Finding joy in each season

I never thought I would say this... but I have loved the snow, the ice, and the subfreezing temperatures this winter.  Yes, even the cold!  Because with those things have come many hours spent outside playing in the snow, ice skating, skiing out the back door and on trails, many, many cups of hot chocolate (way too many to count), cuddling underneath blankets on the couch, playing make-believe dragons, reading books, catching up on mending and sewing projects, and slowing down a bit.  Pete has always said he couldn't live somewhere without the seasons, and I have always said I could do without winter.  But this year, instead of dreading the cold and being stuck inside, I have decided to simply enjoy winter for what it is.

This is the first year that John and Dan have been able to put on all their snow gear by themselves.  Snowpants, coats, boots, hats, gloves and scarves.  It was so fun to see them come out of the laundry room together, all geared up for a snowy adventure.  And even more great that I didn't have to help them and they didn't have to ask.  John is the snow king, he LOVES the snow.  I've never met another boy who loves the snow more.  He hung up signs he made on all the windows that said, "Let it snow!" and looked out the window first thing every morning to see if it had.  He often got ready for school as fast as he could so he could get outside and play before the bus came.  I think John's love for the snow rubbed off on everyone.

Even though John and Dan can get ready themselves, it was still quite the process getting the whole family ready to go anywhere.  There was one morning in particular when I thought it would be fun to take Dan and Joe cross country skiing while John was at school.  It was a sunny day (and there aren't a whole lot of those in the winter here) and I was feeling extra adventurous.  I spent the whole morning getting everything ready.  A thermos of hot chocolate, packing the car with everyone's skis, the chariot for Will (we have ski attachments so I can pull him behind me), making sure everyone was fed, had gone potty, and was properly dressed.  After a couple hours of prep we finally arrived at the park I wanted to ski at.  Then it was setting up the Chariot, getting everyone's skis on, putting some heating pads around Will (it was sunny but still below freezing) and trying to stay positive and happy so everyone would have a good time.  As soon as we all started skiing, I knew the hard work had been worth it.  The sun felt warm on our faces, the snow was soft, the kids were excited (it was Joe's first time), Will was content and the path we went on was beautiful.  

Pete and I left the kids with a babysitter a few Saturdays so we could ski together on one of our favorite trails.  Since it takes a lot of planning and effort to go anywhere without the kids, I feel like I have to enjoy every minute.  Not that I don't enjoy being with the kids, it's not that at all.  I just don't get to be out in nature by myself (or with Pete) without loud, sometimes needy, children very often.  It's quite nice.

Will got to experience snow for the first time this year.  Let's be honest, there's not a whole lot a 9-month old can do in the snow, but he did seem to enjoy being outside if he was all bundled up.  And by the end of the winter he really did like sledding.  I love watching the kids try and experience new things.  Their excitement and curiosity is contagious.

Unfortunately for Will, he has spent a lot of the winter gazing out the back window, watching his brothers have all the fun.  Surprisingly he hasn't seemed to mind, just looking outside was enough I guess.  But I am getting excited at the thought of him being able to crawl and roll around on warm, green grass.  

And since we still have a while until that warm, green grass will actually be here, I decided to give a go at growing grass from wheat kernels this year.  We followed these instructions and will hopefully have some green grass growing by Easter.  The winter and the snow have been fun, but I must say, I am now really looking forward to Spring, and everything that comes with it.

A favorite gift for GIRLS

Yes, girls!  Most of my projects, crafts and time is spent on boys, so I love when I can squeeze in some time to make girlie things.  These wrapped leather bracelets have been one of my favorite things to make for Christmas/birthday gifts lately.  They're fairly easy once you get the hang of it, can be strung up in about an hour, and only cost a few dollars per bracelet (depending how much you spend on the beads).  I originally got the idea from my friend Alison and used the tutorial from Rings & Things.  I have only tried making bracelets that wrap around your wrist one or two times, but Alison made a couple that wrap around 4 times, and they are beautiful.  They make for a fun, thoughtful gift.  Now I just need to make some for myself!

