Bathe yourself

I promise, promise I am getting to the post about the book launch and a giveaway. Promise!

This summer has been all about growing up. My oldest spent 3 weeks with his grandparents, My daughter is wondering about all the things and suddenly is interested in good smelling bath products and bathing. The little boys... well, I think I have to force them to grow up.

It's not that I want to rush my kids into being teens or adults. But my little boys were little for so long and in so many ways. I mean, they didn't talk on time. One took longer to potty train. Cole is smaller than alot of kids his age and, frankly, they are my two youngest kids, only 16 months apart. Yeah, of course they tend to get a little more babied than the other two, who had a sibling on the way to "force" them to do "big kid" things.

They had a couple bad habits, enabled by their exhausted parents who just wanted to sleep, damn it, and were/are tired of arguing with the older kids. We didn't have the energy to argue over who sleeps where- just fall asleep in our bed already!

But we're done. They're too big and too heavy to easily move from our bed. As I type this, I am sitting in their room as they fall asleep, a big improvement from both boys laying on me in the master bed to go to sleep.

And bathing. Oh, the baths. I mean, yeah, HUGE improvement over when George wouldn't even sit down in the tub. But baths are still a 30 minute ordeal with lots of water splashing and then clean up. At five and six, I figured it was time they learned to shower on their own.

As you can imagine, they were not impressed. I began the night by saying, "Tonight you boys are going to take a shower! Yay!"

They looked at me like I had suggested nuking kittens. "I HATE SHOWERS!!!" they wailed.

I got excited, hoping they wouldn't see through my lies. "You LOVE showers," I proclaimed.

"I HATE SHOWERS!!" they screamed and ran away. I finally flushed George out from behind a door and carried him into the bathroom, stripping off his bathing suit as I went. He whimpered. I dumped him in the shower and turned it on.

He whined.

I washed his hair and handed him a bar of soap and a washcloth. "Scrub," I instructed and pulled the curtain closed.

Silence. No wailing. And then... laughter. "This is so much fun!" he crowed, scrubbing himself clean. I sighed.

And repeated the whole thing with Cole, right down to dumping him into the shower and having him love it two seconds later.

Fifteen minutes after dumping George into the shower, both boys were running down the hall, screeching, "I love showers!" to my husband.

Weird kids. And I give up.

It's a .... thing?

It's July one, which means:
1. My oldest nephew's birthday is today! Yay!
and
2. The anniversary of my niece's passing is next week. Um, big booooo.

As a result of number two AND a wicked sinus infection that required drugs upon drugs, I've been feeling a little down in the dumps. I'm tired (thank you, stupid infection), hot (thanks, summer) and agnsty. I'm not as bad as I could be, as I'm taking great care of myself, but everything's just been a little off.

Then Sunday I logged onto Facebook and checked a local preemie charity I follow. They posted a picture of a baby they are helping and he's wearing one of my hats! A hat I donated and made in memory of Miss Who! I was really excited, as I've never seen one of my donated hats on a baby before! (I've made ones for friends and seen pictures but not one I've donated to a local NICU.) It made me feel great to know they are being loved and used!

The next day, the kids and I found a ladybug in the pool. I didn't know ladybugs could swim! When I got close to scoop her out of the pool, I noticed she had alot of spots on her back and some of them were heart shaped. I called my kids over and they agreed; heart shaped spots. She was not happy that I was trying to get her out of the water and scurried around until Camille carried her off to the roses that grow in the nearby garden.

(Ladybugs are always associated with my niece. We see them randomly but always at times that are important to us, like when we did family pictures.)

Tuesday, I fired up my computer to find... and invitation to Deanna Fei's book launch. 

To say you had to peel me off the ceiling is a major understatement! I was so, so excited! I really wanted to go but was fairly sure it couldn't happen. I mean, it will be in NYC and I am so not in NYC. Besides, I don't want to travel around a major city alone... but wait.

I have cousins. Cousins who live in New York.

What happened next was a flurry of texting and calls to my husband and my cousins. My husband found out that we have enough points to get me to New York for FREE if I stay just 48 hours. My cousin is off work that week and I can stay with her. The venue is 15 minutes away from her house and she can be my plus one! I can see my grandmother! The whole trip is going to cost me time off work and food.

I'd like to say it's a God-thing. That there's a reason this random trip resulting from a random comment left on an article is happening now. Is there? Perhaps. It's so easy to say that God (or my niece) had a hand in this trip. I mean, look how everything fell into place! I don't know, though. I think God has a hand in everything and that if this trip hadn't worked out, there would be a reason for that too. (And even though it worked out, the loss of 3 days pay for me has me nervous... hello, trust.)

Maybe this trip is a God thing.
Maybe it is a Miss Who thing.
Maybe it's .... a thing.

But at the end of the day... I'M GOING TO A BOOK LAUNCH!!!

Well, now you have me mad

Just Tuesday, I was waiting for the speech therapist to arrive when I noticed dog poop on my capris. (Long, not glamorous story about the dog being locked in a closet.) I grumbled about it a bit and the therapist laughed and said, "You are so calm about everything!"

