It wasn't me

I experienced my first bad deed that no one did.

(although if I were a betting person I would put my money on Ivy)

Ivy was watching tv the other day and I noticed something on the tv. As I went over and tried to wipe it off I realized it wasn't coming off. I turned off the tv to find the entire thing scratched.

A little alarmed, I asked Ivy what happened. She said she and Owen scratched it with some keys, followed quickly by an actually she thinks Owen did it, or maybe actually it was her, she didn't know.

When I explained that this was very sad and dad's favorite thing was ruined, she became quite sure Autumn or Owen did it but she did not do it. She never wavered a bit after that.

Owen came home from school and although I swear he took a few moments to compose himself and his sneaky smile definitely was there, he maintained it was not him. They both were so suspicious and convincing at the same time.

Here we are a few days later and no one did it. I sort of feel like they both know and agreed not to tell me but how could a 7 year old a a 3 year old be capable of such deceit and conspiracy.

I got to hand it to them, at one point I even looked at how high Autumn could reach thinking, maybe she really did scratch the top of the tv.

I better watch this group. I have a feeling ghost child committing bad deeds will be back....

So proud

I am so proud of how things are going with school, and by that I mean for me!

I am part of a carpool and I will not lie, it stresses me out. I am on the morning shift and the idea of being responsible for other people's children to make it to school on time is so stressful. I am late to everything. Being late is all I know, so much so that I find myself making me late when I could have otherwise been early or on time. I am always rushing to leave and I usually forget something.

Now fast forward to my first three carpool days and you can imagine my excitement for getting Ivy to school on time, leaving her school and subsequently getting Owen, the twins from next door, and a girl I had never met before carpool, to school EARLY. Mind you this has only been for a few days but it is a few days more than I have ever been early for anything.

I am so pleased with myself. Now whether I say this in January is yet to be seen, but for now I will take my three days and throw myself a party!

And then there was one

I am not sure how we got here, the place at the end of the summer where we start school all over again.

The summer wasted no time in ending and brought about Owen's first day of first grade, Ivy's first day of preschool and Autumn's first day of being the only one at home four days a week.

Owen went from a private kindergarten to the dreaded public school. I wish the school system would update itself and fix some things, but this is a happy post not a rant, although I do have a lot to say lately about a lot of things, maybe next post.

I dropped Owen off at school on Wednesday and he stood outside the car with his backpack and the biggest smile on his face. He waved and waved before being guided to his line. As I looked at him standing there, I started to cry. The tears were unexpected really, and they weren't because I was sad he was big (well a little of that, I miss him all day) but mostly that he was ready. He was so big and so brave just bounding off to school. He just looked so sweet standing there as he proudly waved, I couldn't stop the tears.

I anxiously waited for pickup time and, after an intense lesson about pickup from my neighbor and a teeny mistake on my part where I blocked the entire exit for all the parents, I picked up his smiley self and we declared the first day a success. He was quick to report that he had been there for 6 hours and I should realize that and pick him up a little sooner. I made a note of that for him.

I mostly enjoyed hearing about the part of school where I forgot to pack him a drink in his home lunch. After inquiring as to how he resolved this problem, he sheepishly smiled and then gleefully let me know that they sell chocolate milk at school. Someone was sure he had money on his account and gave him the milk. He probably thought school was so amazing, here he was left to his own thirsty devices with no choice other than to order himself a forbidden chocolate milk.

Owen likes school with the exception that it is too long. Today he insisted it was his third day of school when in fact it was the second. It really must seem long considering he gained an entire day in there.

And next, we had Muffy heading off to preschool today. We carefully picked out her first day outfit, little bird leggings with a matching sweater dress. She really wanted two side ponytails and one in the back. I worked my last little bit of magic I have left on her and managed to only do two (although I had to promise three on Monday). I had a picture perfect girl ready for school, and then, I heard the dreaded words: I don't want to wear this. Nooooooooo!! We almost made it to school with matching clothes and really cute hair..... but that wouldn't be very Muffy like now would it, and what's the fun of matching anyway. Clearly brown bird pants go much better with a bluish-green polka dot shirt anyway.

She loved her school and loved telling Owen about her day. I learned she did not have snack cause we forgot to bring one (I wish things were explained better in schools). Owen explained the concept of one person bringing it for everyone to share. I also learned everyone sang songs except her and the little green guy (the kid in the green jacket of course, not an imaginary alien, like she would have an imaginary alien-like friend when she has her imaginary friend Luko, the little girl). Upon questioning, I was informed simply: she didn't want to sing.

So now I feel like my brain may explode as I figure out their schedules, their lessons, the carpool, the lunches, the snacks, the getting up early, the going to bed struggles, and the homework, all the while making sure my own life doesn't disappear.

Well, here's to a great school year and hoping my brain doesn't explode!

11 months

That wee little thing turned 11 months old the other day.  We are just one month shy of turning 1.  We have decided she is definitely the nerd of the bunch and sort of weird in an adorably cute kind of way. 

She crawls all over the place, goes up and down stairs, stands up from the ground, moves around with furniture and took 6 steps the other day.  She coughs when she needs a drink and waves her hands around when she wants something.  She is still wearing mostly 6-12 month clothes, and on occasion, 3-6 month clothes. She has 3 teeth, the bottom front two and the top side fang tooth.  We have three others that have just poked through, the top two front teeth and the other side fang tooth.  We are happy for those front teeth, that side fang tooth is not helping her oddness in any way.  She decided yesterday that she doesn’t like long sleeves with something tight on her wrist and works very hard to pull her arm out.  I am not sure I am ready for her to care what she wears at 11 months.  Ben showed me a picture of him reading to Rylee the other day and I laughed at the the idea of Autumn sitting through a book.  She may not sit through a book, but she did try to play Uno with us the other night.  She had a pile of cards and kept throwing her cards into a pile she created.  Owen and I loved that.  She loves her binky and her “special blanket”.  Her blanket is big and she drags it around and gathers it up. 

