Porter Post

Sometimes motherhood seems so complicated. This Mother's Day my boys showed me just how simple it can be. Jack: "See Mom, it's a whale shark!" Ben: "It's a basking shark. See, a little tiny squirrel went into the water and it was attacked by a basking shark." Me: "Uh-oh, did he eat it?" Ben: "No, the squirrel is a little too fast." Me through Cameron's eyes: Also in his book were: "My mom's job is 'to take care of my brothers.'" My mom likes to say, 'Clean up the dishes.'" My mom is really good at "making our food." My mom is "17" years old. My mom really loves "the family." What can I say? They have my heart.

Cameron turned 6 in May. He is truly my first-born in the wilderness  of parenting. And may his afflictions because of it be consecrated for his gain , poor boy! I am the youngest child in my family so I have long been ignorant of the trials of an oldest sibling, but now that I am the parent of a first-born, I feel for you oldest siblings! I love this boy and I know he'll make it through all of my first time parenting fumbles. The rundown: When he grows up he wants to be "a daddy and a doctor, just like Daddy." His favorite movie is The Force Awakens. His favorite color is blue. His best day ever would be, "Saturday, I mean Friday!" His favorite food is fruit. His favorite thing to do at school is recess. He admires the older boys and follows them around picking up on what makes them so cool. He has a competitive side which will serve him well in the future, but right now it can make Spot It, Jr. a little heated. We love having reading t...

A birthday party! Our night to watch kids in our babysitting co-op was just a couple of days before J&B's bdays, so I went ahead and made it their birthday party. I knew what cakes I'd be making, but a few hours before the party I thought, "I should throw in some games..." So, I did what works best in a pinch and copied my brilliant sister! I knew she had done a Star Wars bday party for Sweet Baby James last year and so I looked at her blog and used her Jedi training ideas. Score! They were nice and simple. The kids took turns walking along the curb with a book or two on their heads because Jedi need balance. Then they passed hard boiled eggs, left over from Easter, back and forth on spoons and had to "use the force" to keep them on their spoons. Wish I got video of them because it was cute, but there was just too much going on. Finally, they did a little obstacle course because Jedi are speedy and agile. Jack preferred to hang out by me a...

When he grows up he wants to, "...discover komodo dragons because they're venomous." His favorite color is orange. His favorite movie is "Wogue One" aka "Rogue One" His favorite food is clementines. He is pretty eager to please and it's sweet. A lot of times if I explain something to him like, "Jack, remember to chew with your mouth closed because it's kind of yucky to see the food in there," he'll proudly obey and follow with, "Look Mom!" and then he'll proudly demonstrate how he's chewing with his mouth closed. He often calls me "Mama" and it's really endearing. GUM. This boy will pound a whole pack of Orbit in a day if you let him. If you ever wish to get him a simple treat, gum would be great. He is easily bribed by food...and we maaaay use that to our advantage. He gets really nervous and shy upfront, but once you get to know him he's such a sweetheart and enjoys being a...

Here's the run down on this darling little 4-year-old: I thoroughly enjoy watching him count with his fingers. I can't seem to get him to do it on film, so I'll try to explain well enough that I remember it twenty years from now. When you ask him to show you how old he is, he counts "One..." holds up index finger , "Two..." holds up middle finger , "Three!" holds up pinky finger . Forget the ring finger. When he grows up he wants to be "a gummy bear man." Jayce: "What's a gummy bear man?" Ben: "Nevermind. I want to be a gummy bear poopy diaper man!" I have a feeling that won't get old for a very long time. His favorite colors are, "Blue and green. My other favorite color is red." His favorite movie is "Hoth Echo Base!" aka Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. His favorite food is ice cream. He is a cuddler, I love this. He's imaginative! Just try to tuck...

We were lucky enough to have the Stay's and Gwilliam's visit Easter weekend, and I gotta say it was great to have "these yahoos" down for a visit! I have been texting Rachel pictures of eggs, goat yogurt, and the baby goats for a couple of months now because she has a love for farm life, so going to Heartland Homestead was a must and it did not disappoint. We spent a couple of hours there I think! My beautiful sisters bonding with their smelly but cute spirit animals: And the kids. We were impressed with how well all the kids who hadn't been there did. They were hardly even nervous. Oh man, these two. The kids also helped Ray go on an "easter egg hunt" for turkey eggs. They all ended up at the dirt mound. Boys! We also did egg dying, of course and took the kids to a park as well. I love watching my kids with all of their cousins! It never gets old. Uncle Burt gave them a few push-up rides and for some...