This, from a Mom who hates clutter

I hate clutter and dirt. Hate Them. I think I have some sort of OCD because I suffer physical discomfort (my temp rises, my heart races, my eyes blur – not kidding) when my house is not orderly (just ask Lee. No, don’t ask him). Other people’s clutter doesn’t bother me in the least, however. I actually enjoy going to untidy, messy houses – they are relaxing and warm. My crazy issues have something to do with controlling my own environment.

I wasn’t so nuts before I had children. I think something happened in my brain when I had a baby and realized I was losing control of most everything… so I held on to the only thing I could – my neat environment. But – you can see where this is going – I had three children.

And did you know? Children are messy little things. It’s true. But mess is necessary. Healthy children must mix food coloring and vinegar and stir in some baking soda. They must fashion their own rocks out of Daddy’s leftover cement. Healthy children ought to smash (with bats and hammers) all the leftover pumpkins from Mommy’s fall decorating. Healthy children should crack the eggs when they bake. Yes, they need to help bake. Healthy children should find out if they can jump across Daddy’s new pond (so far, no one’s made it, so, um, lots of wet clothes). Healthy children should make fairy houses out of mud. Okay, I know your kids are doing other things and they’re fine. I just have to tell my neurotic self every day when my kids are around that “healthy children should ________ fill in the blank with whatever is happening.”

I have prayed significantly about my issues and have actually had quite a lot of victory. I have relinquished control in many areas of my family life. It’s actually to the point now where I see mud in the sink in the bathroom (the half bath – you know, the bathroom in the house that most people try hard to keep the cleanest because company may drop in anytime) and I feel happy knowing that my kids did something outside in the dirt. I still cringe when I see mud and leaves and sand on our white (oh, why white?) kitchen floor, but I’m getting better. I have visible dust on picture frames and cobwebs in corners and I don’t feel an overwhelming desire to remove them. Maybe I’m getting lazy or tired (grad school and all) but I can guarantee a relaxed (I chose this word over “messy”) house is much better for my kids than a clean and tidy one maintained by a crazy mom.

So, when I saw this arts and crafts session happening the other night, my heart swelled with admiration for my cute kids and with satisfaction at myself that I did not try to organize their fun and keep things tidy. (Okay, they did have to work together Saturday morning to clean this room, but learning to clean up is part of a healthy childhood too!)

What I Learned from Video Games

Here is Lee's newest creation. Enjoy!!

Mommy Lessons

Lately, I’ve been asking my kids and hubby during dinner to share something about their day. A few days ago, Alex said the best part of his day was doing his math homework. He had a half day of school and spent the afternoon playing with a friend, yet he still deemed practicing addition facts the highlight.

Two days ago, he spent about an hour on homework. This seemed brutal to me (because I had to sit with him the whole time). I assumed it was painful for him as well. He had to practice spelling, read a book, write five things his likes to do at home, and practice reading some words. It was agonizing getting through it all, believe me. When it was all finished I hooted and hollered (okay, not really) and rewarded him for a job well done. I told him to go play, be loud, act crazy, whatever, because he had endured his homework.

Yesterday consisted of more of the same time-consuming after-school work. After he was finished, guess what he did – dug an old math paper out of our scrap box and started practicing addition. What? “Alex, homework is finished. Go do something fun,” I said.

When I tucked him into bed and prayed with him last night, his prayer went like this, “Dear God, Thank you that I have a lot of homework.” Again I say, WHAT??

And then last night my sweet Esther was in tears about a matter that I did not understand. I hugged her and she melted into all-out sobbing. I kept my mouth closed and let her talk. (Key point here is that I kept my mouth closed!)

My lesson learned this week with these little people in my care is that I should not put my feelings onto them. Just because I think Alex should be tired after school and that his brain needs a rest doesn’t mean that’s what he needs. Alex loves school. He loves doing his homework. I am so thankful for this. I need to learn to keep my grumbling about homework to myself and not poison his mind.

And when my children have a problem like Esther did, I should validate their feelings. If my daughter, at age eight, needs to sob in my arms, then I should let her do this without judging her. Maybe then she’ll feel free to do this when she’s sixteen.

Weird People

I liked this progression of Emma's moods, all happening in about twenty seconds.

We had fire safety training at our house, partly for Brownies, partly for Alex's school assignment, and mostly for Lee to have fun playing with the fire extinguisher.

I don't know how wise it is to teach kids how to use the extinguisher; rather, the kids should be taught to get away from fire, but what can I do?

Here they are stopping, dropping, and rolling.

Okay, I had to learn too.

Alex can't stand when his Legos aren't separated by color, so I broke down and bought this nifty organizer for him.

Halloween

Pardon all the pictures in this post, but we really like Halloween around here. We carved our jacks on Wednesday night. The two big kids were totally self-sufficient at this task!

Oh no! Alex's jack-o'-lantern ate a little girl in green Crocs!

Look out, Alex. He's still hungry!

Emma had a little help carving hers, but the drawing is all hers.

