Kid Tales

A Whole New World

You wouldn't think that 1st grade would be the year that this all begins, but at our house, it has begun. With a vengeance. What has begun? Well, these days I spend a good deal of time listening to Stomper tell me all about the much-praised and oft-mentioned Lola. Oh, Lola, if you only knew! Stomper has got a thing going on for you. He tells me what she is wearing every single day. "Mom, today Lola wore her red dress with the flowers." I heard another mom talking about "the kissy girl," as Lola is referred to by her son, although he seems to find it all rather comical and disgusting. Not Stomper. He is entranced. "Mom, Charles says that Lola is love with Nick AND with me." (Deep sigh.) Of course he denies all accusations of affection, but I will just say that I don't think Stomper has ever noticed what a girl was wearing ever before in his life. It's kind of great. We'll see how I feel about it if any actual kissing occurs. I know, however, that it's not just us, because Stomper's friend was in the car with us on the way home from school today, and he regaled us all with a tale about how he is (and I quote,) "the hottest guy in his class." What makes him say that? Well, apparently Victoria spends a lot of time leaning up against him at their table. Oh man, I think his mom's got it worse than I do. I should probably let her know before he and Victoria get serious.


So THAT Was the Problem!

Bitty, I'm happy to report, is loving her new school. It's funny to me that she was requesting to leave her old school because frankly, I don't think it's a whole lot different from her new school. I'm guessing the fact that her mother is not totally stressed out to the max every day getting her to and from school has something to do with it. All I know is that she's happy, I'm happy: we're happy. Good school, good teachers, perhaps a couple of friends. I have meant to mention for a while now a prayer she uttered last week as we were heading out the door. (We gather for family prayer at the front door before we leave every day. Mostly.) "Dear Heavenly Father, please make it so I don't have to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce at school today." Apparently that was her main complaint about the old school. She hates sitting cross-legged and it was enough to make her want to change schools. Thank heavens the sitting rules aren't quite as strict at the new place!


Bundle's New Game, Rated R

I feel like I'm on the verge of sharing too much information here, but I just can't help it. Bundle has started playing a game with me, of course while she's nursing. This is what she does. She nurses voraciously for about 5 gulps and then suddenly pulls away and looks up at me with milk dripping across her face and down her chin and just grins like crazy. Then she dives back in, suck suck suck, then pulls away and laughs at me again. It is so funny and so darling and so not something I'm taking a picture of. (At least not one I'll post here.) Also, she loves getting tossed. I don't let go of her, but I push her up above my head and she laughs down at me. Or I'll kind of toss her onto a pillow and she giggles like crazy. I'm sad to be letting go of my brand new babe, but am sure enjoying this new bigger baby I have around.

Coolest Video Ever

Okay, okay. I know I'm WAY behind on blogging - I have a huge list of events to write witty things about, but since I'm up to my eyeballs today, I'm just going to post this video of the coolest thing I've ever seen. Well, top 10 maybe. Anyway, here it is:



And now I must go clean and cook and do all those mommy things. But I will really really try to post some actual life events today.

Oh, I'm Stimulated.

I am reserving judgment on President Obama's economic stimulus plan. But I'd just like to say that I feel stimulated. Very stimulated.

I can not find a single route to a single destination I regularly drive to that is not slowed or blocked by construction. Perhaps the sudden onset of at least 30 major road construction projects is not due to the stimulus. But maybe it is.

I am LOVING this.

The real story is that I have been driving Bitty to the Millcreek area to go to preschool because it was the least expensive program I could find. I thought it would work fine, that it wouldn't be a big deal. It took about one day to discover that it wouldn't work fine and it was a very big deal. Not only was I spending an exorbitant amount of time in the car and money on gas, but the construction just makes it worse. Plus Bundle, my first baby ever who actually likes to sleep in her bed, ends up taking her first nap in the car and it just screws up the whole day. I even tried waking up Bundle at 5:30 in the morning one day so she could take a nap before we left for school. Oh yeah, that day was awesome. What I actually mean is that it was horrible. So finally I made a couple of phone calls, found out that the school I really wanted to send Bitty too still had openings and that happily, I was totally wrong about the price and it was only 20 bucks a month more than the Millcreek school. Yipee! So tomorrow, we have our third (and hopefully final) first day of school this fall.

