1st day of 1st grade!

Wow. First grade! I'm hoping the day goes well for R. New teacher, new classroom, new classmates. R will probably be tired when she gets off the bus from information/stimulation overload. I will be sure to have snack ready and waiting when she gets off the bus and I look forward to hearing about her first day!

I anticipated a tough morning but she was actually very calm and collected this morning. These are usually the mornings to expect many meltdowns from my first born but she really surprised me this morning -- in a good way! She had a very brief whiney moment before breakfast about what to eat, so I just told her I'd pick her breakfast and whereas that might normally be cause for her to flip out she actually went with the flow and didn't gripe. I feel like she has turned into a 1st grader overnight...or at least has some new-found maturity. She also had a short precursor to a meltdown when I asked her to get dressed because she couldn't find the dress she wanted and then decided against wearing it. I pulled a skirt/top combo out of the closet that she had forgotten about and all was well with her little world again. Second time we averted a meltdown. I was amazed!

She had some time to play with A this morning for about half an hour before we needed to go outside to wait for the bus. I'm sure that made them both happy - even if A did end up whacking R in the face with one of the not-so-small plastic houses. I can't say that R was completely innocent in that attack but I had to send A to time out three times yesterday for hauling off and whacking R for some reason or another. I don't like the mean streak I'm seeing in A these days. I hope they don't spill over into preschool, but I have a feeling that it's sibling related (at least that's my hope!).

I got all three girls ready to go wait for the bus and we went outside about 10 minutes ahead of schedule so that I could get a few pictures. I shouldn't have been so organized since the bus was 10 minutes late this morning. And it was cold out there. At least R had a sweatshirt on to keep her warm and cozy, but the rest of us got a bit more than chilled.

Here are a few choice photos from the morning:

Looking like such a big kid!

Flowers for the teacher.

They are so pretty - the girl and the flowers!

Sisters.


Mom, E and R waiting for the bus.


Here it comes! ("Who's driving?")


No fear! Not even too ruffled by the new (male) driver!


And just for comparison - here she is on the first day of Kindergarten:

When she got off the bus after her first day of kindergarten she came running up the front lawn to me where I was waiting on the front steps and yelled "I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!" I told her this story recently and she made this funny scrunched up face and said "I won't do that this year!" I asked why and she shrugged and acted embarrassed at the thought of her younger self exhibiting such exuberance. Then she said "I'll wait until I come in the house to tell you that."
So, with any luck, my mature first grader will come off the bus demurely, walk to the house with an air of restraint and upon entering will tell me "Mom, I LOVE FIRST GRADE!"

************************************
UPDATE: R had a great day at school and she likes her new teacher. She has a couple of friends from Kindegarten in her class and also knows one of the second grade kids from her bus. (As it turns out we got to meet Emmie, the second grader, when she and her dad came to drop off her little brother at my neighbor's daycare this afternoon. She seems like a really sweet and likeable kid! They live in our neighborhood and I think it would be great to have Emmie over for a playdate.) R was able to describe to me where her room is, where she sits, who 4 of the 5 kids she sits with are, and also a few things the class did today. The one snafu of the day was when her bus driver forgot to stop at our house to drop her off. At the time Rick and his dad where standing in the driveway waiting for her and I was standing on the other side of the circle with my MIL and A (who had been riding her bike). The guy just blew by our driveway and we had to hail him down...actually I think R was the one who finally caught his attention enough for him to stop finally. He stopped at the corner right where the circle ends and R go off the bus a bit teary-eyed. But, she quickly got over it and we had a good laugh about it later. I hope that incident jogs his memory and it won't happen again!

R likes being one of the 'big kids' in that she gets to go anywhere on the playground (the Kindergarteners are apparently restricted to one area) and she reported that since she has second graders in her class she got to sit in one of the "2nd grade seats" at lunch. Speaking of lunch, that was one of her main concerns - not having enough time to finish- but from the looks of her lunch it wasn't a problem and she said she had enough time. I am glad she didn't feel rushed.

I hope (and imagine) that A will have an equally exciting first day when she starts at preschool next week!

Tuesday Ten

My Top 10 reasons I know I am done having children...

10. I told Rick to go ahead with his "procedure" and happily drove him to his urology appointment.

9. I am so sleep deprived right now that my blood runs cold at the thought of postponing even further the day when all my children sleep through the night.

8. I am donating/consigning/giving away outgrown baby clothes and baby equipment without a second thought or backward glance and with a huge grin on my face. And I've got a huge bag of maternity clothes that I can't wait to clear out of my house!

7. I am making certain that there are no "oops" events by taking the dreaded hormones while we wait for Rick to get the 6-month post-procedure "all clear" from the urologist. I'm feeling the need to cover all possible bases.

6. We don't have space for another twin bed in the house! The older two share a decent-sized room nicely but the room that is E's nursery is much too small to share.

5. I'm already thinking ahead to the teenaged years and while the thought of three girls in the house is unnerving, the thought of four is truly nightmarish - and the thought of having a boy who has to deal with three hormonally- charged older sisters seems too cruel for words.

4. I turned 36 yesterday - 35 was my own somewhat random, personal childbearing age cut-off. I'm starting to feel too old to start at the newborn stage again - and it is starkly underlined when I post to the iVillage board for moms of October 2005 babies and realize that I'm one of the oldest moms on there and a lot of the other moms were not even born when got my braces off and started high school. Kudos to those who feel able to survive pregnancy and the newborn stage when they are in their late 30's or early 40's - thou art heartier than I! I am so glad that I was able to start and finish my family before I hit my arbitrary age.

3. Most days I feel pretty thinly spread with three - a fourth (or more!) would send me right over the edge! And did you know that the older you get the higher your chances are of having twins? Egads.

2. I can actually see a newborn and think they are cute without that twinge of needing one more of my very own (probably because I am well-acquainted with the darker side under the cute exterior) AND I can walk by a pregnant woman and feel only joy (for her and the fact that it is NOT me) with a little pity and little "btdt, got the tent-shirt" mixed in but absolutely no envy and no wishing I could be part of the "club" again. Ahhh- what a relief!

and the number 1 reason?

1. Well, it may sound like a bit of a cliche, a bit too pat or too easy an answer, but I just feel Done - yes, with a capital D. I don't even want to think about being pregnant again (the thought makes me a little bit queasy like the beginnings of first-trimester morning sickness) and I don't daydream about another bundle in my arms (perhaps because my third is still a bundle - albiet a rather large bundle). I can remember when A was close to turn a year and I was all misty-eyed, emotional and nostalgic for the baby days that were swiftly coming to an end. It was because I thought of her as my "last" - the possibility of a third seemed so remote at the time, but at the same time I did not feel done. I didn't want to accept that the baby days might really be over for me. But, Rick and I were getting pretty darn close to 100% agreement that two kids were plenty. However, then fate handed us a not-so-little fluke the late summer of 2004 - an ectopic pregnancy while I had an IUD! I had received a wake-up call that told me for sure that I was not, in fact, done. And lucky for me, Rick had a change of heart and agree that we could try for one more. And now I am a mom of three amazing little girls and I no longer have those niggling doubts about the status of our family and whether I would regret not having another child.

My little family is complete - and they are all completely wonderful!

Happy Birthday, dear Meeeee-eeeee!

Holy Crap. Another year come and gone.

My mother is not exactly sure of the time of my actual birth. I am the youngest of five, which is I guess an excuse of sorts for the lack of memory, baby book, and dearth of baby pictures of yours truly. One of the times I asked her to recall the time of my birth she said she remembers eating lunch at the hospital. Ummm, ok. Since I was an induced birth (fifth child, end of summer, not yet even due until early September but feeling every ounce of my 7.5# self weighing heavily on her bladder and pelvic cavity...can you blame her?) I would guess that she is probably right on the money with that memory. She probably arrived at the hospital for an induction in the early or mid-morning hours and due to the fact that I had four siblings who had paved the way nicely for me I probably shot out like a cannon well before lunchtime. But, regardless of my acutal time of birth (assuming, for the sake of argument that it really was late morning-ish), I think I'll just claim ignorance and say that I'm still 35 right until 11:59pm. I will wait until then to start admitting that I'm 36. Just call it a gift I'm giving myself, alright?

Shut up.

