tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179784332024-03-14T09:15:25.380-04:00Mairs MomiliesDestination: Sainthood (via the Funny Farm)Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.comBlogger580125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-88642315074743106812014-08-24T02:12:00.004-04:002014-08-24T02:18:27.946-04:00Miss. Helen Passed AwayTwo weeks ago we lost our dear neighbor, Miss. Helen. Helen was special for so many reasons. She moved here when Tad was still living in our house as a child. She lost her first husband to cancer and then met Fletcher Williams. When they married, she asked Tad's father to walk her down the aisle - his siblings still remember her as Mrs. Gill, but to our kids she has always been Miss. Helen Williams. No stranger to sadness, Helen buried both of those husbands and two of her three children - Frankie to complications of diabetes and Melanie to cancer - since she first came into our lives. She had just turned 89 when she died, having been diagnosed with leukemia just days before.<br />
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Miss. Helen was our friend, our nurse (as a retired pediatric nurse she was my go-to person to determine if a cut needed stitches or a limb needed X-rays), a grandma and our neighborhood porch sitter. She has always had her chair on her porch with an extra (used to be Fletch's) for whichever neighbor chose to join her. Often, it would be our Andrea joining her, with Tali or Nehemiah tagging along closely behind. In her latter years, Miss. Helen's hearing and eyesight weren't all that and she and Andrea shared the special bond of the hearing impaired - hollering at each other and smiling often. They also shared a love of elephants, both sharing with the other the highlights of their own personal collections. Her grandson Ryan who has Down Syndrome and was much-loved by Helen, was the last one we saw sitting on Helen's chair on the porch, explaining to us over and over again that his whole family would be at his Grandma's funeral. He sobbed through the whole service. <br />
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Helen always had gifts for all the children at Christmas and a card for the ones who visited her regularly on their birthdays. The tree in her front yard still bears the mouth, nose and eyes she bought and hung on it to entertain all the neighborhood children. The Mary statue in the backyard is the centerpiece of a small memorial garden some of the neighbors planted for her when Fletch died. It's all I can do to not pull out my gardening shears and trim up the bushes in the front yard which Helen would be doing if she were still here. <br />
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Helen died on a Friday. On that Tuesday, the kids came in and reported they had seen her in her car in her driveway and she had spoken to them. Since this information came mostly from Andrea who is somewhat of an inaccurate reporter, we had trouble figuring it out. Helen had been in and out of the hospital for a month or two and as far as we knew was living out her last days in a nearby nursing home. It turned out that on the day before, Helen had just visited with her priest and had been putting her affairs in order. That behind her, she asked her daughter Mary to take her to the casino. She played her slots for the last time, went out for ice-cream and then stopped by the house to sit in the driveway and get one last look at her homestead. She had asked Mary to call the children over when she saw them in the yard and when they came to her, she matter-of-factly stated to them that she was going to be dying soon. With that, Mary drove her back to the nursing home where she died a few days later, peacefully, with her remaining family around her. Helen was very ready to meet up with Mr. Gill and Fletch and Frankie and Melanie again. She was a faithful believer and a model neighbor and friend. She cared for everyone. We miss you, Helen. I can't imagine Mary's heartache and loneliness that must go well beyond our own. And I thank you, Helen, for that last parting gift of your honesty and love toward our children. Andrea is no stranger to profound loss herself and Helen definitely made her own passing much easier for Andrea by sharing her own peace and joy in her last days.<br />
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Miss Helen has passed away but our love for her never will.Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-84872165779374293772014-01-27T19:33:00.001-05:002014-01-27T19:36:50.507-05:00Vocational TrainingThe high school specials get to do these awesome trips about once a month with their vocational transitions advisor called Community Based Instruction (CBI for those in the know). Today they took a trip to ChickFilA supposedly to get a taste of various jobs they could tackle should they ever be hired by said company. Sometimes I'm really not sure how helpful the trips are but the debriefing sessions never cease to entertain. <br />
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Today Andrea wanted to tell me about it immediately through the door off the bus. That sweet lady in the picture is named Betsy - just like her sister - that was exciting! She also had a little stuffed cow bearing a "Eat more Chikin" placard around its neck which she proffered to Zak who was a wee bit hesitant to accept. Once she unloaded the cow, she donned her official ChickFilA employee paper boat hat and proceeded to tell me what they had for lunch. Unfortunately her grasp of articulation is a bit…um..impaired. Ten minutes later I learned that they had eaten waffle fries for lunch. <br />
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Yum but, uh, what did you *learn*?<br />
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We wear headset.<br />
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You wore the headset?<br />
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Yes.<br />
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I'm thinking wearing the headset probably involves a pretty good grasp of those articulation skills she just butchered, not to mention, most of the headset wearers I've seen also man…woman…person? the cash register. Last official report I saw Miriam was still trying to discern a nickel from a quarter.<br />
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Miriam! I moved on to Miriam to see what she had learned on this trip. When asked about it, she smiled broadly and said<br />
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We learned to say Pleasure You.<br />
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Pleasure you?<br />
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Yes. Pleasure You.<br />
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Just those two words? Just like that?<br />
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Yes. (and here she pronounces it very carefully so as not to possibly be misunderstood a third time) Pleasure You.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgy3RqUGQsbd3HNMRx8Jrpm5stR4B0UD71W_9X4JQAyXpb_9pd0dEqbYSQURlrFUXNzpDSBrbojnF1JMOvaWOoiwpWB_jSjmofwOn_LRI6FqWvZrnqoOXKpArQrL2DgEKZO3E33Q/s1600/IMG_3087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgy3RqUGQsbd3HNMRx8Jrpm5stR4B0UD71W_9X4JQAyXpb_9pd0dEqbYSQURlrFUXNzpDSBrbojnF1JMOvaWOoiwpWB_jSjmofwOn_LRI6FqWvZrnqoOXKpArQrL2DgEKZO3E33Q/s1600/IMG_3087.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a>Philip was a bit more helpful. He was also very enthusiastic about wearing the headsets but then went on to describe more practical jobs they had learned, such as clearing tables in the dining room. <br />
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Their advisor sent me these on-the-scene pictures. I really love them and I can just imagine how that would go:<br />
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Welcome to ChickFilA how may I pleasure you? And for the love God, please don't order waffle fries!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-33760958418326556482014-01-02T18:45:00.000-05:002014-01-02T23:38:41.385-05:002013 - What We've Been Up ToOk, so maybe one post a year is what you get but I do have a hankering to start writing again so who knows. It's been an eventful, albeit angsty, year for us. Lots of changes happening - shifting and moving and growing. We now have 6 teenagers in the house - 4 of them turned 16 in 2013. We have a licensed driver, another with a permit and we can actually allllmost see the end of our diapering days - after 17 years of 1-3 kids in diapers at any given time! This was the year of the Great Room Shift - a project involving building a new bedroom, installing two doors, painting, and shuffling around four other bedrooms and moving 9 kids. It is, in fact, still a work in progress but in 2013 we managed to complete the basic structure of all the rooms and get all kids settled where they belong. It was also another year of changing churches for us. Over the summer we began to feel a bit too big for our small Ukrainian mission parish and are now beginning to settle down in a larger Antiochian Orthodox parish in York, PA to which we hope to move closer once we launch JT and Ben. St. John Chrysostom has been a bastion of generosity toward our family and we are so happy to have new friends, while trying to stay in touch with our first and very special Orthodox church family.<br />
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Tad's big fun for the year was an ensemble role in a local theater company's production of The Producers. The show is quirky and fun and irreverent and involved him dressed in leather. He had a blast and he totally rocked that part! <br />
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I've been doing some more teaching - signed up at the local college to teach homeschool acting and improv classes. I've also been trying to get back into performing myself, taking classes and getting onstage whenever I can. I did one brief performance at Magooby's comedy club and another at The Creative Alliance for the Stoop Storytellers. My goal is for 2014 to be full of chances for me to get back on stage and make people laugh!<br />
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Here's a line-up of what the kids have been up to:<br />
