seven.

Scenes from a seventh birthday, 7:30 a.m., May 12, 2011:

(If you can’t read that, it’s 49”, an inch and three-quarters grown since November.)

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books 25 - 32

Here’s a list of what I’ve read since posting last with a yes, no, or meh (good for the beach, but nothing very satisfying) rating:

Lord John & The Brotherhood of the Blade – Diana Gabaldon: Yes
Lord John & The Hand of Devils – Diana Gabaldon: Yes
Lord John & The Private Matter – Diana Gabaldon: Yes

Keep A Little Secret – Dorothy Garlock: Meh

Solomon’s Oak – JoAnn Mapson: YES (more emphatic when I use all CAPS, right?)
Blue Rodeo – JoAnn Mapson: Yes
The Wilder Sisters – JoAnn Mapson: Yes

The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver: YES YES

I realize I’m probably the last person on earth who hadn’t read The Poisonwood Bible.  I have no idea why I resisted for so long!  It was a phenomenal book.  Hey, did I ever tell you guys that once my in-laws were in the Unclaimed Baggage store in Alabama (where all lost/unclaimed/misplaced airline baggage and freight goes to die), and in their book area, they found a copy of The Poisonwood Bible right up there on the rack with all the other Bibles for sale?  That story will always make me laugh, just like this comic I saw recently:

And these quotations from my children may amuse you, too:

Timon: Why don’t you go do one of your puzzles?
Henry: No, I have greater plans.

Maria (after draining her cup): Now, I want some more water and I said the magic word already.

book 11

I’ve been looking on different book list recommendations for new finds I can get at our library.  Don’t by any means think that I’ve actually PURCHASED all these books I’m reading.  Only one of the eleven do I own, and that was on the $4 table at Borders.  Our library system is phenomenal and they have just about anything a voracious reader could want or need.  ANYHOO… One book recommended by Amazon.com was The Wife’s Tale by Lori Lansens.  This was an excellent book!  It’s the story of a woman waiting at home for her husband to arrive after work on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary.  Needless to say, he doesn’t get there, and the novel explores the wife’s actions afterwards.  It was a fast and interesting read.  I’ve got two more of her novels to tackle soon.

I won’t have much reading time for the next several days.  Timon and I (and two other adults) are taking the youth group on a retreat about 2 hours away this weekend.  We leave tomorrow at 5:30pm.  The kids are staying the weekend with their surrogate grandparents and couldn’t care less where we are or when we’ll be back.  We are so blessed to have these lovely people in our lives.

Henry did something last night that just threw me.  We were reading an assigned book for school about Electricity, and in a photograph there was a boy who obviously (to me, anyway) had Down Syndrome using a light switch.  Henry paused in his reading, looked at the boy closer and then said, “Uh, Mom?”  pause pause pause (meanwhile I’m thinking he is going to ask why that boy looks different or strange to him, and preparing to explain Down Syndrome to him) “That boy has reddish hair, just like mine!”  *sigh*  Of course he only sees what’s the same about that boy.  Once again, the kid teaches the parent something.

books 7-10

Hey all.  It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to update my books, but rest assured, I have several to tell you about now.  But I think I’ll save you the time and quickly tell you if you should bother reading these or not.

7. Wideacre, by Philippa Gregory.  Meh.  Not as good as her other books.  Plus it’s got kind of a smutty element, more so than her other books.  However, you might want to read it in order to better understand book 10 below.

8. A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick.  Awesome.  Dark and intense.  Read it.

9. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  Very, very good.  Read it.

10. The Favored Child, by Philippa Gregory.  This is book 2 in the Wideacre trilogy, and it’s much better than the first book.  I really liked this and finished it this afternoon. 

