family life

june

June 28, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 39 Comments

And Summer, dear summer, hath years of June

With large white clouds, and cool showers at noon:

And a beauty that grows to a weight like grief,

Till a burst of tears is the heart’s relief.

George McDonald

fyi:
we are living summer to the fullest!
i’m reading lots of curriculum stuff to get ready for school—it’s gonna be a great year!!
my kitchen is sooooo almost there.
we’re going to houston/galveston soon so i need your advice on fun stuff to do with kids.
i jumped in the lake with my dress on.
my other house (with the turquoise kitchen) sold after being on the market for less than 3 weeks.
communion is by far my favorite meal of the week.
june is too short.
you are awesome.
life is good.

How to enjoy your kids in the summer

June 14, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 43 Comments

1. Encourage their creativity.

Get out some paint or some clay or some crayons and create something.

We’re taking a few weeks off from ‘school’ but as I’m hoping to blur the lines between ‘school’ and ‘life’, we’re still busy learning. One of my very favorite bloggers Meg introduced this wonderful art blog last week and I’ve been giddy ever since. I find that my girls love art but we haven’t been as consistent with art lessons this year as I’d like. We’ll use our ‘summer break’ to catch up on some wonderful techniques and projects. So, Saturday, we learned about color wheels.

We watched this video and then drew and painted our own wheels. It was simple and yet so much fun! You should try it.

We also did a little body art (formerly known as face painting!)

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. And trust me, I’m no artist.

2. Get them wet!

Everything is better when water’s involved. I’m like the 1950’s mom who gets her hair ‘set’ once a week and can never under any circumstance get it wet. The truth is, I don’t have the kind of hair that just dries nicely and looks fine. If the hair gets wet, I either need a hat or a blow dryer. So when my girls asked me, “Are you gonna get your hair wet this year?” THis Year? Is it really that bad? So I promptly ran down to the dock with them and jumped in. And then Steve and I swam with them to the neighbor’s double decker dock and jumped off the high dive. The kids were ecstatic. And I can still do a toe touch, btw. Take that 40 year old body.

And we may have a new king of the dock!

3. Go outside at night!

I listened to a talk given by Jay Ryan, a self taught classical astronomer who has made it his mission in life to get people outside, looking at the night sky. The talk was incredibly interesting as he lamented the fact that classical astronomy hasn’t been taught as a subject in the US for nearly a hundred years. His website is great and lends some help to those of us who’d like to learn more but don’t know where to start. Steve’s ipad app called Starwalker was also a lot of fun—it uses GPS to help you locate the constellations and planets. In June, the star Regulus, which is the bottom right star of the Leo constellation is very visible just above the western horizon. The moon is in crescent phase and just below and to the right of Regulus. The constellation Gemini is visible to the right of Regulus and the Big Dipper and Arcturus are nearly overhead. We (actually mostly Steve and I) spent the better part of the afternoon trying to teach ourselves some basic terms like ecliptic and zenith and nadir and zodiac. We’ve started a little journal to help us remember the things we’ve seen.

I never learned any of this so I’m like a kid in a candy store. Steve, who is a boy scout at heart, is helping me and learning some too. The girls were a tad distracted (“it’s too hot”, “she’s touching me”) but they also enjoyed it

4. READ READ READ.

Although late to the game, we joined our local library’s summer reading program. It has motivated the girls to read certain books that I don’t think they’d have read otherwise. They also enjoy the friendly competition with each other. (“I read ten books today. How many did you read?”) We also enjoy reading together as much as ever. We’re still in the Harry Potter series and are almost finished with book 6. I think we may re-read the Narnia books next. We try to read aloud for a while in the mornings and then whenever we can squeeze it in. There is something about reading to them that centers them. They stop bickering. They calm down. It’s almost like magic. So, if they’re getting restless and I’m getting frustrated, we read. It sets the world aright!

5. Leave them alone.

Make sure they have plenty of time to just ‘be’. Make them turn off the tv and put down the electronics and just play. It’s amazing what kids will find to do when there is supposedly ‘nothing to do’. My girls put on their swim caps and made up crazy songs about swim caps this weekend—using a hairbrush and the vacuum cleaner as the microphone; but only after I banned the tv and told them to make up their own fun. They can get lost for hours in make-believe play—but they can only do it if there are hours to get lost in. They don’t need expensive trips or toys to have fun. But they do need time to themselves.

