Choir concert; Santa visit

Paris and Athena performed at their school's choir concert. If you look closely, you can see Paris by the microphone saying his speaking part. (Yes, I need a better camera. We looked at some better ones at Costco, but it was time consuming, and I suddenly realized that we had been in Costco for 2 hours--which meant (1) we were spending too much money and (2) we needed to get home and pick up Paris, who was playing at a friends. We let Paris take the cell phone with him to his friends' and I called on the way to let him know we'd be picking him up soon. When he didn't answer I was slightly annoyed. Turns out, he didn't answer because he had accidently dropped the cell phone in the toilet, and it was no longer working--why, oh, why didn't we buy insurance for their phone?!--But Brian salvaged it by putting the phone in a bag of rice--it draws all the water out--who knew?) Anyway, it was a nice little concert, and Paris and Athena did a great job. Athena sang with the descant(sp?) group (they sang the song in a higher key). Just as an aside--apparently, it's PC to sing songs about Hannukah--but not ANY songs that have to do with the birth of Christ, just sleigh bells and Christmas shopping.

On Saturday, we went to Camden and saw Santa. Yes, Camden. I know that that can be a scary part of town, but Tritan was doing a youth service project at the branch building in Camden--he helped out in one of the craft rooms and so we took Paulie and the rest there. It beats the mall, anyhow. They had a nice set-up with crafts, Santa, and breakfast.

How to be the best Mom...

It's a week into December and the kids are wondering when the Christmas tree is going to go up. So you unload it from the box and put it half-way up, just to whet their appetite. They ask, "When are we going to finish putting up the tree?" while you are sweeping the kitchen floor. "I don't know," you reply. " I need to mop this floor. Do you see these drops of chocolate milk, and the spots under the counter? Someone has to mop this up." Suddenly, you have volunteers to mop the floor. Calmly finish making dinner while they mop.

"When are we going to put up the tree?" they ask while you switch over the laundry. "I don't know. I have to finish this laundry." Suddenly, you have volunteers to fold the laundry. Take this moment to clean up dinner.

"When are we going to put up the tree?" they ask, as you lie on the couch, hands over your eyes. "I don't know. I'm so tired--I was up late while you went to a church party." Suddenly, they are very quiet for a blessed half hour.

So you get up and you finish putting up the tree an hour and a half before their bedtime. You call them in and they come in running, as excited as if it is Christmas morning. You pull out the ornaments, and they put them on. You ask them why they think there are lights on the tree, and they say "It's like hope." "It's like all the families in the world." "To keep you warm." and you say "That's a great idea" each time. You ask them what they think Mrs. Claus does while Santa is delivering toys and they say, "She sits in a chair and waits", "She makes hot cocoa for him to come home to", and "She makes out with the elves." Then you find a Santa hat and Paris goes upstairs and Santa comes back downstairs, and tells you that the tree looks good.

They ask why we aren't drinking egg nog like we always do when we decorate the tree and you remind them that we don't even have milk in the house since their father is working out of town over the weekend and he is the designated errand-runner, especially when it is freezing and raining/snowing out (the sky couldn't make up his mind). And the kids will all assure you that no egg nog is needed.

At last, the angel is put on top the tree, ornament density is rearranged, and the tree is proclaimed Finished. Now all the kids will hug you and tell you that you are the Best Mom Ever. And Thank You So Much for the tree.

I Love Christmas.

Dad learns a lesson from Huckleberry Finn

Why is it there are some chores, like hanging Christmas lights and cleaning gutters, strapped to the roof with a rope--or putting together IKEA furniture that the kids will do willingly, excitedly--and others like taking out the trash or unloading the dishwasher that I have to practically beg them to do?

Now we are 6!

I can't believe Apollo is 6. He is madly eating vegetables lately in an effort to outgrow Paris--and I have to say I think it may be working. He is a good 4 inches taller than last year. He wants to be tall so badly, to be big ("Only 3 more birthdays til I'm 10"--creative counting, so he can be older than Paris too). I feel guilty sometimes because I am secretly glad he is still light enough and small enough to carry downstairs in the morning, and lift him off the ground in a bear hug when he comes barreling out of the bus at the end of the day. It's not that I want a baby--oh, heavens, no--it's just that I always knew he was our last, and I want to savor every last drop.

