During Samson's potty training, round one, I started having the kids run races to help stave off cabin fever. I didn't want them going outside while Sam was awake because I didn't want to deal with accidents or jealousy. Katie started taking a runner's stance and all the kids copied or tried to copy her.
Thora
Dancy
Katie
Tommy
I'm withholding Samson's picture and video due to him being naked on the bottom half...and I don't need to share that on the internet. I'll keep those to myself.
So I got my hair cut at the beginning of March and when I came home, two daughters gave memorable reactions: Dancy said I got boy hair, and Thora asked where her Rapunzel haircut was. You know, at the end of the movie Tangled when Flynn Rider cuts Rapunzel's hair and it becomes short and brown.
Thora kept up on her need to have Rapunzel hair for a week, so I finally scheduled an appointment. Katie had been talking about getting a Kit haircut (the 1930s character with a bob cut from the American Girl series). I convinced Katie to just get her hair cut at the same time as Thora and NOT wait until she bought the Kit doll.
I wish I had pulled Katie's hair to the front for the picture, but you can still see how long and stringy their hair had become. I was soooo ready for these haircuts!
We went to a hair school and everyone loved these two girls and how well they sat and chatted for their haircuts. Thora and Katie adored all the attention. Tommy was entertained playing Minecraft, Dancy chatted with everyone, and Samson mostly stuck on me.
Looooong hair!
Thora took full advantage of sitting in front of a mirror.
And then when she popped down out of her chair and I asked her to show me her hair, there was no end to her sass! We were all dying laughing!
After I snapped pictures as fast as I could, I switched to video and asked Thora to do some more poses, and she went straight into her yoga poses! Downward facing dog!
Katie is in love with her Kit hair!
The whole experience took about 2 hours with both girls getting their hair cut at the same time! It was a bit much for me, so it's a toss up whether to pay $7 and be there for nearly 2 hours, or just shell out the $12-14 and be done in half an hour. But we love the shorter hair that is much less tangled and much more manageable!
Thora has become obsessed with dancing in front of the fireplace glass.
Sam...just fingers in the mouth.
Such a happy way for this boy to start the morning: finding Mom and Dad's leftover popcorn on the table. "This is soooo good, Mom!"
I started potty training Sam in early March. He had been there every step of the way with me potty training Thora: "Good job, Fowa, you did it!" "Wow, dat's a huge poop! Let's dump it! Now wash yow hands." "Mom, Fowa's calling you! Run! She needs help!" "Yay! Let's get Skittles!" My mom said she trained both of my brothers at the same time and that two wasn't much different than one. So I gave it a try. He mastered pee in a day. Became comfortable sitting on the potty seat, sitting on the toilet with the insert seat, standing to pee like Dad, and letting me hold him up to pee in a public toilet. But the poop readiness never came. I knew he'd have his poops in the morning and I'd have him sit repeatedly and try pushing, only to have to clean his underwear or the floor five minutes later. People suggested just putting a diaper or pullup on him to go out in public so I wouldn't have to worry about accidents, but then he'd pee in those and be confused later as to whether he was wearing underwear or a diaper and I'd have two or three accidents a day to clean up. I tried taking a break, but then he'd be upset at not getting to wear his underwear, or I'd forget that he was wearing a diaper and it'd get so full and fall off him and then I'd still walk out of the library with an accident. But finally, after a long stressful headache of a struggle, I succeeded in getting us backed out of potty training and on a break for the summer. We'll resume in the fall unless Sam suddenly expresses interest in pooping in the toilet. He still loves to pee in the toilet from time to time, so that's nice for me that I won't have to completely start all over.
Sometimes I walk into a room and hear voices but don't see humans. And then they back themselves out from under the bed.
{Sam and Dancy}
This is the face of one who is happy to be sitting on his toilet and has just eaten blueberry pie.
Tommy reading to Samson...
...and Samson reading to Tommy.
Shad sent me out for a break one night, so I got my hair cut, then went to Mimi's Café to eat crème brulee while reading War and Peace, which I started before Sam's birthday and am still only some 86 pages in on May 12. The rest of my family set up awesome car ramps while I was gone.
{Katie, Thora, Dancy, Samson}
{Samson, Dancy, Thora, Tommy, Katie}
{Tommy, Katie, Thora, Samson}
March 14 is Pi Day, and we celebrated by eating circular foods and learning what Pi means. Retention levels may be low at this age, but I think they at least remember why March 14 is Pi Day. Bagels for breakfast, pizza for lunch. I don't remember what they had for dinner because I had to go to Canon City for a work event and to meet my exchange student I'm supervising. Cucumbers were probably involved, though.
