Spring Fever…Take Two and Don’t Call

So, I have been lax with my blogging.

I could give a million reasons, but really I am just trying to slow down a bit and enjoy my time with the boys. Enjoying my days means taking more time to relax at night instead of pursuing 100 ambitions that run like hamsters on the wheel all night, if I let them.

On the other hand, I have grand goals set to accomplish before returning to work in 4 months from planning my whole year of teaching 7th grade English in advance to finishing my novel to organizing my whole house. If only a fraction of this gets done I will be disappointed, but I guess it will be better than not setting out to accomplish anything (then again maybe there are merits to that too).

Therefore, balancing relaxing with my crazed mind has taken up a lot of my time and energy these days.

I am posting tonight and trying to post more for my #1 fan, my mom. She has been working hard fighting “the man” lately, and deserves to have a little chuckle and smile by seeing what her daughter and grandchildren are up to these days.

We are still hiking, and it is by far my favorite activity, even on days like today when no one seems to want to cooperate and spring fever has becomes some form of diagnosable mania. Being outdoors with my boys has an air of solitude, peace, and natural joy wrapped up in it, even though the pastoral image is punctuated by, “Use your walking feet,” “Please stop running,” “Walk!” and, “If you run one more time, you are going in time out.”  Truly, I love it. Even when I look more like I want to throw one of my three adorable, woods-loving children into the pond and go eat a slice of greasy pizza at the mall.

So, ever so appropriately,  here are some lovely photos of Peter trying desperately, and rather strongly to fall into the pond with the carp.

The other boys loved the fish too.

I couldn’t believe the fish were coming close enough for the boys to touch them, but I must admit I let out a sigh of relief when we moved on.  Our fearless leader, Miss Elaine, stated that she never once had a child fall in, and I decided I didn’t want to be the mother of the first one who did.

But Peter had other ideas of how to drive me nuts.

It’s hard to tell from the photo that we are with a group, because Peter went his own way and squealed when I tried to persuade him otherwise.  Clark seemed amused by the whole thing, while Simon ran ahead in the exact opposite direction of Peter.

Clark’s devilish grin.

Despite my wrestling to contain the boys, I was able to take in some of the sheer beauty of Deep Cut Gardens.

Peter found peace by noshing on some baby carrots, before taking off again full throttle.

However, he faded a fast and took some much-needed breaks.

Like I said though, even when hiking goes wrong…it feels so right.

Look! It’s Moss!

After getting a taste of hiking up a real mountain (though admittedly not one of the highest), I have been eager to it again. I even signed my husband and I up for a hike this Sunday, though he changed his mind and we won’t be going. I am disappointed, but he is right that two weekends in a row is a bit much. I guess the pressure of going back to work has made me a bit frantic about squeezing everything in now.

This means that I will just have to make the most out of our toddler hikes. Today we went to Turkey Swamp Park out in Freehold. It was a bit of a drive, yet it was fun to just relax and sing along with the radio. I jokingly asked Clark if he thought we would see any turkeys at Turkey Swamp Park, when suddenly hit the brakes, because right there, walking on someone’s front lawn, were 8 of the biggest turkeys I have seen in my life!

Pretty cool way to start the day. Thankfully no one was driving behind me!

When we arrived, our leader immediately asked about the Appalachian Trail trip. I was thrilled to relate the details to someone I know appreciates my sense of wonder and excitement about it all. She was the one who inspired me to start hiking in the first place. I felt like a proud teacher’s pet.

Well, we set off into the woods. The weather was perfect, cool and overcast with breaks of sun. We were greeted by some geese next to the beautiful lake.

The water looked like a painting. Peter was sleepy from the car ride and nestled into my side in the carrier. Clark was walking a bit ahead with the park volunteer, chatting his ear off, and Simon happy to have his trail map. I thought, “Wow this is going to be a nice easy day.” Then, out of the blue, Clark’s usual obsession with moss turned into a manic hysteria. The nutty boy started bending down to pet every patch of moss, and believe me there were thousands of patches of moss. He kept calling, “Miss Elaine, Miss Elaine…look moss.” At first it was cute. I even snapped a few photos.

