happy birthday

Happy Birthday Jason!

Blowing out the candles....I love the way Jude is looking at Jason...hoping he can help blow them out too.And the boys giving their dad a big birthday hug.Then we ran out to the beach after the "party"....literally, right before the sun set. I told Jason that he probably never thought he would live in a place where he can celebrate his birthday (in February...the middle of winter) and then head to the beach. What a crazy place that we live.The kids had fun digging holes...and then Ansley waited until they were done so she could sit in them. It was a great evening at the beach...a full moon and all.

puppy love

Our neighbor's dog had puppies recently and they let the boys take one (or two) home to "babysit" it for a while. They LOVE these puppies and ask everyday to go over and see them. They especially enjoy the times they get to "babysit" them. Jude was hanging out with little Lily here and letting her take a nap while he had his snack. Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen? If not take a closer look.
I think she wants us to keep her. Not that we have room for a pet or that our landlords will let us have a furry pet (unless we're babysitting their puppies for them).
And these two rascals (the dogs that is) are her brothers. They weren't quite as cuddly as little Lily but I think my boys enjoyed the energy and playfulness that they had. They gave a better respresentation of what puppies do...whine, chew and poop (thankfully we have tile floor)...and helped me to remember the reality of having a furry little pet. Not that I don't ever want one but with the stage that I'm in, I don't need any more whining, chewing or pooping (that I have to clean up) right now. :o)

my brain in tangents

This post will have a few tangents but it will all come together in the end...if not I blame it on the Theraflu. I'll start off with the fact that I am recovering from the flu-like sickness that has hit everyone we know...and I thought I avoided it. But it looks like I'm one of the last few to share in this community effort of building our immune systems. And as a friend of mine who just wrote me an e-mail recently said, "all I want is my mommy right now. " But since my mommy is thousands of miles away, I have to suck it up and lay around all day while my kids watch way too many videos...mommies don't get sick days.

Which brings me to my other tangent. A friend of mine came to pick up my boys while Ansley napped so I could rest and give the boys some good play time with their friend. Let me just say, that I am thankful for great friends.

And this leads me to my last tangent. This same friend gave me a gift a while ago and it has just sat around because I wasn't quite sure what it was. My first thought was that it was little air fresheners because they had a strawberry smell to them. They came in this cute little packaging...

...but the directions were in Japanese.So I went to open one thinking I would set it out as an air freshener (not quite the scent I would prefer) but noticed it was kind of runny. Underneath these cute little egg shaped containers I found these.They looked spoon-like to me so I assumed it must be something to eat. Now usually I am sort-of adventuresome when it comes to trying new foods but I was really hung up on the idea that these were air fresheners...which made it hard for me to think of ingesting them. Well to make a short story really long, I asked another friend of mine who travels to Asia quite a bit if she knew what they were (because I was too embarrassed to ask the friend who gave them to me...dumb I know), and she told me it's like a jello and they're really good. So what did I do with the last two that weren't open yet? I gave them to my boys and they gobbled them up. Don't worry, I did try a little bite before they ate it just to make sure it tasted like a jello-y substance.

name

The advantages of having a dad who is learning Greek and Hebrew for his seminary degree...you learn how to write your name in Greek. As I was checking Ethan's papers I came across this paper with his name written this way. He even told me that the circle with the line through it (Theta) actually stands for the "th" in his name. Glad my 6 year old can teach me something. :o)

the week of haircuts

This week there was a lot of hair cutting going on. I am once again chopping a little here and a little there on mine...but that is nothing new. And then I gave Ethan his buzz cut again...he prefers it short. But then there was Jude, who was in major need of a haircut. I knew it was time when his swim teacher put a swim cap on him so he could see while he swam. So I was going to do the usual trim but he asked this time to have short hair like Ethan. Part of me had a hard time letting go of his longer, blondish hair that he has had since he was a toddler. But as Jason said "it will grow back." Well it's been over a day now and I still find myself staring at him...shocked at how different he looks. Like any 3 1/2 year old boy would do...he looked at himself in the mirror and said "cool". But I am missing his longer, blondish hair. It's just hair right? I can't help it though...I think I will just let it grow back out now.