Acutally, 36 doesn't really feel all that different from 35. Except for the fact that on my 35th birthday I was 7.5 months pregnant with baby #3 and feeling a whole lot more tired, irritable, and bloated than I am this year. So, in many ways my own personal 36th feels a damn sight better than my 35th...even if I am still pretty tired one year later - now I'm getting up to soothe and nurse the baby not because that same baby's head is compressing my bladder into the size of half a lima bean. (Note to self/personal mantra: this too shall pass)

As birthdays go this was a very nice one. In fact, it lasted Saturday afternoon through Monday evening. I'm all about stretching out any celebration as long as possible so this was a good thing. Saturday night Rick and I had a wonderful date night and much to our collective relief the girls were perfect angels for my in-laws. Even Miss E (aka Miss-I-won't-sleep-without-mommy-in-the-room) went to sleep nicely...go figure! Sunday, after Rick made us all a yummy breakfast of waffles and sausages, I took the girls to church. Then in the afternoon the in-laws came over and stayed for my birthday dinner. When the girls were with my in-laws on Saturday night they made me a wonderfully silly cake. There is a family tradition (started by Rick's corny dad) whereby the home-baked cake is colored in unusual ways which is not discovered by the recipient until they cut into the cake. This tradition was in place when I first joined the family in their birthday celebrations but in the past few years it kind of fell to the wayside for a number of reasons (in part, because we've been too busy to bake and thus store-bought cakes have reigned for quite a while now). At my father-in-law's birthday dinner this year I made him a cake and the girls and I secretly colored it bright blue - much to his delight when he cut into it. And so the tradition was begun anew - my cake this year was a lovely shade of green with white icing and pink lettering. A very preppy cake indeed!

My multitude of gifts were also pretty wonderful this year. Rick ordered a miniature MP3 player for me but unfortunately it has not yet arrived from Office Depot - hopefully it will arrive soon, but in the meantime he gave me a picture of what it looks like! It's very small and if the printout is correct it is also blue...my favorite color. I plan to use it when I go on my morning walks solo -- which is not often but when I do have to walk alone it gets rather boring rather fast. So, the music will hopefully keep me moving and keep my mind off how far I've walked. Rick's parents got me a gift card to Target, a bunch of organizational supplies like post-its, funky colored paper clips, etc. (Yes, I'll admit it...I'm an organizational-store-junkie...I love to wander the aisles of Staples and look at all the neat new folders, bins, packages of pens, labels, staplers, and cool stuff like that) , AND a gift certificate to my favorite quilt shop. The sad part was my
mother-in-law found out that the local quilt shop (that I haven't had time to frequent in FOREVER) is closing in December. Ack! I'm crushed! I will have to go and use my gift certificate pronto for certain things that I want for A's quilt and then save some of the remainder for their big 'going out of business' sale!!! The girls got me some sewing bins to organize my spools of thread and supplies in my new sewing area (I gave Rick this idea the other day - see? I told you I was an organizational-junkie!) and a couple of new fabrics for my stash. And that's not all - I also got a check for $50 in the mail from my mom - yay, more spending money...and cash, no less! Am I a lucky birthday girl, or what? Time to go shopping!

Today, my actual birthday, Rick stayed home from work and we took the girls to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. We had never been but it's one of the museums that participates in the reciprocal program of the ASTC and we'd heard good things about it from a friend who also has young children. The museum is small but has some interesting and kid-friendly exhibits. I think it took us about an hour and a half to get through the majority of stuff that was interesting to the girls. The bug/art exhibit (Bug Out of the Box: Contemporary Art, History, and Science of Bugs) was big hit as were the miniature animal dioramas, the small basement aquarium, and the "Dinosaur Dig" but we unfortunately ended up skipping the art and sculpture galleries due to lack of interest in the under 5-foot-tall set. Ah well - maybe next time.

And this evening Rick and I rounded off the celebrations with another slice of birthday cake with a cup of tea while we watched another movie. Call me a sucker for the occasional horror flick but I just decided that of all the choices I had I wanted to watch Alien-Resurrection. I had actually never seen it before - we just threw it on our Netflix list and up it came this week. It wasn't great, but it certainly wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen.

So, that wraps up my weekend of celebrations. Time to head to bed and hope that E gives me one last present - the gift of sleep!

Nighty-night!

August Date Night

Now that the in-laws live around the corner we are going to try for a date night at least once a month. Even though they used to live just across town the logistics seemed a bit more daunting so the whole date thing didn't happen all that often. But, now with them so very close it is a cinch. We walk the girls over to the in-laws in the late afternoon and they stay there for dinner. While we are out on our date my in-laws feed them and then walk them back over here and get them to bed. They are even in bed not long after their usual bedtime. I was nervous about how things would go now that my in-laws are outnumbered - three kids to two adults - but the older girls promised to behave (and they did!) and even E was a model baby for the grands and went to bed without any trouble! Phew. It makes it that much more promising that date night might actually happen again in another month.

Last night's date night was my choice because it's the weekend before my birthday. :-) So, Rick and I talked about some options and I decided a hike would be a great thing to do before dinner since we haven't gotten out for any "real" hikes in a couple of years. These days we have to keep the hikes short and level (therefore no great views from mountaintops) with the girls otherwise we end up listening to whining and complaining more than half the time and it really defeats the whole purpose of getting out to enjoy nature. So, we picked one of the somewhat strenuous, yet relatively short, nearby hikes up to the top of Bare Mountatin - so named, I assume, because there are big , flat rocks and not a whole lot of vegetation at the top not because it is frequented by nudists or streakers (in any case, none that I've ever encountered). We used to hike Bare Mountain at least a few times a year because it is very close to home and it gives great view over the whole town - from the farm stand that has expanded into a much larger family-owned grocery not far from the base of the mountain to the University with it's very tall and quickly recognizable library tower and the clot of urban-inspired, high-rise dormitories in the middle of town to the Peace Pagoda located in a northern neighboring town and beyond -- I think it is even possible to see some of the Vermont hills on a clear day. I especially like the views on a crisp, clear, fall day when the leaves are at their peak color.

I have hiked this mountain in varying degrees of fitness starting in my early twenties. I started hiking in college as a completely out-of-shape couch potato who had to stop every minute and a half to appease my aching, liquified leg muscles (or lack thereof) and catch my breath. I used to think of Bare Mountain as this long, arduous hike but with a really nice view that made the ascent more than worth it. And now I am a somewhat trimmer mom in my mid-thirties, I have lots more hiking experience under my belt, a fair bit more muscle mass, I don't suffer from nearly the same amount of lactic acid burn in my thighs, and I don't need to stop to catch my breath quite so often. In fact, although Rick and I feel out of shape these days I'd have to say that we made it to the top in a decent amount of time and with fewer stops than I had imagined I would need to regain control of my lungs and heart. It was a great hike that we both enjoyed and as always we felt the hike was worth every second for the wonderful view it affords. We stayed up on top talking - with no interruptions - for at least half an hour. We talked about lots of things - the kids (of course!), house projects, the view, and even of our college days and some of the crazy memories of our "hippie dorm" where neither of us fit the stereotype but where the food was always pretty decent (we lived in the dorm that was the last vestige of the days when all dorms had their own kitchens and the students living there all ate together in their dorm dining room) and where we first met each other through a mutual friend.

The hike back down was steep and swift - it always takes so little time to get down in comparison to the uphill battle and it is generally easier on the lungs, but harder on the knees! We made a brief detour home and got showered and changed for our dinner date. I had decided it would be fun to visit a local brew pub where we could try out a homebrew sampler and have good, simple food for dinner. We both ended up liking the same beer - one they call their Anniversary Ale. Apparently, they make every year at this time to celebrate the month they first opened their doors - it is kind of disappointing that it's only a yearly brewing event because it is a great beer!

After dinner we strolled through town and checked out the "big excitement" in town this week which was the site of a burned out building that, until earlier this week, had housed a branch of the Bank of America. And then we went for ice cream. Yes, we lead fascinating lives around here. We ended our date with a trip to look for a few odds and ends at Target and Wal-mart. See? I told you - non-stop thrills abound!

But, seriously - it was so nice to just be together and talk and laugh and remember what it was like to just hang out with no one to focus on but each other. It was glorious. A rare treat. One that I hope we can continue to make a monthly priority. After all, we were informed my by mother-in-law that we WILL be doing this once a month. And we wouldn't want to disappoint her, now would we?

Dummy Mommy

More sleep stuff.

Hopefully I can start blogging about something more interesting soon. But this is kind of funny.

