Life At The Circus

This weekend, I surprised  Scott and the kids with a high seas adventure in Annapolis.  After donning their costumes    And getting their tattoos We were ready to board the ship and set sail in search of our treasure The kids used their loot to purchase ice cream for dinner .  A good time was had by all.   Though I fear the pirate life may agree too well with them.  Don’t they look quite fierce? For more Wed fun with pictures, visit here or here .

The one piece of parenting advice I wish I had adhered to better is to “write down those cute things your kids say b/c you will forget.”  Me forget?  Come on… there’s not way I could forget those cute little things my kids say… I’m super mom. Yea, I also never thought I’d bring my kids to church with mismatched shoes and no diaper bag…but 5 years and 3 kids later and super mom has left the building.  So, when I found out about this carnival , I thought it sounded like a great way to write down those things my kids say which I swear I’d never forget and quite often by the time Scott is home from work, I've already forgotten…they may not be incredibly profound or hilarious, but years from now I am sure I’ll be glad to have them recorded.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 year old says to me at dinner on a swim class day, “Mom, I got wet when I went swimming.  Every time I go that happens.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

Thanks for all who wrote last week with your thoughts and suggestions on my dinner time dilemma. No worries though. Tonight my kids sat down and ate their dinner without one complaint. Not one.  And let me tell you there was no dilly dallying.  They sat on the curb, gobbled it up with relatively little mess and we were on our merry way, walking around downtown enjoying the boats and the harbor. See, I had it all wrong before.  Slaving over the hot stove, struggling to find new recipes, serving up balanced meals of protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates.  Tonight after a fun father’s day celebrating on the high seas we stopped for some ice cream .  And as we drove home with our bellies full of milk and sugar, my husband pointed out to me that we hadn’t bothered to feed them any d—i-n-n-e-r tonight. oops…how did it get to be so late? By the time we caught fireflies and went inside it was past eight o’ clock.  No one was hungry, so we c...

Last summer I took a Sunday School class in which  I was introduced to a concept called solidarity and I realized I had very little of it.   Before that class I was really very uneducated and honestly uncaring about events and situations going on in other parts of the world.  If a plane crashed in Illinois, I’d be all over cnn.com reading the footage and following the case.  “How tragic,” I’d think.  But if I read of a plane crash in Mongolia, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t even click on the link.   Why?  Why do I care more about the fate of fellow Americans than of those in another continent?  As a Christian, I should care a great deal about the suffering of any fellow human being. While in DC last week, we saw this quote on a world war II memorial near the capital building. As I read it, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that despite all we learned from the Holocaust, similar events are going on in the world with very little...

I am done! Whew!  What a week at the circus!  This was not one of those stay in your pjs all day and relax by the pool kinda weeks.  Not at all.  Rather it was one of those, get the kids up, fed, dressed, in shoes (no s mall feat for the circus crew) and to the soccer field by 9 am every.single.morning.  Hello?  Even during the school year, it was only M-W-F for us.  Then after two hours on the soccer field it was time to walk home, fix lunch, get the kids down for naps so that when they woke up (or I woke them this week) we could get our swim suits on and head to the pool for swim lessons.  After swim lessons, we got all 4 of us dried off, changed, back in the car and home in time to make dinner and get ready for whatever evening activity was on our schedule this week.  And this was one of those weeks where we had something every night, be it CPR class for Mom and Dad, watching Daddy sail in Annapolis, or going sailing on Nana and Pop’s boat...

“How are you?”  This simple phrase is uttered countless times a day.  Though typically without the asker really wanting or waiting for a reply. “Hi How are you?” You say it the grocery store clerk, the man on the sidewalk, the telemarketer…and yet, honestly, how often do you wait or listen to the response? The expected response is “Good, How are you?” My kids could have been screaming at the top of their lungs , the dog just pooped on the rug again, and my sink is clogged and over flowing, and yet I smile and answer “Good, how are you?” to the stranger on the other end of the phone whose calling to get me to donate money.  Almost every single time I’m asked that question, my answer is fine or good. My kids on the other hand are a different story. To that sweet old lady behind us at the grocery store who smiles at my daughter as she sits in the grocery cart, my daughter will respond. “Bad” To the mom at the pool as we get ready for swim lessons, my son will say, “Bad.” To ...

