backyard picnic

one of the definite highlights of our new home is having a backyard again.  the kids love being able to run in and out as they please and i love being able to shoo them outside whenever they get a bit too rambunctious inside.

of course, they all come screaming back inside as soon as one of them spots a spider, or a mosquito, or a moth, or a roly poly, or a bee, or a fly, or any other small black spot that sort of resembles an insect.

it does not appear that entomology is in any of our kids' futures.

ok, if i'm being really honest, that comes as a huge relief to me.  one time as kids, my cousin and i stayed up most of a night roaming the house and being completely freaked out because we saw a daddy-long-legs in the room we had planned on sleeping in and couldn't decide on which other room to take our chances in.  so now i inwardly scream anytime i see a bug that should not be in the house in the house.  then i arm myself heavily to rid the house of the offending bug and pretend to be brave in front of my kids and deal with it with a stoicism even a spartan would envy. 

and if i'm being completely honest, phil deals with bugs in the house the exact same way when he's home and i defer all bug duties to him.  i know this because i have actually heard him scream (in a manly way, of course) when caught off guard and confronted with a particularly largish specimen.

you could say we tsais are not what you'd call bug enthusiasts.

ooookay, so that was completely off-topic but something i felt the need to share.  whew, i'm glad we had this talk.  ;)

so anyway, one fine day, mikey asked me if the kids could eat lunch in the backyard.

i did him one better and made it a picnic lunch with individually wrapped sandwiches and snack containers for each kid.  when you're one of a bunch, having your own personal lunch instead of eating everything out of communal containers is a pretty exciting discovery around here.

praying before their meal.

our backyard is rather jungle-y.  we would like to change it up to make it more kid-friendly, but that project is going to have a wait kind of a long while.  mainly because we have no idea how to do a backyard reno.  or any kind of reno for that matter.  but that's ok though, the kids seem to enjoy it as it is for now too.

"i'm going to squish you like this grape!"

this one in particular enjoyed having her very own lunch wrapped up for her.

my mikey boy.  so many ways to describe him...

typical 8-year-old boy being one of the ways.

looking for cloud shapes while digesting.

oh and this guy?  he joined in the fun after he woke from his nap.

this is how he talks on the phone.  you know, the way everyone does- by placing it on the back of his neck.

big sister gave him bites of her lunch.

but then he swiped one of their goldfish cracker containers and decided to feed his own self.

he really, really wants to be considered one of the big kids.  but i'm afraid that's just not going to be possible with this one though.

and oh yeah, remember our dog daisy?  she was there too.

big sis trying to pull little sis like on a sled.  turns out brick floor is not the same as snow.

then they decided the plants needed some watering.

jonah liked supervising.

and pruning, too.  :)

project 52, week 21

yes, i am still unpacking.  woe to the mutha.  (that would be me).

four things: 1) most of the unpacking can only really get done in spurts during jonah's naps.  2) i'm still aiming towards getting every single box unpacked.  3) i'm unearthing things i haven't seen in several years and completely forgot we had.  multiples of the same items, actually.  4) i think this job is looking to last me a few decades.  at least.

but look what i found in the midst of unpacking?

a complete boxed set!

hmm.  i wonder how much these are going for on ebay?  ;)

have a great weekend!

project 52, week 20

i know i've posted pics of the house on the blog before, but it seemed right to include it in this project too.  and so begin the adventures in our new-to-us home!  :)

project 52, week 19

mikey has asked me many, many times to take a picture of him with his lego creations so that we can send it in to the lego magazine people so that they can put it in their next issue.  i don't think he realizes how many submissions get sent in or how most are never printed or how many of the creations that are printed are likely built by adults and i just don't have the heart to disappoint him like that.  so, most of the time i just do what every good parent does (ahem) and evade his requests.  but i realized recently that he hasn't been asking me to take pictures of him with his lego creations anymore.  this last one i took of him was over two months ago.  and seeing this picture now makes me a little sad.  have i put him off one too many times?  has he gotten the feeling that he's bothering me with his requests?  am i sending him the message that what's important to him is not important to me?

