Happy late St. Patricks Day!

When It Rains....

....it pours.  Especially in Charleston.  3 of the last 4 days have been indoor-rainy days.  And we are antsy.  Friday we went to the Library in the pouring rain and came home to snuggle down for lots of reading and long naps.  Saturday we stayed inside all day, except a brief trip for just Sean and myself to Barnes n Noble (we have been reading Stuart Little, and as we neared the end Jamesie got his hot little hands on it and not only tore out an entire chapter, but ripped the pages in half so there was no putting them back.  You better believe I took $6 out of his piggy bank to buy a new copy).  Sunday gave us a reprieve long enough to play in our soggy backyard for a short period, and now here we are on a gross Monday, rainy, gray and cold....in a word...February.

So, what to do on a rainy February day that has turned into 4 rainy February days and the usual crayons, water colors and trains just aren't cutting it? (btw, Sean has school T-W-Th, when Jamesie has speech....and it has happened to rain Friday-Monday when we have very little "built-in" activities except for an hour at church Sunday morning). This morning, faced with the daunting reality of yet another day inside with my three little loves I founds myself literally googling "what to do with kids on a rainy day" just to inject some new ideas into our home.  Here is a list of some of things we've been doing, thanks in part to more creative mom-blogs than mine, Pinterest, and good reading skills:

1. Read.  We checked out Little House in the Big Woods from the Library on Friday.  Started it Saturday morning, and finished it before naps today (Monday).  Sean is a reading machine.  At one point today he looked up from the book and said "We are dominating this book!"  I LOVE that chapter books don't intimidate him, as they did me for so long...I love that he loves to read.  I love when we come to the end of a long chapter he lights up and says "can we read another chapter!?"  While his reading skills are certainly blossoming, Cody and I read this one to him, with him reading some words and sentences here and there.  And by here and there I mean all over the house.  We read 229 pages in just over 48 hours with a four-year-old.  We have snuggled down and read everywhere. 

I love Little House, and always imagined reading the books with my daughters.  I never noticed how interesting they are to boys.  One entire chapter was about nothing but meat and guns.  After reading it Sean told Cody, I really love meat and guns. 

I've also be re-inspired by Laura's stories.  Ma works hard and doesn't complain.  I have it easy with a washing machine, dryer and dishwasher.  The least I can do is use them regularly. 

Even Cody has enjoyed reading Laura Ingalls Wilder.  At least the parts about meat and guns. 

 

2. Do science experiments: We used a little book my sister gave us for Christmas called "Solids, Liquid and Gases" and did things such as fishing for ice, racing raisins in club soda, holding a glass of water upside down with nothing but cardboard (and air pressure) holding the contents in, etc etc. 

 

 

3. Go for a haircut.  Yes, this involves leaving the house.  But at least we didn't waste any nice-weather days sitting inside getting a haircut.  Plus, we got lollipops. 

 

 

 

4. Paint....without brushes.  This little gem I found during my desperate google search this morning.  It goes something like this (enjoy "after" pics of haircuts below):

Make dots oall over your work space (we used an old shirt box cut out)

With whatever paint you have around the house.

Hold it up.  (make sure to have a plastic tablecloth)

Shake it around.  Repeat dots, holding, shaking....about a million times. Take off your shirt somewhere in the middle of the million times so not to ruin it. 

Art. 

 (and it was only 9:40 a.m. at the end of this....a looooong monday to say the least.) 

 

5. Make a self-size box costume.  Or robot, or monster, or truck, or whatever one makes out of a box with head and arms cut-outs.  Allow the kids to paint and color as much as they want on the box.  The box is a changeling depending on what they need it to be at different times of day.

 

 

And some other gems I didn't get a picture of in the last few days:

 

6. Make a fort (duh).  Our fort was awesome....complete with a lantern inside, a reading area and a playing area.  I have a feeling it will be going up again this afternoon.