Last night, E went down around 8pm again. (Hallelujah!) I put her in her crib with her bear blankie and her paci and I laid down on the bed in her room. Once she was solidly asleep I managed to sneak out and Rick and I decided once again to try to watch a movie. We got most of the way through the movie before she woke up again at about 9:30. I told Rick to finish the movie (luckily, it was one we'd seen before) and I would go up and try to resettle her. I had made the bed in that room earlier in the day so I laid down on top of the quilt and pretended to go to sleep. Once she saw me lay down she laid back down in her crib and thrashed around for a while as if trying to get comfortable but not actually complaining or going back to sleep. After fifteen minutes she seemed to be asleep so I tried to sneak out but she heard me and the jig was up. She stood up and looked at me as if to say "where do you think you're going?" At that point she did not have the paci in her mouth so I gave it back to her and laid back down on top of the bed covers. It took another 15 minutes before she finally seemed to be sound asleep with her back tucked against the front crib rail.

Before sneaking out I had a curious thought and decided to try a little experiment. E seems to be perfectly content as long as I am in the room - I don't need to be holding, rocking or nursing her. What would happen if she saw something she thought was me laying in the bed? Would it be enough for her to go back to sleep if she awoke in the night again? So I took a few stuffed animals and the pillow and shoved them under the quilt to make it look like a lumpy form (I was going for a realistic representation) was sleeping under the covers. I had created a sort of dummy of myself to fake her out in the middle of the night. I was hoping that if she woke up again she would look over and see what looks like me asleep in the bed and it would be enough to make her feel secure enough to go back to sleep.

I don't know if this little experiment really worked of if it was just a coincidence, but she didn't cry out for me the rest of the night. She was back to sleep by about 10:00 and we didn't hear from her again until 6am.

Maybe I'm not such a dummy after all...

She did it!

Yep. E slept through the night last night.

It felt good to spend the whole night in my own bed...with just Rick...ok, well, there was that 15 minute span of time when R crawled into our bed after a nightmare at 4:15 this morning. But, she put herself back to bed after that short cuddle. So, life is good today. Sleep is a wonderful thing. Sleep deprivation is such an insidious, evil black cloud that hangs over your head and won't let you think clearly or rationally. I've spent a good deal of time under that black cloud this summer. It is nice to see the sky again - even if it is raining out there today. I shudder to think of how my mood would've been on this rainy day if I had that sleep-cloud hanging over me yet again.

I am, however, bummed about the rain because it meant that I missed my first opportunity in about 2 weeks to take my morning walk with Lauri.

Grumble, grumble.

Just when I felt like I was catching up on sleep enough to get out for that early morning walk, Mother Nature thwarts my efforts with the first rainy day in quite a while! I have been skipping the morning walks in favor of sleep lately. Sleep deprivation just gives me a serious sweet tooth and the munchies. So, it's either cut out the exercise and try to maintain better control on the eating by getting marginally enough sleep - or get up early to exercise and then eat myself out of house and home - thus killing any calorie-reducing benefit the exercise would've provided. Either way I'm kind of just stuck on pause in my journey out of the Elastic Wasitland. The last two nights has me hopeful that we are on the way out of the sleep difficulties with E - and with school starting soon perhaps I can find some time to get out with E in the stroller for some serious exercise and get back on track soon.

This morning I got a few things accomplished (but only because I let the girls' brains fry in front of Nickjr.com for about an hour -- it kept them from fighting and gave me some free time during E's nap). I cleaned out a couple of kitchen drawers -- we are gathering stuff for a September tag sale -- and got them reorganized. I cleaned the kitchen and put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. I put some clothes in the wash and folded a large mountain of clean clothes that were just sitting downstairs for the last couple of days (and I had to put away some clothes that were sitting in baskets in my bedroom for a few days).

Oh, and I had a great thought on the laundry process the other day. I usually fold AND put away the girls' clothes for them but sometimes they like to help. I decided to capitalize on this willingness to help and I decided that I needed to find a way for them to help without needing my intervention. Usually, I put all R and A's clothes in one big basket - one side is R's clothes and the other is A's but they usually get kind of mixed up in the middle. So, I went to target and found some of these:


They are the perfect size to put kid-sized clothing into and they are lightweight and fairly easy to carry (it would be better if they had two handles - but since they are meant as storage drawers they only have one...I might have to find a way to remedy that). They also fold down flat for easy storage when not in use. So far, the girls have been pretty excited by their new laundry cubes and happy enough to help me out by putting their clothing away all by themselves. We'll see how long the "new and exciting" aspect of this chore lasts. But, hopefully it will become like other chores that they just see as a daily part of life - putting their clothes in the hamper, emptying the hamper into the laundry chute when full, clearing their plates from the table, nightly clean-up time, etc. So, now when I do laundry, I fold and pre-sort into the laundry cubes and deposit the cubes in their room and tell them to put their stuff away. Once they are done I fold the cubes and put them back downstairs until the next load of laundry.

Now if I could just convince them that cleaning the bathroom was nonstop fun and excitment I'd be golden!

Living with the Active Alert Child

I found reference to this book

today and immediately had to search the Amazon used listings to acquire it and read it (at the cost of 37 cents plus shipping of a few bucks - gotta love the online used booksellers)!

And where did I find such a reference? And why? And why it is on my "must read as soon as it is in my hot little hands" list?

Well, to begin with the first question, I was doing my latest "blog thing" which is to visit my favorite blogging friends (some of whom I know in real life, many not) and find out what is new or thought-provoking in their little corner of the world...or just who had a really crappy night with their baby or got peed on or had to restrain a wildly thrashing, tantrumming child in the middle of the grocery store. Can you tell I visit a lot of "mommy blogs"? It's so nice and reassuring to know that I am not alone...or insane...and I can verify this by reading about the trials and tribulations of other moms out there in the universe who are dealing with the same crap (literal and figurative) that I am shoveling day in and day out. And since it's way more entertaining and a lot less expensive than a therapist's couch it's a win/win situation that keeps me sane and keeps me moving forward. While visiting those blogs that are known to me I have a new habit of checking out the blogs that are listed in the sidebars - other blogs that person finds noteworthy, intriguing, or great for a few laughs. While visiting my friend Karyn's blog I happened to click on one of her sidebar "favorites" - Blogs are Stupid. I was intrigued by the title so I clicked on it. And there I read a sweet, well-written, poignant and heartfelt birthday tribute to the blogger's 8-year-old son. In a previous post about him she describes him as "spirited" and hyperlinks that word to this page. Upon reading the definition of the "Active Alert Child" a little ways down on that page, I nearly fell off my chair. I could check off almost every single attribute if I were to think about describing R. And here I thought she was merely "quirky"! Are there really other kids out there like her?

Here's the list of traits of the "active alert child" (and my comments about R in pink):

ACTIVE physically (needs little sleep, can't slow themselves down without help) (when have we NOT had sleep issues with this child? Getting her to go to sleep has been an issue as has her infernal internal alarm that rarely allows her to sleep past o-dark-thirty no matter what time she goes to sleep)

ALERT 4 components are: 1 - keen observers, 2 - no boundaries for self [become overstimulated as they explore everything], 3 - no boundaries for others [get what they want as they intrude on other's space], 4 - no sense of boundaries in the form of rules for appropriate behavior [detect unfairness, but don't always whether or not to try to get their own way] (yes to most of these -- especially the spatial boundries of others and for appropriate behaviors)

BRIGHT (gifted, high IQ) (yes, I don't know exactly what her IQ is, but I'd venture to guess it's in the high range)

CONTROLLING (have high need for control, highly verbal) (oh yeah! very verbal - talking in short sentences at 18 months and definitely pushes our buttons on the control issues CONSTANTLY)

FEARFUL (afraid of new situations, unable to make transitions) (yes again. She is always one to hang back and watch to be sure she knows what she is supposed to do before she will give anything a try. She has a HUGE attention span and had a hard time in preschool learning to move from one thing to another. This has improved but she still needs a lot of cueing and advance warning about transitions.)

INTENSE (life is also black or white, happy or sad - no gray areas) (intense is definitely a word I've used often to describe her. Lately, she's been quite the drama queen with the "NOBODY loves me/EVERYBODY hates me" kind of statements. No gray area there - she is not loved by ANYBODY, dotcha know?)

ATTENTION-HUNGRY (performers, stimulus-hungry feeding on external stimulation) (I often will say that I feel like I give and give and give with her and yet it is never enough. Or if I give and inch she wants a mile.)

TROUBLE GETTING ALONG WITH OTHERS (doesn't easily recognize social/non-verbal cues, controlling) (She seems to prefer playing alone/doing her own thing and doesn't talk about playing with other kids much. The teachers report that she is kind to all kids and gets along but I don't know if she actually forms strong friendships and that does worry me. And whenever we arrange a playdate she says "But, A will take over my friend!" as if she already understands that her little sister has more social finesse.)

