Okay... take 8... 9...

Now I understand why there are very few great photos of me and my three siblings.

up north photos

It's the middle of June?! What? It seems like just a few days ago that I took these. Here are the photos from our up north tour. In the photos, you'll see the kids at the Arnold docks and with some horses on Mackinac Island. Also, two best pals walking on the dock at Higgens Lake, Henry and Grandma at Nibbles (yay Nibbles!), our crazies IN a pretty chilly lake, and my mom and dad enjoying some down time up north. Also there's a pink peony from our garden. These bloomed just before the trip. So beautiful!

Travels and a new friend

Last week, we spent some time roaming the top 1/3 of Michigan's mitten. Petoskey overnight (Hey, pals the Super 8 there has a 24 hour pool, a terrific breakfast, decent, clean rooms, and a beautiful view of the bay. All for under $60.), and then we dropped Jim off at the docks of Mackinaw City. The kids and I went to Higgens Lake where my parents let us hang out with them. The next morning, Jim was done with his annual conference, and we joined him on the island*. All of the Sinki's spent some time on the island, hiking the back paths, rather than spending much time in the disnified area nearer the docks. That's when this happened:


Cute lil' guy. The absolute nutjob who lives in my head and wants to bring every animal home with her was tempted to tuck baby squirrel into her sweatshirt pouch. The saner part of me won that arguement.

Please excuse the camera work: Jim took the video with Henry on his shoulders. Henry, as you might hear, is concerned about Jim standing on the grass. He has a new concern about poison ivy, and is certain that anything green is the dreaded allergen. You won't hear much from Willa. She was mostly breathless and hoping that the critter would go to her shoe next(so she might be able to hide it away in her pocket, and nurture it to adulthood and beyond). She is her mama's girl.

From the island, we drove south to the cottage again. We raked leaves, walked to the beautiful lake, had ice cream at Nibbles, took a long drive to find deer (found none - eerie), read, played Skip-bo, did puzzles, and I made the best campfire in the history of all campfires. The weather was weird, but the company was swell. Thanks (again and again) to my parents for letting us stay there. Photos to follow on another day.

* I must confess here that the ferry to the island terrifies me. I know - well, my brain does - that nothing is going to happen - but when it's just me and the kids heading to the island to meet Jim, I battle visions of the boat going down. Who will I put the life jacket on first? How will I manage to get both kids out of the boat when it goes underwater? Just typing this makes me realize that it's irrational. But most fears are, eh?

Kindergarten Roundup

She held my hand tightly as we entered the building. She acted like it wasn't a big deal, so I followed suit.
We walked out an hour later, her still holding my hand, but skipping now, too.
In between I filled out a lot of paperwork, and we met Mrs. Black, who gave us a personal tour of the whole school.
Later, she talked about the library and the computers, the butterflies in a classroom, and the small tables.

Great curb appeal, but a few things...

On Tuesday, our realtor and her whole office walked through our house to give us feedback. Yesterday we got the report. Basically, they suggest we make about $3,500 worth of remodel/fix up (including a new shower surround, repainting the less neutral walls, getting a dishwasher...). Also, they suggest we lower our asking price by about the same. So, we have their suggestions, and will have to take a look at what we're going to do with them.

I know that it's probably in the realtor's best interest to get our house off of her load quickly, and move onto another. Right?

I'm hoping my skin toughens up quicker, this is kind of brutal.

Delaney! Easter! Caterpillars!

Uncle Bill and Aunt Jackie are now parents to beautiful Delaney Grace. We hope to meet her sometime this week. Delaney was born on April 29th. Welcome to the family, sweet girl, and the world. It's nice to not be so alone at the end of April on the birthday list. Here's how the maiden Sinki family calendar looks:

1 - we remember Grandma P
6- Willa

7 - MaKenna

13 - Lisa

18 - Mom

27 - Amy

29 - Delaney

For Willa's birthday present, Uncle Bill and Aunt Jackie gave Willa the complete Ramona book collection (LOVE) and the Butterfly Garden kit. We put our order in, and 7-10 days later, a small box was atop our mailbox.