We keep our digital “point and shoot” camera on the counter.  My 5 year old calls it “his camera.”  He has permission to run and grab it to snap photos when something catches his fancy.  Every now and then I’ll download them and enjoy a glimpse of life around the circus through the eyes of my eldest.  He was so excited about this puddle that he found on the deck a few weeks ago.  He had Daddy stand and guard it so his sister’s didn’t destroy it until he snapped a picture.  Can you guess what animal he saw? I love the fact that when you look at this picture you can tell it was taken from a photographer who was under 4 ft tall.  I also love that we are off centered… it makes me smile. His beloved birds and the nest he built for them last week.     Here his little hobby came in handy in getting Mom’s attention when his little sister was getting into trouble.  I hadn’t noticed her mischief until I saw him grab his camera....

Dinner time….the family all gathered around the table, enjoying a delicious meal, talking about the day, laughing and enjoying one another… statistics say that families that consistently eat dinner together tend to raise healthier, more well behaved children, then families that don’t.   So, what are we doing wrong? More often than not the Circus Family eats breakfast and dinner together as a family.   More often than not our dinner “hour” is more like a dinner hour and a half.  I wish I could say it as because of our scintillating conversations.  However, my kids are what I fear the slooooowest eaters on the eastern seaboard.  (unless it’s dessert or some other food they particularly enjoy).  But give them chicken and you can pretty much forget about doing anything other than getting ready for bed after dinner that night. This causes great frustration to my husband and I.  The kids and I typically wait for Scott to get home so we can ea...

While most of America celebrated Father’s Day yesterday, the circus family did not.   Shh…Please don’t tell the circus children.  They think Father’s Day is next week, because that’s when we are celebrating it.  We paint pumpkins in Nov and build gingerbread houses in Jan , so why can’t we celebrate dear old dad one week late?  Yes, we are shamelessly pulling the wool over our innocent children’s eyes. Scott and I wanted to get away for a weekend alone, just the two of us, as our  gift to each other for our 30th birthdays this year.  While Scott’s birthday was at the end of May and mine is in mid July, the only weekend between the two that would work for us happened to fall on Father’s Day weekend.  Scott said he didn’t mind celebrating a week late and we figured the kids were young enough to not notice the difference, so away we went.  We dropped the kids off Friday afternoon at my in laws and headed for a short drive to our nation’s capita...

Just a heads up that we’ll be saving those weekend thoughts for next weekend.   My husband and I are heading out the door for a weekend away and I’ve got no deep thoughts for you….other than thoughts of me and my hubby being whisked away for a weekend alone.  But,I’ll be keeping those thoughts to myself, thankyouverymuch!

If you’re anything like me, you don’t really need one more reason to enjoy carbs.   Yet, I can’t help but share my favorite.  One of my mom’s most highly requested recipes growing up was for her strawberry jam.  She always got a kick out it when people asked her if she would please share it. So, here’s the family secret. Yup, buy yourself a box of Sure Jell, add 4 cups of crushed berries, and 4 cups of sugar, and you are set!   It really is as easy as pour and stir! After berry picking with the kids last week, I was eager to stock up my freezer with our favorite jam.  Unfortunately, we ate all of our labor, so instead I used a bag of frozen berries from the store.  Truth be told, I think it tastes just as good.  Now that I have eager kitchen helpers, I have tried Ball’s version. Unlike Sure Jell, this one requires 1 and a half cup of sugar and the pectin doesn’t need to be heated.  This is really my favorite part, as the kid...

Life on the sidelines can be rough.  I know, I’ve been there.  Sat the bench for 4 years of high school lacrosse.  But unlike her mother, my little girl sits on the side because she is too young, not because she isn’t good enough. My daughter is dying to play like her brother.  It is so cute and yet so painful to watch her on the sidelines.  When the coach calls the team to line up at the bench during practice, she is right there with the rest of them.  When he sends them to run laps, she tags behind.  She will sit riveted at the sidelines watching them.  She can’t wait to play soccer and baseball like her brother.  And while I know it is a bit soon to tell, she seems to have some natural athleticism in her.  My son wants to play soccer again in the fall.  And so does his sister.  Sadly, you have to be 4 to play.  Which means she has one more season on the sideline. Or does she? I e-mailed the soccer commissioner ...

