Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We recycle on a regular basis at our house. Jeremy had this habit before we were married and I've learned to embrace the habit. We take egg cartons, meat trays and plastic bags to Publix and the rest to the recycling center. I've been known to peel the plastic off the front of a spaghetti box to recycle the cardboard as well as throw away a can instead of clean it out because it was just too much of a mess. We also reuse objects we have - yogurt containers for snack bowls and leftover containers, toilet paper holders for Christmas decorations, odds and ends for craft projects and we shop at thrift stores. I also try to fix things that break instead of buying something new. Samuel calls me the "blacksmith" when I fix his swords with the hot glue gun or I'm the surgeon when I sew up a bunny or a doll with the needle.

I can see these habits growing in my children. Samuel and Lucy were playing near the computer and I told them to be careful because they could break it -
Samuel replied "Mama, you could just fix it with your hot glue gun!"

And then there was the junk mail I put in the recycle container but Samuel thought we should save it "just in case we might need it to start a fire, Mama."

And I have mentioned our toilet paper holder people/animals the children love to make. They fight over who gets the newest empty holder and can't wait to make things with them. Well, today - I really should have taken a picture - Lucy came and said the toilet was stopped up. Our toilets can get stopped up easily even when Lucy goes to the bathroom so I didn't think anything about it. When we reached the toilet it looked like she had put the whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet...and that is exactly what she did. I couldn't keep a straight face because I knew it wasn't because she needs to learn how much toilet paper to use - I knew it was because she wanted that toilet paper holder. She was upset that we told her not to waste toilet paper but she was even more upset that she didn't get the toilet paper holder she worked so hard to get.

I'm glad my children are learning some of these habits - now if I could just figure out how to help them use things wisely without becoming pack rats!

Lucy's Surgery

Lucy had tubes put in her ears this morning and we are now home resting on the couch (first round of tubes for her - Samuel has had two rounds so far). On the ride home she had her blanket over her head and said "its so loud" and then she threw up but seems to be doing better now. We will home for the day enjoying taking it easy.

When Mama is away...

...the marble shooter comes out. This is one of the advantages to having a science teacher for a dad - he brings home the physics marble shooter. Of course, it could be used to plan the correct angle to set the shooter to achieve an accurate shot - OR it could be used to shoot toilet paper people at the end of the kitchen.

Me vs. the jeans

I feel like I'm fighting a battle on two fronts when it comes to Samuel's jeans - their strategy (his jeans that is) for so long has been the "hole in the knee attack". By this simple move the jeans are of no use during the winter cold (when the hole gets so big) - though we will be repeating last summer's jean cut-offs for shorts.

Exhibit A - a relatively benign example of the 'beginning of the end' for these jeans.

And now as Samuel shoots up a foot at a time those jeans refuse to grow longer. I'm helpless against these attacks and feel I will loose this battle. But I am a resourceful mama and I have a couple of options that are temporary solutions 1. Make him wear boots 2. Not care - most of him is covered 3. Find denim socks to disguise the area between pant and shoe 4. Embrace our Irish roots and wear a kilt. And for the most part I am taking advantage of number 2 though, I have decided as of today that I will retire any pants that are too short AND have a hole.

Exhibit B - These are the pants he wore to school this morning.


PS - thank you Mr. Jean maker that there are seams along the sides of pants to keep the hole in the knee from detaching the bottom portion of the jean leg from the top part.

PSS - Thank you Mema and Mama for seeking out pants for us - we love them and wear them as long as we can!

1 Mama on a Mission to get exercise outside

1 Mama on a mission to get exercise outside on a sunny day…

1 child wanting to ride her tricycle = a snail pace and no exercise for the 1 Mama.

1 child wanting to ride his bicycle = 1 Mama pushing bicycle up hill = No fun for said Mama.

1 Mama on a mission to get exercise outside on a sunny day…

Solution…

1 cowgirl riding in the wagon leading her horse named ‘Lucky’ around the neighborhood

1 Mama pretending to be a horse going as fast as her legs will carry her

1 warrior with sword shoved down the back of his shirt running (like Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli across the plain to rescue Pippin and Merry) alongside the 1 Mama with occasional rests in the wagon with the cowgirl

1 Mama on a mission to get exercise outside on a sunny day = Mission Accomplished

Snow Day

It snowed last Thursday evening and we enjoyed the snowy morning Friday. It was bitterly cold so we only stayed out for a while. There is still some snow in the shady areas of the yard but tomorrow the snow will be gone and so will Christmas break...I have enjoyed every minute of it!
Bundling up to go to the library -
Cold!

