Adventure to Union Station- Davinci

Another adventure took place this past weekend this time I planned a little better and did some pre trip planning like I used to do when the older 5 were little.

First it was picking a day that would work for all of us as I wanted to be sure that the older boys could go, and one were I could make sure the littlest had a good nights rest. Then I went to the website to explore the activity we were going to do, and then it was on to the library website. Where I requested a bunch of books and a video on the topic we were going to explore.

The topic for this trip was Leonardo da  Vinci, at Union Station - Davinci which is a hands on exploration of his ideas. The books that I found the most useful for the nine year old to prepare him were Monday with a Mad Genius and the companion book Leonardo Da Vinci - Research Guide . We also used Leonardo Da Vinci - The world's greatest Artists books, and the night before we went we watched Leonardo da Vinci - Animated Hero Classics.


Proof that more then one of the kids went most of the pictures are of Aidan                                                                       mostly because he was with me.

There are plenty of books out there also for older children and adults, and a selection of videos on Amazon Prime, and Netflix. We really didn't do any of these for the older kids since they already had a knowledge about da Vinci and the Renaissance.

The morning of I made sure to feed them all a large breakfast and even packed a snack for the car to offer them just before we went in. Then it was on to the adventure. In order to save some money we also purchased a membership to Union Station which made the tickets to the exhibit less expensive. I know buying a membership to get pay less for special tickets why, it does make sense for us and I'll write about that later.

                         

                                                    A self playing marching band drum

The kids were not sure what to think when we first got there, the older ones were reading all the information on the walls and the youngest was starting to look upset, took a minute to figure out he thought that this was all there was, no this was only the area to line up in. Once we went in there was a short video that was interesting to watch and the youngest kept whispering over and over I knew that, he was starting to get excited. 



After the video we entered the exhibit, the first items were the no touch items and were great to look at, the youngest rushed forward and pointed out the wing hanging from the ceiling. He shouted " Mom it's just like the one in the book" We split up with the teens taking time to look at stuff they found interesting, the dad taking pictures of almost everything, and me and Aidan following his interests. There was plenty of things that were hands on, it was great to see someone build his ideas and get to play with them.

A tank idea

His workshop

    Lots of cranks, and levers, and gears

The best moment was when we entered the section on art and there was a full size reproduction of the Last Supper. Aidan was shocked, we had to explain it wasn't the real one that one is painted on a wall. He enjoyed looking at it up close and asked were was the door that was cut into it, as he remembered that from one of the books. Then he turned the corner and saw what he had been looking for the Mona Lisa, being a reproduction he got close to it and in awe said that someday he was going to see the real one.




The older kids were not done yet, so Aidan and I headed back in the exhibit to the room with blocks, a wind tunnel and instructions for building helicopters. This kept him busy until the older kids were done. 

We really enjoyed this outing, and I liked the fact that you could roam the exhibit as you liked and that there was a lot of hands on fun. Prepping Aidan with books and a video was the one thing that made this a great trip for him. We ended up the day checking out Science City more about that later and dinner at a restaurant that brings your food to you by train.

Our Adventure to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum

One of my goals this year was to explore our new area a bit more, plus with the husband being done with school for now we have more free time as a family. This month will be a busy one for outings as we try to fit in a few before the college boys head back to school.

Our first adventure was to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, I had gone there with the youngest earlier in the year on a school field trip and had enjoyed it and wanted to bring the rest of the family.

One very nice thing about this museum is it is free, there is a fee for parking but there is also plenty of street parking around if you don't mind a walk.

We played a game that I play with kids in museums especially art ones, we go into a gallery and I take a quick look at the pictures and then give them something to look for such as dogs, trees, and it gets them to spend the time looking at the picture and then I will ask what story is the picture telling. It was pretty cool that when we were looking at a piece of art from the middle ages, it was a alter piece , the youngest one was able to tell the story the piece was telling.

The kids really enjoyed being able to see many different types of art, we were a bit sad that the Japanese Art wing was closed until summer but it gives us a reason to go back. But a art museum is a great way to take a peek at different cultures and later talk about them.

