Meet Baby

This is Baby. We found Baby on our front step this afternoon. His little gray body trembled in the early afternoon breeze. He was scared and all alone, his cries loud and strong. We tried leaving him alone, hoping his mom would come back for him.

I later found him in the middle of the driveway and then again, about to fall off a ledge. Each time, I moved him back near a bush near where we originally found him. By mid afternoon, he was shivering and not moving much. I wrapped him in a cloth and put a jar or warm water under him in a box on the porch. I fed him some sugar water. It seemed to perk him up.

We took him to the soccer field with us and nestled him up in a tree. By this time, as I was walking across the field, he had regained some energy and was climbing up my arm. And when the girls went to check on him, he was gone.

I like to hope that he'll live out his days running free. But in reality, I don't even know if he'll make it through the night. All I know is that I couldn't watch him die.

Good-bye Baby, we'll be watching for you!

Thank God for small miracles

Today I had to pick up Einey's First Communion dress from the cleaners. A task I dreaded.

You see, on a photo shoot last week, I allowed Einey to get sat in a tree and the dress got dirty. real dirty. On a crisp white dress. Not pretty. We immediately dropped it off at the cleaners, but they couldn't promise the beading wouldn't melt or fall off during the cleaning process.

And so I dreaded today. I feared the worst.

But Hallelujah! The dress is good as new.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go put it in it's air tight glass case where it will reside until the event Sunday.

Tales from the Super Slacker

Lately, there hasn't been much to write about. And after a long, cold winter, I've been doing what many other New Englanders have been and spending time outside. Alot of it. Gardening, hiking, playing baseball (definitely not my girl's sport), soccer, and eating ice cream. Unfortunately, not swimming yet, although the girls ask every day if we can. Unfortunately, I've neglected my blog.

So here's some shorts, heard around the 'hood recently.

In the car:
Moe: ...blah, blah, and we have babies in our bellies.
Me, interrupting: Um, who has a baby in their belly.
Einey: We all do, only right now their eggs. Once we get bigger, they'll grow into babies. Thanks Mrs. Second Grade teacher for teaching anatomy this month (which is the second big class project the Einey finished before anyone else - super hard ass parents!).

On the soccer field:
The kids introducing themselves the first night.
Moe: Mommy Whirlwind
All kids staring at her, that's not your name!
Coach B (laughing): That's not your name, who are you?

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Soccer Trainer from England: We're going to play the stop light game, do you know the colors of the stop lights? ... Yup, red, yellow and green.
Funny Kid: Wait, you forgot blue.
Soccer Trainer from England: What's blue for, I'm not familiar with that one?
Funny Kid: It means to pull over.
Me to Coach B: I wonder if that's from experience?

Poor guy was sad that we all laughed.

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Funny Kid: I've got my super shoes on, I can run really fast.

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Funny Kid: Coach, can you stand back up (when I knelt down)? The sun is in my eyes!

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Funny Kid: Wait, this is too hard, I don't know that, I'm only five! (he's one of the oldest kids on the team).

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Funny Kid (In TJ Maxx after our first game): I had fun, I was the best kid out there.
His mom: Not that he actually stayed on the field.
Me: Yes, Yes you were.
Einey as we walked away: You know, I really like him, he's very funny.
Me: yes, yes he is.

It's going to be a great season, I can already tell. I'm sure we'll get plenty of more laughs out of him! I guess it balances out the kid who hates every game we play and HAS to have a specific ball or he runs of the field pouting.

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Soccer Trainer from England: Okay, I saw some kids using their hands.
Group of 20 kids: I didn't.
Soccer Trainer from England: You know these (holding up hands) are called hands right?
Group of 20 kids: Yup.
Soccer Trainer from England: And none of them used them?
Group of 20 kids: Nope.

The funny thing is, I was watching the girl who grabbed the soccer ball like a football and ran like a defensive linebacker through the field with it answer that she didn't touch it with her hands.

In the house:
Me: Why is the bathroom floor all wet?
Moe: "Cuz there was an ant in it.
Me: That doesn't explain why the floor is soaked.
Me: Spies watter gun in sink
Me: Did you, by any chance, happen to fill up the water gun to shoot the ant?
Moe: Yup.
Me: Ey yi yi.

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In other news, we're T-7 days until Eieny's First Communion and I am awaiting to get her dress back from the cleaners on Monday. We had a bit of a mishap when getting formal pictures done and I pray the cleaners can work magic, do voodoo whatever it takes to get it cleaned in time!

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And since I have the night to myself (the girls and daddy are at the daddy-daughter/mother-son dance) I'm gonna hurry up and clean and hang around on Facebook and then go relax.

What's insanely funny is Einey's comment.

Einey (reading over my shoulder - I hate that!): You don't have any more wine?!!!!!!!!!!! Oh no, what are you gonna do? You can't be serious.

Dude, I'm not much of a drinker, but apparently my kids think otherwise.

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And since I want to know what your doing, tell me what the weather's like this weekend and what your doing! For us, it hit almost 90 today! And we spent the day at the soccer field (and one kid when to the zoo, another a birthday party). Tomorrow, we plan on hiking since Husband goes back to work Thursday. He's been home since April 9th and amazingly, I'm not sick of him. We've been having a blast (and getting things done around here)!

What's in a name?

The other day, I thought that I'd like to change my name. At that point, the name "Dad" sounded very good. The girls, since starting spring break, have thought that 6:00 am is a fantastic time to start the day. And how do you start the day? With lots of squabbling, running around, playing with the loudest toys possible, yelling and walking in my room every 2.5 seconds to ask a question. I thought I was lucky though, when Husband volunteered to go downstairs with them so I could sleep in. That lasted about 10 minutes before they were back upstairs. I shooed them down while still trying to rest a million four times before one of them came in to tell me they were hungry.

