May is always really busy for us. Last week we had two major events!

Monday we had our last day of our homeschool co-op. The middle schoolers were having a little party afterwards, but we could not stay, as Czarina had a dress rehearsal at 5:30. We got home about 4, ate an early dinner, Czarina got dressed in her costume and she and I left at 5. Dress rehearsal went until after 9. Lots of things went wrong. I've learned from when Hoodie Girl used to be in the choir that a bad dress rehearsal is usually followed by a great performance.


Czarina was a flag girl who danced in with the American flag. Then all 6 girls danced onstage with the flags.



Czarina singing with the ensemble.
Czarina had a long speech about coming to America, seeing Ellis Island, and finally being free. She did great!
Tuesday night was the big performance. Czarina was really nervous, but she did great.

On Thursday, Space Cadet and Cornbread Muffin (formerly known as Fatso) graduated from high school! They were two of 9 students from our homeschool group that participated in the ceremony. Because we had only 9 students, we could devote time to each student's life.
Friday morning we all (well, except Prince Charming) slept in and then had a lazy day -- we needed it!

This week we have an orthodontist appointment, 2 dermatologist appointments (Cornbread Muffin and Hoodie Girl have been part of a 12 week study, and tomorrow they get paid!), a middle-school movie get together, Teen Library Council meeting, a choir party, another graduation (for Cornbread Muffin's friend), and a planning meeting for next year.

And hopefully, a job offer for Prince Charming. He had an interview last Wednesday, and he really wants this job. Looking at our checking account, I can see -- he NEEDS to get this job!

The Telephone Game

Remember the game “Telephone”? One person whispers a sentence to another, who whispers what he thought he heard to another, and so on down the line, until you get to the last person and everyone laughs at how much the message has changed.

I found out last night that there is a rumor going around our Homeschool co-op that Fatso has received a full ride scholarship to Yale. I had to chuckle because Fatso hasn’t applied to Yale. Fatso hasn’t applied anywhere yet, because paperwork is not my strong point and I need to finish getting his transcript together.

Space Cadet & Fatso have both received mail from all the Ivy League Universities, as well as lots of other colleges, starting when they first took the PSAT several years ago. The mail increases every time they take another test. Fatso has especially received a lot of mail from Stanford. Space Cadet received an application from either Harvard or Yale, I can’t remember which. She also received a scholarship for Trevecca Nazarene University for a few thousand dollars (can’t remember, doesn’t matter because at this point she is unable to be a full time student).

Anyway, somehow all of this translated into someone thinking Fatso has been accepted into many different colleges, with a full ride scholarship to Yale. As if Fatso would even consider going to a liberal university like Yale.

He hasn’t applied yet, but with Fatso’s GPA and test scores we don’t anticipate him having any difficulty getting accepted by Patrick Henry College in Virginia, where he plans to major in political science and hopes to eventually go on to law school. He is a finalist in The Home Depot Fund Scholarship, and we expect to hear soon if he is a winner.

Epiphany

May is usually a busy month for us, with end-of-school-year events and all. The week of May 18th will be especially busy for us this year. On Monday, we have our last day of our Homeschool co-op. Monday evening is dress rehearsal for the Joyful Praise Choir, which Czarina is a part of. In addition to singing with the choir, she will be dancing, carrying the American Flag, and giving a rather long speech about being an immigrant. OH – yesterday at rehearsal, the choir went through almost the entire musical. Some of the students still were using their scripts. Czarina’s part is near the end, and after she gave her speech – without her script – everyone in the choir applauded. This was almost two hours into the rehearsal, and they had not applauded anyone else.

Then on Thursday, Space Cadet and Cornbread Muffin (which is what Fatso now wants to be called) are graduating with seven other students from our co-op. After graduation is a group graduation party.

We have a plan for Cornbread Muffin. He plans to major in political science (surprise, surprise) at Patrick Henry College in Virginia. The first year or two he will be living at home and doing distance learning. (Way cheaper, he will still need regular orthodontist visits for awhile, and he doesn’t have to leave his cat.) Then he wants to go to law school, become a lawyer, and bring down Planned Parenthood for multiple instances of covering up statutory rape and botched abortions. In his spare time he will be helping the downtrodden.

We do NOT have a plan for Space Cadet, my beautiful girl who started reading when she was two, scores unbelievably high on standardized tests (as does her brother) yet is graduating from high school at the age of 20. Poor Space Cadet, she has a number of health issues. Also she is very frustrated with the effect of Asperger’s Syndrome on her life, and feeling like she is just not growing up fast enough. (I have heard that people with Asperger’s Syndrome are developmentally about 2/3 of their chronological age. That puts Space Cadet at around her younger sisters’ ages.)

People have asked what the plan for her is. I’ve been replying that right now, there is no plan. She is going through a medication change, she has been sick a lot, and we don’t know if her headaches are stress related, side effects, or what. We recently had her evaluated by a neuropsych so that she can remain eligible for our insurance although she will not be a full time student. (When we have insurance, that is. Prince Charming has a job interview on Monday!) She is interested in college, but she would not be able to handle it right now, and definitely not full time.

This morning I have an epiphany. We don’t have a plan for Space Cadet. BUT THERE IS A PLAN! God has a plan! He’s had a plan since before she was even born! A plan to prosper her, and give her a hope and a future! (See Jeremiah 29:11) There IS a plan, we just don’t know what it is yet! That gives her, and I, hope.

I just don't get it

I know I should be in bed instead of reading/watching the news online. . .

