Back to School

It is September! That means back to school, pumpkin donuts at Dunkies, me trying to once again gain control of my life and get organized!

All three beans are in the same school on the same schedule. At least until dance and religion and possibly soccer and maybe swimming start.

But right now it is 97 degrees out and the kids are getting released early from school because of the heat.

Deep breaths!

Summer was crazy busy and a ton of fun.

The Lady is a fish in the water, she tackled the water slide at the pool, rode the waves at the beach house, the Jersey shore and OBX.

 The Little Lady got on roller coasters and rides that made my feet tingle by just looking at them, she turned 6 and went to camp with her cousins.

QT and I spent A LOT of time together this summer, but he got out and about. He turned 4, went to camp, spent time with his feet in actual sand and took a few bike rides in his Ninja Turtle helmet.

I got pretty tan, started training for my second 1/2 marathon this year and experienced all the highs and lows of working from home 4 days a week in the summer!

My husband tore his Achilles tendon the last week of school, got surgery, spent some time in a boot and is finally able to carry sleeping kids out of the car and drive a few balls off the range.

All things considered we had a pretty good summer.

Back to blogging!

Part I: Friday

Did you know dusk in the summer is 8:45 p.m.?

Me either. That is why I was at the park with my three kids, two pizzas, four blankets, sweatshirts, and a cooler at 7 p.m.

Summer is wonderful. Frozen gets shown on blowup screens in parks and you meet your friends and your neighbors and it is great. Except that QT likes to wrestle his sister on the grass and everyone has to go to the bathroom at a different time, and there is only one bathroom for a park full of kids and the line is long and there is a possibility that your 3-year-old pees on you while you are holding him, and there is a possibility that one or more of your children pull a Britney Spears and walk into a bathroom with no shoes on.

There is ice cream at 10:00 and trying to pack up by the flashlight app on your phone. There are three very tired kids crammed into the green car because the van is in the shop and you aren't quite sure how you are going to be able to pick it up the next day because of said three kids and your husband is away, but for now you are grateful that you decided to meet up with friends and neighbors because without them, there would have been no way that you would have been able to navigate the bathroom situation, chasing QT around in the dark, the ice cream, the park, the pizza.

And once again, you got to hear the majority of the movie, without actually seeing it, and it was pretty amazing when all the songs came on and everyone was singing, little kids, big kids, dads. And this is what summer should be about, big outdoor movies, late night ice cream and pizza. And sure, you will pay for it the next morning, but for now, between the bathroom breaks, under the summer sky, the music playing, the crowd singing, QT still for a moment in your lap, you are grateful for the experience and for the fact that you have friends in the crowd willing to keep an eye on every combination of kid you leave behind and you think this is good. This is good.

Supermom? Superwoman? Super Morning?

I got up early this morning. Really early. Like, 40 minutes before I even set my alarm, which was about 45 minutes earlier than I usually set it for because I have kind of turned into one of those people who has to fit in a workout at some point during the day and the early a.m. was going to be it for me today.

This morning I didn't even have to hit snooze, I was up, out and working out. Done.

I emptied the dishwasher, ran a load of laundry, showered, got dressed and even had time to moisturize, which rarely happens before I hit the office and make it to the bathroom and realize that I actually left the house looking like the reflection that is staring back at me in the mirror.

My lunch? Already prepped the night before. The Lady's lunch? Done. Milk in cups waiting in the fridge for the kids? Did it.

Homemade pancakes? Batter prepped and ready to go stove-side.

I really started to consider becoming a morning person. All that extra time to actually get things done with care and concern instead of in a flash of crazy panic.

House clean for showing this morning? I even sprayed down the bathroom mirrors.

TV tuned to the Today Show and not some inane kids show? There is actual news happening in the world!

Oh Bean, what a wonder you are. What a modern mother. You certainly have it together don't you? Getting fit, getting organized, let's not forget getting clean, you can have it all.

Until. . . the kids woke up.

QT needed to be carried down the stairs, the milk I poured for the Lady was fine but the Little Lady wanted water. As the pancakes cooked on the stove, I had to wipe a butt, empty a potty, wash my hands (twice) all in the time before I flipped them over.

The Little Lady didn't want pancakes. The Lady didn't want syrup ON her pancakes but she wanted a bowl of syrup to drown them in. I took the syrup covered pancakes and handed them to QT who also told me he didn't want syrup ON them, so I did what any other mother would do and flipped them over and put them on a new plate. Done.

The Little Lady barely ate the egg I made her. The Lady's hair was akin to a rats nest and apparently the shirt I gave her was too tight. (Geez, Mother Nature what happened to that 85 degree weather you gave us yesterday, the Lady was super psyched to wear her full on matchy-match tank top and shorts, now she is giving me a problem about shirts with any sleeves.)

I left QT crying on the top of the stairs, gave a big kiss to the Little Lady who I would see later at her school and got the Lady to the bus stop. As I started the car for the drive to work, I realized I forgot my phone. Rather than go back to the house I just headed to the office.

