More Homes United

We have just passed the halfway point in the school year.  It's mind-boggling how fast time flies these days!  

Our great experiment, the middle school co-op Homes United, has been a fantastic experience.  The "honeymoon period" lasted about six glorious weeks.  We enjoyed it while it maintained it's perfect polish, but we recognize that real life is not perfect and it's good for our kids (and us as parents/teachers) to experience bumps and bruises and changes of plans.  Kids (and parents) sometimes have conflicts.  People get sick.  There are misunderstandings and miscommunications.   It's all a part of the learning process.

All that being said, overall, we have had such a great semester!  Aubree loves co-op.  Occasionally, class days have been cancelled due to sickness, and she's always so disappointed.  

Making a scarecrow

These kids have had some remarkable experiences and opportunities.  For example, at one of the homes where they have co-op, the owner's dog had a litter of 10 Labradoodle puppies in December.  It was love at first sight for all the co-op kids (and their siblings and parents).  

 

One of the puppies, the runt of the litter they named "Frosty," was so sick his survival status was hour-to-hour.  Frosty became the co-op's unofficial mascot.  They made up a song about him, they prayed for him, they begged for regular updates, they assisted in "mothering" him.  Frosty, though much smaller than his brothers and sisters, is a fighter. 

The co-op kids have had numerous opportunities to provide service and get involved in the community.  In October, they organized a food drive for our local Food Bank.  They took shifts standing in front of Grocery Outlet inviting shoppers to contribute.  

It was impressive to watch them step out of their comfort zones and speak to strangers.  It was even better to watch their reactions when shoppers were generous with their donations.  They were so excited and grateful, and I could tell it was making an impression on them.

When we went to deliver the donations, we had an opportunity to tour the food bank.  Again, what a great experience for these kids! 

During this tour, we learned that, due to the loss of one of their regular sponsors, the food bank anticipated being short about 75 turkeys for Thanksgiving.  We looked at each other and thought, "surely, we can figure out a way to meet that need!"  We quickly organized a "turkey drive," and with tremendous support from our community, we did it!

This was such a meaningful experience, particularly as we collected the turkeys on the evening of November 8 - which ended up being a very contentious, emotional election night.  When my Facebook feed filled with despairing posts, I felt hope because I'd just spent hours interacting with people who were eager and willing to be generous and kind.

Another service project in which the co-op kids participated was Operation Christmas Shoebox.  The shoe box Aubree packed ended up in "a distant land," which is supposedly code for "someplace so politically unstable we can't list it's name publicly."

We've had a number of really fun field trips. Early in the year, they visited the home of a local author and publisher.  He talked to them about writing books and listened to poems the kids had written.  Aubree especially enjoyed it because she loves to write and plans to be an author when she grows up.

This gentleman also had an old violin that he let Aubree use, and she provided the lunchtime entertainment.

When their cooking class was learning about Italian food, they took a field trip to a local wood-fire pizza restaurant.  They got a behind-the-scenes tour of how it all works.  Getting to sample the pizzas was an added bonus!

Another cooking field trip took them to an Asian market, where they learned all kinds of fascinating facts about fish and food.

The kids took three engineering classes at a local studio.  They learned about different types of bridges, then broke into groups and decided which type of bridge they wanted to build.  They had to take into consideration all types of things in deciding what would make the "best" bridge, such as materials, cost, and structural integrity.  The end results were impressive!

One of Aubree's favorite classes is Art History.  Their projects are astounding.  I only have pictures of a couple of their projects, but I really should hunt down pictures of all of them (I'm pretty sure Aubree has taken pictures), because they're worth remembering.

African Mask

Chinese calligraphy

In December, we had a progressive dinner, so all the parents and siblings could get a peak at where and what the students had been doing.  It was so fun!  Most of these kids come from large families, so there were tons of people!

At the second home, the kids had prepared a short presentation.  First, they shared a little about all the different art projects they'd completed.  Then they gave a demonstration of an improv game they often play in their speech/debate class.  In this game, they line up and the first person makes a statement.  Each person in turn, adds their argument to why that statement is correct.  This night, the first person opened with, "Our middle school co-op is the best."  Hearing this group of kids talk about why they love their co-op was really special.  Plus, they are remarkably articulate!

I loved listening to them speak.  Well, at least I did when I wasn't distracted with trying to keep Nellie out of the bathroom...

