Not Simon Says

About 9 days prior to his tenth month outside of the womb I'm finally getting around to introducing you to Simeon Burkhard.  The father of my children set the stipulation that he wanted to include an obscure 13th century saint amidst the name choices for our impending surprise.  We had our girl name picked out early on, that is until I decided to change my parameters insisting that we would not use an initial that had already made the cut.

And now, two and a half years later I've unearthed this draft.  Wouldn't you know we are in the homestretch of welcoming another child.  Longest time in between children (and blogs) of sorts but that's a story for another day.  Happy Friday in dusting off these archives in preparation for opening the forum of guesses for "Q".

Mid June marked the end of a spring community soccer season after taking a break during the pandemic.  It was nice to be out on the pitch again.  Pete coached Clement's 1st and 2nd grade team while Luke and Augustine played together on a 3rd & 4th grade team.  Bob (double stroller) still makes the trek but is often vacated for adventures on the playground by Peter and Simeon.  

Here Pete cradles a ten week old Simeon who got the special treat of accompanying mom and dad on a catechetical conference in the suburbs of Chicago.  If I recall correctly we had a conglomerate of helpers to stay with the four "big boys".  Despite some apprehension, it worked out alright and most everyone welcomed the young child of God as a tagalong participant in the ministry.  We may have gained some unwelcomed guests upon our return that hitched a ride in the luggage or stroller, but that too was a lesson in humility and perseverance. God's plan does not always match up with our own made all too real by the events of the last twelve months.  

Here is the freshest of the fresh Simeon late on his birthdate.  I was induced nine days after his appointed due date.  I remember being particularly frustrated on how long the labor process took to greet this not so little guy weighing in at 10lbs. 2.4 ounces by pair of nurses Pete dubbed "The Bobbsey Twins".  Throughout the more than twelve hour wait the hospital staff got quite the kick out of our assembly system in preparing the envelopes and framework for the birth announcement.

I love capturing the early father/son bonding sessions.  The joy, the wonder and awe, the comforting peace meeting the raw weight and fear of the immense responsibility of caring for one of God's most marvelous creatures.

It is crazy to see the growth in stature and personality of Simeon and our other punks over the last three years.  Maybe some more recent pictures will help along with some snippets of speech.

Affectionately, called "Cinnamon" by big brother Augustine at the first video introduction.  Our not so little Simeon has developed quite the personality, a formidable combo of cinnamon and spice.  It was different in the beginning as he arrived in flu season so there were restricted visitor protocols...no one under 14 allowed to visit at the hospital.  Consequently we did a video intro to the big brothers and we had to wait until we returned home from the hospital to capture those precious moments of meeting their newest sibling.  The pictures still bring smiles to my face ;-)

Simeon now wears the shirt that Peter has on in this tractor photo and rules the John Deere tractor at Grandma Angie's loading it up with Grandpa Steve's wood scraps which he assembles in various configurations in their driveway.  Despite the heat,  Simeon much prefers playing with the fleet of vehicles in the garage than going in my parents' pool.

We celebrated Clement's 7th birthday yesterday with my side of the family.  This was after a celebration at Grandma and Grandpa Schafer's on Thursday- Clement's actual birthday.  It has been an eventful week as we celebrated the life of my Grandpa, Stephen James Francis Sr., on what would have been his 87th birthday. We have had joint birthday parties for him and Clement in the past.  I was proud of Clement in stepping up to do the first couple petitions at the funeral, his first time reading at a Mass.  Great grandpa, to our children, passed away on Saturday, June 26th.  July 1st was a long, but beautiful day, and it seemed to work out well to do two somewhat spaced birthday celebrations for Clement. The Schafer Grandparents fulfilled Clement's wishes of pizza and and the cherry chocolate cake grandma makes.  Although tasty in other forms, Grandma actually used the called for Bundt pan this time which, I think, turned out marvelously.  The boys were most bedazzled by the fact that "Bundt" sounds like "butt";-). 

At home, we passed on the cake and ended the evening with s'mores and sparklers which followed the requested menu of spaghetti (or linguine ;-) and meatballs,  along with homemade breadsticks, salad, steamed broccoli, and melon.  Dr. Schafer did the cooking while I did the cleaning.  Luke asked that tough questions, "Mom, why do we work so hard to clean the house before the party, when it's just gonna get all messed up again and we have to clean again after?" 

Thankfully, the boys have been occupied with resurrecting the fire from last night to buy some time for me to work on this blog post.  Pete is enjoying the day off for the holiday and supposedly should get "off" the month of July from his administrative role as Dean of Studies at the boys' school.  All the guys are enjoying a picnic lunch under the pine tree with green grapes, a pretzel and cheese cracker mix, and pizza's in the pie irons with the extra sauce from the party.  It's pretty roasty, toasty and the afternoon includes the plan to head to the pool on Waterloo road and try out Clement's new underwater camera.

I guess that was a bit of a side track but I figured I better get it in because even with a list of hopeful future titles, who knows when or how my blogging routine will progress from here.  All in all though, Clement and Simeon seem to exhibit similar physical characteristics as well as personality traits.  Both are very expressive with large, toothy smiles (although Clement has recently gained some holes), dark, dark brown eyes, accentuated by expressive eyebrows.

