Danger in the Chicken Coop

For the past week, BuBu hasn't slept through the night. (I can't keep track of names...so, let's go with the most current version of their nicknames, ok? BuBu is 1, a little girl, and just about as sassy as they come.) First she woke up at 4am for a few days, then midnight for a few days. She doesn't take a nap, most days, and falls asleep between 9 and 9:30pm. Unfortunately for me, I'm a night owl and use post-bedtime-time to rush through chores around the house or things to be done on the computer that require the use of all of my attention. This means, I fall asleep around midnight, get woken up at some point (staying with her between 45 minutes and two hours), and then the alarm goes off at 7:30am so I can get my Kindergartner off to school on time. (My resolve to let him finish the year in the public school system wanes by the day. MAMA NEEDS SLEEP.)

Last night, as we were turning out the lights, I joked to Lo Gung, "I wonder how long I get to sleep before she wakes me up??!" With the prospect of interrupted sleep looming, it took me a while to settle down...but, eventually, I did.

At 4am, I was jolted awake. I lay there, but couldn't hear any crying. Then I heard another noise. A sort of screaming and chuckling sound. I realized several things very quickly. 1) It was my chickens making that noise. 2) It was 4am, and they had no reason to be awake. 3) They only make that noise when in mortal danger.

I jumped out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt and socks, and ran down the stairs. I flipped on the backyard lights and looked out the window. I couldn't see all my chickens, but I could see a large possum in the corner of the run, calmly examining the fence and trying to find a way out.

I ran back to the kitchen to find a flashlight. My children love flashlights so, of course, there were no real flashlights to be found. However, I did find the laser thermometer my father brought over a few months ago. That'll do. Laser gun in hand, I dashed outside, shoved my feet into my filthy pink Crocs, and ran across the deck. I whipped out the laser (thermometer) and...put a tiny dot of red light on the possum's back. He was still sitting in the corner, calmly looking for an exit, oblivious to my red point of hate shining on his backside. I waved it a bit, and the dot landed on the ground next to him. He glanced down, and then noticed me on the deck. He must have sensed my anger, because he turned and waddled back into the chicken coop. By now, I had located all four of my "girls". One was in the run, looking a little crazed, and three were still in the coop.

As the intruder lumbered up the chicken ladder to the upper portion of the coop, where the girls sleep, they were completely oblivious. I saw his glowing eyes appear over their shoulders and hurried into the run, letting the dazed Welsummer out in the process. I grabbed my less-than-bright chickens who were standing inches from the animal who wanted to eat them, threw them to the ground, and quickly shut all the coop doors.

Now, I had a large, lazy, slow possum...trapped in my chicken coop. I returned to the house, found a head lamp, stowed my "deadly weapon", and went back outside. This time, I grabbed a broom. First, I went into the yard to look for the Welsummer. I found her against the gate, waiting for me. I carried her back to the run, and tried to figure out what to do about the animal in the coop. I opened one of the doors that would let him out into the yard, instead of the coop. He didn't take the bait. Apparently, freedom isn't as inviting as a dark wooden box that smells like dinner. I tried banging the side of the coop with the broom. He didn't even flinch. I then carefully eased one of the upper doors open and stuck the broom handle inside, hoping I could encourage him to hop out the open door. He simply looked at me, as if he owned the place, and backed up a half an inch.

Harumph. Insufferable, lethargic, lethal creature!

Finally, I had to admit defeat. The girls were safely locked out of the coop, the possum was locked in, and he had an escape route. I left all the yard lights on, and turned on the chicken run light for good measure. My hope was that, as a nocturnal creature, at 4:30am, he would seek out darker places to hide out.

I went back to bed. (Lo Gung, it should be noted, was wide awake when I got there, and asked me all about the ruckus outside. His decision to not join me in battling for our stupid chickens' lives must be a testament to his confidence in my ability to handle the situation. Yeah. And yes, the chickens really are stupid. Heh.)

After explaining everything to Lo Gung, I laid back down and tried to settle myself for sleep. Eventually, it worked, and I began to dream. I don't remember much of it except the very end. A very large young man, part of a secret group of super heroes, had just given himself his 'super hero shot' that would grant him his super powers to go tackle whatever mission had recently been assigned him. As the medicine kicked in, he grabbed his hammer (now he's Thor?!), and jumped off a bridge. A really high one, apparently. The medicine failed to kick in right away as it was supposed to, and he narrowly missed hitting the tail of a jet in his descent. He then proceeded to land on the windshield of a black sedan, filled with a very surprised Japanese family. All while still falling through the air and still very far from the ground. Just as my mind was struggling to come up with a reason for a perfectly sound sedan to be a mile up in the air, I was jolted awake. Again. This time by a toddler calling my name. It was 6am.

I again grabbed my warm things and disappeared into her room. I wrapped her up in her favorite blanket and stretched out in the chair next to her crib, trying to get both of us back to sleep. I gave up on me sleeping after about 20 minutes, and pulled out my phone. Hey, scripture study done before 7am! This has to be a new record for me. Around 7am, she was still awake, and quietly asked for Daddy. Knowing his alarm would go off soon, I shushed her and shuffled across the hall to our room. I tucked her into the bed between us. She quickly got comfortable, rolling up against me, arm flung around my neck, and face pressed into my nose. (This, incidentally, is why I refuse to co-sleep with the child. Co-sleeping implies that both parties sleep. In our case, the sleep is very one sided..and it isn't on my side.)

