Do you think Micah's hitting a growth spurt?

Today he ate a whole tube of those cookies you cut and bake, except for a couple he gave to friends. Just a snack.

Yesterday he ate six peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This required half a jar of peanut butter. Just a snack.

Either he has worms or he's hitting puberty. I vote puberty since he has energy to burn. His height is creeping up on me like kudzu. Soon I will be the family dwarf. Nathanael is already the tallest, about 1.5" taller than his dad.

I said sheetrock twice.

Mural came down. Walls were washed and spackled. By me.

Nathanael has made some incredible fonts. He's incredibly talented. I mean he could make a good living doing graphic arts. The world will see his fonts someday. They are very marketable. Some are fancy, some serious, some whimsical. Names of fonts: Cyril, Walleye, Creek, Kathryn, Phalex, Extra Credit, Raspberry, Gerald.

Kathryn is inspired by the signature of one of the Atty. Generals on one of the currency bills a few decades ago.

He knows the names and history of the designers of all the fonts we use every day. Anytime he sees a book, billboard, sign, magazine, he can name every font used. The other day, looking at the church bulletin, he said, "It's ironic- the guy that designed this font was an atheist."

He can write a good story. He can edit. Design the font. Lay out and typeset his story in that font. Design the jacket. He's. That. Good.

Got the sheetrock, Pergo floor, insulation, sheetrock, spackling, tools. Working on getting this room done! Washed part of the salvageable walls. Talk about nasty boy-stuff. "Mom, careful, there might be 8-year-old boogers on those walls." Gonna take the mural down, hopefully give it to Hayden at some point. Methinks Hayden would like an electric train set. Tomorrow attic work and washing walls and maybe going back for paint. Hate to work on Sunday...I shouldn't...we shouldn't.

Writing from work so I really only have a minute- Reggie (aka "Theo" per Micah) and Oreo are friends now- no more growling. Just lots of begging for food from me. They HAVE food- cat food- but they are of the opinion that they are much too good for it. They think I'm the maissonette. I don't know where they got that idea.

Double Whammy

Rita....Katrina....

I see a family resemblance.

Letter to FMS today:
Hello,I'm writing this because I am very confused about an event my son said happened at the lockers today 9/19.
Ray Zhang (with whom he has had problems before- Ray bullies Micah) pushed his head against a locker. Micah is pretty tough but he is prone to headaches. He said he went to the office to sit and wait for someone to help him and Mr. Merriweather told him, "Let me tell you a lesson about reality" and proceeded to give him Friday detention. Meanwhile, NOTHING was done to Ray.
We had issues with Ray back in Whitaker with Ray calling Micah "American trash" and also pushing him around, hitting, shoving, kicking, etc. Ray is somewhat bigger than Micah.
We always tell him if something like this happens, if you can, tell an adult. It seems like this is what he did. Am I not getting the whole picture? I find it difficult to believe this was the reaction of the VP.
My husband is furious now and there really has to be some consequence for Ray. I know how Micah can be sometimes but this is pretty serious. There is just no way this can continue. Can you tell me what is going to happen to Ray and why you sent Micah to Friday school for going to the office with a hurt head after this happened? You can imagine my frustration with this. I believe in strict discipline but things have to be fair.
I expect a response ASAP. My work number is 513-851-4900 extension 2098. My e-mail is ann.bonnell@hillmangroup.com.
I support the teachers and staff at FHS - they were great especially when the whole school watched my older son two years ago at the national spelling bee. I have had very few bad experiences at FHS and recommend this district to everyone, so I am really wondering what is going on. I am pretty furious myself.
Ann Bonnell

OK Nathanael who most adamantly did NOT want to pick up that cat, now has been selected by Reginald as the favorite. Not me or anyone else. Only Nathanael. Reginald follows him to the bathroom, kitchen, to bed, everywhere. That cat follows Nathanael and ONLY Nathanael. We are cracking up. Nathanael has taken pretty well to Reginald and we have discoverd Reginald to be neatly toilet trained, though Oreo does not take kindly to sharing a litter box. Oreo's getting used to Reginald, following him around but at a distance. If he gets too close she growls. She wants him to know she's the queen. I don't think he's challenging her top of the pecking order status...for now. If they become mates I don't know how that will play into it. I need to get him some of the standard medicines and then he can come into the house more (instead of garage). He seems clean but Steve says he looks sick. So I will do the standard de-worming. Actually that would be good for both cats. I've already done the de-flea thing...don't want fleas in the house. Ick.

