Catching up

 I suppose I should finish blogging about how much fun we had here.  A few pleasant surprises (not as humid as we were expecting).  A few not-so pleasant surprises (significantly more crowded than we were expecting) and finally some wonderful surprises (Not once, but twice Hubby ran into friends from his military days)


The first surprise happened with the help of his buddy Lee.  Lee knew we were coming, so he tracked down two other college buddies that Hubby had lost contact with.  Together we all enjoyed a great evening of food and fellowship at Lee's country home.  (honest, it was way out there in the country!)

The other surprise happened on our last full day in DC.  We were looking for a breakfast spot before visiting the spy museum.  As I dart into a bagel shop with the Things, I realize Hubby is no longer right behind us.  I retrace my steps outside where I find my usually quiet man chatting up two FBI agents (yes, we were right across the street from FBI HQ).  Seems one of the two men remembered Hubby from their Army days in the late 80s/early 90s.   Mr. O. and his co-worker had just stepped out of their office for a morning cup of coffee.  Imagine the odds?

the boys were awestruck when Mr. O. kindly offered them one of his business cards.  Still not sure which impressed them more:  the fact that they were talking to two FBI agents, or that their dad knew an agent?  

It should come as no real surprise that Thing Two no longer thinks he wants to be a marine helicopter pilot (yeah, we knew that dream had ended when we noticed how sensitive he is).   Nope, he is now thinking law enforcement is the route to go.  Was it meeting Dad's friend the agent?  Or the fact that during our visit to the Crime and Punishment museum, he managed to rock the simulator:  firing off 3 shots, with two being kill shots?  Or that the best part of the vacation was our adventure to the Spy Museum interactive exhibit where he got to be the spy?

All in all, it was a good trip....

And while I'm on this blogging roll....I should also mention how much fun we had here.  You can read all the details and reasons for my willingness to try camping here.   I'll just hit the highlights....

 The Things and I joined up with the Russians at the campground just outside of Grand Lake, CO

 Thing Two was all smiles...he's been eager to try camping for a very long time...

 We're still not sure how they managed it, but the campground owners had arranged for an exemption to the campfire ban that is state wide.  We think it was because we were camping in the middle of a field.  Just the same, it was unsettling to watch the embers spark up, knowing the danger and destruction that a simple spark poses to our very dry state right now.

 While Hubby was with Valencia, enduring the heat, we took in this little festival in  Winter Park.

 Milestone moment:  the oldest one has indeed surpassed his mama in height.  The scowl on his face reflects his dislike for chocolate:  he was hoping for a chicken festival I think!

Not matter how old you get, the appeal of climbing on the statue never grows old if you are my kids.

So while we are off having fun in the sun, I still must pause and say a word of Thanks to the countless fire crews and rescue workers that are hard at work here in Colorado.  We knew it was going to be a rough fire season.  The winter was mild, dry and warm temperatures in early Spring added to our worry.  Years of pine beetle destruction has left our forested areas primed and ready for the spread of wildfires.  Hot temperatures, high winds.  It is just too much to process.

On a personal level, we are safe.  But as our fellow residents are asked to leave their homes on a minutes notice, left waiting and wondering what will be left....our heart aches for them.     There is not much else we can do except pray:  for patience, courage and strength....and of course, for rain!  I would gladly give up this summer of fun, and return to work if it meant that the season of fires are finished.  If only it worked that easy....

It only took 30 years...

To make it into the yearbook....and as a "centerfold" no less!  I guess I can strike this from my bucket list!

(this double page spread was in the school yearbook.  I knew the yearbook kids had taken my photo and interviewed me.  Was surprised to see that I was featured as the lead article about teachers/staff.)

And no, that is not a very short high school student.  In addition to the 2400 teenagers assigned to my care, I also supervise a day care program that is held on our campus.  These little raptors are the children of staff within our district.  I still prefer the bigger kids, but I also enjoy the occasional visitor that is indeed shorter than I am.

