Tuesday, August 24, 2010

School is IN session!

Ok, we've officially made it through one week of first grade, and so far so good. Kinsey is a star pupil and loves to go to school. I am so happy that she loves it, because otherwise we would NEVER get her out of bed. I have a hard enough time as it is. On the first morning of school, I went in to wake her up at 6:55 with a cheerful, "Kinsey! Aren't you so excited? SCHOOL starts today!!" And, I was promptly met with, "MOOOOOM!! I. AM. TIRED!!!! I. WILL. GET. UP. LAAAAAAAAATER!!!" I am thinking about investing in a DNA test that can tell me her exact age, because this can NOT be the typical behavior of a six year old. I am thinking that she is at least 13!

But, once we get the whole getting-out-bed thing figured out, we are golden. Today was the first day that I actually dropped her off. Meaning, I drove up to the school and she opened the door and ran inside, pausing to turn around and wave at me. *tear* I have walked her into school every day since she started kindergarten, but I thought that we should give this a try. While it gets me home faster, I am sad. She needs to stop growing up, dammit!

Ben doesn't start preschool for 2 more weeks, so I am enjoying my time with my little man. He is also growing way too fast and I don't like it. But, today was the first day that he decided to have an opinion on what he was going to wear. His shirt of choice? The slightly too small Mickey Mouse t-shirt that he wore yesterday. That would be, the slightly too small Mickey Mouse t-shirt that had spaghetti sauce stains on the front that he wore YESTERDAY! He pulled it out of the dirty laundry and put it on in lieu of a super cute, brand new shirt that I was about to dress him in. And, what is he wearing right now, in bed? That slightly too small Mickey Mouse t-shirt that has spaghetti sauce stains on it and now sand and dirt smeared on it that he wore YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!! I don't care if I have to put him in a figure-four leg-lock tomorrow to wrest it from his body, but that thing is going in the washing machine. Ick! How DARE he have an opinion!!!!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

So much! TOO MUCH!

Oh where do I begin? I bet you are interested in finding out how Disneyland was, huh? Well, I was right on one point...Ben was SICK! Poor guy. He tried really hard to be a tough guy, but he totally conked out. Our first day was spent at the beach with our friends the Laysons, and he curled up on my lap and slept for two hours. Kinsey and her BFF Kaia wasted no time plunging into the ocean, building "hot tubs" (aka big holes in the sand that got filled when then tide came in) and playing frisbee. My girl is such a beach girl. I can see her living out her college days at some California school, studying at the beach and surfing on the weekends. I shall live vicariously through her!

Our first day at Disney was really fun, but, again, Ben was sick and conked in the stroller. He did man up a bit to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Finding Nemo ride. He did a few things, but preferred to crash. Kinsey and Kaia went hogwild and did it all. I loved watching them! I hope we can go back in a few years and experience it all again.

The second day at Disney started with a hotel-room-doctor-call. I had no idea that the hotel would have a doctor service, but fortunately they did. Ben's diagnosis? Croup and tonsilitis. He had no voice, could barely breathe and coughed like a seal. Poor buddy. The doctor gave him a shot of steriods that woke him up and allowed him to enjoy the day...which he did--thoroughly! Whew! It was really funny, because when he could finally talk, he sounded like Demi Moore (or a little boy with a 2-pack-a-day habit!). So, by the time we finally ventured back to Colorado, Ben was on the mend and the rest of the crew was on the way down.....

We pulled into our driveway at midnight and Doug RAN out of the car, RAN into the house, RAN into the bathroom and blew chunks. Lovely. So, 2 out of four were sick. Then, the next day, Doug is recuperating, Ben is smoking a pack, and Kinsey starts coughing and complaining of a headache. Ugh. DOUBLE UGH! But, as of press time, everybody is A-OK and rarin' to go!