But then, Simon started petting the moss too and yelling for Miss Elaine. Then, Peter wanted to get down and check out the moss. I tried to quietly encourage Clark to calm down about the moss, but he would just spot another patch and start yelling, “It’s more moss.” Peter wouldn’t walk ahead with the group because it took him longer to feel each patch of moss and was getting left behind. It was like some comedy skit, except I, the laid back mom, was starting to lose my patience. I wanted to just yell, “Okay we see the moss now shut up.” But I couldn’t. I kept politely smiling when the other parents commented, “He really likes moss, huh,” in sarcastic tones.

Then I caught my friend Karen’s eye, and her smile snapped me back to the reality that this is hardly something to get so frazzled by. It was actually quite amusing. So, I took a loud, long deep breath and asked Clark to pose by some of his beloved moss.

The rest of the hike was full of sweet surprises.

The volunteer, Rocky, picked up a frog that one child found, and everyone got to take a close look. (Not sure why it didn’t pee on him like the frogs did when I picked them up as a kid.)

Peter did a great job walking on his own for a good portion of the 1.5 mile hike. But, when he fell behind, his big bro Simon was there to help him out.

The forest was popping with springtime beauty.

I hope you get a chance to go out and spend some time with nature too. We are heading out for an evening hike in a couple of hours.

 

Reaching for More

Life is easy when you stick to what you know.

Do what you do best.

But, there is more to life than easy. It is the struggles that make us strong. The obstacles that make us try. The disagreements that make us think. The sorrow that makes us appreciate our smiles. The anger that drives us to action.

Life is lived in between the lines marking off the path we think we ought to take.  When you stick to what you know, you grow like a plant towards a light source. Always leaning….always missing the other side.

For my birthday, I wanted to push myself. Try something new.

I have done a lot of hiking with the boys, and I credit that time in the woods for helping my heart heal this year. Stepping away from the politics of education, and into the quiet of the woods has given me the space and time to look inward (in between keeping Peter from the poison ivy and doling out endless snacks). Homeschooling gave not only my children the freedom to learn without restriction or predetermined course, but me too.

So, to honor this, I wanted to go on a hike on my own without the kids. To pursue this door that has opened just a crack in my life. So I signed up for a hike on the Appalachian Trail in NJ and convinced my friend and mother-in-law to come too. I had no idea how hard it would be, nor (thankfully) how many bears and snakes were out there. But, it was every bit as incredible as I thought it could be.

The physical challenge, the quiet and solitude of a mountaintop glacial lake, the beauty of the woods, the camaraderie of friends and strangers, the letting go of being “mom” for a day, heck even the peeing in a privy that had been gnawed on by bears was priceless.

I did something I never thought I would do. And I loved it.

I don’t know if I will ever be a hardcore through hiker traversing the trail in its entirety from Georgia to Maine, or if I will ever spend even one night in the back woods braving the bears in the darkness of night. But, I do know that my feet walked some of the same dirt and rocks (oh the rocks) that many a hardcore hiker has stepped upon over the past 70+ years.

It pains me to think that the world is our oyster, and we let so much of it pass us by because it seems like it’s not for us. Or doesn’t fit our personality. So, I vow to try something new or stretch a bit farther in something old every year from now on.

Then when I blow out my ever-multiplying candles, I won’t have to wish… for I will have lived.

Appalachian Trail Official Marker

NJ State Flower

Evidence of bears trying to get into the bear box (where campers store thing that might attract bears).

I came home to a wonderful homemade dinner and birthday cake. Thanks to my hubby who watched the boys all day.

 

Ahh…Park Day

So, I had every intention of doing circle time this morning. I had my letter Y book ready to go.  Even  my craft idea was solidified in my head. The kids were happy, tummies full of homemade waffles from the batter that my dear hubby had stayed up to prepare the night before.

