Back to the present part 2

When we lived in MN we lived 20 miles from a small movie theater that didn't always advertise their movies well, 1 1/2 hours from a little bigger theater, and 3 hours from a big movie theater. It was basically impossible for Ram and I to go to the movies without the Lambs in the winter, because of having to plan for a babysitter not knowing what the weather was like. Plus movies were never at the small theater for long so planning for a babysitter was difficult. We couldn't get a babysitter for a 3 or 6 hour round trip driving plus the movie time. Almost all the movies that are worth watching come out in the winter and are gone by late spring. The Lambs have never been to the movie theater because when I wanted to take them to see Winnie the Pooh there was a mix up when the theater was showing it. The small movie theater 20 miles away did not have their schedule online. We didn't live in that town so we didn't notice when movies were showing by just driving by.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 2 we visited my parents and they watched Lamb 1 while Ram and I went to see the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I really wanted to see Prince Caspian but babysitting just didn't work out. By the time of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader came out I gave up on going to the theater. Ram went to see one movie without me since we saw the first Narnia movie. But I had not been to a movie theater since January 2006.
Thankfully all 3 of the Lord of the Rings movies came out before Lamb 1 was born. We saw the first one on our honeymoon, second one on our trip to ID to spend Christmas with Ram's family, and third one in that small theater 20 miles away while I was pregnant with Lamb 1. We also saw Luther and the Passion in the theater before Lamb 1 was born. Thankfully we were able to watch the other movies we wanted to see on DVD.
Everyone told me the Hobbit was really good and we needed to go see it. Finding a babysitter and working around Ram's schedule at Advent/Christmas time was a challenge. Ram's parents had see the movie in 3-D. They offered to watch the Lambs while we went to see it on Friday afternoon. It was a one day early anniversary date.
We saw the 3-D version and I'm really glad. The 3-D glasses were $2.50 but we kept ours and plan to keep them for the second Hobbit movie next year. Both Ram and I reread the Hobbit before we went to the movie. I'm so glad I had the book fresh in my mind.
I had not been to the movie theater for 7 years and then we went to a nice theater and watched a 3-D movie. One day we got TV at our house and the next day we went to the movie theater.

Back to the present

In January 2009 we stopped paying for TV. We lived too rural to get free stations with an antenna. For the first few months of Lamb 3's life he watched TV while we watched it, but before he was a year old the only TV the Lambs ever watched was at a hotel and when we visited Grandpa and Grandma.

When we moved here one of the first conversations I had at church brought up that we didn't have TV. One of the men at church could not believe that. He had never heard of someone without TV! We had trouble setting up our DVD player after moving (too bad the movers don't do that for you!). We eventually got the DVD player to work, but there were a couple of months of no TV or movies. We moved to the new house in March and a few months later we decided to replace our 12 year old TV, it really did not survive moving very well.

A few months ago I saw a video online about an indoor HDTV antenna. I decided to use our free Amazon dollars from our health insurance to get one. I read lots of reviews and decided on this one. It arrived before Christmas but I decided to wait until after Christmas to use it. On December 27, Ram put it up. It was so easy to just tape it to the wall and plug it in. We get a really nice picture.

I have never lived anywhere with 4 PBS stations before. We get several stations that we care about and of course the Spanish and Christian TV stations that we don't care about. The real reason why I purchased the antenna was so that I could watch Downton Abbey when the next season returns in January! I'm glad the Lambs can watch some of their PBS shows that they have watched movies from the library but not watched regularly.

I think a clue is that we went without TV for almost 4 years so Ram and I aren't hooked to a bunch of shows. I plan to watch Downton Abbey each week. Other than that perhaps Ram and I will watch if something important happens in the news, but I doubt that Ram and I will watch much more TV.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do about the Lambs TV schedule. Of course no TV during homeschool/preschool time in the morning. Of course they need to have chores done before watching TV or movies. But I still need to figure out how to not let them watch TV all afternoon and evening. Thankfully the only shows they are really interested in are on PBS or cable stations that we don't get for free. I have considered assigning a day of the week to each Lamb. On their day of the week (so twice a week without Sunday) they get to clean their bathroom and pick one hour of TV or movies. If you have any ideas for TV schedule for kids I would appreciate comments.

Today there wasn't anything on TV they were interested in so they've been watching several episodes of one of their Christmas presents, the complete Magic School Bus series DVDs.

Going back to TV was completely free for us. I'll try to give an update how it is going in a few weeks. If we decide we don't want it all we have to do is unplug the antenna.

