If you listen...

New fashion, a "tutu head"!


They say you should listen to your teens. How about listening to your toddlers, preschoolers, 1st graders, etc.? I mean really listen to what they are telling you, or most of the time trying to tell you. We are so busy with our everyday lives and countless chores that all that "chattering" so often goes unnoticed or not really paid attention to.

I admit, I am guilty of that myself. With so much already going on during my day, at times it feels I have reached my brain's capacity. I have given up on listening to music for relaxation purposes. Music (read here "noise") does not relax me anymore. Silence relaxes me. When all our kids are in bed, finally, I really appreciate piece and quiet, the rare opportunity to get my thought together, recharge my brain and reflect on the day.

So, when sometimes one of our girls comes to me while I am cooking dinner, or trying to quickly do some other things around the house while the baby is taking a nap and I really NEED certain things to be completed, and she tries to tell me something, my mind is somewhere else and I just say "OK", or "really?", or "that's great". But in reality I didn't give much thought to what my child was trying to tell me, or effort to try to understand and engage in continuous conversation to feed their fire of curiosity.

I do feel bad afterwards and do promise myself not to do it again, and do realize I am doing it again a few days later. That's just how it is. It is not how I want it to be and that is why I am writing this post. It bothers me and I am trying to work on myself to change that approach so it doesn't become a habit. And that's when the roles reverse and my children become my teachers again.

Since I do not each any of my girls' classes at the homeschooling co-op we are attending every Wednesday, it is hard for me to grasp the whole picture of their day at the co-op, when they happily chat away in the car on our way home. I know in general what they are saying, but I am missing a lot of the details. And details are important. We are homeschoolers, and I know exactly what our girls know, what they wouldn't know, how they'd react to different things and situations. I can predict certain patterns of their behavior in those situations and influence it if I need to. I know our girls well, and that gives me great comfort and confidence.

And that made me wonder about families that spend most of their time apart from each other and get to see the kids for a short time in a day during dinner (if that) and then over the weekend. How well do they know their kids and if it is an issue for them at all. Again, they say listen to your teens, they might have something important to share with you. My point here is that we have to listen to our children in general, regarding of their age.

Listen to the newborn's first "cooing" and "aaing", and enjoying every minute of it, paying close attention to a new tone, and higher pitch, a different squeak. I mean really listen!It is the baby talking to us, telling us very important things for him! Telling us those things in the very best way he can!

Listen to a toddler's constant blabbing, as she is trying to show us what a big girl she has become. Listen to that subtle curiosity in her voice and provide that positive encouragement by trying to understand her and repeat her words.
Listen to a 4 year old, while she is jumping on the sofa, making millions moves with all the movable body parts and chatting away meanwhile. And if you really listen, you'll hear amazing things to your own astonishment.
Listen to a 7 year old when she talks about feeling happy while playing her violin and that some notes remind her of Mom, and some remind her of Tata, and there are notes that remind her of her sisters and a baby brother.

Listening is good. It gives you prospective, teaches you to see things, enjoy life and cherish every day with your kids!

Healing energy of love!

Grandpa (Dedecek, in Czech) left a couple of weeks ago, going back to Europe, after spending fabulous 10 days with us. I meant to write about it and simply boast what a great Dedecek our girls (and now a boy, too) have! The time and energy he devoted to all of us one would say could only come from a person who truly loves us! We so much appreciated having him over and can't wait to see him again!
As we learned today he is down with a flue back home and feels kind of crabby. Too bad we can't cook a fresh chicken broth for him for speedy recovery (you know how they say that chicken soup does healing magic when you are sick and it is a must to have, even if you are a vegetarian!). But I strongly believe that when you are sick what you need the most is the avalanche of positive energy and kind thoughts, so that it sweeps you off your feet, covers you up from head to toe, keeps you snuggled and warm, puts you to sleep and makes you wake up completely healed!
And that is the purpose of this post!

We miss you, Dedecek! Feel better soon! We are thinking about you every day and hoping to see you soon again! We are so blessed to have you! And, yes, the award for "The best Dedecek of the year" goes again to you, for the seventh consecutive year! Congratulations! Your "trophies" keep on growing!

Our young artist.