I opened the box, and took a photo (left)of the 5 tiny caterpillars. Willa was - instantly - in love. Then we left them for a few days to visit my family for Easter. We got back, and were amazed by how much they had grown in 3 days! The last photo was taken 10 days after they arrived. Giant! This is the last day they were all caterpillars together. Hours later one was already a chrysalis.

Speaking of Easter... here's a few photos of that: Lisa brought the dye and the eggs. 4 dozen was more (way more) than plenty for 3 kids and 2 "grown-ups."

Lisa goes big for the holidays, though. And it was fun.

Now we have 5 chrysalis who I moved to their new quarters. In about a week, we should see 5 Painted Lady butterflies. This has been fun, but do you KNOW what happens when they turn? I always thought they spun a blanket of silk around them to do their changing in a more private environment. Nope. They just kind of harden off, change color and texture, and then... their heads and first few set of feet fall off. Not pretty.

In the photo above, you should be able to find 4 chrysalis, silk the caterpillars spun to aid in their transportation about the cup, a DETACHED HEAD (I still have the willies), and a slowpoke caterpillar with a fully attached head.

first showing, my birthday, very large beer

So... today was odd. Before I type anymore, I'll share with you that I have consumed 1/2 of a Long Island Iced Tea and a giant Dos Equis (so... a quatro equis or so).

At just after midnight, dear Jim came into the bedroom, where I was starting to re-read Anne Lamott's Plan B (Have you read it? You should.). He glanced at the clock and said, "hey! Happy Birthday." I grinned, sighed, and snuggled deeper into the comfy bed.

This morning, Willa got to school without incident. On the way, I asked her if she knew what today was. She said, "uh-huh. It's picture day. And show and tell. And your birthday. And someone is coming to look at our house tonight." I waited. And cleared my throat. And waited. Finally, she said, "oh! Happy birthday, mom!"

Henry and I went to the fabric store. We picked out fabric so I could make a curtain of sorts for the area that houses our garbage can and dog food. Henry sang "happy birthday" several times... Tra, la la... it was starting out to be a great day. We got home and I went to the basement to switch laundry around.

And then I saw what I thought was just a trickle of water, which I later upgraded to a wee spring. It was a stream. It's been raining a fair amount for several days, and our basement got wet. A rare occasion. And, of course we had our first showing tonight at 8.

I'm going to skip the many hours I spent, and later Jim shared, mopping up and cleaning the rest of the house. Because that's boring. I'm tired. He's tired. Onward.

So we went to Little Mexico for my birthday dinner. I had my favorite vegetable burrito. And drinks. The kids gave me a sweet blue glass beaded bracelet while we were there.

We got home and Jim gave me another gift. And that's what I'm typing on now.

So, our house looks fantastic. I had a great dinner with 3 of my favorite people. I got some terrific presents. And I'm a little tipsy.

36 is going to be great!

Snake

My buddy and I went for a walk at the Calvin College Nature Preserve this afternoon. There was also an entire middle school there, so... not so quiet. We did manage to find one trail for our own. We sat on the dock at the pond and talked about how a red winged blackbird sounded like he was looking for "Maria." We walked on. I heard a small rustle, and saw a little snake. The snake wasn't scared. Henry wasn't scared. Just for the record... neither was I. We sat on the ground and watched the snake watching us. Then we stood up, and walked away. Henry slipped his hand in mine and told me, "I'm glad we went for a walk inda woods."

Five years old

Willa, you are five years old. On the day you were born, you snuggled into my neck as I held you and lifted your head to coo. On your birthday two days ago, you hopped onto your new red, shiny scooter and had it mastered in a few minutes. You amaze me. You delight me.

Your 5th birthday happened to coincide with Sinki family cabin fever and dad's vacation time. So, up to Traverse City we went. In the morning, you woke up in the hotel with mom's premade, frozen, and then microwaved pancake breakfast in bed.

And then a brief photo shoot.

Followed by a few presents:

Followed by a trip to the TC kid's museum where you got to dress up and have hens:

We also walked on the beach right outside our room:

You and Henry flew kites with Dad's help:

We took a little drive to Leeland, where the only fish we saw were an inch long and crammed hundreds in a square foot:

There was a lot of swimming in the pool, and fun at meals out, and few, but sweet quiet moments in the hotel room.

