Dr. Barry

by Benjamin

A couple of weeks ago Daddy, Mommy, and I went to Tennessee because a doctor who could help me with my allergies is there. We went with Mrs. Stephanie and her son Kolton.

When we got there we saw Dr. Barry. He was very kind and he treated me very gently. I held my arm out and he firmly pushed down on my arm while holding a minature bottle near me which had something I was allergic to in it. Then he would gently pat on my back and erase the allergy from my body. It took only a short time. While he was doing it I felt scared at first, but after awhile I felt more calm. We went to Dr. Barry every morning for three days.

On the third day we went home. I was sad to leave Tennessee, but I felt more healthy. Now I can eat corn! We are going back to Tennessee at the end of March and I can't wait!

In which Benj turns 8...Star Wars style

Benj has always had very well-defined interests. We have gone stage-by-stage through various seasons eating, breathing, and sleeping his latest obsessions. For the past year or more his interest in Star Wars has grown into a full-blown mania. This boy is a Star Wars fanatic! Of course that means a Star Wars birthday party was a given this year. With the help of Pinterest I found some really fun ideas that I hope made this a memorable birthday for him.

 

These glittering light sabers had the invitations rolled up inside.

Napkin light sabers, "Yoda Soda," and grape sabers. The Yoda face was from a printable 3-D art project I happened upon. I cut and glued for about an hour and voila! Yoda! Neat. 

My personal favorite - Han Solo in Carbonite jello!

 So you can't really tell, but in the little bread pan is hummus. The chips are supposed to be teeth and the figure is Bobo Fett. Any guesses?

 I have always wanted to try the balloons hanging from the ceiling. I liked the effect. Kinda like planets, maybe? Or spaceships?

 Light saber training with Jedi Master Seth

Learning some moves

 My version of the Death Star.

 My littlest padawans :)

 She's a force of destruction on a normal day. Watch out when that girl's got a light saber!

 

(Later that night)

Darth Benj. He got this helmet and light saber for his birthday. I'm missing some shots due to a dead camera - hopefully my mom got some - but Seth dressed up as Darth Vader and came out at the end of the party. The kids got to use the Jedi moves they learned earlier to fight him. After everyone had fought him we let Benj "finish him off." Defeated, Seth took off the helmet, said, "Benj, I am your father," and gave him the helmet. :)

Happy Birthday, Benjamin! We are so proud of the young man you are becoming. Your creativity and endless ideas never cease to amaze me. Thinker, artist, brother, protector, spider-killer, Lego master, trivia genius, creative play mastermind, leader, follower, peacemaker, laundry manager, you are growing into such an amazing kid! I'm so thankful to be your mama.

 

 

Spotlight on Benjamin: LEGO Master!

In a recent post I mentioned that Benjamin has become quite the LEGO expert. Over the summer I took some pictures of my favorite of his creations. Please excuse me while I gush a little over my son's creative talents!

Most of these pictures are from a fun summer project he did called Lego Quest Kids Challenge. It looks like these were originally intended to be weekly challenges (there are 52), but he did them randomly, whenever the mood struck. Here are my favorites:

Quest #2: Monochromatic

Benj created a blue monster eating a blue mini-figure. See the legs sticking out?

Quest #3: Vessel

This boat was created to be used "for deliveries that need to be delivered really fast." (--Benj) The binoculars on the front pivot down so the driver could see if there was land ahead.

 

 Quest #8: Your Favorite Book

Aslan (from The Chronicles of Narnia)

 

These heroes were in position ready to defend the galaxy from... 

Quest #11: Shadow

We never did test this out, but I think this villain (and his tiny posse) would cast a fearsome shadow, don't you?

 

Quest #13: Earth Day

Creatures from all over the galaxy pitched in to help earth out. The machine in the middle ("kind of like a sail barge," says Benj) shoots missiles into the trash receptacle, which blow up the trash (to the right). The guy to the left in the orange drives. The droids pick up the trash. Check out the bits of trash wedged into the little mini-figure hands. :)

Quest #14: Ancient Monument

For this challenge Benj build a tomb structure, complete with guards.

 

Check out what's inside the tomb. I love this kid.

 

Quest #18: Flags

Benj created the Danish flag in honor of the country that birthed Ole Kirk Christiansen, creator of Legos.

These final 3 pictures aren't Quest Challenges, just fun examples of the creations that daily come out of Benj's workshop.

