The Mother Plagiarizer

Please note, this post is completely lifted from the pages of my oldest son's school journal, spelling and grammar mistakes included.  I require that my children write every {school} day.  I was thinking about making the same requirement of myself, but I wondered if writing would become too much of a chore, like dishes and laundry and cooking and sweeping and teaching and running and showering and... I have too many requirements that I'm failing already.  Let's just keep it the way it is.

UPDATE
You know what they say about March. March comes in like a lion a goes out like a lamb. In 21 day ginger will be two and 15 more days until her birthday party. She is going to share it with our cousin, Login, and speaking of Login she is going to be a big sister in July.
I was sick yesterday and the day before that, so I didn't write in you Journal though I'm still not 100% today. More like 95%.

I ask you, what kind of mother makes her son do school work when he's only 95%?  
Login, whose real name is something very close, is indeed going to be a big sister in July. Her mother announced it on her photography blog, so I guess it's alright for WPaul to announce it in his Journal. Yay for cousins!

Too Young

I was going to write about the lovely colors around me this season, about the contrast of freshly-painted barn against the blue sky, the muted colors of a rainy fall day, the shiny hard orange of so many pumpkins...

But just as I started typing a distraught three year old flung herself upon my lap.  "The boys say I'm too young to do it!"  The new box of Legos (an 8 year old's favorite birthday present) has just been opened.  She is too young for it.  I gently try to explain, while at the same time loving that she fits so perfectly between the keyboard and me.

Will picking out a picture for mommy's post mollify her?  It is hard to be too young  for stuff, I know.  I think I'm too young for this mothering gig, but...

Here's the picture she chose:

Cute little cousin friends. It's nice to be around someone who doesn't think you're too little to play.

What do you know? She chose a picture that showcases the beautiful fall weather we enjoyed for so much of October.  Looking at this picture makes this rainy day a little better for several reasons:
1. I am not watching anyone play soccer right now, but sitting in my big, dry house smelling the homemade beef & vegetable stew simmering on the stove.

2. Remember? We have had a nice fall.

3. I love my nephews (and nieces!).

Monuments and Museums

Or, "All I Needed to Know I Learned in the First Three Days, part 1."

So here is my re-cap of the first day of our Epic Journey to the East, a Ten Piece Listing of what I learned:



Day 1 (Washington D.C.)

1. Apparently, the sight of port-a-potties triggers some people's bladders (not mine).



2. It really stinks when you leave your camera at the hotel.



3. Walking in flip-flops around the Nation's Capital is not such a bad idea -- if you're guaranteed to be traveling at the pace of a two-year-old.



4. If Mommy walks in flip-flops, the children will not understand why Daddy makes them wear tennis shoes.



5. A lot of women are wearing breezy summer dresses this season, but not with tennis shoes.



6. Sometimes fashion ideals must be sacrificed for family unity. (Please note that I do not consider flip-flops the epitome of "fashion" but I was sure my days of tennis shoes with dresses were over.)



7. Not every person in my family wants to read every exhibit in the Smithsonian museums. Actually, none of them do, except me.



8. The pace of a two-year-old dramatically increases in air conditioning (such as they have in the Smithsonian museums).



9. While heat and hunger sap the strength of all ages, cool air and food may revitalize children much faster than their adults.



10. Even if kids are whiny and hot, war memorials are still solemn, fulfilling their purpose: to remind the living of those dead in the name of freedom. Faced with the names of so many young and promising sent prematurely to eternity, and considering the empty homes and aching hearts of families left behind, I do not stop to weigh the right or wrong of wars. I simply mourn and am thankful.
    
    
    

Yeah, this is not a picture from the scenic first day's adventures. This is a picture of the kids in our hotel, watching a TELEVISION with CHANNELS! I think that was vacation enough for them, the poor media-deprived dears.

I wish I could link up to more pictures from our first day of vacation, but... well, refer to #2 of my lessons learned.

Another great moment (even better than the museums and monuments) was meeting up with my dear cousin. But I already knew it would be wonderful to see her, so I didn't actually learn a lesson there... except, that it was another missed photo. (insert tongue-sticking-out-icon-of-frustration-with-self here.)

Stray Dog Powers

See these children? They thought they wanted to go to The Zoo today. Or an indoor playground, on account of the rain. They are a Zoo unto themselves, and the overcast day has not driven them indoors. All they need is Grammy's flower-filled backyard and each other.

Of course, they may have actually spent more time naming and describing their imaginary selves than actually play acting.

"My name's Elizabeth and I have the power to make someone invisible."

"My name's Fighter, cause I fight."

"My name's Lightening, because I have a lightning streak on me -- I was just born that way. I am a mix of a Golden Retriever, Great Dane and a Dalmatian. I'm all white with a lightning streak on me."

"I am a Poodle, with black on me."

"I'm a mix of a Chihuahua and a Bull Dog." (Care to guess which one that is?)

And then --

"A Human!"

"The Dog Catcher! Into the force field house!"

They really don't have to fear; the clamor they create would keep any Animal Control Personnel away. You can't bring that inside and cage it, that amount of noise is sure to cause physical damage.

They didn't know I was listening in to their imagination collaboration until I told them they couldn't play "Mating Dogs Having Puppies." I'm a Meanie Mom, I know.

Here are a few of them, wondering why Grammy (the Dog Catcher? Or a more friendly human?) won't unlock the gate to her back yard.

Are you kidding? We can't unleash that sort of force out into the neighborhood.

I asked them what they called their game. "Stray Dog Powers." I call it better than cartoons, folks. Better than cartoons.

At Home, In Restful Craziness

My dear, fun-loving sister invited my older three kids to spend their spring break at her house. It was perfect timing, following immediately as it did the arrival of G-Baby. Kids 1, 2 and 3 completely enjoyed the time spent with their cousins (because Aunt J. really is the most fun-loving responsible adult on the planet) and the Baby Girls and I really made good use of the four days of quiet to rest and recover. However, after four days, I was definitely ready for everyone to be home together. Sure, it's already louder and a little chaotic in our house. Yes, we've had some bickering and whiney attitudes this morning. But... YAY! I'm the mother of five wonderful children and they're all here with me!