A great week

(Remember to click on the photos to see them larger.)

Last week was so great that I don't want to miss blogging about it. B is finally getting some of his energy back after finishing chemo a few weeks ago, and is jumping right back into life.

Sunday we went to Mixville Park for some fishing and other fun. Luna got her first slide experience, and everyone (except the sane one - me) actually dipped their feet in the water (OK, B kept his boots on).

Monday was errands day, but on Tuesday afternoon, after my bowling league, we headed to Coco Key Water Resort to take advantage of free admission for the 3rd time. We invited our friend R again, and had a great time. He didn't even seem to mind when he got a giant rip in his bathing suit; he just threw his underwear on underneath and was good to go. Good lesson for my boys.

Wednesday E had his guitar lesson, and afterward we let Luna play with his guitar teacher's dog, who is a boxer the same exact age. Both of the puppies had an awesome time playing, but our guitar teacher is a pretty overprotective parent, and we only had 15 minutes or so. Luna had so much fun! This week I'll have to take pictures, since she was invited back again.

Thursday the boys decided to join B and I for our trip into Manhattan. B had good news from his oncologist: his Mediport will be removed on December 11th!

After his appointment we headed over to the Intrepid which has reopened after renovations. We actually took a cab to get there across town, which the boys thought was lots of fun.

First we looked at the Growler, which is the submarine they have there. I think that was all of our favorite. It was super cramped in there, but luckily B never hit his head once!

The Intrepid itself was pretty cool, but not as much to see as I really expected. Considering that the thing held 3,000 men, we didn't really see very much. I would've like to see the mess hall that holds all those men, but my feeling is that they ripped it out for the museum area. It was cool to see the kitchen (galley) though, and some of the bunks, which were really close together, and certainly the anchor room with the giant chains. The planes on top were cool too. I do have to say though, that their short film about the history of the ship was not worth building that whole theater for. We wished we hadn't wasted time on that.

Even the train ride home was lots of fun. We got some food in Grand Central and got on a train that wasn't the next to leave, so that we'd be sure to get seats together, and ate our dinner on the train. The boys thought that was really cool. And they decided that next time they'd get Chicken Tikka Masala too.

We are so blessed that my dad was able to watch Luna for the day, and we stopped by on our way home from the train station to pick her up. Boy was she happy to see us!

Friday was the last day of Great Hollow classes. I got to see where the boys have been spending their Fridays the last couple of months, and was glad to have the opportunity to hear what they've been doing all that time, since when I'd ask them I'd get mostly "we played deer and coyote". Something I was not thrilled to hear since I couldn't see spending a small fortune for them to play tag in the woods.

I learned that they transplanted some endangered plants, and that they can identify several plants in the woods now. They both really want to return to the classes in the spring, but I really have to think about whether it's worth that much money. And the hour drive each way.

Well the week just kept getting better, as Saturday found us at the Lego Kidfest at the CT Convention Center. It truly was awesome to see all the giant statues made with Legos. But I have to admit the place was packed. I'm so glad we had gotten our tickets in advance (a fellow homeschooler got a group discount) so that we didn't have to wait on those enormous lines.

We saw a presentation given by two of the giant statue designers/builders. We got to see the software they use to determine how to make the statues (which, by the way, are all hollow). We also saw adult Lego clubs’ huge displays of cities and other amazing things of their own designs. R was pretty inspired and is thinking he might need a new set now. E mostly enjoyed seeing all the giant statues.

I am really glad we went. It was very inspiring. I don't think they anticipated the turnout though (by 12:30 pm they called it “sold out” and turned away hundreds of people on line). And all the aisles were really filled with commercial vendors having nothing to do with Legos. So although we will unlikely return if they do it again, we are really glad we went.

The week ended on an unusual note. Both boys went to the Yale Pediatric Sleep Disorder Center to be tested. E did great and fell asleep despite all the wires, but poor R was miserable and got only one REM session the whole night. I don't think that was enough for them to tell me if his deep sleeping is the concern I think it is (since he could not fall into one). I actually hope they call us back to do it again, but I'm not confident that's how it will work out. We'll have the results of that in a couple of weeks. And in the meantime, B has finally made an appointment for himself to be tested.

