First Day of School

Well, I won't say that either one of us was jumping for joy, but we made it through the first drop off of the year without any tears.

There was a moment, right before we said good-bye, when both of us were blinking back tears, but since Andy managed to be brave, so was I.

The real test, of course, will be how he feels about going back tomorrow. I'm hopeful we can get through this school year without any tearful good-byes.

Though watching him walk away with his lunch bag in tow really pulls at my heart strings, so I can't make any promises.

Postponement

We've been busy trying to soak up the last bit of summer vacation before Andy's school starts Monday.

Check back then for some First Day of School pictures - I'll be the one weeping in the background.

Favorite Foto Friday - Ingenious

After 10 minutes of spinning in circles like a dog chasing his tail, one of my sons came to me and said "I have an idea! You take a picture of my butt - that's how I can see it!"

Obsession with butts aside, I've got to hand it to that one, he's a pretty awesome problem solver.

Too Soon to Laugh

I just hung up the phone with the sound of Chris's laughter ringing in my ears. My reaction to the news I'd shared with him was somewhat less enthusiastic.

On the heels of their newly won privilege to play upstairs by themselves, our charming, delightful, creative "big boys" decided they no longer require my assistance to change Aidan's dirty pull-up. Clued into the fact that mischief was being made by the sound of giggles of the "I can't believe we're doing this" variety, I went upstairs to discover my children had taken off Aidan's pull-up, emptying no less than half its content onto the floor of my bathroom and were using the knife from their kitchen set and a plastic bat to scoop it up and throw it in the general vicinity of the toilet. Following my shriek of horror, Andy glanced up mid-scoop and said innocently "What Mom? Poop goes in the potty." As I entered to further examine the scene of the crime, I slipped on the dirty toilet water covering the floor and nearly fell on my face. It was then, when Aidan reached out his hand and said "Careful Mama!", that I saw the poop stuck to his fingers.

The next moments were a blur, I think my brain is already trying to block the details from my memory, but I somehow got the kids, bathroom and myself cleaned up just as Chris was calling to tell me he was headed home.

Of course he thought the story was hilarious. He's not the one that had to clean it up.

What I Learned on my Summer Vacation

Aidan successfully uses the potty about 50% of the time, but has a 100% success rate when allowed to go in the ocean.

Andy will sit quietly for 6 hours straight if Deigo's Iguana Rescue Sing-Along DVD is playing on a continuous loop.

Kids get sand stuck between their toes, in their ears and every other place imaginable...as well as some places that defy the imagination.

If Aidan gets salt water in his mouth, no problem, he'll spit it out, but sand is so delicious it's not only worth eating once on accident but then licking off sea shells every time the opportunity presents itself in the future.

It is possible for me to go 7 days without Starbucks...but after my first sip this morning I realized the truth to that saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder".