The Kiddie Table

I can clearly remember when I was a kid how we would have the "kiddie" table at most family events.  I can also clearly remember that awkward time when I felt like I was too old to be there, but too young to sit with the adults.  What a dilemma for the oldest child to face !  

Well, my poor niece will be 15 in a few days and she has VERY little choice in the matter.  My son and daughter would NOT be happy if their two big cousins didn't sit with them at the little table during any family get-together.  It wasn't until I looked at this picture later on that night, that I realized how completely ridiculous she looks.  Oh, how I love her !  

First Big Girl Sleepover !

All packed up and ready to go.....our little girl had her first SUCCESSFUL sleepover at Nouna's house !  You know, the kind where you are up checking your phone every half hour and you are half dressed in bed because you are completely prepared to have to go pick her up at 2 a.m. !  But this time, she made it !  Of course, she is already asking for another one !

Great Lent with my Little Ones

Sunday of Orthodoxy

As most Orthodox Christians, I eagerly await this spiritual journey through Great Lent.  What an awesome gift !  But as my children start to become a little older, I begin to wonder how can I make it mean something to them...in their own little way.  I thought about a calendar, like the ones sold HERE.  It looks wonderful and I think it's a great idea.  But in our house, that presents a few challenges.  Sophia is REALLY into all things letters and numbers.  Prices, sizes, bar codes, grocery flyers, microwave clocks, etc.  I have had to put our Melissa and Doug calendar away for a little while because she was "missing the point" of the daily flow of things and only interested in manipulating the numbers, moving them around, etc.  Along with that, we have a more pertinent issue....which is Demetrios !  There is NO WAY those cute little magnets would stay on the refrigerator in ANY sort of order !  I think next year, when they are 5 and 3 years old, it might be a better idea !
So, I sat down with the kids on Clean Monday (the first Monday of Lent) and explained (mostly for Sophia's benefit of course) the fact that we were starting this period of Lent.  I kept the conversation fun and simple.  I reminded her of Pascha last  year - and then began to add this period of preparation to her explanation.  I explained that we'd be changing the rhythm of things in the home a bit.  Any new plan seems to excite them, so this is good !

We have added some additional prayers and prostrations to our morning prayer time.  We've also added times throughout the day for the Jesus Prayer.   The kids seem to be enjoying this even more than I had anticipated - Glory be to God.   I try to find a time during the day for them to at least SIT somewhere near me while I read aloud my assigned Kathismata from the Psalter for the Psalter reading group.  Of course, there are the extra Church services which they notice right away! They are trying (and being reminded...CONSTANTLY) to act with LOVE toward one another, not to yell or hit, to share more, donate some of their things, etc. etc.    I think seeing their little efforts in this area is my favorite.  We enjoy listening to the Hymns of this time in both Greek and English.  I think our favorite is Gates of Repentance.  If you have have not listened to it, I cannot recommend it enough !  Sophia has also been trying to teach her little brother to chant the Christos Anesti (Christ is Risen)...so she is taking over some of the teaching around here too.

So, these are some of the things we are trying to do a little differently around here to make this period stand out a bit for our children, at their own level of understanding, without overwhelming them.

If you have young children (or maybe they are older now)..what kind of things did you do during this time to make it meaningful and help them to understand ?

Donor Match (update)

As I previously posted, my sweet Uncle is suffering with cancer and in need of a Bone Marrow Transplant.     The good news is that is appears a match (anonymous donor) has been found.  The bad news is that my Uncle is unable to receive this transplant at this time.  He must undergo yet ANOTHER sickening round of  chemotherapy - because his blood is not in the condition that it must be in order for the transplant to be successful.  The condition of his liver is also deteriorating and will be a concern.  After this current blast of chemo, if successful, the surgical team will have to re-evaluate his condition to determine whether or not he gets the transplant.

Please keep him in your prayers.

Depends on the day....

It's either his "kalimafki" or his "Bishop hat"....he comes up with this stuff by himself which really only adds to my chuckles !

Daybook Entry

Outside my window

Dark and cool.  I am enjoying some quiet time all to myself.  

Currently reading

Gosh !  Lots of library books for Sophia.  That's the first thing that came to my mind !  She has me carrying armloads of books home from the public library this week.  She is really enjoying having me read the stories to her...and is showing such a great interest in them (and in learning to read too)!
Me?  I've really got to carve some time out to read more.  I was always an avid reader.  A bookworm of sorts.  One of my favorite places to go was the bookstore.  I don't get there often and when I do, I usually spend my time replacing all of the books that my son takes off of the shelves (which is what I do at the library too, come to think of it).  Having kids greatly changes things.  But I do wish I could find the time to read more.  I have even thought of getting a Kindle; maybe something  "new and different" that would sort of spark and force me to find the time to read.
I recently picked up the book by Fr. John of Kronstadt again...as "life" interrupted me the first time I tried to read it.  

I am thankful

for a wonderful and faithful friend....who had enough LOVE for me to challenge my COMPLETE FAITH in GOD in most difficult aspects of my life.  

From the kitchen

Well, "kinda" from my kitchen...but really from my Mac - is a new recipe program/app.  YUMMYSOUP!  I have really been struggling to find a convenient way to organize most of my recipes. Books, papers, cards, bookmarked websites, etc...just a mess.  I decided to give it a try since it was 50% off when the Mac App store opened up.  I love it !  It is so easy to use (aren't all things Mac?) and pleasing to the eye as well.  I am still migrating everything over in my "spare" time.  