You are five now. On your first full day of five, we visited Old Mission State Park and the four of us walked on the beach. In the past few months, you've been fearful of new things. Falling down or not doing things right worry you. I was so, so proud of you when you followed me out to the tip of the rocks to put your fingers in Lake Michigan. You are growing up. And while I'm sad that it's happening so quickly, I'm pleased that you're becoming stronger and bolder while maintaining your sweetness, your compassion, your smarts, and your humor.

Every day, I am grateful for the gift of being your mom.

Tripping on love

When Willa was a small baby she cried more than most other babies. There was a 2 month period when she was inconsolable between the hours of midnight and 3 am. During those times, Jim and I took turns trying everything in our shallow bag of new parent tricks to soothe her. She had a crib mobile that played a song I had never heard before. After pacing the floor and bouncing her in my arms for an hour, I started humming it, and then making up lyrics. Mostly to remove my brain from the reality of the crying baby. Tonight, Willa asked me to sing her that song. I took a breath in, "mama loves you, and daddy loves you and Henry loves you (this is a rewrite to keep up with the times), and the dogs love you, and we're so happy that you are here with us, oh, our beautiful Willa." She grinned, rubbing her cheek on her pillowcase. "Mama, when you sang that all of those people love us, it felt like I was in all different colors." That baby will turn five years old on Wednesday.

Signs of Spring

Today, the Tigers play the Yankees, happy opening day, friends. Our bird feeder is the social hub for the neighborhood finches. We've got at least 2 pairs of Goldfinches and one pair of red House Finches. At one point there were 5 birds perched on the 9 inch long bag feeder we have hanging from the kitchen window awning. One of them has started perching on the screen of the window, right in front of where I'm typing right now. My crocus flowers are past their prime, and I noticed 2 dwarf hyacinths blooming at the side of the house. Hey, last year version of me: thanks for planting those butter yellow crocus bulbs. This year's version of me forgot, and was pleasantly surprised to see them. There is no snow visible, save the odd parking lot mountains that are now lesser mountains. I hear people outside more. The kids have spent brief outings chalking the sidewalks. I don't think we've hit 50 degrees yet, so they come it with cold, chalky fingers. I am very, very excited to pack away winter coats, hats, mittens... hopefully we won't see them until we move. And speaking of moving, a for sale sign will sprout from our yard next month as well.

She thought she could, she thought she could...

The kids and I were cooking. In a show of good faith, I asked Willa to pour two cups of milk from the glass measuring cup into the bowl. She grinned, took hold of the handle, and... sat there. She took a deep breath, looked up and said, "I know I have to just believe in myself, and I will be able to do it."
She did.

Harsh punishment

I've been meaning to record this for a few weeks...

A while ago, all four of us hopped in the HHR to get supplies for HQ. We were grocery shopping at Meijer, and Jim and Henry drifted. Willa was concerned.

"That probably wasn't a good idea, was it mom?"
"It's okay, we'll find them in a minute."
"But dad should probably have a consequence* to making that bad choice, shouldn't he?"
"What kind of consequence do you think is appropriate, Willa?"
"Um...." she said, while thoughtfully scratching the bridge of her nose, "well, um... maybe something like not letting dad sleep with you for a few nights?"

I congratulated myself for not laughing myself into a puddle. Meanwhile, she made plans for Jim and the couch.

*We've been talking a lot (A LOT) about choices and consequences in these parts. She's catching on.

leprechaun hunting

Happy St. Patrick's Day, pals! Today the wee ones and I got dressed in our green (in light weight green - thanks nature for a nice, warm day!), and went out to Blanford Nature Center.

These two worked as a team. He would spot something, and she'd snap a picture. The maple sap is running, so we learned about the process from a kind volunteer. It was so nice to be outside in jackets. All streams were running faster with the melting snow. We saw a frog (early!) in the pond. The kids were giddy with outside-ness. Me too. Check out the snowdrops. Wheeee! Flowers.

At the end of our hike, we found that a tree had toppled onto the bench we usually take a photo on. The kids were instructed to look worried. Hee hee. Look at them selling it!