On the way home from the hospital we stopped at McDonald's for some milk shakes, which have become our after-hospital tradition (yeah, we've been there for stitches). Milk shakes at 7 am. That made their day.

So that was our awesome week. Definitely one I wanted to get down, so I remember it.

Our new playgroup

We had a fun time down in New Haven today with our “new improved” playgroup. Today all the kids hung out together instead of separating the younger ones. The boys both had a great time. And I did too. I have not been getting enough grown-up time lately, and my visit with J was very enjoyable. I really look forward to B coming out of his bubble and talking to me again.

I forgot to take pictures :-(

Long Live Playgroup

We went to playgroup today. I understood that the family who has not been respecting our boundaries, and their entourage, would not be there today. Wrong.

It's really a bummer that we have been forced out of yet another group by someone who keeps forcing herself into my life and simply refuses to leave me alone. Especially because the indoor location for this winter is just 10 minutes over in the next town, and we've spent the last 3 years driving 30 minutes down to New Haven. But on the other hand, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, we “are thrilled that all of our friends have arranged to meet once a week with us on another day. We are so blessed to have created friendships with them that they are willing to work to keep. The tweens are meeting at one house, while their siblings are meeting at someone else's (who happens to live within walking distance of the first).”

So we really are done with our Wednesday playgroup.

Great Hollow

The boys are taking nature classes at Great Hollow through a YMCA. It's an all-day thing every Friday (from 9 till 3). Here's a photo of the group heading out this morning.

The Great Hollow Homeschool coordinator writes a blog, so I'm just going to copy what it says our class has been doing:

"In plant class we are working on a very practical level, with our focus on conservation. Components of this endeavor are three-fold: Conservation of land integrity and biodiversity, Bioregional and traditional alternatives for herbal medicines which replace overuse of endangered plants, and Place-based knowledge. The latter being the founding root of the former two components.

Our classes thus far have reflected this. The first day we studied and planted Goldenseal roots. The second day we studied Elder and made wise Elderberry Elixir to keep everyone healthy this season. The third day we took root cuttings to help propagate our existing Bloodroot, and the students scouted the proper habitat for their transplant. Very well done. The fourth day we assimilated what we have learned about these plants and their accompanying lessons by creating our own folklore stories. This was an especially challenging and rewarding class – all the stories were fantastic, and if read to a sibling or younger friend, would indeed pass along the intended wisdom in clever and enchanting ways."

The boys really love this class, but I haven't decided whether we'll continue in the spring or not. It's super expensive and an hour away, which is really taking its toll on me.

Till now I've been dropping them off and returning home, since I can't leave Luna in her crate for eight hours. So altogether it's four hours of driving every week for me, not to mention all that gas.

This is one of those examples of how Luna is really cramping my style. Ordinarily I'd have absolutely no problem enjoying six hours alone in the Danbury area of the state, but with a dog? Well this time I didn't care, and brought her along and left her in the car. I spent a wonderful morning in Target, had lunch at a favorite diner (clam chowder, salad, stuffed cabbage, pickled beets and a baked potato - yum!), and then spent some time at a nearby state park.



Luna joined me on a walk through the park, but is so testing my alpha position that it was not very enjoyable. I did manage to take some photos though. Once we got to the beach area, I was distracted taking some macro photos and she slipped out from her choke collar and was off. Argh. To say she went berserk on that beach would be an understatement. I didn't yell and scream, or engage in her attempt to play, but just stood there dispassionately till she ran it out. Eventually I made my way to a picnic table and sat down to wait.

Luckily she is still a fraidy cat about some things and when a motor boat went by she came and sat right next to me. She was a lot less resistant to follow instead of lead on the leash once she had used up some of that energy, so it worked out. And she was finally willing to eat some of the food I had brought for her since she had worked up an appetite. She didn't eat anything all day till about 2:00!

Anyhow, I put her back in the car and had 15 minutes to take some photos without her. I always enjoy taking photos, but am pretty unhappy with my camera. It's a pocket thing, that's easy to carry, and it takes great macro shots when I can get it to focus where I want, but for action shots my four year old Sony blew it away. What good is a super long zoom if the shot is always fuzzy?