It’s Saturday night and Maria just went to bed.  Henry’s reading on our bed, with no tv for the night because he had a hard time listening this afternoon.  My man is (NO LIE) watching Lawrence Welk and I’m wishing I could eat what we had for dinner every night.  [Chicken coated in french-fried onions, roasted carrots, wild rice]  I had rehearsal this morning, and then played with the kids and read and napped with Timon.  We are expert nappers.  Church tomorrow, then more relaxing.  Next weekend Timon and I head out with the youth group on a retreat and the kids will spend the weekend with their surrogate grandparents.  For now I’m just soaking up and relishing this time with the kids and with Timon.

book 6

Earlier this week I finished the novel Everything by Kevin Canty.  The story revolves mainly around two people, RL and June, friends who are grieving the loss of Taylor, June’s husband and RL’s best friend.  It takes place in Montana and the scenery is gorgeous in its descriptions.  This book was kind of “meh.”  It definitely rambles all over the place. And, Canty doesn’t use quotation marks to set off speech, a practice which drives me totally bonkers.  There are only a few books I’ve started and not completed (coughDombey&Soncough), but that’s exactly what led me not to finish Cold Mountain.  I really enjoyed the movie and had heard that the book was just phenomenal.  I couldn’t get past the first few chapters due to the lack of quotation marks.  I know, it’s a style choice, but BLEH.

Henry had a random stomach virus which woke us up at 2:30am Tuesday.  That was fun.  Fortunately he kept that gift to himself.  He had no school Monday from the holiday, and has no school tomorrow for teacher in-service, so he only went 2 days this week.  It was the easiest green week he ever had.  Tonight at dinner he stated (with great force) “I need a DRINK!”  Son, after that night of sick, you don’t even know how many times I thought that in my own head.

Now Maria’s got a nice head cold.  I wrote on FB earlier today about how I defied the AAP’s restrictions on giving cold/cough medicines to children under age 6.  I think the claim that they are not effective is doubtful, considering she went from completely lethargic, feverish, and mopey with no appetite back to nearly her normal self within an hour of getting 1/2 tsp of Robitussin and 1 tsp of ibuprofen.  See, parents can be trusted use their judgment and to give their children an appropriate dose.  No need to take the products off the shelves in hysteria, AAP.

iheartfaces

I truly love this photo, and Henry's eyes are smiling almost more than his mouth.  Love this kid.

last visit to sea world…

…for the foreseeable future, at any rate.  Our passes expire on Friday, and we ended up going three times this year.  For FL residents, the year pass costs the same as a one day ticket, so we definitely got a bargain.  Maria didn’t feel well, so Timon stayed home with her and Henry and I enjoyed my favorite theme park day of all time.  The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were very manageable, and we had a great day.  

Henry got to meet Shamu…

…and be surrounded by an aquarium full of fish!

We got to see the baby killer whale again, now a few months old.   They named him Brian.  Doesn’t that seem weird?  Brian.  Brian the KILLER WHALE.  Huh.

We saw this gorgeous ocean weed leafy sea dragon…



…and these beautiful (and very terrifying) jellyfish.

 
Henry got to ride the Polar Express…             
          
…and tell Santa all his Christmas dreams.


  
We saw some hungry and persistent seals…

…and Henry got to meet the stars of the dophin-whale-acrobat-high dive-birds-extravaganza.  I LOVE seeing this show.  It’s like Cirque du Soleil or something.  

We saw some really lovely Christmas trees, as well as an outdoor light and music show with the trees on the lake.

Before we left, Henry got to enjoy some snoap (snow made from soap bubbles)!


  Oh, and I was there, too.  The whole time.  Don’t believe me?  Fine, I’ll show you.

