Friday, February 27, 2009

Paper Birds and Block Cities


Yesterday was a busier than usual day around here, but it went really well! The entire group of kids (except for a sleeping Sophie) spent 2 hours in the playroom on a mission. Their mission: using all the wooden blocks and all the Megablocks they all had to work together to create a city with buildings, homes, roads and they added a park, a swimming pool, a garden and a restaurant to the other types of buildings.
After the city was complete I got out the tubs of dinosaurs and animals and those became the city's inhabitants. They all had a great time playing. Near the end, the city was abandoned and overrun by small feet crashing through and over everything while the big kids negotiated their own swap meet: seting up fees for animals and currency became other animals or blocks. All in all they had a really good time and I've had at least one request that we do that again today! Reed and Emmy also paired up with me and we did a photo shoot - I took about 70 close up pictures of animals and dinosaurs posing for the camera.

After lunch in a very full kitchen, it was naptime for the little ones, bottle time for Sophie and the big kids watched Charlotte's Web while I got the paper bird activity ready. The activity went really well for them. I had pre-drawn patterns of 9 bird pairs for each kiddo to cut out. Then we taped paper clips to the inside of the bird pair and glued 2 of them together. They all did a really good job and enjoyed it. After making the birds it was time to make the bird houses which they had a blast doing as well. Sophie enjoyed hanging out in the kitchen watching the big kids work, but before long she was fast asleep - she must have thought all this paper birds stuff was for the birds! Then it was downstairs to play with their new pets and habitats.


Everyone had a good day and got along very well. Today Reed and Sophie's mom, Katie, brought a very fun painting activity for everyone to do this morning and I think the kids will all LOVE it! Thanks Katie! Maddi and her mom also put together a bag of fun stuff for us to use today, which everyone will love - thanks Maddi and Paula! I'll try to post another blog on today's activities during naptime this afternoon or tonight sometime.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Biskitts

I have got to find "The Biskitts" on dvd.... gotta love those little guys!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Crop Circles..... or...... Snow Circles?

I am sure that you all have heard of crop circles.... giant shapes pressed into fields that look like different symbols from the sky.... made my aliens.... :)

Well, our very own miss Bailey decided to create her own version of crop circles .... a.k.a.... snow circles! I'm sure that from some satellite out there in space this is some super secret dog code trying to rally her species in some kind of earth takeover. Until that time, we'll just continue to enjoy life on earth as we know it. :)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Valentine's Day Pictures & Update for the Week

Emmy and Sophie

I found a few minutes to post some of the pictures we took during Valentine's day week. The big kids had fun making heart-shaped felt Valentine holders and the younger kids enjoyed painting paper plate hearts to hold their valentines. Thanks to everyone who sent valentines to share - the younger kids especially enjoy this chance to exchange valentines and celebrate. They had a fun day!

And just an update so that everyone is aware of the schedule this week: there is no school Thursday and Friday. So Bria, Emma, Maddi, Max and Lexie will be here all day on Thursday and Bria, Emma and Maddi will be here all day on Friday. We will have a full house and I think it is supposed to be pretty cold those two days as well, so I am designating Friday as a moview day - everyone may bring 1 of their favorite movies to share. Just no "Bratz" or "Power Rangers"! Thanks! And also if parents could help me out by reminding the school-age kids that naptime is in the afternoon, so there will be some down, quiet, movie time at some point both afternoons. Thanks for everyone's cooperation as we work around having all the kids here - it always works out just fine..... it just takes a little more planning on my part! 10 kids all day is different than 5 kids all day!

Emmy baking sugar cookies for the party.


Rylee, Reed and Emmy painting the plates for their hearts and decorating hearts on Valentine's day.



Monday, February 23, 2009

Busy Weekend!


Wow.... did we have a busy weekend! In addition to trying to set up our computer - which is a doozy of a job! - we also traded in Jon's Mitsubishi Endeavor and got a Hyundai Sonata on Saturday. As anyone who has bought a car knows, that took all morning and into the afternoon to completely accomplish: starting with test driving the vehicle, deciding for sure that is the one we wanted, and then actually buying it. The girls were angelic and it worked out great!

30 minutes after closing the deal on the car, it was time to head to the UND women's hockey game. The girls had a really really good time at the game. Saturday was a national day of recognition for girls and women in sports as well, so they had most of the UND female athletic teams at the hockey game to sign autographs. Thankfully the girls were wearing their UND t-shirts, so we went around to all the tables and got autographs from the softball team, volleyball, tennis, track and field, and soccer. Emmy also took the opportunity to show off for a captive audience. She impressed the track and field team (and their coach) with her lightning fast speed. She also shared knock-knock jokes with some of the players. :) Bria and Emmy took advantage of every break in the game to dance to the music and they made it up on the Jumbotron 4 different times throughout the game - they were excited beyond all belief! Needless to say, it was a really fun game for them to attend.

