Just Breathe...

Okay, in an effort to breathe new life -- or maybe just some life -- back into my lovable blog, I began to think again about posts. That's what it's all about: Thinking about blogging...and thinking in blog posts.

Seems odd, right?

Early on, when I was blogging nearly daily, the trend had not really caught on with anybody, except us "cool kids."

But then Twitter happened. And blogging seemed to be a lot more work because why write an entire post about something when you can summarize it in 140 characters. And once you start thinking in 140-character bursts, well, you basically rewire your brain.

Am I right?

Not necessarily.

I enjoyed Twitter for about a minute or two. (It was an odd world. Odder now than then.)

Then Facebook happened. I resisted at first. It seemed another odd and silly place. But, as anyone who has ever watched even one episode of Star Trek knows, resistance is futile.

Facebook is the killer of blogdom. I'm convinced of that. It should be a helpful aid or another platform whereby you can share your blog...

But it's not.

It's easy.

It's addictive.

And so my brain began to think in longer-than-140-characters moments, but still shorter-than-actual-blogpost moments.

Yet, I've stumbled on and tried to continue my blog. I love doing it. It's such a great way to keep myself writing daily (or thereabouts) and an even better way to clear some of the "clutter" in my noggin.

So, today, this very morning, my brain thought up a post. I thought again in a blog post. And I was exhilarated and decided to sit down immediately and write it out. But I had to write this explanation first, which may have taken my brainpower and time briefly.

Sigh.

Still in all, here I am breathing some new life into my old friend.

Wordless Wednesday

Friday Funnies

Having a younger child in the house certainly keeps us laughing. He always manages to say the darndest things. But that's the fun of having kids, right?

Some Ethanisms for your reading pleasure:

Ethan needed the potty while we were at the beach last month. Since there weren't any bathrooms nearby, we suggested going deeper in the water and tinkling there. He looked shocked. We asked if he wanted to be like fishies, and he said, "No. They have different personalities."


After saying something that made us laugh, Ethan said, "I always come up with a plan to spice things up."


The kids like to play "Punch Prius" in the same way my sisters and I would play "Punch Buggie." The idea was to tap someone when you saw a VW Bug...only they do it with Priuses. On a car trip, Ethan yelled, "Punch Prius" in the car. His siblings looked around and couldn't see one so they challenged him. Not wanting to back down and be wrong, Ethan said, "I sensed a Prius."


What funny things have your kids said?

Tuesday Tip

Here's your (non)helpful Tip o' the Day from Ethan at age 4 or 5:

The Shadow Knows

Happy Groundhog Day!

Well, I'm not sure it is happy...if you consider the fact that our ol' friend Punxsutawny Phil saw his shadow...again. Six more weeks of Winter. Boo! Not that it actually means anything. Phil isn't an actual meteorologist of any kind. He's a groundhog.

And last year? When he didn't see his shadow? And we were supposed to get an early Spring? Yeah. Totally botched that one up, huh, Phil?  *wink-grin*

Still, he is rather cute, isn't he?

We had a bit of mammal day confusion in our house today. Being somewhat colder than usual and with snow in the forecast, I overheard Ethan (6) say, "If only that beaver didn't see his shadow..."

Love the funny things that pop out of kids' mouths.

Here were several adorable cupcake ideas. There are SO many of them out there. If I were less busy more inspired, we would have made some of these:

Do you have any Groundhog Day traditions?

Mom Law

There are some things in life that defy explanation. One such thing is something I've deemed the "Mom Law of the Universe," and that's the compulsion of moms everywhere to say things that apparently don't need to be said. That are so blatantly obvious or unnecessary that they provoke the stereotypical teenager "eyeroll and sigh."

Com'on, Moms. You know what I'm talking about. Uh-huh. Yup. Been there, done that, right?

Yet somehow, despite the fact that we know our kids would never do whatever we're about to ask them not to do, we have to say it. At this point, it's not even a matter that self-control could stop.

We. Have. To. Say. It.

For instance, when they leave for a visit with friends, we always say "Behave." or "Be good." Really, if we didn't say it, would they act like monsters?

Maybe it stems from the fact that we have to constantly remind them of such things when they're toddlers. No one comes into the world knowing the rules of the road, so to speak. Most kids, as toddlers, will touch things unless they are reminded not to touch ahead of time. More often than not, kids will not remember to use their inside voice in a theatre the first time they go to see the symphony. Nor will they sit in a seat and eat a meal if they are not told that that's what we do. It's just not part of their makeup.

