Thanksgiving Day

And so, it is here -- TDay. For many people it is a day of stress as they race about, trying to get the house clean, the food cooked, the place prepared for the descending hordes of hungry friends and family. Often, in such moments, the 'Thankfulness' for which this day is named is lost and forgotten. I should know -- grin -- been there, done that. But today, for me, the 'Thankfulness' is very much present... and one of the reasons is currently seated on the living room floor examining his haul of Pokemon cards:>

So, for what am I thankful this day? For all the people in my life, for the fact that we are -- relatively -- healthy, for the homes we have, the food, the things, but more for the connections and the love we feel. I am grateful -- OH! SO grateful that G.B. is out of the White House soon and a (hopefully) better man is in. I am thankful that my friends have not suffered too terribly as a result of having family in Iraq though I grieve for those who have suffered the cost of that stupid action. I am grateful that the sun was out yesterday, that I get to watch my sons laugh and play and that I, lucky me, get to watch them learn and grow. I am very grateful that I am in a position to home school my children -- hording all those wonderful learning moments instead of having them slip past a stranger as if they were of no account. I am grateful for having had the oppurtunity to take the boys to Arizona to visit their grandparents -- for my parents who took the time to spend with us. For my father whose passion for birds and rocks and history have helped to inspire not only me but also my sons. I am grateful that my mother was able to go to Florida and spend the holidays with her sister. I am grateful that she is coming to see us in December -- a challenge to her physically and financially but a gift to all of us. I am thankful for coffee and the hope that it will chase awful headache! I am thankful for Tom, with all his quirks and fierceness who can make me laugh even when I am in serious grouch mode -- for his smiles and his sexiness, his brains and his humor. I am thankful for my sons, both of whom can drive me round the bend and then send me laughing in tears: For Jason with his brilliant blue eyes, kind spirit and clever mind, for Xander whose brown eyes melt all hearts, whose fierce independence is both frustrating and impressive.

And speaking of boys -- Thought I would share a few stories with you, to help bring smiles to your faces.

The first, most recent funny moment was provided by Mr. X. He and I were in the car, returning from Tae Kwon Do. He had had a hard time there because he'd not had a nap and was VERY tired. I was concerned, in fact, that he would fall asleep in the car on the way home -- and since it was 5 pm and dinner time, that would not have worked well. So I decided to engage him in conversation. Not being brilliant after a day of three little boys and a back ache, I openned with: "So, what is your name?" Xander, whose quickness with repartee is truly remarkable, responded 'Alexander the Great' I blinked. 'Really? I thought that that name was already taken?' 'Yes' responded AG, not phased in the least, 'But he is dead.' 'Oh' I was stumped for a moment. 'So, I know what he did to earn the title. What are you going to do?' He laughed at me and said 'I am going to find interesting things and collect them.' Ah.... and this from the child who had earlier announced his intention to conquer the world...

And then there is Jason who has recently discovered the joys of Amelia Bedelia and joke books. He delights in reading them aloud to all who will listen -- especially his younger brother who is more than willing to laugh in all the appropriate AND inappropriate places. The other night when we went into their room to read books, Jason's eyes lighted on the two 'Wizard and Wart' books I had placed there. 'I am reading THOSE!' he announced firmly. He plunked himself into the bed and Xander immediately claimed shotgun position at his shoulder. Jason began to read and almost from the first, the two boys were in tears of laughter. Part of the hilarity was the result of Jason's reading style -- he is beginning to learn to pause for dramatic effect (grin) only to spoil it by laughing! He will read, pause, and then, as his eye scans the next lines, desolve into laughter, choking out the next lines and having to re-read them. He has the makings of a comedian, though less stand up than slapstick, I think.

Funny moments

I read back through my most recent posts and realized that there are quite a few things that I left out. So, in the intere?st of accuracy...

One moment that stands out is a moment in the car as we left the T-Rex museum. Xander and Jason had had a blast and come out of the place and come out with all sorts of treasures. Sitting in the back of the car, sorting through his stash, Xander asked his big brother and the font of all wisdom, 'Bah Bah, can I be a paleontologist when I grow up?' His brother, without missing a beat replied 'You don't have to grow up. You just have to dig.'

Then there was the moment, watching Barack Obama's acceptance speech -- Xander was disgusted because no one was paying him any attention. In frustration he yelled out 'I DON'T LIKE PRESIDENTS! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT A LOT OF CONFUSED NOISE!' I gave my tearful child a hug and laughed a bit only to hear him inform his brother a short time later that 'when I grow up, I am going to be President. No one else is doing the job!'

There was also the moment during the trip to Tucson: We were going through the security check point. The boys had gone through and were collecting the stuff on the other side. A young securtiy guard was helping them load up their packs. When I arrived she said 'Did you hear that? They said 'Thank You!' She seemed stunned. I replied 'Yes, well, courtesy is always appropriate.' She looked at me and gave a big smile and said 'Good on you, Mom.' and then to the boys, 'Thank you. It has been a pleasure.' The boys smiled and waved and off we went. My boys:> They seem to charm airport personnel whereever we go. In Tucson, getting on the plane, a young security guard was so charmed by Xander that she gave him a pair of purple latex gloves. When we got home and I told his father, Tom's response was a laconic 'Yes, he is getting quite a collection of those!'

There were other moments but none spring to mind. I will record them as they come. Meanwhile, today I have a doctor's appointment and Xander has Tae Kwon Do. We are also supposed to drive to Tacoma to meet a little boy who is Pokemon/Legos mad for a play date. Gawk! This will be a busy sort of day.

