One More Day

At nearly five, Connor is one of those kids who actually looks forward to school. He's been counting down the days for weeks now. And the first thing he told me again this morning was that he only has "One more night left!"

Though he's not in full-time school, he is going one more day per week this year (the MWF schedule instead of the TR schedule). His Mommy & me time is going to be cut back a little, but we'd been saving up for one last good day of summer vacation while brothers were in school. First, he wanted to go to the library. Next, he tried the park. Then he thought of the toy store. And finally, he saw that Mommy was taking him downtown to the children's museum, which he has always called the "boat school" from his love of one particular exhibit (three guesses what it involves).

We spent a few hours playing, even randomly running into a few of the moms who were at my last girls night out. Alas, their children are quite a bit younger than mine, so Connor wasn't up for socializing. We moved on. And on and on and on. The kid moves so fast through exhibits that your head will spin, except, of course, for one particular exhibit. We ended our day at the river exhibit, with, you guessed it, the boats. He also snuck in one last adventure in the cave (which is one the way from the boats to the exit) and then we were done.

The photos above were taken as we were heading back out to the truck. In the first one, I'm asking him to smile because I like the look with all of the leaves on the sidewalk and the tree framing the top. He's not cooperating. But I mention we might have to skip lunch if he can't be a good boy, and low and behold if the smile doesn't magically appear. It's all about motivation.

So then we headed out for lunch. He wanted, of course, McDonald's. I vetoed and told him to try again. Chick-fil-a was the quick second, visions of the indoor playground already making his eyes glass over. Nope, not enough time today to eat and to play. I suggested Sonic, which is my favorite. He agreed, but didn't seem excited. He likes to "go in and eat" when we do lunch out. Sonic doesn't really have that, and one storm had already rolled through while we were at the museum, so I wasn't up for sitting outside on the picnic tables. Finally, I suggested pizza from Fazolis, which would be on our route back to pick up his brothers. He seemed excited, and our choice was made.

I opted for the daily special, a half-order of spaghetti and a small slice of pizza. I got Connor the kids meal with a single pizza slice and a drink. I should have known better. He demolished his slice and about 3/4 of mine, and was of course still hungry. So I purchased two more slices, and he ate another half of one before proclaiming himself full. Next time he just gets a regular pizza meal on the adult menu, it would have been much cheaper.

And then it's time to head back to pick up brothers. He tries for the library again (which is on our way) and also the park (also on our way). Not quite enough time, though we will be a few minutes earlier than usual. We pull up in time to see Sawyer's class out on the playground near the car pool. This is never good. When he sees our truck, he's ready to go. Today was no exception. He went crying and screaming back into the building to get ready to come home.

A few minutes more and both boys come bouncing out the door, clearly ready to go. Xander is wearing someone else's pants, having gone through both extra sets of clothes at school today (never a good sign). Sawyer is fine, at least until we make it home. That's when both of the twins like to be "jumped" out of the truck onto the garage floor. Xander was first today (with a little pushing and shoving, as per usual).

Unfortunately, Sawyer didn't want to wait for Mommy to turn back around. He just jumped. And then he hit, hard. He caught himself, or at least I think he did. He cried as he often does when something scares him or catches him off guard, but he wouldn't let me put him down for a long time. And when I did, I of course notice that he's favoring one foot pretty heavily. Lovely. I feel around, but there's nothing unusual and not even any swelling (Mommy's had a few sprained ankles herself over the years). He's still going easy on it, even now, but he's moving around a lot more than he was at first. Good stuff.

So that's been our day, so far. I'm still keeping an eye out for Sawyer's ankle, because with the whole non-verbal and high-pain tolerance thing, who knows what really happened when he jumped out of the truck. And in a few hours, Connor and I will get ready and head out for his monthly "Book Club for Boys" meeting.

Nothing like cramming it all in before school starts, right? Oh well, Connor doesn't seem to mind. I'm pretty sure he's having a good day.

A Day in the Life

7:30 a.m.
One of my little people starts kicking the door to his room.

7:50 a.m.
One of my little people comes downstairs and joins me on the couch, tickling my feet to see if I'm just pretending to still be asleep (the couch and I have been good friends this week, since it's the only place I've been able to sleep and breathe at the same time with my cold). He continues to do so until I'm forced to kick him back. A morning person, I am not.

7:55 a.m.
I give in, get up and start folding up the blanket off the couch. I mention going upstairs to let the little guys out, but Connor wants to do it and I'm too tired and still not breathing well enough to argue. He "gets the babies" from upstairs, and I now have three little people dancing around me and pulling me in different directions. One wants the television turned on. Another wants to potty. And the last one wants his milk and cereal. All in good time, people.