"Go tell your dad, he's downstairs".
Klump, klump, klump downstairs. Klump, klump, klump upstairs.
"Dad's sleeping, can you get me something?"
"#%^@ @%* !&(+?"

This happens anytime I want a bit of privacy. For some reason, dad gets tons of room and tons of time to do what he needs to in peace. I think they're afraid of him :P

But then I hear "I love you mom" and "your the best mom in the whole wide why-orld" and remember how much I love being the mom.

Loving spring

After a looooooooong winter, we have been enjoying spring here in New England!

Watching the flowers bloom, painting the stone wall and just playing outside. We gave the girls walkie talkies, and except for the fights that there are only two of them, they've loved them. Add bubbles, hula hoops, baseballs and the jungle gym and they've been having a blast. So if you can't find us, we'll be outside soaking up some sunshine and getting our fair share of Vitamin D!

Over achieving fun loving gal

Sometimes I think we push our girls too hard. We want them to be the best they can be. We don't let them procrastinate. We don't allow quitting. If they sign up, they're in it for the long haul. We've made the older two save their money to buy their own DS's (Meenie proudly went to game stop three weeks ago with her money to purchase her own!)

Last week, Einey was given 11 sheets for a social studies project. I asked her do one sheet at a time, and then work on it over the weekend. It wasn't a hard project, and she finished it over the weekend. That was with redoing one page that got ripped by her sister. The due date on the project is May 6th. So she finished a full month in advance. It wasn't hard and all we asked for from her was to do one page a night.

She's also got a science project she's working on - coloring and cutting out the parts of the body. Husband got a kick out of this when he heard from outside "Hey, you forgot to color the ovaries." She's not finished this project, but only has 6 more pages to color and then cut out what she's done so far. This doesn't have a due date that I know of, but I think by the end of April. I suspect she'll be done it sooner.

We try not to be too strict, but one thing we instill in them is work hard, take your time and do your best (or we'll make you do it over). We also try on projects that take a long period of time, to do a little bit at a time, and try to get it out of the way. That way, you don't have to worry about it.

At first, she was like "but it's not due until May". But now, she's happy that it's one less thing she has to do. Even as I type, she's curled up, playing a Wii game, content with not having projects to work on. And she knows that she doesn't have to worry about it.

And it's times like right now, that I know, even if we push a little bit hard, that the girls are learning some great work habits.

As I mentioned before, I didn't have any set religious upbringing.

In fact, I didn't make my First Communion until I was 18 years old. Midnight Mass, Christmas Eve, 1998. It became important to me to make my first communion before we were married. Our wedding was set for October 9, 1999. I didn't wear a little white gown, in fact, I don't remember what I wore. I have yet to make my confirmation, to become a full adult member of the Catholic Church. I don't know why I haven't, but just haven't. I probably should check into that.

Growing up, there was a white gown, with a lace top and a small cross hanging in my parents closet. It was yellowed, but I would sit there and finger the gown and dream about wearing it one day. I believe it was my mother's, but I don't know what the occasion was (she wasn't Catholic). The other thing I coveted was the family bible, passed down on my mother's side of he family.

Last week, my mother, Einey and I went shopping for her First Communion gown. Einey is beyond excited. She's been waiting for this day for over a year, when she first started asking about it.

I started off by grabbing a few 6 and 7 gown's off the rack. We go to the dressing room and found that they were way to big. There were no size 5's. There was one size 4. She tried it on. It fit, but was plain, not even a first communion gown, just white with a bow. She wanted something more. We asked if other's could be ordered. They said yes, we could look in the catalog. Nothing came in a size 4. A few came in size 5. We found a gown that she likes in a 5. it's on order and should come in this week. I hope it fits.

Her invitations have come in. We mailed them out last week. We're doing a small brunch following the ceremony with just immediate family. Her friends will be celebrating with their families. her gifts are ordered and we've started finalizing the menu. We declare to be Switzerland - at our home and her ceremony.

To be continued..... (in May)

Bless me father, for I have sinned

Monday, Einey made her First Penance in a small ceremony at school. It brings her one step closer to her First Communion in May. For those of you not Catholic, First Penance is first confession, where they confess their sins for the first time (yes, at age 7).

I wasn't going to go to the Mass. I didn't realize that they had things to share with their families. It was only when Einey mentioned she was signing at the front of the church, alone, that I decided to go. She did fantastic!

Prior to making their first confession, the teacher sent home some worksheets for us to follow with the kids, to get them comfortable for when the time comes. She didn't want to practice, she was confident and self-assured. I didn't ask what she was going to confess to, I believe that is between her and God (and the Priest). But I hope, that as she grows, when the time comes, she will come to me if she needs to.

Each year, as she makes her journey through school and grows with the chruch, I too am learning. I wasn't raised in a religious household, although that's not to say I was raised without a religion. I was baptized Catholic as an infant. My father is Catholic, my mother was Protestant. I attended CCD (briefly) in first grade. I went to church with friends - Assembly of God, Episcipalian, Methodist. I attended Synogog's and Southern Baptist Masses. I read the bible and learned scripture. I'm glad I got to find my way, to experience other faiths and tradidtions.

We're open with the girls, and answer questions when they ask. But they love their chruch, their religion. I've said it before, their school is like a giant network of extended friends and family. A place of security and serenity.

To be continued.......