How about some “catch-up” with those fries?

I (mistakenly) thought that things were supposed to slow down during the summer.  You know… the “lazy dog days of summer”… Ha.  Yeah right.  We have been so busy and I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like.  (although I do still have all those great posts floating around in my head)

So what have we been doing?  Let’s see.  Our friends from Phoenix stopped in for a few days around the beginning of July.  The kids and I took a long weekend trip to Ridgecrest, NC for a conference.  Our basement flooded.  Again.  Max was neutered.  Beans was accepted into preschool.  She also failed her eye exam.  The Boy lost two teeth in a bouncer.  On accident.  Lots of blood.  Our friends from Phoenix stopped in again on their way down to Florida.  Took a day trip to Lynchburg to check out Amazement Square once again.  It’s still amazing.  Chickie ripped out a tooth.  On purpose.  Lots of blood.  The Boy was baptized this morning in church. 

It appears I may have a very short breather before things get crazy again.  There’s plenty of preparation to do for fall between school and church.  August was already shaping up to be a busy month and now the kids and I are skipping out for 9 days.  We’ll be donning our UVA/UVB reflective protection suits and braving the “dry heat” in Phoenix.  Seriously… what was I thinking… Phoenix in August… !!!  I must be insane.  Or really missing my friends and family!

Probably a little of both.

Happy, happy 9th

Dear Chickie,

Today you turned 9 years old.  This year for your birthday you invited E over for a slumber party.  You agonized over which type of lasagna to pick – with or without meat.  You chose meat.  After dinner the Crenshaw family came over and all of the kids decorated their own cupcakes.  Your cupcake had so many sprinkles on it I think that every bite crunched!  You also had a very hard time picking a movie but you finally settled on Racing Stripes.  Somewhere around 11pm you and E finally settled down enough to fall asleep.

That’s how a lot of this past year has been.  A lot of agonizing over choices.  You’ve become aware of your peers and what they wear, what they eat, how they do their hair and what they think is popular.  I can see that struggle in you to be yourself but to also fit in.  And that’s okay.  My prayer for you is that you will listen to that beat – that rhythm – inside of you.  Shine!  Be you.

It’s been a year of bravery.  We picked you up and moved you across the country and you’ve held up tremendously well.  Not just held up but you’re growing.  There are new friends in your circle but you’ve hung onto your old ones as well.  You found that you had to work hard in school to catch up.  School used to be easy and you could coast through.  Not any more.  Now you have to work at it and when you do it pays off.  You’re very intelligent.  Science and math are your favorite subjects.  I’m curious to see where your intelligence takes you.  What will you do when you grow up?

You’ve decided that you want to be an illustrator.  You like to draw.  There’s a constant pile of papers and pencils on the kitchen table that attest to that!  The library had a workshop with a children’s book illustrator and you enjoyed that class.  You came home and got right to work drawing and practicing what you’d learned.  Maybe someday you’ll illustrate one of my books.

You have new glasses this summer.  You haven’t had to wear glasses since your eye surgery when you were 4 (I think you were 4, ask your dad)  You started complaining that your eyes were fuzzy and although your doctor said you were fine we still took you to the eye doctor.  We learned that you have a hard time switching your focus between close-up and far-away.  We also learned that you don’t have much depth perception.  Because it’s summer you don’t wear your glasses very often – only when the mood strikes you.

Some of your favorite things: purple, leopards, lasagna, spagetti, pizza, watching t.v., playing outside, Animal Planet, jumping on the trampoline, stuffed giraffe, P.E., Junie B. Jones, winter, coloring, playing with the dogs, and spending time with your family.

I hope and pray that this coming year brings you growth, laughter and lots of love!
Love,
Mommy

I’ve got this crick in my neck…

Did I mention that my son falls asleep in the most awkward positions?  Sometimes he just picks weird spots to fall asleep – the floor, under his bed etc… but usually he’s on his bed in some strange position.  I don’t understand how he can fall asleep like he does. 

Those of you with sons will understand that there’s just some sort of connection between boys and dogs.  Maybe because they both like to get dirty and eat gross things… I don’t know.  But there’s something there.  Our dog Max loves The Boy and he, in return, loves Max.  The Boy has recently re-arranged his bedroom and put his bench next to his captain’s bed which allows Max to climb up onto his bed.  The other night The Boy fell asleep in one of his random position and Max decided he should try it out too.  Unfortunately he moved back up on the bed more before I could get the picture.  This one is pretty close though.

How’s this for a positive from this weekend??

From the Boy:

“Dear Jesus,
I’m sorry for my sins.  I want you in my heart.
Amen.”

Out of town. With kids.

I’m leaving tomorrow morning and I’m taking the kids with me. 

We’re heading off to Ridgecrest Conference Center in Asheville, NC for a Sunday School conference.  I’m having a hard time focusing on the positive and not on the negative.  We’ll be gone four days and my hubby has three of those days off.  Sucks.  I am going to be a “single parent” for four days.  Sucks.  The kids will be in a new environment for four days.  Possibly sucks.  I’m the only parent and the only female going.  Sucks.  We’re carpooling and the kids will have to behave for four hours in a compact car.  Possibly sucks.  I am going to be in a new environment.  Sucks.  I am going to attend classes on my own.  Sucks.  I am shy.  Sucks.

Getting the picture?