In my Literature class, we've been learning about literary analysis.  For the last month, I've been having the students take turns teaching.  They each chose a picture book, read it to the class, then led the class in a discussion of literary elements such as: setting, character, plot, conflict, climax, and resolution.  It's been a rockin' experience!  These kids are NOT afraid to share their opinions and it's amazing to see them get so invested.  

In the end, what I love best about our co-op is the fact that our kids are thriving.  These 6th and 7th graders are happy, confident, enthusiastic, and intelligent.  We are so blessed!

After their co-op Christmas gift exchange

SnapChat Shenanigans

My sister, Katie, introduced us to SnapChat a few months ago.  We don't use it for any of the "chat" features, but I pull it out on occasion when we need a laugh.  SnapChat never fails to produce incessant giggling.  

 

Nellie is our biggest SnapChat fan.  She especially likes options that reward her for sticking out her tongue.  It's hilarious.

 Here are some of our favorite results:

This one is pretty creepy, but Nellie loves it because she can control the rainbow by opening and closing her mouth.

 And speaking of creepy... here's Nellie eighty years from now!

Aubree is my other SnapChat lover.  She's getting good at striking poses.

 I think Graham with a goatee looks a lot like my brother Ian!

 The boys really like voice changing filters.

Who am I kidding?  I think it's a barrel of laughs as well!

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

As the oldest child, I got to be my mom's assistant Christmas Elf for years and years.  I love elfing on Christmas Eve!  This year I managed to wrap most of the gifts ahead of time, but there was still much to be done on Christmas Eve.  

We don't put any gifts under the tree prior to Christmas.   This is partly a matter of practicality; with so many little people running around, keeping gifts wrapped might be challenging (although, I will take this opportunity to acknowledge that - shockingly - Nellie didn't mess with the ornaments on the Christmas tree this year as I thoroughly expected her to). The main reason, however, is that I love the contrast from "nothing" when the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve, to "WOW!" on Christmas day.

Just as I was finishing up my elf duties (hello, midnight), Little Nell woke up and decided she wanted to be Santa's helper as well. At first, it was kind of cute.  I just had a couple things to finish up, so I brought her downstairs.  She immediately spotted the stroller we got for her and wanted to push it all around.  

A few minutes later, I took her back upstairs, nursed her and put her back in bed.  

No dice.

Three and a half hours of screaming, and tantrumming, and steadfastly refusing to go back to sleep later, it was significantly less "cute."

When the first big kid came into our bedroom at the designated "allowed wake up time" of 7 am, I was 100% not ready to wake up.  I stalled, "Graham's not up yet, let's wait for him until at least 7:30."

When I ran out of stalling tactics, I finally rolled out of bed.  I'd like to say that, once up, I was happy and delightful, but I was still tired.  And grumpier than should be allowed on Christmas morning.

 

Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, so our morning plan involved opening stockings, then having breakfast, then getting ready for 11 am church.  We told the kids that if, after accomplishing all these tasks, we still had time before we needed to leave, we could open a few presents. We probably set some "get ready for church" speed records!
All the pictures you see in which we are dressed up were taken before church.  All the pictures with kids or parents in pajamas were taken post church, when we finished up the gift opening.

I have to say, I LOVE having Christmas on Sunday!  We only had Sacrament meeting, and we combined with two other wards. There were SO MANY people there.  The meeting primarily consisted of a "music and the spoken word" type program.  Aubree played a rendition of "Away in the Manger" on her violin.  A young friend accompanied her on the piano.  The girls worked really hard on music that was a little beyond both of their skill levels.  

Besides Aubree's playing, my favorite part of the meeting was the congregational hymns.  Everyone sang their hearts out in praise and worship and gratitude.  It was powerful and meaningful, and just what every Christmas Day needs.

When we got home, we put Nellie down for a nap and finished up our gift opening.  When that was over, I put myself down for a much-needed nap, and woke up a few hours later feeling much better.

Here are some of the gift highlights of the year:

We made Grandma and Grandpa Winters a collage blanket full of pictures from our Myrtle Beach reunion last summer.

Nellie's favorite gift is definitely her new stroller. 

Mark, who doesn't particularly like getting gifts, really likes his new t-shirt which combines two of his favorite things...

Thane was really excited to finally get his own throw blanket.  Most of his siblings have their own already, and now he gets to join the club.

Aubree loves her new Princess Bride shirt and coordinating leggings.  She'd wear them every day if allowed.

