Indigo Girl

Summer

I washed E and L's school uniforms last week and now their closet has a little section of polo shirts and pleated skirts.  L's are almost all pink - her choice - while E picked a variety of colors, mostly orange.  L was concerned about the lack of fanciness of her uniforms and wondered if she could wear her jewelery to school.  I talked up the pleats on her jumpers and skirts and pointed out the ruffles on some of her shirts.  So fancy! 

The summer is going by fast - their school starts the first week of August and we still have a week of Zoo Camp, a week of vacation with my family, and a week of VBS at my in-law's church to get through.  We're at the Y almost every day, have made the rounds to all the parks, and swam in my in-law's pool.  We've walked to the ice cream store, played in our sandbox, and blown bubbles in the backyard.  During the excessive heat of the day or the cold rainy days, we've snuggled on the couch and watched Wall-E and Super Why.  It's been a great summer thus far.

A few weekends ago, we had 2 extra kids for 48 hours.  It was fun having a 7-year-old boy, triplet 5-year-old girls, and an almost 2-year-old.  Aside from mealtime, it was pretty easy since they kept themselves entertained.  We had a pizza and movie night on the second night and our guests chose The Music Man.  We kept The Jungle Book on standby, sure that they would get bored in the first few minutes.  Nope - all 4 older kids watched the entire three hour musical.  It was my mom's favorite musical and I can easily recite the dialogue and songs from start to finish, so it did my heart good to see my kids enjoying it. 

C has entered that stage where A and I look at each other multiple times a day and ask, "Did you know she could say that word?"  She's using plenty of 2 word phrases right now ("Daddy sit" "Cha-Cha's drink" "La-la's shoes"), so I'm less worried about her verbal skills.  At our last visit, our ped said as long as she was using 2 word phrases by 2, she was within the range of normal.  She's 2 months shy of her 2-year birthday (!) and nicely average.

We walked to the park Sunday and E spent 15 minutes picking up trash.  Part of me was all "Yay! Our values are sinking in!" and part of me was thinking, "Ewww! Is that an empty beer can my baby is touching?"  A commented, "Why can't she do this at home? Why doesn't our house have to be clean before she can play in it?"

Seriously, I have nothing frustrating/hilarious to discuss with you.  My job is going well - I like my coworkers, management, my patient population, my health insurance, and my paycheck.  My husband and kids are cute and cause me normal periods of exasperation or giggles.  I'm reading various smutty books.  My scale has moved a few pounds in the right direction since I added an extra workout per week and my friend is going to teach me an hour long medicine ball workout that she says is killer.  There is no drama and I have no complaints about that, but it does make for some boring blogging.

Vacation

Oh my.  We were on vacation last week, but I didn't tell you ahead of time, did I?  We went to my friend's parent's cottage and had a blast!  Well, there was a bit of an issue because my friend spent most of her time looking fabulous in freaking bikini and then we found out E is severely allergic to mosquitoes when her body was covered with welts and her face swelled up, but it was still fun.  Every day we swam and played and took the pontoon boat to get ice cream.  Then we put our kids to bed and cracked open a bottle of wine and got chatty.

This week my kids are going to a half-day day camp.  It's at one of those gross motor skill places - there are trampolines, a climbing wall, foam pits, rope swing, etc.  I went on the preschool field trip there and had as much fun as the kids.  They start at 9 and end at noon.  The first morning we were waiting in a group of kids and when the door opened, the kids suddenly evaporated.  No "Goodbye Mom!", no hug, no kiss . . . just gone.  I guess they're over separation anxiety.  I picked them up three hours later and asked what they did.  The mutual review: "We played. I'm hungry!"  They were exhausted and spent a large chunk of quiet time on the couch, staring into space.  L complained, "It was too long!" but she willingly zipped in again the next morning.  When I arrived a bit early to pick them up, I watched E jumping down the long trampoline and L playing Duck, Duck, Goose.

Speaking of E, we walked to the ice cream parlor last weekend and on the way back, she took a nasty spill off her bike.  At first I thought she was being excessively whiny, but when her right elbow was more than twice the size of her left elbow the next day, I took her in for an x-ray.  There was no break, but our pediatrician was impressed with the degree of sprain.  We let her go free for a few days, but she looked so pathetic hugging her arm to her side all the time that I bought her an elbow brace.  She's still wearing it more often than not and the elbows are JUST starting to look similarly sized (12 days post injury).

