Yes Virginia...

Last year Sarina asked Santa for a kitty.  Orchestrating a surprise kitty under the tree Christmas morning was well, challenging.  So instead, I enlisted the help of my Father Christmas.  "Santa" called her on the phone, & said that since she had been such a good girl, she could get her cat early.  A few hours later, kitty was on the doorstep.  That Christmas Eve at my parents house, we had another "Santa" encounter.  At about 11:00, we heard jingle bells paired with a deep & jolly "ho-ho-ho" out the back window.  The kids ran to the window saying: "I see him! It's him! It's Santa Claus!" 

Sometimes things can get a bit tricky.  When doing our letters to Santa this year, the kids kept asking for hard to find gifts.  When I expressed my concern for "Santa", Sarina replied: "that's o.k., I'm sure his elves can handle it!".  It is sooo adorable! 

But what do you say when your trusting children ask you if there is a Santa Claus?  If I had to do it over again, I may just take another stance.  Focusing on Christ first, then Santa as a fictional but symbolic side note... not the other way around.  The past couple years though we have been better at this.  Either way, I came across this wonderful letter written over 100 years ago to a young little Virginia, & it was too sweet to pass up the sharing! 

(From: www.newsuem.org/yesvirginia )

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.


"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'

"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?



"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.

"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."





VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.


Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.


No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Dear Sock Monster,

       Please return my sons socks. You may think it's funny, but when a 4 year old boy has to sport his sisters pink princess socks, it's just plain wrong.

Sincerely,

The Babbitt Family

Catch-up: Part 2

The Fall always comes so quickly!!!  Lil E started a Joy School, which he loves. He has the cutest little boy voice, and quite a funny kid accent.  For example, Christmas is 'chrischris', snake is 'nake' & licorice is 'wicorice'.  Now if we can only get him stop talking  about poop 24/7 & picking his nose- he'd get a cutest kid award!

Picking apples in Oak Glenn.  He was so exited about his "loot", he slept with a tiny apple for a week!

I told the kids to pretend like their driving. (of course the boys played bumper cars ;)

Sarina is more & more confident in her reading & other school work.  She still wants to draw & play all day, but thanks to a friend who suggested work boxes... Sarina's motivated to finish her work in a timely matter.  Her new favorite thing to do is playing Lego Rock Band on the drums, & scores better than us sometimes! 

Homeschool Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific.  The seal is playing 'chase the piece of paper'.

Actually, it's a family favorite now.  It is kinda fun to see the kids get exited about 'rocking out'.  We checked out the regular Rock Band version, but quickly realized they rate things 'T' for a reason.  The kids asked: "why are they (the game characters) in their underwear?"  Steve's answer: "oh, they're in swimsuits, playing at the beach".  Then Sarina proceeds to tell Ethan that they are really just wearing immodest clothes & it's a no-no.  So... Lego's it is!  (it's a little easier to deal with Lego people wearing bare mid-drift shirts ;)

Steve moved to the pharmacy in town. This one is crazy busy, but the time flies & he's close to home.  He can even make it home for lunch & dinner breaks.  Which, is cool, but I may have to start making real dinners when he works late now.  Stuff like campbell's soup, cereal, or PB&J's might not pass as dinner!

This past month or so wraps up 3 birthdays, 2 field trips, 1 vacation, & Halloween... packed with plenty of ups & downs.  The "downs" are nothing exiting- just a lot of tonsillitis, croup, a migraine or two, & the regular headaches that life dishes... blah, blah, blah.  But, when I release the rest of my pic's from camera prison, I'll be sure to post some more of our "ups"!

Playing Catch-Up

Even though these posts are really late, I can't help but fill in the blanks. It just seems weird to skip over the last 4 months, like those months were uneventful???

There were some cool things about this past summer.  For one, it was my first taste of freedom from home school responsibility.  I know it's customary for mom's of school kids to dread the summer time, kids home 24-7 & all.  But to a homeschooling mom, that's the norm.  So, summer for us is taking a well needed break.  It's being free from the stress of 'falling behind' academically, or if you'll ever catch up with house chores like, ever?  It is absolutely WoNdErFuL! 

I was actually able to sew again!  I made place mat purses, valances, & little Mermaid skirts for Sarina & her fav cousin (which they happily wore to the Little Mermaid Ballet :)  We painted dandelions & grass in the school/craft/mommy's happy room.  The kids spent many hours playing together quite well (which is music to my ears)  And of course, the other normal things you do in the summertime... like, oh yeah- go to Girls CAMP!  That, was totally AWEsome.  Physically & emotionally exhausting- of course.  But a very cool experience :o)





A well attended tea party!

City Slickers

Way back in june.. oh yes, jUnE.  Remember that month?  It was just 4 months ago, but as the year is winding down it feels like it's been 10!  (and yes, be in denial if you must.  But, we only have 68 more days until 2011;)  Anyways, back to my extremely late post...

