children's day

Three days, three performances.  Julianna, Lydia and Isaac did so well.... I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching them enjoy these days.  The excitement and anticipation, the bouncing energy at the event, the exhaustion when it's over ;)

[photo heavy post, but they are so precious, and these days are stuck firmly in their memories, so it's good to have lots of photographic documentation!]


ISAAC

LYDIA

JULIANNA

it can be very convenient

This morning I needed to buy an onion, eggs, yogurt and bananas. 

All are available within a five minute walk of my front door, so after breakfast I loaded up the boys and we were off.  (I didn't even bother with shoes since I wasn't planning to let them loose this trip - just popped them in the stroller and headed out.)

We went to the farthest stop first - yogurt.  I usually buy from this little dairy store (blue sign on the far left of the photo).  I bought 22 servings (give or take) - three different kinds of packaging and sizes.

It's not a very high tech operation.

Then we crossed the street to a little mini-market for onion and eggs.  The big farmers market is about ten minutes (walking) but for small purchases this little place is perfect.

I (almost) emptied the middle section.  With baked goods, plus scrambling and frying and hard-boiling we go through a lot of eggs. 

Four storefronts back towards home and we were at my favorite fruit stand. 

If everyone eats a banana a day, well... it's a lot of bananas :) Sometimes we buy a huge bunch, but the fruit stand is so convenient I prefer to get them in smaller bunches.

On the way home we stopped to visit with some neighbors.

and this little puppy. 

I spent 16 dollars - almost ten dollars on the yogurt (dairy products are pricey compared the rest of our food budget).  Eggs were 3 dollars, so were the bananas.  The onion was essentially free :) 

Round trip 20 minutes. 

There are days that the "inconveniences" of this country make me want to scream in frustration.  And my frustrations are, sometimes, valid.  Just ask Matt about the "conveniences" of the banking system here.  UGH! 

But, no doubt, there are parts of my life that are incredibly convenient.  I got home, put Luke down for a nap and the onion (alongside my bbq chicken) in the crock pot.  When Luke wakes I'll give both boys a banana and we'll head outside to look for more dogs and throw a few rocks in the pond.  A little after 11 we leave to go get the big three (school is a mile away).

That's Silly

Anyone out there read Highlights magazine?  You know the feature "That's Silly".... a photo spread filled with funny, out of place things (like a penguin in a backyard pool and a pig with wings). 

Here's a miniature version that'll hopefully bring a smile to your face today :)

(freeze-your-own watermelon juice popsicle)

(funny wardrobe error courtesy of yours truly)

growing potatoes

Sometime right before Christmas Julianna put a potato in a glass of water, convinced it would sprout.  I can't remember where she got the idea from.... maybe she saw it in a book?  But she was eager to "grow something" and we had a bag of potatoes on the porch, so it seemed okay by me.

That potato sat in our kitchen window for a month..... and it sprouted and sprouted and sprouted.  Every eye had dozens of little shoots growing and it was starting to get moldy, and a bit rotten looking too.  It sprouted so much that Julianna got tired of watching it. 

When it was time to head to Thailand (mid January) I was ready to chuck the potato.  But the trash can seemed a little harsh so I suggested Julianna plant it in our garden instead.  It was a balmy 40 degrees outside, and I know nothing about potato planting, and we were getting ready to leave town for a month... conditions seemed perfect for potato growing.  Ha! 

But how to plant?  In the last minute scramble to get ready to head to the airport I didn't have the time to google "planting potato sprouts" so I did what seemed best.... cut out the rotten chunk, and sent Julianna outside with a garden spade and absolutely no guidance whatsoever.  On the way to the airport I grabbed my phone from my carry-on bag and took this picture of her work.

A month later we were home Thailand and low-and-behold, that potato was growing.  It grew big vine-y shoots.  Matt thought maybe it was just growing ground cover, no real potato under the soil.

But yesterday afternoon he googled a few potato growing pics and decided it was time to dig up the produce.

There were potatoes under there!  Just three.  And they were small.  But still! Fun times for my garden girl.  Isaac and Lyds were pretty impressed too -

I probably don't need to clarify that we're eating them for dinner tonight :) 

how to have fun (the 14 month old version)

Pick a nice hot day with plenty of bright sunshine, the kind of day that makes Daddy get out the water hose and the big sibs change into bathing suits.

Maybe some of the older brothers and sisters will even want to wash the car.

Spend your first 3 minutes getting so muddy that Mom strips your clothes and leaves you strutting around the neighborhood in just diaper and shoes.

Want happy children?  Just add water.

It's the perfect recipe for a great afternoon, Luke style. 

