Fun filled days!

We've been busy lately, doing the usual. Tuesday: Errands and a Target visit where Saylor got some roller blades (finally! his words) and Stone got a skateboard. They have played with these now every day, all day since then! Yesterday, Saylor didn't take them off ALL DAY, and it's heading in that direction again, today. If Stone's outside, he's on his board. They're fun to watch! Park with friends yesterday, all the boys (her three and my three!) got into the water and floated on down the canal type thing. It's only about 1/2 way to knee deep on me, so it was shallow and perfect for them. They had a blast. Then, had ice cream on our way home.
We've got the big bus sitting in front of our house. I just finished cleaning it up, wiping everything down, scrubbing the (beautiful!) maple floors. Now, it's ready for our stuff. I'll be slowly putting things in the next few days, and doing quite a bit this weekend to get ready for taking off. It sounds like we may be headed to Sloan, IA for a few days, then to Osh Kosh, WI for a bit after that.
I'm happy that John won't be leaving us 'behind' this time; that we'll all be driving away together. That doesn't mean there isn't a TON of work that has to be done for that to happen, believe me, there is! Who will forward our mail? Should we cancel our dishnetwork? Gotta halt the newspaper subscription. What about cell phones? Are ours ready? Keep or cancel our home cable internet connection? This part really *isn't* a whole lot of fun.
Many of these questions would be easier answered if we knew where, exactly, we were going, and for how long, exactly, we might expect to be gone. But, BUT, with John's job, there are never *any* exactly's, so we've got to make the best choices with the information we have in front of us -right now-. Which is, really, the best way to live--in the right here and the right now!

a Long day, a Good movie, and taking Care of me!

Our day started with a trip to Custer to see my Dad and Lili (pop's partner) in their new, beautiful home in the hills. We walked around the property and got kinda soggy, as it was raining off and on, but the boys had a great time climbing around on the big rock outcroppings and exploring the new turf. We headed back towards Rapid City around 2, making a quick stop at the health food store in Hill City to pick up a few treats for the remainder of the drive. I asked the boys what they would like to do tonight, and threw out some ideas: get some movies and hang out at home? hang out with grandma? "GRANDMA!" was their resounding answer! Yes, that would be fun! Then, perhaps, I could sneak off to a movie with a friend, yep, liking this idea! Well, Grandma wasn't up for the visit today, so I went down my list of other options: Barb, going to Deadwood, darn! Mary, going to a b-day party, darn! The boys suggested I call Cole's mom, so I did. "SURE! bring them over" Cool.
I dropped off the 2 big boys, met Pam at the movie ("Little Miss Sunshine" --eccentric and wonderful, witty and painful all at the same time). Sage was cooperative and stayed on my lap the whole time, happily munching popcorn and organic chocolate covered raisins smuggled in from said health food store above.
Then, back out to Kendra's to snatch up my boys and share dinner with her family. Yummy spaghetti, veggies, and *smoothies* for dessert. Delish! Left their around 9:00. Checked in with John, who's been on the road all day, bringing our bus home. All's well and smooth there!
Upon arriving home, carried sleeping Stone upstairs to bed, Sage decides he wants a bath; in he goes, and Saylor can't pass up the chance to join him! They play and rub bubbles all over each others heads and giggle.
Then, we three head on up to bed, Sage nurses and is out, Saylor gets tummy rub from me, and is out. I go back downstairs to get ready for bed and then decide *I* want a bath! It suddenly occurs to me that I haven't done anything for a really long time to take care of myself! I usually am pretty good about that, so can't quite figure out how I managed to 'forget'? Hmmm? Well, a steaming hot, hot bath with several drops of lavender essential oil, and a cup of Roiboos tea...mmmmmmmmmmm a wee bit of heaven here on earth. It was a good day and it's gonna be a good sleep. . .

House Full of Boys

Here I am, the only female in a house filled with 4 boys! John always points out that growing up, he seemed to end up hanging out with all the females, say, after T-giving, all the guys would veg in front of the tube, but he figured out early on...women are where it's at!! Even now, he is often the lone male among a tribe of women, usually all sitting around with babies on breasts! So, how ironic that I now am surrounded by all of this male energy.
Our neighbor is spending the night. We took him swimming with us (big plans to swim every day until the pool closes Saturday), then brought him back here and had tacos, and now they are building with K'Nex. Sage is sleeping upstairs, I'm listening to the boys talk and giggle and build and plan. I'm also reading hannahbearski's blog, and crying. Today is Hannah's birthday. She died on her 1/2 birthday, exactly 6 months ago today. She was 9 1/2.
My dad's birthday is today.
My brother's birthday was exactly 6 months ago, February 23.
I just realized that detail a few short moments ago.
Yesterday, our neighbor children were outside playing catch and the Shrek soundtrack. I had just been mentioning to them that there was a special song on that cd, so they found it and had it cranked and on repeat outside for me to hear. I sat on my porch, and cried. It was the song that Diana had playing for Hannah while everyone came in to say goodbye. She had it on repeat. I hadn't heard that song since that day. Hearing it literally took me back to that moment. Hannah so beautiful, Diana so broken...laying beside her baby girl, holding her, loving her, squeezing her eyes shut tight, as if hoping that she could please just wake up from this horrible thing that's just happened.
Hannah, you are with us all, everyday, in everything we do. Thank you for the goodness you brought to this earth and for the people you continue to touch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Namaste~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dom'p!"