Finished product: Cat

Emma, despite all her princess tendencies, chose to be a leopard.

Emma had a party at her preschool on Thursday. I love that her tail is slung over the back of the chair. Esther is the one in the yellow hat - she's a flower. She was banned from her own school that day because she had been out for several days with a fever. If you haven't been fever free for 24 hours, you aren't allowed back at school. Emma's preschool teacher was not so paranoid and let Esther join the preschool party.

Thursday night was the Halloween Parade in Strasburg. We attend every year with friends; but this year, since Alex and Lee have been promoted in life to Cub Scouts, they got to march in the parade.

We watched and cheered from the sidelines.

Emma got a little weary by the end of the parade. Running out into the street collecting candy takes a lot out of a person.

Our pre-trick or treating meal included a big, brown spider. *

Guess who Alex is...

Luke Skywalker. Isn't he awesome? I would like to thank the Paiches for supplying a stand-in light saber at the last minute since Alex left his original costume on the school bus after his class party.

Here they all are. Esther's flower costume sounded better in theory than it looked. But she seemed to love it.

And because I love being cheap, let me break this down: I spent $2.00 on Alex's costume (white shirt from Goodwill), $4.00 on Esther's (yellow hat from Goodwill and purple fabric), and $0 on Emma's (hand-me-down dress and accessories from the Drummonds).

And the best part of night... CANDY TIME! We were home from trick or treating by 7 p.m. and had plenty of time to nosh on our loot! (Um, I mean THEY had plenty of time to nosh on THEIR loot. Not me, no, I didn't eat any of it, huh uh.)

Last year Halloween: http://jjlandis.blogspot.com/2008/11/big-night.html

* pumpernickel bread

Pumpkin Painting Party, third annual

Our third annual pumpkin painting party was a few weeks ago. It rained during the day and again five minutes after we had everything cleaned up. But during the party, we had fabulous weather. Here is Emma with her peeps.

Lee chatting with the men.

Alex doing some extreme painting.

Lee chatting with the women.

Cutie pies.

Chillin.

Finished products.

Some lovely cupcakes I made. Just kidding. Jodi made them. Aren't they adorable?

Renaissance Faire

The first thing we saw at the renaissance faire this Sunday was a street circus. Esther could not stand the sound of a whip a man was using to whip, um, the pavement. It was loud.

Queen Elizabeth was happy to pose for a picture with Princess Emma and Sir Lee.

Esther used her own money to purchase this lovely umbrella.

Damien Blade, the (self-proclaimed) most dangerous man in the world, entertained us by swallowing swords and breathing fire.

Esther soon realized Damien Blade was even harder to watch than the man with the whip.

We saw a jousting match. Very cool. At one point a man did a back flip while standing on a moving horse. Did they do flips on horses in the 1500s? If so, it would almost make up for their lack of television.

Princess Emma cheered on the victor.

Esther and Emma got to pose with a fairy, a real one (shhhh)!

The highlight of the day for one of us who will remain nameless (hint: his name has three letters beginning with L) was the turkey leg. The highlight not necessarily being the meat, though the meat was quite savory and delicious, but that his three children (and wife) all ripped into it like barbarians.

And what day is complete without watching pirates drink rum and throw beads (not sure why the beads - it felt like Mardi Gras)? We left after the pirate show, fearing a Mardi Gras-like party was soon to break out.

Our Hobbies

Esther has joined Brownies this year.

And Alex is a Tiger Cub (which is the first rank of Boy Scouts). We are working on getting him a uniform that actually fits him! This one is a bit big.

Emma is our dance princess. (And she's convinced she is a real princess.)

My extra-curricular activity is book club. We meet once a month and have more fun than you would think a book club could have (insert contented sigh here).

And Lee. Oh, Lee. His hobby is his children and teaching them about all the aspects of life that Mommy and school can't possibly teach them. Here they are by our new pond (built by Lee and the kids) with a giant fish they caught somewhere else and let live in our pond for a few days. (The fish had to be returned to its home in a larger pond so it could survive.) Don't you love Em's face?

Stevoe!

My nephew Stevie rides a Greyhound bus from Indiana to visit us once a year. He's been coming to see us since he was 16 and he's now 23. He adores Lee and likes to have his arm around him.

Lee put him to work the first day loading rocks into his van.

We visited the Lampeter Fair. Stevie and Alex tried out a few tractors.

We also went to the Philly Zoo. Stevie is feeding a lorakeet.

This is at the zoo. One big happy family having one big happy day (hear sarcastic tone and sighs from JJ).

An annual tradition. Before...

... and after.

Lee took Stevie to Gettysburg where they met some famous people.

This is also at the fair. (Sorry, I can't be bothered to post pictures in chronological order.)

We make him earn his keep.

One of few healthy meals we fed him. Normally, we eat pizza and McDonald's when Stevie comes to town.

I'm sure his mom would love this one. He does NOT have a license.