FLUCTUATION SELF-ESTEEM (tendency to base their worth upon feedback received from other people, receive more negative messages from others) (not sure on this one - I need to read the book to better understand what this means)

PERFORMERS (charming, delightful, charismatic leaders) (hmmm....this one is interesting....she can be bossy so that might fit the "leadership" trait, and at school others seem to find her more charming that what we see at home...and there was an interesting exerpt from the book that says something about them being able to put on a show at school where they are not in their comfort zone and that you will find that these kids are very different at home vs. at school. So, at school she might be putting on that show and then coming home and "letting loose" on us - as she is wont to do - with her surly, difficult attitude where she is more "comfortable" because she knows we do love her - great, kind of like hurting the ones you love the most, eh?)

EMPATHIC ABILITY "does your child read your mind?", is a barometer of your own or others' emotions). (This is one that I'm not sure on. She doesn't seem to "read" people well, but I think she does pick up on my stress at times....as most kids are able to do. I need to read the book to understand this one better)

I guess I just found it interesting that this list tagged so many of the issues that seem inherent in dealing with R. I can't wait to see what else the book has to say -- and hopefully it will also include some strategies for dealing with her "quirks"...which answers the question of why I needed to get that book!

Tonight R was making more comments at dinner about being "scared" about first grade. I tried to talk her through her fears by having her talk about what kinds of things scare her and coming up with more positive things. She is afraid of new kids, new teacher, new room, eating in the cafeteria. So, I told her a little about what her teacher is like, we talked about the kids she already knows who we know are in her class, and I explained that even though she doesn't know where her new class will be that there will be someone to show her where to go when she gets off the bus the first day. Then I asked her what might be a fun thing to look forward to and she decided that she was excited about art class and music class. And I mentioned that she would probably have the same teachers for those things which made her happy. I think it helps her - prepares her a bit, if you will - to talk through what is going to happen and to help her find the positive side of things. Sometimes I wonder if all her worrying gets in the way of looking on the bright side.

I know she's loved school the last few years and I am pretty sure she'll adjust just fine once she's there. And this year the transition should be easier because she will be in the same school. But, just as I know all that, I also know that I'm in for a few weeks of turmoil here at home as she unloads on me when she gets off the bus all the tension, fear, anxiety, and lack of control she feels when she is at school all day.

I had a taste of that this week with her camp experience. She had a great four days but because she is not used to a structured 6-hour day she was tired by the 3:00 pick-up time and she also had some issues that caused her to freak out once she got home even though she held it together nicely for the camp staff.

So, maybe this book will give me more insight into that little head of hers. I feel like I don't understand what makes her tick most of the time and perhaps if I had some insight I might be able to handle some of the drama she likes to create for herself - or better yet head it off at the pass before it gets to be an issue.

And why must I read it NOW...because school starts in exactly one week. I am hoping it will give me some much needed strategies so we can start the year off right. Wish me luck!

A better night

E is still having some sleep-related difficulties but last night went a lot better. For one thing, the older two stayed in bed after we said good night to them. R had good motivation because we had already removed her reading light for getting out of bed repeatedly - we explained that for every night she came out of bed even once she'd lose the light for yet another night. So, with any luck we can break that pattern soon. She needs to stay in bed for three nights running before she earns her light privledges back. This is a big deal to her right now because her reading has taken off incredibly and she is very much into reading to herself for a short time before going to sleep.

As for E, she went to sleep nicely after a short nursing session at about 8:15. She woke up an hour later and Rick was able to get her back to sleep by giving her back her pacifier but it only lasted a short 15 minutes or so. At that point it was about 9:30 so I decided to get ready for bed and just crawl into the bed in her room so that hopefully we could both get a decent night's sleep. Once I was in the room with her in the twin bed she calmed down immediately (this is why I think it's a case of separation anxiety!) and was able to lay down in her crib and stop the incessent screaming. She rolled around a bit and seemed to have some trouble falling asleep but she finally did at some point after 10:00. At 10:45, after dozing on and off and not really sleeping all that well (I just sleep better in my own bed) I decided to tempt fate and try to sneak out of her room. I figured I could always go back to the twin bed if she woke up, but I was secretly hoping she'd just sleep through the night at that point. And guess what? She did! I got to sleep in my very own bed from 10:45 until 6:15, when E woke up wanting to nurse again (ok, so there was also a short interruption at 5:15 when A needed to go pee and wanted company in the bathroom - one can't expect a perfectly calm, peaceful, uniterrupted night's sleep with three children in the house). So, a better night. We can only hope things will continue to improve!

I'm feeling very domestic (moreso than usual) these days. Last night Rick and I finally got around to making jam out of two large tupperware containers of blackberries that he and the girls picked a number of days ago. It was our second batch as we had already put up 8 small jars from a blackberry hunting expedition that the girls and I went on a couple of weeks ago. This batch yielded the same amount but we chose to put them in 4 larger jars since we seem to go through them quickly and that's all we had on hand anyway. Works for me. Then, this morning after dropping R off at camp I took A and E over to the grocery store and bought the stuff I needed to make some lasagna. I love lasagna and it's finally getting cool enough to think about eating something like that again! After we got back from running errands E went down for a nap and A was busy with a computer game (and then with eating lunch) so I took the time to make the lasagna so I don't have to do it tonight. I love when I have the time and the freedom (which with three kids underfoot and needing me for SOMETHING constantly is the harder of the two) to get stuff done like that and it makes for a much more relaxing time in the early evening - also known by many moms as the 'witching hour'! At dinnertime I can put the lasagna in the oven, throw together a salad, slice up the loaf of french bread and ~ voila! ~ dinnertime!

And then there's my sewing area - not that I've had time to use it, mind you - but I got the new sets of drawers that fit perfectly underneath the sewing desk and I moved the stuff from the big drawers into the two narrower sets of drawers. That area is shaping up nicely! I even have thoughts of acutally using it soon - I want to get started on a quilt for A's bed. So ambitious am I that I even asked my MIL for a gift certificate to my favorite quilt shop as a birthday present. I know - I'm insane to even think I'll get started any time soon! But a girl can dream, can't she?

A is practically dragging me off the computer chair in an earnest request to "play trains" so I guess I gotta go make some choo-choo noises for a while (apparenlty I've been given the parts of Ivo Hugh and Rusty....who?....yeah, she doesn't know who they are either, so that's why *I* get those choice trains).

Chug-Chug! Toot-Toot! Off I go!

You can say that again

Ever since R first started to talk she has had darn-near-close-to-perfect pronunciation. Most kids don't have complete mastery of all their sounds until sometime between 6 and 8. But, R was saying all her sounds correctly by the time she hit 2.5 - even those supposedly hard to attain sounds of the English langauge - /r/, /th/ and /s/ that vex many a preschooler.

A, on the other hand, has had her various foibles with the English language that are just so darn cute - particularly since I didn't get the benefit of chuckling under my breath when R was still in this steep learning curve phase of language acquisition. In fact, as a certified Speech-Language Pathologist I was quite proud of how quickly and accurately R picked up on the subleties of language. And of course I chalked it up to the fact that I do have a degree in helping people learn (or re-learn as the case may be) how to talk.

Of course, now I have little Miss A who is being her own individual self with her own strengths and well, let's just say "areas that need a little extra help." She seems to have good body awareness skills and a good grasp on her gross motor skills - she loves gymnastics, riding her bike, and climbing on the playground structures and seems to master these things quickly. As for her language skills, she is actually (in my professional opinion) in the average or perhaps slightly above average range. It' s just that language has always been something that R excelled at (to a fault - she likes to use language so much that it serves as a great catalyst for many arguements that could flummox even a well-seasoned attorney) so much so that A seems somehow less proficient (but in reality she is completely normal -- I am just guilty of making comparisons between my children).

Anyway, all that as a opener for my list of cute phrases and words that I've heard A say recently or in the not-too-distant past (most definitions are compliments of answers.com):

biggle: n. A glazed, ring-shaped roll with a tough, chewy texture, made from plain yeast dough that is dropped briefly into nearly boiling water and then baked.

yogret: n. A custardlike food with a tart flavor, prepared from milk curdled by bacteria, especially Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, and often sweetened or flavored with fruit.

crotch sitch: n. A double stitch forming an X in sewing and embroidery.

joonastics: n. Physical exercises designed to develop and display strength, balance, and agility, especially those performed on or with specialized apparatus.

indigment ring: n. a ring given and worn as a sign of betrothal

are chudder: As used in a sentence - "Let's chase are chudder." (Let's chase each other.)