Did I mention I didn't have any coffee at all yet and there is some sort of black smudge on my new pants?

An hour and a half later, I turned back around and headed to the Little Lady's school for a glorious 30 minutes of an end of the year party where we got to look in her binder of laminated work and go over all she has accomplished this year. It was a little emotional and I was so proud of all the work she did and so happy that she had such a good year. I can't believe she is graduating from pre-school tomorrow.

The k-turn I made in the middle of the ride home to hit the McDonald's' drive through wasn't a proud moment, especially since the Little Lady was going on and on about how she didn't want to go home and how I never do anything fun with her. I am sure rewarding her bad behavior with an American Girl Doll toy from McDonald's isn't really going to curb that behavior but I had to get back to work.

Did I mention I couldn't find my phone once I got home? I had the sitter call me twice, nothing. Granted, it is on vibrate but still. I had a moment of wondering if it was indeed in my bag the whole time. Alas, it was not. Finally, after searching for 15 minutes, I found it under the ginormous stuffed dog on the Lady's bed. My husband had called in the middle of the mayhem and I guess it just got overlooked. Although, fortunately the Lady's hair didn't and it eventually did get brushed. 

45 minutes in traffic to get back to work and here I am, drowsy, a little sore from my cardio fix, slugging back some Earl Grey tea and hoping my husband's flight takes off within the next half hour because if I beat him home those kids are going to lose it.

Might be super snoozing it tomorrow. 
 



 

1/5 5 Photos of my Day

Ok, so in addition to posting on fb. I thought I would post my 5 photos in a day challenge pics here on the blog as well. I took a personal day yesterday to get some stuff done.

1. The Little Lady got to have a friend over and we took this one after dropping her off.

2.We then headed out to the doctor so that she could get a couple of shots so she was up to date and ready to enroll in kindergarten! Won't make the mistake of showing up to registration two shots short again!

3. Had to fit in a workout. I was able to find the time, but not necessarily the room as the three kids were super excited to get involved. The Little Lady was the only one who made it to the abs at the end.

4. Trains. Trains. Trains. Thank goodness QT doesn't actually make us watch Thomas the Train Engine. He is just content to set up the tracks and then leave them there while we all have to step around them.

5. I love to read. I hate reading for reading log. Sometimes knowing that we have to read just sucks some of the joy out of it. Couple that with the Rainbow Fairy collection of chapter books that we have started reading that lack a strong story arc and are all essentially the same, and you can see how  it sometimes becomes a tedious to-do at night. However, what is great is snuggling next to the Lady and spending some time with her.

Running a few errands in the rain

Waiting to get shots for kindergarten.

This was ridiculous. The kids were already bathed and mostly in pjs and yet took the time to work up a sweat. I promise I only stopped for like 5 seconds to take this pic!

QT loves his trains.

Reading yet another Rainbow Fairy book. I think we are on like book 100. Next up Scarlett the Garnet Fairy. Wish me luck tonight.

The Three Beans Have Emerged From Hibernation. . .

Here is what is happening at our house. . .

The Lady is the proud new owner of a pair of Jessica Simpson, white, patent leather shoes with a bit of a heel. She couldn't be happier and while I debated whether or not it was a good parenting decision to buy them for her (really what is she going to wear those with?), I was soon convinced that they would get used when she decided to pair them with a flannel nightgown, blue ice cream cone pajama pants, and purple ankle socks for an 8 p.m. excursion to Walgreen's for some new toothpaste. She rocked the look and owned the aisles.

I have been trying to pay special attention to the Little Lady. She has a tendency to feel a bit put out when things don't go her way or when she feels like she isn't getting the attention she deserves. And she does deserve attention. She is fun loving and adorable and funny and incredibly sweet until she isn't. I am trying to make sure we toe the line between indulging her every whim and making sure she knows that she is an important and integral part of our family. Plus it is hard to ignore this cute face.

Please note she it was pajama day/costume/crazy hair day at school. Her class made it up the coconut tree. Normally, I don't dress my kids like this, unless we are going to Walgreen's at 8 p.m.

QT is in full on potty-training mode. Well, at least when he is at home all day with the nanny. He is going with no problems and no accidents during the day with her. He is even napping sans diaper. The problem seems to be when he is home with us. The peeing hasn't been too much of an issue, but there have been a few poo incidents. I will not post the photo my husband sent me a few nights ago while I was at a meeting, but needless to say there wasn't any poo in the potty. Last night on my late-night Walgreen's excursion, I bought a few things to bribe that boy. And it worked. Here is to hoping that we are out of diapers for the first time since 2007! And here is a pic of him after his latest haircut.

QT is getting to be such a big boy!

 Sunday, this happened:

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Oh, Old Navy I know you know how much those girls wanted some jellies. They tried them on and whined and complained, but I won't fall into that trap again, we will just leave with three teal dresses and a couple of straw hats, thank you very much!