Boating

We bought a boat ride at a youth group auction in the spring. We finally cashed in our prize a few weeks ago and spent a glorious Sunday afternoon boating, fishing, tubing, and skiing. Our gracious host, Brent, showed us a great day.

Putting the boat in the Susquehanna River.

This was Esther's first time tubing. She would only go if Daddy went with her.

Yeah. That's me. I hadn't been up on skis in years. I just had to see if I could still do it.

Alex was scared to get on the boat. The pink and purple life jacket didn't do much to help his mood.

Much better! Orange beats pink.

No fear at all in this one. She loved every minute of the day.

She is one beautiful little thing.

Alex caught a catfish!

Esther also caught a catfish!

We got to picnic and play at this beach on an island.

I sure do love seeing kids play in the dirt. It's so healthy and wholesome!

I think we may need to get ourselves a boat!

Emma Goes to School

Cardboard Testimonies

I have put this on my facebook twice now. I love the honesty of this and wish we (followers of Christ) would share more about what God has done for us.

Pies, Clothes, and School

Lee has a strange hobby. He bakes shoo-fly pies. He doesn't just bake them for our own pleasure, but rather makes nine or ten pies at a time (homemade crust and all... go figure... I just don't understand the man) and mails them all over the world to friends and family. We've mailed pies to Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, as well as British Columbia, Florida, Indiana, and other exotic locales. He also gives them to new neighbors and business clients.

Shoo-fly pies are made with molasses and brown sugar - a winning combination.

The kids usually help to some extent, and then we include a card with a picture of them working on the pies.

"It's all about the journey," Lee says about his homemade pie crust, which to me just seems messy and time-consuming. My uber-efficiency makes me a very bad cook. Why make from scratch what you can buy frozen at the store for 99 cents? But I do appreciate his mindset; and people love his generosity. (And guess who gets to clean the flour paste off the counter, table, sink, floor? Yep, the wife.)

You can see how happy they are all during the baking process.

It's time I posted pictures of Esther working at a thrift store. Once a month on a Saturday afternoon, Esther and I hang clothes and put price tags on clothes and knick-knacks that will be sold at the store. All the proceeds go to the Mennonite relief organization MCC http://mcc.org/. It's a nice day out for us - we eat at McDonald's on the way and usually spend a few dollars at the store before we work. I wanted Esther to learn how to work and learn how to work for others.

I'm proud of her.

And here everyone is on the first day of school! One's in third. One's in first. Cinderella's still home with me.

Oh Wise One

I would like to thank my husband for pointing out a spelling error that has been on this blog for several months. He is gloating obnoxiously because for once he thinks he is the smart one.

Monarch Butterfly

Here is our first monarch as it was coming out of its chrysalis.

Emma got to let this one go. Stay tuned - because we have another to release today. It's Alex's turn.

The Release

Dorky Kids

Things are not as they seem

Two people have commented recently on my perfect life. To them and anyone else who thinks my life is perfect – WHAT???

Let me explain something. I see a blog as a high-tech scrapbook. (And while I’m on that topic: I loathe scrapbooking – too time consuming, too expensive, too little payoff, too much complaining by scrapbookers who never have enough time for their hobby and therefore are three years behind on their photo albums. My system is to order pictures once a month and throw them [or place them gently, perhaps] into shoeboxes labeled for each child and myself. The kids will get boxes of their pictures when they move out of the house. Simple, right? Oh, and sorry – I know many of you adore scrapbooking. I’m probably jealous of your creativity and that is why I have lashed out.)

As I was saying, my blog is a scrapbook of sorts so I choose to publish the dear and charming aspects of my life – basically, my kids. Occasionally I have veered into personal and emotional terrain, but not often. The dirty and ugly parts of my day - me screaming at the kids, me cleaning the toilet, me lounging on the couch in my SpongeBob pajama pants watching mindless TV while shoveling ice cream into my mouth – don’t appear too often on the blog.

Some people, it seems, want to show only the glossy side of life as they pretend to be a perfect wife/mother/Christian/whatever. None of us is perfect, so let’s just move on from that craziness. Every day, I wake up amazed that I have this life. I never thought I would be where I am now – with decent children and a more-than-decent husband. I do not brag about these blessings, but rather fall down in humility for what I have been given. The credit for my life does not go to me. God saved my wretched soul, transformed my twisted mind, and took hold of my life. The blessings that flow, I recognize daily.

My journey through life is written by hand in my journal. Someday I may muster the energy and courage to share it (I need to know it will be used by God and will be a humble act, not a selfish one). My childhood friend Cindy at http://www.cindybultema.blogspot.com/ has inspired me to share the grittiness that was my life before I became a Christian (by sharing her own gritty details). So, we’ll see. Until then, these videos of Emma will help illustrate that not all is as it seems in the world of The Landii. We’re not always smiling and being cute. Sometimes life is just tough and we must throw fits. Unfortunately for Emma, her fits are the easiest to catch on video (also unfortunate for her is that she has a coldhearted mom who would actually film such drama).

