Thanksgiving Blitz

The kids still had a vacation day yesterday (thank you, opening day of deer season in Pennsylvania!), but they are back to school today and I feel like this busy weekend is finally winding down.  Mama is beat, my friends, but in a very happy way.

Now that I think about it, I've been going full steam since last Monday so I guess it's a stretch to call it a  busy "weekend".  I think "busy week" is a more apt description.

Last Tuesday we hosted a good friend and her daughter for dinner.  Normally I would not be jazzed about having dinner guests during Thanksgiving week, but these are the kind of friends for whom you make an exception.  They live on the west coast, so their visits are infrequent.  Plus, this is the awesome woman who delivered Fiver, so there's that!

Tuesday was a busy day, because poor Sally threw up on her teacher's shoes (poor teacher!), and was sent home from school. She was very disappointed to miss the mini-Thanksgiving feast in her class (she was to play the part of Pilgrim girl), and I was very disappointed that her illness derailed a chance to meet up with Colleen of Martin Family Moments fame.

It would have been the first time I've ever met anyone I know solely through blogging, and we had hoped to meet up on Wednesday morning as they passed through our area on their travels. Alas, it was not to be. I would have been ejected from the Mommy Club if I had knowingly exposed five children to a stomach virus. Especially when they would be in the car and far from home.

Happily for everyone concerned, Sally recovered after about 12 hours. She recovered so well that she asked me for spaghetti and meatballs on Wednesday morning. Uh, that's a negative, good buddy.

Next time, Colleen, next time we'll do it!

Thursday was the big dinner here at the HomeFront Corp. We had our usual gang, as well as my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my other brother and sister. We've been doing this since we moved to this house, so my Thanksgiving prep has become a routine. I know what I'm going to do and when I need to do it, so I usually feel pretty relaxed about it all.

Rob had the day after Thanksgiving free this year, and I wanted to do something fun with the kids. We don't do spontaneity well with the children being the ages they are, but I really felt like we should take advantage of what turned out to be a beautiful weekend of unseasonable temperatures.

We decided on a train ride in the town of Jim Thorpe, PA. Jim Thorpe is very close to us, and it's so beautiful and quaint that it's called "The Switzerland of America."  Apparently due to the cute shops, homes, and gardens tucked into the mountains, and not because of its neutrality.  (I live in PA, and I know that us natives are rarely neutral about anything.)

It's one of those towns that I'd really love to just walk all around and explore. Except then I realize that all my children would also be walking around and exploring. Mostly with their hands and mouths, which is universally frowned upon by mothers and shopkeepers alike.

So exploring Jim Thorpe has gone on the extensive list of "Stuff that Aimee and Rob Must See Without Small Children In Tow." This list is primarily composed of movies, restaurants, and stores, but sometimes whole towns like Jim Thorpe make it on there.

In case you are wondering, Jim Thorpe, the town, is named after Jim Thorpe, the man. He was the consummate athlete, playing football, baseball, and basketball professionally, and he was also a decorated Olympian. The town used to be called by the Native American name of Mauch Chunk (pronounced "Maw Chunk"), but there's a whole story about how it became Jim Thorpe.  You should read up on it -- it's both depressing and inspiring.

Anyway . . . the train ride was fantastic.  We took the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway along the river and through the mountains, at one point crossing over the river on a very high and very narrow trestle.  It was so narrow that you couldn't see the supports from the train windows.  It made it seem like we were flying over the river.  So cool and terrifying at the same time.

We also found out that the weekend after Thanksgiving was the beginning of the Santa Train, where they pipe Christmas carols through the cars and Santa comes to visit each one.  We've been on Santa train rides in different towns, but this one was the best so far.  It was close to our home, it was low key and less expensive, and it was the perfect length of time for a ride.

But what really pleased me was that Santa said "Merry Christmas," and the carols really were carols -- everything my kids would normally hear in church.  And altough there were some signs around town saying the generic "Happy Holidays," there were just as many saying "Merry Christmas."    Good job, Jim Thorpe, PA, the Switzerland of America.

On Saturday, the kids' school held a movie night fundraiser where parents could drop off their children at the gym for a movie and then have two hours to themselves.  Since we are not at a point in our lives where we can take advantage of that anyway, I volunteered Rob to be a chaperone.  He was full of love for me on Saturday night, I tell you, but he did his duty cheerfully.