Saturday morning I sent A an email before leaving for work.  It said,

"If Lucy seizes and dies today, it's because she ate an entire bag of chocolate chips and an almost complete bag of peppermint patties." 

Neither of those are too awful - they were milk chocolate chips - but I figured she'd have an upset stomach.  He emailed back later and said,

"She's acting fine, however she did leave a puke pile on the hardwood floors approximately the size and shape of a newborn calf.  There was maybe a quarter pound of fine milk chocolate in there.  It was really really gross.

The pile was full of Peppermint Patty wrappers, so I am well apprised of her stupid eating choice."

She then proceeded to puke three more times (inside! He didn't put her outside because he kept thinking, "Well, THAT'S got to be the last of it! There's no way she can puke MORE.") before being done.  I was so glad that I was at work.  I hate vomit.

P.S. Guess who I saw in concert? Here is a clue:



We went with the same friend (and her husband) that I just went on vacation with.  She and I got there early to save seats since it was a sold out venue with general seating.  We arrived about 20 minutes before the gates opened and it was about 100 degrees (NOT AN EXAGGERATION) and humid.  Here was the line:



I could feel the beads of sweat running down my back.  I would wipe the sweat off my face and almost instantly have a sweat mustache.  It didn't cool down until about an hour into the concert.  She and I drank all the drinks we packed almost immediately and then had to call her husband to pick up water on his way so as to avoid paying the exorbitant price for concert bottled water.

Anyway, I generously inquired as to whether she would like me to name each song and the album it was from immediately or if I should give her a chance to guess.  Later, she asked me which one was Amy.  Obviously, we are dealing with different levels of fandom.

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

It's been three years since you died and you've missed so much.  I feel kind of stupid writing you a letter - a letter on my public blog that you'll never see - but I find myself wanting to talk to you and I don't have any other way. Sometimes I drive by the cemetery where your ashes are, but I don't feel any tie to it.  I know those ashes are not you.

E and L are 5 now and so much fun.  I took a picture of them the other day and wow! E looked just like you in the picture.  I mentioned it to A and he said he had been thinking the same thing.  Their other grandparents take them a lot for sleepovers and fun activities.  While I'm so glad for that relationship, I feel the emptiness where your relationship with them should be.  They don't know they're missing sleepovers and fun with you, too, but they are.

Lately, L has been showing how much she's like me.  Remember how I used to talk about my Halloween costume months in advance?  I used to want to discuss next Halloween on November 1 and it drove you crazy.  You'll be glad to know that L has been discussing her Halloween costume since last November 1.  She is a born planner and is already making requests for her 6th birthday party.  It's driving me just as crazy as I drove you.

E is so like you in temperament.  She is so kind and gentle and accepting with pockets of stubbornness that catch me off guard.  Every night, C climbs into bed with her (since she's on the bottom bunk) and they snuggle up together.  They share a pillow and cuddle under the covers.  Eventually, I have to peel C out of there with promises of her own pillow and pacifiers, but E always sighs, "I wish she could sleep with me."  This is promising, since it's part of our future plan!

It makes me so sad that you've never met C.  She's almost 2 and doing all the regular 2-year-old stuff - equal parts infuriating and charming.  She calls herself "Sha-sha" and I have to restrain myself from eating her whole whenever I hear her say it.  I finished changing her diaper the other day and we started upstairs for naptime, but we had to stop and say bye-bye to everything: "Bye-bye shoes! Bye-bye, E! Bye-bye, L! Bye-bye books!" and on.  I know she would adore you and all your silly old lady shirts with the Noah's ark theme or glittery animals.  You would be equally under the spell of her blue eyes and pigtails and buck teeth.

A and I are doing well, too, Mom.  I know you always said that you couldn't have chosen better spouses for your kids, that you loved your sons/daughter-in-law just like you loved your own children, and I want you to know that your love wasn't misplaced.  A is a wonderful husband and father and I know he misses making us laugh, just to watch us silently wheeze together, tears streaming down our faces. 