When I had Apollo, 3 years after Paris, I had every intention of rocking him to sleep by the window, gazing down at the street, watching the other children play in the yard. For some reason, I thought 3 years was an eternity between kids--perhaps because the other 3 were all 18 months apart--and I thought I would have all the time in the world to bask in his baby goodness. But I forgot about preschool schedules, and half-day kindergarten, and ballet lessons, and soccer practices, and poor Apollo was rocked to sleep by the car everyday, not by me. Add YW President into the equation and it was Daddy, not me, that took care of him most nights.

Still, my blue-eyed boy, you are loved and cherished

for a face that can write a book with one look

for the quiet perseverance of coloring a page, background and all

for your hugs and your kisses

and yes, even your tears and your growls,

for your insistence for laughter and games,

for eating your vegetables with relish,

for sleeping without blankets,

and hating underwear,

for hiding cereal

and sneaking fruit snacks,

for your passion for parties,

and your ability to hold a grudge.

From the streak of blond in your hair,

to your ears, just a little too big,

to blue eyes and bright smiles,

to your tiny hands tucked into mine,

to your lightning fast legs riddled with bruises,

to your tiniest toes--

I breathe you in,

and taste marshmallows and sunshine.

Happy birthday, Apollo.

Thanks Grandma Pat!

Thanks Aunt Alyssa!

Thanks Grandma Linda!

When is Thanksgiving not Turkey-Day?

When it's BBQ chicken day!


We decided to forgo the traditional turkey on account of me not being motivated to come up with a traditional menu, and Brian traveling so often to South Carolina and reawakening his BBQ-tooth (sort of like a sweet tooth, but involving more meat.) He brought back some sauce, and we fired up the grill. We still had a ton of food--scalloped potatoes, beans, salad, mac and cheese, and broccoli--and we still invited friends to share the feast. I still made pumpkin pie, and Tritan carried on his tradition of eating (almost) the whole thing. I made oatmeal cake, too, in honor of Apollo's birthday weekend, and we are still grateful for all of our friends and family.

What I missed

This weekend was an eventful, active weekend. I went to Richmond, VA on the train (fun way to travel--it was like a step back in time--no security, open seating, conductors with actual conductor caps, comfortable seating, and a cafe car) to visit my sister and run in the Richmond Half-Marathon. Brian took care of making sure the kids made it soccer and ballet. Paris had his soccer tournament. One game came down to penalty kicks--which they won--very exciting. He had two more games that day. Apollo had his last game and they had their trophy ceremony.

Big brother

I love this picture. My dad took it when he was visiting us in Alabama. This is the day after Tritan got baptized. He is in his new white shirt, holding his new scriptures, the first one out the door, ready to go to church. The other two boys are right behind him, watching to see what Tritan will do, and ready to follow.

I love this picture because without a word, it shows Tritan's quiet strength, his resolve to do what is right, and to be an example even when he is all alone. Yet as he looks back, he sees his siblings right behind him, following and supporting him.

This weekend Tritan's homework was to create a cereal box that was all about astronauts. They had to come up with a cereal and then make bullet points on the back summarizing facts about the astronaut, and educational games to play while eating your cereal. Like I said, this school district is very creative. Tritan worked on it diligently all weekend long. At the end of the weekend, Tritan's masterpiece was complete, but I also noticed two other "cereal boxes" on the table.

Athena and Apollo thought Tritan's homework looked like so much fun, they decided to make their own cereal boxes. Why would they do their own version of someone else's homework? OK the idea itself is pretty neat, but it's also because Tritan just does his homework, without whining or a whole lot of nagging. He tries his best, and he always puts his own little spin on it--so it looks more like fun than homework.