Nathanael chided me for half an hour but Micah finally won out- we were at the Eaton Pork Festival- my kids, Steve and me, Mom, Sierra and Hayden- at the end of the stay Sierra and I see a cute orange kitty- "Le't go see her!" Sierra says. We go over to see the kitty, who was under a car. I easily cajoled the cat out who promptly rolled over for us to pet HIS belly. "It's a he"- I said. "He's a boy kitty".
Then Micah comes over and starts to plead, "Let's take him home, Mom. He doesn't have a home."
Hm- well I had considered getting a cat for Oreo to play with- I would have kept two of the kittens had I known her mother was going to disappear- well Nathanael fought and fought, mainly because I think he didn't want his brother to have his way, what with already getting the new bed and everything, but I gave in and we got the cat. After assurances that he was indeed a stray, we did take him home. Presently Oreo and "Reginald" are growling, doing the who's-in-charge thing, over here with me. At their own pace. Oreo's lived with other cats before. Let's see how this works. If they can't get along after a couple of days, Reg will go to a new home via the SPCA. He's a puuurty kitty- orange and white, lean and muscular.

Today I did it- paid a metric buttload to Furniture Fair for Micah's new bed. Will be here in about 2 weeks. It's crazy awesome- even with a bottom foldout bunk and tons of drawers and closests and storage space with the main bed up on top -it's solid wood (pine I think), paid half suggested retail, got two mattresses (average one for the top, cheap for the bottom, which is sure to get worn out, heck I will probably sleep there sometimes, but it's for his friends to stay over mainly). Today Micah (and I helped a little) ripped out the carpet in his room. We're going to be doing things backwards in his room remodeling but he needed a new bed. He can sleep in his brother's room until it arrives.
I'm thinking hardwood because I really don't like carpet much at all anywhere. The bed will be here before I can even do the floors or replace the walls.
It looks a lot like this except the TV part isn't' the same somehow, there are more drawers in the middle, and there's a shirt closet that opens frontward on the end opposite the TV end, but you get the idea. That storage space in the back is the same.

And THIS is what lives at my house...
Micah has a HUGE collection now of Star Wars stuff. The interesting thing is that he keeps buying all these Star Wars toys but won't open them. He says he's going to save them until he's 50 and make lots of money by selling them in mint condition.

When I rolled up into my driveway, I saw Micah, Josh, and Cross re-enacting the Star Wars drama, the light sabers and all...I was entranced...little boys everywhere and in all times re-enact mythology...and he is living proof...little boys have been Hercules, Beowulf, Vikings, Pirates, Cowboys, Sir Arthur, Superman, Hero Twins (Navajo), Ninjas, The Skywalkers, the legends and stories- heroes and villains, good and evil and back to good, it's a theme replayed over and over- there's a part of the human psyche that understands the battle between good and evil. Even if we are well aware the stories are made up, there's a part of them that's real because the universe and humanity is caught up in a true battle of good and evil.

Micah was doing the flips and sword tricks pretty much just like a Jedi warrior. This Halloween he wants to be Darth Maul again. Interesting how this particular hero (Anakin) is able to be lured into "The Dark Side" and then crosses back into the (is the the light side? the white side? the clear side? the good side?) whatever side again in the end.

It is said there are about 8 themes in all of human mythology...I'm guessing the good to evil to good is one of them. Human frailties even in a jedi warrior.

And of course...these are THE princesses...

