Girly was wondering what she was going to do with her cousins here yesterday. I told her she'd figure something out. And so she did.
I'm not sure who had the idea first but this is what I was called over to see as I was hanging a load of laundry on the line (in spite of the horrible weather Irene caused here in Vermonton Sunday, yesterday was beautiful out).
Girly and Hannah took all the wood scraps out of this utility bin that David brought home from work and plugged up the holes (not sure with what), added what looks like a carboard sail and hauled it into the pool.
The best part, though, was when my niece got into the bin.....and for your enjoyment, I got it on video!
(yes, at 1:27, Girly does go off to the side and pees in the grass - sigh)
I lose it at 2:53 - I couldn't help it!
These kids remind me so much of the fun we used to have as kids in the summer. We were always coming up with something crazy and creative.
Also, Hannah covered part of herself in mud.
Good, cheap fun. It's not clean, but it's good and cheap.
I recently had a small art camp here at the house and even though there were only 3 children (including Girly), we all had a blast! We mostly worked on canvas but the girls were having so much fun and were finishing their projects so quickly that I was able to add some extra projects into the class.
One of the girls asked if we could do splatter painting and I thought, why not? I gave each of the kids a big cut of multi-purpose cloth (it feels like canvas) and set them up in the front yard.
We watered down a rainbow of acrylic paints and used all sorts of brush sizes and then the splattering began. It was so fun to watch them come up with crazy splatter patterns, add more colors, decide which color they needed next.
The girls even painted the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet to add a bit more of themselves to the canvases.
They washed off at the spicket on the back of the house and then we came inside to add "extras" to their canvases - ribbons, fibers, painted bottle caps, fabric shapes and letters and then we added ribbons at the top so they could be hung up at home.
I love how different they all turned out to be. One canvas was hung while it was drying so that the paint could drip down (on the left). The girls were so proud of their creations!
Here's a video that I shot while the girls were splattering:
There's never a dull moment here at the Martin house.
Zach has recently taken to climbing trees. He said that he wants to start a camp for kids called "Tree Climbing Camp." Of course, in order for him to have a camp, he has to know just how to climb trees.
Zach is pretty much fearless when it comes to stuff like this. For a while, he was climbing trees with his Crocs on. Never let it be said that there's nothing you can't do with Crocs on. I think Zach has pretty much found a way to do everything with Crocs on, including tree climbing. I got too worried about him slipping in a tall tree, so we got rid of the Crocs so that he has no choice but to use his sneakers.
Not everyone is as excited about Zach's talents as he is. We've been "talked to" by the grounds keeper at the doctor's office, he's been scolded by the lifeguards at the community pool and he's been chided by the manger at Toys R Us. He's told to get down and his response is usually, "Stupid, dumbass people. I'm a careful climber. Jackasses. Ruined my day. Now it's a stupid, shit day." Hey, at least he's honest, though we do have a talk afterwards about appropriate language.
I'm sure you can imagine the potential cardiac arrest when Girly told me to come outside and see where Zach was.
Yes, I'll admit, that I came back in to get the camera AND the video camera and then went back out. For the record, when I went out the first time, Zach was ALL THE WAY AT THE TOP of this tree. This tree is about 50-ish feet tall! I told him to get down but to do it carefully. He was laugning and giggling at the top of the tree while swaying back and forth. The potential cardiac arrest became even more potential when I realized that on the other side of this tree were power lines. Needless to say, tree climbing in our trees along the hedgerow is banned. I prayed the whole time he was on his way down.
While he was at the top of the tree, he said, "This is SO cool, Mom! Things look so different from up here. You look so small down there." He was completely fascinated by the perspective on his yard from way up there. I hate to be the one to crush that curiosity and fascination, but come on, he was at the top of a 50+ foot tall tree - with power lines on the other side!
I swear, I'm gonna have to wrap that kid in bubble wrap and put a helmet on him.
On his way down from that big, tall oak tree, he jumped over to a smaller tree for the rest of the climb.
I'm tellin' ya, this kid is going to be the cause of my heart attack one day. Well, him or his father. At least I know that's where he gets it from .
During the summer, I teach a handful of weekend classes at the Fletcher Farm School for the Arts & Crafts. We've been going down as a family since 2002. In 2003, we started camping out in the summer time, so for the past 8 years, my kids have looked forward to the summers down there. It's a special time for them. They get to spend the whole weekend with David and have uninterrupted time with him. There's no yard work or house work to distract him. It's just a lazy summer weekend when David and the kids can play in the fields, the river and creeks, the lake down the road and its waterfall. He takes the kids to the park and plays tennis with Girly. Zach spends his time catching crickets and katydids. The three of them come to the art school at noon time and we share a lunch under the trees near the little pond at the top of the hill.
Even though I teach on those weekends, they feel like lazy summer weekends. There's nothing to distract me when I come back to the camp site at the end of the day. No computer, no cable. There's not even electricity or running water where we camp (unless you consider the nearby creeks "running water"). There's a pit toilet nearby, but that's as fancy as it gets. It's almost-primitive camping at its best. We love that there's no one else near us. The dogs can run around and so can the kids, without worrying about bothering anyone else. We get the tent set up, David gets a fire going and we cook over the open fire. The s'mores ingredients come out after dinner and the kids look through the hedgerow to find the perfect stick for their marshmallows. Good times, for sure.