 A little bit of better planning my part would have made the day even better, mostly having a snack in the car and feeding the bottomless pit aka the youngest one before going in would had made the day better. About an hour into the visit all he could think about was his stomach, and we heard a lot about how he was starving. But he made it though another 45 mins and a quick trip outside to the sculpture park.

Celebrating the semester

While we don't believe in paying for good grades, we do believe in celebrating all that hard work. As one of the children once said if we paid them for grades we would be broke, my answer was more you should work hard in school because that is your job right now and the work you do now makes for better opportunities  later. They still think it would be a great idea to be paid since they had heard that there were kids out there, who did receive money for grades.

In the past we usually would go to Pizza Hut as a family and enjoy a meal and each other at the completion of a marking period and at the end of the year we would do something bigger like a trip to Chuck E Cheese. That was a very big deal with having a large family and a budget ,meals out didn't happen often. Life is a bit different now that we have only have four kids at home and  two of them still at home are really away at college most of the year.

So we saved our celebration for the end of the first semester, but most of our children have out grown Chuck E Cheese. So it was time to find something new, and it was a trip to Dave and Busters, we started the fun by playing 20 questions in the car, they knew that we were going on a adventure but where was unknown. So after singing the required song by Little Einsteins they started asking questions no one guessed where we were going so it was a nice surprise when we arrived. The youngest one I don't really think understood what fun he was going to have until after he had eaten and dad handed over the card to go play games, the look on his face. 

Our Adventure Song

Found out that Aidan is very good at skee ball, and Nolan is still very good at video games which really was not really a surprise but he was the only one who at the end of our time still had a ton of credits on his card. Speaking of cards those things are the greatest, no juggling tokens or tickets from games needed those cards years ago. 

Was this a pricey outing yes it was, but it was nice to connect with each other, the food was pretty good, and they all had fun. The youngest is a little more motivated to study his times tables as he really would like to go back again at the end of the school year. We did order from the Eat and Play Combo which cost us 24.99 a person and each person was given a 20 dollar play card. So 4.99 for the meal and 20 dollars to play games. Next time we will go on a Wednesday night since games are all 1/2 price so they will get more time to play. 

Looking forward to another great semester from the kids.

It's a Marathon not a race- 10th grade

10 th grade another year closer to graduation, and making sure our kids can live on their own. This years big discussions are about future plans, because for a lot of schools at the end of this year you will be making choices for the rest of high school.

And while I truly believe that they need to be responsible for their own school work and the consequences, life planning I am still very involved in. Because I am lucky if at this stage of the game they think about planning the term paper due in a week, thinking 5 years down the line not happening at least with my group.

They will be deciding on technical  training programs, which three of my children have done, or college in high school which one of mine has done, some schools it will be AP classes and other options. The summer in-between 10th and 11th is a good time to explore some interests, that might mean camps, volunteer work, family trips or projects. Some things that we have done is have a son interested in building, spend the summer helping a friend do a project on our house, sent one child to a summer camp about math and science. Another went to a military summer encampment, and one went on an overseas trip. You can even do things local, for example if you have a child interest in teaching, have them volunteer at camp, VBS. If hospital work is something that catches their eye have them volunteer at a hospital, or even visiting elderly family members or working as a Junior Member of a Fire Department.

Most of all keep talking and listening to them, at this stage you may have some conflicts, which I have found true with my daughters, and my husband our sons. Right now I have one that I have to keep reminding her how to speak to me, while my husband has no problem at all with her. I just take a big breath and remember her older sister going through the same thing and in the only 3 short years which seemed real long at the time she turned into a very nice young women who I enjoy spending time with. As someone said once you just have to love them until you like them.

Work on life skills too, have them sit along side you while you pay the bills, take them grocery shopping with you, talk about budgets. Teach them to clean, do laundry, meal plan and prepare a meal. I can say that my one son made some money when he went to college as there were kids in the laundry room staring at the machines with no idea on how to do laundry, and he offered to teach them for a dollar. I usually stop doing their laundry in 9th grade, it's up to them to do their laundry, also depending on the child they also start cooking a meal a week around the end of 10th grade. I have a great pasta maker, another who makes pizza every Friday Night, and one who is a little flighty in the kitchen but can cook with someone to toss advice to him. Some of these things we learned after the first child, that poor first kid.

