Our First Camping Trip

Guest post by Mr. Graff! This one is from awhile ago, we actually just survived our second family camping trip. 

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Our first family camping trip was a success!

By which I mean we ate food, slept in a tent, and did a little bit of hiking. And rock climbing. 

And playing in water fountains.  That was the best game ever.  Once the little boys figure that game out, we were afraid we wouldn’t see them again.  At least we knew where to find them.

We got to our campsite, up in the mountains of Hawaii, in the “African plants” section of the botanical garden.  We set up our tent, pulled some things out of the car, and dashed for cover as it started pouring.  Rae and I (and some of our foodstuff) went to the tent, while Icie and the others found cover in the dish-washing area.  

I’m glad they were able to stay dry.

After playing in sinks, water fountains, etc, we decided to try hiking.  We found a lake!  We’re all about water, there. 

We also found a butter tree. Not sure how to harvest butter from it, but we’re willing to try planting one and finding out when we have some yard space of our own.

We went back to camp and started cooking dinner.  As it turned out, we were so focused on boys, clothes, food, bedding, etc that we forgot to bring any lighter fluid or candle or anything to get the fire going.  And a pot for all of the things we brought that would cook in or with boiling water.  And the apples got left behind, too. We did have a propane stove, though, and a boy scout hibachi grill.  Dang it, I was going to have a fire!

It worked.  Even with all the rain.  Icie and I had bread and cold lentil curry while the fire was getting going, and the boys had all the bread, cheese, and raisins they could handle.  Then we got down to making s’mores. Rae liked making s’mores more that he liked actually eating them!

When it was time for bed, we found out that the boys were absolutely determined to sleep on the cots we’d brought for ourselves.  And, after we’d won, that we couldn’t actually sleep on the cots we’d brought for ourselves.  We’re going to have to work on that.

The next morning, I was the only one to have oatmeal for breakfast.  It turns out that everyone else likes their oatmeal cooked, and you know, we’d forgotten that pot to boil water.  We had plenty of bread, cheese, and raisins, though, which was some of the boys’ favorite foods.  Some of us got leftover chocolate and mallows, too.

We played in the water fountains some more, and packed up our camp.  There was a nice Buddhist temple in the area with a huge bell and koi ponds and all sorts of other cool things.  Turns out we forgot to bring the address.

Then we got to the gate and found out that THEY forgot to tell us that the gates didn’t open until 9, so we had a good half hour to drive around and look at all of the gardens and 1900s charcoal kilns before we could leave. Icie liked the walking trees. 

Pretty much everyone fell asleep on the way home. Then when we did get back, this happened.  He never sleeps more than once a day!

Yep, this trip was a success.  We want to do it again sometime.

Joe's prayers

Joe plopped himself on my lap the other day and said that he wanted to pray. 

"Ok," I sign. So, I voice the prayers while Joe signs them. 

"Dear Heavenly Father," Joe starts. 

"Thank you for this day. Thank you for my strong body. Please bless the dogs and bears. In name of Jesus, Amen." 

I love his prayers. 

And that he likes to lick garlic off his fork. 

Garlic is near and dear to me, too. 

Lately

Rae starts homeschool tomorrow. I'm nervous. He isn't. 

I wrote Caleb's name on my paper, got up, threw it away, and came back to find that Rae had copied it from memory and added a stick figure with a "1" to show that Caleb is 1 year old. I was astonished. 

We've spent a lot of time at hospitals, therapists, and specialists this summer for Joe. In this picture, Joe is about to get a chest x-ray for pneumonia. After I took the picture Joe tugged on the curtain room divider and signed "Ready, go!" as in, let's blow this popsicle stand, Mom! 

Caleb brings a spunky balance to our family. We are making Friday into Beach Day, and Caleb loves the waves. He likes floating and kicking. He climbs and spins and pushes himself. We've lately only been able to get him to nap by strapping him down in the car and going for a short ride. He really does like to go! 

One Proud Momma

Rae loves numbers and letters. 

Jim bought a brownie mix. 

Rae wanted brownies. 

I was busy making dinner. 

So... Rae made them himself! 

He found what temperature to set the oven and set it to 350. He broke two eggs and put them in a cup (I'm glad I wasn't watching that one). He opened the mix and put in the bowl. He found the right measuring cups for oil and water and mixed them into the batter. 

I helped Rae pour the batter into the pan. 

I am super proud of him! Go, Rae!

Signing

So, Joe's not verbal. At all. 

He once said, "Mom", clearly and intelligibly. I turned to him and tried to get him to say it again, and all that came out was "Mah, mah". 

I'm not sure what is wrong. He's now three and a half. He's had 5 surgeries on his mouth. He has extremely low muscle tone---even in his mouth. If he eats blueberry yogurt, he still cannot get the blueberries out from under his tongue. 

So, there is a lot physically that can account for Joe not being verbal. 

We've emphasized signing at home. We're watching "Signing Time", we look words up in our ASL dictionary. We use asl.lds.org for Church signs. Jim and I are going to start taking a 6 week ASL class together soon. Rae and Caleb are learning to sign so they can talk to Joe, too. It's a big part of our life right now. 