We've held to our pre-COVID trend of home haircuts and the boys are getting a bit more particular about their styles.  I like to think I am getting better at it, but mostly it is an accomplishment to make it through the needed task without too much whining and complaining.  Simeon's trimming a couple weeks prior turned into a "shaving" after I finally got around to giving Pete a trim on his birthday.  I went to vacuum up the remaining mess, although I was fully aware that Simeon had the beard trimmer in hand I was not aware that the batteries had been added by a big brother.  With the drone of the vacuum I could not hear the "buzz" but was surprised to find a clump of hair, Where did that come from? I wondered before spotting the result.

So I took the liberty of evening everything out.  He was remorseful after the accident saying, "My neighbors will see me!"  He is rather good friends with the neighbor girl Eleanore, that is two.  Eleanore's dad dons a shaved head so once I reminded Simeon of that he was okay with the new style.  Augustine could not resist  adding the arrow given their interest in Avatar, the last Airbender.

Here are the 1st and the 5th that share March as a birth month.  It had rained early that morning and Simeon was insistent about going outside to play in the rain.  He needed his hat and gloves and boots. He argued about wearing his snowpants too.  It also happened to be 80 plus degrees outside.  Luke had found the rubber finger shields that Mrs. Bodenschatz had given following Simeon's run in with the newly installed corner bench in our kitchen. This resulted in a trip with mommy and Peter to the ER and 5 or 6 stitches in the middle finger of Simeon's right hand to reattach the nail bed.  The bench had been completed less than twenty-four hours prior to the incident (April 23rd) and we hadn't gone over the rules and expectations before the early morning play of boys in the storage compartments under the seat and the protocols for opening and closing the hinged tops.

After multiple quotes and consultations over the course of three or four months this is the finished product that made for a bloody reception into the Schafer household after the dreaded family task of stripping wallpaper in the kitchen and finishing the walls with the so called "birds of paradise" aqua paint.  Other than that undesirable event in the early introduction, the corner bench has been rather convenient.  It fits 8 Francis grandboy bottoms nicely on the added gold, no-slip cushions and has been joined by a secondhand dark finished, oval-ish, solid oak table with chairs, found on craigslist and picked up from Mansfield in somewhat trusty ol' Viceroy- our 2010 model Grand Caravan which is on the list for an upgrade with the arrival of "Q". 

 Plainly, we need more seatbelts.  

After going two weeks without a van due to a spark plug failure a couple miles into the journey back home from Grandma Angie's and Grandpa Steve's on Memorial Day, we've continued a search for a large passenger van to accompany our GREEN, electric green, electric Chevy Bolt  Pete purchased in December/January of 2019/2020 to save on gas and air pollution with his long daily commute to Youngstown. (Again, lots of changes in reflecting on the last year or so).

Other renovations or facelifts are underway at 19th street, but have taken a pause as Pete's house in Portage Lakes has demanded some attention and repair to get it on the market and off our hands, hopefully, soon, soon, SOON! 'Tis a seller's market, apparently, and should make for a decent transaction- transitioning the funds from a house with a double lot, to a house on wheels with enough seat belts for our fam and some other guests that might like to go along for an adventure, whether around town, to soccer games or ice cream outings, or road trips around Ohio and beyond!

So finally, here's to a little game of "Simeon says"

 Simeon says: I am ready for my snack! (This upon waking in the morning...doesn't exactly grasp the concept of breakfast yet)

Simeon says: I want to go to cousin Mel's. She is my friend. I think she has some M&Ms for a snack! (Does that mean M&Ms for breakfast?!?!?)

Simeon says: Put the milk in first! (He prefers the milk in the bowl before the cereal)

Simeon says: Mr. Rick calls me "Sim- me-ON!"

Simeon says: "I don't want to go poop!" [Although it seems like we've turned a corner as of late]

Simeon says: "Close the door and you get out." whilst taking care of his business.

Simeon says: I like to read Curious George, Green Eggs and Ham, and lots of other books.

Simeon says: Where is my dad? I like my dad.

Simeon says: I am a good helper.

Simeon says: I love you Grandma Angie. 

Grandma Angie says: I love you too Simeon. Who else loves you? Does your daddy love you?

Simeon says: Yeah! I love my daddy.

Grandma Angie says: Does your mommy love you?

Simeon says: .... ummm....NO! I love you! 

(or something like that)

Simeon says: I scared the be-jesus out of mommy and daddy by riding my tricycle around the corner to the bus stop on my own on a Sunday morning and getting greeted by two police officers.

Simeon says: I like scrambled eggs, yummy egg sandwiches, cream cheese on bagels, chocolate almond milk, salad, and anything else that is on mommy and daddy's plate rather than my own.

Simeon says: I don't want to take a nap!

Simeon says: Lay on the floor next to my bed.  [After several refusals by mommy, in her very pregnant state, and gentle reminders he altered his inquiry to "Mommy, will you stand by my bed and pet me?" accurately describing my stance during bedtime song and prayer and running my fingers through his hair]

Simeon says: This is the way to [my brothers' school, Grandma Angie's, Grandma Schafers, church, the store, the library, my park, to the key store] Very attentive to directions and surroundings while driving or walking.

Simeon says: vrooom, brrrrooooom, errrrrrrrrr as he plays contently with his entourage of vehicles.

Simeon says: "I just want to go outside and ride my new bike I got for my birthday" 

(I'm pretty sure he didn't get that bike for his birthday ;-)

Simeon says: "Green? I like green! Green is my fave- rit."

Simeon says: "Fold me up like a burrito Clement"

Simeon says: "My brother hurt me!"

Simeon says: "Q" is a girl. [Why?] Because I like girls.