Rock To Wind A String Around

Thought it was time…

>Elliott seems to have the same creeping crud that is infecting the rest of Cowtown. Unfortunately, he’s missed his second circus class in 2 weeks. I tried to push him a little to go today (because he didn’t seem that sick) but he really insisted that he was too ill to go. I’m not sure what we’ll do about the remaining classes and performance–he says he doesn’t mind not performing, but it makes me sad for him. He used to love circus, but now there’s an issue–he just won’t tell me what it is.

>I’m checking out the Ethiopian Cultural Center here on Saturday. It’s fairly new and while meant to support the ever-growing Ethiopian population in Cowtown, they’ve made great efforts to welcome the adoptive community to join them. I am very excited–they offer Amharic classes for both children and adults and the program is growing. Have I mentioned that I’m excited to check things out?

>On Friday, I’ll have the good fortune to escort Astrid to the USCIS for finger-printing. Although she was supposed to be issued a green card a month after she arrived in the US, it never came. When we called to rectify the situation (um, to get a green card) we were told that they already sent it once and by not calling in a timely fashion we were now on the hook for another 300.00 and yes, now she would need to be fingerprinted before they would proceed. We need the green card to get the temporary tax ID number in order to do our 2007 taxes. ‘And the green grass grew all around all around, the green grass….

>On Sunday we had a little cocktail hour thingy with all of the neighbors on the block. I was welcomed as Elliott’s mom–apparently, he’s met everyone on the street and managed to charm more than half of them. Astrid wooed the other half of the crowd. It was warm enough for her to wear the darling yellow dress I bought at a thrift store (for 75 cents!) more than 2 years ago. She looked adorable and was happiest when she could sit in the middle of a group of grownups while drinking an ounce or two of water out of big Solo cup. A fun time was had by all.

>When not working on various fund raising-related ideas for Ethiopian Orphan Relief, I spend my time researching homemade deer repellent. The docile beasts are leaping through abundance to get over the fence to the meager (but perhaps more tasty morsels?) planted in my flower beds. These disparate interests make me a real kick at dinner parties–book me today!

With a combo mortgage/student loan payment that eats 71% of Albert’s take-home pay, I’ve been feeling broke and ungracious given the relative gorgeousness of my life, and so, a list of things I am grateful for seems to be in order:

1. Amazing weather and the apple trees in my yard are newly in bloom–splendid!

2. A new friend (who seems to share my love of radishes–a true friend indeed!)

3. It’s Thursday, which means Albert will be home in about 6 hours

4. Elliott’s braces are working

5. EOR was just granted 501c3 status. We can begin to actively raise funds now!

6. I get to buy Astrid new summer shoes today. I hate to spend the money but I’m awfully glad she’s growing so well.

7.  Fabulous news arrived from far-off corners of my world.  There is much to rejoice.

8. We can resume our regularly-scheduled Friday evening activities (trust me, it sound more exciting that it is).  The new babysitter lives three doors down.  She’ll arrive after Astrid goes to sleep to hang with the boy.  She seems happy that we want to hire her every Friday, and we’re happy that no schlepping need occur to secure her arrival.

9.  No head-injuries have been sustained by any of my posse’ members since Monday.

10.  People  (I don’t know) are reading my blog .  No really, it’s true.  I (meaning Albert) finally installed a stat counter after almost 10 months of blogging.  Hello Tokyo!

11.  Have I mentioned it’s Thursday?  How I love that man o’ mine.

It’s good to be me.

Don’t worry, another heady dose of whining is sure to follow this post, this was just a good idea for today.  Really!

It’s been a 2-day head injury extravaganza here in Cowtown. In a five minute span last night Albert took out both of the children. First, he managed to knock Elliott’s head into a wall (he was trying kindly to corral the boy out of the tired Astrid’s room). There was a lot of anger and some bitter tears from Elliott while Albert tried to explain that A–it was an accident and 2.–he shouldn’t have been in Astrid’s room in the first place (we have a no visitors policy while we get her ready for bed–they gum up the works). Elliott left in a huff, and at first things seemed fine, but he kept calling to Albert and Astrid Meklit was getting a little too excited every time she heard her favorite brother. Albert thought to muffle the sounds of the Xciting boy by shutting the bedroom door and Astrid chose that very moment to slide head-first off the changing table. The silence between the thud and cry let me know that it was serious, although by the time Albert retrieved the ice , Astrid was soothed and chatting companionably with me. The event left her banged and scabbed and a little anxious about being on the table, but I think she’ll be fine.

You’d think with so many lumps, we’d all be a little more careful today, but well, you’d be wrong. I got my OWN lump (because I like to match the children) today on the playground. Stupid f@####* safety bar at the top of the slide. I was trying to release Astrid gently (to save her from another injury) and smacked my forehead on the bar as I leaned down over the slide. I saw stars for so long, we stayed at the playground for eons before I deemed it safe to walk home.  I hit hard enough  that a dad sitting nearby came running over to check on me (embarrassed much?)  He said he heard the thud from across the playground.  Hooray for my noisy frontal lobe!

