Just an update

So Lukey is really liking school. As I mentioned before I'm not so fond of his teacher but he doesn't seem to mind. And since it doesn't bother him, I'm trying not to let it bother me. He actually has a teacher Mrs. Weber, and an assistant teacher, Mrs. Hernandez, who seems much more my style. He calls her Mrs. Hernana or sometimes just Mrs. Nana and it makes me laugh every time.

He also calls Nutella sandwiches, "Telascope sandwhiches."





The kid is just making all kinds of progress. Not really from school either, I'd guess, since he's only been there three times. But his writing and drawing has really blossomed. He's writing his name and drawing pictures that actually resemble objects and places. He is cutting things out with precision and gluing appropriately. These are all skills that hadn't really made their debut when he was in his little preschool last year.

He is taking a lot of pride in doing things himself and enjoying a bit more independence. He wishes he could eat lunch at school everyday instead of just Wednesdays.





And two weeks in, Ava also seems to be enjoying school. She keeps saying, "I can't believe it's not hard. Why isn't it hard yet, Mom?" I honestly don't know how to answer her. I hate to say something, like, "Just you wait!" But I also don't want her to be in shock, when the "easing in" is over. But who knows, maybe she won't struggle this year. That would be nice. Her reading seems to be improving each day. And I think she is much more confident this year.

I haven't run for over a week now, in hopes that my knee will stop complaining. During the month of August I was helping a high school girl with her basketball a couple of times a week. It was incredibly fun for me. I miss playing, though I didn't realize how much until we worked together this past month. But during that time I was noticing a pain in my knee that I hadn't felt before. And it became apparent that my continued running wasn't going to help, in fact it just started to make it feel worse. I have been waking up early to walk with a friend these past couple of weeks and hopefully when I return from my mommy vacation this weekend, my knee will be back in business and we can start to run.

Waking up 45 minutes earlier than my usual has been nice in the way that I do enjoy being up in the mornings for a few minutes before the kids, and that could never happen unless I had someone to be accountable to. But waking up 45 minutes earlier has made me so, so tired. I am like an old woman, I can barely make it until noon before I'm ready for a siesta.

Maybe I will feel rejuvenated after this weekend. A while back, I saw a crazy fare to Chicago, so I bought it! I will get to spend some time with my sister, Leah in Milwaukee, and my brother, Ian in Chicago, and see both of their new houses. A tour of Chicago, a little Jane Austen movie time, and an old toilet smash are all on the agenda. I can't wait!

And of course, my gallivanting could never be possible without the money-making, babysitter himself, Dan The Man!

And Then There Was One

Today was Luke's first day of school. He'll go Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings from 9-12 or 1 at a local Methodist church school, which I have heard nothing but rave reviews for. And I'm not gonna lie, I have been fantasizing about the all the different things I will be able to do with just one kid.

Luke was brave this morning. I could tell he was hesitant and nervous (and I won't be giving his teacher any "best teacher ever" titles) but he went without a fuss.




One more stop at the parent orientation and then we were freeeee!

But as we sat in the sanctuary, a vision of reality came over me.



Max wallowed on the floor, whined for his bottle, emptied my purse, pulled out the hymns books and bibles from the back of the pews, tried to scribble again and again on the donation sheets, scattered the prayer requests under the surrounding 3 rows, all the while, loudly saying things, like "NO! Noooooo!" or droning out the director as she spoke with his long winded whines.

At the point I could no longer stand to track down one more paper, or shush one more yell, we left in a hurry as he screamed.

And then I realized, all that stuff I was hoping to accomplish this fall, under the premise that I only have one child? Well, it's probably not going to happen because my one little child is a pill.



An exciting, growing, distracting, demanding, adorable pill!

Lost and Found

I might be more sentimental than usual these days, if that's even possible. Some years ago, I came across a quote that sent shivers up my spine and brought tears to my eyes. It cut through me like glass. It didn't exactly change anything but it touched my heart in such a way, that I didn't feel the same after I read it.

