school

It's that time of the year again! Ariana is beside herself with excitement and can't wait to get back. Elijah isn't (more on that later) and it's anyone's guess how Ben feels about it.

We had open house for them on Wednesday night and they were able to meet their teachers and see who is in their classes. Ana was hoping for a Ms Ebnet because she does plays, but instead was assigned to a Mr. Meyer. At first she was disappointed but after meeting him we are both looking forward to the year. He seemed really cool and fun. Besides, like she said, she's never had a "boy" teacher. Even if he weren't cool, it would be more than offset by the exciting news that her two best friends in the whole entire world and maybe universe are in her class! Paije and Lexi!

I'm kind of bummed for Elijah; he didn't really have a preference for a teacher, so that didn't matter very much, but not a single one of his old friends is in his class this year. He'll make new ones, I know that, but it makes it even harder for him to be excited to go back when he doesn't have buddies to look forward to (in the classroom, I'm sure they'll be together on the playground). We walked into his new room and the teacher had written "Are you excited to go back to school?" on the dry erase board; each student had a magnet with their name on it that they were supposed to put in the appropriate column ("yes" or "no"). There were about 15 "yeses" and after we got there, there was one "no"................! He put his name under "no"! hahaha! But that wasn't even the funny part. So his teacher laughed and asked him "So, why aren't you excited to go back to school?" and he said "Cuz I'd rather be FISHIN'!"

Ben has Mrs. Tulkki, who is well known to us as both of his older siblings had her as well. She had big hugs for all 3 of them but Ben escaped and ran away. I could see the blush on the backs of his ears. He had his hands in his pockets, too...........Mr. Cool.

Speaking of blush--and Ben. He and Wil got into my makeup a few days ago. They do that from time to time. They don't ruin it so I don't mind all that much, but this time they put so much makeup on their faces I couldn't get it off. Oh, and they put it on right, too. So I had William in the tub and I was scrubbing foundation off his face (he was very pretty) and I said "Wil, don't put make up on anymore" and he agreed and said "Yeah, Mommy...............not til I'm older."

Ana got to direct her first play this week. She has been pining to have her girlfriends over and direct a play with them in it. Finally I let her do it on Thursday. There were 10 kids in my basement at one point. They had a great time and they all cooperated for quite a while with her too. Zac fell in love with Sarah Hofmann, Lexi and Kaitlyn's little sister who is Wil's age. He followed her around and stared at her with the biggest, greenest, roundest, eyes. I consider it the day he discovered girls. I remember that day for the other boys also. Funny because i do NOT remember Ariana "discovering boys". I suppose that comes much later...but why do the boys make that discovery in babyhood? Too funny.

We got together with Henry and Kate on Thursday early afternoon. Henry and Ben are in different classrooms...bummer. But again, I know Ben will make new friends, and he'll probably be with Henry outside the classroom a lot too.

Last night the kids were busy making memories :) The boys have been running around in a cluster all summer (Elijah, Ben, Wil). Last night they were still outside at dusk running from one thing to another and I told Ariana to go out there and run around in the dark with them--it is SO much fun to run around in the dark when you're a kid! She did, and they didn't come in til close to 10. Lij came in around 9 30 to get her inhaler for her (haha...why couldn't SHE?) and ran back out. I don't know what they were playing--I asked and it was something about bark from trees? Don't wanna know.

Well, I better get back to work.........I have some noon meds to pass. Next should be an update about my own school (BSN work).

Bikes and Boats and Baby Boys

It's a night shift at the VA and I'm wired and loopy so this will not be my best writing!

Me and the kids have been really into biking lately. I'm excited to be raising such a group of cyclists. For anyone who doesn't know, one spring day when I was 14, I was a babysitting job, laying on the living room floor, bored out of my skull, watching the clouds go by out the window, wondering what I needed to spark up my life....and I decided I was going to start riding my bike a lot. I'm not kidding. So I started going 16 miles a day. Wow, was I in shape! It's been an on/off love affair ever since. With the advent of the energy crisis, I've harbored this secret opinion that the silver lining to this cloud is that biking is getting to be recognized for the awesome mode of transportation that it is. Right now I'm wishing I lived just a tad closer to work................17 miles one way is just a bit too much (that's not sarcasm, either).

So anyway, I've seen to it that each of my kids has a high quality bike to ride as soon as they are able. I noticed on one of our rides this week that among the 4 of us on our own wheels, we have 4 different top brands. I ride a Cannondale Silk Path 900 (an absolutely SWEET hybrid that I bought used for 100 bucks and love more than dill pickles); Ana rides a Trek mountain bike; Elijah has a Scott; Ben rides a Specialized. Ben's was Elijah's before; he will graduate to his own big boy bike probably next spring. For now it's delightful to see him pedal like mad on that tiny thing and keep up with the rest of us just fine.

The reason I'm a bike snob is because I know that biking isn't fun for long if you're not on a good quality bike, and that's the truth.