This year, Bryce was my easiest kid for whom to shop.  I had countless ideas of things I thought he'd just love.  It was a tough choice, but he says his favorite gift is a robot kit.  

He and Mark spent many involved hours post Christmas putting it together.

Graham was pretty enthused about the new Wedgit set we got, but his favorite gift is probably a new workbook so he can "do his school work" like his big brothers!

All December long, the big kids reminded me, "don't forget to get Nellie a box of tissues for Christmas! Remember how much Graham loved his box of tissues?  Mom!  You have to let her pull out every single tissue!" 

Good thing I didn't forget!

Our best family gift came as a combined present from both sets of grandparents - a new Vitamix!  It's something we've been wanting for a long time and we haven't been disappointed!

The day after Christmas, we made something in the Vitamix for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert.  Since then, we've been using it an average of twice a day.  When Grandpa Winters left to fly back to Pennsylvania, he asked us to text him the first day we didn't use it.  No text yet!

At the beginning of December, when we pulled out all our Christmas stuff, I was impressed with all the Christmas books we've collected.  Bryce spread them all out on the floor and made the goal to read every single one.

A couple weeks later, a heavy box arrived from my mom with an early Christmas gift for our family.  Starting with her first Christmas after getting married (I was 6 weeks old), Mom had a tradition of acquiring new Christmas books.  Inside each one, she marked the year and sometimes the names and ages of her children. 

This year, she divided this massive collection amongst her eight children.  What a fantastic gift!  While I thought we had a lot of books before, now we REALLY have a lot of Christmas books!  Good thing we're bibliophiles.

Though we adore Christmas, we have a tradition of packing everything up the day after it's over.  Until next year, Christmas!

Company for Christmas

We've decided we really like being home for Christmas.  This year, Grandma and Grandpa Winters came out to join us!  I'm afraid on winter visits like this, they regret we ever moved from Florida, but we tried to make the best of the cold, wet weather.

The day after they arrived, we had an unexpectedly clear schedule.  The skies were likewise unexpectedly clear, so we made a last minute decision to visit the Pt. Defiance zoo.  Despite being super cold, it was a perfect day for the excursion.  Most of the public schools were still in session, and I have never seen the zoo so empty!

We started out in the aquarium, hoping that the day would warm up a bit by the time we emerged.  The day did not cooperate, but we did get to pet sting rays and watch the sharks get fed.

We saw some of the animals very up close and personal.  Nellie referred to everything she saw (whether elephant, tiger, or polar bear) as "Dog! Dog! Dog!"

Admittedly, we stayed in the monkey enclosure longer than anywhere else because we were protected from the wind and cold. 

This time around, when it was time to leave, no one complained. 

We scheduled our annual graham cracker house decorating for a night when Grandma and Grandpa could join us.  They weren't overly interested in participating, so it meant (for the first time), Mark and I had houses to decorate.  

Mark ended up helping Graham, so his house remained unadorned, but I enjoyed getting to participate.

The big kids consider themselves quite clever with their choice of decorations.  Aubree and Bryce openly admitted they were much more concerned with adding candy they liked to eat than in trying to make their houses look good. 

Thane (a boy after my own heart), decided the best way to decorate his house was with chocolate.  Lots and lots of chocolate!

In the end, the enjoyed eating their creations almost as much as they enjoyed making them.  And speaking of eating creations... this year we didn't get around to decorating sugar cookies as a family, but I did make a quick batch one day for one event or another.  Clever Nellie has recently decided she's quite a big fan of cookies.  She pulled herself over a chair so she could better reach her desired treat.

Since it was so cold, we had a harder time coming up outside excursions and activities.  The kids didn't seem to mind the extra time at home, especially if it meant they got to play endless games of Scorched Earth with Grandpa.

Occasionally they'd wander over to help with a puzzle.

One day we planned to visit the Museum of Flight, but Graham was pretty sick.  I stayed home with him and Nellie, and Mark took the big kids and his parents to the Museum.

I kind of think that was a win all around.  Mark and his parents got to have a 1-1 adult/child ratio and explore without any little kids.

I had a quiet house for the 15 minutes that Graham and Nellie's naps overlapped (for the record, Graham is long past taking regular naps, he was just that sick).  When Nellie woke up, she was fascinated with her car seat (which usually just stays in the car).  She tried carrying it all around the house, but eventually wanted to sit in it.  That's when I realized, "whoops! She just might be getting a bit too big for this thing!"

