September 27: Pumpkin Muffins (again)

These boys LOVE their pumpkin muffins!!!  When I asked Ty what he wanted to make today, this was his choice!  Interestingly, both boys choose the pumpkin/spice cake over the chocolate.  Whose kids are these anyway? ;)  I guess it is a good choice for the autumn season.

(Side note:  A few days after this I saw pumpkin in our stores in the US again!!!  It's been off the shelves for MONTHS due to last year's freeze.  And while were EXTREMELY grateful to Grandpa and Grandma Davies for being our pumpkin suppliers, we should be OK again.)

I know I've posted the recipe previously, but for the record...

Yummy Muffins

• 1 large can of pumpkin
• 2 boxes of spice, chocolate, or carrot cake mix
• 1/2 cup water

(If you use the smaller can of pumpkin, just halve the recipe)

Mix all ingredients.  Mixture will be lumpy.  Divide into 18 muffin tins/paper liners.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.  Enjoy!

September 25: Time Line

Koen's homework assignment was to create a timeline of his life.  Even though it's not one of our planned days, I decided to write about this experience.  As Koen and I sat down to work on his timeline, it quickly became apparent that his idea of what his timeline should look like and my idea of what his timeline should look like were very, very different.  There were 10 spots to fill in with boxes for a picture to accompany the event.

The first thing we needed to figure out is what goes on a timeline.  At first, Koen couldn't remember what Mrs. VanSledright had said about it and I didn't find any written instructions, so we just went with what we thought was right. 

When I asked Koen what he thought should go on his timeline he came up with playing with Isaac, playing with Tysen, and playing with Evan.  I stopped him at this point and said that it was great that he enjoyed playing with his brother and cousins, but a timeline usually focuses on specific events.  After defining events as special things that happen at special times, he revised his suggestion to when he got Thomas and some his other trains.  I realized that to a five-year-old like Koen, getting a Thomas train IS a major event!  At this point, Koen remembered that Mrs. VanSledright said things on their time line should be super-duper important!  So I tried to redirect him again and suggest we start with the day he was born which was a super-duper important day, but I got, "Mom, that's BORING!" (emphasis his).  I suggested we look through some pictures to come up with good ideas for his timeline. 

So in the end, we compromised.  We did start his timeline with the day he was born, and also included the days he became a big brother to Ty and then to Brielle.  We added the Christmas he got his train table and the Christmas he received Thomas the Tank Engine...his first of his now extensive collection.  My suggestions of including the start of Kindergarten and losing his first tooth, major events in my mind, were met with his, "That's BORING!" response.  We went with the following:

1. May 15, 2005: The day Koen William Davies was born (6 weeks early!)
2. Christmas 2005:  Flying on an airplane to visit Aunt Jane and Uncle Mark in Arizona.
3. Christmas 2006:  Getting a train table.
4. October 18, 2007:  Becoming a big brother to Tysen
5. Christmas 2008:  Getting Thomas the Tank Engine for Christmas.
6. August 2009:   Going to a hotel with Grandpa and Grandma Davies and the rest of the Davies family (repeated in July 2010)
7. September 2009:  Starting preschool at St. Mark's Lutheran School
8. February 21, 2010:  Becoming a big brother to Brielle.
9. July 2010:  Spending time with Grandpa and Grandma Smits and cousins/family from Chicago and Arizona

(Isn't it sad that I can only remember nine of them???  I guess I need to start some memory exercises.)

So in addition to the Thomas highlights, he was able to include his initial ideas of spending time with his cousins and family which made him happy and he included a few major events like being born and becoming a big brother.

The other thing I wasn't clear on is whether we were supposed to find photos of these events or if he was supposed to draw them in the space provided.  He was so excited about the assignment, he drew all 10 pictures by himself, and he did a great job!  Apparently, everyone else used real photos on their time lines (not sure if that's true or an exaggeration) but I told him it was great he did all the pictures himself and that I was really proud of him.  And that's the truth!

I can see it's going to be tricky to let Koen, and eventually the other kids, go with their own ideas for assignments for school when I think I know more of what the teacher wants.  I definitely don't want to squelch their creative ideas, but learning how to guide them is going to be my homework for the year...and probably continuing on through many more years.

September 24: Binoculars and Trumpets

For the past few months I've been saving empty toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls knowing they are great for projects.  I decided it was time to use some of the ones cluttering up the floor in the front closet.

Ty and I started with a pair of toilet paper rolls.  I helped him staple the two together side-by-side so he would have binoculars.  He then colored them and decorated them with stickers.  I punched holes on each side for us to place a string through so he could wear them around his neck, but he had no interest in that.  He knew just what to do with them and began looking around the house with his new set of eyes.