I love you, Mom, and I miss you.  I will always love and miss you.

Vegas!

Our new school's year round schedule is already proving to be a winner.  We have a week off at the end of September and A and I are planning our first post-babies/no babies vacation: Las Vegas!  We'll leave on a Saturday morning, drive to my brother's, and fly out from there.  He and my SIL are going to watch our kids for a few days while we do touristy things.  My kids will enjoy the spoiling by older cousins and adults who (conveniently) have forgotten how much work small children are. 

I'm starting to look for tickets and hotels and shows to see.  A wants to play some poker.  We want to have a fancy dinner or two.  We have the option of doing GROWN-UP THINGS without thinking about naps or diaper changes or how to keep a child entertained.  I will carry a purse instead of a diaper bag, read a book uninterrupted, feed ONLY myself . . . and I will probably think about my kids the entire time I'm there and miss them terribly.  Then I will lose my patience with them minutes after I return.  Isn't that just the way it is?

I am betting some of you have been to Vegas and can tell me what to do, what to avoid, etc. Please, share your knowledge.  My brother has recommended The Blue Man group (which I already wanted to see), Cirque de Soleil, the wax museum, and the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  I will also take recommendations for fun and (preferably) sexy books that I can read by the pool while A plays poker.

Stepping It Up

I had planned on stepping up my workouts this summer when E and L were out of school and our schedule was a bit more open.  Unfortunately, it seems like vacations and doctor's appointments and various other commitments are going to interfere.  Now my goal is to maintain and finally use my four free personal trainer sessions, courtesy of my work.  Our year round school starts August 5, so I'll move my upgrade to then. 

(Mainly, I want to upgrade because the scale hasn't moved in months.  I am trying - really - to ignore the scale and concentrate on the way I feel and how my clothes fit and muscle weighs more than fat, yadda.  But it would be a lot easier to ignore that number if I liked it, you know?  I thought maybe adding one extra workout per week would start it moving in the right direction again.  I certainly don't want to do anything crazy like give up wine or chocolate!)

I had an ego boost recently when I saw a friend for the first time in about 2 years and he practically had to pick his jaw up from the floor when he saw me.  There were effusive compliments and gestures and looking up and down my body . . . it almost crossed the line to inappropriate now that I think about it.  And then, because he's goofy, he looked around and pretended like my overprotective, prone to violence husband was about to wrestle him to the ground for his exuberance.  And if any of you actually know A, the thought of him being overprotective and prone to violence just made you laugh out loud.  Anyway, I don't see such a dramatic difference, but I see myself every day and without a nice, supportive bra.  Who am I to dismiss a compliment?

I love the friends I've made in my classes.  One has become a good friend - we're going on vacation together (with our kids) next week! - but even just the see-them-in-class friends are fun.  I'm F-book friends with some of them and we check on each other ("Are you able to walk today?!") and keep each other accountable ("Missed you last week! Where were you?").  The classes I take have a really good vibe: lots of energy, a let's kick ass! feeling that pumps me up.  (I can't believe I just said "pumps me up."  Sorry.)

So, forever ago I asked my friend to recommend a female trainer at the Y.  Then my phone phobia caused months of procrastination and when I finally called to set up an appointment, I found she was moving out of state.  Dammit.  I floundered for a bit and then received a tip that my favorite weight class instructor started taking PT clients.  Yay!  Of course, then there was the Phone Issue again, but I found her email address on a Y newsletter and successfully avoided the phone.  Score!

I told her that I wanted to learn a few hour long cardio/strength workouts to do when group classes aren't convenient.  I also told her that I have only been working out for a year, but I want to push myself.  She told me that first there would be a TEST (!) and a light workout and then we would get down to business during our second session.

First, there was a basic health assessment: blood pressure, height/weight, and a bunch of questions to see if I might drop dead with physical exertion.  Then she did a strength test where I had to pull up on a bar as hard as I can.  My bicep strength is high average (54 lbs).  If I could get to 57 lbs, I'd be in the good range.  Then came the fun part: PINCHING MY FAT.  She took measurements from my chest, under my scapula, thigh, armpit, ABDOMEN (um, that was definitely the biggest measurement), tricep, and hip.  It gave me my body fat percentage and set a body fat and weight goal for me.  The weight goal corresponds to my personal weight goal, although mine is about 5 lbs more.  The computer recommended that I lose 15-20 more lbs in the next 25 weeks.