gulp.

so i think i shall remedy this tomorrow (he's in bed as i type this so i can't do it right now).  i'll ask him to build a creation so that i can take a picture of him with it.  and then we WILL send it in to the lego people, for better or worse.  it matters to him, therefore it matters to me.

and isn't that what's most important at the end of the day?  i think so.

ps- the creation above is his version of the eiffel tower with the bustling city streets way below it.  note: not built to scale. ;)

a day in the life...

of jonah tsai!

hey!  wanna see what i've been up to while mommy's been busy unpacking?

first, i like to start off my day with stolen sips from my sister's smoothie cup.

good thing she doesn't mind sharing with me.  i even let her kiss my cheek because it buys me more time with her smoothie cup.

and when she wants her smoothie cup back?  well, no matter because then my big brother swoops in and hands me his smoothie cup.  i love having lots of siblings!

i find this round window very fascinating.  i could watch it go round and round all day long...

hmm, what else?  oh yes, i love to push buttons.  mommy says literally and figuratively.  but i don't know what that means.  anyhow, there's this one button under the kitchen counter that is placed at just my level.  whoever did that was so thoughtful!  it makes a loud BEEP! when i push it.  even though mommy says, "jonah, no touch," when i go under there, i. can't. resist.

uh oh, busted!

hmm, i better lay low for a little bit until she forgets that i'm in trouble.  sitting in daddy's big chair always makes her laugh (especially when i use my whole body to try and make it rock) and makes her forget that much faster.

ok good, i think i'm in the clear.  now what's this my big brother left on the ground?  his toys are so fascinating.

aw, but she never seems to forget when it's naptime.  that's ok though, i've got my blankie and could use a little shut-eye.  keeping these big people on their toes sure is tiring.  see ya in a couple!  hours, that is.

ok, back in action!  what's this mommy's set up now?  mommy and daddy keep laughing.  something about me and the whale.  parents.  who can figure them out?  besides, i think this is a shark, not a whale.  sheesh.

did i mention i love having lots of siblings?  yeah, it's good cuz it's never boring around here.

thanks for hanging out with me today!

project 52, week 18

and then a blink and a wink later, it was this boy's 8th birthday.  birthday season comes fast and furious in our house with five of our six birthdays in seven weeks of each other.  it's a whirlwind and i have to mentally gear up for it every year.  it's also one of the reasons why i decided to do parties for each of the kids every other year.  if that.  :p

but birthdays are the perfect time to express my thankfulness for each of our children, to reflect on who they are and what they're currently in to, and to marvel at how God created each one to be so wonderfully unique and yet fit so perfectly into our family.

it's been simply fascinating watching them grow and develop into the people God made them to be.  what a privilege.

and so my boy turned 8 this year.  his golden birthday.  which i had never heard of until we lived in minnesota.  how can time have flown so fast?  on the one hand, i look at him and still see the tiny peanut of a baby clutching his favorite bear (which we've always just called "bear") and sucking on the two middle fingers of his left hand.  on the other hand, i look again and see this rapidly growing boy, full of life and laughter and silliness and questions and the need to tell me every single thing on his mind.  i see him and can see glimpses of the man he's growing up to become and am just so very proud of him.

he's just such a likeable kid.  and eight years later, i am still amazed that i get to be his mom.

project 52, week 17

my poor, long-neglected photo project!  i haven't given up on it though and so will pick it up where i left off.  rewind a bit with me, if you will...

we celebrated daddy's 37th birthday with homemade brownie sundaes.  jonah thought that was pretty awesome.  he ended up eating daddy's whole dessert!  that's the thing about daddy though, he never hesitates to give the kiddos anything he's eating and doesn't mind if they end up eating the whole thing.  that doesn't quite apply to daddy's stash of toys though (and i mean literal toys.  he has been known to buy some little figures for the kids and then gets one for himself!  he likes to stash them away still intact in their packaging.  "mint condition" he calls it).  the kids know to ask permission to touch them and often the answer then is no!  their daddy...  still such a kid at heart himself.  drives me crazy sometimes.  but something we all love about him, too.