Alex's Roller Coaster

Remember the struggle I was having with Alex? No energy; no initiative; lots of resistance to anything and everything; no input or effort regarding the near term future of his education; etc. Well, my old Alex has emerged.

Sunday evening, at our church's Youth Group meeting, the local (for us, local means about 40 minutes away by school bus) Catholic school principal paid a visit to promote a private, Catholic high school education. This is kinda EXACTLY what I've been talking at Alex about for the past two months, which he's been resisting with every fiber of his being. That one little talk did everything all my efforts failed in doing. He has become energized and excited about something. All the things about private school that were not good (uniforms, long commute, too much money, etc) that he was feeding me (and which I countered as not being real obstacles) are now minor inconveniences, or even positives ("Dad, I won't have to worry about what to wear if everyone is wearing a uniform!"--where have I heard that before).

Now, of course, deadlines are approaching for enrollment, but this has not deterred Alex. Where, before I couldn't get to him to even think about getting involved in the admissions process, he is now calling people in the community, asking for letters of reference. He is chomping at the bit to go to a shadow day (which we arranged for Monday) and to go to the admissions interview with the principal (also Monday). He has not even balked at taking the placement tests (which he despises more than broccoli).

I am so thrilled to see this change in him! I hope it lasts. He has even shown a renewed energy in homeschool stuff, with the prospect of attending SSPP (the Catholic School) next Fall.

As far as the rest of our lives, it's still incredibly busy around here. Earlier on Sunday, we had both sides of the family over to the house, to celebrate the January birthdays. That was fun. No arguments or even serious debates, which are difficult to avoid when we all get together. I tend to be a wee bit more conservative than my school-administrator FIL. And my mother and I also seem to have at least one major disagreement whenever we talk to each other.

Yesterday, we all went to the dentist. They lined up two hygienists to work on our family, in tandem. Of course, we also had other things to do at the same time. The dentist appt. was at 9; I had to get Tay and Bekah to their play-date ate Secret Garden at 10. We squeezed Tay and me in first, then I took Tay and Bekah (and Kearsyn came for the ride) to their playtime, while Vicki stayed to finish teeth-cleaning with the rest of the crew. They all got home just in time for lunch, then off to piano lessons for Tay, Kenz, and Connor. Tyler was in his typical mood, and wouldn't do his piano homework, so I made him stay home. I talked to his teacher, and said something's gotta be done differently, or Tyler's going to be pulled out of piano. Ray said he'd try some new things, starting next lesson, but I'm not going through this battle much longer. Tyler's young enough where he can start piano again in the future, if he decides he wants to.

Ok, I've spent long on this blog this morning. Gotta go and get folks moving. We missed a school day yesterday and I don't want to miss another one. It may snow enough for the sledding hill (yes the hill: there is only one for miles and miles) to be useful on Friday, so we may be taking Friday off, too. With this warm Winter, we have to make use of any snow we get before it melts, even it means taking off school.

Happy Birthday Alex

I wanted to get a "Happy Birthday!" in for Alex before this day ended. He turned 14 today (only two more years until he's driving, ugh). I'm very happy that we survived his first teenage year. Unfortunately, there seems to be quite a few yet to be survived. He's my first teenager, so we're learning this stuff as we go, and it tends to get rocky every so often, more so lately than usual. Still, there are more good things than bad, if you just stop and look around.

For example:

1. I really could not have asked for a better 'first born'.

2. He helps in in every possible way that he can in taking care of his younger siblings.

3. He's got more nurturing instinct than any other teenage boy, and most teenage girls, that I've ever met.

4. He has been a trailblazer in our homeschool adventure, bouncing back from his (and my) mistakes and achieving more than I can express in these few words.

5. He makes friends more easily than I ever did or ever will.

6. He never hesitates to help someone in need, even a stranger.

7. He loves talking to older women, especially if he's holding one of his younger siblings at the time.

8. He loves chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

9. He says he doesn't want to be a priest, but he'd be a wonderful one, and would restore people's faith in the Catholic church.