I’ve been a mom of three for almost two years and I have yet to figure out how to successfully take a good pic of my three kids together.  And yet, I keep trying…call me hopelessly optimistic, stubborn, or just plain slow to learn, but I keep holding out hope that one day I’ll snap that illustrious shot of my circus crew. Here we have two sideward glances with a smirk and one squinter in the sun. ok two out of three isn’t bad… Miss America waves to her adoring fans off camera Mom, puh-leeze, can we just get back to picking strawberries? This might be my fav… a look of disgust, a pucker and a closed eye shot. To see more of my failed photography attempts, click here . Or click here or here to for more fun with pics!

This spring I declared that this summer, summer of 2009 would be the circus family’s summer of swimming.  The past several summers I’ve either had an infant or been ready to pop and really haven’t devoted the time necessary to teach my crew how to swim.   I’ve given some half hearted attempts, but the bottom line is my kids can’t swim. And when you live near the bay as we do, it really is a necessity.  So in I signed the oldest two up for swimming lessons back in April at the local Y.  I was thrilled with the progress they were  making, so I signed them up for the next level.  I also learned that I can pay a small fee and swim in the same pool with my youngest while her older siblings were getting lessons.  This really was the perfect situation for us.  My oldest two were getting instruction and my youngest was getting one on one time in the water with mommy.  (A treat  neither of her older siblings received with this regularity...

Sometimes a mother’s ability to multitask isn’t a good thing… as I attempt to juggle one to many balls, I find that I can accidentally drop one and not even realize it for several hours. Last week while I was talking on the phone and cleaning up the living room, I noticed the kids sitting on the floor with some stuffed animals and scissors. I keenly observed that something looked amiss, so I grabbed the scissors from my sons hands, quickly told him that they needed to be used only at the table, and went to the other room.  I noted that my son gave me a guilty look and made a mental note to have a chat with him later.  I figured he had cut his stuffed animals hair and wanted to make sure I reminded him that scissors were for paper only. Phone call over, another argument between children settled, and a few messes cleaned up, and it was suddenly time for lunch and naps.  Before I knew it the kids were down for naps and I taking advantage of the peace and quiet. All t...

My youngest child is fearless.  FEARLESS When we go to the playground she’s off and running, climbing to the top of the big slide, coming and going without looking back.   She’ll slide down the stairs of my house with the speed of a bob sled racer.   She tries very hard to keep up with her older siblings and she does it well. The other day we were at a cookout and the kids were clamoring around a tree stump catching toads.   My friend wondered how my little girl would do in a trust fall.   So, Daddy stuck her up on the stump and had her fall backwards into his arms.  She went without hesitation.  Like almost every thing with our crew, once one kid does it the others want to follow in suit.  The older two then followed.  But unlike their little sister, they looked back the first time to make sure Daddy was there. As my friends and I were looking on we wondered if my youngest gals ability to free fall was truly...

I am an old fashioned girl.  If you want to get a hold of me, your best bet is calling my land line.  Yes, we have an actual land line (b/c my cell phone is typically buried at the bottom of my purse and the battery is quite often dead). My cell plan is simply that - a cell phone.  While I can send and receive texts it costs a pretty penny.  I don’t even want to think about what it would cost me to get online with it.  No twitter or face book updates coming from my phone.    In fact, I receive texts so infrequently that today when I received one, my son immediately ran onto the back deck.  He had no idea what it was and thought it was a fire alarm (what a good boy).  If that doesn’t say something about the infrequency of my texting, I am not sure what does. I have one friend who texts me.  Nothing makes me feel more like a middle age woman then when I try to have a conversation with her via text messaging.   I might...

My kids made an important decision this week.   After much deliberation, they’ve finally figured out their Halloween costumes for next fall.  And really, not a moment too soon… what with 146 days till Halloween, it’s a good thing we’ve got it settled.  My son will be Luke Skywalker (he told me this week that he wished when he was a baby we had name him Luke Skywalker).   My 3 year old will be Princess Leia.  And Daddy will of course be Darth Vador.   My youngest child and my costumes are still up for deliberation… R2D2 and C3PO have been proposed. We did a practice run through on my daughter’s hair this week.  You know, making sure we’ve got it just so in time for October 31st.   What do you think?  As we talked about Princess Leia, I realized it is a role that suits my daughter quite well.  She’s feminine and royalty and even gets rescued from time to time, but she also has some spunk, speaks her mind, and c...

