Heart Stolen

Yesterday a small piece of me left... It left my house, escorted by two police men and drove away in the back of their car. It caught me by surprise I must admit! Who could have known that in the span of two and a half hours I could... dare I say fall in love with someone? And yet it seemed to be so...

Brown eyes... a dark complection.... short hair... wearing nothing but shorts and runners. A little round in the waste line much like my Sethy and about a year or so younger then him. He didn't speak much and when he did it was more a mumble then anything....

"Your name?", I asked... He shrugged his shoulders...
"Where is your Mommy?", he shrugged again....
He should have but did not hesitate to come with me....

The police arrive just before we sat at the table to have supper. I was disappointed... I wanted him there even if it was for just one half hour more. I spoke with him and told him what was going to happen now. How the police men were going to take him for a car ride home. It was apparent he shared in my disappointment.

We sat there on our stairs and waved goodbye to this precious little boy who was leaving our life just as quickly as he had entered it. He left wearing Seth's shirt because he came without one. He left with Collier's Spiderman mask covering his face because provided him with a sense of protection... and he left with a piece of my heart...

Chocolate Covered Bananas

The school year is soon coming to an end and the Kindergarten kids are having a celebration! Collier doesn't know it yet but I staid up late making these Chocolate Dipped Bananas covered in Chocolate Nerds for him to take to his class.... All 39 of them... I actually wish I could have made more but I ran out of bananas. I would like to send some with Lisha as well but I am not sure if there will be enough for all the kids. If not I guess I will just make more for Friday and she can take them then. Although I have made candy apples on numerous occasions before which is much a similar process it was my first time making these and over all it's much easier and quicker but still extremely. Don't they look yummy!? Although I must say I am slightly worried. Do these classify as a nutritious snack?

Lisha lost a top tooth! One more soon to follow!

I was just looking at some of my recent posts and I can not help but notice that I got sick on the 5th of June and it is now the 20th and I am still sick. :( A lot better mind you but still sick. It's funny because it has only been in the last couple of days that I have actually started receiving some pitty from Conrad. He even said I didn't look well... funny cuz I thought I was having some great hair days the last bit. Oh well... :) It's usually how it works. We go swimming and my hair is a mess.. no make up, no nothing and smelling like chlorine and he'll say I look really great. Not just great, but really great! Then why I actually try and go all out I'm lucky if I get the obligatory compliment within the first few hours. It's all backwards... how men and women think. I know that... but for the most part we women, we dress up for the other women in the room, not the guy that we came with. :)

Keith, my new buddy across the back lane finally returned our lawn mower bag the other night. I was starting to have my doubts but he pulled through. I love it... a crook with a conscience. It's kinda funny... I guess sometimes all that people need is for someone to believe in them despite of their history... even if it is their current history. I believed in him... I believed him when he shook my hand. I trusted him when he gave me his "word". I had no reason to, but I did. For all I know he was the one who robbed us in the first place but it really doesn't matter. Because I believed in him, he believed in himself. Had I just written him off as just another crook with no sense of justice he likely would have probably done nothing but self fullfiled my prophecy.

Shivvon said something like "Knowing you, you'll probably have him over for supper now or something". Hehe.... we just might. :) I'll keep you posted...

Don't have time to proof read so live with it...

Soccer

This is just me trying to see if this will work. I have give up on Picasa for a while now but thougth I would give it another try.

Never a Dull Moment

It's becoming to be more and more like a zoo around here these days.

Not only is there two adults, five children a hamster and temporarily a dog... now one can add not one, not two, but three birds. Yeah.. birds. Over the span of two days, three birds dropped in on us Santa style, straight down the chimney. What is up with that?! Never have we had this happen in the two and a half years that we have been here. It was a riot trying to get them back out. But it reminds me of our relationship with God, and how often he is trying to help us out of our bondage and into freedom but we are petrified. Often people ask, "Well if there is a God how come he doesn't make himself know?" It is out of his mercy that he holds back really... I can not explain or rationalize with the bird that I am trying to offer a helping hand and that it's in his best interest to comply. It is beyond his ability to understand. Because of my grandness, especially in contrast to his smallness, my efforts are interpreted as a danger, as an attack. Our understanding of God and his ways is much the same. And if God showed himself in full form... His very presence would not afford us the right to chose. The chose for him or against him. The "right" to free will shall we call it...

