The arrival of Little Bill

For those who don't read my brother Mike's blog....his wife Katharine gave birth to their second son yesterday. William Burnet joins big brother James Dalton, 2 years and 2 weeks after
James arrival. Think what great playmates they will be!

We are thrilled to hear the good news, and look forward to seeing them all this Fall. In the meantime, these pictures I swiped from their blog will have to suffice.

Super Stool

I was half joking when I mentioned to my father that it would be nice to have a stool for the bathroom that is twice as long, so both Michael and Emily could stand on it together. A few days later he called and asked me for measurements, and tonight, he brought this over.


Not only practical, but a well made work of art as well. And signed and dated by the craftsman to boot.

Here they are giving it a test run. They loved being able to get to the sink. I have tried to use the stool we have, but neither one wants to wait their turn, so I gave up. This stool solves that problem. Right after these pictures were taken, they brushed their teeth together. This will definitely help in our quest to be out the door at 9am on school mornings.

Thanks Dad, I know the kids will enjoy this for years to come. And thanks to Mom as well, the creamed chicken was delicious. As we were eating, she reminded me that creamed chicken was the dish Michael always chose for his birthday dinner. Bill's was Shrimp Cantonese and mine was Chicken Continental when I was younger, but now is Mom's pork roast with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and gravy. Yum, makes my bday in 2 months almost something to look forward to! Anyone else remember their birthday dinner?

Battle Royale

That is what I feel like Sophie and I had this morning. She cannot fathom that she is allowed to wear sandals to school, in her mind she MUST WEAR SNEAKERS. Yes, that was the rule at preschool, but in Kindergarten, you do not have to wear sneakers except on PE days. You might consider wearing sandals, they do look cute with a skort. Today was picture day, and I gave her 2 choices of what she could wear. Nope, none of them looked good with sneakers. After her whining about it, and me trying to compromise with other outfits, which for various reasons she wouldn't wear, I gave up. By this time is was 6:15, and we still had to eat breakfast, get dressed and leave for the bus in the next 30 minutes. So, I channeled some of what my mother would have told me:

"This is what you are wearing, stop the whining and let's go eat breakfast."

"But Mommy, I don't like it!"

"I didn't say you had to like it, I just said you had to wear it."

Wow, she did not like that at all. Slammed her bedroom door and shot down the stairs, muttering, "my mother is such a pain, she never lets me do what I want!"

She sort of turned a corner at breakfast, and we joked some and things got better. But then, we went upstairs to get dressed. Again, the whole sneaker debate. I refused to argue, just repeated that you can wear sandals, and we can pack your sneakers for the playground. Then, I pulled out a red bow for her hair. That was the final straw.

"I am not wearing a bow, no way, I hate that bow!"

Mind you, it is a small bow, attached to a barrette that she would be wearing anyway.

"You can take the bow off and put it in your backpack after you have your picture taken, but for the picture, I want the bow on."

We had a pretty silent walk to the bus stop, and when we arrived the first thing Lily's mother Karin said to her was, "Sophie I love your outfit and your bow, you are going to look great for your picture."

Very begrudgingly she said, "Thank you. I didn't want to wear the bow, but my mother made me" All the while frowning at me.

Then her friend Bella showed up, in a dress, a dress God forbid, how can you play in that?? (Bella and Lily wear dresses every day, except when they have PE, Sophie is amazed by this.) Not only a bow in her hair, but a bow that her mother had made to match her dress. See Sophie, you could have it worse, you really could.

The Big Wide World

Michael and Emily took on a whole new world today, one that their sister left behind as she entered her new world of Kindergarten. Today was their first day of Mother's Morning Out. Being the sign queen, I of course, had to make them for one just like I did for Soph 4 years ago:
We started with the most important meal of the day:

Michael was willing to pose with the sign; Emily just wanted to get her hands on the camera. Then she found Michael's discarded cup to play with, and she was done with the posing.

Michael is really becoming a ham, and will even say "geez" when you take his photo.

This next is really just to show you how crappy our lawn has become, thanks to the drought, and the recent 100 degree temps. Even running the sprinkler system right now is an exercise in futility, and a waste of money. If God wants my lawn green, He can send some rain!

But I digress. I wasn't sure how they would do this first morning, but I needn't have worried. While waiting for the doors to open (yes, we were one of the first to arrive, along with my friend Sharon, also a mother of twins, go figure) Emily stood on her tip-toes and tried to open it herself. Once the secretary unlocked and opened it, Emily bolted in and took off down the hall. Michael preferred to check out each classroom along the way. When we got to their room, Miss Marsha bent down to greet them. Emily walked past her to see what was in the room, but Michael gave her a hug, which was unexpected. Once in the room he realized I was leaving, and started to back out the door, but Miss Marie distracted him with a "cuck" (truck) and that was all it took. By this time Emily was sitting at the table playing with a puzzle. Marsha looked at me and said "ok, scoot" which I did. Pretty painless. I think being the first kids to arrive helped, there was no one else clinging or crying, which is contagious.

I arrived about 2 minutes early to pick them up, and they were the only ones left in the classroom. Marsha told me all the other moms got there about 15 minutes early, and that set off most of the kids, but M and Em didn't cry at all. I was pretty impressed by that. So, it looks like we are off to a great start.

After a well deserved nap, the fun continued: And not to be left out, here is Sophie last Friday checking out her Sally Foster catalog. She is wearing her "spirit wear" which she was excited about, and her cheeks are rosy from the hot bus ride and walk home. She is still struggling with getting up in the mornings, still very tired, and still very disagreeable and prone to falling apart when she gets home. But, she is doing fine in the classroom, and that is what is important right now. As long as she is holding it together at school, learning to hold it together at home will come in time. I hope.

I've arrived

I have officially arrived as the mother of a school age child: Today Sophie brought home the Sally Foster packet. Or as she told me, "Mom, we are selling Harry Foster, and you can get prizes and stuff. They have wrapping paper, chocolate, and even toys. Can we buy some Mom, can we??" This was said with the most excitement I have heard all week.

All the neighbors that we have bought from for the last 10 years, watch out. Sophie will be paying you a vist VERY soon!