We Protest!

We did a little life learning today by attending a political protest. I was so proud of Kwamai and Felicity for being troupers, and they enjoyed the fact that we were so close to a Dunkin Donuts. This involved a drive to downtown Pittsburgh, so we had lots of time to discuss our adventure and enjoy all that we were learning about political issues, the behavior of various adults (e.g. we saw more smokers this morning than we've seen in Felicity's lifetime), life in the "big city," history, and more. Great experience.

Learner at Work, Her Way

Felicity is so not Kwamai.

This morning she insisted we go to the basement to do school, because that's where the school desk is, along with all the books and things she needs. Um, but it's freezing down there.

Compromise! We brought the school desk to the dining room. And now I'd better get to helping her with her workbook.

Thanks, Kwam

I spent quite a bit of last week feeling not so good. Wednesday was by far the worst day, however. But it was Kwamai's chance to shine.

He has a truly tender heart for those in need. And since I could hardly get out of bed without feeling dizzy, he managed to check in with me regularly and bring me water and nibbles to eat. He managed to entertain Felicity and otherwise refrained from those things which tend to get her all upset. He even made or procured breakfast and lunch for himself and Felicity, and although he had some help with dinner, he played a key role there too. He read me a story and played with Felicity in the attic.

Yes, the house was completely trashed, and no, it has not proven a permanent behavioral shift. But it sure made a hard day easy to deal with.

Puppets

Last night I got an inspiration to create puppets. I suggested it today, and it was a huge hit, even before we had any decent supplies to create them. Felicity created the one shown here with very little help. The idea of putting it on a paper bag, and help stapling were all that was contributed. She did all the drawing and creative stuff.

Kwamai made several sock puppets, including Batman, Robin and ghost, and a cardboard sheriff and pacman character.

This afternoon Kwamai invited a friend over to show the puppets off, and while the friend preferred to build with legos I can see that this puppet idea is one with a lot of mileage to it.

I plan to make a Patrick Henry puppet, and other generic dudes that can assist in reenacting historical scenes.

Child Weather Report

Today: Partly to mostly cranky, with occasional outbursts of tears. High probability of gusty upsets following siblings touching each other, looking at each other, or looking in the same direction.

Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est natus

And Felicity, well she is bursting into song. We have this song on CD and I sang it with my impromptu choir participation last Sunday. So, we've been singing it a lot, and Felicity now knows the chorus quite well.

Kanuka

This morning Kwamai has decided his name is Kanuka, and I am Kanuka Mommie, and Felicity is Kanuka sister. He is a newborn who has just eaten his shell.

Um, ok. Whatever.

Medium Sized Boy

My latest term of endearment for Kwamai which seem to have struck a chord with him is "my medium sized boy."After all, he's not a little boy, and he's not exactly big. What is more, he is very aware that he is at this Mr. Betwixt age. He will often jump into my lap now and say "I'm your medium sized boy!" I, of course, have become the "large sized Mama." Hmm. Terms are all relative, right? He is still trying to settle on a fitting but kind adjective for Papa.

St. Nicholas Day Pictures

This year I neglected to take my traditional St. Nicholas day pictures on the 6th, so these are actually from the 7th (shh... it's a secret!) It was a bit of a challenge to get Kwamai to pose seriously, but on the bright side he certainly has lost all inhibition about showing his lack of front teeth!

Verified Today

Toothpaste gets crayon marks off walls.

St. Francis Xavier Feast Day Party

Today we threw a little nearly-spontaneous party (planned only a couple days in advance) to celebrate today's feast day. Because St. Francis Xavier had been a missionary to Japan, it seemed a good reason to have a Japanese-themed party. So I invited two families from one of the homeschool lists I belong to. One family lives just in the next town, and the other is from Pittsburgh. I was getting a bit nervous as I started adding the numbers and realized I was looking at having 13 children over! But as it turned out, the nearby family had double booked themselves and could only stay to "meet and greet". But we had a nice time munching some tasty (and some new) foods. I did make a pizza just to be on the safe side for everyone as well! The family has three boys, ages 8, 6 and 3 whom Kwamai kept entertained with Legos and commando-fights and general boy mayhem. The two girls, ages 5 and 15 months, kept Felicity busy. The baby really just kept her mom busy, to tell the truth. But Felicity actually spoke to the mother several times, and this goes on record as being the first time she has ever spoken to an adult she has just met. (So many people will be jealous! She still doesn't talk to lots of adults she sees regularly!) When I first heard Felicity answer that she was 3 years old, I almost didn't believe it was her voice!

So, a good time was had by all meeting new friends. We might travel to Pittsburgh in a few weeks to see a living Nativity in their neighborhood.

Ear Mouses

Today we discovered the winter gear bag once again. Here is a picture of Felicity wearing her Winnie the Pooh "ear mouses."

I Love You, Mama

Last night, as I was carrying Felicity up to bed, she spontaneously told me "I love you, Mama." Although that wasn't the first time she told me that, I think it was the first time that she initiated the comment out of the clear blue.

Talk about the ultimate in Mama fuel. I thought to myself as she was going to sleep that I might just be able to cut down a forest with my bare hands for her if need be. Well, at least I would sure want to be able to.

Felicity's First Haircut

Ok, well it's not the first time a scissor has touched her hair, but it was the first time her hair was cut in a salon. I've been thinking she needed some assistance with her hair, more than just a snip here and there. I'm not sure that the stylist did much more than that, but at least it was a very positive experience for Felicity. She didn't even have the slightest upset let alone tear, and she even nodded in response to the stylist, whom she'd never met before, which is far more than she normally would do in conversation with an adult she doesn't know.

Everyone agreed that her hair is beautiful :)
The certificate of authentication!

You Can Tell We Don't Get Out Much

Last night Erol and I went to a banquet on the occasion of him becoming a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus. (Those are the guys you see with the feathery hats, capes, swords and white gloves.) So our neighbor Meg came to babysit for Kwamai and Felicity.

On the way home I realized we'd been gone over three hours. And imagine our surprise when we got home! There was a sign on the door leading into the kitchen "Welcome to the Big Clean House!" We were greeted by two children in their Sunday finest, a house swept and tidied, a table set with sausages and snacks, and two cards, one that said Mama, and one that said Papa. (Meg gave significant help where the writing was involved!)

They wanted to surprise us and welcome us back home.

You can almost make out, in my card on the left, the picture Kwamai drew of me looking surprised, and his word "soprisd". (If you click on the pictures you can see a larger version.) There was also a picture Felicity drew for me on a separate page. She told me it said "I love Mama." Kwamai and Felicity each ate one of the sausages they made, and we all nibbled on the apples covered with cinnamon.

It was a very sweet welcoming home.