Birthday Eve!

Tomorrow is the big day! The kidlets turn 7!!! I got the Zeus thunderbolt cake finished for their Greek Myth party.

The inside of the invite reads, "
Attention Gods and Goddesses, Heroes, Mortals and Immortals.

Zeus has decreed your presence is desired at N***, L*** and E***’s 7th birthday party!

The Oracle of Delphi has
foreseen that we will enjoy
feasting, merriment, and festivities.

Send forth your chariot to arrive at Mount Olympus, *** Main Street, on April 29 at 2pm."

We've got our crafts all ready. The kids will be making paper heart baskets in honor of Aphrodite, they'll make owls for Athena, do some Greek weaving and write their names in Greek.

There will be games and the kids have drawn pictures of the gods that are decorating all the walls of the house. They are so excited!

Birthday plans

The kidlets turn seven on Saturday and are busy planning their birthday party. They decided that they want a Greek Myth themed party. The invitations are little greek scrolls tied up with blue ribbon.

Emily designed the birthday cake. She wants a thunderbolt cake in honor of Zeus. I'll be making that on Friday and I'll post a picture when it is done.

The games they've planned include a Persephone relay where the kids will run with 6 seeds in a spoon from earth to the underworld without spilling. We'll do some Olympic events like shotput potatoes and make Medusa snake windcatchers. We'll play pin an eyeball on Argus and make Aphrodite paper heart baskets.

Here's some drawings Gooseygirl made to decorate the house with Greek Gods. They are incredibly excited about it and I'm getting jazzed too! Check back in at the end of the week for more updates and pictures.

Jammin' on the lake

We took the boat out to the lake on Saturday. It was our first time in it as a family. Did you see us? We were the ones jammin' out to the Lion King soundtrack as we cruised around. Oh, and the ones who suddenly stopped the boat and danced to Johnny Cash. Funny, we didn't see any other families dancing on their boats. Hmmmmm....

Also, BirdMan finished his quilt top! This is his first quilt and it is made of all Christmas fabrics. It is now ready to be quilted. He says he wants a flannel backing so that it is cozy warm in the winter.

Taj Mahal

I'm the weirdo at the tourist sites taking close up pictures of the molding, tile and carpet (the Opryland Hotel has wondrous carpets!). I find the best inspiration for my quilts in architectural details. In fact, I collect photos to inspire me when it comes time to actually quilt a quilt. I've been looking for a book that has these types of photos in it but haven't found it yet.

So, here's my eye candy for the day. The first photo is of stonework at the Taj Mahal. The second is from a church in Sweden. Aren't they incredible?

Cute Kidlet Quote of the Day:
Birdman: "Mommy, my angle hurts."
Mommy: "Your angle?"
Birdman: "Yeah, right here." Birdman then points to his elbow.

Sccccraaatchhhhh.....

Left- GooseyGirl. Right- BirdMan.

The children think my frantic screams of panic are hilarious. When have they had the opportunity to hear my frantic screams of panic, you ask? Well, that would be yesterday.

First off, let me tell you that GooseyGirl and BirdMan have decided they are going to become vets and open up a practice together. These are the drawings GooseyGirl made of their future careers. Notice that GooseyGirl is in charge of the cats and BirdMan is in charge of the birds. I'm not sure what they are going to do about the random dog that will need a checkup but that's to be decided later. The point is they both love taking care of animals.

Which brings me back to yesterday. We were sitting in the schoolroom doing our daily geography lesson. I started to hear a wierd scratching sound emanating from the schoolroom's fireplace.

There was something alive in the fireplace.

BirdMan said, "It's a snake, mom. Here, catch it in this". He hands me the pencil caddy from the desk. It is approximately three inches wide by 5 inches tall. Yeah, right.

I slowly opened the fireplace door, quickly peered in, my heart sank and I closed the fireplace back up again. It was a bird.

Gooseygirl said, "Mommy, what if its wing broke?"