He was so happy.  They all were.  Nothing says fun like a water hose on a hot afternoon, right? 

hotel party time

My birthday :)

We started the morning with chocolate and whipped cream topped pancakes.

 

and presents.  Of course ;)

But the real highlight was late afternoon when we loaded up the van and drove across town to a fun hotel for a spend-the-night party.  This hotel ROCKS.  One of the coolest outdoor pools we've ever enjoyed.

The "beach" is sand they trucked in from a fancy resort location in the south part of the country.

The weather wasn't perfect (a bit overcast, and cooler than the first part of the week) but that didn't stop us from getting wet and sandy.

 

 

 

Seven in one room is always an adventure, and we (luckily) sleep far better than I fear.  We woke to rain and spent the morning at the indoor pool before heading home - and naps FOR ALL FIVE KIDDOS!!  That's a lot of swimming :)

Really a fun way to celebrate a birthday - lots of fun with the family.  I loved it! 

[disclaimer: Please don't go around thinking we drop tons of cash on fancy 5 star hotels.  We're big fans of earning hotel (and airline) points and redeeming them for great deals.  Our favorite hotel points program is with Starwood/SPG.  This hotel came up on their 'points breakers' offer and we booked for 5000 points per night.  To put that in perspective, you can earn 60,000 points with one credit card offer - sign up for the card, spend the x00 dollars needed to earn the points, and cancel the card before the annual fee is charged.  It takes a little time and number crunching to "play" these credit card games (thanks Matt!) but totally worth it for the free hotel rooms.]

walking street restaurants

We have this trendy new walking street near our apartment.  It is chock full of fun restaurants and you can't beat the location (less than a mile away, a nice walk perfect for summer evenings). 

Last weekend we walked down there with some of our dear neighbor friends.  Plenty of room for the kiddos to run and play (and climb on statues) while we adults visited and ate.  We had seven kids aged 7, 5, 4, 2, 2, 1, and 7 months.  We laughed,  wondering what the other diners thought of the spectacle we were creating... in situations like this I'm sure that most people assume John Paul belongs to our friends, after all he "matches" them.  But then again, multiple children in one family are such an anomaly that our friends (with their own two young children) create a bit of a scene just themselves, without the added confusion of a white family with five children (four blonds and one who looks, well, Asian!)

I can't tell you how many times we've been out with these friends and I've said "Are you sure you don't mind being out with us? We create such a scene!"  But they are so gracious.  So they choose to grin and say "it's ok, we can go out without you guys too!"  Ha! 

So we do dinner together (often on the weekends, when both us mommas are tired of the cooking routine and ready for a break!)  I bounce their baby while they rescue stray chopsticks for my children.  We gather a crowd and laugh about it later. 

We two mommas see each other nearly every day.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard their older daughter's sweet voice calling "Laura ayi" as she bounces up our porch steps and opens our sliding door like it's her own home she's entering. 

It's a sweet, sweet friendship.  And we'll miss them terribly when we move.  Sure, we'll still live in the same city (for a while anyways).  But it'll be different.  So so different.

[Sorry no pics of them, I wish I could but....]

celebrating Mother's Day

We rescheduled our Mother's Day for this weekend.  And I'm so glad we did.

We started with breakfast in bed (and while the menu rarely changes the service keeps maturing.... but still lots of support from Matt in the kitchen!)

Church, a slow afternoon and then a picnic with the family.  Perfect. 

It's still hard for me to wrap my head around, that I get to be the mother to these FIVE.  What a gift. 

[Please be impressed that everyone is *mostly* looking towards the camera.]

And speaking of impressed, while it is (our) Mother's Day, it's hard to reflect on being a mother without recognizing this man right here.

Serves us well, even when it's hard.  I told him yesterday that he's like the anchor for our boat, things just feel a little drift-y when he's not around. 

Once again (third year running) he took video clip interviews of the kids and made an unbelievably precious Mothers Day video for me.  2011 there were three, 2012 there were four, 2013 and there are five little stars of my video.  Wow.

thank you Jesus

Life feels so full and busy right now that I think blogging might take a back seat for a month or so.  It's not an overwhelming or unhealthy busy, just a "this season is necessarily going to look like this" kind of busy. 

Tomorrow is our [postponed] Mother's Day celebration.  It's a house full of excited kiddos and there will be plenty to celebrate. 

just two random pictures

Is this how you carry your grapes home from the fruit stand? 

(Please don't laugh at how few I bought.... Isaac begged for grapes but I knew it was too early for really yummy ones, so we settled on a smaller bunch or three.  win-win.  We'll eat grapes til our cheeks turn green in a month or so.....)

And Lydia standing next to her art in the school stair well.

I get teary when I think about leaving this sweet little place that has served our family so well these past few years.  Moving means new schools....