THE TRUCK

Hayden's truck!

this is going to be run-on. Feel free NOT to read this. It's just an exercise for me because I've had thoughts I want to write but I end up too lazy to write them. Went to Juan and LIsa's church this a.m.- for a Bible Study in Spanish- group ended up being Juan, Lisa, me, and Juan's parents. :) Very nice people. Juan, by the way, is my co-worker at HIllman, where I've been employed almost 2 months. Anyway it's one of those big megachurches with powerpoint and worship band...like the Vineyard...with droves of people everywhere, most of them young families. About halfway through the service I felt a very warm feeling, Holy Spirit like...which permeated the crowd. The service is in English but the Mineras can understand it. Lisa actually doesn't speak Spanish. I also met Juanito, whom I've been wanting to meet for months. Unfortunately Juan was embarrassed because he misbehaved in Sunday School...well he's 5...I've been through it...anyway I put in a petition to this church to help me find mentors for my own kids, for Nathanael who never responds to any of the traditional youth-oriented stuff. He doesn't in mainstream society- no reason to think he would in church- I mean doesn't care for contemporary rock music, rap, any MTV type stuff, fashion, etc. etc. etc. so the Christian stuff based on anything like that, well he just doesn't relate. I am seeking a mentor who will check in with him on his own level, resistant or not, bored or not, apathetic or not. When there is a real issue I noticed during earlier years he would pray, he would consult the pastor for help, for example, in a friend's atheism and continuing to love that friend...now he seems kind of, well, stable, never really up or really down...it's hard to know where he is spiritually...as a mom sometimes I end up not so privy to it all because he figures it's something moms are concerned with...at least THIS mom...and so I pray for him and I pray for another person he can relate to. He will confide in me but sometimes I think he needs another person, a guy, a little older than he is, to push him, and challenge him, and make him think a little more. Nathanael is just soooo quirky, always has been, is unlike his peers in most every way. That's what makes him so wonderful and unique and I just don't want him shut off, though. I think God communicates best to him outdoors, on walks, hikes, bikerides...that's where he really does his quiet time, where he peruses his books and does his comics and his journal writing...
Then there's Micah, who seems to relate to everyone and everybody and always has a friend around. I have observed he's smarter than his friends. As in, deductive thinking. As a result, he always is the stronger and the one who decides things. He's also outdoorsy. Active but not into sports. That may be the fault of just the situation of being born into a non-sports oriented bunch. But the kid is open at this time and when miracles occur, big or small, it makes an impact...and God is using these kinds of incidents to mark his mind, to make memories he will rely on in his life.
It's like the memory I have drawn on, actually, when my cat was missing, when I was about 9 or 10 years old. Cotton was gone for a week and I cried every day. After about a week went by I went down to the basement on the old brown couch and just sat and prayed and prayed earnestly for God to lead my cat back to us because I just loved him so much. Well, at that very moment my mom called out from upstairs, "Hey! I see Cotton! He's outside in the yard!" She called downstairs, "You must have been praying right now because Cotton is home!" It was so amazing. I had told no one I was going to pray. We went out to gather our cat who was sick and took him to the vet who gave him pills and he recovered.
This also happened with my other cat, Blaze, and I cried and cried for her, too, and she was gone for about a week, and during that time we even got another cat, and one day when I got home from I don't know what, my brothers and parents said, "come over here, we want you to see something!" Well at that point I had a vague idea that maybe my cat had come home and to my surprise, there she was! That was a case of God answering the desires of my heart even though I don't remember an exact time that I prayed. God answers in different ways in different situations. And he knows the desires of our hearts even when we don't utter them. And answers prayers. What I realize now was that God was laying the groundwork for lots of things later in my life.
There are countless, countless, other incidents like this, that are personal between me and God, right now, that have really made a huge impact in my life, things in my childhood whose symbolism I came to recognize only later in life. God blessed me with a memory of those things. It's so amazing to see that God can work in each individual life. Like mine.