Wood crayon holder

For our Christmas homemade gift exchange, Dan picked Joe's name.  When the kids are a bit older, we'll let them go at it on their own, but this year Pete helped Dan with his project.  They made a wood crayon holder.  I had originally seen one of these at an art fair and thought it would be easy to recreate.  It's simply a piece of wood with holes drilled into the top.  Dan made it a bit more personalized by writing on the side, then Pete traced his letters with a wood burner.



Now when Joe is coloring, he can see all the colors at a glance.  And taking them out of the holes and putting them back in is half the fun! 

Artwork

I originally hung up all of our Christmas cards on this door, then decided it would make a perfect place to hang the kids artwork after I took them down.  It's about as simple as it gets.  Twine wrapped around a door and clothes pins to attach the artwork.  Done.

 

Simple wooden growth chart

A growth chart.  This is something that will be so fun to look at 20 years from now.  My sister Brittney made a vinyl growth chart for me a couple Christmas's ago, but unfortunately the vinyl does not seem to be surviving in a home with 4 little boys.  But the kids have had so much fun standing up to it every so often, measuring themselves to see how much they've grown, so I knew we needed one that could withstand the test of time.

This wooden growth chart proved to be a very simple and quick project.  If I had made it 6 years ago, I probably would have sanded it down, used stencils for the lines and numbers, painted slowly and carefully, and stained it.  Maybe I would have even added some kind of mounting device to the back so it could be attached to a wall.  But times have changed, and it can be a challenge to set aside even an hour to work on a project.  So don't look too closely at my crooked lines and hand-painted numbers.

I bought this piece of wood at Lowe's and had someone cut it there to 6 1/2 feet.  Then I did all of my measurements in pencil (this was the most time consuming part) and used my transfer paper technique to draw on the numbers.  Then I went over everything with black paint and called it good.  I guess I went for the natural look, didn't bother sanding it or staining it.  But I quite like how it turned out.


I love the knots in the wood.  I intentionally chose a piece of wood that had them.

All ready to measure these fast-growing kids!  I'm planning on measuring everyone on their birthdays each year.  That way we can compare everyone's height by age.  Now I just need to find a good way to mark their height... markers? paint? wood burning?... I might need to experiment a bit.

PVC Builders Kit

It's been way too long since I've posted anything on this blog, but I have so many ideas and thoughts I have been wanting to share!  Life got busy, and still is, but I'm going to attempt to share more often.

We had a very fun holiday season.  We went to Utah for the first week of December, but spent the rest of the holiday alone with our little family.  One new tradition we started was to have all the kids draw names and make gifts for each other.  John, Dan and Joe played an active role in making something for their secret person, but Will's project was pretty much all me.  There's not too much a 9-month old can do.  Will ended up with John's name, so I decided to make him a Builder's Kit using PVC pipes.  It was very simple and took about an hour to complete.  I bought the pipes and a bunch of different connector pieces from Lowe's, then cut the pipes to varying lengths.  And that's it!  John gets to make whatever he wants with them.

I used an old pillowcase to make a drawstring bag to keep everything in.

The PVC pipe building didn't stop there.  I later used some to build an ice skating walker for the kids.  My mom helped me, and we came up with a design that works well and can double as a soccer goal in the summer (once I figure out a good way to attach a net to it).  They can hold onto it while they're learning to skate, which makes things a lot easier when we take all the kids.


We most recently used the pipes to make a marble run.  This was Joe's idea, and everyone loved it.


John wanted to make crutches to go along with Dan's Doctor kit.  A little slippery on wood and cement, but work great on carpet.


One of my favorite projects with pipes were the bows we made last summer.  The kids loved running around with them playing war and hunting for animals.  Really, the uses of these pipes are endless!

Have you tried building anything with PVC pipes?

Pumpkin sandwiches

Happy Halloween!  Here's what I made the kids for lunch today, I thought I'd share the idea.  Pumpkin-shaped peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  I wish I could see John's face when he opens his lunch, he's going to be so excited.  I used a cookie cutter to cut the shapes out of bread, then mixed a drop of food coloring with a tiny bit of water and painted on the face and stem.  I'm excited to use this idea at other holidays as well: Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, etc.  Have a fun day!

