Crazy bird lady

Three days! Is that enough to make it a habit? At some point very soon, I am going to run out of words and also the patience it takes to post pictures from the old wheezy laptop.

I haven't mentioned the Big Year in a while, though it is still in progress. It is really going to be more of a small to medium sized year, but that is okay.  I also need to spend some time with the Audubon guide so that I don't have entries like #28 Swallow, #29 Other kind of swallow (without forked tail), and #30 Sparrow (House? Tree? Look this up) and #31 Other sparrow (black head? Or is this a chickadee?)

Anyway, we spent a few days with the grandparents Pate just before Easter, and we made yet another return to Shangri-La with my sister-in-law and nieces. Something very exciting was happening in Orange, Texas: the ROSEATE SPOONBILLS were NESTING. Also lots of herons (blue and white) and what I think were cormorants. We also took the boat ride this time. The kids really thought it was great, you can tell by Hudson's expression.Then on the way back to Houston, the kids and I decided to stop to spy on a rookery just off I-10 (east of the confluence of the Old and Lost Rivers) near Anahuac and there were MORE ROSEATE SPOONBILLS and boy, did they put on a show. My camera lens was woefully inadequate, but I have the picture of that big pink bird in flight with its long spoon shaped bill emblazoned in my mind. While we were marveling at the pink amazingness of the spoonbill, Hudson looked down from the viewing boardwalk and saw a 5 foot juvenile alligator. Then we spotted three more. Then there was a little blue heron flying by and I tried to get a picture while Helena leaned precariously over the railing, inches away from four alligators. It was an excellent day for birding. And alligatoring. And also turtle-ing:

g. 

Why indeed.

Two days in a row! Let the frenzy commence! Saturday night, I was brushing out Harper's mane before her weekly hair washing, and she invited Helena to help with the brushing. Which is HUGE progress on the Maginot Line of the sibling antagonism. Helena was delighted and as she scampered into the room where we were, she had on one of her signature bohemian layered multi-floraled, many polka dotted outfits (not, incidentally, what she had been wearing last I had seen her just after dinner) and also, she had a pair of pink and green underpants on her head like a jaunty beret. As she began the brushing, Harper whispered out of the side of her mouth, "Mommy, do YOU know why she is wearing panties on her head?" and I confessed that I did not. Helena just smiled mysteriously and focused intently on her sisterly task.

At one of the prisons near our house (this is where I pause and let you giggle uncomfortably) there are pigs that we can see (and smell) as we drive past on the highway. I have never seen any actual prisoners there actually tending to the pigs, but in my mind, they are there early every morning, and they are the Prodigal Son. There are also corn fields and cotton fields and I picture the prisoners working and enjoying the feel of the soil, and imagining a day when they will have paid their debt, and they will come out better, and not worse. And they will run to their Father, who will throw a feast. Anyway, it invites good discussions with the kids, and one day Hudson proclaimed, "Prison sounds AWESOME! Can I GO there?" after I told them they get all the water they need, three meals a day, a weight room, and also probably a library.

We went to the symphony today. There was a composition called "Playground Escapades" that was supposed to Invite an Important Dialogue About Bullying. Those trumpets and their brassy mocking! Thankfully, the English horn stepped in to save the day, as only he can. We got home and Hudson asked, "Mommy, what is a bully?" and I told him it's a trumpet player who plays over the violins and cellos.

 See you tomorrow! I think I am officially on a roll.

Backblogged

I am behind. Maybe you will remember that this is the time of year we partake of the many field trips. Truth be told, our brand of homeschooling is field trip intensive. I could write up some educational goals for why, but the main reason is that the weather is amazing, and I like to be out in it, as do the kids. We are having a truly exceptional early spring here in Houston--shorts one day, a light sweater the next. Harper is mastering the ripstick. She sets these goals (twenty complete trips around the cul-de-sac) and she has tenacity in accomplishing them. She is intent on showing her friends Matthias and Marco (who go to our church, and who introduced her to The Wonder of the Ripstick) that she can do it. In fact, yesterday morning, we had a bit of a disagreement about what she was going to wear to church for the resurrection celebration. She wanted to wear clothes that would make it easy to ripstick; I wanted something cute. We compromised: she wore a cute pink dress with her Keens.)

Helena just asked me what, "Man is a giddy thing," means. Hooray for Mumford and Sons and all of their lyrics that are subtle in the Jesus, and also bold in the banjo.