I enjoyed taking all those shots though, and wish I had gotten there before all the leaves were gone.

The drive to Great Hollow is a long one, but it's beautiful, and now that the leaves are all fallen, I can see the homes, and today noticed this (click to enlarge it):

What a lovely thing to come across.

So as usual, the boys had an awesome time in their nature class, and for once, I spent the afternoon the way I wanted to.

This evening R is sleeping at a friend's house, and once E is tucked into bed, I'll be settling into my own with my husband and a movie.

Life is good.

Pirates!

We left our Wednesday playgroup and are thrilled that all of our friends have arranged to meet once a week with us on another day. We are so blessed to have created friendships with them that they are willing to work to keep. The tweens are meeting at one house, while their siblings are meeting at someone else's (who happens to live within walking distance of the first). Here's a photo of the younger crew last week; E with his best buds:

This week we had planned to have all the kids together rather than meet at separate houses, but too many kids are sick, so we canceled this time around. I'm glad we've been doing other fun things so the boys didn't miss it too much.

This evening we went to our now annual excursion to The Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society's yearly performance. A CT homeschooling family participates with this group and invites other homeschoolers to come to the dress rehearsal for free, which is awesome, since were we to pay, it would cost us $80.

This time it was The Pirates of Penzance. It's so cool that the boys love to go see an opera (ok, technically it's an operetta) every year. R even skipped his last soccer practice of the season for it. The show was very funny, but we still all agree that our favorite was the first show we saw, Iolanthe in 2007. After all, although we had silly pirates this year, Iolanthe had the classic large woman with shielded breasts and long braids with a horned helmet. We'll keep going every year that we are invited to, but it will be hard to top that.

Co Co Key Water Resort

...is offering free admission for the next couple of weeks, so we had to take advantage of that. The boys had such a good time with their friend RP at Chuck E. Cheese's the other day, that we decided to invite him to join us again today.

Everyone had a fun day.

Luna

My brother gave us our dog. Honestly, I'm really not a dog person, and could still return her without looking back. And it really annoys me that I have to be the alpha. Really. But the boys adore her and feel she is part of the family. Even if it means we can't go anywhere for more than about four hours or so, since I can't feel good about leaving her in her crate much longer than that.

Luna is now six months old (and still growing...argh). Here she is playing a game, or more accurately getting mad that we are playing a game...


Sleeping on her stinky pillow...

Checking me out from the back seat of the car...

And trying to look fierce with E. But the ears always give her away...

I'm Back

Thought I'd give this another try. Again. And that I'd open it up to the general public. Again. We'll see where it goes. And who reads. And who stalks. And if I care.

E found Chuck E. Cheese's coupons in the newspaper at my dad's house. Normally I steer clear of that place, but I thought it would be fun if we went and they each invited one of their friends. We've needed some distraction from the theft of our playgroup and this seemed like a great way to get it.

I think they both had a really fun day. (Remember to click on the photos to see them larger.)

Soccer and Golf

Soccer season ended for E. He loved his team and is bummed that it's over for the summer.

R is still playing for another weekend, and also gets to add golf to his list of sports. He is on a golf team now. I love that they make the kids dress up. He didn't even mind the nice pants...I think he realized how handsome he looked.

E's 9th Birthday...with the big bouncy house

E's birthday party was a week late this year. We had to have it on a weekend since so many of his friends go to school now. It was nice too, because we were able to invite our families. My mother came down and spent a couple of days, and my dad canceled plans to be here.

The boys were disappointed that Uncle M couldn't make it, because two of his three kids was sick. E was really bummed that none of my siblings made it either, but was glad to at least have two of his cousins to play with; B's brother E's family, which was awesome. (Click on photos to enlarge them.) It was great to see E up and about. He really is a very different person now, after the stroke, but he is still E in there, and he can walk, and talk, if you are patient enough to allow him to get out what he wants to say.

Here he is in the middle surrounded by his family and my dad, who was so glad to have the opportunity to visit with him. E was a musician and he and my dad share that, E having actually bought a really old, but well functioning, amplifier from him many years ago.


