Summery--Noah's Ark and Little Amerricka

By August I was starting to feel better.  In fact, one evening I even showed up to help set the table for dinner.  Greg about passed out from shock.  The first bit of housework I'd done in over a month.  We both realized it was a turning point.

As much as I'm sure Greg appreciated my help setting the table in the evenings, he probably did not appreciate how much I begged him to give up schoolwork to come on fun outings instead.  July was perhaps the most boring, monotonous month of my life.  I don't like being bored.  While I appreciate routines and predictability, I loathe feeling that life is monotonous.  It's always something I'm quick to remedy.  Except this time I couldn't!  Until August...

Even though I had ideas for fun family activities bursting from my brain, I did try to respect Greg's need to work.  But he did get dragged on a few things...


Noah's Ark

We live one hour away from the water park capital of the world.  (Did you know that?)  All summer the kids saved their allowance for a trip to Noah's Ark, which bills itself as the largest water park in the world.

It did not disappoint in size!  It was like a full-size Six Flags amusement park--except all the rides were water rides.  Like any visit to a big amusement park, there was a lot of walking.

David LOVED the lazy rivers (really??! ) and the little kid stuff. He and his dad also did one of the big slides, which was super exciting.  Unfortunately, even though we went midweek, the lines were still way too long for David on most of the big slides.  But he still had a great time.

Mary was totally overwhelmed at the beginning and emotionally shut down.  Oops.  I guess we should have prepared her more for it.  I think she thought we were going to a swimming pool.  But once she discovered her love of wave pools (of which there are two), she had the time of her life.  She can't wait to go back again to catch some more waves.

It was an exhausting day, to say that least.

Little Amerricka

One day we visited Little Amerricka, which is this little amusement park in the tiny town of Marshall.  The park is small, and the attractions are old rides that have been meticulously restored.  It's fabulous for kids!  Most of the rides are perfect for little ones.  Plus, it's all rides--no carnival games, candy shops, sketch artists, or all that other junk that goes along with amusement parks.  This place is all about the rides.  (And mostly about the wonderful Whiskey River Railway that meanders through the countryside.)  Best of all, you buy wristbands based on your height (or which rides you want to go on), or you can pay per ride, or just tag along without paying any general admission.  (This worked great for us--David and Greg got the everything wristbands, and Mary and pregnant me went for the less expensive ones.)  I loved this place.  You can even bring in your own food and drinks!  Highly recommended for families with young kids.

I took too many pictures, sorry.

The Mary-go-round

Look closely--that's David and Greg in the very front of the Meteor!

David on the monorail overlooking the park

Mary and Daddy on the scrambler

Mary said she could spend all day on the scrambler.  I'm not sure how Greg would feel about that.

Mary and I hung out on the kiddie rides while the boys did the go-carts.

Mary the pilot

Sweet Mary on the fire engines

Sweet David on the train

Mary on the train

The train ride continues, and I can't stop taking pictures of my kids.
 (Notice David's big boo-boo.  His first serious road rash!  He's a true cyclist now!)

The coal-powered steam engine

Mary LOVED the kiddie roller coaster.

David did too--even though he liked to act as if it was beneath him.

David wanted to check out the kiddie rides too.  Look at my sweethearts!

I even squeezed into this car with them.

Greg got roped into the Tilt-a-Whirl a few times.  It's too bad you can't see Mary in this picture--she liked it most of all!

Bumper cars!  Mary rode with Daddy.  And David was tall enough for his very own!

More than anything the kids wanted to play mini-golf.  I was incredulous.  Why would you play mini-golf when you can go on ROLLER COASTERS?  Are they really the fruit of my womb?

We finally obliged.  It was included in their wrist bands, after all.  And they had a wonderful time.  Sigh.

Just as the park was closing, David and Mary went back for a few more rounds on the kiddie coaster.  And LOVED it!  Perfect way to end the day.

Summery--when Grammy saved the day!

With his wife pretty much down for the count, Greg was left alone to bear the burden of, well, everything this summer.  I tried, I really tried!  