10. He still hugs his dad goodnight.

11. He hugs just about anybody who needs one, just because he genuinely cares about people.

12. He desperately wants to learn to play guitar. I just need to find an affordable guitar teacher.

13. His favorite food is Beefaroni. This is good because even Vicki can make it, and she had to make dinner for his birthday because I was out with other kids tonight.

14. He's just one of the nicest kids you're ever going to meet in this world, and that's not just me talking. Ask anybody who's spent five minutes with him.

March For Life Update

The crew just back from their March. Kenzie showed me this pin she got from somebody. She said he took her picture and gave her this pin. Maybe she'll become a famous pro-life spokesmodel. I could live with that.

I also heard that it was very, very cold. This came from my college educated DW who turns blue in temps under 75^oF. I used my superior sense of hindsight to inform her that it is January, it just snowed last night, and it never got above freezing around here today (well, it did get up to 33 about an hour ago), and she should have those little warmer thingys that go in your pockets.

Our First Measurable Snow

It came very late this year (hurray for Global Warming!--if you believe in that sort of thing; I don't, at least not the man-made kind), and we only got about two inches of snow with a crust of ice on top. It was enough for Tyler to build his mini-snowman, of which he is very proud. He did it all by himself. I know this because he told me how much work it was; several times he told me this. I don't think he's done telling me this.

Anyway, Bekah and Kearsyn are asleep. Tay and Ty are watching TV. I'm breaking all the rules today, regarding TV, mostly because I woke up grumpy. Or, maybe events contributed to the grumpiness shortly after waking up. Kearsyn has been awful all morning. She hasn't eaten anything, and has been crying incessantly, whenever she is awake. Tyler and I had a battle over piano practice, too, which didn't help. Tyler and I are always battling over piano practice. If he weren't so derned good at it, once he stops resisting, I'd give up on it altogether. He keeps telling me he wants to keep playing; he just wants to skip the practicing part.

The reason we're not doing school today is that Vicki, Alex, Connor, and Kenzie are at the March For Life in D.C. I wanted to go, too, but that would have been a mess, with the little'uns. Vicki and the older kids took a bus from our church at 9:30 this a.m. and won't be back until around dinner time. It figures, the first snow we get of the season is the night before all those people are supposed to turn up in D.C. for a pro-life rally. I hope it doesn't deter a big turnout. With the way Congress has turned out, I am afraid we'll have to speak louder than ever for all the unborn people. As it is, too many won't make it past birth. :o(

We Survived This Saturday

Today went surprisingly well. Bekah was well enough to avoid a trip to the doctor's, which would really have put a crimp in our schedule. With her potential doctor's visit, we were planning on a very convoluted arrangement for getting all the kids to their various functions. Fortunately, the convolutions were not necessary. Vicki took Kenzie, as well as five other kids, to Kenzie's softball practice. I imagine that was a wee bit stressful, but she avoided some of the boredom issues by taking the little ones (and Alex, who I figure was probably pretty helpful) shopping at a nearby Walmart while Kenzie played softball. I took Connor to his piano thingy. For you locals who read this blog, the piano thingy was at Jordan Kitt's, a music store in College Park. They have a little hall they use for small concerts. Before Connor's portion of the event started, I found a really expensive grand piano ($42,000) and told Connor to play a song on it (pictured on the right). I figured he wouldn't get many chances to play on such a nice piano, so why not take advantage of it?

Then it was into the hall with us, to start our portion of the show. Connor's group was the third of the day to play with the orchestra, each member having pretty impressive resumes. I am just overwhelmed that Connor, at age 10, is considered eligible to play with such talented people. And to have our shy little Connor get up there and actually perform like that, well, I just can't put it into words. Here's Connor playing a few measures to give the orchestra his tempo for the piece he played, Sonata Concertino, Op. 36, No. 3 II: Un poco adagio, by M. Clementi and J. McSpadden, whatever all that means: I'm just the driver.