Updates

Oh I am so behind. Life seems to be rolling along at breakneck speed like always, and I'm grateful for it all, although I must admit that tonight I'm feeling a little harried. But I have to get some updates in before they're totally outdated.

Update on Daddy:
All I can say is that my husband is a pedalin' fool. He completed his second Latoja tour; a 206 mile bike race from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I'm very proud of him. I think he's still feeling relieved that he's no longer pedaling.



Update on Mommy:
Let's skip that. I'm tired.

Update on Stomper:
He seems to love 1st grade. He goes in willingly, he comes out happy. He can't seem to get the notion of bringing home his lunchbox everyday, but that ain't no thang. We'll figure it out. He also started a new season of soccer with the Firebirds. He's on the same team with a few of his buddies from Kindergarten, and at first I thought this might prove disastrous as at his first practice the boys did nothing but roll around on the grass and tackle each other. However, at their first game Stomper actually scored his first ever goal and seemed to have a much better idea of what the game is about. I'm grateful to his coach who hasn't quit yet. I would have. That practice was awful!


My favorite Stomper story of the week: He comes out of his room one morning holding the shirt I had put out for him. It was a darling little stripy polo but he was pinching it between his fingers like it was a pair of dirty undies. "Mom, why can't I have any cool shirts?" I tried to get him to tell me what a cool shirt was and he got frustrated. "You know, a COOL shirt!" "Tell me what a cool shirt is, honey." Bursting into tears, "Mom! You don't understand me! You'll never understand me!" Oh great. Are we there already? Luckily Troy was there to calm him down and get him to explain what he wanted. He wants the kind of shirts I detest. Those shirts that are splashed top to bottom with huge graphics of roaring dinosaurs and action heroes. Sorry, other moms, I know lots of kids wear them, but I just hate them. Don't worry, I'll get over it. I love my kid more than I hate those shirts, so we found a few on sale at Smith's and Stomper is now the proud owner of officially cool shirts.

Bitty update:
She finally got to start school! It was a long couple of weeks between the time Stomper started and Bitty got to go. We're commuting to a school in Millcreek, and so far I'm happy with the class. Not thrilled, but pretty happy. The problem is the commute. It is starting to seem ridiculous. Last year we were only doing it twice a week but this year it's four days and I'm starting to wonder if I should look again for a preschool around here. Bitty would probably flip out, actually, since her best little friend J. goes there. J. used to live on our street but now lives on the school's street. I'm not sure I could convince her to be happy elsewhere. We'll see.



Bundle update:
Well, I took all these pictures a couple of weeks ago because she turned three months. Of course now she's almost four months, but I can still show you her three month pictures, right? She continues to be a delight, although Bitty's school schedule is kind of throwing her off her groove. Why oh why didn't I appreciate life with just one baby? I was home all day with Stomper and I couldn't figure out what I was doing. Oh well, Bundle is still happy and getting chubbier thighs by the day.

Precarious and Precious

I love my life. I do. It is so rich with wonderful people and beautiful things like the sky and fresh tomatoes and crickets at night. I have baby legs to squish and children pulling on my arms and food to cook and eat and savor. I have friends who are like sisters and sisters who are like friends. I have love, true love. I have music and fun new shoes and new tile in the bathroom. I love my life.

I am reflecting on all these wonderful things because the past month has had so many sad events to throw the happy ones into sudden and sharp focus. I thought about these things especially last night because I finally uploaded a couple of weeks' worth of pictures from the camera onto the computer. Life has been too busy to do it, and I look at these pictures and think about the things I know now that I didn't know when the pictures were taken.