8:25 a.m.
The boys all have sippy cups of milk and small bowls of dry cereal. Everyone has been potty and the television is now on. Two of the boys are simultaneously dancing and eating dry cereal (and holding their sippy cups underneath one of their arms, lest someone steal it while it is sitting on the couch). The other is half-asleep on the couch, complaining that babies are too noisy in the mornings and bother him (tell me about it, kid). But he's also sipping and munching, and anxiously awaiting the new PBS kids' show about dragons on trains. Exciting stuff. I wander upstairs to brush my teeth and put on something other than the tanktop and boy shorts I've been sleeping in, you know, just in case we leave the house at some point.

9:15 a.m.
Thunder rumbles and rain moves in. Daddy has left for work, and it's looking like a rather nasty holiday at home for me and the boys. And then the power goes off. This, of course, is a tragedy. The boys were dancing to and watching the new dragons and trains show. They are not happy to have it go off. It also means the pancakes Mommy had been thinking about making were off the table. No power, no stove. They settled for a breakfast of yogurt, pineapple, grapes and mini chocolate doughnuts. I opted out.

9:35 a.m.
Breakfast is over, it's still raining outside, and the power is still out. Now what? We clean up the mess, leave the little people strapped in and break out the arts and crafts tote. For Connor, that means coloring one of the huge Lightning McQueen murals with crayons. For Xander, it means using the Crayola TaDoodles paint pens (and getting more paint on his hands and the table than anywhere else, but at least it's washable). For Sawyer, it meant doing his homework - decorating his "me" (think gingerbread man shape) cut out. I, of course, did most of the work. He was not interested, though he did condescend to put quite a few stickers on at the end. Then, in true Sawyer fashion, he lined up the letter stamps I had been using for the rest of table time. Xander also had a homework sheet to do, which he also was not interested in doing. It was a lesson where you match the colors to the fruits or vegetables that are the same color. I tried making little dots with crayon beside each one, getting him to tell me the colors. I kept getting "No!" and his hand pushing me away while reaching for another crayon. We made it through, but just barely. He was not impressed with homework.

10:45 a.m.
Table time is getting old and the natives are restless. I go upstairs in search of new toys to put out in the play room. I find the McDonald's kitchen and the Lightning McQueen cars. Both drive me crazy, but this is going to be a long day and we need a diversion. Connor, the only one not strapped in, is already terribly upset that Sawyer used all of his stickers to complete his homework, particularly the last two train stickers. And, I grant you, they actually are his stickers - received from the "treasure box" in his classroom last year, but I also must point out that he will more than likely spend the rest of the afternoon riding around on the twins' Lightning McQueen car. There is no "mine" at our house. Three boys, community toys. But for Connor, the world has ended. I dig in the tote and find some press-on tattoos that I think he might like. The tears stop as soon as the wet washcloth goes over the tattoo to begin the transfer. He's excited. There are pictures, at his request. I even clean up the other two and release them. Sawyer runs for the kitchen, Connor and Xander begin chasing each other on the ride-along cars (see, I told you he would be riding on their car). General chaos ensues. I also attempt to fold a load of laundry during this time, but as luck would have it, that's when Sawyer decided to pull his escape act and go prancing out Buster's dog door into the storm. He's dripping wet and muddy. Good times.

11:05 a.m.
I have to chase the twins back downstairs. They love to play in Connor's room and mess up the books on his bookshelf. Sawyer even likes to take the board books into the hallway and throw them down the stairs. That makes Connor think about books, so he pulls out some of his most recent library books and wants to read on the couch. He brings four, which we read while the little guys continue playing. Xander doesn't like our books, but he does run upstairs and find one of Connor's (a Lightning McQueen comic book) that he likes and sits down beside us to "read," too. Sawyer is not into the books. He only likes them at bedtime, when he gets Mommy all to himself with a silly Dr. Seuss book, those are his favorite.

11:25 a.m.
The power comes back on. Thank heavens. The kids are still pretty well occupied with the new toys, though I do go into the pantry and find a few more to pull out, just in case. I finish cleaning up all the paint and crayon on the table and floor from our morning arts and crafts session, and also post the new artwork in the gallery (aka, the fridge). We turn on the television in anticipation of the twins' favorite - Word World. That buys me another half hour.

12:00 p.m.
The natives are hungry. They're milling around in the kitchen, trying to open cabinet doors and the refrigerator. They may not talk, but they certainly communicate. I convince them to play (and leave the kitchen), so I can make something. We (meaning Connor and I) opt for chicken nuggets, french fries and macaroni & cheese (healthy, we know). It takes a little while, but they're pretty well occupied with toys and the television.