And here's the video:

Another Busy Weekend

I'm kinda glad the Ravens lost last weekend. Well, not really, but it does free up this weekend for all the stuff that's supposed to happen. Tomorrow will be a very crazy day. Kenzie has to be in Trappe for softball practice. That's about 45 minutes to our East. Connor has to be in Laurel for a piano concert, where he'll be playing with a full orchestra behind him. (He's a little nervous). That's about 45 minutes to our West. These two things are happening at the same time. Neat, huh? Add to that: Bekah has a fever (it's down a little this morning) and may have to go to the doctor. In fact, Kenzie is spending the morning comforting Bekah. Kenzie doesn't mind since it get her out of school for a while, maybe the whole day; she can afford to miss a day of school. Tomorrow night is a bull roast that Vicki and I are supposed to go to, and for which I already spent the $50. I don't know what's going on, on Sunday, but we may just be too exhausted to care.

Happy Birthday Kenzie!

Born at 3:36 pm (the exact same time of day as her sister, Kearsyn), nine years ago. She has been a true blessing in our lives. Here are nine miscellaneous things about her.

1. Her favorite color is pink (which is strange for a Tomboy).

2. She likes bugs (especially pink ones).

3. She loves softball (for which she now has a pink glove, bat, batting helmet, and batting gloves).

4. Her favorite fruit is oranges (you thought I'd say pink grapefruit, didn't you?).

5. Her favorite food is Sloppy Joe (except she asked for spaghetti for her birthday dinner, don't ask me why).

6. She absolutely loves chickens (but not for dinner).

7. She adores her little sisters, and loves helping to take care of them.

8. Her favorite song is 'He's My Rock' by Randy Travis.

9. She can't wait to be an altar server at church (she's just waiting for our Deacon to organize the next training session).

There's lots more, but I'll save some for her tenth birthday.

A Manger, Bike Rides, and Chickens

Kenzie's been working on this 3-D manger scene for several days, now. Every time I turn around, I find cut-up paper or cardboard somewhere on the floor. This started with a few paper figures glued to the back of a box. Then she devised a way to make 3D figures and make them them stand up. After adding some angels and straw, she made the three wise men. Today, she added the animals and the doves. I don't know if she's done, yet. All of a sudden, my kids have become self-motivated in Art. This is a good thing, I guess, because they all start a weekly Art class, run by the county Parks and Recreation Dept., this coming Wednesday.
Today was the third day in a row that I got to go on a long bike ride. I can't believe this weather. The temperature, again, was in the mid-sixties, which is unheard of here, in January; forget about weeks on end of this mild weather! It's really hard to believe you folks out west are getting record snowstorms and all that ice! We live only a couple miles from the Bay, and a park that has lots of trails that almost nobody seems to know about. They are great for walking or biking through some woods and along the beach. The kids and I call it the Haunted Forest Trail. We go through 'Big Foot Forest', where we have to look out for Big Foot and his Ghost friends. From there, it's 'Pterodactyl Alley' (keep a watch on the skies, but you also need to keep watch for T-Rex). Next is 'The Marsh' where you might see 'Swamp Thing'. Once we get by him (or her, I could never tell the difference with Swamp Things), we come the 'Three Troll Bridges', where you have to go really fast over the bridges or they'll get ya (they are really slow trolls). Near the end of the forest, you have to watch the skies again, because the 'Giant Spiders', who lurk in the trees, might try to snatch you up for dinner. Then, leaving the forest, you have to pass 'The Black Lagoon', where the water really does look black. And we know 'The Creature' is just waiting for someone to stray to close to his water. Finally, we reach the spot of the above picture, 'The Quicksand', where wind has blown the beach over the path. I got stuck in it, so I took a moment to take that picture (only a brief moment, before I sunk too far).

Yesterday, I had all Alex, Taylor, Tyler, and Bekah with me. I'm pretty impressed that the twins can make that long bike ride. It takes me about an hour when I'm by myself. Today, Bekah and I were the only ones on the ride; she was in her perch on my bike, behind me. She only time she got impatient was when I stopped to talk to some friends of mine playing tennis at a recreational park that's along the trail.

