Only Child

Friday was report card day. Which means no school for the kids.... and that we need child care while I do my own report cards. My mom came out to stay with the kids, and when she left, she took the boys home with her to spend two nights.

John and I can't remember exactly, but neither of us can remember a time when we had just Abby with us. We decided to make Friday night a special night. We took her to Olive Garden (which was mediocre and overpriced overall, but she loved her Shirley Temple with THREE cherries and the unlimited breadsticks which became her entire dinner when she didn't like her mac and cheese) and then to the mall to actually BUY something at Clair's. She loves that store, and goes in to drool every time we see one (which is a lot---Clair's are like Starbuck's, one on every corner) but never gets to actually purchase something. She got clip-on cherry earrings and loves them more than life itself. Then, we got ice cream at the food court and let her get candy from the vending machine. All of which pretty much defines "special night" for Miss Abby. She was chatty and happy and bubbly and did not appear to miss her brothers at all. Go figure.

Today, John had to work (again--GRRRR) so it was just us girls for the day. We slept in until 8:45, when she came to snuggle and watch Fresh Beat Band in my bed (while I tried to ignore Fresh Beat Band so that I wouldn't have to claw my eyes and ears off of my head. Seriously, that is a really annoying show.) We had a "picnic breakfast" (aka eating on a towel on the TV room floor) and got ready for the day. And what a day it was. Another Abby Dream Day. We had Miss Molly's birthday party, which had games and presents and (good) macaroni and cheese and cake and then, as if all of that wasn't great enough, swimming at the pool. She had a great time at the pool (in the interest of full disclosure, I didn't even see her for most of it--I floated in the pool, chatting with my friends, while the dads in the pool played with all the kids) and we spent extra long in the "hot pool," warming up. Then, we came home to see John before he left to drive the limo for the evening. He came up with a great idea! Pedicures. *There was no argument from me, and off we went to the salon. Abby loved the attention and the ladies in the salon gave her the royal treatment: neon pink fingers, neon orange toes, little flowers painted on the nails, and candy. Afterward, she chose dinner (Wendy's) and the RedBox (Hannah Montana) and the movie snack (popcorn and Cherry Pepsi.)

At bedtime, I asked her if she liked being home alone without her brothers and she said, "YES! It's so fun! But they are coming home tomorrow, right Mommy? Right?" Even with having everything go her way, with getting things she wouldnt' normally get, she still would rather have her brothers. That is exactly how I feel. It is fun and easy to have only one child. There is no fighting. It's quiet. There's very little mess. Things don't take very long to accomplish. But, it's quiet. And it's lonely. And it doesn't feel complete. So, like Abby, I'll be really happy to pick them up tomorrow. And even though I'll be ready to take them back after fifteen miles of them bickering in the back seat, it will feel right again.

*As a sidenote, I have a love/hate relationship with pedicures. I love, love, love them. I love the way my toes and feet look when I'm done, I love the hot water and the peppermint soap and the massage. But, I hate that when I am getting one, I think "There are people in [insert name of place devastated by whichever natural disaster has just happened or where poverty is so rampant that children are dying in the streets] who don't even have [insert name of basic human need that is not being met] and here I am wasting money on a pedicure. I hate that the woman who did my pedicure today explained to me that in Vietnam, she was a middle school teacher too. A chemistry teacher. And now, I am getting an underpriced pedicure from the place where she is being underpaid in order to provide the super cheap prices. Sigh.

Drift Creek Falls

Last weekend, we decided to go on an adventure. We headed to the coast for a hike, some shopping, some delicious Chinese food, a glance at the stormy ocean, and a stop at the casino arcade. Despite the rain (lots and lots and lots of rain), we had a great time. Rather than giving the play by play, I decided to go with a few pictures and some quotes from the day........

