantastic opportunity to read, read, read! my boys' current favourites are big, red lollipop {the same book we took out at a library in guelph and loved back then, too!} and max's chocolate chicken.

starfall - i mentioned this in another post, but it's a great, free website that teaches kids all about letters, phoenetics, and reading in a simple but fun way. i think it's cute to see noah maneuver the mouse and click away and hear him echo the sounds of letters.

robert munsch's free audiobooks - when i found out almost all the robert munsch books are available as audiobooks for free online, i immediately set to work downloading all of them. now it's noah's most requested thing to listen to during his afternoon quiet time. i love that he knows so many of the books i grew up reading and it's super cute to hear him reciting along with the story.

then of course there's the millions of fantastic websites and blogs that can be found by googling or looking on pinterest. my next plan is to make up some quiet time bins or bags for noah and jude that i can vary throughout the week. stay tuned for some fun ideas for that!

the miracle of learning

it's amazing to watch your child learn a new skill.
this past year if we were in canada, noah would have been {probably} in junior kindergarten at a public school. he'd probably have learnt how to count higher than he can now, more social skills and possibly how to read small words. however, since we were moving to uganda, i decided to take on homeschooling. i figured, it's just j/k. how hard can it be?
we've been pretty lax this year. reading lots. doing crafts. playing games. noah really likes starfall, a website that teaches letters and sounds and then moves on to reading and it's all quite interactive. mostly we've just been enjoying life together and learning about day to day stuff like dressing yourself {he now completely dresses and undresses himself every morning and night! which also brings us to the dilemma of multiple outfit changes a day}, making the bed, folding laundry and helping with kitchen duties like setting the table and cooking & baking. i was amazed the other day when noah helped me fold all his own clothes - from shirts and socks to underwear and shorts!
sometimes jamie and i have worried that perhaps i'm not structured or organized enough with his curriculum {which is...not really a curriculum at all, to be honest} and when the evil monster called Comparison pops up and we see what our friends' kids are learning or can do we think, uh oh. maybe he's behind. even though i know he's a smart kid who picks up on things quite quickly.
and then it happens.
he starts to see words and recognize them.
and he's now asking how to spell certain words so we sound them out and he just writes it down. usually just remembering the letters from his head.

this is his "STOP" sign that he wrote on his own and then asked how to spell "STOP". i was so impressed that he figured out the 'O', 'T', and 'P' all on his own.

this is noah's "zoo" that we sounded out together. {animals include a sloth, a wooly mammoth, an elephant and a giraffe}

later on noah asked to spell out the word "wild" and eventually gave up {after writing two "M"s} but i'm encouraged with his interest in words and spelling and amazed that it really does just happen. 

my question for you is, do you correct your child flipping a letter/word around {like in noah's "zoo", the "z" is flipped and looks like an "s"} or do you wait until later when s/he is more confident with writing? when and how does correction fit into learning? is it dependent on your child's temperament {easy going or highly sensitive, etc.} or is there a general rule of thumb that should be followed?

for me i've just encouraged noah and at this point i'm not worrying about him flipping his letters around. i'll probably write out words for him to see and continue to show him, rather than tell him how to write the letters properly. 

blt

today i ate the most delicious lunch. possibly ever. but certainly in a long, long time.
it was a staff day at the house today {meetings, book studies, etc.} and so i made lunch for all of us.
the menu?

california BLTs {it's a BLT with avocado}
pasta salad
chips & dip


chocolate chip oatmeal cookie sandwiches for dessert

it was all divine. i'm not a gigantic fan of huge slabs of tomato, so i just made mine BLA {bacon, lettuce, avocado} and it was absolutely perfect. perfect i tell you.
the pasta salad was so refreshing and the cookies? extravagant.
i'm still full. {the boys were delighted to eat cucumbers and chips and pb & j sandwiches. silly boys. they don't even know what they're missing.}

this afternoon in my book study with the other staff women i was really struck {again} by this quote from the book we're reading {having a mary spirit} about the story of mary and martha:

Jesus simply didn't want Martha to be so caught up in kitchen service for Him that she missed out on the joy of living-room intimacy with Him.....As they received Jesus's teaching, they learned the balance between a soul at rest and a body in motion, between working hard for Christ and sitting at His feet.


as someone who enjoys baking and cooking for others and serving others through providing food {and eating that food too!}, i was gladdened by the thought that it wasn't martha's actions that Jesus was rebuking as much as the attitude of her heart. her body could have been moving and working and serving while her heart was sitting at the feet of Jesus, but it wasn't. her heart was resentful and busy with tasks, not loving Jesus.

today's lunch brought me great joy to make and serve and provide {and definitely eat!} but it's a good reminder that when i am "busy" in deed, that my heart be quiet and still, seated before Jesus and longing to soak up His presence.