Enough about work...back to summer vacation and relaxing I must go!

Before I was a blogger...

My summer project is to work on the chaos that is my basement storage closet. Sure, a walk in closet in your craft area sounds like a great idea:  until you have it so filled with stuff, you can't find anything!   As a result, I"m busy sorting, purging, scanning.  

Today, I came across this gem:  apparently it is a note I wrote to my Grandma Irene  at some point during my youth.    It would have made a pretty amusing blog entry!

The text reads:
My grandma is a very nice lady.  She is 70 years old but she still acts like a spring chicken.  She's one of those ladies who keeps on working and just can't sit still for five minute.  She is a very good cook.  she make anybody gain 10 pounds at one meal!  when she says she don't have no food, well the trth is she doesn't have as much food as she wishes she had.  She says she's fat but I don't think so.  also, if she were fat like my mom, she wouldn't eat.  Me and my grandma get along pretty good.  I guess we get along pretty.
(wonder why I just stopped writing?  who knows...)
Yikes...I'm trying to recall what my mother's
reaction was when she saw this letter?  If she was even privy to it.  My cousin and I had a tradition of spending a week at Grandma's house each summer:  my guess is that is when I would have written it.  Probably around the mid 1970s?  Assuming she really was 70 when I wrote this:  Grandma had the habit of not disclosing her true age...something I can appreciate now that I myself am older.  She also never disclosed her middle name, simply said she didn't like it and thus wouldn't tell us what it was.

Grandma Irene passed away in December 2002, at the wonderful age of 96.  I often wonder what she would think of her family and how it has grown?  My guess is she'd be pretty proud of all of us!

My nephew visits with his great grandma.  I have always loved the smile on her face in this photo.

Even Thing One was able to sample one of Grandma's trademark cookies!

Grandma and her grands with their  kids mid 1990s.
Missing were 9 more great grands that were  either not born or not able to attend the party.

Arlington Reflections....

The schools here have a tradition of going to Washington DC in 8th grade.  We denied Thing One's request to go with his classmates as the price tag was such that I said (in my mommy wisdom) "We could ALL go for that price".   and of course, Thing One with his memory immediately started in with "remember, you said we could go!".  

So, off we went...

First Stop:  Arlington National Cemetery

As we toured the grounds, I was swept away with the beauty of this place..We wandered over to the Women in Service memorial.  It was here that I found myself reminded that I too am one of many who was committed to serving in our nation's military. 

 What surprised me and saddened me, was how we had this area all to ourselves.  Hundreds of girl scouts (they were in town for their 100th anniversary celebration, estimates were there were 200,000 girl scouts preparing to "Rock the Mall" over the weekend), swarming the place, and few if any  took those extra few steps to explore this portion of the property.  Here, these young girls could have learned so much about the  role that women have played in our nation's military. 

 I don't fault the girls themselves, but I question their leaders.  Did they know this place was here?  Did they choose not to include it?  Yes, this exhibit was a bit off the beaten path from the typical tourist attractions of Arlington, but it wasn't much of a long walk over to this area.  

It is my  hope it was a simple over sight on their part.  To think it was much more than this, is simply too disappointing to imagine.   

As for my guys, they know the role that women have played in the military.  They know that had it not been for the military, our family as we know and define it, would not be here.  

  And for that I am proud...

(trip report to be continued in the days that follow)

In the blink of an eye

Celebrating Thing One....today he finished 8th grade....next stop high school!

Laughing it off

Some days, that's all you can do.   Thing One is your typical moody teenager.  One minute, he's happy as can me.  Next minute?  Not so much.

He's also struggling with figuring out how his 'quirky' factor plays into some of his reactions.  We've been working with him to understand how having autism makes it more difficult to read the cues of others.

During a recent meltdown, he cried out "Why? Why? Why do I have this alzheimers?"

