No bolts of lightening

Lastborn made his first communion yesterday.Because none of the extended family could make it, I decided to post the story and pictures here.

We got there very early, so I decided to take Lastborn's picture before the crowds started. This was the best he could do with "Stand up straight next to the font. " This was right before he asked if he could dip his feet in there.

Practicing for the event. He's the only one behaving now. But just wait until the actual event. When they were standing up there at the altar for the blessing, he was dancing around. DH thought he must have to go to the bathroom really badly. No. He just said his feet hurt. At one point he was jumping up and down. I was afraid he would fall off the steps.

The opening procession. Doesn't he look so sweet. His lips are forming "Don't take my picture!"

Anyone who knows Lastborn will recognize my shock and fear when he started down for the offertory carrying this very full glass pitcher of sacramental wine. Exactly which section of hell do you end up in when you drop that and it not only splatters all over the porcelain tiles, but also onto the fluffy meringue-like dress that this little girl is wearing. Notice the concentration.

All dresses remained pristine white through the whole event, and I was able to resume breathing as he successfully handed that jug off to the priest. When he came back to the pew, there was a noticeable bead of sweat on his forehead.

He was very nervous about actually receiving the bread. We practiced a bit before mass, but when he got into line, he immediately put his hands out to receive the bread. I had to correct him and as we approached the priest, prompt him to hold out his hands. Of course, he put the wrong one on top. So I quickly switched them. Then I heard him say Amen in a very strong voice, and he received the bread, took hold of it in his right hand and then didn't know what to do. I could hear the twitters from the people in the first pew as he walked away with the bread in his hand, so I quickly told him to eat it. Then he went sailing past our pew. More laughter as I tried to grab the shoulder of his coat to stop him, but he was out of reach. So we walked around the long way.

All-in-all, no major embarrassments and he did provide a modicum of comic relief to the crowd. A typical Lastborn affair. Despite his lack of preparation for the actual event, Lastborn worked very hard for this event. His CCD class was three hours every Saturday morning for 10 weeks and they required him to finish 2 workbooks at home on top of that. Firstborn never had to do that much. The good thing was that he very much enjoyed his CCD class and his teachers.

Isn't she cute???

Who needs TV?

TV Turn-off Week -- Day 2

We survived day 2 with a bit more success.

Of course it helped that most of the evening, the children were strapped into the car travelling to Springfield where we looked at 9 adorable puppies!!!

Yes, we decided to bring one home. She is a doll. They are golden retriever mix puppies and the mix is somewhat of a mystery. The pups are almost all black with white marks except for one brown with white marks. We picked the smallest one for many reasons. 1) She's a bit smaller. 2) She is really cute and friendly. 3) She gnawed on our hands the least. 4) While curious and just as active as the other puppies, she was a bit less in-your-face and much more calm than the others. 5) She barked less and for better reason.

She seemed happy to see anyone and wagged her tail (but not her whole body) happily when she approached us. She seemed willing to be independent of the other dogs, but happy to wrestle with them as well. She is mostly black with a white star on her chest. She has what looks like the perfect lab head right now. We'll see how her nose takes shape. It's a bit longer than her siblings now.

Her mom is an AKC Golden with very good breeding. The breeder's dad is a vet and she is very serious about breeding responsibly. She is a close friend of our puppy's current owner. She is truly a beautiful dog, if a bit large and energetic right now. She's just a kid who got in trouble before they could get her fixed. This is one of the big disadvantages of having the invisible fence. Male dogs can get in. :-)

So anyway, we bring our puppy home Friday and then the fun begins.

I did not bring the camera and so wish I had. Because it was great hearing Lastborn giggle as a gaggle of puppies knocked him to the floor and licked his face.

Firstborn wanted to bring all 9 home. They both think this dog will stay small. Boy are they in for a surprise. Right now, she is shorter than the cats. Which is a good thing. The cats might just give her a chance. Now we need to work our our training goals, where she will sleep, how to keep her out of the cat food, which type of fencing we will use, and many other challenges.

