Chaycisms

Chayce, Please put your doll down and go to sleep.

But daddy, she has to go to her ballet lesson

Chayce, go to bed now.

Wow, Daddy. That was the fastest ballet lesson ever.

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Chayce, what do you want to do when you grow up?

I want to go on a date with my pappa and then get married.

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[During a two mile walk in the rain Chayce and I went on]

Chayce, I'm glad I wore my hat, it covered my head.

That's nice Daddy. I'm glad I wore my raincoat. It
covered my butt.

Working Our Fingers to the Bone

Remember how in my last post I mentioned that I keep forgetting my camera? Well, today I got it out and it FAILED. Sob, sob. Time for a new one, I suppose...but I don't want to buy one. You'll have to make do with cell phone photos for awhile. They are kind of dark, which saddens me.

Today, we made our first paper-plate skeleton. I drew bone parts on each plate and the kids cut them out. Of course, he's not anatomically correct, there are MANY more bones in the human body than my children would have patience to cut out at this age. Maybe when they are older we'll make him more lifelike. For now, he's just a cute skeleton hanging out in our house for Halloween.

Speaking of cute.

Cutting up a rib cage.

Working on a bone.

I couldn't resist taking another picture of those cute, pudgy hands trying to use scissors.

It's Mr. Skeleton! Chayce wanted him to have hair and eyelashes...I had to explain that once you are down to the bone, often the eyelashes are gone, too.

RTI End of Summer Bash

Well, it must be said that my sweetheart's co-workers know how to throw a party! Sadly, it must also be said that this momma keeps leaving her camera at home, thus the cell phone will have to do.

The end of summer has come, and to celebrate (because we all love AUTUMN, that's why!) Stephen's division sponsored a party for us at a local pizzeria / fun land. Dinner was (of course) all you could eat AMAZINGLY YUMMY pizza. Then, we were able to each have a gift card to spend how we wished at the attractions. Our family of five chose to drive bumper boats (no photos because I wasn't taking my phone into the boat), where Zac was just barely tall enough to qualify to drive his own boat. The girls rode as passengers with Stephen and I. What a blast. We had the best water-fight with each other, and Zac practiced his driving skills. He will not be getting a driver's license any time soon.

Then we played a bunch of arcade games, where the kids earned lots of tickets and brought home some fun prizes. I played a round of DDR...and well, let's just say it's been awhile since I've danced in that fashion. Actually, I think my moves were fine, but the game board was not built for short little me, so I never hit the center of the buttons. Eh.

We ended the night with a round of putt-putt golf, on a very beautiful course. It was fun to play at night. After all that, we still had some money left on our gift cards, so we went to the concession stand and bought ICEES, because even at 9PM, it was quite warm out.

Tueller Children Sang as They Walked and Walked and Walked...

Look! They are dressed in the Primary colors...Red, Yellow, Blue...I didn't even plan it.

Squeezin' my baby!

She slid down the hill. It was sandy, can you tell?

Come on, guys! Let me take a photo of us together! (Response: "Umm, Mom, why are we all looking at the back of your phone?")

Oh!!! We get it! Smile!

Poolside

The weather broke a record this year! We have had more 90 degree days this summer than any other recorded in North Carolina. If I remember right, the year we moved to Indiana was one of the hottest summers on record...what is up with us moving somewhere during their record heat years?!? If we ever move again, I hope we plan better, or else move somewhere cold so they can thank us for bringing some heat. heh.

Anyhow, we spend quite a bit of time splashing around in our pool. So much so that little Zac has a tan line from his goggles. He's the opposite of a raccoon. Oh, and hey, look! That's our townhouse in the background--well, not ours. That's the neighbors, ours is gray, theirs is red, but they are built the same.

What goes up, must come down, or children are listening better than I thought they were

Last night, Zachary and Chayce decided to climb to the top of Chayce's 4-drawer dresser (which is taller than either of them) and jump from it onto Chayce's toddler bed. Most of the wooden cross-beams cracked like ribs getting kicked by a horse, though we did not discover this until asking Chayce to go to bed. She said she couldn't go to bed, because her bed was broken. I assumed she meant the fitted sheet came off and just told her to fix it and get in bed. Payge said "nooo, dayee, iz broken!!".

I an attempt to teach them to be careful with things, I took Zachary up to his room and said "what would you buy if I gave you $20?" I of course expected him to answer some toy, which I would then point out that when he is not careful, he is considering the opportunity to break something more desirable than the toy. A good way to teach basic economic theory and introduce opportunity cost, I thought.