Haha. I am so not calm about everything. Like right now. Right now, I am PISSED.

You see, a kid has a rash. It is a common rash at the tail-end of an even more common virus. A couple nurse-friends looked at him and said, "Meh, it's the rash at the end of a virus.He's not contagious. Don't waste your time at urgent care." I didn't. I told the teacher what it was, kid felt fine, so he trotted off to school.

I got a call saying he needed to come home because the rash was spreading. He came home. Rash looked better today. I sent him back to school.

All four kids were in school at the same time today because of a field trip. Adam and I jumped on the chance to see each other before 9 pm and were out the door to breakfast when the call came. Kid still has a rash and since a physician didn't confirm that he is not a germ infested cess pool, kid MUST LEAVE SCHOOL.

Oh, hell no.

No.

My kid wants to be in school and you want to send him home for no reason? Not gonna fly. You want an MD to confirm what 3 nurses told us- it's nothing, don't worry? Good, you can pay the 75 dollar co-pay at urgent care. What? You have no sympathy that 75 dollars is not a drop in the bucket for us? And then...

"I'm sorry that you don't care about the health and well being of your child or the others in the school."

Excuse me? Excuse ME? EXCUSE ME?! Oh no YOU DID NOT. I just sat there, stunned. One does not play the "you don't care about their health" card. Nope. Nope. I have a therapist, medication and a diagnosis that would say otherwise. In fact, I've spent the past six years working to NOT freak out over every cold and cough.

Me, who will Google what whopping cough or the croup sounds like when a kid has a super-nasty cough.

Me, who has been known to count respiration and look for retractions.

Me, who has done CPR on her own kid.

Me, who has scrubbed up to her arm pits to end the NICU and used so much hand sanitizer in nursing homes that the staff looks at me weird.

I'm going to remember how much I don't care when I pop my anti-anxiety and anti-depressants. When I go to my therapist, when I have my sister and friends talk me down off the ledge and remind me that my kids are really healthy and fine.

The kicker? I just defended this person as a professional to someone else this weekend!

Oh, and the double kicker? Another kid had a low grade fever and was pulling on his ear. They couldn't reach me so they sent the kid back to class! What happened to calling emergency contacts?! Forgive me if I don't take the ZOMGOSH RASH! seriously.

Happy Easter!

Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!

Look at those four lovely children who only required an insane amount of bribery to sit still! And while I agree the fireplace is lovely, I cannot take credit for it; we took the picture at my in-laws house.

Easter was a bit different this year. Last year, we learned our lesson and held the Easter baskets back until after Mass. Yeah, it only took ten Easters to figure out that children do NOT like to be dragged away from their goodies to get ready for church and kids + candy + no proper breakfast does not equal good Mass behavior.

So! Last year I took Easter pictures after Mass while Adam set out the baskets. This year, I packed up the baskets and gave them to my mother-in-law so we could do baskets at her house! Joseph had to serve at early Mass and I knew that giving them presents and candy, dragging them off to 7:30 Mass and then dragging them away from the toys AGAIN for brunch.... ugh.

We put the kids to bed early Saturday night and woke up at six am Sunday morning. I was smart enough to prep the coffee the night before and got a few sips and a granola bar in before we had to leave. All the kids had a granola bar (or, in Cole's case, frozen corn- weirdo) for breakfast. Super early Mass was nice because it was crowded for 7:30 but no more crowded than our normal 9 am Mass. Getting out was hairy, as the nine am crowd was coming in and Cole decided that he wanted donuts and was going to lay prostrate on the floor and cry until he got one. Unfortunately for him,we don't have donut Sunday on Easter and I had to basically drag him out of the church crying. (A couple people asked if it was post-candy meltdown but he hadn't had any!) We did end up getting donuts because it is Easter and we suck as parents.

Brunch was at my in-laws and, again, it was more relaxed than in years before. I brought a birthday cake to celebrate Cole's fifth birthday on Tuesday and a huge fruit salad. With bagels, eggs and ham, I am now in a post- brunch coma.

Of course, Easter baskets:

I got organized and didn't over buy this year! Since I am never without a child during the day, it is super hard to go from store to store. I just ordered everything from Amazon. They received a toy (in Joe's case, a movie), book, Nerf darts, some Minecraft figures Joe found at a consignment store (six figures for 7 dollars- nice work kid!) and a chocolate bunny. In case anyone is looking for ideas:

almost 11 year old boy- The Giver movie and the second book in the Maze Runner
9 year old girl- hideaway pet bunny and Dog Diaries book
6 year old boy- stuffed Creeper and 2 Pet the Cat books
almost 5 year old- stuffed cardinal that makes REAL bird noises and a bird book

Cole's cake is proof my younger siblings "stole" all the art genes. I make great tasting cakes. I can do chocolate frosting. But the look? My father-in-law said it looked like someone took a bite from the side and it did! When Cole, George and I tried to put the frosting on it, it kept crumbling. In hindsight, my friends and sister said it was probably too warm, as I had taken it out of the fridge earlier in the day. The candies on it are those malt ball eggs. I was going to make a nest on top but... no. Hey, it tasted great!

