new project...

We've decided to start on part 2 of the patio in the backyard. We're extending the patio since the grass is dead and apparently no grass is able to grow and live in this corner (we've tried twice). The kids have really enjoyed digging in the dirt, making mud pies, mud puddles, mud mud swimming pools, mud messes and just plain mud fun. But we have to clean it up, it's making Mommy and Daddy a little crazy. And if we want to sell the house someday, I'm guessing that no one will like seeing a bare dirt spot in the lush backyard.

So Noah was the big helper today. He got his wheelbarrow and his flat shovel (just like Daddy's) and put his hard hat on (actually a fireman helmet) and his boots. He got right to work digging and having fun with Daddy. We even made mud to loosen the dirt and roots. We didn't enjoy today because of all the nasty roots but hopefully tomorrow we'll get some more work done. We had hoped to have this finished next weekend, but with the roots we have to cut through...we'll see!

See Noah's shovel leaning like Daddy's? And the wheelbarrows? Just like Daddy...except Daddy doesn't do work in underpants...

Our singer...

Well, one of them. Noah loves to sing. He makes his voice all weird and funny and low and sings. Sometimes he pretends that he's the fire rescue guy too. I just love how Hannah (in the video) knows that I'm taping him and tries to get him to keep singing. She's so funny. Then, after I turned it off, they all started to sing, different songs and different pitches, while we drove off.

Video taken on January 10th, '08

Bags...

I've been sewing bags and have made some that we will use and re-use for groceries or any other stores that we frequent. They are personalized for those people I'm making them for. I hope that being personalized they will be used more often than if they weren't. So here are a couple that I've made for us. They are reversible but have a small pocket inside too for keys, phone or a wallet.

Museum day...

Today we went to the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park. We really looked forward to the day because the kids love rockets and pretend playing that they are flying around the house and backyard. They build rocket ships and pirate ships with various tools and materials (wood pieces, ladders, chairs...) in the backyard too. The museum was great. They learned about the Wright brothers, the space shuttles, the old airplanes and fighter planes. They got to see up close the knobs and switches that the pilots need to use. We looked inside the small capsule space of a spacecraft that the pilots needed to sit in to return home in, they landed in water. The kids got to get in and touch a lot of things which is good because otherwise they would've been bored and not interested. We look forward to next week when we will visit another museum :)

Spirit of St Louis
Noah

Admiring the motor

My maiden name (Canton) on this sign
Flying an airpane

Noah's turn to fly
Noah did not want to get out of this cute little plane
Ben trying to control this little plane
space shuttle

Bee...

Happy Memorial Day! I hope that everyone took some time today to remember our fallen heroes and to honor those who have fought for our freedom.

We went to Lowe's today to buy some flowers for the front of the house. Last year we planted some trees out front (near the curb) and now that they've established we are putting some flowers in :) So we browsed the flowers and picked out all the ones that were good with full sun because that is all it gets during the day. Lots of different kinds of flowers and different colors. That's usually how I pick out the flowers for our house (no real planning in the types of plants, just whatever is available) and then we put them into their spots, dug holes and planted them. They all work well together and it looks beautiful. We plan on filling the area with more flowers so that the area is full with flowers that bloom at different times of the year.

Ben and Hannah helped a lot (even though Hannah had a fever, she felt good enough and was out there digging with us). They know just how to dig and plant flowers! Noah was napping but woke up when we had a few more to put in the ground and then joined us outside. He got right to work, dug a hole and pulled the flower out of the pot and plopped it right into the hole. He is so proud of himself and shows me the flowers that he planted every time that we pass them.

So the front of the house looks pretty nice, a work in progress like the rest of the house but it's coming along!

Bee in a flower in the nursery (still experimenting with camera)

Better...but...

Thursday night Corey took Noah to the doctor because he was still running a fever and he wouldn't eat, drink or nurse. I figured it had to be his throat and since I had strep throat a few weeks ago...maybe he did now. The diagnosis came back to be: gingivostomatis which is a virus related to herpes. The doctor said that he must've had contact with someone with an open sore, but we can't think of who that might've been. No biggie. Two nights of no sleep and about three days of short naps was tough but Friday he took a 4 hour nap and woke up refreshed and ready to tear around the house. Also I bought some drinkable yogurt just for him and he loved that it was a special treat for only him and drank about 4 of them right off the bat. He was still having trouble with solid food so the yogurt was perfect. Today he seemed almost 100% but still a little raw in the throat, poor little guy.

So we had a BBQ today with my family and Corey's mom. It was Ben's idea but he really wanted everyone to come over, like Levi and his brothers and Henri and his brothers, Franky and his sisters...and a few more kids and families. He didn't tell us this until a half hour before everyone was going to show, so I'm sorry that we didn't have you all over!!! We will next time, I promise. So the BBQ was fun and the kids had their juice boxes and hot dogs (just what Ben had planned) and a lot of running around.