Here are some things I observed during our time there:

• They make maternity wetsuits.  Either that, or those things are really stretchy.  Poor trainer at the dolphin-whale extravaganza was squeezed into one so that she could toss fish at the obedient dolphins.  It was adorable.
• Even if the salesman holds it so the writing is backwards, more than one idiot person will still drop $25 on a “Sea World Christmas Celebration – Where The Season Meets The Sea” fleece blanket. 
• season passes are really awesome – you don’t feel rushed to see it all in one go, because you can get back to the park another time.  Henry and I saw things we hadn’t seen the other times we were there, but we still had time to see our favorite shows, go on a ride, meet Santa, and much more in the 7 hours we had that day. 
• We did Sea World instead of the zoo this year (the zoo is much closer).  I am glad we took a year off from the zoo, but I’m REALLY looking forward to going back.  We hope to go on Sunday afternoon – I’ve missed my siamang gibbons!

xix

After rearranging the kids’ room last week to include the new dresser, I discovered a bag of cold-weather clothing in the back of the closet that I’d meant to take to the consignment store a while ago and never got around to.  I took it today to our favorite place and ended up with a bunch of store credit, and as a result, Maria now needs only a coat and hat/gloves for this “winter.”   She’s got pajamas, tights, pants, long-sleeve shirts, and socks.  Sadly, clothes for 6-year-old boys don’t often survive in saleable condition long enough to make it to the consignment, and there were no deals to be found for Henry.  His jeans are juuuuust a bit too short (I’m still researching why that is, but it may have something to do with the fact that he grew 3 inches in the last 12 months) and I’m trying to decide if he can wait until Christmas for more pants, or should I attempt some online Black Friday sales?  He needs at least 4 pairs of pants (one khaki, the rest can be jeans), 3 long sleeve shirts, and jammies.  I planned ahead last year and bought a coat one size too big that will still fit this year.  If they would just stop growing up, this whole clothing thing would be so much easier. 

I honestly do not have a clue as to what kind of consequence we will hand down to Henry if he comes home with an orange again today.  I’ve got 30 minutes to figure it out. 

xviii

This is one of those afternoons when the thought of adding any more children into this home makes me want to crawl into my bed and put my head under the pillow.  And so I have Henry at the table with his homework and Maria in her room with a book, (neither of these things was achieved without much wailing and gnashing of teeth) and here I sit to post.  Before I began, I decided it was time to listen to Peter, Paul, & Mary’s A Holiday Celebration album.  And then that makes me wish my sister was here to sing along, loudly, and in harmony.  Henry may have gotten a green day at school, but he surely has earned at least a yellow here at home this afternoon.  I probably have earned a red.  When is the principal coming to take me out of this class?  :)

xvii

Well, it came to pass.  Henry got an orange today and was sobbing as he told me about it.  Of course I don’t want to see him sad, but it’s good that the consequence of not being able to attend movie night at church on Friday seems to be a meaningful one.  We had a good talk last night about choosing behavior, one that Timon and I hoped would stick with him today.  I also sent him off to school with some encouraging words.  He told me a little bit ago that he tried to not talk so much today.  I thanked him for being aware of himself and let him know that I was sorry that he would miss movie night because he was looking forward to it.  Poor kid.  Learning self-control is a long battle.  I know I’m still figuring it out!

xvi

Henry seems to be following suit as one of a long line of mischief makers and talkative distractible students (traits inherited from BOTH parents, I’m afraid).  Each day his teachers report on his classroom behavior by assigning a color according to how well he did.  Options are green (no problems), orange (had to be spoken to more than once about some kind of undesirable behavior), yellow (presumably the student has been very disruptive), or red (the principal had to remove the student from the class).  Henry seems to be getting orange at least once or twice a week these days.  Are we being unreasonable for assigning consequences at home that increase as he gets more orange days?  For example, yesterday he had orange and we did not give him an additional consequence, but today he received orange again (described in his agenda book as being given because he did not stay on task in class – this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest) and we decided to not allow him to ride his bike for a week.  (He recently learned to ride without training wheels and has really been enjoying riding.)  If he gets orange again this week he won’t be allowed to go to movie night at church, something he’s really looking forward to. 