Supper is in the oven... Collier says he can smell the good stuff... :) I should be wrapping up to go and check on it so that the good stuff doesn't turn into not so good charcoal stuff. It's so much fun having them grow up. At one moment they say the funniest things and then the next day they come up with some profound question... Well profound for their level anyways...

Like yesterday on the way home Collier says, "Dad your a teacher right?" Which is really cute because it means he's wrapping his little brain around.. well around life I guess to put it in short form... Just another sign of them growing up. Maybe you had to be there... or maybe you just have to be a parent to understand. :) Or maybe I'm just weird... nahhh!!!

It's hot. So hot that my brain can't even put together a semi complex sentence.

The little ones and Grandma Lee and I went to the beach today. It's the middle of June and sadly it's only been our second trip...

It's taken me a long time to train my children that the world will not come to an end in the one minute that I take to go to the bathroom. Were not quite at a hundred percent but I think they are finally getting it. The dog on the other hand... not so, not so. I think he must be experiencing separation anxiety or something. Yesterday I cooked my final batch of food for the reminder of the time Midnight will be staying with us. Yes!!!!!!! Glad not to have to do that again. All in all it's been swell.... even to the point that I actually consider us getting our own. But it's rather short lived right up to the point where I have to clean up the doggy doo doo. Then it's all over... Now if maybe one could buy a dog that came potty trained, then we may have something worth while considering.


Warning!! The following material may be offensive to some readers. Proceed at your own caution!!!!

I feel like posting a "FRIEND WANTED" sign or something lately... outlining what kind of qualifications are expected from a person baring that title just so that there can be no room for misunderstandings. Most of the stuff seems rather elementary to me... I am most certain that I am not being unreasonable and yet...


Ahh... I would say more... but what's the point?

Dear Mommy

You don't seem to be getting my emails so I thought I would give you an update via blogger.

Midnight is doing fine.... like I said to Slawek he is very much like my shadow so I don't know how he is going to feel about going home with you when the time comes. :) As I type he is attempting to climb up the stairs... it always takes him a couple of runs at it.

It's been a crazy round here the past couple of days.... I didn't know there is birds up at 1:30am chirping away did you?

I got sick starting Tuesday... feeling a lot better now but still not good. I thought I had strep throat again but I had a Doc come and it wasn't quite that serious.

We got robbed two nights ago... Maybe Slawek gave you an update already. Conrad's bike, Michelle's bike, Heather's bike, our brand spankin' new lawn mower, a wheel barrow, the bike trailer, bike attachment, Conrad's tool boxes full of tools, his drill kit, the saw kit, a kite, and the one that stung the most was Sethy's beloved Thomas the Train bike. You know the one we all bought him for his birthday. He cried when I told him that morning. Basically there wasn't much they left... they even took a stupid gas can.

So that same day but in the afternoon a series of events caused me to peek out the back window and low and behold. There is two chicks with my girls bikes, a dude on Conrad's bike pushing our lawn mower. I ran outside and barely caught up to them and demanded our stuff back. He played innocent... said he bought it off a buddy but I really didn't give where the heck he got it from. I was just glad to have it back.

At that moment in time I still wasn't aware of ALL that was missing, and all I could think about was my husbands tools and of course Sethy's bike. I told him that one way or another he needed to get it back for me. I didn't care who took it, who had it, where it was, but it needed to be back with my son, where it belonged. He said he would go and call his buddy... asked me what kind of bike it was to which I responded, "It's a THOMAS the Train Bike" as if it was painfully obvious to the whole world what the heck that is. He looked confused but realized that he should probably leave it at that... Geesss.... (How could anyone NOT know Thomas? Come on! It's Thomas!)

But anyways.. while I haled everything back into the garage it was a perfect opportunity for him to ditch, which he didn't to my surprise. But he did say his "buddy" didn't want to show so it wasn't looking good. I went home, got Seth so that it could all sink in a little more. We met back up with him in the back lane.. I imagine the guy was coming to tell me there was no way but before he had a chance to say anything I said, "I want you to look at my son. Look him in th eye, and I want you to tell him your going to bring his birthday bike back." He said, "Alright, alright, I'll get his bike back." Then he realized that we weren't going anywhere, we were gonna stand right there and wait for it, rain and all. So he said, "I'll get the bike back, go inside. Don't worry." I made him tell me his name, shook his hand, and I said I trusted him to do just what he said he would do. Sounds funny but it's true. Ten minutes later we had Thomas sitting in out kitchen. Thomas and the tool box. Sethy pointed out that he forgot to say he was sorry.