At Drift Creek Falls

John: Whoa. This is way out here. Did you arrange to have me killed out here? (If you don't know him, you should know that he was kidding. I think.)
John: Even if you didn't arrange a hit, I am totally going to get eaten by a cougar. (No less than ten seconds later we saw a sign announcing "Cougar Mountain."
James (three steps into the hike): Hey, have I mentioned that I am not a fan of hiking? There is so much walking when we go hiking.
Abby: AhhhhhhHHHHHHH! Oh, sorry. I thought that tree up there was a bear. Or a chicken.
Josh: Mom? Next time you plan an adventure, could you choose a nicer day?
John (upon hearing me trying to teach the kids something interesting about nature): What's that, Mr. Wizard?
Josh (after thinking that it was pretty funny that John called me Mr. Wizard): Yeah, Mom, a road trip with you would be way too educational.
James (about six steps into the hike): Exactly how far is it?
Abby: I'm hungry. (Repeat every tenth of a mile)
John: I have snacks! And a gallon of water. And a knife. And a solar survival blanket. (The hike is 1 1/2 miles.)
Me (muttering under my breath): Real nice. Leave me on the suspension bridge with three kids dangling hundreds of feet in the air.
John (I am imagining this, but I bet he muttered this under his breath): Real nice. Bring the guy who is afraid of heights to a 240 foot suspension bridge where his three kids will totally know if he chickens out and doesn't cross. I guess I'll sprint across with my eyes shut and try to ignore the bouncing.

The best shot of the twenty attempts. I guess that standing on a suspension bridge hoping that your camera doesn't fall hundreds of feet to its death doesn't make for great pictures....

The bear. Or the chicken.

Intrepid explorers. We did really have fun.

Checking out the creek.

Checking out the creek from a slightly closer vantage point. No fear in this one.

I don't know why this didn't rotate, but you can see her "hiking clothes." She had it all planned out and was pretty impressed with herself.

At the Outlet Mall:

Checker at The Children's Place (to Abby): Oh, your eyebrow is pushed up.

Checker at The Children's Place (to me): It's so funny when that happens.

John to checker at the Children's Place: I think she got that from her grandfather.

Checker: silence as it sinks in that her eyebrows just look like that

Me: silence as I glare at said checker

Checker: That will be $102.47 (for five complete outfits for Abby, three fleece hats, four pairs of pants for each boy, a shirt for James and a pair of fleece pajamas for Abby!!)

Me: big smile for the checker--all was forgiven in the face of such a great deal!

At the beach:

Me: It's so rainy and windy that we are just going to look at the ocean for a minute.

Abby: Mommy, will you dig a hole with me?

Me: We're not going on the beach. Just looking at the ocean.

Abby: Oh. Will you jump in the waves with me?

Me: No, we aren't even going on the sand. Just to look for a minute.

Abby: Can we throw rocks?

Me: sigh

James: Can I stay in the car?

At the arcade:

James: This is better than good. This is awesome! (Finally, some enthusiasm from that boy.)

John: Best twenty bucks we spent all week. (We do love us some overpriced entertainment.)

In the car:

John: Did you guys have fun?

Josh, James, and Abby: YES!!!!! Zzzzzzzzz. (And they slept all the way home.)

How Can This Be?

A few weeks ago, I picked up Josh and three other girls from our "village" of playgroup kids from choir. (Sidenote: Josh loves choir and has been talking about doing high school choir.) They all came running out to the car, chattering about the songs they'd be singing and things that had happened that day at school. Since all four of these kids are in the dual language program, they have stayed together every year since kindergarten, and as a result, have stayed really close. Admittedly, Josh is on the outside since he is a boy, but when you see the four together, you can tell they have been friends forever! (Nearly nine years to be exact.) As I sat in the front seat and listened to their very tween-ish conversations and looked in the rear view mirror to see the four very grown-up kids and not the babies I once knew, I just couldn't believe it. There they sat, with their Top Cat bracelets (showing that they are "top" in their school), in their stylish clothes (well, the girls, at least), with some of their oldest friends. How can it be that the little ones who started in playgroup together have turned into such big kids?

When I went looking for a picture of the four as little kids, I came across this one. From left, Maddy, Alyssa, Josh, and Diana. This is Maddy's third birthday. These four have been together forever! So sweet.

This one is from just a month later. From left, Zac, Josh, Diana, Tyler, Alyssa and Maddy. Look at all those sippy cups--love it!

Basketball

As usual, Mr. Athletic doesn't have any problem picking up a sport. He already makes most of his shots and dribbles like a pro. Maybe that is a slight exaggeration....

