Got milk?

I usually don't eat much or anything at work.  Today I drank some protein drinks and ate two yogurts. The result was I made about twice the milk I usually do.  I needed to pump during my shift but I waited till my drive home.  Not too bad....

Lyn colored her hair!!!

Well, it is dark.... let's see how long she likes it.

The kids at church

Elaina and Etta are so lucky to have such an imaginative teacher (other than me ;) ) as their teacher. Elaina had fun playing with balls and playing in an improvised water table at the sink. Evan and Eliot are warming up more to choir practice. They all enjoy their regular classes. I even led the story for all ages upstairs since the topic of the sermon today was Secular Paganism. I was so nervous but several people said I did real well. We then wandered down to the firepit to just look at it since we weren't able to attend the bonfire last Friday. The bane of the working mother.....

Celebrating roots

We visited my great grandmother's grave this week. I took my 5 youngest and my husband. We had a picnic at her grave. We lit the chalice and other candles that hold meaning for me. We collected a flower and herb bundle to place on the grave. A few flowers from the butterfly bush from our yard made it into the small bouquet.  Butterflies came and landed on them. Elaina got a good look. We collected some soil from our yard. Eliot sprinkled it onto Ines' s grave and then collected a little of the soil from the grave back into the glass vial to come home with us. The kids played and ran in the field next to the grave yard. They each collected a stick to be burned at home. We then took a back road to find Graben Rd. and found an earlier graveyard of the first Grabens to come to America.  That was surreal. To see Mary Graben, the Mother of the Grabens in America made me feel so connected to my past. I am eager to learn more.

Monsters in PJs at the Hoover Library

Last Thursday after our big day visiting family graves Eliot and Evan were able to attend the Monster themed PJ party at the library. Stories, food, activities and more.... they had a blast. It was a long day but worth it to spend time with the kids.

Visiting Ines' s grave, Etta is 11 months old and so much more...

My baby is nursing as we had a picnic with my great grandmother. She died the year I was born. Her picture is in the locket around my neck. We took the 5 youngest children and a very pleasant afternoon. The 2 and 4 year old could not quite understand why we don't actually walk on graves. And the 7 and 8 year old were very disturbed by the graves of infants. We also found an older graveyard with my ancestor from Germany, Louis Graben. But it was his wife's grave that sent chills down my spine. 

Not everyone can find their First Mother....

The Golden Flower

The kids got so excited when they spotted this plant with the golden flower. Eliot sang the song from the movie Tangled. Evan claimed the flower glowed when she sang. I had to investigate and I believe we have a squash, pumpkin, or gourd. Hopefully it won't get mowed down and we can see what it produces.

Dragon's Fire sold

This small decorative or ceremonial teapot sold this week from my Etsy store. I made a lava rock and obsidian bead strand to go with it to lend the essence of fire to the object. It is on its way to Australia as I type this.

A day at the park

I took off my second job today to spend some time with the kids. We went to one of the local parks. There was a homeschool group there playing and a mom I knew. Well, sort of, I used to teach her 2 year old. I only took the littles minus Etta who stayed home with Dad. It was great being out side with my own children.

Little baby teaching tiny baby

I had enough of the rude occupational therapist that was coming out for Etta ' s Early Intervention provider. Solution, ask for a special instructor.  I wanted a special instructor in the first place since they are generalists and Etta has global delays. The SI got all the kids involved and was nice and actually provided Early Intervention instead of clinical therapy that made my baby cry. One of the homework activities the kids were given was to teach Etta how to drum. Way to go Elaina!!!!

Fingerpainting

 

Nothing like some new paints to liven up an evening. Fingers are so much easier to clean up than paint brushes.