Bookworm? Guilty as charged

All these just in the past couple of months?  Ok, so maybe it does make sense that the running joke at Book Club is finding a book that Martha HASN"T read.

This book we read for our winter book club selection.  I had read it before, several years ago, and thought "sure let's read it again".  It's a historical fictional account of the the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts.  The story takes the reader all over the world:  with the focus being war-torn Sarejevo.  While I enjoyed it the second time around, I left realizing how little I actually know about world history, especially as it relates to the conflicts between Muslims-Jews-and Christians.

 This book I actually picked out on a whim.  I was eager to see how the Ipad worked with my local library's system and it was the first book I came across that was "available to download NOW".  (while my library has loads of digital books available, many were already checked out, and I wanted instant reading).

What a pleasant surprise this book turned out to be.  It is set post-WWII and centers on a young Polish couple that is reunited after 6 years being separated from each other.  Can you imagine being a newlywed, with a new baby and war breaks out.  Your husband goes off to serve his county and you are left to fend for yourself?  Both the husband and wife suffered greatly during the 6 years and the author did a great job of telling each of their stories while also telling their story of being reunited.

 This was another book club selection...and one I hadn't read.  It's written by a Colorado author, who after years of teaching The Scarlet Letter to her students, decided to write about what happened to Hester and Pearl after the Scarlet letter ended.    I'm sure I read Scarlet Letter in high school (isn't it required reading) but didn't remember the details.  After reading this book, I'm curious to go back and re-read Scarlet Letter and see how the Hester created by Hawthorne compares to this Hester.   Maybe this summer?

 Maeve Binchy has always been a favorite author of mine.  Think easy beach read style of writing but set in Ireland.  As is her typical style, she tells the stories of many different characters with them all coming together either throughout the story or at the end.  I admit:  the story itself was rather hard to believe as being possible:  A woman dying of cancer, reaches out to the baby daddy and asks him to raise this unborn child.  The baby daddy takes on the challenges with the help of his community, and manages to kick his alcoholic habits in the process.  If only life's stories really were that simple to solve:  but that's what makes me enjoy this author:  she puts such a happy spin on even the saddest of stories.  Check this one out when you just need some happily-ever-after type stories.

 Speaking of Happy....here's another story that is a mixture of happiness and heartbreak.  I read this one based on the reviews of my friend.  The story is told by Doug, the 14 year old new kid in town.  The author does a great job of getting the voice of his protagonist just right and the issues he faces will bring you to the brink of tears.

Keep the tissues handy, you'll need it for this one as well.  My friend Fran gave this book to me at Judy's memorial service, with only the words of caution "probably don't want to read it RIGHT now". As I read it later (as she suggested), I could instantly tell why she cautioned me about reading it in January:  the story is told through the eyes of the family dog.  A wise and loving dog...and I couldn't help but picture Judy's dog, Nemo telling a similar story.  Dogs really are man's best friend!

And the last one for this review...Chains...another book suggested by Ganelle.  A young adult work of historical fiction, it is set in the early days of the Revolutionary War and tells the story of a young slave girl.  I enjoyed the author's perspective and found myself intrigued as I realized what a difficult position slaves were placed in during this time in history.  My only complaint was how the story just ended.  Luckily, the last page alerted the reader that this is book one of a trilogy.  You know what I'll be reading next:  Book Two!

So there ya have it....I can spend hours reading (and yes, my house sometimes reflects that I have done nothing but read all evening).  I enjoy going away on an adventure with a book and look forward to having even more time to read with summer vacation fast approaching (Counting down:  25 days of work left, YEAH BABY!)

Easter reflections

 No matter how long the winter, Spring is sure to follow....Proverb

This winter was long.  Oh no, not in terms of weather.  That was mild.  But the heartache and sadness we all experienced with the passing of Judy....well, that made for a pretty rough winter.

