Rain, rain go away, my children want to play!

It was pouring on Saturday, so I did what makes the most sense on a rainy day--I went shopping. This time, though, I took all of my children with me since the shopping was for them. My older ones are growing like weeds, and they need new clothes every four months. We stopped at the mall, Target, and as an award for being the best behaved kids, I took them to Barnes and Noble, my children's favorite indoor stop. We were gone for almost seven hours, and Charlton didn't mind it a bit!

I didn't expect to be gone for so long thinking my kids would want to be out of the stores fast. I was right to some extent. Gillian told me to go ahead and choose whatever I wanted; she trusted my taste and judgement, and then she went back to playing with Charlton. However, my boys were another matter. They had opinions about what color, style or fabric they wanted their clothes. They also expressed a desire to try all of their clothes on, so they could determine if they fit or looked good on them. What made matters hilarious and frustrating at the same time was the fact that, although I would guide the boys toward the clothes within my price range, James would always steer away toward more expensive ones telling me that they looked better on him. Let me just say that I didn't expect this hands-on participation from my boys, but I was glad that they took care on how they looked. Now, if I could make Gillian care a bit more and develop her sense of style, it would make me a very happy mom, even if that meant longer hours at the mall.

On Saturday night I was looking forward to watching the BBC adaptation of Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I grew up reading Dickens. Oliver Twist made me cry when I was very young. David Copperfield introduced all sorts of characters into my inexperienced life. A tale of two cities made me want to be a romantic writer or history teacher. However, for some reason I had never encountered Bleak House. Elijah had put the title in our Netflix queue and on Saturday night I nestled on my couch and watched it. The problem was I had only one disc with three episodes. The next disc would probably come on Monday. I couldn't wait till then. The fact that I hadn't read the book beforehand added to my impatience. Elijah had already gone to bed. Determined as I was, I checked the instant play on Netflix, and to my joy my Bleak House with all of its episodes was available. I didn't let myself calculate how long it would take me to watch all of them (and watching them all was my goal!), so I made myself comfortable with some blanket and snacks and stayed up till I had finished it all up. I'm not telling you how long I stayed up, but it's sufficient to say that when I went to church and taught my class, my little friends thought their teacher to be a bit more hyper than usual, which fact they absolutely enjoyed. Needless to say, I really loved this production of Bleak House.

On Tuesday, my children had a glorious time playing with their friends, the Wiederhold kids. They played inside, they played outside, they had dinner together, they watched "How to train a dragon" movie, and they ate brownies and ice cream. Amy and I had a good time talking to each other and exchanging notes on our summer school plans. This is our children's last week of school, and we are very excited to have them home with us, as well as taking them on field trips everywhere. When their friends left, Gillian asked me if we could invite them every Tuesday; she loves Mary and gets along great with her. I responded that they will see each other mostly everyday this summer, so there is no reason to get anxious. Amy is organizing her annual Running Club for the kids, which will take place every Monday with all of the kids running laps in a field nearby a park. Last year, my kids had a blast and all of them would run miles and miles at a time. On Wednesdays, the Park Group moms are organizing Field Trip day, and we will of course participate in each of them. On Fridays, we are going to have Park Day, with an emphasis on parks with lots of water sources. So, you see, they will see their friends more than they will see their dad. Between school with mom, fun with friends, and time with family, this summer promises to be a fabulous one.

Speaking of summer, today the rain stopped and the sunshine came out. After school, we all went outside and sat on the grass in our backyard. We had a picnic, we read books, we devoured a giant bowl of strawberries, we played baseball, and we just relaxed enjoying the warmth of the sun.
While we were reading, Jefferson kept trying to climb the rope in our tree all the way to the top. Last year when Abel tied that up in one of the branches of the tree, he promised them he would give the person who climbs to the top a bag of candy. Elijah made it more exciting by promising the winner a $25 prize. Yesterday, when Caleb was playing with Jefferson, he showed him a different way to climb the rope. Today, Jefferson was determined to climb that rope, and boy, he did in just after two tries.
Gillian got so angry and I could tell she was jealous, so I did what every good mother would do in a similar situation, I turned it into a competition, a healthy one of course. I told Gillian that if Jefferson could do it, she would have no problem to get to the top, being tall and all. She didn't feel quiet comfortable about it yet, so I told her (in confidence) how anything that men do, women can do it way better, we just need to try. She liked that idea and climbed that rope in no time. Wow, was she excited! I was taking care of Charlton as she climbed the tree, so I didn't take a picture of her at that time, but here is one as she was showing it to her father.

And then, James approached me with tears in his eyes saying that he never gets to do anything that his brother and sister are capable of doing. He said that he didn't like being smaller and younger than his brother and sister. My mind is working fast here as he is talking. I grabbed him in my arms, and whispered in his ear: "I've always been the smallest, but also the best. You can do great things. Besides you are so agile, I'm sure you can climb that rope in no time. Go get them, honey badger! (the honey badger being his favorite animal because it's the most ferocious, and not that big) " I could still see fear and doubt in James' eyes, but he tried it nonetheless, and by George, he climbed it all the way to the top. I couldn't believe my eyes.
The rope is a bit more than 12 feet high, and my children had never tried something like that before. I was amazed at how much effect confidence and competition had on my children. And of course let's not forget the power that monetary awards have on children, on all of us for that matter. Their father just took them to the bank to give them each their well earned prize of $25.

I can't wait till Charlton grows up and shows them what he is capable of. Although truth be told, he already shows them who the boss is even now. Just a smile, that's all it takes...