I told you this is run-on, this is a stream-of-consciousness entry with no purpose or point or maybe several...so... it isn't meant for anyone to try to make sense of....so....

spent some time with my little niece and nephew...the soon-to-be-ex SIL is now not at that home now by legal agreement, even during days. She brings the kids to her apt. 3x a week. Including the older ones. I guess Erin can do what she wants in the case because she's legally an adult. SIL's not allowed to be at my brother's house. My brother will stay at that location for about a year more, so Erin at least can live there during her sr. year of high school without changing schools. Then after that if Leah wants to continue to go to that school she'll have to move in w/ her mom. Dave may move closer to Oxford so my parents can babysit often. The house there has become a looming monstrosity to him, physically and financially, with the upkeep in both regards becoming difficult. The carpet is absolutely destroyed, for example. And for our area the mortgage is outrageous (if you live in San Francisco I'm sure you would think it's a drop in the bucket but you're also earning SF money).
All of the homes are McMansions, beautiful, most families young yuppies with wooden swing sets in the backyards (hey we have one of those swingsets but our neighborhood is way NOT yuppie)...I mean it's brand new, trees not grown (mom's complaint)...I would live there but I sure wouldn't want to be housepoor. Housepoor- spending everything on your fricking house which becomes a liability instead of an asset. Not having any money left over to actually enjoy it, put much furniture in it, do anything else. Anyway it's a lovely house except for the utterly hosed carpets but it just doesn't serve his needs anymore. Mom and Dad are going to be caregivers for the little ones and it's frustrating because Hayden will need supervision and it seems like for the foreseeablefuture there just isn't an end...he always needs to be watched. You can't call his name and expect him to respond. I hope at some point, I PRAY at some point, he will respond. That's why watching him is so darn difficult. He runs off and climbs and plays and talks to himself but utterly has no concept of the meaning of "Hayden" as his sense of himself or his ego. These sounds are syllables....often imitated...but what do they mean...he's just overwhelemed and exhiliarated by sensory input when we even go to a restaurant or outside. Every sound, every object, every note, every tone, every texture, is exciting and awesome to him...he notices it all...the rolling clouds, the sounds of white noise, people talking, and it brings him to euphoria to be seeing cars roll down the road. when I line up his toy cars he's in seventh Heaven. A couple of weeks ago I brought him a toy truck, a big blue one, that I had gotten for $4 at a yard sale...didn't know if he'd enjoy it or it would just end up in his bottomless pile of toys. Wow, it was beyond my imagination...he absolutely freaked out in ecstasy over that truck. It's a Little Tykes truck with a cab and trailer, and he just squeals with delight when the cab turns and the trailer is now at an angle to the cab and not straight behind it. And the side AND back doors open and close, open and close, and those things are so utterly awesome to Hayden.
Then there's Sierra, the anti-autistic. LOL You have to utterly switch gears to get into her brain. Her world is all pretend and magical and a fairy tale. She's a princess. she has princess clothes, a princess bed, and ddrinks princess milk. She plays let's pretend and always has a friend over. She's in the middle of every social activity. On the playground she makes a friend every single time. She's hugging and loving and affectionate with everyone. She's so five. She's utterly girly-girl. Refuses to wear shorts or pants-only dresses and skirts. everything is pink and Barbie dolls and pink, pink, pink, lace and makeup and ballerina dancing and pretty pretty pretty and snuggly and cuddly stuffed animals and baby dolls and just girly girly girly girl...she is just too cute to be true.
There could not be 2 more differently-thinking kids and you have to switch gears completely from one to the other...oh they're both so cute and cuddly...they look like little angels.

No posts lately- too lazy to write.
Saw the fireworks Sunday- uusual spot, usual folks. Usual beer (for Steve and Karl and to a lesser extent Kenny).

Today- the scene this evening-

Micah working on a pleistocene diorama.
Nathanael listening to Carmina Burana for the 200th time.
Steve and Karl and Kenny being, well, themselves.
Mike Boyd next door making up a silly Bengals song to hopefully air on AM radio. I can hear him through the window. It's realllly silly but he's living proof that these people are not paid actors, they are real and they really ARE "that way".
Me finishing Hannah. Or watching hurricane news.