Buddha, my son

This may seem like a strange addition to a Christian household. But these Buddhas are not for worship, but in commemoration. DS has been called our Buddha since he was born. Our first child DD was extremely intense. I could barely put her down. She was very intense and demanded attention. When DS came along, things were so different. It seemed impossible that they could share DNA. DS was quiet, placid. I used to joke that I could have left him in the corner and left him for days without a problem (not that I would ever do that). His serenity has continued as he has grown. He has a palpable peace about him that is contagious. Thus, he became our Buddha. DD was the first person to gift us with an actual Buddha to commemorate him. Then DS and I found the second one. I dare say you can’t call it a collection, but I’m sure we’ll add more in the coming years as they bring me great delight and are like having a picture of his soul as opposed to his face.

To see other’s special items, visit:

"You're Fine,Don't Worry About It" - Famous Last Words

Whew, Haven’t sat down since Saturday except for meals ----It’s been a swirling dervish: Picked up my sister and her family at the airport, went to church, had a family picnic,



visited Old Sturbridge Village,


went to Higgins Armory, and now as my sister and her family went to Mystic to visit other family, I’m spending the day getting my poor son’s arm checked out after falling off his scooter on Sunday. Poor DS slid on a patch of grass on the drive way. He was a little scratched up and certainly sore, but we didn’t think too much of it. He was relatively calm. We cleaned him up and iced his arm. We actually had a nurse friend at the house that evaluated the situation and thought it was borderline case. She, like I, thought we could continue to monitor the situation. By that evening, his complaints were more of the wrist than the elbow. The next day, we wrapped the arm and iced it again that night. He seemed to be doing ok, but when it didn’t seem better Tuesday and he had limited left to right movement of the hand, I thought if it isn’t significantly better by tomorrow that I needed to make a doctor’s appointment. So this morning, I did so. One doctor’s visit and an x-ray later, we found out that he has an undisplaced fracture of the proximal radial metaphysic, otherwise known as a broken elbow. Of course the orthopedist at our hospital is on vacation, so I’m currently waiting for a call back from another orthopedist.

Of course, one of our friends on Facebook commented, "Go figure - He can go on numerous high adventure hikes/canoe trips, etc. with no injury, but breaks his elbow at home."

Kiss it and make it all better please, Mom

When kids are little and they are hurt, we can so easily make it all better as they get older the process becomes harder if not impossible. I remember my babies getting there very first immunizations. The shot brought wails and cries, but mommy could quickly nurse them and the world was right. When they were a little older, kisses and Band-Aids could make the world right again. Today, my poor son found out that he has to undergo immunotherapy for an allergy to yellow jackets and white faced hornets. The testing entailed enough shots, but he braved his way through it. Unfortunately, now that the allergy has been confirmed, the poor thing has to undergo a shot a week for twelve weeks and then every two weeks, every three weeks, and so on until we get to six weeks which he will need to continue for 5 years and then, even then, it is not necessarily better, but he just has to be tested again to see how his body reacts. Oh, how I wish I could make it all better.

Every moment can be a teachable moment

DS has a propensity to notice things: sometimes the smaller, the more likely he is to see it. When we left Big Y the other day, he tugs on my sleeve like an excited toddler although he is almost a teenager, “Mom, Mom – look”. There a moth of no more than an inch long was posed on the rock pillar holding up the overhang. DD had passed it without a second look and was almost at the car. Frankly, I would have blown right by it. But DS was attracted by its bright colors. The interesting part of this encounter was that it was concluded by him suggesting homework. “Mom, we have to go home and find out what kind of moth this is.”

Unfortunately, our internet connection was not working that day and so we had to put our search off. Later that afternoon he came by a snake in the backyard and was reminded of his interest in classifying, but the internet still was not corrected. Fortunately, DH called Comcast and they sent a repairman out over the weekend, but I wasn’t home to help with the search as I was camping with the Girl Scouts. When I came home on Sunday, my DS greeted me with a hug and helped unload the car. I thought it was all very sweet. It wasn’t for a few moments that I realized his ulterior motive. “Mom, can we look up that moth and snake now.” So to the computer we went. This is what we found out:
Rosy Maple Moth
Eastern Ribbon Snake

Now why can’t he remember his homework like that????

Pokemon with PokeMOM

Have you been introduced to the Pokemon nation? DS loves all things Pokemon. He collects cards and plays it online. He begs for later and later bedtimes so that he can see Pokemon shows and movies.

Each character has a name. They are all very strange: Mantyke, Croagunk, Skorupi, Hippopotas. And then some “evolve” into more advanced characters:

Munchlax - - -Snorlax
Gible - - -Gabite - - -Garchomp
Happiny - - - Chansey - - -Blissey
Mime Jr. - - -Mr. Mime
Bonsly - - -Sudowoodo

It is more complicated than I can possibly understand. Some are rare. Each character has HP (health), attack, defense, special attack, special defense, speed. You can even find out their height and weight, type and ability. All this information tells you how they combat each other. I could not explain this if I tried, but it got me thinking that there may be pokemon in my very own home. I know that I have seen a DOGUSHAIRIUS, who can evolve into a UNNYBUSTY if not battle quickly enough and maybe into a TUMBYEEDS. They are very, very dangerous and multiply easily. They can only be combated by SUCKELETROSIS or OOBROOM. I’ve also seen a UNA OKSOC evolve to a NAUDRYL and to its most fearsome form MONTS Y MONTS.

Sometimes it seems there is only one super rare POKEMOM that can save us all. She does have the ability to have babies that can assist her in the battles, but sometimes the hatchlings cause the evolution of the evil that she battles. Without these tiny BABIBS, the evil ones can be kept in control, but with them sometimes the dangers spiral and grow beyond reason.

I think I am really getting this game down.

Well, I think I better throw my Pokeball, “NOCHELEEP SI!” If I’m lucky he’ll get the kids ready for bed and tucked in. He’ll gain such power from his battle that he’ll evolve to WALKI CANINI to walk the dogs and then in his final evolution OUTOUSE LOCSED. He’ll spin his way through the house finishing up the chores so that PokeMOM can retire to her Pokeball.

If this inspires you, let me know about any PokeMOM villains that you encounter in your home.