Around Here 17: 04/20-26

 A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this moment celebrating all the things! 

matchies!

photo cred: Becky C

photo cred: Jackie F

Photo cred: B

Photo cred: Becky C

8 year difference and still sweet friends!

Photo cred: Onara C

Selfie cred: B

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 80+ hours (of 1000)
I can feel it inching towards real spring. The trees are starting to bud and even some flowers have started to bloom. Still pretty chilly and mostly rainy - but the green is helping my mental and emotional state (hah). 

Reading Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy. I love the way she writes about nature; I read her other book Migrations and enjoyed that same aspect. I forgot about how she also adds in wild story lines that come in at the most shocking parts (she did that in both books) so trying to balance my enjoyment of the nature aspect along with following the plot surprises. This was my book choice for my new-to-me book club - so I'm hoping everyone else is liking it. Eek! the pressure! 

Listening to and finishing Part of your World by Abby Jimenez. So cute and I loved it. Spicy scenes were about PG13 which is my preference because I care more about the mushy gushy love stuff. The book did an impressive job of weaving in other topics too like parent-child relationships, economic differences, and why we make choices the way we do. I loved it and I think I'll keep listening to the rest of this series (two more books!)

Early morning rise on Sunday to iron 4 dress shirts for Easter mass. Then, Red was the first one up (his wrist / arm was hurting) and then Olive woke the other kids up to go see if the Bunny visited (he did!) We had Grey's sausage & cheese balls for breakfast and lots of Easter basket candy too. The kids got outside to do our mini egg hunt, Violet made her mini rice krispies treats that were in her Easter basket, and I baked the sheet cakes so they could cool while we were at church. 

Laughing and feeling like "duh" when I tried to button the top button of Rusty's dress shirt. I quickly realized that there was no way it was going to fit his thick neck. This kid has an upper body that is so thick and strong and I don't know why I thought that the neck would fit him!?  So he went tie-less to First Holy Communion, oops! 

Coming in hot to church (as usual) but we made it to 9am church at 8:59a! Thankfully we had a spot reserved in the front row since Rusty was receiving his First Holy Communion. He did great and everything felt meaningful and so joyful at church. Thankful for all the youth ministry leaders who work so hard to get our young people included. Olive was thrilled to sing in the front with the other elementary students - she was dancing and smiling and singing like everyone was there just to watch her (hah!) 

Easter celebrations with family. My parents hosted our extended Adams Family at their house (the first big holiday celebration in the new house!) The kids had a blast with their cousins, we had an egg hunt, badminton games in the front yard, and cornhole in the backyard. Lots of delicious foods and so great to catch up with everyone too. Then we had dinner at Mimi's house and got to have another egg hunt with our cousins and enjoy lots of laughs around the dinner table until everyone was totally tired from so much good food and happy hugs! 

A cast for Red! We headed into the pediatrician on Monday afternoon and they recommended a visit to the walk-in ortho clinic just to be sure since he was now saying the pain was above his wrist. He got more xrays and the PA said that it could be a tiny fracture so best bet is to cast it so he doesn't hurt it any worse for two weeks. He picked an orange cast and now he thinks he's pretty cool with everyone signing it. Thank goodness for it too because he is jumping and falling and acting like his normal nutty self again. 

Collecting and organizing fun and interesting projects for the girls to do this week while they sit out of the state standardized testing week. They have ELA, Math, Art, and Spanish stuff in their packet! 

Rusty & Kitty playdate. He was so happy to get one-on-one time with Aunt Kitty (the most fun). She got him off the bus and they played and went out to eat, got ice cream, and visited Abba and Chum! 

Smiling at Gemma's recount of her evening with Kuma (Brandon's aunt Pam) who took her to get her semi-formal dress altered. Kuma and Gemma went to get measured last week and then went to pick it up this week and then out to dinner and a stop at Ulta. Gem was thrilled to spend time with Kuma and they laughed together. (thank you Kuma!)

Gemma's spring semi-formal. Her bestie Colbi came over to get ready, I did her hair (!), and the girls coated our bathroom in seven layers of glitter spray (hah). Kitty, Uch and the nephews came too to see them off and then we met up with all the friends for photos beforehand and everyone looked so great and I cannot believe we have made it here with another big kid. The semi-formal is a non-date dance, but you know these kids are pairing up anyway even if just for outfits and photos. Gemma went with her long time friend Cooper - they've been friends since before kindergarten because Cooper's big brother Gabe is one of Grey's best friends. The moms made me them recreate a photo from Kindergarten because moms be like that. The kids had a great time at the dance! B and I picked up the whole group of kids in Lucille after the dance to take them to Chili's for post dance food. Jenn V chatted with us at the bar while the kids all hung out (everyone did great being polite and paying for their own food!) and then we did the Lucille uber back home to all the houses. Grateful to be part of their adventure even if only as the chauffeur! 

