Milestones in household life....

So I've been slowly but surely slogging through the John's application for BC High for next year.   The conclusions that I've come to are:

College applications will be a breeze and I could probably make good money becoming a professional application completer because, believe me, writing parent essays (yes, the parents actually have to answer essay questions on the application) is not on anybody's top 10 list.

Also another milestone has been reached today in this household....Patrick has officially hit the double digit years....Happy 10th birthday buddy!

Why Is It....

Why is it that when you have the least time to catch your breath with a crazy schedule, you come down with the most god-awful head cold?  Of course, it's not like you're going to get anything that resembles sympathy from the kids.  Case in point:

Me:  my head feels sooo stuffed up and congested.

Ryan:  it's called mucus mom...

Me:  that's great, where did you learn that cocktail like conversation?

Ryan:  T.V.

Maybe I should monitor the television watching.....I'm pretty sure that kinda stuff isn't on the Flintstones or the Jetsons.

Thought for the day...

The thought for the day was eloquently put by Ryan (6 years old):

"Did you know that when you're a dog the whole world is your bathroom?"

First day of school, 2008

Ok, so everyone survived the first day/week of school...somewhat. Ryan was soooo nervous he actually made himself physically sick. At 4 am he was trying to throw up, but fortunately (for our floor etc), there was nothing in his tummy. In the middle of it, he turned around to say, "Do I have to go to school now?" My reply was " we'll talk about it when its time to wake up." He did wake up and very reluctantly went to his first day of first grade. I tried to make it easier on him by pointing out all his kindergarten friends. His reply to each name was a little quivering "don't care." He marched in with the line with his head down like he was going to some execution. Meanwhile, the other two couldn't get away fast enough..."Have a nice day............." Hmm., no response. I left to go to work and dad had pick up duty. I called to see how Ryan was at pickup and this was the conversation:

Me: How was their first day of school?

Dad: Fine I guess

Me: How was Ryan?

Dad: Fine.

Me: (a little annoyed at this point) How was Ryan when he came out? Was he still upset?

Dad: No, he was fine, he was happy

Of course he was. Dad had the easy assignment, pickup. I had the crappy assignment, drop off.

Fortunately, day 2 went much smoother. After all, who wouldn't be stressed not knowing where their cubby is going to be? Once that is taken care of life is good.

Now, homework?......A whole other world........

Night before school..

Twas the night before school starts and all through the house, all you could hear was:
John: My stomach hurts....
Me: Then go to bed.............off he goes (it's only 7:30)...hmmm, maybe his stomach actually does hurt....oh well, nothing a little Tylenol can't take care of in the morning. (Come on, tell me one person who hasn't pulled that little trick)

Patrick: My stomach hurts (around 8:45)....
Me: the one eyed look.....off he goes (that was relatively easy)

Ryan: I'm not going to school tomorrow.
Me: Yes you are. Everyone is going.
Ryan: But I don't know what to do! What if its something I didn't learn in kindergarten last year (talk about the stress of academics)?
Me: Don't worry, everyone else in the class is in 1st grade for the first time tomorrow. Come sit on my lap.
Climbs up on my lap, has no shirt on, and all of a sudden I'm touching a mild Sahara desert....hmmm. Pop the ole' digital thermometer in the mouth and presto...look at that he's got a bit of a fever....whip out the Tylenol, dose him up, send him to bed with a final hug and said, you'll get to take some more of the yummy chewables tomorrow too! Like I said, who hasn't played this game before?

I'm sure they have visions of recess and lunch periods in their heads....LOL.....probably not!

Ok, so the last two weeks of August have been a blur....back to school shopping (which I don't recall as being so painful as a kid?)....last minute day trips and generally trying to squeeze out every last bit of freedom that is possible. We dropped John off in Maine this morning to spend a few days with one of his friends and their family. He will be fishing and learning how to water ski. Needless to say, this did not go over well with the middle one. Immediately after getting back into the car (after a scrumptious lunch at the Weathervane in Kittery I might add), the sulking and brooding began. This made for a very long trip home. The youngest one couldn't have cared less.....to him it is one less brother tormenting him. But of course Daddy will come to the rescue and take Pat and Ryan fishing tomorrow, because of course they bought new fishing rods at the Kittery Trading Post. Before they know it, John will be back and then school starts 2 days later.....woooo-hooooo, but who's counting?
P.S. Martha - I finally got the party slide show on....sorry it took so long..LOL

End of summer blast