The Weekend - Recess for Grown-Ups!

I used to be a Monday person. I'm not now. I'm totally and completely a Friday person. We endured day three of Doodle's morning meltdown this morning. While I'm not looking forward to Tuesday, I can at least appreciate that this is the last time this week I have to send a child off in tears. It's not that she doesn't like school. It just seems hard for her to make that break in the morning. Actually, they all seem to like school enough that they play school when they get home. That's not exactly the kind of thing I'd expect from kids who don't like school, so I'm optimistic. While playing school on Wednesday they made good use of our chalkboard to write themselves a reminder to have recess (like they'll forget recess!). They're such smart little cookies!

So this weekend we're all going to have recess. We're going to take time off from the daily grind and have some fun together. We'll run around, spend time with our friends and family, be silly, take the time to swing (but not go down the slide - read back a few months and you'll understand why), and prepare ourselves for next week. We've finally made it to the weekend, when we have made it through the "gotta-do" activities and fly into the "wanna do" things. I'm ready.

Tears - Day 2

As you can see by the title, today's drop-off didn't improve a whole lot from yesterday. Doodle was actually in tears while eating breakfast because she knew she was going to miss me. When I sent them down the hall this morning (after hugs and kisses) Hanny & Doodle were both crying. Boo was the strong one. I'm not sure why, exactly. Maybe she's just a little quicker to realize that I'll always come back to get them. They'll make it through, it'll just take a little extra time and understanding. Can you tell they're not real big on change?! Oh well, neither am I. That's why we're taking this transition slowly. I want them to grow to love learning and school, so I think it's important to not throw them into an unknown and scary situation too quickly. On the plus side, I didn't cry today! :) I'm taking advantage of my time alone and getting some things done in the morning so I can spend the afternoons playing!

Wish us luck for tomorrow. We might just need it. Or, as the girls say, "We prob'ly will, we prob'ly won't."

It does get better, right?

I really thought the difficult drop-offs were mostly over. I was really wrong. Up until today I have been walking the girls to the gym every morning. Today, however, I decided we needed to take a step to give them more confidence (in the long run) and independence. I walked them into the school and to the hallway leading to the gym. I gave hugs and kisses there and told them I'd stay there while they walked to the gym. To say they weren't happy about this would be putting it very lightly. Hanny was in tears and the other two weren't far behind. At one point, about half-way down the hall, they stopped, turned around, waved and blew me kisses. Talk about a knife to the heart. What I wanted to do was run down the hall, scoop them all three up in my arms and do whatever they wanted me to do from there. What I did was stand there smiling, waving and blowing kisses their direction. It took self-control. I'm pretty sure I did the right thing. I'm sure that I did what I thought was the right thing. But why is it that the right things to do sometimes feel so utterly, horribly, undeniably wrong? I just have to look at the big picture. I'm preparing them to be confident, independent young women. Chances are they won't even remember this...but I will. But while they're learning to be independent, I'm learning to be strong. It's God's way of teaching me things I need to know. I'm just sure of it.

First Crush

I think I'm witnessing (and have been for the last couple months) the girls' first crush. I'm not sure it's a good thing as they all seem to be admiring the same young man. Actually, he's not exactly young... They are all pretty drawn to the piano-playing John Presley they have seen for the past couple years on our trips to Branson. They have pretty good taste, though. He's got a super smile and can really play the piano. Their cousin thought he was pretty great too, but then he got married and she moved on. The girls, however, don't care that he's 20 years older and married. Boo and Doodle are also interested in the sense of humor "Cecil" has. At least they're well-rounded! :) I remember being their age and having a crush on - I can admit it - Bo Duke. Yes, if you knew me then, I'm sure you knew that I had plans to marry him. So I'm sure the girls will probably always remember John Presley as their first love. If they don't, I will! :)

Sneezy, Blowy, and Sniffy and their mama - Sleepy

It sounds like we have some of Snow White's friends living with us, but that's just not the case. The girls have improved by leaps and bounds today - thank goodness - but we should definitely by now have stock in the Kleenex company. On the plus side, I was prepared and had bought Kleenexes last time at Sam's. I also (I must've known subconsciously what was coming) bought a couple bottles of cold medicine last weekend, so I was ready for almost anything. Woo hoo!

