knitting and crochetting

I decided that I was going to work with each child and teach them to crochet and make an easy animal.  We found a huge bin of yarn for $5 at a garage sale, so there is lots of colors to chose from... and I won't see all the wasted money when they  cut it off to throw it away to start another project. :)

 That hasn't worked out quite as well as I had hoped.  There have been lots of things started but very few things actually finished.  However,  they have had fun.   

Anastasia making a bear.

Jonas knitting a scarf for Tessa.

Kristina also crocheting a bear.

Alina making a pig.

Miriam learning knitting with a scarf.  I told Kristina that I didn't know how to knit and I'd have to find someone else to teach her.  But I made the stipulation that she had to actually finish something before I would do that.  She finished a sucker so I had her call Sister Swenson, a lady in our ward who knits and teaches.   So twice a week she goes there.  This is the scarf that Kristina is working on with her.

 

Miriam has started going, as well.

Caleb making a hat on a circular loom.

This one is actually before the last picture.

Caleb doing boondoggle (I know, not really knitting or crocheting but still....)

That got me interested in knitting again. Just after Talita was born I decided I wanted to teach myself to knit. I made a baby blanket a sweater and started another when I decided I liked crocheting better. This time I decided I wanted to do socks.

This is the first one I made.  Sadly, it has no mate as I got "Second Sock Syndrome."  It also was done on tiny needles that were made for fingering weight yarn with worsted weight yarn so it is not cozy and soft.

Becasue of "second sock syndrome" I checked a book out of the library that showed how to do both socks at once on 2 circular needles.  They are done, not pretty but done.

This is the current project. I had this fuzzy fingering yarn in my stash.  It is a nightmare to work with; it slides off the needle and gets tangled on itself. (That is why the stitches are so uneven) But I like how the sock looks so I'm gonna finish it and it's mate. 

All in all a great diversion for summer projects.

Recipes

I have many..... shall we say, diversions.  You name it, I've probably done it.
Near the end of school in June, I aquired another one.  Recipes.
I wanted to go through my recipes and try the ones I've never tried.  I intended on taking notes on them (Yummy, half the butter, add more water, that sort of thing) and getting rid of the ones that we didn't like.   It actually all started with a RS night where they discussed beans and gave us a bunch of recipes using beans.  I wanted to try all those recipes.  But I needed a place to put the recipes because no papers are safe in this house unless they are organized.  So I put them in a binder.  Then that led me to a blog called http://www.everydayfoodstorage.net/ that has some great recipes, and I already have a binder to put them in.  But I can't put them in it until I've tried them.  So it kind of blew up and out of proportion then.  I was making menus just so that I could try the new recipes I was finding (darn, there are only 3 meals in a day). 
My family was loving it!!  They loved everything I tried.
So it is only logical that the kids would get in on it too.  So I let Caleb and Jonas (others will get one when they get older)  each have a binder and they weren't allowed to put a recipe in there until they tried it. (Even though I had long since thrown that rule out the window for myself- hypocrite!)
I kind of got out of it when we went on our trip to Utah, but I have emassed a nice repertoire of recipes that are "tried and true."  It will be a while before things get repetitious.  And the boys have a nice stash too.  And even better it has given them an excuse to cook before the girls get in the kitchen (food issues again). Hopefully, they will be prepared when they go on a mission and college.

Here is a link to a recipe we enjoy.  (I use flour rather than wheat).  You might have to scroll down a little bit.
http://everydayfoodstorage.net/?s=wheat+pancakes

Jones Crew

Ever since I have had more than one child, I have been paranoid about leaving one, losing one. 

Well, it finally happened.

We were at Playground Pals and Caleb's friend, Gabriel,  was there wanting to come over to our house. 
Sure.
Then you'll have to drop Nathan (his little brother) off at home.
No big deal as they live about 3 block away.  So everyone piled in the car, loud and happy.  Gabriel sat in the front middle between Elijah and Ryah.  Caleb sat in the very front so Nathan sat in Caleb's spot. I even asked the kids if everyone was there.  With a quick glance in the rear view mirror to make sure everyone was sitting and not still trying to buckle.  I was off.

We get nearly to Gabriel's house when I just felt it.  Felt like something was amiss.  I looked in the mirror and counted heads.  I had to crane my neck to check.  Wait a minute, Elijah wasn't there.  He sits behind the driver's seat and is hard to see in the mirror.  We... I had left him at Playground Pals.

