How Does Our Garden Grow?

Not so well, to be honest. I think we have a case of over watering, due to a lawn sprinkler head being right in the middle of the garden (yes, you can see the offending sprinkler in the picture of the pepper). And I, of course, have not taken the time to figure out if there is a way to shut it off. Plus, I'm quite sure I planted too many plants too close together. Still...we have a tomato growing. Peppers growing, that look a little black and moldy. And some straggly wild flowers. Oh yes, and 2 asparagus stalks that I will have absolutely no idea when they are ready to pluck/pick/dig up/whatever you do with asparagus, and will not be enough for a meal so will have to perhaps end up as a midday asparagus snack. The garden has been kind of fun, if not very nice looking.

Liam isn't very interested in helping, but he likes to look for the produce growing. Natalie likes to help water...when she is in the mood. And Owen would like to water if not for the fact that the plants attract bugs and he is going through a huge bug phobia phase right now. So he carries the watering can over to the garden, then drops it screaming BUG BUG BUG BUG and waving his hands wildly around his face while stumbling around like he's being swarmed by killer bees until I pick him up and let him cling to my neck whimpering and I assure him that it was just a gnat or a fly. This could be a little annoying, but I find that I actually enjoy comforting my baby boy. I figure he'll outgrow it soon enough, and until then, he is asking me for comfort and protection, and I do love holding him so close.

Preschool Year End

Yesterday was Natalie's last day of preschool. Next year will be the pre-K program, which is more focused on reading and preparing for Kindergarten. Honestly, I think she'd do fine in Kindergarten now, but I guess with an October birthday she'll just be extremely ready in 2011. We've been so proud of her this year in her "3s" class. She is naturally very shy in public, especially around adults, and we had a lot of separation anxiety at drop-offs in her 2s class. This year she really blossomed. She made friends, started talking to other kids and teachers, and I could tell she had a lot of FUN at school. I think it was a needed break from the craziness at home, plus she had some wonderful teachers, and I couldn't be happier with how much she grew socially. She still is shy around strangers, but I can see a difference - she is much more willing to get out there and do things independently now without me. When she is willing to show it, she has such a great personality - funny, smart, and bouncy. Now if we can make it through the summer with all of us home, she should have a great time next year. (Can you tell I'm worried about the summer? Yeah. A little. There have been a few skirmishes already between Natalie and Owen, drawing the battle lines. I hope it'll be better than last summer...but I think I need to have a peace treaty signed up front or else all my little soldiers will be spending the summer in their rooms.)

Big Sis

OK, so no sweet hand-holding pictures of these two. But they do still have their fun, in a love-to-pose-for-pictures, love to dress up like ballerinas and belly dancers kind of way.

Brothers

Love, love, love it how excited Owen is to hold his brother's hand (he would also love to hold his sister's hand but that isn't allowed to happen often). I wish it was that easy to get him to hold MY hand in parking lots. And I love, love, love that Liam doesn't mind a bit. Such a good big brother.

Questions

I don't have loads of time to chat with Liam these days, for obvious reasons, but we have our occasional moments. Usually it is when we are walking somewhere, like home from school, and Owen is stroller-contained and Natalie is flitting about. I love these conversations, and I can always count on something entertaining to come out. A few weeks back, before his 7th birthday, we were walking home from dropping the car off to get new tires (no, it's not far, and not down a busy street- no worries). I had a feeling that it was going to be something good when Liam started with, "Mom....do you believe..." and paused to collect his thoughts. In the week leading up to this I had already been asked "Do nipples have any purpose?" and "What does a body look like after it dies?" Both of which, by the way, I did try to answer honestly but not too graphically. Let's just say that Liam (and Natalie, who is always listening to everything) are not currently fans of breastfeeding. Okay for cats, not so cool for humans.

So back to my story. I am preparing myself for some deep religious question, which I have heard on occasion from Liam, as he asks, "Mom....do you believe....."

"in the African American snake god. You know, where people are dead but come back to life."

Uh, excuse me??? Of everything in the world that he could have asked, I would never have guessed this one.

So I tried to nonchalantly tell him that No, in fact I did not believe in a snake god or the living dead, and please, do tell me what you have been reading.
His answer:
"The dictionary. We can read the dictionary in class sometimes."

And what word did you look up?

"Zombie."

uh-huh. Did someone tell you to look up zombie?

"No. I was just looking in the Zs." (and perhaps a little Scooby Doo on Zombie Island had something to do with this as well, I'm thinking...)

He seemed relieved to hear that I didn't believe in these things and rushed to say "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I didn't either." ha ha Who would have guessed that reading the dictionary could keep one up at night with zombie fears.

Later that night when I was retelling the story to Jim he asked the question that should have come to my mind as well but didn't, "What is he talking about an African American snake god??"