Note: If you are reading this on Saturday, December 29, look at my sidebar. Happy #11 to Ram and Ewe!

Merry Christmas!

Photo taken 12/24/12

Christmas Eve presents for the Lambs

One of the elders at our church spoiled our boys by making these tool boxes with their initials on them and filling them with a few tools in each one. The stain was a little wet so now their Christmas outfits have a little brown stain on them. :) I think all the time between the 7 and 10 pm Christmas Eve services will be spent by the Lambs examining which tools they each received.

Merry Christmas!

It's that time of year again...

Thank you, Lutheran Public Radio, for having Christmas music 24/7 when most of the world has stopped playing Christmas music and gone back to their every day routine.

Babies and stockings

Note: I know this is long, but please hang in there and read the whole post as it has a point at the end!
This time of year brings lots of correspondence with family and friends both e-mail and snail mail Christmas cards. This correspondence is also a good time for friends to announce that they are pregnant. Some are due soon, they were too sick or too busy to write and announce they were pregnant before now. Others are due late summer, but they are sick enough that it doesn't look like it is going to be a miscarriage so they are announcing now.
Ram and I would love to have another child and it doesn't seem like that is God's will for us. I was a girly girl when I was little. I loved skirts and dresses, I don't think I ever wore pants to school before I was in third grade. I played with dolls and read girl books, no trucks or boy books. I had one sister, no brothers. I would love to give a granddaughter and great granddaughter to Ram's mom and grandma that never had a daughter. So it seems so ironic that I'm the only female in our family. We would like another child no matter if it was a girl or a boy.
I did dress the Lambs in some of Ram's baby clothes and take photos. But one of my greatest sadnesses is that we don't have a girl to wear my baby dresses or a girl to wear any dresses. I don't have any nieces to send them to either.
The devil does a good job at getting to me when I look at Christmas cards. The other day we received a photo of twin girls in matching dresses. Then I saw a photo of a girl wearing her mother's dress-photos that show how much the daughter looks like her mother. The letters with some of the cards that announced pregnancies-some of those have so many children that they don't honestly know how they are going to add one more to the family.
I've tried to focus on other things. The same day that I saw the mother/daughter photo, I also heard a family member is pregnant and on bedrest. That was an answer for me-I can make a care package for her to pass the time for her more quickly. She is due with her first and this care package will be really fun to put together. Also that same day an e-list I'm on asked for advice of books to buy for her daughter. I responded with books I loved as a girl and would buy if I had a daughter.
I shopped in the store and online to buy a dress for my goddaughter. I found it isn't easy to find a modest, cute, dress for an eight year old. I finally settled on one and sent it to her, but it wasn't what I had in mind.
I reread He Remembers the Barren book. I wrote an entry for their writing contest and will submit it soon.
I did a little extra for our church's preschool Christmas party so our preschool director with three young children didn't have to do so much.
I helped with the Sunday School Christmas program. I'm planning on teaching Sunday School the next couple of weeks to give a break to the regular teachers.
I've tried to focus on our own family's Christmas celebration. I have been blessed with Ram and 3 Lambs and I need to enjoy Christmas with them instead of wishing for another Lamb to join us. Our tree is up and outside and inside is all decorated. This was no easy task as we are in a new home and had to figure out where everything goes. After living in cold MN, we put up lights outside for the first time in our marriage. I put up some decorations that have not been put up since Lamb 1 was born-the Lambs are old enough to be careful with some more decorations. I have never been done decorating this early. The Christmas cards are sent out. I have baked Christmas cookies-a few kinds each week in December and shared them at church activities. The presents are all wrapped. Because all these Christmas preparations are done, I'm able to pay attention at the final Advent and Christmas church services.
The stockings are hung. This was a big sign for me-our new fireplace mantel has 5 spots for stockings for our family members. I'm sure I could figure out what to do with the stockings if God did bless us with another child, but for now our family is complete.
So devil, you can tempt me with Christmas cards and letters. I know that my life is richly blessed especially with Ram and 3 Lambs. I am a baptized child of God. Jesus has conquered the devil. Even if I never have a daughter or another son, God will provide for my every need. The fireplace mantel plainly shows that I am very blessed.