Eat Honey - Run Fast (or as in my case, slow!)

I ran a 5k yesterday to get out of my exercise rut (see "Relinquish Control" post below). The annual run is sponsored by Dutch Gold Honey company, and the race slogan is "Eat Honey - Run Fast." I should have eaten more honey because I did not run fast. I finished in 31 minutes which is great compared to my other 5k times but still really bad in the world of running.

The top picture is BEFORE. The bottom picture is AFTER. It was hot, really hot.

Daffy is so helpful

Daffodil is always in the middle of whatever the kids happen to be doing.

Relinquish Control

“I’ll do it my way!” seems to be how I operate. This M.O. has recently come to the forefront of my mind as I’ve been running this summer at 5:30 three mornings a week on the treadmills at a new YMCA located two miles from my house. Running on a treadmill is nothing new for me, but normally I keep this going-nowhere form of exercise limited to the winter months when it’s too miserable and dark to be outside in the wee hours. Normal people, I would think, should be running in the real world on nice days, not running an endless course to nowhere within the walls of an air-conditioned building. (Side note: Many others, however, like myself, pound away daily on the YMCA machines.)

I know exactly why I like the treadmill. Miles per hours racking up, minutes flying (crawling?) by, music pumping into my ear. I walk for a tenth of mile at 3.5 mph. Then I run a tenth at 5 mph. Another tenth at 5.5. Another at 6. Another at 7. That gets me to half a mile. Then I repeat the whole thing five times, bringing me to three miles. The control is exhilarating. When I’m outdoors, the hills, the wind, the dogs, the varying temps from day to day – all these things interfere with my obsessive-compulsive prone mind. Pushing the buttons to speed up and down keeps me occupied as does the music on my iPod, which happens to be perfectly timed to my running routine. (Another side note: This is my prayer and worship time. I look forward to it.)Joining an exercise class has crossed my mind – spinning, step, boot camp, whatever, but I’m fearful to let someone else control my actions. I can run forever as long as I set the pace and know I can quit when I need to. Craziness! I know it is. I am not growing; I'm not learning; I'm not getting any faster/better/fitter.

Alex exhibited a similar behavior this week. The local library has a display case in the lobby that showcases the collections of children – Webkinz, artwork, and such. For months, Alex has had his name submitted to display his LEGOs, which he plays with incessantly. Finally, the library called to let us know it is Alex’s month! Giddy with excitement, I told Alex he had two days to construct a few things to take to the library. Well, you guessed it – he suddenly lost all interest in LEGOs. Whined when I encouraged him to build. Fussed when I told him one spaceship was not enough. Fought with his sister when she tried to help him. Found every way he could to avoid “working” (now it’s work, not play) on this project. He just would not let himself be controlled, which was disturbing to me until I had my treadmill revelation.
I have a friend who is searching for God but not liking what she’s being told about him. She needs to think on her own and make up her own mind. She desires truth but needs it to be the truth she discovers; not someone else’s beliefs thrust upon her. God gave us brains and freewill. He allows us to think and make our own decisions. He doesn’t force us into compliance. She’s not going to act because someone pushes her.

Alex did eventually trudge through building a few Lego models. (Esther helped fill in the gaps of the display case with her four-leaf clover collection.) I plan to peel myself off the treadmill, maybe next week, and take a class to see how it goes, to stretch myself and get out of my control-freakish rut. My prayer is for my friend to stand her ground and think hard and long about Jesus Christ. But I want her to stretch herself and take a step of faith and let God take her hand; I want her to do what is so hard to do: relinquish control.

Ears to You!

Before.

During.

After!

And I have heard, "Thank you, Mommy, for letting me get my ears pierced," at least fifty (not exaggerating) times since then.

NYC with J and C

We went to New York City while my parents were here visiting from Florida.
We drove to Staten Island and took the ferry (free) over to New York. It's a cheap ($5.00 all day parking) and easy way to get into the city.

We then rode the subway to get to Times Square.

I kept a death grip on my kids all day. It was a wee bit crowded. Who knew?

We tied up pedestrian traffic at this street corner for awhile, trying to get a good family shot.

Alex couldn't take the heat or crowds and finally caught a little nap on the open-air tour bus.

Lee recruited a six-year-old kid to take this shot of all of us at the ferry terminal.

Alex is obsessed with the Statue of Liberty, which you can see here on top of his head.

The girls on the ferry ride home. Not the best picture ever taken of Emma!

Peaches, Tubes, Slugs, and Friends (or: Summer Fun)

We went peach picking with some neighbors last week. This is Emma holding a locust (fearless little thing).

Here's the clan of kids who were there. In retrospect, I should not have had them say "Peach Pie."

The Landis Three with their peaches and bugs. (Alex has been wearing his winter gloves with the fingers cut out almost daily.)

Last Sunday Lee took Es and Al tubing on the Pequa Creek. They were gone for three hours and called me to pick them up about half an hour before a scary thunderstorm.

Lee is amazing. Floating down a raging river and snapping good pictures.

