Wordful Wednesday: This is Me

This is me….

Wishing Paul was with me
In the pool to help hold some kids
Finding an excuse to call
Even just his voice makes me happy

Mother of six
Off on adventure
Trying to do it all
Happy
Even though I
Rarely have a minute of my own

Don’t know how my mom did it
All 17 of her children wonder
Understand now why you did
Greatest lessons I learned right in our
Home
To love and to give to
Everyone around
Receiving more in return

So much to share
I still feel I’m 16
So much to learn
Too much too say
Energy boosts and
Rambling thoughts

May I live to become
Even more than I am

More Wordful Wednesday here- join the fun!

p.s. this was a self timer picture - that was me on my own last week in St. George

Sewing Boy Clothes

It is hard to come up with practical sewing projects for older boys but here are a few that I completed in St. George. 

William is wearing a Mario Bros. T-shirt purchased for .50 at a garage sale.  Originally it was a men's XL shirt but I sized it down.  He really is not in need of any clothes since James' hand-me-downs still have a lot of wear left in them but this shirt was too much fun to pass up and it fit his personality.  

Peter on the other hand is in need of a bit more clothes as few items actually make it down a 4th time (from cousins-James-William-then completely worn out).  So he is wearing a long sleeve hooded T made from  3 old Old Navy t-shirts.  The pattern is from one of my favorite Japanese sewing books and the only change I made was adding the pocket.  After listening to the first three Harry Potter books in the car on our long trips Peter decided it is his invisibility shirt and when he puts the hood on he is invisible.  So you really aren't suppose to see him in this picture.  This shirt we hope will last many good wears (and magical adventures) then be saved for Henry. 

 

James's shirt was actually purchased at Urban Outfitters in Seattle - I couldn't resist.  To him the periodic table is just as cool as Mario Bros. and Harry Potter.  It is a men's Small but I didn't want to resize it because the boy is growing so quickly.  Instead I sewed him some U of M jammies out of the same Burda pattern (sized 3-15) that I've been using since he was 2.  This time I made the size 11 - I can't believe it! I doubt he'll let me post a picture of himself in them and I'm starting to wonder if he'll out grow wearing homemade jammies before he out grows the pattern.  I'll be on the look out for some periodic table fabric for his next pair - you know just to keep them "cool".

  

So jammies, T-shirts, and Halloween costumes are my sewing for boys specialty.  Any other ideas of what to sew for boys?

On the road again

The kids and I spent the week at Becca's St. George house.  I thought I was done with traveling for awhile until my recovery day from our last trip was interrupted by a perspective buyer.  With only a few hours notice I had weeds to pull,  suitcases to put away, and piles of laundry to finish or hide.  Of course then I would have to  clean up every mess the kids managed to make while I was busy with everything else.  It would have all been completed if the realtor hadn't shown up early.  To make things worse, Maryanna had stumbled out of her nap in a sleepy stupor and peed on the carpet just as I heard the door unlock and the realtor announce "Hello". With the soaked towel in my hand I greeted both her and the client at the front door and apologized for not clearing out of the house.  I also apologized for the dishes in the sink, the suitcases in the front hall, and piles of crumbs waiting to be swept up.  What I didn't apologize was the smell coming from the bathroom as one of the boys came running out.  The two babies were still napping so I told them to go ahead quietly and I scurried out of their way hoping they could at least enjoy a bit of our home's inner beauty.   So that's why we're here.  Instead of putting the suitcases away I just packed them up again with the clothes that popped fresh out of the dryer.  

This week has been a lot more relaxed than last week's road trip.  We have just been swimming everyday with a couple of hours of nap/quiet reading time during peak sun hours.  During this time I actually got a bit of sewing and pattern drafting done but I'll post about that later.

Paul met up with us for the weekend which was a relief to me - its hard to watch and care for all the kids in and around the pool.  Then today we took the opportunity to drive through Snow Canyon and enjoyed a little walk through the sand dunes there.  The kids, still in their church clothes, were a bit reluctant to roll down them so we sat and buried our feet and watched the long shadows move as the sun set behind us.  Paul noted that the sand felt like sugar and Maryanna immediately decided to taste a mouthful.  The poor little girl has been spitting ever since.  I meanwhile am thinking I'm glad I have not yet cleaned the car since our first trip to Bear Lake....oh what a mix of sand, crumbs, and memories those back seats are collecting.

Traveling in Style

For those of you who may be wondering what it may be like to experience a 3,200 mile road trip with 6 young kids........

  

Nature, enough to remind Peter that he could use his own little "nature walk"

 Many Family photo opts - oops!

On-the-go changing table and a dashboard full of useful items

  A very experienced trail guide

  20 ft. Yurt, yes-electricity, no-plumbing

 Kid friendly shopping

Entertaining hosts

Rural roadside fruit stands and U-pick farms

Artwork and Authors

William has really enjoyed my old Ed Emberley finger print book. I especially love the picture he created of our whole family, so much so that it is my new title image. I also like these ostriches.

When I was William's age Ed Emberley visited our school. We still have the personalized book he signed for our family. Other authors that visited with us included Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and Steven Kellogg. I didn't realize how cool that was until I was an adult and starting reading their books with my own kids.

Paul and Caryn just reminded me of two more, Marc Brown (Arthur) and Alfred Slote.

Back to School Unschool

We just got in from our trip and after all the kids were unloaded and tucked in bed I had a chance to catch up on everyone's blogs. So in the spirit in back to school posts I thought I'd share this picture along with a few thoughts.

Here are my boys on the day that should have been their first day of school. Instead of fresh socks and white sneakers, they are barefoot and unbathed, sporting their grubby summer clothes exploring tidepools on a near deserted beach. They found a few starfish, sea anome, dead crabs, clams, and sand dollars. William was breathless with excitement as he hopped around the rocks, he said it was the coolest beach ever and even better than the aquarium. He later wrote about it in his daily log and drew pictures of some of the things he saw.

James was also impressed with the ocean life but what excited him most was the road atlas and frequently requested that I pass it back to him. He was so excited about geography that on the Cape Flattery Trail he was a bit pushy in hopes of being the Northwestern most member of our family.

We also unknowingly followed quite a bit of the Lewis and Clark trail but it wasn't until towards the end of our trip that the kids asked, "Who was Lewis and Clark anyways"? Paul gave me a very funny look as I fumbled and then admitted that I needed to review those details of history. Thank goodness for information plaques though. We pulled over in Salmon Idaho after passing a historical marker that read "Birth place of Sacagawea" and it was there that we had a short American History lesson. On our way back to the car James told me he was really interested in geography and asked if that's what I could teach him this year. I then explained that he could learn whatever he wanted to not because I was a good teacher but because he was a good learner. I simply supply the tools and opportunity. James insightfully said, "so that's why you think homeschool is a good idea". The rest of the trip we could barely get the atlas back from him and he continued to surprise us with all sorts of information like which cities we passed through that were county seats. I asked him "what is a county seat anyways"? and it was my turn to learn.

Family Roadtrip 2008

It has been several days, a few thousand miles, and countless roadside potty breaks since I last checked in here. In hopes for an interested buyer, we left the house clean behind us and took off on an adventure once again. I'm sorry I can't report on a very clean car though as we have been thoroughly exploring and enjoying the Pacific Northwest. There are too many pictures, thoughts and experiences to share but I hope to add a few more throughout next week. Pictured here is Paul and a few kids exploring Ho Buck beach on the Makah Indian reservation in WA.