My parents got him a hummingbird feeder, more bird food and a book about birds. My little bird boy!

In all, it was probably the best Easter we've had. Nice and relaxed with the right amount of candy and leftover. The house in a normal state of disarray and I didn't have to spend all day cooking AND cleaning. Couldn't ask for a better Easter miracle.

Spring Break Takes

1. Spring break began on a Thursday. The kids and I relaxed at home and I finished up a class that night. The next day, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and my parents arrived in town that afternoon.

2. We had a free room from a hotel voucher and Adam wanted to use it for his birthday. Honestly, I would have said no except, you know, his birthday so his call. It was right near his office, 20 minutes up the road and, in my opinion, not worth the energy to pack, unpack, etc. It was a very nice hotel and I would certainly stay in one when and if we traveled but for 20 minutes up the road? Eh.

3. We had dinner at a Sushi restaurant and it was really good! I had the Godzilla rolls just so I could tell the kids I ate Godzilla! We poked around a few shops and I found Star Wars pancake molds at Williams Sonoma for $5! The kids are going to be so excited!

4. My four year old is super interested in birds now so I found a downloadable pattern on line to make a stuffed bird. I have been making birds out the wazoo for two weeks now. Everyone wants a stuffed bird! Since I have my machine out, I'm also making myself a dress using a thrift store dress and a little bag for my bird-boy.

5. Speaking of my bird-boy, I'm making him a little bag to carry his bird watching books in, binoculars and I found a shirt on Zulily with real birds on it. He informed he wants one with real birds, not Angry Birds or anything else. Do you know how hard it is to find a cute bird shirt for BOYS?

6. Spring break is... interesting. As much as I was looking forward to being off work and sitting around, I was reminded- rudely, rather- that my children do NOT do relaxing. They will watch TV or whine the whooooole time. Not cool. And they days they didn't want to do anything? It was sunny. The days they wanted to go to the zoo? Rain. UGH.

7. Summer camp sign ups began this week. Guess where you are going, kids? I'm kidding... but swim team, VBS and science camp sign ups begin soon! Our summer won't be packed but they will be busy!

I refuse to get my hopes up

My husband has two siblings, both of whom are in the entertainment business. His younger sister works as a new producer out in CA and his brother waits tables and works in musical theater. (He also has his own web show, Vash and Justin, where he and a friend review movies.) Over the years, his brother has worked for Disney, both in the theme parks and on the cruise line.

When George was an infant, my brother-in-law had a fairly decent stint on a Disney cruise ship. As such, he received discounts that he could pass onto friends and family. My sister-in-law and my in-laws took advantage of these discounts and were able to go on the cruises.

This was 2009, so Joe was about five, Camille three and George was a baby. We had just had a NICU baby and gone through a six month long house selling and buying process. Needless to say, I was stressed beyond belief. I had very little help with anything, from a baby who couldn't go out in crowds to keeping the house perfect for prospective buyers to  keeping the children entertained when we had to leave at a moments notice. My husband was always harping on how expensive the move was or was going to be. Many days, I drove around crying as my baby screamed in the back seat as I had no where to go, no money to take them to a play area, it was often snowing and I was exhausted.

When we moved, things finally calmed down and I told my husband I really, really, REALLY needed a vacation that did NOT involve going to see his grandparents. I adore them but the kids were young and active and it was hard to keep them contained. I just needed to get away, to relax, somewhere, anywhere. BIL encouraged me to look into the discounts he received on the ship and I did. Together, we got the cost down very low and I even worked out a travel plan that would make getting to the site cheap.

My husband said no.

In the end, it was fine because we would have been there in October, when I would have been three months pregnant. For me, I was sure morning sickness and a giant ship wouldn't mix.

I sound like I handled it well but I didn't. I still don't. I was pissed. I needed a break. In the years that followed, I needed a break too but never got one. In fact, it hasn't been until I began coaching again that I feel like I've gotten a bit of a break. How ironic or sad is it that WORK is my break from STRESS?

(I love what I do, though, so don't feel too bad on that account.)

I used to make excuses to everyone, myself included if I am honest, as to why we didn't do anything other than go visit his grandparents. I used to make excuses as to why the "trip" he wanted to take was a week long but a family reunion for me was three days, most of it driving. This past year, I decided to be done with excuses. I no longer kept our summer open in the hopes that we might visit my parents or people might visit us. On the advice of one of our kids' therapists, I enrolled them in camps and fun things to do. It was probably the happiest summer I have had as a parent.

This year, I've been asked how my summer vacation schedule works with coaching. My response was, "I'll take all the hours you can give me!" I've started putting the kids in camps and swim team. My boys are doing baseball. If I can't have the family vacation I dream of, we might as well have fun at home. And when people ask me why we don't travel, I don't give them the half truths of "we can't afford it" or "we're busy." I give them a snarky version of the truth: My husband is allergic to vacations or traveling.