My mom has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This is the health trouble that brought them home from Belgium, and which will keep them from returning to their service there, and which they are facing so wisely and courageously. I think I knew that she had it, but hearing it confirmed was quite a shock. Happily she's in the very early stages, and she lives a very active and healthy lifestyle that has really given her a leg up on this. She is doing great, and so is my dad. I admire them so much. They are happy and peaceful and enjoying this opportunity to count their blessings, act now on doing whatever it is they want to do and just love each other and their family. I love them so much and am so proud of them.

My friend has cancer. Well, now two of my friends do. One friend is entering the hospital today to start treatment for melanoma. I am sending him my energy in hopes to help him fight and overcome, and I'm pondering what I can do to express love and support but not be another intrusion in the life of his family. Then two days after I learned of my mom's diagnosis, one of my dearest friends, who overcame breast cancer three years ago, found that it has returned and landed on her bones. This is a fight she will fight for as long as she can, and I send her my energy in hopes of sustaining her. Making this discovery put me in a pretty dark place for a few days, but I have been given the chance to realize how honored I am to be a part of her life. We have heard many tales over the past 10 days of women who have lived with this for many years, and this is what we are earnestly praying for. Love you, friend.

And Elsa. I continue to carry with me the thoughts of my friend's little babe, whom she lost, finding out about her passing only shortly before delivering her. Troy and I do not spend a single moment with our darling Bundle without thinking of my friend, her husband, their boys and the baby, and we speak of them often. I know I've already blogged about them, but my feelings of happy/sad/sorry/grateful are increasing.

Sorry for the heavy posts lately! I have felt very heavy deep inside and it's been a relief to share the burden of this precarious and precious life. I especially appreciate friends with whom I can always turn to when it all feels like it's getting to be a little much. And I appreciate the chance to savor all that I have to live for, however long that might be.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that Troy gave me free time yesterday by taking the kids on an outing.
The bad news is that they went crawdad fishing.
The good news is that the kids totally loved it.
The bad news is that they want to go more often.
The good news is that they figured out how to catch a ton of crawdads.
The bad news is that they caught a ton of crawdads.
The good news is that my kids and I had something to do on a Sunday afternoon.
The bad news is that it involved me cooking and peeling more crawdads.
The good news is that my kids were overjoyed.

I think I'll end it there.

Apparently the kids spent the ride home talking about "how delighted mommy will be when she sees how many crawdads we're bringing her!" and that I would "faint with joy!" I am a very good faker. It makes me laugh that I will go to a restaurant and pay good money for crab legs, which I love, but something about the crawdads makes my skin crawl and I cannot bring myself to eat them. I'm getting better at cooking them without fear and ripping them to pieces without making a face. We're coming along. And Bitty tells me that "crawdads are DEE licious." I'll take your word for it, sweetheart.

Overheard

This is what Troy overheard on the way home from an outing tonight:

Bitty: "I wish I was a snake."

Stomper: "Why?"

Bitty: "So that you would love me!"

Stomper: "Do you know what I love more than any snake in the world? You."

Awwww. Maybe they really do like each other. Of course, as I type this, they're in their room fighting about sleeping with each others toys, but one can always hope. I had to record it immediately so that we have proof that occasionally there is affection between our kids from time to time.

My Most Favoritest Time of Day

You'll never believe it, but my very favorite time of day is about 4:30 - 5:30 in the morning. Why such an unearthly hour, you ask? Well, that's about when Bundle wakes up every night to eat. I'm so happy when I hear her little peeps coming from her bed next to me, because I can get up, snuggle with my babe and feed her, and then I always bring her into bed with me after that. I just love looking at the clock and knowing that I still have a couple of hours to sleep and that I get to do it with my warm little Bundle nestled up next to me. Some days I feel like she is my accessory all day long and I hardly get to pay her much lengthy focused attention, so I always look forward to our alone time in those precious early morning hours.