12:25 p.m.
Lunch time. Two little people are strapped back in and one just sits down. Connor is pleased with lunch and eats most of his and part of Xander's, too. He also thinks ketchup should be a food group all by itself. The twins only liked the french fries and are going to be hungry before dinner time arrives. I have time to take a few bites before plates and cups are thrown across the table (another bit of communication without words, meaning "I'm done!").

12:40 p.m.
Now what? I send them back to playing while I try to clean things up. That takes a good thirty minutes in and of itself. I also have to keep walking into the office and smacking a certain little person's hands. He likes to (a) turn the printer on and off and (b) make the CD drives pop in and out on the computer. It's a constant battle.

1:15 p.m.
The lunch mess is cleaned up and the kids are still playing. I try to sneak in some computer time now that the power is back on. I soon have three little people climbing all over me. They'd like to play computer games, but I'm not in the mood. We shut it back down and go back to playing.

1:45 p.m.
Aunt Kelly arrives. Connor has a new play buddy and drags her off in every direction he can think of. The twins somehow acquire Connor's new beach ball from the pantry and are having a big time tossing it all over the house, though there is quite a bit of fighting over who gets to have it. I find another smaller blow-up ball and the fighting lessens, though occasional skirmishes continue. One is bigger than the other, after all. Sawyer convinces Aunt Kelly he needs yet another sucker (probably how the beach ball found it's escape from the pantry) and Connor sweet talks his way into some orange soda from the refrigerator. Guests are good, they say.

3:35 p.m.
Aunt Kelly needs to head home, much to Connor's displeasure. The beach balls are still causing problems, so they go back into the pantry. I turn on our first movie of the day, Hoodwinked. Connor is not interested, but the twins are perfectly happy to dance to it. Connor and I work on the calendar in his room and updating the one in the office.

5:00 p.m.
The movie is over and everyone is bored. Time for dinner. We opt for leftovers tonight. Connor gets bacon (one of his favorites) with mandarin oranges and applesauce. The twins get green beans and corn with mandarin oranges and applesauce. It goes well, until Sawyer decides he's finished and shoves his plate across the table. Usually, it stops a few inches out of his reach. Tonight he was really finished, and it landed on the floor beside Connor (yes, all those leftover green beans and corn that he didn't bother to eat). This time I clean up the mess before I release them. Otherwise Lightning McQueen cars are going to be going through the green beans and corn.

5:35 p.m.
Back to playing for a little while. I make some kool-aid and load the dishwasher to run a cycle. I also sneak some computer time, but soon have two little boys pulling on my arms. I send them back to playing, but before long they're back upstairs in Connor's room jumping on his bed and tossing books all over the place.

5:50 p.m.
And that's when I opt for a stroller walk / bike ride. Buster is so excited he can hardly contain himself. He also can't help but step on my toes and swish his tail in the boys faces while I try to help them with their shoes. He's excitable that way. We make our short loop with the twins in the stroller, Connor on his Big Wheel, and Buster on the leash. We drop Buster back off, and head around the other block for Connor's "Other walk!" that he just has to have. We also manage to take the trash out to the road for tomorrow's pick up day.

6:35 p.m.
It's still early and the natives are going to be restless again. Daddy is still working, and I'm running out of ideas I tell them to leave their shoes on and I take them straight from the stroller out into the yard for some outdoor play time. Icees are, of course, requested and granted. Photos are taken. There is lots of swinging and sliding and dumping all the toys into the fort (per usual, thanks to Sawyer). I also bring out sippy cups of water that are largely ignored (my boys are not fans unless they're completely dehydrated, then they might consider it). We watched the dark clouds roll in again (though no rain this time) and the helicopters and airplanes fly over. We even watched the birds, and there were a lot tonight for some reason. We also caught bugs, or "gnat bugs" as Connor called them. He caught them, I just smacked them. He wanted to stay out long enough to catch lightning bugs, but I'm afraid he would be disappointed. You don't see those much where we live, he'll have to wait for another visit to Grandma & Grandpa's house at the lake for that. And, besides that, Mommy was ready to call it a day.