Thora with her bagel
Sam with his
There were times when he would actually poop in the toilet, but I can only count 3 times in a month and a half. And we'd praise and celebrate the heck out of it, load him up with treats to eat, clap and cheer, take pictures to send to Grandma, let him call Grandma, and still he wouldn't care to do it again. Ugh!
I read Everyone Poops countless times trying to get this boy to make a movement, and still I got no reward. Except for the very first time I read the book and got to this page and read, "What does whale poop look like?" Without missing a beat, he answered, "A turtle!" So now you know. You're welcome.
During the cold evening months, we started doing movie marathons with the kids. Harry Potter, Christmas movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, then Star Wars. The kids actually understood some of these references on this car. Thora talks a lot about Obi Wan Kenklobi.
Katie is our family hairdresser. She started getting fancy with Dancy's hair.
When I try to take picture of one kid because he's being cute playing with his baby...
they all want in.
{Dancy, Katie, Tommy, Samson, Thora}
This picture is awful, but I'm glad I have it because it shows that Samson and Thora have been working as a team to take the diaper trash out of their room every night...all the way out. Sam isn't satisfied with just putting it by the door. He tells me to put it outside in the trash can.
I told the kids one morning that I would take them to the library for storytime. We haven't been doing that lately. Katie was so excited that she dressed like a librarian and made a name tag.
Borscht should be a new expletive, I think. Especially when spilled on beige carpet. Luckily I was able to get it all out and we don't have pink speckles!
Several of our kids have been developing a love for skateboards. We bought one at a thrift store. Now we just need to learn to ride it. I don't know how!
{Samson}
March 2nd, the day before the Home Depot workshop day, I was suddenly violently sick. Lying in bed all day. Sending Shad to the dentist alone with 5 kids. A pretty incompetent and unorganized office that almost turned him away because they "didn't have his appointment." And gave him paperwork and then after he filled it out, while managing 5 kids and being pulled into the exam room for discussion, they told him he didn't have to fill out the paperwork. I also had picked up playing the organ for two funerals that weekend and had to cancel one. Saturday. Saturday Shad and I had planned that I would take Katie and Dancy to Home Depot early so they could get to a birthday party that started at the same time we normally go to HD. I barely managed that. Didn't even have the brain power to tell the grandparents across the table to mind their own business if my six-year-old is using a hammer and nails without my supervision. She's got this. Parent your own kid, not mine, thank you. She came with her own toolkit, so that should tell you something. Anyway, I had to help the girls rebuild their project twice because I was reading the directions wrong in my brain haze. So we got done late and got to the party late. Then I had just a few minutes to rest on the couch before going to the second funeral I was determined not to bail out on. I made it.
Sooo...the "Easter Bunny" was at Home Depot. That was the character for the month to take pictures with. Can we just stop and talk about how stupid that is? Santa is one thing, but a bunny suit?! I mean, at least this bunny doesn't look as creepy and demented as these ones, but still. Why insult the intelligence of your kids and tell them this is the Easter Bunny that comes to their house. What are they gonna do, tell the bunny what they want in their baskets? Ugh. The caption should say, "We just wanted the candy in the eggs. Don't give a crap about you!"
Mid-February had me running exhausted for a week: Mardi Gras, February 13; Valentine's Day, February 14; Chinese New Year's Eve and Day, February 15 & 16. It was an intense week. We celebrated all of them. And watched Olympics every night. Favorite sports were biathlon (Shad and I), snowboarding, bobsled, luge (Dancy), speed skating (Samson: "Go, go, go! You got it!"). It actually took some persuasion to get the kids to watch figure skating with me, but Thora started copying some moves. We learned that biathlon actually makes sense: it's a Norwegian military training activity that used to be a way to revere the gods! And it's called skiskyting (ski shooting), which means so much more than biathlon. We also learned what the stripes on the South Korean flag mean, and that the flag is called "Supreme Ultimate Flag."
Anyway, holidays.
Shad and I fell in love with New Orleans four years ago when we spent a day in the city before cruising out to Mexico. We've shared that fondness with our kids, and when I read the Marie-Grace & Cecile story arc of the American Girl collection, that sealed the deal. We had to start a tradition of celebrating the holiday. In my mind, that meant we'd have Gumbo and Beignets, but that morning we woke up and the kids reminded me that in the books they celebrated by attending costume balls. So we dressed up and had a dance party after dinner. Aaaaaand I was still mentally exhausted from Thora's potty training that I didn't look at my beignet recipe before evening when I was going to cook them for dessert...and saw that the dough takes 3 hours. Rain check, kids. I don't feel confident enough in the gumbo recipe I used (it didn't have rice!) to share it, so I won't.