Greg already does the dishes every night, so I feel it my do or die duty to create the mess he cleans up each evening.  I tried to keep making dinner...I had the best of intentions.  But things got worse and worse. Until, for the third day in a row when the kids asked, "What are we having for dinner?" I answered, "Toast."  Greg, who had been patiently watching me try and desperately hoping I would rally (and eating lots of toast), volunteered to start making dinner.  At first I resisted.  But I could see the look in his eyes, "Man cannot live on toast alone."  So I relented, much relieved.  Greg, being the kind of man he is, promptly took over all the shopping, inventoried the pantry, and looked up fabulous new recipes online.  We ate better than we had in months.  (Or at least he and the kids did.)

Greg also took on about every other household duty you could think of (and this was on top of everything he already does).  Greg found himself doing all of the shopping, cooking, and cleaning, as well as putting the kids to bed every night. I nominally retained responsibility of the laundry, which pretty much meant not doing laundry (but everyone had clean underwear!).  Fortunately, Greg has broad shoulders.

Unfortunately, the timing was a little bad.  Greg had an important dissertation deadline just around the corner.  He needed to finish his research proposal.  He had been telling me all spring, "You know, Alisa, I'm going to be really busy the first part of the summer writing my proposal."  I was like "Oh, okay, whatever."  You see, when I thought "research proposal" I thought of the paragraph my ninth graders would scribble onto a piece of scratch paper in response to the assignment to tell me what they wanted to do their six-page research paper on.  At most, I thought of the two or three page "research proposals" I was required to turn into my graduate school professors before embarking on major research papers.  I figured since my research proposals were two pages long, and getting a PhD in Systems Engineering is, I estimated, four or fives times harder than getting a master's in English Lit, then his research proposal would have to be, say, ten pages long.  Sheesh! How hard is it to crank out ten pages?

Finally, when I decided to be a better listener, I gathered the reality of the situation.  Greg's research proposal was the document for his prelims, an oral exam where he presents his research ideas and his committee grills him on the topic for two hours.  The "research proposal" is a tad more than a 10 page document.  It's 150 pages.  Ouch.  No wonder he was stressing.

I was stressing too!  How could Greg take care of every single aspect of our family and home, as well as complete the proposal on time?  I mean, I knew he could do it.  Heck, he was doing it! But it was a big burden.  And we both knew he would be thankful for a little help.

So he asked his mom.  Vicky has seven children, seventeen grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, and dear friends spread out across the continent.  When summer comes, and she is not teaching seminary and piano, she makes the most of it, criss-crossing the country and racking up the frequent flier miles. The week we desperately hoped she could come help was the one week she was going to be home.  I'm sure she had plans to catch her breath, can peaches, work in the garden, and relax.  But she was willing to come help us instead.  

She spent a week with us, cooking delicious meals, stocking our freezer, hosting playgroup at our house, cleaning, keeping me company (it's nice to have someone around to talk to--it helps keeps your mind off how crummy you feel) and, most importantly, playing with the kids.  I retreated to my bedroom, and Greg chugged along on his writing, while Grammy entertained the kids and kept the house running.  It was a week of rest and work Greg and I both, respectively, needed.

Like I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to generally feel okay for a while each morning, so I tagged along on a couple of outings.  But mostly Grammy's visit was quiet and spent playing at home, where Grammy and the kids built forts and played games.

This is a picture of true Christlike service:

One morning we managed a visit to the children's museum...

David and Mary each worked on their own version of Hogwart's.

David and Mary worked together to build a house out of a variety of materials.

One day Greg even emerged from his office cave long enough to visit Little Norway with us.

I'm related to the original Norwegian settlers somehow (I just can't remember how).

 I'm also related to her...

This was more than Mary getting in touch with her inner Viking.  This is more about how much she wants long, blonde locks.  (Sorry, hon.  You always want what you don't have.)

What a blessing it was to have Grammy here!  Greg made so much progress that week--it was amazing.  I am humbled by Vicky's willingness to drop everything to help us.  What a great example of love and service. We will ever be so, so grateful for the sacrifice she made to be here.