Somehow the computer also figured out that my lean body mass will burn 1730 calories at rest (basal metabolic rate) and 519 calories through routine daily activities.  To meet the goal of losing 20 lbs in 25 weeks, it recommended that I eat 1845 calories per day and do three 30-minutes cardio workouts and two strength training sessions per week.  I almost squealed when I read all that info - I love numbers!

I did a 3 minutes cardiovascular test where I used a step (like from step aerobics) with 4 sets of risers under it.  I had to step up and down in time to a ticking device she had.  Then she recorded my heart rate (147), had me rest for a minute, and recorded it again (101).

I got a mini-lecture on working outside my target heart range or in the 80-90% so often.  I asked what I should do - I mean, I'm going to the fitness classes and working hard.  Isn't that what I'm SUPPOSED to do?  She hemmed and hawed, but essentially, if I notice my heart rate staying elevated, I should stop or at least take it down a notch until I recover.  I've been pretty proud of how often I am working in the hard zone, but I guess I shouldn't be.  I should be aiming more for medium for the majority of my classes. 

She walked me through some weight training, but the assessment part took up most of the session.  I'll see her again in two weeks and we'll get to work. 

More School! This Time With Much Less Fretting!

So, we are still on the waiting list for our 1st choice school and have started the admission process of choice #2.  Here's the thing: choice #2 is rapidly becoming choice #1, so now my worry is this:

If we get into choice #1 over the summer, do we switch?  I mean, it's great to have the choice between two good schools, but I think it's easier if I DON'T have the choice.  I don't want to be an obsessive second guesser.  ("OH NO!" you reply, "Why would you think you were being OBSESSIVE?")

A, once again with the sensible-ness, said, "Why don't we wait until we get into choice #1 before we decide?"  But, sweetheart, then what will I FRET about?!

Okay, but seriously, choice #2 is panning out quite nicely.  A few things I like about it:

1. Diversity.  There are lots of kids with different skin colors at this school.  It is as diverse as choice #1 and much more diverse than the early eliminated choice #3.  This is a huge reason I still live in the city and haven't left for the suburbs. I liked that I saw a girl wearing a hajib to gym class and I heard parents speaking languages other than English.  Making sure our kids are exposed to a lot of different people is a huge priority for us.

2. Uniforms.  I think (?) uniforms might be contr0versial.  Oh well, I've always liked the idea.  I never had the right clothes in school - my parents were wealthy, but sensibly frugal, and I did not have Guess jeans or Polo shirts (did I just date myself?).  I like the idea of a level playing field when it comes to clothes.  The uniform policy is quite liberal: any color solid top with a collar, tan/black/navy pants/skirt/jumper/shorts, and brown/black/navy/maroon shoes.  There are a few other things like no hats, no hair that is not a natural color, skirts of the appropriate length, etc, but those don't really apply to us.

A says he likes the theory of uniforms, but he instinctively bristles at the thought of a uniform policy.  He's not sure why.  I think he will get over it, especially as our girls get older and he sees the clothing choices change.

3. Year round school.  Basically, they go to school the same number of days as anyone else, they're just scheduled differently.  There's about 7 weeks off in the summer with a lot more vacations throughout the year.  I looked at the schedule and it looks like a week off for Labor Day, another week in October, a week at Thanksgiving, 2.5 weeks at Christmas, a week at the end of February, 1.5 weeks at Spring Break, and a few long weekends spaced throughout.  My friend whose kids go to a year round school says she loves taking vacations at off-peak times and she loves the shorter summer.  It's long enough to do stuff, but not long enough for them to get bored.  This year their school is done June 16 and we start on August 5.

4. This school feeds into a charter high school which takes a TON of the pressure off re: moving.  We could conceivably avoid our poor public schools through high school graduation even if our kids don't get into the local magnet public high school.

I think if it wasn't for the distance (about 10 minutes of drive time versus walking distance), I would take our names off choice #1 and just proceed with choice #2.  I honestly have no idea what we'll do now if we get into choice #1.  AND the walking distance won't count after next year since choice #1 is going to be moving to a distance equal to a bike ride or 5 minute car ride.