Thoughtful, Prayerful

I had a moment this evening that I don't think I will ever forget. I was snuggling with a very fussy Bundle, which is unusual behavior for her. She must not feel too good. I was a little tired out (but not totally insane yet - Bitty didn't mess her pants for the 5th time today until later) after a long argument-filled kind of day, and was a little edgy with the constant baby fussing going on. The big kids were playing and I finally got Bundle calmed so I was standing by the computer reading blog updates. I read the very tender blog entry from a friend and found myself weeping. I looked down at Bundle and just smiled and cried and laughed because I'm so happy to have her and she just laughed right back at me. Which made me cry more. The more I cried the more she laughed. It was one of those little gifts that get you through the days.

The blog that made me cry so much was a very touching entry from a friend who lost her baby just a couple of weeks ago. That was the viewing I went to on Bitty's birthday. She was in labor at 39 weeks or so and discovered that the baby had gone probably a couple of days earlier due to a hematoma in the umbilical cord. (I hope it's okay I'm talking about this, Kate!) She and her family are amazing and have much to share about their baby and the things that they are learning. Thank you, Kate.

Troy and I can't help but feel, especially lately,that life seems to be awfully fleeting. I'm also consumed by thoughts about another friend, whom I respect and admire immensely, who is facing the fight of his life in a battle against melanoma. He's only months younger than myself and has a wife and three children who are all so beautiful, both inside and out. I have several other friends going through great trials; more lost babies, health troubles, cancer scares, divorces; it seems overwhelming right now. And there's very little I can do for any of them except fall to my knees and ask for help for each of them, which I am doing.

I am grateful for the chance to remember my blessings. Seriously, Bitty had me close to running for it today. Troy arrived in the nick of time. I'm not sure if he saved me or Bitty, but he saved someone, that's for sure! But as Bitty had sat weeping in the bathroom tonight she tearfully told me through her sobs, "I still love you mommy!" I thought of what a blessing she is to me. She also asked if she could have a noogie instead of a spanking. Rest assured, neither were administered. The remedy tonight was just a quiet family time sitting on the bedroom floor reading and talking and hugging.

My love goes out to those who need it.

A Sunday Well Spent

Ah, it's that lovely time of year, when it's still summer out there but you can tell it's winding down. I'm sitting by the back door listening to the late-summer crickets - such loud chirping, you know they're all grown and soon fall will be here. Of course, it's still pretty dang hot out, so we decided to spend our afternoon up Big Cottonwood Canyon at Silver Lake. Many other people had the same idea we did, but it was still a very nice afternoon, perfected only by the fact that our friends joined us and Bitty didn't fall asleep either on the way up or the way back. Magic, I tell you. In this case, pictures definitely speak louder than words, so here you go.

First Day, Take One

Bitty doesn't get to start school for two more weeks (dangit!) but Stomper got to go to first grade this morning. He was so excited about it I couldn't help but be excited myself. (Okay, I would have been excited anyway.) We bought an alarm on Monday so we could have better mornings without mom nagging at everyone to wake up and get out of bed. I set it last night but at 7:21 this morning realized that I obviously didn't do it correctly because it never went off. I went in and quickly set it for 7:22, snuck out, and let the thing do its duty. Both of the kids jumped in their sleep when it went off, and it sure got them out of bed! Luckily they decided they liked it. The morning went well, and all five of us went off to school to check out the first grade.

By the way, I sound like I'm just excited to get the kids away from me and out of the house. I can not deny that there is something to that. But before you condemn me as a sucky parent, think of this. Every school day when I say goodbye, there comes a moment when I get to say hello. That is a wonderful moment, that moment of reunion. And during the summer you don't get to have that moment very often. I love that moment. Also, I could use some new stimulation for the kids, and let me just say that they are seriously ready for some time away from each other. Also, (doth I protest too much?) I really am excited! I remember all the things I loved about school, especially pre-sixth grade. I love watching my kids learn new things. It's...exciting! So, I have now officially defended my feelings of elation about the start of the school year.