New furniture

Last year for my birthday, we had just moved into the rental house. One of my presents was that I could pick something we needed after moving. Of course since we had just moved I couldn't take advantage of that right away.
We finally felt settled enough to make a decision of what we needed in November, one whole year later. We left one sofa in MN (and the vacancy pastor appreciates it) and one sofa was old so we put it in the library upstairs for the Lambs to use while they watch movies there. Ram has his chair and I have mine. The living room also has the piano. We really needed another place to sit but there wasn't room in our small living room for another sofa. We chose a loveseat to match Ram's chair.

We went to this furniture store sale and entered our name in the drawing. We won a $100 gift certificate which we used on this loveseat. It came with a scratch on the back that is barely noticeable, but they plan to repair it in a few weeks.
One of the church members gave me some lamps when she saw the colors of our new furniture. I am quite pleased with how our living room came together. The one part of our house that our realtor was worried about was the small living room. But I like that it is right off of the kitchen and I like the cozy space for our family. It is a little more difficult when we have company, but in the summer company can also go outside to the picnic table on the patio. The loveseat makes it a little easier for when we have company in the winter.
Ram and I have bought very little furniture, most of it was from my grandma or what Ram's parents no longer needed. The Lambs don't understand how exciting it is to buy something new! The Lambs have taken over the loveseat for watching movies or sitting in front of the fireplace.

Thanksgiving Feast

Lamb 3's preschool had a feast on the last day of school before Thanksgiving break.  They sang a few songs and then we ate. Here are a few photos from the day. Ram was not able to attend but the Lambs and I attended.

Fall Bazaar

A week after we returned from our CA vacation, our church held their Fall Bazaar. I made bon bons that everyone loved for the LWML table and cookies for the preschool table. The bon bon recipe was from Ram's mom. There were 2 bon bons left and all of my cookies sold. Here are photos of the cookies.

Teddy Bears

These were a favorite and I would have made all turkeys if my cookie cutter didn't break.

Lamb 1 did not like that I made flowers even though they weren't for him.

Leaves
Lamb 1 helped put sprinkles on all of the cookies.

Gluten free peanut butter cookies with a candy kiss in the middle.

Is this really a cookie? recipe
One egg
One cup peanut butter
One cup sugar

Gifts from church members

When Ram was a pastor in MN, the members knew they were not paying him as much as a pastor that lived in the city. So they supplemented his pay with gifts like extra garden produce in the summer and meat when they bought meat for themselves or when the butchered their own meat. There were many Christmas gifts for both the family and for the Lambs. Many of these gifts were handmade. We love looking at these gifts as they are displayed around our new home.
When we moved here to one church in the city, things changed. Ram got a salary increase but there was no parsonage so we had to buy our own home. I must stress that at both MN and ID we were financially fine. Finances are just different in the two places. Last year Ram had only been a pastor at the new church for about a month, so people at the new church didn't know us. I don't know what Christmas presents will be like this year after we have been here for a year.
Living in the city, those with gardens just raise enough for their own families. There was one family that gave us a few veggies when they had way too much and one gave us a lot of tomatoes. But that was it. Much different than being given produce from different members all summer.
So when one of the members offered to let us go pick onions in the field next to their home, we took them up on the offer. Thankfully we went right away before it rained and the onions rotted in the field.

Yes, this is in our front entry way! This photo was taken after we gave away a bunch of the onions, this is what we had in November.

The Lambs and Ram went out and picked a bunch in a little time with all 4 of them working. When my friend Joelle came over she laughed about the onions. We gave a lot away. We made French onion soup and have gradually been using the onions. We are down to two cookie sheets now. About a week ago when we had people over at our house they noticed the onions under a table. We gave away a few more then.
We are thankful for all gifts from our members, even onions!

Halloween 2012

Lamb 3's preschool class and teacher
Lamb 3 was Pooh.

This is the best I could get a photo of this family at church, The Incredibles. I'm just not a fast enough photographer for two year old twins!

The Lambs in the bounce house at our church Trunk or Treat.

A few photos of the Lambs at Trunk or Treat.

Ram went to Trunk or Treat dressed as a pastor!

Our trunk was full of the jack-o-lanterns we carved and candy that wasn't sticky.

What the Lambs wore to Trunk or Treat
Lamb 1: Baseball player
Lamb 3: Eeyore
Lamb 2: Fireman

One of the trunks gave out this cute pumpkin poop (cheese balls).

Following Trunk or Treat we put our jack-o-lanterns out in front of our house and went trick or treating in our neighborhood.

I had these pumpkin tattoos leftover from a few years ago. I had planned to make pumpkin pie out of these but I haven't done that yet so I don't think that is happening this year. I'll have to look for these next year, they were quite easy for the Lambs.