This is a terrible picture, but if you look closely, you can see true happiness on this face. When it's there, it's pretty awesome!!

I asked him to pose like he was shooting and this is what I got. I like that he is giggling behind the ball.

Josh really improved this season! He had a completely different team, got a lot of playing time, and really enjoyed himself. It was fun to see him grow as a player. And since my friends didn't have kids on this team, I actually watched him grow myself. In this shot, he made the basket and the motion on number 8 there was a foul. He made his foul shot too!

Team strategy session. Also one of the two shots that I took that aren't so blurry that you can't see anything in them except smears.

Basketball ended for both boys last Saturday, so I drug the camera along and got these not-so-great shots. To be honest, I don't love basketball. It's most redeeming quality is that it is indoors. Besides that, I could take it or leave it. But the boys enjoy it, and it does keep them active during the long winter months. (Not that winter stops the boys from playing soccer--we have the muddy shoes and stained long pants to prove that.) But, since James asked me the other day "How many more sleeps until soccer?", I think that we will all be happy once soccer starts again!

Blame

The other night, Abby was playing her Leapster after she went to bed. All three kids are allowed to read or play Leapster after lights out if they aren't quite tired yet. But unfortunately for Abby, she really WAS tired. A few minutes after lights out, we heard a wail from Abby's room. She came running out sobbing and yelling:



"MY LEAPSTER HIT ME IN THE FACE!!"



Apparently, she had been lying down playing Leapster and dozed off. Which was CLEARLY the Leapster's fault.

Turnabout is fair play

Guess who got the "let someone draw a mustache and glasses on you and wear them for the rest of the game" card this time? James is not pleased that I posted this one!

New Job (See also: Top Ten Reasons that I cannot seem to keep up with my blog. AT ALL.)

I started a new job in January. Our district grant writer applied for a huge (275,000 dollar) grant from the state to infuse technology into the classroom, and we got it. Part of the grant was a 24- hour-a -week "tech coach" job. Teresa and I were hired to job-share the tech coach job in addition to our job-share of a full-time teacher position. Which essentially means that I continue to teach my afternoon core class and then add 12 additional tech coach hours to my schedule. With some creative scheduling, I have been able to make it work! It's a lot at once, and the learning curve is steep, but so far I am really enjoying it. I actually knew more about technology than I thought I did, and Teresa and I are both having fun writing lessons, planning trainings, and playing with the technology ourselves. It will be even more fun as the equipment begins to arrive; having computers and cameras and the time to figure out what to do with it all will be challenging in the best way!

Tech Savvy

(I typed savvy on the title, and it looked wrong. And then I typed saavy, and it looked really wrong. And then I typed savvy and decided it WAS right. And then John walked by and did a double take. Thank goodness for dictionary.com....)

I had the privilege of watching these very cute, very precocious Three Musketeers the other day. Everyone knows that three is NOT a magic number when it comes to preschoolers. Or grade schoolers. Or teenagers. Three invites drama and difficulty, but these three did great. I kept them busy with individual activities like Shrinky Dinks, but after a while, Abby had a great idea: playing computer. I wasn't sold. One screen, one mouse, and three kids? Recipe for disaster. They couldn't have proved me more wrong! They traded off clicking the mouse and sitting in the "good" chair and choosing games on Nick Jr. And because of my new job, I couldn't help but notice how incredibly tech savvy they all are! No wonder the kids in my class outshine me on the computer.....

This is a REALLY bad picture and no amount of editing would salvage it. But, they were so cute, and I love that for once in her life, Abby looks small!

Oops!

Last week, John had to work on Saturday. But, he did get to leave for a bit to come watch James at basketball. Since Josh also had a game coming up, Josh, Abby and I left. When we went out to the parking lot, I started the car.....and backed right into another car. Now, I wouldn't say that I am a great driver, but seriously. Backing into a parked car? When I was the only one in the parking lot? That is really bad.

With a sinking stomach, I tried to get up the courage to get out of the car and survey the damage, already cringing in embarrassment at the thought of having to find the owner and fess up.