Summery--swim lessons

We did two sessions of swim lessons this summer at the Middleton pool, which we love.  They have a great program there.  Every morning for four weeks, the kids swam (while I sat very still in the shade of tree).  The kids did great.

Mary, who before lessons began had informed me she was never going to put her face in the water, couldn't resist being obedient to her teacher.  And she was putting her face in from day one.  So she made great strides!  She is a swimmer now.  Bonus:  Mary overcame her fear of the water slide!

David is working on stroke development and endurance.  He worked really hard!  It won't be long until he's ready for a swim team.  (If you want your kid to be a lifelong strong swimmer, I'm of the opinion that nothing beats a few seasons on a swim team.)  Bonus:  David overcame his fear of the diving board!

As a fundraiser, the lifeguards take pictures of the kids underwater.  Here are this year's pictures of David and Mary.  (I don't know why they took so many pictures of Mary--it's supposed to be one per session.)

Summery--visitors!

Thankfully, near the end of June we had visitors to break up the monotony of our summer.  Hooray!  Best of all, it was the Thompsons!  Gina and I both moved to Dayton, Ohio the same week--and we immediately became good friends.  We left Ohio at the same time too.  They moved to Colorado, and we went to Texas, then onto Wisconsin.  During the summers that I criss-crossed the West, I managed to see her a couple of times.  But it'd been a long time since then, so I was thrilled to learn they would be stopping here for a few days during their grand summer road-trip.

Nephi and Gina and their boys were so kind, patient, and accommodating during their stay.  We weren't exactly the best hosts ever.  Greg had an important deadline just around the corner, so he was often gone to campus, and, even though I wasn't battling headaches anymore, I didn't feel 100%.  (But I felt closer to 100% than I had all summer!  There was something about talking to Gina and being with her boys that was calming, distracting, and reenergizing--just what I needed.)

I love Wisconsin, and I am pretty obsessed with showing it off.  If I had been my normal self, I would have dragged the Thompsons to every restored European immigrant site within a 50-mile radius.  This time I preferred to sit around all morning in my pajamas chatting while the kids played Wii and/or worked on construction projects in the sandbox--which, come to think of it, was probably a huge blessing for the Thompson boys because, as my kids know too well, you can only see so many old barns.

But we did manage a few things (none of which involved an old barn) like, for instance...

a cookout at Picnic Point on Lake Mendota...

 (This ash-covered sweetie is Benjamin, the littlest Thompson.  I finally got to meet him, and he is a heart breaker.  So darling and gentle.)


and a visit to the Children's Museum...

Isaac and Mary getting their hair set.  (What, your children's museum doesn't have vintage hair dryers?)

We were so sad to see them go.  Boo hoo!  The morning they were trying to leave I kept following Gina around the house talking.  I couldn't stop.  They'd been here three days, but I still had four thousand things I wanted to discuss with her in depth.  Oh well.  The comforting thing is that I know we are the kind of friends who can pick up right where we left off.  (Looking back at Ohio, it seems almost too easy.  Who clicks with someone who will become a lifelong friend the first week you move somewhere?  Me!  Lucky me!)

Mary still talks about "when our cousins were here," and I love the thought that Gina and Nephi and their boys are part of our extended family!  I have no doubt our paths will cross again--I just hope it's sooner rather than later.

Summery--sick

Just what you've all been waiting for!  A summary of how sick I felt this summer!  What could be more exciting?  Sorry, folks, but I wasn't blogging back in the day when I was pregnant with/gave birth to/survived the early infanthood of David and Mary, and I am going to more than make up for it now!

First with the disclaimers. I am grateful for this pregnancy.  Even in the moments when it felt like a curse, I never ever lost sight that it is a blessing.  When I checked in at the OB clinic for the first time and they did the intake interview and one of the gazillion questions is "Was this pregnancy wanted?"--the amount of want behind my simple squeaky, nauseated "yes" could fill a universe.  So I was happy and blessed and grateful... but that didn't change the fact that I felt like crap.

