First Communion

Last Sunday Harry celebrated his First Communion. It was almost his Second Communion, but luckily Erick snatched the wafer out of Harry's hand (a few weeks ago) after the Pastor had given it to him thinking he was old enough. Pheww... Anyway, it was a very nice Spring day and we had family with us to witness the special event.

For Harry, the First Communion experience was a little bit disappointing. Sure he got new clothes and was the center of attention. Yes, he got to go out to a nice brunch and receive some presents. The disappointment came in that when he received the Communion meal he was given grape juice not wine. It was the first thing he said going back to sit down and I have heard about it many times since. I'm not sure what it says about my parenting that my son's anticipation of First Communion was more like being excited to turn "21". Oh well, we do our best, right?

When Becca had her First Communion, I established a tradition of having family and friends writing notes to her and putting them into a scrapbook for her to reflect on when times are hard and she feels unloved. I created a book for Harry too and below is the note I wrote to him...

Harrison-

When I think of what makes you special and different from others, I think of your drive and dedication to learn new things. You have always had a passion for learning, which I think will serve you well your entire life.

One thing that I want you to remember is that you don't have to learn new things overnight. Attaining new skills takes time and practice. You have a tendency to want to know how to do things "right now". When you were 4 years old and learning to write your whole name, you were very frustrated that you couldn't make your "W' in Rowe correctly. You told me (in a very serious 4 year old voice) that you were going to change your last name to "Rome". I explained that in time you would be able to make a "W" and I didn't think changing your name was necessary. And in time you learned...

At the tender age of 5, you began to play the piano. You have always had a love of music. When you were a baby, you loved watching the mobile above your cradle, while listening to the music it played. I can remember how frustrated you became when you first started playing the piano. It was hard to remember the notes, it was difficult to stretch your little fingers to play the chords, and it never seemed to sound like when your teacher played the song. And in time it became easier...

Over the last 11 years you have created high expectations for yourself. You set your goals high and you go after what you want. When you went to Clover Ridge Elementary, you set a goal of getting all A's (only A's no A-'s you said) and you achieved that by your second report card. Keep in mind that some goals might take longer to achieve than others. That doesn't mean you should get angry and give up. Remember to learn along the way. Losing and failing can sometimes provide the biggest life lessons. And in time you will succeed...

As you approach your teen years, it is important to remember the lesson learned in "The Tortoise and the Hare": Slow and steady wins the race. Life is not about how fast you learn how to do things, it is about HOW you do them. Do what you do with passion. Do what you do with a commitment to quality. Do what you do with a focus on how it will help others. Keep this in mind with school, with friendships, and also family. And in time you will understand...

My little boy is growing up!

iHad a great day...

Who would think that getting up at 5am could be so much fun? You may not know this about me, but I am not really a morning person, but on Saturday I decided to wake up super early and wait in line for a new toy. Another thing you may not know about me...I am never the first to get new electronic gadgets. Our tv is not HD (or flat), I have only had an ipod for about a year, and I am surviving just fine with a regular dvd player. We are practical and dare I say thrifty in most cases, but on Saturday I ditched that image for one that is a lot more fun and spontaneous. I waited in line for the new iPad! I arrived at Southdale mall at 6am, scoping out where to wait. I was a little surprised that I didn't see a line of people outside since I had heard a lot of hype of Mac crazed enthusiasts that will camp out when new products arrive. I picked a door and began to wait. Within a few minutes, others began to arrive. I was surprised how friendly the people I met were. We began to kill time by chatting about what the new iPad would be like, plotting how we would beat possible people who might be camped at other doors to the Apple store when the mall doors opened, and discussing what lines were like at other Apple locations such as the Mall of America. At one point, our little group formed a pact and I felt a little like a contestant on Survivor. The second person in line said when we ran down to the apple store when the mall doors opened we would stay in the same order as we had arrived at our door. And that is how I became first in line (of the non reserved) for the new Apple iPad.