Good thing we are rarin' because tomorrow is the first day of SCHOOL!! I survived the summer! Yahoo! I did it! Go Momma, Go Momma!! Kinsey is currently sleeping like a little angel and she is SO excited. Her first grade class consists of 17 kids--15 of which are returning from kindergarten, so she is going to run into class with no looking back. I am excited to get back into some sort of routine, so that we can harness the chaos that has become our life. The only thing that is stressing me out right now is actually getting her there on time. I was going to "practice" getting up early yesterday and today, but I let her sleep and she got up at NINE o'clock!! School starts at 8:15, so I am seeing a logistical problem here. Her alarm is set for 6:55, so I am sure that she will be nothing but smiles and laughter at that time, right? HAR HAR HAR! I will let you know how that goes. But, her outfit, school supplies, backpack and water bottle are all set out and ready. I can't wait!

I am off to go to sleep...school makes me get up early, too!! And, Doug needs to get to work earlier to support Ben's new smoking habit. :)








Friday, August 6, 2010

Cross your fingers and cross 'em good!

So, here's the skinny....we are leaving tomorrow morning, bright and early, to go to DISNEYLAND! Woohoo, right? Well, today, of all days, Ben decided to get sick. He has been complaining of a headache and not eating much all day. Poor little guy! He has been perfectly fine all summer, not even a hint of a runny nose and BAM! Nastiness. So, he is currently snoozing in bed, but when I wake him up at 5:30 in the morning, I hope that I find a healthy, excited little boy. I would be so disappointed if he wasn't able to fully enjoy this trip. He's going to love it!

So, speaking of Ben, I got his registration information for preschool today. SAD! I can't believe that my baby is old enough to go to school! He starts on his 4th birthday--September 7. So, he is going to immediately be the coolest dude in the class when he shows up with treats! Unfortunately, due to allergies, the treats must be store bought, so I guess my super-elaborate, multi-layered fondant cake will not ever come to fruition. sigh. (The teacher actually said that the treats have to be store bought due to allergies, so they must come with a list of ingredients. She said, "Pretzels are good, or rice krispie treats." Seriously? Pretzels? For MY boy's birthday? PSHAW!!! He will be totin' something with sugar as the #1 ingredient on that precious ingredient list, thankyouverymuch!)

I will end with a little commentary on my girl. She is growing up WAY too fast! She has lost her two front teeth, so her lisp is even more pronounced, but she is definitely not a little girl any more. Her best buddy du jour is Caden. Caden, for some reason, watched the commercial for the Eclipse movie and has convinced Kinsey that he is a werewolf. He loves to wear jeans and no shirt and climb trees and run fast. All under the watchful eye of my girl. Yesterday at the park, he was climbing a tree and she said, "Mommy! Caden ith tho thtrong!" (Translation: Caden is so strong!") She is smitten. Until the next werewolf comes along and sweeps her off of her feet, that is!

See you in a few days! Pray that my boy is healthy and we return unscathed and happy!!!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The fair is here!

FYI, my daughter is obsessed with the fair. Seriously. Every year when it arrives, she turns into a freak, and the day it leaves she starts talking about when it will be back. Now I, on the other hand, love the fair as much as she does, but I have to be cool about it. You know, because I am all mature and stuff! So, I see the twinkling lights, the cotton candy swinging from the corn dog stand and hear the blaring music and my inner teenager says, "EEEEEEEE!!! Cotton candy! EEEEEE! Spinny rides! Let's go let's go let's go!!!!" But, my very mature, sophisticated exterior says, "Yes, Kinsey, I know it looks fun, but let's slow down." What an inner struggle. It wipes me out!

But, this year? This year was special! Here's the news....My. girl. loves. spinny. RIDES!!! I got to go on the Tilt-a-whirl! TWICE! I got to go on the go-around-in-a-circle-forwards-and-then-backwards ride...TWICE!! She loved it and my heart was exploding with pride and joy! I thought that I was going to have to live out my existence in kiddie roller coaster land, but NO! Doug and Ben can sit by the sidelines and watch the girls have all the fun!