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Zachary will be turning 3(!) in March and will be my forever baby of the family (yes we are DONE growing our family - just coasting from here on out). He spends his days lining up cars on any surface he can commandeer, learning fight tactics from his older brothers and alternately humming the Star Wars theme and the Imperial March in perfect pitch. He loves everything Star Wars and gets whatever he wants. He is the cutest Beast any of us have ever seen and he has the whole family wrapped around his whole danged hand.<br />
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Faith turned 4 in August and her personality is a strange mix of everything girly as taught by a gang of boys. Her world revolves around Hello Kitty and being cute and she has plenty of both. She is our star Blond - from the top of her head to the very innards of her brain. Her favorite activity is face timing her godmother whom she absolutely adores. She and Tali came out of the Great Room Shift with new beds, clouds painted on the walls and a Zak in their room.<br />
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If I could sum up Tali in one picture this would be it. She is her own person. She turned 5 in June and had a life-altering experience in August as a flower girl for my nephew's wedding. She spent several days with the wedding party being pampered and pal-ling around with her fellow flower girl. She loved all the grown up attention and responsibility and cherishes those memories in her heart of hearts. Sadly, we got a flat tire on our way to the wedding and missed her big moment! We made it in time for the reception to be able to watch her interact with all her new-found friends. I can see this kid has lots of adventures ahead of her.<br />
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Nathan is the lover, caretaker and torturer of all the family pets. He often wears the ferret to do his math (which he has whooped in spite of what he may tell you about how much he doesn't like it) and never forgets to feed the dog. He turned 7 in July. He and Miah had their second season of Parks and Rec soccer which he loved. Nathan is an out-of-the-box thinker with emphasis on the word think. He always has an idea to share, a project to do or a problem to solve. In The Great Room Shift he gets to share a room and a bunk with his best buddy Philip. He has the tenderest of hearts towards Philip and Andrea and thinks the world of them. He and Tali sang in their first choral performance at our homeschool choir's Christmas production.<br />
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Oh my! What can I say about my Davey? He turned 9 in August and is growing into such a thoughtful little person. He is boisterous and loud and constantly in motion and somewhere in the center of that tornado is a strong, sweet spirit . He also played Parks and Rec soccer this year and thinks he might want to try travel next year. He is most commonly seen around the house with a weapon in hand and considers himself Zachary's primary instructor of tactical battle moves. He enjoys Science and is in his second year of learning karate at our homeschool co-op. Tad cast the spell of role playing and computer games over him and John and they spend lots of time pursuing those hobbies with their dad.<br />
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John is still our budding chef. His homeschool course this year includes weekly cooking challenges and he is working his way through two on line courses in artisan bread baking and croissants as well. He was relieved when we took the pressure off to cook for the whole family and now gets the chance to make recipes as written without quadrupling the ingredients. He's a well-rounded dude who also enjoys science and has some natural acting instincts. He also played Parks and Rec soccer, takes karate at homeschool co-op and is now among the rugby-playing Klopcics, playing his first season of touch rugby in the Spring. He reached a landmark double digits two weeks after David's birthday. He and David got their own castle dungeon in the basement in the Great Room Shift. If he can't be found elsewhere, I can pretty much bet he's camped out in his top bunk with a good book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitTfG4V6Zyl-QNEyVAupdWLLv1BPJRil-g7hVzip_NBKN41If5oG8DOHG41KnFgzXk8WzPIeJ3jth_eVvW2jLRaAyM4ECWxPj8kr16srSITNQRnvhzeP90hVuz_hszlOriHjoaoQ/s1600/IMG_2180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitTfG4V6Zyl-QNEyVAupdWLLv1BPJRil-g7hVzip_NBKN41If5oG8DOHG41KnFgzXk8WzPIeJ3jth_eVvW2jLRaAyM4ECWxPj8kr16srSITNQRnvhzeP90hVuz_hszlOriHjoaoQ/s200/IMG_2180.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MfTRhRK6hGxm_alPguGh0WbtmP7Nl5nTQbJvVb2mTio3C7jkPfMDb1dgYKBr777Xc_57lTmW0doiD8k3KEet2R8xvNblHq7xM1pNe2HSXqFIjLq0qJfY1NIvKi0XhMDqsi-fmw/s1600/IMG_2265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MfTRhRK6hGxm_alPguGh0WbtmP7Nl5nTQbJvVb2mTio3C7jkPfMDb1dgYKBr777Xc_57lTmW0doiD8k3KEet2R8xvNblHq7xM1pNe2HSXqFIjLq0qJfY1NIvKi0XhMDqsi-fmw/s320/IMG_2265.jpg" width="240" /></a> Betsy turned a beautiful 12 years old in September and her insides are as sweet as her outsides. She is also an avid reader who devours books more quickly than I can feed them to her. She has a unique sense of style. She played her second season in the Spring with North Bay touch rugby and loved the friendships she made and being part of such a family oriented sports organization. This past year she taught herself (and a few siblings) how to knit which has manifested itself in lots of pouches and purses distributed amongst her sibs and friends. Betsy took an improv class with the Baltimore Improv Group with one of her best friends and remains interested in theatrics. She also loves to write and has created many an adventure for her younger siblings. Her highlight of the year may have been having her turn in Williamsburg for a week with her Muffy and Grandad all to herself.<br />
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Ruth and Betsy became roommates and best buddies in the Great Room Shift. Ruth passed the teenage mile marker just in time for the new year - turning 13 a week before Christmas. We have been very fortunate that her sickle cell disease has remained asymptomatic for another year. She got to spend 2 weeks at Grammy's house in Ohio all by herself which was a great break for her from all the craziness here. She is an 8th grader at Southampton Middle School and has added some fun new activities to her schedule. She has been able to take up flute lessons at school and joined the Special Olympics cheerleading squad. In the Spring she participated in the Staccatos production, being one of their best singers with a speaking part and also earned herself a solo in her school's Winter Chorus concert. <span style="font-size: 16px;">She has also been teaching herself piano - definitely one of our most musical kids!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Tcs3WOHc9Kh9sGj7EUaXAPiKw_iZGSqZbllwNJF_b6Gnxt2CQu3pH80AoExyfxJwGIj6gKDgu8VNohSTdvjWtmQmg8-noz-4ptVsGuHCqGOKJZBHg_nZNahVoqi5rOIIZBQHzQ/s1600/IMG_2699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Tcs3WOHc9Kh9sGj7EUaXAPiKw_iZGSqZbllwNJF_b6Gnxt2CQu3pH80AoExyfxJwGIj6gKDgu8VNohSTdvjWtmQmg8-noz-4ptVsGuHCqGOKJZBHg_nZNahVoqi5rOIIZBQHzQ/s400/IMG_2699.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips6CouQcjpP9B-lfVdVWYSsxWyORhMlJqH7oLJtGsYv0UD5mhojCv6-58UpPK7_wVwLL0ngi11eRamGttTL5lnxUwovC_ChMdkMBW59KbT6L5h3bA4JR3hrA-UhzYANwMUq89JQ/s1600/IMG_2964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips6CouQcjpP9B-lfVdVWYSsxWyORhMlJqH7oLJtGsYv0UD5mhojCv6-58UpPK7_wVwLL0ngi11eRamGttTL5lnxUwovC_ChMdkMBW59KbT6L5h3bA4JR3hrA-UhzYANwMUq89JQ/s320/IMG_2964.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a>Ben was the last to turn 16 for the year in November. He has been through driver's ed and has his driving permit but he prefers to take that slowly (I can't imagine why he wouldn't want to be a licensed driver in our household!). He has had an extremely busy and creative year. Probably at the top of his list of favorite activities is getting involved in a small film production company run by a home schooled friend of his. Together they made a couple of fun little videos, produced three videos for a contest and Ben is now the props and costumes guy for their Star Wars fan film currently in production. He has crafted masks, weapons, costumes and props - both for fun and for production and is thoroughly enjoying the exploration of new materials and construction processes. He and his cousin drafted a friend to participate in an intense game development contest for which his management skills helped earn them top honors. He has been studying hard mostly under the tutelage of my sister in Randallstown where he goes to "boarding school" for a few days every other week. He has begun his college search and is trying to define his varied interests into a recognizable and desirable major which is proving a bit difficult. He finished his second season with the tackle rugby team with whom he will be traveling to Ireland in 2014 and played his last season with the touch rugby program. Ben was somehow able to maintain his bachelor sanctuary in the Great Room Shift.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDBynsMK2h_rqhLYdJoLEOXqPcjjgM0Rrd3e_HcIk8pZc2cNHa3HNlWWGUpCeKAKM5OSANbw0HlWuIA-rt7CRJGRiaa3n5Qh7_lDkEpAjZ7K1S2A_w4QKc9gEVJ-6_W-UciM3yw/s1600/IMG_2726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDBynsMK2h_rqhLYdJoLEOXqPcjjgM0Rrd3e_HcIk8pZc2cNHa3HNlWWGUpCeKAKM5OSANbw0HlWuIA-rt7CRJGRiaa3n5Qh7_lDkEpAjZ7K1S2A_w4QKc9gEVJ-6_W-UciM3yw/s320/IMG_2726.jpg" width="240" /></a> Philip was the third to turn 16 in July. He is now officially the world's largest Korean and towers over me in height. I think he wins the award for most personal growth in one year, <span style="font-size: 16px;">growing remarkably in impulse control and ability to have much more independence</span>. He is in his third year at C Milton Wright high school in a diploma track program which is proving to be quite a challenge for him. <span style="font-size: 16px;">He keeps himself busy at school with lots of friends he's met through Chorus (where he also earned himself a solo in the Winter Concert!!), Best Buddies and Sports for Life. He participated in the Staccatos production but thinks 2013 may have been his last year for a while. This year his Parks and Rec soccer team took first place in the league (again!) and he got to participate in high school sports as the ball boy for the Varsity soccer team at C Milton. In his free time he's usually with his best buddy Nathaniel and he actually got a chance to get on a plane with Nate and fly to Maine to vacation there with Nate's family. He loves to read comic books, is working on his sports card collection and prefers to listen to music on his iPod over any other activity.