Yesterday morning we had one of those only-at-our-house things happen. Just as a little background... When I was in college, the house we (my cousin Julie and I) lived in had a few issues. For example, it had a floor furnace in the living room - fine, as long as we were only in the living room when it was cold. It wasn't quite as effective heating the bedrooms during the winter. In fact, one winter night we both slept in my twin bed just to stay warm. But I digress... Probably the most memorable part of living in that house was our encounter with a slimy rodent problem. Yeah, they were slugs. I realize they aren't technically rodents, but when they show up in the house they become a rodent problem. We had them in the bathtub - not exactly what you want to see when you're bleary-eyed, cold, naked and already in the tub. Neither of us had had any previous experience with slugs and had absolutely no idea how to alleviate the problem. We soon learned, however. That stuck with me. I have a real aversion to slugs - still. So, imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I opened up the living room curtains and saw two of them stuck to the side of the house (outside). All three girls were up and going and got to see them as well. Doodle had the most appropriate (to me) reaction and said, "YUCK!!! They look like poop! I don't like slugs! YUCK-O!!!" Now, wanting to prepare them for the less desirable parts of life, I have taught them exactly how to get rid of slugs. I want them to know what to do so they don't find themselves watching a slug slime its way across the floor/bathtub/etc. without knowing how to get rid of it. So I'm sure there will be things that they'll have to learn once they get to college, but slug-warfare will not be one of them.

One of my favorites

Well, two out of three woke up with fever this morning - nothing serious, just viral I think - so today hasn't turned out quite as good as I had hoped. I still plan to make stromboli this afternoon so we can have something warm and good for supper. We're going to do some schoolwork as well (if they don't go to school they still have to do the pages I have them do!) this morning. I have been moving some files from the old computer disks and found this. I had forgotten about it but wanted to share. I've seen it adapted to several different things, but the preemie adaptation relates to us. Hope you enjoy - don't worry, I cried too! :)


The Special Mother
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year thousands of mothers will give birth to a premature baby. Did you ever wonder how mothers of preemies are chosen?
Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
“Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron saint, Matthew.
“Forest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron saint, Cecilia.
“Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron saint... give her Gerard. He’s used to profanity.
Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, “Give her a premature baby.”
The angel is curious. “Why this one, God? She’s so happy.”
“Exactly," smiles God. “Could I give a premature baby a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.”
“But does she have patience?” asks the angel.
“I don’t want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she’ll handle it.
“I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence that are so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I’m going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world and that’s not going to be easy.”
“But, Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.”
God smiles, “No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.”
The angel gasps, “Selfishness? Is that a virtue?”
God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she’ll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child who comes in a less than perfect way. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is to be envied.
“She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says ‘Mommy’ for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it.
“I will permit her to see clearly the things I see - ignorance, cruelty, prejudice - and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.”
“And what about her patron saint?” asks the angel, the pen poised in mid-air.
God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”

-Adapted from
Erma Bombeck

Improving by the day!

The girls stayed home sick yesterday but went to school today. That, in itself, was a decision I'm not sure I'll ever be good at making. What I mean is: when is it best for them to stay home and when is it best for them to go? It's a tough decision to make. I don't want to send them when they feel bad but I want them to know how important school is. It's something I'll struggle to learn, but I'm doing my best. Anyway...

This evening they have been playing together exceptionally well. It might be the cold medicine that seems to hype them up, but it might just be that they're feeling a little better this evening. They've spent the last hour playing school, sort of, and informed me that Doodle is Mrs. Stigall (their teacher), Boo is Mrs. Gloss (the other Kdg. teacher) and Hanny is the line leader. It's funny to listen to the different things they say and do now. They have been singing "Baby Beluga" all evening because they learned it in school today. They're blossoming before my eyes. That's not to say that they're not still very attached to each other and apprehensive about too much commotion and chaos, but they're improving. I'm sure it's strange and maybe stressful for them to see other kids acting inappropriately when they've never really seen that before. It's a learning experience for all of us. I can honestly say we're all doing our best. And, you might want to sit down for this, I'm almost beginning to enjoy those three hours of "free" time in the mornings. It's AMAZING how much I can accomplish in that time frame! This morning I cleaned both bathrooms, did laundry (not all of it, obviously), swept the house, mopped the kitchen and dining room and made all the beds. It was great! Add to that that I was able to open up the windows and doors in August and it made for a good day. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better! :) I have big plans for tomorrow morning...I'm thinking homemade bread or ham/broccoli/cheese stromboli. Now if it'll just be a rainy day...