Writers Notebook #3: Samantha

Samantha  

I am the one

who came to chaos

with patience and peace,

who reminds her of Jane-

As I stand, fierce & defiant, against injustice.

who likes understanding and creates order

with calendars and lists and checks

and yet-

I am the one

who likes to be just a little bit crazy

with silly glasses, funny faces, goofy songs.

who is willing to go out on a limb-

sometimes for a laugh, always for a friend.

I am the one

who sees through anger and hurt

to find my mistake,

who finds it easy to forgive,

but not so easy, the forgetting...

I am the one

who tries so hard

because nobody notices,

  I am Grace. 

Catching up... May birthdays

Mason turned 10 in May.

He still loves making bday cakes together.

This year he wanted a ninja cake.

This doesn't look as fabulous as it did in Family Fun but... 

he was happy

so 

I was happy...

He's really into BYU right now so he was happy to get a new BYU tshirt so he can be just like DAD during Football Season, wearing his shirt on Game Day

My kids are easily pleased.

Their own package of Goldfish crackers is a dream come true!

A new Football from Grandma and papa

Treats form his brothers and sisters

   

Samantha & Jacob splurged and got him a lego pack

I am always surprised and pleased when they spend their hard earned money on each other.

They don't get an allowance so they don't have oodles and oodles of their own money on hand all the time.

When they are generous and thoughtful with one another it makes me proud.

Samantha turned 12 in May as well.

We have terrible pictures- not a good one in the bunch!

 I put Jacob in charge of picture taking and made

the discovery that he is an AWFUL picture taker so Poor Samantha will always wonder what her 12th birthday was really like....

It was really her turn for a bday party this year... Mason too

but Carly's wedding and school overshadowed and I just couldn't make it happen.

Samantha also broke tradition this year with her cake...

When her big sisters turned 12 we made a "beehive" cake, something to signify her move into the Young Women's program but she wanted nothing to do with my beehive cake ideas..

It was another ice cream and oreo frozen cake for her this year.

I have 2 springform pans, a big one and a little one so they get their VERY OWN ice cream cake made in the small one and the rest of the family shares the big one.

Happy Birthday to my 2 littlest Boca's who are getting bigger and bigger and are so patient with the going's on in 2013 that overshadowed your birthdays.  

Thanks for understanding!

I will make it up to you someday

in a BIG way!

Just wait....

Too Cool For School

First day of School 2012

it's not that I was too busy to post or anything last year... I was just waiting, on purpose, so I could do this awesome comparison post...

"Then and now"

Samantha Grace 6th grade

Mason 4th Grade

Jake 8th grade 

and....

trying on

cool

Don't know what happened to Rachel's 11th grade First day of School... 

First day of School 2013

But here she is as a Senior!
My most driven, most goal-oriented, most serious child.

 Rachel 12th grade

the hardest working student I know.  She always says People think I'm smart but I'm not smart, I just work really, really hard!
I tell her " THAT's WHAT SMART IS!!!!"

Most of my kids are exactly 2 years apart... Because there is an uncharacteristic 3 yr gap between these 2 they haven't been in the same school for 6 years since she was in 6th and he in 3rd in elementary school.  With Jr. high and high school being 3 yrs each, she leaves the year he enters.  They are the closest friends and wish so much that could be different.

 Here's Jacob 9th grade

40 lbs heavier and 4 inches taller than the last first day of school 2012... 

 The glasses are new ones but essentially, the same look... 

He likes his Aviators.

 The hair has changed from the unicorn horn to the wave and he is still a great around the house helper and my happiest all around kid. He always makes me smile.
Lately it's been his "welcome to Nam" oneliners

 This year he and Samantha will be walking together as 7th and 9th graders

 Mason 5th grade

My lone elementary school attendee

Can't believe he's in 5th grade AND doing his hair!!!!!

 Can't believe I only have one left at Geneva.  

He is my cuddlebug and my charmer

Funny...
She was wearing blue pants on the first day 2012 too!

 Samantha Grace 7th grade
She is my thinker ahead
my best helper
and
my planner

 She went to school a day earlier than everyone else for 7th grade day.