We went for the kindergarten screening last week.  E and L were both declared ready and they got a school backpack as a result (A was THRILLED to add two more bags to our huge collection).  The teachers mentioned that they knew our preschool and it was an excellent one (woo! validation!) and then marked each girl down because they wrote their name in all capitals instead of only capitalizing the first letter.  I let it go, but I wonder how many kids are doing that at the beginning of kindergarten?

When I say "marked down," I just mean that that box was checked as "needs work."  Not like they were criticized or anything.  I wasn't allowed to be there for the screening, but E and L told me they had to jump on one foot with their eyes open and then closed and then played a few number/color games.  I expect there was a bit more than that, but it only took about 15 minutes.

Yesterday we went to a kindergarten meet-and-greet.  My friend, Karen, was kind enough to watch C for me because while she is a nice kid, she is DISTRACTING, especially when I am trying to focus on something else.

We walked into the office to find out where we were going and the secretary greeted us by name (and she said L's name correctly).  The kindergarten teachers also knew the names of many of the kids (including mine).  That is a huge positive - it must have been a lot of work - and made a very good impression on me.

E and L will be separated for kindergarten, but when I asked, the teachers told me that the kindergarten classes do a lot of activities together.  At the time of the meeting, their classes were all in gym together.  I think seeing each other during school hours will ease the transition for them, so I was glad to hear that.  They made friends with the other kids who toured the school with us and then organized a game of hide-and-seek outside while the parents finished getting their questions answered.  It was great to see them adapt so easily to new people.  The other parents seemed interested and engaged - I think I could connect with several of them.

Honestly, you'd think I would be used to having my big plans changed by now, wouldn't you?  I was NEVER going to be in the medical field - I was going to be a JOURNALIST and now look at me.  I NEVER thought I'd have infertility problems and look how awesomely that turned out.  I was NEVER going to live in or near my hometown and um, hello hometown! You are just 20 minutes away!  My carefully thought out and worried about plans have been changed right and left throughout my life.  This appears to be just one more change where I'll look back and sigh, "Thank goodness someone else was in control!"

Par-tay!

I spent last week doing last minute birthday party planning!  We had our first official friends party (as opposed to just family).  E and L each invited a friend from school plus a few family friends - about 10 kids total (including my 3) and 7 adults.

We started with tattoos.  That was a HUGE hit at their 3 year party and it gives kids something to do while waiting for everyone to arrive. 

A and our friend, Juanito, were in charge of games.  E and L requested lots of basic games: Duck, Duck, Goose, tag, hot potato, dancing and then freezing when the music stops, Red Light Green Light, Hide And Seek, Simon Says, Drop The Clothespin In the Milk Bottle, etc.  We didn't have time to play them all, but they were able to run through a nice sampling.  I had hours of games available since it was rainy that day and I wasn't sure if we would be stuck inside.

The party started at 5, so after a half hour of games, we moved to presents and then food.  It was kid-friendly food: pizza bagels, fruit, cheese/veggies/crackers/dips and, of course, cupcakes.  I had Superman plates/cups, princess plates/cups, and little rings of each to put on top of the cupcakes (which came from Costco and were delish).  Some of the adults stayed, so I made a batch of this awesome sangria to go along with lemonade.

And that's it!  Low key and informal.  Since we were in the basement and then outside, I didn't even have to thoroughly clean my house!  That's definitely a win.

The kids (except poor Houston) had fun and we are now a 4 Barbie household so you all know how happy L is.  She told A (kind of shyly, like she wasn't sure if this thought was okay) that she "likes Snow White's boobs," and then added, "I like how they point."  He was all calm and "Oh, that's nice," but then we giggled together later. 

I tried to keep my mind on the party, but I was completely distracted by the fact that I was three-quarters of the way through the third Twilight book and could NOT stop thinking about it.  I forget if I've talked about the Twilight books before, but here is my review: not really good writing, but strangely compelling teenage angst.  When I'm asked if someone will like them, I ask first, "Were you ever a teenage girl who LOVED a boy so much that the rest of the world disappeared when he was around?"  If the answer is no, then you probably won't be impressed.  If the answer is yes, then OMG, YOU NEED TO READ THESE BOOKS.  It brings back so many memories of high school and while I would never want to go back there, those overwhelming feelings of new love are a pleasant memory.