I can't wait until next year. I have already decided that Kinsey and I are going alone and we are going to go on everything. I think that seven is old enough for the upside-down-spin-you-all-around ride, right? I can't wait! Let's go let's go let's go!!!!!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Sleepover!?!?!?

Am I crazy? I actually told Kinsey that she could have a sleepover tonight and she is currently upstairs in bed with her friend, Sara. They have been super cute all day, but for some reason, I am not anticipating a good night's sleep. This makes me slightly sad, for some reason. My baby girl is growing up! :(

Speaking of growing up, let's talk about Ben's pee, shall we? I was perusing some of my older posts and I saw that potty training wasn't going so well at all. huh. Inneresting. I should have chilled out a bit, because you know what finally worked? Friggin' nothing! He just decided to do it one day. So, all of the stress and pressure and treats and charts and timers and bribes did exactly ZERO! I let him run around pantsless one day and bingo bango bongo....he grabs himself and says, "I'm gonna PEEEEEEEEEE!" We ran to the bathroom, threw him up on the toilet and ta-daaaaaa! He never looked back. He has been on an airplane ride, in 3 different time zones, all over the place and it's done. No accidents. May we take a moment of silence to properly respect this moment?
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Thank you!

The only downside to the whole diaper free living thing is the easy access to his junk. He is constantly rooting around in his pants and giggling. Great. I get to deal with this now for the next 15 years until he leaves for college! Oh! And there is his use of the word "penis" CONSTANTLY! "Mommy, sorry I ran into your penis." "Mommy, does Erik have a penis? Does Erik's daddy have a penis? Does Erik's mommy have a penis?" "GOOK! That dog has a PENIS!!!!"

lovely.

Monday, August 2, 2010

I'm not making any promises....

I, again, am attempting to keep up with this darn thing. I haven't yet decided why I am finding it so difficult. The time consumption? Nah. The impossible task of coming up with witty things to say? Hardly. I am just going to go with pure, utter head-in-the-clouds-itude. I keep forgetting about it! I seem to be more interested in my facebook status that this old thing. But, I forget that I have many fans out there, waiting with bated breath, to see what is happening with me and mine. Shame on me. SHAME! So, here is yet another half-hearted attempt to update the world on my ever so exciting and multi-faceted life!

Summer. What do you think of? I think of sleep. Lots of it. Sun. Pool. Sunburns. Barbeques. Patios. Sunscreen. Fairs.

Aaaah, what a perfect season, right? Well, what has this summer entailed? PAIN!!!! PAIN!!! I had a headache all summer. It started in early May and it ended last week. Last Tuesday to be exact. So, for me, Summer has sucked. Big time. And, I am realizing that I sucked. Big time. My poor kids duck and cover when they see me coming. The big old grouchy pants lady that snaps and them and makes them eat their vegetables. Oooooh! Scary! But, thanks to lots of drugs and an ambitious dentist who worked a small miracle (after I sat in his office and cried and yelled at him and made him do SOMETHING!) I am ready for the summer to begin!

But, alas. The summer is nearly over. And, while we have done some really fun things....visiting Yaya and Papa, visiting the family in Indiana, having Eddie here, taking a train to the top of Pike's Peak, lots of pool days, lots of play dates, it's time to have some REAL fun. And ,where is the REAL fun? You guessed it! DISNEYLAND!!! How better to recoup the loss of a summer? Hopping on a plane and chilling with Mickey and friends. We leave on Saturday and I can't wait! My kids are going to crap themselves when we get there! And, the best part? My friend Tammy and her daughter Kaia are joining us! I can't wait to get the girls together again and see the excitement on their faces. My fancy new camera will be at the ready!

So, I will leave my update at that. There is excitement to come. School starts in 14 days and those days will be filled with SUMMER!!!

ps...Ben is potty trained! woop woop! But, that deserves a post of it's own, so stay tuned!!