It’s pajama day for my daughter’s kindergarten, yet somehow she is still not getting dressed.

I might need to get all Sgt. Hulka about this.

"but i don't want to make my own waffle, mom. that would mess up my blanket."

Lovin’ putting the kids in the jacuzzi tub for baths. I don’t have to do any of the scrubbing…it’s like sending them through a car wash.

honesty is the best policy

we all have our days.   some good, some bad.

i’ve told both of my children, on countless occasions, that all i ever want from them is honesty.  tell me something good, tell me something bad, but just make sure it’s the truth.  you can tell me anything…anything.

so yesterday, for no particular reason i was crabby.  nothing really wrong, just a crabby pants.  crabsalot.  crabby mccrabbenstein….you get the idea.

then my kids come home from school, and like any mood…it expands and influences whoever is nearby.  so they got crabby.  then the crabby escalated.  my son in particular, he’s like a barometer…a predictor, and at times, an amplifier of feelings.

so he started crabbin’ about his wii not bending to his will, my daughter started crabbin’ about how she couldn’t double up on the flav-or-ices.  then, like a tennis tournament of interjections, words were exchanged.  some were smashed out-loud, some lobbed and mumbled , and some were tapped over the net, whispered only to god.

later that night, before bedtime, we all cuddled up for some stories.  after lights out and a little drift off to sleep i said, “kids, i love you so much.  i’m really sorry for being a crabby mom today.”  and it was weird, like on cue they both leaned over, kissed me, and said in stereo, “that’s ok, mom.”  i sat with my eyes closed, quiet, and reflected on how lucky i was.  lucky to have love, and even more lucky to have 2 amazing kids who were communicating the power of forgiveness.

i got choked up.  then about 3 minutes later, still in cuddle formation, my son says, “mom?”  i say, “yes love?”  he turns and wraps his warm small hand around mine…”and i’m sorry for calling you a screaming old-lady, good night.”

gosh, i hadn’t heard that one.  as i bit my tongue with a grimace, i thought, yes, yes it is.

in defense of spongebob

why are the squidwards of the world hatin’ on the spongebobs? i don’t understand. cause if nautical nonsense be somethin’ you wish. then drop on the deck and flop like a fish. if not, then bikini bottom, blowing bubbles, and tryin’ to be the spongiest sponge you can be, just ain’t your thing…

One giant leap

Great piece

The Weary Tiger Mother.  Thanks Miss Bee.  I sure loved watching Phil, and Match Game too.

A Long Summer For Weary Tiger Mothers.

 

Should be sleeping, or unpacking, or cleaning

After some songs and cuddles, the kids are asleep. They’re understandably scared. They’ve been troopers during the day, but at night the nerves start to show. It’s like that for me too. When I start to fret, I should know enough to go to bed.

I like to stay up for a little while though. As any parent can attest, those few hours of quiet at night are blissful.

The house will take some time to get organized. Funny, I keep thinking about painting and changes – but we’re renting and I realize that I might not want to invest all that work and time into something we’re just borrowing for a while.

Our stuff looks strange against a new backdrop. All my antiquey things looked normal in a 1910 colonial. Here, against a white wall and clean carpet, they all look a little dusty.

Some of our stuff got dinged up in the highway jostling, but that’s what happens. The journey leaves it’s marks. And the marks and scars are what tell the story.

I’m all over map with my blogging tonight. I’m tired and I’m big enough to tell myself to go to bed.

note: Thanks for these songs that help my kids sleep. We’re gonna be friends, Yellow submarine, Go to sleep my zoodle, and Hush little baby (The sweet version from the children’s book.)

Mother’s Log, Trip Date: 08.11.11

We are here in Leander, TX! We made it by around 8 pm. We are staying with dear friends until our rented house is ready on the 15th.

Open house for the school tonight.

Erik’s unloading the uhaul into a storage facility to be retrieved later.

Looking forward to beginning again.

Many new things to take care of and to discover. For now, just gonna take it all in.

Mother’s Log, Trip Date: 08.10.11

Travelling

We made it to Little Rock last night. Before we left yesterday, we took the kids to the hotel pool. We discovered that a later start was worth it, because letting the kids go nuts first = much better car ride.

So we did the same thing this morning. Only the Comfort Suits in Little Rock has a freakin’ water park! Awesome. The kids went crazy then we hit the road.

We’re gonna try to make it to Austin tonight. It’ll be a haul, but I think we’re ready for our ride to end.

I would’ve loved to have had a less, “we’re just passing through” mentality. But this was a relocation trip, and we need to get settled before school starts, and hopefully make it to the open house so the kids can meet their teachers and see their classrooms.

Road Thanks

I have to give a special thanks to the kind moms in NC. I can’t even remember what town we were in – but one of our kids needed a bathroom. Immediately. So we pulled off the highway at what we thought was gonna be a commercial area. The highway sign was blue and said, “Restaurant and Inn.” After driving for awhile, all we saw was a very lovely gated community. Desperate, we pulled into their private pool area. Erik got out and asked a mom if we could use their pool house restrooms for our kids. 2 very nice moms said, “yes, of course.” They were on their way out, so the stayed back a minute and let us in…I wish I could thank them again.

Pending Arrival

It’s gonna be weird when we get into our house. I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet that we’re resettling. I’ve been in hyper-drive since we made the decision, and I wonder if I’ll have a little reality crash. Or, maybe not.

I feel a poetry reference coming on…Here’s a bit of Robert Frost. Seems fitting:

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. “

…396.3 to be quite literal about it all.