Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Perspective

Peters boys
Last night as I was updating our budget spreadsheet, I got into one of those moods. The kind that begins with the thought, "Everyone else..." and ends in futile self-pity. This time around, the running theme was my kids:

Everyone else's kids get to play soccer and take swim lessons and take music lessons. Why is it so hard for us to find a way to afford it?

Everyone else's kids get to go to preschool. Where do they get the money for that?

Everyone else's kids get to wear nice clothes. Why do all of my kids' clothes have to come from the thrift store?

You get the picture...


This morning after dropping off the other four Peters at their respective Tuesday locations, I pulled up to a red light at a very busy intersection and spotted a tiny little boy across the street with his thumbs in the air and his arms waving frantically as if he were trying to flag down a car.

I switched lanes, crossed the street, and pulled up to the curb.

"My mommy is not home," he said, his voice quivering.

"Okay," I said, taking a quick breath. "Okay. I'm going to help you. Can you show me where your house is?"

He directed me to a tiny box of a house a short way down the street. Two cars were parked in the driveway, but when we knocked, no one answered.

I steered the boy past the broken glass littering the walkway that led to his house. He was barefoot and stunk like poop. "I'm going to take you to the police station, okay?" I said, strapping him into Rylan's carseat.

"Mmhm," he nodded, folding his arms in his lap. Except for that very first moment when he'd told me he was home alone, he was calm and quiet the whole time he was with me, never crying or complaining, never asking what was going on or where we were going. When I asked him a question, his replies were quick and to the point, but otherwise, he remained so silent, I could have forgotten he was there.


At the police station, I turned him over to an officer, and as I watched him walk away, never once glancing back at me, my chest filled with emotion. Not with affection for this boy I'd just met. Not with anger at his neglectful parents, whose story I don't know. But with heartbreaking sadness that a boy like him could exist and that there was so very little I could do.

I hope with all my heart that he had been taking a nap, and his mom, who'd been listening to the baby cry for an hour straight, had stepped out of the house for just a moment to walk the baby up and down the street, never imagining that her five-year-old would wake up and wonder where she was and would then run down the street desperate for someone to tell him where to find his mother.

I hope that's what happened, though I doubt it's so.

As I drove home, I thought about rushing to my boys' school, gathering them all up, and holding them so, so tightly. And as I stepped into my house, the tears still pooling in my eyes, I thought, "Erin Peters, you are a fool."

My kids are so lucky.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Meal Plan Week 13



cheesecake pops
Week 13 of the Peters Family Band 15-Week Meal Plan

Breakfast Options:
  • oatmeal, granola, toast, grits
  • yogurt, smoothies, or milk
  • cold cereal on the weekend
Lunch Options:
  • cheese sandwich, tuna sandwich, egg salad sandwich, peanut butter sandwich, quesadilla
  • blueberries, peaches, or bananas
  • water or watered down juice
Dinner

Monday: For Memorial Day, we're having kebabs and potato salad. Normally of course, on Mondays we have pizza.

Tuesday:
  • burritos
Wednesday:
Thursday:
  • fried rice
Friday:
  • omelets
  • toast
  • kale or swiss chard from the garden
Saturday:
  • I don't cook on Saturdays. We typically eat leftovers, pancakes, or order take-out.
Sunday: (Michael cooks)
  • Italian sausage soup

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Rylan taunts me while I'm doing yoga

"This is so easy!"


Rylan yogaRylan yoga

 "You should do this one!"


Rylan yogaRylan yoga

"I bet you can't do this!"


Rylan yogaRylan yoga
Okay, Rylan. You win.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Meal Plan Week 12



at marbles
 
Week 12 of the Peters Family Band 15-Week Meal Plan


Breakfast Options:
  • oatmeal, granola, toast, grits, strawberry muffins
  • yogurt, smoothies, or milk
  • cold cereal on the weekend
Lunch Options:
  • cheese sandwich, tuna sandwich, egg salad sandwich, peanut butter sandwich, quesadilla
  • strawberries, peaches, bananas, or applesauce
  • water or watered down juice
Dinner

Monday:
Tuesday:
  • nachos
Wednesday:
Thursday:
  • fried rice
    Friday:
    • fried eggs
    • toast
    • kale or swiss chard from the garden
    Saturday:
    • I don't cook on Saturdays. We typically eat leftovers, pancakes, or order take-out.
    Sunday: (Michael cooks)
    • kadu with sausage

    Sunday, May 20, 2012

    Eli Says...

    As I was making a strawberry tart this afternoon, I started mumbling, "The queen of hearts made a tart..."

    Eli says: "The queen of farts?"

    Wednesday, May 16, 2012

    Let's Take a Picture of Eli

     "Let me think of something funny..."