This weekend was also the Primary program, where the kids sing and have speaking parts. I remember how excited I was when Tritan was finally old enough to participate. It seemed like it took forever for him to go from birth to Sunbeams. Now, he's 12, and too old to participate. It seems like time flew from Sunbeams to YM. But he gave his first sacrament talk a couple of weeks ago and he passes the sacrament every Sunday. I see him up there at the sacrament table, still a little nervous even after all these weeks, still a little unsure. I see him squirm in his seat during testimony meeting, wanting to go up, but not wanting to, too--and how the "wanting to" part of him almost always wins out. And then I see the rest of the kids singing and saying their parts for the Primary program. Athena wrote out her one minute talk, and said parts for kids that were absent. Paris sings expressively and Apollo stretches up tall so we can see him and tries so hard to follow along. Each of them is different. Each of them puts their own spin on their big brother's example. But there is no doubt in my mind that they are watching his quiet example, watching to see what he will do, and ready to follow.

Thankful

Well, it is November, the month of thanks, after all. So here are just a couple of things I'm thankful for:

Teachers With 4 kids in school since the age of 4, and one of them in 6th grade now, we've had our fair share of teachers. Some of them were fine, some didn't quite mesh with our kids, and one was just not great. But more than a few were really amazingly terrific. We lucked out this year--we have some really superb teachers. They come up with innovative ways to teach and let the kids show what they learn (Tritan doesn't even have books for science and social studies--his tests can be written tests, presentations, or projects; Apollo learns letters by writing, shaping clay, painting with shaving cream); they modify things so that my kids can preform their best (like letting Paris stand in the back when he gets to fidgety at his desk); they put their arms (literally) around my kids when they are having a hard time and talk to them about what's wrong and how to handle it. I have a hard time not losing it at parent teacher conferences as I realize that these teachers care about my kids almost as much as I do, and are helping them be all they can be.

The kids take after their father. I was driving Athena home from dance the other day and asked her how it went. She proceeded to tell me all of the times the teacher told her she was preforming a step especially well and that their class as a whole did one step better than the more advanced girls. I couldn't help smiling as I realized Athena almost always reports all of the compliments she receives, and very rarely any of the criticisms (which I know she gets as well). Brian is like that. He will come home from work and tell me of all the pats on the back he gets, all of the recognition--though I also know he gets plenty of scolding and blame as well. They both just focus on the good, and build on it. I was a dancer growing up and I took every criticism to heart, internalized it and nursed it, til I was sure I'd never get anything right. I know I did things well--I vaguely recall being complimented on my petite-allegro work--but I always dismissed that. What good was petite-allegro when my turns weren't sharp, and my butt stuck out? To this day I have nightmares of my dance teacher telling me I wasn't good enough. You could demonize my teacher for making me feel that way, but I think it was me that turned her into a monster, spouting out my own internal insecurities. How grateful I am that for the most part the kids take after Brian's way of thinking. Because they are all amazing kids. (BTW--I think I'm pretty amazing most of the time now, too.)

Athena's political career begins

World domination begins! O.K. maybe just Mrs. Stepp's 5th grade class. Athena was voted class president today. They had primaries, speeches, and debates. Her platform includes having crazy hair day, having a volleyball tournament against the teachers, and having a board game day. She worked really hard, and we are all so proud of her!

Candy, anyone?

25 pounds! That's how much candy the kiddies collected yesterday. 25 pounds! We know this because Brian suggested they all weigh their loot to see who collected the most (that would be Paris at 8.5 pounds). Don't ask me what we are going to do with all of it. The sight of it makes my teeth hurt. Last year, I ended up throwing it out after a month or so. But that seems ungrateful. Still, no matter where I put it, in food storage, in the freezer, you know I'm going to root it out on those frustrating days.

Halloween

The little monsters are out trick or treating. I am the designated Candy-Giver-Outer, a job I don't mind in the least. Brian offered to let me be the Trick or Treat chaperone, but I quickly pointed out to him and the kids that it wouldn't really be fair for me to go Trick or Treating with them when I get to do so many other things with them during the Halloween season. Like make sure they all have a costume--including going to several craft stores in search of something that would look like panda ears and a panda tail and then giving up and pilfering through the past costumes the night before the Halloween parade at school to find some semblence of a costume for our youngest.

I mean, would it be right to go Trick or Treating with them and leave Brian home when I am the one who got to string 200+ donuts for the Family Fun Night at school, and then got to take all four of them to FFN by myself while poor Brian was stuck in Chicago eating out with guys from work?

