Odds and Ends

You know, its not that I don't have anything to write about here. It is just that I can't sit down to focus on any one thing. Motherhood and Life are just euphemisms for multitasking, I believe.

*Chase's intake meeting for preschool is in less than a month. Chances are he will be going full time, 5 days a week. I am a little intimidated, mostly because with a basically non-verbal child, I will have close to no idea what he is doing with 8 hours of every day. I trust the teachers. And the therapists. It is just a little bit sad to me. On the other hand, Chase is the busiest kid I have ever seen, and he wears me out. He is cute when he is doing it, but it may be nice to let him wear someone else out for a while. I'm ok with that.

But do you know what is sad? The therapists that have been coming to the house once a week for 3 years...they won't be coming anymore! And not only has Chase developed a relationship with each one, they are my friends! (Carol, we will have to get together every once in a while!)

*Ian had his Transformers birthday party. I have photos, I am just too lazy at 7am to go get the camera and upload them. They will be coming. It was good fun :) And now my baby is 5 and ready to go to school. The big school, as he calls it.

His newest obsession is MarioKart, which I have to admit, he is quite good at for being a little guy. Gone are the days when we could give him a wii-mote with no batteries and convince him that he was driving as we played. It's good, though. He is becoming such a boy.

*Gavin crawls around the house with curiosity and fascination. He loves to play with anything that is not a toy; power cords, shoes, old balloon ribbons, large marbles, remotes, phones, pieces of old food that Chase hides under the couch. He is such a 3rd child. I spend most of my day cleaning the floor for prohibited items.

Twice yesterday I went into his room to get him up from nap and he was standing in his crib, looking at me as if to say, "I'm just as big as those other guys, see Mom?"

He does this thing where he is, for all intents and purposes, completely asleep in my arms, and then if I make the slightest move, he begins bouncing and laughing and making this funky growling sound, his eyes full of delight. Like he is trying to trick me or something. You totally thought I was asleep, didn't you?! Ha!

*Bryan and I have used the couple warmer days recently to start our gardening and bee-ing this year. Can't wait to actually see some results and be better at it this year than last. Bryan is talking about 10 more bee hives...on other people's property :) Two are fine here, but more than that is just asking for curious kids (well, mainly just Chase).

*Also- still vegan here. Almost 2 months now. Bryan and the kids are bad vegetarians at best, but everyone feels good about making better food choices. I have lots more to say about that, but I will save it for another post. If you can't possibly wait until I get around to that, go check these books out at the library. It will make you think about what you are putting into your body (and not just from a PETA perspective...from a well documented, fact-checked, well thought out source-- I think everyone should read them): Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, and Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. It will also make you think about what you are feeding your kids- eye.opening.

Time to rouse the children. Why is it that on the weekends I can't get them to sleep past 6:30am, but on school days I have to drag Ian off his loft at 8am?

Evidence, Old School Style

My mom sent these to me as evidence that she never squashed my fashion sense, and also a reminder that Ian's decision about the Transformer sneakers could have been a lot worse.

He could have, for instance, wanted to wear this Easter dress (First Communion?), complete with jaunty lace hat and pink crocheted headband, on school picture day.

Or perhaps this ensemble I call First-Grader-Going-on-Congress-Woman. Yes, that is a green velvet ribbon used as a headband, and yes, those are cowboy boots under the table.

Letting Go

*sigh*

I guess with growing up, Ian also gains independence. I knew it was coming. He wants to do everything himself. He requests his own music in the car, he wants to be first player on the Wii.

It started when he began wanting to pick out his own clothes. Which is great, really. I just (because I am just the teensiest bit of a control freak) had to set some boundaries- you know, something that fits you and NO short sleeves when it is snowing out.

And then it happened. He needed new shoes (because seriously, overnight, he grew out of every pair of shoes that he owns!), so we headed to Payless yesterday. And he didn't want these:

or these:or these:

or even these:

but he would not rest until he had THESE:

They are light up, velcro, Transformer sneakers. I hate hate hate characters on shoes. I don't know why. I just do. There are so many other cool options! And I KNOW this is silly. And I know that in the grand scheme of things, this totally doesn't matter. But...still...they are just so dorky...!

But you know what? They make him so happy. He loves them. He is so excited that he has sneakers "just like Colin Corey" now. And I get that. I know I wore things (well, most everything, probably) that my parents thought were freakishly weird. And it made me happy (well, until 20 years later looking back at the pictures and wondering why they didn't exercise a little bit more control when I wanted to wear the suit jacket, long flowing skirt, and cowgirl boots to picture day).

So, it's okay. It is. I'm fine with the plastic Transformer sneakers. I really am.