 

Prison Wagon

View A: Pulled by R2D2, this prison wagon is equipped with ladders and a door for ease of exit/entry for the driver and a pair of movable missiles for defense against attacking "bad guys."



 

View B: On the opposite side of the prison wagon we find a barred window/door where the prisoners can look out and also be loaded/unloaded.

Plane

Seth and I agreed that this little plane, completely of Benj's own design, reminded us of Rusty from the new Pixar movie, "Planes."

 

Mini Star Destroyer

What can I say? We're into Star Wars around here!

Keep on creating, Benj! You have great ideas!

Back to School

It's hard to believe but the summer has flown by and we are back to school once again. For the first time I was not completely ready to give up the freedom of the summer for the (different kind of) fun of the school year, but now that we are into our second week I am finding enthusiasm for our journey ahead.

Unlike other years, I didn't have a clear vision of how everything was going to flow this year. We are adding quite a bit of new curriculum which impacted the flow of our days quite drastically. In addition, I am slowly gaining a clearer vision of the bigger picture - my philosophy and style, what I (we) want our school to look like, our goals, and even my attitudes as a mama and teacher. I have been challenged to the core this summer in various ways to step... no, leap! out of my comfort zone and really question my methodology in light of what I believe will reach the hearts of my children and give them a foundation for life-long learning. That all sounds very philosophical and trite as I try to summarize it, but it is a fascinating and amazing process to really think through the possibilities of home education. I'll leave it there for now cause I could go on for hours! (But I may pick it up again later....)

All that to say, we started school this year because it was time to start school, not at all because I was ready (logistically or otherwise). But despite the less polished atmosphere we have had a (mostly) good first week and a half.

Benjamin is in 2nd grade this year. His passions are Star Wars and LEGOs (I'm not sure which to put first). He goes through stacks of paper drawing various combinations of Star Wars, LEGOs, superheroes, and other favorite characters. He is a fantastic artist and can illustrate nearly any topic that comes to his creative mind. If he's not drawing an idea he's building it out of LEGOs. His creations could take up an entire blog post of their own (in fact, I intend to post pictures of some of my favorites soon), but features such as sliding doors and hinged box lids come to mind. This kid is a master! He is very protective of his sisters and quite gentlemanly towards them most of the time. He has recently been "promoted" to family laundry manager and is doing a fantastic job of keeping up with the never-ending cycle (he usually requests help with the folding, though. :) ) He is very thoughtful and wants to do what is right. I'm so proud of my young man. He is growing up so fast!

Talia is in 1st grade this year. Her newest interests are sewing, "fancy" hair styles, baking or cooking with mama, and learning pretty much any new skill she can. It's difficult for me to create a list describing this sweet girl cause she is pretty much just passionate about LIFE. She flies high and crashes hard. She is one determined, driven little go-getter. She is a joy to parent because she engages eagerly in EVERYTHING. She also exhausts me. Her enthusiasm, never-ending questions, dissatisfaction with pat answers, and drive to try everything keep me on my toes (and knees). She loves bright colors and wild patterns. She is always on to the next thing and dreaming big, but also deep. She loves to help and is usually the first one to chime in "I will!" when I ask for a helper to set the table or pick up a mess. As Benj works on the laundry, Talia has become my "kitchen manager" (a title she greatly prizes, by the way. She loves to be in charge!) She does a great job keeping the dishes rotating through the dishwasher, the counters wiped, and the floor swept. What a blessing this girl is to me!

Leila is taking on Pre-K this year. I have come to not put a huge emphasis on preschool so we just go with the flow, incorporating her into our school day as she wants to be involved. Despite my de-emphasis on academics last school year, she completely surprised me by suddenly starting to read a few weeks before her 4th birthday. She is now reading quite well and taking after her brother and sister by pouring over books in much of her free time. We have also started, on an inspiration from my mom, what we have dubbed "Skype School." During three of the last several school days Leila has been Skyping with Mima for a bit while I work with the older kids on their school work. They have been reading to each other and talking about various other topics. I'm not sure I've ever seen her this enthusiastic and talkative! She loves it! Besides reading and Skyping, she spends much of her time in imaginative play with her "friends" (stuffed animals) and various sets of favorite toys. She reminds me so much of Benjamin at this age! She spends hours setting up our Little People animals and dollhouse and there is no end to the backstory she creates about her little schemes. She is generally a happy, sweet little thing, eager to please. She is also a sensitive little soul and takes both affirmation and correction very much to heart. In many ways I feel like I am still getting to know my third child. As the quietest member of the family she is easy to put in a box, but I am finding lately that she doesn't really fit in there. :) I am thankful for my sweet girl and her sensitive soul.