I don’t think we’re being unreasonable at all, but truly, I have zero clue if it’s making any difference.  And I’m definitely not a fan of imposing consequences that don’t work, or of having punishments in effect all the darn time.  I know a family who speak to their children with what I call “high-alert” voices all the time, meaning that they instruct the children to pick up their books with the same sharp, loud, commanding voices that I feel should be reserved for use only when a child is in real serious danger (like they’re about to step in front of a speeding car).  The result of this is that the kids don’t listen to anything, since they’re accustomed to tuning any and all instructions out, with the knowledge that no threats will be followed through with and any consequences will be random and not meaningful.  So I worry about having consequences for the little things and not saving them for the big ones.  What would you do about the orange days? 

xiii

This is Henry.  I like Stella a lot.  She’s a fun dog.  She likes to play with me.  I got my report card on Friday.  I got two Vs, 1 S, and the rest Es.  E is for excellent.  My favorite subject is reading.  Today I checked out of the library In A Dark, Dark Room, Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, Wind Power Whiz Kid, Paul Revere’s Ride, Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge, and Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures in Imperial China.  Last weekend we took the training wheels off my bike and my mommy told me to look straight ahead while I rode and then it worked.  Now I can ride really, really good.

Bye!

ix

I don’t typically do a lot of photo editing.  Nine times out of ten, I do very simple lighting adjustments, color conversion to black&white, or cropping in Microsoft Office Picture Manager.  I do have PhotoShop Elements and use it when I have more extensive edits to make.  Henry asked me the other day why I changed his picture and took the color out of it.  I LOVE black&white portraits, especially of the kids, and I just thought this photo looked better that way.  Sometimes the colors of the background or clothing can be distracting.  And while I adore Henry’s brown eye color (one of the very few things he got from me), his eyes really pop in the conversion.  You be the judge.

Here it is, straight out of the camera:

And this was after brightening the midtones, increasing the contrast slightly, and removing the color:


Which do you prefer?

1st day of 1st grade

Henry and Maria enjoyed a breakfast of cereal this morning, after Henry rejected my offer of pancakes.  WHO IS THIS CHILD?

Then Henry posed for the obligatory front-of-the-door-first-day-of-school photo (this is the goofy version, at his request):

And then I had to placate Maria by taking her photo through the window.  Before I know it they’ll both be out in front of the door.  Ay yi yi.

 

1st day reports, though scarce (seriously, he’s clamming up about school ALREADY?  I thought I had a few more years before that started.) seem positive and upbeat.  He came home with a green spot in his agenda (the date book they give all students to help keep track of things), which means he didn’t mouth off straight away.  Who could ask for more?

meh, I’m not really into this movie.

Timon just put on Green Zone, with Matt Damon.  Now, I LOVE Matt Damon, but it’s all a little shooty and yelly for me.  So, I figure I’ll do a little post.  Look at me, acting like I actually still blog anymore.  (Well, to be fair, I have faithfully updated the photo blog every day this year, and that takes a lot out of me.)

Timon: He has just gotten a new show in the theatre.  He is (thankfully) still bearded and just today did an awesome job mopping all the floors in the house.  When the kids and I were in Connecticut last weekend, he mailed us a card that said he missed us.  Now, come on.  That’s pretty fantastic!  We just celebrated 9 years of marriage on the 7th.

Me:  I survived traveling with both children once more on the airplane to Connecticut.  They were far better behaved than the couple who got on last and were forced to sit apart (open seating).  I wanted to shove a bag of peanuts down his throat, and then tape the airsick bag over her mouth, but I couldn’t use my left arm since she dropped what felt like a sack of 25 rolls of quarters on me as she was stowing her junk in the overhead bin.  This was after we departed an hour late.  Anyhoo, my life is essentially the same as usual.

Henry:  This kid can read all day long, particularly if you stick a Garfield comic book in his hand.  Quotation of the week: “Talking cats are funny!”  He had the best time of his life on vacation with his cousins.  It was so awesome to see him enjoying their rowdy company.  He loves summer vacation.  He kept me company in the lazy river at our local waterpark last week.  He likes waterslides and pancakes.  Another quotation for you: “In this circumstance, I would like some milk.”