Me: Oh my god! I hit a car!
Josh (who will never be accused of being calm in a crisis) (shrieking): Did you hit a car??? Did you?? Did you hit someone's car??
Abby: Mommy! You said a not nice word. I won't even say that word that you said, but it is not nice. Mommy? Do you hear me? You said a not nice word!
Me: Oh my god! I can't believe I did that!
Josh: What are you going to dooooo? Really? Mom? What are you going to dooooo?
Abby: MOMMY!! You said that not nice word again!
Me: Josh! Stop freaking out. Abby-I'm sorry. Just be glad I didn't say the other words I could have chosen.
Josh: Um, Mom? Mom?
Me: Josh, seriously. Stop. It's not that big of a....
Josh: MOM! You hit DAD's car!
Me: What? Are you sure?
Josh: Yes! Look--see? That's DAD's car!
Me: Oh, what a relief. (Laughing) That's awesome!

The kids were confused exactly why that was good news, but I was ecstatic. I paused long enough to leave John a voice mail (which he has apparently been replaying for the amusement of others) and have a good laugh. Then we headed off to the next game. John was smart enough to realize his car was safer back at work and didn't come to Josh's game.

Not ready

When I picked Josh up after work on Wednesday, he announced excitedly from the back seat: "Mom!! I want to join choir!" I, not wanting to make any sort of committment at all, replied with my go-to statement: "Tell me more....." He went on to explain that every Friday, after school for an hour, there would be a 4th and 5th grade choir, and then the choir would eventually perform at a choir festival. I was sold. I like it when the boys have other interests outside of sports (just like I like it when Abby likes something that isn't sparkly and gaudy and awful) and it wouldn't really affect our lives at all. Perfect. I said yes, he was thrilled, everyone was happy. (And with the pre-pubescent boy I have on my hands, everyone being happy is something to celebrate at my house.)

Fast forward to five hours later. The little kids were in bed, so just Josh and I were watching American Idol.

Josh: Um, mom? I don't think I want to do choir.
Me: What? Why? You were really excited.
Josh: Well, I am not a very good singer. (True.)
Me: Josh, it's an elementary school choir. No one is a good singer. You just do it for the fun of it.
Josh: Yeah, it's just.......
Me: Seriously, no one will even be able to hear you. (Hopefully)
Josh: Um. Well. It's just that.... Well. People might make fun of me.
Me: Why?
Josh: I might be the only boy.
Me: So? (Inside: cringing, because ugh, people totally will make fun of him if he is the only boy who goes)
Josh: The other boys will tease me.
Me: But do you want to do choir?
Josh: I really do.
Me: Well, then this is one of those times when you need to just not worry about what people will think. (Soooooo hard to do) I signed the form, so it is up to you to decide. I'm not going to make you do choir, but I think you should do it if you want to. (I totally wanted to make him do it.)
Josh (with very little enthusiasm): OK, I'll think about it.

That conversation was hard for me. Because I sooooo get this. I can remember exactly what that feels like. I see it every day in my classroom. No one wants to be different. No one likes to be made fun of. And middle schoolers will do almost anything just to be accepted. I wanted him to do choir, to just accept himself, everyone else be damned. But it doesn't work that way. Like it or not, we are about to head into the years when what other people think becomes the most important thing in the world. And I am just not ready.

PS He decided to do it. I'm proud of him, and I hope with every bit of my mom power that no one will make fun of him. But if they do, it will not be the last time. By a long shot.

Vaccumin' it old school

For the past five or six years, my grandparents have given my cousins, my sister and me a check for $1000 for our birthdays. Which is so, so nice. And even nicer is that regardless of when our birthday falls in the year, we all get them near the first birthday, my cousin Jenn's, in January. But, we don't get our check until we go pick them up ourselves. (Which is no problem since we all visit regularly!)




This weekend, I went to see them, and they had my birthday present waiting. And just like every year, when I walked in, my grandpa said "Well, there's the birthday girl." And just like every year, I like to tell them my plans for the money, emphasizing any saving that I will do. (They didn't get to the point when they can pass out thousand dollar birthday checks to their grandkids by spending frivolously!) So I mentioned that I was planning to buy a new vacuum because I was really unhappy with my current one. The rest, of course, would be earmarked for the saving account.