I called Conrad at work to bring him up to speed. He was thankful but then brought to attention all the other things that had been swipped. Latter on in the day I went back to Keith's house (my crook with a consciounce) with the intention of retreading the rest of our stuff but there was no one there. I left a note listing the remaining items and that I wanted them in the back yard.

That night... or I should say this morning... about 12:30 AM Keith shows up, with the Bike trailer, Bike attachment, small tool box, and the kite. He told me the other stuff is gone but tell him the cost of it and he would get the money for us.... shook my hand again. Apologized... and said, "Keep you stuff good and locked up" but that nobody would be coming by here again and that's kind of where the story ends for now...

We have yet to decide how to proceed. Replacement cost for the missing items would be a few hundred dollars but in reality it wasn't worth that much. Probably only about a hundred... So I'm not sure that a hundred dollars is worth having some guy beaten the shit out of. Even if he did steal our stuff...

I should probably wrap this up now... I'm over here needing to have a shower early enough for my hair to have an opportunity to dry because it's cold and super windy outside and I don't need to get more sick when I am out picking the kids up from school. And your over there, with probably much better things to do then read my little novella here. :) So much for sparing the details.. :)

Take care Mommy, don't forget about the pictures, and say hi to everyone for us.

Too tired to think of something

Today...

Dropped everyone off at school.... oh yeah... more on that note... the Kindergartens are now starting to line up outside with the BIG kids as opposed to with the nursery inside the school.. Inside in a nice and sheltered environment... Inside away from all the harsh elements and out of harms way... (can you tell I'm having a hard time with this. :) It's my baby what can I say?)

So I have a bit of a moment as I drop him off... we'll call it a "Mom moment". I try and act cool for his sake, meanwhile I'm melting on the inside.

I say, " Collier you get to line up outside with the big kids now! Your gonna practice for when your in Grade 1! Isn't that exciting!".

He answeres in a very typical Collier kinda fashion, 'Not really. It's kinda boring."

I had to laugh... which was better then crying... right in front of his friend and all... I'm sure that would have gone over well. I later learned that they even went out to recess with the big kids! Collier was sure to let me know that they did NOT get to go on the play structure because it was not their turn but on another day... And he handled it all like a man. I'm so proud of him. That coffee I tell yeah.... works like a charm.

O.k. So I wasn't planning on writing about all that but whatever... that was just the first five minutes of the day...

Went to a pot luck with my Friday morning coffee crew but forgot it was a potluck so I came empty handed... always a cool way to make a grand entrance.

Picked up Collier and Lisha... was reprimanded for not bringing Midnight with me even thought I had already warned them ahead of time.

Went to return some jeans. (Picky teens)

Picked Conrad up for lunch.

Came home and within a forty five minute time span I had fed everyone including myself, prepped the meat for supper and packed us up for a spur of the moment trip to the beach. Snacks included... for Collier, Lisha, Seth, me and the dog... actually to be honest forgot the dogs water bottle (yes I said the dogs water bottle and had to come back for it.)

Dropped Conrad off at school...

Went to pick up supplies from the graffiti control office for work on Sunday.

Stopped by the house and picked up that silly bottle, dropped off the paint.

Drove to Birds Hill Park.

Splashed around, threw Seth around (he was the only brave one enough to come and try and splash Mom) looked at the cotton clouds in the baby blue sky. Left. Had to pick up Conrad from work only 2 and a half hours after dropping him off so it was a short swim but so worth it. And we even made it back with a few minutes to spare. So impressive if I do say so myself!

Home. Made supper while washing the dishes. (It's called multitasking... ) One load of laundry, walked the dog, bathed the kids, read books, brushed teeth, tucked them in, cleaned the bathrooms. Walked the dog again... who by the way has finally decided to end the hunger strike in opposition to his temporary placement. Three days later but hey, better late then never...

Watched some show... made milkshakes for Michelle and me and that brings us to the present.