Lasterday: n. The day before the present day.

Leak Pad: n. Educational toy by Leap Frog Learning Systems (see picture below)


velvet: n. small, formed pieces of latex with tiny holes that, when placed in a "spill-proof" kids' cup prevents liquid from spilling out of the lid of the cup (see picture below).

maynedic: adj. having the properties of a magnet. (Used in reference to her maynedic dress-up dolls like this one.)

And on and on it goes. I'm sure there are others - in fact, I know there are many more but my befuddled, sleep-deprived brain is having a hard time bringing them to the surface right now (I think I need a memory upgrade after the years of abuse this one has survived, or not survived as the case may be).

I enjoy hearing these little linguistics missteps. They make me realize how little she still is - even though she seems so mature and worldly when she is showing E how to turn the pages of a book or "reading" the book using her own words to go along with the pictures. When I hear those funny, slighly askew words and phrases I know she is still my little girl - and in some ways she always will be.

This too shall pass...

...at least that is what I'm trying to tell myself to save my sanity.

Last night went something like this:

4:30 - walked over to in-laws house
5:30 - dinner with in-laws
6:45 - bring girls home for bed
7:00 - after a short story A goes to bed
7:05 - A comes out to complain about thunder noises and Rick goes to sit with her in her room
7:30 - finish R's bedtime story and say goodnight
7:40 - nurse E and put her to bed (she is sound asleep and does not hear me leave...this is the first time in about a week that this has happened so smoothly....it used to be like that ALL the time - ah, the good old days)
7:55 - A comes out again to go to the bathroom, followed shortly thereafter by R for the same reason
8:00 - Rick gives girls a 'talking to' for their nannering when they are supposed to be going to sleep
8:30 - realize that we forgot to give R her antibiotics and have to go in and wake her to give her the medicine (not an easy task - once she's alseep, she's ASLEEP)
8:30 to 10:00 - hang out, read books, check blogs and boards on internet (a nice quiet evening - something we have been sorely lacking due to E's late bedtime and the ensuing battles)
10:15 - go to bed
10:40 - E is awake and screaming loudly (in that pissed off kind of cry)
10:50 - back to bed after succesfully nursing E back to sleep
11:55 - E is awake and pissed off and screaming AGAIN
11:55 to 12:25 - alternate with Rick in trying to get her back to sleep to no avail
12:25 - drag fat sorry ass (and my pillow) out of bed and leave Rick to get some sleep
12:35 - after listening to her scream for 10 more minutes I just decide to give in and sleep on the bed in her room
1:00-ish - finally asleep after listening to her whine on and off about the fact that I'm nearby (which is good) but won't pick her up (which is not as good but at least I'm nearby so all is right enough with the world that she can safely go back to sleep)
7:15 - wake up. E is still sleeping so I try to sneak out and let her continue to sleep. No such luck...baby radar has sensed mommy's movement and E is now wide awake and standing in her crib smiling at me.

Sigh...the start of a new day.

Swing Time! ...and a sleep rant...

Last weekend Rick took on the enormous task of driving out to my sister's house (2.5 hours one way) to disassemble their outgrown swingset and bring it back here.

I am so thankful that I have such a dedicated and skillful husband - who also happens to own just about any tool you could think of and who is capable of such monumental tasks.

This weekend's project was to take all those pieces-parts and reassemble them into a sturdy and trustworthy contraption for the girls to play on and around. Not an easy task considering the fact that he needed to replace some of the ground level pieces that had started to rot and create a new base for it out of pressure-treated lumber so that those piece were not going to rot again any time soon. Add to that the fact that the main crossbeam (to which the swings get attached) was too long to safely get home in one piece. Rick cut it at a mostly convenient spot and in reassembling the structure he had to use metal plates and screws to rejoin the two pieces.

Rick busted his hump from 8:30 this morning until about 3:30 this afternoon (with a mere 20-minute lunch break and a few breaks to rehydrate) and managed to get the thing back together and reinforced the areas that needed some help - it looks great and feels solid! The girls were even able to play on it a bit today. YAY! He's not completely done yet as there are a few things that still need to be attached (the roof structure above the platform, a nifty little pulley attachment, and the rope climber are all I can think of at the moment), but the girls did get to swing and slide and play on the upper platform-thingy. They were so excited! Rick hit a wall by the time he stopped working at 3:30 - he was beat, the poor guy.

Here are some pics from today...

Our Superhero, Rick, and his assistant, the lovely Miss R.


The kids enjoying the swings for the first time.


Helping Dad install the slide.


Slide is all set - time for a ride!


Me, too, says Miss A.!


And, yes, even crazy mom gets in on the action!



So that was where today went. And now we are night two of a feeble attempt at getting E. to sleep at a reasonable time. She has been napping fine but has hit a stage where she is refusing to go to sleep at night unless I am in the room with her. My only guess is it is somehow related to her recent bout of stranger anxiety, but I can't be sure and I don't really want to spent every night sleeping on the twin bed in her room or having her co-sleep with us. I just don't sleep as well in those situations. I was ok when she was sleeping from 9ish-3ish, waking to nurse, then going back to sleep until 6ish or even 7am. I could handle that. But, this new thing is throwing me for a loop and I can't figure out what the heck to do. Last night we decide that enough and decided to try some cry-it-out (CIO) techniques. She screamed for 2 hours with me going in to try to calm her every 15 minutes or so (just my mere presence was enough and she would seem to be asleep again and be back to crying as soon as I left the room). We started at 8ish and Rick finally went in and rocked her to sleep at 10:15. She did sleep through the night which was a huge blessing, but now tonight we are back to square one. She woke at 8:45 this morning (I'm sure she was exhausted from her scream-fest), napped from 12:45-2:30 and then I tried to put her down again at 7:15. She did fall asleep by about 7:50 after I had rocked her for a while and we had such great hopes. We even tried to start a movie - but she woke up again screaming at 8:15 so the movie idea went right out the window. We have been going in to try to settle her - rocking her, not rocking her but just sitting in there with her - and it is now 9:30 and she is still not down for the night. We are both completely frustrated and don' t know what to do next. I just know I'm tired, Rick is EXHAUSTED after his long day, and we just need sleep. Why won't she just settle down and sleep when she herself must also be exhuasted. Is she overtired? We've tried one nap on some days and two naps on others. Neither one seems to be the answer on a given day. Maybe I need to feed her more? Not sure on that one but I can't exactly force feed her solids and I can't be sure how much she is getting from nursing but I do nurse her on demand at this point. Maybe I just need to wait it out and hope she outgrows this separation anxiety thing? I really don't want to start bad habits by co-sleeping every night or sleeping in her room!

So, how the heck do we get past this hurdle? You'd think a 'seasoned' parent of three would have figured this one out by now, but unfortunately each kid is so different and has such different needs at various stages that I'll be damned if they don't keep me on my toes and second-guessing myself at every turn.

I really wish these kids came with an instruction manual!

*****
Edited at 9:50pm to say that apparently all it took was venting here on the blog to get her to sleep! Will wonders never cease? I am REALLY glad I started writing this thing. Time to make a list of things to complain about and see if they magically right themselves!

Are we there yet?

I am counting down the last couple of weeks of summer in agony - a double-edged sword of agony.

I am relishing the thought of having one kid in school full-time, one in half-day preschool and the other still young enough to nap -- so perhaps I can sneak in a few quiet moments for myself once the school year starts! In that vein I'm counting down the last two weeks and saying "hurry up already!" I listen to R. count the days left until school on her calendar and I cringe because I want it to come NOW! (Yes, I'm taking lessons from my 3.5 year old on instant gratification. Funny thing - it doesn't work for me to say I want something NOW either. I wonder when she'll finally figure that out?)

On the other hand, there is the part of me that is trying to hold on to those last couple of weeks of summer and never let go. This is in part because my birthday falls at the end of summer. As a kid that was always a bit of a downer -- I couldn't ever be too excited about my birthday arriving because that would also mean the end of the carefree days of summer! How could I bear to wish for the start of school that always arrived on the heels of my special day and yet how could I not be excited about another birthday and all that goes along with it? Now that I'm older and wishing for school to start for my kids (but not me anymore - heh) I am by matter of association wishing for that next birthday to come crashing down on me and reminding me of another year gone by (I'm gonna be HOW OLD?). Somehow things have gotten all mixed up. I used to wish for my birthday to come but not for school to start and now it's just the opposite! Life is weird like that.

