Running On Empty...Already!

It is the third week of school. Usually the year builds up and things start to generate into a nice roll. Not this year. We began with unusual circumstances and I was behind at work before things really began. So many things to begin and all at once. It always gets done, but it is the urgency of the work and deadlines. The kids are feeling the same with instant demands. Thankfully, all three children go to a school with mandatory recess. Don't we all need that sometimes???
I need some recess to blog, chill out and enjoy my daughter learning to tie her shoes. Sorry for the minute of relaxation...the demands of my kids return. Playdates...watch me...screaming over homework.....Is it Friday yet?

First Days of School

There has been so much going on....L. is off to Kindergarten. She did great the first morning. She did not look back and was beaming. I was OK. I was weepy, but I did not do the "ugly cry." That was good. I think I was cried out. Anyhow, she is having more trouble on subsequent mornings, I think, from exhaustion. She is not a morning gal. A bit crabby...like her mom. The boys seem to like their new teachers and kids with them. We are off to a busy start!

Great-Grandpa

While we were gone, Great Grandpa passed away. He was only sick for about two weeks. I thought we really had more time. I think that in a way it was what he would have wanted. He did not want to be in pain or in a nursing home after he saw what Grandma went through. We will miss him and he had a bond with the kids. It is hard to believe he is gone. He was always there- a constant. Even though you know something like this might happen, it is still hard. He had a great life. I hope that I was able to honor him in a eulogy I read at his funeral. He was so proud to be a Purple Heart Marine-he just attended a reunion August 14th. He taught us the Marine principles of courage, honor and hard work. One day recently, I was thinking that if he had not survived both Malaria and being wounded in action, that our family would not be here. Grandpa was the definition of tough. He never all his life felt pain. Perhaps that was a blessing. You are a huge part of who we are, Grandpa, and I hope we can honor you in our lives.

Cape Cod Adventure

Last week we embarked on a new adventure: the family vacation. We went with friends of ours to a house in Hyannis...on the Cape. It was a beautiful place with so much to see. It looks like a small litte loop, but it is so much bigger. The beaches were beautiful and calm. The views were spectacular. It was a fun 11 hour trip down as we picked up Catie and Abbie, our friends' teenage daughters, from a running camp in PA. The looks you get when you have five kids. That is what we got when we went to McD's and forked over about 40 bucks. People stopped and stared at our psuedo-large family. I cannot imagine it. We staying in a gorgeous "cape" style house right down the street from the Kennedy Compound and not far from Squaw Island where Maria and Gov. Arnold were staying for the holiday weekend. We did some Kennedy "stalking" and walks to the post office. We did see Teddy and his son on the boat dock. The kids saw the paparazzi stalking for real-lawn chairs and big lenses. We had a monster lobster bake at the house, a "tour" of Cape Cod potato chips, lots of shopping, a trip to Martha's Vineyard on the ferry, eating lots of "lobsta," and lots of family time, laughs and fun. There was even an appearance by the now infamous "Cape Cod Man." He serves a mean stinger.

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?