As Easter approached, I really struggled with how I wanted to spend the day.  For the past 12 years, Judy, Eric and their girls joined us here at the House of Chang for a feast.  We always took the time to celebrate.  Should I continue that tradition, knowing that one very important person was not with us this year?  Or, do I use this opportunity to start a new tradition?  Would Eric and the girls want to join us?  This would be the "first" of a year of firsts for them.  

But, in the end, I decided to continue on....with a few changes.

  

 The boys, at 12 and 14 were a huge help in terms of helping get things ready.  My car remains in the shop, which leaves us with NO car.  How do you get groceries home for a meal for 24 people with just a scooter?  Well, you turn to your family for help.  The boys met me at the grocery store with the wagon and hauled the bulky stuff home.  Dom took the rest home in the side car.   I laughed to myself thinking Judy surely would be proud to see us "going green".

Thing Two took care of the cookies, snickering that "With the bow tie on this one, he looks more like the Playboy bunny" (and while I don't have a picture, I too am wondering how does this child know about such things?)

We had to color eggs...for the first time in many years.  I tried many Easters ago to make hard boiled eggs.  I seriously over-cooked the eggs and they turned green.  Not a big deal, since I don't really care for them in the first place I just wouldn't bother coloring eggs.   But, younger Thing LIKES hard boiled eggs.  In years' past, that too was not a big deal as "his Judy" took care of him, bringing over a carton filled with hard boiled eggs just for him.    This year, I managed to cook the eggs "just right" and thus there were no green eggs served with the ham.

 Our driveway was jam packed with cars, so the neighbors were kind enough to let the boys shoot hoops on their driveway.

 In an effort to get guests to sit (instead of the usual habit of standing for hours on end), we cleaned up the garage and had seating for all outside.  

 Vannie took  over the Lish Family tradition of making the bunny cake.

 And at just shy of 1 year old, Cassidy reminded us all that "firsts" aren't always sad occasions.  This marked her first Easter.

So, while we were missing our dear friend Judy, we are moving forward....and celebrating Easter in our traditional style was indeed the right thing to do!

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.                                                Anne Bradstreet

PS:  a final note about the flowers in the top picture.  Those are from MY yard.  Yes, me the brown-thumbed Martha finally had a flower or two to pick from the garden.  I planted the tulips several years ago, but every year either the neighborhood rabbits got to them or a snow storm crushed them before they had a chance to bloom.  This year, they bloomed.  Sometimes our reminders that it will be OK are as simple as the blooming of a tulip.

Since I've been gone....

 It seems like forever since I  have properly updated the blog....so here is a little glimpse of what has been happening since I've been neglecting the blog.

The oldest Thing learned to shave.  He had that perpetual dirty lip appearance that drove me crazy.











And of course, with so much laughter happening in the bathroom, the younger Thing wanted to join in on the fun.  Ok, so his facial hair was visible only with a high powered microscope.  Shhhh....don't tell him that it really wasn't necessary.













And now that they are all clean shaven, they are ready for their first communion.  Youngest Thing wanted seconds, Oldest Thing forgot to grab the grape juice option and the look on his face was priceless.  (doubtful he's going to be a "red wine" guy for a real long time)

I took a little road trip to see a kid in college. That's Judy's middle daughter for those who don't recognize Allie.

 I took her a care package of college essentials:  mac n cheese, ramen noodles, tequila and toilet paper (to name just a few of the items that I pulled together).  What made her happiest?  The toilet paper of course (some things never change)

Youngest thing participated in the District's annual String-a-thon.  Some 300+ middle school musicians gathered to perform.  It was a competition style performance:  in order to play the piece, you had to pass the test.  Out of 10 levels, Thing Two reached level 9!  And for my moment of mommy bragging, might I add that he was only one of 2 sixth graders from his school that reached this level.  

Hubby's rig is still being repaired.   So, I did what any supportive (and slightly enabling) wife does...I talked him into buying a new side car.

Meet Valencia....she's a 2011 URAL and a welcome member to our family.  

And I've read a good book.  

