Mostly Emi stuff

Hey. Just thought it was time for another update. It's been crazy here, but that's nothing new. Nana and Grandpa came to visit and that was nice but also difficult at the same time. Honestly it was a joy to see them arrive and an absolute relief to see them go... for the 6-pack as well I think.

We had Emi's parent-teacher conference yesterday. Good and bad news I guess. She's getting C's in most of her classes which we're not thrilled with, she's getting an A in science (which we ARE thrilled with), and a B in Spanish (lovely). All her teachers simply adore her and think she is wonderful and brilliant and has the best sense of humor imaginable for a 12 (almost 13!) y/o girl. They all just love her, they really do. Yet she's struggling academically.... again. She's smart, she's very smart but academics don't come easy for her like they do for her older brother and younger sister. It's not just like falling off a log for her like it is for them... and I think she resents that a little bit. We tell her every day that she's gifted and special and she has her own unique God-given talents... and she KNOWS that she is very talented artistically. It just doesn't make up for what SHE feels she is lacking academically. I stress "she" because WE, her father, her teachers, and I, all feel she is very capable of so much more than what she shows us.

Emi is a mystery to me still in oh so many ways. I wish I knew what made her tick. I wish I had a greater understanding of her. She goes way out of her way to be VERY different from everyone else -- all the other girls. She does it on purpose... it's almost like she tries TOO hard to be different. It's what she lives for though. Every conference we hear the same thing "she beats to the sound of a different drummer" or something like that. We KNOW that, we accept that, we even love that about her. She is not a child that will succumb to peer pressure some day... because in reality she doesn't seem to care at all what her peers think or are doing and will pull with all her might in the exact opposite direction. However I am left with this feeling that I can't quite figure out how to give Emi what it is she needs.

On the outside Emi appears impervious and strong, but in reality she's so gentle and frail on the inside. Yesterday I described her to her teachers as a "sheep in wolves clothing" and I think that may be the most right on description of her I've ever found. She looks so tough and independent and strong from the outside, but she's not. When she is scolded or does something wrong or does poorly in school it wounds her deeply and she feels it deeply. It scars her gentle sheep's soul, deeper than most realize I think.

Gregory is brilliant and is ruled by science and math -- with the soul of a writer. He loves to be "one of us" now that he's older instead of "one of them." He is growing up very quickly lately. Tessa is brilliant and is more "typical girl" and has a ton of friends and worries about what ALL of them think and likes boys and wants to wear nail polish and go out with her friends and do all that typical young girl stuff. Patch is brilliant and hyper and active and crazy and sometimes annoying as little brothers can be... but typical little boy stuff. Ben is special and different and sees lots of Dr.'s and has lots of surgeries and life may never be normal and typical for him. Kit is a physical BEAST. Seriously, she's just an animal. There is nothing she can't climb or get into. Every day there are new interesting ways she can find to endanger herself, knowing Mami will always come to the rescue. Then there's Emi... who I just can't seem to figure out completely. I GET her... I think... but I just don't know what to do with her.

Well, next week we have Ben, Tessa, and Patch's parent-teacher conferences. Wish us luck!

Halloween Hijinks!

So Halloween at the home of the Six Pack was hectic but fun. Kit didn't nap nearly long enough and I knew that going in but not really much I could do about it... oh well. Ben did nap and was very much looking forward to going out at NIGHT in the dark and trick or treating. We even practiced with him saying it... which sounded kind of like "Ti - eet" but hey, not bad eh?

We had an exceptionally early dinner and sent Gregory off to the football team for his performance (marching band) at 4:40 and then started getting the kids ready to go. Even though the weather was lovely, in the low 60's, I made the three little ones wear several layers and told the big girls that they could decide for themselves - and I think they did well deciding what to wear. Ben and Kit each wore PJ's, then sweats, then their costume and that worked out really well. Ben, as you can see in the picture insisted on starting out wearing an old Harry Potter hat from the costume box but he gave up on that pretty quick! LOL!

