Morning Time Update

Our mornings went far better this week. We solved the problem the way this family always seems to solve problems: we threw some money on it and hoped it would go away.

Seriously, we established a routine. Within that routine, each of the kids gained a little incentive to keep them away from one another.

Our morning now goes like this:

Eat breakfast

Get dressed/Brush teeth

Jerod- practice piano/Elise- play with brand spanking new Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shop toy (this is where the 'throw some money on it' came into play

Once Jerod's done practicing, he gets to watch 'Quick Pitch' (show for baseball geeks) until the bus comes.

So far, this has worked pretty well. The only problem is that Jerod, my eight year old, baseball-obsessed boy, is inexplicably taken with the Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shop. Are ya kiddin' me? They did play nicely together with it on Wednesday morning, but anyone who knows my kids at all knows that this 'cooperative playtime' is not a consistently workable model. By the way, I know that this is because we're bad parents, so please don't feel the need to explain that to me.

Anyhoo... it was a much better week. Here are a few pictures. Jerod had a run in with a cleat...

So... How Are You Spending All Your Free Time?

Now that I am the parent of two school age kids and Elise is an old kindergarten pro (it's been 12 days!), this is the question everyone seems to be asking. Why anyone needs to ask, I'm not sure, because the answer is obvious: I am sitting around eating bon bons, of course.

I hate that question. Despite my newfound absence of preschoolers in the house, my window of kid-free time is three hours a day. Not that I don't appreciate it, because believe you me, I do. But, I will admit that I have, in a sense, used the cumulative 36 hours of solitude to catch my breath after five plus years of stay-at-home mommy-hood.

I'm scheduled to run my first marathon in nine days. On four of these 12 days, I have gone out for training runs. You read that right. I went out, just me, on four beautiful days, and did something that benefited no one but me. I wish I could tell you that I had every last dish done and every piece of laundry neatly folded and put away before indulging myself in the pure, unadulterated selfishness, but that would be a lie.

And, my selfishness doesn't stop at running. Yesterday after sending my happy kindergarten kid on her merry way, I went to lunch with some friends. At the ripe old age of 34, I was the youngest person at the table. We talked like grown-ups. It was new and different and exciting. At this particular moment, I'm blogging. And, as if all that weren't enough, on Monday, October 4, the day after the marathon, I'm going to get REALLY crazy. I'm going to get my hair cut.

I wish I could tell you that I have put away all the summer clothes, cleaned out each and every one of our disastrously disorganized closets, rearranged my spice cabinet, removed all the clothes the kids have outgrown from their drawers, tried seven new, nutritious and fabulous recipes that even the kids loved, aerated the lawn, started a new and fabulous skin care regime that has me looking like I'm 24, and sent out 62 resumes/filled out applications so that I can spend my whopping 15 hours a week making something of myself and bringing home a paycheck. But despite the recent changes in the life of this family, I still am what I am. I am disorganized, I am somewhat lazy, I am selfish, and I am not one of those moms who takes care of everyone else and leaves nothing for herself. On some level, I have been a bit lazy, I will not deny it. I do have a to-do list as long as my legs (which really aren't long, as legs go, but still... it's a long list), and I am going to get to it. But, I am, for the moment catching my breath. I will apologize if you want me to, but don't ask me to make it a sincere apology.

Late Start = Parental Punishment

Jerod, our beloved first born, went to private school for kindergarten and first grade. The back story there could be a post in and of itself, so I'm not going there today. After a lot of thoughtful discussion, we made the decision that we needed to switch to our (free) neighborhood school this year. One student's worth of tuition was manageable for us, two students' worth was not. Yes, I could have gone back to work. But, again, that could be another post in and of itself. We decided that was not the route for us at this time.

So, we are filled to the brim with Countryside pride. If you know me at all, you know I hate change. Overall, however, this has been a very good one. Other than taking a few days for Jerod to earn a spot in the recess football game (oh, playground politics, how I hate you!!), he has transitioned smoothly. I keep asking him how he's feeling about the change. I think it's safe to say he misses ISM and some of his pals there, but he consistently tells me he's glad to be going to C-side because he gets to "sleep in." The necessary background information is that he had to get on the bust at 7:15am last year and did not get home until after 5 (which only helped with our decision to switch schools, but I digress...).

He now gets on the bus at 9:08. We all know I'm no math wizard, but that's dang near two extra hours at home in the morning for the boy. For better or for worse, Jerod's version of 'sleeping in' consists of him sleeping until maybe 7:15. There are some advantages to all this extra time in the morning. He's able to practice piano, which means we no longer have to practice with end of the day tired and grumpy Jerod. As a general rule, he's fresh and rested and the a.m. practice routine goes really well. Additionally, since we've got such a chunk of time in the morning, I usually don't even open his backpack until morning (this will change when we start having homework, but we're not there yet). I have plenty of time to take care of any of the take-home folder parental busy work before the bus comes.

The downside is that this gives my kids ample opportunity to drive each other, and me, and sometimes Chris, completely and totally nuts. I sometimes feel as though I'm going to need to separate them for the next 10 years if they're going to keep from killing one another. The bickering is epic. Yelling, biting, hitting, kicking... it's mayhem I tell you.

I cannot tell a lie. I know who's behavior they're modeling when they yell. I've never made any claims to being mother of the year, and yes, I occasionally yell. But... the biting, hitting and kicking?? I'm immature, but I'm not that immature. At times they just completely and totally lose control of themselves, and it freaks me out.

So... we are currently working to find our morning routine, working to find appropriate consequences for unacceptable physical behavior, and trying desperately not to lose our minds. This house is currently a battle ground from 8am-9am. I am weary of it, and it's only the second week of school. As the locals say... UFF DAH!

Back to School

I'm going to write more about this when I get a chance, but for now, here are a few pictures.