Well it's official

We have known this was a possibility for a couple weeks now, but now we know for sure. Phil has been laid off. He fixes computers for the school district we live in. Our district has really high quality schools and a community full of people who typically pass levies and support the schools. Earlier this month there was a school levy on the ballot that was meant to maintain the services and value of the schools currently. State funding has decreased so the district had to ask for more money just to keep things at the level they are now. Well as you all know, this economy is in bad shape. So for the first time that I can remember, the levy failed. So the administration has been making cuts and unfortunately for us decided to outsource the entire tech department. They think they can save money by giving the contract to this other company. Good luck with that! So Phil's last day is June 30. The company has offered to interview any of the techs who are interested. Phil of course gave them his resume but found out that they only pay somewhere around $12-$15 an hour. That is less than half what Phil makes now. That's not a teribly realistic option.

So now what? Well we are updating Phil's resume and searching online for any place that is hiring computer techs. I have been contacting all of my friends and acquaintances across the country to get their help also. There's gotta be a job out there for Phil that will pay enough for us to live on and that he is qualified for. We hate to think about moving, but may have to if we find a job elsewhere. Meanwhile, Phil and I are both stressed and depressed and trying to deal with this the best he can. Phil tends to scream at the kids more often while I tend to cope by playing on Facebook and trying to avoid reality temporarily.

God is telling us to be strong and courageous; that's a verse in Joshua that He's been bringing to my mind quite often these days. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." We're trying our best. The kids have taken it better than we expected. We've cut out all unnecessary spending and they don't seem to mind. We are so fortunate that this happened in the summer when there's more to do that doesn't cost anything. Parks, pool, playgrounds, etc. If this was winter, we'd be out of luck. My kids hate cold weather so the best options for getting out of the house involve fast food restaurants with play areas. Ugh!

Anyway, that's the update from around here. Sorry it's not more cheerful.

The Ongoing Adventures of Matthew

This is the next installment in the ongoing saga of Matthew, my affectionate, lovable, curious, destructive, energetic almost-4-year-old. Yesterday my best friend called wondering if I wanted to meet at McDonalds so the kids could play and we could talk. Of course! The 2 oldest kids were still at school so I started rounding up the 2 youngest, gathering shoes, keys, cell phone and (in Matthew's case) clothes. But where were the actual children? I found them in the kitchen looking out the back door at one of our cats hunched over something. Upon further investigation we discovered that our beloved ball of fluff was guarding a baby bird Was she protecting it or tormenting it? Hard to tell. We discovered a dead baby bird nearby too. The kids were fascinated and picked up the dead bird. I scolded them and herded them inside to wash their hands and head to McDonalds. Fast forward 15 minutes and we were settled at McD's waiting for my friend and her 4 kids. I left the kids playing happily and went out to get a snack for us to share. When I got back Matthew had pushed a highchair up to the table. And what did I find sitting in the highchair? Matt's orange Diego Rescue Pack and. . . the dead baby bird. I believe my exact words at that point were "AAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK! Yuuuuuuuuuccckkk!" I am still not sure how he managed to smuggle the bird into his rescue pack or why he felt the need to bring it with him. Needless to say the bird did not make it back to our house again. Lesson learned? Check whatever backpack or bag your kids insist on bringing somewhere because you just never know what you'll find.

Mother's Day weekend

As usual I have blogged a LOT less than I'd planned. I have no idea where time is going but magically it gets away from me. I even have pictures on my camera from Christmas that I haven't downloaded onto the computer yet.

We are at the end of what has been a wonderfully fun but rather busy Mother's Day weekend. Friday morning I got to take David to school 40 minutes early for "Muffins with Mom" organized by the 1st grade classes. In his classroom are groups are 6 desks pushed together and called a table. Each table was covered with a plastic tablecloth and decorated with assorted projects that I soon learned were gifts for us moms made by our kids. David and I sat at his desk where he presented me with a paper corsage and tied it on my wrist. Then he gave me a portrait of me he had drawn himself. And last was a book he had made. It was called "Mom's Jobs" and had a hard cover on it and looked very professional. At least as professional as a book done by a 7 year old can look. Each page had a picture on it and a different job that I do. According to David, some of my jobs include chauffer, police officer, maid, chef, housekeeper and linen service. I had to laugh. It is very cute and he was very proud of his work. So then we got to eat a muffin and drink some juice together. Just hanging out with David one-on-one doesn't happen very often so this was fun and very special. Then all the 1st graders and their moms headed downstairs to the gym where the kids got up on stage and sang a couple cute Mother's Day songs for us. The only one I remembered started out "She's a V - I - P, a Very Important Person." By now the busses were arriving with all the other students so the moms left and the kids headed upstairs to begin their school day.