A few weeks ago, the kids noticed that there were berries growing in the hedge row. Lots and lots of wild raspberries.
The kids each grabbed a bowl and started picking. Soon enough, Zach left his bowl and ate everything he picked. Girly ate some while she picked but she wanted to share some with David. Zach isn't so fond of sharing food.
This is what I get when I ask for a picture of the boy-child. He gets it from his father. I get the same kind of response from David. I joke that it's the tainted Amish blood that runs in his family. My poor kids got the shallow end of the gene pool from both of us. Poor things.
Girly has taken over the job of making the "big bed" in our tent. Over all these years, she's watched me do it long enough that she knows exactly how to set it up. We're camping purists and don't bring an air mattress. Instead, we bring about every blanket, comforter and quilt we own and make our own mattress. David and I sleep in the middle and the kids are on either side of us. Add in the 3 dogs and we're quite cozy for the night. This tent has served us well over the past 10 years. I think it still has a few more years left in it, but the kids are anxious to have tents of their own soon. David and I are anxious for that, too. *wink*
I love waking up to this sunny scenery from our tent door in the morning. Meadowbrook holds a special place in our heart. Even the woman that owns the property knows that particular spot is the "Martin's spot." I let her know a week ahead that we're on our way and she makes sure that there's a little sign tacked to the picnic table that says, "Reserved for the Martins." It makes my heart smile everytime I see that sign when we arrive.
After a quick January thaw, we got some snow Friday night and Saturday morning. We had a little bit yesterday, as well, but not as much as we would have liked. We've had some sick people in the house and we've been bumming around all weekend, but after a while, it gets old to just sit around recouping, so we thought it would be fun to get out for some fresh air and a little bit of activity. We weren't out long, but it was a lot of fun and good for the soul.
David took the snowmobile out in the afternoon and we were all counting down the minutes until we went out. The kids were really excited because they knew I was going to try out the sled that David ties to the back of the snowmobile. I find it so adorable that the kids love to see David and I do things that they love to do. They get more excited about us doing the fun things they love than they do about themselves doing those same things (I hope that made as much sense to you as it did in my head).
I think I had the most fun. After all, I'm the one that made the most noise!! Okay, that's only because as I was being pulled backward on the sled, I was getting snow in my pants!
Girly loves to go fast. She's just like her dad. Always looking for the next big thrill. While I like to be adventurous, I tend to go overboard with making sure everyone else is safe, too. Yes, that's me you hear on the video below telling Zach over and over to make sure that he stays out of the way.
One of the many things that I love about Zach and his autism is that he takes things literally and he has no filter. There are times when this makes conversation awkward, but more than not, it makes conversations and circumstances positively entertaining.
We went to a doctor's appointment yesterday for a follow up on Zach's meds. When we walked into the room the nurse led us to, she got Zach's weight on the scale. He asked how much he weighed and she said, "You weigh 89 pounds." He then asked her, "How much do YOU weigh?" I had to remind Zach that a question like that is not socially acceptable but the nurse then spoke up and asked him if he wanted to get her weight on the scale. He lit up and said "YES!"
It was really nice of her to humor him. He learned how to use the scale, took her weight and then said, "Are you healthy?" She told him that she was, but that she eats too much healthy food and that she weighs a little more than she should.
Zach then initiated a conversation with her about the swimming he's been doing at a local indoor pool. He's so excited about being able to do the doggy paddle that he learned this summer and having access to an indoor pool is fascinating to him. Up until just recently, he hasn't been that great at initiating conversations and including people in that conversation. It was usually a one-sided conversation and only about things that interested him. The nurse got right into the conversation with him and they carried on for quite a while. She told him that she used to do a lot of swimming when she was younger and that it would be cool if the two of them could go swimming some time. Zach thought that was awesome.
Zach asked her, "But, how do you stay up in the water if you're a little bit ffff........."
I interrupted at this point and reminded him, "Zach, make sure to use appropriate words.'
He said, "How do you stay up in the water if you're a little bit.....heavy?"
She told him that fat floats. He was intrigued by this. She then told him, "If we go swimming, you have to promise me you won't laugh at the rolls in my swimsuit."
He asked, "What rolls?" He takes things literally and thought she meant bread rolls.
She started laughing and then told him that he made her day and "Zach, you're so refreshing. You're a breath of fresh air."
Zach said, "What fresh air?"
More laughing. :) I love his perspective on things.
I should have known that taking 4 kids to the dollar store would be an adventure, even if it was only 25 min. away from home.
My sister's kids, Wednesday and Pugsley, were here today while their dad and my hubby helped to move my uncle and his girlfriend into a new house. I had to make a run to the dollar store and Ben Franklin's store to pick up some items for one of the kids that we pulled a card for to donate "wish list" items to.