So, here is the photo dump of the past few weeks: the Natural Science Museum, the Bayou Wildlife Park (hooray for getting to feed ostriches and buffalo and camels! Even if they were a touchmangy!) and we picked strawberries at Froberg Farm on the way home.
Also, the husband built a wooden playset in the backyard, in spite of my "help" ("Wait, which one is the bolt? And is THIS a washer?? So, you need BOTH?? Does it matter which part the washer goes on? Which one is the washer again? So on the bolt? The big bolt? Five-sixteenths and one fourth? WHAT? Wait, are those supposed to be crooked?") and it has already changed our lives for the better.

So, I'm going to try to blog every day this week. A blogging frenzy, if you will. Come back soon!!

Present tense Harper

I want to document a few things about Harper at seven years, ten months.

**She just weighed herself (after eating two tortillas stuffed with avocado for lunch) (my kids love to weigh themselves on my scale. Hudson refers to it as "gaining my weight" even though he rarely has actually gained any) and she weighs 47 pounds.

**She loves frogs, and was ecstatic to find this little fellow when we went to pick strawberries on Monday:

 **She has, currently, two young gentlemen who have expressed interest in marrying her. Mr. TS, when asked by his mom what qualities had guided his choice, cited her extensive knowledge of "Star Wars" (especially useful since he himself has not seen "Star Wars.") He has already chosen the vehicle they are going to own: a large duelie (doolie?) truck with plenty of room in back for their many children. Mr. NG is the other suitor. I don't know the exact details of his interest, but I suspect it has to do with their shared love of Legos. Yesterday at school, it was discovered that his younger brother had proposed to Helena earlier, to which Harper replied, "That's weird, because (Mr. NG) wants to marry me, and now (Mr. BG) wants to marry Helena!" Her cheeks turned quite red as she said this aloud, which surprised me. She is rarely self-conscious or embarrassed. She later told me that Mr. NG had first proposed months ago at Oil Ranch, "while they were walking across a field." I thought it was especially dear that Mr. NG, upon discovering that Harper was going to have to sit out the first 10 minutes of playground time yesterday (because of an earlier infraction involving extemely loud protestations about having her hair brushed before we left the house) pulled up a chair near her and sat quietly waiting for her to be available. Let the record state that I would love either set of in-laws. Let the record also state that Harper has, on more than one occasion, declared to me that she is planning to live by herself when she is a grown up, with only her pet stingrays and horses to keep her company. Children, she has told me, are TOO MUCH WORK. I do hope she changes her mind at some point. Having the grandrays over for holidays seems like it might be a touch smelly.

**She is an artist.  A couple of Saturdays ago, she spent several hours doing many variations of these horse silhouettes with her watercolors. Then she got my camera at the butterfly center on Monday, and got several really nice shots with the auto focus:


**She still loves writing stories. This year's entry for the PBS Kids Writing Contest:

**She definitely has an artistic temperament to go along with all of this creativity. It is a daily struggle for both of us. I see this expression several times a day:


**She loves programming this little robot she got for Christmas. It seems to be based on the TRS-80 computer I used in Mr. Charles' Gifted and Talented class back in 1983, but now that she's finally figured out how to do it, she delights in watching it roll around. This morning, she realized how to program its headlights, which pleased her.

**She is, at this moment, sewing a gray, fleece tank top for one of her stuffed stingrays. "For summer," I heard her muttering as she threaded her needle.

**A few weeks ago, she decided to spend a big chunk of the money she had saved on a ripstick. Do you know what these are? I didn't. It's kind of like a skateboard, but it has only two wheels. And they WOBBLE. Apparently, it is supposed to simulate snowboarding. The husband got on it the first day and almost broke his wrist within the first 30 seconds. Harper is making slow, steady progress. She is determined to take it to church and show her friends Pablo and Marco that she can do it. I was trying to help her the week she got it, and we fell over on the sidewalk in such a tangle that it took a few minutes to sort ourselves out. She is also intent on mastering the pogo stick she got for Christmas. She's up to 10 continuous bounces, I think.

**She is reading (to herself) The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit. We are reading Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield out loud.

**As much as she likes writing for pleasure, she does not enjoy our writing schoolwork. She bristles at the suggestion that her own creative spelling and punctuation are somehow not exactly standard. She does enjoy math work, most of the time. Getting started is usually met with sighs and groans, however.

That is plenty. I need to go check on the tank top endeavor. 

Ten books for Tuesday

As we all know, my attempts at any sort of serial blogging have failed miserably. But I am going to attempt to blog more regularly (again) and I also realized my list of library books is becoming unwieldy.  I thought I might highlight the ten best books we've enjoyed each week. On Tuesdays because of my obvious love for alliteration (see also: The Names of My Children). On our library list in the sidebar, I put an asterisk to recommend the book if any of us particularly enjoyed it, even if it isn't destined to become a great classic. On this list I will try to give a little more information. I think years from now I will enjoy looking back to read which books were delighting us at particular times. So, here we go! Ten Books for Tuesday!!