Earlier today, Kenzie and I cleaned the chicken coop. That's one disadvantage to the warm weather: smelly chicken coop. I also finished up my new brooder. It's now all ready for the baby chicks when they arrive next month. I betcha that's when the cold weather will really hit: right when I'm trying to keep baby chicks warm, out in the chicken coop. Next, we need to expand the chicken run. We can start that once I get a few more fence posts and another roll of chicken wire fencing. Oh, and some bird netting might be advisable. I saw that nasty, chicken-eating hawk in the neighborhood again yesterday.

Mosaics

The other day, Taylor (left) found what remains of some old plastic tiles I got when we first started homeschooling; and then he got creative by making a flower. Not to be outdone, Tyler made a jellyfish (right).

GO RAVENS!

Vicki's blog demonstrates, a little, how looney tunes people get around here about their Ravens. Here's Bekah, getting into the spirit too, wearing my sweatshirt from when the Ravens won the AFC championship in 2000.

Thanks, Ron, and Others

I don't know who you are or where you came from (I have a good idea, though, considering all the pray that has been going in to this decision), but your comments could not have been more well timed or appropriate for the situation we've been going through.

In about twelve hours, we're scheduled to go sign Alex up for government school. A phone call tomorrow morning will cancel this appointment. Who would have thought that this decision would seem to be such an earth-shattering one to make? But it has turned my life upside down lately. Vicki and I just finished another talk with Alex. Somehow, over the past few days, Vicki has managed to get a few snippets from Alex, expressing his concerns and problems. From our talk tonight (us talking, and him grunting a little, when appropriate), we decided to try and make some adjustments to how we do things around here, before transferring him to school.

I have been talking to many people about this, trying to get advice, including my parents, who have always been opposed to homeschooling our children. The recurring theme (other than from my parents) has been: it makes more sense to try to fix what we have before making the major move of sending Alex off to public school. It took a stranger's comments to drive this message home at the eleventh hour. Pretty cool how the Holy Spirit works, huh?

I have had many people helping me in this process, through prayer and advice. I don't think we're finished; now we have to actually implement the changes we decided on, so please keep it coming.

Thank you all so much.

The School Conundrum

I want to thank Ron for his comment to my last post. It has inspired me to elaborate on our current homeschool conundrum.

It all began six years ago when Alex was in second/third grade (public school, or government school as I sometimes refer to it). To make a long story short, we noticed that he was being passed through the grades without really understanding the lessons, primarily in Math. The "new" math curriculum was such that Vicki and I had no way to help him because we didn't understand these "new" ways of teaching this subject. After two years of futilely attempting to get help and answers from the school, we threw our hands in the air, and pulled Alex and Connor out of the system we deemed broken. Alex had just been promoted to fifth grade; Connor to second. BTW, Connor's issues were antithetical to Alex's. In first grade, by March/April, Connor had completed all the material available to his teacher, who had "run out" of material to give Connor and essentially just began to give him busy work until the school year ended. That was unacceptable to us.

Skip ahead. I now have five students, a two year old, and a three month old in the classroom. The grades I teach are 8, 5, 3,and two first graders. Of course, all but the first graders are not really doing grade level work. Alex is almost finished ninth grade math. Keep in mind, when I began homeschooling him, he was at least two years behind, in math comprehension. Connor is advanced in all but Science, as is McKenzie, who I think is 'the most' advanced, compared to where her brothers were at the same age. Over the years, each of the older three has become more and more independent; as they could handle more, I let them have it. Now, other than review and checking (I check and discuss all their work, every day, to make sure they understand their lessons, which are pretty much self-guided), they are pretty much on their own until they come to me for help with some new concept.