That's Sage's word, a mixture of "STOP!" and "DON'T!"
How cute is that? Oh, and he says is with conviction, so,
there's no mistaking what he's a talkin' 'bout!

Our New **Rock &!** Rollin' Home!

Here she is!

We just have to figure out how to get her home, now! We are super

excited about this and can't wait to move in! :) The boys are

working on 'naming' her. We'll keep ya posted!

Run, Billy, Run

I recently participated in a mixed cd trade for imagination tribe. We were supposed to put some songs together that inspired us, spoke to us, had an 'unschooling' feel to them. I received my 12 awesome cd's in the mail yesterday and started listening to them today. Zenmomma's cd, beautifully titled "Feed Your Soul" had this song on it. Run, Billy, Run by Dana Lyons.
http://www.soundclick.com/danalyons

Check it out! It's beautiful. . . in a sad kind of way.

Here is the list of songs I had on my cd:

Three Little Birds Bob Marley
Can't Keep it In Cat Stevens
Don't Panic Cold Play
Ruby Fruit Gwendy Joysen
All These Things
that I've Done The Killers
Drive REM
Nightswimming REM
Don't Let us Get Sick Jill Sobule (off of "Enjoy Every Sandwich" Warren Zevon songs)
Everyday People ? you know "i, i, iiii . . . am everyday people"
Dear Prudence Beatles for Kids
What I Got Sublime
Miracle Drug U2
Smile, Sophia Toadstool Jambouree
Yellow Coldplay


I wanted to include a couple more, but ran out of time.
*I Can Tell We're Gonna Be Friends (not sure if that's the exact title?) by Whitestripe
*On Children (another one from a Music for Little People cd we have. It's actually an old poem performed musically, very pretty) The lyrics I can remember right now go something like "your children, are not your children, they are the sons and the daughters of life, longing for itself, they come through you, but they are not from you, they are with you, but belong not to you. You can give them your love, but not your thoughts, they have their own thoughts. You can house their bodies, but not their souls, for their souls dwell in a place of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams, you can strive to be like them, but you cannot make them just like you" ok, that's all I remember, and don't quote me, cuz I may have some of them wrong! :)

****and it's not really 1:33 am right now, my timer on the blog is an hour ahead. but I am going to bed! sweet dreams!****

Re-connecting...

I had dinner tonight with the most *lovely* lady! Bonni and I met long ago when I taught summer school here in Rapid City, and her beautiful mama was my ...college ...guidance counselor (the exact name escapes me now, but she helped me design my course of study, made sure I hade all my credits squared away, stuff like that!)
Our relationship is pretty cool in that our paths seem to cross every couple of years and then we just chat away like we just saw each other yesterday. I love relationships like that!
She is a gentle parent with deep respect for children, probably why we click so well! We had some good laughs and she kept Sage quite entertained with 'goodies' from her purse. Speaking of purses, I think I'll be doing one up for each of the boys! Thanks, Bonni! ;)
I am constantly amazed and honored by the beautiful people in my life. I am so grateful.

Simply, Magic

Last night, John got home late, 7:30sh, showered quick, scarfed down dinner, then out the door at 8:15 to go to the Howard Dean soirre (is that the right spelling, oh well!) So, the boys and I headed over to the YFS parking lot, where we like to zoom our bikes around. At first, Stone and Sage were in the Burley, and Saylor and I rode. After a while, Stone asked to come back home and pick up his bike, so we were all peddling. We played follow the leader, and had to do all kinds of wacky things on our bikes, especially when Saylor was leading!
After we tired of riding, we got off the bikes and hit the pavement with our feet, some of them bare, and dirty now! Saylor and Stone were playing, running around, jumping up and pushing off of these concrete light bases, and Stone said, "Mom, this is so much fun. It's just like a playground!" Course Sage was just giggling as he did his best to keep up with them and mimic every little thing they did. Little sponge 'o mine!
Well, then the sprinklers on the boulevard came on! Yeah, it's dark, around 9:00, of COURSE they had to go through them! So, up and down they ran, over and over and over, until they were dripping wet-- but HAPPY! :)
And again, Sage followed, his little legs working so hard to carry him up and back more than 5 times.
As I watched my joyful boys dig into their world, I smiled and was happy to share in that moment with them, even if I stayed dry! It makes me see the beauty that unfolds when parents say YES more! As we continue to say "yes" more to our children, I really notice those around me who are 'no' sayers, and it just makes me feel deflated. I can't imagine having someone tell me every minute, what to do, how to do it, why to do it, and on and on. Blech....

Going Mobile?

