Look Who Has Been A Little Crab?

We have been busy with a little bit of this and that. We did the Strong Museum and to a baseball game last night. My little L. has been a little out of sorts. Maybe it is growing pains? What I have noticed over the summer is that when she screams or pouts, her brothers give in to her. She is trying to find her place in the family and we are going through the "girl drama" that everyone has told us about since she was our first girl.

It is almost time for her to get on the bus for school. You can't help but think that it has something to do with it.... She is so ready, but it is just a huge step. We have been very chill about it and she loves the attention getting all the back to school gear. Last year she had a fit that she did not need real school supplies and I ended up stocking her at home somewhat.

At the ballgame last night, she was a bear. I mean that screaming kid you always hear that is ruining the event for all around her. I stuck to my guns and did not give in. Let her be crabby and deal with it. At least I know where she gets her fisty and crabby personality.

Life's Story

I have been a little reader lately. Here is what I have been reading.

The last Harry Potter. (OK, but had to force myself to finish)

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. (easy read, funny...perhaps a theme for me sometimes:)

Sundays at Tiffany's (Liked it)

The Glass Castle (This is the best book I have read in YEARS..even if it was all that I had to read during my crazy passenger debacle on the way home from Chas!)

Here If You Need Me (different and great)

Dear Mr. Henshaw (I always need to do some Kid Lit for work)

I am trying to work through a book called The Sunflower. It is written by a man from a woman's perspective. That is the problem I decided. Her thinking is odd and that is why. I will finish it and I hope it picks up.

So many of these books are a life story with some fiction thrown in. Good fit for me. Right up my alley. The Glass Castle is a life story of a journalist growing up poor all over the country. I especially loved the years in West Virginia as it parallels what I saw when I lived there for a year. Yes, people lived in shacks in 1992. One room shacks with outdoor plumbing. Amazing.

What would be my story. The beginning would be pretty normal with some humorous parts from my mom and things that happened. It would be the early independent years that would be the story so far I think. Who knows what is to come. Maybe that is the story in the making.

Everyone has an accident

We all have our fair share of accidents. Some good, some bad. We were at the pool when, well, someone had an accident. The boys were gettting crude and I reminded them that it wasn't that long ago that it would have been them. Accidents are just that-they don't call them, "on-purposes" for that reason. Sometimes things do happen for a reason. Do you believe that? Why do I have the job I do? Why did everything fall together so we could buy our first house? How in heavens name, did I become a mom of identical twin boys? There is never really an accident in my mind. A lot that has happened that has drastically changed my mind and perspective came from a tragic, horrible accident. I believe that my dear friend knew that her time on earth was dwindling. She expressed thoughts and wishes just days before she left us that would raise the hairs on your arm. Perhaps, it was no accident and there was more to it than we on earth will ever know. I guess we should learn to embrace life's little and big accidents. When the little ones happen, we get all worked up about and guess what...it does not matter in the end. What do you think?

Having a Crabby Day?

I don't know what is going on, but my kids are crazy crabby. Screaming and constant arguing. I thnk it is the before school nutty behavior. It is making me feel overwhelmed and wanting to get back to the structure we all sometimes need. When we get there, we will be crying to come back to the sweetness of these summer days! It happens every time. Why is it that we want what we can't have?

Back To School Shopping

Can you believe it is already that time? We did some online shopping which was unbeatable for what we got for the kids. This morning we headed out to Kohl's and Target with our three darlings in tow to try on shoes etc. With their intense personalities, once we established new shoe sizes, J and V reminded us over and over what was needed. "4, 4, 4, Mom, I need a 4." They feel like they have graduated to some prestigious place to be at a 4. Seriously, we bought a 1 or 2 last year, so I was impressed myself. That is some big foot growth. Not to be outdone, the Kohl's person asked my husband 4 times if he wanted a store charge. We don't do them due to a habit I had back in the day. We enjoy avoiding the 27% interest! L got the Hannah Montana shirt she has been begging for and I relented. We all had the "in" thing back in the day. Have to go with it. Could have saved 4 bucks buying it at Target! We made it through Target rather painlessly just around the hundred mark. That signifies an excellent Target trip for us. Last time I was there, I think my total was 24 bucks and I nearly hugged the sales associate. So here are the totals: School shoes and clothes for three active, excited kids: 350.00 New dog toy 8.99 (to keep that dog off my furniture and busy) Smiling parents as the darlings head off to school after a long summer for repeating numbers and interrupting with endless questions: priceless!

Never Enough Time In a Day

Even though I am on summer vacation, there is never enough time in a day. People look at me and must think I am crazy. For starters, a person with three kids and a dog one could clean endlessly. If there isn't remnants of a meal from a given child, there is a mess of dog drool and hair. Not that I don't love my pup! I wonder how some people get it all done. I have decided that you just have to let some things go. How do you do that? Well, that is another story. Recent events have taught me that life is just really too short. It is a phrase we use, but it takes on new meaning when you think that someone or something will be there forever. In this disposable society, we take things and people for granted each day. I know that there is not enough time each day, but this is the time I leave the dishes in the sink and go play with my kids.

Tough outer shell

Here I go...I am about to start blogging. What can I say? I am the "complacent crab." I have the tough outer shell and I claim to have it all together in my life. Really, I do my best, but let's be real. I have a personal mantra, "It CAN Be Done" just to get by each day. I have the shell to protect me, but the mushy and sensitive inside can get the best of me. As I crawl through life that sometimes waves by like the sea, I can give some insight to my quest to learn more about being a better Mom, educator and woman in this crazy world.