The problem. Recently, meaning since about the beginning of this school year, Alex has become less and less enthusiastic about just about everything. He maintains a high level interest, to the point of a life's passion, in the care and well being of his siblings. He loves his baby sister, feeds her, changes her, looks after her whenever he can. Same with Bekah, the two-year-old. Oh, and of course, he'd spend every other waking moment in front of PlayStation or cartoons, if I let him. He won't show any interest in anything else. He even says he doesn't want to play baseball this Spring. Playing baseball has always been the reason for existence, for him. I've tried talking with him, to get him to understand that he can have a say in what he does, if he just talks about it. I'm answered by silence and shoulder shrugs. I'm chalking the change up to the beginnings of puberty, but that doesn't make it easier for me to deal with in the middle of all the other things going on around here. I don't want to throw away this school year by continuing to do something that simply has not been working; that is: he and I butting heads every day over his school work. I still am not confident that I know exactly what he wants. He's said he wants to try school again. But he's also said that he doesn't. And he's never given a reason for either option. Well, since we do want to do what's best for him, the first step seems to be changing the situation we're currently in. The only way to do that, within our budget, is to send him back to the government school for at least the remainder of this school year. We'll see what happens from there.

I've talked to friends and family. No one has the answer, except that what's happening now is not what's best for this family. I still feel a little uncomfortable about sending him back to school, but it doesn't have to be a permanent decision.

We are scheduled to meet with the school tomorrow morning to get Alex registered. The third quarter starts on the 24^th, his birthday, so he'll have about a week to acclimate to the new arrangement before his grades will start to count. Nothing else to do now except wait and see how it goes. I don't think it'll be worse than staying home and doing what we've been doing (I also don't think it'll be any better, but you never know).

Back to School

I'm having a real hard time with our decision from last night, to send Alex back to public school. Please help me pray for guidance and acceptance of this new direction, and to be as sure as possible that it's what God wants us to do, not just a way of making our lives less complicated, for our own convenience.

My Labels

Ok, I got really curious and checked. My number one label, so far, is "chickens" (what else) and "Kenzie" comes in at number two.

Another Kenzie Gush

As you've probably read here, Kenzie is on a regional, travel softball team. This means we practice twice a week, about 40 minutes away from home. It's a pain, but worth it for the joy she gets from playing, and learning, the game at a high skill level, not what you see in a regular recreational league. Well, last night, a guy (Mike) I've coached baseball with (his son and Kenzie have been on the same team) for a couple years called me. I told him over the summer that I wouldn't be coaching with him this year because of Kenzie's softball. There would be huge schedule conflicts, and travel softball would take priority over recreational baseball. Mike insisted that, in his opinion, having McKenzie play part time on his team would be better than having most of the boys her age play full time. I knew that ;o), but it was nice to hear someone else say it. I told him I'd talk to Kenzie, and call him back. Kenzie took about a half second to decide she'd love to play baseball with the boys again. I half-jokingly asked her where the money's going to come from for her to play in both leagues. Without hesitation she said she'd pay for it from her Christmas/birthday money. Okydoky. I called Mike back and told him he can have Kenzie. Of course, that also means I'll be coaching baseball again. At least this time I'll only be an assistant, not the manager like I usually am.

I think if you did a search of my blog, you'd find Kenzie mentioned more than anything else. I feel a little guilty talking about her more than my other kids, but I really can't help the fact that she does so much stuff, and does it well. Alex, Connor, Tay, Ty, et al, also do what they do, well. They just don't do as much of it.

Oh, I can mention the fact that Alex joined an indoor soccer team yesterday. It was a last minute thing, and I still haven't even gotten him officially registered; thankfully, the coach is a good friend of mine (Godmother of two of my girls) so we could work around the technicalities. Without even going to a practice, he scored a goal in the first game of the season. Yeehah!

I hope to soon get to topics here that can include some pictures. These long, picture-less, blogs are going to get tedious, and I may start losing some of my vast audience. Hang in there, please.

Trouble in Chicken World

Our new roosters are beginning to cock-a-doodle and Vicki's getting, to put it gently, worried about what the neighbors will say. I say, when the neighbors get rid of their massive Rottweiler and the howling Beagle, they can say something about our roosters. As far as I know, there is not a single, legal thing anybody can do about our having roosters in the back yard. I think she's afraid our psycho neighbor might sic his mastiff on our hen house, or something, and that has a very messy potential, especially if Kenzie sees the beast chowing down on her chickens. Actually, we only have one really loud and very persistent cockerel so far, and I already said he's on the menu in February.