Plus, I am enjoying the relaxed, unstructured days of summer when I am not rushing in the morning to get the kids lunches packed and get them off to school. I can actually sit and enjoy a big mug of coffee before I packed the kids up for the day's adventure or just go outside and fill up the wading pool and let them splash. Ok, so some days are idyllic like that...some days, well, not so much.

Like I said, it's a double-edged sword. I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want some peaceful, free (me) time and I want to enjoy the lazy days of summer at the same time. But, as a mom of young children the two just don't coincide.

And speaking of getting the kids off to school, this year is going to be much less relaxed than last year. Last year A. attended a home-based daycare/preschool program two mornings a week. And the one she attneded is located right next door. So, on the mornings that A. went to "school" I would get the two lunches packed and get R. off on the bus at 8:15 followed by walking A. to the next door neighbor's house. How freakin' perfect was that? In fact, there were a couple of times when I would run her over there and leave E. peacefully still asleep in her crib (so as not to break the cardinal rule against waking a sleeping baby!). This year, however, the morning routine will be a bit more complicated. R.'s bus will still stop here at around 8:15 and then four mornings a week I need to get A. all geared up with a backpack, some days a lunch, and eventually a coat, hat, and mittens (ditto for E.), strap them into the car and drive up to A.'s school by 8:45. Pick-up time will be equally less convenient than this year. I will have to keep E. from napping or wake her early (depending her schedule that particular day) and get her bundled into the car for a midday pick-up time. (BTW, can you figure out why I decided NOT to go back to work even on a part-time basis this fall?) It was much more convenient last year when I could leave E. napping to run next door and pick-up A. from school. A. could have continued to go to my next door neighbor's preschool if I had made such arrangements last winter (she is in such high demand because she is such an awesome daycare provider that the slots fill up months and months in advance) but I also love the preschool R. attended and wanted A. to have the same 2-year stint in that program. E. will most likely attend the same preschool when she is old enough but we"ll cross that bridge when we come to it (not for a few years, thank goodness...I want her to stay a baby for a while longer, please).

R. and A. are both looking forward to the start of school at this point. Now that they have their calendars A. has stopped asking incessantly about the start of school but she has made more than a few references to the kids she met at the preschool camp and how she wants them to come over for a playdate. I'm glad she has already started to see those kids as friends and am constantly amazed at how she approaches things in such a different way when compared with her older sister! R. just found out that she will be in Mrs. C's class this coming year. That is the split 1st/2nd grade classroom and I'm trying to be upbeat and positive so she looks towards the new year with happy anticipation and not anxiety. However, I still do have some reservations about how this classroom will work out and am a bit nervous about the fact that R. has now been placed in this classroom for the next two years - for better or worse. I can only hope and prayer that it work out to be for the better. The fact that she is in the classroom only serves to positively reinforce my decision not to work this year. At least I will be able to carve out some time to volunteer as needed and provide additional support during this crucial year when they are experiementing with the split-grade class. And I'll be around to more fully support R. if there are issues to be dealt with or if things are not going as smoothly as she or I would like.

So, we now have less than two weeks to go (or 13 freakin' more days to go - depending on how my conflicted mind chooses to look at it) and R. will actually be at camp most of next week. I've called around to see where certain other "favored" kids will be placed for 1st grade next year and have found at least two of her "known quantity" classmates will be joining her in Mrs. C's class. She was happy to know that there will be a couple of familiar faces when she enters her 1st grade classroom for the first time. (I, on the other hand, was pleased to hear about one classmate and let's just say not completely excited to hear about the other). In preparation for her arrival in her new class, I also told her about the fact that she will be in a class with 1st and 2nd graders and that I had already met her teacher and liked her very much. So far she in taking the news about the split 1/2 class in stride. She can be a bit of a worrywart and also needs advance warning when it comes to certain information. My timing isn't always perfect as far as what to tell her and when, but she seemed to be okay with it so far. I'm going to keep up the happy-go-lucky attitude and hope she follows suit. And I'm going to say a little prayer that things go as well as I keep telling her (and myself) they will.

Gee - I wonder where those worrywart tendencies come from? Hmmmm...

Middle Child Syndrome

Some recent conversations with A. that make me wonder about middle child syndrome and how to avoid it's pitfalls:

Me (to R.): Are you still interested in taking piano lessons?

A: *I* want to take violin lessons!

Me (to A.): When you are older we can sign you up for lessons, okay?

A: When I'm older and six like R.?

Me: Yup. And this fall you are going to be taking gymnastics again, right? That will be fun!

A: Yeah.... [pause for thought]... But, I wanted to be born first!



And the next day at dinnertime...



A: I want to be a baby again like E.

Me: Why?

A: So I can have a paci.

Me: Why would you want a paci?

A: I don't know, I just do.


She is such a lovey-girl who is so very social and mostly sweet. ;-) At times, she is very much three (going on four soon!!) in that she can be very ornery and independent. She is her own special blend of sweetness and spice! I never want her to feel "lost in the middle" or "left out" or "second best." I feel like she is already starting to have those thought running through her head and I need to find a way to head them off at the pass. This fall I will have more time to spend with her when she is not having to compete with both sisters but she will still be "sharing" me with E. most of the time. I am hopeful that with my in-laws moving in two doors down I can try to make the time to spend one-on-one time with each of the girls - it's definitely something to keep in mind. This summer has been a tough one because my in-laws have been extremely busy with settling into their new house and so there hasn't been the opportunity to create that one-on-one time. Perhaps as they get more settled this fall and can help out a little more I can carve out some space for each of my girls.

Another recent example of A. noticing how much she has to share me came up this morning when the girls were setting the breakfast table. R. had set the table so that I was on one end and I had R. on one side of me and A. on the other. When R. came back to the kitchen to get the syrup out of the fridge A. moved my plate to her side of the table - effectively moving me away from R. If that isn't a hostile move indicating her desire to have me all to herself I don't know what is! R. cried foul and A. screeched that she wanted me to sit next to just her. I had to instruct A. to put the plate back or "suffer the consequences" even as my heart ached for her need for a little extra piece of me.

I'm just starting to wonder how the heck I can divided myself so evenly with three. There are only two sides of me to sit near! What happens when E. becomes aware enough to demand a "side" of me at the dinner table? Or when we sit on the couch to read a story together? For now she can sit on my lap while the other two each get their "side"...but eventually I fear I am going to need to figure out a way to grow another side!

Darn it - where is that cloning device?

Wishful Wednesday

Recently an awesome friend of mine took me on a fab vacation (thanks, K!). It was a great little escape and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it (too bad it only took me a couple of minutes from beginning to end, but hey, these days you take what you can get).

Today, I'm feeling like going on a little trip myself. This time to my home-away-from-home.

Some people like to quote the song "I left my heart in San Fransisco." I'm sure it's a great city, but alas I've never been there so there is no way I left my heart there. However, sometimes I feel like a piece of my heart was ripped from my chest and is pulsating somewhere in the land of the Vikings.
The land of open-faced sandwiches and Elephant beer.
The land of "Dannebrog "
Hans Christian Andersen
really good ham and the Little Mermaid.

I want to go to Denmark! I was an exchange student in Denmark during my senior year of high school (is it really 19 years ago that I ventured forth into the great unknown and started my year as an exchange student? - egads). I lived with three wonderful families during the course of my year abroad and I will never forget them. I am still in close contact with two of those families and they are really like extended family to me. They are like cousins and aunts and uncles that you don't get to see very often but are always in your thoughts and are in your heart forever. I also began a few friendships in Denmark that are still going strong - we email, send Christmas cards, and over the years have rejoiced in many things not the least of which were the births of each others' children. My last visit to Denmark was in 1999 - to celebrate my completion of graduate school (and a hellacious 9-month internship) Rick and I took a trip to my second homeland (I am an Honorary Dane, don't ya know...) to visit my "families" and so I could show him many of the things I love about Denmark. One of my dreams is to someday be able to visit Denmark again with Rick and the girls to share with them the little country that I love so very much.

Today I want to take a virtual vacation to Denmark - wanna come along? I can still get by on my somewhat rusty Danish so I'll happily serve as tour guide!

Velkommen til Danmark! (Welcome to Denmark!)