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNWlmJ85hgF6DT0Yl7HBO-lMCSRrSzIlk-rS02ZoXv0NNmZV3Y1St3fVqiciixAJAP0-dkw4YqSnnzjRCbwSEGPodRJ4XMJ_JvfiJsMeTJv2p8mVCuxnAZsiF_WkptJaOoWj4kA/s1600/IMG_2862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNWlmJ85hgF6DT0Yl7HBO-lMCSRrSzIlk-rS02ZoXv0NNmZV3Y1St3fVqiciixAJAP0-dkw4YqSnnzjRCbwSEGPodRJ4XMJ_JvfiJsMeTJv2p8mVCuxnAZsiF_WkptJaOoWj4kA/s200/IMG_2862.JPG" width="200" /></a>Andrea, avid elephant collector, was the 2nd to turn 16 in June. She has had an exciting year as well - especially as the recipient of a new Ponto bone assisted hearing aid. When her original BAHA broke and could no longer be fixed, she became one of the first people at the John Hopkins audiology center to try the new Ponto technology. So far we are very happy with it and Andrea likes that it came in a box full of fun stickers with which she can accessorize it. Andrea is in her 3rd year at C Milton Wright on a certificate track program. She now has not one, but TWO jobs where she is gaining vocational skills she will need when she gets launched into the great wide world. She works in her school cafeteria helping as needed - usually packaging cookies and wiping tables. She also got a new job this school year at Miah's elementary school as the school paper shredder. She keeps very busy with her many friends at Best Buddies, Sports for Life, Special Olympics Cheerleading and her community based instruction trips. She had a role as a maid in the Staccatos production and spent quite a bit of time on the sidelines of the C Milton Wright field cheering on her brothers and friends. She is our family ambassador to our elderly neighbor, making several trips a week to visit with her and loves to send cards, notes and pictures to all of her friends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdcioihM_-5M5T9xBQntHcRvD29VD_EuCO_Gc-ga6KATy40hvP7hLUXMatXYVTLE6CShjyw9lrpDfC97lKGNaVL2JZY1FLV7f6qInbeNflWmJ8DjDmqMrKaZ89r_DBWGKIaAKVQ/s1600/IMG_2903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN58-7qSSmK04GJNQtGtEhs5Rkh0_r2sdeed3dKHkG_L2YNid_X5Y0K9asUw2gywlHU0CLRNEIrjHuG-J0R8lXr3cw4NRpj8SSrMADNQsp05wOy89fL5Ds6EudKdC6S3wfgfyo6A/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN58-7qSSmK04GJNQtGtEhs5Rkh0_r2sdeed3dKHkG_L2YNid_X5Y0K9asUw2gywlHU0CLRNEIrjHuG-J0R8lXr3cw4NRpj8SSrMADNQsp05wOy89fL5Ds6EudKdC6S3wfgfyo6A/s200/IMG_2905.JPG" width="153" /></a><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdcioihM_-5M5T9xBQntHcRvD29VD_EuCO_Gc-ga6KATy40hvP7hLUXMatXYVTLE6CShjyw9lrpDfC97lKGNaVL2JZY1FLV7f6qInbeNflWmJ8DjDmqMrKaZ89r_DBWGKIaAKVQ/s200/IMG_2903.JPG" width="184" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4BqjFGLedfFPK0Hn-Dfly7qwxQ3hUDcDMn2-VLLR5a-nk_gpbifHYMY5WWUOCaxQBOoqs6EqvwpKPLuyCTUQeux4O8jbU0YuNoNUGa-vb__mi8LpguAA1MkTAaWYWOHrmmCVQw/s1600/IMG_2820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4BqjFGLedfFPK0Hn-Dfly7qwxQ3hUDcDMn2-VLLR5a-nk_gpbifHYMY5WWUOCaxQBOoqs6EqvwpKPLuyCTUQeux4O8jbU0YuNoNUGa-vb__mi8LpguAA1MkTAaWYWOHrmmCVQw/s400/IMG_2820.jpg" width="300" /></a>JT was the first to turn 16 in January and as of next week will be 17 - which is officially the number of years we've been doing this parenting thing now. His life is all about school, soccer and work - we don't see much of him awake these days. In 2013 he finally got to reach his goal of playing for a club soccer team. He joined the Baltimore Bays and went to tournaments around MD, PA and even one in Manhattan. This year his team will do all those, plus they are NC bound as well. He hopes to play soccer in college and we are dipping our toes into the NCAA recruitment process. In order to help pay those hefty soccer fees, he has now completed a full year as an employee at a Burger King owned by his coach where he's learned some really valuable lessons about life. In addition to all that, he is a junior at C Milton Wright where he also plays trumpet in the band, played for Varsity soccer (which won the regional championship this past season) and finished out a stellar Spring track season as a hurdler and member of the relay teams. He is interested in pursuing some aspect of sports medicine. He is our first licensed driver and so far has only used his newly earned license to drive himself to and from work. I'm not sure how long it will take me to get used to seeing him grab my car keys and just head out the door. At almost 6'3" he towers over the rest of the family and makes it easy to identify which fingerprints are his (generally the ones on the ceiling). In the Great Room Shuffle we moved the crib permanently out of his room and he acquired his own bachelor pad.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkK1fQ3hyphenhyphenODNbUlrGQzLSnyr4IM6N_kmDq-wdnV6QkeMlq6V2Dvc-xcfd9IieRpmrmD-_SiT2eRKIc6QEo8UBYU0FzVPaVsZYpGNsQxinQ0l0oCBGNonjtRzooEfV5WfC9SYsVA/s1600/IMG_1611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkK1fQ3hyphenhyphenODNbUlrGQzLSnyr4IM6N_kmDq-wdnV6QkeMlq6V2Dvc-xcfd9IieRpmrmD-_SiT2eRKIc6QEo8UBYU0FzVPaVsZYpGNsQxinQ0l0oCBGNonjtRzooEfV5WfC9SYsVA/s200/IMG_1611.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZIuAPBiWM33i28W5TBArkDst9t1GI79Q1pmxGCInS-w9nSW8MaUYVp9zzAgwoA3bmYiUHOPzf6p4yhRAmEGnL5LZz2x-OspZUWfv_XwWrygvS4eRh5KOcV0s-bz-gyJfxX028Q/s1600/IMG_2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZIuAPBiWM33i28W5TBArkDst9t1GI79Q1pmxGCInS-w9nSW8MaUYVp9zzAgwoA3bmYiUHOPzf6p4yhRAmEGnL5LZz2x-OspZUWfv_XwWrygvS4eRh5KOcV0s-bz-gyJfxX028Q/s200/IMG_2634.jpg" width="150" /></a>The oldest but shortest, Miriam had a milestone birthday this year, turning 18 in October! We took her to social security where she filed for disability benefits and is now "earning" a monthly income and paying us rent and for her own medical bills and personal items! (Woot! woot!) She is also in her third year at C Milton Wright where she is continuing her filing job in the office as well as her job at a local assisted living facility polishing the ladies' nails. She landed a pretty big supporting role in the Staccatos production as Whitson the detective's assistant. She also is active with Best Buddies, Sports for Life and Special Olympics cheerleading where they will all compete in June. She is still all about Disney princesses, definitely has a mind of her own and in her spare time loves to color, listen to Disney music and croon along on her karaoke machine. She and Andrea now have their room all to themselves where they live together like an old, married couple. Never before have I seen God so perfectly match two sisters as the best of friends.</div>
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And finally, we get to Adora and Nehemiah. Adora lit up her cake with 27 candles in October (huh?! How did she get that old?!) and Miah turned 7 a few weeks after Nate. They are living in a basement apartment with a homeschooling friend of mine a few minutes from us and Miah is in 1st grade at Hickory Elementary which is a great school. Adora is the family hair artist (there's been lots of coloring and braiding going on) and soul food chef (holidays aren't holidays without her fried chicken). Miah mastered reading in 2013 and he and Nate tore up the U8 soccer field together while Adora played soccer mom. They come "home" for dinner most evenings and Adora is gracious enough to occasionally kick me and Tad out of the house for some alone time. No doubt they are just as much family as the rest of the monkeys in this post.<br />
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I wish all my friends, family and blogosphere readers a happy 2014!<br />
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<br />Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-66298763849221341162012-11-07T01:00:00.000-05:002012-11-07T01:00:26.043-05:00A Coupla More Birthdays<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDlrLmCmWF16oS8qZ4whise7nR8ZSMgc7CBM2AqX3iv8y9rOG0l9ry9CwVgvFr37MUjB9o4zETv51jK1jbPi1axeYNkUg8QpThIYe5g7H-xRWmKedZZ9qxK1T6iBZ4Q9l6CvbzQ/s1600/IMG_1265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDlrLmCmWF16oS8qZ4whise7nR8ZSMgc7CBM2AqX3iv8y9rOG0l9ry9CwVgvFr37MUjB9o4zETv51jK1jbPi1axeYNkUg8QpThIYe5g7H-xRWmKedZZ9qxK1T6iBZ4Q9l6CvbzQ/s320/IMG_1265.jpg" width="240" /></a>This is that wondrous month when we have three birthdays every week for three weeks in a row. My birthday on the 23rd was pleasantly uneventful. I got to go to my improv class while leaving Adora in the dark with the whole crew as we lost power that evening. The kids spent the day actually trying to be nice instead of showing me how many ways I am capable of blowing my cool which is my usual birthday m.o. I had my birthday dinner the following night - made myself stromboli and was surprised with a new vacuum cleaner and some pyrex. I haven't had a vacuum in years so I spent the better part of a day going around the house and sucking things up. It was divine.<br />
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The following week was Miriam's big 17 (ACK!) which she celebrated the day Sandy hit the shore. At 5:00 we were rapidly assembling tacos and just as the meal hit the table we lost power for the next three days. So I have no pictures of her blowing out candles in the dark but who needs light with all that firepower to light up the night? In spite of our best efforts to explain to her that we had gone to great pains to get her a hurricane for her birthday, she was much happier with the Disney Princess accessories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3QxXDzUVFlaZ35P4ji0cYlBl2cEjMRmvT5VGR91aQWajJ6z2IvVX5lSphYTvF0tOxEg4sQDRtlCivKyLYs7dIfC8LwlSgkck-kwB7OSwUG54lTEWVOXeUqHPwRFzBEb74Ljkyg/s1600/IMG_1249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3QxXDzUVFlaZ35P4ji0cYlBl2cEjMRmvT5VGR91aQWajJ6z2IvVX5lSphYTvF0tOxEg4sQDRtlCivKyLYs7dIfC8LwlSgkck-kwB7OSwUG54lTEWVOXeUqHPwRFzBEb74Ljkyg/s320/IMG_1249.jpg" width="240" /></a>Today is Ben's birthday and following the new trend in birthdays, he was absent for his as well. He spends two days and a night each week at "boarding school" with his aunt Beth. Last I heard she was fixing him his favorite Aunt Beth meal and some apple dumplings. Lucky dog will get chicken potpie at home tomorrow with candles in his pumpkin pies for dessert. He still has to wait an extra day to get the gift he picked out and for which he gave me the link. This birthday shopping in the 21st century is a bit anti-climactic that way.<br />