Then suddenly it was 10am.  I have a rule, based on many failed attempts, that circle time must happen no later than 9:30am or it will be a disaster. I tried to round them up for circle time anyway, but Clark looked me dead in the eye and said, “I don’t want to go to circle time today.” Then Simon chimed in, “I don’t either.” I stood there hesitating, debating on how severe a crime it was to ditch circle time again even though we hadn’t done it since Monday. We were up early….we really should. But, Clark is too quick. He saw my hesitation and went in for the kill, “Mom, not even Baby Peter wants to go.”

How could I argue?

I packed a lunch, filled the water cups, and we were out the door by 10:15.

These pictures are more beautiful than my words, so I will let them stand alone tonight. I truly was a gift of a day with my boys. My only wish was that my husband could have been there too.

Ahh…to stop and smell the roses. Well, the cherry blossoms anyway.

Natural Progressions

Just as the trees have been busy bursting into bud and bloom, our family has been really coming to life in the past week. Even after a mild winter, the warmth of the sun is an intoxicating force, driving us to accomplish more and to get outside as much as possible.

My camera is full of photos since my last post, so thankfully I was able to sneak out of bed early to catch up a bit on organizing them and hopefully a post or two.

Yesterday, we got back on track with a learning day dedicated to spring. We started with a collage of flowers.

But, as you can see, Peter was feeling left out. So I gave him a pile of his own.

Then, we played flower showers until Peter lost his breath from laughing too much.

Meanwhile, the collages came out beautiful.

  

Then we headed outside, to play. It was windy and chilly, but still warmer than winter. As the boys were riding bikes, I saw the sidewalk chalk and had an idea. It is X week, so why not play tic-tac-toe?

Clark is old enough to understand the game, and Simon enjoyed jumping up and down shouting, “I win!”

Peter went shopping instead.

I kept thinking of a way to get Simon more involved, and came up with a jump on the x’s game.

Then an idea struck Clark. He grabbed the chalk and created a letter jumping game for Simon. He kept Simon interested by telling him that if he named the letter correctly before jumping then when he jumped he would break my back. I played along and collapsed in pain every time he did until we were all a bundle of giggles.

It was really neat to watch them work together, naturally learning from each other. I have been thinking a lot about ways to get Clark motivated to practice writing his letters more, and here the answer came naturally, organically, and from him. The added bonus of Simon getting practice with his letters was enough to make the teacher in me beam.

If you would have asked me last week if the boys liked sidewalk chalk, I would have said not at all. Just a few weeks ago, I tried a similar game with jumping on numbers, and the boys wouldn’t even try it despite my having written the numbers 1-20 on the ground ( a surprisingly tiring task).

This goes to show that every activity is worth trying again after taking a break from it. Sometimes the slightest changes will be enough to spark the interest of little ones.

And Peter showed some emerging literacy skills…okay I admit he was really just trying to sneak a taste of the tempting chalk.

Clark then applied his knowledge from doing bars at gymnastics, and covered his hands in chalk so he could climb onto the car without slipping.

It was so ingenious that I let them have fun and promised to take them to the car wash that I never got chance to during W week.

Ahhh, spring.

 

Wind, Worms, and Wonder

Last week was kind of a wash when it came to school stuff. Peter was sick with what we finally figured out was roseola, and spent the week glued to me day and night due to waves of fevers.

So, this week is letter W part 2. We started of running. The boys and I were excited to be back in our groove. Now that I know that I will be heading back to work in September, I am even more determined to make the most of our time.

We read “How Does the Wind Walk” by, Nancy White Carlstrom, which was perfect for a windy spring day. We talked about the wind. Where it comes from? How do we know it’s there? What does it blow? What can’t it blow?

Then we experimented using our own “wind” to move objects.

Clark thought my inclusion of a rock was pretty funny. He nearly turned blue trying to get it to move with his breath.

What’s life with out a little messy fun?  This dry oatmeal.

Once the boys exhausted my collection of objects to blow across the table, Peter walked into the kitchen with a plastic golf ball. Aha!

