Musings of a mother

Here I am, once again, on the eve of another school year. I'm not as emotional as I was last year; I really think I'm doing well considering Ethan's going to Kindergarten. I mean, the child is going to school every day. And he's taking the bus home. Without me. On his own. Have I ever mentioned that I never rode the bus to school? That I always walked? That this whole "boarding the bus and riding around with the bus driver as the only adult" thing is totally foreign to me? I know. Kids do this all the time. I just never did. Ethan will love it...he's already realized that he's getting a bad deal because he only rides the bus home (we live too close to school, so we don't qualify for a bus ride on the way there). Check off one more thing that I have to learn to do through my kids.

Wow. Small bus tangent there.

We went to his school tonight for an open house. They also welcomed us to the school community with a "new family" dinner. The friendliness and care of the staff and parents reaffirmed for me our decision to send him to this school. It's a great place, one that I think we'll love a lot.

The teacher sent home the first newsletter with us. By the time I read through that whole thing, I was about brain dead. Did you know you can buy extra insurance for your child for while they are at school? I'm not sure what all it covers...

Also, because of the world we live in, there is a form for everything (and often a check to go along with it). We can get Ethan white milk, chocolate milk, strawberry milk, or even orange juice. We have to send in information about any medication that he takes...even if it's just at home. He needs to have a bus tag on his backpack so they know where to send him. Emergency numbers...people allowed to pick him up if there is severe weather...signing off on field trips...allowing his picture to be used in publications when appropriate. Wow. I know it's all necessary, and I'm not really trying to complain, but it's a lot to keep track of!

I asked him tonight if he wanted me to walk him around the school to the door where his teacher will be waiting. I'm pretty sure he rolled his eyes at me. He told me I didn't need to walk with him; that he could do it himself. Then he looked at me, sighed, and said "well, maybe just on the first day". We'll see what he wants in the morning.

Once again, I'll send my boy off with a prayer, a smile, and maybe a few tears. I love that he's growing up and learning so much. I also love that there are times when he still slips his hand in mine.

Miscellaneous

I was going through my pictures and found some really cute ones that I meant to post, but didn't. So, you get a whole bunch of random thoughts in one post. But hey, at least the randomness comes with pictures!

Micah with Charlie at the cottage. He thinks he's pretty big when he's the one "holding" Charlie.

I think he loves his cousin. Charlie is trying to figure out why Aunt Janna is snapping so many pictures.

I think we need to be in an advertisement for the Chrysler Stow-n-Go seating. This is just one great use when the seat is up!

I think poor Colin is wondering why everyone thinks this is so funny.

Really, are they adorable, or what? We didn't even plan the color coordination!

After everyone else cleared out of the back of the van, Micah decided it was a good time to make and important phone call.

There were a lot of issues to discuss, but nothing too serious.


Sometimes you just have a lot to say.

Oh, I better go. I think I have a new voice mail.

We went blueberry picking with Jason's parents a few weeks ago. The morning began with a wonderful breakfast and then we went off to scope out the blueberry fields. The one we chose had incredible berries. They were huge and sweet! My favorite!

They had cute buckets for the little kids. It was nice to have something that Micah could manage!

Ethan is actually great at picking blueberries. He had quite a few in his bucket!

Micah didn't quite understand that we only wanted the BLUE blueberries, so we had to sort out the green ones from his bucket.

This was a very common sight while we picked...at least with me and the boys. I have to point fingers and say Jason ate the most, though.

I think that's all my random thoughts for now. I'll have more soon!

A fun jar activity

I probably won't have pictures of all of our Fun Jar activities, but I thought I would try to get at least get pictures for a few of them. Our first draw was "Run through the sprinkler". Thankfully, it was a warm and sunny day, so it was a great pick! (I have to add that it was a well-timed draw because we were reaching the "it's one hour before daddy comes home" meltdown time of day. Hence the draw from the jar).

When he wasn't playing in the water with a stick, Ethan was trying to see how high he could jump over the sprinkler.

Micah just giggled and ran as fast as he could. The water was cold!

Doesn't he look like a macho man?

I love this picture, especially the drop of water on his chin. Don't you just love that little face?

The fun jar, part two

So I had a great thought of doing a Fun Jar at the beginning of the summer. Well, we had a busy month of July and we finally got around to making our Fun Jar in the beginning of August. I know, I should post regularly so that I don't have to backtrack this much, but really, you'll have fun reading a whole bunch of posts at once...right? I digress.

The boys weren't quite sure what to think when I hauled out one of my canning jars and a bunch of tissue paper. However, when they saw the glue they were totally on board with whatever I was planning. I cut a bunch of squares from the tissue paper and they had a great time deciding where to glue their pieces onto the jar. Ethan was pretty good about using the glue, but Micah would grab it and squeeze with all his might and then things got a little messy. It was a fun messy, though!

Our lovely little work table. Just the right size for our project.

Micah was very focused. He only licked the glue on his fingers a few times.

A little sticky, but still having fun!

Once we finished the jar I wrote all of the ideas on slips of paper and we put them in the jar. Ethan was very excited about all of the different ideas on the papers. Micah was...well, he was excited because Ethan was excited, and he got to help with a project.

Another post to follow (soon) with our first fun jar activity!