We all look so tough with our various battle wounds, nobody will mess with us on the mean streets of Cowtown.

Keeping my family safe, one concussion at a time…

Yesterday was one of those incredible, head-shakingly beautiful spring days. It was warm and sunny and each tree we passed was prettier than the last. The tots and I were out early to sale through various yards–we didn’t buy much, although I did find a huge (and lovely) soup tureen at a tag sale. I’ve wanted one for ages, but never found one that fit all of my criteria–they were always too small, too expensive, or not my taste. The antique I found fit the bill admirably. It was more than I wanted to spend but a bargain nonetheless so I snatched it up. We drove through several new-to-us neighborhoods, each one in glorious full bloom, and had a good time chatting with the people making the same circuit. Astrid Meklit was wearing a new-to-her pink Hanna sundress (which will now belong to Ruth, because an 80? What was I thinking? I could barely squeeze her into the thing) and she looked so pretty especially as her cheeks pinked from the warm weather.

After our full morning, we zipped home for a quick lunch and a nap for Astrid while Elliott and Albert took a ride on the river path. Once Astrid M was awake, we all walked down to the park and played for ages. Elliott met some other boys his age and played baseball with them while Albert & I chased the small girl up and down the equipment. Once home, it was too beautiful out to think of eating inside so we cleaned off the patio table and had black bean pasta salad and grapes in the yard while a few deer walked through the ravine.

Albert had something to do right after dinner, and I didn’t relish dealing with post-dinner cleanup, obligatory baths and bedtime on my own (because that’s what the rest of my week looks like. Ok, minus the obligatory baths–those aren’t as often as you might think. Hence the obligatory nature of the one Astrid Meklit had last night…) but the terrific two were happy to play outside while I cleared, washed pots, swept, vacuumed and mopped, and then ran Astrid’s bath. When I finally retrieved the lovely dirty lady, the neighbors’ grandchildren had come over to play so Elliott stayed out for another 45 glorious minutes making sure to wring every ounce of sunshine from the day. By the time I lassoed him and sent him off to his bath, the driveway was littered with a pogo stick, a bike, bubbles, roller-skates, 37 jillion balls and a scooter. There was a lot to clean up, but it was one hell of a good party while it lasted!

As April is National Poetry Month, I gathered a lot of poetry-making supplies at the library at the very end of March. We’ve always been poetry readers here, we share several poems daily–and as Elliott has gotten bigger it’s been no small thrill to observe him as he memorizes various poems. His first was ‘F is the Fighting Firetruck’ at age four, but many have followed since. With all of this emphasis on poetry enjoyment, it’s been sad and a little surprising to me that perfectionist boy has been reluctant to write his own verses.

As interested in what I’m doing as he is in anything else, Elliott loves to read over my shoulder while I visit my favorite blogs. Lately, I’ve made sure to pull up Amy’s whenever he hangs over my shoulder. Amy takes National Poetry Month seriously (as we all should!) and has offered lots of helpful activities for letting the poetry flow. After a few days of checking out the awesome third eye pictures, Elliott asked if he might do the same but I was terribly non-committal. Nothing seems to chase the muse away faster than some excitement on my part. A day or so later, I began to work on my own superlative poems. Elliott swore he could write them too, but again, I was boldly doubtful (and  yes, it was a purposeful lack of enthusiasm). I finally suggested that maybe, just maybe, Elliott could try one with some assistance from me. He agreed, and this was his initial attempt:

Gremlins

The scariest things in the world are gremlins

They are green like guts

They smell like a rotten mango

They make me feel like peeing my pants

It’s the quintessential 9 year old boy poem! After we wrote a few more together, I thought he’d be finished, but he enjoyed writing poetry so much, he’s become the Walt Whitman of the playground set. It took him awhile to channel his emotions into his verse, but by Sunday night, I think he figured it out. See below:

Daddy

The worst thing in the world is Albert

He follows through with things

and he’s red with fury.

After being denied a movie outing, Elliott shared this little gem with us. Other poems have followed, but this one is definitely a keeper.

We’ll be trying a new form tomorrow, but we’ll probably keep those to ourselves. If we share all of the glee here, we’ll never find a decent publisher. Yes, Elliott has given up his dreams of being a professional runner (or skater) to become a professional poet. Glad he’ll be able to support me in my old age…

So, Mrs. Four has tagged me for the 10 random things meme. Never one to shy away from duty, (or attention from my blogging betters!) here are ten:

1. I was once the roommate of Marshall Ledbetter. Because of this, I enjoyed a stunning 2 minutes (of my famous 15) on CNN.

