Free Range on Fairview

Washington Tractor showed the class how to use a swather and tractor.  Last week all of the third grade classes in our area were invited to participate in a field trip to learn about agriculture in the Ellensburg valley. In the letter home it said parents were welcome to meet up and participate too so I took the opportunity to ask if the boys (almost 2 and 3) could come along as well. Since it was sponsored by local businesses and community groups, such as Washington Cattlewomen's Association and 4H, it was a little more relaxed and they were welcome to come along. The material was aimed at third graders so parts were a little over the boys' heads but they had a great time.  Lincoln riding a pig statue, yeehaw. We got there a little before the bus of students (yes one bus fit both third grade classes of about 20 some odd students and two teachers) so the boys had fun checking out the bronze pig statue at the fairgrounds.   Huge Farm Equipment  Warne...

Dylan had a substitute teacher on Valentine's Day this year, who also happens to be my friend. She planned these cute little crafts as a time filler and I absolutely love it. The bottom one is a family portrait in case you were wondering. Lincoln is the one with the mohawk :0)

Reading a library book together at bedtime. It is the most wonderful feeling to know that my boys will grow up with their brothers. To have siblings to be picked on by and to be loved by unconditionally. Dylan is a great big bro. He will play with the littles, read to them, encourage them, and dote over them. Don't get me wrong, he is still a pain and tries to get them in trouble or avoid playing with them when he friends are over, but he is extremely protective. They are instant friends. When I'm having a tough night or Dylan hasn't done his reading homework I will have him read to his brother (s) and all is right in the world.  Lincoln loves his big bro.  Camping this summer. He absolutely idolizes him. If "Bowbie" has his hood on, Lincoln will wear his. His outfits, his mood, his snacks, all reflect whatever his older brother is doing. It is a great opportunity to remind Dylan that whatever his choices are will impact his little brothers but it a...

Kids will be kids. Sometimes mine drive me up the wall but I am still realizing that every day is one less that I will get to spend with them at this age. When Warner is crying (seemingly) incessantly and needs to be held all the time because he is getting four teeth in at once I need to stop and realize that he needs me. I am the one and only person in the world that gets this responsibility to be his mommy. When Lincoln is running away from me in the grocery store loudly proclaiming that he needs to go poop in the potty, I am the one and only person in the world that gets this responsibility to be his mommy. When Dylan is having a hard day because he says no one was nice to him and he's only the third highest at math in his class, I hug him because I am the one and only person in the world that gets this responsibility to be his mommy. Sure my kids are a handful, but my hands are pretty big and they are getting a little bit more coordinated at this parenting thing. Instead of co...

This boy. This sweet, sweet boy.  Oh my first born son, how smart and friendly and awesome he is. Oh how he had me so frustrated yesterday. I was not going to yell. I spent the day doing household stuff, grocery shopping, hanging out with the little ones, watching The Chew and pouring out into a blog post and I was feeling lighter. Maybe fresher, a new start for the day. Then Dylan got home from school and we all made snacks. Things were fine and normal when suddenly the whiney monster came out. Dylan spent the good part of an hour in and out of his room for whining about every.little.thing. His legs hurt, he had too much homework, his brother wouldn't let him have a moment to himself, he couldn't play the Wii, he didn't get to help make the Cranberry Bog Bars. I was seriously on the verge of losing it and I couldn't figure out what was actually wrong or why he was having such a hard day, but he was. Eventually with time he calmed down and helped me make dinn...

So far, Dylan is my only kid in school and what I have learned from him is that since I have the opportunity to be present in his life most of the time, I should and can, make many moments teaching moments. He got a homemade science kit for Christmas and one Saturday when his little brother was taking a surprise nap (oh thank God!) he wanted to try his hand at making Elephant Toothpaste . He read the instructions, got all the supplies out of his kit and was ready for me to help. Fortunately I am trying to be the kind of mom that allows the kids to be a little more independent and learn for themselves so instead of taking over I only helped with disaster was eminent. Dylan was so proud of himself! The experiment wasn't as spectacular as I was expecting (maybe we didn't use the fancy beauty supply peroxide so it wasn't as potent?) but it was still pretty cool. He even wrote up a description of what happened and drew a picture to take in to school and show his teacher. Wh...

I can hardly believe that my first born just turned 8. We celebrated this sweet, caring, funny boy by throwing him an awesome shark party. He is so interested in learning facts and figures about the ferocious, blood-sniffing mammals. We had fun coming up with sharky details and doing a little learning while we were at it.  His big party was mainly family but I still wanted to have a game in case the weather was nice (which it was, t-shirts and sunshine!). To make a totally free and fun game I duct taped a velcro catch mitt to a 13 gallon tub lid. Then I duct taped brown thin cardboard - the extra they put inside a roll of wrapping paper I had saved and finally found a use for - to the plastic lid and spray painted it sliver. I drew eyes and gills with a sharpie and cut out the mouth over where the velcro mitt was. After painting white teeth I taped to a box for stability. I also drew fish on the ball for a little more effect. Now we have a backyard game for the summer months t...

Ok both of these are a little cheaty because they are so easy, but making something ordinary seem special is one of the things that is magical about Christmastime. So I got out the fancy table cloths and pulled out all the stops to make a fun after-school hot chocolate bar. We had marshmallow bits, mini marshmallows, white chocolate chips, sprinkles, candy canes and whipped cream. Oh yeah! Dylan made sure to fill his to the brim. And because I'm running low on energy we had snowflake sandwiches. I took one giant marshmallow and flattened and pulled out the corners to make a star. Then the mini marshmallows in the corners followed by marshmallow bits around that. Cute and not too fussy.

Day 25 I am thankful for the sweet voices of my children and the hilarious (to me) things they say. Lincoln has trouble pronouncing a few letter sounds still so when he says something as simple as I love you Uncle Josh is comes out “I huve you unka dosh.” He has special names for his brothers Bobie and Dub. He says things like “that’d be cool” and “dehicious” or delicious. When he is not telling me no or waking up in a cranky mood almost everything out of his mouth melts my heart. Dylan is actually getting witty in his  7 years of living and I’m not sure if he knows it yet. My mom is soon to be married and when I was talking to him he sang “first comes love, then comes marriage… and that’s where it stops.” Oh man I was laughing. Warner isn’t talking yet but his little coos and gigantic squeals are sure fun. Day 26 I am thankful for coffee. Yes. I love it. I think I have a problem especially since I am still exclusively nursing Warner but I just can’t help myself. Plus Shane...