Saturday was a rare day with nice weather - we've gotten so much rain lately that I'm seriously considering building an ark! What to do on such a nice day? Rose suggested we goto the zoo. Great idea! I packed up the 4 kids and some snacks and headed out leaving Phil at home to nap and mow the grass (in that order). This was one of our first trips to the zoo without a stroller. What a concept! It's amazing how different it was. My hands were free - no stroller to push or diaper bag to carry. Yeah!! And we could go anywhere. There are a few places in the Cincinnati Zoo that we used to avoid because they aren't terribly stroller-friendly. But no more!!! Matthew was actually well-behaved and didn't run off. He stuck with us and obeyed me really well. It was a genuinely fun day with my kids. I came home with sunburnt shoulders and aching feet, ready to rest.

Alas, rest was not on our agenda for the evening. An hour later after cooking dinner, kissing a couple random boo-boos and taking 1 kid potty (Matthew, who at the age of almost 4 is STILL potty training) Phil and I left the kids with Brett and headed down to the river to meet some college friends of his. These are friends he has recently gotten in touch with again but hasn't seen in probably 15 years. We all saw the new Star Trek movie together then went out afterwards to talk and hang out. The movie was a prequel to all the other movies and featured a younger Captain Kirk and crew before they took command of the Enterprise. I really enjoyed it!! Great movie and awesome effects, especially on the huge IMAX screen!! It's a good movie to see even if you're not a fan of Star Trek. Phil really enjoyed catching up with some old friends. I hadn't met any of these people before and was a bit nervous but ended up having fun. We got home late and stayed up late talking and reading in bed.

Sunday morning was church. Then Phil and the kids wanted to take me out for lunch. I didn't feel like battling the huge crowds that were bound to be dining out also so we ended up taking sandwiches from Penn Station home and having a picnic together. I just love their food but don't get it too often. The kids had made me cute cards and gifts at school and church which they presented to me. I just love the homemade stuff rather than something store bought. They were so proud of their gifts and I loved seeing their smiling faces. I love my kids to pieces!!! But that didn't deter me from taking a nice long nap that afternoon. I woke up rested and refreshed to the smell of someone grilling. Brett had bought ribs, hamburgers and hotdogs plus all the fixings and was cooking dinner. I just love hamburgers off the grill. Yum!!!!! Of course Brett and Phil got involved in conversation, leaving me to clean everything up, but that's not a real big surprise! All in all, it was a wonderful relaxing day spending time with my loving family. I love being a mom!

Just when you think you've seen it all

Having 4 kids, I have had a wide range of interesting experiences raising them, from the time Rachel colored herself purple when she was a baby to the time David ran naked around our neighborhood (and he's not the only one Hahn kid who's done that either) to the time Rose had a seizure and ended up in the ER all day. So I tend to be a bit jaded when it comes to Matthew and think that I've seen it all. Well that was proven wrong yet again just this morning. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day so Matt and Emma (one of the kids I babysit 2 days a week) and I decided to walk the big kids to the bus stop. I sent them out with Rose while I put on something besides my nightgown. I have mastered the art of getting dressed quickly when necessary so I wasn't inside more than 3 or 4 minutes. I went outside just in time to see my girls running down the sidewalk towards home yelling "Matthew ate a dandelion and now he's throwing up." Sure enough Matt (who was actually dressed by the way) was vomiting. I didn't panic or anything - after all, he ia the 4th child, not the first. My days of panicking at every little thing are (hopefully) over.