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Happy Birthday to my Girly Girl and my Bestest Ben! Love you two to pieces!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-33968886335725314532012-11-05T01:33:00.000-05:002012-11-07T01:35:27.551-05:00Remember Remember...Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWd0mNIkPZbictCM4b4T_QKHwrcYcicE-iLGk6xsaMi6MVMHxgf3byBx3djwy0VGdt3QxYou2spobA_WmHs7zcFzxGs7SWuRNE_SE9X2CQvi9JIltgL4prVqV6SBVBSEoVoqrlQ/s1600/IMG_1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWd0mNIkPZbictCM4b4T_QKHwrcYcicE-iLGk6xsaMi6MVMHxgf3byBx3djwy0VGdt3QxYou2spobA_WmHs7zcFzxGs7SWuRNE_SE9X2CQvi9JIltgL4prVqV6SBVBSEoVoqrlQ/s200/IMG_1312.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W5D_WKnKXyrjDyvtdPI3Zi22kUIlLPAWNJraQtz28SVB4r21bE0LRQqKhm3piW8KO-cCNFVfM_1V06_Dh6f9c_Wnp7hbppjCV2H3ONG6-r8c9XS2B3rZrNCDRGYFiTvq4AdzWQ/s1600/IMG_1299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W5D_WKnKXyrjDyvtdPI3Zi22kUIlLPAWNJraQtz28SVB4r21bE0LRQqKhm3piW8KO-cCNFVfM_1V06_Dh6f9c_Wnp7hbppjCV2H3ONG6-r8c9XS2B3rZrNCDRGYFiTvq4AdzWQ/s200/IMG_1299.jpg" width="150" /></a>It now seems to be a well-established tradition that our family celebrate Guy Fawkes Day in spite of absolutely no British ties whatsoever. What started out as a quirky homeschool assignment has ended up several years later as Family Tradition. Since we don't celebrate Halloween (and not necessarily for the most obvious reasons - who has time to costume 13 people to go about to strangers' houses and collect candy so full of artificial crapola I would never let them eat it anyway - not that they would want to...but I digress...) - we have taken to adopting this way fun holiday as a prelude to the 6th of November which is Ben's Birthday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2wQpSUchcbL-vCv9XBDhIGFBTEZPwmkLH07uhanqvltJ9M-GnrQacS0wRauSrhFhLXOgC4M2QeWC7cUvxoqL-yzgfwjTQFsjLAOVgkPGHrvyu7r_X6mTknDRL7FV-GRHFud66g/s1600/IMG_1309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2wQpSUchcbL-vCv9XBDhIGFBTEZPwmkLH07uhanqvltJ9M-GnrQacS0wRauSrhFhLXOgC4M2QeWC7cUvxoqL-yzgfwjTQFsjLAOVgkPGHrvyu7r_X6mTknDRL7FV-GRHFud66g/s200/IMG_1309.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBkNMolchoLsuzLQ7FcN9JZt8p2qb9-BKpcdePDznq530M3s4rVrCWlrVnkeIjlBhQwovthv8LT27YLD5mKA771LMMwkXKFXzJ_cGeABmqQT1khNICH3Tlkf3mc8ipzmyiZnM-Q/s1600/IMG_1306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBkNMolchoLsuzLQ7FcN9JZt8p2qb9-BKpcdePDznq530M3s4rVrCWlrVnkeIjlBhQwovthv8LT27YLD5mKA771LMMwkXKFXzJ_cGeABmqQT1khNICH3Tlkf3mc8ipzmyiZnM-Q/s320/IMG_1306.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH-p2E9uqrM44ZaE7aVw12aWRfPXuy6yCBsr3fNXSTosM9e13P5WigdwTirEfEMEzqkh9jGbf-hkQztJfeZh5e-UeKJZIf7RyE4uMVHCY2t3O7diFQCwcAGuDUTGCsHX8F9jFhw/s1600/IMG_1305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH-p2E9uqrM44ZaE7aVw12aWRfPXuy6yCBsr3fNXSTosM9e13P5WigdwTirEfEMEzqkh9jGbf-hkQztJfeZh5e-UeKJZIf7RyE4uMVHCY2t3O7diFQCwcAGuDUTGCsHX8F9jFhw/s200/IMG_1305.jpg" width="150" /></a>A few days before the 5th the kids all start working on crafting their effigies. Miriam's is always a hoot. The first year we celebrated she mistook Fawkes for Fox and created a fox-like being for her effigy. I'm pretty sure several years later she now gets that he's not really a fox but persists in her animal-like effigy creations anyway. It's all part of the family culture now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZYYqKRbOlNykYkUXuH9eRUclY9wWWkQNzFkEwME0spfaPcJOujt9UG6xSnArsYNHrULl5S7pjprmIBvPhAvzjsVvUyYCfEtFqcBzkR4FF1zf9uC8JDpm6GXRV5Z7I4SwZ_18og/s1600/IMG_1304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZYYqKRbOlNykYkUXuH9eRUclY9wWWkQNzFkEwME0spfaPcJOujt9UG6xSnArsYNHrULl5S7pjprmIBvPhAvzjsVvUyYCfEtFqcBzkR4FF1zf9uC8JDpm6GXRV5Z7I4SwZ_18og/s200/IMG_1304.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOY0eDR9GDeCEiN_iPK2WaU_q_Pdza_NwRt1OCfX_Dav_3g6SUL6kOChJBPKpLn3Jb5lcXvrkSUm0A9_AzC03UR8j3K9KN6Hv6vKSLVCM6VVTEQa9htpZq3FvGGXqNxIL0RFKAw/s1600/IMG_1314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOY0eDR9GDeCEiN_iPK2WaU_q_Pdza_NwRt1OCfX_Dav_3g6SUL6kOChJBPKpLn3Jb5lcXvrkSUm0A9_AzC03UR8j3K9KN6Hv6vKSLVCM6VVTEQa9htpZq3FvGGXqNxIL0RFKAw/s200/IMG_1314.jpg" width="150" /></a>The morning of the 5th I get up and stuff my pockets full of candy and pennies. All throughout the day the kids approach me with their faux Fawkes and ask A penny for my Guy? and are given a penny or a treat. They have until darkness rolls around to collect before we build the bonfire and toss those Guys in there. Watching them burn is a favorite activity followed by caramel apples and sparklers. We see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot!<br />
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<br />Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-53570401456257300472012-10-22T22:49:00.002-04:002012-10-22T22:49:35.783-04:00DOD (Davidism of the Day)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I haven't had one of these in a long while so its time has come...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Actual conversation with David today:</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">I was headed out the door to the van</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">David - Where are you going?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Me - to the MVA</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">So I can renew my driver's license.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">What do you have to do?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Take a vision test and get my picture taken.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Oh, can I come along?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Sure.</span><br />
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At this point John comes down the stairs and asks Can I come?!<br />David - Hey, where are we going?!</div>
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I adore this kid.</div>
Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-74907487626798128162012-10-14T23:00:00.000-04:002012-10-22T23:17:05.135-04:00Better Late Than Never....Right?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sooo.....Nate turned 6 in July and then David turned 8 in August and the party was....well, today. We are just finishing up a two year cycle which works like this. One day I get addlepated in the head and announce that we will be beginning a two year birthday party cycle. Anyone who turns an even age in that two years will get a party. This is only the second time in the life of our family I have announced this and the last time there were significantly fewer birthdays to celebrate... So in 2011 we had parties for JT, Andrea, Philip and Ben (who all turned 14), Betsy who turned 10, Miriam's 16 year old Graduation from Homeschool party and then John who turned 8. In 2012 we had Tali turn 4 (4 is a big party year around here just because *I* am so glad they aren't 3 anymore!), Nate's 6th, David's 8th and coming up in December with be Ruth's 12th. We had a bit of a family crisis/struggle over the summer and as the summer wore on, we never managed to get those parties done so today was the day. We combined the two parties into a Lego Star Wars/Pirate Morph theme and here is what we came up with:</div>
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Star Wars and Pirate BINGO after the individually themed scavenger hunts.<br />
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Even the pirates got light sabers because...<br />
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everyone also got a pirate eye patch and earring in their Star Wars themed goody bags.<br />
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The little pirates had to scavenge for the Cap'n's garb which had been stolen by salty knaves. Once he collected all his piratey uniform he led them in a rousing game of Walk The Plank (or something like that).<br />
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And here is a Star Wars aged guest enjoying the pirate accessories.<br />
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And, no, I do not have any pictures of the actual birthday boys...or any of the other traditional stuff such as blowing out candles or opening gifts or smiling broadly while standing arm in arm. Sorry boys, this year you're just lucky to have the party I guess.Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-56984591019203647802012-10-10T22:57:00.000-04:002012-10-22T22:59:47.602-04:00Happy Birthday Adora!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Birthday to our Wonderful Adora! Part of our family with my little Monkey Head for over six years now!!! We love you! (and thanks for making me make you stuffed shells - oh YUM!)Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-86631745060912689702012-09-27T20:24:00.000-04:002012-09-27T20:24:14.643-04:00Ancient History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiW9zOWBG3URSh8ZEBFFx8P_LvruHjNfpNBZW7P2__hZgOQ6TWODzMu_D6yH64JcjpQ8yKsgKB1ir4g7df4UVwijqdFxdNq3tOV8lnZ0Sb6VmnZRYyr0qCvgb6pi8hHD8hKU9mA/s1600/IMG_1170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I am so excited to be back in Ancient History this year - this has to be my favorite time period to teach as a homeschooler. There is so much wonderful stuff to read, learn, do! Today we were in ancient Sumer. We were talking about cuneiform so we decided to get out the sculpy and make our own cuneiform tablets. Then they decided they need more sculpy projects so they made woven reed baskets...with lids...and then added charmed snakes. I think somewhere along the way we wandered out of Sumer.... As long as they were doing a hands on project, I decide to give their ears a work out and pulled out a translation of Gilgamesh. It struck me that here I am reading Gilgamesh to my 3rd, 4th and 6th graders (and they are *enjoying* it!) and my son's public high school teachers seem to think he's not capable of much more than R.L Stine horror twaddle oh but I digress... I have been absolutely dying to use my friend </span></a><a href="http://www.homeschooljourney.com/alaunch.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">Barbara's (an Orthodox curriculum writer!) History Portfolios</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">. These portfolios are simply beautiful and will leave my kids with a wonderful keepsake for years to come. I have Nate, David and John using the Jr. Portfolios and Betsy with the regular level. I don't have photos of the kids' work in them but I will post some at some point. I think we're hitting our homeschooling groove again! As much as I love my special kiddos, I have to say it is really nice to have them in school while I work with the ones a bit more capable of learning the academic stuff. We can really fly now!</span></div>