DIY Marble Run

A marble run is one of those classic toys that every little boy has to have, don't you think?  I first saw a homemade marble run similar to this one at a friends house and knew I had to make one.  And with Joe's birthday coming up, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.  Unfortunately I didn't take pictures along the way... so if you want to make one, you can do the same thing we did and wing it (sorry).  But I do have to give Pete the credit for this one.  He bought the supplies, measured everything out, and put the screws in... so pretty much everything.  I sanded down parts, stained it, and helped with the measuring.  All I know is this thing is a rock!  Pete built it knowing that 4 little boys would be playing with it for many years to come. Well done Pete.

A close up of one of the corners

And here it is in action:

Scribble drawings

This was a fun project for John and Dan while we watched General Conference a few weeks ago.  I originally found the idea for scribble drawings on the blog Maya Made when she did a review on the book Art Lab for Kids.  I don't own the book (yet), but that was enough to get us started.



I decided to have the kids do the drawings on white cardstock that was folded in half so we could use them for cards.  I love having homemade cards on hand to use for birthdays, thank you's, etc.



John and Dan have such different artistic styles.  It's fun to see what they create.



They didn't end up turning their scribbles into anything.  Just colored in the shapes that were created with different colors.

Our humble harvest

Last Fall we saved a lot of seeds from our pumpkins and squash in hopes to use them in the spring.  Not wanting large plants to overtake our small garden, we decided to plant them in some flower beds in the backyard.  I don't think they got enough sun (or maybe we neglected them a little bit), so this was all that became of them.  But I'll be honest, I was excited to see anything growing at all.  They may be too small to eat, but at least they can give me something nice to look at while I wash the dishes.

Slow mornings and playdough

Time seems to be going faster than ever lately.  Many days I wake up, get the kids breakfast, get John and Dan off to school, keep the other two alive and somewhat happy, try to keep up with dishes, laundry, bills, welcome the kids home from school, help John practice piano, fix dinner, wrestle (sometimes literally) everyone into bed, try to catch up with everything that was left undone during the day, take a deep breath and go to bed.  Some days go smoothly and are full of laughter and fun, and other days I'm in survival mode from the minute I wake up.  It's all part of motherhood I suppose.

Last week we had a rare morning where we didn't have to go anywhere or do anything (except for getting John off to school).  I crave those mornings and welcome them with open arms.  So as soon as Will was down for his nap, Dan and Joe and I got to work making some playdough.



You can find the recipe I use here.

 

We had fun experimenting with colors and smells this time around.  Dan wanted to make blue playdough with a lemon smell, Joe went with green peppermint, and Dan thought John would like red lavender.  I failed to take pictures of the rest, but we then divided up the balls and tried mixing in a few more drops of food coloring to see what colors we would get (blue+red made purple, red+yellow made orange, etc.)  It was fun to just sit down with these two cuties during a quiet moment in the morning.  Then before I knew it a cry from upstairs beckoned me to get back on my feet.

Fall Nature Wreath

A few days ago the kids helped me make our Fall nature wreath. I love decorating with things that can either be eaten or returned to nature (that way I don't have to store anything), and it's especially easy to do that in the Fall. We always decorate with squash and grass, last year we made the twig spider web, and this year we added the wreath.



I had big plans to go for a fun hike one afternoon and collect things for it.  But Pete had some things he had to do and it ended up getting late, so I sent the kids out back to collect whatever they could find.



I think Dan would have fun doing anything if it involved me letting him use the clippers.



Then we came inside, laid everything out on the table and got to work.  We used a grapevine wreath for the base.  And by this point Will and Joe were both in bed, so it ended up being a very enjoyable evening :) (Not that I don't love the little ones... it's just hard to sit down and work on things for a long period of time with them around sometimes.)



I was secretly intending to shift a few things around after the kids were done to make the wreath balanced and how I wanted it, but I ended up not touching it.  They did a better job than I could have!

Chasing the Caterpillar

I've been wanting to write down a few things I've had on my mind lately and thought I might as well write them down here.  My mom gave me the book "Bringing Up Boys," by James Dobson after I had Joe, our third boy.  Fitting, I know.  I'm reading through it for the second time right now.  This book is very well written, I highly recommend it to anyone with boys.  It goes over the difference between girls and boys, what to expect with boys, the importance of fathers, a mother's role, the best way to educate boys, advice for single parents, how to discipline boys, what we should be doing to shape the next generation of men and much more.  It also touched on something that has been on my mind a lot lately: the effect this busy, hurried world is having on us and on our kids.  I really like this analogy Dr. Dobson used in his book:

"The great French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre once conducted a fascinating experiment with processionary caterpillars, so called because they tend to march in unison.  He lined them around the inner edge of a flowerpot and then monitored them carefully as they marched in a circle.  At the end of the third day, he placed some pine needles, which is the favorite food of caterpillars, in the center of the pot.  They continued walking for four more days without breaking rank.  Finally, one at a time, they rolled over and died of starvation, just inches from their ideal food source.

