First Day

This morning I put this handsome boy on the bus again. The first day always seems to give me jitters. Instead of feeling anxious and excited and unsure and happy all at the same time for myself, I now feel that way for them. I stood this morning, my stomach doing flip-flops, praying and hoping for them to be good and be safe and be good friends and to enjoy it all.

And then I stood and had to do it all over again this afternoon. Only this really was the first time for Tate. The first time on a bus, first time really navigating things on his own, first time without me there to remind him and gather up after him. I could tell he was a little nervous, but excited too. He'll be great. And I am not one to get teary over things like this, but my little Pip has just gotten big before my eyes. Suddenly, he's tall. Suddenly, his feet have grown a whole size. Suddenly, he's lost teeth and learned to ride a 2-wheel bike. And suddenly, I just want to scoop him up in my arms and squeeze him.

It's hitting me harder with him, in a way, and I suppose it is because Calvin was my "big boy" when he went to kindergarten and Tate is my little Pippi. My silly, hardheaded, imaginative, sweet "little boy." Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about their growth and I wouldn't trade it for them staying still. Not ever would I want to hold them back from life. And, I don't think I'll feel this emotional about Ellerie starting preschool next week.

There's just something about that bus.

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

So, here I am another year older. My birthday was Saturday. 34. The last couple years, I have posted a self taken birthday photo for posterity. This year my husband took the pic and I am making my signature (rather tired looking) face where I am thinking "Man I hate having my picture taken."

I am sporting a new-that-morning 14 dollar Supercuts haircut here. (I did it Ms. G!) And I must say I am thrilled I didn't spend any more. Not that it looks Vogue-ready or anything, but that is how it just dried with just a little dab of styling goop. Seriously, that's huge for me. My hair is naturally super thick, wavy and dry and frizzy on the ends. Usually it dries looking more like Phil Spector than anything I could venture in public with.

I bought my own cake at BJs that morning. I am not a big cake person, but Boston creme sounded pretty good. It was only just okay. I should have bought a pie or just made brownies. Or had a birthday bag of potato chips (Cape Cods please). Cake is almost always disappointing calories for me.

The kids treated me to lots of special drawings and coloring pages that day. And I got to go grocery shopping all by myself. My present is a trip to see Mary Poppins with my mom and sisters and nieces next month. Yay for 34!

Behind the Times

I've been putting this post off because I keep meaning to FIRST post about my big boy, Tate, who, almost a month ago now, learned to ride a two wheel bike with Papa Paul. Problem is, I want a pic with that entry and all I have is a video, which I can't remember how to shrink to put on the blog without Mike around. I can't seem to remember to TAKE a picture of Tate riding when he is actually on the bike and I can't manage to remember to ask Mike about shrinking the video when he is around either. So, there I go. No bike post yet.

Shortly after the two-wheel learning trip to Nana and Papa's, the kids and I managed a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's as well. There was a marathon of campfires, 4 wheel rides, thrifting with Grandma for the girls and building in the shop time with Grandpa for the boys.

We made it to a "new" place in the creek too for wading,

rock climbing,

log rolling,

and, my personal favorite, playing with dead crayfish!

Tate also managed to get stuck almost knee deep in a mud pit and had to be rescued by yours truly, but flat out refused to let me take a picture of his muddy self.

I have been terrible lately about taking pictures, terrible about documenting and posting about our day to day stuff. We've been playing with neighborhood friends, dreaming about future projects, reading, indulging in too much kid tv and wii games (The kids pooled THEIR money and bought one. A much happier purchase in my mind than all the sillybandz they had been begging to waste their money on). I have been doing some cleaning and purging and organizing, although it seems to be destroyed by the kids immediately after doing so. I think we all very much need school and routine to start again. Yesterday I went into work (I have been on the Time-As-Reported books by my employer for 7 years, but for a year now I have had no work) and received instruction on the new from home tasks I will be taking on. A financial blessing, but a time management stressor for me. Tate has been assigned afternoon kindergarten this year and Ellerie will start morning preschool, which means a lot of running around and no time all to myself again this year. I think it will be a blessing to have some time just with Tate though. Sometimes that is hard to come by with the middle child. I just hope I can swing it all with grace and a sense of humor.

Wish me luck; I'm gonna need it!

It's a Wrap

No really. It's a wrap.

I should have been doing just about anything BUT sewing this afternoon. My house is trashed. Ellerie is MISERABLE (apparently it is harder to fall back asleep at 5:45 when you no longer have your UM). The boys have been fighting and are now glazed in front of PBS kids. I have limited (by which I mean cold cereal) supper plans.