After a restful non-stop flight where we have enjoyed a delicious meal of smørrebrød (those delightful open-faced sandwiches) with ice cold Aalborg Aquavit, a little nap, and a great in-flight movie, and where the flight attendants pass around wet steaming hot towels to invigorate and refresh us - we arrive at our destination - the lovely city of Copenhagen (or København (kö'bənhoun') to those fabulous Danes). Sidenote: of course the food will be excellent and we will be flying first class because this is my overactive imagination vacation!

First stop? Tivoli Gardens, of course! It's a short walk from the main train station right in the center of Copenhagen. We can stroll through the beautiful gardens enjoying the flowers and the fountains, take a ride through H.C. Andersen's fairy tales on the "Flying Trunk" ride (think It's a Small World, Danish style!), see the park from high above on on the Blue Sapphire ferris wheel, perhaps take in a few of the more death-defying rides and then grab a Tuborg and a bite to eat at an outdoor cafe. Finally, we can catch a show at the outdoor theater or listen to some live music.

When we have had our fill of good food and a mix of quaint and hair-raising rides it will be time to catch a train heading south (but not before we locate all my awesome Copenhagen-dwelling friends and drag them along on our adventure along the highways and byways of good ole DK!). Our next stop will be the island of Lolland! Home of Jeanne's Danish "family" and friends and also the locale of the famous Smiling Water Tower! No trip to Denmark would be complete without seeing this shining face:



After all, she is the claim to fame of my beloved "hometown" in Denmark! Isn't she adorable? We will spend a good deal of time hobnobbing with the Lolland Elite and eating good home-cooked Danish food (I'm sure my host moms will be eager to feed the hordes of folk I'll be bringing along on this excursion!).

From our 'base camp' on the island of Lolland we can take a drive and see some wild animals at Knuthenborg Park (yeah, I'm serious - there was some Danish dude who lived on a huge estate in southern Denmark and he started collecting exotic animals and established the park which has grown into quite a large attraction with tigers, monkeys, zebras, and the like), then we can drive out to the island of Møn and check out Møns Klint (White Cliffs of Mon) which requires a bit of a hike down and then up some pretty steep steps but the views are worth it! I can then take you on a brief but picturesque tour of my "hometown" and the other town a short train ride away where I spent most of my time hanging out with my friends and eating real danish pastry went to school.

While we are at it we can tour a few ancient churches - lots of them dot the countryside and are white with red roofs like this:

and they have the coolest artwork in the ceilings like this:

And, of course there are also tons of catherdrals (like this one in Roskilde) to visit that are full of history, ornate decorations, dead people in tombs and cool stuff like that! One of the funniest (not funny ha-ha, but funny strange) about Denmark is that there seem to be churches everywhere but no one really goes to church. But, they are certainly proud of the history of their churches and they work hard to preserve them for future generations.

After a very hyggeligt time visiting my family and friends on Lolland we will board a ferry to the island of Fyn and make a stop in the town of Odense. Here we can visit the H.C. Andersen House (and see some of his amazing paper cuts as well as his literary works), the Odense Palace, and the 19th century era open-air museum Funen Village (think Plymouth Plantation or Sturbridge Village and you get the drift).

Our tour continues on the mainland of Denmark, Jutland (or Jylland, which sounds like "you-lan" to the Danes...btw, it is often said that when speaking Danish it sounds like you are trying to talk with a cold potato in your mouth...I've tried it and it's true)! We will take the scenic tour along the coastline where we will see rolling green hills (the largest ones I ever saw in the flat, flat land of Denmark) and visit, among other things - Legoland in Billund - by way of a town called Middelfart (a town name that never ceases to amuse the potty-humor-driven 4-year-old in me) - the city of Århus where we can visit Old Town (another fabulous open-air musuem) and this rather interesting looking museum that I had never heard of nor visited before!

And last but not least, we will travel up to the northernmost tip of Denmark - an area known as the Skaw (or Skagen - say it with me now, "Skay-in"). It is in this area of Denmark that you can see two separate bodies of salt water beating up against each other mid-ocean and literally stand astride them as they crest! This area has long been known as an artists' community because of it's natural beauty - in fact, it's like another sandy spit of land I know and love not far from here but it lacks a certain level of bawdiness (it's kinda like P'town without the drag queens)! There have been many painters who have captured the essense of Skagen's beauty, including a number of famous Scandinavian painters who visited this area in the late 19th/early 20th century. I've loved the work of Peder Severin Krøyer and many of his most famous works were created on this little bit of sandy beach.

After many, many miles, along which we have eaten many great meals with dear friends, thrown back one too many shots of Gammel Dansk and Aquavit and quenched our thirst aplenty on Tuborg and Carlsberg (with those same dear friends), it is time to bid our little, sweet country of Demark farewell (or farvel, in local speak...."fah-vell").

And I will never, ever, ever leave my adopted homeland without saying "Vi ses senere!" (See you later!)

Mange, mange KAEMPE STORE Knus og Kram til mine danske venner og "familier"! Jeg savner jer alle og haaber at vi ses snart igen. (Many, many REALLY HUGE hugs and kisses to my Danish friends and "families"! I miss you all and hope to see you again soon.)

*sniff*

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....

I tag sales!

I have a space in our bedroom that I use as my sewing area. For years now I've used a student desk as my sewing table and it's worked out well enough for me to sew but it's never been great. I have not just a standard sewing machine but also a serger (an amazing and wonderful gift from my MIL) and the two machines take up quite a bit of space on a standard desk. When I wanted to sew on one machine I always had to move the other machine out of my way. For a while now I've wanted an "L-shaped" desk so that I can put one machine on each side and be able to roll my chair between the two machines since many of my projects require switching back and forth between the sewing machine and the serger.

At a tag sale a couple of weeks ago I found just that! It's not exactly a "nice" piece of furniture in that it is just laminated pressboard, but the size and functionality of it just right. In reality it is a computer desk and even has a pullout drawer for a keyboard but it is as close to perfection as I'm going to get for the $8 price tag. Someday I might replace it with a sturdier, more asthetically pleasing piece, but in our current financial position this desk is just the ticket! And, the deal didn't end there. The same tag sale had a perfectly functional rolling chair for a steal at five buckaroonies. So, for a total of $13 I have a new sewing center!

And here it is:

Rick and I moved the old desk and chair out and installed the new desk in the corner last night. I had already cleaned out the old space and reorganized my sewing stuff so I was all ready to go! The one thing I need to do is replace the three drawer unit behind the chair with a shorter unit so it can also be tucked underneath the desk and more or less hidden from view. In fact, I might buy two matching 3-drawer units because the one that is under the desk in that picture is a little too wide for me to sit at the serger comfortably. Target here I come!

In celebration of the new sewing area I granted R.'s request to do more sewing today. Ever since she sewed up that pillow she's been asking daily if we can do more sewing. I'm creating a craft monster! She had asked to sew up a little blanket for her stuffed animals and a few days ago she picked some fabric from my stash to use in a quilting project. We had to put off the actual cutting and sewing for a few days because there was no room in my sewing area to work - what with the old desk still in place and the new desk in pieces right smack in the middle of everything.

But, today everything was in place and you should've seen the look on her face when I told her to check out my sewing area. You'd have thought I told her Santa Claus had come in the middle of August. She jumped for joy and then ran down to my bedroom screeching "Is the new desk in there?! Can we sew today!" How could I say no to that?

Here is the result of today's efforts. She's getting pretty darn good with the machine!

Tomorrow, or later this week, we'll get the quilt batting out and find a scrap piece to use as the backing and get this puppy finished up. She is so proud of her accomplishment - and well she should be! She kept saying over and over "I'm making my very first real quilt!" How cool is that? I didn't do my first quilting project until I was in my 30's and since I was teaching myself how to do it I don't think mine was nearly as nice as what R. sewed up today.

Tour de France, here they come!

I think R. finally broke through a mental barrier today when it came to riding her bike. I don't really know why she has been so squeamish about it but she has generally avoided riding it for a long time. This summer she has finally been willing to take her years-old scooter out for a few spins but that's about it and her bike has sat collecting dust. The scooter was a Christmas 2003 present from Grandma and Grandad and she has been on it so seldom that it still looks as shiny and new as the day she got it.

A., on the other hand, loves her bike. She loves to ride around and around our big cul-de-sac and she can get going pretty darn fast. I wouldn't call her a daredevil because she isn't one to throw caution completely to the wind, but at the same time she is way beyond her older sister when it comes to taking risks. And, I hate to say it, but she just seems to have a bit more body awareness and gross motor skills in her favor when compared with R. She also demonstrates more strength and stamina when it comes to athletic endeavors. I have to wonder if A. will be our little athlete in the future and which sports would interest her the most.