I can't believe I spent the money on it, but we got a bouncy house this year. The boys chipped in and gave me $30 so we could get the really big one with the slide.

I let E invite everyone he wanted to, figuring if I spent all that money we may as well at least get good use out of it. We invited 47 people, but we ended up with 32, I think.

B made it through the day pretty well considering he had had chemo that weekend. He managed to jump around in the house since he was the only grown-up in the family who was around to and could. He's such a great dad.

I think I did a great job coordinating this whole thing. Family was invited from 11:00 till 3:00, and I served them lunch at noon. At 1:00 all the kids around the neighborhood (all under age 7) arrived. They had 30 minutes to bounce without getting hurt, until the big kids arrived at 1:30. At 3:00 all the family and neighborhood little kids left, and the big kids then had an hour to bounce around wildly, since they had been invited to stay till 4.

We had cupcakes which had had the wrappers taken off before being frosted, and were able to have "cake" in hand with no plates, utensils, or mess. I've found that kids tend to eat the whole cupcake and not just lick off the frosting when there is no paper to contend with. Easy.

The kids also had a blast hunting around for their candy "treasure" bags that had been hidden around the backyard. I was so pleased that when we couldn't find one, all the kids readily agreed to share one piece of candy with the girl who couldn't find hers (showed up in the gas grill the next day).

It was tough when everyone was gone. R headed out with one of our guests for a sleepover, and it was just E and B and I. I bounced around in the house a bit, and we all had a good laugh when I lost my balance and almost fell.

We had a quiet evening together, and E had lots of fun bouncing in the morning before the guy came to take the house away.

It really was an awesome day. And it was certainly the easiest kids party I ever hosted. But honestly, I can't see how people spend this kind of money on kids' parties year after year. Crazy.

Memorial Day Weekend

We headed up to Maine this year. I usually avoid my mother's enormous family around holiday time, but I was feeling like B needed the break from home, and my mom dotes over him to his great satisfaction. Plus it's a really cool place to be to feel the summer's potential.

We had a fantastic Saturday playing with my three-year-old nephew, M. He's been slow to blossom and it was really nice to see him interacting so much. He really bonded with my kids when they were up there during the week of B's surgery, and was super excited to see them when we arrived.

My brother talked my mom into lending him money for a small electric motor for the row boat. I'm glad he did, because B would not have been able to take the boys on their usual row (another couple of months of restricted activities while he continues to recover from his surgery), and it's something he really enjoys doing when we go up there.

We went up to my Grandmother's cottage at Granny Kent Pond on Sunday. Where the bazillions of people always are. Except this time there was almost no one. It was incredibly disappointing that none of the other four 1997 boys' families showed up, because my kids had no one to play with all day. And they were already dealing with the disappointment of Aunt D canceling her trip home from Colombia at the super last minute. Poor R had even brought his tadpole with sprouting legs all the way to Maine to show her.

It was also a bummer that one of my uncles was sick and the dock couldn't be put out into the water without his manpower. Plus the picnic tables were behind the dock. Which all adds up to my Memorial Day inside instead of on the beach.

Nevertheless, R did say at the end of the day that it was still better than just hanging out at Grandma's all day. They had an acceptable time fishing and playing in the water and with the sand and drinking soda and eating Doritos and red peppers and hot dogs. And I got to hang out with my grandmother since some of her entourage didn't show up and I didn't feel like I was on stage. She's 91 and getting tired. I don't blame her; eight kids is a lot. And they kept coming home...

Sunday was the most enjoyable day. E enjoyed some quiet time fishing with the boat tied to the dock. He was determined to catch something, but never managed it.

I took time to enjoy the view from the deck...and the deck from the view...

We had an excellent time playing some miniature golf with Grandma (my mom). My boys are so blessed to have a Grandma who adores them and interacts with them so much.

After that we enjoyed some scallops, lobster roll, clam chowder (don't even ask "what kind?"), haddock fish and chips, and chicken tenders at The Weathervane. Yum!

And finally it was time to go.

But R didn't want to.

In a big way.

He wanted to stay in Maine with Grandma until this weekend, when she is coming down to Connecticut for E's birthday party anyway.