School in session

As you might imagine, the first day back from our trip was mostly recovery. It was quiet -- we played indoors for the most part and Xander took a two hour nap. Jason had Tae Kwon Do in the afternoon and appeared to thoroughly enjoy himself there.

Today, however, school was back in session. We began with practising cursive handwriting -- and Jason has decided that he really LIKES writing in cursive. It was the getting him to stop and do something else that proved the challenge. While Jason wrote and wrote, Xander and I made homemade play dough. He loved it, as one might imagine -- and even tasted what he had created (from 1 cp flour, 1/2 cp salt, 1/2 cp water and red food coloring) despite my warning that it would be very salty. He was delighted with the whole process, got playdough in his hair and under his finger nails and made himself first a 'gingerbread' house and then a 'gingerbread' man.

After a bit, Jason also decided to make playdough and I showed him how to 'knead' bread using the mixture as a test case. He loved that -- guess we have to make bread again soon:> He was actually the first of the two boys to make a 'gingerbread' boy, and quite a fellow he was too.
Our next 'subject' was Dice math -- using the cinqo dice, Jason rolled dice, wrote out the additon/subtraction problems and did them. He had a great deal of fun and ended up using all five dice to create large number problems... then, after doing that for about 1/2 an hour, he begged to be allowed to continue practicing cursive... By this time, I was developing a bit of a headache and when I glanced outside, I realized that the rain had stopped. "Time to go out" I announced. We got shoes and coats on and headed out the door.

We stopped at Goodwill -- to check for Pokemon card, then went to the DO-IT center and bought two small rakes. I figure that the boys can work off some of their neverending supply of energy by raking leaves (grin). Then it was off to Lake Wilderness so that the boys could run and shout. Both boys were delighted to see that the stream was once again full of water -- 'Hello Alfred!!' they called to the troll under the bridge and tossed their 'gifts' to him as they headed for the playground. They played there for a good half hour before Xander began to show signs of tiredness. We then regrouped and headed off for lunch.

Once home and fed, the boys played Pokemon for a bit then we all three went into the bedroom where I read them a series of Native American tales. Jason then took over, reading Pokemon Junior books to Xander, while I came back to the bedroom to write a few blogs... Now my time is up and I need to get back out with them before heading off for PT.

Updates on the Deans

Back again:>

The boys and I went to Tucson, though Tom -- happily enough -- did not go to Singapore. We spent nine days in the sun, exploring the town and its environs. The boys enjoyment of the trip was heightend, I suspect, by the fact that I had lost my voice almost entirely and was unable to do more than whisper fiercely the whole time we were in Tucson. We went to Mt Lemmon, Summerhaven, Sabino Canyon and the Desert Museum with Mom. We explored Agua Caliente, Colossal Caves and Biosphere with Dad. The boys ate good food at the Eclectic and on 4th Avenue (where Jason discovered that he LIKES salsa -- first on steak, then on eggs...) and not so good food at the Dinosaur MacDonalds. We visited Bookman's Used bookstore twice and Jason was thrilled to bits to discover piles of Pokemon books -- he 'inhaled' them at such a rate that towards the end of our stay, he had read them all. He was left, in the end, to raid his Grandmother's bookshelves. There he found a biography of Laurel and Hardy, one of his favorite comedy duos, and he sat down with that. I know that he finished at least two chapters of the book and that he enjoyed it -- I heard him laughing as he read.

We also discovered, quite by accident, a little shop called 'The T-Rex Museum' on Oracle. It is run by a Palentologist -- 'I created the place I wanted to go when I was a kid' he told me and the boys thoroughly enjoyed digging up fossils, panning for treasures, breaking rocks with rock hammers and watching a dinosaur movie while eating popcorn. There is a store attached to the museum -- a true shopper's nightmare as it is LOADED with dinosaur goodies. It was a definate hit.

We had a lovely time -- loads of sun and, on the last day, the boys even took a brief dip in Mom's pool. Despite warnings, or perhaps because of them, Xander went in over his head. He was briefly terrified but he reached out and grabbed my hands when I told him to do so and I pulled him out. After a few moments of recovery, he decided that he had done well, had been very brave and had survived... so back in he went though this time, he was a bit more cautious and only went in up to his chest:>

And then, it was the 12th and time to return home. We were ready -- we all missed Tom though the boys both told me that they thought Gramma Pat oughtn't to live alone, that she should come and live with us. 'I worry about her' Xander told me gravely.

The trip home was not the best but not the worst either. We were supposed to board the plane at 4:30 and depart at 5 pm. We boarded at 5:30 and departed at 6. Something wrong withe the toilets so the plane was left with only two working ones. The boys, however, were wonderfully well behaved -- so well behaved, in fact, that the two ladies sitting in front of us complimented them at the end of the trip.

Once off the plane we stopped and changed the boys into their nightclothes -- I suspected that they might fall asleep in the car on the way home. The trip from the plane to the baggage claim was long, made longer by the fact that my independent youngest decided that he was going to 'CARRY MY OWN BAG!' -- which he did... slowly. He wore it as a backpack and trudged fiercely down the aisles, pretending to be a slow moving Earth Pokemon. It wouldn't have been a big issue except that his older brother was in high speed mode, eager to see his father, eager to get home to his cat. I hung suspended half way between the two, reeling Jason back periodically, then dragging Xander forward. When we did arrive at the baggage claim, Tom had already arrived. He watched the busy boys while I waited for the luggage -- which never appeared. In exasperation, I finally checked the luggage holding section BEHIND the carousel -- and sure enough, there were the bags. They had been on the carousel too long and had been pulled. Sigh.

Home once again, we unloaded luggage, put a sleeping Xander in his bed, allowed Jason to hug his cat briefly before he and then we fell into bed. What a long trip -- but at least I have my voice back!