Youth Turkey hunting for Grey and B who headed out to Uncle Jonny's house at 4am on Saturday morning. No luck on harvesting a turkey but they did see some and made some great memories together. 

Sleepovers. Rusty and Violet got a impromptu sleepover with the Cables where they made giant gummy bracelet chains (they are seriously like 12 feet long each). And I was loving having an extra teenager in the house on Saturday. Colbi slept over after the semi-formal and she and Gem hung out all day: they braided Olive's hair and did chores together. There's that funny meme that "if your friend's mom doesn't make you do chores while you are over, you're not really the best friend..." LOL, love you Colbi! 

Getting a new pet: a Worm! Reddy decided he wanted to "save" a baby worm on the blacktop so now he has a little terrarium in a Tupperware container for 'Wormy' who lives in our house.

Reflecting daily on I Must Betray You by Ruta Septys which is an incredible book about communist Romania in the 1980s when their leader Nicolea Ceausescu was in power. A clear example of Cult of Personality and feels so much like what we are experiencing now in this country. I have been recommending since I read it a year ago - but here are some quotes from the book that I keep reflecting on. 

"Mistrust is a form of terror. The regime pits us against one another. We can’t join together in solidarity because we never know whom we can trust or who might be an informer."

"But the person responsible - he wasn't suffering. We were. Our hero, Draculescu, sat in his cardboard castle wearing a hollow crown, surrounding himself with clapping men who bowed to him as the Golden Man of the Carpathians while his people suffered, starved, and lived in terror."

"He isolated Romania from the rest of the world and then proceeded to further isolate individual citizens by separating and positioning them against one another."

"Ceauşescu wanted to increase the population, to breed more workers. Population growth meant economic growth. If you were childless, you were taxed. Everyone knew Ceauşescu’s decrees: The fetus is the property of the entire society! Heroic women give children to the homeland! Anyone who avoids having children is a deserter! Mama had only managed to have two children. She felt guilty about it. “Fertility under state control? That’s an abuse of human rights!” Bunu would wail. “How can families take care of multiple children with no electricity and so little food? Cristian, there is no happy ending here."

Teaching only 3 days this week with no school on Monday for the holiday and on Friday I attended the language conference at IUP with my co-teacher Ella.  It's state testing at the elementary school so I proctored the test with my small group of third graders. Spanish Expo started the geography week while Spanish 1 got classroom object vocab and practiced using prepositional location words. Spanish 2 continued with Direct Object Pronouns and commands, especially the irregular commands!

Sporting with two 5u AYSO practices for Red, Olive, and Coach Mom. Rusty and asst coach Mom had two 10u AYSO practices. Violet had one 12u AYSO, two Sparks soccer practices, and one Sparks soccer game. Gemma had one 14u AYSO practice and some weightlifting. Grey had two baseball practices and three Varsity baseball games 

Making chicken quesadillas with leftover birthday chicken, ground beef tacos, and chicken, veggie, biscuit casserole, Pioneer Woman lasagna, take out pizza (because I forgot to turn the crockpot on before work and the chicken sat in there all day - ew), and leftover cleanout meals on Saturday. For Easter / Rusty's First Holy communion, I baked shortcake with Snickers & Granny Smith apples.

Around Here Week 16: 04/13-19

 A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this moment.  

photo cred: Jenn V

photo cred: CT Media class

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 68+ hours (of 1000)
The buds are starting to come out - on the pear trees at least! Dandelions and daffodils are brightening the place up too and I am so grateful to see sunshine and color outside. I took a basking nap in the front yard on Thursday and Friday afternoons (my favorite springtime recharge activity). 

Reading and finishing Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Sheesh, it was such an undertaking not only because it was a big 'ole book but also because of the various storylines and characters and timelines. For awhile it felt like I was wading through thick weeds getting glimpses of the beauty that I knew was there...and then it started to clear out and I could see how everything was coming together and whoa. mind blown and excellent. Not an easy, lighthearted read but a moving one and I'll always be grateful to have read this story. Excited to discuss it at book club! Next up, Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

Listening to Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score

Excited for Violet who earned a spot on the CT fourth grade Scrabble team! She had after school Scrabble practice this week. Then it is a couple more practices before the big Scrabble tournament in May where she will compete against other school districts! 

Poor baby Osa girl had her spay surgery this week. She did great in surgery and now she has two long weeks away from the goaties in the den while her stitches heals. So far she's doing well and getting plenty of walks and outside (controlled) time. We had to move the chickies into the basement though to keep them safe and the goaties are all confused because Osa isn't there at night. It feels like everything is a little out of whack with the farm flow - but I feel glad to have that task done! 

Teeth check for Gemma and B. Regular dentist appt for B and an ortho appointment for Gem who learned that she might have only until the end of summer for her braces left! Fingers crossed because she cannot wait to get them off and I cannot wait to see her smile with teeth again! 