Just because they see other people doing it doesn't mean they'll know that that's what they're supposed to do, too. There's too much distracting them.

So at what point do we stop reminding them? Surely, they've learned a bit since toddlerhood. And even more surely we should have learned what they've learned since toddlerhood.

Since I haven't quite gotten to that part of motherhood, I honestly can't say. Though I can say with some certainty that the urge happens a little less often...either that, or it's getting easier for the kids to "smile and wave" instead of roll eyes and sigh.

But whatever the reason, we remind them, for goodness sake, be good!

Friday Funnies

Here's a little something to bring a smile to your face and a giggle to your heart.

Isn't this the cutest?

I grew up with bulldogs -- and we have two mixed-breed dogs that have bulldog ancestry (of some sort) -- so I love love love this breed!! So much fun-ness -- and funniness -- about them!

I hope you enjoy a fun Friday! And don't forget to SMILE!

(photo courtesy of Cup of Jo's blog)

Saturday Sweethearts

Sometimes in life an adventure is necessary in order to fill the hearts of our children. Today was one of those days. We traveled 200 miles (round trip) to visit a small mall north of Harrisburg and meet some awesome online friends for the first time IRL (for the non-texters out there, that's "in real life").

And it was totally worth it!

Pagoda Day! Pagoda Day!

Pagoda Day 2014!

In our family, we like to be goofy, enjoy silliness, and make memories.

Pagoda Day is a good one for that.

It was started by our 13-year-old son, Edward, when he was 3 years old. He wanted something that would celebrate the awesomeness of the Pagoda, a local landmark in the Reading area. He planned it out with Emily, complete with a date and musical theme song. We played along but kept saying it was "too far away" and "maybe we'd go there one day"...and then we surprised them after dinner on their chosen date by driving up Mt. Penn to see it up close and personal -- and to take a family photo.

As you can see here and here and here and here, it has become something of an annual tradition (sadly, not always blogged about).

So on this our 11th Pagoda Day, we extend to you a warm and fun Happy Pagoda Day!

What kind of silly and fun family traditions do you celebrate?

Friday Funny

"See, Mommy? I have a 2-pack [of abs]!"

Love this kid!

Friday Funnies

This is brilliant advertising at work! I love how technical they make their "bookbook" sound. Enjoy a funny Friday!

And now...

...a few more "Ethanisms" (from this week)...

"You know, Mommy, I really don't like to write [for school]. I only do it because I love you." Then he smiled his sweetest, most lovey smile at me, which, of course, softened the "blow"...not that I didn't already suspect his dislike by all the moaning he emits while wielding a pencil above paper. I told him I appreciated his honesty, but he still needs to do it. And I smiled my sweetest, most lovey smile. Not sure it softened anything for him.

*   *   *

In the car yesterday, he said (continuously), "I love how our brains slow down the world outside the car when we're drive. That way we can enjoy all the pretty nature. And it is so pretty! Edward is so weird. He said when he dies he's going to say, 'This is the best day of my life.' (pause) But I guess it would be the best day since he would get to see God. That would be awesome! And I think the nature there would be so pretty, too. Esp. the trees. Because they would never die or turn brown."

*   *   *

He came down to lunch yesterday and said excitedly, "Edward was playing the 'Battlefield 4 Warsaw Theme Extended,' (a song) and it was EPIC!" No plain, everyday Battlefield 4 theme for them.

*   *   *

What funny things do your kids say? I'd love to hear them! 

Friday Funnies

This doesn't apply to us, of course. But it was funny, nonetheless. :)

Camp Woohoohaha! 2014

Each summer, since the year before Ethan was born, we've done a little one-day family camp that we named "Camp Woohoohaha!" It's a day that is full of crafts, outside games, and campy sorts of things, like s'mores, hotdogs, nature hikes, and sing-songs around a campfire.

We start the day with a loud rendition of "Reveille" to rouse the troops and get us all ready for a day of family fun. I usually plan the crafts and food, while Stuart usually plans the outdoor activities. Some years we've had to modify outdoor activities due to rain.

We were a little bit late doing our camp this year. Pre-school activities -- like high school soccer practice, school newspaper meetings, college visits -- overtook us, and we found ourselves in a flurry to grab a date before school begins.