By 7:30am, she was asleep. My alarm went off, and I carefully eased out of bed. I woke Siu Jeun (the kindergartner boy) up, went outside to check on the chickens (all four alive and accounted for, and no sign of the possum), and set about cooking Siu Jeun's morning egg.

Then I decided this night's story was one for the blog. Happy Friday, y'all.

PS - The Kindergartner was out the door at 8, I was on the computer to type up my story by 8:10, and BuBu was awake by 8:30, a good hour earlier than normal, and about two hours earlier than I expected to see her after her morning wake time of 6am. Good morning! 

Homeschooling, Day 11

(The 3 munchkins sitting on a table. The 2 younger are waiting for Miss Home School to finish her daily online quiz.) 

Homeschooling is going...well. Actually, MUCH better than I really expected. Ming Wai is an absolute joy to have at home all day, and I don't think I could have said that a few years ago. I'm grateful for the time she had in Public School up to this point. She has matured a lot, and (yes) learned to sit in a desk and just "get 'er done." I just love teaching this little munchkin.

Forgive me if I sound a bit scattered. My in-laws (read: daily 3pm reprieve) are out of town, and I'm a bit tired.

A normal day for us goes something like this.

7:15am : Mom wakes up
7:30am : Wake Siu Jeun up, help him get breakfast and get packed for the day
8:00am : Siu Jeun walks out the door to meet a neighbor for the walk to school
8:00am-ish : Ming Wai wakes up, finds her breakfast. (Interesting to note - for several years, I have mandated a protein filled, balanced breakfast to keep her fueled for school - grain, protein, fruit. Her natural rhythm is NOT the one I had set for her for her previous schedule. She is happiest if she can wake up, munch a Babybel cheese round while sipping a glass of water, and then begin her studies. It is a much more spartan breakfast than I am used to seeing her eat.) 
8:30am : School starts! Usually math first, then reading/spelling/composition, followed by Social Studies, Science, and/or Art
(Baby YingYing wakes up at some point in there, and eats her breakfast while I guide Ming Wai through her books.)
10:30am : BREAK. Everyone, who wants to, gets dressed.
10:50am : load up the car to pick up Siu Jeun from kindergarten
11:10am : We are home. The kids watch a cartoon while I get lunch together
12:00pm : If Ming Wai still has school work to do, we do it. Otherwise, the rest of the day is for play/chores/errands

Not every day is "normal", obviously. Wednesdays, I teach piano lessons before AND after school. Every other Tuesday, Ming Wai heads back to the elementary school for art with her old class. One Monday every other month we make time to put together a dinner for a women's shelter and drop it off. Things happen. But, thus far, my track record for stodgy things like Daily School and Finishing Today's Lesson is 100%!

I did the math as soon as the lesson manuals arrived. If we take NO days off, we will finish school the last week of May. Fairly impressive, given that we started almost two months into the school year! *phew* That said, I'm sure there will be days off. Like, oh...Christmas. New Years. Thanksgiving Day. (Although the jury is still out on Thanksgiving. I REALLY like nice round numbers and natural ending spots. The idea of being done with school on the last day of the last week of a month is VERY appealing. Poor Ming Wai.)

So. That's us, checking in!

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

FYI - We are using the 2nd Grade curriculum from Calvert School. It includes all of my lesson plans, manuals, test keys, online resources (including games and videos for nearly all of our subjects), and some specialized paper for things like writing and drawing. It is not the cheapest option, but it IS an all-inclusive one. Dummy proof, if you will. Which is perfect for a Stay At Home Mom trying to keep a toddler entertained AND a house up and running while still helping a bright young girl learn to love math again.

Homeschooling

This blog has been quiet lately, but if you follow this blog...that isn't news to you. Today, I need a space to journal, and I want this journey to be one that can be visible to others so...here I am.

The baby is sick, so we are eating lunch while watching a cartoon about crayons. She's 20 months, so this is just about her level. When we were sitting on the couch together, I kept feeling her hand behind my back, pushing me up. "Go! Go!" Apparently, I was supposed to retrieve the anthropomorphic crayons for her. Silly girl.

Monday this week was Columbus Day (or Indigenous People's Day, if you are in Seattle), which means there was no school. Having barely returned from an international business trip, Lo Gung decided to work from home that day as well. Having everyone home while someone is trying to get work done is always interesting, to say the least. At one point, Lo Gung came out for a snack. He turned to Ming Wai, and lobbed a math question at her. She flippantly replied, "I don't know!" Well, see...that just doesn't fly here. There is so much loaded into that little phrase. And so much frustration in her parents when she won't try hard things. (I'm sounding extra harsh here, but I don't have time to edit myself right now. We are what we are. I expect a LOT from my kids. Their parents were top of their class, and honors students, all the way through school. What we expect is not impossible.) It suddenly popped into my head that her education wasn't ENOUGH. We moved to this neighborhood specifically to attend this elementary school. One of the best in the state. Before Kindergarten, math was Ming Wai's favorite subject. Since then, her interest has waned and been replaced with dislike. Where she used to revel in unraveling complicated math puzzles, she now simply stares at the ceiling mumbling.

