Off With Her Head!

Always an avid reader, Ciara has taken to historical fiction much like her Nana. Her interest of late involves the various women in the life of Henry VIII. She started with a wonderful book about Elizabeth I. The story is told through the fictional diary of the girl as a teen. Ciara was hooked.

Her most recent read is Doomed Queen Anne. She has been engrossed in it for days. The other day she came running into the kitchen to enquire if this Queen Anne was the same Anne who married Henry "vee-eye-eye-eye" after Catherine of Aragon. I confirmed that it was.

After letting out a sigh only a tween could produce, she said, “Well, shoot. Now I know how it ends.” And off she went with sagging shoulders.

How dreadful it is for one to know history. It takes all the fun out of life :o)

A Singular Spirit

Here is my sweet Áine Clare after a half day spent at Childrens Hospital on Wednesday. She was poked and prodded and is in the midst of one of her worst eczema outbreaks ever and yet she smiles.

Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Confidence

Miss Ciara told me that while she was in the school office yesterday using her inhaler, Mrs. Martha - school secretary extraordinaire - commented on her beaded bracelet. Ciara told her it was her Medic Alert bracelet and the two engaged in a conversation about Mrs. Martha's diabetic husband and Ciara's diabetic Dad and their Medic Alert bracelets. Ciara shared that Dad often orders extra large Coke in the drive-thru at McDonald's as well as various other forbidden treats.

I shared this with John upon his arrival home. He popped into Ciara's bedroom to say hello and said... "So I hear you ratted me out."

She replied with "It's what I do best."

That's my girl. Know what you know!

Waiting Game

Using my cell phone, I snapped these shots of my three kidlets last week while waiting for one of our fave doctors – their pediatrician.

We spend a lot of time waiting in doctors’ offices, but this lady is worth the wait every time.

I thought I’d share these fairly accurate representations of how each kidlet chooses to pass the time.

A well-timed gift

Where words fail, music speaks.
Hans Christian Andersen

At 4:00pm a very sleepy Brendan stumbled off the bus from school. One of the aides on the bus, who is also an aide in his classroom, shared that Brendan was happy the entire day at school. As the bus pulled away from the curb, Brendan looked at it wistfully. After assuring him it would be back in the morning, he smiled at me and walked to the house.


Upon entering his room he happened on a package that had arrived that afternoon from Nana… a new bodhran! He grinned from ear to ear and began playing. Then he brought it to the living room to share the music with the rest of us.


A big thank you to Nana from Brendan for capping a terrific day!

Music, because of its specific and far-reaching metaphorical powers,

can name the unnamable and communicate the unknowable.
Leonard Bernstein

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. -- William Butler Yeats

The lad is back in school for the first time after a – if memory serves – 5 year hiatus. I have attached the qualifier “if memory serves” because I think for matters of self preservation I have blocked out many of those years gone by.

That being said I have posted a picture of my beautiful boy around the time of his first day of school in the summer of 1996 and his return to school as a sophomore in March 2009.

After many years of home schooling and recuperation from shattered spirits from our previous experiences, we ventured back into the world of the public school education system last year at this time. Brendan returned to speech therapy and occupational therapy. He is developmentally ready to move forward. So while we have been thinking about this for a while, between the time of our initial visit to the school, Brendan’s two hour follow-up visit, to the start of school today, things have moved swiftly. Truth be told, a little too swiftly for this PIM, but I know Brendan is in good hands.

His new bus driver, George, picked him up this morning at 7:15am and will deliver him home later today.

Here is his new home away from home... http://www.sldc.net/Home.asp

This changes our family schedule quite a bit, but everything happens for a reason. Adjustments are part of life.

Happy learning, Brendan. You always grace those around you with your infectious smile and spirit. PIM is now reaching for her box of Kleenex and is in search of some chocolate.

The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.
Pau (Pablo) Casals

A funny thing happened on the way to…

pick up Ciara at school yesterday.

As I was loading oldest and youngest kidlets into my minivan, a chicken greeted me at my front tire. I am not a fan of livestock of any sort, in particular any of the poultry variety. After a split second of watching it peck my tire and wondering when TC had become a rural area… hmm this may explain my umpteen flat tires annually… I shrieked and locked us tight in the car. The chicken appeared to squat as I drove away.

Upon our return, the chicken was gone and in its place was a freshly laid egg. This was one of those surreal moments you expect in that fantabulous movie “L.A. Story”. I digress. Brendan immediately high-tailed it out of the car, visually inspected the egg, and prostrated himself all but under my car to see if his beloved mother had killed the chicken who laid the egg. It was a feat, but Ciara and I were able to convince him that the hen had been spared.

Wonder what he’ll think when he comes home to the planned meal of chicken legs for dinner tonight?