So today, we did our annual tradition, waking the kids with an even louder version of our bugle call (since I now have a little Canz speaker). We had two activities to work around, but we used that time for some downtime and filled in with a DVD of Looney Tunes/Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Here are some highlights from our day: Boiled eggs and baked oatmeal for breakfast; a little canvas bag to color and keep our crafts in; an awesome obstacle course; painted garden markers; Cracker Jacks; a walk in the park; Poohsticks; an impromptu visit to the museum, where the kids built structures and saw the mummy; Looney Tunes cartoons; coloring puzzles; decorated notebooks and photo frames; hotdogs and chips and s'mores; a firepit; lanterns; and songs/jokes.

A great way to finish out summer vacation.

We have a few activities to do on another day that we couldn't do today, due to a couple of outside obligations, but that's not a problem. It gives us more time to enjoy as a family.

We seem to spend a lot of time together, but sometimes we realize that we just exist together, passing in our hallways, caught up in our own busyness. Having our little camp helps us to make the time to be together and have fun. Totally worth all the planning!

"This is the day that The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

Here's an album of the photos I took during the day. Enjoy!

Do you have fun family traditions that you enjoy? Share them below!

Update: Saturday Sweetheart

So we drove 35 minutes to see Edward's first-ever away game as a boys' high school JV soccer player, and all we saw was this:

In fairness, we were told the JV team played after the Varsity team. But due to the rainy weather, we think they played them early. Edward did mention afterwards that he thought about calling us to let us know...but he forgot.

Sigh. Oh, well.

We were there. See? *wink-grin*

Friday Funnies (from the 5-year-old)

Two Ethanisms:

The other night, Ethan was praying before our devotions and said, "Help us to apply what we learn to our lives." Afterwards, I asked him if he knew what "apply" meant, wondering if he was just repeating what he'd already heard. He nodded and said it meant "to put something to use." We were all visibly impressed by this, so he fist-pumped the air and said, "Vocabulary for the win!" 

Talking about a musical toy that has a dog sound that you can use instead of the normal musical instruments, Ethan told me that they must have had to use a lot of dogs to make all the songs since "there are 20 pre-recorded songs!" I asked him how he thought they trained all those dogs to sing like that, and he said, "I have no idea!"

Love the innocence and magic of childhood. He never ceases to make us smile and laugh!

Friday Funnies

I found a free app for my iPad -- called "Toontastic" -- that I thought might prove handy for school. It allows kids to create a cartoon -- using the different parts of a story. We've had such fun creating our own cartoons with it.

Here's the latest funny attempt that I created for the kids (don't laugh too hard at its dumbness):

A Wandering Wonder

You know when you're feeling restless and wanting to do something different in life and then an opportunity comes up and makes you stop dead in your tracks -- in both excitement and fear -- because on one hand it's awesome, the "opportunity of a lifetime," and on the other it's just plain crazy, seemingly stupid, and/or completely nerve-wracking?

No?

Me neither.

Sigh...

A Tuesday Tidbit

We here at "Writer's Block" strive not only to entertain (hopefully...maybe? occasionally?...sigh) and opine about various subjects but to instruct, as well.  Learning at home gives us lots of credibility and "authority" to do so (hopefully...maybe? occasionally?...sigh), right?

So today we bring you an educational nugget of truth, sponsored by alert reader and friend Pete Fessler on Facebook:

Now you can say you've learned something new. *wink-grin*

In the Middle of the Street

"Our house...in the middle of the street... Our house..."

Remember that song?

We've been doing a lot with houses at the moment.

A few days ago, I braved the heat of our attic and dug out the "Happy Street" sets we began buying when Emily was a baby/toddler.

It was a joyous reunion of all the various sets and people. Ethan was amazed -- and delighted -- by it all.  His siblings were wistful and a bit regretful that they didn't spend more time playing with it.

We put together a few sets and dusted off a few more and set up the people and cars, and Ethan began to play with his newly established English village, Happy Street.

He played and played. He loved it!

After a day of playing with it, I asked if I could join in.

I had some of the little children and older people figures set up at one end of the "village" we'd created. He had the emergency center with the firemen and police constable.

Suddenly, the constable drove madly down the street and knocked down all of the people I set up.

Ethan laughed wickedly.

I laughed, too, and asked him what he was doing.

"Now it's 'Sad Street,'" he told me with a giggle as he helped me reset the people..

Hmm...methinks somebody is watching too many of his brother's iPod games? *wink-grin*

Wordless Wednesday