It's fun to see what Joe is thinking about. Frequently, it's Baby Dragon, my stuffed animal that Grandma gave me when I was born.

He's also able to say funny things, like, "Mom, your hair is black". Rude! I've insisted that is dark brown for a long time! Jim just laughed. I think he takes Joe's side. 

But sometimes, especially recently, it's, "Mom, I want horse." or, "I want horse food". Which, since food and eat are the same sign, he could have been trying to say that he wants to eat a horse. Gross!

Now that I see how much Joe can communicate, I am finally realizing how much he is missing. 

Joe has ear infections. All the time, even with ear tubes. His ear tubes get blocked with wax and fluid stays on his ear drum, and I imagine it is like trying to hear underwater. So he can hear, but not that well. Signing with Joe has opened up my understanding of his hearing problems. 

For example, Joe can't hear the difference between "cat" and "hat" or "bear" and "hair". But, because he can sign, I know that he is confusing those those words. Before, I just didn't know.

 The medical world is confusing and not reassuring. Last October, the audiologist said that Joe can "probably hear". April 2015, the ENT surgeon said that Joe had "mild to moderate" hearing loss in his right ear. She also said that it might be a result of inflammation and scarring from his ear infections---so it might correct itself over time. 

Which led me to think that it was not a big deal. It would fix itself. Mild doesn't sound bad, right? But what if "mild" means that Joe can't hear the difference between "cat" and "hat"? What if that means that Joe sits in a mostly silent world, with some sounds that don't convey meaning?

It is a bit terrifying to learn a new language, especially if I need to model that language for my son. I'm out of my depth, and venturing into a new community of people that communicate visually. I don't know what I am doing. I feel like I am grasping for a life preserver, so I can help my son not drown. 

We were playing the "How are you?" game. I would sign "How you?" to Joe and he would say, "I fine" or "So-so." or "I tired".  Then, he would sign, "How you?" back to me. I would say rude things like "I need to poop." And he would giggle. And then we would sign about feeling "poopy".  

Because it is educational. 

Joe ache.

I wish Joe could talk. 

I wish it so much it aches. 

Some times he can say "Muh" for Mom, or "luh" for light,  or "eh" for egg. He was sitting next to me when I heard him clearly say "Mom" for the first and only time in his life. My eyes lit up and I repeated it back to him and he could only manage "muh" again after that. 

He's frustrated, too. 

The trouble about being non-verbal is that when things are wrong, it is hard to get someone to understand that something is happening. I worry about this a lot.

Joe always has massive amounts of ear-junk. Orange, brown waxy stuff that piles up in his ears, everyday. So, I clean his ears everyday. This week I found green-ish brown stuff that filled his ear canal and looked shiny. We head straight to the pediatrician. Double ear infection. 

I know what this probably means. It (probably) means his ear tubes have fallen out, and it means surgery on his ears, again to put new tubes in. I don't like surgery. 

Once, when Joe needed a CT scan, they were not prepared to put him under full anesthesia, so after a few false starts and a lot of waiting around, the full team assembled and Joe was put under. They had me help hold him. I felt him go from fighting like a wild man to completely limp in seconds. 

When he woke up, he coughed out a 4" plastic hook used to hold his airway open. Both of us were ready to leave. And that was only a CT scan.

Am I ready for surgery again? No, not at all. But I will get up and call his ENT and make it happen, because that is just what you do. One foot in front of the other, one day at a time.

But, oh, I ache. 

Self Directed Learning, Day 2

I'm not going to lie, this concept still makes me nervous. The idea of child-led anything actually makes me nervous. What am I suppose to do? How will I know it is working? Are we just going to make a big mess? 

I got started on this idea after meandering through this blog: http://www.aneverydaystory.com/australian-homeschooling-blog/

She seems lovely, and I would like to meet her. And then I read through "Project-Based Learning" as soon as I could get it from the library. What I enjoy about the book is it breaks down how to learn, and it is not really just for kids. It is meant to be a family affair. We talk about life-long learning enough to gag on it, but doing it is a whole different thing. 

I also really like this mommy blogger, who is lovely in a completely different way: 

http://www.catholicallyear.com/p/about.html

There are so many good ways to homeschool, and they don't have to look alike, at all. And really, I don't think they should. How I teach one kid is completely different from how I teach another kid. 

So, today, I pulled out the art supplies and let the boys have at it. Joe still enjoys the goggly eyes and watching things drip. We painted today because that is what Rae wanted to do. 

"I'm making a whirlpool. Inside they will be sucked down and won't find their way out!" 

After Rae wandered off, Joe wanted to paint, too.  

Maybe you can tell that I gave Stomp Stomp beans for playing and he preferred throwing. 

The green stuff on Joe's face is a combination of nose boogies and spinach-influenced puree. And Stomp likes to join him. Sometimes he eats the puree, too. Joe makes sure that I share with the baby. 

After a quick bathroom break, I came back to find more self-directed learning... applesauce. 

Yum! 

So, is it working? I don't know, but the boys appreciate the time to do something creative.