Sunday was new translation day, and we were ready.  We are so blessed to belong to a parish that took its responsibility of educating the flock very seriously.  We have been preparing for several months, and all of our homilies for the past six weeks have been about the history of the mass and how the new translation is better all around.  We've practiced the new music settings, and the kids have been doing the same at their weekly school masses.

And right out of the gate, I flubbed it by saying "and also with you."  Gah.  That's what happens when your attention is diverted by your 3 year old loose cannon who is trying to make a break for it.   And as I was saying the wrong response, I caught myself and tried to replace the words with the new ones, but it just came out sounding all garbled.

Luckily, I had Fiver right in my ear whispering, "Mom.  You said it wrong.  You messed it up.  You should have said 'and with your spirit' but you didn't."   Yes, thank you, dear.  Messed up.  Got it.

Once I got past that, I did pretty well, and I love the new translation overall, especially the creed.  So good.

After mass, I applied for a personal loan and took the four older kids to see "The Muppets", while Rob stayed home with the sleeping babies.  Now it was my turn to chaperone, although at least I had popcorn and candy to get me through.  Plus, the movie was cute and the kids enjoyed themselves.  We rarely get to the theater, so it's still a treat for all of us when we do go.

Which brings us back to the week at hand.  This post has become so long and boring that I hesitate to even publish it, but I've come too far to turn back now.  Also, the spell check is not working, so I cannot even begin to imagine what kinds of errors I've made, but it's too long for me to go back and proofread carefully before the kids get off the bus. 

Aren't you so glad that my stick-to-it attitude has saddled you with this kind of mediocrity on Tuesday afternoon?  Maybe I'll get it together someday . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd love to be able to post a picture of my table, set well ahead of the big meal with pretty plates and sparkling glassware, but that's not how it happens here.

Even though it's a feast day, I still have lots of little bodies who want to eat their regular meals. At the table on their regular old plastic dishes, no less. And as much as I want to just throw them some crackers until dinner and call it good, the reality is that I'll find myself making ham sandwiches at noon, just like every other day.

Instead of a pretty table, I'm posting a picture of how it really goes down in this house and I'm coming clean about the half eaten apple crisp sitting on my stove. Rob and I cannot help ourselves - we are powerless when it comes to crisp. Happily, I made two so I could live up to the family motto of "go big or go home."

I pray that your tables are just as full as ours and that they are surrounded by the smiling faces of the people you love. Happy Thanksgiving from the whole HomeFront gang!

Motorin'



Hey, how you doin'? It's me, Baby. 



Me? Oh, I'm doin' fine.  Thanks for asking.

In fact, I have this new thing I've been workin' on.  I pull it out whenever I feel like the old lady needs a little awesomeness in her day.  I'm pure awesomeness, so I've got that going for me already.

Wait, I forgot what to do now.

Oh, yeah.  Pull up on my hands and knees and rock back and forth.  Told you, pure awesomeness.

She Bounced Back

For two weekends in a row, Francie has spelled her way to first place. First for the district spelling bee, and then for the whole diocesan spelling bee.

But what made us most proud was that she walked over and shook the hand of her final competitor at the end of each bee (with no prompting from us).

She's growing up, and there may be hope for gym class after all.

Life's Lessons

Francie has an amazing brain. I don't write that to brag because we never take it for granted. It's completely a gift and we usually just stand back and watch her go. She is a very self motivated student and she truly enjoys academic pursuits.

But with that great brain comes a price. She is a perfectionist in the extreme and that can be a hard way to live.   If something does not come easily to her she would rather abandon it than put more effort into it.  She has a hard time accepting that even if she is not accomplished at something, it doesn't mean she should quit.  The work she puts in is the important part.  

When she came through the door yesterday and burst into tears over her report card I was surprised to say the least. I never even think about Francie's report card; I just read it over, congratulate her and sign it.

Since I have seen and signed every test she's taken this year, I just could not imagine what could be serious enough to cry over. After she calmed down enough to tell me, this is what came out:

She had set herself the goal of Principal's Honors for the quarter, and she didn't make it. Because of a grade of "satisfactory" in gym class. Well, you would have thought that someone took a big red marker and wrote FAIL on the front.

