Playing Catch Up: First Day, Last Days, Birthdays and Big News (NOT PREGNANT)

It seems silly to start a post with a recap of Harry's first day of school when the last day of school happened two weeks ago. But. Harry started preschool! And now he's in summer school (which is basically a continuation of the school he started two weeks ago). I think it's safe to say that he is absolutely thrilled with his new student status. He pants in front of the door in the morning waiting for the bus and bounds outside when he sees it pull up. Another bonus? He and Leo get to ride to the same bus (they're attending summer school at the same location). I KNOW. Leo basically explodes every morning he's so thrilled.



Leo finished up fourth grade (meaning next year will be his last year in elementary school, did you hear my heart stopping?) with an end of year choral concert which Lucy and I were lucky enough to attend.



Ellie transformed from a Daisy into a Brownie (see above for the "Bridge" ceremony) and finished first grade. Didn't I just take a half day from work so I could bring her to the kindergarten orientation? GAH. Time, you are a sneaky, sneaky one.



Ellie also had her seventh birthday party (notice how I didn't say she turned seven-yet). That will come next month.



I finally got my act together and planned her party for before the end of the school year (well, technically it was the weekend of the last week of school). People in our town seem to just disappear on the summer weekends, making summer birthdays very sparsely attended.


As you can see the only problem with the party is there just weren't enough baked goods.



Ellie with her "beach" themed goodie bags (they held a shell bracelet, sunglasses, a mini-beach ball and of course, cookies). I tried really hard to not go all junky with the goodie bags. I HATE the crap that so often comes home from parties: trinkets that break before they even leave the car on the ride home, that I end up finding sprinkled all over the back of the mini van. Also, candy that no one needs (but we all need chocolate chip cookies, of course!).


Harry, (who apparently knows how to break dance-who knew?) made good use of his sunglasses.

For some reason I was very nervous about having a party at home (well, a party in general but an at-home one raises the stakes a bit). I wanted to make it very simple and of course it got more complicated than I set out for it to be, (there may have been some last minute ridiculous amounts of money spent at Oriental Trading) Let's just not talk about the "express mail" fees, ok? But all in all I'm very happy without how it went. It organically turned into a "mermaid" themed party when I randomly chose an Evite with a mermaid on it while Ellie was at school (I thought it befit a backyard pool party). (She "hand wrote" all of her invites but I wanted to follow-up with something a little more concrete). Ellie ran with the mermaid idea (she LOVED the Evite) and before we knew it I'd ordered mermaid plates, napkins and cups (as an aside I have to pause and extoll the virtues of the Target debit card (they aren't paying me to say this but they can if they'd like to)--anyway, free shipping on all Target items. Seriously the best.


Making their shell frame "craft." I thought this was cute and it went with our "beach/pool/mermaid" theme but I really bought it in case it rained and we were stuck inside.



The girls were semi-into it but it's hard for gluing tiny shells on frames to compete with pools and water sprayers and a playground and Cheeto balls (Ellie asks for these probably every time we see them at Costco and I always say no but for a birthday party? I finally said, YES).





The weather was A-MAZING which, when you're having a backyard "pool" party, that's really half the battle.

Did you know six and seven year old girls scream a lot? And when I say "scream" I mean "OMG THIS IS SO MUCH FUN I JUST HAVE TO SCREAM!!" screams.


Of course Spidey had to make an appearance.

At the end of the party, Ellie announced that it was "probably one of the best days of her life." So. Really can't argue with that one.


Speaking of birthdays, these two actually had their birthday, earlier this month.

Three.





This momentous occasion, this third birthday surviving another year with twins, really warrants its own post (which it will get, preferably before the fourth birthday) but I will interrupt this broadcast with some important breaking news. Lucy and Harry are officially potty trained. And say what you will, but I'm fairly certain that potty training twins will go down as one of my greatest life achievements. Let's just say it wasn't for the faint of heart!

Loss in the Fog and Invitations

Ellie's last soccer game this past Sunday ended ominously (see below) and a bit violently.




I couldn't get enough of the moody weather.



She lost her front tooth! Although it didn't happen the way you probably think it did. One minute she was goofing off (yes, when she should have been cheering her teammates on), the next minute she was running toward me, blood trickling down her soft, pink cheek and tears pouring down too. No, it wasn't knocked out by a ball in the midst of a heroic save, it was pushed out on the sidelines, during horseplay with a teammate. We never did find the tooth (although the guilt-stricken mother of the little girl who accidentally "helped" that little loose tooth did make a sincere effort, looking for it on her hands and knees in the grassy field). I thanked her but said that was really unnecessary (while assuring her that Ellie's tooth had been quite loose). Which it had.


Earlier in the day we made turkeys to decorate the house. You can just never have enough turkey decorations this time of year, that's what I say. "Do I look like a princess doing something very important?" Ellie asked me, as she drew.

Ellie's prime concern, of course, was the Tooth Fairy. Would the Tooth Fairy still come if there was no tooth to leave her, Ellie wondered. I assured her that of course she would come, and not only that, she was sure to find it in the field after everyone went home. Fairies have magical powers, you know. Magical Tooth Finding Powers. I bet she liked the challenge! I offered Ellie. Most of the time teeth are just under a boring old pillow, not lost in the grass.


Pre-lost front tooth smile, otherwise known as first grade portrait from a few weeks ago.

So I suppose you could say that extra care was taken in writing this particular Tooth Fairy note.


"If you want to, you can stay here. I have a bed and everything. I have friends."