And let's not forget that I got to organize the room party for Apollo's kindergarden class, including driving to 3 farm stands to find the right size pumpkins for them to decorate, come up with games, and host the party.

I mean, it's just not fair for me to have all the fun. I'll sit here in the quiet, boring house, handing out the occasional treat, and let Brian have the fun of running from house to house to house-- (they are determined to fill up a whole pillowcase, at least). After all, sharing is what marriage is all about. Love ya, honey!

Tritan is an Astronaunt Businessman

(his variation on Space Cowboy)

Athena--the only way she could be a devil

Paris is the grim reaper

Apollo was a good sport and went as Flash, even though he really wanted to be a panda bear.

Trying to grab donuts hanging from a string at FFN.

Decorating pumpkins at FFN. Those are Mr. Potato Head pieces. Isn't that a good idea?

Invest in ear plugs

If you happen by our house in the afternoon, it might sound like we are strangling Canadian geese. And while I have thought about it, especially when they poop on the running trails and refuse to move as you run by, I assure you there is no "fowl" play--(oh, I crack myself up).

It is only Paris, at long last blasting away on his blasted trombone. He was one of the last kids at school to get his instrument. Apparently, the rental company thought the demand for music lessons would be down with the economy tanked and all that. What they fail to realize is that music lessons through the school is one of the cheapest extra curricular activites there is. Everyday Paris would come home, crushed, as if his heart was just broken, or his pet had just died. No trombone today. He would be on the verge of tears. And everyday they would tell him, tomorrow. But tomorrow would come and he would drag in, frustrated and dejected, trombone-less.

Finally it arrived and I am trying to be very strict with the 20 min. daily practice. Although he only knows enough to do a scale. So he practices his scale for a good 5 min. and then alternates between blasting the horn, and trying to beat box on the trombone, until he gets tired of that and spends the rest of the time cleaning out his spit.

Still, watching him shoulder that shiny brass instrument, his arms barely long enough to operate the slide, his little cheeks puffing in and out--I can't help but think he'll make a great musician someday, though there's very little evidence at present. We'll keep you posted.

New family tradtion

When Paris scored his goal, the rest of the kids were home, doing homework and avoiding the chill of the night. So Brian rounded the kids up and they created a Victory Bridge for him to walk under when he got home. Apollo scored the next Saturday at his game. Tritan was at a service project, Paris was at the 100 year celebration of Scouts, and I was running Athena to dance, so only Brian was there to witness it. So that night, we rounded everyone up again, and did another Victory Bridge for him. Then Tritan got his Second Class in Scouts at a Court of Honor, so we did it once again. Brian is the best for coming up with these small gestures that are easy to do but mean so much to the kids.

The Scouts showing off the Squirrel Song they learned at camp.