One more photo from the preschool in the morning, sorry it is out of order. Lamb 1 and 2 helped with the preschool party. Lamb 2 was a baseball player and Lamb 1 was a fireman. Lamb 1 and 2 were quite helpful with the preschool games, snacks, and crafts. They are old enough to be good helpers but young enough to still have fun while they help. They wore different costumes in the morning for the preschool party than they did for the Trunk or Treat at night.

The next day the Lambs took all their sticky candy to a dentist and traded it for a few dollars. The dentist sends the candy to the military troops and the Lambs were excited to get a little money instead of just throwing away the candy.

Last year we moved into our rental house on Halloween so this was a much better Halloween than last year.

Band competition

In my attempt to finish posting photos from OCTOBER before Christmas, here's what we did on the first evening after we were home from CA (after Chick-fil-A and library book sale).

One of our church members gave our family tickets to this competition. It was the best gift for me, the band geek. I missed band competitions while we lived in MN. Ram had never been before and he said he would like to go again. The Lambs tolerated it, I think next year we would go a little earlier (we went at 6pm) when it wasn't so cold yet and also try to get a little better seats. It got my brain working if the Lambs would like to be in marching band in a few years...Which high school would they go to? Would we continue to home school? We'll see. It was also interesting to see how ID does marching band and competitions compared to my home state, IN.

One of our members is a drum major for this high school. Their show was titled "Angels" and I was quite impressed with their show. I don't think they placed, but I liked their show. They played "A Mighty Fortress" and even had a solo of "A Mighty Fortress". That is impressive to me both for living in the West and a public high school.

If you're really interested, here's the show.

Church dress

I almost always wear a skirt or a dress to church. I don't work outside of the home and it is one chance a week to dress up. I think the best time of the week to dress up is for church. Since we moved here, the dress is much more casual and some times I'm the only one at church in a skirt. After living in MN I don't think the cold would ever be an excuse for me to wear pants here. When we have evening services (Advent and Lent) I often wear dress pants, but not jeans. This is unusual for this area too. The Lambs were surprised to see me put on dress pants for Advent evening services because I wear dress pants so little.

Tomorrow I had planned to wear dress pants and a nice sweater to church because I'm helping with the Sunday School Christmas program during church. I thought pants would be easier to sit on the floor and show them the actions for the songs etc. Then I read this article. Ram encouraged me to wear a dress, not just a skirt after reading this. I think I'll wear a skirt. I find it odd that their "Wear pants to church day" is during Advent, right before Christmas. Also, read carefully the wording of the statement of the media manger.

I'm so thankful to be a member of the LCMS. I know my boys are thankful that they don't have to wear a tie every Sunday, but they like to wear ties so they wear them sometimes. I'm thankful to have the choice what to wear to church. I'm reminded each Sunday when we are outside when our neighbors get home from their LDS ward. I'm also thankful to go to church by my own free will and not have anyone knocking on my door if I miss church or keeping track and demanding my tithe. I'm the most thankful to hear the Gospel each week at church. I'm thankful that our church observes Advent and Christmas each year to remind me that Jesus humbled himself to be born as a baby and later died and rose again to forgive my sins.

Chick-Fil-A Grand Opening

I decided I better get back to posting about our activities this fall before Christmas! We returned from our CA vacation late in the evening on October 26. Then we got up early on October 27 for a full day of activities.
First we went to Chick-Fil-A. We had missed the grand opening a few days before. I really didn't expect this Saturday to be this crowded since it wasn't the official grand opening. The workers said they expected it to be busy for the first month after opening. We are glad Chick-Fil-A came to our town. We watched them building it eagerly waiting the opening day.

You can tell it was busy, but they were well organized with lots of staff so the line went pretty fast.

Lamb 2 and 3
Since this was just a few days after Disneyland, they knew what to do

The playground is great for younger kids, here the Lambs are in a car

Another view of how busy it was

Family photo

Even the drive up was busy. They had workers at the beginning of the drive up lane giving out menus so you knew what you wanted to order by the time you made it to order.

Following Chick-Fil-A we went to the Boise library used book sale. This is what our family bought. It was more expensive than the spring sale where it was $9 for everything you could fit in a bag. The fall sale was $1-$2 a book. Ram had the most finds, Lamb 1 had a few finds too. We really should get a babysitter for Lamb 2 and 3 when we go to these book sales. It didn't help that they were tired after vacation.