Well, a bargain was cut (unbeknownst to Chicken Girl) and now, in my eldest daughter's eyes, I am a traitor. Here's the deal. Since I only wanted one rooster to propagate the flock, I bargained away all the roosters for permission to mail-order a bunch of new hens (shipped from the hatchery the day they hatch). This is a much more efficient way of raising egg-layers, anyway, since you can order just hens, and not waste food on raising a bunch of roosters. And you can still eat any hens that aren't pulling their weight in the egg-laying assignment. So, I just placed an order for 25 new hens, of various breeds, just to add color to the flock. They should arrive on February 12 or 13. I was told by the hatchery that the post office will call me when they arrive and I'll have to pick them up, but our mail lady knows I'm home, so she may deliver them to me. We'll see. Oh, and the hatchery also includes an extra, 'surprise chicken' with baby chick orders. It's supposed to be "rare or special" breed that we can attempt to identify as it matures. Hopefully, they also send the answer along, just in case we can't figure it out.

Back to the deal. Although Kenzie got to pick exactly which breeds of chicken she wanted (which she did), and she's thrilled about the "surprise" chick, she's not so pleased at the prospect of losing Nugget. She doesn't appreciate the fact that, come meal time, he'll become an integral part of her life. I didn't use these exact words; I think they would fall on unappreciative ears. Kenzie is even less thrilled with the prospect that we'll have way too many hens and will have to cull the flock (more yummy dinners) if we can't sell or give the extra hens away. She's gotten so bad that, tonight, when we had a very tasty slow-cooked, store-bought chicken, Kenzie wouldn't eat it because she said it tasted like a home-grown chicken. I love the fact that she relishes (no pun intended) her role as a backyard chicken farmer, but I think she's been ruined on chicken dinners for years to come.

Today, in the muck of our back yard (we've already had three inches of rain this year, on top of an exceptionally wet December), Kenzie, with the enlisted help of a reluctant Tyler, was measuring for an extended chicken run. We want to add a second run so we can alternate between the two. This should allow us to grow grass in the area the chickens destroy (it's amazing how fast they can defoliate an area) while providing them with fresh grass and bugs, at least periodically throughout the year. At least the areas that get consumed by chickens will be well fertilized.

What An Amazing Day

Who could have predicted that, when we scheduled our trip to D.C. to tour the White House, the weather was going to be 75^o and beautifully sunny on January 6, right smack in the middle of Winter?! Wow!

I took the three older kids, and we met some friends of ours, and headed to DC. We took the Metro, which the kids always think is more fun than the rest of the trip. Take us country bumpkins to the city and we can have all sorts of fun with things like subway rides and chasing pigeons.

The only disappointment was the actual tour of the White House. I couldn't even take my camera because they don't allow cameras into the White House, and that really bites since when I go "tourist" I need my camera. I was tempted to take a cell phone picture, but I didn't want Secret Service agents to come out of some secret entry and body slam me against the wall and smash my phone. The Secret Service (what a misnomer: everybody knows who there are; it's no secret) has got to be the most unfriendly bunch of people you'll ever meet on the planet (no offense meant to any agents out there that I haven't met, and who might be friendly). The friendliest guys we talked to were the ones out front, holding their giant P-something guns and looking very military. They chatted with us and the kids and were very nice, and willing to answer our silly questions that I'm sure they've heard a gazillion times. Back to the tour: you walk through the metal detector, through a few rooms with antique furniture, and back out another door. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was a little more than that. I had much more fun, a couple years ago, touring George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. You got to see much more of the house, and were allowed to roam around the grounds and get a really good feel for what life was like in the late 1700's. Today, we didn't even get to see the White House bowling alley, which the guards told us was directly beneath the spot at which we were talking to them. They could have told me I was standing over the Bat cave for all I know, but it sounded good.