My plan: Gumbo and Beignets
What happened: Gumbo and a costume-dance party
{Tommy, Dancy, Katie, Thora, me, Samson}
{Tommy, Dancy, Katie, Thora, me, Samson}
These two are precious. Katie and Tommy ballroom dancing.
No pictures from Valentine's Day. Normally we make homemade Valentines starting in January, and I tried that and decided it just wasn't worth the headache when no one wanted to do it or clean up afterwards. Sorry to anyone who had been looking forward to that mail this year. We also started a tradition last year to have heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I don't remember what we did instead, but we had a substitute option and we going to have the cinnamon rolls later in the day. That didn't happen. The cans are still in my fridge. But I did succeed in cooking Borscht & pierogis (frozen from Costco) for dinner. Borscht because I've been wanting to try it forever...and because it's red for Valentine's Day. It was delicious! Such wonderful flavor, but Shad couldn't get over the color. Recipe found here.
My plan: Homemade Valentines, heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, Borscht, pierogis
What happened: Borscht and pierogis
Next day, I woke up and began planning my Chinese New Year snacks. I love CNY! I taught English in China for 6 months and was there for all of Spring Festival, the month long celebration with CNY in the middle. My celebrating isn't exactly traditional because I didn't have anyone teaching me how they celebrate. I just kinda figured things out a little as it progressed. But to me, CNY is the day of the year that I get to bring China back into my life for a day and relive it. If only for a day. And it's such a wonderful day!
The Chinese market I found was close to the Olympic Training Center. I had just been down that way the previous morning for a hearing test for Tommy (everything normal, just another piece of bureaucracy I had to go through to get him approved for speech therapy to work on his R's. That was the third appointment, I think, and not the last.). Anyway, I decided that since I was by the training center again for the Chinese market, that this time we would take a field trip.
Snowcapped Pike's Peak
We were joined on our tour by another homeschool family and enjoyed their company. After the tour, the kids discovered that a four-man bobsled can fit seven kids. At least, I think it was a four-man. I honestly don't remember. But it was used by Team USA in one of the Olympics.
{Katie, Thora, Dancy, Samson, those two aren't mine, Tommy}
"Take picture of me, Mom!"
Nothing creepier than seeing your kids' eyes whited out...
{Tommy, Dancy, Katie, Thora, Samson}
Dancy and Sam
They really wanted a picture on this side of the globe, not on the front with the USA and Olympic rings. Check out them poses!
{Tommy, Katie, Dancy, Thora, Samson}
My sisters probably share the same memories I have of this sculpture. I love letting my kids pose for pictures!
{Thora, Tommy, Katie, Dancy}
Tommy wanted a picture with this plaque.
Almost, Katie, almost!
Just chillin'.
{Thora, Dancy, Samson}
Then we hit the Chinese market and came home with our haul. Not that these are traditional snacks, but they're part of my tradition because these were what I enjoyed eating in China...mostly when we were freezing cold in our apartment wearing 10 layers of clothes and cuddled under comforters in front of a space heater during the crazy winter with highs of 30 degrees with no indoor heat because the climate of that region is similar to Cuba. Good times! Marshmallows with jelly filling to be roasted later. Ah, sweet memories of teaching the Chinese to add that to their barbeque parties! Oh, and that's squid jerky in the middle. Good for the long days of rough traveling.
"Please, Mom, I want some more jello shot!"
Dinner: homemade egg rolls, yakisoba (yes, that's Japanese, but I wanted to eat it anyway), dumplings (frozen from Costco). (Recipes found here.)
And hot and sour soup. With my Asian spoons that I *finally* got for Christmas. I've only been wanting them for 10 years. And Shad says we should've gotten them forever ago. *eye roll*
Kids are always determined to use chopsticks any time I do. Samson made it work with his dumpling.
This girl is awesome. She wore her red shirt (that I bought at Walmart that time she was throwing up during the tire change) and put gold stars on it to create the Chinese flag. I love her!
We got to share our holiday with Shad's Dungeons & Dragons group that meets at our house every Thursday. CNY is best spent with friends and family, especially when I'm determined to have allllll my Chinese food I want to eat. We ate good food, snacks, and had fun taking *virgin* jello shots.
I took one of the cases of jello shots to my church volleyball group that I meet up with on Thursday nights. I thought it'd be fun to say that the losing team gets to take a shot (we usually have 5 or 6 games), but only a couple people tried one with me. So I ended up being the only one taking shots.
And then CNY day we had a pizza-game night with the Schroeders and saw fluffy low clouds over the city. No dragon and lion parades, but this'll do.
The Schroeders enjoyed the jello shots with us while we played Lords of Waterdeep.