Maria:  She has 3 new obsessions: Her cousin Julia, her cousin Emmett, and nail files.  She talks a LOT, and is very silly.  She helped me tell Henry to go to his room yesterday.  She answers her own question of where Julia is by saying “House.  Mama.”, meaning Julia is at her house with her Mama.  Any baby is Emmett now.  She likes to put her hands in shallow water and let her legs float up behind her.  Pirate’s Booty is her favorite food, with grapes as a close second.

(at my Gram’s house, in her yard on the sledding/rolling hill)

6 years/72 months/2190 days

(waking up this morning)

Well.  Six is easier than five for the mother somehow.  But Henry, this year has been full of big things!  Probably most importantly, this year you learned to read, really read, all on your own.  I’m very proud of you for that, and pleased that you love to do it.  You love it so much that you spent the morning reading from the new children’s dictionary you got as a gift.

(opening some now, saving some for later)

You did karate this year, once a week.  It’s hard but you are learning to keep focused and listen to Sensei.  Your writing is getting much easier to read and understand – so much so, that now when you have misbehaved or disobeyed, I have you write an apology letter all on your own, doing the best you can with spelling.  (Yes, I’m saving them.)

(donut breakfast in bed)

Sometimes I look at you and I’m shocked at how tall you are.  This morning we measured you and you’ve grown 2 1/2 inches this year.  You are very sweet to your sister, most of the time.  And she has obviously learned a lot from you, seeing as how she slept with a baseball a couple of nights ago.

(yum)

We laugh a lot with you, Henry.  You have a lot of joy.  This year you also started participating in a ministry at church – your job on Sunday mornings is to run the powerpoint slides, and you do a great job.  It combines three of your favorite things – music, reading, and computers.  You say that you want to do it forever.

(measuring is serious business)

You still are interested in space and the shuttle – so we’re pulling you out of school early on Friday to head to the opposite side of the state for the launch.  Kindergarten can spare you for the day. 

(forty-six inches!  also, silly bands.)

You love going to the children’s program at church on Wednesdays.  You’re one of the youngest kids but you have made good friends there and the older ones are very patient with you.  My heart exploded (in a good way) on Sunday when you gave me one of your cards for Mother’s Day that had “I love God” written all over it.

So, yeah.  This birthday doesn’t pack the wallop that your last one did, but I’m happy you’re so excited today.  And I can’t wait to see what you do during the next 365 days.  As the song on your 5th birthday video says, the love I have for you is so alive.

{Five}
{Four}
{Three}
{Two}

friday night leftovers

• Henry’s kindergarten class (and the other three at the school) went on a field trip Wednesday… and let me tell you, chaperoning will WEAR.YOU.OUT.  I’m still recovering. 
• Here is a collage of photos from said field trip:

• My parents are coming to visit soon!  Mom comes tomorrow morning and Dad arrives Monday morning.  It’s Henry’s spring break and so they’ll get lots of time with him. 
• Jen’s moving and I’m terribly upset by this.  I just got her!  Boo.
• I’m actually playing guitar on a song in the praise band this week.  It feels like old times – sweaty palms, nervous stomach, shaking hands… ah, the good old days of stage fright are back!  YAY!
• I always look forward to Easter, but this year I’ll look forward to it even more since it means I’ll get a lull in the nonstop busyness of work which has been INSANE since the end of February.  I’m TIRED.

If you want to participate in Danifred’s Friday Night Leftovers, well – just click the picture below!

a list

• I would like to see some Olympic events (winter or summer, it doesn't matter) in person sometime in my life, preferably before I'm in a wheelchair or in The Home.
  
  
• I wish I could just do things that need to be done.  I'm so, so lazy.  Anything I don't HAVE to do doesn't get done, it seems.  I really hate this about myself.
  