Fortunately, on a scale of how bad morning sickness can be, I was still pretty far from the bottom.  I wasn't vomiting all the livelong day; I was able to stay hydrated enough; I was never in any danger.  No trips to the hospital, no IVs.  For which I was thankful.  I just felt like I had the never ending flu.  (Oh, and the headaches!  The horror.)  I think what made it worse was the fact that it was so unexpected.  I don't deal well with the unexpected.  I was never this sick with Mary or David.  Aren't first pregnancies (not last) supposed to be the worst?  (When will I learn that my kids don't follow the baby instruction manual?)

I expected this pregnancy to be much like my pregnancy with Mary, which was pretty good.  Actually, I don't recall much about being pregnancy with her, which I take as a sign that it couldn't have been all that bad.  I hardly remember daily life in Turkey during that time.  I figure it must not have been too bad (surely helped by the fact that sweet Yelis, our housekeeper, was there several mornings a week).

The proof that my pregnancy with Mary must not have been too miserable is that we continued to travel.  We visited Cyprus when I was seven or eight weeks along, and I do remember I needed to go to the hotel and take a nap one afternoon.  But no other pregnancy woes or inconveniences.  We also went to Cappadocia and a few Mediterranean spots, and I remember that I had originally been concerned about food cravings and aversions while we were out and about.  But I had been eating Turkish food for nearly two years--so what I craved was Turkish food.  So it all worked out.  I even managed to find bathrooms as needed when we traveled (always a concern for a pregnant lady).

Eleven weeks with Mary was the worst of it.  We flew from Turkey to Texas, and it was the kind of travel where everything goes wrong.  You fly with a 20-month-old on a twelve-hour overbooked flight; you lose luggage; connecting flights are cancelled; you grow old waiting in airports; you fight with ticket agents; you eat seven hundred dollars to get you out of the nightmare.  By the time David and I finally made it to Dallas (Greg had flown onto Alabama for training), I was really feeling the first trimester blues.  Then, exhausted and still recovering from the journey, David ended up in the hospital for 5 days.  He refused the prison-like crib, so we slept together that week on the little fold-out chair.  Ugh.  I was tired (exhausted!! delirious!) and nauseated and worried and stressed like no other.  Worst week of a first trimester ever!  (But the nurses, who knew I was pregnant, took good care of me, keeping my supply of Sprite and saltines well-stocked.  David also had all four grandparents in town to lend support and keep me company.  Also, David's illness had actually began in Turkey.  While traveling probably hastened the worst of it, he was likely on his way to the hospital no matter what.  As much as I love Turkey, I'm very grateful David ended up in an American hospital.  So I can't complain too much about the whole episode.)

After our stint in the hospital, I stayed for a month at my parents' house in Texas.  During that time I got the stomach flu.  The stomach flu while you have morning sickness?  The worst!! Should not be allowed by the laws of nature!  But, overall, other than feeling a little off in the morning and craving MEAT--my dad even took me to the upscale steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan and it was sooooo good and if you know me then your jaw is on the floor--I think I felt basically okay.  (Enough to take a romantic weekend getaway to Montgomery, Alabama.  Because, yes, Montgomery is that romantic.  Okay, so it's not AT ALL, but Greg was there.  And that's all I need!)

Pregnancy numero dos wasn't so bad.  And it's what I was expecting with third time around.  But, instead, this time was even worse than my first pregnancy.  Bleh.  With David, my first, I had more "classic" morning sickness. Getting up in the morning was torture.  I'd eat two or three saltine crackers, get out of bed, possibly throw up, and drag myself myself to work.  I was teaching 10th grade that fall, and during first period I would sit carefully at my desk, nibbling crackers and sipping ginger tea, almost not daring to breath, lest I throw up.  (Fortunately, 16-year-olds are a pretty low-energy bunch that early in the morning.  We were a good match.)  But as the first few hours of the day progressed, I perked up.  Only mornings were rough.  I even had enough energy for graduate school classes and homework in the evenings.  (Not that I wasn't tired.  I always went to bed as early as possible, totally worn out. Poor Greg spent many a Friday night alone, his wife having gone to bed at 7:30!)