We came home and made twice-baked (green) potatoes, asparagus, and turkey and veggie burgers on the grill. Pistachio pudding for dessert. Jim was able to enjoy dinner with us before heading off to his Dale Carnegie class.

Last year, MaKenna and Lisa made us this nifty get-up. Fun again today!

Chickens legal downtown - if they're rubber

Grand Rapids is hosting a big, funny party this month. Laughfest is a 10 day festival that will raise funds for Gilda's club. There are big comedy names coming. And small ones. Music and events. It all got started tonight.
Were you wondering about the world record for the highest number of people to gather and toss rubber chickens in the air? As of tonight, it's 925. The kids and I got downtown and joined the crowd just in time. There was a countdown and then we launched them.
Because we stayed on the outer edge, our chickens did not travel far, and we brought them home. Walking back to the car, we told chicken jokes. "Why did the 3 chickens cross the road? Because we're carrying them."
Kids, someday you might be parents. now you can impress them by saying you are part of a world record breaking event. Cluck, cluck!

Grad school update

I began my fourth class this weekend. Because of the weird format of this program, I'm also 1/3 of the way done with my fourth class. Strange, eh? I'm finding that having one class every 8 weeks, and meeting on 3 Friday evenings and Saturdays makes it go quickly. It's a speedy process, and kind of awkward to learn (and probably teach) so much all at once. I come back home in the early evening on Saturdays feeling fried. But so, so energized.

It's my "me" time. No spills to clean up or crayons snapping under foot. No anxiety about it being too quiet, no squabbles to referee. Not yet, anyhow, I imagine as our cohort of 17 progresses through the terms, there will be squabbles... I am so thankful for the opportunity to miss my children while I'm away.

So, I've finished classes on theory, school counseling, standardized tests, and I'm now knee deep in ethics. I've got a 4.0 gpa, and I'm having so much fun learning. The people in my cohort - we'll go through the whole program together - are compassionate, smart, and fun to be with.

I'm somewhat daunted by the awesome responsibility that I'll have as a professional counselor. On the other hand, I'm confident that I'll be pretty darned good.

at the core

"Mom," she said, looking very serious, "I think my brain smells like rainbows."


She's probably right.



In other news, I'm in the middle of an intense/rapid job application process with the State of MI. Fingers crossed pals, okay?

She got my teeth, and his humor

Willa has started telling jokes. Her own. They are long, and involve whatever is in the room that her darting eyes rest upon. They end with her cracking herself up, and me cursing the fact that genetics failed. Clearly, she's inherited her dad's sense of humor. Want an example?

"What did the... uh... uh.... oh! What did the monkey... say to the um... ball?"

And I have to play along. Even though I know that we're not going to land anywhere near making sense. So, I say, "I don't know what did the monkey say to the ball?"

This part she doesn't have to think about. Because of course the monkey would say the following to the ball: "You bounce up and down, and I'll go up in this tree, and pick a banana. And then I'll eat it."

This is very funny to her. She laughs so hard, her cheeks get red, her eyes get teary. And her look of accomplishment is so endearing and sweetly ridiculous, I crack up too.

I am pretty sure that all kids tell these kinds of jokes on their own. It's fascinating to watch someone learn humor and how to work a tough room.

The inevitable fall of Winter

When going down side streets, I've purposefully been hugging the curb. I've been stomping on the edges of snowbanks. I've had a tiny glint of evil glee in my eye for the past week.
I know that there's snow in the 5 day forecast, and I know it's only February. But LOOK.

Crocus reminds us that - even when the once "pretty snow"* gets grey and crusty - nature is still doing its job in the hard, cold ground. This picture was taken today. The kids and I are sick, and ventured out for a walk around the house, and then down the street 3 houses. That wore us out, but there was sun, and the sound of water trickling into storm sewers, and flower buds. Ah, the healing power of hope...

* I don't know... I hear some people saying it's pretty. I just can't see it.

supercalifragilistic...

First, sorry for the little bit of sibling yelling there. It's just kind of part of their script. And don't be fooled by Willa's very pathetic look. She got her solo earlier.
Second, I am not driving here.
Finally. Kid's got some pipes, eh?