"These furry little creatures reminded me in some ways of today's moms.  Most of them are trudging around in circles from morning to night, exhausted and harried, wondering how in the world they can get everything done.  Many are employed full-time while also taking care of families, chauffeuring kids, fixing meals, cleaning the house, and trying desperately to maintain their marriages, friendships, family relationships, and spiritual commitments.  It is a backbreaking load.  Sadly, this overcommitted and breathless way of life, which I call "routine panic," characterizes the vast majority of people in Western nations.

"Are you one of these harried women running in endless circles?  Have you found yourself too busy to read a good book or take a long walk with your spouse or hold your three-year-old child on your lap while telling him or her a story?  Have you taken time to study God's Word—to commune with Him and listen to His gentle voice?  Have you eliminated almost every meaningful activity in order to deal with the tyranny of a never-ending "to do" list?  Have you ever asked yourself why in the world you have chosen to live like this?  Perhaps so, but it it not an easy problem to solve.  We live our lives as if we're on freight trains that are rumbling through town.  We don't control the speed—or at least we think we don't—so our only option is to get off.  Stepping from the train and taking life more slowly is very difficult.  Old patterns die very hard indeed."

There's a woman I visited a week or two ago who has 9 children.  They are all grown now, and I commented on how it takes an amazing woman to raise that many kids.  She kind of brushed off my compliment and went on to say that times are a lot different now.  In today's world she thinks she'd be able to handle about 3.  And that got me thinking.  Parents don't just wake up and send the kids off to school, then spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening letting the kids play, visiting with friends and family, eating dinner and relaxing like they used to (not that life was easy... it just seems people didn't have to be moving so fast).  Now there are sports, music lessons, swimming lessons, gyms, preschools, clubs...  not to mention our immersion into the digital age: e-mail, facebook, twitter, blogs, pinterest... all sorts of things that can make us busier than ever.  And none of these things are bad in and of themselves necessarily.  But how do we keep from becoming so busy that we lose sight of what's really important?

At the beginning of the summer I read "Hamlet's BlackBerry," by William Powers.  Also a great book. Powers starts off the book by introducing his friend Marie:

"...When I first met her in the mid-1990s, Marie was a recent immigrant to the United States and still learning the fine points of English.  Back then, whenever I saw her and asked how she was doing, she would flash a big happy smile and say, 'Busy, very busy!'

"This was strange, partly because she said it so consistently and partly because her expression and upbeat tone didn't match her words.  She seemed pleased, indeed ecstatic, to be reporting that she was so busy.

"After a while, I figured out what was going on.  Marie was copying what she'd heard Americans saying to one another over and over.  Everyone talked so much about how busy they were, she thought it was a pleasantry, something that a person with good manners automatically said when a friend asked how they were doing.  Instead of 'Fine, thank you,' you were supposed to say you were busy.

"She was wrong, of course, as she eventually realized.  But in another way she was absolutely right. 'Busy, very busy" is exactly what we are most of the time.  It's staggering how many balls we keep in the air each day and how few we drop.  We're so busy, sometimes it seems as though busyness itself is the point."

It's almost funny how many people really do answer with the word "busy" when asked how they're doing.  I didn't even notice it until after I read this.  And I'll confess, I have found myself answering this same way at times.  Life with 4 boys 6 and under... what do you expect.  But I've been thinking a lot lately... Am I making my life busier than it needs to be?  Are there things I can cut out or get rid of to simplify my life a little bit?  Do I need to stress over writing a post on my blog every day to keep my readers? (obviously the answer to that question for me is no... as you can tell from this blog)  Do I need to spend 2 hours making homemade pizza dough and sauce on a day when the kids are needing a little more attention from me?  Do I need to stay up into the wee hours of the morning getting the house perfectly clean only to be exhausted and on edge the entire next day?  Do I need to reply to a text right this second while my kids are trying to show me something they made?

