WHY BOTHER

I keep trying to do things to make the kids' summer fun. It always seems to come back and bite me in the behind. Today we woke and decided to go to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. We thought the kids would love it, and honestly, I was looking forward to an enjoyable day out myself. It's been a long summer, without vacation. The ride down was long and noisy, as the kids were filled with excitement. After we arrived and parked the car, we walked through the lobby of a hotel to use the "facilities." I asked whether anyone had to go to the bathroom, and I was assured that no, everyone was fine. We went to the Inner Harbor and stood in a moderately long line to rent a dragon boat to paddle on the water. As we arrived at the front of the line, Max announced that he had to go to the bathroom. Heavy sigh from mom, and Kurt dragged him away to find a bathroom. I proceeded in line with Nicole and Jack. When it was our turn to rent a boat, I was told that there was a maximum of 4 in a boat, and yes even a little toddler who could be a lap-sitter counted as 1, so our family of 5 could not rent a boat. I went up to wait for Kurt, and when he returned we initially decided no boat rentals, but the kids went crazy, so we decided that Kurt and Nicole & Max would rent a boat. They went to wait in the same moderately-long line again to go for a boat ride while I walked around with Jack, who was just about due for a nap when we arrived, and he wasn't getting happier by the minute. He has never once fallen asleep in the stroller, but I was determined to get him to do it today, so I pushed him around for the next 45 minutes or so. No nap. When the kids were finished with the boat ride, they came out whining that they were hungry and thirsty. We walked around looking for a food court for a quick bite because I wanted to save the big meal for dinner; I envisioned a nice outdoor meal on the water with a cool breeze blowing around as the day was drawing to a close. Too much to ask?

Jack wanted pizza for lunch, of course Nicole and Max didn't. I left daddy and Jack and took the kids across the way to get chicken. One look at the food they were serving, and they whined that they didn't want that chicken they wanted a different kind of chicken. A little low on patience, I took them back to daddy and I told them they were getting pizza. Of course, daddy had already ordered so I had to get in the back of the line to order food for them. Tired Jack was getting into an increasingly foul mood during lunch. We then decided to walk around the harbor to see what we could see and to try to get Jack to take a nap. After about 2 steps (probably more like 100!) both Nicole and Max started whining: they were too hot, they were too tired, they couldn't walk any more, Max stopped and said he "absolutely could not" take another step! We put up with the whining for another 30 minutes before we decided that we had had enough. Of course, about 2 minutes before we arrived at the car, Jack fell asleep in his stroller! I knew he wouldn't go back to sleep once we transferred him to the car, but I wasn't about to keep walking when the kids already knew we were heading to the car. Nightmare drive home. Jack was screaming, we couldn't find I-95 and when we did, we were stuck in major traffic, adding another hour to our trip home. Nicole and Max were also tired, so they were bickering loudly much of the way home until I just wanted to scream!

So, no dinner on the water with the breeze blowing through our pleasant conversation. No memorable "what a great day, thanks for taking us mom and dad!" moments. But, I come away at least encouraged that Jack will fall asleep in his stroller. Except that the next time we try another day trip like this, when the kids are oh, 18 or so, Jack likely won't be needing a nap in his stroller to make it through the day!

MAKING PROGRESS

I wasn't going to post until we were all finished, but so far, we've gone from this:

to this!

STEP ONE COMPLETE

A quick update. The painting is finished! (There are weird shadows on the walls in all of the pictures I have taken, but there are no white splotches on the actual walls in my family room!) Next step is to rent a carpet shampooer...I'll shampoo the *&%^* out of that rug to make it match my walls yet!

UPS AND DOWNS
No mincing words...I like it, I really like it! After one coat of paint, I am very happy! What a difference already! A quick picture, and I'll move on to my more important topic. OK, two pictures, day and evening.

And I forgot to mention that the one "what if" that I failed to think about last night came up today, when the painter nicely asked, "what color carpet are you putting in?" Umm, carpet, well we hadn't even thought about that, and it's certainly not in the budget right now, but thank you for mentioning it, because I will forever think that the carpeting really does not look good with the wall color! Great.

