Cold, Robots and Holiday Romoval

The winter cold has finally really found us. After a frozen pipe inventory (all bathroom sinks and toilets...) I pulled on extra layers to take the chickens their food scraps and also a new wad of straw for the next boxes and coop floor. Its amazing to me that the hens seem so fine in the cold but from what I've read they actually are in more danger during hot weather in the summer when we get into the 90 and 100 degree weather than they are from today's 9 degree chill. They might be fine running barefoot in the snow, but the girls still got warm water in their waterer and an extra handful of meal worms for a snack. The weather men tell us that there are days of super cold ahead of us so I'll be keeping a close eye on the hens, reading up on Pinterest recipes for breakfast porridge and turning our science walks into indoor reading time. Its still refreshing to go outside in weather that cold but it leaves you gasping and your hands burning after much less than a city block. Its reading weather.

Sometimes its nice to be the indoor pet.

I am slowly taking down Christmas. Today I am taking down the mini-tree on top of the bookcase and burning the branches that were on the mantle. I have put some of the special decorations from my grandparents collection on the mini tree. I like having them up out of the reach of little fingers but I love having them out and in sight of the whole family, being used and loved each year.

It has been grand to have them out but I'm really excited about putting Christmas away too. Tomorrow will be the day I attack the tree and haul it out to the curb! I'm intimidated and invigorated all at once at the prospect! All those pine needles! EEP!

The boys and I are painting a series of watercolor robots to hand on their bedroom walls. So much fun to be doing pen and ink outlines, non-realism, playful subjects and more cartoony lines. The boys are inspired and keep making new varieties of Lego robots. They are little figures, easy to slip into a coat pocket when running errands (even if Mommy does say to leave toys home) and just simple enough to teach to your little brother. Love finding them all over the house.

Interview With A 7 Yr Old Inventor

This is homeschool. Ru spent all of quiet time working privately on this project and then showed up at my side while I was working and said, "Hey, Mom. Look!"

Bird Study + Lego +Free Time + Seven Year Old Brain......

                                        =This!

 Sometimes my kids drive me crazy. Sometimes they amaze me.

Lego Distraction-ating

Started working on my second major Lego build in my life tonight.The boys and I are putting together this one, Dee's big Christmas present this year.

Its good to have a project after dinner when it is California Week (the one week a month that A is spending in Cali). We just got a little bit of it done, the first four or five pages in the instruction manual....a layer of bricks on the base piece. The baby was so exciting he kept stirring the box full of pieces and sending them flying and then climbing up onto the table in his excitement. Super silly!

Dee loves to build these scenes and really enjoys hunting for the next required bricks in the "Big Pile" of materials but he gets worried by the complexities of the big picture and feels all nervous and stressed that he'll "do it wrong." He actually is a pretty good team player with Ru who has bravado for miles and loves to read out directions but doesn't have the patience for hunting for the exact bricks specified. If I'm around to pluck a baby off the table and lend encouragement and the occasional long fingernail for prying bricks apart....we make a great construction crew. Nib is so far not really old enough to join in and follow directions. So he usually does his own thing next to us, building some imaginary design and we bargain with him for bricks we need off of his structure. It works. He's peripherally involved and free to do what he likes and generally occupied on the same topic.

Love these Legos but wondering what my organizing future holds for storing, constructing and displaying them. Right now the boys aren't anywhere near organized or motivated enough to possess a lot of them or to have one of those incredibly pleasing sorted-by-color file drawer storage cabinets that are always floating around on Pinterest. It would be a mess. So right now they all live mixed in a big glossy rainbow in a small tub with a lid. My in-laws have an astounding amount of Legos leftover from raising their 7 children and my eyes widen every time we are there to visit and they bring in the GIGANTIC Rubbermaid tub with 5,000,000 bricks in it. Is this in my future? 

I am not equipped. 

Ru: At The Moment

Our oldest turned five two days ago. Five years old. Unbelievable. Party and real celebration is forthcoming (enough time for mommy to feel sane after returning from our trip) but in the meantime, we're busy prepping and talking about all the fun to come, working and re-working his birthday Legos over and over. His first big boy Legos, he's old enough to work the little bitty kind and not just the big variety.

Fun to see what he is developing to be. Time for another listy snapshot, don't you think?

Here's our oldest boy at the moment:

He Likes:

• Animals, especially dogs and horses
• Guns (not Mommy's favorite...not really sure what to do with this one)
• Competition
•  Donuts
• His own private water bottle
• Making faces
• Doing yard work with Daddy
• Lemonade
• Tools 
• The color red
• Washing dishes
• Video game arcades (which he calls "art caves")
• Climbing trees
• His sunglasses
• Bow ties
• Showers
• People

He Dislikes:

• Socks that are too long
• Seafood
• Raisins
• Being put on the spot
• Storms
• Buttoning his pants himself
• Saying goodbye
• Sleeping
• The end of reading time
• Sitting still at dinner
• Small forks
• Having people see him naked
• Spicy foods
• The ends of movies
• Visible herbs in his food