a chatty sort of all-encompassing update...

well, at least, that's what i'm hoping to accomplish. lately, i put off blogging in search of uninterrupted time, but i'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that i don't really have any of that. at all. but that's ok.

so,...

i took patrick to his 8 yr check-up today. not that thrilling, i know, but it still reminds me of how old he is getting. and that makes me think of how quickly my children are leaving their current phases and entering new ones. of course, that's all part of the plan,... but i'm always making a conscious effort to really appreciate who and what my kids are now. it seems like just yesterday patrick couldn't get enough of bob the builder and his toy guitar (he used to write his own worship music... but that's another post entirely...). now he's reading Treasure Island and drawing pictures that already surpass my most artistic moments. i love him. and i love watching him and his siblings grow up.

three weeks into the school year, i feel like i'm finally starting to fall into a routine of sorts. this year has brought many changes: lucy entered kindergarten which leaves only tucker at home with me. this is a good thing... but it's taking some getting used to on his part. some days he's not sure what to do with all the attention and other days he turns into a monster if he doesn't get all my attention. in the long run, the good and bad attention he's demanding is helping to work off some of his rough edges. he's at that age where he needs a little "polishing." when people ask what the kids are up to these days, i tell them, "the older three are in school, and tucker is in boot camp." it's true.

another change is that the two kids i watch, K and A, are down to just A now because K is in kindergarten, as well. however, his is half day kindergarten, so some days i get to pick him up and keep him for the afternoons. i'm glad for these days, because tucker enjoys the added company. he's recently started asking if we can keep A forever. not sure her parents would like that...

i finally feel as if we're really moving into fall. the kids clothes are all switched over (with the exception of some shorts and stuff, because, let's face it, this is maryland...). i'm ready to get back into the kitchen after a spending the hot summer avoiding it. my mental baking list is growing... now i just need to work up the nerve to get started. hmm...

winter baking inevitably leads to the dreaded "winter weight" which makes me think about giving exercise another go. ever since last november's broken ankle, my attempts to re-acclimate myself to any exercise has left me a bit sore (that and summer exercise routines are too hot for my liking). i think it's time to get back on the treadmill - but maybe in smaller, more manageable doses. now, i just need to figure out how to work it in to the schedule...

i guess that's enough for now. my uninterrupted time is just about up...

an update from the slacker...

once again, i've been posting in my mind instead of on "paper."

today is lucy's first day of kindergarten... we leave in a half hour for her first gradual entry day. patrick and chloe are 3 days in, now, and seem to have adjusted as if there was no summer separating them from last school year.

yes, i have pictures to share. but between patrick and chloe's first day, lucy's first day, and lucy's first day on the bus (friday), i figure it will be easier to show them all at once.

busy week...

one week to go...

i LOVE the first day of school.

i love the first week of school.

ok, let's face it, i'm a big fan of school in general. it's a good time, all around. and, i'm very, very grateful that my children feel the same way thus far.

chuck went back to school today for a week of teacher in-service and preparation. i can't help but laugh about that first year that i didn't go back to school because i was 9 months pregnant and waiting for my firstborn to arrive. i realized that i had enjoyed a "first day" every year since i started kindergarten in '80 (from school to college to my career as a teacher), and i was so sad! i kept bugging chuck to let me go out and help him with his back-to-school shopping. you know - the posters and red pens. he wasn't having it. he's a low-maintenance, bare minimum kinda guy and it shows up in his classroom. so, instead, as the neighborhood children stood on the corner awaiting the bus with their shiny new shoes and lunch boxes, i sat in my house, all fat and pregnant, waiting for a child that was in no hurry to arrive.

well, he did eventually arrive. and i was quite distracted for a while. then #2 came the next fall. and the following fall i discovered i was expecting #3. by the time #4 came along the year after that,... well, let's just say that school was not at the forefront of my mind. i always got a little nostalgic around the beginning of september, but that was the extent of my longing.

the longing, however, has returned. not for me to return to school but for my children. and, i don't want to get rid of them. really, i don't. in fact, i'd have to say that this summer was a lot of fun having them and chuck around (i'm not too proud to admit that my love of schedules and structure has made previous summers... uh... less than appealing). but my kids are ready to get back to "normal." they're bored (don't even get me started on my well-practiced sermon aptly entitled "How the Heck can You be Bored; Have You Seen How Many Toys You Own?"). and this year, as i shopped for their supplies and clothes and shoes, and as i read their back-to-school letters and talked over their teacher assignments, i actually wasn't reliving my longings. i think i've finally let go of my love of school as a student and a teacher; now, i love school as a parent.

i love to see my kids learning.

i love to help them with their homework (really).

i love hearing my kids' stories and my husband's stories at the dinner table.

i love volunteering in their classrooms, watching their teachers do their hard job and appreciating, from experience, the effort they are willing to give for the sake of my children.

i love watching them interact with peers and sometimes learn the hard lessons that come with that.

i love the structure our days take on as my children assume the responsibility of their lives (albeit, in small ways).

now, i'm not saying that's what all mom's mean when they say they're glad their kids are going back to school.

but that's my story.

weekly report...

my children are outside enduring their daily torture, aka "playtime." i thought maybe that would give me time to post, but i seem to spending more time acting as referee than writer. i am counting the days 'til summer is over - not because i don't like having my kids around,... but because they are tired of being home!

we were glad to have chuck and patrick arrive home safely on friday after a full week of camp. however, by saturday afternoon, patrick was complaining of a headache and woke up sunday morning with a fever (apparently, a few other campers had it, too). by sunday evening, tucker was complaining of a sore throat (surprise!) and fever, but it was not the same virus patrick had. tucker had been exposed to hand foot and mouth disease earlier in the week and had finally come down with it. thankfully, both boys were back to normal my monday afternoon, but tucker's throat was sore for another day or so.

