Around Here Week 19: 05/03-09

A glimpse into what it was like to live in our home just this week, which was also week 8 of covid-19 lockdown and Screen Free Week!

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 48+ hours (of 1000)

Up another five hours thanks to some outdoor hikes. We had some solid 'spring' type weather in the early part of the week and then it straight up snowed by the time the weekend rolled around. Snow in May?...welcome to 2020 - hon.est.ly.

Reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle and starting The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo as it is part of Greyson's school packet for the next two weeks. We're doing it a combo of independent reading and Read Aloud. I love Kate DiCamillo, so I'm definitely cool with it and I think his teacher, Mrs. Miller (hi!) picked it on person as a nod to all parents who have binged Tiger King on Netflix during the lockdown (I see you, Mrs. Miller - you're a cool cat). 

Going Screen Free for the week. We have been so dependent on screens during this isolation and even though National Screen Free week was postponed (they've been encouraging Screen Free Saturdays if you need motivation!), I knew we all could use a force look-up. I kept tucked in my heart that I would give myself a enough grace to call it quits if I needed to (it is a global pandemic after all), but we stuck it out Monday-Friday night. It was standard screen free joy around here - dirty, tired kids with lots of outdoor time and random naps all over the house. I did 'meh' because while nursing Red, sometimes scrolling is the only thing that can keep me awake (!) but I tried to stay mindful at least to how often I feel the urge to pick up my phone. The funny thing is - if I announce it's screen free week, the kids huff and roll their eyes for approximately 4 minutes and then they figure it out. They push through boredom and find something else to do. The moment I waver a little bit on the rules, they see that weakness and pounce, man. And then it's all whining and begging and I'm ready to pull my own hair out. So I actually kept the Screen Free status in place for my own sanity! 

In case anyone is interested - our normal screen rules are: 

1. no tv/screens until at least 11am (which usually means there is naturally no screens until after 3p because they're already playing so intensely)

2. no screens at the meal table

3. no screens at practices/games 

4. no screens in the car

We have two tvs (the living room and our bedroom) and only the living room tv has streaming capabilities like Netflix/Prime/etc. We also have an XBox and 2 working iPads that rarely get used. No child has a phone and the goal is (and the kids know) that they won't have their own phone until they are in 8th grade/14 years old. (even that seems young- so we will see when we get there). I know I'm a broken record about this, but there is a huge behavior and emotional difference in our kids when we are so intentional about screens and when we are not. The creativity and capacity for patience is staggering when our kids aren't so zombie'd out on screens. As a high school teacher I am regularly exasperated by students' disinterest and apathy and I know screens aren't entirely to blame - but....aren't they kind of? 

Embracing our "quarantine safe group" rules and spending time with the people in our self designated "safe group". Grey and Gem had a sleepover at my parents' house (!) while the meatballs (Vi & Rust) got a full day to spend with both my parents and Brandon's parents. The kids and I met my parents and sisters at Aunt Kitty's house for Cinco de Mayo dinner on Tuesday night which was such a nice distribution of kid energy for me while Brandon had his school board meeting. Our kids are so much more at ease to have their people back near them and in their arms. We set rules that they can hug but not sharing food/drinks and no kissing. Red has finally gotten the snuggles he deserves from his closest family. We are following all other social distancing and face mask rules, but we need our nearest and dearest people - so we're going safe group style for now. 

Hiking to a very cool waterfall right in our neighborhood! We didn't even know Yoder Falls existed until my friend and co-worker Nicki asked me about it. We decided to take a family hike and loved it. It was a little more intense of a hike than we were expecting (hah, Brandon had Red in the baby carrier!) but the kids had a blast and it was really beautiful. I fell once in the creek on a slippery stone, as did Violet and Rusty. When we got to the falls the kids were all begging to go swimming (!) but we barely convinced them it was still too cold - they were appeased with putting their feet in at least. 

Listening with a smile as Grey has read DogMan (Tale of Two Kitties) to Rusty each night this week - they actually finished the whole book and both of them requested another one from the series to read together at bedtime. 

