Easter

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!  Happy Family Together!  It has been a great holiday and I feel beyond blessed.  Fiona had a great time and so did all the kids--and of course me too. If my kids are happy, I am happy.  Here I tried to get a quick pick of everyone before we headed out the door to church.  Spiffy looking crew aren't they?  Fi helped me with the egg hunt at church.  Tons of kids this year and many all decked out.  In the past it has often been only my tribe that have been in Easter best.  Not that it matters. I don't do it to show off.  It is a tradition in our family to dress a little spiffy on Easter--the everyone wearing the same color thing is a spin my kids put on it.

I slept on the floor last night in Lissa's room which is right next to my room and gave Fi my bed.  I am glad I slept close by as Fi had a bad dream and I was awake in a heartbeat and there with her.  I feel badly because I know she has bad dreams almost every night. What a legacy of trauma and turmoil for a young woman to bring forward into young adulthood.  But at least I was there, and her breathing slowed and we talked a little and she went back to sleep fairly quickly.  I'd like to believe the memories of today will keep the demons of the night at bay but that is probably not likely.  But maybe they will make her smile when she is awake. I  know I will.

Fun with Fiona!

Fiona got here just about 2 p.m. and we have had a lot of fun.  We colored eggs. Not just my kids, but also the little kid next door who wanted to be in on it too.  I think he will get to color them at home but I am not one to send a plaintive looking face away and I had a big old bowl of eggs all boiled, so he joined in.

After that I thought we would decorate the Easter bunny house which in an ideal world will be our centerpiece tomorrow.  Or not, as we have not yet done it.  KC and Fiona saw an empty box and came up with an idea of turning it into a puppet theater.  All the kids worked on it for ages, divvying up the work of painting and "set building."  There are little popsicle stick puppets and they will put on a show later--most likely tomorrow when all the glue and paint dry.

While I helped here and there with that, I also made dough for cinnamon buns for tomorrows breakfast, and a cake for tomorrows dessert. After I finish this I am putting together a side of mac and cheese to go with the veggie chikn, sauteed spinach with garlic, roasted potatos and corn.  We will sip sparkling cider and end with the cake.  I am getting as much as possible done today as my wife works tomorow a.m. and the rest of us have church.

It is beyond my ability to really articulate the joy of having Fiona home for a holiday.  It feels soooooo good.

Fiona is packing!

The Great School in the City just called.  I felt my breath catch in my throat, worried that something was wrong.  But no!  Look on the positive side of things Lee! (smacks self in forehead) Fi was packing and she told staff that she needed to bring something red to wear and they were trying to confirm that.

I am thrilled that Fiona actually remembered that!  I wasn't sure if it would be okay or not but I explained on Tuesday when we talked that the kids decided they all wanted to wear something red on Easter Sunday this year.  I am not sure why they went all matchy matchy color wise.  Last year they chose all different pastel shades, but whatever.  I take a picture each Easter and I did not want Fiona feeling like she was not part of the family unit.  What could look more like "guest" than 6 people all wearing something red and one person sporting hot pink or something?  I told Fiona it was totally optional but explained it and she said she had a red leather jacket she would like to wear.  She remembered to tell staff too when they were packing tonight, but what she could not remember was what day she was going to wear it and that is why they called.

Meanwhile tonight we will ready the Easter baskets and store them in K's room so that they will not be found before Easter.  K has written all the clues and done photos of the clues for Fi and Lissa.  KC and Rob both had their hair trimmed today and look fantastic.  Rob's still has length but is just evened out and neatened around the nape of his neck.  KC's is a tad shorter but still leaves his beautiful curls.  When he was trying to grow it out it became clear that he has "mixed" hair and some chunks are totally straight.  He is the only one of my kids who has blended hair types.  The straight pieces stuck out from his head and were very uncooperative.  KC does not like gel and the softer holding products would be okay for a short time (say church) but for all day, or hats going on and off his head (he also loves hats) they just didn't do the trick.  When his hair is trimmed just a tad, those errant straight pieces are succcessfully tamed.

I had a random call come in on my cell phone the other day and disconnect before I could answer.  I didn't think much about it and deleted the message that said I had a missed call. I did not recognize the number and figured if it was someone I knew that they would call back.  I woke up in the middle of the night remembering that I told Y, KC's birth mom that she could call or text my phone.  I don't know her number and now I am worried that she may have been trying to reach out. Of course it could just as easily have been a wrong number.  I am hoping beyond hope that if it was her that she will call back.  Meanwhile my boss who loves technology and is so good at it, says she thinks we can find the call somehow even if I deleted it.  She said she would help me next week.

I'm not on GPS!

Early this year my company issued an electronic safety system to everyone who works for the company.  It is supposed to call 9-1-* if you have a problem and to have a GPS which would help emergency personnel find you.