My sweet little daughter will be starting Kindergarten this year, and she has been increasingly nervous about it as the day approaches. She is afraid of the school bus, afraid of a new teacher, afraid of a new school, afraid of a new classroom, afraid of not knowing anyone in her class (except for her "boyfriend" from preschool who has been in her class for the last 3 years and is now in her kindergarten class as well) and afraid of getting lost, and I am sure I am missing one or two more. I have to add that Nicole is a pretty social girl, but can get shy in certain situations.

We had orientation for kindergarten tonight, and Nicole has been nervous, upset and beside herself all day. I was thinking that once we got there and she met her teacher and other students and saw the classroom, she would feel better...not so! She has been on the verge of tears all night, and she held onto my hand almost the entire night. I have said all the things that I am supposed to say ...and more...to comfort her, but nothing is working. We just found out that one of our neighbors is in her class and the little girl was friendly and excited at orientation, and I thought that would make her feel better...but no. A little girl from preschool that was in another class last year will be in her class. Although they didn't really know each other, they recognized each other right away. I thought that would help...but no. I recognized a mom that I had met a few years ago, and her daughter will be in Nicole's class, so I introduced them right away and I thought that would make her feel better...but no. To make matters worse, we were told that the kids had to wear sneakers to school...and won't be able to wear dresses a lot of the time, and her face fell. I don't know WHAT I am going to do with her... my dress-loving-refuse-to-wear-pants-or-shorts-and-only-girly-shoes girl is not happy. I know after a few days or weeks, she will love school! She will have friends! She won't want to leave! But she doesn't know that now, and I don't know how to convince her of that beforehand. And, I have no idea how I will get her on the bus that first day of school!

NO TURNING BACK

After MANY many days of furniture shopping (see post of July 26, no need to repeat---they were all the same torturous groundhog-day type experiences, thank you kids) and many nights of poring over paint colors, I think we have made some decisions to pretty up our family room. I should say: we have made some decisions to pretty up the family room, and I think (hope hope hope) we're going to like them. The painter is coming tomorrow and Thursday, and new furniture is coming Friday. Hopefully by next week we will see a big improvement, and with a little more time, the room will be all that we've wanted!

Now my brain is spinning---what if we hate the color of the walls, what if the furniture is ugly, WHY are we getting new furniture when the kids are still young and will have too many years to destroy it before they're grown? All our old furniture has been with us since the kids were born, and has seen copious amounts of various bodily fluids over the years; do I really need to subject new furniture to this? AND, will I hate the house because we have one nice room and the rest of the house will still be an empty toy wasteland? Maybe most important of all, HOW could I give the painter, a complete stranger, the KEY to my house so he can let himself in tomorrow morning just so I can go to the gym and not wait around for him to arrive! (Although, there may have been times when we could have had complete strangers wandering around here when "WE" have left the door open when we were out, see post of July 19th!) What if the painter starts painting when I am out, and I miss the opportunity to look at the wall and say "NO, STOP, that's the ugliest color in the world!" The what-if's can go on and on, but we've made the decisions, and we're sticking to it!

Before pictures: This morning.

Tonight after moving everything out to get ready for the painter and the new furniture. (A big improvement already, or at least a step in the right direction!) I will post pictures of the after, after it's done. If we like it.

BURNING MAN BIRTHDAY
Happy Birthday to my sis, Happy Birthday to my sis! Happy Birthday dear Lynn, Happy Birthday to you! Today is my sister's birthday, and I would call her instead of posting, except that her cell phone won't work. She is in the middle of the Nevada desert. Attending the Burning Man Festival. (Not that she has a wireless router nearby either to receive this birthday message, one would have to assume!) I had never heard of Burning Man before she attended last year, but I did a little research, and found only that there is no single experience or description for it. It seems to mean something different to everyone who attends -- up to 48,000 people every year! It is a festival that people prepare for all year. They go to the desert, camp out in 100 degree temperatures for the week ending in Labor Day, celebrate freedom of expression, display art and creativity, and dress to express themselves in a place that ignores race, class, and social standing. There is an official website, at http://www.burningman.com/. I read a lot of it, but still can't understand the experience fully, and I assume I never will unless I see it first-hand.

So, my sister (older sister!) packed up her paintings, her boyfriend, her dogs (who she dropped off at my dad's in Colorado...a little out of the way when driving from Texas to Nevada!), her fun and funky clothes and the rest of her creativity, and took off to the Burning Man. Hope you're enjoying your birthday, dear sis!