I think a certain amount of work and busyness is a good thing.  Sometimes I just have to remind myself that I can't do it all.  And that I don't need to do it all.  Especially if it's at the expense of my kids.  I don't think I'm ever going to look back and wish I had added a few more things to my schedule.  If anything, I think it will be the opposite.  I don't think it's necessary to remove all extracurricular activities, sports, music lessons and digital media from my life or the lives of my kids.  But hopefully I can be wise enough to look up in this frenzy of caterpillars, dare to take another path at times, and keep my eyes on what really matters.

Reconnecting: bows & arrows

We just returned from a 3 week trip to Utah.  It was wonderful to be with friends and family, but I must say, it's good to be home.  It was a busy 3 weeks as we attempted to see everyone and do everything that we had missed out on over this past year.  Hiking, swimming, family reunions, Park City, Bear Lake, sailing, games, shopping, biking, visiting, running, eating out, play dates, over nighters, birthdays... we somehow managed to pack it all in!  I don't know if anyone else does this, but by the end I felt like I had reconnected with everyone... except my own kids.  And this became obvious by the end when the kids were behaving worse than I had ever seen them.  Lack of structure, lack of sleep, an overdose of family of friends and an underdose of their own mother left them fighting, talking back, whining and disobeying more than ever.

So a few days ago we all finally reconnected by working on one of my favorite projects I've done with them: making bows and arrows.  I've realized that doing crafts, projects or games with my kids is how I connect with them best.  And these have definitely been lacking over the last few weeks.  It was so nice to finally sit down with the older three and work on something that we were all excited about again.

I found the tutorial for these bows and arrows on the blog You Craft Me Up.  It was surprisingly very simple and we were able to put 4 bows and 8 arrows together in one afternoon.  Even with the breaks I had to take to feed Will, keep him happy and get the kids a snack.  And the best part?  All of the supplies only cost me $16!  That's $4 per bow and 2 arrows.  I made one each for John, Dan and Joe, and then one set for John's friend who is having a birthday party next week.  A pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.

 
We made one change to the tutorial we followed: I didn't dare let the kids shoot the sticks around with nothing on the end.  Knowing kids, one of the arrows would find itself in someone's eye.  So I taped a piece of the foam to the end.  It could still hurt if it was shot at someone at close range, but at least it won't cause permanent damage.  I would recommend having a rule to not shoot at people, either way.


On Daniel's bow we taped a piece of PVC pipe to it to rest the arrow on when he shoots.  He was having a hard time aiming the arrow, but this made it very easy.



The kids couldn't wait to show the neighbor kids their new weapons... sometimes I wonder what I would be making if I had a girl... a doll? a skirt?... But I'm pretty happy making bows and arrows for the time being :)

Beach robes and summer vacation

I first saw these beach robes on my friend Jessica's blog, Mumbo Designs, almost a year ago and knew at once I had to make them.  I bought the pattern online from MADE and picked up some large, colorful towels from Ikea the next time I was there... and then they sat on my project shelf for almost a year! Well, today I bring you the finished product at last.  When the weather turned warm and we became frequent visitors of the beach (and the kids continued tripping all over their towels on the way back to the car) these robes moved to the top of the project list.  Now the kids can dry off, warm up and continue playing without skipping a beat.



And as for our summer vacation... you may have noticed I am kind of taking a summer vacation from this blog.  Back in May our family went on a "digital diet" for a week... a break from all screens (movies/TV, computer, phones... except for my allotted 1/2 hour after the kids were in bed... unfortunately some e-mails do need to be answered and bills paid).  And what a wonderful week it was!  I guess it was a little too wonderful, because I haven't fully gone back.  Instead, we have been swimming, playing at parks, going to the beach, hiking, jumping on the tramp, reading, tending to our garden, riding bikes, and soaking up the summer sun.  That combined with feeding and taking care of the baby just doesn't leave much time left in my day.  BUT... I love getting new ideas from other people's blogs and created this blog as a way to share my ideas.  I just might not share them quite as frequently as I once did for the time being.

Let's hear it for summer!