Since school started in September, we have been supplementing after school with Mom-Assigned homework. Math, piano, reading, writing. Up to an hour, depending on how fast the kids worked. School from 8:30-3, plus homework, plus a few evening activities...Ming Wai was down to VERY little time to just play, and her interest in learning hard things was drying up. I got the overwhelming impression, as strong as any answer I have ever received, that homeschooling was the next step. It would mean giving up my quiet mornings while the baby sleeps. It would mean giving up my gym routine, at least for a while. It would mean butting heads as we learned each other's style.

But it would also mean that my girl could work at her own pace. Pass off, quickly, that which she already understands and take her time with things that are confusing. We thought about it, and polled all family members who had earned a say in the matter. On Wednesday, I placed my order for the 2nd Grade Curriculum through Calvert School (out of Baltimore, MD). It is the same program my mother used with my brothers, and the same one my twin sister currently uses with her three kids. It is a year in a box, from the manuals to the pencils, crayons and paper. I decided to go with the classic Calvert Math. I have a hunch that the issue with math isn't math...it's the new Common Core approach. So, we will use our own approach.

Already, we have sat down and passed off the first 9 lessons in math. I am optimistic that this year will go smoothly. We turned in our paperwork this morning, and she will officially begin "home school" on Monday.

Writing to her teacher was hard. The school year is still new, and I had only contacted the teacher a handful of times...mostly to get advice on Ming Wai's flagging interest in math. It is her father's favorite subject, so it was the one that most frequently came up around the dinner table. Telling our neighbor was hard. Our girls are the same age, and walk to and from school together every day. They play at recess every day. Little K may be the thing I miss MOST about public school. Her mother and I have hatched a plan to put a sort of a mail box or locker in the woods between our houses, so the girls can be pen pals, along with planning a semi-permanent weekly play date.

I talked to the school office this morning - we want to see if Ming Wai can continue the every-other week art lessons with her class. The office said it might be impossible, my homeschooling sister says they don't know what they are talking about, and I just want this transition to go smoothly.

For now...those are my thoughts. I am excited, I am nervous. I am scared, and second guessing myself just a bit. The second guessing doesn't last long, though. If the Holy Ghost's impression hadn't been as strong, then...maybe. But this answer was every bit as strong as any other major life choice I have made. For now, it is enough.

A Quiet Weekend

(The following is a slightly edited version of an e-mail I sent to my father this morning. With the rise of social media, and the ease and flow of tiny electronic tidbits of my story via Instagram and facebook, my blog stays fairly quiet. However, it has value as well, so I am here occasionally to update and write longer stories. The e-mail was edited to change proper names to our bloggy nicknames.)

All is well here! The big kids spent the night at MaMa and YehYeh's on Friday night. They also kept Baby BooBoo while Lo Gung and I ran out and did errands. $250 at Costco later, it was time to come home before we did any more damage. ;-) 

We got Lo Gung to the airport Saturday morning, and I got home just as the Cantonese speaker was coming on in conference. (That was WAY cool by the way. I switched to the Canto channel so I could hear it first hand, instead of seeing his mouth move and having the English voice-over. I can always listen to conference in Cantonese, but the translations are really hard to understand, because the talks are originally English, and the Chinese never sounds quite genuine. Hearing a talk in Chinese brought back fantastic memories.) 

At lunch time, I drove down to McDonalds to meet the grandparents and the big kids, but Baby BooBoo fell asleep on the way, so I just hung out in the parking lot until the big kids were done eating. 

We watched the afternoon session, and then tried to get some chores done. An hour into chores, I realized I had a $50 coupon to spend at Gymboree that expired Sunday night. Yipes! The prices online weren't great, so we took off for the outlet malls. We arrived at 4:45, and stayed for an hour. Quick trip, but I had promised my sister I would babysit after Priesthood. (I was REALLY happy with what I found. All the kids have BEAUTIFUL new church clothes, for less than the price of just one of the outfits full retail. The girls have matching blue satin dresses - stunning.) 

We came home, got dinner together, and waited for my nieces and nephew. While we waited for them, I heard a commotion from the chickens. By the time I got out there, whatever had gotten into the run was gone, and so was my smallest chicken. *sigh* 

My brother and his girlfriend came over to grab some oils from me last night for Mom, and I started Baby BooBoo's bedtime at 10. She was up again at 5, just screaming. Stinker wouldn't eat her snack last night, so that's to be expected. I gave her a bowl of applesauce, and she fell right back asleep, but because it was technically morning already, she wasn't deep enough asleep to put her back in her crib. I held her until 6, when I was able to get back to bed. 

We all slept in until about 8:45. Such a nice morning!! Pancakes for the kids, and conference playing on the laptop at the breakfast table. Pretty sweet. 

The kids are upstairs playing now, and Baby BooBoo is playing her favorite games on my iPad.