But Matthew has been giving me new experiences since he was born. He developed janudice and a heart murmur in the hospital. The janudice disappeared on its own when he was about a week old. And the heart murmur disappeared when he was about a month old.

Fast forward to Janauary 2006 when Matthew was 8.5 months old. He was able to stand up as long as he had something to hold onto. And boy was he determined to stand! I took him to church with me for a MOPS retreat. We were upstairs talking and he was hanging out holding onto a chair when he lost his grip and fell backwards onto the carpet (which had no padding so was really hard!). He hit his head, had a seizure and lost consciousness. Boy did I panic! My first ride in an ambulance and I was too worried to enjoy it!

I go on and on (but I won't). Needless to say, Matthew has made my life an adventure. He frustrates me on a fairly regular basis but I love him to pieces and am so happy that God gave him to us to raise!

Nothing much happening

This week has been glorious because the kids are back in school. Don't get me wrong - I love my kids dearly. But after a week of having them underfoot durinbg a cold and rainy spring break, I was more than ready to send them back to school. Sadly Rose stayed home from school today. She's been complaining about a sore throat on and off all week, but I figured that it was just her overreacting. She takes after her dad who tends to be a bit of a hypochondriac. So I didn't take it too seriously. But today she looked terrible so I kept her home and we headed to "the fishy doctor." That's what Matt calls our pediatrician because there is a giant fish tank in their office. When we got there, Matt promptly lifted the lid of the tank and dumped his toy hammer in. Poor Hammer (yes, he named his toy hammer "Hammer") has not been the same since. It used to talk but doesn't anymore. (yippee!!).

Did I mention Matt and his tiny pants? A couple weeks ago during one of our sunny, warm days we were outside playing in the backyard. Matt was wearing a diaper and tshirt and nothing else. At some point we had to leave to run some unspecified errand that I can't even remember now. So I told Matt he had to wear pants. He played in the backyard some more while I went to fetch some. And of course I couldn't find any that were clean so grabbed some shorts instead. I brought them out to him and he just looked at them with a confused expression on his face. Then he looked up at me and said "tiny pants? those are tiny pants mom!" I laughed so hard!!! Nope, son, they're called shorts I informed him. No, they're tiny pants he insisted.

Oh and before I sign off I just have to tell you what Matt wanted to wear to bed last night. I was downstairs gathering pillows, stuffed animals and miscellaneous necessary bedtime stuff. I came upstairs to see Matt wearing these grey shark swim goggles and a clean diaper -- on his head!! And nothing else. And he just stood there and grinned at me. Well what can you say to something like that except "Nice hat Matt!"

Spring Break

As a kid I always loved spring break and the chance to stay home and play all day. As a grownup I'd like to find the person who invented spring break and send my children to stay with him for the week! The kids seemed to have fun, although personally I was disappointed at the lack of sunshine and warm weather. I had lots of fun things planned, like trips to the zoo and playgrounds. But the weather didn't cooperate, so we ended up at places like Burger King and Chuck E. Cheese.

The highlight of the week was a trip to Columbus to see their grandparents. Trips to see my parents are good but always stressful. Their house is not child-proof - it doesn't need to be - which makes it tougher when we come up. I have 2 active curious boys and my 3 year old likes to explore things. He is constantly getting in trouble with his grandfather. But they have the best basement ever, according to my kids. They have lots of toys down there, plus a mini trampoline and even a swing! What a kid paradise!

My highlight of the visit was seeing my grandma on Thursday. She is 94 and doing fairly well for being as old as she is. She loved seeing her great-grandchildren of course, especially Rose who is named after her. Rose's first name is Evelyn, just like grandma. So we hung out in grandma's little apartment (she has her own place in a nursing home/assisted-living place). It's a small place so the potential for destruction is just immense. The kids were trying hard to be good, but had lots of energy. We got Burger King and ate with grandma in her room then my parents took the kids to the playground.