But... Hannah just sat on the couch for a good long time. When I saw her there I immediately asked her if she felt well but it felt that she had a fever. Poor little girl! She ran to the bedroom and fell asleep. I went to check on her 3 minutes after she left the couch and she was already asleep. HOT. But cold and shivering. And there was a little tear on her nose (from crying) I felt so bad for her. She never gets sick. She's miserable. So, we're caring for another child and are still stuck inside the house.

Fever...

This afternoon Noah woke up with a fever. A low one but still something that kept us home. We had planned on going to play with some friends after he woke up but then we couldn't :( . So we stayed home and the kids decided to go on the slip 'n slide. It wasn't horribly hot like the weekend was but still warm enough that they got in the water. Noah wanted to go in but then decided that he didn't want to. As the night progressed so did his fever and I was glad we stayed home so that he wouldn't "infect" anyone. I'm sure it isn't anything but it's better to be safe than sorry. His body will work it out. He's sleeping now and I hope the night goes well but if he needs me I'll be there. That is a major reason we co-sleep so that we can be there faster than if he was in another room...and the comfort...and the sleep I get.

Here are some pics of the kids. I'm still playing with my camera :)

Noah resting on me while the others played in the water
Noah's chubby fingers
Hannah
Ben

Bored...

We went to the park for our regular playgroup this morning and after a while I noticed that the kids (my kids) were hanging around me and not playing. They would try it out and then almost immediately come back. They were not hungry, not thirsty (even though it was HOT), just hanging around me while I was there to watch them play. After a while I figured out the problem. None of their friends were there and the other kids at the park were all very young. They were bored. They asked when their friends would be there because last week they had so much fun together. They wanted to work on their bush house, Ben even brought tape and yarn to work on it, and play.

One Mom and her daughters showed up right when I was thinking of leaving so we decided to stay a while. Hannah and Ben had never really played with her older daughter so this was a time for them to get to know each other. At last a few other Moms showed up but it was getting late for us, we left. My kids are looking forward to going to that park again, but I think we might not be going again (to that park). I think the next time we'll go to playgroup will be at a different park...next month. But we may go next week, who knows?

Sunday School Graduation...

Today marks the last day of Hannah's first year of Sunday School at the Mission. They celebrated with a graduation ceremony. It was wonderful and much like last year for Ben. Ben also had his own graduation ceremony (from Kindergarten) but the parents weren't invited to join them. :(

This year Hannah's class learned a lot, I think they did a lot more than with Ben's class (because the teacher had family health problems last year). They learned lots of prayers and we practiced them at home so Ben learned them too. We learned the sign of the cross, Angel of God, Hail Mary, the Our Father, the Glory Be, and we started to learn the Apostles Creed. At 6 and 4 years old (for most of the year), Ben and Hannah did very well learning their prayers! They said that the second graders are learning the same prayers and struggling to learn them for their First Communion. Everyone was proud and impressed. They even got a visit from the Monsignor this morning!

Congratulations Graduates!! Ben is off to first grade and Hannah will be in Kindergarten.

Hannah with some of her classmates

Hannah and her teacher

Ben, Hannah and Noah near the Mother Mary statue

Hannah's class after crowning Mary

Farewell friends...

We went to a friends house this evening to say goodbye, even though they don’t technically leave for another 4 days and we might see them on Monday. Despite our rough afternoon start it was a great party, the kids had fun and played and ran around while the adults talked. They are moving to Canada so we may not ever see them…unless they start to blog (then we can keep up with them) or we travel far. We know them from the playgroups that we go to and have really enjoyed getting to know them. The Mom made a map of their upcoming drive and Ben really checked it out. I showed Hannah and she didn’t seem interested (she was more into getting back to playing) but it is a long journey from here to their final destination in Quebec. Good luck Geneviève and Léanore (& Dan)!! We’ll miss you!

We’ve got poop…

:-)

Just a potty update for today. Noah ran to the potty for poop tonight and did it!!

I think we learned how to potty train the hard way with Ben. It was so hard to keep asking him and put him on the potty. We did that for 3 years and every time was a struggle. Hannah did it on her own, we never really told or asked her about it much. She just knew what to do. With Noah we are trying a different approach. I told him once or twice that he knows how to do it on the potty and that he really doesn't need diapers (got that idea from a friend). And it is actually working. We haven't pressured him into doing it, nor do we ask him every ten minutes, at all except this week since it has been so hot he has been going around naked from the bottom down. He runs to me and we run to the potty together. He hasn't had one accident. We're crossing our fingers that we'll have no diapers to change during the day (& maybe night) very soon!!