When the kids go to bed...

I think I've mentioned in previous posts that I like to use coupons to get goods deals on groceries. I also like to use coupons to get treats for my family for little or no cost. That being said, I went out the other night to do my deals. I often put the kids to bed with Jason and then head out by myself (sometimes I need to be able to concentrate!). Anyway, after a particularly successful trip to CVS, Jason and I were laughing at my candy haul. We had pulled everything out of the bags and it was sitting on the living room floor. At that point, Ethan decided to get out of bed and come act like a child who's supposed to be in bed sleeping but really doesn't want to be in bed sleeping. You know, acting like a kid. Well, he walked into the room and saw this:

You know the expression that talks about someone being caught with their hand in the cookie jar? Well, the look on my face and Jason's face reminded me of that. It was all we could do to not burst out laughing. Ethan was looking around like "so this is why they want us in bed".

Now, before you think that we're going to eat all of that candy, know that some of it will go to work with me to treat my coworkers, some of it will be consumed on game night, some of it will be shared with the kids, and a lot of it will be consumed while watching the Olympics (seriously, could the swimming be any more entertaining? I was almost standing up cheering and screaming during the mens 4 x 100 relay last night. Now that's how you win a gold medal).

Are you wondering how much I spent on my candy haul? Well, I set all my purchases together in the pile you see in the picture below so you could get the full effect.

The candy, spices, medication, and cleanser cost me a whopping seventy-seven cents. Thats right, $.77--I even had that in my loose change. Did I mention I love shopping at CVS?

Sleepover

I'm on my own tonight...well, sort of. The house is quiet at least! Since it's a nice, cool August evening (and neither of us have to work tomorrow), Jason decided that it would be a great night to "camp" outside with the boys. So, with one air mattress, three sleeping bags, four pillows, a crew of stuffed animals, one flashlight, and a few blankets (because the mother can't help it) my boys are tucked in for the night. I'll probably wander out the front door and sneak into the backyard in a while to see how quiet it actually is in the tent. I have my doubts about the 2-year-old going to sleep, but Jason is a good dad and wants to give him a chance!

Micah thought he would try hanging out with his brother in Ethan's sleeping bag. I can guarantee that NO sleeping would take place if he stayed in there!

Jason has the pleasure of sleeping in between the two wiggle boxes. I don't think he's too keen on going to bed at 8:30, but I'm sure he'll need the extra sleep because he'll probably be up early!

Ethan's trying to pretend to sleep...but he's too silly to keep a straight face.

One of the cutest parts of the night was when Micah was saying his prayers. He will echo us as we say "Now I lay me...." Tonight he said "Now I lay me...in the tent...." and continued on with the rest of the prayer.

I think Jason will have earned a nap tomorrow. :)

Cottage fun

We're finally starting to get back into a regular routine following our time at the lake, so I thought I would post some pictures of the fun we had. I could post tons of pictures, but since I don't think Blogger would cooperate, I tried to keep it to a few favorites.

Here are some pre-picture highlights (in bullet points, because I'm a bullet point kind of gal):

• Number of squirt gun fights that the grandkids had with grandpa: at least 2 that I witnessed...picture grandpa on the dock with a squirt gun and 4 giggling kids running around trying to squirt him.
• Number of paddle boat rides with my boys: 2, one of which our destination was the lily pads and the turtle's favorite resting areas.
• Number of turtles spotted on the paddle boat ride: at least 8
• Number of fish that Ethan caught: 2
  
• Number of times I was thrown into the lake with my clothes on: 3
• Number of nights we slept over: 11 (I think, I kind of lost track)
  
• Number of times I performed the Heimlich: 1 (OK, one unsuccessful attempt and then one more successful attempt that was decidedly more emphatic)
• The weight I gained while eating junk food for 3 weeks: I didn't even check because it's vacation...though a certain relative of mine actually had the nerve to LOSE weight while eating junk!
  
• Number of meals per day that were followed with dessert: Usually 3!
• Number of people who slept who slept in one bedroom many nights: 6
• Nieces and nephews that I was able to hang out with for an invaluable amount of time: 4
• Books read: Sadly, only one! I guess I was busy watching kids play in the lake!
  

Ethan became very comfortable in the water...more and more each day. By the end of our time at the lake, he would happily swim under water!

Micah and Daddy having a squirt gun fight...the bigger squirt guns were used on grandpa.

Ethan caught a fish! He wasn't so sure about it, as evidenced by his grip on grandpa's shirt.

Micah had to keep looking at the fish. We kept it in the bucket so Ethan could show Jason. Micah almost dumped the fish back into the lake a number of times. I guess he's a catch and release kind of guy!

The boys, playing in the water. It's amazing how much time the could spend scooping water!

My goofy goggle boy. He thought we was pretty cool wearing these.

Micah and I in the kayak. I think I enjoyed it more than he did.

My niece, Kathleen. She celebrated her first birthday out at the lake.

My nephew, Charlie, chilling out on Grandpa's lap. By the way, grandpa was off limits for the squirt guns if Charlie was on his lap. Smart grandpa.

Ethan and Micah with my niece and nephew, Rachel and Evan. They played for hours together!

Grandpa was trying to take a nice kayak ride with Rachel and Ethan. Ethan had other ideas.