Then, my grandpa said, "Well, if you want it, we have that old Rainbow of Grandma D's, and it's too heavy for Grandma to use now." Now, my great-grandma died when I was 14, so if you figure that I am now 34, it is way more than 20 years old. However, if you have ever had a Rainbow guy come to the door, you'll know that they promise that it will be the last vacuum you ever buy. So, my grandpa pulled it out and we tested it. It is hilarious. It uses water as a filter (it is NOT a steam cleaner, just a dry vacuum that uses water), and is way late seventies/early eighties. But. BUT. It is a really great vacuum. The test run convinced me to take the dinosaur home with me.


I used it on Sunday. And it. is. amazing. Seriously. (I mean, I wrote a whole blog post about it!) The water "filter", as my grandma had warned, was so disgusting after I was done with our tiny house that I almost threw up; it was mud. Thick, gray, hairy mud. So gross. But also, no longer in our carpets! The kids went on and on. "The carpet is so soft!" "Look! My baseball rug is actually white again!" "Oh, clean carpet! I can't remember the last time we had clean carpet!" "Look the TV room doesn't have ANY dog hair!" (Such brats. Honest little brats, all three.) The best part is that as I vacuum, I can smell the tiniest hint of both my grandma's houses. And since I haven't been to my great-grandma's house since I was a teenager, that was kind of cool.

Here is my new love:

Um, yeah, of course I took a picture of it. Isn't it AWESOME? Try not to be jealous. I might let you borrow it, if you're really nice to me.....

Spanish Speaker, coming up

Since both boys have now heard enough Spanish to know quite a bit, they have begun speaking to each other in Spanish. It's cute.

James: Tengo frio (I'm cold)
Josh: Necesito un chaqueta (I need a jacket)

Abby, who is not one to be left out, often answers with her own addition.

Abby: Si! Al rescate! Adios! Rojo! (which means Yes! To the rescue! Good-bye! Red!)

Recently, in an effort to mirror the accents of her brothers, she started rolling the "r" in every word that has one. Which, along with her speech impediment causing her to mispronounce her "r" sounds, was pretty cute. But then, the tongue rolling monster took over. She can somehow roll every consonant. And she does. It is about to drive me up the wall. I am trying to be patient because, really, how cute is it that she wants to speak a second language. But. Seriously. I may have to sell her before this phase passes........

For the Primary Grade Teachers....

(because no one else will get it.)

James, putting in our new Wii Fit Plus game, says with a little smile:

"Mom, when do you think they'll come out with the Wii Fit Take Away?"

Funny, funny boy.

Resolution Update and a FUNNY picture

Well, some resolutions are going pretty well. I have been drinking more water, dutifully getting 7-8 servings of fruits and veggies a day (did you know that a serving is actually pretty small? Like 12 baby carrots?), the dog has been walked (2 miles) four times in six days and we have played four games as a family in the past six days. So, those are great. We have also started to talk about our road trip, which is as far as I'll get on that one for a while. (Taking more pictures, cleaning the garage and a fireproof box have gone nowhere, as has the emergency fund. It has only been six days after all....)



The biggest fail has been blogging more! I have ideas, but am finding that with my extended hours at work (more on this later), walking the dog, and playing games with the kids, there are not enough hours in the day! But I am going to try a little harder to post something short at least every few days!

For today, if in ten years, I am wondering why Abby needs extensive therapy, please remind me that it is because we did THIS to her when she was four.....

What can I say? If the card says draw on a mustache and glasses with eyeliner and stay that way for the rest of the game, well, that is just what you have to do.

PS The game "Would you Rather for Kids" is very fun. My kids are rolling on the floor laughing (literally in the case of James) for the entire game. Plus, a game where totally disgusting things come up every turn? Pretty awesome. And if there are challenges that require you to act like a cat for a minute or draw on a fake mustache and glasses? Even better. Two real game questions:

Would you rather be stuck on an island for 2 years with 20 friends of your choice or be stuck on an island for two years whith 20 famous people of your choice?

Would you rather be required to eat someone else's snot or be required to eat your own toe jam?

And hilarity ensues......