Our friend called the other day to say he had a gift for Alex. Two giant slugs. Despite the grossness of the gift, I was touched that John thought enough of Alex to capture these nasty creatures and bring them to church for him. A week into their captivity and they're still alive in the jar.

We went on a picnic this week with Esther's best friend, Emma, and family. It's convenient because the mom is one of my best friends! The girls built the structure you can see behind the kids. It's some sort of tent or fairy house or something.

My Emma thinks she's a princess and often looks like she looks in this picture. Oy!

American Idol, Cute Kid Edition

Just in case you have any trouble (ha ha) understanding these beautiful lyrics:

When I think of a day that’s gray and lonely
I just stick up my chin and grin and lonely
I am glad because I am so glad
And if I want to
I just lay down on my comfy bed
And I go to sleep

Bird House/Squirrel Feeder

Alex was quite proud of this elaborate bird house/squirrel feeder he made.

Youth Group Guatemala Trip

You Shall Not

The kids are memorizing the Ten Commandments in Sunday school. Emma is saying Deuteronomy 5:8-9a. I thought it was cute.

For some reason, I lost focus and let her get distracted from her food (see video below). She did end up eating everything and getting an ice cream cone. The next night, when leftover pot pie was served with the promise of peach pie (made from freshly picked by Emma herself peaches) for dessert, she did NOT eat all her dinner. Many many tears.

(And you have to wonder, has Mommy made for herself an image to bown down to worship in the form of dessert? Hmmm. Perhaps.)

Emma Doesn't Like Most Foods

Emma has learned through our ruthless parenting style that she must eat what she is served. Here she is choking down chicken pot pie (which, I might add, was delicious). Recipe: http://rohalcall.blogspot.com/2009/07/heidis-chicken-yumminess.html

More Guatemala

Traffic stopped at a political protest.

Cat lounging in market.

Group on boat.

Waterfall next to highway.

Beautiful blue youth group shirts on display.

More of our Guatemala Trip

Clearly, these Guatemala pictures are going to be posted in no logical order. I either need to do things exactly perfect, which is usually just not possible in life, or opt for mediocrity, just to make sure things get done.

So, this first picture is the Chulumal school out in the country. Guatemalans seem partial to pastel, bright colors. We painted the outside of this school and one of the classrooms.


This is the roof/playground/sports field of the same school. It was the most dangerous playground I have ever seen! The fence would barely stop a ball, let alone a person, from plummeting to the ground.

Here are some brave souls playing on the roof.

This was our home for the seven nights we were in Santa Cruz del Quiche. It is next door to a hospital. Medical teams from the States stay here when they are in Guatemala volunteering at the hospital. We were the first church youth group they hosted. According to our gracious host, we were a well-behaved, helpful group.

Alisha was a little miffed at the way these papers were printed. We had to cut out all the boxes, but they weren't lined up, which made cutting more tedious.

Guatemama (as Emma calls it)

These are the students at Chulumal School. They are required to take a break at 10 a.m. for a snack and a time to brush their teeth. From what I understand, some aid workers or missionaries donated toothbrushes and toothpaste and taught them basic dental care. I guess the only time they brush is at school. Because they don't drink water here, they all put water from the water cooler bottle in their bowls and then go outside and brush.

Cheryls' baby, Emily, was a great ice breaker! And it helped that Cheryl speaks Spanish. This lady chatted quite awhile with Cheryl. It was really nice to be able to communicate with the people.

Lee doing what he does best - fixing computers. Actually, that is NOT what he does best. :)

A classroom at the country school where we worked. We didn't teach the kids here, but rather painted, poured cement, and fixed computers.

Esther and I spent most of our time making these cards that get handed out to children who live in the rural, poor, mountain areas. I THINK they get them when they finish Bible school. We glued a picture and a Bible verse on each card. Esther got really creative and had a good time. It was a blessing to have this work that was very easy for Esther to do, but was so needed.

Guatemala

I want to post a lot of Guatemala pictures with captions when I have more time. But here is a first look at our week...

Another reason to bore them to tears

I have been making the kids do "homework" every day after lunch this summer. I was too lazy yesterday to come up with something for Esther, so her homework was to help Alex with his. They worked well together and I am sure Esther had more patience with Alex than I usually do. Wish I would have thought of this sooner.

And the reason for my title about boring them... again I would like to point out the benefits of depriving kids of toys and attention (I'm only halfway kidding - hee hee). I left them alone for a long time after homework was finished. They made spy maps and spy glasses. Alex is still, the next morning, trying to come up with a way to attach a light to his glasses.

Our Memory Verses

Just an update about our memory verses. We are going to do M after we return from Guatemala and then stop for this year (see sidebar for all the verses we've memorized so far this year). I would rather really know a few than to sort of know a lot. We'll finish the alphabet next year. The kids are memorizing several passages in Sunday school now; and though I want the Word of God to be ingrained into their little brains, I don't want to push so hard they get sick of the work.