This time was more the opposite.  I was very (very!) lucky in that I got a few good hours in the morning.  (Yes, the morning.  Isn't that weird?  Having two or even three decent hours in the morning was truly a blessing, and, trust me, I thanked God every day for those precious minutes.  But it really made me examine my time.  If you know you only have two hours a day to "live," how do you use that time? I think I'll write about this in a separate post.)  By lunchtime things started to go downhill--and fast.  By late afternoon I was incapacitated (and groaning and moaning) in bed.  A mom who was completely checked out.  Good thing my kids can operate the TV remote control on their own.

Thankfully, puking my guts out wasn't a major issue this time around.  But I felt like I had the stomach flu.  And that I'd been run over by a truck.  You know how sometimes you feel too sick to even watch TV or read a book?  All you can do is lie there and hope you fall asleep.  I spent many, many a mind-numbing afternoon in a kind of semi-conscious state.  Ugh.  Again, thank goodness my kids are capable of watching TV for hours on end.  They also learned how to raid the top shelf of the pantry on their own.  Another blessing.

The worst though became the severe headaches.  They were totally, completely incapacitating.  The pain!  The horror!  By the time the kids were out of school for the summer, the headaches would come every few days--and last for two days.  This was the first time I'd experienced having a severe headache that would last for more than 24 hours. Miserable. (I've had a handful of true blue migraines in my life.  But they were few and far between.  And would only last half a day.  Oh my goodness, to those of you who cope with frequent migraines, how do you do it??!!!)

Ultimately, my doctor prescribed a safe (but still pretty wimpy) painkiller. And most importantly, she convinced me to try the latest and greatest nausea medication.  She suspected I was in a terrible cycle of nausea giving me headaches which made me nauseated which triggered more headaches which gave me nausea and so on.  She (rightly) suspected that if I could eat more normally and drink more regularly, the headaches would go away.  Up until that point I had refused anything for the nausea besides B-12 vitamins and ginger tea (which, by the way, were doin' nothin'.)  Way back in the kidney infection days, I'd taken medication for nausea--and the side effects were HORRIBLE.  Last thing I wanted.  But my doctor assured me this was good stuff, nearly side-effect free.  And it was good stuff--thank you, cancer research.  (I realize now that every pregnant woman and her dog knows about this medication and asks for it.  But I haven't been pregnant for half a decade, people.  I didn't know there was something to do about terrible morning sickness!)  Anyway, the medication didn't make a huge difference.  But it definitely took an edge off the nausea.  Enough that I could eat and drink more normally.  Which, for the most part, chased away the headaches.  Phew.  And, while I still spent afternoons and evenings in bed, sometimes I could even read a book.

I have wondered if maybe this pregnancy only seems worse than my first.  Maybe having to get up and get dressed and go to work and worry about graduate classes  forced me to just get over it and push through?  Perhaps...But the proof to me that the my first first trimester couldn't have been this bad is that I traveled.  When I was pregnant with David, Greg and I flew to Utah for Christmas.  On an airplane.  And I didn't die.  Then a couple of weeks later we went to Germany and Paris.  On a military airplane.  And I didn't die.  So I threw up in a German airport and pooped out at the Eiffel Tower and the flight home may have been one of the most miserable experiences of my life.  But I WILLINGLY flew across the Atlantic.  There is NO WAY you have gotten me on an airplane this summer.  Nothing would have been worth the misery.  NOTHING!  I lay in bed all of July thinking about it, in fact.  A trip to Europe?  No.  A million dollars?  Nope.  A death?  Sad, but no.  Cafe Rio?  Not even Cafe Rio.  Nothing could have gotten me on an airplane.  And that is how I know this was the suckiest first trimester.

(But now it's over.  Woo hoo!!)

Summery--karate and gymnastics

A "summery" of a couple of activities my kids did...