It's the truth because what is holding us- him- back isn't our children's ages or money or anything. He refuses to save for a trip. He says I only want to take them to Disney (not true) and he hates Disney (true). He says it is too expensive and makes up the amount of money it will cost in his head. No amount of logic or anything will convince him that no, family trips can be done for much cheaper.

The other week we used a free night in a hotel for a mini-staycation for his birthday. His brother called him to say hello and told my husband that he, BIL, had auditioned for another job on a Disney cruise ship. We are, of course, happy and hopeful that he is offered the job.

He said, "I get discounts, you know. You should bring the kids."

I snorted. "I know. Trust me, I know. It's not me you have to convince. Talk to your brother. He does not vacation."

My husband talked to his brother and, after they hung up, he said, "We should do that."

I choked. "Whatever."

"It only costs XYZ dollars."

I pointed out that it cost that much five years ago and he refused to go then. I reminded him that it would a Disney cruise and he hates Disney. There would be small children there, etc. He finally said, "Unless something else comes up, we should save for it."

I've heard this before. Something always comes up. Someone always needs therapy or new shoes or the house needs to be repaired. (Currently, it needs to be washed and painted.) He'll find an excuse to not take the kids out of school, even if they only miss a day or two, even if it will only get harder to take them out in the coming years.

I am actually refusing to discuss this with him. (To be fair, I also won't discuss our annual trip to visit his grandparents since he is not entertaining the idea of me going to a wedding.) Why? I know it won't happen. I'm toying with the idea of taking the kids to visit some friends. While I don't relish the idea of taking them alone and I really, really want a vacation with just the six of us, this is the hand I've have to deal with. I want to experience things with my kids and I'll have to do it on my own, while my husband stays behind.

And hey, if I have to stay in the midwest and be envious of other peoples vacation pictures, I might as well do it while I'm hanging out on a deck, working.

Whirlwind trip

About three weeks ago, I had arranged to visit my parents for a few days before Christmas. The thought was that the kids and I would drive down after Joe's cello recital, have "Christmas" early and then drive back after only 2-3 days. Just as I was talking to a friend about this, my brother sent a text that he was coming to visit!

We hadn't seen each other in 18 months, so I was STOKED. I changed my plans with my parents and the kids and I drove down on the 31st. We had a huge dinner with my parents, sister and her family. George had his first sleepover ever with his cousins and did great! In fact, he spent two nights with them! He's been asking for a sleepover for ages and this was a great way to test the waters, so to speak.

The next day, Joe went to hang out with friends and my sister and I hit the mall. We went to All the Stores!!! that you can't take kids into. Our brother arrived that night, just in time for another HUGE dinner. All our kids were so excited.

Unfortunately, that night Joe got sick. He spent most of the night throwing up and he slept the entire next day. Literally. He dragged himself to the recliner in the living room, slept, woke up to take a bath, and went back to the chair. He didn't even have the energy to drag a shirt over his head. My mom roused him enough to take him to bed and he slept all night. He woke up Saturday his usual, snarky self.

And really, really, really unfortunately, a bug seems to be going around. Camille threw up once, as did Cole. George has been hit the worst. The poor boy rarely gets sick but when he does, he makes it worth it. He was complaining of his stomach hurting Saturday morning and then threw up riiiight in the middle of family pictures.

Oh, yes. You see, my sister and I went "Everyone will be together! Let's do pictures!" She got the photographer, we picked a color scheme and everyone looked lovely and charming. We got a group shot of our parents and the grandkids and then kicked the kids out to do group up photos. Five minutes later, Joe ran in to tell up George had puked. Poor boy. And poor my extended family, who will now get the stomach flu.

But! Happier note! The pictures are going to be awesome! I'm so happy we have them! The visit itself was perfect, seven insane kids and one demented cat and all! Just a word to the wise: if you want to do family pictures, do them at the beginning of the trip, before your parents have stuffed you full of turkey, ham, bread, cheese, pasta and lots of wine. Otherwise, your pants might not fit. I have no idea how I know this...

Christmas Re-Cap

Wow, where to start. We've had a little more than two weeks as a family and reality will hit Monday morning. I do not want reality to hit and am firmly in denial that I will have to drag my butt out of bed at six in the morning. Nope. Nope. Annnnnnd nope!

We  began the season with presents at my in-laws. They helped us by a new TV so their gifts to us were light, which was perfect. They got the kids one outfit, books and ornaments. Cole also got a game. I received a pretty, new infinity scarf that I just love. I wear alot of solid colors (in short, I have the wardrobe of a goth business professional) so I love scarves to brighten things up!

Christmas was awesome. I had a touch of insomnia and was awake beginning at 3:30. It was actually very peaceful to sit cuddled in the recliner, typing, with the Christmas lights and presents around me. Camille and George woke at six but played in her room for 45 minutes until everyone got up. Santa brought baseball cards and chocolate in their stockings which kept them occupied until the coffee brewed. Once we were all fully awake, they tore into their presents: a Sonic Screwdriver, Chicken AT-AT walker... thing ("MOM! IT IS NOT A THING!"),  a sewing kit so someone leaves my sewing stuff alone, lots of Star Wars and Percy Jackson.... and science kits. Oh, and LEGO. For a solid week the kids have played nicely with each other. There has been some Star Wars/LEGO mash up going on in the dining room and a Nerf war daily. Happy kids, happy parents.