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Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-573358407063758332012-09-23T05:16:00.000-04:002012-09-23T05:16:17.733-04:00ChronologyI've had this on my mind to do this for about a week now. If it's entirely uninteresting to you, I apologize. It's a chronology of building our family so it skips a lot of stuff in the first few years - in fact, it skips a few years in the first few years... My mind is such a muddle these days I wanted to put some order to my life so here goes:<br />
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August 1988 - I begin at Bucknell as a transfer student (miss my sister's wedding which was the first week of classes for me : (<br />
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August 1988 - Get my first glimpse of Tad as he is taping balloons to my RA's dorm room door as a practical joke, encounter him a second time while I am holed up at David's house studying German (which I later dropped), eating ham my Aunt Nancy sent home with me, and watching Mary Poppins. He was looking for his laundry detergent. I knew that day I would marry him.<br />
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September 1988 - Attend the Tree and Rock Sock Hop with the awesomest band Being Don and Nothingness. Dance my heini off with Tad. (if anyone still has their cassette tape I would give you anything you want for it!!!)<br />
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November 1988 - work tech crew for Never In My Lifetime, sprain my ankle, have my first real date with Tad when I am not able to walk to the cast party, and spend the evening with him instead.<br />
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April 1991 - we adopt our first furry child, Alex the black lab, then spend the next month trying to keep a growing puppy from being detected in the Gateways and under the desks at classes and in the light booth<br />
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May 1991 - We both graduate from Bucknell<br />
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August 1991 - I head to Brown for graduate school, Tad moves back in with his parents to hunt for a job (bad job market, bad memory) I take Alex with me which doesn't last long and he ends up with Tad<br />
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? 1991/92- Tad gets a job with EAI, he and Alex move to the bachelor pad in Whiteford<br />
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December 1992 - I graduate from Brown with an MA in Theater History and Theory<br />
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January 1993 - Tad and I are married, I move into the bachelor pad and try my best to turn it into a family dwelling<br />
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? 1993- Tad, Alex and I move to White Hall on a dairy farm where I learn how to milk cows and get a job as a Youth Minister at St. Clare RC parish<br />
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1994/5? - Tad, Alex and I move to Eldersburg, MD to follow Tad's second job with what was then Automated Weather Source, Sometime that year we adopt Pooka, a golden retriever and now have two large dogs in a 4 room house. Somewhere in here we are declared infertile by a fertility specialist, I quit my job as a youth minister and Tad and I develop a two person performance which we begin to perform locally<br />
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March 1997 - We adopt JT, he is 2months old<br />
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April 1997 - we find out I'm pregnant<br />
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November 1997 - Ben is born, he is a newborn. We now have two babies and two large dogs in a 4 room house<br />
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Spring 1998 Tad loses his third job with a small contracting firm, we pack up JT and Ben, leave the dogs with Tad's parents and travel out to Chicago and back for 6 weeks performing our Life of Christ show<br />
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Spring 1998 - We move into Tad's childhood home in Bel Air - his parents move out and leave his sister with us, Tad begins work for UPS<br />
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September 1998 - we bring Jacob home, he is 3 months old<br />
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December 1998 - Jake's birthfather bails himself out of jail and decides to be a dad, he is back in jail within a couple of months where he will remain until Jake turns 16, Jake lives with his grandmother<br />
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November 1999 - We adopt Philip from Korea, he is 2 years 4 months old<br />
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July 2001 - We adopt Miriam from Hong Kong, she is 4 years 9 months old<br />
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September 2001 - Betsy is born, she is a newborn<br />
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July 2002 - We adopt Ruth, she is 18 months old<br />
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August 2003 - John Michael is born, he is a newborn<br />
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August 2004 - David is born, he is a newborn<br />
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June 2005 - Lightning strikes our house and causes a fire, we move to Riverside<br />
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Memorial Day 2006 - the house is complete, we move back to Bel Air<br />
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July 2006 - Nate is born, he is a newborn<br />
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September 2006 - Nehemiah is born, he and Adora move in with us<br />
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May 2007 - We bring Noah into our home as a private foster-to-adopt<br />
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June 2008 - Tali is born, she is a newborn<br />
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November 2008 - Noah's birthgrandmother takes him for a weekend visit, we never see either of them again<br />
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July 2009 - We adopt Andrea, she is 12 years old<br />
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August 2009 - Faith is born, she is a newborn<br />
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2010 - Tad leaves UPS, goes to work for AWS again which becomes Earthnetworks<br />
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January 2011 - Adora and Nehemiah move to their own apartment<br />
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2011 - Tad is laid off from Earthnetworks and begins work with Hire Wave as an Engineering Contractor<br />
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March 2011 - Zak is born, he is a newborn<br />
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September 2012 - Adora and Nehemiah move back briefly then move on to their second apartment<br />
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<br />Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-6078549142882760082012-08-16T00:40:00.001-04:002012-08-16T00:45:01.651-04:00Stretching it Forward - the Positive Power of FacebookIn general, Facebook has been a very positive force in my life. I can't place a number or a value on the many relationships I have rekindled, developed or strengthened by electronically eavesdropping on some 540 people. I know many complain about it being a time-sucker or all the negativity some people throw on their wall or the hurtful comments or snarky political rants or raunchy pictures but honestly I guess I just don't have that kind of friends. It's a rare occasion when something offensive crops up and I love hearing about the small joys and wonder of my friends' lives.<br />
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About 6 months ago I stepped on a scale at a doctor's office and was appalled and embarrassed. I knew in my heart it's nearly impossible to have 8 full-term pregnancies and not gain some weight but it came time to admit that our magic number is most likely 13 and so from here on out, I have nobody but me to blame. I started a diet and lost about 30 pounds within about 3 months. Eventually I was able to add in an exercise program called <a href="http://t-tapp.com/" target="_blank">T-Tapp</a> (nothing special about the name - it's named for its founder Teresa Tapp). I've been listening to my cyber friends regale me with success stories for years and it was time for me to give it the good post post-partem try. It promises to drop clothing sizes and over-all inches with just 15 minutes of low impact stretching and core exercises a day. It frankly sounded too good to be true but I figured I could do 15 minutes a day of anything - heck, I spend more than that on Facebook...<br />