When we got home from the library book sale while we were unloading the car, Lamb 2's balloon from Chick-Fil-A escaped the car and went to the sky. Ram tried to go back and get him another one but by then they were all gone. With the helium shortage they don't get balloons often any more so this was very disappointing for Lamb 2. Lamb 2 keeps asking to go back to Chick-Fil-A to get another balloon. He doesn't understand they just had them that one day for the grand opening.

What we did in the evening will have to wait for another post. 

Jenna Bush Hager's pregnancy

I watched the video of Jenna and her husband Henry announcing to the world that she is pregnant. Of course now that her dad is no longer in the White House the pressure is off her a little. But she admitted she was nervous and excited to let the world know. She said it is a spring time baby.
The part of the story that caught my attention was that they have been married for four years and her parents were beyond anxious to be grandparents. She said her dad said he saw her husband's boss at a conference and he said to stop paying her husband until they produced children. If I remember from her biography, Laura did not have an easy time getting pregnant, finally had twins when she was about 35, and those twins were a difficult pregnancy and birth. Perhaps that is why they pressured them to get pregnant, they wanted them to begin while they were young in case they didn't have an easy time.
First, I am thrilled for all of them that they will have their first child/grandchild. Second, I can't imagine needing to announce a private thing like this to the world. It was a difficult enough decision when Ram would announce to our church members that I was pregnant! Third, it seems that she is far enough along to be beyond miscarriage and I am so glad she was able to wait until now to announce instead of have to tell almost immediately like the Duchess Kate.
But the media focusing on how much the Bushs wanted to be grandparents is ridiculous. I am learning more and more from my friends and the He Remembers the Barren site how much infertility is part of our sinful world. What if they would have gotten to the point of trying for a baby and nothing would have happened? What if they have been trying but just not telling the world and nothing happened until now?
I also have to say that I never dressed like Jenna when I was pregnant, not even after my morning sickness lessened. I never wear high heels. I never would have worn a sleeveless dress in December. I read the pregnancy books and didn't paint my nails or wear much make up while I was pregnant. And frankly it would have been obvious I was pregnant by the time I was well enough to get dressed and announce something like that on TV. I know that each pregnancy is different and I pray for her sake that Jenna's is easier than mine.
Also, we live really different lives. She is focusing on her new job as Southern Living magazine editor. Once I got beyond the sick part of pregnancy I focused on getting ready for baby-read books about parenting, got the nursery ready, started organizing the presents from baby showers, etc. I did not go back to work after I had children. Then I had a baby that never slept because he had MSPI and there is no way I would have been able to work outside the home or even be an editor from my home.
May Jesus bless and keep Jenna and baby through pregnancy and birth and the newborn stage.

I'm excited that my child failed!

Lamb 1 was a very late talker but he talked well at age 3 1/2. When we lived in MN Lamb 2 went to the public school for speech once a week for 1/2 hour. When we moved the first problem was getting the paperwork from his MN speech teacher. When we finally got that then we contacted the public school here. We were surprised to learn that there were no services like speech provided to home school students. I talked to some other home school moms and learned that the public schools really do not have enough money here so they do not usually provide services like this to home schooled students. When I talked to a public school teacher she said we should be able to get speech at the school. We considered "fighting" to get him in to speech at the school. By this time it was almost the end of the school year so by the time he was tested, they wouldn't have even had time to work with him before summer break. I tried unsuccessfully to get him into a program at the university where students that are studying speech therapy need students to work with. Finally, we got a referral from our doctor. In August, Lamb 2 began speech therapy at a pediatric rehabilitation services center. He goes once a week for an hour. This was quite expensive but it helped us meet our insurance deductible. Once we met our deductible, the rest of the year of speech was free to us. After a few months I am pleased with our decision. He had missed speech for several months and he needed to get back in speech. In just a few months I have seen very good progress. He has a once a week appointment for an hour and we don't need to deal with school schedules.

Meanwhile, while I was trying to get Lamb 2 in speech, Lamb 3's preschool teacher strongly encouraged me to get Lamb 3 evaluated and into speech. Lamb 3 has listened to Lamb 2 incorrectly say words. Some one told me in September that he sounds like a cartoon character when he talks. The public schools evaluate one day every other month. He had an evaluation today at the public school. He did well on every area except for speech. He failed speech. Which means he will be referred to the public school speech therapist and hopefully begin speech early in 2013. For free! He also did not pass the hearing test in one ear. He has never failed a hearing test at the doctor or when we took him to the audiologist in MN. We think he is healing from an ear infection. So we will have his hearing tested again in a few weeks.

