Tales of a Fulltime Mom: Fasting

Last weekend (not the one that just passed), we celebrated Yom Kippur which entailed Duncan and I fasting from sunset Saturday to sunset Sunday. As I had mentioned in my last post, this is the first time I had purposely fasted for a whole day and I was curious to see how well I would fare. It turned out that I didn't have a problem at all although the reason for it wasn't a great one. I woke up Sunday morning with a blazing headache. I knew it wasn't from fasting because I had eaten supper on Saturday night (before sunset) as usual so I hadn't yet skipped a meal. I still managed to make it to a consignment sale though while Duncan took the kids to soccer. Priorities!

Playing football with some friends

Aubree in the green shorts.

Playing football with Dad.

Later in the day, Calleigh had Marley's birthday party to attend and on the way there I finally gave in and took some Excedrin Migraine which I was afraid to do on an empty stomach. But I was desperate. It helped a little but I told Calleigh I couldn't sit and chit chat for two hours and look at people eating food (not that I was really hungry because of the headache but still...) so she was on her own for the party. After we got home, I had all the kids give me a neck and back rub and the boys even massaged my feet. Ahhhh! A reason in and of itself to have children!! Meanwhile, I was starting to feel a little bit hungry and I thought maybe eating food would help the headache in this case. Time to check the phone and see EXACTLY what time sunset was...7:18. I started making food at about 6:50 and we started eating at 7:19. Duncan had a massive headache too so both of us were anxious by then to eat and see if it would help (it didn't much so I ended up going to bed early). All in all, I found it pretty easy to go the day without food because of my condition but I do feel bad because I think part of the reason to fast is to have a clear mind and spend some time communicating with God but it was really tough to do that with the way I felt. I look forward to trying it again sometime.

Calleigh with Marley the birthday girl (turning 9)

Meanwhile, these three were home with Dad.

This past week we were still working on our Ancient Egypt unit and I brought out an Egyptian Mummy Kit I had gotten at the Skeleton Museum a few weeks ago. It's available on Amazon too but I got it half off at the museum. The kids had SO much fun digging/scraping the mummy out and both girls declared again their desire to be archeologists when they grow up. I highly recommend this kit for your kids or it makes a great gift for someone and it's not that expensive (like $11 I think). It is a little messy though but totally worth it! Incidentally, I didn't tell them what they were digging out so it added to the mystery of it.

We learned about how they built pyramids using friction.

It's easier to move a big load if you reduce the friction by using an object (like the markers) to cover the smooth surface.

Last week we had buried a tray with apples, carrots, wood, and a rock to see which things decay. We checked it almost every day to see if it was still buried and on the very last day we discovered it had been dug up by some animal. We found only one of the apples over near a tree, half eaten. We dug around and at least found the one carrot and it was clear that it was definitely decayed.

We finished learning the books of the Old Testament so the girls had to put all of them in order using the cards they wrote them on as we learned them each day. They both got them all correct.

This past Sabbath we had Adventurers which was a trip to Lake Lotus Park and a picnic supper. To get to this park on the weekends, you have to park offsite and take a "tram" ride to get into the park. The activity, an A to Z scavenger hunt as you walk along the boardwalk trail, was lots of fun but many of us parents were wondering why this activity wasn't planned for cooler weather. It is still so hot here now with the temps almost reaching 90. We sucked it up though! The best part was food being provided so that I didn't have to cook (although I did bring my own can of Vega-Links since it's the only hot dogs I eat. Sad, I know.) Before we ate, Pastor Barb made the announcement that the last ride back to the parking lot was at 7:00 so FYI. At about 6:25, the family had finished eating (which may or may not have had something to do with us being first in line to eat!). We took a look at the sky and the 100+ people all there and figured we better get going before there was a mass rush. So we quickly headed for the "tram" along with the Bergherms. Sure enough, on our way home it started raining with thunder and lightening so we felt fortunate to leave when we did. As I was getting the kids ready for bed, the warning buzz on my phone went off. Unfortunately, Aubree heard it and asked what was going on. The warning was for flooding for our county but I assured her that it wasn't even raining that hard and that we were going to be perfectly fine where we were. But you know how she is...she started getting a little worked up even as I was trying to assure her. Then Brady pipes up, "Aubree, she's the mom. She knows everything." So there you go. And did we drown? No, we didn't so I rest my case. Thank you Brady!

