"What potent blood hath modest May." - Ralph W. Emerson

We welcomed the sweet month of May by reading, play acting, and attending the show of Robin Hood at the Lesher Center.  I say play act because as soon as we got home from the show, Charlton and I reread the story and then pretended to be characters from Robin Hood.  I insisted in wanting to be Lady Marian, but Charlton wouldn't hear of it.  He wanted me to be his sidekick, Little John.  Hilarious!  Well, if nothing else from this character, at least the name fits me, little mom.  As always, Charlton loved meeting the cast in the end of the show. He highfived Little John, his favorite character, and took a picture with Robin Hood and Lady Marian.  The cast interacted with the audience freely throughout the show, and the kids loved it.  Add to that the great pleasure I had listening to the melodious voice of Robin Hood, and this made for an enjoyable afternoon with my little one.

On Saturday, May 4th, James had a soccer try-out.  I usually have the kids try sports that they can all play at the same time such as swimming, running, etc.  I haven't put my boys in any team sports before, for the main reason that they have each other to play with, and Elijah and I always play with them.  And believe me, I don't baby them when I play; I'm too competitive for that.

Being active is a big thing at our house.  My children are the better example in this area. (I'm trying but a little lady can do so much.)  My kids bike to school every day, attend the playgrounds often, and love to play catch or baseball in the weekends.  They play every day either basketball or soccer as soon as they get home.  I think they all need to get their school stress out before they get into homework and piano practice, so I really encourage them to play for a while.  Elijah fortunately comes home early enough to join them in their games.  Jefferson is amazing at basketball, but James really loves soccer.  And since I'm very protective of our family time, I've asked them to choose only one sport each per semester.  James chose soccer and he is really excited about it.  Practices start in August, and although I'm not looking forward to driving to and fro, I'm excited to see him enjoy himself.

On Monday, after a year and a half, Gillian's braces were taken off!!!  She was very excited and relieved to be braces free.  At least for the time being.  They told her that if she didn't keep her retainers on, she would have to get braces at an older age.  But for now, her smile looks beautiful, and what's even better I don't have to peel her apples anymore :)  Jefferson had his appointment the next day.  It's looking like he too will need braces.  Do parents ever get a repose from dental expenses?

To celebrate Gillian's freedom from metal slavery, the kids requested to eat out at their favorite dinner.  After a nice time at the playground, we had some much needed nourishment and enjoyed some fun conversations with each other.

This Friday, I taught art at my children's school.  I've had such a great time doing this that I offered to do it next year as well.  I can't wait to come up with some new and exciting ideas for the coming year.  Since Mother's Day was going to be on Sunday, I had decided to make this last art project into a Mother's Day gift.  I had read one of my friend's blog some time ago where she had posted an art project she had done at her kids' school - a silhouette pasted on a canvas painted in Pollock style.  I thought that was such a great idea, and it was, but it also was very demanding and time consuming. I took profile pictures of about 55 students; used a photo shopping program to transform the pictures into silhouettes; cut the silhouettes for K-1 kids and just printed the rest for the older kids to cut and trim; bought canvases for each kid as well as acrylic paints; and set shop outside each classroom so we wouldn't make the classroom itself dirty.  The project required a lot of effort from my side, but the kids just had a great time splashing paint all over their canvases as well as themselves.  I had my kids work on one set before Friday, so I kind of knew what to expect the next day.  That set went to my mother.  The Friday one went to me for Mother's Day.

Gillian - Grade 5

Jefferson - Grade 3

James - Grade 1

Charlton - Preschool

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  I relaxed in bed trying to finish a crossword puzzle I had started the night before.  The kids and Elijah brought me breakfast in bed, and after that the kids gave me their presents.  Our church meeting time is a bit early, so Elijah took the kids with him to give me the chance to enjoy a long shower and take my time getting ready without distractions. The whole day felt relaxing and stress free.  I love being pampered.

My kids' favorite part of Mother's Day is undoubtedly the giving of the presents.  My favorite part is reading their cards.  Gillian's writing is always full of love and with a touch of dramatic flair, Jefferson loves to use wit and honesty, James is just learning how to share his feelings in words, and it's way adorable.  And Charlton, well, he is better in expressing his love through hugs and kisses than through the written word, and for now that's how I like it.  Here are a few of the cards my kids wrote to me this year:

Charlton's flower for mom

James and Mom are best friends forever!

I love Jefferson's wit and silly rhymes.

Gillian's dramatic, but sincere love for her mother

I hope you all had a great Sabbath, and to all of you mothers, in my son's words: Keep Calm and Love on.

How was your Saturday?

Charlton woke me up early today. After feeding him a bottle, I got back to bed. Sleep had left me, so I laid down reading for a while. The kids didn't bother me, and Gillian took care of Charlton. It was about 11am when I got up. I hadn't finish my book, but I had had a few quiet hours to read this morning, and that was wonderful. I was grateful to my children for letting me rest.