The next morning, Ellie wasn't too disappointed to find that the Tooth Fairy had not, in fact, decided to stay. She did leave a note, in addition to a cherry Tootsie Pop and a $1 bill.

For Ellie, that was enough.

Appreciation

"I want to make a card for my teacher," Ellie announced after dinner a few nights ago.

"Do you think it would be appropriate if I told her that I loved her?" she asked.

"You are the best techre (sic). I love you! Love Ellie."

I told Ellie I thought that would be just fine.

That Back to School Attitude and Explaining the Unexplainable

Number charts have always been a struggle for Leo, but take a look at the first assignment Leo brought home this school year. SO proud of my boy.

It's not yet noon on the Friday (the thirteenth! eep!) of the first week of school...would it be premature to say we're off to a good start? Having started a week late due to Rosh Hashana, coupled with an extra week of togetherness, I think it's fair to see everyone was ready to get back to routine.

For example: At one point last week, after an especially hot and sticky trip to Costco with all four kids, I finally had the not-always-agreeable-Lucy strapped into her carseat. But she was still squawking and whining (Leo, especially, hates being in the car when one--or--heaven forbid--both--of the babies start crying). And so there was Leo (and Ellie) sitting in the back of the mini van, looking beleaguered and flushed and generally Over It.

Are you guys ready for a little break from the babies? I asked. Figuring they were both longing for camp, or, gasp, school? Anything that did not involve an outing in the car with a fussing, disagreeable two year old.

No. They answered, and each pointed at the other. They were ready for a break from each other.


Now that the big kids are back at school, everyone has been a bit more agreeable. Pretty much. I mean, there's only so much adorable togetherness these people can take.

Since school has started, Ellie has seemed a little whinier (if that's possible, ahem) than usual, but I am chalking it up to tiredness and the fact that she's made the leap from kindergarten (plenty of playtime) to Big, Bad First Grade. Also, there's been a bit more attitude coming from her than usual lately. For example, I ask her to get her clothes for the day and she responds, "I don't want to."

Come again?

I know I'm about to sound about 10,000 years old right now, but I just don't remember saying things like that to my parents when I was that age. Then again I was the perfect child, so...

In any event, a little light bulb went off in my head this morning, as Ellie exclaimed "Mommy! Today I get to choose something from the treasure box!" She went on to explain that she'd been given tickets all week from Ms. K. for good behavior and today was the day she'd finally get to cash them in.

That's exciting! I said to Ellie. But did you know that the behavior tickets extend to home? That means if there is misbehavior at home, tickets will be taken away at school? (Believe it or not this was all completely improvised--yes, yes, I know, I'm a parenting genius. It's ok, I know...)

"You mean you can CALL Ms. K?" Ellie asked.

I nodded.

A perplexed and slightly nervous look fell over Ellie's face. And with that, she disappeared upstairs to get her clothes.



Leo came home with an "All About Me" book yesterday. It was filled with his likes (pizza and the color pink) and dislikes (math and homework). There was plenty of information about his beloved family too and as you can see, his dear Ruby is still a part of it. This makes me both happy and sad at the same time. Poor Leo. It's hard enough for me to grasp the concept of death (She's here. And then, she's...not? I don't get it either buddy, believe me). I can't imagine what's going through his mind about all of it.

Leo has taken to telling complete strangers about Ruby which can be...uncomfortable. The other day at Costco a woman approached me about the twins (she wanted to tell me that she had boy/girl twins too, but hers were thirty). Leo, who was standing right next to Lucy and a pile of track suits, blurted out "Ruby died!" Needless to say, the woman nodded and quickly scurried off.

I don't want to discourage Leo from talking about Ruby, but we are working on appropriateness (sort of like, it's not ok to hug strangers). It's definitely a work in progress.

And unlike most of the other lessons, this one often leaves me teary.


Harry and Ruby, fall 2012. I didn't think I had any pictures of Ruby with either of the twins but found a few the other day. That made me happy.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Did you hear the cheers of parents all over the country yesterday morning? Particularly two in New Jersey?


These two were ready. First and fourth grade, respectively. And as Erin noted, the above shot is the first time these two have not bickered in two weeks.

(More on life for the last two weeks in another post).


I realize I'm biased. But this?

Stick a fork in me. I'm done. That's it. Dead of the cuteness. (Also, J.C. Penney? I think you have a modeling contender if you care to recreate the catalog from 1982).

I am so proud of my girl who knows nothing about mini skirts or short shorts. She picked this out the night before, a gift from Grandma Jerry. You guys, it has smocking. Again. I'm done. (Sidenote: It's a little on the long side and when Lucy saw it on Ellie she pronounced it "Too big.").

Leo took the bus as he always does, but I was able to bring Ellie to school and meet her teacher (Leo's teacher actually tutored him over the summer so we're old friends by now).

And how's this for small world news (as well as Damn, I'm Old): Ellie's teacher is the older sister of one of Leo's former classmates (who also happens to have Down syndrome!). I thought that was pretty cool.

Ellie was excited to see a girl from camp in her class (who happened to be new to the school). I was so impressed by how friendly Ellie was to her. She may not have realized what she was doing, but the little girl seemed cheered by Ellie's presence and interest in her.

Ellie wasn't scared or nervous in the least (at least not that I could tell) but she still wanted me to stay with her until the very last minute, before the classes went inside. 

I hope it's a very long time before I'm waved off at the curb, before school. I'm relishing these years that they are still not ashamed to be seen with me, that they, gasp, even seem to like having me around!