I love you...

We were in a hurry. I was getting frustrated with Hannah and Noah when they were not getting in the car. We were running late, as usual, and they were dawdling around. Finally got them in and was strapping Noah in when he said “I love you” and it melted my heart. I hugged him and then Hannah said “I love you” too. It that kind of thing that really makes me feel guilty when I get angry and raise my voice.

Mission Trails field trip...

We joined our homeschool group today for a field trip to Mission Trails. It is just down the street from our house so we got there early! We had a great turn-out for the tour with our guides that we had to be split into 2 groups and walk separately, which was a bummer. The tour guide was very nice, she stopped a lot to show us different things that we might’ve otherwise missed.

Our guide was teaching about habitats but we also learned about other living things in the area. We learned about wild cucumbers (that spikey thing on a vine that the kids drew yesterday) and saw some in various stages of life and beyond (I’ve got some pictures below). Other plant life that we identified were black mustard, which grows wildly around the county, San Diego sunflowers, which are small because there isn’t much rain in the area, and dodder, a weird parasite that just lays on top of plants. We saw lizards, trap door spider holes, funnel spider webs, and a mouse house.

We went into the visitors center to cool off and wait for the other group and the kids explored around, they found some instruments from long ago and they pretended to be in a band.

Some girls hanging out togetherNoah catching air while jumping off rocks
Noah and his girlfriend Eliza
learning before we leave
wild cucumber and seed inside

Bladder plant
our group of little explorers
funnel spider web
touching dodder

holding a wild cucumber
trap door spider hole
feeling inside

Exploring the canyons...

We went on a little hike today at Marian Bear, it took us about 2 hours to do. It was nice weather and the kids needed to get out of the house. They packed up their backpacks with their new art sets and some drinking water and we were off. We had done this hike a few months ago with a friend but today we decided that we would go alone, take our time and stop when we want. We found a loop and decided to try it today. I brought the Ergo just in case Noah or someone else needed me to carry them and I ended up needing it and using it!

Our hike was real nice, there was still a lot of poison oak around the trail but the kids were very good at leaving it alone, staying on the trail and spotting it by the end of the hike. There were so many flowers, tall mustard, and creeping vines all over the place. The bugs sang in the distance and some quieted as we got close to them. We used our senses and heard cars and traffic in the distance, smelled flowers and even touched a few plants too. We spotted a few little fish in the pond and creeks we crossed.

We stopped for the kids to draw the interesting things that they found. We found some weird spikey thing hanging from a vine that they were enthralled with and drew for a long time. Then they turned around and saw lots of beautiful nasturtiums (flowers that are edible) flowing down the valley sides and they drew them too. We stopped near a little pond Noah enjoyed throwing rocks in the water. Ben discovered that he can throw a rock and it have it reach the other side!

We had to cross the creek a couple of times, one time Hannah decided to pick up some of the moss with a stick, while on the crossing. It was too heavy for her but she tried.

We liked our explorer hike today. Noah did get a little tired at the end and I was thankful that he let me carry him in the Ergo, it’s been since last summer that I’ve worn him in it and a fight to put him in it since then. So glad I brought it...

Hiking kidsPoison oak
(leaves of 3, shiny and smooth stems, some leaves may be red or turning red)
Nasturtiums
Spikey thing on a vine
Artists on the trail
Another spikey thing (not the one they drew)
Hannah trying to get some moss

Potty time...

Noah has been spending time naked around the house. He is really getting the hang of going pee on the toilet. He runs to me and we have to run to the potty, sit him on the toilet and listen. He hears the tinkle in the toilet and smiles real big, squeals and wants a hug. He is so proud of himself. When he’s done he takes a little piece of toilet paper and wipes the toilet seat (even though he sits on the toilet) and then flushes. He wakes up dry from naps and sometimes he is dry in the morning too. We are still working on it but #2 seems to be harder to do for him. He’ll do it though, he’s so jazzed about it.

Bush house...

We joined our playgroup today and the kids all joined forces to build a “bush house”. They walked and picked a spot for the house, gathered sticks and big branches with leafy parts that had fallen on the ground. They found ‘treasures’ and called them different names (found candles were tomatoes) made ‘rooms’ in the house...even a bathroom! They were sad to have to leave today but we will be back next week so (assuming it’s still there) they can work on it some more next week. If they remember!

Happy Mother's Day!

It was such a nice day, my kids helped Corey make breakfast for me. We spent the day together and did nothing in particular. In the evening we went to my parents house where my aunts and grandma were. We ate a nice dinner that everyone helped to make. The kids played in the pool and I relaxed poolside ☺ All in all it was a nice day!


I was playing with my camera and discovered a couple of things I can do with it today :)

Disney pics...