We are seriously considering buying a bus so that we can go where John is working instead of being separated from him so much. We have our eye on one in New Hampshire. It's so funky, groovy, cool! The family seems quite in-line with our feelings about lots of the natural family living kinds of things, too! They shared sleep with their 2 daughters, the bus has 2 wool/cotton futons, beautiful maple floors, and they decided against the vinyl headliner because of the heavy metals used in creating vinyl! Hmph! Sounds like my kinda family!
I will post a picture of it as soon as we know it's a done deal. Sounds like John will work around here for about a month, and then they'll send him to??? If all goes well, we will be heading out with him to wherever that ends up being. We are looking forward to the adventure of traveling, seeing and experiencing lots of new things along the way. The boys are super psyched about having a motor home, and they agree that the bus looks 'cool'!

Yard Camping

Yesterday, as dusk was settling in, Stone was all geared up to go for a little bike ride - in his new helmet and pads, etc. Off he went, around the block and through the alley, coming back to tell me he wants to go exploring, so "I can explore the world". I guess he thought that meant setting himself up a mini camp site, complete with his bike, his gear, a little chair, and a sleeping bag request. I ran up and grabbed one for him, and asked where he would be sleeping. He thought right outside our fence was the place, and I asked him if he would feel safe out there. He decided on re-settling within the safety of our fenced front yard.
Then, he asked me if I would like to come lay down with him and look up at the stars together. WOULD I??? I dropped everything I was doing and went and cozied in beside him. (Sage was happy right on top of me, also looking up at the stars.) This, naturally, led to "do you want to go get a sleeping bag for yourself so you can sleep out here with me?" Well, y'know I had to! Up I go to retrieve another sleeping bag and Sage's nighttime diaper. We unrolled our bags side by side in our front yard (wondering now if the neighbors have proof positive that we are, indeed, crazy!) I really thought this was going to end in, "ok, that was fun, let's go inside". Nope! (though saylor did retreat after about 20 minutes of humming to tunes on his iPod)
We spent the night sleeping in our yard, all night, all hard, lumpy night! Really, though, it was fun! I only had to flick off a couple bugs and then try to put them out of my mind so I could go back to sleep and not think that every little sensation was a giant spider crawling on me! Of course I was up very early, with the sun, in fact. It's a bit hard to sleep when you can hear cars zooming by and your neighbors talking in their back yard.
Well, we made it through safe and sound. John came out at around 5:30 on his way to work, and just laughed at us and said something like "crazy woman", and "you guys are so funny". I don't know? It was early... :)

Stone is 5!

We had a really fun birthday party yesterday for Stoney's special day! He invited about 10 of his friends, and then of course 6 of their little siblings, and the mama's and papa's that go with each. It was a free-flowing party, he opened gifts as people arrived, which was so nice! He really got to 'get' what he was getting and focus on it, instead of being bombarded with the pile staring at him. He opened 2 of his gifts from us first thing upon waking, then waited to open the other 2, which was great, because then Dad got to see him open those. We didn't think John would make it home for the party. He was stuck in Roger's, MN waiting to hear the where/when/how of his next move. He got the call at 7:00 pm Saturday night to go ahead and take the truck he had back to Rapid City in the morning. He fell asleep, woke up at 1:00 am, felt refreshed, and hit the road! He got here a bit after 10:00 am, what a man! His boys were thrilled to see him, he'd been gone for nearly 3 weeks.
Ok, back to the party! :)
Stone wanted a 'messy party', so we did! We had 25# of flour poured onto a tarp with various tools and toys to play with there. We did a pinata, which got smashed quite nicely! We had 12 cans of silly string emptied into our yard, colors a flurry, and grinning children. I like to say that was the 'primer' of the real mess to come! Next, we had whipped cream pie fights. Each child had 3 little paper plates loaded with whipped cream, we counted down from 10, then...fire!!! We were all covered with the stuff, but I'd have to say John got the worst of it! Super cool fun!
We made 3 cakes (boxed, yeah, I'm a bum!) and ate most of them at the party. Now there's a partially eaten cake sitting on our counter, which I visit often in true Karen style, with fork in hand! It doesn't really count if you don't actually cut yourself a piece, y'know! :)

Slacker :)

I've been quite slacking in the blog writing department, lately. Sorry for all those of you who just can't wait to read the next installment of what this crazy mama is up to with her tribe of boys. Well, right now, John is working in MN for 10 days. We're planning a trip east to Sioux Falls this weekend for the Folk Fest, where we'll listen to 3 days of outdoor music, and camp with friends.
Saylor and Stone both started 2 week tennis exploration classes this week. Of course, this means we've already trekked to Target for rackets and balls for each of them. When they are into something, they are really into something! Which is a good thing!
Been watching some good movies lately, have a huge stack of books from the library we're hoping to get to before we leave later this week. Blew up our Bonzai water slide and used it the last couple of 100 degree days. Today was really nice, in the 80's. A welcome break for everyone. Grabbed a few new games yesterday (Battleship, Mancala for Kids, Dominos) and have been playing them, which proves to be super challenging with a grabby little baby in the room!
Ok, starting to zone out now, a sure sign I need to get to bed.
Blessings. . .