MORE SUMMER FUN!

Enjoying a summer rainbow behind our house:A waterballoon fight!

Watching a movie in the park with a friend.Driving a fire engine! Having a visit with big brother Joe!

END OF SUMMER DAYS

Trying to load up on summer fun in the waning days of August.
Baking brownies:

Our last swim lesson:

Go Max!

Go Nicole!

Park fun:

And green ice pops and tongues!

No no no. I am not really the person I turned into this morning! It was a temporary aberration from all that I am and all that I believe in! This:is a picture of my kids coming home from shopping for...HALLOWEEN COSTUMES. It is August 18th, am I going mad? I haven't even started school shopping yet, and school starts September 2nd! I all of a sudden woke up this morning and out of nowhere became consumed with fear that if I didn't get the kids' Halloween costumes TODAY, that we would be shut out of choices, sizes, colors, accessories! (The Disney store near us closed, as did many others in a 60 mile radius, so I was sure that there would be no choice left at the remaining Disney store when the reasonable and rational time came to go costume shopping!) So, we are costumed and ready to go. Will I reveal the costumes? Not yet. Kids are fickle, and who knows how many time they will change their minds in the next 2 months! I made sure these were returnable if that time comes...

I CAN'T BELIEVE I WON SOMETHING---AGAIN!
How exciting! The winning vibe is out there! I just got home and there was a message on my machine---I won a "$25 mall gift card" from a random drawing through NBC 10! Thank you, again, Chester County Moms (http://www.chestercountymoms.blogspot.com/) for tipping me off about the give-aways at NBC 10!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I WON SOMETHING
Thinking back in my---ahem---long life, I am fairy certain that I haven't won anything by chance. At some point in this past decade, I realized that I am not one of those "lucky" people who win something at every turn, whether they were looking for it or not. Accordingly, I don't play the lottery, don't enter contests, raffes, etc., because I KNOW I won't win anyway. But I did enter a raffle-type contest during the wonderful launch party for ChesterCountyMoms.com (http://www.chestercountymoms.blogspot.com/) and I actually WON a make-over party for myself and 3 friends at a local boutique called Plain Jane! (http://www.plainjaneboutique.com/) How very exciting!

My hubby, always trying to be the funnyman said, "wow, that's not very nice, someone thinks you need a make-over." (Honey, I entered for it, and it is a random drawing, but thanks for your vote of confidence in my appearance these days!) So, I just received my gift bag from Plain Jane this weekend. (Thanks Sarah.) Included in my bag was a skin-care sampler of Mario Badescu products (http://www.mariobadescu.com/products,) which smell awesome! I am very psyched to get this party set up at Plain Jane and maybe spend an evening out on the town in West Chester with my extra-pretty friends after our makeovers!!

TIME FOR REFLECTION

This week has me really thinking. I sit in sadness as I write. Earlier in the week, I went to a funeral for a friend's mom. She was too young to pass, and there is an image in my head of my friend, her dad, and her sister walking out of the mass arm-in-arm, tears streaming down their faces, which brings me to tears every time I think of it.

Also, this week is the one year anniversary of the death of my dad's wife's (Molly's) daughter, Christy, who was so so very young. Christy touched a lot of people during her time in Denver, and friends and strangers who offered up help to Christy and her boys (Lalo and RJ) during Christy's illness are now offering more support for her boys on the one-year anniversary of her death. They formed a relay team to raise money to support a Denver facility that helps kids who have lost a parent. Christy's memory is honored, and Christy lives on through her friends and family. Here are some excerpts from the letter sent to Molly:

• Hi Folks,
  ...I have the most amazing team of women, most of which are new to running. ... We are 11 women ranging in skill from just picking running up 8 weeks ago to the true runner that just today completed an Olympic Triathlon. We will run a total of 174.2 miles. We will run at elevations reaching 13,500 ft, through creeks, down mountains, up mountains, during the night and maybe even in the snow.
  