The boys got such a kick out of the game, especially when the ball rolled off of the table and Peter laughed as it bounced across the tile floor.

The boys had a little more air left in them, so I watered down some washable tempura paint and we painted with the wind.

Then we tried blowing the primary colors together to create swirls of secondary colors.

I put it outside to dry, only to turn and find Peter trying to do some foot painting.

Of course, Clarkie thought that too was hilarious.

Finally we bundled up and headed out into the windy day. I started picking weeds (not my favorite W week activity, but necessary) and came across a big fat worm.  I must be a changed woman for I picked it up with my fingers to bring it to the patio for the boys to inspect.

Clark was so worried a bird would swoop down and eat it that he kept throwing handfuls of dirt over it.

So I had no choice but to pick it up again so that the boys could all watch how it wiggled across my palm. Then, brave Simon wanted to hold it too.

Clark got curious, then gave it a try too.

Then like a true naturalist, he wanted to rush to return the little worm back to his home in the soil.

What a wonderful day! And we managed to do all of this before 10:30am!

We all needed a rest after that.

Pack as Light as Possible (But Don’t Forget Anything)

Our friends recently came back into our lives, after the birth of a new baby girl and a month-long trip to Israel. We were so excited to meet the baby, reunite with our friends, and spend some time at the beach enjoying the 80 degree weather in March.

I had to smile when my friend sent me the following text:

“Now to figure out how to do it. 🙂 I haven’t been to the beach yet with three…any tips?”

I remember when just going to the pediatrician with one infant that slept most of the day seemed like an impossible feat. Now I find myself giving advice on how to get out the house with three children…and to the beach no less!   Wow, I have come a long way.

I replied:

“Lol pack as light as possible but don’t forget anything.”

I have learned to streamline all of our stuff into a small diaper bag and a lunch bag. So far it hasn’t let me down.  But when I saw our friends schlepping across the parking lot with smiles and an insane amount of stuff, my smile only grew. It was a picture of a family growing; it’s branches spreading, leaves sprouting, and reach a bit closer to the sky. That tiny little head poking out of the turquoise baby wrap like a turtle emerging cautiously from its shell, immediately brought back memories of learning how to do everything with my Moby wrap on.

We hugged and caught up on each other’s lives. The kids, shy at first warmed up quickly to one another, while Peter enjoyed his independence.

The boys found the coolest insect I have seen in a long time. I researched online and identified it as an American Oil Beetle (worth a Google image search). No information on whether it is toxic to eat, but thankfully I put my camera down in time to save Peter who was desperately trying to taste the odd creature.

The boys love being outside.

The beach is slowly starting to fill up during the day, though it is nothing compared to the droves that will flock there this summer. But still we felt sort of like we were on our own private island.

For now, we are loving the stress free fun on the beach. No fear of losing the kids in the crowds (remember we have 6 kids between us). The boys just frolicked and chased the waves out and ran away as they returned.

Poor Simon tripped on one run. But it wasn’t long before he was back at it again.

     

When I met my friend for the first time, back in September, it was at the beach. It is amazing to see how much they have all grown. Yet Peter was still in the wrap, this time not because he couldn’t yet walk, but for his late morning nap. I couldn’t help, but look at out six children and want to think ahead to next year. But, what good would that do.

We are here now. And when you live in the moment you must pack light, and try hard to pay attention. Because who would want to forget even a tiny sliver of these moments?

Take it Outside

It’s officially W week. Where does the time go. With one letter a week, it is incredible how quickly Z is approaching. I am so grateful to myself for keeping up this blog for now almost 7 months. This time with the boys is so precious. As time runs away from us all, it’s important to grasp and hold on to what we can.

So in looking for W books last week, I grabbed “Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book” by, Pamela Duncan Edwards. Though the book has next to nothing to do with warthogs, the book is adorable and teaches primary and secondary colors in a funny way. I will say that the illustrator, Henry Cole, knows what kids like and are like. The boys giggled at all the spilled paints in the book, though thankfully did not reenact it when we started painting.