Before:After:

she's got the moves

Ansley has been quite the dancer lately. Whenever she hears music playing...whether it's the Thomas toy train playing the theme song, or the cell phone ringing, or The Office theme music, or the radio or CD playing or her dad playing his guitar...she starts swaying. My other two kiddo's never seemed to notice music much but she definitely has an ear for it.

homemade cleaning

For a while now I have wanted to try to make my own cleaning products for a couple of reasons 1) no harsh chemicals 2) less expensive. But I was always hesitant because I didn't know if it would clean as well as the stuff I bought in the store and it seemed like a lot of work. But I found a few "recipes" for homemade products on-line and tried it a couple of months ago. They actually ended up being so easy to make and they actually clean! So for those that care to know, here is what I use. These four products (vinegar, baking soda, castile soap, borax) clean my whole house and it is so cheap (because I can buy in bulk at Costco...i.e. $4 for 5 liters of vinegar)...plus my kids help clean and I don't have to worry about it hurting their skin like the chemicals from other products would.

Multi-Purpose Cleaner

1 spray bottle
Fill half with water and half with vinegar
10-15 each drops of lavender and tea tree essential oils (lavender is anti-bacterial and tea tree is anti-fungal)

I use this spray on counters, tables, floors, toilets and with the lavender and tea tree oils it doesn't have that vinegar-y smell. I don't like my house smelling like pickles.


Soft Scrub

Baking Soda
Castile Soap (I got Lavender scented)

I put the baking soda in a shaker container (cleaned out Parmesan, spice, etc.) and sprinkle it on the surface that I am cleaning. Then I put a few drops of castile soap with it. It has the scrub from the baking soda and the soap-y clean from the soap. This works great on sinks and bathtubs.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Borax
Castile Soap

Sprinkle some borax in the bowl with a few drops of Castile soap. Let sit. Swish around with toilet bowl brush and flush.

where does the time go?

I have so many things I've wanted to post over the past couple of weeks...funny sayings from Jude, pictures of my kids, thoughts I've been thinking, what I've been learning...and then time keeps passing by. So until I can get some good blogging time there won't be any deep thoughts or insightful learning posted here. But I will leave you with a funny Jude saying, a video of Ethan and a picture of my crazy little girl (in no particular order) to show that we are still alive and doing well. Enjoy!

1. Here's the Jude saying for the week:

Jude (in a very excited voice): Mommy! Can I have an ice pickle?

Me: (thinking to myself..."what in the world is an ice pickle?")

Jude: um, Shanti has...um, ice...um, can I have a ...

Me: Do you mean a popsicle?

Jude: Yes!

2. Ansley discovered the suitcase this week. So much fun! Sit in it, then get out, then repeat...who knew?

3. Ethan came up to me and sang this song....

...then told me that he just sang Happy Birthday in Japanese. Huh? How did he know that? He learned it in Awanas because his teacher is Japanese and they have been talking about missionaries in Japan. Pretty cool!

update on my new year resolution

I found this quote on someones blog and thought it sums things up pretty well:

"My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy."

I love my cleaning lists! I get most of the "chores" done by the end of the week...maybe not on the day it lists it but more like when I have time to get it done. I don't have the perfectly clean house but it does keep me accountable to do cleaning more consistently...plus things like 'cleaning the dining room light fixture' or 'cleaning the baseboards in the bathroom' get done.

Another thing it has helped with is including my older two to help. There are daily tasks that they can do to contribute to the household. Especially when I let them use some of the homemade cleaners I've been using, so I don't have to worry about cleaning chemicals that most store bought brands contain (my recipes for some cleaners I use are going to be in an upcoming post...if you're interested).

So anyway, I know a couple of you asked to update how it's going with my new cleaning lists. So there it is. That is Life with the Wood Family.

newest member to the family

Augusta "Gus" McDonald Wood

Ethan asked recently (again) if we can get another fish. We felt that we are now at a stage in life where we can once again fit a pet into our lives...you're probably thinking "it's just a fish." But between homeschooling and raising 3 children (one who is still a baby), I was afraid it would get forgotten. So we went to the pet store and Ethan picked it out...a red one this time instead of a blue. Ethan picked the first name Augusta, since we are learning our states and capitals (can anyone guess what state that is a capital of?), Gus for short and when I asked Jude what name he wanted to pick for the middle name he said McDonalds...he is his father's son.