Exploring Stackhouse Park with our whole crew, my sisters, and Lady (Uch's pup). It has such peaceful and gorgeous wooded trails and the kids loved looking for crayfish in the stream while I nursed Red in the pavilion halfway through our park visit. Grey even accidentally found a geocache and we signed the booklet! 

Worrying about all our beautiful blossoming trees and new buds and flowers as the cold and snow descended...in May - how!? why!? We have a dogwood tree in the back rock garden that has been trying to come to full life for the past two years and this year -finally!- it was starting to bud. So my fingers are crossed and we keep whispering "grow" to it every time we are outside in hopes that it makes it big debut this summer despite the frost. 

College'ing by turning in my last paper! I'm done! I also got in all my paperwork for my mentors and my cooperating teacher (hi, Renee!) wrote me the kindest letter of recommendation that had tears in my eyes. 

Homeschooling with a new 2week packet for the kids. They've received new material and ughhhhhh. Here's the truth for all you non-teacher parents out there trying to homeschool:  homeschooling is no joke. I'm a teacher, I love teaching, I love teaching your kids. Let me repeat that for those in the back - I love teaching YOUR kids. not mine. YOURS. I love my own children. I teach them manners, hygiene, life skills, respect, house work, responsibility, sharing, even read alouds, like hell yes I'm in. Teaching them academics? No thank you. I'm responsible for all the other learning in their life, academics are for their other teachers - this is why it's a village. we need other people who can carry this load of raising up children. I am good on the parenting side, I need their teachers on the academic side. (I love you, teachers and I'm doing my best - but also there are five kids over here - including a newborn - and so if you don't know why my kids work looks like poo and they miss a hundred zoom meetings, it's because they need you...I NEED YOU). so much love to all the teachers - I know you miss them too (because I miss my students). Parents - hang in there and give it your best, but also, like...I get it. #drowntown (to the homeschool parents who do this regularly - you all are not from this planet and I idolize you. for real). 

Virtual teaching for the last week of their country research projects (pop culture!) and really impressed with their work as I've been peeking in on their projects. Friday should have been our prom, so I woke up feeling a little sad about thinking of how it would have been if we weren't in the lockdown - spending the day with my prom committee kids putting up final touches on the hall, setting up for the grand march in the high school auditorium, getting dressed up and having a date night with my handsome hubs. 

Making kind-of keto meals to eat this month. Brandon is going a little stronger on the keto than me, but we're trying to make conscious choices at least - baking chocolate chips are my literal downfall everyday, I'm addicted.

breakfasts: scrambled eggs & bacon, pb&j toast (twice), keto mug bread, muffins from a mix, pancakes, banana bread, cereal

lunches: lasagna (from Abba!), taco tuesday for cinco de mayo, everything chicken with cream cheese sauce, baked bbq chicken tenders, mac & cheese with leftover chili, 'lil smokies in crescent rolls, keto cheesy breadsticks, frozen pizza

dinners: burgers, "fancied up" leftovers, tacos at Kittys' house for cinco de mayo, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot & ready pizza from little caesar's, swedish meatballs in the slow cooker over mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie over biscuits

Kids in the Kitchen

We are pretty big on kid independence in our house and one area that the kids love practicing this is in the kitchen - helping with cooking and baking. So, the kids get invited to join regularly and I never, ever lack for a kid who wants to help cook- it's more like too many of them want to help and I have to divide the steps four ways so everyone gets a turn at something.

Depending on their ages/abilities, it is easy to add kid help to anything I am making for any meal. Being a total nerd about education - it's such a joy for me to watch how much they are learning about so many different things while we cook/bake together. Grey learned about how important it is to measure when adding salt to food when he made a super-salty egg sausage casserole that made his Dad's face squish up (hah! still a favorite memory story around here!)