Next up 11th grade, time sure does fly.

Seasons of Change

                                 

Changes, we have a lot of changes happening around here in the next month, so many that it's hard to think some days. So many that I want to grab a diet coke and either hide in my room with a book or binge on Netflix.

I have known that these changes have been coming for a while, but I am a lot like an ostrich and just wanted to hide my head in the sand. But we have reached the point of no longer being able to do that.

My daughter is getting married in 17 days, yes 17 days and we have so much to do, but before all that I have  graduation party number one for our boys and nephew in 10 days. Then we have all the last week of school stuff followed by graduation, and then moving all the way from NY to Kansas.

 

 

Deep breath, I can do it, I can do it. I know I can because I have a great family that helps, wonderful friends that are there when you need them most, and most of all I get a husband in the same state as me in only 12 days.

                           

I need my quite mornings

I am not a morning person, in that while I regularly wake up at 5:30 am, please don't expect me to want to interact with anyone. Lately as  in the last 3 days I have a little one who has been getting up at the same time as I do.

That is just not allowed, per my way of thinking. I have my morning routine, get up let the dog out, feed the animals and then some time on the computer, start a to-do list. By then I might be able to acknowledge you, but still don't expect me to meet any of your needs. Once I have the laundry going, breakfast started, and lunches packed I might want to talk to you. And weekends really children should not be up before 8, I need that extra bit of quite that I don't get on school days.

But the "little one" just doesn't get it, he wants to eat, he wants to use my computer, he wants to talk about important things, and so on. So what we have is a conflict of wants and needs, what I want or I view as a need, and the same for him to me what he views as needs I view as his wants.

What to do about this, today's solution was to send him to my room with the tv remote, and a bowl of cearl. Along with a prayer that tomorrow he will sleep a bit more tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day

Dad's like to color and play games

Dad's do the weird things that mom's would never do.

They make you do chores

They take you many many places

They watch you play game after game, sport season after season and they are the one that makes the noise cheering you on.

They are fun to hang out with

And yes they do make more then chicken nuggets and picking up pizza and Mcdonald's

 


Grandpa's go on trips with you and tell you yes when mom and dad say no. But then they just keep going on vacation when you have to go back to school and snow.



They love to sit next to you and just watch the fire, and relaxing after a long day of work.



They come and help you built a safe home for your chickens and ducks and even let you help.

And most of all grandpa's are still very big kids.

And while I don't have a picture of my Grandpa on this computer, I just wanted to say that I miss you grandpa, you were to me all the things my dad is to my kids. 

I MADE IT - update

This week I have been a bit more successful on my goals, each morning the family has had breakfast and that even includes the husband who mind you was a bit surprised. Since he leaves before the kids get up all he usually gets is coffee and a lunch.

This weeks breakfasts included frozen waffles, chocolate chip pancakes, cereal, bagel sandwiches ( bagels, eggs, cheese, sausage), waffle sandwich ( waffles with sausage). This week I am adding to the morning breakfast goal by aiming to serve fruit smoothies with breakfast at least three times this week.

The other morning goal I am adding is cleaning the upstairs bathroom every morning, I figure it should take me no more then five min's to do, verses the twenty it does now when I only do it two times a week. This bathroom is still the job of Kathryn to deep clean once a week during the school year, and she still has the litter box every day. 

Afternoon goals, I can say that one is still taking a bit. There have been a few more blogs written this week but not really as often as I would like. I really need to move from thinking up blogs in my head to getting them written out. I do know that part of the issue is allotting time to do it and then doing it. But I am also adding another goal to this time slot and that is to exercise Monday- Friday.

I have no excuse not to exercise as I work at a Senior Center with a exercise room, so this week my goal is to stay after work for 30 min each day and use that exercise room. 

Dinner time goals, we have had dinner each night this week, except for one day when we had leftovers and cereal on a crazy night. This week menu has included cheesy potatoes with ham, meatloaf, chicken enchilada's , chicken and dumplings, pizza night, and a dinner out to celebrate a lot of good things happening around here.

So this week I am adding a goal to not only serve dinner each night but to also serve a salad each night or raw veggies.