I proud to say Dad is a pretty regular bike rider too and he now shares my opinion that you need to have a good bike.

What the hell am I talking about bikes for.

So anyway...............we also have been having a great time with the little Montgomery Ward row boat from Gramma. Elijah is getting so very brave--he will actually row out in it! Granted, it is tied to the dock at the time, but still. It's Elijah we're talking about.

He and Ben have been tight as wedgie for the last few weeks. The fights break out between Ben and Wil instead of Lij and Ben. Lij and Ben are forever discussing fish. (To quote Ana, again..."I am SO sick of FISH!"

Wils is a delightful blonde four year old. He and I have been sneaking out for bike rides of our own when I feel the need for a real workout (at least once a day). When the others are with I don't go quite as fast (but fast enough--they are nice ridess!). He rides in a carrier behind me and sucks his thumb. We have the nicest rides. Today I plugged him into my microphone so we could visit. Instead I could hear him making motor noises as he drove his little truck that he had brought with him. That, and at one point he said "YOU'RE A BUTTCRACK!"

Zaccy is signing! I'm pretty sure I saw "please" today. I know Brian has been working with him on it; this became necessary because the "more" was getting old pretty quick.

They all had dentist appointments and nobody has cavities. Ben and Wil are obsessed with floss now (not that Wil actually let a dentist touch him). Zac is flossing too but he could be using a garden hose; with gaps the size he has between his total of four teeth (two top, two bottom) he does not need the special glide floss that Lij and I have to have with our tiny mouths and crooked teeth.

Ana's good, ready for school to start. She does a great imitation of Blue the stuck up cat. She says, in a silky voice, "Come here to me............come here to me" (and then she takes off running). We've been emailing a lot when I'm at work and it's a great way to encourage further development of her already excellent lexicon and decent spelling skills. She will be an awesome writer some day, mark my words.

And then she can take over doing this blog.

Wils is 4

Wils is officially 4 today! We had his little get-together in Cambridge yesterday and he was the bestest birthday boy. His big brother Elijah was joined to him at the hip to help with gift opening and to give reminders to say thank you. And reminders to let brothers play with new toys.

After opening gifts, Wils lined them up nicely on the picnic table and admired them.

Elijah went home with my parents and will be spending the weekend with Grandpa Jack while Grandma goes on a 4 wheeling trip. Hans is home too and they will be going fishing. This was all Elijah's idea, he called Grandpa to set it up. It's quiet at my house without him!

On the way back from cambridge yesterday I was sitting in the back between Wils and Ana (they had been laughing and giggling all the way and I just had to join the fun) and he asked me to buy him "buggle gum". I told him he has his very own birthday money now and could use that to buy himSELF buggle gum. His response? "No, mommy, I have other money, I got it from YOUR PANTS!"

Ana and I just hit the floor and laughed so hard. That kid is so darn funny.

Yesterday afternoon Ana was in another play, for the theater camp she just finished in Sauk Rapids. She did FANTASTIC! It's amazing how much she has grown in her acting skills and confidence over the summer. Honestly she was one of the best performers in this production. Her voice was strong and clear and she "emoted". She never looks self conscious, like she is aware of not being the character but being herself. She really did awesome and it's fun to watch her develop her hobby.

Baby spent the party entertaining William's guests. His new tricks include meow, woof, moo, and now a wolf howl at the moon complete with throwing his head back and making a little "O" of his mouth. It's too funny.

Benj is just going with the flow. I think he is looking forward to playing with Lij's toys while Lij is safely 150 miles away! It will be interesting to see if he fishes when Elijah isn't here.

I left Wil's bulldozer wrapped up for him this morning. The word from home is that it was obvious he knew about it and wasn't surprised but was still happy to open it and play with it. I knew he knew--I caught him looking at in the trunk with a tiny, knowing, smile. I could NEVER have that kind of patience!

It's not until about 9 pm tonight that he is officially 4 and I will be there to celebrate it with him (I'm at work right now).

Minnows and dentists

Elijah lost his 2nd tooth over the weekend and is flush with tooth fairy money. So yesterday he and I took Ariana to Sauk Rapids to drop her off at her theater camp, and afterward we went shopping for bait. At the little convenience store we were directed to, a young lady was working the register and came to assist us with making the live bait selection and purchase. I could tell by the way she was acting that she thought he was just adorable. And he WAS cute :) He had questions for her about each type of minnow. He made a final selection and she scooped a bunch out for him; his eyes got huge when he saw how many minnows he was getting for three dollars. He was acting so grown up and mature that when we got to the check out and she told him his total was 3.25 and he panicked because he only had 2 dollar bills (but a big bowl of quarters) it was just endearing. I explained that he actually had plenty of dollars because the coins work the same as the paper ones, they just count different.

On the way home I said "So, Lij, are minnows baby fish?" and he responded with all the authority of a professor, "No, they are a TYPE of fish."