My first instinct is to wait until the man of the house gets home to deal with it. My feminist ways disappear rapidly in instances like this. Removing live critters from fireplaces is definitely a man job. However, there was no way my little vets-in-training were going to allow the itsy-bitsy birdie to scratch and flutter for the next few hours until daddy got home.

BirdMan finds a plastic bucket and says, "Here, mom, catch it in this". That boy has more faith in me that I have in myself.

I take a deep breath, remind myself that I'm a grownup, open the fireplace door and plunge the bucket over the bird.

I missed.

As it flew out straight towards me, I started the frantic, incomprehensible screams of panic mentioned above. I yelled, "WHAAA, WHAAAA, WHAAAA... CLOSE THE DOOR TO THE HOUSE!"

GooseyGirl and RocketMan ran through the door and slammed it shut. BirdMan stays in the room with me and is thrilled. He informs me that the bird is a Carolina Wren. All I know is that I have a potentially injured bird flying around in the schoolroom.

I opened the back door and, thankfully, it miraculously flew out into the great blue yonder.

After a big sigh of relief, I opened the door to the house to let the other two kids back in, except I couldn't find GooseyGirl. I searched and finally found her huddled under her covers in her bed frightened to death. "Mommy, I thought it was going to peck on me", she said. I guess it is a good thing that she won't be the bird vet.

Later that night at the dinner table, the kidlets told Daddy this story with enhanced impersonations of my screams of panic. There were belly laughs all around as they imitated how freaked out I was, yelping and running through the schoolroom. Daddy said he would have given anything to have been able to have been a fly on the wall.

Hoppy Easter!

The kids were beyond excited about the Easter Bunny's visit. They set out carrots and water for the big rabbit and wrote him notes. They decided that the Easter Bunny came at sunrise so they were concerned that he wouldn't know what time they wake up in the morning. They didn't want to take a chance of suprising the bunny and therefore not getting any candy. The notes they wrote were so adorable!

The Punic Wars

During our history lesson, Rome and Carthage are fighting over trade routes. This went on for 60 years. Ancient civilizations sure did know how to drag out a conflict, didn't they?

Hannibal (not Lector) was a brilliant general for Carthage and took elephants over the Alps to invade Italy. They even ferried the elephants across the Rhone river! A huge number of elephants died but the impact of the surviving elephants during battle is legendary. It is even believed that he painted the elephants red, yellow and white to make them scarier as they charged the Romans who'd never seen an elephant. Can't you just imagine the panic in both the soldiers and the horses as they spy such a huge creature?

To have some fun with this history lesson we made elephant ears! YUMMY!

Hannibal's Elephant Ears
1 pkg. flour tortillas
cinnamon/ sugar

Heat oil in a large skillet. Place one tortilla next to your face and impersonate an elephant's roar while watching the disbelief in your children's eyes. Place tortilla in hot skillet. Let tortilla brown and puff up then flip to brown second side. Listen to your children discuss what animals they'd rather ride into a battle. GooseyGirl picks snow leopards because they can leap up to 40 feet, BirdMan picks peregrine falcon because they can go 155 miles per hour in a dive. RocketMan picks a Cheetah because they are the fastest land animal. Place hot tortilla into cinnamon/sugar mixture and shake to evenly distribute. Eat while stomping like an elephant!

Afternoon Run

LOCATION: The basement.

MOMMY IS AT THE COMPUTER MAKING A BLOG ENTRY CELEBRATING THE HATCHING OF TWO OF OUR CATERPILLARS INTO BUTTERFLIES. MOMMY IS RELAXED AND ENJOYING A HOT CUP OF COFFEE. THE KIDLETS ARE PLAYING OUTSIDE, THE BIRDS ARE CHIRPING, THE SUN IS SHINING. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

GOOSEYGIRL (casually entering the house): Mom? Where are you?

MOMMY: I'm downstairs.

GOOSEYGIRL: Look at this pretty flower mommy.