I asked if he wanted to make another project or if he just wanted to play with his binoculars, and he was ready for more project action.  

The kids will sometimes grab an empty toilet paper roll and begin using it as a trumpet, but in looking for project ideas I found/rediscovered a slightly different, more sophisticated way of trumpeting using the card board tubes.  I first cut a square of wax paper...maybe 3x3.  I then helped Tysen secure the wax paper to one end of the empty paper towel roll with a rubber band.  When I "trumpeted" with the new trumpet for Ty, he was thrilled with the new buzzing noise that came from it.  It took him a few tries to emulate the sound, but he figured it out and there was no stopping him after that. 

I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not the most science-minded person, but I wondered if using a shorter cardboard tube would change the sound of the trumpet.  So, just to experiment, I cut another 3x3 square of wax paper and Tysen and I made a short trumpet.  Just an FYI, the difference in the size didn't make a difference in the way the instrument sounded...I suppose because the real instrument being used is the voice!?!  Like I said, I'm not the best at understanding the science of things.  

When Koen got home from school, he wanted to make a set of trumpets as well (not just one -- he needed both sizes...just like Ty).  He'd made binoculars like these in preschool, so he wasn't interested in those, but he was all about the noise-makers!       

September 23: Holland Aquatic Center

I grew up in Holland and took swimming lessons at the Holland Community Pool twice a year from a young age through middle school.  The pools and pool deck were basic and served the needs for swimming lessons and competitions.  Since then, I'd heard the pool had been redone and made into an aquatic center, but I hadn't been there.  I discovered through grkids.com that the Holland Aquatic Center had a Tot Time Monday through Friday from 10am - 12pm and decided to visit my mom who has Thursdays free and check out the "new" place.

The new center is AMAZING!  There's a weight room, therapy pool, lap pools, and this fabulous Splash Zone.  The Tot Time is when kids six-years-old and younger can play in the Splash Zone (an adult must accompany them).  I LOVE that the kids can play without worrying about bigger kids coming to take over the play area, etc. 



Cute in her suit!



My mom met us there, and thanks to her coupon book (and Ty and Brielle being 2 and under), we only paid $8 for 5 of us to swim!  Gotta love buy one, get one free coupons!   The boys were excited about spending time there after seeing the splash zone from the windows in the entry way.  After a quick change in the locker room, we headed out to the splash zone.  Koen dove in immediately, loving all the activities and water wheels (kids can control some of the water sprayers).  Tysen wasn't so sure at first, but after a while he was in the pool splashing and playing, too.  Brielle just took it all in...we never saw a real smile, but she did well.  The water was so warm that once I got wet it was hard to be out of the water...maybe Brielle felt the same way. 


We spent about an hour playing in the Splash Zone and then dried off so we could go visit Grandpa during his lunch break.  This is something that would be great to do again, especially mid-winter when we need to do something fun and active in a non-freezing environment.  There were only five other families/groups there so it was easy to share the space. 



Ty and Grandma Smits



Driving home again, I realized that our times of doing things like this with all three kids are becoming limited.  Next year, Koen will be in school all day, every day, so we won't be able to take off for Holland for the day in the middle of the week and include all the kids.  That's a little sad for me, but I know that's all part of growing up.   



Koen on the tire swing.

















September 22: Thomas games

When I suggested to Ty that we play a game, he immediately ran for Thomas Tic-Tac-Toe.  It's a little advanced for him, but he loves it!  We just keep placing the cards in the slots, popping them out and then doing it again.  I try to teach him about getting three in a row, but he doesn't really care.  Every time he puts a card in place he yells, "I block you!"  So he's got half of the game down.  We'll keep working on strategy! :)

After tic-tac-toe, we did take the cards and try to play a memory/matching game with the five different engine cards, but that didn't last long.  We also pulled out a few puzzles...it'd been a while since we'd done those, too, so that was enjoyable for a few moments before he ran off to play something else.

September 20: Applesauce!

Last week's plan was to make some applesauce, but it didn't happen until this week.  I pulled out our apple corer/peeler and a bunch of apples and the adventure began.  Tysen helped me peel/core about five apples and then he was done.  He was fascinated by the machine, but it was a little to difficult for him to operate it on his own. 

We ended up with 24 cups of apples to heat and mash.  Adding the sugar and cinnamon was a learning experience for me since I was winging it.  I think it ended up with too much cinnamon and not enough sugar, but it still tastes fine.  Ironically, Tysen was so excited about making the applesauce, but he wouldn't taste it after I'd finished it.  Oh well...more for me! :)