I am thinking
about my Uncle who is in need of a bone marrow transplant. 

I am listening to

my husband rip the coupons out of the paper....grocery shopping day is tomorrow !  

I am creating

fun, accessible, playful rooms for my children.  It's funny because when they were "smaller", everything in their room was OUT OF REACH.  Cute little knick-knacks, glass frames, all sorts of senseless decor...beautifully placed out of reach.  More for the adults to look at really.  Now, I am constantly moving things around or adding things to make their room more "child-friendly".  They both have little desks/tables to draw (and plenty of washable crayons for Demetri), little reading nooks, play kitchens, mirrors at their height.  I am sure I will get used to it, but everytime I walked through their rooms today I would catch a glimpse of only my KNEES in the mirrors !  Fun stuff !  

A few plans for the rest of the week

Plans !  ha !  I'm not sure why I bother but we do have some sketchy plans laid out.  Playtime with a friend, storytime at the library, exercise and play at the Y, gymnastics class, Liturgy, pitching lesson appointments....and preparing for a little roadtrip. We depart Friday morning.  So, no plans - but a very busy week of course !

Beauty in the home/Around the house
I am not sure it is noticeable yet, but i have been attempting to de-clutter some more around the house.  My father has installed shelves in our hall/coat closet so that I can use it for storage instead of coats !   It is working out great and now I am moving on to other areas of the house to organize and utilize my new space.  On a daily basis, I have been trying to have the kids help me straighten the living area and kitchen so that at least ONE part of the house feels peaceful upon entering.  I'm sure there is nothing worse for my husband than walking through the front door after work and seeing a chaotic mess.  I remember my own mother would say that if the kitchen was neat and orderly than it gave a certain peace to the home.  She was right.  Our kitchen when I was growing up was large and the center of our house, so if it was a mess then the whole place seemed disorderly.  

The Domestic Church
The children are participating more and more in our morning prayers and it is becoming a nice time of our day.  It started out were I would just have them in the room while I prayed, as long as they were quiet they could sit on the bed or read a book, etc.  I don't really even think I noticed as things changed, it just seamlessly started to all come together.  They "read" their own prayers and chant, ask me to pray for certain people, venerate the icons, etc.  I try to keep the time we are together there relatively short, as they are only 4 and 2...but sometimes I don't realize it and they are still with me and I have finished an entire Akathist to the Mother of God in addition to our morning prayers.  (Don't get me wrong, there are many times I am chasing them into the kitchen to bring them back in my room...but we need to celebrate the positive, right?)  We have also provided them with icons that are hung on the wall at THEIR  height in our room.  I really think this has helped them participate more.  Even at non-specific times during the day I can find one of them in there doing metanoia and venerating the Icons.  What a blessing. Glory to God for all things.  

In the garden
Sophia and I have been talking about what we are going to plant this year...she has her own ideas, of course.  I plan to keep it simple again, very similar to last year.  It was a great experience for all of us - but I am not sure we are ready to expand anytime soon.  We also do not have any more areas that get enough sun for a full garden.  We will need to clean out our gardening box and get the necessary items.  

One of my favorite things
I love sitting on the couch with the children at night, reading them stories.  

Sophia
The little lady has been going to gymnasics for a few months now and just loves it.  I am so glad that she has found something that she really enjoys.  She goes to her class once per week and starts asking me "how many more days?" the very next morning after class.  

Demetrios
My little man is getting "so big".  He is now in a toddler bed, as we have decided to get rid of his crib.  It has been almost a month and it is going fairly well.  He has to be returned to his room a few times per night...but it's getting better. Well, last night WASN'T better - but I am going to chalk that up to the fact that he just wasn't tired enough to sleep.  I think he came out of his room 85 times in a 3 hour time period.  I couldn't even keep my eyes open anymore so eventually he just slept with me anyway.  

Picture though to share

BE THE MATCH

My uncle has been diagnosed with MDS (a type of blood cancer).  The chemotherapy is not working at this point so he needs a bone marrow transplant. My mother is his only sibling and was thought to be his best chance for a match.  We have recently learned that her screening came back and she is not close enough to be a match for a transplant.   For a moment, this took the wind out of our sails.  But my sweet and strong Uncle is continuing the fight, thanks be to God.  


Sloan Kettering is looking through the registry for potential bone marrow donors.  I registered tonight.  If you register, they will send you a "kit" for you to perform a simple mouth swab.  If it looks like you could possibly be a potential donor, they would follow up with a blood test.   If the blood test is positive, then you would either be a peripheral stem cell donor (just a simple blood draw) or bone marrow donor (which is outpatient, but done under anesthesia and they collect liquid marrow with a needle into your pelvic bone).   

If it is in your heart  to register, go to BE THE MATCH  By doing so,  you will actually be in the registry for all of those in need, not only my Uncle.   After the testing,  you can change your mind at any time and take your name off the registry.  If you do register, you can choose to send me your registry # and his Doctor can specifically check to see if you're a match for my Uncle.  Anyone could be a possible match, but because race and ethnicity play a good role in this, the best match would be someone from northern European background (Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, etc.).  To register you must be between 18-60 years of age and in good health.  The website above has a lot of good information and should answer any of your questions.  



"With God all things are possible".