MOMMY: Oh, that's nice.

GOOSEYGIRL: I haven't seen this kind before. It is purple and smells good.

MOMMY (who is always looking to turn things into a learning opportunity): Do you see the stamen?

GOOSEYGIRL: Yeah, there's the boy part and look here's the pistol. That's the girl part.

MOMMY: That's right.

GOOSEYGIRL: I can't believe I found this.

MOMMY (who's turned her attention back to the computer to look for butterfly graphics for the blog): Where did you find such a pretty flower?

GOOSEYGIRL: Oh, by the soccer goal near the snake brothers are playing with.

MOMMY BOLTS FROM THE COMPUTER, RUNS UP THE STAIRS AND OUT THE FRONT DOOR. SHE'S MAKING GOOD TIME THROUGH THE FRONT YARD IN HER HOUSE SLIPPERS. SHE IS QUIETLY THANKFUL SHE ISN'T STILL WEARING HER PAJAMAS. AS SHE CLEARS THE TREES, SHE SPIES HER TWO BOYS SITTING ON THE GROUND STUDYING SOMETHING INTENTLY. AS SHE GETS CLOSER SHE CAN HEAR THEIR CONVERSATION.

ROCKETMAN: Does it have a round head or a triangle head? If it is a triangle head it is poisonous.

MOMMY (in a high pitched slightly hysterical voice): Boys! What are you doing?

BIRDMAN: Oh, I think it's just a rat snake mom, see.

THE SNAKE SUDDENLY BOLTS FOR THE PILE OF STICKS NEAR THE SOCCER GOAL. MOM LEAPS THREE FEET VERTICALLY IN THE AIR. HER HEART IS BEATING FAST AS SHE TRIES TO GET HERSELF UNDER CONTROL.

ROCKETMAN: Let's go get our reptile book and see if we can find it.

GOOSEYGIRL AND BIRDMAN: Okay, let's go.

THE THREE CHILDREN CASUALLY WALK TOWARDS THE HOUSE TO GET OUT THEIR FIELD GUIDES IN ORDER TO POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE SNAKE THEY FOUND. MOMMY IS STILL GASPING FOR BREATH.

Brainwashing

I'm not afraid to admit it. I have brainwashed my children. In fact, I'm fairly certain this is just a normal parental tactic to steer children in a desirable direction without the need for pesky details like evidence and facts.

The object of this brainwashing? McDonald's. That cheerful clown is truly the devil in disguise. I've never liked their food. (All right, except when I was a teen and craved their shakes but I think that was just because I had a sodium deficiency.) But after taking my little brother to MickeyD's way too often, I decided that no children of mine would be sucked in by the marketing beast that is Ronald McDonald. The movie, Super Size Me, simply reinforced my position.

It all began when my triplets were almost three years old and I had to take my van over to get its exhaust tested for the clean air act. I was by myself with three toddlers, one diaper bag and zero snacks. It started to rain and the kids were starving. Through the clouds I spotted the golden arches and made a beeline for the indoor playground and the cheap grub.

The kids were really enjoying themselves and I started to think that this is how the addiction begins. The new parent innocently takes the child to an indoor playground on a dismal day, they receive a cheap flashy plastic toy and history is made. Just when I started to feel remorse over the floodgates I had opened, Gooseygirl threw up her McBurger all over the table, floor and trays. IN that moment, fate had thrown me a bone. Hallelujah!

But what exactly is the proper etiquette in this situation with three toddlers in tow? I chose to clean up the table as best I could, notify the manager and leave tire marks in the parking lot as I squealed out of there.

To this day, every time we pass a McD's GooseyGirl says, "Yuck, McDonald's. Their food makes me sick."

I reply emphatically, "That's right. We can't ever eat there. We wouldn't want Gooseygirl to be sick!"

Now the boys aren’t quite convinced. They see the long lines of people, the brightly colored slides and think to themselves, maybe there’s more to that place then we’ve been led to believe. RocketMan says, “Look mom, it says they serve billions and billions of people. Why would all those people want to eat at such a yucky place?”

