Thankful Tuesdays: And now, you are five.

Dearest Junior J,

Oh my. First we were counting the months. Then months turned into years. And now, you are five years old. Somehow, the years seem to whizz by faster and faster, just like how you've been running faster and faster.

The past year has seen you grow up alot. You've become so much more sensible, and its lovely to have conversations with you about this and that. Some time ago, you were asking me about antibodies and antibiotics, and I was trying to explain to you the difference between the two. And you listened, and asked me how I knew so much. And then declared "you don't get to be a Mama if you aren't smart!". 

I see alot of myself in you. You love to potter at home. You're an introvert, just like me, and hanging around people for a long time does get you tired. However, you've opened up a lot more and love playing with your friends. You and Lil J get up to all sorts of mischief, and both of you are always fighting, but the times I see both of you getting along and playing together warm my heart. One thing that amazes me is how much love you shower on your littlest brother. You always take care of him, and will try your best to soothe him when he is upset (and when the cries get too loud, you concede defeat and tell me "I think he needs you, Mama!"). You love just sitting next to him and letting him hold your finger. I hope and pray that all 3 of you would continue to grow and love each other. 

You still love to doodle and now you like grabbing a scissors and doing random bits of cutting. You're obsessed with reading and watching Magic School Bus books and shows. And you are still a dino boy, and declare to your Sunday School teacher that you are a "dino expert". You get upset when books draw T-rexes with 3 claws instead of 2 (that's an Allosaurus, not a T-rex!). When you feel threatened (in a group with new friends, or when you're angry) you start to roar like an angry T-rex that has a toothache.

You've really grown up this past year, and I'm looking forward to another year ahead. 

Happy Birthday, my big boy. We love you so much, and always thank God for you. 

Love,

Your Papa and Mama.

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Monday Made: DIY dino family T-shirts

Hello! Junior J had a party yesterday to celebrate him turning 5, and he wanted a dinosaur theme this round (if you can remember, we did an "under the sea" theme when he turned 3). I wanted to make personalized mini tote bags for his guests, and since I was at it, I decided to make us dinosaur T-shirts as well. 

These were done using fabric paint (from Art Friend) and freezer paper (from Cold Storage). I cut out the shapes and lettering from the freezer paper using a Silhouette Cameo, which I recently purchased second-hand.  Having the cutting machine really makes things faster, but you can also try hand cutting out the shapes with a pen-knife and cutting mat (which we did the last time). Unfortunately though, the blade of my machine was blunt, so even after I tweaked the settings, the machine didn't cut cleanly for some of the alphabets. So I ended up having to cut out some stuff using my scissors! (And was wondering why on earth I agreed to the dino theme since the names are sooo long!)

After the shapes and letters were cut out, I ironed on the freezer paper onto the T-shirts and daubed fabric paint using a sponge (I used one of those dish-washing sponges, you know those with steel wool on one side and a sponge on the other?). 

I also decided to go with ombre colours, so I started with a darker shade on the lettering, and gradually mixed in white fabric paint as I sponged the colours upwards. I loved how the colours turned out, especially my pink triceratops!

Oh, and we bought our T-shirts from Hang Ten (for the adults), and Tom and Stefanie (for the kids). I used an old white romper for Baby J, but Tom and Stefanie sometimes stocks those too. I love how affordable the T-shirts in Tom and Stefanie are, plus they come in graduated sizes, so its possible to find a perfect fit (something hard in our case sometimes as Lil J is pretty small for his age!):

I'll post a more detailed tutorial for freezer paper stenciling soon, since I kept getting questions about how this is done. Meanwhile, have a great week!

PS: I've realized that white T-shirts for kids don't go really well with parties. The two older boys promptly got chocolate cake stains on theirs! Now, if you know a place that sells good kids' T-shirts in various colours, please leave me a comment and tell me where!

     

Thankful Tuesdays: A quick post

Hello! The hubs is on leave, and we're pretty tied up with spring cleaning and prepping for Junior J's party among other things. So I'll keep this short. Today, I'm just thankful for that extra pair of hands at home, and of course, for these 3 very different lil boys. And for the baby carrier, because that is where Baby J seems to be spending most of his time in. Plus that everyone is more or less recovered, except for baby who still has a runny nose. 

How about you? What are you thankful for?

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Thankful Tuesday: So you want three kids?

