Sweet Moment

Some days are long. Some times it's chaotic. Some times I'm frazzled. Some times I dream of what my life will be like when my kids are older, more self sufficient.
Yesterday I had a wonderful day with my kids. We played and worked and had a great day.Last night Cam and I were tucking kids into bed. I was singing to Baby George and Cam came in and handed him a Lego guy. BG was so excited and hugged it to his chest. All of a sudden a huge wave of emotion overcame me. I suddenly thought that some day my baby would be too big to be excited about a Lego guy. As I sang "You Are My Sunshine" to BG I got all teary eyed.
I kissed him goodnight and then went off to have a good cry. I came into the kitchen to get a hug from Cam and the tears really flowed. I was all swollen eyed and blubbery. I could barely tell him why I was sobbing. He was a nice man and told me how sweet I was.
When I went into kiss and sing to Mr. P I told him I was feeling sad that my kids were growing up so fast. He told me, "Don't worry mom when I'm grown up I'll come over for some holidays". Oh great! At least he made me laugh.

9/11

On 9/11 we got to see a steel beam from the World Trade Center. A local fire department had gone to NY and picked up the beam. It will be displayed in a memorial at the fire station.

We want our kids to know about 9/11. Only Tuba was part of our family 10 years ago. We spent some time showing the kids pictures of the towers and of the planes flying into them. It was somber and sobering to view those photos with our kids. Their faces reflected the sadness and horror. They asked lots of questions which we did our best to answer. Then we got to go see the beam, touch it and spend a few moments in prayer

Doggy Beauty Shop

The kids LOVE our sweet dog Kali. Sometimes Sis loves her a bit TOO much. Okay, all the time. :) Kali is the best dog and I can honestly say she is too tolerant. The other day Sis and BG were dressing her up. They worked for about 15 minutes trying to get her into a pull-up and a dress. Sis was the boss calling out all the directions to her little brother. The dog just laid there on her back the whole time. No resisting. It was hilarious.

Success at last. Poor Kali.

Then the next day I guess Sis thought Kali needed some "pretty lips". She was applying pink sidewalk chalk to her mouth. Very pretty!

Back to School

The kids are back in school! Yeah! I love school. My kids love school. Summer is fun but the last couple weeks were a bit rocky. :) Everyone (ME) is really ready for school to start and the routine of the year. I love my kids' schools!! And the teachers are amazing!! And everyone is doing very well. Tuba is a sophomore this year. Looking handsome! He is officially as tall as me (not hard) but weighs 105. For the record that is 25 lbs. less than me.
Busy Guy was the MOST excited about school starting. Kindergarten!! He loves it! He is in the am session and has the same teacher that Mr. P had in K. BG is rather lonely and forlorn in the afternoon when his brother and the neighbor boys are still at school. He has begged us to send him to all day K. But, it's $300 a month for all day and free for half day. :( We've been playing games in the afternoon and that is helping him feel special.
Mr. P is a big 2nd grader. He LOVES his teacher. His reading is really taking off. I constantly find him lying around with a book. Captain Underpants is his favorite right now!
The wee ones are also in school!! Woot! This is the first time in 8 years that I've had a morning free while all the kids are at school!! I have appointments for dental, mammogram and yearly check all booked....and I don't have to hire a sitter! They go two times a week for 2.5 hours. I use one of the days to do my volunteer time at the Elementary school. Love that time!
Sis was VERY excited for school. Baby brother....not so much. He got more excited after open house and seeing all the cool toys. But, the first day was rough. He clung to my shirt and we had to unwrap each of his fingers so I could go. He didn't cry but looked rather scared. I faked a big smile, waved goodbye and then ran to my van and had a good cry! Whaaaa! What is wrong with me? Wasn't I supposed to be excited. Well, I am but it was a bit sad. The second week of school was much better and they are both loving it!

One of the coolest things for me this year is that my big kids ride the bus! Yeah! No more spending HOURS a day in the van. I walk a few blocks to the bus stop in the morning, then the afternoon bus drops BG off at our door. At the end of the day Mr. P either walks up with a neighborhood mom or we walk to the stop and get him. Tuba is picked up and dropped at our house. Heavenly!! It's a short ride and it's working well for everyone. Yeah for the bus! Yeah for school! Yeah!!!

Important!

Just in!! Important news!! Yes, I am still alive, and in case I have ANY readers left in the world I will be posting regularly....SOON! I have been without a computer, can't post from my iPod, and have still been unpacking, painting and enjoying the small amount of summer we had. But, the computer is back and my office is being set up...and I'm missing my blog! So a HUGE backlog of posts to come....I promise. Really!