I have spoken a lot about how much I value the recycling bin for projects, but this was the first time I used old egg cartons as paint pallets. It is amazing, and perfect for little clumsy hands.

We started with the primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. Then the boys mixed to create their own secondary colors.  (I helped by washing the brushes in between mixes, and adding more primary colors as needed.

The boys had started to paint the inside of the lid, when I surprised them with where we were going to paint. At first Clark guessed that we would be painting on the kitchen wall, like the warthogs did in the book. We both laughed at that one.

Needless to say the back porch was a pretty cool consolation prize.

Peter was only slightly curious and watched for a few minutes before heading off on his own backyard adventures.

I also thought it was cool that Clark reproduced the warthogs’ rainbow without me even suggesting it.

So are your kids tired of doing the same old crafts or activities? Try taking them outside to breathe fresh air into old winter standbys.

Peter even got a hip punk rock hair do out of it!

The Importance of Family

As the date when I have to decide about my plans for next year creeps closer (April 1), I have found myself in a constant state of soul-searching. And I have come to terms with the fact that my soul still aches from the hole that will forever remain inside of me, the hole that his passing carved so deeply within the fibers of who I am.

Though I know I can’t call him and discuss the pros and cons of my choices until my ear gets so sweaty that my cell phone shuts down….but that doesn’t mean that the urge is not there.

We still talk, and his answers come just as they would’ve had he been here. He never would have given me a straight answer, just as he never would tell me who he voted for or what religion to believe in. He always gave me the power to be me, even when that “me” meant shaving my head in the backyard while my mom was out food shopping (yes he did it for me) or dying what hair I had left bright blue.  My dad in life and death is enigmatic.

However, one thing he was always clear on was the importance of family. Not that he would tell me I should stay home with the kids, but that there is no better place to find solace when I am in need than with my family.

So, I asked my mom and older brother, Matt, to come and visit this past weekend.

I think if you look closely, maybe you could see my dad’s smiling face in the clouds or hear his deep laughter in the whisper of the wind.

I Could Get “U”sed to This

So, I guess I am going to resort to weekly posts. Baby Peter is going through a phase (I hope) of waking up after an hour or two of sleep and needing to sleep with or on someone.

We are total suckers. We keep talking about getting him back in his crib, but neither one of us is willing to put in the effort. It’s not so bad though, since the reward is going to bed early and getting to snuggle with the cutie pie.

  

Even covered with food, he is just too cute!

Despite, my lack of blogging time, school has been going very well lately. We are really in a groove with our routine and the boys have been exhibiting incredible creativity and imagination. Two qualities that make my life as their teacher very easy.

This week we uncovered the underrepresented letter U. Our favorite book of the week was, “The Underground Gators” by, Tina Casey that is based on the urban legend that alligators live in the sewers of New York City. Being a family that loves animals and New York City, it was an instant hit.

I stapled a black cover sheet to a drawing of a sewer pipe, and the boys had to use their imaginations to think about and paint/draw what was in their pipes.

The boys thought it was hysterical to have a hidden picture.  Clark was difficult to photograph because when I would pick up my camera he would flip his shut and laugh.

I then helped the boys pull on their rain boots, and we headed out to hunt for gators in the sewers. Stopping a long the way to discover what else lived underground.

We found a slug hiding in a hollow, rotting acorn.

We inspected the parts of different plants that were underground.

But, the main event was the gator hunt.

Unfortunately or fortunately there were no gators to be found.  But the day was so gorgeous that no one was disappointed.

We also made umbrellas, despite the lack of rain this week.  However, I am sure we will have plenty of rainy day puddles to splash in soon.

I can hardly believe we are so close to finishing the alphabet. It’s bittersweet. This school year with the boys has been better than I could have imagined when I first thought of the idea of homeschooling. The bond we have created as a family will last forever.

Next year will bring many changes to our lives, but change is good even when what you’ve got going is pretty darn good too.

With spring in the air, it’s hard to be anything but optimistic.