How we wake up

The alarm goes off at 6:09, but I lay in bed until it goes off at 6:15, collecting my thoughts, and gearing up for the day. Who just jumps out of bed the first time the alarm goes off? Brian usually turns off the alarm and rolls over while I get out of bed. He will usually lay there for a good half hour more. I would resent him for this if he didn't have to regularly wake at 4am to catch flights. Then I feel completely justified in rolling over while he gets ready to travel.
I wake Tritan carefully. He always jumps out of bed in full flight mode, as if I've just told him there is a fire or aliens are after him. He immediately exits the room and goes downstairs to make himself breakfast--which consists of 4 waffles or 4 packets of oatmeal (that kid can eat!). I am usually still sitting on his bed, a little dazed by his hasty exit and fighting not to lay down in his warm bed and go back to sleep.
I make his lunch while he eats and then send him on his way by 6:55.
I eat breakfast, usually while watching the news, and then spend some time reading scriptures or church magazines. I do a few yoga stretches and then I am finally awake enough to face the Tyrant.
I wake Athena first, who usually blinks with wide eyes, like she's not quite sure who I am or why I am there. As the realization hits that she has to get up, she rolls over and scrunches under her covers. Then I wake Paris, who usually just gets up, rubs his eyes, and puts on his robe (since he sleeps exclusively in boxers) and heads down to breakfast.
Finally, I must wake the Tyrant. He requires a good deal of shaking and prodding before he will even stir. Then he will complain that his eyes won't open. Forcing him out of bed is a huge mistake, so cuddling him or helping him stretch his arms and legs is a good alternative. Usually getting him out of bed will require actually carrying him downstairs. "Will I have to carry you when you are 16?" I always ask. "I'm not 16. I'm 5." He tells me. By the time we have made it downstairs, the others are already eating cereal.
Heaven forbid if you have just finished off the cereal the Tyrant was going to eat. Or are just pouring a bowl. Or if you are just looking at the box. The Tyrant hates to share. He usually finds something he is not happy about--the bowl is wrong, the spoon has something on it, why can't he have sugar on Frosted Flakes? But he finally digs in when I remind him that the bus won't wait, and it is almost time to go, and he will just have to go hungry.
About this time he will shout in an accusing tone: "I feel horrible", like I am responsible for this sudden illness. I always suggest he eat something and see how he feels; so he does, and he always feels better.
The Tyrant refuses to dress himself and usually hates what you've picked out for him to wear. But left to his own devices he will dress himself in shorts on a 42* day or wear the same clothes from yesterday.
Somehow the kids make it to the car by 8:35 (by somehow, I mean some shouting, some cajoling, and in some cases carrying) and we fly to the bus stop. There, the kids get out to play with the rest of the neighborhood kids. The Tyrant is soon giggling and racing around.
When the bus arrives, he doesn't even wave good bye.

Paris scores!

Last night Paris scored his first goal of the season! He is so exciting to watch play now. It makes up for the years of watching "the herd" run after the ball. It is exciting to watch the kids develop their talents. Paris is a great play-maker--he can take the ball and get it downfield, and then pass it to someone who is open so they can score. It's a great talent, but the person who scores usually gets the kudos, so it was nice that he had his turn.

P.S. Tritan is writing a blog now--Final Oblivion on the list to the right. Check it out if you want.

Family update

Good things:

Tritan has done so well handling middle school, that I requested that he be go from the pull-out classes to an inclusion class. The guidance counslor agreed, and he'll get switched this week. He was mostly put in the pull out classes because he has a hard time with large classes and the noises there but it seems to be bothering him less. His academics are strong, so I am glad to see him be more challenged.

Paris signed up for trombone for band. I think he will do really well. Trombone players are rare in the school district, so the band teacher was excited he wanted to play it. I don't know if Paris really knew what a trombone was when he signed up for it, but he can trade it in if he hates it.

Tritan went on his first overnight camp trip as a Scout. He came home covered in dirt but he said he had fun. There was a little mix-up getting him home--communication break down--and we didn't know where he was for a bit. It prompted us to give in and buy another line for our cell phones. Our kids are just going in too many directions. I can't believe we are doing this! But they are very excited about having their own line. We told them it is only for emergencies, but I don't think they take that seriously.

The bad:

The kids have been sick for 2-3 weeks now. It seems to have finally passed, but not without leaving mayhem in its wake. Tritan seems to have gotten a sinus infection and he can't hear worth beans. I feel like I'm talking to a 90-year old. I don't know how he is doing so well at school. We got some antibiotics so hopefully it will help. Paris, on the other hand, is constantly tired. He came home from school one day and immediately went to sleep and didn't wake up til the next day. Every day he takes a nap, and still goes to bed at bedtime. If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow, I'm taking him in to the dr. too. Ironic, really, since when they were both "sick" (fever, cough) they acted perfectly normal.

Tritan got cut from the midle school choir. When I asked the choir director about it, he said Tritan's voice was too high. I was really dissappointed since getting Tritan interested in something is not easy. Hopefully, he can find another club or activity that interests him.

Kings

What do you do when your kids pass around a 7-day virus that keeps them out of school for days? Play cards!

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Bob reintroduced us to the joy of card playing. We used to play a lot more before we had toddlers who would grab the cards and chew on them and preschoolers who would get into them and lose all of the face cards. But now, all of the kids can play one game or another and it's a good way to be together as a family or one-on-one with the kids. We try to emphasize logic and math skills, as well as good sportsmanship--but really we're just having fun.

