Ruby's exciting news....

"I can do anything!" -Ruby Sophia Arnold
That's right, girl! Today, Ruby asked me to share with those of us who know and love her, that she has added another skill to her repertoire...
so, now, she's a reader, writer, kung-fu master (according to her, not her teacher yet), artist, scientist, treasure hunter, interpretive dancer, budding storyteller, almost doctor (she'll be one when she is 6),etc....and NOW (drum roll please): Shoelace tie-er!!!!!
Congrats Ruby!
P.S. Note to self and others-BEWARE! Try not to take a phone call when one of your children has found a vial of glitter. Bad idea. Glitter does not clean up easily, especially when your children (yes both got into it) use it on paper (without glue) and run laps around the living room holding the open vial- My guess, if unicorns threw up, it would like a spew of glitter-that's what my house looks like-unicorn vomit everywhere!

Clean those sickies away.....

I don't want to go too long...so I'm back too...

I have been held up in a den of sickness for the past 12 days and I am close to insane.....(wasn't far away prior to the "worst summer cold" I have ever witnessed. Ruby has been dog-sick for going on two weeks. Her cough is atrocious and just when you think she might be kickin' it, she gets hit with a eye infection yesterday and an ear infection today. Poor girl....that's the hard part, watching her feel like crud....and not to mention of course I caught the sickness as well-so double crud. She is such a trooper though and although I sound like a broken record about blowing her nose, she only snaps back every once in awhile-poor girl. Other than watching brain-breaking amounts of movies and reading and working on prizes for auntie Amy, we have been trying to rest.
Miles got the sickness for a "normal" period of cold time. Now he just attacks Ruby (and attacks and attacks), making her cry and the snot flow.....What's with the aggression Miles? YOU are a LOVER not a FIGHTER, please remember that....
I'm going to attempt to put a picture on this thing, to beautify my words....here goes.

Almost Summer 2009

June 3, 2009
I can choose to try to recap the last 8 months, but I don't think I could do it justice..so I instead will choose to release the guilty bad feeling and move forward-start in the NOW!
Miles is now almost 20 months old. He is a bright, energetic light....so funny, so expressive...so much fun. He is incredibly interested in basketball (has been for months; anything basketball related-he points, grunts, and excitedly yells, "Woah!, Wow!") He loves clouds, trees, and things that roll. He loves Ruby, so much it sometimes hurt (or looks as though it must since he chooses to wail on her...) He is also quite musical. He loves to dance, (hippy style if you ask me) and sing. He can always find a beat, whether it's in some middle eastern music playing softly in the background of an Indian restaurant or muzac at a grocery store.

Ruby, what can I say, I'm a bit bias, but Brilliant!!!! Ruby is a curious explorer. She is a creative thinker and doer. She is self reliant, bold and brave and I admire her greatly. We both know we are both teachers and learners, and it's been so much fun being at home with her this year! I am so blessed for the opportunity and I am honored to spend my time with such wonderfully amazing individuals! Ruby enjoys kung fu lessons presently, going to the park, reading, playing with Miles, etc...

its been too long....

I need to quit feeling guilty and just record our lives when I can...so here it is:
I think it's been a bit over 5 months since I last wrote about our fam- here are the highlights-
MAY- me teaching part-time (quite nice), Ruby playing and helping and being an awesome big sis! Miles has now mastered farting noises- May 24- hang out with friends and Ruby continues her work on relating with friends, solving problems and taking care of herself! Fantastic job being a friend Ruby!
JUNE- 6.3.08: whole family went to OMSI with my class. My class had just completed a word study (morphology) regarding prefixes in latin and greek. I focused on dinosaurs and we broke apart those huge names to construct meaning. OMSI had a huge Chinese dinosaur exhibit so we connected that and all had a blast! Ruby was amazed at the sheer size of the skeletons. She also asked some great questions about the skin that would have covered the dinos- it's true, who really knows what color they were or how they really looked?
SCHOOL'S OUT and we've decided that I will take a year off next year when we move to p-town. WOW! Come back to that one later....P.s. the house is showing alot....but still showing.
SUMMER SOLSTICE 6.21.08 lots of family fun- we had solstice before the kids and I took off to Redmond and Jacob had a show (perhaps, maybe recording....its been a few months). ruby was so excited to see that the fairies had come. They brought art supplies, a handmade (by mom and dad) wooden ribbon dancer and various other treasures. We celebrated the sun together!
JULY- it's hard to show a house with 2 small children and show it frequently....but at least i'm not working and doing it anymore!
7.5.08- Classic Ruby musical brilliance! Adam Anderson has moved back to the west coast and payed us a quick visit. While outside with Ruby, she decided to play him a song. This is not unusual. Ruby lives in a musical....a spontaneous, improv-style musical, its cool and a bit weird, but "actually" (another word Ruby uses all the time) really awesome. She's got mad music skills, wonder where those came from? Back to the story- Ruby grabbed her guitar, spun it upside down (played it like an upside down upright bass) and out came this dirge style music...here are the lyrics (I ran inside and quickly started recorded her words on paper):
"I love lollipops. But I'm not allowed. Sneaking through the house, looking for lollipops. La la la da lollipops. Lollipops forever." LOVE IT! (this song became very popular in our house and lyrically she plays around with it a lot- lately, it's a wolf sneaking around for lollipops. OH, have I mentioned that Ruby is fascinated with wolves. yep.
7.11.08-Ruby and I love to read little critter books. They are great to use to learn how to read if you were wondering....On the back it shows covers of all the little critter books and she was looking at that and saw one where little critter is looking in the mirror and there is a monsterish little critter looking back and the book is titled, Just A Bad Dream. We briefly discuss this and use vocab like nightmare, bad dream etc... The next morning she awakes and tells me she has had a night mirror. I guess the mirror threw her off...I really wonder what she thinks a night mirror/mare is?!
Ruby is a stellar swimmer in her little guppy swim class- you stick a life jacket on that girl and she is fine with swimming out in the deep end all by her lonesome. Got to go on the waterslide a few times on the last day of class as well....loved it!
We sold the house! This couple who loves it and everything we have done to it is moving in at the end of July! wow!
Family Reunion 2008-