But it's a cute wrap! And a standing snack baggie! And my kids are EXCITED about them, which makes me excited. And they are cheap reduced price fabrics (yes, fabricS. More to come) And they're reusable so yay for my checkbook and yay for the environment! Anybody want one, cuz they're kind of fun and easy? I've got time.

You know, ahem, sort of.

Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles

See this baby girl? She is no longer. Oh, she'll always be MY baby, but she has officially become a "bigger girl." (her words)

Her long and deep-seeded love and need for her paci (known in our house as the Um or Ummie) has been relinquished.

ALL. ON. HER. OWN.

Or mostly. At three, Ellie is a full year older than Cal was when we took his away. But it has been harder for me this time. Harder because she is my baby and she seems, you know, little. Harder because it's, you know, easy to give it to her for sleeping. Harder because with three busy ones it never seems to be a good time.

But we finally admitted there was no more putting it off. And we've been talking for weeks now very specifically about the Ummie and how it isn't good for her teeth and how only babies need Ummies and that none of the big girls use them. We've talked about how if you leave your Ummie in a basket at night, the Ummie Fairy will take them and leave you a present instead. And, then we picked a date, the 27th, with the promise of a pink frosted cake the next day.

But it's only the 23rd, you're thinking? How could this be?

Oh, she surprised us all asking to do it at bedtime last night, dropping them in the basket without hesitation and not even mentioning them again. HUH?

OKAAAAAY....

And these guys? Pinky and Lollipop (her choice) dropped off by the Ummie Fairy at her request. A pink unicorn for her and a blue one (oops) for SB (AKA Sleepy Baby, her nighttime lovey).

She is happy as a clam and not even a MENTION of the UM. Just when you think you know your kid, I swear.....

Although, admittedly I can't even explain the 3-D glasses.

Keeping It Together(ish)

Really, I'm still around, just not doing anything all that exciting. Trying to keep the cogs turning when the kids are all buzzing around me. Trying to play catch up while they are away at Nana and Papa's. (Cleaning with my "new" homemade scrub...just a grated half bar of Dr. Bronner's peppermint and some Borax are now leading me to shiny sinks, tubs and toilets! Smells heavenly and refreshing and almost makes me WANT to clean. ALMOST.)

Sorting clothes, back to school shopping (online mostly as who wants to drag three little ones to stores and then actually give them CHOICES about things?? ), trying to organize, trying to purge, trying to stay cool in between.

And the real reason I haven't been in this space, or done much of anything beyond laundry and cooking (if you can call it that), is that I've been reading. I have to admit, for a girl never to be without a book as a child and a former English Lit major in college, I don't read much as an adult. (Yes, I use the term "adult" loosely, especially when it comes to literature. You'll notice all my books are "juvenile" fiction) But there is a reason for me not reading much these days and it stems around the fact that once I start,

I. CAN. NOT. STOP.

My compulsion is to live in the world of my books. You kids need to eat? Be disciplined? You want to leave the house? Sorry, Mommy's busy with a book. You'll have to go trouble someone else. Oh, there is no one else? Drat, I shall have to put down the book and I am certain to be crabby or depressed because of it.

Hey. Some people have soap operas, I have kids' fiction.

But I'm going to have to pull the bookmark at some point here or nothing will get accomplished. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my reading adventures while I'm on a roll. The toilets will wait, right?

Camping

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that it's been awhile since I've been camping. Growing up, camping was pretty much what we did on vacations until I was in high school. The boys have been on our family men's trip a couple times (REAL camping...by which I mean, no toilets) but I haven't gone since before children. I've just not been keen on tenting it pregnant or nursing or with a babe in diapers, so this seemed like a good summer to try it as a whole crew. It was.............. not bad.

The kids did well, for the most part. Mike and I managed to not stress out, for the most part. It was dry, for the most part. You know it had to rain when we were either setting up the tent or taking it down. I thought taking it down was the better end of that bargain, so I'm glad for that.

I have likely increased my skills at being a low maintenance chick. I have increased my ability to just roll with it for sure. However, I have not increased my ability to make it all night without needing a trip to the loo. Good news, I'm not as freaked out about walking through the woods by myself with a flashlight.

I had a nice reminder, from the camping neighbors that our kids befriended, that other people's children actually can be more annoying than my own. Still, I was also reminded that it's likely that nobody's kids are louder than mine.

It was only a few days, but we packed a lot in and by the end we all pretty much felt like this:

I still feel a little that way, actually. Only, with a sunburned lip. So I'm going to chill with a movie or a book for awhile and an iced coffee. I'm so glad for our trip, but it's good to be home.