But I am trying to not focus on those things.  Instead I’m trying to see the positive.  I’ll get to spend some time with my kiddos.  Yea!  My hubby will get some guy time.  Yea!  The kids will experience making new friends and learning about God.  Yea!  I’ll get to know our Minister of Education better.  Yea!  I’ll be learning new tips and ideas.  Yea!  I get to meet new people.  Yea??  The kids and I get to eat for free.  Yea!!  We get to be in the mountains.  Yea!  We get to see Asheville.  Yea!  I’ll grow in my faith.  Yea!

So be praying.

Oh, and there’s wireless, too!  Yea!!

Writing

My friend Zanne wrote this post recently.  I sat there reading her blog when these two paragraphs jumped out at me. 

“but the truth is–i more often think about writing than i actually write. way more often.  i’ve written three-quarters of an essay/article that might actually be good enough to publish–maybe–but i haven’t finished–because i’m still thinking about it. i have a poem that i’ve been working on, as i put it,  for a year.  i think. and there’s the afore-mentioned book, which right now would qualify more as scraps.

and this blog–well, let’s face it.  i certainly post much less frequently than any of us–you or i–at least i hope; if not, please don’t destroy my illusions;  i’ll be crushed! would like.  however, it might seem more frequent to me because there are quite a few posts you’ve never read that are brilliant–brilliant, i tell you–but they’ve never gotten out of my head. but i’ve thought about them. thought about writing them. a lot.”

Me too!  Me too!  For every post I write there’s at least 5 or 6 more floating around in my brain.  Some of them are just snippets, some are long monologues.  A few make it into future posts but most just linger in my thoughts.  I started thinking about why I don’t post more often.  Sometimes I think I’m just too lazy or I tell myself I’ll do it later and later never comes.  Other times I think I’m afraid to really write down what goes on in my head for fear that other people will judge me.  And then there are other times that I think no one would be interested in my brilliant thoughts (because, yes, they are brilliant) or the last conversation with my kiddos. 

So then why do the posts I write get written?  Because I’m bored.  Because I want to share what my kids did that made me laugh.  Because I want to connect with my friends.  Because I want to record my life for my kids to read some day.  Because I’m in the mood to write.  Because I want to know that I’m not alone in my thoughts.

And then there’s this other blog.  The one that I use more as a diary for therapy.  Long ago it started out as my first blog but it quickly became very personal and was – is – a venue for me to think things out.  Why do I even mention it?  It contains my best writing.  I know I don’t have an audience so I am free to write.  I hope that some day when it isn’t all so close to my heart I can share it and hopefully someone that reads it will say “I’m not alone.”

Here and gone

We had a blast visiting with Eliecia, Sara, Morgan, Maddy and McKenna!  The kids picked up right where they left off in Phoenix.  No one was shy or hesitant.  In fact, my kids were giving her kids a tour of the house before the adults even made it in the front door. 

It was nice to be able to talk with someone who knows me.  There was none of the “back in Phx….” or “at our old church…” but more “our friends here….” or “at our church…”  It opened my eyes to see that my year of mourning our Phoenix life is wrapping up and our year of planting roots here has begun.  It’s bittersweet to be on that cusp.

It was fun to sit side-by-side at the kitchen table with our laptops and compare MySpace notes.  Or to get whomped playing Tri-Ominoes.  I whomped her back at Rummikub.  I got a great baby fix loving on McKenna.  There was a lot of laughter watching the kids interact and entertain each other.  The fireworks were brilliant and probably the easiest venue I’ve ever been to.  I was bummed they didn’t get to experience our church but I can’t blame them for heading out early for their 10 hour drive!  At least Eliecia was able to come tour our building.  AND!  I was able to (finally!) get a picture of her and Gary for my friends picture frame to fill in the blank hole!

Neither one of us likes goodbyes and so it was “see you later” and lots of waves that sent them on their way.  That was how we parted in Phoenix and she is the first of our friends to venture out here to make good on the “see you later” bit.  So I know I will be seeing her again later.  About 2 weeks later.  They will be passing back through VA on their way to Florida and there’s already strong rumors of another stop here.  Woot, woot!!

School

One of the nice perks about living within the city limits is that residents can qualify for free preschool.  There’s an application process and an evaluation.  The evaluations are scored and after the enrollment period ends they rank all the children and start filling spots until they’re full.  After that point the children who didn’t make it in are put on a waiting list. 

We filled out Beans application the day we received it.  Within a week she was in to have her evaluation done.  They had me wait out in the hallway so I wasn’t able to watch.  I know that some of the testing was physical – standing on one foot etc… and some of the testing was mental – ABC’s, her full name etc… I’ve always let her progress at her own pace and I know that there’s a lot of things she doesn’t know yet that she will need to learn for Kindergarten. 

Last week we received a letter from the school informing us that she has been accepted into the preschool program!  She will attend The Boy’s school 5 days a week for a full day – I believe it’s 1 hour shorter than his day.  That means this fall all three of my kids will be in school.  And I will be at home.  On days that my hubby works that means I’ll be home alone.

I wonder what that’s like.

I’m actually leaning towards returning to school myself.  It’s kind of scary since I’ve been out of school for so long.  The only thing holding me back at this point is financing.  School is expensive!  Who knew??  I don’t want a school loan so that means I need to find scholarships, grants and a big savings account!  I guess there’s also that pesky decision of picking a major…

I’m getting ahead of myself.  I have two full months of summer vacation.  And three bored children.