38 years old

Happy Birthday to me! Hopefully, I've gotten a bit wiser, too. My brain certainly has increased in size as anyone can see by how it has pushed my thick head of hair aside;) I celebrated my birthday by renewing my drivers license and car registration and then paying $45 for a parking ticket I got last month because I ignored the signs and the still small voice that said, "You should probably move your car." Dumb. Stupid. Idiot. I've noticed increased vigilance on the roads around here from traffic cops as the economy has tightened. Our neighbors to the north, East Cleveland, have taken especial advantage of mobile traffic cameras to capture license plates of speedsters and red light runners.

Anyway, back to my birthday. The kids made and decorated cupcakes using the supplies they received on Easter. We didn't have 38 candles, so they spread about 14 out and then challenged me to blow them out in one breath, which I barely mananged to do.
We ended up opening gifts and eating cake about three days after my actual birthday because Joseph was in Columbus with his Science Olympiad team competing in the state competition. Joseph was really excited to go, and we were pleased that he made it through without any reported incidents. This was the first year that his school had a team, so it was pretty exciting for them to make it to the state level. The commerative t-shirt from this event is now his favorite shirt, so I think he had a good experience.

This weekend, Jacob is in Quebec with other middle-school French class students from the district. He will get to stay with a French Canadian family for a couple days and attend school up there, too. Jacob is really interested in geography, cultures, languages and international politics. I hope he enjoys this little trip up north. Who knows, we may be living up there in a couple of years.

Speaking of international things, I passed the oral assessment for the Foreign Service Officer test. I now have a conditional offer of employment from the State Department, the condidtion being I need to pass security clearance, medical clearance and final suitability. All of us are going through complete physicals right now to be used to determine our suitability for living overseas. Emma was quite amused by having to pee in a cup. We were talking about the tests with the missionaries during dinner last week, and Emma told them that she had to pee in a cup. For some reason, she felt that a urine test was enough like school achievement tests that it needed to be part of the conversation.

Easter dresses 2009

Once again, Rebecca made fabulous dresses for the girls and a fine vest for Sam (the only son with some sartorial interest). She picked the fabric out last year from the clearance rack at JoAnn's. Each is satiny, shiny and gingham-checked The girls picked thier own patterns, and this year they decided big poofy designs. I think Abby's might have a petticoat. As usual, Rebecca stayed up late for several nights last month in order to finish the dresses on time. Every year the kids look great. The dresses will get worn until the seams rip and the hems fray, especially for the younger girls. They eventually make great costumes for the dress-up box.

Of our kids, Emma is the one who is showing the most interest in craft and design. After her Easter dress was done, Emma noted that the bands on her dress could have been done in alternately colors of the fabrics from the other dresses. She often comes up with ideas for clothing designs, and she has even talked her mom into helping to create a few of these items. If I remember correctly, Emma designed and constructed her first dress when she was 5. She selected bits and pieces of fabric from the scrap box and told Rebecca where to piece them together. Last month, Rebecca gave Emma a bag of scrap fabrics (actually, Rebecca was throwing pieces out and Emma rescued a bag of scraps), and Emma and Lillian used safety pins to create outfits for their stuffed animals.

Sam and Emma like to visit the neighbor's yard, because they have a year-old puppy named Cricket. Sometimes they visit just because they can walk in that yard without sloshing through a mud pit. I have been reading a book on organic lawn care trying to come up with ideas on how to improve our back yard. We don't have much of a yard, but it will still take quite a bit of work to tear it out, build a drainage system, build up soil and then reseed the lawn. I hope I'm up to it.

Easter morning 2009

It's Easter, and we have afternoon church, so it's been a pretty laid back day so far. The kids did not get baths last night because of the ward talent show, so they're working on that now. Rebecca finished the last Easter dress sometime earlier this week, and I will get pictures of the girls all dressed up later.

Joseph decided that we needed to try leg of lamb for Easter dinner tonight, so we have been preparing a Greek Easter feast. Jacob keeps reminding us that to do it right, we need to wait two weeks for the official celebration date. Rebecca made lemon cheese pies and spanakopita last night while I helped with dyeing eggs, got kids to bed and prepared the Easter baskets. It was a late night. As I sorted candy, I made sure Abby would get pink eggs and pink candy, Jacob would not get malt Robin's eggs but would still have the same number of eggs, and every basket had the same number of pieces of candy. Fairness is a pretty big issue around here, and the kids are old enough that they might count.

When Rebecca and I were at Target purchasing candy, we looked at the toys. I really don't want to buy my kids toys any more, especially the cheap throw away kinds. So we assembled a series of items used to make fun cookies and cupcakes. This way we can do something as a family later on. I am on an "experiences not stuff" kick right now. Maybe it will help us build memories with a little bit of meaning and depth.

Abby was super impressed by the huge bag of marshmallows next to her basket. She did the happy dance, a series of jumps, arm swinging and vocalizations, while she showed her treasure to her siblings. The other kids have been through this experience enough times that they did not do "happy dances." In fact, Jacob and Joseph barely managed a few grunts of pleasure as they consumed jelly beans.

