5 Years TODAY

We've been blessed to have Lucy in our lives for five years and I can't believe how the time has gone. She is so much fun and is so beautiful. It is tremendous to be her mother. She challenges me daily in so many ways but lately in ways that she doesn't intend. She is curious so she has asked me to define words for her and they have given me much food for thought. Words like; yield, compensate, panic, healthy, ecstatic. Try for a minute to boil down the essence of these words and you will see what I mean. She is challenging and lovely. A personality treat in a small body. This transition from the fourth to the fifth year has been a blessing to me and I can't wait to see all the ways that she changes as she leaves preschool and goes to kindergarten (EEK!) this next year.
If you get a chance, you should spend some time around my daughter. She is the cherry on top of life.

Changes Can Be Good!

Lucy and I started reading the American Girls Collection books this past week and started with the book "Meet Kit" about a little girl growing up in 1934 in the middle of the Great Depression.

Sounds fantastic for a nearly five year old right? 

It actually is because a lot of the character traits that I am trying to instill in Lucy are what are being developed in the lead character Kit.

Kit loves to read books, write her own newspaper, play sports and wants to build her own treehouse. 

She has a great sense of humor but more importantly has a strong sense of character and resolve within herself-especially when it has been revealed to her that she has acted rashly or her actions are selfishly motivated. 

With the setting of the book being in the Great Depression, the family is obviously going to go through hard times and that includes Kit. 

I often wonder what my own children would be like if we were living in another country or time and they were asked to do things like, I don't know-actual chores (like on a farm or village), and it has been fun to explore these topics with both Lucy and Asher through reading. 

It is one of the reasons that I love to read to is explore my own fantasies through someone else's "reality" and to see my own children do that is like a dream come true. 

In the last chapter of the book, Kit's mother says in order to overcome the Depression, "People will have to work hard. Use what they have. Face challenges. Stay hopeful...They'll have to make changes and realize that changes can be good."

This is particularly timely for us in our country as everyone needs to figure out finances, resourcefulness and figure out what is really important to them. 

Now, who wants to help me with Kickstarter account to buy Lucy an American Girl doll?

Have you seen how expensive those suckers are? 

Sheesh. 

Order a Wreath-Send a Kid to Camp!

The Sloan Rangers

Are we Spanish wrestlers or Power Rangers? 

That is the question. 

 Adult Power Ranger costumes were not easy to come by, so we made our costumes this year. 

I actually had the kids make paper mache masks with me. 

Yes, this all looks like a hobby homemaker project--but its only one day a year. 

And no, we saved no money. But it was SUPER fun. 

 The kids had a blast and Matt and I got to walk around in glorified pajamas all night. 

That's not so bad. 

 The masks were ditched immediately. But look at the joy on this boys face. 

CANDY!

This is generally how I feel about Halloween.

Show me the candy!