Milana has been working with various media lately and she has discovered the joy of creating! You could hardly recognize the true colors in that set of water colors she is using. We have to change her clothes a few times a day if she is painting and the stains stay after the washing. A few times the snack she was holding in her hands (like a peeled apple slice or a banana) turned a weird color since the "master artist" did not wash her hands and I had simply overlooked this minor detail. I am absolutely terrified to walk into that room one day and see a huge stain on the rug and that is when we are about to put the house for sale. But it is not important here!
What is important is that she is well occupied when I need some quiet time to explain something to Ivana if we are "doing school", or reading with Leona, or nursing the baby, or making lunch or cooking dinner, or talking on the phone, and the list goes on.

And she has so much fun arranging over and over again the pencils and markers from the set. Half of the markers don't have the caps anymore and she has moved on to mastering her skill of sharpening the pencils. Boy, this child can concentrate!

Art lessons.

When last summer I read a book by Mona Brooks, "Drawing with children", I got so excited and inspired and did a few "drawing lessons" with our girls, 5 and 3 at that time. They did so well and we had such a good time together, that they have been asking for more drawing lessons (like they don't draw enough on their own and need my guidance!).

Also, they have been saying that "Mama is no fun, but Daddy is", I got a bit worried and decided to incorporate some "fun" into our already very busy homeschool day.
So, I have decided to do some more art lessons again. We are not just drawing together, we are learning about an artist and then doing a project in his/her style. We started with Claude Monet and did the water lilies using the strips of the tissue paper.

And today we learned about Georgia O'Keefe and her paintings of flowers. The girls also tried to work with new media as they followed my instructions and did the Jimson Weed flower using oil pastels. The smudging part was a bit too hard for their weak little fingers, so I had to help both of them a lot in this area, and MY fingers were hurting after a while! But with Ivana and Leona doing the drawing part and me the smudging part, I think the final product came out great!

I think we are ready to take down the art display from last year (the one that is hanging on the walls by their beds), and slowly replace it with the new one. Both of the girls definitely want to keep their old art work and we decided to create an art portfolio for each of them.

Happy New Year 2009!

Just wanted to drop by and wish a Happy and Healthy New Year 2009 from our growing family! Better late than never!
A little something I've overlooked as a family photographer. Do you see my foot on the photo above? Oops...
I don't make any resolutions for the new year. As I am trying to enjoy every day with my family I want to live this year to the fullest. I want to make more arts and craft with my girls, I want to bake more cookies with them and go for more walks, I want to hold the baby as much as possible and see his every smile, I want to read new books to them and play more games.
And since we are contemplating to move, I want it to be quick and painless. I want us to find a nice house and settle in the area that suits us better. I want to spend more time with my DH, I want to read more books, and I want to succeed in my idea of opening a Russian School/Club in the area. Wish me good luck!
Happy New Year 2009!

Frozen beauty.

I've been getting a question like, "How do you do it, taking care of 4 all by yourself?", pretty often lately. And I have neither a straight forward nor a magical answer for this question. Having a family and raising even one child requires constant work, and all I have to say is that having four to look after just needs a bit more work :0) The secret is in the attitude.

And it is a job I don't ask myself about how to do it, I simply do it. It is a job that I don't get paid for with money, but it is a job that I get paid for with smiles, hugs, being able to watch our kids learn and grow day after day, being able to teach them what I know and learn more with them. It is a job that I know will pay me back in the future.

And for me to be able to carry on, moments like I have experienced today are absolutely crucial.

I went for a half an hour walk taking along my best friend, my camera. After the ice storm the nature around me was just breathtaking! The sharp breeze on my cheeks sharpened the sensation of being alive and made me realize once again how blessed I am. I am blessed with the ability to see this frozen beauty around me, hear the cracking of the branches and falling of pieces of ice, feel the cold on my face and the warmth of my body under the jacket. I am blessed to be able to enjoy a few moments of solitude and put my thoughts together, but to know on the other hand that I have a bunch of people waiting for me at home who love me. I am blessed with the ability to appreciate the moment and feel really happy. And who cares there is a pile of dishes (and who knows what else) waiting for me at home. I'll be doing my chores smiling today!..

Ice storm.

We have started something new in our family. I now let the kids go outside to play in front of the house all by themselves. As I can see and hear them from the front windows and Ivana is in charge of her littlest sister Milana I feel that it is a big step forward! I know they will not run anywhere and since we live on a very short cul-de-sac street, the chances of cars passing by are slim to none. So, we are good, with kids getting some fresh air and playing with the snow and me staying warm in the house with the baby.