Everyone in this family has been sick the past few days. Baby's still recovering from the previous cold he caught. Then Junior J caught some other bug and spread it to the hubs. Both of them more or less recovered, then me and Lil J caught it (second bug in a row, poor kid!). I was all woozy and had to spend Monday and today snatching naps when I could because I could barely keep my eyes open. And just across the past two days we've had:

:: 1 vomiting incident on the bed.

:: 2 leaky dipes: 1 on the sofa and the other on the other bed that didn't get vomited on.

:: 3 am washing up sessions, because both hubs and I crashed into bed when putting the boys to bed. I crawled out after nursing baby to settle the dishes, plus those dirty sheets.

:: 4 am sessions with baby who refused to sleep until 2 hours later.

:: 5 rather grouchy people in the family.

This, on top of the usual craziness (read this to understand what I mean!). I was starting to hear all those voices in my head, those that usually ask me "why do you want so many kids? Can't stop at having just one?".

Anyway, bad week aside, I must say I have lots to be thankful for:

:: God's faithfulness. Never failing.

:: The hubs, who was on MC on Monday and took the older two so I could rest.

:: My mum, who very nicely took both the older boys off my hands today for the first part of the day.

:: These three. Who drive me bananas, but who also brighten up my days. My heart always glows when i see the older two playing with each other (when they are not fighting that is), and how they care for their lil baby brother. 

Baby, don't cry... Uh Oh, what have I done? Mama come quick!

Junior J loves patting his lil brother and hanging out with him.
He even observes how we calm the baby down, and uses "SSSHHH SSHHH" noises like us when patting Baby J.

:: A brief respite on Sunday, before the rest of us fell sick. We attended an awesome birthday party (it was science-themed and the kids all wore their Papa's white shirts as lab coats) and Junior J had lots of fun! 

:: Appliances that make life so much easier: I am so glad for our dishwasher, which reduces our dishwashing load by a large amount. And during these sick days, our washing machine and dryer have been working overtime through the night.

So, yes, we're chugging on. Still thankful. And if you ask me, would we have this many kids if we had a choice? Yes, definitely. Puke, mountains of laundry, crazy days, but still worth it, and no regrets (and read this for more reasons why!).


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Thinking Thursdays: A book a day (and one super promo!)

We've been slowly easing into our homeschool routine, and I keep reminding myself to take it slow, so that I don't crash and burn. So for now, all I aim to do is to read and discuss one book with Junior J. On good days, we manage to squeeze in a lil math or science, but on challenging days I just aim for that single book. 

So we've been reading all sorts of books, ranging from "The Magic Schoolbus" series, to longer stories. "Steam Train, Dream Train" (which we purchased from Amazon) was one title that was a hit with both the older boys, simply because it had elements that they both loved: animals, toys, and of course, the train. Lil J sat with us and helped to count cars and trucks and animals, and pointed out various colours and animals. Junior J and I discussed the various train carriages that were introduced (I never knew these as well, so I learnt alot too!), and how they were suited to carrying various loads. It was satisfying to see how much learning we could actually squeeze out of just one title!

Discussions aside, we've been enjoying books featuring the Berenstain Bears. I love how these form a springboard for me to talk to Junior J about various life issues, from fighting with his brother, to sharing his toys, bullying, and even visiting the dentist! (We purchased some of our titles from the Campus Crusade bookstore, and also scored this pack of 8 titles off the Groovy Giraffe.)

And speaking of the Groovy Giraffe, we have a discount code for all you blog readers! You can enjoy 20% off their already discounted items in the "Education" category, with just a minimum spend of $30 storewide. Just key in the discount code "mmum20" at checkout! The discount is applicable for both the books in the "Reference" section, as well as for assessment books. I've already spotted a few titles (like this atlas for children, as well some pop-up books on space, earth and the human body) that we might buy for ourselves or as gifts. And assessment books seem to be a staple for kids in school these days, so I'm sure this promotion would be pretty useful! This promotion is valid until 31st January.

You can also get 5% off books in the other categories, with the discount code "mm05". However, do note that you cannot use both discount codes at checkout. Have fun book shopping!

Wordless Wednesday: Never alone

Occasionally there come moments that are so photo-worthy, you cannot help but snap a photo. However, sometimes, all you have is your old wonky iPhone, but to me, such moments are better captured in a blur photo, then to have no photo at all. 