Karate

David was in a great beginning karate class at a fabulous gym this summer.  (Hey, locals, next year check out the summer karate program Kicks Unlimited does through the Fitchburg rec department.  Super afforable and super quality!) David  took it very seriously, and he did a great job!  On the last day he earned his white belt.  He would really like to continue.  He gets excited about a lot of things, so we're going to wait until after soccer and reevaluate.  I'm trying to really observe and really listen to my kids when it comes to choosing what activities they do.  (It's hard figuring out and balancing passion, time, talent, cost, benefits, etc.  But I'm guessing most of you know that already...)

Here's our martial artist in action:

Receiving his white belt from the dojo:

Bailey too:

Congratulations, kids!!

Great job, David!


Gymnastics

After a school year of dance, Mary wanted to go back to gymnastics.  This summer we tried a new gym, Badger Gymnastics Academy, which had been highly recommended from lots of different people.

Mary loved gymnastics!  It was definitely the highlight of each week for her.  In her usual fashion, she worked hard and with serious enthusiasm.

On the last day, friends and family were allowed into the gym for a closer look and to take pictures.  (Normally, you watch the classes from a windowed observation deck on the second floor.)  I loved watching Mary.

A few pictures:

Mary marching out with her teacher:

(This actually wasn't Mary's teacher.  She had a substitute on the last day.  And, to be honest, I am so glad!  One reason why people love this gym is because the teachers are fabulous!  But Mary's was young, inexperienced, and pretty average.  She was nice enough, but she was more interested in/comfortable with going through the mental list of tasks to complete each class than in actually helping the kids progress.  It was so frustrating to watch Mary so close to accomplishing new skills, which she could have if her teacher had just been a little more aware and willing to push just a tiny bit.  Oh well.  I think Mary's teacher was an anomaly.  There are two big gyms and multiple classes going on in both gyms at once, so I had the chance to observe the other instructors too.  They all seemed wonderful!  I think Mary progressed more on the last day with the experienced substitute, who was great, than she had all summer with her mediocre teacher.  So it was a good way to end--Mary definitely felt a sense of accomplishment!)

Coming out of a front roll:

Beginning a cartwheel:

Practicing hand stands:

Building strength and control on the rope:

Working on the bars:

At the end we were all invited to participate in a few fun activities together.  Mary and her much adored brother:

Mary would love to continue in gymnastics.  And she would also like to do dance again.  But, for now, she's got to adjust to all-day school.  I don't see any after school activities in her near future.  So I'm especially glad she loved gymnastics this summer.

A "summery" of not

Labor Day, the official end of summer, seems the perfect time to look back at the last few months.  A summary of the summer, a "summery," if you will.

The day-to-day of this summer was pretty boring, and not in that idyllic popsicles-in-the-backyard way.  It was more of a "please go downstairs and watch five more hours of TV" way.  But we did drag ourselves to a few activities.  And we were very fortunate to have a few visitors to break up the monotony.  So I certainly can't complain that it was all bad.  (In fact, I'm already feeling a little nostalgic about this summer.  Yikes!  Who feels nostalgic about laying in bed for hours wanting to die knowing your kids are on their 14th episode of Hannah Montana that day?!  Ah, the power of the human mind...or lack thereof.)

In keeping with the general rosiness that is most mommy blogging, this weekend I will be posting a disproportionate amount of fun and happy and cute from the summer.  But, before we get started, to even out the scales just a tad, allow me to offer a list of


Some Things We Gave Up on This Summer Before Summer Even Began

1. Arts and crafts
2. Piano
3. Learning to tie shoes and aprons
4. The summer reading program at the library (Who doesn't do the summer reading program at the library??!!...Us.)
5. Any and all projects
6. Family reunions
7. Laundry*
8. Lots of play dates with lots of different friends
9. Limits on electronics and T.V.
10. Snacktime
11. Lunch
12. A clean kitchen counter
13. A clean anything
14. Clothes that cover your kid's rear end
15. Socializing
16. Regular outings
17. Blogging
18. Fun

*Okay so I didn't completely give up on laundry.  But I did go out at the beginning of the summer and buy everyone lots and lots of extra underwear.  It's AMAZING how long you can manage to go without doing laundry if everyone has five thousand extra pairs of undies.

