26 May 2024

 Nut Brown is learning to drive.  He and I have practiced a great deal in parking lots, and have graduated to driving on roads.  He is getting used to it, and is less alarmed at driving thirty miles an hour than he used to be.  This past week he drove to seminary several times, and also to the library and the grocery store and the drug store.  I like driving with him - he is a funny guy and I like hanging out with him!

Driving to seminary involves going a mile or two down a winding country road with no shoulders down into a valley and back out.  He managed it successfully a couple times at 6 am, and when driving over to bro night along the same route at 6 pm on Friday evening, he was passed by several cars in a row going the opposite direction.  It was alarming for a new driver, and he exclaimed, "Who is shooting these cars out of a cannon at me?"

Last week he said, "I'm not a good driver yet, but I can finally see myself getting good at this."  Yay!

23 May 2024

 Rosebud came home from school a few weeks ago and announced that she had decided to participate in the school talent show.  She was going to sing.  I looked through the papers she gave me, and told her that she had to audition for the show.  She was reluctant to audition, but I convinced her to try.  In the end, she decided to sing an arrangement of "Somewhere, Out There", which she learned last year with the Millennial Choir, with me accompanying her.

We practiced a lot, pretty much every day.  We worked on timing and pitch.  We practiced with a microphone from the karaoke machine, and we practiced giving the pianist a nod when you were ready to start.  We practiced continuing to sing when the pianist lost her place, and we practiced coming back in when she forgot the lyrics or sang the wrong ones.  She worked hard, and improved.

On the day of the audition, she was nervous but also calm.  We got to go through our piece twice for the judges, and Rosebud did really, really well.  All the things that we had practiced, she remembered to do.  I was so impressed with her!  Afterwards, walking out to the car, I asked her how she felt about her performance, and she said, "Pretty good!" I told her that it was obvious that all her hard work had made a big difference in her performance, and that I thought she had done an awesome job remembering all the things we had practiced during her performance.  Two weeks later, we heard back - she passed the audition and would be performing in the talent show!

Unfortunately, she got sick this week.  She had to miss Field Day (a big disappointment - she wore her Field Day shirt at home all day).  We thought the talent show was on 30 May, so we thought we were okay in spite of her illness, but I got a call from the school asking if she would be able to make it to the show tonight even though she had missed school today!  What a disappointment for us!  She was too sick to perform, and we hadn't practiced for several days because she was sick.  So sad!  She and I were both very upset.

22 May 2024

My birthday this year was a lot of fun!  Many people remembered my birthday and wished me a happy day, and some coworkers took me out for lunch.  Other friends from church also remembered and brought me gifts.  When I came home from work, my family had decorated the dining room very elaborately, as if it were a fairy bower.  Rosebud made a welcome banner for me too.  Mr. Brown made my favorite dinner, and Rose Pink made baklava for my cake.  I had a really lovely day!

21 May 2024

Bobo's spring chorus concert was this evening!  He was excited and nervous and excited!  Rose Pink and I attended, and I videoed all the songs so he could share them with Mr. Brown when we got home.  It was so fun to see him perform with his chorus.  He is going to continue singing in the chorus next year, too.  And he's signed up for choir camp this summer.  

 Here we are together after the concert.  I love him so much!  He asked for ice cream from Sonic as a post-concert treat.  Rose Pink and I asked if he was nervous, and he said, "Nope.  I pushed all my nervousness on to Kieran." (Kieran is the boy with the glasses standing next to him in the photo above.)  I told him how impressed I was with how well he managed his fidgeting during the concert, and he laughed and said that he pushed all of that on to Kieran too.  Apparently every time he recognized a fidget coming on, he poked Kieran instead.  Kieran did seem awfully wiggly.

Kieran is one of the kids that he talks about all the time at home, and he just told me that Kieran's little sister Fiona is the same Fiona that is friends with Rosebud (birthday party, playdate) so I'm definitely scheduling some joint playdates with them this summer!

19 May 2024

 Our two younger children are having such a different childhood than our two older children, because they are going to public school instead of homeschooling.  We don't see nearly as much of them.  Life is constantly changing, even between kids in the same family.  Public school is really good for Bobo (he benefits from the structure) and Rosebud is doing well too.  She doesn't like how loud it is.  The other day she was telling me and Mr. Brown that she didn't have time to play with any of her toys/craft kits/projects because she has to go to school, and that is true (during the week).  We are all looking forward to the end of school and having summer vacation.  This will be our third official summer vacation.