 She has grown a few inches since last year too in height and hair length! 

She is excited about 7th grade and a little apprehensive too.  Jake was so sweet to take her to OJH and walk her around to help her find all of her classes and help her practice her locker the week before school started.  That helped alleviate her anxiety.

Rachel really wanted to walk her to class on the first day.  

She's lucky to have an older brother and sister to show her the ropes.  

Jake has promised to watch out for her and take care of any "problems"

such a boy! 

Here's to

newness

anxiety

excitement

pencils 

binders 

new faces

old faces 

rulers

books 

and 

whiteout!

Proof that the internet doesn't know everything but Mom still does!

Today Samantha and her friend Jisel came to ask me a question....

"mom... we want to know if this word is good to use....

We looked it up on the internet and it says it is a bundle of sticks but some of the kids at school are always calling each other it.... why would they call each other a bundle of sticks?"

me: What's the word?

Samantha/Jisel:  "faggot"

me: NO.... that is not a good word.  It means a homosexual man and it's a mean word for it like the N-word  is for a black person so I would NOT suggest you call people that or use that word at all"

Samantha/Jisel:  "Oh man! the internet did NOT tell us that"  

It's always good to be reaffirmed in the eyes of your children as all-knowing, powerful and smarter than the internet.  

Today was a good day!

(And 2 1/2 hrs ago, I just finished my last college math class ever!!! That is 4.... count'em FOUR math classes since last August....  Another reason it's a GREAT DAY!)

11 eleven 11 eleven 11 eleven 11 eleven 11

May 18, 2012

11

After the birthday kid goes to bed on their birthday eve...
I decorate and set out the cake.
Samantha chose a strawberry, oreo, vanilla ice cream cake so there was no cake to set out!
It had to stay safe in the freezer, so I tried to make her presents fancy by putting them on glass pedestals I made out of gobles, glass boxes, salad dressing cruets and glass plates.  She seemed to like it.

There was a lot going on on her birthday, I waited so long to post that I can't remember now what they all were but I think one was a prom predate thing and we knew it was going to be hard to get us all together in the evening of her birthday to open presents so we decided to go for it at 6am at scripture study.  We didnt' get much scripture study in that morning but we had a good time altogether as a family.

One of the things going on that day was taking Samantha to the doctor to check her wrist to see if it was broken.  She had been playing in the sprinklers with her brothers and neighbors 2 days before and slipped and fell on the cement.  It was still pretty painful so we wanted to check it out.

After an x-ray we found out that it was not broken but was badly sprained and they put her in a wrist brace.  It's been slow to heal.  She's just now starting to take off the brace and trying to go part of the day without to build strength.  

She got a new dress... (that she picked out with me)

a bracelet kit (thanks grandma Donna)

a new shirt... (that she picked out with me)

New earrings.... (that she picked out with me)

& her own bag of TWISTED Cheetos...

(one of the few surprises)
In our family of 5 children, getting your own bag of namebrand anything is a really big deal...

Mason was so sweet.  A few weeks before her birthday, he found a pretty little jewelry box at the dollar store.  It was quite pretty for a dollar store bauble.  He oohed and aahed and said "Samantha would just LOVE this!!!!! We have to get it for her!!!! "
We did.  I gave him a loan and it was a done deal.
He was so excited about it and tried to give it to her early several times-
I had to remind him that it's important to wait for the big day so the big day is special.

She was appropriately impressed

which pleased him to no end.

She said "it's perfect for my new earrings!"

Carly had also noticed her talking about those HUGE boxes of goldfish crackers at Winco....

and made her cheesy crunchy dreams come true.

Now not only her own bag of cheetos but her own giant box of goldfish crackers too???!!!!

How could the day get any better I ask?

She had requested a special omelet after seeing her dad cook one for me for Mother's day.  Mushrooms, onions, peppers, cheese.  YUM.

She got to eat off fancy dishes by candlelight 

(even though it was morning.... candles make everything taste better!)

and the cake.  Not as fancy as years past but yumm... ice cream and oreos.  

Neither one of my May babies pressed for a friend party this year.  I felt a little guilty not offering  but.....

not guilty enough to offer.