This year was a little strange for me because every year before this we've had some sort of orientation, meet the teacher, see the classroom kind of experience. We had none of that this time. Just find out what class you're in on Friday and drop the kids off on Tuesday morning. It felt a little cold turkey to me, but I guess since Stomper didn't seem to be traumatized by it at all I shouldn't be either.

During school I took Bitty and Bundle to the zoo. I am very proud of myself because as I was walking out the door I thought to myself, you know, Bundle hasn't pooped for a few days and I bet she does it at the zoo. I'd better bring an extra change of clothes. I quickly grabbed the jammies I had just changed her out of. Good thing I did. She didn't poop at the zoo. She pooped on the way to the zoo. MAN. I think she ruined her clothes. And I'm not sure I got it all out of her belly button. And watch out for the changing table in the bathroom by the entrance if you're there in the near future. I tried to wipe it down as best I could. How could such a cute, darling little thing make a mess like that? Here's a picture of her in the onsie she destroyed:


(I just had to throw that shot in because it's so cute!)Is it ironic that the shirt she pooped all over says, "adorable?"

We got back just in time to pick up Stomper from school. I tried all afternoon to get information out of him as to what he did all day and came up with nothing. Apparently there was a lot of talking, none of which he remembers. He did, however, get very excited that he ate his whole lunch so he could eat his dessert. The kid hasn't yet figured out that I WON'T KNOW IT if he eats dessert first. No one tell him.

I had a poignant moment last night as I made his first ever school lunch. As I lovingly spread the peanut butter and gently tucked in the string cheese and carrot sticks, I realized that if I keep making lunches for my kids for the rest of school, I'm in for a damn lot of lunch making. Bundle will (I hope) graduate from high school in 18 years. I have 18 years of lunch making ahead of me. This occurred to me again after school as I stopped someone from diving into the freshly purchased lunch supplies. "Don't eat that! It's for school lunches!" A phrase I heard hollered many times in my own home growing up. I have now uttered/hollered it myself for the first time and not, I strongly suspect, for the last.

Happy Family Days

I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside right now. I've just finished looking at dozens of pictures taken over the past few days of happy family things we've been enjoying.

First, on Saturday Troy's oldest brother Rick got married to a terrific woman named Tonja. We're so so happy for them both, and so thrilled to have two new cousins in the family: Tonja's twins, a 15 year old boy and girl. They are darling - my kids got excited just looking at pictures of them because they know how much fun they are to be with.



Also, last night was my niece's 11th birthday and my sister threw her a family dinner in the park. We missed Troy who couldn't come and Adam and Whitley and kids, because it was really a delightful evening.

Bitty has a Birthday

My gal is four! Four, going on 17, of course.

We had a lovely day. The Misty gave me a great idea; to open presents first thing in the morning so the birthday girl can play with her new stuff on her birthday, all day long. (And also so I don't have to have the "when can I open my presents" conversation 20 times during the day.) I got up early and made a birthday coffee cake, set the table and put out the presents. Of course Stomper woke up long before Bitty so I did actually have the "when are the presents?" conversation many times after all, all in the space of half an hour while we waited for the birthday girl to arise. You know, it was a great idea. We had a really fun breakfast together and then the kids were busy with the stuff while I got ready for the party that evening.

Bitty had been asking for a cash register for a while, and through a miracle I was led, almost as if by a divining rod, through Toys-R-Us, directly past three different varieties. Something inside told me there had to be just one more somewhere in there, and unbelievably, I walked straight to it and it was perfect. Bitty opened it and said, "It's my cash!" Sorry, kid. I wish. She also got the much sought after "Bendaroos" which, if you have cable, you have undoubtedly seen an add for. My kids have been begging for them for months and when I walked right past those also at Toys-R-Us (I was totally guided, just so you know - I had about 30 minutes to do all of Bitty's shopping and found four fantastic things in just the allotted time!) I knew I would make her birthday. The box comes with 500 of the little waxy strings, and in the evening as I was cleaning up from the party I found one on the floor, already mashed full of dog hair and all I could think was, "One down, 499 to go," as I tossed it in the trash. Oh well. They're really very fun and have kept the kids busy for hours already. Easier to clean up than playdough or moonsand.