I planned to cut it out and save it. But I didn't. Time got away from me and I slowly but surely forgot about it.

Then, I heard it somewhere again.

"I must write that down!" I said to myself. But again, for whatever reason, I didn't.

Not too long ago, pieces of the words came back into my mind and I wanted that quote. I googled every phrase I could think of, the problem being that I was unsure of any exact words, only sure of the overall picture painted in my head. I came up empty handed.

And then, like a heads up penny, I turned a corner on the internet and found it right in front of my eyes. It's fairly well known I suspect, but I was still thrilled to find it.

And now that I've got it, I am writing it here so it will never be lost again.



"I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

-Anna Quindlen

First Day of First Grade

Ava was so excited for school to start.


And it seems like all summer I have had my sights set on this day. It's here. I walked my little girl to her room, helped her get her bag and lunch in her locker, took her picture, and kissed her goodbye as she colored a picture, I now find myself back at home feeling like...now what?


I don't know her well, but Ava is in the capable hands of what I like to think of as the best first grade teacher ever, Mrs. Burns.



All of our interactions so far have led me to believe this and I hope my hunch is true. I think she will be just what Ava needs: nice. She seems very warm, very kind, very gentle, in love with her job. She's been teaching for 26 years. I am sure there will still be some roller coaster phases but I'm crossing my fingers that this will be a great year.

Luke will start his three-day-a-week preschool next week. We'll meet his teacher on Friday and we're hoping for someone similar. This will be kind of a big step for him, the school is big, the hours are longer. I don't like the idea of him being away from me so much but if he is going to start Kindergarten next year, I feel like it's necessary.

So now what?

At the beginning of the summer I gave Ava my point and shoot camera and told her she could use it however she liked. What resulted is really more of a bunch of pictures on a few days, all spent at home. I had no idea what was on that memory card until I recently downloaded the pictures. Who knew what the girl thought was so inspirational? Worthy of documenting? I found myself in a lot more pictures than usual, and I must admit they were some of my better shots. I can sit here now and wonder how her day is going and keeping saying little prayers that she is doing okay. And I can scroll through these pictures and see all the ordinary things around my house a little more like Ava. And I can wonder what she thought was so awesome about the toilet that it needed to be photographed. The following is a tiny sampling.

Summer 2011, A Photographic Essay
By: Ava
Commentary by: Mommy

Still working on the self portrait skills.





When you think about it, doorknobs are very good.








The Throne.













Rilta and The Fish. (Stuffed animal made and named by Ava, herself)










Hachi, (The dog from the movie of the same title. Happy to assist her, this photograph required the movie to be paused at the precise moment)




These two are creepy, that must be why she took this photo.








Through the Stairs,



The two-handed-chocolate-milk-maker stir, I promise with practice, you too can perfect this photo-worthy skill.














The counter, of course!




Everybody's favorite time of day-Daddy comes home!



Luke's messy face.




The flour

And for those who have stuck with me this far, my blogging heart is happy because of

It's About Time

Luke turned four almost two months ago. I had hoped to take his birthday pictures in Utah or Idaho, where it's not so blasted hot. Unfortunately, for us, I didn't.

So here we are. Each day Luke gets older and the temperatures show no sign of breaking. We went ahead as early as we could this morning and caught a few good ones before we were just too hot.

Fall can get here anytime. I'm ready.

Luke was much more willing to get his pictures taken than I anticipated. He smiled and looked for the most part. I had him put his hand under his chin once, and then that was his pose of choice.

I love that you can see his bruisy legs in a few. He does flips off the couch! Wahoo! He does karate kicks in the air! Hiya! He does crazy shooter moves! PashooPashoo! He earned those bruises fair and square.

He speaks so much more, has started using phrases like "I just can't believe it!" and "Oh my gosh!" All of what he says is coherent but half is mostly irrelevant.

Love, love, love that boy.