Miles and Ruby - Spring 2008!

The guilt is too much...I must write about my babies, or else I won't remember this stuff. So, regardless of the busy-ness, the pink-eye, the house on the market, the violent coughs and neon yellow snot, I will forge through and record some highlights from the last few months...

*Miles is completely entranced, enthralled and entertained by his big sis Ruby. She can always make him smile (maybe not always, but most always)

*Lots of pretend playing on Ruby's part- ex. "going on a journey, a quest"  She built the setting from playcloths. I asked her what time of the year it was and she replied," it is easternox time!" (1 week prior to Easter/Spring Equinox)

*Ruby has enjoyed watercolors lately when choosing an art medium. She teaches as she goes (don't know where she gets it): "I don't plan before I watercolor. I build or I just build on...First, you take the paintbrush, then you..., next, you..." Read in high-pitched Ruby voice for full effect.

*March 16, 2008- MILES KAHLO rolled over (two times!) And I missed both of them! Next time...

*Spring Break 2008- Easter weekend kicked off Spring Break. We stayed at a hotel in Eugene one night with my parents. Miles swam for the first time! He really enjoyed the water. Ruby keeps getting braver and braver in H20. Ruby was already sick and it just kept getting worse. Miles got it too. Then me. Bummer, but at least we could all be sick at home together.

*"He is a grabby little guy!"- Daddy. Miles has a perma-grip like no other as of late. Watch out! Perhaps this might entice Jacob to shave (Miles loves to hold on to the beard)! If there's no beard, he will settle for neck skin, hair, noses, lips and the gentlest, hands. 

*4/3/08- Ruby played with a new friend Clyde today. Clyde is 4 and he is hilarious. He lives on the street behind us and we knew his Dad when we lived in Eugene. We were walking back from the park at Clyde was outside, so we stopped and hung out. This will definitely happen more frequently; they had a blast. Some highlights: "So here's the problem..." Clyde said this a lot and Ruby, a born problem-solver, kept attempting to help. They solved digging problems, playing baseball problems and then went for a journey (full of problems) in a car that Clyde's dad is rebuilding. 

* More examples of RUBY genius- (this girl is so close to reading it's ridiculous) "I wonder what foxes eat. So, I want a book about foxes." She really understands the gift of literacy-the ability to gain knowledge and research passions...keep it up smarty! 4/7/08 (if you are wondering, I jot happenings on the calendar until I have time to write about it-Jacob can't stand it because I mark all over the calendar. I thought that's what calendars are for...)

*Ruby is a BALLERINA! Ruby began her first dance class today. It is a creative dance/ballet class and she loved it. The teachers are stellar- They call all the 3,4, and 5 year olds "dancers!" and worked into the fun, a lesson on general space and self space. They leapt, they twirled with scarves, they brought songs to life through movement. Ruby stared in amazement for the first 10 minutes and then got into the action! When we were leaving, she told the teacher, "I can't wait to see you next time!" 4-10-08

*Jacob went to record in P-town and my parents visited. We had a blast at the Science Factory, it was all about color and light.... physics really! Miles enjoyed the color tornado that Ruby made with this awesome machine and the colored lights that mixed on the walls! Ruby played and learned and learned and play-I love places like that! 

*Miles has been sitting up a bunch lately (with just a wee bit of assistance. He's making a lot more noise these days as well. We'll make a recording! Still full of smiles...

 

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much belated update....

hello all...well, i'm sure most of you are aware of most of the details that have prevented me from blogging this last month. about a month ago we finally decided on a realtor and set a date to put the house on the market. at the same time ruby came down wih a horrible virus/cold. miles and lyndsey caught it about a week and a half later...i got it soon after. ruby took a whole month to kick it. miles and lyndsey are just about 100%. i'm gettin there. the doctors diagnosed miles w/ rsv. whether it was that or not i don't know. the point is we all beat it w/ vitamins, herbs, homeopathics and heavy prayers. thank you all for your thoughts/prayers this last few weeks. it all helps. we ended up having to push back the date for putting the house on the market a couple of weeks. i think i've averaged about 1-2 hours of sleep a night for the last 6 weeks. needless to say it's been a bit difficult getting all the last minute projects and cleaning done. sooooo.....the house went on multiple listings and signs went up on friday. we've shown the house about 6 times in the few days since then. hopefully we will accept an offer soon and start packin. here's a link to the pics of our house .
http://www.circlepix.com/tour/register.htm?id=648612&type=15
look at the virtual tour and the still pictures. it's very satisfying to see hundreds of hours of work all come together. i'll try to write more soon. love you all.