May
17
Julia shattered a record.
by Leslie
Her perfect attendance record.
she woke up with a fever
and missed her first one
She was devastated, though we sort of saw it coming. Lucy had been sick on Sunday. Wednesday was Bee’s turn. We’d hoped Julia might be spared, at least until after her softball game. But viruses aren’t sports fans. They prefer the couch, which is where they’ve spent a lot of time this week.
It seems “in sickness and in health” applies to sisterhood, too.
May
15
F is for friends who do stuff together
by Leslie
Lucy has a friend. It’s kind of a big deal – not because it’s the first friend she’s ever had, but because it’s the first friend that didn’t come by virtue of her older sister. It’s her first friend of her very own. Of course, Julia adores Lucy’s friend as does Phoebe. And they all love her younger sister, too. Our families get along famously, so it’s fair to say we’re all friends, but the thing about it is this: It all began with Lucy and her friend. That’s special for Lucy.
Last week, the girls had a play date and they painted with shaving cream.
It was some real messy fun.
Woops, there went the t-shirt.
And the pants.
Bee kept her clothes on.
Fun.
(And yes, that IS a purple marker mustache she’s wearing.)
May
14
1. I accompanied Julia’s second grade class on their field trip to a local museum earlier this month, and people, it was incredible. Not only did she want to sit with me on the bus, she held my hand most of the way and in front of her friends! My beating heart blew up like a balloon and bulged from my chest like a lovestruck cartoon character. It’s doing it even still! But that could be because I had spicy tacos. Also, I’m drinking Diet Coke again. (I know.) It’s okay to feel disappointed in me. The dangerous chemicals have eaten away the part of my brain that cares! Okay, not really. Actually, I care very much. I’m just more disappointed in my weight gain, but not quite as disappointed as I am in my ability to keep Phoebe out of the litter box without shouting, “NO!” It seems I’m only capable of 236 gentle redirections before I blow up and loudly use the n-word. (I follow it up with a “thank you,” though, if that counts for anything.) And anyway, it worked. She got out of the litter box and sat in the cat water dish instead.
2. Lucy was in a great mood this morning after a particularly rough night, so I said to her, “Wow, you’re being very kind today. Where’d that come from?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I just put it on this morning like clothes!”
Gosh, wouldn’t it be great if we could all put on kindness clothes?
3. Today I’m wearing black nail polish. (Not metaphorically.) I hadn’t been out in the world more than twenty minutes before I was asked if I was “feeling dark” and, “going through a Goth phase?” This could be yet another look I’ve had to learn the hard way that I cannot pull off. (Toe rings!) (Choker necklaces!) (Ironic t-shirts!) (Platinum blonde hair!)
4. The pathway leading to the doors of my house was looking pretty bad.
But now?
Not too bad!
Thanks to my helpers.
5. “I missed you all year when I went to school.” – Julia, from my homemade Mother’s Day book which also included a list of 10 Things That Don’t Make Sense in the World
So, what would you tell me?
May
10
Actually, it was a stick. I was injured in a stick attack recently when some exuberant outdoor play got out of hand.
I’ve covered the most unpleasant areas of my face (i.e. zits, unkempt eyebrows, chin waddle) with positive phrases and images. My wound is shocking enough when you consider it was inflicted by my children. With sticks! I’d love to make a joke, but there’s nothing funny about being hit with a stick. Okay, there might be an “ugly” joke in there. Reach for the stars! But the whole ordeal was pretty upsetting. Dark days followed. There was no television, no video games, no treats, no joy. I did, however, earn a tagline. I can add, “hit your mother with a stick” to any sentence. I may be bad at letting go, but I’m really good at guilt.
“I’m not sure how you can laugh when just yesterday you hit your mother with a stick.”
“I see you’re writing. I sure hope it’s an apology for hitting your mother with a stick.”
“Oh, you want to come with me? You’re not going to hit me with a stick, are you?”
But, it’s all okay now. They learned a lesson. I guess they really didn’t intend to actually hit me with a stick in the first place. It was just a bad choice (pretending a stick is a weapon [Note to kids: You don't have to pretend. A stick IS a weapon.]) paired with an accident (who knew I’d stop and turn around just then?) that resulted in my being beaten down in the back yard. I’m over it. Mostly.
*It’s Log from Ren & Stimpy.
May
7
We have two enormous white boards in our house. One lives in the breakfast nook for the purpose of displaying the dinner schedule, recipes, and notes about not eating the real bacon pieces or shredded cheese if you want potato soup on Sunday. The other board lives in the dining room. This is where I write the day of the week, stuff about what’s happening that day, reminders, and the message that was on my Yogi tea bag.
(I love that they do this.
After weeks of getting unique messages, I got that one three days in a row. So, I downloaded a gratitude journal app to my phone.
That was my first entry. Message received, Universe.)
We also use that board to keep track of our weight loss “progress,” make lists, post notes and play Pictionary. Currently, it also contains a variety of countdowns of things we are either looking forward to or trying to endure, most notably, the number of school days remaining until summer break, because when summer beak begins, we can do more stuff like this.
That’s my family enjoying the supermoon and looking for meteors way past bedtime.
Did you see the supermoon on Saturday? The camera didn’t capture how bright that moon was, but it did capture an orb across the field.
And Pac-Man (middle right), which makes sense, because he eats ghosts.
What are you looking forward to? What are you trying to endure?
Stuff I Do
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Stuff You Should Do
You know, Stuff.
