Girl in a Swirl

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Thanks to my sister!

My sister posted these pictures of us on faceboo

k. Thanks Em!

Look at how adorable we were!

This was the tree at our neighbors house. We had lots of pictures taken under it.

So if you ever wondered what Swirl looked like when I was actually a girl... and not a mother of four.. I'm the one in the orange dress.

I was thinking... when I'm 60 will I still be blogging here at Girl in a Swirl? or will I have moved on to a new blog ... "Flushed" "Down the Drain"

When I'm no longer caught in the swirl..

Don't forget to enter my give-away!

If you build it... it will come....

DON'T Forget to enter MY GIVE AWAY!

Okay...
MONTHS ago my son#1 was wanting a dog so ooooo bad.
It was all he would talk about, all he thought about, all he read about, he watched Dog Whisper on TV and other dog shows. He was a boy obsessed!

(Never mind that my husband is allergic to anything furry.)

But we conceded that we would be open-minded to having a dog- IF we could find the right kind of dog for our family.

So in the meantime I encouraged my son to "prepare" our yard for a dog.

So he and his friends built a dog house.

We tried finding a dog from the Pound- with no luck.

We tried finding a dog from Craigs List- we got one snappy dog that bit 3 kids in a weeks worth of stay- so that didn't work out. (It was really strange- he didn't bite my kids, just kids who came over to the house, and those that walked by us on walks. )

My son was was so sad and disappointed. I know he was hoping for a puppy at Christmas.
Can you see the vision of puppies dancing through his head??

Well- last night the "community stray" Princess
found her way in our back yard and slept in my sons dog house!

BOY! Were we surprised this morning.. while eating breakfast... we saw her peeking out the dog house opening. He was so proud that she liked his dog house!

{this is Princess.}

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Rock Band- the bridge that spans Language gaps!

Here are my Chinese daughters... just for a week.
It is strange having four girls in the house...

It was funny- my boys were playing Rock Band and at first, they didn't want to try. ( I guess it looks hard or intimidating maybe.) Then slowly they agreed to take a turn with the drums or guitar, but now.. that is all they want to do!

Their parents will be so proud when they return home. They may not be able to carry a conversation on in English but their daughters can sing American songs like Eye of the Tiger and Hungry Like a Wolf.

See in our house - we use a little different teaching method to get our guest to use English.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Easy- Yummy After- school snack

I'm sorry to say- it's not a "healthy" after school snack. But if you want to be the mom on the block that "ROCKS!" this is the snack to fix. (Especially for those of you who are in the middle of deep snow and wish for warmer summer months. Indulge yourself with some S'mores.)

Today for my son #4 play group / story time. I did a favorite theme: Camp Out. (Here is a link to my Story Time Outline.)

It's not really a Camp Out - but a "Camp In" as we make a fort/tent out of blankets and chairs.
Kids play with stuffed animals, bears, wolves (dogs),etc.. we read some books

(We also made a simple owl/headband.)

Books:
If you give a moose a muffin.
Jam Berry
Camp Out

And then I made S'mores. (pictures below.)

The S'mores were so yummy - I made more for my school age kids when they came home.

Chocolate Chips on a graham cracker with a big marshmallow

Microwave for 40 seconds

Place another layer of graham cracker on top

and enjoy!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Road from 4 to 8

I remember so clearly- my first Sunday with 4 boys. We were having our son #4 blessed.

As I sat down, Anjeny's 4 boys came and sat in our row- happy to greet our new son.

I looked down the row and had a small panic attack. Just a glimpse of what life with 4 boys REALLY means.

I turned to my husband and whispered, "We don't just have 4 boys... we have 8." He looked at me and didn't get it.

But I knew- our house will never just hold 4 boys. If each of my sons invites a friend over- we have 8 boys with us. The road from 4-8 happened so fast! And it really has been that way.

When our family was younger, my first two boys... played together so well. Then as the oldest got older... #2 and #3 played well and #1 would invite a friend. Well now.. it's all about bringing a friend along- so no one feels left out.

Just a gentle warning to those mom's thinking about trying "one more time" for a girl.

Not that I regret in any way...

but

yeah...

8 BOYS

On a side note no one is happier tonight than me.

The kids were back in school and I was able to get a handle on the house today! It has been grand central station these last few weeks with 8 - 12 kids in my house at any given moment.

It was nice to just kick around with son #4 and get some chores done. ( without listening to Rock Band.)

( Like cleaning the dust off the ceiling fan! Talk about gross!)

Monday, January 12, 2009

My White Picket Fence...

I'll admit- I have dreamed of having a house with a white picket fence.

I think the lucky lady who lives in this house dreamt well.

What a beautiful view!

We went fishing - again- today.

Last day of the boys vacation.

Son #4 was sneaking up people's walk ways.

I was chasing him here and there...

Son #3
warming up. The water was chilly today, I was in a sweatshirt!

BRRRrrr these harsh Hawaiian Winters!

Son #4 Loves the fish bucket.

I was so glad I figured that out! He was content to just watch the fish while the older boys waded out and scooped them up.

Well- off for FHE. I'm treats!