1. Building Our House by Jonathan Bean

This book is SUCH a treasure I went back to the blog that recommended it in order to thank her (Orange Marmalade--fantastic resource). It is based on Bean's own childhood in which his parents bought a field and built their own house. The idea of homesteading is a very appealing one, so I was characteristically teary-eyed by the time we got to the end, and I so loved the author's note at the end, which closed with, "Of course, a homestead would not be complete without a large garden, fruit trees, pets, woodland, and a stream flowing through mysterious marshland. Add to that the wise love of two parents, the companionship of three sisters, and a practically lived faith, and it's hard for me to think of a better place to have grown up." RUN to the library and check this out. Or buy it even.

2. The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jaqueline Davies, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

I've mentioned this one before. We all like it. I love how patient Audubon had to be in order to discover what he did about the birds of America.  I also love how intent he was on mastering his craft. He would gather up his drawings at the end of each year (on his birthday) and burn them! "He hoped that some day he would make drawings worth keeping."

3. My First Little House Books: Dance at Grandpa's illustrated by Renee Graef

These adaptations from the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder are really sweet and well illustrated. I get them for Helena now, but the older kids always stop what they are doing and come listen too.

4. When You Were small by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Every night, Henry asks his father for a story about when he was small. " When you were small we let you sleep in one of my slippers. The left one. You used a fuzzy wash cloth for a blanket and a tea bag for a pillow." The illustrations are perfection. All three kids enjoy this one.

5. The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward

This won the Caldecott Medal in 1952. Johny Orchard is a little boy who lives on an apple orchard, but dreams of hunting bears. Then he finds a baby bear, and instead of shooting it, he brings it home. Sweetness and mayhem ensues. Hudson particularly liked the drawings of Johny with his rifle. There was a moment when I thought things were going to go the way of Old Yeller (or Abraham and Isaac). But they don't.  It may be a little too tidy in the end, but I am okay with that for now.

6. Peter and the North Wind retold by Freya Littledale, illustrated by Troy Howell

Helena asked for this one every day after she found it on our shelf. She was a little scared of the North Wind (white beard, crazy hair, creepy white eyes) but I think she liked feeling a little scared. She also really enjoys the comeuppance Peter is able to exact on the unscrupulous innkeeper in the end.

7. Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Caitlin Heimerl

Monet and his canvas get washed into the sea because the painter, in his intense focus, does not notice the tide coming in. The illustrations are terrific, and I liked the little facts and biographical tid-bits included on each page.

 8. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

 This is one of my absolute favorites and I am always so happy when someone pulls it off the shelf for a re-read. It dovetails nicely with Building Our House, actually: "She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built. The man who built her so well said, 'This Little House shall never be sold for gold or silver and she will live to see our great-great-grand children's great-great grandchildren living in her.'" Doesn't that make you want to go buy a field and build a house on it??

 9. Hooray for Spring! by Kazuo Iwamura

 A cute tale (translated from Japanese) of three squirrel siblings trying to figure out what to feed the baby bird they happen upon. My kids love stories about animals acting like people. And the illustrations are adorable.

 10. People by Peter Spier

 This book invites all sorts of philosophical discussions, so it's best not to read it before bed. I loved that after we looked at it one morning this week (the kids particularly enjoying the page on which there are examples of many different written languages) we went to the post office to mail something, and the lady who works there, whom I've visited with before, and who I knew was a Coptic Christian from Egypt, wrote Harper's name in Coptic and Arabic for her.

 Wow. That is long. Maybe next week I will make it Two on Tuesday!

Interview with Helena Jane, age 4

1. Helena, at what age does a person become a grown-up? (Hudson: TWENTY-FOUR! me: Hudson, this is Helena's interview. Do you need to go inside?)

"Um..Twenty-four?" (me: Tell me what YOU think--is that what you think?) I see the moon!"

2. Yes, I also see the moon. Should we move inside, maybe? No? Okay, next question: If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

"I would hide from monsters and the princesses and the queens would save me from the monsters."

3. What is something that makes our family special?

"Stories with Grandmother and Grandfather."


4. Are you a good friend?

"Yes. Friends play with my Playmobil set and put my costumes on."

5. How would the world be different if animals could talk?

"I see an airplane! I want to watch it. (lots of silliness ensues here) (me: Okay, what animals would you want to talk TO?) A pig and a deer. A turtle and a frog."