We practice counting cups, reading recipes, even fractions! We learn about time - why does it take so long for the cookies to bake?! - we learn about not wasting food, and how much better things taste when we use fresh food (from our own garden, or chickens, or the farmer's market!)



It's not perfect by any means - we've had plenty of burned fingers from the stove or oven, enormous flour explosions when the electric mixer gets too speedy, had to pick egg shells out of a mix. And it can certainly be frustrating for me because when I have a house full of hungry kids and a piled up with dishes kitchen - ain't no momma got time for little hands sticking their fingers in my cookie batter (hah!) But like most things when it comes to raising up future people - you have to smile through the patience and focus on the learning. They're never going to learn to do it for themselves if you don't show them and then let them do it (no matter how long or how much of a mess it makes the first couple tries).

Here is how the helping in the kitchen shakes out for us currently and through the last year. Even writing this list out has me motivated to keep teaching the kids new skills (Grey - mac & cheese solo, Gem - grilled cheese sandwiches solo). It's always evolving and figuring out what works best for each kid and age.

Ages 2-3 (Rusty)

• can stir mixes with a utensil- frequent reminders that "we keep one hand on the bowl to hold it steady, and the other hand stirs the spatula"
• can add pre-measured ingredients to a bowl
• can get supplies out that we will need (peanut butter, chocolate chips, etc)
• can do one by one things: put cupcake liners in cupcake tin, add blueberries as toppings to each iced cupcake, etc
• always up to taste test and lick the spoon!

Ages 4-5 (Violet)

• can crack eggs into a bowl
• can use an electric hand mixer
• can count correct cups (I can give her the correct size measuring tool and the item she is adding and tell her, "you need 3 of these")
• can use cookie cutters without assistance
• can use a butter knife to spread toppings (butter/jelly - although peanut butter is a hard one to get right - even our 9 yr old still struggles adding peanut butter to toast!)
• can pick ripe vegetables from the garden (knows the difference between still growing and ripe)
• can make toast/waffles/toaster strudel & take it out of the toaster safely

 Ages 7-8 (Gemma)

• can cook eggs on a stove (scrambled)
• can brown ground meat in a skillet
• can use a sharp knife to cut up vegetables
• can pour own drinks/cereal (without a huge mess)
• can ice a cake/cupcakes 
• can add sprinkles (without a huge mess)
• can flip pancakes
• can 'fold' delicate things into a batter (like blueberries)
• can make her own sandwiches (lunchmeat, pb&j)
• can shuck corn (unassisted)
• can set the microwave time correctly (after a lot of supervision and one incident of a melted bowl and a smoke filled kitchen)

Ages 8-9 (Grey)

• can follow a handwritten recipe after we go over it together
• can read & understand the packaging for baking instructions (oven temp and length of cooking)
• can put things in and out of the oven with mitts
• can cook on the stove (including turning it on/off, using the correct size burner, etc)
• can mix his own sauces: when he realized we had run out of buffalo ranch dressing, I told him that he just needs to get the right mixture of hot sauce and ranch dressing and he could make his own. He blew his own mind! 
• can start a fire in a fire ring (for campfire cooking)
• can steam things in a pan (breakfast sausage, vegetables)
• starting to learn how to grill simple things like hamburgers and hot dogs - highly supervised/assisted
• starting to learn about cooking clean up - that all the ingredients you use during cooking need to go back in the fridge/cupboard, it's easier to wipe the stove right away rather than let messes sit, soaking baked on pans, etc

Now if only we could get them to clean up after a meal as good as they cook/bake - that'd be a real miracle!

Summer survival

Summer vacation is here and we are all home together, making memories, and enjoying everyday to the fullest. Ugh, I wish it were that easy - amirite mommas? I do love summer and obviously my kiddos all home and wide open free days (especially the mornings) but there comes with it challenges as everyone is trying to get into a new schedule and everyone is starving all.the.time and everyone is bored all.the.time.