Way back in JuNe, we visited Steve's Grandparents in southern Utah.  A visit we always wish we did more often.  They are so sweet, and the ranch is so beautiful, it's sometimes hard to leave!

Have you ever seen a horse charge? (I have ;)

Ethan's new best friend Moxie.

Itty Bitty snake.

Girls rule quad ride.

Yay!  Princess Sarina's playing barefoot in the mud!

Hang on guys!

Silly boys taking a string for a walk.

This horse was Sarina's & mine favorite.  She was so friendly, & had the prettiest blue eyes! 

Here, Kitty Kitty!

My baby girl performed in her first dance production/recital last month!  She and her classmates were kittens in Sleeping Beauty.  I know what your saying... there's no kittens in Sleeping Beauty!  But technically, the original ballet created over 100 year's ago, had a bunch of fairy tale characters attend the wedding at the end.  So in this ballet, Puss in Boots danced with a "Mama" cat, who later brings out her adorable little kittens for a dance. 

Who would of guessed my shy one was going to enjoy performing?  Then again it's hard to say no to glitter, tutus, make-up, pink ballet shoes, fancy costumes, and hearing an audience clap and cheer for you.  She absolutely loved it!

Anyways, the only pictures parents were allowed to take, were off-stage shots & the dress rehearsal. 

He wanted to go with sissy on stage at the dress rehearsal. Maybe he'll dance too someday?

(minus the tutu :)

Timing was off, but she was trying so hard to do a beautiful arabesque!

Proud parents :)

Guess what she's gonna be for Halloween this year?

Goofy Juice?

One day we were low on the juice we usually give my boy (V8 Fusion- somewhat "nutritional").  So to intice him to drink a much dilluted but equally tastey juice cup, my hubbie called it "Goofy Juice".  Ever since then my very "particular" (AKA "stubborn" :) son loves his Goofy Juice.  There is no substitution. Trust me, we've tried.  He has even gone nearly a whole day without drinking anything, refusing our futile attempts to make "Mickey" or "Pluto" juice sound & taste just as good. 

Giving in, we now make a little juice cocktail made of 3 parts:  1/2 V8 fusion, 1/4 orange sugar free Tropicana, & 1/4 water.  Yum!  And . . . I think the name fits the "goofy" little boy too!

(... he thinks he can eat with his toes like Curious George :)

Cool School Stuff

We love doing any kind of science activity, but these two are really cool... had to share:

#1:

A Live Butterfly Garden!  The beginning part is a lil gross, but totally do-able, & totally worth it.  Basically you recieve caterpillars in a small container with special food, & in a few weeks you'll have butterflies.  There's a website (livebutterflygarden.com) & I've also seen tadpoles & ladybug kits too. 

I feel sorry for our butterflies.  The cat has knocked down their 'house' a few times, & my girl simply refuses to let them free.  I gotta get creative on this one :)

 

#2:

We planted seeds with "Seed Thru", a clear liquid soil substitute.  Just sprinkled seeds on this goopey gel & whala!  Well, mostly.  Half of them didn't do much, but the sugar peas started to sprout in days!  They had the coolest looking roots. C&M School Supply sells it in Riverside or online.

 

Sarina the Ballerina

This girl just loves dancing!  Even her school projects like this one revolve around her two favorites talents. 

Being an artist & a ballerina!

We traced her body & she painted it.  Then she made a few body parts & labeled them. (notice the sandwhich in the stomach? :)

(...cute bow compliments of my friend Katie ;)

 So I know the picture quality stinks on these ones!  But in my defense, I have to take them from behind glass!

So Cal Beaches: Testing, Testing, 1,2,3...

This past month we've been getting out & enjoying the Spring weather!  A whole day or just the afternoon, lately this never seems like a bad idea.  So we've been testing out a few beaches, to see which one we like the most.

                                       We went to the beach...                                         

 (kids practiced casting at Newport Dunes)

not once...    (Corona Del Mar)

not twice...     (btw they're pretending to surf :)

not three times...    (Seal Beach)  

 but four.

Do you see that smile?  How can we say no?

(Balboa Beach)

 

Last year my boy hated the beach.  He literally screamed at the proscpect of getting his feet wet or sandy.  So sadly we never went.  This year is looking better.  The last 2 trips we got him to actually walk in the sand barefoot!   This little girl though, loves to do sand angels & slide down the sand bank.

A few bucks takes us on a tiny ferry ride to Balboa.  Kids get a kick out of riding a boat while we go through possible exit plans.  (The boats are old & the kids running them look like well, kids!) 