My good friend Ruth has a son who is one of Stomper's best buddies and who also has a birthday on the 21st. All he wanted for his birthday was to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch with Stomper. So good Ruth took them, plus her two other daughters, plus Bitty as well, the saint. I was going to go with them but ended up at a viewing (more on that later) so she went at it solo. She definitely earned another point towards her halo. The kids had a great time, apparently, because they asked me if we could move into Chuck E. Cheese's. No. But thanks for asking.

We had a joint party for the two birthday kids in our backyard in the evening. It was going to be at the park, but seeing as how the temps were hovering around 100 degrees, we changed it to a place with shade, an inside, and a pool. Hurrah once again for the $37 blow-up pool. Lovely evening spent with family and friends. Just how a summer evening should be - chips, salsa, homemade guacamole, fruit, birthday cake, and people you love lingering in the warm evening air until well after both dark and bedtime. And since the dog did most of the dish duty on all the cake lying around, clean up was a snap!

I attempted my first ever princess dress birthday cake. Not too bad, but I'm not going to show a close up!


Best jumping-off-the-edge-of-the-pool shot ever!

So happy birthday to Bitty, who lights up my days like the blinding ray of a 2000 lumen flashing beacon. Just kidding. Sort of. She certainly is a bright little star, and I am lucky to have had her come to me. I can't wait to see what she does next!

Speaking of Tomatoes

You may have noticed that I mentioned tomatoes in the last post. This is because, after watching Troy's awesome gardening skills send our tomato plants soaring skywards all summer long, the tomatoes are ripening. Oh my gosh. I think my favorite food on earth may be the brandywine tomato, so fat and delicious, so heavy in my hand, warm from the summer sun. Don't come over. There aren't enough for you.

My Mommy and Daddy

Thanks to skype, it didn't feel like it had been a million years since I had seen my parents, who left for a church assignment in Belgium last March. So when I saw them, it was a little odd - like, oh hi! I think I saw you yesterday, right?

Yes, I got to see my parents, and introduce them to Bundle long before I expected to. I'm so happy. They are home for a quick visit to meet their three new granddaughters, hug all their kids, and to do some medical testing for some issues going on. Nothing major or drastic, so no worries. They are headed back to Belgium in a couple of weeks and then we'll see what happens next. Mostly I'm just delighted that they got to meet my baby!

They came home on Tuesday night and I think all the SL kids (me, Margaret and Peter) were so wound up and anxious to see them we all kind of went berserk. And this berserk-ness manifested itself through the frantic compulsion to clean. We all spoke that day and found that we were all cleaning our houses like crazy. Major nervous energy, I guess. My folks didn't even see my house until this afternoon, and do you think it was still sparkling from its Tuesday afternoon scrubbing? No, of course it wasn't. What I loved was that by the time my parents' plane had landed I had reminded myself that I probably wouldn't even see them that day because they had to be so jet lagged, they were getting picked up by friends in order to have their own vehicle while in SLC (they gave all of theirs away before they left!), and it was late in the day. I decided to do something with my nerves and put the kids in the car and head to Bountiful to visit The Misty. Just as I was headed almost out of town my phone rang. Yay! My parents! At first, Dad said, "We love you and we'll see you tomorrow," but then Mom got on the phone and said, "Stop! Where are you? I need to meet my grandbaby!" So we had an impromptu reunion in front of the Delta Center and it was lovely. Here's the picture I took with my phone:


I felt so happy. Then we all got together at Peter and Sheri's/My parent's place for a tomato and Belgian bread dinner the next night. Then they flew off to CA the next morning to see Adam and Whit and their new baby girl. Man, they have done a lot of baby holding the past few days! But this afternoon when they dropped by under the suspicious guise of seeing us (really they were after our freshly ripened brandywine tomatoes,) they acted like they would never get sick of holding Bundle and playing with Bitty and Stomper. Like they like us or something! Here are some pix from the reunion dinner last Wednesday:







By the way, I didn't ever post a good picture of the third granddaughter. Here she is! I can't wait to meet her.

