Mulberry Picking and Our Own Backyard Jungle

Not much to say, just a peek into our day :0)

Getting Ready For Bedtime

They decided to play "The Quiet Game" to get ready for bed. Somehow it doesn't stay quiet :0)

A Glimpse Into Our School

Rex sans training wheels!

Here's one of the things we did over the long weekend!
Rex has been riding his bike with training wheels for a long time, we've encouraged him to take them off, but he just didn't feel ready. This weekend, after watching a friend write his bike, Rex decided it was time. We took them off, and off he went with no spills at all!

Working Away, Happy and Content

I wish I could capture the monologue that's going on while he does this week's job of washing the breakfast dishes, but it's so rambling and half mumbled... He is so happy, off in his own little world. I don't think he even remembers I'm here in the kitchen with him.

What in the world am I going to do once these babies grow up??

You Only Find Out How Sweet Little Boys Are

after you have one.

Little boys are awesome. So sweet. And with such potential. It amazes me when I move the sleepy-limp form of a soft-cheeked, tow-headed, drooling *baby* that there is a whole, hand-calloused, stubble-chinned, big-bicep'd *man* in there, and I get to watch him come into being. Humbling. A bit frightening. And so amazing.

Making Medicine

(my apologies about the pictures in this post... I can't rotate them without more bother than I want to go to. If you'd like to see the same post with the pictures correct, you can do that at our other blog)
Today, we finally got around to doing one of those things I've been meaning to do. We made some salve for owies and diaper rash!
We used: wild plantains, lavender oil, and lobelia extract in a base of coconut oil. Say-Jal eagerly volunteered to be the plantain harvester, as well as wash and dry the leaves.

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I Think He’s Getting It!

Maybe it’s a bit premature to be saying so just yet, but I am definitely thinking that I have made a complete switch from being an advocate for early potty training to being an advocate for lat(er) potty training. I started with Jed 2 days ago, not really expecting it to “take”, just because I was so lackadaisical about it. We’d been talking just a bit about going potty, here and there, just mental preparation for him, and he decided he wanted to go sit on the potty a while. Nothing “happened”, but he giggled the whole time, and told me a few times “This is fun!”

I felt that was a good beginning, and decided to just keep it fun, no pressure. It went against me just a bit, as he is 3, and I’ve always started the others around 18 months. Then stressed and panicked and worried and fussed and cleaned up messes for 18 more months. This time, I *sort of* decided to wait on him, but circumstances made it VERY easy to wait, and VERY difficult to train him as I’d done the others.

So, here we are, day 3 into “sort of” potty training, with this morning’s diaper still dry, and I won’t burden you with what all in the potty, but Jed is running pretty high on all the sugar from his reward candy! The two biggest motivations he's chosen for himself (being old enough to do that, saving me the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out what would appeal to a toddler!) are being able to go on dates with Papa like the others, and the extreme comfiness of the underwear I’ve let him try on a few times.

If it flops, it flops. I’m still not going to stress about it. He WILL get potty trained eventually, and I’m liking this nice easy stress free way about it. It took me 5 children to figure out that this is the way to go, and the ones who get trained after will benefit. :0) After having 3 in diapers for so long (seems like every time I potty trained one, another was born!) I’m going to feel like I don’t have much to do with only 2 in diapers (0;

"I. Am. Dat. Hero!!" (his cutesie phrase)

Here's the last one in this little heap of birthdays in our Tribe... for a couple of months. (0;
Rex is turning 3 (!!) and is such a sweet happy little darling. I am loving so much getting to know him. I am constantly in awe at the depth and intricacy of God's creation as I get to know my children. They are such unique individuals. It is an amazing privilege to watch their little personalities emerge and develop.

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Popcorn and Dump Trucks

Jed chose a package of construction vehicles when I was letting the children choose things to spend some of their gift $ on recently. I didn't think he'd regret it.





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