At about 2 pm, my friend, Amy, and her daughter Mary picked us up and we all drove to a mother-daughter party. Gillian and Mary attend the Activity Days and this year, the leaders of the Activity Days had organized a fun party for all the girls and their mothers. The theme of the party was the Kentucky Derby Race, since it was being held today.

The party was fabulous. We each got a balloon with the name of a horse inside it. We randomly chose the balloons. Afterward, we each made hats out of paper plates and lots of ribbons and trimmings. We watched the race and cheered the winner (Gillian's friend, Mary, had the name of the winning horse). The food was very delicious, accompanied by the famous Derby Pie. The girls had fun, and us mothers enjoyed being together. This was a perfect outing for both the mother and daughter. Gillian and I truly had a great time being together and participating in this fun activity.

This evening, I took my mother out for an outing. Different ballet studios from around the Bay Area were going to perform at the Interstake Center by the Oakland Temple. The performances were of various levels, and offered us great entertainment. afterwards, I took my mother for a last stroll on the temple grounds. She is leaving in a week or so, and won't come back till next year. We'll miss her and all the help she has given us throughout these four months. Nevertheless, she will be with my brother and will enjoy the next few months being with his children. Life is good.

Gezuar festen e nenes!

I started this day a bit earlier than usual. Last night, I did some blogging, wrote some emails, read some on-line articles, and then I sat down to read just a bit before I went to bed. I was reading this very philosophical book that isn't very entertaining, but it does make you think and it offers so many interesting ideas. Every chapter seems like a philosophical essay. Don't ask me why I was reading this book till the early hours of the morning, because it isn't one of those books that can be appreciated when you are tired. Nevertheless I kept reading and was astonished at the author's talent of writing such complicated thoughts, but in the end sleep won and I had to close it and get ready for bed. As I was heading toward my room, I hear loud talking from my mom's room, so I go and investigate. My mother was talking on Skype with my brother, who himself had stayed very late the night before and then had slept till late. That's how he happened to be home when my mother called him at 2:30 in the morning here (11:30 a.m. in Stockholm). When I said "hi" to them at this early hour of the morning, we all laughed at how similar we each are, especially with this bad habit of staying up late. It was then that my brother wished us both "Happy March 8th." All over Europe this is a date that we celebrate women and women's rights, talents and contribution to the society. In my country, we focus more on our mothers, so you could say this is my country's equivalent of Mother's Day. After talking to my brother for a little bit, I hurried downstairs to catch some much needed sleep.

James had been invited to a birthday party today in Danville. Elijah's boss/friend's daughter turned five, and James was very excited to attend and celebrate with her. I was too, since I was going to see my husband there before he went to the temple till late tonight. That thought gave me energy to accomplish what was needed done. I dropped the kids off at school, dropped James off at Pre-K, ran some errands, bought the birthday present, and then picked up James a bit earlier from Pre-K so we could make it to the party. As soon as I entered Danville, I was caught back by the luscious view of the green hills and pastures. Here is a picture of one of those velvety hills:

After the party, I hurried back to pick up the older children. On our way home, I stopped at Safeway and had the children choose a bouquet of flowers for my mother. She is Albanian after all, and we had to celebrate Albanian Mother's Day for her. When Gillian gave her the flowers, she almost choked from joy. It's amazing how little acts of love and service touch others immeasurably.
She was caught off guard when I told her that I was taking her out. She wasn't expecting it, since Elijah doesn't come home after ten on Tuesdays and there wasn't anyone to watch over the kids. Unbeknownst to her, I had asked my church friend and neighbour to watch over my children while we went out. We went shopping first, buying presents for each other (I know it sounds like a silly thing to do, but it is a tradition and since I was celebrating this day alla Albanian, I had to go all the way.) Next, I took her to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and yummy cheesecakes. Although the food wasn't up to her standards, she enjoyed the atmosphere.


When we got back, Sister Paul told me that everything had run smoothly, and that all the children had behaved well and obeyed her. There had been only one incident when Charlton had woken up, but Jefferson had singlehandedly taken care of it by coming downstairs, filling Charlton's bottle, warming it up and then soothing Charlton by talking to him while giving him the bottle. Sister Paul told me that when she had asked Jefferson if he needed any help, Jefferson had politely replied that he had done this many times and he knew how to take care of it. So, ladies, if you ever are in need of a couple of quiet hours, come and babysit for my kids. You'll not even have to move from your chair. It made me laugh imagining Jefferson behaving with such competence.

No reading of any kind tonight! My body is telling my mind that it needs rest.

What do you do for Mother's Day? Do you have any celebrations that are unique to your family?

Happy International Women's Day to all of you strong and wonderful ladies!