7am- Now as we waited directly in front of the Apple store inside the mall, the anticipation began to grow even stronger. People waiting had now been divided into two distinct lines; those who had pre-ordered and those (like me) who had not. The people who had preordered looked relaxed, yet excited. They knew that they would receive an iPad for sure. Our line was a little more anxious. Sure, we were at the front of the line, but the Apple employees wouldn't disclose how many iPads they had for people who had not reserved. The Apple employees stood in front of the two lines and held their morning rally meeting saying, "Look at our loyal customers who have reserved our product and look at others who want a chance to purchase our product." I knew I was with people I didn't normally associate with when the man in line on the reserved side said, " I haven't waited in line for something for awhile. Not since the 'Fellowship of the Ring' movie came out." I think I might have been the only one in line on either side who has never seen those movies. Also, did I mention I was one of 4 women in line? Definitely not the majority.

8am- More Apple employees come marching down the mall hallway clapping and hollering. Now there appears to be about 50 employees in front of the store! I guess if you work in an Apple store there were no requests off allowed for April 3rd. The Apple manager announces that in 25 minutes the store would be unveiled (all this time there are black curtains hung over the windows of the store so you couldn't see inside) and everyone would have their first look at the iPad. Who knew there would be such dramatic buildup?

8:25am- The black curtains are released from the windows and the iPads are visible in the store. There are two iPads hanging from wires in the display windows and there are numerous posters throughout the Apple store identifying the iPad's cool features. The Apple manager makes another loud announcement stating that in just 35 minutes they would be selling a device with the most outstanding technology currently available. All of the Apple employees march through the open glass doors of the store clapping and cheering. Okay, now I officially feel like a geek...

8:58am- The Apple employees approach the reserved line and begin to let people into the store to make the iPad purchase. They let in about 35 people. I can see now that the ratio of reserved to non reserved iPads will be great.

9am- I am guided into the Apple store and hailed as the first non reserved customer allowed to purchase an iPad. My line cheers. I must admit, I felt pretty special. But like I told Bella after she had her fingers and toes painted at the nail salon, "It's only a very special treat. Don't get used to it..."

A Long Time Ago...

Ask Harry how he has spent Spring Break and he will tell you that he has spent most of it going to school. That is not entirely true, but it does carry a flavor of the truth. On Tuesday, he shadowed at his new school for next year, Eagle Ridge Academy. I am happy to say that he thought it was a good school and that he is looking forward to going next year. He is still a little turned off by the uniforms you have to wear, but I think that will go away in time. He did tell me that he saw many kids with their shirts not tucked in and he plans to NOT tuck in his shirt too! Ahh..the small rebellions of kids...

Yesterday, Harry and Bella spent the morning at a one room school house learning what it was like to attend school as a pioneer child in the late 1800's. Bella was very excited to wear her "Laura Ingalls" costume that her Grandmother made her for last Halloween. Harry wore one of the vests they had available at the school for boys to dress up in. The kids had so much fun! It took place at the Gibbs Museum in St. Paul. The teacher was "Miss Lake". She taught the kids lots of things in short amount of time. The children learned how to stand up properly by their desk when they answered a question, how to make recite a reading from the board, and they had a reading lesson on the front bench in school by grade. The science lesson for the day was outside and they learned about making maple sugar from maple trees with sap. At the end of the program the children did a spelling bee for the parents. One thing I noticed is that Bella seemed to have a much harder time hearing with the bonnet on her head. It covered her implants and I'm sure it cut down on the sound getting to her. Also, the one room schoolhouse didn't have very good acoustics. Still, she loved it. I was thankful that it wasn't where she really went to school!

Minnesota has been having a bit of May this week. Temps have been in the mid to upper 70's. On Wednesday the kids and I went to the park and they played. It was so nice to read a book outside in shorts and a t-shirt! I think it's going to be a warm summer...

Splish, Splash, no water for the bath...

Here is a link to an article about a recent endeavor Becca and some classmates participated in. Read all about it! It was in the local paper.

www.chaskaherald.com/sites/chaskaherald.com/print_edition/jpg/pnt-03-18-10-p06.jpg

Be Prepared...

I must preface this post by saying that I am an emotional person. I cry at Extreme Home Makeover, Hallmark commercials, and sappy Lifetime movies. That being said, I wasn't prepared for being emotional last night as Harry bridged from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. I mean after all, Boy Scouts is far from being sappy. And yet, when the lights went down and they started to beat the drum in the "Arrow of Light" ceremony, the tears started to stream from my eyes. It was very official and ceremonial. Real arrows were handed to the boys and then plaques were given to them by their leaders as a gift so they could mount their new arrows. I was super glad about the plaque because I was unsure what we would do with the arrow. An arrow in Harry's room without a purpose could lead to bodily harm.