So I looked up on dictionary.com and sure enough, it sounds like Liam was reading the full version of the zombie definition. The snake god wasn't an African American thing, but you know, I can see how it got mixed up in his recounting. Interesting. Now I guess I need to read the dictionary to know what he's learning in school...but do I start with A or Z? And why couldn't he read down to the final definition and ask me if I believed in Canadian army conscripts assigned to home defense were rightly called zombies, or if I have ever had a Zombie drink while vacationing on a tropical island? Why couldn't he ask those questions?!?

zom·bie   /ˈzɒmbi/ Show Spelled[zom-bee]
–noun
1.(in voodoo)
a.the body of a dead person given the semblance of life, but mute and will-less, by a supernatural force, usually for some evil purpose.
b.the supernatural force itself.
2.Informal.
a.a person whose behavior or responses are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton.
b.an eccentric or peculiar person.
3.a snake god worshiped in West Indian and Brazilian religious practices of African origin.
4.a tall drink made typically with several kinds of rum, citrus juice, and often apricot liqueur.
5.Canadian Slang. an army conscript assigned to home defense during World War II.

Russian Miners

You may or may not have noticed the news about the Russian mine that had several explosions and resulted in quite a few deaths. I've been following the story, simply because 1) it is sad, and 2) the mine is not very far from Owen's place of birth. I believe the town of Mezhdurechensk is about 30 miles outside of Novokuznetsk (where Owen was born), and some of the casualties are in the hospital in Novo (wonder if it is the same one where we had our medicals done). Novokuznetsk is a city that is very centered around mining and steel work. It is the primary employment in that area.

To say that mining is a hard life, even mining in the US, is probably a huge understatement. In Siberia, I think it is incredibly hard. The men and boys you see walking the street, or sitting on the chairs that line the hallway in the hospital, look so much older than I'm sure their real age. The average life expectancy for males in Russia is just 59, and I can only imagine that in a place like Novokuznetsk it is probably lower. One thing I noticed while we were there was that the majority of educated jobs seem to be taken by women. All of the doctors and technicians at the hospital, the judge at family court, the attorneys. Almost all women. Good for the women, perhaps. But still, such a hard life overall. I think the men don't have much choice in terms of career, and they are all just trying to get by. It makes me squeeze my sweet Owen a little tighter, and say a prayer for his people over there. I have a profound respect for their strength and perseverance, and I hope that they can get a safer working environment out of all of this.

http://google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hfVQsw_Q1wDxbaYRaoFDOncb3QgAD9FL3BK00

Mothers

Well, it's kind of late to say Happy Mother's Day. But I hope everyone had a good one. I am feeling so lucky to have such a wonderful mother and mother-in-law, myself. I couldn't be any luckier in that department. And I received some wonderful handmade gifts from the kids. Those are always the best kind. Natalie's preschool teachers asked her a series of questions again, and recorded her answers. She now thinks I'm 10 years old (up from 3 last year). When asked what I like to do, she answered "Play with me." That made me feel good. At least she didn't say "Play Scrabble on her iPhone." or "Look incessantly at her computer." Good news.

Liam made his own little book of my life, with drawings that started with me still in the womb (interesting to say the least), and ended with a huge question mark with a page titled "Unknown" (not spelled quite like that...). He said it was to show that he wasn't sure what comes next in my life. Hmmm...I'm not sure either, dear boy. I am hoping he wasn't implying my impending death...he has been asking questions along those lines again. I do love Liam's questions though. The other night we were talking about Mother's Day as we snuggled before bed, and Liam said, "Mom. You know when you didn't have kids. Before you knew Dad, and you weren't married. There were Mother's Days even then, right?" I said yes, I remember those days, and yes, there were still Mother's Day celebrations because I do have my own mother, after all. Then he said, "But what was it like on Mother's Day? Wasn't it sad?" Yes, dear insightful boy, there were some sad years. But all that is past me now. Now my Mother's Days are chaotic and full and very, very happy.

We took some time during Mother's Day dinner to talk about Owen's birth mother, and ask the kids if they understood that he has a birth mother and a forever mother. I think it is good to discuss periodically, because it is obvious their understanding is still limited. We don't go into too many details, but I talked about how thankful I am that Owen's birth mother allowed him to be part of our family. Natalie questioned whether I would always be her mother. Awww..sweet Natalie. I think she has had anxiety about this for a while, and it has probably contributed to some of her very emotional reactions. We did our best to reassure her that we're a forever family. I hope she can believe that without question.

So, I'm thankful. For the mothers we have, the mothers who aren't with us, and motherhood itself. It's a wonderful thing.

Happy Birthday to Liam!

True proof that time is flying by too quickly. It certainly feels like just yesterday that I wished Liam a happy 6th birthday, and now today he is 7. First grade is almost over, and my little boy is growing so big. So many changes have happened over the last year, and still some things remain the same. Liam, you are so many things: a sweet soul, a wonderful big brother, a guy who rolls with the punches, a great baseball player, a curious mind. I love watching you mature, and I especially love when we have the occasional moments alone together and you can ask me questions (I'm going to have a separate post about some of your recent questions soon) or just chat about life. I love your humor, your perspective on things, and your unflappability. I am so glad your siblings have such a good role model in you. I wouldn't trade a minute of the past seven years with you, sweet boy!

Gymnastics

And if, the next time you see me, you happen to notice that my gray hairs have tripled in the past..oh...9 months or so...you'll know why. What is good for the Olympics is not so good for mommy's gray hair.