Evening goal, I did it each night before I went to bed the sink was empty the dishes were done, note I said when I went to bed it was empty. Somehow there was always a dish or two in there in the morning, but at least they are placing the dishes in the sink. So this week I am going to add another goal and that is to bring back dinner chores for the kids.

For a while it has been easier to do it myself, or ask one or two children to help me with something, but not anymore it's time for the kids to step up and start helping. The hardest part has been trying to think of a way to get dinner chores done when we are never sure who will be home for dinner but I have a idea, that I will share later this week if it works.

So that is this weeks update and new goals. So the question is why did meeting goals work this week, when it hasn't worked in the last month. Well I had been keeping this to myself, but last Sunday I shared with the family my goals and that they should encourage me to meet them. And it worked, so goals are easier to make if you share them with those that can help you out.

Welcome back

Since it is a new year I have thought about what was I spending my time on line doing and was it good or bad. There was a message board that I was spending a lot of time on and it was a good board but things change and blogging is something that I think I need to spend more time  on. Blogging is a record of our family, my thoughts and goals, much like the household notes and diaries of women in the past. Plus when you post your menu on-line and not a scrap of paper you can find it.

This past year has been a busy one, with many trips including a month long trip to OK City, then a week camping with the extended family in Allegany , then the younger children and I went to my mom's for a week to plan a shower for my brothers wedding. Then it was back to Niagara Falls for the wedding, then this December we took the kids on a NCL Cruise for a week.

In all of that travel we also did field hockey for Kathryn and soccer for the boys, I started a job in October , and our area had a major flood in September. The girls have had scouts, the older boys CAP, the little boy Kids Club and more. I think I need to find time to breathe.

And here is what all the fun this year has been about, family.

My grandparents, parents, brother and sisters, spouses, and children.

One child is missing was at college.

Looking forward to blogging this year and trying some new things.

COCO Beach Dec 2011

Nassau Bahamas Dec 2011

Allegany State Park July 2011

Allegany State Park 2011

Ricky's Wedding Sept 2011

Jr. Ranger Program- National Parks

If you didn't already know your National Park system offers a great free program for kids ages 4 and up. For us our 5yo and 10 yo did the program  at all three places we went this summer.


 The St. Louis Arch, Mammoth Cave National Park, and both the Lincoln Birthplace and Boyhood home at Knob creek( they share a book). Our 13 and 14 yo boys did the program at St. Louis but not the others, I wish they had but they were a bit done with mom's need to see historical sites.

All you need to do is when you arrive at a park is head to the information desk and ask them do they take part in the the Jr. Ranger program if so they will ask you how many books you need.



In the book are many activities and each age level has to complete a different number of activities, during your visit to the site.

Kat and Nolan working on book at St. Louis

 I find that this makes the site more interesting to the kids, they are looking for and understanding things that they might have first passed over.They also learn to ask the rangers for information that they can not find.


After they are done they head back to a ranger who will look at their book, ask them questions about things they wrote in the book and then swear them in as Jr. Rangers, in which they promise to explore, learn, and protect.


Then they receive a small plastic park ranger badge with the park name on it. My 5yo was so very proud to receive these badges at the different parks that he would run up to ranger to tell them he was a Jr.Ranger.

It is a great program to help make your visits to National Parks more meaningful, and it also has the goal of teaching today's children about the importance of exploring, learning, and protecting their past.

So the next time you are at a national park with your children, ask about the Jr. Ranger program.

A busy life

The kids are all doing well in school, and we have had some afterschool schooling activies. Mainly reading programs and scouts,and piano lessons.

So if you would like to see more of what is happening in our home visit www.xanga.com/midge8

 

My body hurts

It has been quite busy around here, We have many projects going on in the house, so far they have finished the attic pull down ladder and the arch way in the living room/ dining room. They will be back Saturday to work on the changing the garage into a bedroom, and then onto the roof.

Today the pool guys are coming to start putting in the pool.

But the reason I am so sore is I have been raking out areas of brush before it grows agian, as I am trying to regain some more yard. So therefore my upper body aches,and I have started walking at the local school track with some of the women from my church. It is great there is a grassy area for the kids to play and the track is soft to walk on. We walk and talk which has to be better for my health then to sit and talk.

