It's the little things

So a little tiny bit of honesty. Things have been stressful and difficult these last few months.  But sometimes it helps to just see what's good.

Today was good.  It was actually great.  I was able to go to Animal Kingdom with Eric for his 5th grade field trip. Things still weighed on my mind, but it was just fun.

Coming home to my guys and snuggling with Ben was A-mazing. It's been so long since I've just sat and snuggled with my kiddos. It's shameful, but that is about to change.

Driving home from my parents house and singing with the boys along with the radio.  And then laughing so hard when we got the words wrong or sang out of tune.

Life throws a lot of curve balls. It's hard to understand. Choosing to cling to these little things that feel good eases everything just a little.

Ben

Funny how things change but still they stay the same.  Ben is 6 now and finishing up his first year of kindy. HOW is my tiny baby boy about to be a first grader? And do you remember when he was tiny and driving me crazy with the climbing and escaping and getting into things?  I clicked a random link in my blog just now and ran across this post . He was tenacious! He would do anything to get what he wanted... and he still is the same. A little daredevil who got one of his only "yellows" in school this year for running up the slide and jumping off of the play structure. The poor teacher was so worried about a broken arm (and he mostly got in trouble for NOT stopping when told to stop.) He has no fear which may serve him well in life if he can survive long enough to temper it a little. He's learning to take no for an answer a little better. Often it involves some stomping and begging for me to change my mind, but less often will he out and out defy me and do it anyway. It's a process.

His teacher told me recently."Ben has so much energy! But he has the sweetest most caring heart." It made me tear up because it's true. So often I see it. He has so much love and compassion in that little wild heart of his.  It means so much to know that others see it too!

                                                Ben May 23, 2013 Splash Day at school.

So it's been a while

Looking at my last post I can't believe it was December that I was last here. Haven't blogged, haven't read blogs.  I have pretty much spent most of the last 5 months buried under books and trying to keep things in some semblance of order. 

But I finished my first year of nursing school!  I survived! And while school is so very challenging I really do love the part about becoming a nurse at the end.  Just one more year.

There is SO much to catch up on, but I never have been very good at catching up. I'm more a pick up in the here and now sort.  I'm enjoying the time off while the kids are still in school. I'm working on getting things orderly and keeping up with the chores.  I'm also trying to think of the things that I really miss from before I went back to school and writing is on the list. 

Reading that last post way back from December makes me giggle, because we've tried riding bikes to school a few times since then. Usually with similar results. Someone falls, someone bleeds.  The big kids end up getting aggravated so I tell them to go on ahead. Then they still want to do it again. There was an incident when I FORGOT we had biked to school and drove and just almost got in the pick up line. Thankfully at the last second, I remembered, went and parked the car (illegally) and met them at the place where bikers get released.  I explained the situation, and two of my guys decided to hitch a ride with me, putting bike and scooter in the back of the van. The other two rode home on bikes without me. This last time, things went well though. No falls, no whines, no need for the bandaids I stashed in the wasteband of my yoga pants. Then on the way home, my bike got a flat and I got to walk the bulk of the way home.

In spite of it all, do you know what the guys ask me most mornings now that I'm done with school?  "MOM! Can we bike to school today?"  This week has been full of morning appointments and such for me, but tomorrow, I might just say yes.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears.. and dead things

You know the time when you decide to say yes more often, and be a better mom?  The time when the kids say "Can we ride bikes to school?" And you say "SURE!" and you just know it's going to be great! You'll get some exercise! The kids will be happy! And some of the excess energy (ha! I just typed injury by accident - foreshadowing perhaps..) out of the crazy boys.  Win for everyone, right?

Well let's examine the reality. The reality involves one child falling off the scooter multiple times.  One time he was pretty badly scraped up, and guess who didn't have any band aids.  Yep - this one... right here.  All told, the ride to school wasn't too terrible aside from the bleeding. The real fun was on the way home.