She is still on a very restrictive diet (as am I, and although I am often starving for something super delicious, I am in the best shape I have ever been in – thanks to boot camp and a serious lack of processed foods).  She has eczema on her feet and legs and it seems a small amount of corn results in sleepless itchy nights and flare-ups on her legs and feet.  It is really hard and there have been a few times when I actually thought, “it is just skin, she will live” because the energy of trying to trace back something she or I ate that may or may not have contained corn was just too difficult for my brain at that time.   She does eat a lot of nectarines, peas, potatoes, olives, apples and blueberries.  I believe her favorite would have to be the blueberries, case in point: we went to a farmer’s market today and bought a pint of blueberries. She ate the entire thing herself as we walked the market. 

She mostly loves Owen and Ivy, maybe more Owen than Ivy, but that is Ivy’s fault.  Hard to love the one that is dragging you across the driveway because you started to cry and that one decided to bring you to mom.  The three of them ride around the kitchen on their cars.  Ivy drives in the front, baby in the middle and Owen last.  They tie their three cars together with a rope and ride in a chain.  She LOVES it and thinks she is so neat. 

She kind of is.  

We almost lost him

That title sounded sweet in my head and then I read it and it looked maybe more dramatic than it is...or maybe not.

The him I am referring to is none other than extra family member: Owl.

He is so old and positively not white, in fact I would venture to say he is more like a permanent shade of grey. I love him so much though. Sometimes, i kiss Owen goodnight while he is asleep and I can't help myself and I kiss that little grey friend on his head too. It isn't that I love owl per se but all the things he represents and I know it is only a matter of time before he is tucked carefully away in a drawer cause he isn't needed anymore.

But for now he is still tucked under his friend's arm and often found by his side and I truly cherish every moment I see that. So, imagine the heartbreak when he went missing last week.

After a quick trip to the new office and a crazy night with Felix and Robee staying over, Owen started to look for owl the next day. We looked and looked and looked and came up empty. This lead us to believe he was at the office. After a trip to the beach to look for crabs, we headed to the office. Again, no owl. We changed our mind and determined he had to be home. After heading home we looked and looked again. I changed my mind again and decided he was at the office while Owen changed his mind and decided he was gone forever. I knew I didn't look all over the office and because moms have super finding powers, I was not calling him gone yet.

I dropped the crew off at the swimming pool and as I knew I could not swim in peace without owl, I went to the office. I started inside and planned to work my way back. I quickly eliminated the first three rooms and headed outside. From the back door I glanced side to side and there he was, favorite guy in the sprinkler ditch by the house. I totally felt like picking him up like a lost child and hugging and kissing him (and may or may not have actually done such a thing. Luckily it was just him and I and Autumn and they both can't talk and I am saying nothing).

So now he is home where he belongs. Owen was thrilled about his return and has held on a little tighter ever since.

And me, I get to watch my son run down the street with his favorite animal tucked under his arm for a little longer.

I know Owen would have been fine, but i sure wasn't ready to lose owl yet.

Please Bless

I am not always present to my kids, sometimes, even just the opposite.  I spend too much time on the computer, I talk on the phone too much, I am constantly looking up information on my phone, I make them watch shows so for a few minutes someone won’t ask me for something, and on occasion, I even send them upstairs to go to bed with the promise I will be right there, while all the while knowing they will fall asleep before I get there. 

The other day I read an article about how many kids are dying because they are left in hot cars.  The article said that it happens when people are out of their normal routine or when a parent that usually doesn’t have the kids is dropping them off.  It mentioned the most recent case of this happening occurred when a mom dropped off her 11 year old at school and then went to drop off her 5 month old at a church daycare but then went home.  She went back that afternoon to pick up the son that was never dropped off at daycare and was informed the child was not dropped off.  It was then discovered that the mom never dropped off the baby, forgot about him, and he subsequently died in the hot car. 

I know that things happen.  I really do.  Autopilot – I am guilty of it time and time again.  It wasn’t the kids being left in the car that bothered me about the article, but the suggestion of a solution.  An app.  There is an app you can install on your phone where you set an alert to remind you that you have your child in the car.  

I forget things, I make promises I don’t keep, I am a technology junkie, and I love my iPhone, but please bless that I don’t rely on that phone one day to remind me that I took my child somewhere with me in the car.  Or, please bless that one day I don’t climb out of the car remembering to take my phone with me, while my precious little babies stay behind. 

An app to remember your baby is just too much and reminds me that life is headed in a direction I don’t want to go. 

Please bless I just remember these guys cause I remember them. 

Hot

Today is a day that the air conditioner just got bumped to the top of the to do list. I see the weather report for the next two days and it is all I can do not to call this instant. We are all hanging out in one room with a fan blowing on us. The thermostat says it is 82 degrees in the house.

In an hour I will be working out at boot camp. You can safely assume I am not totally excited for that but will work hard nonetheless. Maybe I will feel like I worked extra hard with the excess heat, or I may die, one or the other.

The kids and I had no choice but to eat tons of chocolate chips today cause we are so hot.

It was either that or buy an air conditioner today. I should have just done both.