Have you ever wondered what happened to Hester when she went back to England?  Well, this historical fiction written by a Colorado author (a teacher who has spent many years teaching The Scarlet letter) does a wonderful job of creating a story that makes you appreciate the challenges that Hester and her daughter Pearl faced as they returned to England.  

If you like historical fiction, this one is well written.  

I've gotten hooked on a new show.  Ok, make that two new shows.    Gotta love Hulu Plus for when you get hooked on a show mid-season.

I watched my friend B.  go for a spin.  This young lady has started to walk after having some major medical events happen a few years ago that took away her ability to walk and talk.

Lest you ever think that our severely impacted student population does not make progress, this young woman is out to prove us wrong.

Go, B, Go!!!

Hubby and I learned what "Winter Percussion" is all about as we enjoyed watching our friend Vannie perform with the Raptors.

Oh my, this is SO not the marching band that I participated in!








And speaking of our friend, here she is again at her Senior Recital.    Vannie is Judy's youngest daughter and attends a Denver School of the Arts (Think FAME:  the Rocky Mtn. Edition)

She has specialized in the tuba and what an impressive performance.

I never realized that the tuba could go solo and sound so good!


So that about wraps up all that is new in our world.

Spring Break started Saturday....a week with nothing that needs to be done and all week to get it done!

Gotta love being a school nurse....Spring Break, Snow Days and Summers Off are three of my favorite things about being a nurse in the school.

Yeah, yeah, yeah....I like the kids too!

It would be nice....

It would be nice..if I could write a blog entry all about the amusing things that have been happening around our house.   But try as I might, I can't really find a funny way to write about my hubby's motorcycle mishap on Friday.  Sure, I can find the silver lining:  that he was able to drive away from the scene physically intact and ready to return to his passion without much more than a sigh and a prayer of thanks "That was a close call".

But amusing?  No that's not possible because there really is nothing funny about a driver who was more focused on her phone call and getting to work on time than making sure that lane she was headed towards was open.

It would be nice if I could write a blog entry about all the amusing things that have been happening at work.
But again, is it funny that two kids jumped another student and he ended up with a concussion.  His crime?  Apparently, he dissed their cousin.  Or some other he-said-she-said-they got mad incident.    Nor is it funny that one of our students has apparently been selling his prescription pain medications to underclassmen.  He picked some of our most vulnerable students.  I think that was the part I found most unsettling.    Sure, again I can find the silver lining that the medication he was pedaling is not as dangerous as many other drugs out there and that the kids should all be OK and he's off to jail.  But it still just bugs me that this stuff happens in the first place.

Instead, I'll have to look to my Things for my source of amusement.  But there is nothing funny that my youngest  son is now tall enough to not only notice that my roots are showing but that he's outspoken enough to tell me "Mom, it's time that you call Jane, I can see your roots".  

What is the silver lining in this?  Well, there is hope that while Thing Two has little concern for his own personal grooming habits, he is worried about his mama looking older than her stated age.

I suppose some days....it really is the silver lining that gives you the umph to get out there and face the challenges that the new day presents.

Recipe for a great weekend..

Take one job that includes "snow days" and add a Thursday night-all day Friday snow storm.
And Voila...you've got a 3 day weekend that has been very much enjoyed by all of us here at the House of Chang.

18-20 inches of snow is no big deal when you've got a snow blower to help do the job.  Hubby not only did our drive way but he also helped out the neighbors.  Yep, we've got the clearest cul de sac in the 'hood.

The boys took off for the hill that is within walking distance and spent several hours in the cold.  They only came home after Mama called and said "enough!"

 I took to the craft room and made a few cards...using my stash.  Pretty proud of myself to have created 6 cards out of one forgotten sheet of stickers.

 Stewie...back in the garage you go....you aren't made for this kind of weather..

Celebrating their first communion last night at church....

 Yep, I'd say it has been a very good weekend!  Hope yours was as well!