At the Park Again

I must say, those lazy summer days of my childhood never seem quite so lazy now.  If we stay home and do nothing the house turns into the disaster and everyone ends up crying at some point...even me.  But packing up four kids by myself and dragging them and all their gear somewhere seems like so much work...until we get there.  It is always better if we spend at least part of the day out and yesterday was no exception.

And Sweet Pea had a much better time at the park now that she knows some of the other kids we meet there a little better and since her brothers were there to entertain her.

She really likes being upside down.

So Huckleberry helped her.

I stopped this as soon as I took the picture, but SnapDragon didn't mind Sweet Pea dumping rocks on him.  He even let my friend's daughter participate.

 Such a big girl now.  Less than a month from being 2!

 Sunflower was busy running and rolling with her friends.  I didn't get many pictures of her.

Huckleberry finished many chapters while pushing Sweet Pea in the swing.  She didn't mind as long as she kept moving.

 Look...Air!  She is quite good at jumping.

I didn't want to let her run down hill, but who could say no to that joy?

Especially since she couldn't quite figure out how to roll down the hill as others were doing.

 Yes, we can go home for lunch now if you sit right here for a photo.

We have many things planned for July including a trip to the zoo, Mt. Rainier, and to my husband's hometown to visit a childhood friend, but I'd better look at my calendar and fill in those blank days.  I'd much rather deal with lugging water and sunscreen around than crying children who cannot seem to find a single toy in an overflowing house.  So if you don't see us much this month, you can assume we are away from the internet and at the park.  Who wants to meet us there?
  

Please, Thank-You, and Pie

Today at MOPS our speakers talked about pantry shopping, meal planning, and a little about teaching our children table manners.  Specifically they talked about how being polite about what is served you.  That eating what is served you and saying thank you is about honoring the other person and treating them with kindness.  After all, the speaker said, eating is relational and Jesus said "Eat what is put before you." (I didn't believe her and had to look it up; Luke 10:8.)

So at dinner I tried to explain it to our children.  We work hard on not letting them be rude, but the idea of it being about treating others with consideration was a slightly new bent.  SnapDragon at first said, "You don't want me to lie, do you!  It is just about speaking the truth."  But I told him you don't have to lie.  You can just be polite and say thank you for this food.  When I mentioned again about it being about the other person and treating them kindly, he totally got it.

Sunflower...maybe not so much.  She said...

"I can give you an example of being polite!  It is saying please and thank you.  Like may I please have a piece of pie?"

Yes, exactly.

"Can I please have a piece of pie?"

No.  But you can have some more noodles.

"I don't like them.  Can I please have a piece of pie?"   

  

Kindergarten Enrollment...what?

Thursday we attended open house at one of the possible schools Sunflower will attend next year for Kindergarten.  It is our home school and third choice.  But if we do not find a new house in another district, it may become our only choice.  So we needed to visit.

And we did really enjoy 2 out of the 3 Kindergarten teachers that we met.  The other one is probably fine, too, but she seemed a little less sold on her own school and kept saying slightly snarky things...for example "the science curriculum gives us snails, which I don't like and the kids put water in them today so now I have to clean it."

But one of the teachers we actually really, really liked.  She spent time interacting with Sunflower, playing on the floor with her and other children, asking her about numbers and colors.  She answered questions about Kindergartner readiness and whether or not to hold back an August birthday.  She took time to evaluate Sunflower's ease of seperating from us when we went to look at another classroom, cleaning up after herself, and patience to sit still to finish a puzzle in her answer.

No.  The problem we find with our school choices have not been the teachers.  But while the bus to this school comes straight to our door; literally the bustop is our driveway and has been for years; it is a school that on paper is failing.  Passing test scores are on in the 20s and sometimes the Teens.  We went to an open house for a program that next fall will be serving 75 Kindergartners...and 5 children were represented (only 4 families as there was a set of twins.)  And there is more...

But listing the problems doesn't solve our problem.  It is on our list because it is the school that will have to accept Sunflower.  It is close and will bus her.  It is not significantly worse than the other schools around us.  Our first choice is the school her brothers attended for K-3rd, but it is not our district and has less Kindergarten classes than it did when they went, so there just might not be space for her.  2nd choice is the school Huckleberry went to for 4-5, and SnapDragon (as an out of district student) will attend if there is a space for him in the Excell (Honors) Program.  Then at least we would have two children at the same school for the first time ever.  

Our other options are moving, but that takes work, money, and a house in the right spot coming on the market.  Or we can drive even more distance to maybe slightly better schools.  Or we could homeschool (which I believe is a solution for some, but currently not us.)

So my point...I am presently quite at peace with it all.  God certainly has a plan for my daughter's schooling and she will learn to read no matter where she attends.  Being in the safest, richest neighborhoods does not guarantee safety in this world we live in.  Attending a school where Caucasian is a minority and 80% of the families wonder how they will pay for dinner will not make her a Kindergarten gang member. 