To which I reply, “Oh, they must all be CRAZY!”

BirdMan, RocketMan and GooseyGirl then repeat this assertion together in this distant brainwashed voice, “Yeah, crazy.” (insert evil laugh here) Heh, heh, heh, heh... my plan is still working. If only my brainwashing techniques had been able to keep Barney out of our world. I did hear about a mom whose discipline technique of choice for her preteens was to force them to listen to Barney songs for 10 minutes if they misbehaved. She said it was quite effective.

Hmmmm... I'll have to write that one down.

My giggle for the day.

The following conversation was overheard from the back of the car while the kidlets and I were running errands.

Birdman: Did you know we are like the T-Rex because we eat meat.

Gooseygirl: Yeah, but Cousin Holly is a Veterinarian 'cause she only eats vegetables.

Bwahhhhahhhahhhahhh!!!

Perspectives

Recently, Gooseygirl decided she needed a "To Do" list to plan out her day. She then wrote a heart beside all the things she loves to do and an X once she finished the tasks. I especially love the "hug dad mom" entry!

My mom has a worksheet that my brother filled out when he was in elementary school hanging on her fridge. The paper asked about his mother's likes and dislikes. Some of the questions were- What is your mother's favorite hobby? He answered "laundry". What is your mother's favorite activity? He answered "The dishes". My brother's young idea of who his mother is, was overshadowed by all she did to keep the house running. That paper gives me the giggles every time I see it.

When my kidlets were babies, I got to the point where I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything outside of babyland. In my diary I wrote, "Today I Accomplished: 1) turned on the washing machine". Now that doesn't mean that I loaded the washer. Nor does it mean I put the clothes, once washed, into the dryer. All it means is that I turned the dang thing on! Having children completely changes your perspective, eh?

We're on spring break this week and I had a mountain of things I wanted to complete but it seems like time liquefies and slips through my fingers. But more importantly, I want to make sure my kids see beyond my role in making this house function. I want them to see the woman, the person that is their mother. Maybe my "To-Do" list needs to revert back to the type of list Gooseygirl wrote.

Today Mommy Will:
-play with my kids
-nuzzle my cat
-laugh
-dream
-watch American Idol

There, that's much better! (and yes, I LOVE American Idol!)

Heroes

We talk to our children about morals and character traits often. We discuss their passions, gifts and talents. We talk about historical figures that set good examples. We talk about heroes.

Last night I was thinking about my definition of a hero. I believe a hero is someone who stands up to adversity and consistently demonstrates the quality of their character by their heartfelt actions and deeds. Once I defined the term in my mind I instantly knew who one of my heroes is.

My hero is my Dad.

His name is Fred and he is honest, loving, gentle, caring, intelligent and kind. I have vivid memories of being held and carried by him when I was a small girl. He would scoop me up in his powerful arms and I would feel protected, safe, loved. Once I got too big to pick up he'd still make sure I knew how much he loved me. To this day he calls me Princess or Angel. I've always known how proud he is of me and how much he cares for me.

I suppose that one of the things I most admire about him is the undeniable love he has for my mother. They met on a blind date as teenagers and have been together ever since. Their example of love, marriage and a sense of humor has been a guiding force in my life.

He is steadfast in his faith and enjoys sharing his love for God with everyone around him. He enjoys helping others and he chose a profession, pharmacy, that allows him to care for others. He takes pride in his work and knows that he is a valuable resource in guiding others to good health.

My dad is currently fighting cancer and is going through some complications. He is in the hospital right now and I stayed with him last night so that my Mom could get some sleep. I was really happy that I could help him and care for him given all that he has done for me. Watching him fight this battle with cancer has given me even more reasons to be proud of him. He continues to keep a positive outlook and a loving spirit as he teaches me so much about life and love. I'm just so privileged to have him for my daddy. I love you, Dad!