The day after Christmas our music teacher, and friend, took the little boys to see Big Hero 6 while we took the older kids to see A Christmas Carol at the KC Rep! I won tickets through a website and the show was awesome! It had some cool special effects and just the right amount of audience interaction. Joe was "meh" about the whole thing but Camille really liked it!

I've been so spoiled. Adam and I have taken turns sleeping in and the kids are old enough to get their own breakfast, so we can sleep past seven. Everyone has been helping with the cleaning. It's so nice to see my husband for more than just and hour in the evening. We've been watching lots of Doctor Who together and drinking pots of tea. He's even watched a couple episodes of "Outlander" with me. He doesn't care much for the show but he doesn't hate it, so there's that. (Kinda like me and "Top Gear." It's okay but I'm not in love with it.) I've had help with the speech therapy runs and TKD. I'm not ready to go back to school and work! Bah!

2014: The Year in Review

Wow, this year has gone by fast. At the beginning of the year, I decided that I wanted our theme this year to be peace, hope and healing. I think I did get my wish! We had a fairly peaceful, quiet year. I feel a bit more healed after the mess that was 2013. As for hope... depends on the day, honestly, but yes, I am seeing more hope for the children in certain areas.

I finished my book, began cross-stitching again, made more crochet hats for the NICU and discovered my love for reading. As of the last count, I have read 39 books this year! I think I've read more than that but I know I forgot to record some.

And now, the highlights

January

Camille turned 8! I gave everyone a Goo-Be-Gone recipe and Cole began saying some of the most hilarious things! No, he hasn't stopped either!

February

Camille has a Snow-Much-Fun! party early in the month. My old laptop died an EPIC BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. The kids had school conferences and I blogged about how I hate some people. 

March

Adam had a birthday and Camille informed us that life is half over when you turn 40. At 35, neither of us were amused. I discovered The Hunger Games. We had more meetings at school, more "games plans" for our children and God and I were not BFFs. Hey, we were on speaking terms but eh.... I realized I was living in a Good Friday and hoping for Easter Sunday. After all, Every IEP is a Little Lent. 

April

Cole turned four. Joe turned ten. Easter and our 12 year anniversary. Our community was hit with two tragedies but love won in the end. I also learned that our parish is going to be getting the CGS program and we received a sign via a lady bug that everything will be okay. 

May

Camille's first Communion and the March for Babies! We marched with my parents and sister's family and it was so much fun!

June

VBS went much better than I ever thought it could. George and Cole played t-ball and George was on FIRE. My sister had a healthy baby and Camille and I began taking Communion to people in nursing homes.

July

Our Annual Trip Up North. Adam went to Spain for a week and I Did All The Things around the house. George learned to swim on his own!

August

School began, I had a birthday and did not burst into a hysterical sobbing mess when George began kindergarten

September

The Royals kept winning and I was a baseball widow. I found a grey hair and began looking into hair dye in bulk. I also began coaching swimming again, yay!

October

Mooooore baseball and Halloween. And, oh, blue fever. Baseball. So done with baseball.

November

NICU Thanksgiving, George turned six and grew about a foot!

December

Crazy-ness and fun. Adam and I will be seeing all our siblings over break and we are both excited!

It seems like nothing much happened and, in some ways, I'm okay with that. 2013 was so nuts that I needed this year of peace, hope and healing. I wanted the peace and hope and healing to go on into 2015 but I hope to add some good excitement into the mix. Maybe I'll find a summer coaching position! Or we'll go on vacation! Something fun, filled with family bonding. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Mundane Family Stuff

As if life with the Herd could ever be boring! (Could it be? Please? Just one year?)

George has his piano recital Saturday. I actually ironed his dress shirt, forced him into a sweater and scrubbed him until he shown. He looked so handsome! I was afraid he would refuse at the last minute or would make it to the stage and not do anything- but he didn't! He did great! Of course, the kids in his class are 6 to 8 years old, so it was about what you would expect for beginning students. George kept looking for us in the crowd and I finally stood to the side with the other picture-taking parents so he would see me and play. He did; he tried very hard but the "drums playing without a drummer" confused him. Still! He got up there, played and did an excellent job!

The other day, I heard "Mary had a little lamb" coming from the playroom. I walked in and CAMILLE was playing it! She taught herself some beginning piano from George's book! I am so impressed!

Joe's recital is Saturday and I've been hearing the cello more frequently now. He's beginning to out grow his half size cello and will need a 3/4ths one soon. Adam's already begun looking for one. We're going to keep the half-size, though, since George has shown an interest in it. We joke that he can't begin until he grows into it!

We took the kids to the zoo on Sunday. Santa was diving with the penguins and we knew the kids would like that. They did, although it was a creepy Santa with all his scuba gear on. I mean, really creepy. You could have your picture taken with Santa and the penguins. I thought it would be Santa in front of the tank but no, he was in the water, in front of the glass! Creepy, creepy.

