Questions For Kids With D

Here’s a list of questions for kids about their mom that’s circulating around on-line. I did it with D and loved hearing what he had to say. Enjoy!

Questions for Kids
3/11/09
Declan, Age 5.5 yrs.
(Quinn, Age 3 yrs.)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
D – I love you.

2. What makes mom happy?
D – Oprah, and us being silly.

3. What makes mom sad?
D – Seeing a mess.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
D – Being funny.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
D – I don’t know. I wasn’t born at that age.

6. How old is your mom?
D – Couldn’t be 20!

7. How tall is your mom?
D – (ran to get measuring tape) Looks like you’re about four foot!

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
D – Watch Oprah.

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
D – Be sad.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
D – Doing so much.

11. What is your mom really good at?
D – Doing yoga.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
D – Making stuff fast.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
D – Yoga.

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
D – Shrimp.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
D – I love you!

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
D – Spidergirl.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
D – Play.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
D – Because God made us that way.

19. How are you and your mom different?
D – Because God made us that way.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
D – Because she always says I love you.

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
D – Tokyo Sushi, hibachi table.

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Tapped Out

It’s our second year of backyard sugaring, and we put in all of our 20 taps this week. Our system is different this year, using smaller taps attached to tubes which connect to a bucket on the ground. It should help keep the sap clean instead of having to strain it so much before boiling like we did last time. The ratio of sap:syrup is 37:1, and we’re hoping for 1 gallon this year, but any amount is fine with us! The first time we did this, we got just enough syrup for one breakfast. As of this writing, we’ve collected 9 gallons, hoping to get lots more with this week’s cold weather followed by warm temps. It’s the contrast in temperatures that yields the most sap, cold to warm each night/day.

Tasting the water-like sap straight from the tree.

We honored Mardi Gras with Olin and Emmy, including some yummy King’s Cake and green/purple clothes.

One of our chickens died this week, the year-old brown aracauna that was nicknamed “Chipmunkey” due to her coloring. When I checked the coop in the morning, she was hunched down by the door, I figured she was laying in a weird spot, but that’s nothing new for them. Then while our friends were visiting, she was found dead in the same spot. We gathered around her, lit some candles, and blew them out with our good-bye’s, the fire symbolizing her life here with us, and the smoke standing for her spirit, now all around us. It was pretty matter-of-fact for all of the kids, not the same emotion as when Easy died. They were thrilled to be able to stare at a chicken that didn’t keep moving like our other ones do!

Now some scenes from everyday life. This one is playtime with the rats. We keep their cage in the upstairs bathroom and in the evenings, we close the door and let them play and explore the room. You can see the pot full of water and frozen peas that Declan set up for them, which they love to dunk for and eat. This one’s name is “Nighttime,” the friendliest and more adventurous of the three.

We love jumping so much, we got a trampoline for *inside*, too!

Declan and the new race car he built with Dad at Lowe’s during one of their kids’ project clinics.

Quinn learned how to pedal!

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Stay Tuned

We are improving the way we organize our digital photos, and I haven’t grasped the new system yet. I’ll blog sometime this week once I’ve got it worked out. In the meantime, things are great and we started tapping the trees this weekend. Looking forward to another season of backyard sugaring!

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i carry your heart with me

I love this poem by e.e. cummings. I’ve included it here, below, in honor of Valentine’s Day this past weekend and dedicated to Easy.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
=============================================

Olin and D made dozens of Valentine cards at one of our weekly homeschool gatherings…for each other!

Quinny and Emmy made pine cone bird feeder “Valentines.”

We took Emmy (and Olin) to Chuck E. Cheese as her 3rd birthday present.

D loved this “roller coaster” video ride.

We had such a good time with our friends!

Declan drew pictures for Easy (Quinn’s holding a dog picture, he’s holding a heart pic) and showed them to him as part of our good-byes before Easy died.

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My Good-Bye To Easy

February 14, 2009

Dear Easy,

Where to begin about the perfect dog? More than a dog, a perfect being. Your passing marks the end of 20 years of dogs for us.

You were quiet dignity, chattering teeth, gentle giant, my prince. According to your papers, you were “Roger’s Easy,” but to us you were Easy, Easy-Bear, Zee, Good Boy, and Baby. Your name suited you. Nothing seemed to bother you. Your friendly, laid-back demeanor was a detriment on the track, but our good fortune when you came into our lives. Over these past twelve years, you tolerated countless curious ear-pulling toddlers as well as chickens. You survived that crazy escape from the boarding kennel without a scratch, while Cleo went through countless stitches and surgeries.

You greeted us every morning, you introduced yourself to every visitor, you made sure to stand where you needed to for petting. You waited up for me every night before retiring for bed. The night you died was no exception. You refused to go until I’d gone to bed. You said that it was your job to guide *me*, not the other way around.

You arrived unannounced in my meditation that night in December and told me you were ready to die, and I was heartbroken. I sobbed for hours, not understanding or accepting the idea of life without you. When Mike suggested it could mean that you were *ready* to die versus *going* to die, it made sense and I held you close during these last two months together. I knew I had to prepare for the inevitable.

Since we met, I’ve wanted to be like you when I “grew up.” You’ve heard me say it a million times. You promised you would stay with me until I didn’t need you anymore, that we’d both know when it was your time to go. This month, you finally witnessed me coming into my fullness. This February swirl of life challenges has included my claiming my space, speaking my truth, loving more freely, softening my edges, accepting myself, and following that still, quiet compass inside and not the loudest distractions. You’ve been modeling all of that for me for years, and I’m there now, Zee, with just enough of a starting point to keep it going this time. The fact you died the next day was no coincidence.

