The Hippo Song - Concluded!

Here is our final project from the Hippo Song. Finally, the books are done and are ready to be taken home. :) We've been talking a lot about farm animals lately... maybe an Old McDonald book will come next?

New Friends :: Announcement!!!

I *STILL* haven't sent home the "The Hippo Song" books. I guess not having that ink cartridge was only a good excuse until it finally arrived last week. Now, I just need to find another hour or two in the day!

But, busy-ness and work won't keep us from having TONS of fun this summer!

I'm SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED to announce that we have two new friends!! Matthew is 2 - he is a friend of our family and we are going to play with him for 2-3 days a week this Summer until September or so! He's super cute and his favorite activities are eating (hehe) and being outside! I can't wait to have water play with this little man!!

I'm also SUPER DUPER EXCITED to announce that our newest full-time friend, Aaron, is officially starting this Wednesday! Two-and-a-half year old Aaron will join us on Wednesdays for a couple of weeks until he goes full time in July. Aaron's favorite activities are (well, I don't know him that well... so I'm just guessing here..) talking (hehe.. he has an exceptional vocabulary!) and being outside - rain, snow, sleet, or humid. I can't wait to play with him everyday!!

With the boys being outnumbered here for the last two years (Noah has been the man of the house... even the dog is a girl!), it's time that they catch up and overtake! Have I mentioned yet that I'm REALLY REALLY EXCITED!?!?! I love it when the kids make new friends. Having someone different in the house really changes the dynamics around here. Such fun!

Deanna Rose Farmstead

We've been talking a whole lot about farm animals around here! We're learning their sounds, what they look like, how they walk, and what they do for us.

So, isn't it befitting that we managed a trip to the Deanna Rose Farmstead today! To truly appreciate this field trip, you should know that trips do not happen without a wee little bit of planning. On field trip days like today, the following three ring circus must take place in the morning:

Pack snacks

fill water bottles/sippy cups

pack diapers/wipes/hand sanitizer/kleenex/change of clothes

check first aid kit

install extra car seat

take the wagon apart and stuff it in the trunk

change diapers/visit potty

apply sunscreen and bug spray

get camera, cell phone, emergency backpack that has children's important records

load STUFF into the car

load the kids into the car one at a time, while the kids who are left to wait their turn are crying and sad because they're not currently being loaded into the car nowrightnow

buckle everybody's seatbelts and crank the air conditioner, check fuel level, scan tires/car's condition and GO!

And then, once arriving at the destination - almost all of the previous is reversed in a specific order:

Unload the wagon, and assemble

Unload the STUFF (backpack, snacks, diaper bags, etc.)

Put camera and cell phone in easily accessible pockets.

Unload the kids one at a time, while the kids who are left to wait in the car for their turn are crying and sad because they're not currently out of the car and in the wagon.

Pass out ice waters because it's hot and humid out.

Load kleenexes into easily accessible pockets.

Check car for random contents (Rebecca's shoe, how did I get her from the car to the wagon without noticing that one of her shoes fell off?)

Lock the car, pull the wagon in and have fun!

It should go without saying that trips outside the home that involve someone else's kids are exponentially more stressful. Not necessarily as in hard-work-stress-me-out kind of stressful, but stressful in that I worry more about my performance. Am I driving carefully enough? Did I apply enough sunscreen? Will we have any major injuries? What if someone gets sick? It's hot and humid - did I pack enough water? Will we SURVIVE?

Our trip today to the farmstead was 150% worth the preparation, prayers, and sweat that went into planning it. We had a wonderful time! My favorite part was hearing the roosters crow. I think the kids enjoyed seeing the cows give milk. It was magical being at the farmstead with two toddlers and a preschooler. I love it when they are all experiencing the same things and I love seeing how each child is gaining something unique from the experience.

Julia made more of a connection between animals and humans. (We use the animals for food and shelter.)

Rebecca learned the "real" sounds that animals make. A cow doesn't actually SAY "moo" ... it kinda goes, "mrrraahhhhhhhh." (that's fun to type!)

Noah loved show off his vocabulary the whole time we were there - and we practiced saying the names of the baby animals (lamb is a baby sheep? kid is a baby goat? foal is a baby horse?) ... this is especially meaningful as Noah is going to have a baby brother in his house soon!

Ahh - it really was such a blessing of a trip. I absolutely loved today.

After the farmstead, everybody was wiped out. Julia loved being my assistant, and helping me keep the toddlers awake in the car so that we wouldn't spoil their naptime. She was naming stuff that she knew each child would like - pointing out trains and big trucks out Noah's window - and finding airplanes and birds out Rebecca's window. Things were going so well - I couldn't resist stopping for happy meals on the way home. I didn't have to cook, I barely had to clean up after lunch, and right now the kids are happy, safe, sound, and content from today's trip as they are sleeping at naptime. I really do love this job.

Check back soon for pictures of the trip - I will get them uploaded some time this weekend!

Cuteness Overload

The Hippo Song books (full of artwork and song lyrics) are almost finished! As soon as I get the ink cartridge for my printer that I ordered *forever* ago, I can put the finishing touches on the books and send them home! :) I can't wait for the parents to get them. I'll blog a presentation of the Hippo Books before letting them leave the house - it was definitely a project I want to do again and again in years to come!

Library Day

Today, we took a little field trip to the library. I'm so proud of the kiddos, they're getting the hang of being "out" with Ms. Maggie. My trips out with the kids are far less stressful than they used to be. It helps that they're all of an age now where they have a better understanding of rules and of my general disposition. They can sense when I get stressed out - which, honestly, when I'm out in public is quite often.

Today at the library, we encountered two other field trips there at the same time as us! Two different vans/buses in the parking lot almost made me cancel out trip inside. What if my three kids get mixed up with their 30-something kids? What if someone gets confused and grabs the hand of one of my three kids on accident? What if my three kids go on a book-off-the-shelf spree and I can't control it? What if I can't control anything that happens inside!?

Really, though, I should have known that "my" three kids were well trained, super well behaved and just as nervous about the whole thing as I was. Julia is my big helper - she really helped me stay sane the whole time we were there! Julia held the hand of her little sister, Rebecca while I held onto Noah's hand. Rebecca and Noah did no protest at all - and stayed right by our sides the whole time. Julia was so concerned about making mommy proud, that she didn't give into her preschool instincts and follow some of the other, bigger kids around. Instead, she was my assistant teacher - the second in command, Hah!

We had a great time. We even found a little corner of the library to sit down and read some books. We ended up bringing four books home, plus one video, and a teacher's kit about farm animals. I'm really excited about our haul!

I took advantage of the day, and popped in the borrowed video (Elmocise!) when we got home so that I could make lunch worry-free. The kids were glued to it, and even played along during some of the exercises.

What a great day. What a great group of kids. What a blessing!