LEtting it GO

If you were six years old and you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, would you:

A) Brave all the scary monsters in the hallway, making a dash for the light in the bathroom

B) Just pee in the Lego box


I'm washing Legos today.

Cute?

He was in the tree outside Jon's office and begged me to take pictures of him. They turned out pretty cute. In fact, they just make me smile.



This is also something that makes me smile. The other night I made homemade shortcake with plenty of sugar, piled on the strawberries and poured on a bit of milk while it was still piping hot. I could go for some now.


Then there is this. At first glance it looks cute or at least happy. He likes those sweetened, dried cranberries--the beaming smile tells me this. But notice...the pajamas. It's 11:03 pm and he's wired. This is not the cute picture you thought it was. It's the "Mommy I demand that you keep your eyes open" machine. This has not been Mommy's delightful, strawberry shortcake, happy day--and my husband is somewhere in Georgia at the moment.

My 6th grade teacher once told me, "This too shall pass." I know that someone famous is credited with the phrase, but to my dying day I will always thank that woman for repeating it to me. It just stuck in my head way back then and often pops up to renew my perspective in "times that try the soul."--Anne (spelled with an "e").

Yep, pretty soon I can look forward to potty training while nursing. Lovely. Someone please put me in bed before sarcasm takes over completely.

The Best Comment

One day I took all my kids with me to mail a package. I usually go to the post office at the airport because there are fewer long lines there. This particular day was a happy one. The sun was shining, the weather warm, school done and children getting along. The kids even behaved nicely while in line (I expect it, but don't always get it).

We were headed out through the lobby when a woman entered and stated the standard, "I bet they keep you busy." I flashed a smile instead of a reply, then she stopped walking, smiled and added, "...and you don't mind it at all, do you?"

"It's a blessing and a joy. Sometimes it's hard, but mostly, it's great!" I loved being able to fill in the blank. It made my day. It happened over a year ago and I'm still talking about it.

Declaration of Kidependence

I declare today national Get-Play Dough-Out-of-Your-Carpet Day!

In celebration, let me direct you to the makers of the incredibly-icky-in-carpet stuff for instructions on how to celebrate.

I will be skipping part of history to do my part in making this a memorable occasion.

My 4 Ring Circus

Moms always wear different hats and we never get to do anything without at least one interruption. Having four sources of interruption can be interesting all by itself, but adding school to that mix is even more entertaining.

This morning was our first day of school: Kindergarten and 2nd grade. Mr. Kindergarten did his reading lesson before Miss 2nd grade came down for breakfast. Great! We're starting out ahead. When she joined us, we began with our Bible story, which was interrupted by Mr. Kindergarten's constant comments and questions. Not too bad.

Next was printing and cursive. After a bit of instruction they did it on their own while I cleaned up breakfast dishes, made a Dr. appointment to check out my daughter's constant cough, and then I took care of the baby.

On to Math . . . One did a worksheet on her own while I went over numbers with the other. While one finished her worksheet and the toddler played in the playroom, Mr. Kindergarten helped me put together tonight's meatloaf.

History . . . We were supposed to read 4 1/2 pages and it took what felt like 4 1/2 hours. As I began reading, Mr. Toddler Man ran in and begged for juice until I gave in. We continued reading and addressed many questions from Mr. Kindergarten and Miss 2nd grade. In the meantime a toddler (the one with the completely empty sippy cup) pooped all over the bathroom floor, a baby was put to bed and then the mess was cleaned up. A bit stressful, but we're still on our feet.

Back to history. We finished our reading and began our project, which included glue, colored pencils and scissors. WARNING: do not allow a toddler to approach while using scissors or glue. The toddler wanted to cut too so I put him in his seat and gave him a scrap paper. On the sly, he got some glitter glue and glittered a page and himself.

By this time we were in a dash to clean up and get lunch in their bellies before a 1:15 Dr. appointment. Lunch done, baby fed, shoes on, children loaded up, to the Dr. office.

Surprise!!! She has walking pneumonia. Nothing really serious but without antibiotics it would have stayed for 3-4 weeks. Ugh. We went to the pharmacy then straight to the preschool office to enroll Mr. Toddler for one day a week. :)

We came home and I put Toddler to bed and finished the project with Mr. Kindergarten and Miss 2nd grade. Then we made a cake for celebrating the beginning of school. Finally, at 4:00, school ended. Now, they're watching T.V. and I am sitting here typing. While typing this blog I've gotten up 21 times to do things for other people.

It's a 4 ring circus, but I wouldn't trade being the ringmaster for anything. And hey, Mr. Kindergarten just told me that, in this morning's Bible lesson, the old man that couldn't talk had a son named John. Not too bad. The day was a success.