 

7. Have a manners-date with your kids.  Toward the end of our long morning today even I was getting antsy.  I told the kids if they ate a good lunch, quickly and without complaining, we could go to the new cafe down the street for a treat before naps (yes, i know, leaving the house again, but car-to-door distance was about 10 feet--worth it to get out).  Each boy brought their money from their grandparents' Valentine's gift (what was left of Jamesie's after the Stuart Little fiasco).  We talked about manners and they eached practiced 1. ordering, 2. napkins on laps, 3. elbows off the table, 4. looking at the waitress when saying "please" and "thank you."  Sean did awesome--he loves rules.  Jamesie did a decent job of saying thank you and sitting still...for a few minutes.  He's also only 2, so he pretty much did a great job for a 2 year old. Sis killed it sitting still in her stroller and eating her sock.  We only ordered dessert (I got a cup of soup and Diet Coke), so it was short enough they weren't going nutso, but exciting enough to keep them engaged, and fun enough that they will remember some of the manners practicing--hopefully!

 

8. Have a long bath.  After the painting this morning we'll be utilizing our afternoon time with a long bath where the boys can play as long as they want to.  Bedtime will be less stressful and we'll take up a good chunk of time getting warm and clean this afternoon!.

 

9. Play Mad Dog.  Laura Ingalls taught us this one around page 34.  Pa, or Cody, makes his hair look wild, drops to all fours and pretends to be a mad dog (or wolf, or panther), chasing little boys around the house.  All boys and mad dogs are allowed to scream as loud as they want indoors without any motherly interference.  Only to be done when the baby is awake. 

 

10.  Bake.  Since its Lent I'm thinking of trying zucchini muffins this afternoon.  Not thrilled about eating zucchini instead of some combination of cinnamon, flour, butter and sugar, but its a challenge to bake something new. 

 

11. Let the kids watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iPad and decide not to be annoyed by it.

 

OK, I did have a picture of this one.  Still working on not being annoyed by (a) too much iPad usage and (b) Mickey's voice.  And I just heard Minnie say "mouska-music-maker."  Really trying. 

 

Anyone else have out-of-the-ordinary rainy day activities to keep us entertained?  What do you do when you're stuck inside all day?  

 



Lenten sacrifices

This year for Lent the three oldest people our home have given up some pretty difficult things, which will prove to be a good sacrifice to remind us of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice.  Sean declared at Sunday School that he is giving up "watching Cars" (the movie).  That's about as good as it gets for a four year old-- we were very proud of him.  I'm giving up dessert/sweets (ugh!) and Cody is giving up beer (at home....long story).  I'm declaring that sis is giving up night feedings and, well, jamesie is doing his own thing this Lent, as usual.

This morning Sean added another item to our list of Lenten sacrifices:

Erin: OK guys, remember today is a Friday in Lent, so we don't eat meat.
Sean: You mean we don't eat people.

So, we'll see how we do with this new resolution...its a tough one, Wish us luck!

From My Front Porch Looking In...

The other night Cody got home a few minutes early--just enough time for me to squeeze in a quick run before dinner.  I came home right around dusk to a charmingly lit up home with my husband cooking a warm dinner on the stove and two boys playing with each other in the family room.  There's a great country song that came into my head that goes something like "the view I love the most is my front porch looking in...."  I ran in to grab the camera to preserve the beautiful home I am blessed to come home to after a quick run. 

And, if you look closely into the window to our kitchen, you'll see the manliest of men holding a baby on his hip while stirring the spaghetti sauce on the stove. Am I the luckiest or what?

Pretty Pretty Baby!

This weekend I fulfilled a dream of mine.  It all started years ago when my mom had my ears pierced when I was six weeks (yes, weeks) old.  I never liked wearing earings as a kid, but I have always thought a little baby with earrings is the most irresistable, cutest little thing possible!  Having my ears pierced as a baby my mom and I never battled over when to have them peirced, who was going to take care of them, or other typical struggles over pierced ears.  I also pretty much neglected my piercings for a good decade as a child and they never closed up.  I just took for granted that I had my ears pierced and I could use them or not as I chose. 

Having a girl baby after two boy babies means a lot of fun in the form of pink, hair bows, coordinated "outfits," and now jewelery accessories.  I was an athletic tomboy, and I suspect with two big brothers Sis will eventually follow this route as well.  But, I also want her to know that its OK to be pretty and feminine at the same time, and to have the option to exercise her feminity in the form of pretty earrings and accessories if she so chooses.  Its OK to climb trees, run in the dirt, ride bikes, and do flip throws--all with pretty gold studs in your ears.  So, this weekend Sis hit another milestone in her life-- pierced ears.  Enjoy:

Major Accomplishments!