Duckling Rescue

Alex told Lee the other night that there were two little birdies in the garage. Lee, of course, didn't believe him, but went to investigate nonetheless. He found one duckling! Alex swore he saw two so they searched all around until they found two more behind a cabinet. We were in shock that there were three baby ducks in our garage. Though we occasionally see ducks in our development, there are no ponds anywhere nearby. We suspect these came from a mother duck we saw swimming in our neighbor's pool.

The kids LOVED the excitement of rescuing these poor creatures - they ran to a neighbor's to include them in the action. Oh, the drama!

We searched the swimming pools and a few yards but couldn't find a mommy duck anywhere so we loaded up the traumatized ducks and drove them to a pond.

The ducklings were well cared for as they were transported to the pond.

And there they go...

When we got home, guess what, we found two more little ducks in our backyard! Oy! Lee drove them over to the same pond to join their siblings.

Esther, Alex, Emma, and I checked on them the next morning. We saw four ducklings swimming without a mother (we thought they would be adopted by another duck). We think we saw the fifth hiding in a bush.

This comes a week after a frog catch and die, a snapping turtle catch and release, and a snake catch and escape, and the day before a hermit crab escape and rescue. I am having my fill of animal adventures this summer.

Field Trip

My friend Allison and I were determined to make this the summer of simple, free field trips for our kids. Because of her recent vacation (Two Weeks!! - Geesh, lucky!) to Florida and my upcoming Bible school week and nine-day trip to Guatemala, we may not have a chance to fit in the twenty-some things we thought of to do. However, today we did find time to have a picnic at an Amish/Mennonite bakery with a playground and some goats to feed. This was our second stop, however. At our first stop - a petting zoo - we were a bit unimpressed by the animals roasting on the blacktop in the sun. Also offputting was the um DEAD (in its cage with flies all over it) binturong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binturong) and the very alive duck that attacked Esther in the head.

Allison has just been waiting for the day she could make an appearance on The Landii blog. She's the cute one on the right.

We were so impressed by stop number two of our field trip that we took a picture of their sign. (The first place will remain nameless.)

Cold, Wet, Windy, Stinky Fun

We took a three-day, two-night trip to Assateague http://www.assateagueisland.com/ and Ocean City, Maryland this week. Lee's mom and dad went with us because they don't love to drive long distances, but they do love the ocean. The winds and rain didn't let up until day three! We wore long sleeves and pants and basically froze in the wind most of the time. We had a room with a view of the ocean but were unable to enjoy the balcony because of the weather.
One new adventure we (and I don't mean me - yuck) had was crabbing. Here Alex and Esther are catching crabs with chicken necks for bait.

They caught five or six. Here they are all attached to each other (the crabs, not the people). The crabs all got to come home to our hotel room while Lee and Ike tried to figure out how to cook them in our room's microwave. Long story short, all crabs ended up being released into the ocean.

Emma received lots of TLC from Grandma and Grandpa.

The cold weather did not stop Alex and Lee from wandering out to the ocean (they are the little figures in the middle of the picture to the left of the blue trash can).

Isn't this pathetic? Not your typical beach vacation - lounging around the hotel room.

Checkers and UNO - a sorry substitute for basking in the sun, swimming in the ocean, and meandering up and down the boardwalk.

We thought the weather had cleared up by the second night so we (Ike and Fay didn't join us) trekked down the boardwalk (a mile maybe) to the carnival. This picture was taken moments before a huge downpour. We arrived back at our room (did I mention the mile walk?) totally drenched. It was actually quite exhilerating to run in the rain with three soaked little ragamuffins.

I had packed for one cool night, not for cold days and nights, so we ran out of clothes (and some of the clothes were pretty stinky from the crabbing experience).

Our hotel had no laundry service, no coin-operated laundry, and could not direct us to one laundromat. So, Lee took all our wet towels, jeans, sweatshirts, etc. and drove aimlessly (he did have a GPS that took him to a field) to a laundromat, so we would have dry clothes in case the weather stayed yucky the last day. He returned back to our room at midnight with warm, dry, folded clothes (my hero!). (Anyone interested in starting a business - Ocean City, Maryland, could really use a laundromat.)

And guess what? The next day was warm and sunny and all we needed was our swimsuits.

And while I'm complaining... our hotel's website boasted of an indoor and outdoor pool, which was a huge drawing point when I made our reservations months ago. I knew in mid-June it may be too cold to swim outside. We did use the indoor pool several times, but we were kicked out once because the board of health inspected the water (while we were in the water) and told us it was over-chlorinated and had to be closed. And the outdoor pool? It was filled in, covered with indoor/outdoor carpet, and was being used as the floor of the outdoor restaurant.

One highlight was seeing and petting the wild ponies at Assateague. This is a nice photograph of a horse's butt.

Aren't we sweet?

Ike and Fay and the grandkids. I don't think I have any other pictures of the five of them together.

Sounds like a bad trip, but really the kids enjoyed every minute. I enjoyed almost all the minutes. Lee enjoyed everything but the laundry. I love love love love love my family.

