Anniversary and Zoo class

I have every intention of doing an Anniversary post.  But in case I don't, Tyler and I went on a date for our 7th anniversary.  It was fun. I love him. Yay!

 Our 7th anniversary also marked the last day of Alex's Zoo class.  I think It was also the last nice semi-warm day of the year.

 Heidi had declared it shark day, so our first stop after dropping Alex off at class was the aquarium.

Quinn is voracious and so we decided to stop at the picnic tables and enjoy some Kix, Pommelos and oranges. 

 Heidi loves to peel oranges.  She takes her time and gets all the pith off, takes one bite and 9 times out of 10 exclaims "Yuck, too sour!" I roll my eyes, this coming from the little girl who sucks on limes for fun. Having free orange peeling labor works out well for me though.

 Quinn will eat anything.  She gets a thrill from catching and consuming her prey and so far Kix hold the biggest challenge and thus, reward.  She gets so intense about it.  It's hilarious.

 Being a fairly windy and chilly day at the Zoo we had the place to ourselves so we spent some quality time with the sharks.

 I have a pretty irrational fear of sharks, so I like to linger in the shark tunnel and study them in hopes of overcoming said fear.

 Heidi is the best lingerer ever.

 This day we focused on the teeth and eyes.  It totally creeped me out.

 Heidi insisted I document how tall she was.  And then had me stand on the scale to see how tall I was.

 Our friend bear may be pregnant.  They have sent some of her poop to a beagle in Kansas who will smell it and then tell whether she is or not!  So there you go, learn something new everyday.

 The Zoo used to have these massive sting rays that you could pet.  Then one day they were gone and there were just a bunch of tiny ones.  Heidi inevitably soaks her sleeve every time trying to touch one.

 Here is the little princess picking her nose inside the sting ray tunnel.

 We spent a lot of time observing the fish that day.  We got lucky and happened to be in the right place at the right time to see some feedings.  Watching the Piranhas eat was crazy fascinating!

 I think next time we go I'm going to document the Zoo from Heidi's perspective.  It's a lot different than mine.  We were in the elevator at the aquarium (instead of taking the ramp down because Heidi begged to ride the elevator) I told Heidi not to wake up Quinn who was sleeping in the stroller or I'd tickle her until she turned blue.  At that moment Quinn woke up on her own.  Heidi looked at me and teasingly I said "You'd better run!"

 Well the elevator doors opened and she did run.  All the way across the building and then up the ramp to the second floor again.  Somehow that was the moment that everyone at the Zoo was in that building and she was able to gain quit the lead.  She had nearly escaped the building when I finally caught her just as she was trying to follow a lady into a secure staff only room.
   I'm embarrassed to say this was the second time she had evaded me that day and also the second time I had been told of her location by the same lady, with 3 small kids.  I can only imagine her thinking "Lady, if you can't keep control over that one and a baby in a stroller, you better quit now!"  Heidi and I had a long talk in which we concluded that I would never tickle her again, and she wouldn't ever run away or break her promise.
  That marked the time to go back and get Alex and on the way we discovered the WORST job at the Zoo.

 Shark feeder.  I can now add it to my list of jobs to rattle off to Alex when she complains about school "If you don't learn how to read then you will have to be a ___________"  Garbage man, box lifter, shark feeder.

 It must have been feeding time because we got to see the polar bear, sharks, sea lion and fish being fed. Awesome!

 Alex on the other hand got to pet a macaroni penguin.  Bit of jealously on our part.

 After class we looped back to Kids Kingdom to freeze ourselves and play a bit more.

 Heidi got to see the Kangaroo jump.  This was very exciting.  We had just watched a Wild Kratts on Kangaroos and Heidi was spouting off facts.  Alex LOVES the Wild Kratts show.  She told me that she had prayed that they would come visit her at our house, which prompted me to suggest we write to them (she had so much faith that God would tell them where we lived and that they would come.  I figured we should put in a little food work just in case.)  So she drew this great picture and we wrote a letter and then I couldn't find their address anywhere.  So I wrote to their company and got an e-mail back with the address!  I was really excited.  I also wrote the Zoo and told them to hire the Kratts for a event.  These guys have gotten Alex off of princesses and now she wants to be a Biologist instead of a cashier when she grows up!!!!!

 The day ended with the most glorious sight!  Our dear friend cutsy pie who has NEVER been awake during one of our visits was pacing around.  We were thrilled.

 Alex is in Girl Scouts and just got her vest and first patch!  She sold some magazines and earned another one that she is really excited about.  Thanks to all those who helped out!

 We decided to do a homemade Christmas this year, and Alex wanted to make Quinn a mermaid.  So we worked on it together for a week and here it is! I am a very proud Mom!

