And it's Not Even October

Have a great weekend!
AL

Into the Groove

I'm back; sorry again. All is well - just a little hectic. Lots of everyday, ordinary goodness and few photos to show for it.

Li and I, being the high-class travelers that we are, recently spent four nights out of eight sharing a not-quite-big-enough hotel bed. Once for a funeral/family visit in Hickory and then in Cincinnati for soccer.

During the first trip, Lilah really got her groove on (just imagine what she can do unharnessed!):



And on the second journey, Kirby and Max both got into their respective grooves, devastating opponents left and right:



"And you can dance... for inspiration" -Madonna

:)AL

Say Something Nice

Happy Friday~



Courtesy of Improv Everywhere and the Mission Amy KR blog.

AL

Chaos Managed

Course completed, badge earned, and now with two games under his whistle: Kirby is a ref.

Could there be a more perfect profession for one rule-lovin', time-watchin', soccer-obsessed twelve year old?



Don't worry, parents, Referee Kirby has everything under control.
Here he attends to a crazed fan (in pink) that rushed the field:




No crazy screaming parents yet... the only incident reported involved a tiny player who preferred to follow Kirby around making noises with his armpits than play soccer.

Oh, and Kirby's favorite: a little one on Team Jedi (how awesome?!) who sprinted down the field and intentionally did a quick somersault before popping back up to kick the ball.
No penalty for that!

AL

My Two Hours

There's lots of things I should be doing right now, but I don't plan to use my time wisely.

While my Preschool Bear is off establishing her rank in the new den, I plan to sit and enjoy the silence.

I do hope Ms. Lisa and Ms. Kathy are good listeners.




AL

Remembering

I had some homework this week.
A short essay was requested from parents or grandparents in an effort to help today's eighth graders understand the magnitude of 9/11; specifically to pass along our memories so that No One Will Ever Forget.

In discussing this as a family, we realized how very little Max knew about it. He mostly struggled to grasp the extreme hatred that one must possess in order to knowingly sacrifice their own life to kill others. It was tough to explain - hatred of that nature is unfathomable to me as well.

Incidentally, Kirby's assigning history teacher is the same man from whom this house was purchased; now a good family friend whose daughters' growth is etched in Sharpie in the boys' closet, in which we've added their own measurements.

I thought I'd share:

On September 11th, 2001 we were living in an extremely tiny house in Ormond Beach, Florida. Kirby was almost three, Max just six months, and our days’ excitement involved after-dinner walks to the beach.

We weren’t in the habit of news watching, so our first introduction to the tragedy was a phone call from my dad. “Please turn on your TV” was all he said. Jeremy had not yet left for work and I remember we watched the horror unfold together as I nursed the baby on the couch.

Honestly, my initial reaction was not as overpowering as it should have been.
I feel guilt about that now, how I spent that day.

The events on TV seemed completely unreal to me, like in a movie, or someplace very far away. It wasn’t until the hours and days that followed that I began to realize all that was lost – among thousands of precious lives, our country’s -and my own- naiveté.

Later that morning, I took my two boys to library storytime as usual, sat on the floor with them and sang the alphabet song.... while at the exact same moment, countless other American mothers were crumbling to the ground in agony.
Fellow mothers full of unimaginable grief, stemming from the worst kind of tragedy: senseless and imbued with ignorance and hate. An indiscernible hate, possibly passed down from mother to son?

It should be unfathomable.


AL

Comic Strip

Gathering laundry from the boys' room, I noticed this snipped comic on Kirby's desk.

Man, I love his sense of humor.


In case it's too tiny to read:

Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley

Satchel the dog: Hmmm... I wonder why the sky is blue...

Bucky the cat: Satchel, Satchel, Satchel. There are some questions we can never know the answer to...
Are we alone in the universe? Why do British people sing with an American accent?
...Would a bear still dump in the woods if he had access to proper sanitary facilities?
...If a tree falls in the woods, how many liberals would it take to fund the therapy for all the trees around it?
...Is the pope's hat actually funny, or is it just ironic?
...And the biggie: If a bear tries to dump in the woods but a tree falls on him with no one around, is the pope's hat still funny?

Satchel the dog: No, why is the sky blue now? It was supposed to rain.

Bucky the cat: Oh. I dunno. Wind or something. Stupid Question.

Happy Friday!
AL

And they're up!!!!!

Our long weekend by the lake was enjoyed by all! We took this opportunity to try out our new skis. Darren and I will need A LOT more practice, but the kids did great!! This is the first time both of them have gotten up on skis!!! I'm wondering if my feet will fit in these training skis, they are the way to go :) Jen

Stormy Weather

And sometimes you have to make your own rainbows.



Happy long weekend!
AL

Previously Offline

This time, my hiatus was not voluntary.
There was some form of overactive electricity in the vicinity of the Brennan household last Tuesday night.
I think what actually happened is that Jer attempted to do the dishes and then, sure enough, lightning struck!

Our modem was zapped, resulting in no internet or home phone for eight days.

The surge also took out our living room TV.
Don't worry... it was just the new flat screen. :(

And then I got a black eye.
I know that's totally unrelated, and that you're going to need an explanation but the truth is so lame (that open kitchen cabinet came out of nowhere!) that I've come up with an alternate story: I took an elbow to the face at roller derby.


In other news: the boys are mostly happy at school, Lilah loves our constant 'girl time' and soccer season is in full swing:
We played a combined 8 games last weekend at Bowling Green State University. Both boys' teams made the finals, and Max's team won the U12 A division.

I bit the bullet and made a trip to Walmart before we left, stocking up on snacks, games and Bendaroos.
Lilah led the older boys in several games of Squinkies in their downtime. In this game, if you are lucky enough to land on the 'So Cute' circle, everyone playing must say together: "So Cuuuute!"

And all the tween boys did.

It was awesome.



AL