Please Excuse the Stink

We've had a great weekend. Busy as usual with cook-outs and gardening and trying to clean the house at the same time as amusing two children. Someone told me recently that some good advice they were given as a parent was "raise children, not grass" in reference to to making the most of the kids and not worrying about the lawn. That would be perfectly okay except that I'm not just a neat-freak but I actually LOVE gardening. I am at my happiest when I'm stuck into a gardening project or just pottering about with my secateurs.

I might have pushed things a bit far this time though. On Friday I took a days vacation and went to the local sewage plant to get biosolid compost and then we (err, Craig) spread it over the back lawn. It will do wonders for my lawn I know, but good grief it stinks like poo. Which is what it is actually so why am I surprised? On Saturday we had English friends over for a cook-out and we had to set it up outside of the garden proper and still, as you ate your sausage or took a sip of wine, as gust of wind would come though and waft a foul smell and we'd all go quiet. I apologised at least 10 times and they politely insisted they couldn't smell anything "No, really, can't smell a thing, honest". We English are extraordinarily polite. My American friends would have said "Damn woman, what have you guys been feeding the dog?"

So the smell is still here, two days on. Might last a good week and will surely shock the postman tomorrow. Can't open some windows and both kids and the dog are barred from the back yard for at least a week. But my lawn will look gorgeous next spring!

Loving Cliff!

In contrast to Daniel's despair at going to school, our Jack has taken to it like a duck to water. He loves the social aspect and the chance to make friends with kids and teachers. Tonight he did a rendition of his music class this afternoon, complete with musical actions "jump up and down and all around, you're all in the show!" It was like watching someone practice for a play. He has a best friend every day and tells me who got sent to the principals office. He usually helps me pack his lunch too. I hope Danny gets to love it as much.

On Fridays Jack gets to take something for show & tell, so he's taking a toy London bus tomorrow and made me put the You Tube "Summer Holiday" clip on again so he could sing along. I do get a big kick out of my 5-year old's love of Cliff Richard (the American equivelant would be Buddy Holly maybe). It makes me feel like things are coming full circle because he likes songs that I loved as a kid.

I'm hoping his connection to England will be embraced by his friends at school, and not considered weird. Adults all seem to love England but who knows how 5 year olds think!

It Can Only Get Better, Right?

It can only get better. That is what I'm going to tell myself.

This morning, Danny's 2nd day at pre-school, he was distraught. He refused to wear his name badge, cried hysterically and tried to bolt from the room several times and then sobbed for most of the time there. There was some respite when they took him to the rumpus room but then he got hysterical again. When I went back to get him he was shell-shocked, with a blotchy face and what I suspect was some sick down the front of his sweatshirt. His teacher looked like she'd had a rough morning and just said "It will get better, day by day" and she handed him off to me.

On the way home he sat looking out of the window and didn't say a word. He looked like he was in shock. Poor little lad.

I don't know how to make this better for him & I'm dreading next Tuesday already. Where's Mary Poppins when you need her.

Danny's First Day at Pre-K

Danny had his first day at pre-school today and I was a little nervous. He hasn't been in a day-care situation since he was nine months old so I didn't know how he'd react to other adults looking after him. I've been building him up about how great and fun it will be and it all seemed well as we were leaving the house.

Once we got in his room he got stuck into the toys and actually played with another little boy a bit and interacted with one teacher a tiny bit. There are a set of triplet girls in his class that are just gorgeous and I met another mum that I got on well with. So all was well and then parents got asked to go to the parlour for a meeting with the centre director for 1/2 an hour while the kids stayed with their new teachers. As we started to leave the room, the 3 girls just started bawling and one boy's lip started quivering and I looked over at Danny apprehensively but he had his back to me playing on a magnetic board so I snook out. I felt so bad that I didn't tell him I'd be back, but I also didn't want to get him riled up.

When I got back to the room it was bizarre. He was stood by the big window, looking out, with his back to the room. He had his hands clenched and hanging down by his sides and his head was set far down, almost touching his chest. The pose he has when he's really mad or upset. I scooped him up and he said "and there's my sticker!" and pointed to his crumpled-up name badge on the floor. I desperately wanted to ask his teachers what had happened but the next group of new parents and kids were coming in so we left.

I tried to get him to carry his new bag and let me take his picture but he was not a happy camper at all, so this is my best shot..

As soon as got went into the school playground he was a different boy of course and back to his cheery self.
A lot of people have asked me how it went but I don't know really. He didn't cry but he wasn't happy. Not happy at all. He can be very shy at first and isn't a social butterfly with anyone except those closest to him (in contrast to Jack who wants to be everybody's friend). I knew he wouldn't interact too much but I didn't think he'd be unhappy or mad - like I think he was when I got back to the room. Time will help I know. I just need to give him time.