It may seem like the summer days are long but the days are gone before you know it and so are the kids. I don’t want to wish it away. I want to learn to savor it—every minute of it. To enjoy the hustle and bustle of kids underfoot. As mothers, these are the ‘neighbors’ God had in mind when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Lord, keep us from being so preoccupied and busy that we forget that the little ‘neighbors’ under our care are the most important ones of all.

2010 Dance Recital

June 2, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 27 Comments

The dance recital was a three day affair of girls and hairspray and lip gloss and pirouettes and giggles.

It really makes me wish I had been learning to dance when I was young instead of sporting a mullet and playing short stop. But let’s let bygones be bygones and hope I don’t turn into a ‘toddlers and tiaras’ mom.

The girls had a ball.

Their mommas (including Ms. Patty and Ms. Denise–whose daughters, Lexi and Tessa are fantastic dancers) had lots of time to fetch drinks and tights and random hair paraphernalia.

The dress rehearsal lasted all day so I brought my knitting and my book and my laptop.

I did not knit or read or surf the net.

Instead I just watched and enjoyed my girls enjoying themselves.

They were in a combined 9 dances. That’s a lot of costumes to keep straight.

I’ve told them from the beginning that if they want to do the other ‘fun’ dances, they have to keep taking ballet.

Finally, this year, they love ballet too.

We had several friends come watch including Ms. Kimmie, Anna, Sue, and Morgan.

It made the girls’ day to see their faithful supporters.

After an exhausting 3 days of pictures, rehearsal and recital, my girls were devastated when it was over and can’t wait ’til next year.

I’m the only one who seems to need a break.

This is a snippet of their Irish dance which they performed with the adult and teens Irish class. It was absolutely stunning onstage. It makes me wanna get up and clog or something.

And sometimes I do.

Be very afraid.

And you must watch this adorable dance to the Chipettes’ Single Ladies! Emme rocks a back handspring!

Happy 20th Birthday Taylor!

May 29, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 14 Comments

Those of you who’ve been following this blog for a long time know that my son Taylor graduated from high school last year. I chronicled that journey with him here and am so glad to have the memories recorded. I wrote about his band The Verity and about his antics with Andrew and even about my heartbreak as he left.

But time just marches on, doesn’t it? We try to slow down the years and capture the moments but they seem impossible to hold onto.

And today, he turns 20 and has finished his first year of college! I’m so happy to have him home even if it will be brief —–and I am so proud of him. He’s my firstborn—the compliant and helpful one, the overachieving uber talented one. And I am continually amazed at the fact that no matter how old he gets, he’ll always be my Taylor, my rock, my kind hearted little boy with a smile a mile wide.

Happy Birthday Tay!

Love you.

Mom

Guess what we did this weekend?

May 24, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 7 Comments

~We bought some training skis (that are connected together and require an adult to hold the other end of the rope) and Emme got up on her 2nd try. I yelled and squealed like a school girl. Steve took Taylor and his friends (on the regular skis) and everyone had a blast.

~We took some lemon bars over to our new neighbors and got a peek into their wonderful place. She has an unbelievable gourmet kitchen and some of the exact same cookware and bowls that I have. She’s also working on a DIY glass mosaic table top on her amazing screened-in back porch that overlooks the lake. I think she’s my new BFF. Our neighbors’ on the other side have this awesome double decker dock with a diving board and a rope swing. We happen to know these sweet people because he was the OB doctor who delivered Elea. Our kids are in heaven!

~And last but not least, we went to our friend Lacey’s graduation party. Her dear mom, Kimmie, was our nanny when the girls were little and became a dear friend of our family. We love them all and were thrilled to spend some time together. Congratulations Lacey!

~And now, it’s Monday morning and my mom is headed over to help me test the girls. We’re using the California Achievement Tests for the 2nd year in a row. I’m ambivalent about testing them for a whole host of reasons but we’re doing it and for some reason, they actually like taking the tests.

~We then have a busy week preparing for dance recital on Saturday. The girls are in ballet, jazz, irish, tap, lyrical and hip hop. It should be a long and wonderful week.

Hope your weekend was lovely!

A bonafide Volunteer!

May 17, 2010 by Edie Wadsworth 10 Comments

Marcus graduated from UT this week with a degree in communications. He is gifted in so many ways and has a bright future ahead. We are so proud of him and thankful for his presence in our lives. He is just downright funny and has his dad’s irresistible charm. He has THE perfect radio voice and is an admitted superfan for the Chicago Cubs. He knows every episode of Seinfeld by heart along with every obscure sports fact you ever wanted to know. He plays hockey and LOVES good food and sriracha. He is his father’s son in every way.

We love you Marcus. And we are full of gratitude for the joy you bring to all who know you.