Catch-up

And now, to do some catching up with recent activities. We had a lot of fun at my sister-in-law's wedding and reception. The boys (surprisingly, really) danced the night away and the twins were in heaven at the candy bar. We all had a great time. And a few weeks ago, I took the older kids to see Mary Poppins with some of A's family members. It was fantastic.

 

Coming home

A while ago, I noticed something about the twins. Whenever anyone in the family leaves the house, one (or both) of them will ask, "You come home?" They're fine with people leaving as long as they know you'll come back. And since taking them with you adds an extra amount of chaos to any activity, they stay home a fair amount.

 

After A's sister Megan got married a few weeks ago, she moved with her new husband to California. Months ago, N developed such a precious crush on Cam, Megan's then fiancé. And actually, she became quite attached to both of them, following Megan around my in-laws' house, wearing her rather high heels, stealing her lip gloss, and giving her kisses.

After Megan and Cam got married, I tried to explain to N that they would be moving far away. I wondered if her little mind could grasp the concept. Her first question, of course, was, "They come home?" Yes, sweet girl, they'll come back at Christmastime. Luckily, since little kids don't have a great concept of time anyway, it will seem like no time at all to N. And in the meantime, I get to hear N try and say, "California," which always makes me smile.

Beds and potties

When A2 climbed out of his crib one night, we realized it was probably way past time to put the twins in beds. And honestly, I can't believe it took them this long to climb out. So, we took advantage of a Labor Day sale and got new beds and a dresser. They stay in their beds for the most part, although I do lock their bathroom at night so they don't have fun with water.

And last week, I started potty training—for real this time. I've been doing it half-heartedly for a while, but I just decided to take the plunge and do it. They're doing really well, but I have to say, potty training twins is much harder than just one kid. And between potty training, work, helping with homework, making dinner, and everything else, I'm barely handling it all. So, let's hope these crazies potty train quickly. For all of our sakes.

Good one

"Hey, Mom, I hurt my eye," H said as he got in the car yesterday after playing at a friend's house.

"What happened?"

"I was riding L's rip stick and I had a slingshot around my neck. I fell off and the slingshot flew up and hit me in the eye. My eye was blurry at first but I can see just fine now."

Really?!! The first time ever that you attempt to ride a rip stick (kind of like a skateboard but it requires even more balance and finesse) and you decide that a slingshot around your neck is a good idea?

He has a nasty scratch above his eye and one below it and the eye itself is kind of red. I did a vision test and he seems ok, but really, sometimes I wonder about these kids of mine. I did instill a "no slingshot" rule, which I'm thinking now that we've probably gone over before. I asked H if at any point he thought, "Hmm, maybe my mom wouldn't want me to do this." He said no.

I think I need to work harder to instill the fear of their mom in these kids.

New school year

Yeah, not your typical "first day" picture, but I didn't remember until they were home. Oops.

So, the school year has begun. T is adjusting quite well to a longer school day (hasn't come home complaining once yet that school is too long, so I'm grateful for that). S is planning on doing "The Great American Challenge" which is memorizing things like the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, all of the U.S. presidents, and names and locations of all the states. I'm excited for her to understand more about our country. H has a teacher who's brand new to the school and so, his class is out in the trailers.

During the day now, it's just me and the twins. It's definitely a lot quieter, but also more dangerous. I don't have my three spies anymore to tell me what the twins are doing. Sometimes a quiet house is a nice thing, like when A2 is quietly playing with toys and N is sitting on my lap. And sometimes it means they've yet again shoved DVDs into the PS3. (Luckily, one was sticking out, so I got all three out, with the help of my tweezers.)

Here's hoping it's a great year for all my kids!

Miss and not miss

As the summer draws to a close and the new school year approaches (one more week! one more week!), I have pondered about the things I will miss and not miss about this summer.

Not miss
1. The fighting. The whining. The complaining.
2. The twins trying to do whatever their older siblings are doing, which includes running outside to play, even if they have no clothes on.
3. "I'm bored."
4. Neighborhood children coming to my back door at 8:45 pm to see if my kids can play. I know it's still light out, but I make my kids get in bed early so *I* can have a break.

Miss
1. Lazier mornings. Sure I still had to work, but it was nice to not have to drag the kids out of bed for school.
2. The older kids helping me keep track of the twins and playing with them.


All hail the school year! Hooray!