A just laughs at me when I asked him, "Do you love me like Edward loves Bella?"  Obviously, HE was never a teenage girl.

The day after the party, my in-laws took E and L to see a local production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  L wore her flower girl dress (ha ha! she provides us with so much amusement!) and they both enjoyed the play.  They were given candy bars on the way out and L's had a Golden Ticket in it - she received a boatload of candy and 2 tickets to the fall production of Sleeping Beauty.  It was a huge WIN in her book.

So, all the worry over our bedroom situation was for naught.  We combined everyone into the same room ten days ago and it has been smooth sailing.  There were a few nights that C cried and fussed at bedtime, but it wasn't too long and E and L just ignored her.  E and L have each woken up one time and stumbled down the hallway to sleep in their sleeping bags, but that's not new.  If they wake up early, they can quietly leave the room and they haven't woken up C yet while doing that.  If they're all awake in the morning, they play next to her crib and keep her entertained until I come in to get her.  I expected to have more bumps along the way, but so far it's pretty much perfect.

Five Years Old

Every year my kids get older and I think to myself, "But I loved [insert previous age here]!"  And then I tell you that.  Here we go: I LOVED four.  Four has been quite an adventure as they are learning who they are and becoming more susceptible to outside influences (Hello, DISNEY PRINCESSES).

I love how independent four has been.  If L wants yogurt, she can open the fridge, pick out a yogurt, open the container, get a spoon, and eat it with relative neatness.  If E wants string cheese, she can get it and open it herself.  They can wash and dress themselves, brush their hair, and fasten their own car seat harness.  The three of us can pick up a messy house together without me guiding their every step.  We made stepping stones the other day and it was FUN, not stressful.  I let them frost their own birthday cake (L) and cupcakes (E) and they did a great job! They helped me bake them and they were actually helpful instead of "helpful."  When they want to do something themselves, they often can - I don't have to just watch them struggle for a few minutes before stepping in.  Do you know I can plop some peanut butter on a piece of bread and they can spread it, top it with another slice of bread, and cut their own sandwich?  I love it!

They're also old enough that we are letting them be up independently from us in the morning.  Now that all three girls are sharing a room, if E or L wake up early, they're allowed to play on the main floor of our house or in the basement.  They know they can't leave the house, use the stove, and to come get us if there's an emergency.

I also love how easy it is to leave them with other people.  They're able to clearly and politely communicate their desires and are so much easier to care for.  Overnights at my in-laws are easy-peasy.  If I drop them off at a friend's, I know they're able to fend for themselves.  They're not as vulnerable as infants and toddlers.  I've noticed how much easier it is to watch other 4/5-year-olds, too.  They do their own thing with minimal needs or help.

L: 44 lbs (75th percentile) and 45 inches tall (90th percentile).  She FLIPPED OUT at the doctor's office when it was time for her shots - kicking, screaming, etc.  We had to wrestle her onto the table and get more people to keep her from kicking the nurses in the face.  I get the feeling I should feel bad about that (the nurses asked me, "Are you going to be okay?"), but I only feel bad when my kids are in pain for no reason.  I believe the short-term pain from vaccinations is outweighed by the long-term gain, so I can cheerfully hold her down and comfort her later.  A tootsie pop helped.

L's girly-girl phase has not changed.  She still will only wear dresses - the fancier, the better.  Her favorite color is pink and she is growing her hair long "like a princess."  She also won't let me DO anything to it - I think she thinks it is hanging down her back like Ariel when in reality it is barely to her shoulders.  Sometimes she wears a headband or puts a dozen bows all over, but usually it swings free.  Her ginormous cowlick keeps it from hanging in her face.  One of my favorite compliments from her is when she said to me, quite kindly, "Mama, I love you even though you wear plain clothes."  It was quite a concession from someone who thinks more, bigger, PINKER is better.

She asked for jewelry for her birthday and received a jewelery box with a bunch of plastic necklaces and rings plus a dozen bangle bracelets.  This weekend we planted flowers and I was assisted by a 5-year-old in a halter dress wearing 2 necklaces, 2 bracelets, and 3 butterfly rings. 