The last few chilly days of Christmas break

This past week has been chilly and we even got to see some snow. We tried playing outside several days but even Samuel said it was too cold. We also had a few girls over to play before I started school and I know Lucy has a wonderful time. Thanks everyone for coming!

Most of our adventures were indoor adventures -

We played castle - ogres, princess, knights, horses
Lots of princesses and play at the Noonan house on Friday
Samuel and Lucy, the Pirates, rowing their rowboat from the pirate ship to shore to get the buried treasure.
The promised rabbit and rabbit hunter. They turned the styrofoam packing pieces from Christmas into the bunny den and the hunter's cave - their ideas are funny...
Lots of reading and pony riding...

One last Christmas quote

Lucy has loved singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer this Christmas season. She can sing most of it correctly but my favorite part is "he'll go down in MYSTERY!"

Things I'm thankful for this New Years Day

I cannot explain how excited I am that I don't have to go back to school until January 11. I thought I had to go back Monday January 4, but I was wrong (I checked the calendar yesterday). One more week with my little ones, one more week to clean and organize and one more week to enjoy life. Tomorrow the kids want to make more puppets, more toilet paper characters (a rabbit and a rabbit hunter with a hat) and play outside!! Yippee I can do it!

I'm also excited that I got to take a nap this afternoon with my strawberry blond cutie - an 1 1/2 nap with her cuddled up next to me. Whew - I needed a nap.

I'm so glad I got to play knights with my valiant redheaded warrior - we defeated dragons, shot crossbows and traveled to the magical forest to eat blueberries with the sparkle ponies (AKA My Little Ponies) that live there. The redheaded warrior also roasted the pet shop pig so that all the knights could eat and be strong for battle. Lucy was not so excited about the pig roast but she did make some blueberry and strawberry cupcakes for her magical ponies. I'm grateful for their imaginations - where do they go when we grow up?

I'm also really grateful my children LOVE their grandparents (Jeremy and I talked about this yesterday when the children were excited to go to spend the night with Grandpa Noonan and when they say "can we stay at Grandma and Papa's for 5 days next time"). When we tell them we will see a grandparent - they get so excited. They love them all and enjoy different things with each one. They don't get to see Nana very often but they get to see Grandpa Noonan and Grandma and Papa often. It is neat to see their unique relationships with them grow - something apart from Jeremy and me. Each grandparent is unique in their own way and the kids have something to learn, grow and enjoy from each - THANKS Mama, Daddy, Jack and Lois for being a part of their lives! We are so grateful for each of you.

Family pics

I missed the boat on getting pics of our family, of the children with their grandparents, etc - here are the only ones I can find in my camera

a pic of Lucy and me taken by Samuel...yep - no heads


Daddy with the children on Christmas morning -

Quote

Samuel got a collection of Beatles CD's from Grandpa Noonan for Christmas - Samuel loves them and many other songs Grandpa Noonan and Daddy introduce him to. While at the farm Samuel was having trouble in the bathroom and I heard...

Samuel: "Mama, I need some help."
Mama: "What Buddy?"
Samuel: "Help, I need somebody! Help, not just anybody!"

More from the Tree People

Samuel and Lucy LOVE sticks and the farm has plenty. We don't have trees for climbing or producing sticks in our yard at home but the farm - well that is a different story. We had a great time playing in the trees during the visit and I'm sure we will be scoping out a few other trees in the future for climbing. The lower branches of this tree weren't easy to get to so we got the ladder and made an entrance to the tree fort. Lucy played in the vines - she picked one she especially liked and called it her horse - named Lucky.Samuel the guard - "Who's there - friend or foe?"
Thomas with Lucy riding horses
My little monkey

The pondering guard

Christmas with cousin Thomas

Cousin Thomas came to the farm with the children for a couple of days and had a wonderful time. I taught Samuel and Thomas how to catch chickens and Thomas was a pro by the end of the day - he had his own system down for catching them and got pretty good at it. Samuel and Thomas played on the hay bales, we had ice cream sundaes and played in the trees (one of the trees the little redheaded girl and brown headed boy played in years ago). Here are some pics of the cousin time - Thanks Thomas for coming



can you spot them in the trees?

Christmas with Cousin Wyatt

We enjoyed family this Christmas. The children especially enjoyed playing with their cousins. Tori and Jordyn live far away in California and we missed them but we got to see Wyatt and Thomas. Wyatt is scooting around and into everything. The children loved playing with him and can't wait until he is bigger. All grandma wanted was a picture of the three of them looking and smiling... we will have to try again soon...