It was warm and lots of animals were out. Since there was a football game going on, it wasn't crowded and the zoo keepers were able to talk to us. We learned that there will be baby penguins before the new year, which elephant is the "alpha female," how elephants talk, that all the penguins have names and more. Even the lions were out and we heard them roar! It was pretty cool!

The not cool part? The bird show, where my family chose to sit next to one of the perches so the damn birds were flying over us. Oh, then as we walked by the elephant enclosure, one of them was flinging dirt at people. Yeah, I almost got elephant dirt flung on me. Cute. Not.

The last day of school is Friday, so I'm making a list of all the fun things we can do over break. We've hit the zoo and I think the little boys want to go to the children's museum. Add a bounce house or two and a trip to visit my parents and we will have a busy break!

Quick Takes Friday: John the Baptist and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

1. I teach kindergarten CCD once a week. (Note: Never again. Never, ever, ever again.) When they first come into the room, I have a children's bulletin with coloring activities at every spot. They work on this for a bit before our story. This week it was about John the Baptist and it had a picture of him baptizing people in the river; the kids were supposed to find the differences between two pictures.

One little boy was confused as to why John was drowning people. I quickly explained full-immersion baptism, which the kids probably haven't seen. (It's clear the children all attend Mass but our parish doesn't do full-immersion baptisms.) The group thought for a moment and then someone's eyes lit up and he said, "Oh! Like when you dump a bucket of ice on someone's head?"

It took everything in me to not burst into hysterical laughter. I mean, great connection, right? But how hysterical would it be to baptize people via the ALS ice bucket challenge?

2. George began piano last month. He likes it and is doing very well. We finally went and got him a keyboard. He practices frequently, much more than a certain older brother of his. (I'm looking at you, Joe.) Of course, this creates draaaammmma because Cole is not taking piano lessons. Cole likes to go up to the keyboard, turn it off and scream, "I DO PEE-ANO TOO!"

Keep in mind, Cole takes preschool music classes at the same place George takes piano and Joe has cello lessons!

3. Camille now wants to take piano. It's official; I coach swimming so my kids can take music lessons.

4. Speaking of swimming. I have four weeks off until the next session begins. This is working out well, since both boys have recitals, Joe has a strings concert and its generally just a busy season for us. I may pick up some hours here and there but I'm off for awhile.

5. My older two kids have several sticks of deodorant each. Cole has been swiping one and applying it. My four year old now smells like a tween boy who is having a love affair with Axe.

6. I think we over bought for Christmas- again. At least I can put some of Camille's away for her birthday.

7. I got to read a short story a friend wrote and helped her brainstorm the title. It was really fun to talk shop with a REAL writer- she's published! You bet I will pimp her story out when it goes live.

hop over to Jen's for more quick takes!

Justin and the Herd Review Movies and Act Adorable

My brother-in-law, Justin, has a YouTube Channel where he and his friend Vash "review" movies. I say "Review" because they mostly fight about the movie. (Spoilers: Justin likes them, Vash sleeps through them.) Most of their reviews are family friendly, if you want to follow them on YouTube.

Justin came home for a wedding (and Thanksgiving but, you know, mostly the wedding) and took the Herd to see Penguins of Madagascar. While I thought he should have taken them alone so Adam and I could get ready for Thanksgiving (yeah, that's what we're calling it now), he was too terrified to take four children to the movies alone. Whimp. Thankfully, Adam wanted to see the movie so he went to help out. I stayed home, made cinnamon rolls and enjoyed the sounds of peace and quiet. It was quite worth it because, well, watch the adorableness!






For those of you who follow this blog for information about CAS and speech therapy, the six year old is the one who has been in speech since he was 22 months old and was once non-verbal. I never, ever thought he would be able to do something like this! People, this is the result of hard, hard work and years of therapy and listen to how good he sounds!

Overheard: The Weaslys and manliness

I have a swimmer who says the most random and hilarious stuff. The most recent: I'm somewhere between manliness and bar mitzvah.

I just laughed. The kid in question is about six!

***

There's a girl who I refer to as my Honorary Fifth Child because I used to watch her in the AM before school. We carpool to CCD together and like to chat about Harry Potter and Doctor Who. Last night, the little boys were running down hallways at the school and she said, "You know, you're family reminds me of the Weaslys, minus three kids and the ginger."

I jokingly said, "Do I look like Molly Weasly?" and did a, "NOT MY DAUGHTER!" imitation.

And that, dear readers, is why our parish thinks we are nuts.

I have lost my desire....

to move near my cousins in Buffalo. I remember insanely cold winters and heavy snow when we lived in Upstate New York but nothing like this "lake effect" storm. I mean, we get nutty weather in the midwest but since there is a distinct lack of lakes in my area... no lake effect storms. We also get ice storms more than snow storms. Nothing like this!