So this is one of those grainy iPhone shots. Baby J was fretting in the cot, and along came Lil J, who was reading his baby book. So Lil J opened the book (upside down if you notice), and told Baby J a story ("once upon a time, there was a... once upon a time"). Then Junior J came and started reading his book (as you can see, he knows how to actually flip the book with the pages facing baby J, so that he can see the images). And both were reading to the baby, and the baby stopped crying. For a few minutes that is. Enough for me to get whatever I needed to get. I must say I'm enjoying this period before the littlest is old enough to get into fights with the older two!

Linking up with:

  

Thankful Tuesdays: Baby J's full month

Dearest Baby J,

You turned one month old on the first day of 2014! We celebrated the occasion with some close friends and family, and of course, with darn good chocolate cake. 

We tried something new. I was so busy I forgot to take the actual cake!

It was a lil crazy that day with the three of you. But you were surrounded that day with so much love, even though you were bawling in most of the photos.

You're one of those who always want to be held, otherwise you are quick to show your displeasure. Loudly. You've been quite a loud lil boy. In fact, you were screaming your head off even before your legs were out during delivery. You yell during diaper changes. I think God decided to gift you with strong lungs, since you need to hold your own in a household full of boys.

You are pretty good at tummy time. You arrived with really long nails, which we trimmed after the full month celebration (bye bye mittens!). You've been the center of attention, and both your brothers love you and always try to comfort you when you cry. They are very amused by your loud burps and farts too.

I'm thankful that you've been growing well despite your reflux. And I'm glad to have another baby to hold. Carrying you nestled in my arms is one of my favourite things to do these days!

We love you and thank God for you!

Love, 

Mama & Papa

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Monday Made: A baby album for #2

We now have a new tradition, of making a baby album for each of our boys as a keepsake. Both Junior J and Lil J enjoy hearing stories about how they were like when they were babies, especially when they see how tiny Baby J is now! Junior J received his album during Lil J's full month celebration, and you can view his album over here, and more pages can be found here.

I thought it would be nice to give Lil J his during Baby J's full month. However, the kids all fell sick (even the baby wasn't spared), so I only managed to finish the album recently, but better late than never! So here's how the inside pages look:

The album papers were from Crate Paper's "Little Boy Blue" collection, while most of the embellies were chipboard stickers, die-cuts and stuff cut out from Cosmo Cricket and October Afternoon papers. I especially love the papers and stickers form Cosmo Cricket's "Togetherness" collection, so suitable for albums for families and babies!

Now that this album is finished, I'm hoping to start on Project Life, since I'm finding 12x12 layouts and mini albums a lil hard to complete these days. Am not too used to scrapping so "flat" (I like my layouts to be lumpy and layered!), but I think it'll be a great way to capture memories without spending too much time agonizing about the embellies to stick on. We'll see how that goes!

First day of school

Many of my friends' children headed off to school today, and my Facebook feed was flooded with photos of kids up early, in their new uniforms, off to start Primary school or another year in kindy. We too, started school, but of a different sort. For the past few years, Junior J has resisted being sent to school, and has requested for "Mama school" (the reasons would probably warrant a post on its own). So for 2014, we'll be homeschooling, and I'll be trying to do more activities with the boys. I'm hoping to be more structured compared to the past few years where we really just went with the flow, and we'll see where this homeschooling thing takes us.

I don't have everything planned out as of yet (a lil hard since Junior J can be really particular about what he's interested in learning/doing!), but we will be starting off slow: weekly outings to the zoo with a co-op, a lil math, lots of reading (as usual), and more science (since that is what Junior J is interested in currently), and our usual dabbles in art and craft. Chinese is going to be the major hurdle that we must clear!

So today, I tried getting Junior J interested in some of the Math Start books, but he was tired in the afternoon and wasn't co-operative. But during baby's nap in the evening, the older boys and I sat down and managed to have a quiet hour just playing with some math manipulatives and beads. Lil J wasn't too well but he loved playing with these little bear counters, and we were sorting them by size and identifying colours.

Junior J on the other hand, worked on his addition and subtraction and writing on a lil doodle board, using the bears to help him to count (note to self: for math, always include manipulatives!). I enjoyed that hour, with all that peace and quiet, and no fights!

Now I have to figure out how to squeeze in some learning each day, plus get those meals on the table on time. Whatever the case, its going to be baby steps for them, and for Mama too!