Riding the "tram."

This wasn't all of them but the club has 104 kids this year...the most ever.

Calleigh pointing out a baby alligator to Amy.

Right after this picture he realized his fingers were stuck in there.

Aubree with her best friend Eva.

Yesterday after we got over the shock of the Patriots losing 16-0 (which really means little to me since we were playing our third string QB), we decided to finally take advantage of the free public skating opportunity the kids get with their lessons. They have public skating every day at RDV and the kids can go once a week for free to practice. It just never seems to work out but we finally made it happen. This means that I was lacing up for the first time in probably 15 years. Aubree was so worried, "Mom, I don't want you to skate because I'm afraid you're going to fall down and get hurt." I was touched by her concern but a little perturbed she didn't have more trust in my abilities! We got to the rink around 6:00 pm and after paying for myself (a whopping $11.25. Holy cow!) Duncan and I got the kids laced up and then it was time for the moment of truth. I'm pretty sure they didn't think I was going to be able to skate. But I showed them! It really is like riding a bicycle and I had no problems and didn't fall once. Now, I'm not my dad or brothers on skates but I can hold my own pretty well. I raced around for a few minutes by myself and then skated around with the kids for most of the rest of the time including holding Brady's hand for a few laps. The funniest thing is when we ran into our soccer coach, Pastor Moreno, who we had, of course, just seen that morning at soccer. It was his daughter's birthday and she wanted a skating party. Her older brother, Josiah, who I think is seven, is the best soccer player for his age group and is a little phenom on the field. As we passed the bench, we could see him sitting there with his skates on but he was crying. I couldn't help but think to myself, "Well, we all have our strengths and weaknesses!" Interestingly, that morning at soccer, Aubree had put it through Josiah's legs in this awesome move that we will probably never see again but I was pretty excited. Anyway, we had a great time on the ice although my feet were killing me at the end. Those rentals are for the birds. As we were coming off the ice, Aubree says to me "Wow, Mom. You are a good skater. You're almost as good as me." She thought a minute and then says "Actually, I think you may be better than me." She definitely HAS gotten better but not quite that much! She did tell me that ice skating is her very favorite thing even ahead of art class and definitely ahead of soccer and gymnastics. It must be the Canadian blood in her. **I do realize that proper English would have been "You're almost as good as I" but I'm pretty sure Aubree said "me" so I wanted to write it down as is. Just in case you were questioning my grammar...

Come on! Look at that form!

This picture makes me look all hunched over though.

Halfway through they brought out the zamboni which I thought was totally unnecessary. The ice was still in great condition. Maybe they just wanted us to go buy some concessions.

This morning we went to the play Llama Llama at the Repertory Theater next to the Science Center. I love going to these kinds of things but it does throw your school day into chaos because you don't get home until like noon. As we were driving, I made the executive decision that we were just going to go to the Science Center afterwards and call it our school day. A few minutes later, one of the kids sees us passing the Science Center and says "When can we go to the Science Center again?" And I say "How about TODAY?" They all start whooping and hollering and it makes you feel good. The play was great especially since we got seated on the front row. It kept all the kids completely entertained and it wasn't too long - - only about 45 minutes - - for us antsy adults. A good time was had afterwards at the Science Center as I, especially, enjoyed the new Toytopia exhibit which showcased popular toys from the last 100 years. A trip down memory lane...

Front row, baby!!

Okay, who remembers that orange thing in the top right corner? A Speak and Spell! I specifically remember using one of those when we lived in Sterling, MA. We moved from there when I was seven. I loved that thing and I have thought about it from time to time even before I saw it today.

You had to build your own car and then race it along this track.

Colby loved working on this train track so much. It's going on his Christmas list!

Some other pictures...

The kids were so excited because I said they could do a sleepover in the boys' room and Colby could stay OUT of his crib. This was a first! I was a little apprehensive but this is eventually what happened...

....all asleep on the floor albeit in a slightly different order. However, we did end up moving Colby to his crib because I worried he'd wake up in the night.