Who Needs Toys?

Scripture Memorization - J, K, L

Somehow I lost track of our ABC memory verses. So, here are the most recent three verses (J, K, L):

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Hebrews 13:5

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Hebrews 12:2

Twelve Years of Wedded Bliss

June 7 is our anniversary.

I love him no matter what he looks like...

No really, I do! (This was taken in Mexico when he proposed to me. I think he went four months without shaving.)

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday has made a comeback. This picture was taken in 2007. I thought it appropriate because I had just been sharing (in previous post - see below) about Emma's obsession with styling hair.

Kangaroos, Crayons, Canals, and Cranky Kids (not really, but I needed a C adjective)

Our mini-vacation began Saturday morning at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. First things first - we applied sunscreen to everyone...

even Lee.

And second things second... Mommy needed some coke.

The animals were sort of moody.

This was my favorite trip to any zoo. There were no crowds at all. Of course, there were also no elephants, lions, monkeys, but we didn't care. Really, I would take a cheap (we got in for half off with our Philly Zoo membership), uncrowded, perfect-weather, well-behaved-children day over any day of looking at exotic animals.

That said, we did see some neat things. These are lorikeets that the kids got to feed (not me - I didn't go in the cage because of my irrational fear of birds - actually, I did get nipped in the head by a barn swallow on a run a few years ago, so my fear isn't totally irrational - birds=creepy). They held up little cups of nectar and the birds just gobbled it up. Very cool.

The water fountain was a bit much for Alex to handle!

And the ice cream was a bit much for Emma.

(Let me just put in a plug for this awesome zoo - they sold ice cream bars three for $1.00. So cheap!)

Everyone was a bit exhausted after a long, hot day in the sun. We were happy to see our hotel room.

The results of an after-trip survey show that the hotel pool was the best part of the trip for the three subjects. We got our money's worth from that hotel - we swam three different times during our one-night stay.

Emma didn't swim. Instead she styled hair. Hair has been an obsession of hers for a long time (see: http://jjlandis.blogspot.com/2007/11/emmas-obsession-with-hair-brushes-is.html). All she did at the swimming pool was comb and "color" and "cut" our hair.

I can tell you, bringing that little pink comb was a great packing decision on my part. I don't know what she would have done for hours at the pool without it. She may have had to actually get in the water.

She is a very bossy stylist. If you don't hold your head just so, she will force the issue.

On Saturday, we went to Easton, Pa., to visit The Crayola Factory. This is at a park where we killed time until it opened. Lee had this picture all positioned so a bridge and dam would show in the background; but even though he told the random passerby who took our picture to stand "right here" and hold the camera "like this," we ended up with no view because said passerby moved herself and the camera. Just picture a cool suspension bridge and rushing water from a dam in the background!

The Crayola Factory was a shameful marketing scheme. You pay $9.50 to get in the door and then you move from room to colorful room (along with 3,879,854 crazed - not us, we're normal - parents with giant blue strollers, large quantities of Purel, crying children on baby leashes, cameras - me excluded, I'm normal, video cameras, Goldfish crackers, juice boxes) to color, paint, draw, etc. with Crayola products. Seriously? This is what we do at home when we're bored. Every so often throughout the "factory," there were convenient little kiosks set up so the crazed parents could spend their life savings on crayons, clay, and such for their crying children. It was a bit hectic for us. Too many people indulging too many kids with something not that interesting.

On a good note, that $9.50 also covered admission into a canal museum. It was a hands-on learning experience about rivers and, you guessed it, canals. The kids got to take a boat through a canal simulation. It was real learning, not contrived consumerism learning like the Crayola madhouse.

Esther, the drama, doing some laundry the old-fashioned way at the museum.

Wonderful Day

My friend Cindy wrote a post about her wonderful Wendesday http://cindybultema.blogspot.com/2009/05/wonderful-wednesday.html and asked what is making our Wednesday wonderful. So I took two minutes and wrote the first ten things that popped into my head. Thought I may as well share them here to inspire you to think of some of the good in your day today.

My Wednesday is wonderful because:
1. Lee was able to chaperone Alex's field trip.
2. Lee was able to lead some sing-along songs with his guitar for Esther's class (same field trip).
3. My glasses are ready to pick-up at Costco optical. And they fixed them for free, even though the warranty was expired!
4. Esther is beautiful in her braids today.
5. Emma painted a very cute t-shirt at her school picnic today.
6. A potential conflict with a friend was not a conflict after all.
7. Alex has a friend here and they are playing in the woods.
8. I have three things I can make for dinner and none of them are too time-consuming.
9. In three nights, we'll be going on a mini-vacation and spending the night at a hotel with an indoor pool.
10. Sunshine and warmth and a yard that was mowed yesterday.

It's a Keeper!

Alex caught this fish today in Uncle Ora and Aunt Jen's pond!

He Will Lead the Way

Emma and I were looking at map today. Finding Florida where Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Jerry live. Finding Hong Kong where Esther was born.