The evening went well and Kit LOVED being out and walking around and exploring on her own. She was VERY impressed when at the first house they put candy in her little cat bag. She was just amazed and gave me this look like "Did you see that? They just gave me candy!!" and was very happy. As we tried to leave that first house Kit kept bolting on us and trying to go back! I swear she was thinking "they had CANDY at that house!! Didn't you see it? A big HUGE bucket full of candy! I'm going back there!" She caught on after about the 3rd or 4th house that ALL the houses were giving out free candy and then was pretty content to just walk along and go from house to house with the big kids. LOL! She was really cracking me up. Around the 5th house we couldn't get her to stop whining and we weren't sure what the problem was... then I figured it out as she grabbed a candy out of her bag and thrust it at me with great impatience. Here she was getting all this awesome candy and DUH we weren't EATING it! LOL! So I opened a little bag of M&M's and just gave her one every few minutes and that made her VERY happy! LOL!

We were extremely proud of Ben and he did a TON of walking, in his "Mo's" no less, and did just great. Last year he had to be carried pretty much the entire time but this year he walked the first two blocks we did all on his own (and then was carried for the last two blocks). Patch also did great and didn't complain once about wanting to be picked up or that his feet hurt or anything like that... I think that was a first. He's really getting to be big now, not a little guy anymore but definitely more one of the bigger kids now. Kit actually did quite a bit of walking herself... and a wee bit of "running away" but fortunately we're still just a little bit faster than she is :) LOL!

Emi had a TON of fun playing at "Emilio" and was really playing it for all it was worth. She spent the entire night referring to her Dad and I as "Eddie" and "Patti" and insisted that we call her "Leo"... because "Emi" is a girls name. She made calls on her "stone phone" and carried her briefcase (that she used as a "candy bag") all night. She would walk up to people's doors and after getting her candy would say "You have been served" and everyone found that very funny. Tessa was a peach and was actually a big help with Patch and Ben both :)

We got home fairly early, which was okay with the kids because they made out like bandits, and everyone got off costumes and went through their candy bags and much fun was had by all. Kit was completely overwhelmed with CANDY (which she really hasn't had very much of in her short little life) and everyone was happy. Patch was so happy but very true to form for him he actually told US after a fashion that he was really tired and ready to go to bed! He's just like that, he knows when he's tired and he doesn't make a big deal and just tells us "I'm tired and ready for bed" and goes up and that's it. We go up and tuck him in but sometimes with getting waylaid along the way we get up to his room to find him already alseep. I can't figure out if this picture of him is more just sheer exhaustion or completely candy coma! LOL! Oh and please do take note of the alma mater sweatshirt Patch is wearing... Daddy was so proud.

All in all everyone was happy, everyone had a good night and it went off without a hitch. Even Gregory got home fairly early and was able to join in on some of the fun. We let him raid Kit's bag and take out all the candy she's not allowed to eat and that made him really happy. This was Gregory's first year of not trick or treating so I think that getting some candy anyway helped to ease the transition for him! LOL! Oh and in new Ben things to add... whenever one of the big kids has been out doing something Ben now announced that his sibling has come back by announcing repeatedly "egg HOME!" (or "Mimi home" or "Tesh home") and Ben was VERY happy to see Gregory back at home since he wasn't ToT'ing with us this year. It was very sweet.

I will also add this small downer in that today we had very tired and somewhat difficult kids to deal with. I think everyone was dealing with sugar withdrawal after yesterday and worn out from being out walking for so long and a late night and so we had some CRANKY kiddo's today. Thankfully it's just one day and I'm sure tomorrow they'll be back to normal again... well... with the exception of begging for candy every minute until it's finally all gone. LOL! Aaaah, Halloween... gotta love it!

Oh and wanted to add just a few more pics from the evening.

Happy Ben post Trick or Treating -- big happy smile on his little face.

The Little Sisters together :)

The Three Boys

And sadly this blurry pic of the girls is the only picture I got of Emi that was any good! Still, I had to post it because blurry or not I thought it was cute.

So there ya have it. Halloween Hijinks with the six pack :)