I am not going to complain about how cold it is here, how cold my husband keeps the house or how I'm kinda glad the boys are insisting on sleeping with me all night because they keep the bed toasty! I'm thankful we don't have 70+ inches for snow!

Huh, there's a game on tonight?

The World Series begins tonight. You can literally feel the excitement in the air! The entire town is decked out in Royals colors and my kids are wearing their shirts and jerseys. It's funny to think that the last time they were in a World Series, my sister-in-law wasn't even born yet. Neither was my sister! My brother was in diapers. Only five or six states had seat belt laws and babies were still put to sleep on their tummies.

The game starts at seven, local time, so we should still have plenty of swimmers tonight, although I wouldn't blame them if they skipped practice to watch the game.

Once I get home, I will probably put Cole to bed and write, since my writer's block seems to have broken. Here's hoping they win AND I get lots of writing done.

Update on us all

Wow. Long time, no blog. I knew it had been awhile but I didn't realize how long. I kept thinking of things to blog about but never got around to it. My days have been super busy and now I am gone two+ nights a week.

Let's see: ME! I'm coaching a pre-competitive program now. I wasn't sure I wanted to take this position as I wanted to COACH and be on deck and this sounded more like swimming lessons. It isn't; it's more of a hands on swim team. We're halfway through the season and I hope my contract is renewed for after the holidays. I'm learning alot from the head coach and I really enjoy the swimmers.

Adam is lukewarm on me working at night, especially since there are weeks where I am gone every night. He basically told me that interferes with his time to do stuff, to which I said, "tough cookies." I wasn't as nice as that, though. With the Royals in the World Series (yaaaay), it means he can't come home, walk the dog, and watch baseball. He has to help with homework and do stuff around the house. HOWEVER, I am much, much happier coaching. I really enjoy getting out without the kids and doing something for me. Plus, it bring in money and I've lost a little weight. I think my days are typically more organized because I know I can't put off XYZ until the next day or night. I need to get the kids started on homework, have a snack and dinner ready to go if I want to come home to a decent house and happy family.

My book is... coming along. No bites from agents yet and I'm currently on hold with queries while I work on some scenes. I'm still ahead of my goal to really be seeking representation by the new year. However, I am so brain dead by the evening that many times, I don't have the energy to write anything.

Joe: Oh, this child. This child. I went to schools on military bases or ones with a high military-kid population. I had a mouth and a temper. And I never, ever got into the trouble this child is getting into. I'm not sure if the school is unreasonably strict, the policies are not developmentally appropriate  or there's other stuff going on. I suspect the answer is "yes." We have a meeting about all this during conferences. He's being an archer for Halloween and his costume came out FABULOUS!

The Princess: She's in a holding pattern and doing well. I'm still looking for books to motivate her to read but I haven't found That Book yet. For Joe, it was Percy Jackson. For me, I think it was The Baby-Sitter's Club. We'll find it; just need to keep looking. She's going as Princess Leia... when she gives medals to Luke and Hans. Way to make it easy on me, kid. ;P

George: IEP meeting coming up. He is doing SO WELL in kindy and has friends. I have a few points I want to make at the  meeting, like how we should ask George to point to letters instead of saying the name. F and X sound exactly alike when he says them, so there's no way to tell if he knows which letter is which! He's a blue Power Ranger and his costume is DONE.

Cole: Speaking of this kid... he's scared of Halloween decor. That means any plans to get him OUT of our bed at night have been halted. He also lives off sugar and dairy. He did NOT find it amusing when I went back to work but is adjusting to me being gone. I mean, he's with Daddy so it's not like he's with a sitter 24/7. He's going as the most adorable Captain Rex ever!

In spite of these complaints, everything is going okay around here.  I know coaching two nights a week has been good for me. I'm hopeful things will get straightened out with school soon. And maybe I can get Halloween costumes will get done....

The benefits of a loosing team

My husband loves baseball and, I used to joke, is one of the few remaining fans of our local major league team. Me? It doesn't include water or people in Speedos, so I go once a year for the food. And because I love my husband... but, yeah, the food.

Our local team has had a rebuilding decade or two. Last year, they were just beginning to get good and this year, they have been REALLY REALLY good. Like, "may go to play offs" good. Normally, I would be like, "Ah, our local team is on the cover of Sports Illustrated! Cool!" and that would be that. However, since DH is a fan, it's been all baseball, all the time around here.

To say I am over this whole thing would be an understatement. I am so tired of the sports channel. I am tired of talking baseball. I am tired of listening to my husband and father talk about baseball. I am tired of DH going to games and bringing home fake plastic helmets that once held nachos. (You can't put them in the dishwasher and they are impossible to store.) Normally, I would have my husband and TV back by now but that isn't the case. From April until October, it has been BASEBALL!!!!

Ugh.

At least when they were losers, I could watch my own TV shows and talk about something other than baseball. I'm happy that they are having two great years in a row but... is the season over yet?