Stuff & Nonsense

I feel like there's lots of little things to do an update on today.

Firstly and most importantly, my friend that had cancer surgery has been told that it was at stage 1 and she doesn't need chemo - so that's a huge relief. She posted recently about food worries then we went and met tonight at the park after having both eaten HUGE amounts of pasta for dinner and we both just wanted to lie down and rub our bellies. I do wish I could be satisfied with a salad and a glass of water instead of pasta & wine!

Next, suddenly we're all so busy. Not just with hectic work stuff but with soccer practice, soccer games, swimming, doctors appointments and open evenings. I have so many schedules stuck to my fridge that I've run out of magnets and am having to double up. I hate the mess of it but find myself letting it go. Where once I was regimental about cleaning, now I can step over a lump of sticky stuff on the floor and not bat an eyelid. And I've started wearing vests around the house and tying my hair up. Good lord I'm turning into a slob aren't I? If you ever see me wearing a house coat give me a good shake.

Tomorrow will be nuts. It's Danny's first day at pre-school so my first attempt at getting them both out of the house dressed, fed and clean by 8am. I'm already half-panicked about it and hope I can keep my cool. It's that time of year when I have my windows open so I would hate for neighbours and passers-by to hear me ranting like a sailor every morning. I once asked my immediate neighbours if they could hear me and they said "No, but we worry that you can hear us too!" So wish me luck on my morning runs.

Jack is doing great at Kindergarten and told me proudly today that he was the table captain. His table are called the "Blue Unicorns". (I typed Blue Leprechauns at first and thought who in their right mind calls kids after little scary freaks? I had to go and check a note on the fridge and realised my mistake!) One thing I have been a bit surprised about is the homework which he's had almost every night. It seems a little extreme after 6.5 hours of school every day but I'm jollying him along and he seems to like it.

A few last things - I was upset to hear that Andy Whitfield died this past weekend. Craig and I loved the Spartacus series and it's so sad that he died so young.

We watched "Paul" this weekend and it was great - very entertaining! It's a comedy with the Sean of the Dead cast about them rescuing an alien from Area 51. In keeping with the alien theme, I gave up on my historical book about area 51. It just got too political and technical and, let's face it boooooring. I can accept the theory that the Roswell crash was a disk-like aircraft from Stalin's Russia that contained "beings" bred in Mengele's lab. Seems far more feasible to me than little green men. I'd like to say I garnished a bit more from the book than that but it was far too boring to read. Sorry.

Innis Woods & Craig's New Job

We took the lads to Innis Woods Metro Park today. I am ashamed that I've lived here for 12 years and only just went today. And I could kick myself because it's wonderful, with all kinds of gorgeous gardens and things for the kids to see and do. How can we not have been before?

It seemed like the perfect thing to do today, on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack. I wanted to do something low-key and quiet. Plus, we watched some of the live tv this morning but it upset me too much so I'm glad we got out of the house. It's hard to believe that ten years have gone by so quickly isn't it.

It's a big day from Craig tomorrow as he starts his new job. Same place but a bigger and better job and more money. And he gets paid every two weeks so the last week of the month doesn't need to be quite so stressful! He'll get 3 paychecks in December. How great is that! We are both over the moon about it, not just because of the money but he'll be working with someone he really likes and doing something new.

Loving that Rumpus Room

Danny does not start pre-school until next week but tonight we took him for the open house where he met his teachers (hereafter to be known as Mrs J and Mrs N) and he got to play with stuff and go to the big indoor rumpus room*. When we left he broke his heart. Good grief will it be this easy next week? Will he love it and not be a looney when I leave?

More on this next week, obviously...

*As Jack flicked through photos on my camera tonight he saw a picture of Danny at pre-K tonight and cried "My rumpus room! Oh I miss the rumpus room!" What a shame that the rumpus room isn't something all kids have until they are 10.

Jack & Me Today

Where do I start? Maybe with Jack.

He had a full day at school and then a trip to his pediatrician (Dr. S.) for his 5-year check-up and kindergarten vaccines (I forgot to do this ahead of time and had to be reminded rather sternly by his school nurse, whom I showed the same fear that I did my own school nurse 35 years ago!) So he had two jabs in each arm and a flu spray up the nose. SIX MEDICINES he kept telling me on the way home (the spray counts as two seeing as she sprayed up each nostril he informed me). Luckily the lady at the desk let him have a spiderman sticker on the way out of he may never have gone back. So here are his 5-year statistics:

He weighs 50 lbs (is in the 90%ile)

He's 46.5" tall (is in the 95%ile)

As usual he talked Dr. S's ear off about school and superheroes and private matters ("Daniel won't ever eat food!") but he did great and only cried a little bit when he got the 4 jabs. I told him he was a brave lad.