6. What is the best thing about being a kid? The worst thing?

"Being princesses with Hannah and Rachel. I like everyone in the world. (me: and the worst thing?) Being in your pocket because it is too dark. I don't want to go in your pocket. It is too noisy.." (at this point we had to stop the interview and move inside because the big kids were laughing uproariously at her answers which was causing her to totally lose focus.)


7. Where is your favorite place in the world?

"The butterfly museum. Because it has butterflies in it and those are my favorite animals. And pigs.."

8. If you could give one present to every child in the world, what would it be?

"A Star Wars movie to Hudson. Um, a doughnut! A toy doughnut with a kid. I will give them a Lego Jesus. Jesus likes playing with Legos. (me: Does Jesus like Legos? I did not know that.) He told me. He is far away."

9. What are 5 words that describe you?

I like princesses and I look like a princess. Curly hair, blue eyes. I like princesses.

10. If you could invent something, what would it be?

"A princess. It would be a princess. Now can I watch it?"


11. If you could make one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

"I don't know. Your rules and Daddy's rules."

12. What is your favorite:

--Color? purple and pink

--Smell? roses

--Food? pasta

--Book? princesses books, ballet books

--Activity? play with my Playmobil

--Sound? Luke and Princess Leia sounds

--Animal?  Pigs and seals


13. What does Daddy like to do?

"Play with Legos and watch Mario."


14. What does Mommy like to do?

"Do schoolwork and read books and watch t.v. and read the newspaper like Han Solo. And drink coffee.."


15. What is your favorite thing to play with?

"My ballet (buh-way) doll."
 
16. What do you MOST want to do?

Watch t.v. and listen to music and play and have my lunch..

17. What would you like to write a book about?

"Maybe write a princess book to you and Han Solo.."

18. What is your favorite thing to wear?

"My yellow dress with that strawberry shirt. And my heart shirt!"

19. Describe what you look like:

"Um, a flower? Orange hair? Golden hair? Curly hair. Tall? Blue eyes?"


20. What are you looking forward to this year?

"Camping, I guess?" (Daddy was standing behind me feeding her this answer.)
 

Helena is FOUR years old!

And one month. But the reason I haven't been able to blog is because I wanted to post her birthday interview before I did anything else. Then there were technology complications. And so now she is practically five but I will post this remembrance of four anyway.

This little lady is a delight about 95% of the time. She wakes up early, gets dressed in ensembles that are sometimes really cute, and sometimes not. Then she plays in her room. Then she goes to the kitchen to get her vitamin. Then she brings me a vitamin in bed. Then I eat my vitamin, we convince Sasha to unburrow from the covers, and we head to the kitchen. Helena eats a gigantic breakfast. This morning it was a waffle, some granola, some kefir, and an oatmeal muffin. Then she asks what we are going to do. She likes to go and do, but she is also usually content to be at home. She loves costumes, and got three new ones on her birthday: a monkey, because for months she had been saying the only thing she wanted for her birthday was " a BROWN costume," a Degas-inspired tutu (which she enjoys wearing on her head) to go along with a new ballet book, and Sleeping Beauty.

Dancing.There is constant dancing. Perhaps this year there might be some lessons, though she has picked up quite a bit from books and a DVD that came with one of her books. "Look Mommy, at my pas de chat!" she says. Here is the pas de chat birthday cake masterpiece:


She is a little wisp of a girl--just 32 pounds. I don't know her height, but people comment that she is tall. Then they comment about her hair.

She still takes a 2-3 hour nap each afternoon, though lately she wakes up cranky and clingy and sometimes she will burst into tears if, for example, I tell her I won't be able to sit in the rocking chair and hold her for 30 minutes while she sorts herself out because I need to get dinner started or fold a load of clothes. I believe this was taken post-nap. I call it "Surly Fairy":


Her favorite book is probably this really beautiful, origami pop-up book of The Twelve Days of Christmas. We just read it tonight and she can sing the entire thing. The eleven dancing ladies in a music box are her favorite.

At the rodeo last week, she repeatedly (and loudly) asked if a man next to us had a baby in his tummy. She also loved climbing on the tractors and petting the baby goats and llamas and lambs.

Things are gradually getting better in her relationship with the big kids. I think in another 6 months there will be great harmony. And less tattling and bursting into tears over light sabers etc. I will confess that there is usually one moment of extreme discord each day in which I consider getting a light saber myself  and just taking them all out in one fell swoop. The Darth Vader Defense, I'll call it.

I think the interview will have to wait until tomorrow because I need to transcribe it from the video camera and 'tis late..