We are liking Balboa fore a few reasons: it's clean; there's shops & stuff to do w/in walking distance; there's a playground for the kids if you ever need to kill time; it's a straight shot off the toll roads/Jamboree; and we discovered a small but yummy pizza place at the Fun Zone.  But if you go, resist the urge to get ripped off at the rides.  We recently caved, but they did run for a good while.  And this probably goes without saying, but don't buy candy at the run-down place at th Fun Zone.  Walk past it & around the corner for a CLEAN & cute candy store. Sweet!  (as you can probably tell the "Fun Zone" isn't really all that "fun".  They are working on a nautical museum.  Maybe we'll check that out... possible field trip?)

The other one we want to go back to is Seal Beach.  It's the one that I would feel most comfortable with letting my kids play in the water, w/o getting thrown around by waves.

At Corona Del Mar we always seem to spot cool stuff.  Last time we saw some dolphins, a sea lion, & little crabs.  They also have tide pools but we never seem to be there at the right time.  

There just one thing we've been missing... Joe's Crab Shack!  Mmmm...I can taste it already...

A New Addition to the...

GaRaGe!  (hehe...made ya look! :o)

Sooo...we've been looking at classic & muscle cars for a while now, just for fun.  And even attended a cruise nigh or two, playing "name that car".  Dreaming of a day when we had a 3-car garage with our own project car in it. 

Then one day last fall, he found a "deal".  It was in L.A., & he made plans to go down & see it with Brian.  Mistake #1. Letting my man look at cars with another, car-crazed man.  Then he started mapquesting banks & DMV's.  Mistake #2: I should've cut the wires to the computer! 

Long story short, Steve came home in a 1969 Buick Skylark that day.  I complained at first, I think because it felt like that's what I was supposed to do! :P  But . . . it has grown on me.  Eventhough I lost my parking spot in the garage, it's turned out to be kind of a family thing.  We plan out what we're going to do next to the car.  What color we're going to paint it.  The kids like to "help" Daddy work in the garage, and love going for a spin around the block.  I'm not going to lie, it looks a bit creepy at the moment.  But if you squint your eyes & have a little imagination, maybe someday it'll look like this:

We haven't taken a picture of what it looks like now. . . just picture this one, but with a regular hood, "vato"-style tires & rims, faded purple window tinting, & primer.  (oh, & the inside needs to be finished too:)

On the bright side, it has a sweet roar & brings a smile to my hubby's face everytime he starts it up! 

Before Spring Comes...

. . . I think I should post some of this winter's snow adventures! The first snow day was celebrated at Gramma CiCi's house with the cousins. There was just the right size slope for the beginners. They must have played for an hour!

Then Gramma Mia had to get in on the snow play too. So a few days later, we headed up to Oak Glenn to build a snowman. Great-Gramma came too (stayed in the van with her hat & sun-glasses of course :) and even enjoyed the the scenic drive.

Hangin' on tight!

Gotta love the "Christmas Story"-type snowsuits.

A snow-Princess

Do you see that smile?!

Gramma's quite crafty snowman!

Sure hope this sled is sturdy!

Hand-Picked from Heaven

Today my girl  amazed me.  Knowing that today was going to be a busy one, I asked my kids at the start of the day to be patient & cooperative.  (OK, then I translated that into "be extra good helpers for mommy please").  So I tried to give lots of praise appropriately . . . & it worked!  The day was going smoothly. Got in a good language arts lesson, a few errands, even story time.

Then I made a stupid mistake.  I lost my patience.  My girl was moving like a snail & not paying attention during math.  All I could think was- I don't have time for this.  I could tell we weren't going to get any further, so I left the room rather ubruptly & kindly (but obviously a bit botherd) asked her to choose something else to do. Then I went about taking care of a few things, when she came to me in her cheerful way, with an idea.

"Mommy, I know.  I can help you write a to do list so you don't forget anything today!"

Enter my amazment:  My 5-y.o. just saw that I was a little frustrated, & knew what would help her mommy feel better.  A simple to do list.  So she wrote down a few reminders for me as I worked, (score... more writing & spelling practice) then was my little "helper".  Funny thing is she was actually the thing that put a smile on my face again.

Every so often my kids do the simplist thing to remind me that Heavenly Father hand-picked them just for me!  (Thank You!!!)

Random Pic's

A little birdie told me I should update my blog more often  (so I've been a little "blah" with the blogging lately!? :).  Then I thought how sad it was that my last posting had Halloween pic's!  That just won't do!  

Here's some random pic's I found that made me smile today: 

TIMBER!

Two litte mischevious indians, on the hunt!

Under the Sea carousel (hence the plugging of her nose :)

I spy with my little eye, something... furry? 

Jolly little Santa helpers. (thanks Aunt Mimi :)

Rain, rain, go away...

Goofy Brother.  I think he's trying to give McQueen a hug & a... lick?!?

Silly sister.

This zip-line was a REAL courageous attempt for my girl. She was all smiles until she reached the end & flew right off! :'( But she tried it & then handled it like a champ :)

 Brother & Sister. (or "JoJo", as E says :)