Meanwhile Brian brought Ben and Wil to the dentist. Ben was his usual good boy self and Wil wouldn't open his mouth. I'm just glad he didn't meow. This is the same thing that happened 6 months ago and he still isn't ready. I'm wondering if this is another indication that he might not be ready for kindergarten next year.

We have some wonderful news in that it is very possible Henry will not be moving to Iowa after all. Stacey said it's not 100% yet but it's looking like things just aren't going to work out for them to move back there. When I told Ben he pretended to fall over in a dead faint :)

Ana seems to have had a good start to theater camp. I went to bed after we got home from dropping her off and slept til time to go to work so I didn't have a chance to ask her about it. Brian said she was happy and excited when he picked her up and I went down and saw her script and she is "Elf number 2" in the Hobbit.

Zac did his drama queen number yesterday morning when I picked them up at charlottes. He saw that I was there and and immediately laid on his face on the floor in grief (after covering said face with tiny fat hands) because I hadn't come over to pick him up instead of making him walk. The abuse is just getting to be too much for him, poor dear.

Watch and Learn

So today I was taking the kids to Charlotte's house for another night-shift sleepover. The boys all had their flashlights. Ariana was riding up front with me. I could hear William saying "Lijah! Lijah! Lijah! Look! Look!". Finally I yelled back for Elijah to just pay attention to what William was saying. So he turned around and William chattered something at him. Ariana, sitting beside me, cracked up and said "William just told Elijah to 'watch and learn'" (as he was showing him some trick he had with his flashlight)

Our big adventurous week was just that--adventurous. Ana ended up staying the full 4 days at Girl Scout camp because 1) she forgot to give her counselor the note from me saying I'd be picking her up a day early, so they called and 2) I was too tired to make the drive the day earlier as planned. When I returned the call to the counselor asking about Ana's stating that I was coming to get her early, I asked how they were doing and she said they were having a great time. I told her to check with Ana and see if she wanted to stay an extra day and she came back and said she got a big huge smile. So, the next day, the day of the play in Minneapolis, I drove up to Walker in the morning, picked her up, drove back to St Cloud with her glowering beside me (very, very, very, tired and crabby thing), and from there went on to Minneapolis to the Guthrie and Little House on the Prairie.

Remember, originally Ben was supposed to come with us, but when he heard his brothers were going to Grandma's, he said he wasn't going to no play. So, then we asked Reilly, and that was good, but then her weiner dog was overdue with puppies and she couldn't come either. So, we invited Lynn. She was good company and had a good time. The play was FABULOUS. It was amazing being 20 feet away from Melissa Gilbert! We were front and center. The acting (not just Melissa Gilbert) was thrilling. I'm not a theater person and not easily interested in such things but I didn't get bored once during this entire evening. There were lots of Tony winning actors and a Broadway director. Super cool. Just prior to the play start I called Luck to check in on my boys and was given the news that the weiner puppies had arrived, 6 of them in varying varieties. Saidy did well (that is how Reilly spelled the name "Sadie" on the birth announcement--so it's probably right, but I had to think about it for awhile) but looks pretty stunned in the post-birth pictures. I bet she wished she'd had an epidural.

We met friends from Canada--Kerri, Jaydane, Blake, and Kerri's mom. They are lovely people and it was great to finally meet in person after corresponding with Kerri for years over the internet (babycenter large families board).

The boys had a great time at Grandma's. Story of the day was William dropping his ice cream and saying "G-d Dammit". This evening on the way to Charlotte's he apparently said it again and Ariana told me (not tattly, just matter of factly) and William heard her tell me that and said "Mommy, I did not say G-D Dammit."

He didn't like the sand in Gramma's raspberries.........you know, the seeds?

This afternoon I took him and Ben with me when i went for a bike ride (I've been biking instead of running recently--not sure why, I just got the urge to change venues). Originally I invited Ben to come with me and ride in the carrier behind my seat, but he wanted William to come too, so we took the Burley and they rode together. First we stopped at the garden (if you can call it that--it's pretty pathetic). We had some beans among the weeds and took a few to look at and left them in the grass. Got the boys back in the Burley (bike trailer) and headed down the highway. Half an hour later, on the way back toward home, William says "I want my bean back."

Zac is such a drama queen. He stood 4 feet away from me and wanted me to pick him up. I wouldn't, so he dragged (I mean it--he dragged) himself on his belly to my feet where he threw himself on the floor, flat on his face, in grief. Whatever.

Lij lost his 2nd tooth and has tooth fairy money bothering him greatly as there are so many possibilities for it. What to do? Live bait? Lures? Savings, and try to use MY money?

Tomorrow Ariana starts her week of GREAT Theater Camp. It's another big bit of driving as it's in Sauk Rapids every day this week, but it sounds like a good time for her.

I'm on my 2nd night of 3 nights in a row at work..........will be glad when that's done.