It started out with me helping Ben with his helmet. I knelt down on the grass and got attacked by ants.  They were all over my feet so now I'm itchy and welty.  Fun! Then, Zack fell again.  This time, I was smart and had band aids. Alas, I only shoved TWO band aids in my pockets and this job clearly required 3 or 4. By this time, my bigger boys had given up on us and ridden home with some friends.

Along the way, Ben saw a possum ( I think, maybe a raccoon?) lying at the side of the road.  He asked me about it and I explained that it had died and he bursted into tears. After I talked to him for a bit, he brightened up and said "Maybe we just need to take him to the hospital? Is there a hospital for animals?"  To which I tried to explain that the animal was dead and there was nothing that could be done without be completely morbid with my 5 year old.  He was OK.  He decided as we left that maybe it could come back to life.  SIGH. I didn't correct him.

Then it rained.

Fine, it was just a sprinkle. A more dramatic end would be that it poured and we all got soaking wet, but reality is it just sprinkled. We've snacked and neosporined, and now everyone is playing outside and hopefully will remain uninjured.

I think tomorrow we will drive.

More Funny Stuff

So today was McDonald's night for the kids school.  You know, where part of the proceeds go to the kids' school and they get to see their teachers at McDonald's.  For my boys this is the single most exciting thing EVER.  Because seeing teachers outside of school is just so exciting and different! (Because they don't quite yet realize that teachers have their own kids and families and lives and stuff. It's a cute thing to see how giddy they are.  If we run into a teacher at Publix forget about it!  Teachers need groceries??? Who knew?)

Anyway.  We saw all the teachers, except one. Ben's teacher wasn't there during the same time we were, and it didn't occur to me it would even be an issue.  It was totally an issue. Even though he saw his math teacher, and other teachers that work with him it was simply NOT okay that he didn't see his Language Arts teacher.  As we walked out the door, he burst into tears in a most dramatic way. I was feeling pretty good, after a good day, and then getting to talk with some of the most awesome human beings (teachers are AMAZING people, by the way. My boys are blessed with good ones - the best!) So, I was trying to think of a way to deal with ridiculousness without getting grumpy or ruining everyone's day.  So completely without thinking about it, and after trying many different rational ways to help my boy feel better, I said "Okay Ben, here's the deal. I get it that you are sad Mrs. B wasn't there. But it's time to be done with the crying. So, I'm going to count to three and you are going to let out your very loudest cry, and then you are going to move on."  We were still in our parking place, so I was watching his reaction in the rear view. He had to fight soooooo very hard not to crack a smile.  I braced for the very loudest cry, but it never came.  He was simply fine after that.

I think sometimes, if we can just confuse them to the very limit, it works to our advantage.

 I'm still laughing that it worked. It probably WON'T work next time... but at least the crying stopped.

Kindergarten Tales

A few minutes ago, Ben announced to me that his clip got moved to yellow.  Obviously, I asked why. He said for chatting. I told him he shouldn't talk while his teacher is talking.  He told me his teacher was testing kids outside and Ms. M came into class.  I asked what Ms. M looked like and he said she had an afro.  Hmmm.  I couldn't think of any subs with afros.  I asked if she was old or young and he didn't know, but when I asked if it was dark hair or blond hair he said it was pink and purple.  This makes me wonder about the validity of the whole story, because I know a lot of teachers at the school, and I have NEVER seen a sub with a pink and purple afro.

What will I do with him?

Amazing

We went to the beach today. It amazes me still, that in a day  we can pack up, hit the beach, and make it home by dinner.  Every time I drive to Kevin's office over the Howard Frankland I am amazed that I really live here.  Anyway, after a perfect day at the beach, on the way home I realized Eric's glasses were missing.  After some sleuthing of the 4 adults in the car we pieced it together that they were probably sitting in the spot where we were loading stuff out of the boat, and back in the van.  The absolutely amazing miracle part of it all, is that when Kevin and Eric went back to check if they were salvageable, they were sitting untouched and unscathed.  Amazing! 

I am grateful!