 Saturday we had Tyler to ourselves for the WHOLE DAY!!!!!  It was the first time in a long time and so we did a bit of spontaneousness and celebrating.  First was the library (after 2 hours spent looking for an overdue video that was eventually found in an underwear drawer. Seriously kids?!), then the girls were reminiscing over Utah and brought up how we used to always go get doughnuts and take them to the shop.  So we tried to track down a bakery.  An hour and a few forays through scary neighborhoods and we found a Dunkin Doughnuts.  We each had a few bites of each one and for some reason the box full of bitten doughnuts and dough scraps made me really happy.  We got home just in time for a temperature drop and some snow!

The girls were very excited and ran outside.  I took a picture and then made them return for coats and mittens.
   It's cold here.  Right now I think it's  17 degrees, but it feels like -20 and our room is the coldest in the house.  Luckily the kids is the warmest and they don't seem to be bothered by it.  I don't plan on leaving the house until spring.  I wasn't planning on buying curtains, but if there is any chance they can help keep out the cold then YES.  That or I'll just cover every window and door with a blanket.
   I remember this summer when the electricity went out, I thought I was going to die- it was so hot and miserable.  I thought "I can see how people could die in this humid heat."  Now it's cold, and I can totally see how people could die if the electricity went out.  I hear February is the worst.  Believe it or not, I wore socks around the house for perhaps the first time in 5 years today.  It's that bad.

November

Heidi loves school.  She loves having my undivided attention while we learn something together, especially when I'm in the middle of teaching Alex something complicated, administering a test, or feeding the baby.  The other day I kept putting her off with promises that I would do her school in a few minutes after Alex finished a test.

Heidi wandered off and I assumed she was playing contently.  Awhile later I spotted her walking slowly down the hall, head down, arms behind her back.  This is Heidi's tell.  These days she could get away with pretty much anything and I wouldn't know, but when she does something she knows is bad, the quiet head droop slow walk hiding arms tells me something is up.

She admitted to drawing on the walls.  I was mad until I saw that she had actually drawn things!  Beautiful little Heidi people and snowmen!  I had to hide my smile while informing her of her punishment to clean them all up.  We discovered that her art wasn't limited to the walls, but spread to the doll house, and cubbies as well.  It was adorable.

The next day it snowed!  I make hot coco and pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and we listened to Christmas music while we ate.

Alex got dressed and put on shoes before running outside. Heidi found some socks and gloves and ran out in the Cinderella dress she had worn the previous day, and also slept in.  The first thing Heidi did was grab a handful of snow and throw it at Alex.

This probably didn't help our image as "that crazy homeschool family" next door.

EVERY time we use the red cups (weekly) Alex makes sure I know that these are HER tea cups from Aunt Kate, and that she is letting us use them out of the kindness of her heart.

Last week was also day 70 of school.  It also marked the day I think we may have finally figured out a homeschool routine that works for us.  

That routine is basically this:
    Don't try to get anything important or organized done while Quinn is awake.  When Quinn naps, distract Heidi with coloring and try to get Math and Phonics done. Spend Quinn's awake hours doing sister school (Alex teaching Heidi or vice versa) and topics that can be taught while holding or feeding or chasing a baby.

Quinn can almost crawl.  She rolls and scoots and can get her legs crawling around- her arms don't quite corporate yet, but she can get around!  She has those baby eagle eyes and LOVES to shove tiny dangerous things in her mouth.  All of the tiny toys have been confiscated.  In fact about 90% of the toys have been confiscated and relocated to bags in the dungeon.  The kids have yet to notice- It's sort of wonderful and unbelievable all at once.  The toy room is never a mess and the kids are content.

Saturday I tried a freezer meal soup day with a friend and we pumped out 6 large batches of soup a piece!  My freezer is full and it's nice having those healthy meals in a snap. One batch lasted us 3 days!

And lastly, Ben- I love all the comments you leave.  Thank you for always posting some hilarious comment that makes me homesick for you guys and glad for the internet and angry that you and Kate are so terrible at blogging.  Then I realize that Ben and Kate are beating EVERYONE ELSE under the table with their once every 4 month posts (ahhhmmm, Kara, Danielle/ Michael, Natalie and the rest of you who abandoned social media so I have NO IDEA what you guys are up to. )  So thank you Ben, they are the best part of blogging.

End of October

 I had an inkling that Quinn was a bit taller than my other girls.  It started when I was arranging clothes and noticed Quinn was already growing out of things that Alex had worn past Christmas at this age.  Since their birthday's are so close I figured that perhaps the outfits had shrunk with time.  Then I glanced at the family height chart.

 The little giant is zipping up like a weed and not giving me time to dress her in all my favorite Alex and Heidi clothes before she outgrows them!