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Facebook! It occurred to me as I was getting my start, that the most motivating thing I could do to kick-start this exercise journey is humiliate myself to 500-some of my closest friends. Every day I started posting just one line - "T-Tapp done" or "bored to tears with exercising but did it anyway" or "I'm amazing I actually T-Tapped <i>and</i> showered this morning" sprinkled with the occasional "flog me now, haven't tapped in 3 days" and before long I had a long list of people following my progress. I got 5- 20 "likes" a day on my stupid little posts with tons of encouraging comments from my e-cheerleaders. Then a funny thing happened. Other people became motivated to do something for themselves. I don't even know how many people my posts inspired to get on treadmills, running shoes or give T-Tapp a whirl but I suspect the ones I know of are not the sum total of the power of FB to motivate and encourage.<br />
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I am still T-Tapping but I no longer need the self-deprecating comments to motivate. It is in my body now and the conditioning of my muscles has become its own motivation. I do need to get back onto the less food is better wagon but I've never been able to handle more than one large self-help project at a time so I'm giving myself a break. In the meantime, I've been paying it forward by cheering on a few of my friends who are getting started on their own journeys. But, sorry friends, I haven't been spending quite so much time on Facebook lately now that my body is raring to go do more than tap at a keyboard. I will encourage those I can when I can because your support has been invaluable to the improvement of my health and because I love you and what you are doing to help yourselves! To all those who have motivated and been motivated, I thank you all from the very bottom of my tuck, tucked bum!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-87760374586909230492012-07-15T23:19:00.000-04:002012-07-15T23:19:04.008-04:00Bargaining Power<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Faith has always been a demanding little thing, loudly proclaiming I WANT <fill blank="" in="" the=""> and then repeating her demand slightly louder and closer to the nearest ear moments later....and again a few seconds later and again.... Needless to say, she doesn't often get what she wants and our efforts to clean up her act have proven mostly fruitless. Lately she has added a new twist to her demands - a little incentive. Now after she wails I WANT <fill blank="" in="" the="">, she quickly tries to close the deal with I'll give you money. Sometimes she switches it up with I'll give you candy. It's all made rather more endearing by the fact that in general we still can't understand a word she's saying...until she WANTS something - and then it's suddenly all-too loud and clear.</fill></fill><br />
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This afternoon Tad and I were sitting on our bed chatting when she charged into our bedroom uninvited - her usual mode of arrival - and loudly announced a long jumble of...well, something. After a little questioning we were able to discern the first two words - THE KITTEN...<br />
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(Oh, did I forget to mention the kitten? Meet Malcolm Monsieur Fluffypants Reynolds Klopcic the First who joined our household just three days ago...)<br />
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A little more guess work and we were finally able to discern the source of her indignation. THE KITTEN, it seems, does not take bribes. Good kitty.Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-76708580808697650182012-06-12T19:48:00.001-04:002012-06-12T19:48:28.405-04:00Homeschool Club Launches Zak's Modeling Career<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We took our last homeschool club outing of the school year today to IKEA. Ben decided it was time to launch Zak's modeling career. What could be a more perfect place? </div>
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Here we have ExecuZak:</div>
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Cowboy Zak taming the wild moose:<br />
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Beast wrestling Beast in a drawer:<br />
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Tea Party:<br />
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Mirror Mirror On the wall....<br />
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A little tired out after all that:<br />
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The hired help was tired out too:<br />
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More Beast wrestling:<br />
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A little time for Wardrobe:<br />
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The tile didn't quite go with his wardrobe:<br />
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John was about done by now:<br />
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Of course the unsocialized homeschoolers were acting like perfect ladies and gentlemen:<br />
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Chef Zak:<br />
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Time for breakfast!<br />
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The sink modeling the latest in Zaks:<br />
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Have you ever tried to go *against* the arrows? Very difficult.<br />
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And everyone needs a cuppa joe at the end of a long day:<br />
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All this AND we won today's game of Race the Bus Home for the last school day of the year.Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-82270546135543764882012-06-08T09:44:00.001-04:002012-06-08T09:44:33.930-04:00Polka Dots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Faith saw the outfit I picked out for her today and asked "Polka dots?" </div>
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Yup</div>
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Oh so I can polk around today.</div>
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Yup.</div>
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I have a great idea! Why don't we go polking?</div>
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Great.idea.</div>
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<br />Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-14539228538902989452012-06-05T20:37:00.000-04:002012-06-05T20:37:39.349-04:00Sharp Dressers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I thought a little pictorial journey through family fashion would be fun:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggA579aovB-R1dWBxOvYIbxieJ4nSmv4bmtMaWQSETa_wWi_mgvwOH1yIyXhhf683KqMKy9fkX3p9K8LStsn14EiuFaAm1xsMMt2VbLRpC5Fb1DYISvZHwHB3J320q63w0zEdnWg/s1600/IMG_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggA579aovB-R1dWBxOvYIbxieJ4nSmv4bmtMaWQSETa_wWi_mgvwOH1yIyXhhf683KqMKy9fkX3p9K8LStsn14EiuFaAm1xsMMt2VbLRpC5Fb1DYISvZHwHB3J320q63w0zEdnWg/s320/IMG_0067.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-50608491068011341252012-06-03T16:04:00.001-04:002012-06-03T16:04:27.532-04:00Well That didn't go so well... For all my good intentions, I guess I never did manage to blog my way through the school year. Let's suffice it to say it was awesome for the homeschoolers, a nightmare at the middle school, a mixed bag at the high school but we've all grown and changed. <br />
In spite of the long hiatus, something is tugging at me to keep on keeping on with the blog within the general creative fog that seems to waft through my brain most days. I know I should be focused on the kids (well, maybe sometimes I can give myself a few minutes) but this school year turned out to be a lot about, well, me. I've been pining away as an artist and desperately wanting my children to have what I had as a kid - a super-charged creative environment in which to think, learn, BE (thanks Mom and Beth!). <br />
With the challenging kids out of the loop during the day, I turned my attentions to fostering the creative in the home schooled ones. I have to admit, I started my Big Push on Ben who is already ripe for the picking with his own flair for the dramatic and a shared love of all things theater. I started an improvisational troupe for him and his friends and together we spent the year learning how to do improvised scenes. I threw myself into the production of King Lear in which Ben performed as Edmund and I arranged for regular trips with my teens to see the <a href="http://bigimprov.org/" target="_blank">Baltimore Improv Group</a> perform. And that's where the bug bit me in the butt. After watching hours and hours of youtube videos of various improv artists and comics, as well as Netflix and Tivo reruns of Whose Line is It Anyway and becoming a BIG groupie, I realized this is my destiny. I've often joked with Tad and the kids about becoming a stand-up comic but I suddenly started taking myself seriously. I love comedy. I adore it. I love making people laugh, and I love having a place to hide at the end of the day where everything is funny and the un-funny things melt away. Before I knew what I was doing, I signed up Tad and myself for classes with BIG - first Introduction to Improv and now a few classes into Intermediate Characters. Tad is really good at this one, I find it extremely challenging. <br />
I'm not exactly sure how all this is going to go. I am simultaneously working my way through a comedy text book on developing a stand-up routine. I must say I am much more attracted to improvisational forms, though, and really would like some combination of stand-up and sketch comedy to be my destination. I'm 41 years old and I've just figured out what I want to be when I grow up. Yay me. <br />
