Spring break

We've had a great week here, not doing too much of anything! Jon stayed home for part of the day on Monday, which was a special treat (even if he wasn't feeling too good).

We also had a picnic at Castle Park:




Spent a couple of hours at the pool:




And today we went to the Great Park hoping to ride the orange balloon (though Nate already vowed not to ride it).



But it was too windy today, which meant no balloon ride. We rode the free carousel instead.




Nate and Lucy rode it again, while Levi preferred to snack:

Lucyisms

Yesterday, as we were driving home from the pool, an ice cream truck pulled up next to us. Lucy exclaimed, "Mama! It's a... it's a... a candy bus!!!"

Then last night, she remembered the time I took her to get a pedicure. "Mama, do you remember when we both went to the painting store? We should go there again together."

Lucy's room

Lucy got a mini room makeover this past week.

New bed, quilt, and pillow.





New sign for her play kitchen.





Rearranged wall decor (locations picked by Lucy, again)



My favorite part is still the dress quilts. :)

Why Nate was made for homeschooling

Nate has been doing this for the past few days, completely unprompted.

Something I've been trying to ignore: Hospitality toward those who need it most

I'm not a naturally hospitable person. I like to be alone. I don't like inviting extra work. But the Lord has been showing me in quite overt ways that I need to fix my attitude in this area.

Our neighbors one building down have one son, who is Levi's age. From what I can tell, they don't have many/any friends, and they are a bit... strange. The dad, who is really nice (and talkative), has a long beard and long hair and at one point had his truck covered in at least 100 bumper stickers (he took many off; there are probably a dozen now). The mom is a high school teacher, and she is just kind of weird. She says whatever is on her mind--often something rude. She walks onto our front patio and even into our house uninvited and lets her son do the same. Whenever she sees that the kids and I have come out to go on a walk, get the mail, or ride bikes, they come out too. I have a very hard time liking this woman and find myself ducking my head or hurrying inside to avoid her.

But the thing is... I know she is just lonely. I know she is not a believer. I know how I should act toward her--but I just don't want to. That is my fault.

This post hits the nail on the head. God is pointedly showing me someone who needs love and attention--things that I can give. I really don't want to give them, but that is no excuse!

Writing all of this out is a way to hold myself accountable: now I have to be intentional toward this girl. First on the list: inviting them to dinner. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bunk bed

I mentioned we got the new bunk bed. I love it! It looks great in Nate's room. Last night was Levi's first night out of a crib. He did GREAT, sleeping even later than usual this morning. :) Nate also loved sleeping on the top bunk. Today's nap time was the real test for Levi. He got up a few times but did finally fall asleep:



I love that sweet boy!

Levi-ism

We bought a bunk bed and mattresses for the boys on Craigslist today. (I'm so excited!) When Jon was bringing one of the mattresses in, Levi exclaimed, "Whoa, that's a big pillow!"

A "spirited child"

Lucy has gone back into a fussing-about-every-outfit-and-every-car-ride funk. I thought maybe it would just be a day or two thing, but last night Jon and I realized that it started back this way right at her birthday. That's two weeks ago, so it officially doesn't qualify as just a small step backward.

Oh, those weeks that she was doing great were so wonderful! They were a glimpse into what life could be like--life without someone screaming all day. Life without my stress level at 99.99% capacity.

I've been telling myself that my mood and my behavior should not depend on her mood or behavior. I know it in my brain, but I just can't seem to make it happen.

It's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel knowing that we've been dealing with this sort of stuff for 2 and a half years already!

Levi's new name

After watching the video again, I realize why he wasn't answering some of my questions: he thought I didn't want him eating those Rice Chex (because I had stopped him from eating one at the beginning of the video so he would say his name). I think that's also why he was turning the other way. Too funny.

Daddy is the best

Spin-a-slam + follow the leader = happy children

First lost tooth

Nate lost his first tooth today! I don't know why I'm so excited about it... I know this happens to every kid. I guess I just think it's extremely cute and such a "big kid" step. He's excited about the tooth fairy (although I'm surprised he isn't scared) and already wrote a note to her to tape to the bag his tooth is in.

The note reads, "Tooth Fairy In this bag is my tooth. Love Nate Varela."

He asked if he would see the tooth fairy, and I said no--she comes when we're asleep. He asked why, and I told him she is shy. So last night, after he was asleep, I found another note on his floor: "Tooth Fairy Don't be shy Love Nate Varela."

Who knew?

Talking to a fellow GFCFSF mom while on the women's retreat, I found out something I had never known: eggs contain soy. Nearly all chickens are fed a heavily soy-based diet, and it is present in their eggs, especially the yolk. How incredibly annoying! I was comforted a bit when I thought about how much egg Nate eats: not that much. I use 4 egg whites in his pancake mix--but that isn't bad since the soy is present in the yolks. He doesn't eat much straight/plain egg. Levi, on the other hand, eats a soft-boiled egg nearly every morning at breakfast (I was determined to get him to like them!).

I did some searching online and found some soy-free eggs, and the price is about the same as the soy-free eggs at Whole Foods (i.e., quite expensive). I might end up ordering my eggs online if I can't keep up with making it up to Whole Foods often enough (it isn't very close and is kind of a hassle to get to). I sure wish we lived somewhere where I could keep my own egg-producing chickens like Hallie!

Getting the mail

Going to get the mail is usually an hour-long adventure around here. It's just one building down the street, but there are sticks to be found, leaves to be swatted, holes to be dug, dirt to be flung, bikes to be ridden, high heels to be clicked.

Lucy is 4

Happy birthday, Lucy!



The kids helped me make the frosting for the cake yesterday.




Today we had a princess party, complete with a visit from Sleeping Beauty!

Our homeschool blog

I started this blog today for Nate and me to keep track of our homeschool ideas, outings, and discoveries:

Mama & Nate's Homeschooling Adventures

Nate was excited to get to write his own post. :)

"That's Nate." "No, that's Levi."

Sweet siblings

The boys

Nate has his first loose tooth!




The many faces of Levi:

Addressing an addiction

Over the weekend, on a wonderful women's retreat, Casey and I talked about our use (and overuse) of technology--computers, blog reading, emailing, TV watching, etc. I am guilty of using the computer way too much, so often for frivolous and meaningless things. I really don't need to read all those sewing and craft blogs. I really don't need to answer emails within an hour of receiving them. Probably 90% of my computer time is wasted time.

So now I'm making a conscious effort to limit my time on the computer. People will just get used to waiting all day to receive emails from me. I am going to stop reading almost all of the blogs I usually frequent. Goodbye, Young House Love; I don't really need you. I am going to keep the TV off when Lucy and Levi are home in the mornings.

I will never look back on my life and say, "I wish I'd spent more time on the computer." But I know I might look back and say, "I wish I'd spent more time just playing with the kids."

I'll still post on the blog--don't you worry, Nannie and Mama--because I do find this blog meaningful to my family and to me. But I'm saying goodbye to meaningless, wasted time!

Today's pics

The kids are having a lot of fun today with this long tube that came with some fabric. It's a perfect car tunnel.