Self-Directed Learning, Day 1

Yesterday I read a fantastic book that I really don't know how to use, "Project-Based Homeschooling" by Lori Pickert, which is about self-directed learning. You give your child materials and then sit attentive with a journal in hand to write down what your child does and help him winnow out any potential long-term projects. I think the idea is to mentor your kid as he finds things he wants to explore. 

Cool idea, I just have no idea how to do it. Especially since I do not work well with chaos, and lots of materials in easy reach of children under 5 sounds fraught with chaos.

But, I tried it today. Well, as best I could. 

I pulled out the tub of art stuff and had the boys sit around the dining table... and then sat with my journal and .... watched. 

Rae started by drawing a gumball machine and he wanted to know how to spell "gumballs", so I wrote it for him on a piece of paper and he copied it onto his. He talked about how the "s" was hard to make and it looked like a "5".  When he wandered off to do something else, I asked him what he wanted to work on tomorrow during project time, he said, "I want to play on an airplane next time". 

Don't know how that one is going to work. 

Joe is trickier. He's a nonverbal three year old. So we sign and do a lot of guess and check to figure out what he wants. Today, he wanted the Elmer's glue, and he watched in rapt attention as it drizzled onto his paper. He added a few lines and some goggly eyes, but mostly he watched the glue drizzle onto the paper. It's going to be drying for awhile. 

He did, though, ask me to open his marker. He signed "open" and "please". I usually have to prompt him by saying what he needs, but he beat me to it. 

Stomp Stomp ate a blue marker, crushed up some graham crackers, and then scaled down his high chair solo. 

Yay for self-directed learning! 

A Week in the Life ...

So, with this picture of Caleb to lead out... let's look back at the week! 

The boys love looking out their bedroom window. We put Mr. Graff's trunk in front of it to protect the screen (ha!). This week I found my keys thrust out the bottom of this window (no more keys for Caleb!). The window goes floor to ceiling and everyone loves to sit and watch cars, or garbage trucks, or Joe's bus in the morning. 

Rae's starting "Joy School" (a preschool run by moms) next week! To celebrate, we went out and got him his own backpack. I'm not actually teaching part of Joy School, and a friend in the ward is picking Rae up and dropping him off. After picking up a backpack, though, we had to go to the park and play. 

Caleb and Mr. Graff love the spinny cups. 

I kept trying to get a picture of how elated Caleb is to go round and round with Dad. I think this is the closest I got... 

Rae is ever the limber monkey. And usually tries to pick on kids twice his size. 

Booty shot. 

Non-booty shot. 

I think Rae must enjoy the blood rushing to his head because his favorite thing to do is hang or stand upside down. 

Mr. Graff got out the dry beans and had the boys play with them. 

We did some shopping. Picked up apples, paper shredder, and chocolate. The important things in life. 

Mr. Graff kept them running all day, walked to the library and park, went shopping all afternoon, and after baths, Rae came to listen to scriptures in his towel .... and fell asleep. 

Sunday is almost always a circus at church. My favorite part of this week's circus was watching Mr. Graff try to tame Caleb's bed-head (which was spectacular) with water from his sippy cup. Joe had a faux hawk in the top middle of his head, which I tried to spit down to a look I call "civil dishevelment". I would have laughed, but Rae was trying to make my skirt into his own personal tent. 

Thankfully, this week ended on a nice walk, 

and almost everyone walked, almost the whole way. 

Barefoot Boys

Any chance that Rae gets, off go the shoes. And since, well, Hawaii, it's not a big deal, just sometimes kinda gross. We tried in vain to find his other shoe before a walk this afternoon, and finally settled on "Caleb doesn't wear shoes, so Rae can go without them, too. He's not going to wear them anyway." Off we went, shoeless. 

And then we found his missing shoe, on the sidewalk, a couple blocks from home. Apparently we dropped it on our walk last night.

Locals call flip-flops "slippers". I hear it everywhere, so it creeps into my vocabulary, too. Rae mashes them together and calls his shoes "flippers". 

I still haven't put Caleb in shoes, yet. We live in eternal sunshine... there are no seasons, just wet and not so wet. Warm and not quite so warm. The sun always goes up around 7 am and down around 7 pm; Hawaii doesn't do that Daylight Savings Time thing. We just don't need to. 

So, no shoes for Caleb. 

I love listening to Cal's "tap, tap, tap" as he zooms down the sidewalk. He's quick and waves his little arms to keep his balance as he goes.  He runs almost everywhere, and when he's excited, he kind of flutter-kicks his feet.  We call him "Stomp-Stomp".

Going barefoot does make it easier to climb. 

And do headstands.  

Rae does a lot of headstands, for some reason.

We go barefoot. A lot. 

One of our kiddos is rather attached to his shoes, our Little Middle. If it looks like we might be going anywhere, Joe will run and grab his shoes and demand to have them put on his feet. Where Rae and Caleb are completely content to go naked, Joe demands to have clothes, and he loves his white button up Sunday shirt best. 

Shoes means he's going places. We think Joe is going places. And we think Rae is going places, too, once he finds his shoes. Caleb can stay barefoot a little awhile longer.