Apollo's favorite game is Kings. Here's how you play:

Deal 4 cards to each player. There can be as many players as you want, but only about 3 players/deck. After that you need to add at least one suit for every added player. (No jokers).

Each player places his cards singly, in a square in front of you, with any 2 face up, and any 2 face down. No one knows what is under the faced down cards.

The rest of the cards are placed in the middle, the first one turned over (the start of the discard pile). Starting with the player to dealer's left, each player either takes a card from the deck or the last card in the discard pile; he can either exchange any of his cards with the drawn card, or simply add it to the discard pile. Face-down cards can be exchanged, but the new card must be placed faced-down as well. The point is to get the lowest score. Aces are low, Kings are zero, and all other face cards are 10. So the point is to get as many kings, aces, and low cards as you can.

The game ends by either running out of cards in the draw pile, or if a player thinks they have the lowest score, they can Knock (literally knocking the table with your fist). They do this instead of drawing a card. Then each remaining player gets to draw one last time. Score is taken by turning all of the cards over and adding up your score. Lowest score wins. If you Knock, and you are not the lowest (or if you tie) you must add all of the players scores together and add it to your own. If you Knock, and you are the lowest, you take the score of that hand and subtract it from your over all score. (Like if you knocked and your hand was 5 points, and you won, you'd add a -5 to your score). If there is a lot of people (4 or more) playing we usually play so that everyone deals twice and call it a game. If only 2 people are playing we usually play 5 hands.

If we are playing with the kids, we don't keep score for consecutive hands. Instead, Brian and the kids came up with this tiered system:

Hand 1--start as equals; winner is declared the winner

Hand 2--If winner from hand 1 wins again they are Top Dog

Hand 3--If Top Dog wins again, loser is a Wimpy Chiauau

Hand 4--If Top Dog wins again, loser is a Scared Kitty Cat

Hand 5--If Top Dog wins again, loser is a Blind Mouse

Hand 6--If Top Dog wins again, loser is a Dust Bunny (Paris came up with this)

The loser can win and work himself back up the chain, but the Top Dog is Top Dog until the loser has worked himself back up and then beaten Top Dog twice.

No, we don't play too much here.

BTW, Apollo is very good at his victory dance if he makes it to Top Dog. He stands up on his chair and wiggles his hips and then wags his behind in your facewhile singing/saying "Oooh,yeah. I won. Oooh, yeah." Thank you sports players for teaching my son this skill.

Of course, this is only when he feels cocky. At other times, he will throw the game for you. Somehow that is more humiliating than if you had just lost to him. (He is surprisingly good at this game).

Sick?

This week, the kids have been home sick. Sick being a fever of exactly 100*. Sometimes 101*. But they aren't tired, aren't achey, don't have a sore throat. According to the numerous notices I've gotten from the school, they shouldn't be allowed to go to school til their fever is less than 100* without medication. So, they are at home playing wii and eating hot dogs. I guess I should be glad that they aren't sicker. But then I take Apollo's temperature, and it flashes red (meaning higher than 99.5*) and he sticks his arms up in the air like a champion, "I'm sick! Yay!"

The perils of being alone

So now all of my kids are in school all day.
"What are you going to do with yourself all day?" everyone asks.
What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I have had a child at home with me for 12 years. It's not to say I won't be totally lonely without them, but my mind goes wild with the possibilities of shopping, excercising, visiting,--cleaning, even--and how I'll get so much more done without having to conjole another soul to go with me.
Although, in this first week, I have to say that apparently they didn't slow me down much. I don't seem to get much more done with them gone than I did with them here.
But anyway, in light of this new-found freedom, I decided to take my fitness to the next level. This involved a more intense upper body workout than I had done previously. Which meant that the next day, it hurt when I tried to open up the pickle jar. Or pull a sharp turn with the driver's wheel. Or raise my arms above my head.
Then I went running. Boy was it great to go running outside anytime I want between 9 and 2. What freedom! Then I got home and tried to take off my sports bra. It was wet and sticky and as I tried to twist my arms to get it off, I found that my sore arms no longer worked that way. I tried again, and this time managed to pull the bra up around my face. But no further. Now I couldn't get it up or down, the bra is over my face, and my arms are up in the air. And there is no one to call to help pull it off. I thought about having my kids find me there, shirtless, with a stinky sweaty mass around my head, passed out from the effort of holding my hands in the air for hours and it gave me a sort of adreneline rush and I finally freed myself. But it was a close call.
I tell you, being home alone does have its disadvantages.