But while I feel my choices are limited by our gas budget, schedule, and energy level, I cannot help but feel for families who have no choice but to send their child to their assigned public school no matter how poor the scores are.  I've heard the argument that if you REALLY care you can always enroll your child elsewhere, but reality is that is NOT an option for everyone.  Spots get filled by other students.  Transportation is not provided when you choose another school.  Working parents cannot homeschool their child.

So at what point do you feel defeated and just stop caring?  We are no where near that ourselves, but I can see why others may be.  Sure there are some that never cared, but I think a lot of parents do care...they just cannot risk losing their one income in order to take a day off for a field trip.  They cannot include 3 different school runs into the schedule for their one car.  (We currently have 3 children in three different non-bussing schools which has made this year a lot of driving.)

I listen to debates about Mandarin Immersion and Chinese Nannies and this charter school vs that one...and I wish those were what I was contemplating.  At times.

But my child's education is more than numbers and reading (which so far they have received in these low rated schools just fine and we could supplement at home).  It is also about seeing injustice, caring, compassion, and doing something about it.

So as we pray for God's direction and His doors to open or shut in Sunflower's enrollment, we are not just seeking where she is going to learn her ABC's (which she already knows), we are asking, what do we need to do to enroll too?  Who can I get to take Sweet Pea so my involvement can be what it was when the boys were little?  What difference can our family make in a system that is broken, inequitable, and failing its students?  Where can we make the most impact?

Sure someday I may need to homeschool one of my children to help them succeed, but in the meantime they are thriving in public school.  My goal is to not only work to encourage their continued success but maybe also to help another child or two and their family thrive also.  

But I will admit that when I pray, I do lean a little toward the school and teachers I already know and love...though not my will, but God's.

But who wouldn't love to teach this child?  She will do great.  It is getting me to act on my convictions that worries me.
 

Asia Pacific New Years Celebration

We probably shouldn't have gone.

She was behaving a little more cranky than usual this morning, but she seemed fine after a short nap in my arms.  LOVE that she is getting more cuddly, relaxing with us even more.

But even when she looked like this she was tapping her feet to the music.

And the performances were fantastic.   We watched the dances of the country featured this year -- Taiwan.  It started with a traditional Lion dance preformed by a local-ish Chinese school.  They also went around and handed out red envelops with candy in them.  Sweet Pea clutched hers for quite awhile.

She only gave it up for some food.  We sat and watched some more dances while we ate potstickers, steamed pork buns, sweet muffins, and Asian almond yogurt with fruit.  There were many different Asian cultures represented by the food booths.

She is 18 months and has several molars now, but she has always been enthusiastic about eating her potstickers.

She let Huckleberry feed her some steamed bun, too.

Almost out of food.  Sunflower wants to know where the coconut milk is but we remind her we were not planning to buy any this year that is why we have water bottles.

Then we are off to make paper lanterns at the Korean Buddhist Temple booth.  This is our third year making them, but the first time we saw most of the chairs filled with adults instead of children.

Sweet Pea and Huckleberry decided to walk around rather than fight the crowd.

 But SnapDragon and Sunflower finish theirs with Daddy's help.

And after Sunflower preforms a little dance with hers we go back to the stage to watch the Chinese Christian School do their preformances.

But the children (and parents) start to lose it a little.  Sunflower wants coconut milk still; Sweet Pea wants more food (even after the strawberry delights); and SnapDragon starts crawling on the floor -- "I'm getting the water bottle from the stroller, MOM!"

Okay, so home we go, and we miss the Dragon Dancers and the rest, but we did see them last year.  But maybe next year.  And it is a good thing we went home when we did...

...as this is the best photo I got of her outfit as soon after her nap at home an unhealthy diaper made it need a washing, and all the children are now in bed with bowls by their side.  Still no fevers so hopefully it'll all pass quickly...and sorry, public.  I promise we would have stayed home if we'd known...no matter how much I wanted to celebrate our first Chinese New Year with our Sweet Pea.
 

Half of December

So I sat down this afternoon to write a blog post documenting our December for Aunt L who reads this but does not check-in on facebook.  It seemed only fair she should see the pictures of my beautiful children as she is at least half the reason they dress so nicely.

But, I was constantly distracted.  I can't blame it on the kids because Oak took them upstairs so I could concentrate.  Nope, I'm just that scattered.  I needed to download more presets for my new photo editing program (Lightroom 4), look at pictures from China, eat, install presets, look at SnapDragon's baby pictures, eat some more...

So I only got through to December 22nd.  But here goes...

At the beginning of the month we watched Christmas movies and cut-out and decorated Christmas cookies.

Sweet Pea was more interested in eating than making, and Sunflower spent a good amount of time doing somersaults, but overall a good time was had by all.

