Spitting Prohibited

Look what I found

In the continuing segment of why my family is so awesome:

Yes, that is my sister-in-law.  Thanks Russ for marrying well.

Welcome to Lake Woebegone

Well, it's finally happened.

All of my children are in school full-time.

You would think as often as I've considered this day I would be more prepared. 

Instead as I dropped Brooke off at her school and drove off alone, I just felt...empty.  Like I knew I was supposed to be carrying something around but I wasn't.  Like I walked into a room and forgot what I'd gone in there to do.  Like there was a million bits of really quiet, nothings just staring me in the face. 

Like my kids whom, at least one has been with me for almost every hour of the last 12 years, were all at school for the next 7 hours.  and I miss them.  a lot.

It's exciting, in a way.  Brooke is starting real science labs this year.  Grant is beginning middle school.  Jon is starting his first year after beginning therapy for his ADHD & SPD and I can't wait to see if it makes an impact in his ability to succeed at school.  And Alex is going to just take off this year I just know it, he's just on the cusp of really reading well, and I know the world will just be his oyster soon. 

(Incidentally, I know what that expression means, but why does it mean that?  Who wants the world to be your own personal slimy sea creature?  Please respond in comments if you know or if you just have a really witty guess, or even a really not so witty guess.)

I know that this year will be great, it will be not so great, it will down-right stink like oysters at times, like every other year.  And above all else it will give us experience.  And we'll all (OK mostly them, but hopefully a little bit me) grow and change and learn.  It's a good thing.  Reason to be happy.  And I am.

...a little.

...OK, a very little.

Or I will be.  As soon as I figure out what I came into the room for, or why my arms feel so light, and get those darned silent nothings to stop watching me.

My children don't seem to feel this same lack, aside from some new school jitters, and new locker combination worries, and will x, y or z be in my classroom this year?  No, their lives just got bigger, fuller, busier, better.

By the way, how cute is it that Jon and Alex chose the same shirt to wear for the first day of school?  I know!  It's immeasurably cute.

One and a half Decades of Wedded Bliss (*editted*)

So, in honor of the day, I'd planned on sharing 15 things I've learned about marriage in the past 15 years...but it turns out I'm not that clever.  So instead I'll show you 15 pictures...with just a couple of tidbits I've picked up over the years:

                  

The tip number 1: Separate blankets. Married to a cover stealer (YES!), why fight every cold night, you wake up cold so you pull the covers off him, he wakes up cold pulls the covers back...  I used to have to go to sleep with the covers held tightly in my hot little hand, knowing that if my grasp loosened just a little bit...the cover snatching bandit next to me would have them in a minute and I would end up waking up in the middle of the night freezing.  Every night...stress...until one day I had the covers all to myself and he just went and got another blanket.  Wow.  What a difference.  No more blanket fights.  So just because they make those blankets big enough for two, doesn't mean you can't each have one of your very own.  Separate blankets - the key to a happy marriage.

   

 Tip #2: You need a getaway every now and then.  Seriously if you have never had an overnighter without kids, just the two of you, you need to plan one.  NOW.  You can find someone to watch your kids, yes you can.  It's essential.

Tip #3:  Marry the guy who loves you, laughs at your jokes, supports your decisions, likes spending time with you, respects you.  And marry the guy who you can do all that for him.  But you can't have Tom.  He's all mine.

                             

Tip #4:  Just make his appointments for him, otherwise he will never make it to doctor's appointments, dentists, etc...

                                                         ...or get new glasses.

Number One Super Guy

OK, we might be slightly early...

But seriously in the world of Costume Creations by Sketchy the earlier the better.  Children's imaginations in Fabric form do not create themselves over night.  Not that they create themselves at all, but you know what I mean.

As my kids have gotten older their costume choices have gotten more difficult.  Gone are the days when we could pick up a Disney Princess costume or a simple ghost.  No they want more.  It may be my fault.  I always think I want to make a really cool costume for them.  At least until I'm 50% into the costume.  Then I would LOVE to just be able to run to the store.

My kids have had some unusual choices in the past for example, Brooke's Japanese Anime muses have been:

     and

and she even talked her little brother into being a "cabbit":     

although he did feel the need to wear an older Batman costume to the school's costume parade.  (Sometimes it is awesome living in a non-politically correct area.)  Apparently cute and fuzzy is not cool for school.

                           As you can see, I need all the advance warning I can get to create costume miracles.

So tonight they were discussing their options.

  They decided on:  

Which was all well and good until Brooke decided she couldn't be Dot, seeing as she is the oldest "maniac" in the water tower we call home.  Instead she chooses:                            Hello Nurse!

                                                                                                                          Uh, OK...