Looking forward to seeing how things improve at the circus after she finishes with her quiet reading time. Visit 5M4M or 7 Clown Circus for more fun with pictures!

I knew being a mom wouldn’t be easy.  And I’ve survived the middle of the night feedings, the tantrums of the terrible twos, the struggle for independence…but that all feels like child play compared to the task of this week. This week I was reminded of the fact that sometimes there is very little a mom can do to protect her young from getting hurt.  Sending your children off into the world, is like sending your heart out there, exposed for the world to trample on. I may be exaggerating… but only a little This was a tough week for my five year old.  First some of the kids at baseball practice were teasing him.   They kept calling him “pretty”.   It was one of his first times being the butt of a “joke” and it bothered him.   Ouch! Then, when I picked him up from Sunday School he told me one of his “friends” from class didn’t want to sit beside him that day.  He apparently even said, “I don’t like you”.  My poor son just does...

There is something alluring, almost magical about the buttons on an elevator.  My kids enthusiastically clamor for the opportunity to press the shiny buttons both outside and inside of the elevator.  We have a routine when entering elevators which typically works flawlessly.  One child pushes the button on the outside.  The second child then pushes the same button.  Once inside they each get a turn pushing the button for the floor we want to go on.  It’s a great opportunity to work on number recognition.  And of course, the youngest can’t be left out in all this button pushing fun. Typically elevators are equipped with a little door under the buttons which has a little key lock thing.  We tell her that is her button and she can push it.  She’s happy, and we don’t have to worry about hitting the fire alarm or calling security.  Most of the time But all good plans have their flaws, don’t they? Friday the kids and I were i...

My friend and I were riding in the car one day when the song “Creed” by Third Day came on.  I told my friend something to the effect of, “I love this song, it’s like everything I believe.” To which she laughed (not exactly the response I was expecting) and said, “Your kidding right?  You know this is the Apostles Creed.” No wonder I was so impressed with the statement of faith.  Seems it was not written by the band Third Day or Rich Mullins, but by the early church centuries ago. I liked the song not because it was the apostles creed and thus suddenly more holy or special.  I liked it because it succinctly summarized what it was that I believed. Every time I hear the song now, I gotta chuckle.  But I wanted to share the words and the song with you this weekend b/c I think it is important for us to think about what is it that we believe. What do you personally believe?  Not your parents, not your spouse, not even your church, I want to know if you know where you line up with what you b...

Pigtails on toddlers Polish on toenails Dirt covered faces Band aid mustaches

While you might think that the potential pink eye , multiple ear infections , and laryngitis would scare me away from ever taking the circus crew on another national park vacation, it doesn’t.  Just call me crazy! I’ll admit, parts of our Texas vacation wasn’t all we hoped and dreamed it would be. But, I am glad we went and eager to visit some more national parks . So this afternoon I sat down to map out a potential trip to Florida. To see two incredible parks. Nope, probably not the two your thinking of… Everglades and Biscayne I am so excited…we’ll get to see alligators, manatee, sea turtles, porpoises, and much more.   I think it is going to be incredible! But, it’ll take approximately 18 hours to get there. 18 hours  of driving with a then 6, 4, and 2.5 year old. Yea… we’ll be needing to break that up a bit.  No problem, I’ve already started on that… there’s a national park in SC and of course Chick-Fil-A headquarters in Atlanta....

Since yesterday was our anniversary , the kids asked if they could see my wedding dress.  After my mom made my dress 8 years ago, I remember us discussing whether I should get it preserved or not.  Her advice was not to so that I could get it out to look at and enjoy over the years.  I am glad I took her advice. There was something very special about pulling my dress out of the back of the closet and showing it to my children. They thought it looked like a princess dress and begged me to put it on. At first I protested b/c I knew I wouldn’t fit in it like I did 8 years ago. They rebutted that the dress looked really big (the train was completely baffling to them… why is mommy’s dress so long?).  I decided I could put it on even if it didn’t zip up all the way. They wanted me to twirl and my oldest daughter instantly wanted to put on her princess dress and wear my crown and veil. Then the two of us eagerly waited to surprise Daddy when he got home from work. My son greeted him at the do...