I Can Be Anything and Change My Name Too!

I love it when separate moments in your day seem to fall in place so fitting to remind you that you're doing something right. I had one of those moments today. It went like this....today I went to the bookstore to buy Aidan his graduation gift. I can't believe he'll be graduating from kindergarten in just a few weeks. I really want to make this moment special for him. So as a gift I plan on giving him this book "I Can Be Anything" as a fun way to let him know he can make his place in this world, however he'd like it to be.

Then, just a bit later in the day (let me inform you that he knows nothing of the book I bought him earlier in the day), Aidan tells me he wants to change his name to Rico. Yes that's right Rico?? and he professed his desire of what he will do/be when his name is Rico. It went like this.

Aidan: "Mama, I want to change my name to Rico. And when I am Rico, and I am old enough to play baseball, I want my number to be 14. Yeah, 14 yrs old and baseball player number 14. Then when I am 16 and old enough to take driving lessons, I am going to be a race car driver and be number 25."

Me: Ok Aidan, you can be anything you want to be, as long as you give it your best effort.

Aidan: Yeah, Rico will do his best.

Me, thinking to myself: Aidan will too.

Yes, Aidan and I, are both thinking about his evolution and have both come to the conclusion that he can be anything he sets his mind and heart to.

A Daring Adventure

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
Helen Keller

I believe this is how Grandma (my MIL) lives her life. She never stops to fret about her ailments or think about her limitations. She's always ready for the next adventure. The boys love this about her, she's playful, takes risks, and always gives it her best. Her most recent adventure, a trip to Portugal and Spain with Grandpa has taken an unfortunate turn. Grandma is in the hospital with a terrible headache, so we've told the boys. What we haven't told them is Grandma had a brain hemorrhage and is in a hospital about 5000 miles away....and now it's an abyss of unknowns. So many details, some simple, some not so simple but these details help fill in the gaps to what feels totally out of control. There are no heroes in an event like this, we simply do what we can.

• cancel airline tickets, reserve for a later return flight


• cancel their newspaper delivery


• contact health insurance and her primary care doctor to alert them of her current status


• contact travel insurance, to clarify terms of coverage


• prepare for Medivac (air transportation back to the states)


• prepare for daddy's trip to go assist grandma and grandpa with their return

and so on, and so on......



And so my artful Thursday has taken on a somber mood...making a memory book for grandma. This project has actually gone on through the weekend,



involving the boys in letter writing and artwork for it. I wanted to include photos of the boys, our family, something to remind her we are all with her, maybe not by her side physically but by her side in spirit.























I kept it simple. Not knowing what her current cognitive status is, or if she's visually/perceptually impaired, I thought simplest would be easiest to process. Most importantly letting her know that we are...

Believing
trusting,
waiting,
hoping,
praying for her recovery.

What We Like Wednesdays: Flowerlicious

I love flowers and my boys do too, especially Miles. When we're out walking, Miles will always point out flowers whether they're growing in someone's yard, on the roadside, or even the little dandelions growing in the park. He loves to spot them and share them. And if they're the fragrant kind, I encourage the boys to take a whiff (although this might not be helping Miles allergies??)

My favorites are tulips and peonies. It's been quite awhile since I've enjoyed the beauty of peonies so I recently bought some. They're just exquisite. They bring a smile to my face every time I walk into our livingroom. It's amazing what a bouquet of flowers will do to brighten up a room and your mood. I find their beauty comforting. I like to spoil myself once in awhile with some nice flowers but, it doesn't really have to be anything fancy to be enjoyed. You can pick flowers from your yard, a handful of wildflowers, a few sprigs of lavender, or some blossoms off a tree, place them in a vase, jar or whatever you might have on hand will do. Enjoy their beauty, it's all around us this time of year.

Artful Thursday: Cake Time

One of Aidan's classmates is celebrating her birthday tomorrow. We (Aidan and I) decided to give her a small gift in recognition of her special day. When it came time to wrap this gift, I realized I had robots, trucks, sports and a masculine plaid paper, but nothing for a girly girl. I guess that's what happens when you have 3 boys. So I decided I would make her gift wrapping and..... what perfect timing with Artful Thursday.




Using supplies on hand, this is what I was able to come up with. I had a kraft paper bag, scrapbook paper, glitter left over from valentine's day, PITT art markers, rhinestone and tag embellishments. It all came together to make a whimsical birthday cake.

What We Like Wednesdays: Move Over Thomas

Move over Thomas there's a new guy in town... and his name is Lightening McQueen. Well, I think my boys may have finally moved on from Thomas and his friends. This has been a phase I thought would never end. But, it seems they are now hooked on Cars (Thanks, Uncle Jess I blame you for this one). Not just any old cars but the Cars from Disney. Their Uncle bought them a track set with a set of cars that they were just thrilled with. And because truth be told, I do enjoy indulging them from time to time, I decided over Spring break to surprise them with the movie as a special treat. It's been a snowball effect since then...all we hear about now is Cars.

Although, I'm generally a Disneyphobe, I have to admit, Cars has a well delivered moral that was perfect especially for my oldest (5 1/2 yrs old). After the film we got to discuss with the boys why helping a friend was more important than winning. It was clear it left Aidan a bit puzzled but he was also clearly thinking about it. So, for now I'll endure this phase and during their play when they act out the piston cup race, I will continue to remind them the moral of the story.

Artful Thursday: Mama's Got a New Necklace

In one of my previous lifetimes, I use to make jewelry and sold it at various venues. It sure was a fun past time, this was all prior to kids of course. Anyways, it stands to reason that I still have oodles of inventory, and with Artful Thursday's challenge to use your supplies, I decided I was going to use some of these goodies I've been hoarding collecting.



I selected a few items, some fresh water pearls, turquoise, small faceted silver beads, suede cord and silver chain and decided to make myself a new necklace.





Picking up the tools was foreign after letting so much time go by, but it didn't take long before I was in the groove of things. It actually felt good to have my tools out, to be making jewelry. I just might have to make a few more. Thanks to artful Thursday for inspiring me to use my supplies.

What We Like Wednesday: Got Plasma?

A plasma car that is. We've actually had this for quite awhile, a gift from grandma, but it's only recently that my boys have started to really enjoy it. I think they were a bit young for it early on and didn't really get it's full potential. But now, they love it. Two can ride on it at a time, or sometimes they take turns pushing each other. We'll definitely be keeping this around for awhile.

Brunch for our Teachers

In the spirit of teacher's appreciation week, we baked banana-nut muffins for Tuesdays Teacher's Brunch. Aidan had fun pouring and stirring. I enjoyed having my kitchen helper....something we need to do more often.

Urban Meets Aggie

Today we went to visit Auntie, Uncle and the cousins. Although they don't live that far(about 1 hour and 45 minute drive) I can't remember the last time we went to visit. With 3 young kids, it's been much easier to have them visit us instead. Well, we decided it was time for our turn to make the drive...we left our urban living, and after about little more than an hour on the road we approached fields of agriculture, tractors, cows, horses, you get the picture, right? Country living. The boys started to ohhhh and awww, shreaks came from the back of the van "look at all the cows!, Look! Look! a tractor! a horse!" I was pleased that the boys were enjoying the scenery and a little disturbed too. Farm living was my childhood, clearly it's not my kids world. Although, we go to the Little Farm often and visit our redwood parks, this may help get my kids in touch with nature, but not in touch with country living. I'm not sure why I just took it for granted, reading all those kids farm books, and singing Old MacDonald was not doing the trick to teach my kids understand what farming life is about.




We also made a visit to San Juan Bautista Mission, had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that's been around since I was a kid. Another fun place to teach the kids about California history.