Today, when A. asked to ride her bike I suggested we go over to the rail trail and she got very excited. Yesterday I mentioned that I took a walk there with E. in the stroller and she was so sad and cried because she didn't get a chance to ride her bike with us. So, I figured today would be a great day to fulfill that desire. R. was not at all excited by it but I explained that we can't always agree on everything and sometimes she gets to do something she wants to do and other times not. She got over herself quicker than I expected/is normal for her and that was a relief.

I promised that we would take the trip to the rail trail this afternoon since it was almost time for E.'s nap and then it would be lunchtime. In the meantime, I suggested they ride their bike/scooter around the circle for a bit. Once E. was snug in bed for her nap I took them out front and they rode around for about half an hour. After a few times around the circle I asked R. if she wanted to switch to her bike and much to my surprise she agreed! I grabbed her bike from the garage before she could change her mind and off she went. She did fantastic! She increased her speed (to almost the speed that A. has been going for quite some time...LOL) and she worked on figuring out proper braking technique on the "hill" (a 1% incline on the far side of the cul-de-sac). A. needed some help on figuring out her brakes, too. By the time it was lunchtime R. was doing better than I had ever seen her do on a bike. I let her know how great she was doing and I cheered A. on as she worked out the kinks of figuring out her brakes.

Bolstered by her new-found confidence, R. was now excited to be going to the rail trail. At lunchtime we discussed which area to the rail trail we should visit - the place with the beaver dam? the railroad bridge over the river? the tunnel that E. and I had gone through yesterday? After a few minutes they decided the railroad bridge sounded fun. Once E. woke up from her nap we finished up lunch, got our gear ready and off we went!

Today's rail trail visit was not nearly as serene and peaceful as yesterday's. I had little time to enjoy the view of the river or the warm gentle breezes. In fact, I felt more like a drill sargeant barking out commands to my troops:

"Stay to the right!"

"Slow down so I can catch up!"

"Watch the trail!" (as R. is coming very close to careening off the edge of the asphalt because she is too busy admiring some yellow flowers growing along the side of the trail, to which she responds "I am!" Yeah, ok.)

"See that yellow post and stop sign way ahead? You MUST stop before we get there!"

"STOP NOW!"

All in all, they really did wonderfully, but it was not completely without moments that caused me to grow a new gray hair or two. There were those moments when R. or A. looked like they might go off the trail and I realized that in certain spots the side of the trail had about a yard and a half of grassy area before it dropped into a sizeable ravine! Eek. I just cautioned them as calmly and nonchalantly as I could to stay on the asphalt and I prayed that they listened. They did. And they survived. They even had fun! There was also a hair-raising moment when A. couldn't figure out how to work her brakes on a small hill and I was jogging along behind her trying to stay calm in order to keep her from freaking out (even though I was starting to get a little freaked out myself) until I could get close enough to grab hold of her. She wasn't that far ahead of me. She wasn't going all that fast. And luckily I had E. in the actual jog stroller (which has not really seen much in the way of jogging-speed action since I've owned it) . From an outsider's perspective it probably wasn't that even all that hair-raising of an event. But, try to tell that to the mother of the child who's voice is quivering a few octaves higher than normal and who can't seem to pull herself together enough to slam on those brakes.

I think we managed at least a 2-mile round trip bike ride with no accidents, bumps or bruises and there wasn't even much whining or complaining. And both girls are already happily planning their next bike trip to the rail trail. Wait...are these really my kids?

Here are a few shots from our Tour de France training session:

All three girls not long after the incident of "A. and the runaway bike."


This shot just shows you how far ahead A. got at times - she's my speed demon!


My artsy-fartsy attempt at a shot of the railroad bridge.


E. keeping herself entertained with the safety clip-thingy of the stroller which mommy obviously neglected to actually insert through the stroller properly. Bad mommy. But, at least it kept her entertained!

Enjoyed some near-solitude

Grandma had daughter 1 and daughter 2 for a while this afternoon so Little Miss E. (aka daughter 3) and I were on our own. She came to pick them up and take them to the park at 2:30 and told me she'd have them home by 5:00. Ahhh...the sweet bliss or near-aloneness. After all, I only had one child for a full two-and-a-half hours! And the one keeping me company doesn't actually TALK yet.

E. and I took the opportunity to take a brisk walk on the rail trail. It was gorgeous out there today - blue skies, a nice breeze, not too hot, not too cold. A nice early fall day (even though it's still summer)! We saw gobs and gobs of bikers out there today - singletons, families with kiddos on their own bikes, families with those tag-a-long bikes that attach to an adult bike, moms with babies in bike seats, small groups of two and three adults, a special needs adult on a modified bike with two "helpers" riding their bikes and providing verbal guidance as needed, and even a few parents walking alongside their bike riding preschoolers. It was a great day for bike ride apparently. But, I was happy to just walk along with the jog stroller in which E. became so lulled she seemed to fall into a bit of a trance and then drifted off to sleep for a bit. I enjoyed the quietness, the breeze, the lack of nannering from talkative-daughter 1 and talkative-daughter 2. I love them dearly but the constant "mom, this" and "mom, that" can really drag me down some days.

Along the way I think I came across a guy trying very hard (but rather unsuccessfully) to find a geocache. I passed him just before going into a tunnel that runs under a very busy main road through town. He was standing next to his bike on the grass by the side of the trail. The first time I saw him I assumed he was taking a short breather (he was an older gentleman - perhaps in his 60s if I had to guess). I nodded to him in greeting as I passed by. I walked on for another 10 minutes or so before turning around to head back toward my car. On the way back I passed through the tunnel and turned the corner to find the same guy standing on the opposite side of the trail from his bike and he appeared to be caressing the metal post of a trailside sign. Due to the sharp corner at that end of the tunnel he couldn't see me coming and I caught him unawares. I noticed a squarish bulge under his shirt (get your mind out of that gutter right now) that was easy to recognize as a handheld GPS unit. A-ha! You've been caught, sir! But, not by a muggle so your secret is safe with me. I was tempted to say something about the cache being a tough one but I wasn't completely sure of what he was doing (and I hope like heck he was geocaching because I can't think of any other innocent reason for feeling up a poor signpost like that and I don't even want to think of any other not-so-innocent reasons). When I got home I checked for a cache in that area and sure enough there is one right near there that is apparently not easy to find. Someone (who happens to be retired so he would fit the age group of the man I saw) did post that he attempted to find that cache today. It was listed as a DNF (did not find) which also points to the guy I saw fruitlessly groping the pole alongside the trail. Oh well - better luck next time, Bucky!

Oh, and seeing as I saw a lot of bikers out there today I have to talk about a pet peeve of mine. There is a big sign at the entrance to the trail that states that it is the LAW that children on bikes (12 and under) must wear helmets. Two things of note on today's walk that made me crazy. Number (1): parents of said children should ALWAYS wear helmets when they are biking for many reasons, not the least of which are to set a good example for the kiddos so they will continue to wear their helmets and see it as a natural fact of bike-riding but also to save their own freakin' thick skulls if they get into an accident. I guess you could say I am one of those who likes to err on the side of caution by wearing protective gear when life or limb (or brain!) is at stake - I wear a helmet when I ride a bike and I feel practically naked if I don't have a seatbelt on when I'm in a car. And number (2): this one is for the idiot parents who were riding bikes with their pre-adolescent son - get a clue (or two) and then go buy yourselves helmets (see Number 1) and while you are at it be sure to tell your son that you can't just stick the helmet on your head without strapping the damn thing and say a prayer that it will work. It's not gonna do that kid a damn bit of good just sitting on his head with the straps flapping in the breezes.

End of rant. I will now return to my regular programming.

So, after our nice walk, the babe and I headed over to the mall for some retail therapy. She was actually still happily snoozing and I figured I'd better not disturb her naptime. So I walked over and checked out a few stores while she finished her little sleep. Linens N Things had nothing of interest and there were no hugely compelling sale items at Old Navy. After getting through those store E. woke up and so it was time to motor home. Rick was going to be returning from his trip to pick up the swingset and the girls were due back home from Grandma's soon.

It was nice to get away and just chill for a couple of hours. I really needed that.

Rick's trip went as well as could be expected and the swingset jigsaw puzzle pieces are now in a big pile in the backyard. Hopefully soon he can find some time to put the pieces back together in roughly the way they need to be put together and we'll have a brand-new-to-us swingset for the girls to enjoy! Yay, Rick! Yay for us!