Coloring the Easter Eggs

I finally got around to pulling the rest of the pictures off the camera so I thought I would share a few.  Because if the pictures do not appear on the blog, then it must not have happened, right?

We have figured out the best way to make sure we can do projects such as these and include all of the children without having Mom go insane or throw a fit is to have the kids work in shifts.  And cover the table with something that can be thrown away.  And simply accept that there will be a mess. (We've started using a whisk for the youngest ones to hold their eggs to minimize the mess while allowing them to pretty much do everything on their own.) Or in the case of dying Easter eggs, accept that the older children will want to play around and stick the eggs in multiple colors (so let them work last) and that the littlest ones will get upset when their turn is over no matter how many eggs you allowed them to dye.  These moments also remind me that the older ones still enjoy being involved and need permission to do the fun stuff at times, too.

Parenting Your Adult Child

I just finished the book Parenting Your Adult Child by Susan V. Vogt.  Yes, I realize my oldest child is only 13.  I truly believe that the relationship you have with your adult children starts in their teens so I consider books such as this one to be valuable research as we begin to navigate the changes in parenting as our oldest child begins to mature.

This book uses fifteen core virtues to serve as a guide in dealing with the relationship with your adult children.  Each of the short chapters provides you with not only suggestions but also examples for how to navigate the transition from parenting children to parenting adult successfully.  The chapters also end with reflection questions and prayers to help you focus on the immediate issues you may be facing with your own children.

This book was valuable to me as not only as a parent of a teenager but also as a grown child still struggling to figure out the dynamics of an adult relationship with their own parents. The examples used in this book are pulled from real families struggling with the same issues that face each of us in our own lives.

This book provided me with a wonderful quote which feels  particularly relevant to my life at the moment:

"You are not your children!  Your success as a parent does not depend on their successes.  Resist the urge to take credit for your young adult's successes, lest you also take blame for their mistakes. "

I recommend this book to parents of teenagers, parents of young adults and any parent interested in forming a solid adult relationship with their children.  It is not a miracle cure but it is a gentle reminder that many obstacles can be overcome and problems avoided when you keep your mind and heart open

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Parenting Your Adult Child . They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

Happy Easter

Just a few Easter pictures.  It's been a crazy few days. The older boys have spent all weekend at church. They were altar servers on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Morning. Don't ask me why no one else signed up but when there was a lack of coverage, they jumped in and did a great job.  Loved hearing all of the Latin during Mass today.  Seriously awesome. Friends came to spend Saturday with us.  Alan was left in charge of 13 of the kids for the morning while my friend and I escaped with Ellie to a diaper store in town.  Everyone survived, the kids were fed lunch, jumped in mud puddles, clothes were washed, naps taken and kids had fun.  All while the Moms spent too much money on diapers.  The dog has discovered the creek at the back edge of our property and keeps jumping in it so the house now has the delightful odor of wet dog.  The kids had an Easter egg hunt this morning.  Great thing about having a large family is that you have enough kids for a super big egg hunt but you don't have to worry about the bigger kids taking all the eggs from the little kids.  Seriously, when you need 100 eggs just for your own family to hunt in the front yard, you just might have a decent sized family. We've been a bit lazy watching movies and hanging out so the eggs will be dyed later tonight.  The kids are getting big and we have very little to complain about at the moment.  I hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Abby's Bike

We headed to Target and let Abby pick out a bike on Sunday.  The pickings were a bit slim at Target and I really wanted to avoid a longer trip to get the bike so we settled for a pink princess bike.  Yup, she got a dreaded princess bike. But it's much better than the other choice which was Barbie.  I'm not a fan of commercial advertising on kids' toys but if I have to choose between Barbie and Disney Princess, the princess stuff wins.

Abby is thrilled because it is pink and it has a doll seat on the back so it's just like Mom's bike.  Too bad the weather kind of stinks right now so she is stuck riding it in the garage.  Snow does not exactly make for good bike riding weather. 

Boys' Club

 We had a houseful of older boys today.  They built rockets and attempted to launch them.  The soda bottle rockets launched fairly well but the rocket kits ran into a bit of technical difficulties with the ignitors.  Don't ask since I don't have a clue. 

Notice everyone conferring around the launch pad?  Because when one person can't figure out the issue, apparently you need to add several more.  The rain even stopped while the guys were trying to launch the rockets. Even without a successful launch, I have a feeling everyone had a good time.  At least I hope so.  At the very least, they were all introduced to Beakman's World.  Seriously, I thought just about everyone knew about Beakman's World.

Happy Birthday Abby!

Little Miss Abby turned 5 today.  This means she is officially joining the ranks of the big kids around here (otherwise known as those who do not have to take a nap every day although they are still certainly encouraged to do so every so often).  She treated us all to dinner out, then we came home for chocolate cake and presents.  Later this week we will head to the store so she can pick out a new bike.  I do believe we will be bringing home a pink one if she has her way.  Just hope we can find one that is not all Disney Princess covered or something.  That just may be more than my not so girly-girl self can take.  Anyway, happy birthday Little Lady. Hope you enjoyed your day.

You Know Better Than I

There is a lot rolling around in my mind today.  Many reminders today of how much we've been given.  It's a birthday day so the kids are getting a bit of a break and watching a movie.  I forgot how much some of the songs from the movie seem to speak to me.  I needed to hear this one today so I thought I would share it.  I hope it speaks to you as well. 

Fish Hatchery

Today we took a trip to our local fish hatchery.  I'm hoping the kids were paying attention because we learned quite a bit today.  The Caledonia Fish Hatchery was the first hatchery in the western hemisphere. It was started during the Civil War. It is also the place where the Department of Environmental Conservation was founded. 

Due to various disease related issues, the hatchery only stocks brown trout at the moment. They stock lakes in a several county area and provide all of the two year old brown trout for the entire state. 

We learned that the dead fish are collected each day to be given to a man who feeds them to bald eagles.  Given that the hatchery is home to thousands of fish, I just can't quite imagine how many dead fish they must have to remove every day.

All of the kids got a chance to feed the fish at the end of our tour.  I have to say that I was not quite sure what to expect when I arranged this field trip but ended up pleasantly surprised by everything we learned today.

Homeschool Expo 2011

Today we put the finishing touches on projects and headed to the Homeschool Expo.  The Expo is a function put together by our homeschool support group to give the kids a chance to share a project or talent that they have with their friends.  It's also a great excuse to get together with each other, socialize and eat pizza. 

This year Bryan did a project on rocket engines and built a rocket car.

Sean did a project on the planets.  Poor kid had the cooler of water get knocked over in the van all over his project but was able to put it back together and get it to dry most of the way in time for the festivities.

Kieran showcased several weaving projects.

Liam did a dinosaur excavation.  If you'd like to get a kit like the one he used, I sell them.  Hint, hint. :)

Katie and Abby tried their hand at dying flowers different colors. They even tried adding vanilla to the water for one flower to see if it would change scents but I don't think it worked.

Everyone did a great job and had a wonderful time seeing their friends.  Can't wait to do it again next year.

Our Homegrown Storm Trooper

Sacrifice Beads

Katie and Liam are preparing for First Communion this year.  One of the activities we decided to do this year to help them is making sacrifice beads.  We used a ready made kit from Give Glory Arts and Crafts.  It's much easier on me when all of the parts and pieces for a project are included in one place.  We've used these kits before to make scapulars and rosaries. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow.  The finished products look wonderful.