My next hope is that if Lamb 3 begins speech at the school I can discuss Lamb 2 with the speech therapist. They might be more helpful if I talk to them in person instead of over the phone and if they are already working with Lamb 3. Lamb 2 will continue his speech where he goes currently unless things work out with the public school. I'm just thankful that we only have to pay for one child to attend speech.

I know this will increase my chauffeur duties-piano for Lamb 1, Lamb 2 will begin piano in January too, speech for Lamb 2, now speech for Lamb 3, and preschool for Lamb 3-but I'm glad the Lambs that need speech will be able to get therapy.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

When they woke up this morning, the Lambs found this outside their bedroom door.
(Chocolate coins in their church shoes and a fabric map.)

All the pieces are up there, but they still have some arranging, especially for countries and rivers.

Lamb 3

Lamb 1 and 2
We put it between the boy's bathroom and the laundry room upstairs. I think hammering nails in the wall to put it up was almost more fun than the map! I think they will enjoy this map for a long time. We can also add more names of places just by putting velcro on the back of our homemade pieces.

I happen to know that St. Nick got a great deal on the map, with coupons it was just $10 at Kohls. St. Nick had a difficult time choosing from all the Discovery Kids toys.

In case you haven't read my posts about St. Nicholas Day before, I'll let you know that my boys refer to Santa as St. Nick. They know that others call him Santa. When we drove around looking at lights last night they called out to each other, "That house has a St. Nick!" They know that Grandma and Grandpa give them presents on Christmas.

Piano Lessons

Lamb 1 began piano lessons the end of September. He has done so well that a few weeks ago I had to buy him some more books because the beginner book was too easy for him. Each week he practices out of his beginner book, a beginner hymn book, and a beginner Christmas songs book.

Practicing for piano lessons two weeks ago was awful for him and for me. I think it was the first time it was difficult for him, not easy to just sit down and practice what was assigned. When we went to lessons last week the teacher spent extra time answering all his questions and making sure he was ready to practice "Away in a Manger" for his recital on Dec. 16.

I expected this week to go better after the teacher spent extra time with him. On Friday he kept asking me questions and when I didn't know the answers he wanted me to look them up on the computer. I didn't understand his questions enough to even look them up. I reminded him I only had 6 weeks of piano lessons and I never had a music theory class. When he calmed down I tried again to answer his questions. I figured out he wanted to know about sharps and flats. I don't think I answered all his questions, but enough that he was satisfied.

On Monday I watched him while he practiced. He had a blank music staff and he composed one line of music. No wonder why he wanted to know about the black keys on the piano! I assumed he was just writing it down. I asked him to play his music he wrote. I was shocked that he could play it. I think all this came from reading biographies of Bach and Beethoven to the boys recently. He also asked me to print off music for "Beethoven's Fifth" and "Ode to Joy" and he started practicing those. (Amazing what you can get online for free, just by typing easy piano sheet music!)

After he played his music then he told me that he wants to learn "O Come O Come Emmanuel" because that is an Advent song and his recital will be during Advent. I asked if he thought he could really learn two songs before his recital and he said he has to because he needs to play an Advent song. I wouldn't be surprised if he does.

He originally started piano lessons because the deal in our family is a year or two of piano lessons and then you are allowed to add or switch to another instrument. He wanted to play trumpet. Last week Lamb 1 told me he just wants to play piano so that he can do well on one instrument. We'll have to wait and see what he thinks next year, but he obviously likes piano even after a week that was difficult for him to practice.

Ram and I think that Lamb 3 is smarter than Lamb 1. What am I going to do when Lamb 3 gets to piano lessons if Lamb 1 is composing music less than 3 months after he began lessons? Lamb 2 is anxious to begin lessons in January.

I'm not trying to brag about Lamb 1. I just wanted to blog about how I'm shaking my head, that I was not expecting this part of homeschooling.

