Elan's Busy Busy Day

I sit down a bit frustrated because my little Elan has been off geniusing all day and I find it hard to follow his hurricane footsteps. He put a lot of effort into making his clay pot this morning, and destroying it, and remaking it, and destroying it.... When I got back from my Dr.'s appt. he had covered the inside with mosaic tiles-very cool. We made it through history with a narration given in the Napoleon Dynamite voice, with the kangaroo pouch lip thrown in for good measure and a really wonderful picture of Lawyer's hat (a Nez Perce leader). Outside, he swept seeds from the palm tree into a pile with a lego and toothbrush while I read to him. Then back inside so he could read to me for awhile (yeah he's reading)! I've figured out why reading is hard for him-Have you ever tried reading a book while rolling around? Quite challenging! Then he built some warhammer model aliens. On to counting money-I gave him the jar of coins to count and went off to check my email. When I came back, there was sugar, hot sauce, olive oil, vinegar, vegetable oil, and crisco sitting on the floor of the kitchen with coins in a jar. He decided to clean the coins instead of counting them. So we sorted the coins and counted them-super easy for him. BUT putting them away-oh man-I feel like a sheep dog, chasing him to the table everytime he wanders off again. He puts a few coins away and then drifts away to do some other completely random thing. Sigh. I think he needs a nap- no wait that's me.

Grandma's Playdough

My sweet cuddly Grandma used to make the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate milk and playdough. So, today for the first time, Luke helped me make Grandma's playdough. He was very excited to pour the salt, laughing to himself as the cup filled up. And he had to stir it all by himself. "Nnnooooo" was heard whenever I tried to help. He's so independent and confident already. Hands-on Elan was right there, waiting for the dough to be done. Now Elan and Luke are on opposite ends of the table (there was some dough piracy early on), rolling and cutting, squishing and shaping. I always loved to pretend I was making cookies or bread. But Elan is all about pure invention/energy release and Luke is all about making the dinosaur "rawr rawr" shape. Jordan patrols the table, looking for dough infractions.

Chess, Lazy Dog and Organizing

Jordan and Elan both went to chess today. I was privileged enough to enjoy a lunch date with a very handsome 2 year old. We ate at the Lazy Dog Cafe in HB. Luke loved all the pictures and paintings of dogs. I'm quite sure we will be petting the brass dog's head often. Now Luke is napping, the older boys are reversing the effects of chess with some cartoons and I am off to organize our family room and the bar which has become our home school bookshelf and supply center.

Jumpy

Yesterday I was stalled. Couldn't motivate, couldn't smile. Then I remembered why having kids is so great-connecting with them and watching them smile. So we threw away all the excuses and drama and went to the indoor jumpy place. The boys played for 2 hours straight. Jordan and Elan were happy to show me all the tricks they could do. I went down the big slide with Luke about 15 times and watched him go from nervous to exuberant, finally bouncing himself down on his bottom! What a great way to lift our spirits!