Funny little kids and the things they wear

Opa bought Clara a pink John Deere hat and she has worn it everyday since.  She cried when I told her she couldn't wear it to church but agreed to leave it in the car.  Today she wore it with fairy wings, rain boots and a beautiful beaded tunic and chiffon scarf from India.  She is modeling it in "tree pose".

Maryanna also got a matching tunic and scarf.  She chose to wear her's with white capris and red cowboy boots topped with a long sleeve waffle knit "love" tee.  It was Mary's neighbor who passed on these beautiful pieces and it has always been Maryanna's dream to dress up as an Indian princess.

They spent the day playing at Uncle Bry's farm with Oma and Opa.

Henry's been dressing up like Captain Hook for weeks now.  He usually wears an eye patch and pirate hat and carries around a clothes hanger for the hook.  But today he chose to be a knight.  The armor actually served as an extra layer of protection against the nasty mosquitoes at the farm. 

In my early years of motherhood I use to carefully dress my children, layering them like Gap or Crewcuts models, as if how well my children were dressed was a symbol of what a good mom I was.  I have since moved in the opposite direction and take great joy in the early expression of their personality, or what they want to be just for the day.  This is liberating.

That said, I stand by certain boundaries such as cleanliness, modesty and reverence when our outings take us beyond simply playing.  But on the days that we play the clothes seem to be half the fun and so I am recording it here.

"A House is a House for Me"

I spent a good part of this week holding my breath on a beautiful home and property.  I am happy to announce we went smoothly under contract and it will be just weeks before we call this dream home.  I am once again breathing smoothly but now unable to sleep out of giddiness, excitement and nerves as we face this new adventure.

It is interesting how sometimes our disappointments play a part in our lives.  You see, when we missed out on the log cabin home I spent a good day crying, moping then gardening.  That was the push we needed, we expanded our search radius and Paul took me on a driving tour of 19 new homes for sale. 

Filled with children, we spent over 12 hours in our van.  We drove through thunderstorms, along all sorts of bumpy country roads and bought several ice cream cones a long the way.  At the height of a storm we finally came upon the home of our choice.  This was our last stop, probably around 9:30 pm and in the dark, drenched in rain and thunder booming around me, I tip toed around this unfamiliar property with a sense of familiarity.  I knocked on the front door then was immediately knocked off the front porch when a huge crash of thunder and lightening startled me from over head.  The owner was not home but we drove up and down the street a few times to get "a feel".  We made an appointment for a showing first thing in the morning and I was immediately smitten.

The home itself is not big, it is an old farm house but fully restored and full of charm.  We are trading room inside for room to run and live outside.  My mom is in town and when she toured it with me yesterday for inspections she called it a "child's paradise".  I love these intertwined maples and the "love swing" that sways below.

In addition there are over 20 acres complete with a barn, stables, fenced pastures, a stocked pond, vineyard, alfalfa field and garden.  I am sure the boys will be spending much of their summers doing this:

We are hoping to finish a rec room above one of the barns before winter.  We are hoping to do a lot of things but in reality we don't really know what we are doing.  That is the fun, that is the adventure and that is the dream we have been in visioning for almost 3 years now.  I can't believe it is finally upon us, it has been worth the wait.

But I'm glad I did not know the timeline that would be involved because I probably would have chickened out.  We endured living in a house on the market for 9 months (showings at least every week!), then living in my parents basement for 5 months (that was actually quite fun), and renting a small home in Michigan for 18 months (which served its purpose in teaching me I did not need thousands of sq feet to live happily).  

I can't say these months, or years actually, were lived with graceful patience on my part.  My dear sisters, friends and especially Paul were the sounding boards for my endless lamentings of feeling "unsettled".  At one point I even had a dream that I was Sariah and begun murmuring at Paul for being a visionary man leading our family into the wilderness to wander.