His answer? He would buy Payge a new doll to replace the one Zachary had defaced with permanent marker. I felt quite blessed that he had obtained some awareness of the consequence of his actions and that he wanted to make up for them.

So then I went back to Chayce, intending to use the same strategy with her. I asked her what she would do if I gave her $20 and she could spend it any way she wanted. She said she'd buy a new bed.

All in all, it looked like the lesson had been learned before I had a chance to teach it. These children must have a good mommy.

Heaven On Earth

Our theme for Stake Women's Day was Heaven on Earth. We held the meetings today after many weeks of scrounging for supplies for the hygene kits we were going to donate as a stake. Our stake completed 758 hygene kits (I think...give or take 10, it could have been 748, or 768...I caught the 7_8 part during the announcements). Either way, WOW! I was impressed with the women of our stake. Want to know something else that impressed me?

The organization of Stake Women's Day. I don't know the women in charge here yet, I haven't been here long enough to get to know them, but I do know that whoever they are, they must be amazing. To start off, registration for today started two weeks ago ONLINE. There was an awesome website. You really should peruse it to see some of the options we had! WOW!

Hmmm, I wonder how many times I'll say WOW today.

I participated in three classes:
Partners in Achieving
Candid Kid Photos--taught by the amazing Melissa E.
Tantalizing Terrariums

So many things to learn!!

What really impressed me was the work that went into the day. Above each door was not just a printed piece of paper with the classes on it, but hanging signs (almost like in the airport) that showed the way, made in a very well thought-out manner. Lunch was a wonderful South American stew, made with black beans, chicken, and sweet potatoes. Mmmm. Not only that, but there were gluten free and vegetarian options available (though I'm glad I didn't need them). The musical numbers were all beautiful as well. A Trio from our ward sang a song I'd never heard named "My Sister's Hands" and I loved it, as well as the many instrumentals, that were played by others.

Anyhow, I just want to give kudos to the ladies that did all the work, and the time the teachers took to prepare for today. I'm grateful to have had the chance to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Down Days

I often wondered if I was the only one who had days where she'd really rather not be "The One" everyone ran to in the house. The one who planned and carried out school, the one who cleaned up during the day after projects, the one who would say things like, "Hey! Are you ignoring me? I just asked you to [fill in the blank]!", the one who has to take the kids outside to play (and someday, I'll have a yard with a fence where they can go play and I won't have to worry as much, but I'll still worry.) rather than sit and read. Of course, these are only sometimes feelings, and then there are days I could take on the world. Anyhow, though I only have three adorable clones running around, I found this post on another woman's blog quite helpful. I suppose I should say reassuring. I hear her youngest is 11 now, so her others are grown and gone, and doing fine...it's always good to hear from someone who has done it!!
http://askingjane.blogspot.com/2010/06/do-you-ever-have-down-days.html

It's a good one. Love it. Though her site has been pretty helpful in general.

A Day at the Park

Cheeeeeze! Loved the rocking race car.
Sporting some Irish love!
I only have one thought on this photo...why did I let my son wear that turtle-neck in 90 degree weather? What was I thinking? Really?

Chayce's Hair Cut

Miss Chayce has decided that she can handle bangs, and a few layers in her curls. I must say, it makes her look a little older than I hoped.

Our First Guest!!

We had a guest at the pool this week. See him? I was the hero, saving him from the untimely death other frogs had met (that we tend to find in the pool filters).

Where'd he go?

Found him!

Love this photo...such wonder and amazement in it.

Oh, Yes We're Men...er, uh...Kids in Tights...

On our heads. See, we are not as traditional as you'd think. We wear our tights on the wrong end of the body, and have a very difficult time keeping our shirts up. Is that a washcloth on her head, you ask? Why, yes, yes it is.

He said he was going for the "rabbit" look. I was thinking more gangsta who didn't know how to tie a scarf. Either way, he's cute.
She's laughing...really. Stephen keeps asking if I was sure she wasn't crying. But really, she couldn't control her laughter that morning.


Hey! Is this how I do it guys?!? Guys?


Ahhh, we are all related. We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all we love each other...especially with tights on our heads!

See? She's cheezing it. Completely happy about the whole tights situation.

Conversations are Getting Harder...