17 May 2024

Mr. Brown and I got a very nice note from Bobo's teacher this afternoon:

"Good Afternoon, 

I wanted to send a quick note to let you know how grateful I am for Bobo's responsibility and kindness. This time of year requires some revisiting of expectations, and extra reinforcement of those expectations. However, Bobo has continued to put forth his best effort into all his work, and has never once needed a reminder to make good choices, even if classmates around him have needed those reminders. I appreciate Bobo's positive and respectful example! Let him know I notice his effort and maturity, and am grateful for him. "

I responded, "Thank you so much for the note! This reinforces our suspicions that he is a great kid growing into an awesome teenager!"

He got his first teenager zit on his forehead a week or so ago, and he was alternately embarrassed and secretly proud of it - a sign of growing up.  He's such a cool guy.

12 May 2024

 Mother's Day!  Because I don't like breakfast in bed, Mr. Brown and Rose Pink made me breakfast for dinner, which I also love.  They even bought brioche for french toast, which was super delicious!

Rosebud produced multiple expressions of her affection from the multiple channels that elementary-school-age children in which she participates.  She was very proud to have so many items to give me to show me how much she loves me.  My two favorites were this picture of her and me:

and this "poem":

I love you mom you are always nice and kind to me. 

It is always fun to snuggle with you and go to the museum with you. 

You are always doing things that are best for me.  

Thank You so much mom! Oh, Thank you so very much!  

When you get mad you do not hate me. 

When you take things away it is for my own good rather than making 

Me get rid things because you are mad! 

You are nice to me. You always buy me birthday presents! 

You help me with all the things I need help with and all my problems. 

Buy me Perler beads and let me use them. 

You do this for all siblings too! 

You work so you can do all these things. 

You work so we can get treats and toys. 

I am very you get me books and presents. 

You tuck me in bed. 

You read me a book or magazine. 

You give me a hug or kiss or both 

---------------------------------

Rose Pink corralled all the kids and filled out this questionnaire for me. 

1. What is your favorite memory with Mom this year?

Rosebud: Talent show auditions

Bobo: Disneyland! (we haven't ever been to Disneyland)

Nut Brown: Driving? It would be even less pleasant without her.

Rose Pink: Her laughing at my antics with Bobo at dinner

2. What is your favorite thing Mama does every day?

Rosebud: Tucking me in, hugging me, telling me she loves me

Bobo: Asking me how my day went.

Nut Brown: Enforcing routine, dinner chores, Saturday chores, etc.

Rose Pink: Being patient with the neurodivergence in the house

3. What are you most grateful that mama does?

Rosebud: WORK! Give me hugs. Tuck me in.  Give me ice cream.

Bobo: Tuck me in. Pay for treats.

Nut Brown: Dragging me out of my comfort zone.

Rose Pink: Pay the mortgage so we can have a house without butt hug bugs inside

4. What is something that you would miss about mom if she suddenly disappeared?

Rosebud: Tucking me in

Bobo: Laughing at my dumb jokes

Nut Brown: Not having to worry about money.

Rose Pink: The reassurance her presence provides.

5. What makes Mama smile?

Rosebud: When I thank her

Bobo: When we're smiling

Nut Brown: when me and Bobo sing in unison (Hamilton, Dr. Horrible, Queen)

Rose Pink: When papa tells jokes

6. What makes Mama laugh?

Rosebud: Papa's jokes

Bobo: ME!

Nut Brown: The most random jokes.  A good cheek-clapper can be a knee-slapper.

Rose Pink: Our successes

7. What is mama's favourite food?

Rosebud: Eggs...? Or Rhubarb cake!

Bobo: Flowers. Beeboppareeboppa Rhubarb Pie!

Nut Brown: Steak, medium rare

Rose Pink: Whatever she's currently eating I think? Stroganoff

8. What is Mama's favourite way to spend a Saturday?

Bobo: Sleeping or reading.

Rosebud: HUGGING. Or reading. Or reading and snuggling.

Nut Brown: Busy doing productive things.

Rose Pink: With plants, out in nature.

9. How can you make Mama feel loved?

Rosebud: Telling her [that I love her], and give her hugs for more than ten minutes a day.

Bobo: Telling her dumb jokes

Nut Brown: Expressing more gratitude.  Gratitude is the path to happiness.

