From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Our caterpillars are here!!! This is what I hear as I drive up the driveway from grocery shopping. The idea is to place a larva (caterpillar) or two in a vial and they will turn into a pupa. Not sure if these ones will make a cocoon or not. I am thinking yes because of the silk they make. The girls really enjoyed putting the little guys into the containers. We now leave them alone until they get a bit bigger. In the end (hopefully) we will be letting butterflies fly free.

Cohen took a moment out from eating his yogurt to take a look at our new temporary pets.

I LOVE new adventures with my little sponges!!

Cleaning up

On Sunday we decided to go to the park and pick up some garbage. We did get some picked up but the girls friends that they haven't seen in a while happened to be there so they ended up playing baseball fairly quickly. I am hoping to head out again to pick up some more. Maybe in a less distracted place :)

As you can see Ricky is dressed for the occasion. Haha.

Natural Shopping

Today I bought a bunch of natural products. I am slowly changing our family over to "O Natural" I wish that I would have done this sooner.
Every once in a while when I go in "my" store I buy a shirt. They feel so cozy.
I threw out our saran wrap today. Instead we will be using this All Natural Waxed Paper. We will place it over the bowl and then put a plate over top of that.
And have I said how much I LOVE the Seventh Generation line? I just bought the glass cleaner. On top of the waxed paper box is my new perfume. It smells like Amber. It is a creme that you put your finger into and place wherever you want..wink wink..kidding of course.
I have the crystal deodorant which seems to be working amazingly well.
The magazine is a subscription. I loved it so much I had to have it. It is all about raising your children naturally. What better magazine could I get?
We had a wonderful, relaxing day together. Tomorrow may be a different story. We'll see :)

First Soccer Practice

Soccer has started. They had their first soccer practice on Monday.
All day Amelie had on last years soccer shirt because she was so excited. Ricky tried on her shin pads and socks. I didn't think Ricky would get out there but she did. Last year Amelie came back and sat with me often. I just realized how much she has grown in the past year. My babies are growing up! A little story to share.

Grandma, Aunt Lanie and cousins Sawyer and Finn came to the practice. On the way home it got a bit hectic. Picture this.
My mom is pulling Roo in the wagon. My sister is pushing Finn (8 months..same as Roo) in the stroller. Sawywer (3yo) has just fallen off of his bike on the side of the road. Cohen (2yo) is laying in the middle of the road because I want to hold his hand while crossing the road and he doesn't like this. Ricky (4yo) is on a bike with a handle for me to help push. She is crying (loudly) for me to let go so she can ride the bike but I don't want her to get hit by the car that is waiting to get by. Amelie (5yo) is continuously trying to ride her bike up a small hill to catch up to us. She is saying (or yelling) I need help. I need help. Did you picture this? A man walked by at this time and I do believe he quickened his step. haha. Today on the phone my mom tells me that walk was the highlight of her month. Glad it was someone's!

English

Right now Amelie and Ricky are outside trying to open a rock (dinosaur egg) with a butter knife. I was torn between letting them explore or letting my youngest sleep. Roo is now awake.

This morning we did our first English lesson. I found this WONDERFUL series of books called "From start to finish" and decided to work an early program around it. Amelie reads the book to me first. Then she picks a sentence she wants to copy. That is at the top of the page. She then tells me a story and I write it down underneath that. She then draws a picture about the book and story. When we were finished she said..That was a lot of fun! I am so happy she enjoyed it!

Confessions of a good mom

I just read a blog that gave me this idea.

Many people feel I am a great mom. I homeschool my children (can be taken either way depending on who the person is), I am loving and follow my children's cues, I like Organic food and products, I spend a lot of time with my children blah blah blah.

Here is how I really feel.

I feel like a good mom..some days. I feel like a bad mom..some days.

I am constantly worried if I am doing a good job. Am I doing enough with my children? Do they watch too much TV? (I think in the Winter they did and having a newborn helped that) Did we do enough learning activities today? Oh no Cohen didn't wear his glasses enough. Did I yell today? Most likely! Did I hug and kiss them enough? Most likely! Did I say no too much? Most likely? I am constantly thinking of ways to be a better mom. At the end of the day I evaluate how our day went and how I could have improved. There are tidbits of every day that I would like to change and tidbits I wouldn't change for the world. I sometimes wonder if other moms feel the same way. Today I realized..they do!

Happy 4th Birthday Ricky

This is the cupcake cake we made. Usually we have a tradition of going out and buying a decorated cake of their choice. I would like a new tradition. We are going to make the cake or cupcakes the morning of their birthday. Much more memorable that way.
I will try and give all of the ingredients because they were SO delicious!

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup applesauce (was supposed to be shortening)
1/2 cup honey ( was supposed to be sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 bananas
2 apples

I changed the recipe a bit to make them more healthy and they were delicious. On top I put strawberry cream cheese with fresh fruit. They were a hit.
We had a good time making them.

I can't believe my little girl is four!

Ricky enjoys her cupcake. She is eating!!! I am SHOCKED!! hehe

Making Birthday Hats

When the kids got here they decorated their own birthday hats. (I actually forgot to buy them so this was a pleasant surprise!) All 8 children sat at the table and worked on their hats.
Here is Cohen wearing his.

Here are the little guests that came to the party. Oh they had so much fun! My sister is always the one surrounded by children. I had to sneak in the picture of my nephew Finn. I could just eat his little elf ears!

A much needed vacation!!!

We went on vacation to Kitchener this weekend. Reagan and I went to a homeschooling conference on the Saturday. Ron took a picture of Roo sleeping on the way there. I could nibble her little cheeks!

Our very own beach babes

Just before we went swimming in the pool.

The Butterfly Conservatory

I love these pictures of the kids. It really captures them.
We had a great time!

Our sega continues...

Tonight we had spinach, brown rice and chicken wrapped in whole wheat wraps with soya sauce. We decided to eat at the table in the living room. I think we have just given up. We used to think this was just a phase but now I am not so sure...
A funny little story.
At the hotel where we stayed there was a swimming pool. I was with Ricky and I whispered in her ear that there is a surprise in the pool with us. I said that yesterday they let a bunch of tiny little fish into the pool to swim around with us. I told her to let us know if she felt any little nibbles on her bum. The first little look of concern came upon her face. She asked if it would hurt. I assured her it wouldn't. She then said she wanted to get out. Ron caught on to the story so we both proceeded to lightly pinch her bum. You should have seen her face. She had a look of wonder and when she realized what she thought was happening she swam so incredibly fast to get out. We then told her the truth and she laughed.

Our Roo is home

Reagan was so happy to be home!
She isn't too fond of crowds which makes me not too fond of crowds. haha.
She is just starting to sit up on her own. This makes life sooo much easier!!

When Mom Isn't Looking...or is she??

I hear a little pitter patter. I look beside me and see Ricky moving slowly past. What could she possibly have? I look in those little mischievous hands and find THE SUGAR JAR. Yep..you guessed it. So I tell her to place it back on top of the counter.
A few minutes later I hear it again. She has her body turned and is watching me as she inches by. RICKY..PUT THAT SUGAR JAR BACK ON THE COUNTER!! But not before I take a picture first. That Ricky!
That time I caught her.
I wasn't so fortunate with the dried apricots and the pickles.

I was changing Reagan and I asked Ricky to go and grab me a diaper. She brings me one of a different size. I asked her where she got it. In her words.."In the basket where the vagina jam is." You may be wondering what she is referring to. We use aloe gel for redness in the diaper area.
Haha! I could definitely write a novel all about Ricky and her little adventures.