Growing up

Kathryn has really been showing signs of growing up lately, she has finally lost her first two teeth. She has started reading all the time. It is funny every time I turn around she has a book in her hands and she is reading outloud to someone. Kathryn is also more helpful and taking pride in doing a job well.

Last night at church, she came up to me when I was wiping the tables and asked if she could help so I handed her the dishrag and off she went. She wiped every table in the hall, then went to the kitchen and asked one of the ladies there for a broom and swept the kitchen floor.

Before long she will be a young lady.

Tourette Syndrome

Our son Nolan has Tourette syndrome, which are tics of both the verbal type and non verbal type. It was just this year that we learned that Nolan's behaviors had a name and a reason. Up until this year we just thought Nolan was just a little odd. We are not treating his tics just making sure that people do not pick on him, he has facial tics were he moves his face and nose , and hand tics that give me the willies, and he makes a hump noise with this mouth.

He does these things with out him knowing that he is doing them. He is also the smartest kid I know, he can tell you about any thing he has ever read. He is in third grade but tests out for reading and verbal and spelling  at over 8th grade.

Due to these things we will be adding him to our children that are home schooled next year. As the school can not give him enough to learn and the kids are starting to pick on him.

Pluses for me in homeschooling Nolan are that he is very organized and likes to follow a check list. We will be telling him that he will me home schooled at the end of the year.

The Dentisit

I took all 5 older kids to get there teeth cleaned. It went well Conner has some very small cavities but they are not going to fill them at this time. Nolan has to get a tooth pulled, but that is in order to get his braces. He was born with a extra tooth, that  belongs no where in his mouth. And Sarah well she has two cavities so she will need those filled before her braces go on. Next up annual check-ups for all the kids.

Eye Doctor

Yesterday I took all the children to the eye doctor for their yearly eye exam. The best part we walked out with a mom who was still mellow as all the kids were pretty well behaved. Sarah still needs glasses in fact her eyes are getting a little worse, but as we tell her if she actually wore her glasses she could see a lot better. And Pat for the first time is getting glasses to help with reading strain.

And the real funny part is as Nolan was getting his eyes checked the doctor was looking at his eye lids and Nolan started telling us all about how turtles do not have eye lids at all. They have tears that flow all the time. And we learned alot of facts from Nolan about turtles. This is also the child who is sitting next to me and telling me how to spell words that I can not figure out. As my Dh will tell any one my wife may be able to read a novel or argue any history idea, but she cannot not spell.

Well it is off to take all the kids to the dentist today for cleanings.

Taking the kids out to eat

We were at Pizza Hut for a Sunday dinner, and I noticed something we actually order the party meal deal they have in order to feed our family. We have also found that they always seat us at the same table, the only one that fits 8 people. Pizza Hut happens to be one of the cheapest places for us to eat out as a family; we usually go twice a month.

Why to we even take our large by today’s standards family out to eat, because we want them to be comfortable and know how to behave in a restaurant setting. While eating out they practice the skills of reading a menu, ordering, asking nicely for refills, and behaving in a restaurant.

Some if the many things the kids do while waiting for there food is play tic tac toe with there straws and the sugar packets. We also play Family quiz show were Dad goes around the table asking math, spelling and other school questions.

It always makes you feel that you are doing the right thing when some one in the restaurant comes up to you on there way out and tells you what a wonderful family you have.

But of course this Sunday during dinner out the kids were having a fit of the sillies and started taking in rhyme. Pat said “How about a Whale in a pail with a snail? “ And my response was “Dad might get mad, or glad or even sad but it could just be a fad. “  We also had Pat the rat, Nat the cat, the mouse in the house, a fox in a box, and a cat in the hat. It was quite fun, and I think we have read enough Dr. Seuss to the baby.

Blue and Gold Dinner

This handsome man is Conner my Webelos 1 cub scout, this is before he recived four more pins for Scholar,Fitness,Athlete and Traveler. He also earned his Webelo badge and is starting on his compass points for Arrow of Life.


And this handsome man is Nolan my Bear Cub Scout, At the blue and Gold he recived his Bear badge and a gold arrow and a sliver arrow.



And here is the whole Pack 51 and there fearless leader.