The whole story is that to attain Principal's Honors a student must get a 97 average or higher with a grade of "good" in all minor subjects, with gym being one of those minor subjects. If you fail to meet those criteria, well, you can try again next quarter. You don't get busted down to First or Second Honors. It's all or nothing. Just like Francie.

Watching her cry, my first reaction was to try to make it better for her.  Should we talk to the teacher and try to get the grade changed?  I know plenty of people who would do that.

As I thought more about it over the course of the afternoon, I realized I was of two minds about the report card.

Half of my brain was saying, "Really? A satisfactory in gym is enough to negate an entire report card? Huh. That seems kind of cruddy to miss her goal for what amounts to a subjective assessment of her physical fitness skills. She got a satisfactory, which means she is average in gym. She did not get a "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory,"  but it still kept her from earning any kind of honors."

Then the other half of my brain responded with, "Well, maybe this is a good time for Francie to learn this lesson.  Whether or not we agree with the criteria for honors is not the issue.  The issue is that she needs to put forth her best effort in all things.  The smartest brain can be wasted by a poor attitude and an unwillingness to make the effort.  Even though she felt like she was doing the best she could, her teacher thought not.  There will be times in her adult life where she will not meet the expectations of her superiors, and she needs to learn how to handle a setback like this.  I'd rather have her learn it now, in a place where people love and support her, than out in the world."

 In the end, Rob did end up writing a note to the principal, whom we respect very much and who has always been very supportive of our children.   He did not ask for the grade to be changed, but I felt like he was able to articulate our conflicted feelings.  He let her know that we expected Francie to be responsible for her own attitude and work ethic, and that we had advised Francie to seek out her gym teacher and ask him how to improve her grade.

As for Francie, she had a good cry and got it out of her system.  She decided to adjust her outlook and she got some good feedback from her gym teacher after class.  She got busy setting herself some new goals.

But I will admit that this one was tough for me.  I could taste the disappointment almost as bitterly as Francie.  I know how hard she works, and it was so difficult to just let her feel that and realize that what she says and does will eventually come home to roost.    

It was a tough lesson, but one worth learning.  Hopefully it sticks.

7 Quick Takes

Quick Takes, another easy back-to-blogging transition, courtesy of Conversion Diary.  Here we go! . . . .

One

Oh dear Lord my heart is broken and sick over what is going on, and what has gone on unchecked, at Penn State.   I am not even going to link to any news stories because if you haven't heard about it yet, then you are probably not anywhere near a computer, television, newspaper, magazine or another human being.  

See, we are big Penn State fans here.  I get it from my Dad, who listened to the games on an old gray radio while he worked out in the yard or the barn.  We grew up knowing what to say when someone yelled WE ARE! . . .   We cheered hard for the blue and white. 

And now my children are Penn State fans, and they cheer for the blue and the white, and when I say to Bun, WE ARE!, he yells back PENN STATE! 

So hearing all of the news coming out of State College is like hearing about a death.  And from all the reports, there certainly have been deaths in the murdered innocence and trust of children.  The abuse allegations are horrific.

What has been beyond disappointing is the response of the adults in the situation.  It is sickening to think that a person could walk in on the rape of a child and still wonder about what course of action to take.  Are we dead inside?  The course of action is to do whatever it takes to stop it!  If that means standing there and calling 911?  If that means confronting the abuse in the moment, even if it means a physical altercation to stop it?   If that means not only reporting it up the chain, but also notifying police and weathering the repercussions?  Then DO THAT.  ALL OF THAT.

I know that I don't know all the details, but it certainly seems that, in addition to the evil perpetrated by the actual abuser, some good people made some very wrong decisions.  It is a betrayal of the worst kind.

So, will I still let my kids root for Penn State and wear their Penn State shirts?  Yes, I will.  Because I am proud of the students who are organizing vigils and a "blue-out" for the victims at Saturday's game.  Because the majority of students, alumni, fans, and supporters are sickened and outraged.  And because when my kids say WE ARE . . . PENN STATE, I want it to be true.  I want to believe in the good people there.  People of character who will do the right thing. 
And if they are in short supply, then I guess I just have to make some more.


Two

Sally is really enjoying kindergarten, but having not gone to preschool she has been relatively sheltered from the meanness of other kids.  Of course she has tussled with her siblings, but it's different with them.  Mostly because, underneath it all, her siblings love her and get her.  It's strange to contemplate a peer being mean to you just because.