She is well-rounded, though, in that she enjoys worms, caterpillars, and spent forever with a slug I found in our garden.  (It IS fun to touch their antennae and watch it pull away.)  She is great at riding her bike (still with training wheels) and has learned how to use the breaks.  She loves most of the sports we've played: swimming, basketball, soccer . . . I think rock climbing is the only exception; she'll only do it on a smaller wall.  The 2 story wall scared her.

She is really good at yoga and stunned my brother with her knowledge of the different positions and her flexibility.  Sometimes we ask her to stand in mountain position while we wash her face - it's the only way to get her to stand still!

L plows through life at full force - her confidence in herself is astounding.  I think she believes she's going to grow up to be a princess and you know what?  She just might do that.

E: 48 lbs (88th percentile) and 47 inches (99th percentile).  Was a trooper with her vaccines and only sobbed a bit.

E is still her same, sweet, gentle self.  She tends away from princesses, but loves Superheros.  (For the record, L does, too, and has requested to be Wonder Woman for Halloween.)  She loved her Superman t-shirts, lunch box, and backpack that she got for her birthday.  Once, I put all the kids in the car and then went back into the house for another load of stuff.  When I returned, E said to me, "We thought you had VANISHED!"  She then proceeded to outline an entire plot where Superman, Wonder Woman and someone else vanished and bad guys took their places.

She is so! good! with smaller children.  I wish I could describe it, but it's like she has some magical personality and small children are attracted to her.  We're not the only ones who have noticed - friends have commented on it as well.  She has such fun playing with younger kids and they adore her.  My sister's two boys are the same way and I love that E shares that trait.

E continues to tend toward being overly sensitive at times and a bit of a drama queen.  She has conveniently timed aches and pains.  For example:

Scene: Everyone is playing happily.

Parent: Let's go upstairs, brush teeth, and put PJs on!
E (collapses on floor): Oh! My legs hurt! I can't walk! (she convulses pitifully on the floor)

She shines in swimming lessons (she asked me if she could do a sport "with no running") and advanced from being a Pike to an Eel in one 8 week session.  I think it helps that she's so tall and can touch the bottom in more places than other kids her age.  It gives her confidence that she won't go under.  A said she was dog paddling at the end of last summer and she's definitely swimming (in an uncoordinated fashion) in her current lessons.

E also excels at puzzles.  She has the focus to finish 100 piece puzzles by herself in a short amount of time.  I can't get her to find the edge pieces first, put together the outside, etc, but I've backed off from that because whatever she's doing is working.

Woo!  This is quite a change, you guys, from preschool to school age kids.  It's a whole different stage of parenting and I am looking forward to the new challenges.

First/Last Day

I love to compare photos and marvel at how my kids have grown (which is kind of silly, isn't it? OF COURSE they grow.  What else do I expect?), so I added pictures of their first and last days of preschool over on my picture blog.

I called our first choice charter school today and we are up to #2 and #3 on the waiting list.  Apparently, they had 2 siblings of current students "pop in" - SO FRUSTRATING.  Obviously, siblings of current students get priority (and they had an abnormally high number of siblings apply this year), but why oh why couldn't those parents have submitted their paperwork on time so I don't have to ride this roller-coaster?  We're so close; it could easily go either way.  I had to bite my tongue to keep from offering this woman a bribe.  I was hoping not to have to go through all the admission stuff at our second choice school, but it looks like we'll have to move forward with that.  I think there is an excellent chance that someone will move or change schools during the summer and we will get in, but I don't want to count on it.  I think E and L will do okay if we tell them "This will be your school in the fall!" and then switch to "Oops! I mean THIS will be your school in the fall!" but I'd rather not have to do that.