God, we love you.

Love,

Erica

Declan introduces Easy to his new bunny Monster Truck.

Quinn and her buddy “Zee.”

One of our last winter walks together.

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Hockey

Declan and Quinn love ice-skating, and D loves the idea of hockey. He’s still developing his skating skills, the rinks don’t allow sticks and pucks during the public skate time, and he doesn’t want to wear all of the hockey gear to take lessons, so we haven’t pursued much in the way of this sport. He was THRILLED to finally have a chance to mess around with a real hockey stick and puck at our friend’s backyard rink last weekend. The adults invited him to play in their pick-up game and he was beyond ecstatic. He waited outside when everyone else went in for dinner and to warm up, because he didn’t want to miss anything when they came back out. I’ve never seen him so completely and utterly caught up in something to this extreme.

Valentine fun!

A relaxing morning of yoga….. ; )

Declan and Olin, defenders of the universe!

Emmy turned three this week! Here they are, with Emmy’s cat Sheena.

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Six More Weeks Of Winter

It’s Groundhog Day as I write this, and Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow and run back into his hole indicating six more weeks of winter weather. The kids and I say, hooray! Here are some of our doings this week.

Quinny proudly wears her t-shirt and says Happy Chinese New Year of Ox! We visited Krause’s Chocolates in Saugerties for a tour with some homeschooling friends and Quinny was SO excited to wear the required hairnet – “I’m a princess, Mommy!” Declan on the other hand was so mortified to have to wear one that he stood by the door in protest asking to leave *the candy store* immediately. That’s not something you hear a 5-year old say very often! After a while, as I shopped trying to figure out what to do, I realized he said, “I don’t want to wear a hairnet,” and “I want to take the tour.” Meaning he was willing to wear it for the short time of the tour, even though he wouldn’t like it. I checked with him, and yes, that was where he finally arrived. The crisis was averted and he had a blast once the tour got underway. Then a short while in, after peeking into vats of milk chocolate and cherry fillings, Quinn complained that she lost her hairnet. So we had to go back to the counter help and ask for another one. She was kind and polite, but a little twitchy as she asked, “So, um, do you know where the other one went?” and I said, embarrassed, “No, I’m sorry, I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.” She said with a nervous giggle, “Right, you know, we don’t want it to drop into any chocolate or anything,” and I was like, Ohh, yes, I know…thinking where. is. that. hairnet?? since it wasn’t on the floor. I found it right as we left the counter area, stuck to my arm/shirt. By then, even *I* had had enough of this place, but we forged on, completed the tour, and bought some chocolate therapy at the end which made it all feel better. : )

I love his expression in this one. He was happy because I’d just pulled them on a sled ride down and up the driveway to get the mail and since it’s so icy, they go speeding along.

Little Miss Dress-Up

We hosted an impromptu Superbowl gathering with the Salerno’s for the big game on Sunday and Mike hooked us up with the 3-D glasses for the special half-time commercials. Declan was blown away by the effects! We watch football exactly once a year in this house, pick teams at the beginning of the game, and eat subs and munchies. It’s an annual tradition. Declan’s still gloating because “his” team won and mine lost.

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Obama-rama

What a beautiful moment, to witness the inauguration of President Obama this week! We all dressed in red, white, and blue and had a little party with Linda Brook, Olin, and Emmy to celebrate the special day.

Some pre-inaugural crafts and activities with our Monday “Young Explorers” group.

D’s coach encouraged Quinny to start soccer. She has a great time kicking the ball around, just not necessarily where or when the coach directs. Playing with Norah makes it even more fun! (By the way, Q’s bandaged forehead is merely for decorative purposes. She loves putting band-aids and stickers and temporary tattoos right there.)

These next pix reflect our current rhythms with “The 3 S’s”: skating, sledding, skiing. Here’s Quinny sporting her new Care Bear ice skates (thank you, G’ma & G’pa!) while holding onto Callie.

Sharing a sled with Daniel.

We have the perfect hill in our driveway for this stuff – it’s gentle enough for beginner sledders, skiers, bikers, etc.

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Oh, Rats!

This week, we welcomed 3 new fur friends to the menagerie! We are having a blast with our rats Nighttime (dark gray), Cloudy-Darky (gray and white), and Red Eyes (white with red eyes). We found them on Craig’s List in a nearby town, complete with cage! They’re all adult females, between 6-12 months old. Nighttime is the most friendly and adventurous of the bunch. Cloudy-Darky and Red Eyes came out of the cage for the first time tonight, tempted by treats, but then they scampered right back in. Nighttime enjoys climbing all over us and exploring her surroundings. We’ve been doing free-range playtime with them in the upstairs bathroom and it’s been working out well.

Declan is excited to have pets he can make toys for and interact with so much. Quinn thinks they’re great *in* the cage or when they’re up to a foot away from her out of the cage, but she gets nervous when they’re closer than that. We’ve run through our supply of Band-Aids around here because Mike keeps sticking his fingers in the cage. ; )

Declan and Olin making a “Sock Pinata” filled with treats to hang in the cage.

We renewed our membership to the Children’s Museum this year and had a great time during our visit.

Our friend Carlo came sledding with us all the way from New York City!

D is rocking his snowboard this year!

D took his first African Drumming class this week!

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Snow

We’re loving this snow!!! We’ve enjoyed a chance to do some snowshoeing, sledding, and snowball fighting. Indoor winter sports are fun, too. Quinn went ice skating for the first time and seemed to love it. Thanks again to Grandma and Grandpa for hooking all of us up with ice skates!

Ahhhhh, a cozy bubblebath after our outdoor fun!

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