  We will run hard, sweat lots and have fun, most importantly we will be raising money for Judi's House! Judi's House is a Grief Center in Denver for children that have lost a parent or sibling. It is a safe place they can go to work through their sorrow. Judi's House is a charity near and dear to my heart, as it is a place where RJ and Lalo attend. It has also become special to our team, both families from the salon and Woodrow Wilson where I first met Molly, Christy and RJ. ... Every dollar we raise is in Memory of Christy Dobbins! ... Thank you all for your support and encouragement, you are all blessings to our team.
  
  Jeanine

So, kiss your parents, tell your friends and family that you love them, often, and take time out of your busy day to let the small things really count. Life is too short and there are unexpected turns around every corner.

FACEBOOK
A few friends have been trying to convince me to get on Facebook, so I finally ventured onto the site today...and I spent WAY too much time there! I know I am late in joining, but I am also surprised at the amount of people I am looking for who are not on the site! It is fun, but I think in all I wasted a few hours (that I didn't have) browsing, and reconnecting!

I am also very happy because after about 2 months of trying to set a date, my college friends and I have found a date that works for everyone for an overnight in NYC. (They are all within about 30 minutes from NYC.) We're still a few months out from the get-together but I am excited to get away, and to see them! I can't believe the first date we can agree on was five months out from when we started planning! (Looking forward to seeing you ladies, it has been WAY too long!)

JUST WORDS
Jack has been a very chatty little boy, and has amazed us with his language skills. He has far surpassed Nicole and Max's vocabulary at the same age. He reached well over 200 words by 18 months, and in the past 2 weeks his vocabulary has just exploded. Now, he says almost everything there is to say (in one or two word sentences anyway!), he has no trouble communicating what he wants, he has learned how to ask questions (usually a single word with shoulders raised, arms outstretched and palms up) and he has a word for everything! He knows some colors, although sometimes gets it wrong. If you ask him to repeat something, he will. And sometimes he will repeat something that you really don't want him to...

On Sunday, there was torrential rain here a large portion of the day. I drove up to King of Prussia, and had to stop at the side of the road on 3 different occasions, when the windshield wipers did nothing at all to let me see where I was going. I was a little flipped out the first time I hydroplaned (in an SUV going only 40 miles per hour) but it was easier the next few times. We came home and decided not to go out again, so we took care of some chores and cleaning. Kurt had a frustrating afternoon getting a bookshelf tethered to the wall, and hanging shades in a few rooms the house. He encountered a problem when his drillbit broke off into the wall where he was trying to hang the shades. "CRAP," he said loudly, frustrated at the end of a long day. "Cwap" piped up Jack happily!

SHOPPING SPREE?

I was able to get into Philly...by myself...on Saturday! My wonderful husband realized that he has been traveling a lot this past year, and I never get time to myself without the kids. He sent me off to get my hair done, and even told me to do some shopping for myself--we've been on a tight budget his year, so it's been a while. I still haven't switched to a hair salon near me, so my appointments in Philly are fewer and farther between as time passes. I was eager to get my haircut and look like a normal person again. I was especially eager to do some shopping in my old haunts! With excitement building, I strolled up and down the streets and entered into every other store on Walnut and Chestnut Streets to shop for clothes. My downfall was that I went in to every store with a mantra: "I will not buy black clothes, I will not buy black clothes!" No surprise here: I came home completely empty handed!

The second I got home and heard the kids arguing over something, it felt like I hadn't gotten away at all. But we salvaged the rest of the beautiful day by enjoying dinner al fresco. Here is a picture of Nicole and Max looking like they enjoy each other!

Here is a picture of Max's creation of the Eiffel Tower! (Don't ask, we don't quite see it either! I just let the creativity flow!)

(Those of you who even a little astute will note that the kids are in the same clothes as they were the night before! All I can say is: see above, I was not home and was not responsible for getting them dressed today! But if that's the worst that happens when I am gone, then that's fine with me!)

DANCIN'

It has occurred to me that most of my posts discuss the kids misbehaving. They certainly do have their share of misbehaving moments, but they are also (or, can be also) really good kids. Sometimes they even misbehave in a not-too-bad manner, and I have to appreciate that for what it is. We enjoyed a fun dinner tonight in a relaxed and casual restaurant. The waitstaff danced.

Max decided he wanted to dance.

Nicole joined in the fun...

Not to be outdone by big brother and sister, Jack decided he needed to dance as well.