The summer stretches before us with wide open space and time which is blissfully exciting and a little unnerving with all these kids. So I came up with some ideas to keep us all (read: me) relatively sane and content as the summer rolls on. Here's some thoughts for other mommas and daddas out there wondering how to survive the summer (hah).

1. Food
Our kids can snack with the best of them and there are certain foods we can't even bring into the house and expect it to last more than an hour or two before it is devoured (read: toaster strudel or pringles) I knew that there was no way our kids could be successful on a 'no snacks' summer (only proper meals) but was honestly worried about them eating all of our food in the first week of summer. So I devised a daily Snack Option menu that is posted on our fridge. The kids can get their own snacks during the day, but it must only be the snacks listed for the day. They actually weirdly love the structure and having to see other snacks in the house but know they are saving them for another day. It is also nice that I can even include leftovers as part of the snacks and it keeps the fridge cleaned out and rotating. We have also been baking together, so those treats are listed on the snack menu too. Now if only to figure out a way to get them to put the wrappers in the garbage!?

2. Screens
If you're a regular reader, you know I'm all about the outdoor time over screen time. We have a tv in the living room and one in our bedroom (I lost that battle) and we have a firestick (netflix, prime, etc). So our kids definitely know and love the zombie'd out state of sitting in front of the tube. And the fight to switch from screens to something else is exhausting. To combat that awful tug-of-war, we've had a standing rule in our house (for about 3 years) that there are no screens before 11am. It's a hard rule that doesn't have exceptions, so the kids don't even ask anymore. There's something about them having to wake up and find something to do on their own that fuels their brains for the day. We usually don't turn on the tv until at least 2p and many times not even until dinner making so I can have a minute without someone hanging off of me. If we start the day without screens, they can make it so much longer without needing that distraction.

We also incorporate Screen Free Wednesdays in the summer and that applies to Mom and Dad too. Just a day in the middle of the week to unplug and be awake the whole day without distractions.

(our kids also have ipads, but they have been off the charger and with dead batteries since Screen Free Week and they haven't really noticed or cared - so they'll be staying that way until the new school year when they need them for studying).

3. Boredom
Without the distraction of screens (and even with screens) one of the most heard phrases in the house (second only to "I'm starving") is "I'm bored." My usual response to this is, "I have lots of chores you can do if you can't find something to do." hah.

We do keep a list of all the fun stuff we can do at home (similar to our screen free ideas list) that the kids can be reminded that there is actually plenty to do right here at home. The biggest mom issue I have to combat with this is the messes that working through boredom creates. The kids know they need to clean up after their mess, but also their version of 'cleaned up' isn't quite my version and it takes a lot to loosen my grip on perfection. I try very hard to meditate on the knowledge that ideas and play that is born out of boredom benefits their brain and expands their creativity. Just breathe, Momma.

4. Can we go somewhere? 
This is another common phrase from my kids all summer. We have time to visit new or favorite places with the wide open days during the summer so my kids get it in their head that we should be going somewhere every day. To keep the kids in check this summer, we made a "It's a good day to explore" jar. I took little strips of paper and wrote different spots that we can visit that are nearby without a lot of planning. They are so excited about pulling a paper out - hahha - they each have already done a 'practice pull.' I explained to them that we are only pulling out a paper if the day works for a trip - so we can't have a lot of other stuff going on (doctors appt, practices/games, graduation party, etc) AND it has to be a good day for ME (chores are caught up, no one is sick, etc) - which helps as a reminder that our chores will be caught up if everyone pitches in every day. Some of the things that are included in the jar: bikes/rollerblades in the school parking lot, hiking at a local trail/park, swimming at our grandparents', aunts', or cousins' houses, the local library, ice cream visits, mini golf, playground visits, quemahoming dam/beach, etc. 

photo cred: Gemma 

5. Perimeters
We are 'free range' parents which means our kids get a lot of independent time, including outside. Granted, we are blessed abundantly with the means to do this as we live on top of a mountain with a huge yard and surrounding wooded area (and farm land behind that). We really can parent like our parents did and let the kids outside by themselves and then scream for them to come home to eat. Our kids' perimeters around our home are based on their age and their own comfort levels.