Ordering preschool products online

When school began Lamb 3 brought home his book order forms. I tried several times to order online because you get a $5 free book with the next order if you order online. It would not let me do the final step to submit the order. I called Scholastic. Basically I had an account in MN and the computer couldn't figure out that I wanted a new account for ID. I had Ram try to order it-thought perhaps I was doing something wrong. Ram even tried on his laptop while he was at his office, just in case the problem was something with our internet. After a few days of trying several times, I gave up. I waited until the next month and I was able to order just fine.
Today I tried to order the pictures the boys had taken at preschool a few weeks ago. I wanted to order a CD with a couple of the pictures instead of paying the outrageous prices for a few sheets that weren't exactly what I wanted. I went online, clicked on quantity, and just like Scholastic there was no way to put it in the cart to finalize the order. I called the picture people. The lady was very nice and apologized several times, but there was no way for her to order a CD over the phone, only I could do that final step. Her computer was working fine. :) I cleared the cookies off the computer and everything I could think of. Ram tried too. Finally Ram got out his laptop and tried. It worked fine on his laptop.
I just want to scream when I know what I want to order and the websites won't let me. I have wasted a long time on this. I was able to try several times each day. I don't know what the mothers that work outside of the home do at times like this. Or maybe it's just me, the other moms don't have any trouble?

At the library today...

The Boise library that we go to sometimes has a parking area near the door with signs saying those parking spaces are for Fuel Efficient Cars. It seems kind of silly to me, the parking lot is often almost full, but not full. If more parking was needed there is a shopping mall nearby. I think instead they should promote walking to the library as several houses and apartments are within walking distance. All the parking spaces have about the same walk to the front door of the library.
Today I had to laugh because one of those Fuel Efficient spots had a big old boat of a car-I would guess the car was made in the 70's. Add to that the bumper sticker had something not nice to say about Prius owners. If I had a better phone I would have taken a picture.

What do you call..?

What do you call cinnamon rolls when you forget to put the cinnamon in? Everyone in my family watched me make them, ate one, talked about what ingredients were in cinnamon rolls, and no one noticed. About an hour after I ate one I realized. I don't know if it is more crazy that I forgot the cinnamon or that my family didn't notice. They were still yummy with raisins and walnuts!

National Tie One On Day...

National Tie One on Day is tomorrow. I was sick over the weekend so I think I will have to celebrate next week, not tomorrow. I don't want to give any germs away. But I can't pass up a chance to wear an apron!

Tie an apron on and deliver a homemade good to a neighbor in need of cheer...

Fall vacation day 5

We checked out of the hotel, spent most of the day with Great Grandma at her house, and then took a flight out of Long Beach. The airport there was under some construction so we had a long walk to our plane. I take that over flying out of busy Los Angeles though. We flew over the supper hour so we didn't eat. We planned to take the Lambs out when we got home. Lamb 2 and 3 fell asleep in the car on the short ride from the airport. Lamb 1 was tired but not asleep. So we just went home and went to bed. Here are some final vacation photos from Great Grandma's house.

Great Grandma was thrilled that Lamb 1 practiced piano at her house and that her piano was played by someone

Great Aunt Shelly brought some toys she got at a garage sale over for the Lambs to play with while they visited. It was an Arctic set-boats and animals. They went all over the backyard with the toys.

We try to always take a photo of the Lambs by Grandma's orange tree. My have they grown-we started with one Lamb sitting in the car seat for a photo-now there are 3 and they all stand for a photo.

Great Grandma, 3 Lambs, Ram, Grandpa
4 Generations

Fall vacation day 4-Disneyland day

It was a strange time of year to go to Disneyland. It was decorated for Halloween...

and they were beginning decorating for Christmas. It's a Small World, Storybook Land boats, and a few of our other favorite rides were closed so they could decorate them for Christmas. When we rode the train they used the prerecorded message, "Over here on your right is It's a Small World, you won't want to miss this classic ride!"
I have been to Disneyland twice, both times were in October. It seemed plenty crowded to me for the "off season". We went on a Thursday so there were no fireworks, no special Halloween activities, and very few rides had offers of Fastpasses-the ones did we either weren't interested in those rides or there wasn't that long of a line.

As far as Ewe is concerned, we have gone both times to Disneyland mostly just to go to Critter Country and get photos with Pooh. After we got in the park that was our first stop. We were pleased that this time we were able to wait in one line to see both Tigger and Pooh. Last time we went to Disneyland you saw either Tigger or Pooh, but not both at once. We got there at a good time and only had to wait for a few families ahead of us before we saw Tigger. A few more families after us got to see Tigger and Pooh and then they took a break. After their break Eeyore came with Pooh. By then the line was very long and we didn't stay to see Pooh again and see Eeyore. The Lambs warned me that Aunt Hannah would be upset that we didn't stay to see Eeyore.

I talked about visiting Pooh first thing in the park with the Lambs for several days before our trip. Everyone cooperated really well because a trip to the Lego store at the end of the day was promised if they took photos with Pooh. Of course they were told it was all for Mama, but Lamb 2 and 3 both hugged Pooh on their own.