There is a part of my personality that stresses over things I can't control.  I think we all do it to some extent, but I am constantly working to stop worrying/obsessing over things that are completely out of my control.  It makes sense in my mind: if my worrying does not SOLVE ANYTHING, why do it?  Why waste energy when it makes no difference in the outcome?  Do I enjoy this rock in my stomach?  No, I do not.  I try to be proactive (filling out the application for school, for example, and make the follow up phone calls despite my phone phobia), because nothing's going to happen if I sit around and pick my butt (except my butt will be clean).  I am a compulsive planner, though, so it's easy to cross the line between proactive actions and anxious worrying.  It's hard to stay on the mentally healthy side of the line.  I don't like how I act when I am preoccupied with worry.  I'm short tempered with m family, like, "WHY ARE YOU INTERRUPTING MY WORRYING WITH YOUR NEEDS?!"  You can imagine how much fun A and I had when we were going through infertility treatments.

Anyway, right now I am losing the anxiety battle, but I am working on it.  It will all work out one way or another.  I have several posts like these (Fretting Posts) and whenever I look back on them, I chuckle, pat my past self on the head, and murmur comfortingly, "You see?  It's all fine now, isn't it?  All that worry and energy wasted."

School + 2 Recipes

We are still waiting to see if we got into our first choice charter school and it is causing a constant, low level feeling of stress in my life.  I'll be going about my daily business and idly wonder, "Why do I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach?" and then I'll remember.  I want my kids to go to this school so badly.  It's our #1 choice by a huge margin.

We did get into #2 and #3, so we have a back-up plan if necessary.  I've filled out all the paperwork for our second choice and E and L are scheduled for their kindergarten screenings next week. 

Even though we had double the chances of everyone else, we still ended up #4 and #6 on the waiting list.  We quickly moved up to #3 and #4 and here we sit.  I called today - Friday was the last day for people who got in to mail their paperwork.  She has 5 families to call - as a courtesy - and confirm they don't want their position.  Then she'll start filling up those vacancies.  If at least 3 people flake/turn them down, we are in!  They limit their class size to 22 kids, but if they take one of our twins, they will make a class of 23 to take the other.

I know that my kids will be fine in whatever school they attend.  We'll be involved, they're smart and inquisitive - it'll all work out.  BUT I want this feeling in my stomach to go away.  I want to know YES or NO.  Are we going to our first choice or do I need to start readjusting my expectations?  I HATE that period of indecision when you're waiting for results, especially when you have no control and are at the mercy of the whim of others.  Gah.  *insert stomach flip-flops here*

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Chicken spaghetti does not sound appetizing.  Those two words shouldn't go together.  AND, with a few exceptions, I don't like casseroles.  The Pioneer Woman says that all her kids love it, though, so I decided to try it.  I used half a rotisserie chicken and half the pimentos called for (because: what are they? and what do they add?), low-fat cream of chicken soup (mushrooms are evil), and mild cheddar (my children won't eat sharp cheddar. WTF?).  Since I didn't cook my own chicken, I threw a bit of chicken broth in the spaghetti water (recommended in the comments).

I also completely missed the step where she adds chicken broth to the final mixture.  How did I miss that?  That's okay, because I think it would have been too soupy for us.  If we're going to eat a casserole, A and I prefer solid casseroles.  No runny, liquid-y mess, please.

I used 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper and it had a nice bite.  After I made it, I put it in the fridge and baked it the next day as I was getting ready for work.

Excellent!  I was eating it before I left for work and C found me.  She ate a couple bites off my fork and then sat in her high chair and downed a big bowl.  E and L were watching Madagascar 2 while I got ready for work, but A said they did not eat it.  He liked it though, enough to eat the leftovers that I was going to take to work last night.  I made myself a roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayo instead.  That's not very exciting, but I had some asiago cheese bagels to use instead of bread, so I forgave him.

My only complaint was that the onions were crunchy.  I don't mind crunchy green peppers, but I might saute the onions for a few minutes before adding them to the casserole next time.  Or should I dice them finer?  I'll try the easier method first.

I made Crash Hot Potatoes and OMG, you guys.  I ate two of them before they made it to the table.  They are perfect: crispy, salty, starchy goodness.  The downside is that they take up a lot of surface area on a cookie sheet and you have to bake them for 20-25 minutes, so you can't really take out one sheet and quickly cook another one in time for dinner.  I forgive them, though, because A and I were oohing and ahhing through the whole dinner.  A fistfight broke out over who got to eat the last one.  C didn't eat hers and I ate her leftovers, cold, right from her tray.  I will make these again SOON.