We ended the day by going out to eat at our favorite chinese buffet. A pretty good end to a really busy day!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Back In Business I Hope!

After close to a week with no computer, I am delighted to be back online! We are having a few issues with this new one that Sarah gave us (thanks Sarah!), but I think we'll be able to figure it out and then start the process of getting all of our documents loaded and those kinds of fun details. And after I find the rest of our software and get everything officially up and going I'll have to post some fun pictures of the other things we've been busy doing. We spent last weekend completely rearranging our study/computer room and we are thrilled with the new arrangement.... better in a hundred ways. I also had time this week to make curtains for both of the girls' rooms, so that is our other project for this weekend - hanging up curtains and spring cleaning Bria and Emmy's bedrooms. We definitely won't be bored!
Well, I should go and see about finding the rest of our software and re-setting up all of our internet settings, etc. It's good to be back online!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Like Father, Like Daughter

I'm such a dork! That's not to say my dad is a dork...... what I mean to say is that my mom would probably say both my dad and I are dorks when it comes to trimming trees. I remember when we were little and dad would bring the boom truck over to the house to start the tree trimming process. Mom would get this look of fear on her face and my dad was in tree trimming heaven! Since moving up here, we have trees on our property that have been in constant need of trimming and pruning and upkeep. . . . and I find that is a job I really enjoy! (Other than trimming the pine trees.... they make me sneeze.) Sawing off branches that are no longer good and trimming up our trees to make them look nicer, to me, that gives me such a good feeling of accomplishment! So today when the city came by to trim the trees on our berm I quite honestly just wished they would let me out in the boom truck, hand me the chain saw and let me go to town. I think that me, in a boom truck, with a chain saw, is probably not the safest idea in the world, but it sure did look like fun!
Therefore.... I'm such a dork!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Another Great "Stuff Christians Like" Post

Ok.... here I am again... sharing a post from one of my favorite blogs that I like to check out during naptime: Stuff Christians Like. So here are "Prodigal Jon's" words....

Monday, February 9, 2009

#489. Not knowing how to drop a kid off at Sunday School.
The other day while waiting to spring my daughter L.E. from Sunday School someone cut in line. I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He was doing that thing my three year old does when we play hide and seek. She thinks that if she's got her eyes closed you can't see her either. So this guy was refusing to make eye contact with me and was instead just sliding over with an, "I don't see you. If I pretend there's not a well established line in the hallway and don't look at anyone you won’t be able to see what I'm doing."But I did, I did. So I started to think to myself, "Which does God hate more? People that cut in line when you're picking up your kid from Sunday school or people that think hateful thoughts about line cutters 19 seconds after they’ve listened to a sermon about loving their neighbor? On the one hand I am assuming this guy has gone to a fast food restaurant, bank, movie theater, sporting event or elementary school and is well aware of how a line works. On the other hand, I'm a jerk. Dang it. Be cool Jon. Be cool. The longer you wait in line the more time L.E. has to hoard goldfish for the ride home. It's going to be OK."

And it was. The whole thing was perfectly fine. No big deal. I moved passed my grumpy moment with relative ease, but there's one Sunday School situation I have a harder time forgiving – the poorly executed drop off.If you've got a kid, then you know exactly what I am talking about. If you don't have kids, you should print this out and put it somewhere safe. If you ever volunteer for Sunday School, you should hang this on your door in the hall. It's really win, win, win.

It's fun to laugh at this problem, but when you dig deep, when you really explore this issue with the degree of scientific analysis I have, you realize just how dire it is. Because when a parent bombs the Sunday School drop off, their kid cries and starts a chain reaction of tears in other kids. As soon as one class is crying other classes in the hall get on board and start screaming, too. Now a few dozen parents are late to church because they're calming their kids down. The worship leader notices that church feels a little empty and can't get a good clap going and feels downhearted. The pastor, trying to bring his A game, gets constantly interrupted as parents walk in late. He can't focus and ends up delivering a C level sermon that concludes with "So yeah, God loves. You should check into that." The offering suffers so the church can't pay their bills that month, which scares all the staff into looking for other jobs and the church has to shut down.

That's what's at stake when you blow a Sunday School drop off. Is that what you want, to close the church because you poorly executed what should be a simple church move? Not me, which is why I came up with three rules we all need to remember when dropping our kids off for Sunday School:

1. Don't break the plane.
Whenever I see a dad about to break the seal and enter a classroom I want to scream like I would at someone about to go into a dark room in a horror movie, "Don't go in there!" That’s the worst mistake you can make. Pretend there's an invisible force field that only accepts children and remain in the hall. You'll want to go in and help your kid take his coat off or get comfortable for the first few minutes or show him where the toys are. Resist those temptations. If you stay out of the room, then your kid will see that space as, "A room I play in." If you go into the room, your kid will see that space as "A room I used to play in with my dad." Waaaaaaa.