  
• I am thrilled at how long our weather has stayed cool.  It will make the warm days (who am I kidding... the HOT-AS-HADES days) that are coming be a little less annoying.  My bones feel cooled off.
  
  
• Henry's getting his hair trimmed today for the first time since August.  After he came home SCALPED from his last haircut, I decided to take over the haircutting arrangements for him.  He wants to look like Leeland: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He's off to a good start.  But it is getting really shaggy and it's time for some cleaning up.
  
• 
  
  My week with my sister, niece, cousin, and nephew (I'm just going to go ahead and refer to him that way, regardless of it's correctness.  It's more reflective of our relationship than calling him my first cousin, once removed.) was SO wonderful.  It cements my resolve to one day build a compound where we can all live together.
  
  
  

because we’re a touch off in the head…

…Andrea and I took Henry to the Magic Kingdom on Monday. INSANE CROWDS. Don’t do it during this week of the year, if you’re given the choice. Anyhow, we had a lot of fun despite all the other people. The key is to not plan on getting a whole lot in on a day like that. We got there at 11:30ish and left around 3:30ish, and only rode one ride. BUT! Here’s what else we did:

We entered the property through the Grand Floridian Resort parking lot so we could see this amazing giant gingerbread house inside the lobby area. It was really amazing and if you look through the window you can see the cast member inside. Also in the lobby was this gorgeous giant Christmas tree – for size reference Andrea is on the right with Henry, she’s 5’ 1&1/2”.

Andrea, having spent several years of her life that she’ll never get back practically living in the Magic Kingdom as a manager in Tomorrowland, knows her way around pretty speedily. So after catching the monorail from the GF into the park, we took ourselves over to the Buzz Lightyear ride, obtained our Fast Passes to come back just over an hour later, and then took an empty out of the way path so that we could hit up Mickey’s house. We waited for about 20 minutes and then Henry got to meet these lovely characters:

After this we decided to find somewhere to eat lunch – the Harbor House was our choice and after enjoying that lovely experience we headed back around Cinderella’s Castle (A probably too-long aside: where for some reason, parents are okay with spending $50-$190 to give their child a “Princess Makeover” including bizarre hairstyle, glitter spray, tarty makeup, and costume with uncomfortable looking shoes. We saw probably 30 little girls made over in this way and I thought it looked terrible, plus without fail, the girls looked MISERABLE. To be fair, we also saw lots of girls whose parents have retained some rational sense and allowed their daughters to wear a princess dress over a turtleneck and jeans with sneakers so they can walk further than 100 yards. Anyway…) and made it over to Buzz’s ride, where Andrea kicked our butts shooting aliens but Henry beat me. I can’t imagine why Andrea might be an expert at this ride. When we got off, we glanced over and THERE HE WAS. So we got in a short line to meet the Space Ranger.

Following that very exciting rendezvous we headed back towards the center of the park to get good seats and wait for the Christmas parade.

We found wonderful seats without issue and hung out there for about an hour, enjoying ice cream and some other fun activities:

After we had the joy of seeing and hearing two GROWN ADULTS behind us argue over who was going to sit where to watch the parade, it got underway. And it was lovely- lots of sights and smells (!) and music and fun. Andrea had a (probably against policy) shout-out from a former cast member of hers, and we eventually got to see the big guy:

The weather was gorgeous, and it was really a fun day. The night before, Henry and I had left home mid-afternoon to head over across the state. We had dinner with Andrea & Frank and then they took us to Hollywood Studios (apparently that’s what they call MGM now) and saw the dancing Christmas lights and even a little snow. I took some neat pictures. Of course I can’t show them to you, because my memory card, containing over 1000 photos that I had not yet dumped, decided to have a little hissy-fit and refuse to work. I had to reformat it and lost all my photos. Lesson learned. I borrowed a card for the day at the Magic Kingdom and slowly got over the heart attack of losing all those pictures. The important thing is that Henry had a blast!