As a bonus, I stopped to look around recently and realized the rest of my kids have been following right behind me. Andrea and Miriam have been making beautiful creations in their school art class. I was so thrilled at how far out of her artistic box Andrea had come that I sent the art teacher a glowing email stating if they had no other classes in their school experience, I would be content. Philip recently had to choose between History and Drama and guess what he chose? That's my boy - not that History isn't important but, honestly, it's not all that important for *him*. Ruth has abandoned all her inhibitions when she takes to the bleachers with her school chorus and Betsy and John had their own starring roles in their elementary homeschool production. Those two also picked up recorders and learned to toot, practicing seemingly endlessly with Betsy's toots actually sounding as if she were playing on Tad's nice wooden instrument rather than her $5 plastic Yamaha. Oh and I forgot to mention that somewhere in the middle of the school year, JT got a musical bee in his bonnet and signed himself and his trumpet up for Band. With an awesome band teacher willing to take on a student who as yet had been only self-taught, he's making his way through concert and marching band and loving it.<br />
Now I just can't wait to see the script Betsy wrote for Father's Day put up on the Klopcic stage in the basement....it's gonna be good!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-67477261947437045562011-09-20T08:16:00.000-04:002011-09-20T08:16:52.536-04:00Here I Am...Well I seem to have gotten lost in cyberspace somewhere but I'm going to try to post a bit more frequently again (more frequently than once every six months is really setting that bar high, huh?!). But I find myself awake at previously unknown to me hours and so I'm thinking perhaps I can use that time to continue to record the crazy life in our household. <br />
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Our world has been rocked. Turned upside down. All we ever knew has been tossed with yesterday's garbage and replaced with today's adventure. Four of the kids are now in Public School - that evil place I swore I'd never make my children attend. My day now begins at the ridiculously early hour of 6am. Gone are the days of sleeping until 9:30 and starting our day at 10:30. I now have four kids on their way, laundry started, dressed, email checked, baby fed dressed and returned for a morning nap and my breakfast eaten by 7:30 am. Who IS this woman?!<br />
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It started with JT. He's been bugging us from the beginning of Time to play soccer for our local high school. Daily reminders that several Baltimore Blast players got their starts at this school coupled with endless repititions of WHY can't I go to school? earned him a tryout for the team. Well, he made the team and thus earned a seat on the Big Yellow Bus since MD law prohibits homeschoolers from playing sports on public school teams (I won't even begin on that one....). Sooo....one down...why not some more? He was followed by Philip at the same school, then Ruth at the middle school and most recently Andrea at the high school. Miriam is my last hold out and her attitude about it changes by the hour. She'll turn 16 next month and will get a big graduation from homeschool party and then it's on to Public School for her whether she likes it or not...but most likely she will.<br />
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Once Miriam boards that short bus for the first time we'll have JT plus all of our special kiddos as card-carrying members of the Public School Club. That sure does make the Homeschool Club look verrrry different and we are loving it! Honestly, I'm not sure why I didn't make this decision sooner except that I know I needed to feel confident that I had taught those four all I could possibly teach them before passing on the baton. Now our days have gone from one therapeutic goal to the next to an endless realm of adventures in learning with those who CAN learn leading the way, sprinkled with the usual Adventures in Toddlerhood.<br />
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It's a whole new world in the Klopcic household these days and we are looking forward to a new homeschooling year like never before.Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-46446904642092876952010-10-11T21:43:00.000-04:002010-10-11T21:43:19.318-04:00The Missing PiecesBesides being terribly behind on blogging about birthdays and family trips and the usual Tali antics and Davidisms, I have also been remiss in reporting a few other small details of our lives....like starting a family business...and, oh, having another baby. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfitucNhCJNyRr0tpEy_EHeyvMFohRhkwk3eEqOCzs_DRyimluzebbVDx_ENivMC39sYcY6IrRBmEUgJ8i-VdWbWl1S-x__3sAVUS1NNZvtfhvrfGkYmGpGWeGIFAXS8_evqmwmA/s1600/machine.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfitucNhCJNyRr0tpEy_EHeyvMFohRhkwk3eEqOCzs_DRyimluzebbVDx_ENivMC39sYcY6IrRBmEUgJ8i-VdWbWl1S-x__3sAVUS1NNZvtfhvrfGkYmGpGWeGIFAXS8_evqmwmA/s1600/machine.gif" /></a>The business came first - an idea inspired by Ben's chance comment about his future in the entertainment industry. "Mom," he said to me one day while standing in the kitchen, "I want to be the guy who shows up at the party with the moonbounce and the magic act and the cotton candy machine." A lightbulb went off in my head, my ears literally perked up (they can do that you know, if sufficiently aroused) and I said, "Cotton Candy! Hmmm....." And thus was born <a href="http://nature-spun.com/entertain.html">Squeaky Clean Entertainment</a>, the proud peddlers of old fashioned party entertainment and all natural <a href="http://nature-spun.com/index.html">NatureSpun</a> cotton candy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>For years I've been feeling a pull to start up a family business - something all the kids can be involved with, something that will be there for them as they get into high school and college and need to earn money, someplace where our more compromised children can find a niche, a laboratory for the arts, science, math - the Uber-Homeschool Project. And now here it is - hawking cotton candy and marketing party entertainment. <br />
<br />
We thought this would be a great time to start up a business. Having lost years of our lives and the dream of owning and living on a farm to the<a href="http://thoughtsfromtheothersideofthemountain.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-happened.html"> mess of a church</a> from whence we came, we were beginning to talk redemption - reclaiming what we lost, moving forward, putting ourselves on a fast track to long-neglected goals. And we were <a href="http://thoughtsfromtheothersideofthemountain.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-that-doesnt-happen-or-my-totally.html">resting from having children</a>. Twelve was a good number. Long ago, Tad said he'd get to twelve and consider the contract (I said I thought we'd end up with 16 but I granted him his considerations). So we started off on monthly monitoring and a whole slew of other nonsense intended to temporarily cease any new fetal development. In true Klopcic fashion, however, it wasn't long after our business was adopted into the family that number 13 showed up in my womb. Yes, we know how *that* happens but really I have no idea how it happened this time around - we had it all figured out - or so we thought....and now we have a wee one due on or about April 1st. God's joke on us - a wonderful, glorious joke!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-22043637737691615032010-10-11T20:42:00.000-04:002010-10-11T20:42:24.301-04:00Dear October,Please stop acting like June. The internal temperature of my pregnant body is already high enough without you flirting with it and egging it on to go ever higher. Besides, you know I'm trying to change all the clothes over to our Fall and Winter wardrobe and you are making this much more difficult than it needs to be. You're not funny - so just get on with it please. <br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
<br />
MairsJust Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-69202499504319510552010-09-13T11:15:00.021-04:002010-09-16T11:22:57.838-04:00Happy Birthday Little Man!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5s1GrugFsuwRMs0UJNI31vzJzF1Lt42wyM0PyZNNmMp8dClNnrYCDiR4wLsq3n4xMdrhTa8EbIXCkn_9TDYCdIQL3aQn5eBtPdHh6KI25bO_NeHuOJ6ZSJ-usPe5qFXza1NxzA/s1600/P9130003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKXd7KLfINIJbzQ0SSVBc1ww69v56fetXQDyXgWUGdVf-VW-1U1yfkHcJWK0DJTcH08Lf68eGvC_98EOyDgPDwOQCwcq9ZOwUF2wqxkirbSPdwi3hqgxTdC2tMmMCthPBX8y3GQ/s1600/P9130015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKXd7KLfINIJbzQ0SSVBc1ww69v56fetXQDyXgWUGdVf-VW-1U1yfkHcJWK0DJTcH08Lf68eGvC_98EOyDgPDwOQCwcq9ZOwUF2wqxkirbSPdwi3hqgxTdC2tMmMCthPBX8y3GQ/s320/P9130015.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNuE3kM6D31HHIbIa1LAUmAcCdP8NJ-TWeI64ABaybBbsz7ZOKzNzQ7OCTrGBft2_HTTVd3jhEQ5DoInE_FFcjOS8mUfZx9xtjblPaAFejk7-N9fmNZcdTMZKZbKpZW2JEyj65Q/s1600/P9130031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMCWUs2vrq8_Cm53MOwdMYdykDTkjBPUZkM5K_9PbY0jVnxXhrXePC9w5_RpLenBHwlWZkzSRy47dya9Ys6_YCpZnuNj12d-VqPJ6lOIe4MOjzTYIUFHJDBeS017XfaSbSCb18g/s1600/P9130019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3fqqQbZeYEtZXQbm5SpouHMSGklvUa8XPoeFK-Ai0CU1MQtUu2-HxAcVhPzIdzf3gr6Ys7irj9AldpAq3jQ_-vGZ2FS47LzIwFAbgaHImpmBIHwtICaGTbWgwmOqxAF5EdrAAA/s1600/P9130017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XJMPB2CtlyR-Sj-xcSit38odmenNMVE-WVbxbwGzhTEAY84sTI-NuxjKdK1v7I1yJG0NhO-zN9z6CURm5AdDKzqiuWvcnI0xedU0yjkd3FgwasdgG6IFt_7pYoDNHOl2Yx7JyA/s1600/P9130025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Nathan's twin finally caught up to him in age - just a few weeks late...He invited his very best friend Gabby over <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3fqqQbZeYEtZXQbm5SpouHMSGklvUa8XPoeFK-Ai0CU1MQtUu2-HxAcVhPzIdzf3gr6Ys7irj9AldpAq3jQ_-vGZ2FS47LzIwFAbgaHImpmBIHwtICaGTbWgwmOqxAF5EdrAAA/s1600/P9130017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK3fqqQbZeYEtZXQbm5SpouHMSGklvUa8XPoeFK-Ai0CU1MQtUu2-HxAcVhPzIdzf3gr6Ys7irj9AldpAq3jQ_-vGZ2FS47LzIwFAbgaHImpmBIHwtICaGTbWgwmOqxAF5EdrAAA/s320/P9130017.JPG" /></a>and her little brother Benjamin. