This and That

*Yesterday I did something that it has been way too long since I last did. I played with my kids. And I mean I really played with them. Sure, I take them outside everyday and push them on the swings again and again and again. I follow behind them when they ride bikes. I keep an eye on them when I'm weeding the flower beds and they are playing nearby. I sit and do puzzles or board games with them indoors and I'm usually near to participate in a tea party or race a car along a track. Most people watching would think I do a pretty good job at playing with my kids. But if you want to know the truth, most of the time that I'm "playing" with them, I am thinking about the other things I should be doing or planning things in my head like my primary lesson or figuring out how I can get to the bank, the post office, and the grocery store all before 5:00. I'm just not very engaged with the kids a lot of the time. But yesterday, I looked out the window to see that Kendall had set up a little soccer field on the lawn and he and Lynnsey and Spencer were playing soccer. I watched for a long time because it was so fantastic to see them playing so well together and having such a good time. They would even do a group hug every time one of them scored a goal. But after watching for awhile, I suddenly wanted to PLAY too! I went out and asked if I could join them. They looked at each other in surprise but agreed that I could play. It was so much fun. FUN I tell you! At one point Lynnsey sighed happily and said: "You need to do this more often." And I really do. My new goal is to really play everyday with my kids no matter what we're doing. I will pay attention and be engaged with them. Thinking about the laundry while I'm playing a board game doesn't get the laundry done, so I just need to stop thinking about it and enjoy all the time I have with my children.

I didn't get pictures of the soccer match, (by the way, Kendall says I have a great drop kick, thank you), but I do have some cute pictures of Kaya and Spencer playing with the box of tinker toys that my dad gave us a couple of years ago. This set has had the most use of just about any of our toys. All of the kids play with it. The other night while I was trying to get Kaya to go to sleep she wiggled down and went into the other room, which was completely dark. I heard the box of tinker toys being dumped out and a few minutes later she came back with a little creation that she had put together in the dark. I don't know how she managed to get those skinny sticks into those tiny holes, but she can do it.

*We had parent teacher conferences last week and they all went well. I managed to visit with all 6 of Taylor's teachers this year so that was good. They all said he was doing fantastically well. His science teacher told me that he is one of the most intelligent children she has taught in her nearly 40 years of teaching. Another teacher I talked with for all of 30 seconds. She said there is nothing she had to say to me because Taylor was the perfect student. He ended up with three A+'s and 3 A's and one A-. Kendall, who was nervous about what his teacher would tell me because he thinks he is not smart (kinda hard to follow a brother like Taylor), is also doing a phenomenal job. He had all A's with one B in Art which his regular teacher said was the grade that all her kids got from that teacher. I have lots of opinions about that art teacher but that's a post for another day. (Let's just say she is the teacher that wants things done exactly her way and allows for no creativity at all. My kids do not like her and I don't blame them.) Lynnsey in first grade doesn't get letter grades yet but she is also doing well and got all O's (outstanding) and S's (satisfactory) in all her subjects. Her teacher says she is really creative in her writing ability and that she is becoming a little math whiz. Go Lynnsey! (She didn't get the math talent from me!) And we even had a conference with Spencer's preschool teacher who raved about how far he has come since he started. He's been a little shy guy but she says he's finally coming around and starting to join some of the other kids in their play. He is getting better with his pencil grip and is now writing his name. He can recognize nearly all of his letters now and is very into counting and sorting. He also got all S's and a few O's. We're really proud of all the kids and all their hard work!

*Lynnsey recently lost another tooth but unfortunately the tooth fairy that comes to Michigan is a real scatterbrain. Lynnsey isn't the first of our kids to be devastated to wake up in the morning and see that there is still a tooth and no money under the pillow. I need to call someone about this because it is just unacceptable. Anyone else ever have tooth fairy troubles?

*Kaya is really beginning to talk a lot more. Some of her vocabulary includes: Mama, Dada, baba (bottle), ba (ball), baby, wa (water) and gagua (agua), no, gucka (sucker), angy (candy), go, ma (more), and done. She also mimics some of the other words we say too but hasn't used them on her own quite yet. This is always a favorite time of mine to watch their language taking off and see how they learn to communicate. She's such a cutie.

*I'm envious of my mom who is right now on a cross country train ride to go and help with my sister Susannah's brand new baby girl. I've always thought it would be fun to travel by train. And I'm just aching to see and hold that new baby!

*There's lots more day to day stuff happening but I smell a stinky diaper that needs attention and then I have to put together a quick lunch for Kaya and the little girl I babysit before we go and pick up Spencer from preschool. I'll try to do better at keeping things updated.