Channah is the class clown and troublemaker. :) Last year at this time was super difficult because she cried all the time and I am definitely thankful to be past all that stress. At the same time, this year definitely has its own challenges. She wants to be where the big kids are, but her noisy, independent, impulsive nature gives me quite the competition for their attention! Sometimes they can't hear because she's screeching too loudly, sometimes they can't see because she's in and out and everywhere in-between, and sometimes they can't focus because we're all just laughing too hard at her crazy antics. But any effort to re-direct her attention or thwart her intentions to grab everything in sight leads to loud protest. And heaven forbid I put that child in a pack-n-play! She wants her independence! I'm sure she will settle into a routine like the rest of us, but it definitely hasn't happened yet. Despite the challenges we are all completely in love with our adorable, precious, littlest family member. She talks and babbles in recognizable words and phrases and not-yet-recognizable paragraphs. She has also recently discovered the joys of walking, which came on kind of gradually, but has definitely become her main mode of transportation in the last week or so. (Yes, on time! at 15 months!! without physical therapy!!! Major milestone in this house!) She is also sprouting teeth left and right and now sports a cute little 9-tooth smile. She makes me crazy sometimes, but I'm still crazy in-love with my littlest lady.

I am looking forward to another year of teaching my little brood and the new accomplishments and challenges it will bring. Happy 2013-2014 school year!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Benjamin

We celebrated Benjamin's 7th birthday with a Lego party. We had a great time playing Lego games and eating colorful treats.

 

Layered Jello cups were a hit! 

 Lego Cake designed by Benj

 The kids had a blast playing "Lego Creationary" (each kid chose a card telling them what to build and the other kids guessed)

 Another game: Tallest Lego Tower in 90 seconds

 Benj enjoyed his cake

 Talia kept building her tower while she ate cake

 Benj passed out party favors - Lego cookies for the little kids and minifigures for the big kids

Leila and her tower

 

Happy Birthday to our big boy. I can't believe you are 7, my Benja-Bear. We love you and are so proud of the young man you are becoming.

 



Milestone Moment: Benj's Tooth!

A few weeks ago Benjamin lost his first tooth!

He came into our room one morning about 2 weeks after Channah was born and woke me up. "Mommy! I have some exciting news!"

Groggy Mommy opened one eye and managed "What's that, buddy?"

"I have a loose tooth!"

I woke up with a little more enthusiasm and watched while he proudly wiggled a very loose tooth.

About a week later we were at church for a choir rehersal on a Sunday night. When we picked the kids up from childcare Benjamin proudly showed us his tooth all wrapped up in a napkin. It had come out while he was eating his sandwich for dinner.

When we got home that night I got out my brother's old tooth pillow that my mom had passed on to me the last time we were in California. (Seth was genuinely impressed that we had a tooth pillow ready & waiting for this moment. :) ) Benj proudly stored his tooth in the pocket and stowed it under his pillow. He was thrilled in the morning to find a dollar! (Our comment to attempt to avoid setting any kind of precident: "man, that tooth fairy sure is generous when it's the first tooth!")

Interestingly enough Benj seems to geninely believe in the tooth fairy. This is my son who regularly rehearses the fiction/non-fiction status of various stories of his acquaintance. If you ask him if Tinkerbell is real he says, "No! Of course not." If you ask him how he knows he'll tell you (laughing), "because fairies aren't real!" But the tooth fairy appears to be of a different breed, for some reason. I'm not sure how that works out in his fascinating little brain.

Anyway, here's our little man with his new (super cute, if I may say so) gappy smile.

About time...

Well, I decided that it's about time to put an end to this unintentional silence. I hate the first post after a long lull. It's extremely daunting to try to sum up a period that kept one so crazy-busy that she couldn't even put together a blog post. So I've decided just to write what comes to mind and move on with my life. (Sound familiar? That's because I wrote essentially the same thing here the last time I was trying to get things re-started. Apparently that's how I roll. :))

Well, here goes...