2. I have an irrational fear of hair–not ponytails or braids, but loose hair just lying around. The ick factor far outweighs a garbanzo bean diaper. I’ve been losing a great deal of hair since the year before my hysterectomy. I am my own biggest nightmare!

3. My friend Kerry says I have an Ernie laugh. It may be true. I blame the Children’s Television workshop–I adore the pre-Elmo Sesame Street–apparently I’m identifying a little too closely with my favorite orange fellow.

4. I’ve been planning to adopt since I was eight years old. I read a Scholastic book called ‘A Ready-made Family’ and knew I wanted to adopt children—I would save them from terrible cousins who wanted them to work all of the time. I think Elliott would disagree on the work front…

5. Sometime late in my teens my blue eyes became green. My father doesn’t remember this. Every time he sees me, he asks if I’m wearing colored contacts. It makes me laugh!

6. I like to cook, but I love to bake. I’m always in search of something new, and have few recipes in my ’stable’ of well-loved dishes because—–there’s always something better, I just haven’t made it yet.

7. I hate the noise balloons make when they rub against anything–I really restrict my children’s access to the heinous things. I blame my latex allergy, but really, it’s the noise, always the noise…

8. If I could, I’d take a vacation in a library. I don’t need to own the books–I just want to enjoy them for long, uninterrupted stretches of time.

9. Radishes–I’m a big fan of radishes.

10. Nat King Cole–I’m a bigger fan of Nat King Cole!

I know I’m supposed to tag five other people with this meme, but I’m always doing them light years after other people, so I can’t fathom that anyone is left in the dominion of blog to tag. If you are waiting for an invite (Abby? Kristen? Julie?) please, be random, and then tell me about it

It’s been the best kind of splendid birthday. The rainy chilly weather departed so that I could take the totlets to the zoo (a birthday tradition for many years) and we had a great time. It was sunny and warm, and the animals seemed as happy to see the sun as we were (there were seven frolicking otters to enjoy!!) . Albert worked from home today, so he was here for our festive breakfast (French toast souffle’ made entirely by Elliott) and then we went to dinner together. Elliott also made cupcakes for the occasion (ala Martha, with a little help from me) and he and Albert surprised me with a photo light box they made (following internet directions). It will be great for taking photos of small inanimate objects–especially the items my new non-profit group is planning to sell online.

We dissected the year over dinner–talking about the high points and such, and really, even with all of the craziness, it was an amazing year–the addition of new friends, and returning to old ones–it’s more than I ever hoped for.

Okay, so here’s my public proclamation. I’m having a party on Saturday to celebrate the year. Less a birthday party than a homecoming, I’m looking forward to chatting with the women I like so much or would like to get to know better (seller of twine, I mean you!) If I know you–come eat cake at my house on Saturday night. Send me an email, or leave a comment, and I’ll share all of the pertinent details. I’ll also be issuing more personal invitations, but I don’t see everyone on a regular basis, so I thought I’d give a shout here…

……and now you’re older still!

Seriously overdressed–that was the theme for my Napa weekend. Even with a mandate of ‘Business Casual’ people arrived in jeans and stayed in them through the weekend (more or less). Most comfortable in my own layer of denim, it was off-putting to sport both a hemline that stopped at the knee rather than the ankle, and a decidedly less-than-demure neckline in my wrap dress the first night. Still, Napa is beautiful, the massage was lovely, and dinner in a wine cave was an incredible experience, even without the wine. The company I kept was the best of all though. Sometimes I forget just how much I like my husband! Seriously–we don’t spend much time alone together, he’s gone so much, I really like to maximize our family time on the weekends, but I’m telling you, a weekend away really helps me to remember why we got married in the first place. Hey, get your minds out of the gutter! I was referencing our deep and sometimes meaningless conversations that so often go missing in the midst of Astrid, Elliott, Mary P. and errands. Now that we know Astrid can thrive even without us close by, we’ve decided to plan a weekend away every year (or at least until our abundance of hotel/airline/and rental car points run out…)

Speaking of Astrid, she was mostly content while I was gone. She didn’t want to talk to me on the phone, but my mom said she went to bed easily, continued her marathon eating sessions and played happily when she wasn’t engaged in the other two activities. She’s been a little clingier since I came home–but I expected that and she’s clearly discussing the experience, “momma, momma, bye-bye, BACK!” so I think she’s got it. She’s a little less happy with Albert, as he was away for two weeks, but she warmed to him this morning as we got ready to go out, and she’s been telling all of us, “daddY daddY, BACK” so I think he’s forgiven too.

We hit our first yard sale of the year this morning. Albert loathes them, but he had dragged us out early for a 5K race (he ran goodly!) so he was affable when the subject came up. We bought all manner of sealing wax, cabbages and strings. Nothing we needed, but lots of fun tidbits, and the prices were right. Elliott is outside now, rolling around in his new-to-him roller blades. He ran this morning too, and is now planning to live the life of a professional runner, or maybe skater–because the sport of skating definitely has better music.