Hi

Remember me? Yeah. So I only signed on to delete my "other" blog that I decided was no longer necessary since that whole saga is over. Things are rolling along here in Pattersonville. Time is flying WAY too fast as you know when you have kids. I can hardly belive that Spring is right around the corner and my Pre-K and Kindergartener will turn into a Kindergartener and a FIRST GRADER in a matter of months. OMG. I try my hardest to enjoy every little moment and milestone like the older/wiser ones tell us to do.... but it's so hard to do when the rest of life is there getting in the way! And then I sign on to blog and there's SO much going on that I can't even focus on one single thing to blog about. I swear I have adult onset ADD. Really, I do. As you can tell by the random bouncing around I'm doing in this post. Oh yeah, and now it's time to go start dinner....

These little monkeys go back to school tomorrow and the emotions, they are mixed. We have had such a wonderful two weeks of EASY LIVING. Staying up late, getting up late, nowhere to be at any particular time. But alas, the togetherness is taking its toll. It's been nice to be a stay-at-home mom again for a little while. But it's reminded me how challenging it is to keep them occupied for days on end! So yeah, I think we're all a little ready for tomorrow.

Not my favorite weekend on record....

perhaps due to the following:

39-33
dead car battery
automotive grease on favorite pair of khaki cargo shorts
pumpkin muck left spot on new antique table
cramps
husband rented an ENORMOUS tractor to level the backyard
said tractor leveled the fence
accidentally drank out of sick husband's cup

Halloweenie

Every morning for the last week or two, the radio station I listen to while getting dressed in the morning has played a short clip of the "Halloween" theme song. I'm 34 years old and that song STILL makes the hair on my neck stand up. I passed a "Michael" mask in the Halloween store the other day and chills ran up my spine. What is it about that movie? I was thinking of all the other "scary" movies from my childhood: Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shining, Poltergeist, etc.. But Michael Meyers truly scared the hell out of me. Then I started thinking about why they don't make movies like that any more. I came to the realization that the stuff that used to be 'scary' is now another day in the headlines. Mentally ill people roaming the street and hurting others? Happens every day. Son kills his parents? Not that original. Demons in one's head ? Take some Prozac. So what WOULD scare us these days?

Chapter 1

Yeah, so it's been a while since I've posted. This was not our best summer on record so it seemed appropriate to not document it so much. We've done the grief counseling thing and are doing our best to move on at this point. But moving on will never mean forgetting....

So. The new school year always feels like Chapter 1 of a new book! My girls both ended up with (who I consider) THE best teachers in their respective grade levels. Big O is now in kindergarten and Baby M is in pre-k or 4K as their school calls it. I had SO much anxiety over her starting there and liking it..... and fortunately I had it all wrong. Girlfriend LOVES it. Duck to water. And it has everything to do with her incredibly gifted teacher :) Big O, however, is not loving kindergarten quite as much as she thought she would! They actually have to do work, gasp! And can't talk at free will, gasp! Every night when I put her to bed I have to stifle my giggles as she gives me little glimpses into her world at school. She told me "I really like Mrs. L, but I can tell she can be mean when she needs to be..." So kindergarten is definitely NOT going to be the cakewalk she had in 4k! I suspect her well-seasoned teacher is just laying down the law these first days and will soften a little over time.

In other news: our sweet puppy, Maggie, got her cast off today! Yep, she broke her foot .... or rather Big O helped her break her foot about 5 weeks ago as she got launched off the top of a jumpy house. And let me tell you, it's been a loooong 5 weeks of keeping that sucker dry. We've had Maggie for four months now and we've already funded a new wing at the vet clinic.

So that's all for now. Hoping to post more regularly now that we've started a new 'chapter' :)

Graduation at the Bullseye

I haven't been in school for over ten years, now. But I guess the fact that my life revolved around the "school year" calendar for twenty-one years kind of ingrained (sp?) it in my being?? My "years" still start in September and end in May. It's just how I function. June through August, it's just fluff. So here we are, at the end of another year, the closing of another chapter. The bad parts of the year are forgotten and the good parts are celebrated. Now that I have children in school, the cycle is reinforced. And this time of year always makes me sentimental - makes me realize the things I haven't stopped to appreciate enough. One of those things being the "toddler" department at Target. This weekend I ran to get Big O some play clothes for the beach. I headed straight for the toddler department for size 5T when it occurred to me "holy cow, she's 5 1/2." And yes, my first baby, numero uno.... she has officially graduated to the "junior" section at Target. I walked through that section like a zombie. Where were all the cute sundresses? With bloomers? And hair bows? And lacey socks? And HELLO, why are juniors clothes so much more expensive?!!! I ended up buying nothing. I'm gonna need some time to accept the fact that our days of cutesy clothing are also coming to a close - yep, another one of those chapters that turn me to mush. Only graphic tees and cargo shorts in our future, now I'm afraid. BUT.... I still have little M to dress. And she does love cute clothes. And shoes..... oh lord help me when she graduates to juniors. I might need some xanax.

Puppy Love

Yeah, so it's a face only a mother could love. But, OH, is she ever lovable! The girls are absolutely in heaven with this scruffy little puppy. So far, she has been the model house guest. You can't tell in the picture I've posted, but she is TEENY TINY! More pictures later...