After the "Arrow of Light" ceremony, the boys had to walk across a wooden bridge to symbolize their move on to Boy Scouts. I had to walk on the bridge with Harry and halfway across, I had to take off his cub scout neck scarf, while two boy scouts stood on either side of him and put on his new boyscout shoulder tags (I'm sure there is an official term for these, but I'm not sure what it is). Erick had to travel at the last minute to Boston, so I was left to handle this emotional moment on my own. Becca was not feeling well, so Bella was left to take pictures of the event. She was so cute with the huge camera, trying her best to capture memories. I have included one of her pictures and I will leave it to you to figure out which one she took.

After it was all said and done, all I could think was there is no way I'm making it through high school graduations.

Well, I'd Like to Visit the Moon...

Today was History Day for Bella. All of the kids in her class chose a topic to research a few weeks ago and today they put them up in the class for parents/family to come visit. We had been working on a space unit the last month (in homeschool) and Bella was really interested in the moon, so she chose to do her research on Neil Armstrong. She did a very nice job! She drew a picture of the moon and she also used a book to write down interesting facts about Neil Armstrong. I even learned something from her research. Apparently, the famous quote of Neil Armstrong, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," was supposed to be, "one small step for a man", but the "a" got lost in the transmission. Bella worked very hard to copy words out of her book. Over the last few months, copying has become a little easier for her, but the process of looking up and down and not losing her place or forgetting various letters in words is still a struggle.

Some of the kids dressed up in costumes to add some flair to their research. Harry made her a "space suit" out of a white shirt which was just like the one he wore for Destination Imagination. Bella was so proud of her shirt! Two other children in her class studied Neil Armstrong also. One of them had a full orange NASA suit that he had received for Christmas. Bella was pretty impressed by his suit, but she still liked her shirt the best!

Time Flies

Wow, February kind of flew by! Can't believe that March is here is already, but happy with the hope of warm temperatures.

Let's see what have the Rowes' been up to the past few weeks?

Last Friday was the carnival at Harry's school. It was quite the event. Games and food everywhere! One thing that seems to have changed in the carnival scene since I went to school: a trend toward a more "store like" atmosphere. Sure, there were the little prizes given out at the various games, but the really good prizes? Those were at the "ticket store". Kids could trade 10-50 tickets in for items such as giant nerd glasses, Scooby Doo dogs on a leash, and superballs the size of your hand that were filled with glitter and lit up. Not sure if you can read too much into the ticket store, but it does seem to reflect a little on the "instant gratification" and the "bigger is better" mentality of our society.

My time has been spent at the gym lately. I am happy to say that I am still working on my New Year's resolution. I am bound and determined to get in shape. I turn 40 in a year and kind of feel like if I don't do it now, it may never happen. Over the last month and a half I have discovered how much time and energy getting in shape takes. Not fun, but hopefully worth it in the end.

Also in my spare time (insert laugh here), I am helping to start a Venturing Crew with Becca's best friend's father. Venturing is a part of Scouts that is for girls and boys 14 and up and focuses on leadership. Learning as I go, but it seems like a good program for Becca to develop important life skills. Will share more as it goes along. We have a first meeting next Friday to share more information with girls and boys interested in joining.

Bella has spent the last week delivering all the girl scout cookies she sold. She has been a trooper, but has discovered that selling them was easier than the delivery process. Also, she gave up dessert for Lent so she is disappointed that she has to wait another month before she can enjoy the ones we bought. Also, regarding Lent...Becca gave up her Ipod touch, and Harry gave up his Wii again. In our house the Easter Bunny always brings something related to what you gave up, which seems to encourage my children. For better or worse, I guess...

Well, I'm off to continue clean up in the backyard. The 40 degree temps have been nice, but have also uncovered the dog poop that was easy to ignore under the snow the last few months. YUCK! And I can't even have my favorite Shamrock shake at McDonald's to motivate me!