Sunflakes & Random Bits

This morning before school Quinn drew a picture for a classmate named Emma.  He often receives drawings from girls in his class, his beaming smile as he reveals these treasures to me at pickup says it all.  He has peeps.  They bring in drawings & art for each other, shyly handing them over before school starts and then excitedly going on about their morning business.  He only recently started reciprocating though.  First a rainbow and sunshine for Alexcia.  Then this morning for Emma a flower, rainbow & a sunshine.  After drawing the sun he continued to make yellow dots throughout the picture.  I asked him if those were the sun's rays... he informed me that those were "sunflakes".  But of course, sunflakes.

His school participated in a Read-Across-America day.  I brought my lunch & a blanket and we ate and read along with his entire school on a bright sunny afternoon.

 

 

We finished up basketball season by actually playing in the last half of the last game.  

Got the medal & everything.

 

Celebratory ice-cream

Next up for Quinn is baseball... he sure looks cute in the uniform... will soon see if actual baseball will happen.  First game coming up on Saturday.

 

Remy's new favorite thing to do is to take my phone when I'm not looking, take a ton of random photos and then sneak it back where he found it.  I often don't notice until much later, when I come across photos like this... 

  

Or this...

 

 

 Until... caught in the act...

Busted!

Warmer days have meant a return to playing out on our front porch.  Not having a yard is tough with little guys, but we sure have fun with the space we do have.

Must be spring... brand new box of sidewalk chalk!

Remy's masterpiece

He has "the COOLEST bike helmet EVER in the history of EVERS."

William continues to work nights at the Gulag... only a few more weeks left.  We try to get him out in daylight whenever possible before he turns vampire... or worse, zombie.

How did I get so many BOYS?!?

Yesterday Soren took six steps on his own... pulled up on the kitchen cabinet & started walking to the door.  He still prefers crawling as his main mode of transpo, but it is only a matter of time before he's running after big brothers on his own two feet.

Free-ranging with the chickens at Grandma's house.

Last week I escaped for an entire day of pampering at the Spa.  Yes, I got to be a lady who SPAS.  I started the morning with an hour & a half long massage and a soak in a hot mineral spring.  Then a gorgeous lunch of exactly what I wanted (steak salad!) as I sat in the sun and read a book (a real actual book.) 

Steak salad with marinated mushrooms, arugula, parmesan spoonbread & a light horseradish dressing.  Oh-my-goodness it was delicious.

The afternoon brought a pedicure and nourishing facial.  I enjoyed a hot cup of tea and fresh cinnamon donut holes before driving back to Grandma's house for the night. 

happy feet

Hot cinnamon crack balls with a Bailey's Irish dipping sauce.  Pure heaven.

It felt decadent and delicious to have such a day.  Now it all seems a distant dream... floating weightless, the only sound my own heartbeat.  I had almost forgotten what quiet sounds like.

What quiet looked like...

When I got home the next day the boys surprised me with a project they had made.  With Daddy's help (and powertools!) they designed, built & painted a birdhouse for our front porch.  Adorable little buggars, aren't they?

Here birdy birdy... come on & move in.

 A sneak peak at Quinn as a teenager... such a pose & attitude...

And that's a bit of random... a few sunflakes too.

Word

I have written before about how the words we choose carry weight & meaning, sometimes far afield from what we might intend.... but I find myself hesitant to get on a soapbox about it very often.

Today, however, I am climbing up... for a couple of reasons.

First, because the word "retarded" sucks.  If you are trying for an insult, the English language has so many alternatives... asshat & nincompoop being my personal favorites. 

Second, because today is the annual day of awareness for the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign.

What is Spread the Word you ask?

Spread the Word to End the Word is an on-going effort to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word "retard(ed)" and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word. The campaign is intended to get schools, communities and organizations to rally and pledge their support to help create communities of inclusion and acceptance for all people.

Yep, good stuff.

As a parent to a child with special needs it never gets easier hearing that word tossed around our society without thought.  Just last night husband & I were out on a date at a comedy show.  The comics were all intelligent, talented and very funny.  And yet, in the middle of the main comic's act, at the moment where he had the entire audience bent over with laughter,  he chose the word retarded in the context of "stupid".  Our smiles frozen, husband & I exchanged the look.  The one that says, yes I heard it too... ouch.  It feels exactly like getting the wind knocked out of you.  Every-Single-Time.

Please check out the Spread the Word website:

And take the pledge.
The one that says "respect" is the R-word that really matters.