And I am so incredibly happy that I still have a few years left to exercise complete footwear control on Chase and Gavin.

Wow.

You have to read this unbelievably written birth story. Seriously. I am adding this mom to my blog roll.

Check it out at Enjoying the Small Things. And bring a box of tissues.

Valentines

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day for the boys at school. Ian is too cool for the cutesy valentines that I want to make, but Chase doesn't care. So, I wanted to pass on my super cute way easy idea to you:

I put an orange in a little valentine's day bag, and attached an orange heart that says, "Orange you glad its Valentine's Day? From, Chase."

How cute is that? Bonus: I know even if the kids don't appreciate getting fruit instead of candy, at least the moms will :)

John C McGinley and the R-word

Check out his article here. Good stuff. Says it better than I can.

Ian is FIVE!

Last year at this time, I was at the hospital trying to convince the triage nurse that yes, indeed, I was having a baby. Ian was 10 days early, and since he was my first, no one believed me that I was actually in labor. Joke was on them when they had to race me down the hallway and up some floors (its a little fuzzy now) and the doctor had to run across the hospital to get there in time to catch him!

So now, my man, you are 5. FIVE! It seems like such a milestone. Five is kindergarten year...where you will spend the majority of his time with someone other than me. And honestly, although you are still my sweet, sweet Eenie, who does things like dig the crystalized ginger out of the pantry when I was too nauseous to get off the couch yesterday (stomach bug- blech), you are also quite the independent rascal now, too (and have mastered things like selective hearing and making excuses).

This year, you went to preschool 4 mornings a week, and your favorite days are Tuesdays and Thursdays because those are the days that Chase goes, too, and you like to sit with him at the end of the day and help him walk out to the car. You are such a good brother. You entertain everyone in the car (by singing nonsense songs loudly, or playing peek-a-boo with a lot of yelling)

You love wrestling with your daddy, helping me with projects, and doing crafts and science experiments with Gaga. You do all of these things your way, however. You have your own opinions, and most of the time, they are final.

You say things like, "Well, let me tell you about my plan," and "Mom! You've GOT to come see this!" You want people to watch what you are doing all the time. Unless you are getting dressed, in which case Gavin isn't even allowed to see you in your underwear.

You started piano lessons this year, gave your first recital, and even play with both hands now! You can read some words, write your first and last name, and write all the capital and lowercase letters. You still love sports, and maybe now that you are a little bigger, this summer's soccer camp will be a little more fun :)

Love you so much, Eenie! You grow so fast, and continually amaze me.

Chase says Noodle!

Chase saying 'noodle' is probably one of the funniest things that happens at the house these days.

Whoa! Gavin is 7 months!

How did that happen?

At 7 months, you:

*crawl! Holy moly, you crawl!

*pull up to your knees on everything.

*laugh at your brothers in the car. Both of them love to make you smile while we drive.

*wave your hands constantly in the air, Bob Fosse style.

*love to eat Cheerios.

*put everything in your mouth, and have mastered the art of finding the one speck of nastiness on the floor that you shouldn't have, into your mouth. (Of course my floors are that clean!)

*love stories before bed.

*like to play 'catch' with anyone who will roll a ball to you.

*still wake up at least 2 times every night.

*wear 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Find Lera a Home

I yanked this from Unringing the Bell...Lera's journey is one that I have followed through another friend, and for some reason, the family who had committed to her ran into a roadblock in the adoption process. If you have a place in your home or your heart for Lera, or know anyone who does or even MIGHT...please pass her information along. She doesn't have much time left.

Please Help this Girl Find a Home

Lera (4)

Girl, Born August 7, 2005

Russia

I LOST MY FAMILY!!

Lera is a gorgeous little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.She is 4 years old. She is quite high functioning, and doing very well. She has flat feet and a systolic heart murmur, but no major heart conditions. She is able to walk and climb, she eats by herself, dances, and understands and follows directions. She has also been transferred to the regular class, so she is living and learning with her typical peers.

• Adoption requirements atwww.reecesrainbow.org/waitingchild2.html
• SINGLE MOMS ACCEPTED!
• Upfront costs: $3000 agency fee + homestudy

For more information please contact Andrea (bamaroberts AT comcast DOT net)

I have $8605 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

______________________________________________________________________

This is a desperate situation. Lera will be placed in an institution, and will no longer be available for adoption, if a family doesn't commit to her in the next few days. Her adoption is partially funded already. If you or anyone you know might be interested in adopting Lera, please contact Andrea at Reece's Rainbow at the contact information above. Please feel free to copy and paste this post to your own blog as well, to get the word out.