Somewhere along the way my sister Cheryl gave me a copy of this lovely book:

I read it often to my children and would sometimes reach both laughter and tears as we neared the end reading:

How peaches are houses for peach pits

and sometimes are houses for worms;

How trashcans are houses for garbage

and garbage makes houses for germs;

And envelopes, earmuffs and eggshells

And bathrobes and baskets and bins

And ragbags and rubbers and roasters

And tablecloths, toasters and tins....

And once you get started in thinking this way,

It seems that whatever you see

Is either a house or it lives in a house,

And a house is a house for me!

A book is a house for a story.

A rose is a house for a smell.

My head is a house for a secret, 

A secret I never will tell.

A flower's at home in a garden.

A donkey's at home in a stall.

Each creature that's known has a house of its own

And the earth is a house for us all.

I certainly learned that I can be at home anywhere on Earth, that being "grounded" is beyond a physical state.  But the greatest lesson I will take from this experience is that of the loving hand our Father in Heaven plays in our lives, that His purposes are wise and our prayers are answered.

How to Make Homemade Watercolor Cards

This post is for Paul, for next Mother's Day, with full permission to crack into my watercolors, that no tears shall ever be shed over pencil scratched Mother's Day cards.

Here's the collection we made for Paul's birthday - they were both colorful and authentic.  The kids stayed up way past their bedtime to complete them.

First step: 

Cut watercolor paper to desired size and fold card in half.  You can use regular paper but the paint will be more runny.

Next, allow each child to draw their design in pencil.

At this point they can trace the drawings with a fine tip sharpie.  Then carefully dig into the watercolor paints, keep in mind a little goes a long way.  Don't really let the kids "dig" into the paints, instead they will dip into the watery mixtures in the middle of the paint tray.

You may have noticed a naked baby in the background.  There's been a lot of that lately since I've been experimenting with elimination control with George.  Here's a strategic photo of what kept George busy while we painted.

And here are the cards, first from me, very simple but I got impatient and did not allow the sharpie adequate time to dry before applying watercolors.  The cartoon of us two turned out a blurry gray.

James opted for Prisma colored pencils for his, it tells the story of their favorite activities together.

Here is William's, an imaginary game of Michigan vs. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

Peter's made everyone laugh, Paul bare foot holding a billion dollar bill to purchase a 1,000,000 acre farm with a 2,483 sq ft home.

Maryanna's card tells the story of our first date, I don't think she knows the story but she made up a good one.

And Clara's card shows Paul buying me a quadruple ice cream cone on one side and the other side is of her going to a Michigan football game with him and George. 

I forgot to photograph Henry's but is was a nice stick figure drawing with blobs of paint.  These are the treasures that are worth saving. 

Big Boy celebrates 35

Just days after Henry's birthday we got to celebrate again with Paul.  The boys thought it'd be a good idea to leave the Thomas birthday banner, only slightly altering with their own Michigan football drawings- Michigan v.s. OSU in 1997, MSU in 2007, and Notre Dame in 2010.

They also were very generous in pooling some of their money together as a gift.

We all presented homemade cards and Paul was a good sport in wearing his over sized felt birthday crown.

The favorite gift was the 15 passenger van monopoly piece, one we randomly found at an estate sale just the day before.  It looks exactly like the van we drive.

Paul's dad bravely babysat on his own so the two of us could enjoy a night out and give Paul a chance to redeem all his Ann Arbor freebies.  Here he is with his half dozen Zingerman's bagels.

And here I am with way too many free treats to finish in one night.  The boys were very happy with the offering we brought home for them.

And now for a great birthday surprise from Paul's parents, a stack of Paul's earliest writings from elementary school.  In the stack we discovered the picture I drew of him in 2nd grade for his 8th birthday.  Still looks like him and yes, Paul is smart.  So happy I married this guy.  Happy Birthday Paul!