Doop a dee doo

I have become a chronic liar to my children.
Willa and I just finished reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." While at Target, she saw the movie (the new version*) on sale. $5. Okay. So... we watched it, Henry joined us.
Tonight at dinner I proceeded to tell my kids how I used to be an Oompa Loompa. I told them that I was in charge of the coconut room where we had monkeys wearing backpacks scaling the trees to harvest the fruit. And then elephants would crack the coconuts on large rocks. Then hermit crabs would scrape the fruit from the shell.
Gracious their eyes were huge.
I can't help it. It's fun to unlock their imagination. Also, it cracks me up that they might believe it. I'll set them straight... someday.


*This version didn't have creepy Oompa Loompas, and the boat in the tunnel scene didn't give me the creeps, but I like Gene Wilder better as Willy Wonka better.

Church Christmas Eve Service

Our Church has finally posted the Christmas Eve Service on their YouTube Channel. If that sentence alone doesn't tell you that our church is a little... different, check out the pageant. It's a modern day, Grand Rapids-based retelling of the Christmas Story. If you watch the angels, you'll find a familiar face among the angels. The service is in 3 parts. Willa is at ~ minute 1 in the first part. If you just want a quick glimpse of adorable little girls dancing, watch part two, from one minute on.


Part 1:


Part 2: (this is our video. This part was edited out. Watch from about a minute on. Willa is front and to the right.)


Part 3:


Part 4:

Support from his sister.

Henry's Big Boy Underpants Dance

Henry is ready - I think - for potty training. He knows when he needs to go, he doesn't like a dirty or wet diaper on him. He has the capability to use the toilet. Dude is just a little... distracted with everything else to be reliable.
I'm taking it easy on him, and trying the big boy pants only when we're home for a long stretch. Mixed results.
Today we were at the Meijer Gardens, and he yelled out, "I NEED to use the potty!" We ran. He went. Willa was impressed (even though he's been doing this for -on and off- about 5 months now).
We got home, and she asked if she could go get a penny from her piggy bank. She wanted to give it to Henry as a reward for using the toilet.

A few Christmas notes and photos

Christmas was here last month, of course. I am a bit behind what with illness and the new little job and preparing the house to put it back on the market and all of the extras that came with Jim locking himself in the basement until his Masters Thesis was finished.

Pals, we all know that baby Jesus (above in the manger with the traditional puzzle piece animals and the often mentioned Christmas Skink) being born was a miracle. So was the completion of the Thesis. Jim finished it last week after months of toil: research reading, interviewing peers, surveying program participants, writing, writing, writing. All in a new APA format. I'm so proud of him. That was a mighty big mountain he climbed. I should call it a miracle, it was a lot of work and grit and Twizzlers that got us all through.

And there was so much JOY!

Actually, this is a new Christmas tree ornament for 2010. We got it to mark an important and fun moment for Willa. This year, she got to participate in our Church Christmas pageant. I'm still looking for some uploads on YouTube, so I can share some film clips, but here's a photo of our little angel.

And here are the two ornaments we picked for the kids this year.

Henry's bear is enjoying the wagon just as much as Henry enjoyed ours this summer.

Willa's bird is a Goldfinch. Just like the birds that frequented the birdfeeder outside our kitchen window. She loves them so much, she thanked God for the beautiful birds every night during prayers.

Listening in

Willa is "reading" a series of feelings-based books to Henry right now. This is what I'm overhearing.

When I'm mad...
... I jump up and down and try to break the earth
... I dress up like a carrot
... my mama says I can't paint on the walls
... I just go up in my tree house

When I feel glad...
... I give a big heart of love
... I pretend that I'm in the clouds
... I blow heart bubbles that are pink
... I feel baby kittens and it's so good

I love...
... look Henry, his heart flew out of his body, and now he's looking for it... looks like a monster

Facebook moments

A lot of moments that I may have recorded briefly here, instead when to a quick note on Facebook. Here are a few of the quick thoughts compiled by a pretty cool application.

Correction

Henry has a shirt that has dinosaur skeletons all over it. As he put his hands through the arm holes, I said, "I like this dinosaur shirt, buddy." His head popped out of the neck hole and he correct me: "they're fossils, mama."
I know that later in life that trait might get him pushed into middle school lockers, but at two, I find it charming.