The not-so-fun parent

We went to a birthday party yesterday and came home with a kit to make slime.

Yeah, we're not doing that was my first thought.

How awful is that?!

I am admittedly a type A person.  I don't like to get dirty.  I don't like science. 

Fortunately, my husband came to the rescue.  After dinner he made the slime with the boys.  I cleaned the kitchen.

My firstborn who is very much like me in that he is not a creative type.  He is matter of fact.  To the point.  He wants to know bottom line.  So his first comment - Thats's cool.  What do you do with it?

I've ruined him. 

10 minutes later my two boys were in messy heaven.  They had so much fun.  And this mommy was proved wrong.  It actually was sort of cool and not so messy.

The best thing is that you can store the slime in the fridge for several weeks.  So they can play with it again and again! 

So I realized sometimes the messy things are worth it and fun! 

Hello Spring!

Well apparently it's springtime!  And we are not complaining around here.  We are taking advantage of these warm days, and exploring our new city.  

The boys really enjoy having their daddy home.  Ed will often take the boys out riding bikes or going for a walk.  Yesterday they set up our tent in the back yard, had a picnic lunch, and played with their legos in the tent.  

Here's some pics from our hike...

Learning As We Go

Well now that we are in our sixth week of school, and things seem to be more "normal" (whatever that is!), I thought I'd share a little bit about our school year.  Micah doesn't start Kindergarten for another year, but we decided this year to keep him at home and test the waters of homeschooling.  We are praying through what to do next year and have not really made up our minds either way.  We decided this year not to send him to preschool for several reasons, but one being I wanted to "try out" the homeschooling thing.  So we are using a curriculum I found for preschoolers that I was actually looking at for next year if we do decide to homeschool.  The Sonlight curriculum is literature-based and this year is called "Exploring God's World".  I'm also tacking on the Kindergarten language arts and reading program because Micah was ready for it. 

It's been fun so far!  I enjoy it most days.  Every week I can honestly say I am looking forward to starting school again on Monday.  I definitely do have those days though when it just doesn't seem to work.  Sometimes I wonder if it is the best learning environment for Micah with what seems like constant interruptions from Caleb.  Sometimes I feel like I'm completely neglecting Caleb and I'm not able to "teach" him.  I realize that I'm very new to it, and I have a lot more figuring out to go before we decide if it's right for our family or not.  Some days I'm sold, and some days I'm not.  But that's all a part of our journey. 

Here's some pics of school so far...

Water Play

Practicing writing his name

Counting with beans

Martin Man Camping Trip

Two years ago was the first ever Martin Man Camping Trip.  Ed took Micah for an overnight camping trip in Shenandoah National Park to experience life in the great outdoors.  Caleb at that point was only 3 months old, so he did not go.  Last year it rained literally every weekend last fall, so they never got to go.  So all three of them packed things up and left for the mountains last weekend.  Ed will have to explain more about the trip itself, since I was not there, but here are some pics from the boys' weekend.

Martin Man Camping Trip 2008

Martin Man Camping Trip 2010

Caleb roasting his first marshmallow

Breakfast

On the way home

Summer Ain't Over Till We Say It's Over!

To Infinity and BEYOND!

It's the Season Baby!

Around these parts, aka-our house, we are NFL fans! While others are jumping on the bandwagon of the latest "America's Team" - Cowboys - No! Patriots - Done! Saints - So Last Year! We are still cheering on the team we have stuck with since birth! We are proudly Redskins fans. You can debate about whether it is worth following a team with such ups and downs, and lately (as in past 10 yrs) its been mostly downs...and I don't mean 1st downs! We are beginning this new season with high hopes! As with every new season! So here are the boys decked out and ready to go last week when we played the wretched cowboys. And yes, we won!And this is what the boys looked like last night, when we almost had a win, and couldn't pull it off! (Note: Cowboys lost!)And this is what being a redskins fan does to you! It just makes you crazy, but we still love them! Seriously! We are scoring touchdowns! Can we complain?!

Boys

Boys are a rare breed. They stink all kinds of stinks. They are loud. They are rough. They love to throw their bodies into things and fall on purpose. They get their thrill by throwing things and catching things. They love a challenge. Make anything a game and they are in! They smell. They eat a lot. They like dirt. They love to sweat. They like to wrestle. They like to pretend they are superheroes or "bad men". They are strong. They are daring. They aren't afraid of a little scrape if that's what it takes to ride a bike or try a new trick on the scooter.

As a little girl, I never really liked anything outside. I don't like to sweat or smell. I don't like to be outside. I don't like to be dirty. I don't like to be rough and I don't like loud noises.

I guess God knew what he was doing when he gave me two boys and a husband who is all man. I've done things that I normally wouldn't have done if left to myself. I've laughed more with them in my life. I've loved more, and yes, smelled more! (them, not me!)

All that to say, as much as I have a loud crazy house sometimes, with two little boys running around and being rough, and at times it makes me cringe, I'm thankful for it! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Boys are...well, fun!

The life of a Martin Boy

I (Ed) grew up with two older brothers. I guess that means I don't have to explain much else. But I will. My brothers and I hardly spent much time inside when we were little. We had odd, but exciting imaginations where we would go outside and make up weird games and create projects. Summers were not filled with camps and cello practice. Instead, we would be in the backyard early in the morning and come in either when it got dark or after the mosquitos had completely emptied our skinny little legs. Our backyard did not have a blade of grass from 1980-1997.
Thought I'd give that background before you saw the following pictures. Life as a Martin boy is never boring, always imaginative, and typically outside.

The muscle men helping dad wash the car.

The boys repainted and rebuilt part of the mailbox post.

This is where it gets interesting. Katie and I bought new dining room chairs which means six 3 foot boxes. Can't let those go to waste. They became the meanest defenders you've ever seen...thanks to my sweet art skills (thanks Mrs. Hadley). Micah wanted to impersonate each one.

This guy was my favorite. Long live summer.

Snow Days

What is up with this winter?? We have had three major snow storms this winter and now a little more snow tomorrow. Ed and I have lived here for four years now and this is more snow than all those other winters combined! I'm starting to realize that I could never live in the midwest - sorry steph! I'm just not made for it! Where's the 60 degree day in the middle of winter that gets you through to the next randomly hot day until you are FINALLY in spring? Between having a new baby, many sicknesses, and tons of snow I feel like I've been trapped in my house for months! I mean really, I haven't done anything outside of our house. Oh to take a walk again and not have your insides shivering!

And by the way...I do have other children - Here they are two snow storms ago...notice ghetto snow outfits!