Family photo in Critter Country-near the line for Pooh
Then we rode the Pooh ride.

Next we rode the train around the park and the Lambs hadn't done anything they wanted to do yet-Critter Country was for Ewe. So we decided to ride Autopia next. Grandpa rode with Lamb 1, Ram rode with Lamb 3, and Ewe rode with Lamb 2. It was too loud for me to get Grandpa or Ram's attention so only Lamb 2 had his photo taken. None of the Lambs could reach the pedal so they took the steering wheel and the adult with they pushed the pedal. The Lambs liked this ride, it had a long line but not too terrible. They liked getting a driver's license and "driving" themselves.
Then we rode the monorail around the park.

Then we headed over to Fantasyland. Grandma rode the teacups with Ram and the Lambs.

Ram and Lamb 2 and 3 rode Dumbo. It was hot while we waited in the line for Dumbo-I can't imagine being there in the summer.

Ewe and Lamb 1 rode Dumbo.

Everyone but Grandpa rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We had read Wind in the Willows earlier this year. Ewe wanted to ride Peter Pan because the last time we were at Disneyland it was closed for repairs. That line was really long-over an hour. So we did not ride Peter Pan. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride the line was not too long and everyone liked it.

Family photo time again

After this we had reservations at the Blue Bayou for lunch. Grandpa and Grandma wanted some real food by this point in the day-not corn dogs or junk food. Our reservations were for almost 3pm. There wasn't much that Lamb 1 considered worth the time waiting in line that we had done yet. All the Lambs had stayed up too late the night before. All the Lambs had not listened and didn't eat much breakfast so they were starving. We had reservations so we were seated pretty quickly. Then the meltdowns began. None of the Lambs were happy with the menu, especially Lamb 3 just wanted cheese pizza which is not on the menu! The waitress was so patient with us as we figured out what to order them. The food didn't take too long. We ate a delicious meal. Ewe had Monte Cristo, Ram had a steak, Lamb 3 had pasta with chicken (he didn't eat any chicken, but most of the pasta with sauce), Lamb 2 had macaroni and cheese, and Lamb 1 had salmon and pasta. They all ate well. After eating and several bathroom breaks during lunch, the boys were whole new children, ready to do more, not just go back to the hotel and crash. 

Lamb 3 loves carousels and requested we go back to Fantasyland and ride that. There was almost no line when we went back so that request was easy. 

 Then we wandered around the park looking for a couple more rides without too long of a line. We got in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. When Lamb 1 figured out that it was a roller coaster there was no way he was going on that, even if it was a little roller coaster. Grandma took him out of line and he was happy to wait for us. Lamb 2 and 3 loved it! Grandpa survived the ride-it had been years since he rode a roller coaster.

At this point we let each Lamb pick one ride to ride a second time. Lamb 2 and 3 chose the roller coaster again. Lamb 1 chose to go back and ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride again.

Lamb 3 was exactly the right height to ride the roller coaster, 1/2 inch less and he wouldn't have been allowed to ride.

Ewe chose to go back and ride the Pooh ride again. We walked all over the park to let the Lambs ride their rides a second time and Ewe ride the Pooh ride again. The Pooh ride was one of Lamb 3's favorites too. Grandpa and Grandma waited for us and didn't even try to do all that walking around the park.
Ewe took advantage of the Lambs ages-she knows she will probably never get the Lambs to ride the Pooh ride again so willingly.

Then we stopped and got pineapple ice cream from the Dole place. We were told by our church members that we had to do that!

Then we planned to go along Main Street and do some things, but by that time at night Abraham Lincoln was closed and everyone was pretty worn out. Lamb 2 was very disappointed about not seeing Lincoln. We decided to not stay for the parade as we would have had to wait about a half an hour.

Then when we left the park we had to walk way down the end of Downtown Disney to get to the Lego store. We let each Lamb build a minifigure for their prize for taking photos with Pooh and Tigger. This took quite a long time to let the Lambs chose. Lamb 1 built Abraham Lincoln, Lamb 2 and 3 just built people with accessories. By then the parade was done and we needed to take the shuttle back to the parking lot before they closed for the night.

After the big lunch at Blue Bayou we went back to the hotel and the Lambs ate leftovers from some of our meals out earlier that week. We all slept well that night. Grandma had her pedometer on and said we walked 8 miles-but we walked some without her so I wouldn't be surprised if we walked 9 or 10 miles.