I was able to spend over an hour with my grandma having an uninterrupted conversation. Do you even know how long it's been since I was able to do that?? Well at least 9.5 years. I so enjoyed my time with her, hearing about her childhood. Her parents were very strict with her; she knew that if she did something wrong, her dad would cut a switch off the cherry tree and she would get it! So she raised her boys strictly too. They were Methodist and went to church every Sunday. And back then there was no Children's Church or anything so the boys had to sit with their parents and behave. She said she brought along a book or 2 and some paper to draw on, but the boys just learned to sit still and be good. They lived on a farm so they grew up having to work hard. My dad always loved working outside with his dad; he still likes working outside actually. But after high school, my dad left home, spent a couple years at a community college then married my mom. 2 weeks after they were married, he left for Vietnam. He got home the same day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. I was born the next August.

Boy I kinda digressed there didn't I? Where was I? Oh yeah. My conversation with my grandma. Her younger son (my uncle) was around 6 years younger than my dad. He stayed close to home after he finished school and didn't get married until he was older (28 or so). He and my aunt still live there actually.

So it was a fascinating afternoon. I am so glad I got to spend time with my grandma. That doesn't happen too often since we live 3.5 hours away.

When the kids got back from the playground, we loaded up and headed back to my parents house. The kids got to play while I loaded the van and we were off. And 3 hours, 3 potty stops, and 37 fights between siblings later, we arrived back home. Phew!

It's Finally Done!

Well 2 of the kids' activities ended on the same day. Our schedule is now a little less hectic. Yippee!!

Last Friday I picked up Rose and David at school and took them along with Rachel and Matthew to the bowling alley for the final day of the Maddux bowling league. It was a pizza party and glow-in-the-dark bowling. All 4 kids (and mom too!) got pizza even though Matthew wasn't technically in the league and probably shouldn't have had any. The whole place was dark except for the gutters in each lane which were lit with these funky lights. The orange 6 lb. balls that the kids used glowed in the dark as did the white shirts that some of the kids wore (each kids had gotten a white Maddux bowling tshirt when the league started). My kids LOVED it! Each kid got a trophy too. They passed them out by teams from last place to first place. My kids were on a team together that they named "The Hahn Kids." Amazingly they didn't end up in last place. They were next to last and didn't care a bit! They just loved being able to bowl. Rachel ended up with an average of 73 or 74. Rose had an average of around 77. And David ended up with an average of 81. He even bowled a 123 his very last game!! Yahoo! He's actually a pretty good bowler!

And I'm so glad that they provided pizza because that was dinner for the kids. After bowling was over I drove straight to church where I dropped off Rose and David. Their children's choir performance was also tonight. Talk about busy! They had to be there early so I had enough time before the performance to drive home, grab a drink, change clothes, pick up Phil and Brett and head back to church.

The show was great. It was called "Living Inside Out in an Upside Down World." Rose and David both had parts in it. David was one of the 3 blind guys. The song was like "The 3 Blind Mice" each boy was wearing sunglasses and a sign. David's sign said Greedy on the front and Generous on the back. It was about how people can be blind sometimes - not physically blind but spiritually blind. They are greedy when they should be generous. I'm not describing it very well but maybe you get the idea. David was very cute dancing around during his big song.

Rose had a speaking part and solos in 2 songs. One song she sang alone was "Living Inside Out" and talked about how living out your faith in today's world is like wearing your shirt inside out so the tag is showing. We should live differently from the world so our faith shows, just like the tag on an inside-out shirt. It was a great message and Rose did a brilliant job with her solo. Of course I'm biased. She also played a girl named Sara who shared her faith with some of her classmates at school. My favorite line of hers went like this:

Other kid: Why would Jesus want to live in YOUR heart Sara?
Sara: Location, location, location!

You just had to hear her say it, very cute and flippant. All the kids stood on risers except when they had lines or solos. Rose was in the front row of the risers and was very enthusiastic with her singing and doing the motions. Most of the kids followed the director who was mouthing the words and doing the motions. But Rose knew just what she was doing and didn't need to look to Miss Pam for help at all. She got quite a few compliments after the show; so many people thought she did a terrific job. She certainly has a flair for performing. Can you tell I'm a proud parent?!

So now 2 activities are done for the year. I don't know if there will be children's choir at church next fall or not. The 2 current directors are stepping down; they have been doing this for several years now and need a break. If no one stpes up to take over, there will be no choir.