Rose Pink: Doing chores for her, giving her hugs. Taking care of each other.

Rosebud: I'm glad she gave me my name

Bobo: Otherwise you'd be Geeeeeorrrrrrrge

Rosebud: deep sigh and I wouldn't like that.

4 May 2024

 This afternoon Nut Brown and I had driving practice together up by the community college.  Lots of quiet roads and deserted parking lots on Saturdays.  We found a larger parking lot and Nut Brown zoomed across it.  I teased him and said, "What did you get up to, like, thirty?" and he said, "Only twenty!"  Then we went out on a real road, and I teased him again and said, "Watch your speed now, the speed limit sign says 15." He replied, "I only speed in parking lots, Mom!"  I had a good time with him.  He's so funny!

When we got home, we collected the machetes and hatchet and went up the street to a neighbor's house and helped them chop up the smaller branches from a tree that blew down awhile back.  All the hacking and slashing was pretty fun.  

Rosebud was a little less excited than the rest of us.  It was a chilly, rainy day, and she'd scraped her leg.

Rose Pink has taken Bobo and Rosebud to see Star Wars: A New Hope at the theater this evening.  Five dollar tickets on Star Wars Day!  She is such a great big sister.

28 April 2024

Nut Brown has been reading manga voraciously since last summer. Rosebud and Bobo and Mr. Brown have also been enjoying it. I just recently realized that he's working his way alphabetically through the library's catalog, because all the manga we have checked out at the moment starts with V or W. 

Lazy Sunday today... Three kids reading manga on the couch next to me. I'm working on my crosstitch, and Mr. Brown is stretched out on the floor in front of us, also reading.

27 April 2024

Happy birthday, Bobo!  For his birthday, he wanted to go bowling with his friends from "mini-bro night".  (Nut Brown goes to "bro night" on Fridays, and one of the younger brothers from the bro night bros asked for a "mini-bro night", and the name stuck.)  So off to the lanes we went!  Bobo was kind enough to invite his little sister too, and she was thrilled to be included. I tried to turn The Pan into a party bus, but the balloons all popped.  Fail.  But Bobo was amused by it.

  

After bowling, we returned to our house and had lasagna for dinner.

Followed by "cake".  Bobo has a recipe for chocolate peanut butter bars that he loves to make, and he asked for a double decker version.  Mr. Brown got inventive and made it work.  They were delicious.  I think Bobo's favorite part was that he got to eat the rest of it basically all by himself for the entire next week.

After cake, they jumped on the trampoline for awhile and then parents came to pick them up.

Bobo took his birthday money and bought himself a wireless mouse.  He'd been planning on it for awhile. He was so disappointed that his aunt's card this year didn't say, "You Guac!" like it had for the past two years.  (Rose Pink found him another one on Amazon and gave it to him.)  He put the Minecraft stuffy on his bed straightaway and sleeps with it.  

On the day of his actual birthday, he asked if he could have his best friend over to play computer games.  We agreed, suspending the normal video game rules for a birthday.  When we pulled in after picking up his friend Aaron (and his little brother Elijah), I heard Bobo instructing them that they had to play 30 minutes of board games first. 💓 Be still, my heart: I was so glad that he had decided on his own to put a limitation on the video games.
 

23 April 2024

It is so fun when Rosebud gets to wear some of Rose Pink's old clothes.  Of course, they were hand-me-downs when Rose Pink got them, and then I sent them to my sister for her daughter, and now they're back here for Rosebud to wear.  When Rose Pink put on this shirt, she said she felt so cool that she just had to play air guitar. The shirt says, "I have a rockin' mom", so I like it too!

 

13 April 2024

Our dear friend Elijah turned five and wanted a birthday party them from a horror video game, so we made four sculptures based on the video game for his party.  You could loosely call them pinatas, but they weren't made to be broken.  He was surprised and amazed and so pleased by them!  They came out really well!

Here he is with Nut Brown, who spent most of the party playing with him and putting his new toys together for him.  They are good friends.

 

12 April 2024

Rosebud is really into creating wordsearches at the moment.  She likes to do them, and she likes to make them.  

The first time that I've been tempted to buy school pictures. She went to school with her kitty ear headband and the results are adorable!!

Some artwork from Rosebud:

She wrote a chapter book at school.  "Reality is Pain".

I hung this one up in the dining room.