                          As long as we all understand ours will be a less, um, curvy Nurse.

But this leaves a dilemma at the dinner table.

Have you spotted it?

                                             Yep.  I think you've got it.

                                                                                                No Dot. 

Who should be Dot?  Way-eeell ...  she is the smallest one of the group.

And their eyes all turn as if drawn by a specially designed retina magnet, to Alex...

                                             "Yeah!  Alex should be Dot!!!"

To which I am pleased to say my youngest son is not quite the pushover to his older siblings whims (well, really Brooke's whims...he's pretty much never had that "older-brother" worship, he more rules the room actually) that he was last year.  Or perhaps the cute little fuzzy "bunny" costume from last year has left its own scars. ...the pain...the pain!  ...the horror...the horror!

(But wasn't he CUTE???  shhhh...don't tell him I showed you that, he's got a reputation to uphold.)

And he put his foot down.  "I.Am.Not.Dot!"  Way to go Buddy.

                                                                              Instead he chooses:

                               I love these kids!

Honestly, Hong Kong Phooey, that is just awesome.  I can't wait to get started on that costume.  I think I'll go fabric shopping tomorrow, because we have a hard fast rule that once the fabric is bought the costume inspiration cannot change.

Woo Hoo!  I cannot wait for the "fists of fury" pictures.

Breaking out ...of Breaking Dawn

                                ... and ...    I'm Done!

Yep, it's true I now know exactly how Bella and Edward live happily ever after.

After my first marathon weekend with "Sweet Valley Vampire High" (as Tom likes to call them, isn't he a brat?) You might be surprised that I am only posting this "doneness" now.  I mean really, 5 days after it was released and I'm only now finished?  Shocking.

It's not my fault!  I swear!

It's Stinking Amaz0n.  Stinking Amaz0n got the Harry Potter books delivered on the stinking same day they were stinking released.  For Stinking free delivery too.  But Breaking Dawn?  STINKING NOT!  It was stinking not delivered until the stinking 5th! And I couldn't even stinking sit down to read it until 9:00 that evening.  So yeah, I finished it stinking yesterday.

It's not stinking by the way.  The book that is.  I still heart Jacob.  But am at least OK with B+E=Love 4Ever.

A little behind...

Yes, I know I'm undependable.  You can't trust me.  You come searching for posts or for the funny or for anything and I let you down, time and again.  Those blogger update things don't work, so you have no choice but to actually check, allowing hope to build for a moment before it is all dashed to pieces by my lack of the anything.  You really should know me better by now.  I'm un-blogpendable.  Sorry. 

Perhaps I should put back up my header about "lowering expectations for sometime now," then at least it would be sort of reader-beware program.

The end of the not-really apologizing apology...

Isn't it odd that when Brooke turned 7 she was "So big!"  And when Alex turns 7 he is still "A little guy"? Perhaps its all in the relative sizes of children that surround one on a daily basis.

Today I had a couple of real "little guys" over, only they were "little girls," I hope their mom's not too picky about gender identity issues.  The biggest little girl is 3 going on precocious.  She made me laugh when we had plans for her entertainment involving little animals and Polly Pockets from Brooke's Babysitting pack.  But when she showed up she attached herself to Alex to play race cars.  OK then.

But really it was the littlest little one that reminded me of long lost things.  She got hungry, mom's trying to wean her and she was a little disgruntled about that.  So I asked if she could have some "Honey Bunnies", basically Cheerios.  Mom said OK, and I got her a few and put them in a bowl.  Which she immediately picked up and dumped out on the floor.  Mom picked them up and she dumped them out...mom picked them up and she dumped them out...mom picked them up...oh it made me smile.  I forgot how every meal is like a science experiment for them, "Will the food fall out of the bowl if I dump it out this time?" ...and a game, "Will Mom pick the food back up and put it in the bowl if I dump it out again?"  ...what about now?   ...and now???

I forgot they do that.  My other children used to dump their food just to watch the food fall I think.  Brooke, however, used to have check the bottom of the dish. " There must be something they are trying to hide from me by putting it on the bottom!!!  I must check!"  I tried those suction cup plates and she could not rest until she'd seen the bottom of the dish, she would pry and pull until finally "pop" she could check the bottom of the dish.  Perhaps she was checking for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval before she could eat.  Because Heaven knows we do not serve anything around here without the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval...or at least the "Smell this and tell me if it's still good" test.

Once I thought I'd show her, I'd serve her food on a plate with the bottom up.

                                                                                                             Butt then she had to inspect the front.

.....

By the way I do have Alex birthday pictures to show you and the Police Concert and slip-n-sliding that was supposed to happen on Alex's birthday but was delayed, I'm just a little behind.