    Eli seven

    "How about like this?"

    Eli seven

    "Oh, here's a good spot."

    silly brothers

    "Ha, ha, now I've got it!"

    Eli seven

    Elijah Hawking, Age 7

    Eli seven

    Eli is a huge fan of Roald Dahl, so his birthday theme this year was "Eli and the Chocolate Factory." We made chocolate candies using candy molds, dipped pretzels in chocolate, and decorated sugar cookies. It was fun and also completely insane - 10 little boys hyped up on sugar.

    Eli at Seven Years Old
    • favorite color: red
    • favorite food: burritos
    • favorite dessert: mint brownies
    • favorite thing to do: ride his bike
    • favorite video game: Pokemon Water Blue
    • favorite subject in school: art
    • favorite book: any Roald Dahl book

    Monday, May 14, 2012

    Meal Plan Week 11




    Eli seven
    Week 11 of the Peters Family Band 15-Week Meal Plan

    Breakfast Options:
    • oatmeal, granola, toast, grits, english muffins
    • yogurt, smoothies, or milk
    • cold cereal on the weekend
    Lunch Options:
    • cheese sandwich, tuna sandwich, egg salad sandwich, peanut butter sandwich, quesadilla
    • strawberries, pineapple, banana, peaches, or applesauce
    • water or watered down juice
    Dinner

    Monday:
    Tuesday:
    • black bean enchiladas
    • salad
    Wednesday:
    • egg foo yung
    Thursday:
    Friday:
    • eggs on english muffins
    • kale or swiss chard from the garden
    Saturday:
    • I don't cook on Saturdays. We typically eat leftovers, pancakes, or order take-out.
    Sunday: (Michael cooks)
    • chicken quesadillas

    Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Meal Plan Week 10



    silly brothers
    Week 10 of the Peters Family Band 15-Week Meal Plan

    Breakfast Options:
    • oatmeal, granola, toast, grits, banana muffins
    • yogurt, smoothies, or milk
    • cold cereal on the weekend
    Lunch Options:
    • cheese sandwich, tuna sandwich, egg salad sandwich, peanut butter sandwich, quesadilla
    • strawberries, pineapple, banana, peaches, or applesauce
    • water or watered down juice
    Dinner

    Monday:
    Tuesday:
    • picadillo
    • baked sweet potatoes
    Wednesday:
    • stir fried greens with tofu
    Thursday:
    • scrambled eggs
    • toast
    • kale or swiss chard from the garden
    Friday:
    • tostadas
    Saturday:
    • I don't cook on Saturdays. We typically eat leftovers, pancakes, or order take-out.
    Sunday: (Michael cooks)
    • spaghetti
    • salad

    Saturday, May 12, 2012

    Music Lessons: Mother Falcon

    I've always had a hard time explaining to people what kind of music I like to listen to. Indie rock is such a broad, description-less category, and although I definitely have a soft spot for folk, what about those artists that are folk-like but not really folk, like Sufjan Stevens and Dry the River? Then one day I recognized the number one predictor of whether or not I'm going to like an album: Does it have violins?

    Call me an orchdork. I like violins.

    Are you familiar with the term "chamber pop?" It's a classification of music that combines elements of pop music with lush instrumentation (typically orchestral instruments such as strings and horns) as well as intricate melodies and layered harmonies. It turns out that a lot of the music I listen to can be labeled as chamber pop.

    Here's an extreme example of chamber pop that Michael found yesterday:


    The girl's voice at the beginning is kind of meh, so you've got to keep watching until about 1:30 before you're going to be like, "Yes!"

    MOTHER FALCON OFFICIAL

    Thursday, May 10, 2012

    Rylan Says

    Rylan: If Tortilla and Torterra were in a battle, who would win?

    Momma: If Rylan and Momma were in a battle, who would win?

    Rylan: Me

    Momma: But I'm stronger.

    Rylan: But I bite.

    Tuesday, May 1, 2012

    In the Garden

    Onions are definitely one of the coolest things I've ever grown because they tell you when they're ready to harvest. One day, the green stems are reaching for the sky, and the next, they've toppled over onto the ground. If you're like me, when you discover them, your first thought is, "What?" And then you remember that's what they're supposed to do, and it's time to harvest.

    I really should have taken a picture so you know what I'm talking about, but I was too excited. Look at these beauties!

    spring garden 2012

    We also have these:


    spring garden 2012

    10 seconds after I took this picture, that pea was in my belly.

    We have lettuce growing out the yin yang. The carrots look awesome. I may have planted them a little close together, but you know...Thinning is sad.

    spring garden 2012

    On the other side, I'm attempting potatoes. I have my doubts that anything is going on under all that bushiness, but either way, they make a pretty plant.

    spring garden 2012
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