Jerome and his Cupcake

Jerome has a darling little friend from our homeschool group that he affectionately calls Cupcake.  She's a sweet little, itty-bitty girl with a perfect little smile, so the name Cupcake fits her to a tee.  Jerome has been chomping on the bit to have a playdate with her, so after many delays due to weather, Cupcake came for a nice long visit, along with her mom and little brother.

The house was full of noise and the echoes of stampeding feet.  The kids got all dressed in snow gear to head outside and go sledding down our massive snowdrifts in our 'barrow-a-bogan'......which is Laurie speak for a stripped down wheel barrow that the kids all cram into and after a good spraying of nonstick cooking spray sends them shooting down the hills.  Obviously the barrow-a-bogan got to be boring, so Richnigthder took it upon himself to saddle up Josh and take Cupcake for a little ride.

When the kids came inside and told us what fun they had had, I chastised Richnigthder for not wearing a helmet and putting one on Cupcake and for taking the horse out without permission on our icy, snowy ground.  Once everyone was back inside and the snow gear was scattered throughout the entry way, Cupcake's mom and I had a super fun time just doing what homeschool mom's do best......SOCIALIZE!  Of course we enjoyed our social time with a mango margarita and chips and salsa.  Over the extreme din of the kids noise we agreed this will be infintely more fun when the weather is warm and sunny and the kids can play outside while we sit on the lounge chairs with a drink in our hands.

For an orphanage kid, Jerome has no problem sharing and playing with and alongside friends.  At one point I heard him talking to Cupcake and he was tellling her not to squeeze the guinea pig too hard.  After listening to the damn guinea pig squeel for a while we went in to see what was happening and it was sweet to see Jerome being very patient and teaching Cupcake how to hold Cavy on her lap.  Eventually they went back downstairs and played a good long time in the classroom.  Cupcake was Jerome's teacher and she gave him lessons and drills in English and math.  Leave it to a little girl to take charge of the situation and come up with an educational play session.

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that my little boys have integrated so well into our family, lifestyle, and that I have such great friends that see my kids as just that.  Geralyn's kids; not adopted, not orphans, not poor under-privileged kids, just my kids and part of an average, ordinary family.  It sure makes dealing with buttheads so much more tolerable, because as we all know, buttheads are everywhere.

Here's to you Natalie!  You are not alone although it sometimes may feel that way.  Surround yourself with strong, supportive friends and it helps ease the slings and arrows of life.  Remember, unique is interesting and ordinary is boring.  Your family, my family and gobs of my friends' families are unique...which in my book makes us uniquely us, which is fab.u.lous!