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMCWUs2vrq8_Cm53MOwdMYdykDTkjBPUZkM5K_9PbY0jVnxXhrXePC9w5_RpLenBHwlWZkzSRy47dya9Ys6_YCpZnuNj12d-VqPJ6lOIe4MOjzTYIUFHJDBeS017XfaSbSCb18g/s1600/P9130019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMCWUs2vrq8_Cm53MOwdMYdykDTkjBPUZkM5K_9PbY0jVnxXhrXePC9w5_RpLenBHwlWZkzSRy47dya9Ys6_YCpZnuNj12d-VqPJ6lOIe4MOjzTYIUFHJDBeS017XfaSbSCb18g/s320/P9130019.JPG" /></a> The two of them fit right into the chaos and loved every second of running around with all the kids. They made their own pizzas together, had cake <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5s1GrugFsuwRMs0UJNI31vzJzF1Lt42wyM0PyZNNmMp8dClNnrYCDiR4wLsq3n4xMdrhTa8EbIXCkn_9TDYCdIQL3aQn5eBtPdHh6KI25bO_NeHuOJ6ZSJ-usPe5qFXza1NxzA/s1600/P9130003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib5s1GrugFsuwRMs0UJNI31vzJzF1Lt42wyM0PyZNNmMp8dClNnrYCDiR4wLsq3n4xMdrhTa8EbIXCkn_9TDYCdIQL3aQn5eBtPdHh6KI25bO_NeHuOJ6ZSJ-usPe5qFXza1NxzA/s320/P9130003.JPG" /></a>and then Miah enjoyed opening his presents. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XJMPB2CtlyR-Sj-xcSit38odmenNMVE-WVbxbwGzhTEAY84sTI-NuxjKdK1v7I1yJG0NhO-zN9z6CURm5AdDKzqiuWvcnI0xedU0yjkd3FgwasdgG6IFt_7pYoDNHOl2Yx7JyA/s1600/P9130025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XJMPB2CtlyR-Sj-xcSit38odmenNMVE-WVbxbwGzhTEAY84sTI-NuxjKdK1v7I1yJG0NhO-zN9z6CURm5AdDKzqiuWvcnI0xedU0yjkd3FgwasdgG6IFt_7pYoDNHOl2Yx7JyA/s320/P9130025.JPG" /></a> Although, I'm not sure who enjoyed some of the presents more... <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNuE3kM6D31HHIbIa1LAUmAcCdP8NJ-TWeI64ABaybBbsz7ZOKzNzQ7OCTrGBft2_HTTVd3jhEQ5DoInE_FFcjOS8mUfZx9xtjblPaAFejk7-N9fmNZcdTMZKZbKpZW2JEyj65Q/s1600/P9130031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNuE3kM6D31HHIbIa1LAUmAcCdP8NJ-TWeI64ABaybBbsz7ZOKzNzQ7OCTrGBft2_HTTVd3jhEQ5DoInE_FFcjOS8mUfZx9xtjblPaAFejk7-N9fmNZcdTMZKZbKpZW2JEyj65Q/s320/P9130031.JPG" /></a>Happy Birthday Little Man!!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-44126829074397258982010-09-11T00:36:00.000-04:002010-09-11T00:36:27.493-04:00Boys and Tinker Toys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1DolO039uqbbInSGZJV3z6LBwyWG4Yc_gDvKmIEs03VMMp8Ii8hTDjDUOfKLKZ6BNJY-re1z9zCSEcchNSWmbNc9BC4OnqJFvDs1SWVc8fFm33kHTYwShl65gS0WoVT8kRWnJw/s1600/P9050704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1DolO039uqbbInSGZJV3z6LBwyWG4Yc_gDvKmIEs03VMMp8Ii8hTDjDUOfKLKZ6BNJY-re1z9zCSEcchNSWmbNc9BC4OnqJFvDs1SWVc8fFm33kHTYwShl65gS0WoVT8kRWnJw/s320/P9050704.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqpZImCQJPAlwHyjxNifI2XAOpBkWneM-XMroJmhCYoxcmBCGWk0fPAnynkoc7jCj28gi-bTPabtBp-A2KqLLC5esfC_-_eNUm5-esFuwDauCtIgMRp7MlwSogcBD_jcjv0v98g/s1600/P9050705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqpZImCQJPAlwHyjxNifI2XAOpBkWneM-XMroJmhCYoxcmBCGWk0fPAnynkoc7jCj28gi-bTPabtBp-A2KqLLC5esfC_-_eNUm5-esFuwDauCtIgMRp7MlwSogcBD_jcjv0v98g/s320/P9050705.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhih20cvDVcTJdqq03GOfoOxH7LmzhiRmms4RRLC9UIBttC0Ge8RrlLCpNu_88Vg6V4s6CGrA5azRHkqQ6_-WkOIw1v4h7iMh71aZX9MWU8nQ4p_KiQ0YJOdfAi8dHL3eV72t8Qkw/s1600/P9050706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhih20cvDVcTJdqq03GOfoOxH7LmzhiRmms4RRLC9UIBttC0Ge8RrlLCpNu_88Vg6V4s6CGrA5azRHkqQ6_-WkOIw1v4h7iMh71aZX9MWU8nQ4p_KiQ0YJOdfAi8dHL3eV72t8Qkw/s320/P9050706.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fo8xe2A5VhrB5eJYz-AxIlsK0oRBybRf7AbUdoXVyH6TqtnFCIGfGEKrhAj0KmXj_d6O6ouyBHTrmTxW_irAt1VdPzF-oM4FcwSmWe2kPeR3GBgmFNcfox_-Qm6lMjZsXwHpzg/s1600/P9050707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fo8xe2A5VhrB5eJYz-AxIlsK0oRBybRf7AbUdoXVyH6TqtnFCIGfGEKrhAj0KmXj_d6O6ouyBHTrmTxW_irAt1VdPzF-oM4FcwSmWe2kPeR3GBgmFNcfox_-Qm6lMjZsXwHpzg/s320/P9050707.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8j11zlmuob1JElFRcpMIO20E2E6RzO59C-8Y081xmqVdtYTtdjqBnJLlvwnjBfvcnHXPOkhcUj_uHFK51fMz5CPQNgPXjeCggJaSwzbqqtpY4oMFOAmEmeTw3aeLvfhg97saXA/s1600/P9050708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8j11zlmuob1JElFRcpMIO20E2E6RzO59C-8Y081xmqVdtYTtdjqBnJLlvwnjBfvcnHXPOkhcUj_uHFK51fMz5CPQNgPXjeCggJaSwzbqqtpY4oMFOAmEmeTw3aeLvfhg97saXA/s320/P9050708.JPG" /></a></div>I love these things! They've always fostered such creativity in my kids. Now they're getting high tech too.Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-48438845747482806132010-08-31T22:45:00.000-04:002010-08-31T22:45:01.210-04:00Today's Excitement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfyR-Hi7KtBXJwn_3koVjsVwgIEBi-h7ktNAatzrF1WyPGWTQISDuoG9_fK7YaabPH0-jrkYm1qaiIWlsLauzBs5Ta30JffazpduuWcJPxNANqPag7OW-VDxxnv5Je7jZgpS0_Q/s1600/orphansquirrel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfyR-Hi7KtBXJwn_3koVjsVwgIEBi-h7ktNAatzrF1WyPGWTQISDuoG9_fK7YaabPH0-jrkYm1qaiIWlsLauzBs5Ta30JffazpduuWcJPxNANqPag7OW-VDxxnv5Je7jZgpS0_Q/s320/orphansquirrel2.jpg" /></a></div>So today this little fella was running about on our driveway and in our garage. I took this picture with my cellphone sans zoom - I really got this close and still the little scamperer didn't even flinch. Ben found him and the little thing immediately latched onto him and began to follow him everywhere. Ben went out to the driveway, Baby followed him, Ben went in the garage, Baby followed, Ben climbed up a tree, Baby scampered up about two feet and then got stuck there. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR5m2cKLmqDJHTGRh9Dauv5kbelMXlr-kKwhqBXZglsLS1Tsd4yYpmvlbNbBdYhNhYzrofsJb0dJuivouY3CSxRiGozzaJqvS6MscaVnw_bLH3PAfwbVYD-uLRjzCMLwdkPZbLg/s1600/orphansquirrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR5m2cKLmqDJHTGRh9Dauv5kbelMXlr-kKwhqBXZglsLS1Tsd4yYpmvlbNbBdYhNhYzrofsJb0dJuivouY3CSxRiGozzaJqvS6MscaVnw_bLH3PAfwbVYD-uLRjzCMLwdkPZbLg/s320/orphansquirrel.jpg" /></a> Everyone who went outside today was privy to his shenanigans. He just would not leave our family alone, as if to say "Look, you already have a gazillion, don't you want me too?!" A bit worried about his behavior and not at all familiar with juvenile squirrel antics, I put in a call to Animal Control. Mr. Animal Control guy arrived and identified our little friend as Orphaned Squirrel - round about age 4 weeks. He suggested Mama Squirrel probably met up with a car somewhere and left little Jr abandoned to the wild world. He captured Orphaned Squirrel, put him gently in a cage, had me sign a paper saying I was the owner of Orphaned Squirrel and I was willingly relinquishing him to the care of Mr. Animal Control and then set off in his van to deliver Orphaned Squirrel to a local rehabber who, he promised, would carefully care for Orphaned Squirrel for the next two weeks and then release our little friend into the wild. So long little friend! May you fare better than your poor mum!Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-83069560377661321862010-08-09T23:24:00.000-04:002010-08-09T23:24:09.731-04:00It's Official...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglItaVamyfq3xoGsUK_LQi91bj0GnawVUMUP7G6jYCWmI7nazugFkfY6xC6hNC54H6buT3zAhEOAJ1P-mZ1kBLNFwt0a7XjsOLj2lIR4gfoamGW9FQRTTH4d0a5QvVtsLDIXcgg/s1600/201006_KlopcicBunch-081_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglItaVamyfq3xoGsUK_LQi91bj0GnawVUMUP7G6jYCWmI7nazugFkfY6xC6hNC54H6buT3zAhEOAJ1P-mZ1kBLNFwt0a7XjsOLj2lIR4gfoamGW9FQRTTH4d0a5QvVtsLDIXcgg/s320/201006_KlopcicBunch-081_web.jpg" /></a></div>I now have a son taller than me. I tried to squish down those dreadlocks but it just didn't work. He has me by at least a half inch....sigh...Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-6902325026469606812010-08-05T22:59:00.000-04:002010-08-05T22:59:10.332-04:00Tali A-Go-Go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhm6Rzo1QfdyKhyphenhyphenUrpcdnuYndtVXgFUNeYL8O8gqgC-DwZpLSfB2GVuDoWsZwcHcpD3M4CaWWcF1qdN77x6M72bKMle4sYuu34FZPfBhn_V823bB_wrWezqx7l5mHIcAJNVgBpg/s1600/P7080229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhm6Rzo1QfdyKhyphenhyphenUrpcdnuYndtVXgFUNeYL8O8gqgC-DwZpLSfB2GVuDoWsZwcHcpD3M4CaWWcF1qdN77x6M72bKMle4sYuu34FZPfBhn_V823bB_wrWezqx7l5mHIcAJNVgBpg/s400/P7080229.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9l9rQgkpc-PmULEArELlGnizaoghHmVO4TQeAWiC9l-KuluDXYYcFSaYH4LyfL2LprpZgaaEQoe38pPpxHu9vNP4oLnxws_5JIKwClhs6S3Tf-dIXAxVaI9QYF0GEUD_gto9IqA/s1600/P7080231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9l9rQgkpc-PmULEArELlGnizaoghHmVO4TQeAWiC9l-KuluDXYYcFSaYH4LyfL2LprpZgaaEQoe38pPpxHu9vNP4oLnxws_5JIKwClhs6S3Tf-dIXAxVaI9QYF0GEUD_gto9IqA/s400/P7080231.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17978433.post-6614286758361989232010-07-30T22:34:00.002-04:002010-08-05T22:36:31.761-04:00Happy 4th Nate!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUs40FoMHy9e_s5oLJUD6bHNr49viu4_LblUPTaSqDN8WuJ3MAN4JnYPMZTS2JDekdojgp_PRjz_TXppMgWeeOhGtfFIXrXKwjCDvEX4cwBjc5zmdB-GiQuZksFcOEgq4G6ONDg/s1600/P7300372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUs40FoMHy9e_s5oLJUD6bHNr49viu4_LblUPTaSqDN8WuJ3MAN4JnYPMZTS2JDekdojgp_PRjz_TXppMgWeeOhGtfFIXrXKwjCDvEX4cwBjc5zmdB-GiQuZksFcOEgq4G6ONDg/s320/P7300372.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuSirlTlmVkPwmoqHZaczTMHKAGAwXQUB-9ItUnbxca0DPooyXuI6E497X3a8tnJbwgKAhrZ4Bk0c4hFW5bLxY6F9m_Aix89sd3DEBgH0yVbdoCFECQofn8qAXJq-ZLVszQkCsw/s1600/P7300373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuSirlTlmVkPwmoqHZaczTMHKAGAwXQUB-9ItUnbxca0DPooyXuI6E497X3a8tnJbwgKAhrZ4Bk0c4hFW5bLxY6F9m_Aix89sd3DEBgH0yVbdoCFECQofn8qAXJq-ZLVszQkCsw/s320/P7300373.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsaCOU8It_MTU3VG36Hg8foQ4bE53uLkFSd7-YnLTAbpY7lZ0q7YJqeSnvoM_7RTWeU38W_FA1V0cMKMZhoh2HLZpMBTw2VRMBqK3n-5x8twbottMQRNtRFfFoH3uE6WOdoKD-w/s1600/P7300374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsaCOU8It_MTU3VG36Hg8foQ4bE53uLkFSd7-YnLTAbpY7lZ0q7YJqeSnvoM_7RTWeU38W_FA1V0cMKMZhoh2HLZpMBTw2VRMBqK3n-5x8twbottMQRNtRFfFoH3uE6WOdoKD-w/s320/P7300374.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsaCq8KDo8bgUDJmrYbUHR53cgUEdLkuUnK_QlX57oCzAFfRucwG5GYQbZfRcGiJ3P_HLQDWOBIGdBsVUS6Jw7MzZU6yeBVDVLNQXtXTXvWMhYyJOLdhk7jI4B8LLtBVcAehrjA/s1600/P7300379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsaCq8KDo8bgUDJmrYbUHR53cgUEdLkuUnK_QlX57oCzAFfRucwG5GYQbZfRcGiJ3P_HLQDWOBIGdBsVUS6Jw7MzZU6yeBVDVLNQXtXTXvWMhYyJOLdhk7jI4B8LLtBVcAehrjA/s320/P7300379.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g4uAnToG5s4Pawd7-0aZEnkSivVfwjZfXn7UDsW8hQXP5zxNTynRlb9GHUFZWwKCvanASIK0SoHhRiqJJVRIukRnmYk_yKULZTjh7i8yCZOtGu23M6e-gAgxpkGUzwpp3cQpNA/s1600/P7300381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g4uAnToG5s4Pawd7-0aZEnkSivVfwjZfXn7UDsW8hQXP5zxNTynRlb9GHUFZWwKCvanASIK0SoHhRiqJJVRIukRnmYk_yKULZTjh7i8yCZOtGu23M6e-gAgxpkGUzwpp3cQpNA/s320/P7300381.JPG" /></a></div>Just Mairshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351598006358891645noreply@blogger.com0