Crowded

Amelia is now up to a minimum of 4 stuffed animals, 8 pillows, and on many nights, 1 little brother in her bed.  At this rate, she'll need a king size bed by Spring.

Willing Hand

When I need help with something big or heavy, I know right where to go...my main man, Everett.  I had to go recycle a ton of boxes this weekend.  Thanks to his help and insistence on doing it all himself, a job that would have taken me 5 minutes by myself, only took us 20 minutes to do together.

Refresh

What do you do the day after you spend several hours auditioning for a big theater production?  Apparently, you wake up and begin refreshing your e-mail over and over again....

....Luckily, all that refreshing was worth it when she found out she indeed did get an ensemble part in the play...with 70 hours of after school practice ahead of her (plus the countless hours of singing and dancing at home), not it's time for the real work to begin.

Fingers Crossed

Amelia spent 6 hours today auditioning for a role in the all-school (4th through 12th grade) play.  I couldn't be more proud of her.  I would have never had the guts to get up in front of dozens of people to compete for the chance to get up in front of hundreds of people.  There were tons of kids there to try out and many will end up heartbroken.  She was wildly confident all week and that switched to being scared stiff this morning.  Luckily, she was wildly confident again when she got back home.  We'll find out tomorrow if her confidence was warranted.  Either way, I think Meggan will shed a tear...

Tear to my Eye

Everett's teacher let us know today that when she checked on Everett's first writing assignment, he tried to hide his still blank paper and his eyes we teary.  She was able to get him started and all was well.  I'm sure it was just a case of shaking off the rust of summer and getting over the nerves of a new school year.  That said, the thought of my little man struggling and being embarrassed to the brink of tears damn near made me want to cry. 

One Down

Day One of school is in the books. The kids were beside themselves with excitement.  Meggan and I are still trying to figure out where our babies went....

Full Day

Everett and I started the day by going to a friend's birthday party....then Meggan had to take Amelia  to a friend's birthday party...then we all went to a pool party with a family from Everett's class...I'm pretty sure my kids' social calendars are busier than mine has ever been at any point in my life.  Luckily, we blocked off some time for sleep tonight before Amelia goes to a school function tomorrow and Everett has his best buddy over for a playdate.

One More

After being gone for what feels like 6 months, the kids will be home tomorrow.  I can't wait to squeeze them, love on them, and have their little kid energy running around the house.... you know, at least until I want to watch a show on TV and Ev is playing Nintendo or I want to go out to dinner at a place that doesn't have chicken fingers and mac and cheese...

2032

Look out world....Everett has begun his training for the 2032 Olympic Games....

Shining Through

Some days, the sun hits just right and reminds you of how beautiful life can be....

Swing Batter

In case I was wondering if the kids were heading to bed early to get themselves ready for the upcoming school year, this text from Grandma at 9:40pm of Everett hitting home runs on the Wii answered that...

Hit 'em hard, little buddy.....

Ready

My kids have now been at their grandparents' house for all of 2 days...and I already miss them like crazy. I love the break from responsibility, but I miss their energy.  At this age, they both make me laugh on a daily basis.  They're both big enough to bring their own personality to the table, but small enough to still want to snuggle.  Thanks to some school scheduling issues, they have about a week or so left on their trip.  Hopefully by then they'll miss me a little bit too....although, with how excited they were to go and how crazy they are about Grandma and Grandpa, I'm not counting on it.  For now, I'll just have to look back at old pictures to get my fix.

Off on the Wrong Foot

Meggan - Everett, keep your hands out of your mouth

Everett - Ok

3 seconds pass before he sticks his finger back in his mouth

Meggan - Ev! Get your hands out of your mouth.

Me: Do you want to get sick, buddy?

Everett: No

Meggan:  That's how you get Hand, Foot, Mouth. Do you want that again?

Everett:  I never had that

Me: Yes, you did.

Everett (puzzled):  No, I didn't. One time I think I had Fruit by the Foot, though.

So Close

Ev and I were in the Nike store when he wanted to see if his feet measured up to "the basketball guys'" .....so, so, close.....