2. Don't linger.
The Cranberries once asked in a song, "Do you have to, do you have to, do you have to let it linger?" The answer is no, no you don't. Especially once you've already made the drop off. Get out of there as fast as you can. You'll be tempted to watch your kid play or mingle with other kids but you can do that when you're waiting in line to pick them back up. Right now, focus on your exit strategy. Don't sprint, because then you're the guy that runs in the halls at church, but speed walk away as fast as you can.

3. Don't look back.
Resist the urge to turn back as you walk away and give your daughter one more wistful look. You'll want to look over your shoulder and wave goodbye, or give them a "you can do it buddy, mommy will be back soon" smile, but don't. That's only going to make your kid sad all over again. I find it’s best to either walk in a direction that can’t be seen from the classroom or fade into a crowd like the good guy that shot the bad guy at the ferry scene in the movie Pelican Brief starring Hollywood's Julia Roberts. No one ever saw that guy and my kids don't see me either. I'm like a church chameleon.

I hope these rules will serve you well although I violated them tremendously yesterday. My wife and I agreed to help out in our three year old's class. We had a great time, but I promise you next week she is going to say, "Are you staying in my class today daddy?" And then I'll have to show her this essay only she can't read yet, so I'll probably just play her that Cranberries song and hope she understands.

Busy Daycare Kids

With the warmer weather the past week or so, we've been able to enjoy some more outside time for both the little kids and the big kids. We've also been busy getting ready for Valentine's Day and working on some coloring and activities. This Friday we'll have our Valentine exchange and celebrate Valentine's day here at the house. I think the kids are all excited about bringing Valentine's for each other.

Monday, February 9, 2009

New Glasses and Spaghetti Slurping

It seems as thought I have several fun new pictures to add: both of the daycare and our girls, but that will have to mostly wait until naptime this afternoon. I did want to add a quick video of the spaghetti slurping that Emmy is so proud of now that she is missing her two top teeth! She has become a master slurper!




Also, Bria picked up her new glasses last week and is delighted to have transition lenses so that they turn into sunglasses for her when she is outside... a definite perk for her. She has faithfully worn her glasses every day since she was about 15 months old and now she's enjoying these new ones.

Friday, February 6, 2009

For Tabbi

Apparently I have been negligent in the amount of posts this week, and as I have been a wee bit on the busy side today with playing out in the snow with the kids this morning, lunch, baking cookies this afternoon, getting an activity together for early-out afterschool kids, doing the activity (which was WAY more leader-involved than I anticipated), serving snacks, getting ready to give Sophie a bottle..... well, you get the idea. So - Tabbi - here is my posting! Thought I'd share a great video from 2 summers ago of Emmy singing the DuckTales song....

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Danny Oertli

I know a few of you have heard of Danny Oertli, but I am betting that most of you haven't. He is a Christian singer who Jon and I love to listen to. We heard him for the first time when we were counselors out at Camp ID-RA-HA-JE in Bailey, Colorado. Since then we've about worn out the cd we bought while out there! A few years ago he wrote a book on the love story of him and his wife who passed away called, "Mommy Paints the Sky". It's a great great story that you will be blessed by reading. If you enjoy vocals with guitar music, you will enjoy his music.

This song is called, "Fight For Me".


This song moves me to tears every time I hear it: "Dancing With Orphans"


This is a great song for moms! "If Ever You Worshipped"


You should check out his music if you are in the mood for someone new to listen to - music that reaches down and touches your soul.

Click here for a link to his "Nothing Left to Prove" cd.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Facebook Song

For all my friends and family who have Facebook accounts. My friend Sadie found this song on You Tube and I had to share it as well! Don't get me wrong - I thought Facebook was a blast.... but I got totally addicted within a day and found myself wanting to spend every spare moment on the facebook page.... for me, not a healthy choice! :) But I still love this song, so enjoy!

Fun with Family

We had a good time this weekend with my family celebrating my Grandma Wiuff's 90th birthday. She was so surprised to walk into the restaurant to find us all waiting there! Everyone in the family made it except for Megan's husband, Greg (he's back holding down the fort in North Carolina while they wait for their house to sell). It was so much fun to surprise her. And we all trooped up to her house after dinner for cake and for a chance to hang out some more. I really enjoyed the chance to chat with my cousins and their families because I hadn't seen them all since a year ago Christmas. We drove back home early on Sunday so we could make it back in time to watch the Superbowl - Mission Accomplished, unfortunately it was not a Kurt Warner win. :(

I think this is the first time we've gotten a picture of all the great-grandkids together with Grandma. What a crew!

Here are my parents, Connie & Larry and Alan with Grandma.

Tabbi and Tru enjoying Mickel's food! :)

The McDermott crew....

Mom and me
Emmy and Gramasaurus also had a chance to make some applesauce muffins together earlier in the day.

Emmy and Megan enjoying dinner. I had a great video of Emmy slurping spaghetti with her missing teeth, but I can't find it - so if I do, I'll get that posted too! :)