Then we spent a few weeks distracted by my dad's open heart surgery which went very, very well and he is recovering from excellently.  It included a few nights in a hotel near the hospital which was fairly fun for the kids in swimming and eating and nice to have my family close by.  Sweet Pea did NOT sleep well away from home and I took no pictures, but in all other ways it was a great mini-vacation.

Finally on December 16th we did two of our normal Christmas activities.

First, decorating a gingerbread house with Aunt J.  She came to our house and brought the kit which means I get to take pictures and play on the computer.

 Sweet Pea spent most of the time coloring.  We didn't trust her near all that candy.

Then on to decorating the Christmas tree that Oak and the kids had picked out the day before while I was at a Christmas party with friends. 

Then the following Saturday we went to celebrate Christmas with the local family from Oak's side of the family.  I love going to Aunt J's house at Christmas; it is so pretty, with lots of lights.  It was an excellent time of great food, good conversation, laughter, and some presents for the kids.

It did lead to the battle of Sweet Pea versus the GingerBread House which I'm happy sad to report Sweet Pea lost after a valiant effort.

She would have won if Oak hadn't stepped in on the side of the house and thus ended the battle and my photos ops.

We returned home after a long and lovely party for me to create the photos that entertained my friends on facebook for weeks.  Apparently bad photography is more amusing than good...why did I think it was a good idea to go for a group shot when everyone (including the photographer) was tired and maybe a little cranky?

And that brings us to the end of December 22nd which was the beginning of a three week period full of family, friends, fun, celebrations, and joy...all of which I have another zillion pictures.  But that post will have to wait for another day.*  Today it is early to bed with the second to last Jordan novel, my husband, and the Hobbit. 

*I cannot promise that that other day will be soon.  Once I start to read the Wheel of Time again, I may not surface for weeks.  My children will go unsupervised and would go unfed if I did not have Oak.  The last novel comes out Tuesday...at which time it may be a good idea to send us pizza...my husband is also a fan of Jordan.
 

Birthday Week

A few weeks ago we celebrated 3 birthdays in our family.  Saturday we went out for dinner for my 40th.  Sunday we had cake for my birthday (it took that long for it to finish frosting--I don't mind stretching the celebration.)

Sweet Pea was napping.  She didn't seem to mind missing out when she joined us later.

Tuesday, on Sweet Pea's 1st birthday we went to the park and escaped what was terrifyingly close to being a terrible accident with minor car damage.  Then Wednesday, on Sunflower's birthday, we opened our presents from Major Awesome.  They were shipped and wrapped by Amazon.

All the presents came in the same sized bag, including Sweet Pea's soft, sweet little lovey.

Sunflower may have gotten the most joy out of opening her present.

But she approaches everything with intensity.

But I am happy to have a new game (which I confess has been used 4-5 times already, but always without me, but not today...I want to get in on the fun, too) and Sunflower is excited to have some new play clothes.

And SnapDragon, too.  She put it all on immediately.

I admit, I find it hard to imagine her to have the patience and stillness to be a Vet as an adult, but stuffed animals seem to like her bedside manner just fine.

So thank you, Major Awesome, for our gifts and providing us something to do to make Sunflower's actual birthday special when we were too busy planning the "Big Girl's Party" for the upcoming Sunday to be prepared.

We also got a lot of enjoyment in the wrapping itself.

Next year we'll have 2, 5, and 41...whew...only the 5 year old will care.
 

Our Weekend

Wow!  I didn't realize how depressing my last weeks of posts have been until I sat down and reread them all at once last night.  I'm thinking some of you may be wondering how this whiny girl (okay almost old woman) is going to handle having 4 kids.  If not, I'll admit I do sometimes wonder myself...

And the main answer is my husband.  

Wednesday after I got news about my grandma he came home early, took me to lunch, and let me rest.  Thursday was out to dinner and to a park.

Friday was SnapDragon's school field trip.  The best kind of field trip...a play where we all ride the bus together and sit still in seats and ride the bus back...no way to lose someone else's child and lots of cuddling with my child.  So my husband stayed home with Sunflower just so I could go.  While I was there he cleaned and did laundry all morning...stuff I should have done on Thursday.

In the afternoon he took Huckleberry and Sunflower kayaking and fishing while I was able to nap and watch SnapDragon play video games.  They even caught a fish and came home and ate it for dinner without my house ending up smelling like fish!

The weekend was more of the same.  He carpooled Huckleberry to his Saturday robotics practice while I was able to go on a photoshoot with my friends and out to lunch.  We watched Mr. Poppins Penguins as a family...a pretty cute movie really.

Sunday church and then we all deep cleaned the inside of the car...all 5 of us...it was that bad.  Now I won't be embarrassed with my kids' aunts are driving it around in a few weeks.  Then the kids favorite park and dinner out.

So all the eating out isn't doing great things for our budget and our yard is not always neat and tidy, but this family will never doubt that this man loves them.

 I know love alone isn't enough, but it sure is a fantastic foundation.