Now my kids are really good kids.  They watch out for each other. (Sometimes overly so, but I digress).  I know they would have told me if they were aware if anyone wasn't there, but especially Elijah.  Everyone watches out for him.  But with Gabe sitting there "hiding" him and Gabe not knowing the difference....

Guilt, Fear, and Panic gripped my heart making it hard to breathe.  Even though I knew Elijah wouldn't be in any danger, I didn't even drive the last 20 feet to Gabe's house, I turned around and fled back to the school.

Of course, Elijah barely even knew we were gone, he was having so much fun on the playground.  None the worse for wear.  I, however, am scarred for life.  :)

I told Keith about it when we were driving somewhere in the car.  He immediately turned around and instituted a count off system.  (I guess he is paranoid about it too).  Mom or Dad yells "JONES CREW" and Elijah yells "One", Ryah "Two", Anastasia "Three, ect.    They are to the point, they are very fast at it, and it only takes about 10 seconds.

I detest assigning kids numbers for anything.  However, since I'm convinced that I would die of a heart attack right there on the spot were that to happen again, I think I can live with it.  So now we have a quick way of telling if someone is missing, so we can act quickly if necessary.

And the kids actually like it.  They are forever saying "Say 'Jones Crew,' Mom."

Tessa gets "groomed"

*WARNING: may contain pictures of an impossibly cute dog, view at your own risk

** PETA WARNING: no animals were harmed in any way during the writing of this post

This was way back in June the first real day after school was out.

It became very apparent that there was a desperate need to cut Tessa's hair.  She couldn't walk on the linoleum because she kept slipping on her hair.  She was having trouble eating and you couldn't see her eyes most of the time. 

So after researching it out I purchased a hair clipper that was small enough and charged it up.  Then I sat down with Caleb to help and we began to give her a hair cut.

She hated it. She hated the clippers, she hated the scissors, she hated the pulling on the hair to cut it. She hated it all. Three long hours, aching back and covered with hair she looked like a dog again. It wasn't perfect, I was trimming when I could sneak it in for a couple days afterwards but she looked much better.

Caleb even fell asleep.

But doesn't she look cute?!?  A little scrawny... ok a lot scrawny, but cute.

This is what she thinks of those scissors.

Not to fear...

That haircut lasted for 3 whole months.   And we just did it again a week ago and it only took an hour.  She still hated it but it only took an hour.

We did it!!! We should have done it sooner.

This last time we went swimming, Miriam and Kristina decided they wanted to take the "test" that allows you to go in the deep end and jump off the diving board.  You have to swim the width of the pool and back without stopping and then tread water for a certain amount of minutes (like two or three).

Then they had a blast swimming in the deep end when it was open and jumping off the board when they closed the deep end to open the diving boards.  Over and over and over they jumped in.  Miriam even got to where she would dive in.

When we were nearing time to leave Kristina came up to me and said, very excitedly, "I get to go in the deep end.  I should have done it sooner, I could have been doing this all summer."

Jonas and Swimming

I take the blame.  I take all the blame.  I can't say that for most things, but I'm afraid I have to for this issue, because it is my fault.

Jonas gets to go to Australia as an ambassador; see some kangaroos and koalas, eat alligator, learn how to use a bullwhip and boomerang, see the Sidney Opera House, and swim the Great Barrier Reef.  Wow!!! 

Wait a minute.  Swim the Great Barrier Reef.   SWIM the Great Barrier Reef.  That actually requires swimming doesn't it?!?!?!?!

Ever since Jonas was old enough to go to swim lessons by himself we have known that he has issues with water.  Well, it isn't the water, per se. It is the actual lack of breathable air in the water.  I mean throw a kid, who on his best days has a (maybe not so) irrational fear of things covering his mouth, whose chest constricts severely and semblance of rational thought is non-existant at the hint of not being able to breathe, into the water (which defines the phrase "not being able to breathe") and what do you expect?!?!?

We worked with it a quite a bit with him in those formative years, trying to convince him to put his face in the water for longer than a micro nano second.  But this was met with varying degrees of success.  So we kind of gave up (in the form of lack of funds/time for swim lessons and a plethora of other wholesome activities).

But when this Mount Everest (in the form of a deep ocean) loomed into our path, panic started to set in.  He actually has to go under the water for an extended period of time.  Sure, he'll have snorkelling apparatus on but we are talking irrational fear, as in makes no sense, uncontrollable.  We haven't prepared him for this.  Our parental responsibility is severely lacking.