But I just don't get it. I'm reading about the girl in California that was apparently kidnapped and murdered, and possibly raped, by a female Sunday School teacher.

There are way too many cased of child abuse, molestation, etc.

How can someone treat a child that way? What possibly could be going through a person's mind that would make them do this?

Fish flavored Prozac

I wrote this in November, and just found it while looking for something else. It might make you laugh, so I'm posting it now:

I have a 1 ¼ inch jagged gash on the palm of my hand.

I got it while trying to give liquid, fish flavored Prozac to the cat formerly known as Peace, now referred to by me as “The Beast”.

The first 3 days, I was able to sneak up on her, grab her by the scruff of the neck, and stick the syringe in her mouth while she was hissing.

The 4^th day, that didn’t work. I wrapped her in a large towel and one or two of the kids held her while I stuck the syringe in her mouth while she was hissing. That worked the 5^th and 6^th day, also. However, she got more and more violent each time, and it was the 6^th day I received my wound.

On the 7^th day, a couple of the kids and I tried to wrap her in the towel, but she kept disappearing inside of it. Cats have rubber bones and can contort themselves into all kinds of impossible positions. We did not succeed in getting the medicine in her on the 7^th day. I was not willing to sacrifice any more of my blood. (I soaked through 4 bandaids when she scratched my hand on the 6^th day).

On the 8^th day, the kids’ friend Jizzle came home with us after church. Jizzle was shocked to think that we couldn’t get medicine into a cute fuzzy little 9 lb. critter, so he offered to help.

Or not. After quite a struggle, he decided he’d had enough.

Enter Prince Charming. “I’LL get her medicine in her.” (He’s so cute when he goes all macho.)

I did not know that Peace, er, The Beast, knew such horrible language. Prince Charming attempted to hold her in the air by the scruff of the neck until she got tired of struggling. I really wish we had a video of this. That cat is one awesome fighter. But she does have a potty mouth.

He had to let her go before she wore out, as she was coming very close to biting his hand. He later remarked that it didn’t seem right to get her so worked up just to try to get medicine in her to calm her down. (Reminds me of the time a nurse in a hospital woke my Mom up to give her a sleeping pill.)

A little later that day I saw Peace curled up on Space Cadet’s lap. Peace is Space Cadet’s cat, (although Peace would probably say Space Cadet is her Chief of Staff) and she is the one person in the family that has not assisted in attempting to dose the cat.

She’s a smart kid.

UPDATE: Five months later, Peace is still hissing at Prince Charming and I whenever we attempt to pick her up.

Who needs the Comedy Channel?

My kids know that they are not supposed to give out personal information to strangers online. So when they play games online with people they don't know, they get creative. . .

Several years ago Fatso, when asked about his location and age, said he was an 87 year old cross-gender monk from Brazil.

Hoodie Girl recently had this exchange:

Random guy playing on Yoville (online game): What country are you from?

Hoodie Girl: Germany

Random guy: That’s a beautiful country

Hoodie Girl: I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been there.

~~~~

Czarina has joined the local homeschool choir. In their patriotic performance, scheduled for May, she plays -- believe it or not -- a Russian immigrant. She has a rather lengthy speech to memorize about coming to America, and she is doing well with it. The main difficulty with us is that she is trying to learn proper grammar, and the character she plays does not have proper grammar.

There is one other difficulty she is having. As she talks about being on the ship and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time, she is supposed to say, "We rush over to the ship's rail to see her."

But she keeps saying, "We rush over the ship's rail to see her."

Rather a different word picture there. . . .

25 Random things about me

1. Some people think in pictures; I think in song lyrics.
2. I kissed dating goodbye while Joshua Harris was still a little boy.
3. I’ve been in 27 states and 7 countries.
4. I decided I wanted to adopt when I was 13 years old. . . then when I was 47, adopted a 13 year old.
5. I am athletically impaired.
6. I always enjoyed taking standardized tests.
7. I hate taking personality tests. They never offer the right options for me.
8. Much to my surprise, I find myself missing St. Petersburg, Russia, and hoping we can go back.
9. The best thing about being born into my family was that I couldn’t marry into it.
10. I am scientifically challenged.
11. I bake delicious but really ugly gluten free birthday cakes.
12. I grew up with the TV on all the time, and learned to hate it. My husband grew up with no TV at all, and wanted one. Our compromise: We have one TV, which we never watch.
13. My son says I am the worst Sonic (the hedgehog) player he has ever seen.
14. On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was getting a root canal.
15. I needed the root canal because of a tooth that broke while I was eating corn flakes.
16. The reason my tooth was in such bad shape to begin with was that I went 11 years without going to the dentist. (Too busy taking kids to various appointments).
17. I’m a multiple ovulator. My oldest child is a surviving triplet, and my youngest is a surviving twin.
18. I love having teenagers.
19. Monday is my favorite day of the week, because that is when our home school co-op meets and I get to teach Literature to a great group of Middle Schoolers.
20. My favorite places to shop are online and at thrift stores.
21. Czarina told the psychologist in Russia that Space Cadet & I were the kindest people she’d ever met.
22. I won the school spelling bee in 6th grade, and was anal about spelling for the next 25 years.
23. Christmas Day 1987, Prince Charming & I were on our honeymoon in California. We had lunch in Subways. There was a shabbily dressed young man sipping some ice water, and one of the employees was trying to get him to leave (because he wasn’t buying anything). Prince Charming took him to the counter and bought him lunch, and I thought, “Wow, I’m married to this wonderful man!”
24. I have never seen American Idol.
25. One of my children does not currently have a middle name.