First Day of School

Today was the big day. We spent the proceeding week getting in last minute dr.'s appointments (Athena had her extra tooth pulled, easy as pie, with some gas and local--no surgery-yay; Apollo went to the ENT and everything still looks good--even had another hearing test and everything checked out), back to school shopping, and organizing their rooms (I just took everything out of Paris and Apollo's except for a few clothes and their shoes. We'll see what I let them put back in.) We eeked out the last bits of summer with a picnic in the park, a BBQ, and some ice cream and then packed them up and sent them off this morning.

I admit I was emotional yesterday thinking of sending my oldest to middle school and my youngest to all-day kindergarten. I can't believe they are so old already. Tritan has been sick most of last week and I was intent on making him better before the first day. I really didn't want him to miss the first day of school. I was afraid it would put him behind before he got started. We called our home teacher to come help give a blessing last night so I am hoping all goes well.

Athena was up at 6am, a whole hour and a half before she had to be up. She picked out her clothes a week ago and painted her nails last night. The boys, on the other hand, put on whatever was within reach and I had to send a few of them back again to change. (Paris, for one, did pick his clothes out last night. He really can be stylin' when he wants to).

Apollo was cranky all morning and admitted he was feeling "funny". He has been so excited to start school, counting down the days since last April, but now that it is finally upon us he was pretty nervous to go. Thank goodness he has an older brother and sister who can help watch out for him.

Make it do

You know that old adage:

Use it up;

Wear it out;

Make it do;

Or do without.

Well, my kids have learned to make it do.

Paris has a collection of pewter landmarks: the Eiffel tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the Empire State Building, etc. Well, there wasn't any Teardrop Memorial souvenirs, so he made his own with cardboard and tape. (Unfortunately, it looked a lot more like cardboard and tape than the Teardrop Memorial and Mom threw it away when she Clean Sweep-ed his room).

Athena has wanted a sewing box all summer. But that didn't get done this year so she improvised with an old pencil box and some cardboard.

And then there was the cell phone. They have wanted a cell phone for a while now and it doesn't help that most of their friends have one already. They have made cell phones out of cardboard and paper before, but Paris hit the jack pot when he found one of Brian's old cell phones, and then found the charger. Never mind that it doesn't have a SIM card. They hit ring tones when they want to hear it ring. They play the sample game up to Level 2 (which is as high as you can get without downloading the whole game). They write messages to each other and pretend to text their friends. Mostly they just carry it around and annoy me by hitting ring tone after ring tone. I told them that driving me crazy with a non-working cell phone is not the best strategy for getting a working one, but I think they know there's a slim chance for getting one either way so they just shrug and hit the "Hello Mortal" ring-tone again.

What we did on our Summer Vacation

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Bob came from Idaho for a 10-day whirlwind of activity. Sometimes I feel let down when summer comes to an end, because despite my best efforts, we didn't get to do half of what I wanted to do. But now I think I can send the kids to school without any regrets. For those of you who are considering next year's vacation, just think, all of these outings were day trips from our house (hint, hint).

Trip #1: Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross House, Carousel at Franklin Park

Trip #2 : Boardwalk at Ocean City and dip in the ocean at Brigntine Beach:




Trip #3: Lighthouse at Cape May

Trip #4: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Teardrop Memorial (The Teardrop Memorial was a gift given to America in 2005 by the Russians to memorialize 9/11. It is a beautiful memorial, but not many people know about it. There aren't even any signs to it. But they are re-doing the pier it sits on, so I'm sure it will become a hot tourist spot in the future.)

Trip #5: Sesame Place

Trip #6: Valley Forge

Trip #7: Downtown Philly and the Art Museum. We ran up the steps, just like Rocky!

We had a lot of fun. Thanks for coming to visit, Linda and Bob!