I didn't even scold them tonight for a little misbehaving in the restaurant! It's just too rare that they all agree on something, let alone want to do the same thing at the same time!

SWIMMING LESSONS

In the course of about 4 weeks, Nicole has gone from scared and screaming during swim lessons, to being a beginning swimmer! In her lesson today, she did the back float, across the pool, without assistance from the instructor!

Max, on the other hand, has gone from being a fearless beginning swimmer, to being scared and screaming! We are hoping that he was just having a bad day. :(

NO ENERGIZER BUNNIES HERE

The weekend in a nutshell? Tiring. Friday night we went to a local fair. Again. As much as I don't want the summer to end, I just can't wait until the "fair season" is over! Can they charge any more money for the scary run-down rides? And, this fair was a "country fair" with owners displaying goats and cows and other animals. Couldn't they have done anything at all to get rid of the smell of livestock? No wonder Jack was crying the whole time we were there!

Saturday afternoon the kids had a party next-door. They got dressed up in their party best, and came home looking like a food-tornado had hit. There was a flowing chocolate fountain at the party. I didn't know the kids were allowed to BATHE in it! Actually, I'm sure they weren't, but my kids did anyway! They were mostly covered in chocolate (and I am sure Kurt was ticked that it wasn't Frankford chocolate to boot!) but there were spots of cake and fruit punch mixed in for good measure, as well as an unidentifiable orange something on both kids' cheeks. And all of this happened while Kurt and I were peeking out the back door like psychos, trying to get a glimpse of the kids to make sure they were doing OK and having fun! Trying to see, but not be seen! The party ended at 7, and bedtime is usually around 7:30---but we stripped the kids down, put on some new clothes and headed over to a neighbor's house for another party around the corner---more of an adult party, but kids would be there also. The kids hung in there pretty well (even Jack who goes to bed between 6:30 and 7) until Jack started crying, flailing, hurling things around the house, and throwing himself to the floor. I stood up and said "it's go time" and went to gather N & M from the playroom. Everyone in the next room heard the wails and screams when I told them it was time to leave, and Kurt and I ended up literally dragging three screaming, sobbing, overtired kids out of the party, and into the night. We had decided to walk over there because it was such a nice night, but the walk home was really the walk of shame. I am sure we will never be invited back to our friend's house, to the house of anyone who was at the party, or to the house of anyone who lives in between our house and the party house because we left trails of screams through the otherwise quiet night. Two out of three fell asleep literally the second their heads hit the pillows that night!

Sunday, the kids were up bright and early and raring to go. Reluctant to take them too far after the scene the previous night, we ended up at the pool for a while. Jack, the one-dip wonder, was ready to go after about 15 minutes, but we had prepared for this and had taken two cars so I got him out of there when he was ready. The kids get pretty drained at the pool, so we layed low the rest of the day.

This morning we were out the door early for a trip to Dutch Wonderland. I dropped off Jack at Grandma's house, and we were at DW as the doors opened. The weather was pretty nice in the morning, and there were virtually no lines until after lunch time. We packed in a ton of rides before Max started getting into melt-down mode, so I booked out of there at first sign of whining. I've had enough of that this weekend! Surprisingly, Nicole did not protest! Either she was tired too, or at least, too tired to put up a fight!

TEARS AND HEARTACHE

Such a small disappointment in life can be such a big deal to a little one. Max was invited to go over to his best friend's house to play this afternoon...the last minute phone call from his friend's mom left him elated and ecstatic! Nicole was hoping to be invited over also, because Max's friend's sister is a little older than Nicole, and they play well together. There was no discussion in the phone call about Nicole coming over to play, but she was still hoping that when we got to the house, she would be asked to stay. Max went running in to see his friend, and I could see Nicole kept looking around, earnestly searching for the sister, who never materialized. The mom soon said that the sister wasn't home, and Nicole's face fell. As we walked to the car, I could see her little shoulders slumping, and it was all she could do to hold it together until we got into the car. The tears started pouring out, and she cried like her heart was breaking! The world was such an unjust place in Nicole's mind today, and I feel like my heart breaks a little more each time something like this happens to one of my kids! There was no consoling her for a while, but a little bit of chocolate did help brighten the afternoon...