Well, after two weeks of government holiday (aka: furlough) I "get" to go back to work tomorrow. I put that in quotes because we are still not getting paychecks. Meanwhile, I would like to report that I feel rather relaxed having two weeks off and got quite a lot of things accomplished.

On the first day of government shut down I was already planning to attend the morning part of Shaeleigh's all day school event - Colonial Day. Instead I had to leave after the candle making so that I could participate in an "orderly shut down." And thus begins the irony - I can't take a scheduled morning off because the government is closing down. However, having been given but vague guidance as to what "orderly shut down" means, I went in, submitted my timesheet, spritzed some Lysol on my desk and got back to Colonial Day in time for lunch, a game of Rounders (Colonial Baseball) and the firing of the cannons.

I then spent the next 9 days off getting my hair cut, going to doctor appointments (both YiLin and I have new glasses on the way), cleaning the house (Kenn would say we need a few more weeks of furlough yet...), trying out jogging, deciding jogging is not for me, going to school appointments (4 of them), getting YiLin successfully transferred to a new school (starting in November), picking the kids up from school and helping with afternoon activities, having lunch with the husband, having lunch with my parents, and generally becoming lazy.

And someone asked, "Joanie, why didn't you update the blog?" Oh.... that....

The kids started school last month.

Shaeleigh is in fourth grade and having a good time. She has only 17 kids in her class this year.

Chance is in 1st and has 31 kids in his class. He has started reading and is very proud of himself.

Good luck Miss M.

And YiLin, headed into 2nd grade. The day before school started, his IEP team let us know that the services they finally put in place 10 weeks before school ended were not going to apply this year as they were a "special arrangement." Luckily, the Director of Special Education for the county was able to help us with that and we at least got those put back into place and thus began all the meetings I was able to attend while I wasn't allowed to work the past two weeks. Someday I will post the entire saga but there is really no way to justify the way YiLin's education was mishandled by our public school system. Completely unfair to a kid who has already had his share of unfair in life.

Meanwhile, he too is learning to read.

And the big news of the season - Chance has mastered the two wheeler! He hadn't shown much interest and still had the training wheels on his bike but one day came out of the garage with Shaeleigh's old pink bike that didn't have any training wheels. He literally figured in it out in 2 minutes. I held on to the back of the bike for 2 trips up and down the cul-de-sac and he just took off on his own.

And then he went straight from wobble to hotdog.

And then YiLin wanted in on the fun. I have to admit, neither Kenn nor I thought he was ready. The kid is nothing if not persistent. I thought my back was going to break (because yes, he too was learning on the mini pink bike but he is heavy and in the beginning, I was doing all the work) but he kept dragging that bike out and as a parent you just can't say, "no, you can't do it." And then lo and behold he proved us all wrong. And so it spurned me on to fight harder with the school system.

And then YiLin, who loves to do what Chance does, had to be a hotdog too.

And Shaeleigh, who honestly was still riding that silly little pink bike, finally got a new bike.

And now Kenn wants to learn to ride. (hehehe)

Recently Chance-isms:

Me (after nearly tripping over some toy): Whose is this?

Chance: Mine. I left it there so someone could slip on it (big grin)

*****

The kids are all singing along to a Cedermont kid CD (Christian kids music):
Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna to the King of Kings....

The song ends and Chance says: What the heck is a Hosanna anyway?!

*****

It was one of those days where the kids all seemed particularly needy and I was going crazy and said something to Chance like, "Sometimes I just need a little time by myself," to which he replied, "Then why did you borned me?"

*****

Chance, not wanting to go to sleep, comes wandering out of his bedroom and claims to be having bad dreams.

Me: But you haven't fallen asleep yet.

Chance: Yes, but sometimes my brain combines everything early.

*****

And not to be outdone: YiLin -isms

(and this is admittedly much funnier if you know YiLin - he still doesn't speak in fully sentences or offer a whole lot of depth to his conversations so what he does choose to say can be pretty funny)

We're heading out the door yesterday and Shaeleigh is wearing a new pair of pants. They are made of a soft velour and are a little too big. Her shirt is also new and probably somewhat big. She looks comfortable.

YiLin looks at her laughing and says: Shaeleigh get dressed! Those are pajamies!

What?! Is that a chicken coop in the Smitheroni backyard? Don't tell the HOA!

Yes, indeed. We discovered that you can rent hens! And so we rented two hens, complete with the coop and food, for four weeks. Such fun! They were so sweet - soft and friendly. That's Old Yeller above.

And that's Rosie. There's nothing funnier than sitting in the family room and looking up to see a chicken looking in at you. Well, one thing funnier - hearing about Kenn trying to catch then to put them back in the coop at night and picturing him running around in circles when the chickens run just ahead of him their little necks bobbing in and out. Hahaha.

YiLin had a love/hate relationship. He spent tons of time out in the yard watching them and feeding them. And yet, he did not want them coming too close.

We got two eggs a day which we collected just after noon each day.

Until this came along. Raccoons showed up and there went the egg production. We went 7 days with nothing. But eventually the raccoons learned they couldn't get into the coop (and Kenn tied the trashcans down so they couldn't get into those either) and then we got our eggs back.

And I leave you with Chance-in-a-basket. Because that's how he chooses to sleep on occasion.....