Next stop was the Washington Monument. I was in it a few times as a kid, but my kids never got to go in, so they thought it was pretty neat. The elevator takes you to the top (when I was a kid, they allowed you to walk up the stairs, but the stairs are closed now because of too much vandalism-a sad statement on society, if ask me). The whole thing stands about 555 feet high. The observation area has windows that face all four directions of the compass, and you can see everything. This was absolutely the perfect day for this. You could see all of DC, into Maryland and Virginia. Alas, no camera, or I'd have some incredible pictures to show you.

Then we tried to visit the American History Museum. After walking almost all the way around the building, we discovered it was closed. Some better signage would have been helpful.

So, next door to that, we headed to the Natural History museum. That's a hard one for me to visit because so much of what that museum expresses as fact is, in fact, theory. Namely, all that stuff about Evolution. It was still a theory the last time I checked, but you'd never know from the exhibits. Us wacky Christian Creationists just don't get it, I guess. It still gives me 'teaching moments' with the kids where I can explain some of the faulty logic and unproven 'facts' that can be found in the Evolutionist doctrine.

Then, we found out about an exhibit about the Bible at Sackler Gallery. We thought we'd try this, but the exhibit was a two-hour guided tour, and was absolutely packed (it closes tomorrow so it seemed everyone waited until the last minute to visit it). We had a bunch of tired kids and one pregnant lady with us so we decided that would be too much for us to handle.

We headed back home, via Metro, the kids again having more fun on the train ride than at our nation's capitol (except for when they were chasing pigeons). I wish Vicki could've gone, but, besides having Kearsyn to lug around, Tyler wouldn't have lasted two seconds in the White House without breaking something or setting off some kind of alarm and shutting down the whole city.

Next time we go, we'll skip the White House and take a camera.

Whew!

It's been a while since I posted! That time just flew by, didn't it? Vicki has been doing a little blog-updating during the holidays, so at least there isn't a complete void of goings-on around here.

In a nutshell: Christmas was great. I got to go the midnight Mass, which is my favorite thing to do for Christmas, especially with my older boys as altar servers. Tyler and Kenzie even went with me this time around. Kenzie still doesn't believe in Santa, even though he gave her coal in her stocking for not believing. All the kids got just about everything they asked for, and were still grumpy from all sensory overload that comes this time of year. Around here, the gift-giving process took several days. We had Christmas morning at our house. Christmas afternoon my sister's (where my mother challenged me to fit all the stuff into the van; that van hasn't failed me yet, but it was tight this year). The day after with my in-laws. A day or two later, the in-laws again with stuff they forgot to bring to us the previous trip. A few days later, my mom again. She was bored and came to visit. This time she brought stuff I had forgotten, and left at my sister's house on Christmas day. We'll be seeing her again soon because she had to exchange a few things that were duplicates or broke.

New Year's Eve was fantastic. We spent it at a local church (I think Vicki wrote about it), not our own. Our church doesn't do the fun things other churches do. Well, that's not fair, I guess. They do fun things that are oriented toward an older crowd, not one whose average age is 14.25 years old, as it is in our house. Anyway, we got to see some great amateur entertainment and enjoy some wonderful Christian fellowship. Kenzie and Connor even played the piano as part of the talent show. They played four different times over the holidays for family, friends, and on stage. Tyler did, too, except for the talent show. He got shy, with the piano being up there on a stage.

Back to the grind today. Vicki went to work, I tried to do a little school (not the full load on the first day). Other than dealing with Tyler's mood this morning, it was a pretty good day. As you know, we were expecting this first day to be a real bear with Kearsyn. She has been refusing to drink from a bottle and her schedule, well, she doesn't have one. To my surprise, she slept 'til 10:30 am (from about midnight). She drank two ounces in ten minutes, then waited until the rest of us ate lunch before wanting more. Then, while I was helping Alex and Connor with math, Kenzie gave Kearsyn three more ounces with no trouble at all. She drank another ounce for me, and another for Alex, while I was taking the piano players to their lessons. I also took Bekah and Tay with me so Alex could focus on Kearsyn only, while I was out. By the time I got home, Alex had Kearsyn asleep again. I am assuming tomorrow I am going to pay for such a smooth day today. And it was a Tuesday, too!

I have more to say, but there are more important things to do right now. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to this soon.