She got a crash course this week when one of her table mates, after hearing her express pride about coming in second place in a game at gym, told her "well, you know that second place just means first loser." 

Nice.

Unfortunately, it backfired for the kid because Sally was still pleased with her effort and said, "at least first loser is first!"

I pray every day that she keeps her sunny disposition.  It's her best feature and I think it will serve her well in life.


Three

Speaking of Sally, we are all so happy that she is only two doses away from being finished with her 84 dose course of antibiotics.  A month's supply almost done, whew!

I hadn't mentioned it on here, but she has been battling Lyme Disease.  She had had a fever a couple months back, but it only lasted a few days and we figured she picked up a virus somewhere.  She did have a rash, but it was not the typical bullseye at the site of the tick kind of rash.  It was all over her body, and then it disappeared as quickly as it came.

But about a month ago, she complained of some joint pain.  Then one morning she woke up and couldn't bend her legs.  It was scary because a healthy and active 5 year old usually does not have severe joint pain unless it's something serious.

Rob took her in for an x-ray, and he also told me he was getting a lab panel for Lyme Disease.  Even though the lab usually re-runs the test as a precaution, her titers were so high that they knew right away and started her on antibiotics.

Even though it was sad to watch her miss her beloved dance class and struggle with walking, I realize that the other diagnoses that would explain her joint pain, like cancer or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, are worse.   She has responded very well to the medicine and she is back to normal range of motion.

Thank you, Lord, for modern medicine! 

Four 

The little kids and I are getting a huge kick out of the Motown station on the Pandora app for the iPad (I also have it on the iPod).   I grab Baby, and Bun and Mopsy and I dance all around the kitchen while I sing at the top of my lungs. 

First of all, the music is upbeat and highly danceable.  Also, the lyrics are not horrible or full of bad words like most pop music these days.   It just makes us happy.

And also?  When Bun hears Sam Cooke or Otis Redding, he says "Now this guy is GOOD!"  and I just die a little from the cuteness. 

Five

This is Bun's pick for song of the day:





Six

Thanksgiving is almost here!   We are big Thanksgiving fans around here and we always look forward to celebrating it. 

I am starting to plan out the menu, even though we usually eat the same thing every year, but I like to have my ducks in a row anyway.   My brother is cooking the turkey, which I am very happy about since that's always the part I like least about cooking the meal, but I'm happy to do the rest.

Plus, it's really the only time of year that I make apple pie, since I am a glutton who cannot handle being around pies with any regularity.  Mmmmm . . .  pie . . . . 

 
Seven

Happy Veterans Day to all the vets out there.  We love you  and thank you for your service!  Now go find some free food and celebrate!


Have a great weekend, my friends!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

I've been away from it for so long that I think I've lost the hang of blogging.  I'll think of a million different things to write during the day, and by the time I'm ready to blog they have all left my head. 

Oh well, I think that's a little bit of an occupational hazard.  I can only keep a certain amount of information active in my brain at one time, and I think keeping the kids alive may trump blogging.  Just this once.

Or maybe blogging is like anything else in life in that it requires practice, practice, practice.  The less I write, the more I fall out of the habit of writing, and soon I'm not writing at all.

And that is why I am thankful for things like {pretty, happy, funny, real}.  It gives me a graceful re-entry to my blog!

Bun and Mopsy went as a matched set for Halloween.  Peter Pan and his little pixie friend Tinkerbell were the hit of the library's preschool story time.

{real}

It doesn't get much more real than a pre-Halloween snowfall that left thousands in our area without power.  I like the winter, but I like it even better when it starts after Thanksgiving.

{happy}

iLove!   
Actually, this baby is like a really fancy stop-gap measure until we can go whole hog into an iMac for the family. Since I only do goof-off computer stuff, like blogging and Facebook and email, I am setting up this iPad as a central command for myself.  The kids are totally jealous.

{funny}

Fiver was Super Mario for Halloween.  I find the mustache alone to be incredibly entertaining.

{funny}

I love Bun's face in this picture.  It's like he can see Capt. Hook off the starboard bow!

{pretty}

Cinderella Sally, just waiting on the Fairy Godmother.  Have pumpkin, will travel.