Signing the kids out of the upcoming standardized state testing like I have every year. Grey will take the Keystone Algebra exam this year but the younger kids have never taken the yearly PSSA exam at my request.

Shopping trip with the babies on Thursday. I had full intentions of doing some 'bunny shopping' when I got a text that the daycare was closing due to a water line break! So I picked up the two munchkins instead and we picked out the boys' Easter outfits (Grey and Reddy will be matchies! and Rusty got something special for his First Holy Communion). We got lunch together at Italian Oven and played on the playground. They even got to ride the Easter train at the mall (sweetest conductor who sang Peter Cottontail!)

Playdate and visit with the Fiores. My Kate and her kids came over to spend the afternoon on Friday and it was sunny and wonderful and chatting with her makes it feel lighter and more full at the same time. (love you xxo). I got to talk books with Sophie (my fav!) and the girls tried to time their laying out with the UV of the day - who knew having a teen daughter would mean I always know the UV (hah). 

Back to back birthday party sleepovers for Violet. She celebrated her friend Kaylee on Thursday and then her friend and Sparks teammate Brookie on Friday night! Lucky, happy girl. 

Attending 'spooky' mass on Good Friday. Gemma, Violet, and Rusty all volunteered to help with mass and it was beautiful and heartbreaking as it is every year (my favorite mass of the year!) We call it spooky because the lights are slowly turned off and candles slowly put out and there is a thunder sound and hammer sound. It was Rusty's first year (I let the kids come if they are getting ready for their first Holy communion). 

Shopping with Gemma on Saturday morning. She picked out her Easter outfit and we got her shoes for the semi-formal. We also got bunny supplies (nothing like last minute?!) and it is a blessing every darn time to have that girl to help me do the chore I dislike most of all (shopping). 

Blessing and First Birthday party for our nephew Blair. The Blessing ceremony was so beautiful and intentional (as it always is when my sister Uchie is in charge). I was honored and grateful to be chosen as Blairy's guidemomma alongside Kevin's long time friend Jeremy as guidedad. I am so proud of my sister for the amazing job she is doing as a momma to these nephews that are and always will be absolute perfection - my sweetie boys. After the ceremony, we all headed down to ACRP playcenter for food and fun. One whole year of sweet baby Blair - we are so lucky to get to be his family. Love you Blairykins. 

Bounce House Injury for Reddy! We still aren't quite sure what is up but the x-rays didn't show any major breaks, so at least for that. He is in a sling for now and hopefully it will stop bothering him and he will be all good. We are under orders to follow up with the pediatrician if it is still bothering him next week. 

Horrified and disgusted with the glamorized way we are removing people from our country with no due process. The videos and social media coming out of the administration is shocking every single day. The blatant disregard for due process is terrifying and should be alarming to everyone. Protection from persecution is like the whole thing - the whole reason anyone ever fled to this country and why they believed we should create a new country in the first place. It is the root of the root and the bud of the bud of a place called the USA. History will remember the names Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Mahmoud Khalil and our grandchildren will ask us what we did when the constitution started to flake away. I hope you are living in a way that will make them feel proud to be yours. The poem "First They Came" by Pastor Martin Niemoller should be on repeat in your mind right about now:

First they came for the Communists - and I did not speak out 
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialist - and I did not speak out
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionist - and I did not speak out
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews - and I did not speak out 
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me
And there was no one left to speak out for me.

Creativity assignment: how could we be inspired by this poem to write a version for today?
First they came for the immigrants - and I did not speak out 
because I am not an immigrant.
Then they came for the protesters - and I did not speak out
because I am not a protester.
Then they came for the judges - and I did not speak out
because I am not a judge.
...

Teaching a short holiday week (thank goodness, teachers and students alike were all feeling a little overextended). My elementary students practiced color words with a Pascua color by word paper and we did an ELA practice run for the PSSAs. Spanish Expo finished week 2 and Spanish 1 worked on Ser vs Estar some more. It was hard to keep everyone on pace this week because I saw one of my Spanish 1 classes three times and the other Spanish 1 class only once due to assemblies and club period. Spanish 2 finished the week with some practice in Direct Object Pronouns. I also finished a letter of recommendation for a former student and sent it off (proud of you Caliya!) 

Sporting quite a bit. 5uAYSO had one practice, 10u AYSO had two practices, Violet had a Sparks soccer game and two 12u AYSO practices. Gemma had two Gators soccer practices and one 14u AYSO practice. Grey had a Varsity baseball game with extra innings at the Point Stadium (everyone was freezing by the end -hah!), and then three more Varsity baseball games and one baseball practice. I did a little work on some Baseball Booster tasks too.

Making meatloaf with roasted potatoes and carrots, meatball sub sammies, chicken fajitas, buffalo chicken dip and shells & cheese. I baked some sprinkle sugar cookies for the weekend, chocolate croissants for breakfast, and I made haluski to take to Blairy's birthday party.