Lillian was the first one out of bed this morning, if you don't count my letting the dog out or Abby's 5AM awakening to move in with her parents. She is still pretty little, but she does not like being hot, so she kicks the covers off. And she's in the middle. I tried to get her back to her cold bed, but she did not want to this morning. Our little walk to the bathroom, kids' bedroom and back must of cooled her off enough because she settled down and went back to sleep. Lillian persistantly sang "Wake Up" for reveille this morning. It worked for the little kids, but Jacob and Joseph didn't hustle out of bed until I said, "You kids will just have to eat the boys candy." After emptying his basket, Joseph fell back to sleep on the couch.

Dyeing Eggs

It was our annual egg dyeing event last night. We did this at about 10PM after we got home from the ward talent night. We are still using up the egg dye tablet sets we purchased from Walmart several years ago on clearance after Easter. It's a great way to save money. All you have to do is remember that you bought some dye the year before.

Because it was late, we didn't do anything fancy. I boiled the eggs earlier in the day so we would be ready for this event. The kids each did 2-3 eggs. Except Abby, who did one after the other. Fortunately, she only had access to one color of dye at a time.

The kids mixed the colors and got some nice shades. The most interesting patterns and shades showed up in the morning as the dyes separated when sitting in the refrigerator overnight. One egg had a purple hue with blue spots and pink stripes. Cracks in the shells caused lighter spider webs patterns to appear. Very wabi-sabi.

Abby's hand turned blue. She was the only one not worried about staining her skin.

Emma skating practice

Emma has been learning to figure skate this year at the Heights Rec Center. She and Sam signed up for the homeschool sessions and have practically been getting private lessons. It's been fun for the kids, and they have both moved quickly through the skills, an impressive feat considering they only get to the rink once a week. When the Rec Center first opened, we purchased a family pass, and got the rink about once a week between lessons. As the kids have gotten older, and more of them, it has been more difficult to find time to justify the price of a membership. If Emma keeps showing interest in skating, we may have to reconsider. Sam wants to go fast on skates, so we've been discussing speed skating with him.

Court of Honor

Joseph and Jacob made rank advancements this month and were recognized in a court of honor. Joseph earned three merit badges and is now a First Class scout. Jacob earned five merit badges and is now a Star Scout. Our little troop only has four boys, so the opportunities for leadership and direct help from adult leaders is great. Our biggest challenge is getting out on outdoor activities, and continual training of our adult leaders, all of whom are Eagle Scouts, but none have much experience in running a scout troop.

This time, the council changed the procedures on submitting and recording advancements, so we were unable to get the badges in time. Our resourcefull troop committee chairperson printed up the badges on paper until the real ones arrive. Joseph thought that the paper versions were better than the real ones.

Another thing Rebecca and I noticed is that Joseph is growing too big for his scout uniform. Good thing Rebecca never got around to sewing on the patches. Jacob is now big enough to wear small adult size clothing, and Joseph may get as tall as Jacob this year. They will probably be taller than me by the end of the year.

Spring Egg Hunt

Spring has arrived, and my flowers are blooming. The crocuses are in their last blooms, and the daffodils are going strong. I planted these daffodils six years ago and was surprised by their size when they first popped up. I grabbed a bag of 100 daffodil bulbs at Walmart thinking that they would make an excellent border for the front planter. What I didn't realize was these bulbs were for miniature daffodils, so when they popped up in the spring, I thought something was wrong with my soil. Then I started to see short daffodils at flower and garden shops in pots. Now I like them much better than if I had put in full size daffodils. They have naturalized fairly well. Our hyacinths are just about ready to bloom, too. I planted about 70 new tulip bulbs on the one warm day after Christmas this year. This gives me about 150 or possible tulips in the front planter if the rabbits haven't eaten the stems before they get a chance to bloom.

Yesterday was the annual egg hunt sponsored by the CH parks and recreation department. Only Sam, Emma and Abbigail are still young enough to participate, so they had specific instructions to get extra chocolate eggs and jelly beans for their older siblings. This year, the grounds were wet so the eggs were scattered on the tennis courts. Last year, we had to do this in a mulitpurpose room inside the rec center. It was chilly and windy, so windy that many plastic eggs were blown across the courts and into the fences. It was funny, and the teenage volunteers had quite a time trying to keep the eggs in their designated age-group areas.

I tried to get action shots of the kids picking up eggs, but Sam and Emma were too fast, and Abby was too far away on another set of courts. Once the horn blows, the kids rush out onto the courts and start picking up plastic eggs. The older kids, 7-9 group, are usually done in about 2 minutes, the 4-6 age group takes about 5 minutes, and the 2-3 year olds 7 minutes. Only the young toddlers take their time being quite satisfied with one or two eggs, and only keep going at the urging of their parents. I can't blame them, the chocolate eggs are mostly chocolate flavored wax, and only the big kids have a chance to get prizes. I am grateful for the volunteers and park employees that put this on every year. The kids and parents have a great time. The anticipation is high. And the fire truck is pretty cool.

We have been participating in community egg hunts now for 13 years, and we have amassed a collection of plastic eggs that fills a large black garbage bag. I've got to find out if the park department would appreciate a donation.