New Family!

Last week the Captain turned 9 and a new member joined our family. Her name is Cheyenne, she is 5 months old. She is part husky, part something that is really really big.

The Captain has wanted a dog since he found out what dogs were. So for his ninth birthday, I went to the animal rescue with the Entertainer and Princess Lilly, and picked out the only dog that 1. wasn't a pit bull (which I've heard actually make great pets, but Brandon and I hadn't discussed the bread...) 2. wasn't a "senior" (here buddy, this is Fido, the greatest dog ever! He is going to die before you turn 10...) or 3. wasn't barking like a maniac.

So we got Cheyenne, the sweet little "husky" sad and scared and not barking, who turned into wonder dog the big jumper when they brought her out and scooted her home with us.

I waited by the fence until the Captain and the Adventurer and Brandon came home, with another dad and his two daughters. My son, who has begged me for a dog every day for the last 7.5 years, saw me holding her, and he froze. The girls ran up and petted her. The Adventurer petted her, and the Captain just stood there.

"Happy Birthday! This is Cheyenne! She's your birthday present! You can pick a new name if you want... do you want to pet her?"

"Ya, sure mom. Let me just go put my stuff down." And he saunters away. And I am baffled.

He tells me later, "mom, when I saw her, I was so excited! If those girls hadn't been there, I would have screamed like a little girl and ran up and hugged her. I just didn't want to embarrass myself."

And I breath a sigh of relief.

Wake Up!

"Mommy, time to wake up!" The Princess says as she climbs into bed with me. "I am awake." I say, eyes still closed. "No mommy, walk and smile! Wake up!"

It's cold outside!

At 7:15 am, the Entertainer headed outside, and then ran right back in. "Mommy!!!!!!!!!! It's COLD outside, that means I can go play!" The Captain and the Adventurer grabbed their shoes and ran right after him, jumping up and down with excitement.

I run around the house opening every single window so we could finally let some fresh air in, my skin prickling with joy that it's not beading with sweat for the first time since the end of April.

When I go outside to tell them it was time for school, the Captain tells me, "mommy, you weren't alive 40 years ago."

"Nope. I wasn't."

"Well that was the last time it snowed in Florida. I am so excited!" He blows into his hands to keep his fingers from getting chilly.

He is still rubbing them together when we get into the van, and I giggle when I see that the temperature reading is a bone-chilling 70 degrees.

I think they've acclimated.

The Three-Year-Old Mind

As I drove the kids to school this morning, I turned on the radio. Now, as my kids get to be better listeners, they have been hearing what people are singing, so I've had to become very careful about what we are listening to.

When Jason Marz's I'm Yours came on, I figured I was safe. And I was, until about half way through the song when he belts out, "open up your plans and damn your free," and the Entertainer starts giggling in the back seat.

Oh great, now we are going to have to take on the d-word, I'm thinking to myself.

"Hey mommy, guess what the man said!" His little 3-year old voice chirps from the backseat. "He said 'open up your pants.' Ha ha. That's funny."

And suddenly I'm lost in the world of how-far-should-I-explain-this...

...

Tuesday my oldest boys started back to school. I played with the Entertainer and Lilly, took a nap, watched What Not to Wear, had my normal 3 cups of coffee, and started experiencing the strangest tingling sensation in my arms and feet.

By Wednesday, these feelings had increased.

On Thursday, I began to think I might be dying.

It wasn't until Friday that I was able to identify the inexplicable oddness that was now pulsing through my entire nervous system. It was energy.

Daily Happenings...

This week, my boys started school.

The Captain nervously headed off to second grade. He head-nodded every kid as he walked down the hall and they all said, "Hi Captain!" "Hey Captain!" all the way to class. He didn't want me to leave his class, and I reminded him of the tiny heart I'd kissed and given him to keep in his pocket, just incase he needed me. (He'd kissed one for my pocket too, without lipstick.)

But I guess when you have the youngest, blondest, prettiest teacher in school, things work out pretty well for you. When he got home, he kept asking how many more hours until he could go back. By dinner time he was dancing around the kitchen, singing, "only 14 more hours till school starts, only 14 more hours!" And when I tucked him into bed, he handed me a tiny pink card covered in hearts that he had made for his teacher. It said, "I like you, love the Captain." He made sure that was in his pocket when he left for school today. So cute!

The Adventurer has been a little cooler about the whole idea of Kindergarten. After a day of class and the joy of only a very short nap-time at school, I thought he'd be happier about returning. Just before bedtime he told daddy, "My teacher spends WAY to much money on us!" Daddy asked, "what do you mean?" "Well, she takes us all out for breakfast AND lunch at the cafeteria!" Once we explained that Mrs. wasn't paying, he was more comfortable with the situation. It might be a couple more days before he starts writing love notes.

The Entertainer came home with me and Lily. He sat down at the counter, and I asked him if he wanted to learn how to read. He said, "Yes!" So I wrote down some words on flashcards. That was yesterday at lunch time. Today at lunch time, he had memorized 26 flashcards. So far he can read: Car, tomato, banana, cup, yogurt, spoon, melon, baby, Mommy, Entertainer, bed, animals, blanket, pillow, rug, violin, toothbrush, toothpaste, ect. I would pat myself on the back and say that I finally cracked the "reading" code, but instead I'm pretty sure that he is just a genius. I asked if he was, but he said, "no mommy, I'm just a normal kid." (Ya, because all the kids I know who just turned three can decipher between "genius" and "normal"...) Today he'd only take a nap because I told him I'd teach him how to play the violin when he woke up.

Lilly learned to bark like a dog today. Hey- that's pretty impressive for a 13 mo old, right? She also started saying: Get up, Let's go, bye-bye, please, drink, stinky, and of course, cookie. There are several more she's learned, but let's face it, that covers most of her bases. She has also mastered the art of chasing her brothers around the house with her little baby-walker. Which is pretty darn adorable.

Another summer passed, another school year begun, I am so proud to see my little ones springing up!

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There is a lizard who visits us for dinner every night. Last night we had the most awesome Eggplant Parmesan I've ever made. Sure enough, about half way through dinner, he was peeking in the window, and the Adventurer saw him. "Hey look, I think he is hungry for some...." there was a long pause while he scaned the eggplant and garlic bread. "Ummmm... maybe he just likes the way the table looks."

While I was stifling laughter on the outside, I was very proud of my 5-year-old little man.