Then I showed her Guatemala and told her Daddy and I are flying there and she gets to sleep at Grandma Fay's for nine nights. And I used the "wow, you sure are lucky, imagine all the fun you will have" voice.

I told her I will be a little sad because I would miss her. She grabbed my face and said I should not be sad because Daddy will be with me and Jesus will follow me. She is so right!

I guess Jesus isn't following me, but rather leading the way! Praise God for the wise little people in my life.

The Boy Can Read!

Alex can officially read 100 words! His kindergarten teacher made personalized laminated ribbons and trophies to give to the kids for every five words they learned. Alex did not enjoy going over the list of words every night, but finally, finally, he made it to the 100-word mark! He knows the months, the days of the week, numbers through ten, colors, and all the little words you would expect they learn in kindergarten. He is smart with a keen brain, BUT he's not the most academic person in our family. I am very proud of him for getting his final trophy yesterday. I love his teacher for teaching him!

Fabulous Mother's Day Hike

Here are some pics from our Mother's Day hike. It was a fun day if you don't count the blood, the tourniquet, the 3-yr-old who doesn't know how to squat to pee, the 3-yr-old who fell (whole body) into the creek, the little boy who fell (whole body) into the creek, the camera that fell into the creek, and the mom who doesn't know how to get far enough behind a tree so men walking dogs can't see her when she pees.

The Luck of The Landii

The container that held Esther's four-leaf clover collection started to smell because the clovers were rotting. We'll have to do a better job of preserving her finds in the future. Here are some that were thrown away before school today.

Would you believe that after recovering from the trauma of throwing these away, she found FIFTEEN four-leaf clovers on the way to the school bus? (Can I get a witness? Sherry? Ilse?)

I brought them all home and carefully placed them within the pages of a heavy book so they will dry properly.

For more on Esther's very odd talent (one of many odd talents!) see:

http://jjlandis.blogspot.com/2009/03/hobby-night.html

and

http://jjlandis.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-luck.html

All She Wants to Do Is Dance

Esther had her third ballet recital this weekend. Her class danced to the Sugarplum Fairy. Every class had a different color. The theme of the whole show was "Dance in Color" and the main song was "True Colors."

Emma wore Esther's costume from last year to dress rehearsal Thursday night. She likes to dress up and be pretty.

It took us about 20 bobby pins and a half can of hairspray to get the hair styled. (And we had to do this three nights in a row! Two rehearsals and one recital.)

She should be the one dancing!

Alex was so happy to be able to go along to rehearsal!

All the Sugarplums.

Esther with her friend from school. Paige's song was called "Orange."

This is recital night. Emma wore Esther's dress from two years ago. I tell you what - this girl needs to dance. She mimicked every dance during the recital. Never has there been such cuteness.

I thought we were sort of done with the whole dance thing though. Esther is not interested in taking classes next year - she is choosing Girl Scouts instead, which is fine by me. Dance class is nice, but the recital each spring - with the hair and makeup, the endless hours of practice, and the stage moms - is just too much for me. But I'm not sure I can deny Emma the experience.

Alex was not such a grouch the night of the show. He fell asleep in his seat by song number five.

After the show (which lasted way too long because of a 45-minute or so fire alarm evacuation during the middle of the second half - apparently a child pulled the alarm!), we came home for ice cream with Daddy.

Scripture Memorization - I

Here is the next verse (Letter I) for you to memorize in 2009 (see sidebar for more info and other verses):

" 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.' " Revelation 1:8

Recent Happenings

We'll start this out with a picture displaying Esther's unique fashion sense. Nice, huh? I let her go to school with outfits like this every day.

I've been really busy lately with my new life as a grad student (Drexel Univ. online - master of science in library and information science!) so blogging has not been a priority. But here's what's been happening around here lately:

Alex and his best kindergarten buddy love to play together. They were getting ready to throw water balloons. Neither wanted to get wet (not sure why!!!) so they threw them at "bad guys."

Esther made Emma this beautiful necklace out of a flower.

The Easter Bunny was good to us - flip-flops, chocolate, and books.

Yummy!

"Get away from my bunny!!"

Lee caught this snake today. (Yeah, I don't know why either...)

We went on a picnic tonight - the end of the most perfect weekend ever. It was in the 80s Saturday and Sunday. Alex and Esther think they are SO funny when they eat Bugles (fingernails, teeth, ha ha).

She told me she doesn't remember ever going to a park for a picnic before. Really, Emma? Poor child. (And we go to parks almost every weekend when the weather is nice!!)

After years of being pushed around by his big sister, Alex is finally coming into his own.

I have very few pictures of me with my kids! I finally got one! It was Esther's idea to pose in the tree. I think we're cute!

We stopped for ice cream on the way home from the picnic. Daddy shared his with Emma.

Guess what Alex ate?

Esther polished off an entire banana split and half of Emma's milkshake.

That's it from my world. Now I better get back to studying!