As you can see, I started out the summer with very low expectations.  And, for the most part, my expectations were met.  But there were a few bright spots, made all the brighter against our dull background.  

Pictures and a few comments of said bright spots coming up in the next few posts.  A summer summary.

Back to school preparations (or lack thereof)

David and Mary go back to school on Tuesday.  I'd put off all back to school preparations until after our trip to Door County.  So I'd like to say that I've been rushing around this week buying new clothes, sharpening pencils, and organizing school supplies.  But mostly I've just been a lazy bum about it.

Normally, I would carefully work on choosing a back-to-school outfit with them.  But David is a boy.  He will be perfectly happy wearing one of his two thousand Star Wars shirts.  Besides, he refuses to wear any shirt without "something big" on the front, so, really, I'm not going to bother trying to wrestle him into a nice preppy shirt.  (I gave up last year.)  And he can wear a pair of his many old, faded shorts.  These are all the same shorts he's been wearing since he was four.  That's how skinny he is.  (People, please please make me get rid of his shorts!  I'm sure they'll still fit around the waist next summer too, but another summer with them would be just wrong.)  Anyway...Star Wars T-shirt, faded shorts.  Check. David's all set.

Mary, on the other hand, would love nothing more than to go school clothes shopping.  But that girl can just wear one of her new summer outfits.  We had to go mid-summer shopping for Mary.  This was our first summer out of the toddler section, and I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the summer.  For one, I completely underestimated the shortness of the shorts in the girls section.  So all summer Mary's underpants have been hanging out the bottom of her shorts.  Frankly, I was too sick to care, and, besides, she's only four (and it's not like we managed to get out of the house much).  But come August, it occurred to me she was going to have NOTHING to wear during those first few warm, summery weeks back at school--unless she was going to be showing off her bum cheeks to the whole school.  So I basically bought her a whole new summer wardrobe, one that keeps her bare cheeks and panties out of sight.  As long as the weather stays warm, she'll have plenty to wear.  So no new school clothes.

As far as school supplies go...I've been just as lazy.  I am normally super uptight about buying EXACTLY what is on the supply list, driving around town to five different stores in search of the teacher's preferred brand or size.  But this time I decided I was making one trip to our nearby Target, and it would just have to do.  When I arrived, I realized the major flaw in my plan.  I should have made my one trip to Target six weeks ago.  Everything was picked over and out of stock.  (Why is it not reasonable to expect to be able to do your school supply shopping the week before school?)  But I took a deep breath, recommitted myself to making it work, and got to work with my favorite shopping companion, Mary.  Trudging back and forth between the back to school area and the office supplies, we managed to cobble together a near-complete list.  So the markers are the wrong color, the erasers the wrong brand, the pencils crappy, and the glue sticks too small...I don't care!  This is a monumental achievement for the OCD/Type-A/perfectionist/people-pleaser person in me!  Yeah, David's teacher might be a little annoyed.  But any therapist would be extremely proud.

As far as Mary's school supplies...nada.  It aligned perfectly with my laziness.  (Though we did have to write a big fat supply check to her school.  Ouch.  But, honestly, less painful than buying the supplies yourself.)  We did, however, have to buy her a lunchbox since she will be going full day.  Which was no small matter.  Her school aims for waste-free lunches. We're definitely zip-lock bag/juice box/paper napkin folks in this house.  But I can be a team player.  So we had to find a kid-friendly, dishwasher-safe (my requirement!!) bento-type system and a lunch box it would fit in, all in pretty colors of course.  Definitely more work than one trip to Target.