Our kids have been growing leaps and bounds lately and amazing me every day.  All of them have hit major milestones and accomplished life-changing skills in the last few weeks.  Proof:

1.  Sis ate solid food:

As long as she has another spoon in her hand, she does pretty well.  Cody says he forgets how frustrating it is to feed a tiny baby--she pushes each bite out of her mouth three or four times before getting about half of it down the hatch.  Tonight at dinner we turned to find her leaning over and atually sucking food off of her bib--maybe I should just spoon it directly onto the bib next time.  Hoepfully some solid food will bump her weight up a bit  in time for her next doctor appointment. 

 

 

2. Jamesie traded in diapers for dry underpants! 

 

We tried potty training Jamesie 5 or 6 months ago and it was pretty much a disaster.  After a while we put away the potty (and the pressure) and forgot about it until after the holiday travel and excitement.  This time around (2 weeks ago) we offered one M&M for dry underpants every 15-20 minutes, and 2 for success on the potty.  It worked like a charm!  Jamesie caught on quickly on the first day and has had dry pants ever since!  We started on Saturday morning and he went to church with underpants on Sunday.  I am seriously so proud of him.  He is dry all day-- car rides, speech lessons, getting Sean at pre-school.  Not peeing in your pants is an important life skill, Jamesie, enjoy it. 

 

3.  Sean read a book by himself!

 



 

Sean has entered the amazing world of reading by himself!  He read an entire 5-story Berenstain Bears book to me a week or two ago, and his teacher at school said he's moved on to level 2 Montessori book on his own!  It is so exciting to watch his love for reading and books develop into something he can control himself.  Last week we read Charlotte's Web together and he loved the rhythm and suspense of a chapter book.  We are starting Stuart Little this week, and then we  have been talking about diving into either the Narnia or Little House series.  I have also been leaving notes for Sean in his lunchbox and on his whiteboards around the house (something like: "Sean-I love you!  You are a great reader!") which he reads with ease.  The other day I wrote on his board, "Let's go to the store and buy food for s'mores," and he read it without pause on his first try.  So we did.  He's so awesome.  





Happy Zero and a Half, Sis!

Sis turned 6 months old last week, or as Sean said, she turned zero and a half.  At zero and a half, Annalisa is such a light in our lives! She is an amazingly good baby (I once described her to the doctor as "freakishly good," and upon poking and prodding her without so much as a whine, he agreed, "wow, she really is freakishly good.").  In the parlance of the Baby Whisperer, Sis is an "Angel Baby." (For reference, Sean was textbook and Jamesie was "sensitive.").  We often forget she's in the room.  And, while we're hittig a little roadblock with her nighttime sleeping right now after holiday travel and winter flu season, on the whole, she has been a great sleeper and eater, sleeping through the night for the first time at 4 weeks!

Now at 6 months, Annalisa is all smiles and laughs during the day.  Just in the last week or two she has started rolling ALL over, grabbing at everything, putting everything in her mouth and squirming her way all over an entire room.  I think she's definitely the most mobile of our babies. 

Our boys love her so much.  Jamesie has started calling her "tay-tee" for Sissy and yelling "Tay-tee, yeeeeaaaaa!" when she rolls over or grabs a toy.  He wants her to eat real food desperately and says "Tay-tee, eat! more!" whenever I bring her downstairs.  Sean is constantly kissing her face and her head and making her laugh.  They love offering her toys and watching her develop interest in them. 

Here are some shots of our beautiful girl from the last few weeks:

 

Oh, and by the way, for Sis's 6-month birthday, she got a nasty virus from her brothers which resulted in an ear infection and thus her first taste of antibiotics.  She has come through it like a trooper. 

 

And her six-month stats are sort of hilarious:

Height: 28 inches: 99th %

Weight: 14 lbs 5 oz: 19th %. 

(she gained 4 ounces in the last 3 months.  eek!)