Dinner Up Millcreek

My sister-in-law Kathleen and I talked about getting together for dinner a few times over the summer, and even scheduled it once but had to change it. Last Monday, we finally thought we could pull it off. It was at the end of a pretty hectic day (which seemed to be the prevailing theme all week long) and I almost called to change it. But I knew that with only a week left until school it would be too hard to make it happen. I'm so glad we did it! We just threw some stuff together and met at a campground up Millcreek Canyon. What a lovely place! We ate hot dogs - Kathleen even brought grown up hot dogs for the taller folk; chicken brats with spinach and feta, or something along those lines. We did the customary s'mores too. Basically, we just tried to make the children get as sticky and filthy as possible. We did a pretty good job of it, too!

End of Summer Cram

Wait, wait....I think I might actually be sitting down. It's hard to tell. It's been so long since that last happened that I'm not actually sure. What a week. WHAT A WEEK.

Well, I can't believe it's here. Summer's end. Already! I'm so weird. Every summer I kind of just bear the heat, I look forward to fall, I want school to start, and then when summer finally winds down I feel bad like I missed out on something. Really, we've had a great summer. I mean, seriously folks, I had a kid right at the end of school and we still did a ton this summer. Maybe no big fabulous trips, but we were out of the house and with friends all summer. And I've REALLY looked forward to school, especially with how much the kids have been fighting. And now I'm all sad because it's over. Weird.

These last couple of weeks have been completely insane. That's partly because I have tendinitis in my right hand and I've been in physical therapy three times a week. But we've also had birthday lunches, Bitty turned 4, Troy's brother got married, we're stuffing in as many play dates as we can manage - the list goes on. I have lots of stories to tell so get ready for a slew of posts over the next few days.

I think I'll start with this evening. My wonderful husband let me go on a date with Bundle. Today was a very long and hot day, but my sister was playing her cello in the Bonneville Glen this evening and I really wanted to go hear her. So he hung out with the big kids while Bundle and I went to the concert. It was wonderful. Cellos, guitars, banjo, drum, Irish jigs and happy people everywhere enjoying a lovely last-of-summer evening. Fabulous! And I got to just enjoy the music and my baby girl. I feel refreshed, and my husband is completely wiped out. I definitely owe him one.

Okay. Ready, Set....Go!

Good Parents

I'm going to go ahead and give a Good Parenting Award to both Troy and me today. I think we deserve it.

Troy gets his award for Outstanding Excellence in the Effort to Spend Time with Your Children. He's been working so hard lately - work, church, baby, wife, house, bike and kids. Not in that order. There is no order. It's all mixed up. But he's been making a real effort to do some fun stuff with the kids this last month before school starts despite his exhaustion. Last night he took the kids up to Strawberry Reservoir to go crawdad fishing. This is not a trip to Disneyland, I recognize, but the kids were almost as excited. And I know they will always remember it. I can't give you many details of the trip because Bundle and I took a rain check and enjoyed a snuggley evening at home together. I will say that apparently there is a learning curve to fishing for crawdads because they came home with, count 'em, FOUR crawdads. (I guess you can't get much fishing done when you spend half the night walking to and from the car with your daughter meeting her various needs, according to Troy.) Yes, just four. But those were the four most beloved crawdads in the world. The kids were so excited they could barely contain themselves, and this morning when they got up, I did not hear a single request for "can I watch a show?" They, especially Stomper, spent the entire morning out on the back porch playing with the crawdads. ("And when there was no crawdads, we ate sand." "You ate sand?" "We ate sand." Anyone who can name that quote is awesome.)