Back to the TV Free Week. The trip to the puppy house was all we needed to entertain the boys. We did play some board games last night. Lastborn is quite annoying at board games. Never remembers when his turn is, can't remember which pile to take the cards from and which to put them on, etc. But we did have fun and maybe, he will improve with more practice. I think a short walk in a neighborhood park might be just the thing for tonight.

TV Turnoff Week - Day 1

Just shoot me now!

I decided that I wanted out family to participate in TV turnoff week. Last year, when I suggested this, I thought the roof would collapse. This year, I put my foot down. Not only with the kids, but with DH as well.

You see we are a totally electronics addicted family. I see issues with the kids from this. A reluctance to try anything new that does not include a plug, Lastborn's reluctance to move his body at all, and a constant struggle with who gets control of what electronic device and for how long.

I really felt that this would be a good way to teach the family that there is life during a power outage. One would think...

So when the boys came home from school today, I tried to be somewhat nice to them. I knew the question would come up about whether they could play electronic games or what in the world were they supposed to do without electronics? I was somewhat prepared. I forced an increased tolerance of their fighting ad roughhousing in the house. They played sword fight with the Nerf swords I purchased for Lastborn's party (until Firstborn broke one). Then I sent them outside to practice on the hop balls that we will use at the party as horses for the joust. I guess I need to post on our medieval party plans for Lastborn. But that will be another post.

So I help the kids find the hop balls in the garage. All they want to know is where are the pool noodles that we will use as the jousting staffs. We have not purchased them yet.

"Don't worry about the noodles," I say. "Just practice with the balls."

Just then, Lastborn falls off the ball onto his face.

"See?" I say quickly. "You need to figure out how to use the balls before you can worry about the noodles." I'm so cruel.

Being much accustomed to my sarcasm, the boys see the humor in this. So, I return to my office to look into doggy training in our area. (yet another post)

In a few minutes, I hear frantic screaming. It takes me a minute to decide whether this is really danger screaming or just the sound of two boys having fun in the front yard. I'm still not sure but decide to get up and check it out just in case. I look out the front window to see Lastborn lying in the gutter and Firstborn looking like he is trying to roll Lastborn out of the gutter onto the sidewalk. The hop ball Lastborn had been using was in the middle of the street.

Now, I am aware that an 8 year old and an 11 year old should be able to play in the front yard of their suburban home without danger. I know that the street doesn't get too much traffic and there are no nearby bends for a car to come streaking around and hit an unknowing child, but still. It looks like my son has been hit by a car, or maybe he hopped too close to the street and did another face plant on the cement but this time lost consciousness.

I ran outside in my slippers (make that waddled quickly) to find out how bad the damage is. At this point, Lastborn sits up with a big smile on his face, and firstborn reports that Lastborn was playing too close to danger and he was trying to get him to move back into the yard.

No more playing in the front yard, and he got a good dose of shouting for this one.

I reported this scene to DH last night and his only question was, "You didn't yell at him outside did you?" Ah yes, the neighbors still think we are nice people. Anyone taking bets on how long that will last?

Return From Hiatus

OK. It's been a while, and I feel I have to explain before jumping into the latest kid's post. It's worth waiting for...

This is the news. The company I have been working for has reached a fork in the road that requires some staffing adjustments. After the hard push that started in October (just as I was moving from MA to OH), we experienced the quick-change that seems to hallmark the struggling company. This week our main push is one thing, the next week, that function is dropped from the product and we work on a different one. They have done everything right and produced a great product, but the market is reflective of the wonderful economy we have all been experiencing despite the rosy picture FOX TV wants to paint.

I won't get into gory details, but I was expecting a lay-off. After all, I'm a contractor. I'm there solely for the purposes of being laid off. So, while waiting for the call to end my career at this small start up, I was happy to be approached for a freelance editing job. Just the ticket. Not a constant full-time job. Just a few hours here and there. Plenty of time to get out and meet people here in my new state.

I finally go the call on a Thursday morning. But I wasn't laid off. They are keeping me on freelance. So, now I can stress over having two freelance positions and worrying that they will both have the same due dates.

No work over the past two weeks. I've just been re-taking control of my life. It's been nice.