8 April 2024

Easter means getting Peeps from Grandpa!

We were looking through old photos and came across one that I love (from maybe 2021?) and the kids wanted to recreate it.

Eclipse day!  We originally planned to go to Ohio to see the totality, but in the end we decided to stay here and watch General Conference instead.  But we did watch the 90% from the backyard.  I had saved the eclipse glasses from 2017 when we saw the eclipse in Charleston, and it was disappointing not to see the totality.  Staying home was definitely the right choice though.
 

3 April 2024

Spring break! The schools were out for ten days around Easter weekend.  We didn't go anywhere.  Instead I scheduled playdates mostly for Rosebud but also a couple for Nut Brown and Bobo.  

Friday of that week we also met Grandma and Grandpa in Washington DC for a couple hours.  We went to the Museum of American History and saw the flag from Ft. McHenry, and had lunch together in the basement.

Then we walked over to the Tidal Basin and walked under the cherry trees to the Jefferson Memorial.

Nut Brown was not very impressed.  He told me that he thinks Harford County is prettier than the cherry trees.  It's true that we were there later than last year so it wasn't quite as heart-stoppingly beautiful.  But I was also glad that he was enjoying the beauty around us at home.

After the Jefferson Memorial we walked back to the car.  Friends have always advised me that you have to be on the road home no later than two pm - any later and a 90 minute drive turns into a 2.5 hour drive.  I pushed it a it, and we left at 2:30.  I thought surely that would be okay, but no, we didn't get home until 5 pm!  Lesson learned!

And then it was Easter - and there were Peeps from Grandpa to be eaten! 

We had Easter dinner as a shared meal with the Bloods and Knoxes.  So glad to have friends!

26 March 2024

A mom in our friend group has started the practice of giving experiences to friends at birthday parties instead of toys, and the Brown house is firmly on board with this!  Here is Rosebud taking her friend out for froyo at Sweet Frog  for a birthday gift.

 

22 March 2024

 We attended the youth camp fundraiser at church this evening.  Both Nut Brown and Bobo have worked hard on their assigned parts of it, and they both were really hoping it would go well. There were meal options for dinner, and a talent show.  There were two auctions, one silent, and one with a real live auctioneer! We ended up seated at a table with some fun people (Wagners and the Youngs) and enjoyed the food.  Nut Brown and Bobo performed in the talent show, singing a song from Hamilton together with another young man.  (They were awesome.)  The photo is from Nut Brown "having breakfast" with someone else's arms managing the food.

Rosebud and I had a great time with the silent auction, bidding and then re-bidding.  We won some voice lessons for Rosebud, among other things.  The live auction with the auctioneer was so much fun!  Nut Brown's offer of four hours of hard work was purchased for more than $100!  Bobo had volunteered to bring in a dessert to be auctioned.  Rose Pink ended up making it for him, and I outbid everybody to buy it in the end.  Overall, it was a very fun evening!

21 March 2024

 

Monday night we went out to Golden Corral for dinner, which is one of our favorite places to eat. Why? Because although the food is mediocre, there is a large variety so everyone can find something they like and therefore dinner is incredibly low stress.  I also hypothesize that the fact that getting up in the middle of dinner to walk around is expected is another reason that our ADHD family likes eating there so much. The wall behind them in this photo says, "Help yourself to happiness" and that is certainly how we feel when we eat there. Very relaxed and we enjoy each other so much.

The last time Rose Pink ate at a Golden Corral was prior to taking a food safety class. Knowing what she knows now, she just couldn't bring herself to eat the hot dishes. We all commiserated, and a few minutes later Nut Brown came back to the table and told her that he had just seen them set out a new dish of fried fish so she could be certain of how long the food had been out. She happily got up to get some. Nut Brown is so compassionate.

On the way home, Nut Brown initiated singing in the car. They sang songs from Hamilton and Queen and Wicked. It was so much fun to listen to how wonderful my family is together.

20 March 2024

Bobo: I have so many pencils on the bottom of my lockers. I keep forgetting my pencil case.

Rose Pink: Why don't you send them to Pencil-vania? That's where they belong!

Bobo: If you lose something, the first thing to do is clean out your locker.

Nut Brown: No, first you should pray.  I find your lack of faith disturbing.

15 March 2024

 

More artwork from Rosebud. The black stencils are rain clouds. I asked her about the hills at the bottom, and she said, "No, Mom, those are trees!"