At Long Last...

Stephen has been able to convince the new internet service to work, then with some more coaxing convinced my computer to be friends with it. I've been enjoying eating my bon bons and catching up on all my blogs.

Stephen's extended academy and first tour (yep I took a picture of his first day) continued till the Friday before school started. That meant we had the grand total of a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning to enjoy our summer vacation. We squeezed in a trip to the new aquarium at Arizona Mills Mall and had lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. We bought a kid's meal for Gabriel; he wolfed it down in 5 minutes and was asking for more and more and more. I guess it's time to start ordering adult sized meals for him. He finished everyone else's meals as they got full. We've never taken the kids to an amusement park or done any of your typical vacation things so they have nothing to compare a day trip to the aquarium to; it was declared a vacation and we didn't let them know anything different. :-) My amazing aunt and uncle let us spend the night at their house despite the fact that they were flying out of town the next day at 5:00 AM. Our kids have fun memories of playing in their backyard and playroom and were as excited about seeing my aunt and uncle as they were about their "vacation" to the aquarium. They noticed the water park off I-60 and have asked for another vacation to there. How long you think we can pull off driving an hour and a half and have them think they're vacationing? Wednesday was 1st grade orientation. While we were all waiting to go in Gabriel started talking to a boy he knew from last year...this is what we heard:

Other boy: "I went to the beach and....(missed part of it, but listed several things he did)

Gabriel: (excitedly) "I went on vacation too!"

Other boy: "Where?!?"

Gabriel: "PHOENIX!"

Gabriel didn't have a reaction to the other boy's expression, so I've told myself he didn't notice it. What's a parent to do? We just smiled at each other. As the big boys talked to each other about their vacation we didn't correct them but always referred to visiting the aquarium. Now they're referring to going to the aquarium rather than vacationing to Phoenix. It makes us feel less lame. We did take pictures and I'll post some....someday.

Then Gabriel started school the next day, Thursday. We're having our usual schedule change behavior issues, but I've instituted a new policy that seems to be helping ever so slightly. He has been able to stay on GREEN since school stared. That tells me he's at least behaving there and saving all the naughty crap for his lucky momma at home. I'll take a well behaved kid in public and terror at home over the reverse any day. Although, he and Garrett have ZERO ability to control themselves and behave when they are together in public. Last year doing homework was painful. This year is going to be T O R T U R E, and we've only had one week's worth so far. Deep breaths and very limited amounts every day should make it work. I am happy to report that it's only the language stuff that's killing us, he flies through the math homework. Every time he tells me he's not smart because he can't read I remind him that there is plenty he can read (I remember clawing through it all last year) and that he's a lucky boy that got Dad's math brain. Math brains are good and something I'm jealous of. I'm not sure how to help him feel like a confident smart student in the subjects that are strengths while pushing him along in the other subjects. I guess that'll be this year's goal for myself. When I see other people making him feel dumb because of this reading stuff I want to scratch their eyes out. I'd love to beat 'em. I also have pictures of his first day that I'll post someday.

Garrett also started his second year of pre school. He's very disappointed he's not in kindergarten, but will just have to live with it. Academically he could probably handle kindergarten, but the whole sit in a chair for longer than a nano-second completely escapes him. I've often wished the boys had a switched birth order; Gabriel could really benefit from an older sibling learning stuff for him to pick up on. Garrett's teacher said it's been cute to watch him take the oldest student role. He needs to feel all grown up every now and then, it's good for him. He tells me all about what he learns everyday. I couldn't miss his first day and have a picture of that too. (wink wink you know how that'll go.)

Now, we're WAY last minute cramming a birthday party in for Gabriel. I've wanted to just scrap it so many times, but we told him he could have a "soldier" party and I can't bare crushing his little heart. He experiences enough crushing blows I want him to know that when his mom and dad tell him something he can depend on it.

Once that's done I think I've talked Stephen into helping get them all in for pictures. Garrett still hasn't had 4 year old pictures...yeah his birthday was in March. Just want to make sure he develops a healthy case of "middle child syndrome", poor kid. Gabriel is due for his 6 year old pictures, and that Lincoln is due for his 18 months pictures. Stephen manages the two not being pictured and sends them in one at a time. Then while I go through and pick what to order he takes them far, far away from me so I can think. IF they behave during that time they get ONE dollar to get a cheap toy from the dollar section.

That will take us right to my first day back to work. I have enormous amounts of anxiety about how to pull off this semester. I've never had to go back to work so quickly after the birth of a baby, but life is what it is and I'll have to be back a week later. I can't even begin to express how much I need the boys to step and do the things that they need to do ie. dressing themselves in the morning, sitting and eating breakfast without messing around. After a baby comes I'll have to be nursing and pumping while trying to get all 5 of us ready to leave the house for the day by 7:00 am. Am I nervous?? Y E S ! My income will depend a lot on them. I'm scared I'll fail horribly. I hate feeling like a failure. Knowing this was coming is why I instituted the "When It's Time" rule. When it's time to go, we load up and go. Gabriel has come very close to going to church in jammies and has gone with NO food or still hungry several times. He's slowly seeing that I'm not joking. When it's time to load up and go...that's exactly what we do. Garrett has run out of time a few times too. He's catching on more quickly. I'm hoping that this will help get us all to the places we need to be on time.

(DEEP BREATH) Here we go...