So he talked about it with E, and E decided to stay too.

It was a really agonizing decision for E. The week of B being in the hospital is still with him. He is so worried about his dad. But he loves R most, and didn't want to leave without him. Plus the next day was his birthday and we were planning to go to a Rockcats game, which we had done last year and he loved.

But after reassuring him that B would be fine, and that we would go see the Rockcats another night, yes with Nagy Papa too, he decided to stay. The security of getting to hold on to my new cell phone seemed to help.

I have to admit that driving away from them was a surreal experience. I could still see the apprehension on E's face, but knew he'd be glad he made the decision he did. And B and I got to spend the rest of our 18th Wedding Anniversary alone.

And now several days...

Wordless Wednesday

"My Man"

Wordless Wednesday is a meme. For me, it is the day when I present a photo of our lives without explanation (other than a title for the photo).

The blogroll of others who are participating can be found here. Spend a few minutes looking at some really great photos!

Good Stuff

Life is moving along...

April ended with zoo class at the Beardsley Zoo. The younger class did an obstacle course to help learn about habitats, and it looked so much fun to the older kids that a few of them hung around after class to give it a try. They had a great time.

May started with friends being kind enough to help out with a few things. B is prohibited from lifting things over 5 pounds so we needed some help getting the summer clothes down from the loft in the garage and putting the air conditioner in the kitchen window. We had the added bonus of a knitting lesson for B and guidance on how to build the tree fort which I am likely going to end up doing myself. Somehow it feels like pizza wasn't enough of a thank you, but being humble and asking for/accepting help when I need it are some of the lessons I am learning from B's illness. I was extremely glad to have this family visit; they are such great people, I wish our lives ran a little more parallel. I always thoroughly enjoy the times I/we do get though.

On B's last weekend home recovering from surgery before returning to work, we headed to Brooksvale Park to check out some tadpoles. It was really drizzly out but turned out to be a very enjoyable afternoon. Our friend's Dad is the Park Ranger there and it was fun running into them on our walk around the pond. The boys had great fun catching dozens of tadpoles and catching up with their friend, who now goes to school.

The boys have been having oodles of fun with our new webcam. They can talk to Aunt D, and actually see her, (for free!) through Skype now. They talk several times a week and play Webkinz with her while speaking to her. Also, R is having fun being her poker buddy on Facebook.

As the weather is getting nicer the boys are spending more time outside. They and their friends build a ramp/slide into the sand pit which they had filled with water. Basically it was a giant mud puddle that they glided into. They had so an excellent time.

We joined our playgroup for a field trip to a crypt underneath the Center Church on the New Haven Green. We were told the wrong time and got there first, but that worked out fine since the organist was practicing and allowed us to watch a bit. She also spoke to us about the organ. Very cool stuff.

Then we headed up into the church, where our tour guide spoke about the church and how it came to be on top of a graveyard. He was very informative and did a great job keeping the kids engaged. But the really cool part was when we got to go down under the church and see the actual crypt. Very, very cool.

I was glad to find that both boys were interested enough to actually pay attention rather than socializing with their friends as they used to do on field trips. Perhaps they are getting settled enough to participate in more of these things. On the other hand the trip was a reminder of how I hate being on field trips with other families. People just don't keep their kids quiet, and not only does it disturb everyone's enjoyment of what's going on, but it also makes me feel that homeschoolers get a bad name that way, and I hate to be associated with them.

We finally celebrated R's birthday (only three months late) at Laser Planet. We were putting it off till after Disney, then ended up having to put it off till after surgery. That R is such a good kid. Really. He was so patient.

He had a blast playing laser tag with all his friends. Each of the kids also got tokens and played some arcade games. R played played a game where you drop a token in the machine and it drops a ball. The ball lands on a number and that's how many tickets you get. He got 75! Then he added that to the bunch he got last time he was there, and got himself some sweet prizes.

I think all his friends had as much fun as he did. It was weird for me though because this was the first party I didn't have to do anything for. He even wanted cupcakes, so there was no need for me to cut and serve a cake. B and I just sat there for two hours while the kid who works there pretty much organized the whole thing and kept it flowing.

I still get to be photographer though :-)