I confess that I started to feel a little sorry for the little beasts. Stomper played with them like toys. And I knew we were in trouble when he started giving them names. Oh no you don't, buddy. Time for the boiling water. Which is where my award comes in. Mine is really an Honorable Mention in the area of Doing Something You Don't Want To Do Because You Know It Will Make Your Kids Happy. Yes, I was the crawdad boiler, cooker and tear-aparter. I get only an honorable mention because I made Stomper put the crawdads in the water. For some reason, meat eater that I am, I had a hard time actually killing the poor little bugs. I thought Stomper would get all sad, but he was willing to toss his playmates into the pot without a second thought. What this means I'm choosing not to think about. Then I had to take care of getting the 1/2 oz. of meat out of each little one for the kids to dip in butter and eat. Bad news. They loved it and can not WAIT to go again. Oh, Man!

By the way, I couldn't help but think of Homer and his darling Pinchy throughout this experience...

The Hat Trick

I think I've mentioned that I have a great baby at least once or twice. Well, I do, and to prove it, I'll tell you about the three miracles she performed in the past two days.

First, The Becky invited me to go with her to a matinee of "Julie & Julia." I've been dying to see this ever since I saw the previews. I mean, I read the book and liked it okay, but when I saw Meryl Streep pulling off a perfect Julia Child without mocking her in the slightest, I knew I had to see it. Especially since I'm such a total foodie. Do you know how hard it was to go see that show without bringing a picnic with me? Well, it was. Anyway, I've never taken Bundle to a movie - I just didn't think she'd do well, especially in the afternoon. But, for Meryl, I was willing to try it. I can't believe it. It was perfect. The theater was packed, so I sat in that single chair right up front that's meant to be next to a wheelchair. (There weren't any people in wheelchairs there, so I didn't feel bad.) Bundle sat happily on my lap staring at the lights during the previews. As soon as the movie started she politely asked for her binki, rolled over in my arms and snuggled down right to sleep. She isn't a lengthy napper, but she zonked for the whole 2 1/2 hours and even nursed in her sleep. It was awesome. The movie was too. I was so happy to be sitting there, so happy with my sweet baby in my arms, that when Meryl/Julia came on screen she was so awesome I actually cried a little. (Shocker.) It was a great show.

Miracle two: Bundle slept 9 hours last night. Need I say more? I don't think so. Nine to six, baby!

Miracle three: After a somewhat rocky but manageable church day I came home with the kids, fed everyone a pb&j and got Bundle down for a nap. Then both the older kids asked to watch a show. I saw my chance and took it. I got them settled and slipped into my room to read a book for a few minutes. Sadly, Bundle stirred just then, but I didn't despair. I scooped her up and snuggled down with her myself. And I fell asleep. She slept for another hour. I woke up and groggily wondered where my other children were. Admittedly, they played a major role in miracle 3 because 1) they left me alone to sleep and 2) they were playing happily and quietly with their toys with no conflicts for an entire hour. Did you hear me, people?!? An entire HOUR!!! It made for a great day. Thank you, Bundle, and thank you, children. Happy day. Now I'm going to go out and get me a copy of Julia's cookbook and try out a few of those recipes. I could tell that they must have been amazing when I almost ran to the front of the theater and started licking the screen.....

All Swum Out

I knew at the beginning of the summer that we wouldn't be doing much traveling, and big outings like trips to the zoo were out for a couple of months at least. I also knew that just hanging out at home all day wasn't going to cut it either. So, I signed us up for swimming lessons, all summer long. Today was the last day of week six of lessons. It has been really fun and the kids have made a lot of progress. But I'll confess, I'm about all swimmed out, and I wasn't even in the water! I'm sure Troy will take the kids to open plunge a couple more times before school starts, because they certainly want more, but I'm ready to bid goodbye to the constant cycle of hanging up wet suits and towels to dry, packing up the swim bag every morning and making sure everyone has enough sunscreen on. Really, it's been great. And really, we'll see you next summer.