Then Dr. S. asked me if I had any concerns and I have one that might seen silly but it's been weighing on my mind for as long as I knew I needed to get him these injections. When he had a jab this time last year, the week after he got HSP. So I'm nervous that these vaccines will trigger it again. Dr. S. had a niece that also got it last year and she said she researched the link between vaccines and HSP and there's only one slight mention but that Jack didn't get that particular vaccine. And then she also said what I know anyway - that the medical field has no idea what triggers HSP. Well like I said, I feel a bit silly about it all since I have friends going through a lot worse worry that this kind of thing right now.

So anyway, after a full day of school and then injections, Jack had soccer practice in the rain and then homework. That seems like too much to me. He's only five! He did get his soccer strip tonight though (ready for his first real game this weekend!). His strip is black & white. They are, after all, The Penguins!

My day was bonkers as usual. Got up at 5 am, drove 3 hours to South Point, (which is a pretty little town on the Ohio River) and did some work then drove back. I love driving through SE Ohio, especially along the river. It's sad to see how bad some people have it, living in the hills, but just the most gorgeous scenery. Bittersweet would be the word. Best of all about these trips, I get a bit of alone time to energise my thoughts for work, daydream about opportunity and plan. I love it.

One thing I did do today was go into Kohl's and buy a $50 pair of Levis jeans that I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Then Linda asked me if I had lost weight and Craig said I looked lovely. I haven't spent $50 on a pair of jeans in 5 years (age of Jack - not a coincidence I feel) And you know what - it feels great. I'm not feeling guilty at all. Gulp.

Another Little Leap of Independence

Jack can have free breakfast at school but hasn't been doing so far. This morning however he decided that he would, so off we went a little earlier than usual so that he'd have time for a bite to eat before the tardy bell went off at 8.25am (I do love the name "tardy bell" by the way, as we just used the name "school bell" when I was a kid in England).

As we neared the lunch room I could see he was getting a bit nervous and he did a little grab of my sleeve and looked at me imploringly, so I told him that Danny & I would stand near him until he got his food. I was watching him as he stood in line, getting more and more agitated knowing that he'd have to tell the lunch lady what he wanted and he was wringing his little hands by the time she asked him. But he got himself a muffin and a juice box and punched in his number in the machine and off we went, looking for a pal to sit next to.

He spied 3 boys sitting together and he approached them and I was nervous too by this point thinking "please say hi to him!" and then they made room for him, right in the middle of the bench and he squeezed in and one boy said "Hi Jack!" and he looked at me and smiled so I whispered "bye" and we left. I was in bits the whole way back and had to fight off tears. What a brave boy he was and how great that he has friends. I have a feeling that my morning time with him just got a bit shorter and I'm glad for him but sad for me.

Sibling Rivalry

Last Friday night we had yet another trip to Children's Hospital urgent care after the boys were wrestling and Danny got a dislocated elbow. The doctor got it popped back in and he's perfectly okay, but it certainly didn't tame the rambunctious behaviour like I hoped it would. Bickering and tussling are par for the course in my house. It's got so bad now that if we buy them anything (toys, food, clothes) we have to buy them the same thing or they'll spend hours squabbling. They even stake a claim on drinking cups while I'm filling them up!

I'm sure this is normal but gosh it's draining. More than anything I want my boys to be best friends and take care of one another through life but right now they can't even share a plate of cheese and crackers. They are both vocal and independent and maybe that's why they won't give an inch.

I wonder when the bickering stops? Hopefully before my sister and me - I think we were in our teens before we actually liked each other!

The Piece de Resistance

After another busy day, Craig goes to the shops about 5.30pm and I am with the kids, intent on doing laundry and finally getting round to bisselling the front room carpet & couch, when my friend Michelle phoned and said she was at the park with her kids - so we all stopped our current doings and left to go and join them. And I also took Cody along.

It was lovely to see them, and me and Michelle had a good chat about her recent surgery for cancer which she has blogged about. Jack & Lauren were off doing their thing and Danny & Michael were chums. It's great to watch them all. Then it all wet bonkers. Cody had 3 poos and I had no proper bags and he was pulling on his lead then Danny started being a nightmare (tired) and had a potty training incident in his pants, then Jack had some kind of domestic with his buddy Lauren, and so it was time to go home. Me & Michelle hugged and said see-you-soon and off I went home, hoping Craig was back from shopping.

When I got home I ignored Cody begging for a treat and Jack wanting 100% of my attention and took Danny in the office to the changing table. I was sweating and all kerflustered and wanting to just have some peace. I'm sure you know the feeling. THEN I took his undies off and as I pulled them down over his knees they twisted and did a catapult thing and a little ball of poo hit me in the cheek! And I laughed because it actually brought the whole thing into perspective and actually it just made me laugh for no reason. Having a ball of poo fired at you isn't as bad as you think, honest.