So in an effort to prepare him in a rush, we enrolled him for two swim lessons, one at Tanglewilde Pool and one through Lacey Parks and Recreation. To support that we gave him lots of pep talks about how much fun it was going to be to see all the creatures of the GBR. (As a side note, maybe the pep talks were working. He chose as his big project for his Ambassadorship, to do a display on the animals of the GBR).

And he was actually EXCITED about taking swim lessons.

He did well, too. He worked hard getting used to having water on his face, and having his face in the water.

He concentrated on doing the strokes and everything just like the teacher asked him to.

It was great to see.  He became more comfortable in the water.

Which was all I had hoped for given the time constraints, that he wouldn't get in the cold Great Barrier Reef water, panic and then drown.  Or even worse refuse to get in.

And he did well on the Great Barrier Reef, despite the conditions.  I'll let him tell the details (because he WILL get finished writing down his experiences in Australia and I WILL get them typed up and sent out).  But briefly, it was extremely windy and they didn't have a suit that really fit him (he is not really THAT small, is he?!?!). 

But he still went and had fun doing it.

Whew! Crisis averted.

But wait a minute, is that a mountain I see looming in the distance?!?!?! It is hard to tell. If it is it is a huge, gigantic, stupendous, collosal mountain.... And it has

Official Boy Scouts of America Swim Test

written on it in big, bold Times New Roman lettering.

Jump in water over your head swim 25 feet, execute a sharp turn and swim 25 feet back.

And then:

Swim 75 feet with a front power stroke and swim back with a back resting stroke.

But (and here my evil pride creeps in) Jonas jumped right in and is trying to climb that mountain. It has been great to witness.  He works hard every time we go swimming to be able to reach the top of this mountain.   With his Dad's help he has been able to learn the right positioning of his arms and legs so that he moves through the water.  He has been working hard to be able to take a breath without coming to a complete stop.  We aren't quite to the top of this mamoth mountain yet,  but he has been working hard!!!

And why is this all my fault?!?!

Because it was my genes that gave him the asthma which leads to this (maybe not so) irrational fear of being suffocated in the water.  And oh, I can soooooo relate.  While I love to swim, am pretty comfortable in the water and wouldn't drown if my boat sank I couldn't do a front stroke with my face in the water if my life depended on it.  But please don't tell Jonas that.  Isn't it our job to help make them better than we are?!?!

Swimming

Can you tell I can't sleep. This darn coughing is keeping me awake. But it is a blessing because I get to blog and start to record some of the fun we are having.

We purchased a membership (at a good deal) at a pool in a subdevelopment in our ward.  So right off we got to do swimming lessons.  They also got to have lessons through Lacey Parks and Recreation.  So everyone did 2 sessions (except Elijah and Kristina) and with the time and energy commitment that was enough.

This is pretty much what Elijah did, sit on the stairs and play with their toys.  On the second to last day the teacher finally convinced him to let her take him out for a "swim."  Try as she might she couldn't convince him to blow bubbles or put his face in the water in any way.

This is soooooo different for Ryah than last year.  Last year she clung to me like I was the last cookie and didn't relax at all.  But she was able to do bobs and most of the "strokes" that the teacher had her do.  She still didn't do much on her own except bobs, but sooo much better than last year.

Anastasia got very adept at bobs (did a million each day) and got some good beginnings on strokes.  She even dared to take off on her own and not hold on to the side.

Alina pretty much took off on her own.  She did so well that she passed the first level.

Miriam struggled a little bit at first, not being used to swimming.  Then she pretty much took off as well.  She is very comfortable in the water and loves to try new things.

I've saved Jonas and swimming for another post....

Caleb, in level 4 did mostly laps and stroke perfection.  He didn't like it at first and kept trying to get out of it.

 

Everyone got to jump off the diving board and loved it.  Ryah didn't dare jump by herself but was ok with letting the teacher drop her in.

Miriam's teacher talked like mad to get her to go in head first, she didn't dare, didn't dare.  He offered to pull her in by her hands and she let him.  But then promptly got out, she was done for the day.  But the next day she was a diving mad man.  Over and over she kept diving in.

With all the lessons we pretty much spent all morning at the pool. I would do the hair of the ones not swimming.

Even Elijah talked soemone into doing his hair.

We intended on going to Open Swim and Family Swim quite a few times but it has only been recently that we have even been able to make it.  But boy, we have sure milked it for all it is worth since then and have had a blast!!  Even Elijah can (with a life jacket) swim independantly.  Our membership has been well worth it!!  We'll have to do it again next year.