The last step before starting school (except for a couple of important-ish things I'll take care of this weekend) was visiting their classrooms.  Yesterday morning we stopped by Mary's school for a tour of the new building.  It's beautiful!!  I was feeling a little grouchy during the 25 minutes it took to get there (ugh), but the new location is lovely and the building is wonderful.  We checked out the whole school, but the best part was seeing Mary's classroom.  It's big and bright with a gorgeous view of a Wisconsin prairie.  Anna, Mary's teacher, happened to be there working in the room, and as soon as she saw Mary she immediately ran to her and scooped her up.  Anna loves Mary so much.  I almost started crying when I saw how safe and loved Mary felt in Anna's arms.  Needless to say, Mary loves Anna so much too.

Mary is going to have a great year.  She's been going to a Montessori school for the past two years with the same teacher and same kids.  She was in what's called the Children's House, which is for 3-6 year olds, and it's really meant to be a three year experience.  The first two years the child attends every morning.  And the 3rd year is the capstone experience.  It's called Extended Day, and it's the Montessori equivalent of Kindergarten.  After the younger two-thirds of the class leaves each day, the older children stay for the afternoon.  They are a small, intimate group, of about 7-12.  They spend the afternoon refining reading, writing, and math skills; cooking; taking nature walks; sewing; listening to chapter books; working on projects.  They also learn how to be leaders and how to help the younger kids.  

It's an experience we realized we want Mary to have.  It will be a change, her being gone all day.  And I have no doubt the transition will be bumpy--she will be so tired after school!  But she is ready.  It doesn't feel like sending her off to kindergarten though.  She will be with a teacher who has already loved her for two years.  She will be with good friends.  Though the building is new, the classroom feels comfortable and she's already  familiar with the materials and methods and routines.  It's a relief not to be sending her into the unknown.

I'm excited to send David off to school too, for him.  We visited his classroom last night and dropped off his school supplies.  He got a WONDERFUL teacher! (David had a brand new teacher last year, and, while I have the deepest sympathy for new teachers, I was ready for David to have someone more experienced this time around.)   I have heard she's the best, and, since she was one of the science fair judges last year, I got to know her a little, and I can see why she's so beloved.  As soon as we walked in the door, she recognized him (her classroom was across from his last year) and gave him a big hug.  My heart melted--he's an affectionate kid, and I felt like he was going to be in good hands.  

Also, David is in the same class as his best friend Bailey.  Again!  That's three years in a row!   I know a few other BFFs that have been in classes together for years at his school.  I just don't think it's a coincidence.  I think the principal and teachers make an effort to keep good friends together.  In fact, David has a number of other good friends in his class too.  Hooray!  If it's a good, healthy friendship, why not allow the kids to foster it and be happy at school?  That is so different from how I grew up--they always made a concerted effort to use class assignments as a way to break up groups of friends.  (Why???  Looking back, it seems so cruel and pointless.  Obviously you need to separate kids who are truly disruptive or in some kind of dysfunctional relationship, but if it's a normal happy friendship, why try to break it up?)  Apparently, David's school is keeping up with the latest research.  Just another thing I really like about his school:  They encourage friendship, instead of fearing it. (For example, you don't see things in the classrooms like having the seating chart be "shy girl," "rowdy boy, "shy girl.")

So, now that I have rambled enough, I am coming around to my point.  I think this is going to be a very good school year for my kids.  I know there will be bumps along the way, but overall I expect it be a positive experience with lots of learning, growth, and friends.  That is why it is hard for me to be sad about David and Mary going back to school.  I really will miss them, but they have greater things waiting for them.  

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By the way, next year, when they're both at a new school in a new state I'm sure I will be a WRECK!!  Oh, it's going to be so hard.  I'm saving all of my tears for then.

By the way again, we have no idea what Mary will do next year.  She'll be quite young for first grade--her birthday's not until October--but it's hard to imagine her going to kindergarten next year, especially if it's only half day where we move.  I love Montessori, but not the tuition. So who knows.  We try not to play up the "you're going to kindergarten this year" thing, in case she does go to regular public school kindergarten next year.  But most of her friends are starting kindergarten this year, so we do tell her she's doing kindergarten too but it's called Extended Day at her school.  And that she might do regular K next year but maybe first grade but really we don't know so just have fun this year and we love you a lot.  She takes it all in stride.  (Probably the only thing she takes in stride.)