Movin' On Up

I've been anticipating the first day of school with mixed emotions. Part relief (it was a loooooong summer) and part nervousness (new teacher and all) made for a slightly tense mother. Lindy, on the other hand, managed the Back-to-School Night and First Day of School with ease.

I was concerned that Lindy's new teacher would have a tough time following in the shoes of her beloved first-grade teacher...but she scored big points right off the bat when she asked Lindy to be in charge of the class sign. Since the path to Lindy's heart has always involved making her feel important, I silently applauded the teacher's choice. Lindy was enamored from that point on. (Phew!)

Lindy had "the best day ever" and made "a ton of friends". I was also informed that I would not need to walk her to her class in the morning as she was old enough to know exactly where to go. Noted.

Second grade, here we come!

Post Edit: I should mention...Lindy's new favorite color is pink. I only bring it up because last year pink was her very, very, very least favorite color. She hated it. HATED IT. But, as an example of how the whims of a girl change, you should expect to see a LOT of pink from here on out. It is, after all, her favorite color.

What He Did Today

I had unwittingly prevented myself from being at the scene of the crime by naively thinking I could quickly take a shower and get ready for the day.

As I walked downstairs I was greeted by a):

Then noticed b):

In case you can't tell from the pictures...that is a) a soaking wet boy and b) a kitchen floor underneath water.

Apparently, while I spent a few precious moments on myself, Curtis decided to HOSE DOWN my entire kitchen with the sprayer from the kitchen sink. By the time I arrived on scene, the counter top, stovetop, fridge-top, and floor were underwater. The two kitchen rugs were completely soaked through, all papers within a 5-foot radius were in tattered ruins, and the garbage can (under the sink) was a-sloshing (no, I still don't know how he did it).

Oh, and his hands looked like this:

I took a deep breath, counted to ten, breathed again, grabbed the camera, grabbed some towels (lots of towels), and decided to let him live.

It's a darn good thing that kid is cute.

What He Was Doing

There's usually at least one point during the day (every day), when I suddenly realize that the house is simply too quiet. It's at this moment I find myself asking the dreaded question, "What's Curtis doing?"

Today's answer:

To Wed or Not

As Ellie shuffled her hand of Wig Out cards today she paused a moment to consider "Eve":

The result of her (rather thorough) analysis was this:

"Her has too many earrings, an earring through her middle of her nose, and doggie necklaces. With spikes on them. Her hair is pink and green and spiky. And she gots too dark purple lipstick.

No one will ever marry her."

All of this was said with a considerable amount of 5 year-old indignation.

Confessions of a Slacker Mom

I suffered a brief moment of clarity this afternoon. I emerged from the noisy-child-induced fog (in which I have cowered for these last few weeks) and suddenly realized, "Oh crap...school starts again in 2-ish weeks."

I uttered "crap" because (apart from a sincere attempt to cut back on the real expletives) I suddenly realized that all my grand plans for the summer of 2010 (plans which, at one point, sported the ridiculous label of "Jones Academy") had never actually come to fruition.

I did a quick mental scan of my long summer to-do list:

Zoo: nope

Aquarium: nuh-uh

Horse-back riding: nada

Hiking: nil

Weekly library visits: don't make me laugh

And the unfulfilled list continues...

Why? Well, here's a simple fact for you: I'm a slacker. Don't argue with me. I've made my peace. My name is Amy and I am a slacker mom.

And I'll tell you why. Kids are work. No, really...lots and lots and lots of work. Since the normal at-home motherhood is plenty exhausting...the thought of taking my little Insanity Circus on the road? Please. If the mental exertion of dealing with two girls didn't kill me off, the physical demands of chasing after a two-year old Houdini probably would.

So, the beginning of the school year has ended up looking quite a bit like a bright light at the end of a dark tunnel. I look forward to sitting in a quiet(er) house, sipping a diet coke, and only occasionally remembering to wonder where my son is (as he runs/rides/scoots down the street as fast as his little legs can go. Don't judge...it's not my idea).

And, while I'm sure I will eventually enter a stage of life where my slacking is simply not possible, I plan to enjoy this phase of life as much as I possibly can.

Hopefully with a good book.

And a diet coke.

(And a multitude of adorable two, five, and seven year-old X's and O'x. I do love those sloppy kisses.)

A girl can dream...

Is It Just Me?

After receiving numerous (so many, multiple, countless, frequent, oodles, an innumerable amount) of this specific fund-raising mailer...

I'm beginning to think they probably should have just kept their nickels.

Cause apparently every nickel counts.

Oh Dear

This morning Curtis had toast for breakfast. With strawberry jam.

Lindy leaned over and said, "Hey Curtis...will you pull Santa's sleigh tonight?"

Sometimes she cracks me up.

Hanging With The Boys

One of the things my kids enjoy most about summer is spending time with their cousins. Each year we get a special, extended visit from my older brother. Two weeks ago he came rolling into town in his camper-van and brought along all his children...including his three boys. Imagine my son's delight when faced with the prospect of three like-minded buddies. Yup...he was nearly beside himself with joy.

While here, my youngest nephew celebrated his 5th birthday. His dad took him to Target and let him pick out a present. As he walked down the "Nerf" aisle he exclaimed, "AWESOME!" and soon walked out of the store with not one, but two Nerf guns in hand.

And that was the moment I abandoned all efforts to keep my son from expressing his boyish need to shoot things. I grabbed one more and headed home. Several days of all-out warfare followed. (And yes, the adults spent more than their fair-share of time in combat.) Curtis just LOVES it.

Here's Curtis trying to get the little suction cups to stick to the window:

Isn't that stance awesome?

I could tell you how devastatingly sad he's been since they left...but that's a whole other post. :)

August

Today I peeked outside at my blackberry bushes. Right now most of the berries look like this:

But some of them are starting to look like this:

It looks like we're going to have a great harvest this August. Yummy!