6. Hygiene
We try to keep it simple in the summer - swimming counts as a bath. This is normal summer standard, right? We also try to keep our Thursday 'Hygiene Day' rule in tact so that all the kids get bathed/showered and nails clipped/checked on Thursdays. Because then I at least have an idea of the last time it for sure happened. #bigfamprobs

7. Bedtime
It's been several years that we have used the No Bedtime Summer at our house and it works for us. I am a morning person, so if the kids are staying up late and sleeping in, it actually works better for me than trying to wrestle kids into bed at night. We generally stay awake and outside until the sun goes down anyway which can be almost 10p in the summer - and we are often making a fire and sitting on the porch while the kids jump on the trampoline after that. The kids either crash out on the couch where they are or they go up to bed when they are ready by themselves.

8. Preserving the free time
This is new for me - I'm still learning - but I finally hit my moment of clarity to just say no to busyness. We got a ton of flyers home the last few weeks from school with all kinds of activities, day camps, and sports camps. I loved that there were so many ideas for about 45 seconds and then I was tired; tired of even thinking of the driving to and from and watching the clock. So I've been trying very hard to focus on the freedom of a clear schedule; no classes or camps or weekly commitments. Although (I said I'm still learning!) I have signed Gemma and Violet up for a week long camp each at our community arts center in July because Grey is playing all-star baseball this summer (another lost battle) and they get something just for them too. Gem will be doing theater camp and Violet is doing art camp.

So, that's how I am attempting to 'survive summer' with four energetic and starving all the time kiddos. What are your best tips and tricks to keep everyone relatively sane and happy during the summer?

Around Here Week 18: 04/28-05/05

A glimpse into what was happening around here while we enjoyed Screen Free Week 2019!

   

photo cred: Tasha Adams

 

photo cred: Tausha Garrettson

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 94+ hours (of 1000)

Up 23 hour this week! Screen free week will do that to ya, though! We had a beautiful weather week and tons of outside time since...what else is there do you don't have screens distracting you, right? Spring sports, and a huge kid playdate (see below), and a field trip to the zoo all helped boost my hours for this week. Gosh, the fresh air in my lungs and brain feels great! Summer, we can almost taste you! 

Reading and finishing There's No Such Things as Bad Weather by Linda Akeson McGurk. Gosh, such an impactful and important book as both a mom and an educator. I look at my big kid students who have lived childhoods that are so different than mine (with only 20 years between them) and wonder how we can ever make it right for them. It is definitely a longer post for another day all my feelings about outdoor time and standardized tests/academic focus too early, and freedoms/responsibilities, and accountability but this book had me so inspired while also so overwhelmed and furious. long story, short: go read it! I also started and finished Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and oh.my.gosh. Loved it so much and thought about so many of my students that I'm worried about because I know they are carrying around trauma that they don't want to tell anyone about. Maybe not exactly the same trauma as Melinda from the story, but trauma nonetheless. I've already borrowed it out to a student that was on my mind while I was reading it. Again, long story, short: go read it! 

Turkey calling. We have seen a turkey in our yard almost every morning this week and now all the kids are practicing their turkey calling. Violet is seriously blowing us away with how well she can turkey call with or without the mouth caller. We went for an evening stroll to see if we could roost the turkeys, and it took us back behind our house where we are pretty sure we saw it's roosting tree. But even luckier - the horses, pony, and goats were out at the farm behind our house and the kids were over the moon to see them and feed them carrots! 

Hamster-sitting for Miss Hannah who went on a mission trip this week to Camden, NJ. The kids are fully in charge of taking care of little Hemelia and they are pleased as punch to do so. She is so kind and sweet to hold. She is sleeping in the girls' room and has us all cracking up at night when she makes so much noise running on her little wheel. Somehow it doesn't keep the girls up at all, but a few nights, I've had to carry her cage downstairs because it keeps me up down the hall! Oh, Hemelia, we love you so, I fear they won't want to give you back! 