7:50 p.m.
We (meaning I) pick up all the outside toys and put them back in the storage container. We round up all the (mostly unused) sippy cups of water and head inside. We take off our shoes and put them in the bench under the stairs, put the cups in the sink and, if you're a twin, you cry when Mommy says it's time to take a bath. We stomp our feet and refuse to walk up the steps, so Mommy has to pick us up and carry us up the stairs crying and screaming and kicking, one under each arm. Such torture. Connor has to be forced out of the bathroom, wanting so much to help get things started but only getting in the way and turning the water on too hot. He eventually settles on his bed with some books so I can take care of his brothers. Baths are commenced, including the dreaded washing of the hair that will erupt in serious screaming if you even think about getting water in their ears (or alternately causing them to do something, like cover their ears with their hands, and get water in their own ears). Once the twins are out, Connor gets himself started on his bath while I tend to his brothers. Teeth are reluctantly brushed, lotion applied and pajamas put on. Nightlights and music are turned on, and story time begins. Xander likes a quick kiss and pushes you out. Sawyer clutches on for dear life and begs you to stay until he falls asleep. Both get about 10 minutes of Mommy's time alone, looking at board books or just cuddling in bed.

8:25 p.m.
We finish up Connor's bath, brush his teeth at the sink (he likes to spit it out and get a drink when he's done), then get his lotion and pajamas. We mark an "x" off on the calendar (a new ritual, to go with his recent interest in time, more specifically, the number of days until he gets to go to school). We climb in bed and read two books, sometimes more, never less. Then he asks me to stay "for a little while" with him. And I usually do, even though I'm tired and ready for a break myself. Because one of these days, he's going to grow up on us and not want any part of things like story time or talking about our day before we go to bed.

8:45 p.m.
Daddy comes home just in time to say good-night. I close the door behind us while Connor's still talking, always begging for just one more minute or one more thing (a drink, a hug, a kiss, a high-five, and you get the idea). I finish spraying stain remover on the laundry (three little boys can be hard on clothes. especially when markers and paint were involved) and put the dirty clothes in the hamper. I hang the towels back up in the bathroom and turn out the lights.

9:00 p.m.
It's my turn for a shower, for some comfortable clothes and a little peace before bed. It's also time for dinner, because I didn't have (or take, depending on how you look at it) the time to eat when the boys did. And it's time to look through the days photos and maybe post a blog or two (just one long one tonight).

11:35 p.m.
Wrap things up and head to bed.

Tomorrow it will start all over again at the same time. We'll also be adding back in the twins preschool, from 10:35 to 1:35 every week day (except holidays, like today) and on Wednesday Connor's school will begin, from 9 to 12 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This is a day in the life. Happy Labor Day, indeed!

Snapshot Sunday

Future skateboarder? He's not, but it sure looks like he's studying that slide as a good place to ride down on a board. He is my wild child, after all.

The Family Reunion

Every Labor Day weekend, Josh's extended family gets together for a reunion at a small local park. Some, like us, travel only a few minutes across town. Others travel from several states away just to come. There are over a hundred people at times, though today's turnout was a little less than that (football is starting for the home team today, after all).

It's a chance to visit with several generations and branches of the family, enjoy a potluck lunch, and for the kids to run around on the playground with all the "cousins." And that means we spent a big part of our day chasing three little boys in three different directions around the playground. But, other than Sawyer trying to steal a whole container of cookies at one point while we were both occupied with his brothers, it went pretty well. And, in fairness, they did have M&Ms all over them. What little boy could resist?



Sawer taking a break from bouncing to sitting for a change. He liked the see-saw best of all, of course, but bouncing the ball was a close second.



Xander getting his game face on. His favorite was the slides though.



Connor thinking that the goal is a little too high for him to make. He eventually gave up and found a play friend to chase around the rest of the day.

Things that Happened Today

One of my children came to me and said "My nose is runnin' and won't stop!" That in and of itself is not bad. The fact that he was dripping blood on the floor was a bit of a problem. What was worse, is when I asked him why he had stuck his sucker stick up his nose (which is very clearly what he had done, you know, right after actually eating the sucker), he said "Because it needed to." Okay, makes sense, right?

Two of my children managed to steal about four cookies off the cookie sheet before they were baked today. The third one took four by himself (that would be my cookie monster, Sawyer). The husband's annual family reunion is tomorrow, so we did a bit of baking (and tasting apparently) this afternoon.

Josh had to lock the puppy in his room this morning, by closing the doggie door from the inside. Note, the reason had absolutely nothing to do with the puppy. It's to keep our newest escape artist from opening the door to Buster's room (with the child safety knob still in place) and then making his way outside to either walk on the stone path through the yard or to put all the pool toys into the (currently empty) kiddie pool. That's Sawyer's idea of a good time. You know, when he wakes up at 6 in the morning, like he did today.

My pickiest eater of all had not one or even two, but four and a half servings of green beans for dinner. That would be in addition to the large serving of white corn and the two servings of mandarin oranges and his entire sippy cup of milk. He also ate an entire chocolate chip cookie, this time actually baked. That would be this child, my skinny mini.

All totally random. All totally true.