I wasn't loving it, though I totally respect the thought of my employer who obviously places safety highly.  First of all, I don't like to count on technology to get me out of a pickle.  Too many times it has let me down in other areas of my life.  There is the GPS that mucked up a trip to the Big City last year because when you go through a tunnel it can't get a signal and it reset itself sending us way out of our way.  Then there was the fact that the silly little safety device I was issued would periodically play an irish jig for no apparent reason and the programmers could not stop that.  LOL

Needless to say I was quiet about my feelings but I also admit that I usually left the device hanging on  a hook in my office.  I have been assaulted in the past at my job in a variety of circumstances. However I successfully handled the situations and they were years ago.   I also am careful but am relatively good at defusing situations. I have 12 years of martial arts training under my belt if you will pardon the pun. (I am a second degree black belt)  I also just can't live from a fearful perspective.  There are lots of awful things that can happen in life but you could try and guard against every single one and you will still miss something. Being present in the moment is I think the safest thing that I can do in my job and in any situation for staying safe.

Apparently there was push back from other employees at other sites and recently the company made participation in the program voluntary. Those who did not want to wear the locators could return them to their manager.  Mine was not the only one sitting on her desk yesterday afternoon!

Teepee tenting

In late August we are going to NH with some friends.  They are staying in a motel and the rate was not bad--$50 or so a night. But it would have squished me into a room with all the kids.  And I am not really a lover of motels at the best of times.  I like either a really swanky hotel or a cozy, kind of funky B and B. . . or camping. Motels have  doors slamming on either side of you all hours.  Motels have people pulling in and their headlights shining into your room like search beacons from an alien spacecraft.I love the idea of spending the weekend with my friends but I just couldn't get excited for the motel thing.   I googled to find a campground close to the motel our friends will stay at.  That way we can hang out together and day trip together.

But the kids and I?  We are staying in the teepee 4 miles away.  I was all set to bring our tent, but the campground has real teepees.  Also yurts but we will save that for another visit.  And they are on a lake.  They have a pool as well but a lake?  And a teepee?  I was in heaven.  It was  about $20 more to stay here but it will be quieter I am sure.  According to the website they have strict quiet hours and NO radios allowed at the site.  Oh and in a very decadent side benefit, there is coffee for sale all.day.long.  And you can have fresh muffins delivered to your campsite if you place an order the night before.  Truly this is not roughing it camping but it sure sounds pretty fun. And there will be lots for the kids to do to decompress after a day hanging out with other kids.

I think the kids are less enthused about a teepee than I am. I am way excited. I all ready booked us and the staff were very friendly on the phone which is another good sign.    The kids will get excited eventually.  I think they just can't wrap their minds about being in a teepee for some reason.  They WILL love it.  I promise. (oh puleez make them love it, she whimpers to herself!  LOL)

Close to 9

KC is less than a month away from turning 9.  I think this boggles his mind as much as it does mine!  He is a kid who seems to take big developmental leaps right before a birthday.  Yesterday the training wheels came off his bike and he proudly and flawlessly showed me his two wheeled prowess when I came home from work.  In all honesty he had the skills last year but not the confidence.  This year, he is ready and proud of it.

Still creeping into my bed at night when he has bad dreams, but yet looking ahead to being in the church coming of age program in a couple years and reminding me that some day he will be in the youth group just like Robbie. . . great goddess the time flies.

My mom commented on how much more grown up he seemed when she was down this weekend.  She asked what he wanted for his birthday and he had very specific art supplies in mind.  He knew exactly what to tell her and she was grateful. My mom hates shopping as do I.

Yet there is still a little kid part of him that I am happy still exists.  He is still a magical thinker--the Easter bunny, Santa, the leprecauns, are all still hugely important to him.  And he is adament that they exist.  I am grateful that we homeschool and that he is able to believe as long as he wishes to.  I am always reminded of the story "The Polar Express" and the bell that only the boy in the story hears.  And there is a part of him that is fey-it isn't hard to picture him as a gift from the faerie folk!

He also has been less resistant to trying new foods in the past few months.  I won't make meals a battle, but I will require that he try a spoonful--literally a teaspoon--of a dish.  If there are 2 things he does not like, he can choose one to try.  I had to eat liver when I was a kid, and lima bean casserole. I remember sitting in front of a plate that I despised.  I won't do that. So we compromise and recently he discovered he liked roasted potatos and a new macaroni and cheese recipe that we tried last night was in his words much less disgusting.  I suppose that is praise??


He has a hugely big heart and is also one who is the life of a party--instinctively drawing people in and thinking of ways for them to all have fun together.   I can't wait to celebrate his 9th birthday April 17th!

Art Show Samples

First we have Fiona's beautiful painting of a Japanese temple

Next we have two solitary trees done by Rob.  These are haunting.

Then there is Lissa's work, boldly celebrating color and experimenting with shapes.

                                This fall picture of KC's always makes me smile. The whimsical faces on the leaves and the trees is just kind of neat. I would never have thought of doing anything like that!

      And the blue jay is really well done. It did not photograph as well as it truly looks. He had scale and color and body shape really well in hand for that one.