We did take the baby for a walk in the stroller over a weekend, but when I am alone with the kids it is a bit too much for me to handle by myself, so, I am cutting some corners here.
Yesterday, the girls made a snowman, actually it is a snowwoman, and her name is Melanie. The snow was just perfect, heavy, wet and sticky. Ivana and Leona wanted to make a friend for Melanie the next day, but... we woke up to a surprise!...
As I stayed up very late waiting for Mirek to come home from work, the rain had been falling steadily and freezing almost instantly on the road, driveway, trees and bushes. They were talking about the ice storm, and there it was!

In the morning everything was under a pretty thick layer of ice! Melanie's organic nose ( a carrot!) had been eaten off, and the suspect is a deer. And the rest of her body was all in ice, she seemed to be cold! Sorry, Melanie, no friend for you!

Another highlight of the day was the power black out in the afternoon. I knew it was coming, but was hoping it wouldn't happen. It was not so bad after all. I managed to get the fire going in the fireplace to keep us warm, got the candles, made cheese sandwiches with green salad for dinner, we read "Ann from Green Gables" by the fireplace and told each other stories. Leona was so cute asking me if I had watched Tata make the fire before and if I knew what I was doing.

Ivana is a great storyteller! She had just read a book and was able to retell it to us with amazing accuracy and fine details! And when it was my turn to tell, they asked me about my childhood. It simply fascinates them when I tell how it was when I was growing up, and sometimes it is really hard for me to explain, since they have no clue and only with using the smallest details in describing things seem to help the girls understand and visualize what I am talking about. I am glad they like to hear those stories and it helps me to remember better, and brings me closer to my idea of writing a book (or series of books) for them about my girlhood.

It was fun to be without electricity for a while, and we had a nice time together. And it was good I didn't have to put the girls all into our bed and then move them to their beds later at night as I was planning to in case there were no lights by 9 pm. But a really good thing about having the electricity back is the fact that Mirek won't have to go to bed without being able to take a shower after working the whole day with fiberglass! It's almost midnight... he is not home yet.

Hand made gifts.

Even though Christmas is over, I wanted to write a bit about our hand made gifts this year. We've been teaching our girls about the importance of hand made gifts and how much more special a hand made card could be for someone they love. It has finally started to pay off.

For years now since Ivana has learned to write (and Leona is quickly catching up) they've made tons of "thank you" , "happy B-Day", "missing you", etc. cards and sent them to friends and relatives. And this Christmas our seven year old really surprised us with her special gifts she thought up all by herself. She wrapped a ball for Milana, not a new one, but the one she thought her little sister might enjoy playing with. She thought up a game for Leona. And since she didn't want to ask for help to wrap it, she was creative enough to wrap it into a burping cloth, which Leona didn't really appreciate (I don't think I would've either!). For Mirek she made a paper sleigh with Santa and his deer. And I think I got the most precious of all the gifts from both of my beautiful daughters... With Mirek's help I got a rose from Leonka. They dipped the dry rose into white paint and let it dry in the basement. I thought it was such a great idea, and I am planning on taking a step further by spray painting it.

And Ivana made a "My Prayer Book" for me. There are only a few pages, but the words in them are priceless. Those words she wrote for me at the age 7 I want to remember and keep in my heart forever!
Page 1: "Morning Prayer". Thank you Jesus for the good morning sun, for the singing birds and for the yummy breakfast that Mom makes! Amen.
Page 2: "Lunch Prayer". Thank you Jesus for the good lunch that Mom makes and how good it is! Amen.
Page 3: "Dinner Prayer". Thank you Jesus for dinner, and that it is good and that Mom made it. Amen.

And in addition to all that tear jerking first gift I got something else. It is a box from cream cheese with dried flowers in it mixed with some herbal teas that she had torn from the tea bag (I was wondering what she was going to do with it when she had asked for the tea bags earlier, but I promised not to ask too soon). When I was presented with this gift, she told me that whenever I feel down or sad I should smell the inside of the box and it would lift my mood and spirits up almost instantly! Honestly, I was ready to cry... it was so special to hear those words and get those gifts!

And from us , finally, the girls received Noar's Ark that took us a few years to complete! When Ivana saw the ark she said, "Wow, you finally finished it, Tata!Thank you!"

Better late than never... Plus it taught Ivana that sometimes it takes a very long time to make something, but if you really want to make something special for someone you love, it is all worth the effort. I hope our grandchildren will be playing with the Ark one day!