Pillows and Party Favors

I recently made some playful pillows to liven up this pair of old blue Kittenger chairs.  The chairs were picked up at a resale shop in Salt Lake City just after Henry was born.  I fell in love with their sturdiness and the design but the upholstery has seen better days.  After full inspection I discovered they were originally from the Governor's house in Salt Lake City, probably from the early 80's.  Someday we'll recover them but for now they serve as a perfect landing pad for kids to jump on (which they literally do, bonding straight off the landing from halfway up the stairs).  These pillows were intended to absorb some of the wear and tear going into the chairs.

The playful print is from Ikea as is the stripe fabric that backs them.  With the leftovers I was able to make some party favors for Henry's birthday outing to the zoo with cousins.

I filled them with snacks to eat along the way.

Unfortunately this great idea did not come to me until the morning of the outing so I only was able to finish the two for our special party guests.  The pattern was based off some little scripture bags I had made for James and William years ago.  Marie' has recently posted those instructions here.

The kids had fun celebrating Henry's birthday at the zoo but I admit I had my hands full shuffling all their goodies out of my purse, I finally got the rest done and will use them for both church and our zoo outings.

The boys are made out of some old denim I had on had and the girls' were all made from the pillow scraps.  The names are embroidered on by my sewing machine.

I like that the party favor was the actual bag but as we were sewing them Maryanna asked, "for my party I don't want to make anything, let's buy everything instead".  

Look who's 3!

Henry had a birthday a few weeks ago.  I love how he is growing right into the mix of his big brothers.

The girls helped me make some experimental muffins to suit his allergies and sensitivities.  These are wheat free, sugar free and egg free chocolate chip muffins.  I can't say they tasted good but good little Henry's been eating like this all the days of his life so he didn't complain.

We pulled out the old birthday candle train that Oma got for us in Germany years ago.

Henry got a training bike and he spent most the day practicing on it.  We later spoiled him with a trip to Build-a-Bear where he picked out a football playing tiger.

Happy Birthday Henry!  You have blessed our lives in so many wonderful ways already.

Garden Therapy

I fell in love with a log cabin home this week only to find out there was a miscommunication with the realtor's office and we were a day late for best and final offers.  

I had a good cry then decided we might as well plant a garden right here, where we are, now.  Digging in the dirt felt good. The kids had fun as well.  

We may or may not still be living here to enjoy the harvest, there is also a good chance of it flopping. But digging in the dirt was a simple reminder that Earth is my home, no matter where I am in the world or the shape of the roof that shelters me.  Home is not where I plant my "stuff" but where I plant my heart.

That said, finding the right place for our family to settle in has been trickier than I thought it'd be.  But I feel optimistic that there is something special just around the corner and until we find it, I'll stroke my patience with a little garden therapy, digging in the dirt with the happy little people that surround me.    

Curry Chicken Salad

We usually roast two chickens a week because it is easy and serves for more than one meal.  This curry chicken salad was our latest experiment (experiment in seeing who would or would not eat it).

Whenever I try a new dish I usually consult multiple recipes then pull them together in a way I think it may work for my family (both for food allergies and pickiness).  Foodily is a great site for comparing recipes. 

Here is our version of the Curry Chicken Salad:

Start with the leftovers from two roast chickens and pick off all the meat (this always reminds me of my grandma).  Most recipes will say discard the bones but I say keep them and make stock.  

The dressing is a combo of plain yogurt and mayo (actually we are currently using Vegenise because of an egg allergy).  To this combo add some salt, fresh lemon juice, curry powder (just a 1tsp will do) and a bit of honey, go by taste.

Gently blend this until smooth and carefully mix it with the chicken.  Also add cilantro, shredded carrots,  green onions, celery, and raisins.  If we could tolerate nuts I'd have added toasted cashews or almonds.  And for further variation you could add fresh grapes, currants or apples instead of the raisins.  I often tell my children food is more than the taste, it also involves color combinations, aroma, temperature, texture and the love you put into it.  This dish includes all those variations.

I am recording this as a successful meal because everyone liked it.  For that reason I used up all the chicken and made it two days in a row for lunch (and the broth made a lovely soup for dinner tonight too).