on tuesday, i took tucker to the ENT for his consult regarding a possible tonsillectomy. although his current symptoms were not due to strep, the spots in his throat were definitely convincing, and the doctor agreed that a T and A was the best option, stating that tucker being sick so often at that age would "only get worse." we'll be scheduling the procedure for september - as soon as the kids are in school but before the next "strep season" begins.

for now, it seems that everyone is healthy. despite the presence of 2 viruses in the house at once, the girls both managed to escape getting sick. this week, the older three are enjoying CFC's vbs. tucker is enjoying having mom and dad to himself each evening (and a few dinner outings...) he's finally caught on to wii sports, so we've played a bit of that. he and i enjoy playing golf... although a 3 year old trash-talking golfer is something to behold.

i've spent a lot of my free time this week catching up on photo organization. the most current pics in my photo albums are from this past christmas, which is really not that bad. i did some online investigation and, through website sign-ups, coupon codes, and photo credits, ordered around 400 prints this week for just the cost of shipping (woo hoo). i love having my albums up to date... and because i keep them out, the kids look at them a lot. i know this is one of those things that's slowly becoming out-dated, but one of my fondest childhood memories is looking through family photo albums which my mom so faithfully update. i'm glad my kids can do the same thing.

in addition to catching up on prints, i've also been taking advantage coupon codes for different photo projects. a few weeks ago, seehere.com was offering 25 free photo cards (for just the cost of shipping). i cashed in on this offer three times (3 email accounts = 3 website accounts) and ordered our christmas cards. premature? maybe. but that's one less thing i need to remember or budget for in december. this week, i used shutterfly's offer for free shipping and 30% off all photo books to create 2 different books (one of tucker's train trip and one of lucy). although i do keep my albums current, i've wanted to start scrapbooks for each of the kids - with a page or 2 for each year of their lives. however,... this has not been happening. with a good coupon code, i can make a photo book with less effort and about the same cost. i'm not planning on doing this each year for each of them... but i know they'll enjoy them just the same.

chuck has been home all week and will be home next week, as well. after that, he's back to school! i'm kinda glad he opted out of any summer work for these two weeks, because it's allowed him some time to work on other projects around the house - like painting patrick's room and the living room. he also replaced 3 ceiling fans that had mysteriously begun to die (after only 4 years!). we were going to just buy new ones, but he decided to call the customer service number he found on the motors. upon talking to a service rep, he discovered that we were able to return them to Lowes for a store credit equal to the original price of the fans. most fans have a limited lifetime warranty - i guess most people don't pay much attention to that, though. it worked out well, though, because we got 3 new fans for way less than what we were prepared to pay for 2 fans. i use coupon codes,... chuck uses warranties. it's all good.

well, the kids did their time and are back inside now. time to make lunch...

playing hooky

every now and again, chuck decides to take a day off for no other reason than to just spend time with us.  last friday, we surprised the kids when they woke up and we told them they didn't have to go to school.  we went fishing instead...

chuck spent the night before getting the fishing poles ready and determining what was missing from his tackle box.  after a leisurely morning at home, we were off to havre de grace for a day on the water.

they definitely did some fishing.  and even caught a few small ones...

tucker enjoyed his version of fishing:

mom casts

i immediately reel it in and check for fish

mom casts again

i reel it in and check for fish...again

mom casts...

chuck's "fishing" looked like this:

bait their hooks

cast their rods

begin to bait my own hook but put it down so i can reel in a 3 inch fish

remove lousy blue gill

return to my own line, only to repeat the process all over again

still, they all seemed to have a good time... even if much of that time was spent sitting

and looking

 

and waiting

but at least there was stuff to look at.

 

and, ultimately, it was just nice to watch them be who they are...

and who they're trying to become.

they'll grow...

i was back in the garden again today.  teacher appreciation week and mother's day left us with an onslaught of potted plants just waiting to be de-potted.  

i obliged.

i had also picked up a few vegetable plants to begin the veggie garden.  i feel very uncertain about this new undertaking.  although my usual approach to anything is, "how hard could it be?" i don't want to let over-confidence rob us of a successful gardening experience.  usually, grandma fields all my questions but shrugs her answers.  (she's even less sure than i am... and can only relay, with confidence, what she has successfully killed).

today, while we were both out working, grandma suggested i ask our neighbors, mr. and mrs. durham, any questions i might have.  they are both avid gardeners and have lived there as long as grandma has.  i showed mr. durham a few plants and asked which would like the sun,... which would prefer some shade.  his wife joined us - mrs. durham, whose precious mind is slowly giving way to dementia.  she complimented me for taking on a garden... and for taking over grandma's as each year she decides she's less capable of all the up-keep.  she calls me Sissy.  i'm not sure if that's her generic name for me since she can't remember who i really am or if it's a prophetic label due to my obvious lack of gardening confidence.

mrs. durham gestured towards lucy and tucker, commenting on how big they are getting.  amidst references to vegetables and flowers and soil, she expressed her amazement at how much they've grown.  i couldn't help but agree.  four years ago when we moved in, i was only pregnant with tucker, and now, here he was, running through the yard, threatening to throw a golf ball at his sister.   after some instruction on using miracle grow, i thanked her, saying i hoped it would all work and returned to my yard work.

she called out, "leave them in God's hands, Sissy.  They'll grow..."

i pondered this as i returned to my small plot of earth and couldn't help but wonder if she was referring to my plants or the kids...