Most obviously (especially to those who have seen me recently), I am now 23 weeks along with Little Rodriquez #4. This has been my most difficult pregnancy, by far. I was horrendously sick from about week 8 until somewhere between Thanksgiving & Christmas and so was pretty useless for awhile there. Poor Seth had a hard load to bear between all his normal duties and mine. Now that I'm past the sick phase, however, things are humming right along with no complications. We found out 3 days before Christmas that we will once again be breaking out the headbands & hairbows for a Baby GIRL, which was quite a surprise as we unanimously thought it was a boy. Poor Benj had his heart set on a brother. He cried when we told him. :( He got over it that same day, though, and is excited to have another little sister to protect. The other night when we were giving hugs & kisses before bed he hugged and kissed my belly and said, "I love you, baby sister. It's going to be a happy day when you come out to see us!" That happy day will be sometime in early-ish May.

In October I somehow mustered up the oomph to make Benj a birthday cake (he turned 6 which, for some reason, really threw me for a loop) and participate in his chosen birthday activity, a family trip to Dinosaur World.

We celebrated Halloween with a "first" -- we actually carved our pumpkins this year! (A luxury that Ph.D. life couldn't really afford.) Leila surprised me by having a definite opinion about what kind of pumpkin face she wanted. We designed our faces here and when we put the mouth on her first creation she said emphatically, "No! Scary!" Benj decided to be a fisherman complete with an enormous cardboard fish on the end of his new birthday fishing pole. Talia & Leila both dressed up as Raggedy Ann in dresses made for me by my mom when I was their ages. :)

We enjoyed a visit with my mom in early November. She came to help me get my house & life back in order since I was starting to feel better at that point. She was a trooper, helping me with all my laundry, dishes, and various projects like our massive seasonal clothes swap-out.

We had a quiet family Thanksgiving, which turned out to be a super relaxing day! We had invited several different families and groups of people to join us, but it seemed everyone already had plans this year. I really didn't want to have a sad, whimpy Thanksgiving so I decided to go ahead with a full feast. This was the first year I have ever made everything myself! It was a lot of work, but so worth it! As an extra perk, Benjamin was able to eat everything this year since I made it. I'm not sure he appreciated the significance, but it made my Mama heart happy anyway. :) Thanksgiving morning we each shared 3 ideas of things we would like to do during the day and put them on slips of paper inside a little bag. We took turns throughout the day drawing activities from the bag and doing them. We played with Legos, started a puzzle, played with the Lite Brite, sang Thanksgiving songs, did a Thanksgiving craft, and lots of other fun activities throughout the day.

Our Christmas season was fun but very, very full. A little too full, truth be told. :) At the risk of sounding grinchish, I was honestly glad when it was all over this year. That's not usually like me, but by December 26th I was ready to move on! We enjoyed a fun after-Christmas visit from Seth's parents. We had a relaxing few days with them, taking a few little field trips here and there, but mostly just visiting and enjoying each other's company. (No December pictures downloaded yet.)

We are now over halfway through our school year, which is going very well. Benjamin is making great progress in reading, handwriting, and math. Talia is enjoying her own preschool work as well. She joins in with Benjamin for reading with Mama, weekly science experiments, and other fun  activities such as language arts games. Leila has taken a renewed interest in her tot school activities (we took a break for awhile since she seemed happier just playing nearby) and has now mastered the art of buttoning/unbuttoning, stringing Cheerios, and matching shapes. She is working on recognizing her colors by name and one-to-one counting. We are hoping to finish our school year just a couple of days before the baby is born!

With the new year came a new burst of second trimester energy for me. I have been attacking my project list with a vengence!

Just after the new year began we moved the kids' bedrooms around. The girls are now sharing a room (and a queen sized bed) in the basement. The transition has gone surprisingly well. Leila has embraced her new "big girl" status with an air of responsibility. She is staying in bed well and the girls don't seem to be keeping each other awake at night like I feared. Benj, who has shared a room with Talia for as long as he can remember, was a bit lonely after the transition. Partly to help him feel like he was gaining something by having a boy bedroom all to himself and partly because the location seemed more logical, we moved him to Leila's old bedroom. He got several new "big boy" items for Christmas so it is nice timing for him to have his own space. Just after we finished moving the rooms around Leila came wandering over to me one day asking "Mama, where's my spot?" Not sure what she meant, I coaxed her to explain more. She elaborated: "Benjamin took my spot!" Poor babe. I reminded her that she had a new big girl room downstairs. She seemed happy with that and hasn't mentioned it since.

Our latest project has been potty training Leila. It's a lot of transition for one little girl, but there's only so much time before this baby is born. The potty training is another story for another time. Meanwhile, I feel purged and ready to start blogging again. :)

Thanks for reading & TTFN,