It's an adventure just trying to keep tabs on 4 kids (ages 11, 11, 10 and 9) in the dollar store. I kept Zach with me and told the other kids to buddy up with each other so they could look after each other. I told them they could each pick out one item to bring home. It's amazing how long it can take some kids to pick out what they want when others know exactly what they want even before they walk in the door.
There's a huge gum-ball machine near the front of the store at the end of an aisle and it's bound to catch the eye of any kid, especially Zach's. He asked me for a quarter to use in the machine. I told him that I didn't have any cash on me. Now, while other parents may say that as a way to say "no" to the gum, I said it because it's true. I never carry cash on me. Any and all cash will always get pilfered from my wallet by the hubby and Girly.
Zach asked me, "Can we ask the store lady to borrow a quarter?"
So cute! As if you could just go up to the lady at the register and ask to borrow a quarter for the gum-ball machine. It was a viable solution to the problem, in his mind.
There was a woman in the aisle that overheard us and started chuckling. She took out her wallet and held out a quarter to Zach. Normally, I tell the kids not to accept candy or cash from strangers, but she said that she didn't have her kids along with her and she thought he was adorable and wanted him to have a gum-ball. She saw that my nephew, Pugsley, was standing there, too, and she handed one to him. I told her, "Oh, that's so nice of you, but you don't want to be handing those out. I have 4 kids with me!" She handed one to Girly when she walked up and then handed us another one to give to Wednesday when she came along.
It was so sweet and the kids were stunned by the generosity of a stranger. So was I. I was touched. We all said thank you and I told her how wonderful she was and then she and her husband walked on and continued their shopping.
Girly said to me, "Mom, that was a really nice lady." Yes, she definitely is. I'm hoping that she got as much happiness out of her 4 quarters as my kids, niece and nephew got out of them. Such a simple and random act of kindness, but one that showed the kids that a quarter can go a long way to make a smile. And as a mom and aunt, it showed me that there are still kind people out there that don't have any ulterior motives when handing a child a quarter for a simple gum-ball.
Bless you, quarter-lady. For putting a smile on all of our faces, including yours. You were part of our adventure today.
Yes, I know I said I would post about losing weight, but instead, I'm posting about our adventure from last night.
My daughter is in her second year of band and she loves it. She's so musically gifted and adores her trumpet. She's actually a third generation trumpet player. My father played trumpet in high school, I played trumpet in school and Girly started playing trumpet last year. She's now in 5th grade and she's constantly getting better.
Last night's adventure was the holiday band and choral concert. Oh yes, she's also in chorus this year (her first year). There's just something very enchanting about grade school band concerts. The excited faces, the pretty dresses, the hair done up, the jewelry, the shoes, the boys in their button down shirts and ties. The missed notes, the off key notes, the times when it sounds amazing, the times when you hold back a snicker. But in all, it's enchanting and perfect, even in its imperfection.
(Girly is the one in the middle row, all the way to the left.)
We have almost all of her performances on video, except for the first one that I couldn't get last night because I didn't realize that the batteries in the camera were dead. Interesting story there - my daughter went to basketball practice one night and was worried that her brother would get the dogs to chase the cat (her "baby") so she set the video camera on the counter and hit the record button. 17 minutes and 33 seconds later, it got turned off and come to find out, her brother was actually on good behavior that time. But....it killed the batteries. And doesn't it figure? The first band performance was the most amazing of all of them! I'm hoping to find another parent at the school that took video and can email it to me. I even sent the hubby with the video camera to one her of concerts that I missed because I was teaching that night.
(Girly is in the back row in white, all the way to the right end.) A bit of a rough start but the trumpets really rock the song!
Last night's concert outfit is possibly one of my favorites so far. I love the fancy white dress that was a hand-me-down from a school friend. I adore that my daughter doesn't mind that it has a few spots on it here and there. She thinks it's her best and most fancy dress ever. Right now, it's one of her prized possessions. It's amazing what something so simple as a hand-me-down dress can become to a little girl with wide eyes and a big imagination.
It's too big for her but that didn't stop her from having a friend gather it in the back and tie it together with a hair elastic. That girl-child of mine is so self-assured that she thought nothing of wearing it like that. If fact, she was so proud of her dress and how she looked. I really love that I live in a community of down-to-earth families that don't mind it either. A couple of moms mentioned to me that my little tomboy looked beautiful in her dress and thought it was cute that she tied it up in the back to make it fit.
The black cowboy boots rock my world! Our neighbor's grandson gave them to her since he had outgrown them. Something I learned a long time ago is that my girl-child has her own style, her own clothing agenda and there's no use in trying to pick out her clothes for her. There are times when she doesn't want to bother and asks me to pick them out and when I do, she doesn't like my choices, so I've pretty much given up on that. Her choices remind me so much of myself as a child. And as an adult, for that matter. I cherish that she's so much like her mama. We have so much in common. It's like having a little Mini-Me.
And speaking of hair elastics....they're not just for making a dress fit. Her hair knots so quickly and she didn't feel like brushing it for the concert, so we put it back in a pony tail instead. The hair hanging to the side isn't long enough to fit into the hair elastic, thanks to her self-haircut in the summer of 2009. It's still growing out.
