– I just got home from the library. Words cannot describe how GIDDY I feel when I leave the library with two huge bags of books cutting off the circulation in my wrists. Seriously. The library is like the greatest invention ever. EVER. I love it so much I’d marry it.
– Today was our first day of official school. And by official I mean we actually cracked some curriculum and had some real academia going on. I knew it was going to be a challenge to work with five kids ages 11, 7, 6, 3, and 2. But honestly, the 2-yr-old is more work than the other four put together. I made some toddler activity bags, each with a different fun/educational activity (sorting, puzzles, stickers, etc.) for him to do while I’m working with the older kids. The problem is, he wants me to be right there doing them with him, thereby totally defeating the purpose of having them for him to do independently. It’s going to take some practice and adjustment. I’m sure this week will be a lot of trial and error to see how best to arrange whom to work with when and how and such. We’ll get into a groove soon enough.
– We’ve had a plethora of guests this summer. So much fun to catch up with old friends. I love it when you can not see someone for months or years and it feels like no time has passed. And it’s so funny to hang out with friends from college who also have kids of their own now. All those times we used to talk about what it would be like when we were all married with children – and now here we are. Life’s funny.
– Another good thing about having guests is that you do things you always say you’re going to do but don’t. We went up to the top of the Sears (now called Willis, but we all think that’s stupid so we still say Sears) Tower downtown a couple weekends ago with some friends from Michigan. We’ve lived in the Chicago area for a total of almost eight years, and we’d never done it. (We also lived in Arizona for three years and never went to the Grand Canyon. Still kicking ourselves for that one.)
– The Muse turned 11 two days ago. She’s becoming such a young lady. We’re very proud of her and who she’s becoming. But on the flip side, it’s really hard to watch your kids grow up. You want to protect them and shelter them, but you know they have to make their own discoveries and mistakes in order to grow. You want to hold onto their childhood innocence and simplicity, but that pesky time business keeps marching on, and you have no choice but to watch those things slowly chip away. You want to make sure you tell them everything they need to know to prepare them for when they’ll make their way in the world, but you know that they’ll have their own struggles and challenges to overcome no matter what you do. You hope that you can instill in them the strength and tools to make their life journey fruitful and rewarding, and you pray for the wisdom, patience, grace, and foresight to make it through that process without too much damage to their spirit (or yours). Ahhhh, parenting. ‘Tis not for the faint of heart. 🙂
– We’ve been so busy this summer, I’m only just now realizing that fall is around the corner. My favorite time of year. Although right now, even more than pretty leaves, chilly mornings, and apple crisp, I’m looking forward to the freaking mosquitoes dying off. DIE, MOSQUITOES, DIE! There. I feel better now.
– I have a black thumb. We have a basil plant on our kitchen counter, and it’s in sad shape. Our hanging flower planters out front are also in a pitiful state. However, we apparently attract the birdies. We had a robin’s nest in a short tree in our backyard, and we got to watch the babies grow and leave the nest. Very fun and educational. (Did you know that robins almost always lay four eggs? Well, now you do.) And now, in one of the pitiful planters out front, a dove has made her nest. She sits there all day long, right out there in the open. I took some pictures today. I’ll post some of the babies if and when they hatch.
– Advice to anyone who’s moving anytime soon: Unpack immediately. Get it all done as soon as possible. Use those “we’re-in-the-middle-of-moving” excuses to their fullest and shoot for 100%. Otherwise, what happens is you get about 85% of your boxes unpacked and belongings where you want them, and then you start to lose steam. You might get another 5% or 10% done slowly after that, but then there’s that last 5% – like the last 5 pounds that you just can’t seem to get rid of – that just sits there. It’s just unannoying enough to not do anything about, so those boxes keep getting put off and put off. You’ve already got everything really important unpacked, so you don’t really need anything in those boxes. And yet, it’s stuff like photos or mementos that you don’t want to just toss. And so they sit there. And you’ve shot all of your just-moved energy. And you’ve started getting settled and socializing and getting into the thick of life, and so they sit. *Sigh*
– BoyWonder is really chatting up a storm. My favorite word he says now is “licorice,” which comes out “lick-lish.” The other day, I told him his friends were coming over soon and he said, “Oh yeah. I love soon.” He’s also obsessed with Shaun the Sheep, which comes out “Shamba Sheep!” That boy just slays me.
– I really like coffee. Just one cup a day, but it’s such a lovely thing. I remember hating it when I was a kid, and I never understood why my mom liked it. Now The Muse says the same thing – she likes the smell but hates the taste. Oh, the circle of life. 🙂
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