Quick Takes Friday: Birthday, blog, and school

1. Okay, yeah, so I couldn't come up with another "b" word. Anyway, I had my birthday on Saturday. I found a great deal on tickets for the local LEGO discovery zone and we took the kids. We had a great time! All of them did really well and there was only one meltdown, at the end. They took me to a diner for lunch and I had fantastic pie. Summer is here, complete with three-digit degree days so there was no way I was baking myself a cake; besides, you can't go to a real short-order diner without getting pie, can you?

2. That same night we had a neighborhood party at our local pool AND the new season of Doctor Who began. Yes, yes I did get the Doctor for my birthday. Envious? :) I really liked the show especially because Lady Vestra, Strax and Jenny are in it.

3. You know what would be cool? A Doctor Who and Call the Midwife! cross-over with Lady Vestra and Jenny hanging out with Sister Monica Joan and Strax helping the nurses catch babies. "I will now dissolve the mother in acid! Er, I will NOT dissolve the mother in acid!" It's brilliant, no? I should totally work for BBC. ;)

4. On Monday I told our doctor that Joseph and George were handling the transition back to school the best. Of course, the kids then made liars out of me and George had a two day long meltdown. Cole is still a grumpy butt but Camille is getting much better.

5. Cole is partially grumpy because he and I have allergies or a cold. I'm not sure which so I am doping myself with allergy meds. He actually missed school Tuesday because he was so grumpy and tired. I wasn't sure if it was allergies, so he hung out with George and me in the afternoon.

6. I know I need to update more but I do most of my writing while the kids are in activities or in speech. The speech office is the black hole of WiFi and I can't get internet access. I work on other writing projects but it stinks to not blog when I have time to do so!

7. Speaking of blogging, I have a new blog devoted to writing. Check it out!

The middle of the first week

Back to school night was last night. It was only for parents, so Adam and I had to divide and conquer the whole "meet the teacher and learn about the curriculum" thing. I sent Adam to kindergarten since we've done that one three times before and know the teacher well. I might have laughed a little (a lot) when he got lost on the way to the classroom. I headed to third grade and we met up again to brief Joseph's teacher on.... Joseph.

Joe had Camille's teacher in second grade, so much of the information on her style of teaching wasn't new. However, she is very into technology and said the kids will be learning how to be independent learners, monitor their own work, make web pages and the codes that you can scan with your smart phone. Girlfriend's gonna be fixing my computer issues for me soon! The teacher also said that she's been working the kids very, very hard and they could be tired this week. THAT explains why I have had a grumpy, sour-faced princess on my hands this week. Thankfully, she adores school and this teacher is a perfect fit for her.

Joe's teacher is super sweet. She sounds like a great fit for him, strict but loving and down to earth. I have high hopes for him this year!

Of course, the little boys are doing awesome. I thought for sure that George would pass out from exhaustion in the afternoon but 3.5 hours a day, five days a week isn't much different from three hours a week, four days a week. Cole, on the other hand, has revised his emo-goth attitude and is a grouch. I threatened to re-name him Oscar.

Summer has chosen to show up and it's going to 100 degrees this weekend. It is the first time this has happened this summer but still. Ugh. I hope I can steal the older two away so we can see The Giver in a nice, cold AC theater.

Quick Takes Friday: The First Day

1.

The first day of school began like this:

 

 

 

Joseph- 5th grade and not amused by the photos. He ditched us shortly after

Camille- third. She has the same teacher Joe had in second grade and is super excited.

George- kindergarten

Cole- last year of preschool!

 

2.

George tried to ditch me right away. I told him mommies stay for a few minutes the first day. He ended up kicking me out after ten minutes, which was fine because I had a preschool meeting to attend.

 



 

3.

When I picked him up, we went to CFA for lunch and then ran an errand. He told me all about "Pete the Cat." Since he can't say "Pete" I had no clue what he was talking about aside from a stuffed cat who had shoes and they colored their own shoes. His teacher sent me a photo of them with Pete and then his SLP said, "Oh, those are cool books!" Whew! But, apparently, he loved the story since he could tell me all the details!

 

4.

His teacher told me that when they introduced themselves he said, "Well, you may not be able to understand me but my name is George." It comes out "Forfe." He didn't seem too bothered by the fact that some people may not understand him, which is good.

 

5.

I met Cole's new SLP at school but have not hunted down the K-5 SLP. I've met her but I need to make sure all the paperwork is in so she can talk to our private SLP. I may also need to ask her IEP questions but I probably shouldn't harass her too much the first few days! ;) Then again, we're going to be working together for the next five years, or more, so she might as well get used to me!

 

6.

There's a new school nurse. The school year is just beginning so we haven't chatted much. Our paperwork should all be finished so I hope I don't have to talk to her about vaccines. Cole had an allergic reaction to vaccines so he's behind. I doubt I will get him the flu shot either, since that's one he had a reaction to. I don't mind explaining to people WHY he is behind but it gets old having to "justify" why we don't want to give something to our kid that he is allergic to!

 

7.

After a good first day at school, there were epic meltdowns last night. No, I wasn't one of them. The middle two were overwhelmed and over-tired, which led to tears and a refusal to go to bed. We finally got them down and life seems much better today... they were ready to leave for school 45 minutes early!