Chaperoning Grey's third grade field trip to the Pittsburgh zoo! We got a beautiful weather day at the zoo and I had my little group of five third graders all day. Grey went through the same emotions that Gemma did last year on her field trip (jealous/sad/worried) when some of his classmates really clung to me and wanted to hold my hand and be near me the whole time. I had a little chat with him to remind him that he gets to be with me all.the.time; every day and every night from the beginning to forever and ever as his momma (haha, and half the time he can barely stand me!) and that maybe some of his classmates don't have a momma who look them in the face and laugh at their jokes and it's okay to share for this one day. After our chat, he was better and said he was grateful that he gets me as his mom all the time and thanked me a million times for coming as a chaperone. The third graders were so sweet and if you ever need your soul recharged - seriously take a bunch of eight and nine year olds to the aquarium! They were dazzled and so curious about everything - just what my heart needed! 

Hosting a giant kid playdate at our house to celebrate Screen Free week on Friday night. We had about 28 kids throughout the evening playing baseball, jumping on the trampoline, going for a hike, roasting marshmallows around the fire, dancing in the rain, playing the card game spoons, and best of all - sliding down a giant water slide greased up with water and dishwashing soap! 

Seeing two real life theater shows in two days! Brandon's co-worker acted in her church's theater group production of All is fair at the Mountain Playhouse and we went for a date night followed by pizza and a drink at Merchants'. The show was very cute and had us laughing the whole time - they actually put on a very professional and impressive show for being a church theater group! The following day, our whole family went to see my students' musical Zombie Prom at the high school auditorium. My students all did amazing (I know how hard they have been practicing and working too!) It was a great afternoon and our children were actually very well entertained and mostly behaved for the whole show (except Rust kept asking 'is it ober?' every time they turned the lights down for scene change - HAH)

Getting chocked up to see the students' incredible art displayed at the art exhibit in the mountain playhouse - including two of the pieces that were originally made for me by my student Damien. When the exhibit was asking for submissions, he asked if he could submit two of the pieces he created for me earlier this year and I agreed as long as I could get them back (hehhee). We got to see all the awesome work this weekend, and when I saw Damien's hanging in the gallery-it brought tears to my eyes. He is so talented; as all my kids are; and he has really come a long way this year and I am so proud! 

Spring Sporting with one soccer game each for the girls and three baseball games for Grey (2 for his own team and 1 game that he played up with the majors). The girls are doing great in soccer but are total opposites in the way they play. Gem is an awesome defender while Violet is pushing people out of the way to take the ball to the net. It's hilarious to flip from one game to the next to see how different their personalities shine through in the game. Grey is still loving playing pitcher and short stop and he even had his first in the field homerun at West Surburban on Wednesday night in a tough loss.  We celebrated Opening day at the ballfields with Gem and Grace offering free face painting for fans and chocolate chip cookies for the concession stand. 

Teaching all the old school ways with (mostly) no screens! I collected the kids cellphones on the way into class everyday (mwhaha) and we did everything without screens - we read our novels, played some fun paper/pencil games (like taco tuesday vocab review), we did readers' theater acting out chapters, played El Que Sabe, Sabe, and even had an immigration simulation in Spanish 2 Honors. On Friday, we went outside to the courtyard to play Running Dictation and Cucharas (Spanish verb conjugation spoons). We did a lot of talking about our favorite non-screen activities and I think I got some kids remembering that all the most fun happens without screens (sports! fishing! camping! hiking! sleeping (said all my students)! cooking! dirt bike riding!)

Making not too much - I've been horrrrrrrible about meal planning and kicking myself for it every night when I'm like, 'what's for dinner? Oh wait, I'm the mom so I'm supposed to know' ugh.  We did have fried rice & quesadillas, and hot dogs & smores over the fire and then we were lucky to get turkey soup from gigi (thank you!) and we ate out the other nights (hello pizza, tollgate, and Merchants).