 Since we had done trunk or treating with at the church and already had our fill of candy, on Halloween night we sat on the porch and handed out candy to all the sopping wet kids who had braved the downpour for candy that night.

 The girls ate as many suckers as they could while we filled bags and voted on the best costume.  They were so content, and didn't question me for a minute when I said that we had already gotten our treats and now it was our turn to sit and share!  This was good as Tyler was gone at school all night and there was NO way I was taking all 3 kids out by myself, in the rain.  We ran out of suckers just as the big kids descended on the streets and the costumes started to get creepy and gory.

 Saturday we had the treat of welcoming my old friend Brianna for a visit!  I think she may be the only high school friend I've held onto over the last 10 years.  So it was pretty exciting to hear that she was moving a few hours away to Ohio for her residency after medical school!

 She did a great job of not acting too bored while I did homeschool and juggled the kids, and we did do some fun things like the Zoo!

 This could be my favorite animal at the zoo.  I get so excited every time I see this pretty little stingray.

 Our Zoo day was a cold one and our fingers and noses froze (except the ones that had mittens).   Quinn was chill as always and perked up when she got close enough to grab some plants.

 Brianna was made an official Aunt after wiping a snotty nose, taking Heidi to the bathroom, and babysitting Quinn and Heidi at the Zoo for probably an hour while I ran Alex back and forth from Zoo class.  Keeping Heidi in sight and alive in public is a major feat.  She did some other amazing thing that normally only parents do and I remembered why I had hung onto this friend.

 After the zoo we picked up Tyler and finally made it to Primanti Brother's for the infamous Pittsburgh sandwich!  Fries and slaw on french bread bun- it was delicious and super filling and I'll post the picture when I find it.

 The polar bear was actually moving around and Heidi was a mix of fascinated and bored.

 I bribed her with a handful of M&M's to stand by the glass so i could take a picture.  She wasn't afraid, she just usually resists doing anything I ask her to.  When she got a glimpse of the polar bear a few inches away she did pull a good face though.

 Poor Polar bear must have been suffering a mental break, because he paced the same path over and over and over for about 10 minutes.  It was great for pictures.

 Tuesday the kids were acting a bit sick, but wouldn't commit to actually lying still and getting better so we went for a short outing.

 Brianna's mother had attended Chatham and so we went for some pictures and such on campus.

Dressing the kids has become an unsurmountable challenge.  I had to go through their drawers and steal every contraband skirt because they kept refusing to wear pants underneath and it's cold here!  So they tapped into the dress closet.  Getting the kids in warm enough clothes AND in the car in less than an hour is tricky, on this day I don't think I realized exactly what the kids were wearing until I looked at them through my "we are in public now" eyes and had to laugh at the rainbow of pink Heidi had donned.

 I'm trying to focus on Happy right now.  Life is a bit stressful and happy can be hard.  Right now what seems to be making everyone happy is Mom not caring what clothes they wear out of the house.

 It seems Brianna and Heidi did coordinate their outfits though.

 It's such a beautiful campus.  There are so many trees and paths and hills.  The girls had a blast running along the sidewalks and gathering sticks.

 The weather had warmed up just enough to make it a nice jaunt.  We ended the outing with a trip to Trader Joe's and picked up some of our favorites for an afternoon snack and dinner.

 On Wednesday after homeschool finished we decided to try out the Natural History Museum!  I know it may seem like we are made of money or something, going to all these great places all the time, but we have a pass that gets us in to all of them for 1$.  Maybe the only benefit of being a poor student family.

 It was REALLY cool.  We spent a few hours looking at the giant gem collection, the dinosaurs, stuffed animals and then decided we had better leave before the kids imploded.  There were barely any people around so we had the place to ourselves.  It was very "Night in the Museum"ish.

Brianna convinced Tyler to watch the kids that evening so we could have a girls night.  It was SO needed!  We went to my new favorite place 'Burgatory' and had a shake and fries.  The most heavenly fries in the world!  Danielle you need to come so I can take you.  It was poutine on steroids and you would love them!
   It was sad seeing Brianna leave after all the fun, late nights, girl talk, TV and candy.  But knowing she is only a morning drive away made the goodbye bearable.
    Having the company made the week fly by and there was just enough time to prepare for the ward Souper Saturday.  I was in charge of the Ollieblocks and it was a bit of stress getting it all together the last few weeks but it came together nicely.  Tyler has class all Saturday and Sunday so the neighbor watched the girls all Saturday while I was gone.  It was pretty amazing.  I've made some really great friends and learned a lot about myself and other people.
      It's been so humbling to be on the other end of the service spectrum and instead of constantly giving, it seems I'm now the one who is constantly having to ask.  I've learned some good lessons this weekend and made some good connections.