So, I promised in my last post that I'd explain what I meant. Well, here goes:
We are studying the time frame when St. Augustine went to Britain to teach the Angle-Saxons about Christianity. Sadly, the way St. Augustine found out that the Angles didn't know about Christ was via the Pope, who found out via a slave trader who had just been to Britain kidnapping their 8 year old boys to bring back as slaves. This slave-trader's point of view was that he could do so because these people were barbaric and didn't accept or know anything about Christ. Ug. The Pope of course believed this to be evil, used some of the church's money to buy the boys from this slave trader, and sent them home to Britain with St. Augustine as an escort, where Augustine was to stay and teach the people.

The hard part here is explaining that slavery took place among Christians. Zac knew about slave trade, we've read Follow The Drinking Gourd and had some great discussions on how all people are equal and should be treated as children of God. He just didn't know that those who practiced in the slave trade considered themselves Christian. He always imagined them as these evil devil-worshipers. And who knows, just because you proclaim to love Christ doesn't mean you're not evil. Anyhow, as he reads more and more and studies, the black and white is fading into gray.

I thought it would take longer to get to this point, but part of me is glad we are talking now, so we can brainstorm ways to make the world a better place together as he gets older.

T'was the Third Day of School...

So, today was officially our third day of getting all of our school work done before noon (eleven, actually, but I didn't want to brag). Zach is moving forward quickly with Singapore math, continuing on to year two in The Story of the World (oh, how our conversations have gotten harder, I'll explain later), starting up Prima Latina (which I'm LOVING as well), and writing whatever copywork I give him, and anything else he feels like writing. Did I mention he's writing? This is big for me because last year Chayce conquered writing and Zac did. not. want. to. He would read and read but I'd have to jump up and down saying things like, "You'd do it for a grade! Do it for your mother!!" But this year...he just writes. I tell him to write his Latin vocabulary words and their definitions for practice, and he does it while I load the dishwasher (I have a dishwasher! A novel experience, and I love it.) Oh, and English, we study grammar just as much as Latin. I promise.

But that's not the part I wanted to write about most. No, I was really in the mood to share some yumminess.

First off, I have to share the caramel corn recipe I found while searching for a way to make it without corn syrup. This one doesn't even call for white or brown sugar!! And the whole family inhaled it. It will be made again.

20 cups popped popcorn
3/4 cup honey OR maple syrup
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Remove unpopped kernels from popped corn and put in a very large mixing bowl. Combine honey or maple syrup and butter in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan. Cook and stir over moderate heat until butter melts and mixture boils. Boil, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, baking soda and salt. Pour over popcorn and gently stir to coat popcorn. Spread popcorn mixture on two baking sheets. Sprinkle with peanuts and/or seeds, if desired. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes; stirring every 6 to 8 minutes. Remove corn to a large bowl; cool.


OR do like we did, skip the baking part and eat it chewy. Yum! Brownie points for making your own vanilla!

Also, we had this huge stack of key limes (and a few lemons) because, well, they are available here at the farmer's market and so that's what comes in the co-op baskets. ha ha. Anyhow, after much squeezing by hand (and wishing I'd bought that citrus juicer attachment for my Bosch I saw at a thrift shop in Logan, UT...) I had this:
Then, I decided that I needed to make the neighbors downstairs something because our children had spilled the sand between the slats in the porch AND dropped a spoon down there, and the neighbors, who have no children, were still awesome and knocked on our door with spoon in hand. Great people. So, I started a batch of key-lime / lemon bars. Hey, I just noticed that lemon...if you drop the 'l' and add a 'd' is demon...hmmm. Okay, back on topic.
Ewww, whole wheat short bread dough looks nasty! ha ha. But it tastes sooo good.
1/2 C sugar
2 C whole wheat flour (grind your own! You know my thoughts on this.)
2 sticks of butter (please use real butter...please. I have thoughts here, too, you know it!)
dash of salt
Mix. Press into pan. Bake for 15 minutes. While baking mix together....

4 eggs
2 C sugar
1/4 white flour (I know, but the whole wheat doesn't work in making lemon juice look gelled, ya know?)
1 tsp vanilla
8 Tbsp of that yummy citrus juice up there
whisk, whisk, whisk!

Pour over baked crust and bake for another 20-25 minutes. If you are using MY oven be careful because it has ruined every recipe I've made in the past three weeks. I'm thinking it gets too hot, but have yet to buy a thermometer. I only did 20 minutes and had crusty dark edges...but only on one side. Weird.
Share with those you love. :)

THEN, I took the rest of that lemon /lime juice and made some killer lemon-lime aide. Mmmm-hmmmm, that's what I'm talking about. Did I mention we also hung out by the pool for an hour and a half? hee hee.

All in a day's work.