On Christmas Eve, Katie and her family came down for the traditional lasagna dinner and subsequent Nativity Scavenger Hunt.  I love having family living nearby!  With nine kids, the scavenger hunt was a raucous affair, but I think the kids enjoyed it, and hopefully it helped us all remember the real reason for the season.

We didn't do matching pajamas (I couldn't even convince all of my kids to even wear the Christmas pajamas they already had!), but they were all wearing Christmas shirts, so I tried to get a group picture.  Let's just say they were less than cooperative.  This really was the best of the options!

In the days following Christmas, we continued to struggle to find fun out-of-the-house activities.  One morning I thought, "we should go see a movie!"  This is not a normal event for us.  In fact, I don't think we've ever gone to see a movie in the theater as a whole family.  I reserved us tickets, but since it was relatively close to show time, the only seats left were in the very front row.  That wasn't the best option, but at least the seats were super comfortable recliners.

We saw the Disney movie "Moana."  Also as a result of buying tickets late, our group had to split up.  I had Aubree, Bryce and Thane with me (Mark stayed home while Nellie napped), and Grandma and Grandpa had Graham.  Halfway through the movie, when things started to get a little scary, I questioned the wisdom of that decision.  I wondered how Graham was handling the frightening scenes.  Turns out Grandpa had it all under control.  When he got scared, Graham would cover his face and then Grandpa would let him know when it was safe to watch again.

All of the kids loved the movie.

Another night Grandma and Grandpa treated us to dinner at Habit Burger. That's a restaurant we'd never tried before, and we were all pleased with our food.

Many, many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for making the long trip out to see us and to celebrate with us!

A Lousy Christmas

Twas the week before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Except for the louse.

With five kids, it was inevitable, right?  

I noticed the nits late Saturday evening.  Sunday morning, we stayed home from church (which, happily, everyone was sad about) and got to work. 

First, we pulled out everything that could be washed - coats, sheets, blankets, pillows, curtains, stuffed animals - and started the days-long washing event. Our dryer was not pleased with this sudden call to overtime duty, and temporarily went on strike, which caused extra delays.

Second, we bagged up anything fabric that couldn't be washed - stockings, decorations, other stuffed animals - and stored them in the garage.

Then we were ready to begin the real fun stuff - treating and combing and combing and combing.  I did a lot of research (and learned a lot of really fascinating information - turns out there are a LOT of lice myths), but mostly we were saved by talking to friends who recently had lice and spent over $500 to be treated by professionals.  Yikes!

The secret is in the comb.  The combs you get in the over-the-counter lice kits are totally useless.  Our friends let us use their effective, metal combs.  We put on some church Christmas movies, and settled in for the long, tedious combing.  

The kids were total troopers.  We probably combed for over five hours.  On the educational side, they learned what it means when people say, "don't be nit-picky" and "go through things with a fine-toothed comb."

******

This experience also reminded me of the time my family had lice when I was a kid.  

I was in middle school.  One day, a call came into my classroom instructing me to come to the main office.  When I arrived, the secretary told me to have a seat.  I complied, and proceeded to wait for more information.  I waited, and waited, and waited.  While I waited, I thought of possible reasons why I had been summoned.  Initially, my theories were mild, "maybe I'm getting picked up early?"

The longer I sat, the more extreme my predictions became, "maybe something happened to one of my siblings?  They're probably hurt!"

Eventually, I convinced myself that one of my parents had died, and the secretaries were making me wait because they just couldn't bear to tell me themselves and were waiting for a relative to arrive to break the tragic news.  

Dramatic much?

When the real reason for my call was finally revealed - the school nurse wanted to check my head for lice - I can't say I was much relieved.  Lice was about as embarrassing an affliction as could come to a middle school child.  

For years afterwards I was overly paranoid about having lice. I avoided getting my hair cut for fear the hair dressers would proclaim in horror, "ugh! You have lice!"

*******

I hope my kids don't come out of this experience with the same level of shame and embarrassment.  We tried to be pretty matter-of-fact about it all, but it's hard to fight the stigma.  

Walking through the grocery store looking for the lice treating products, I'm tried to be discreet, but Bryce kept calling loudly, "maybe the lice stuff is in this aisle!"

Then, when we were checking out, the checker noticed the products and wanted to talk, talk, talk about it, and all I wanted to do was say, "Can you please just close your mouth?!"

Obviously, I'm not over my own childhood issues.
But, at least our house was super-clean for Christmas!