(Mis)adventures in Parenthood

My gosh, Alanna is just getting too old, too fast.  She is 5 going on 45, as her teacher put it a few weeks ago at our conference. 

Tonight at dinner we were discussing the fact that we can't tell whether a person will be nice or not based on their appearance.  So as I started to this conversation, Alanna chimed in and interrupted me with "Yes, and I have something to say about that.  One, if somebody's skin is light or medium or dark , that doesn't tell us anything about if they are nice or not.  And Two..."  well, to be honest, I don't remember exactly what she said because I was just stunned by her very articulate and grown up discussion.  Her tone of voice and expression were WAAAAAYYYYYY beyond that of a 5 year old.

THEN...I mentioned that we were going to read a few more chapters of Charlotte's Web before bed, and she proceeded to tell me that she read a really sad part last night, and she ruined the story for Aidan and Emory.  If you have never read Charlotte's Web (or at least seen the movie - I mean really...is there ANYONE who doesn't know the ending that would be reading this?)...stop reading.  She told me about how Charlotte died and Wilbur promised to take care of her babies, but that only three stayed behind and how he named those three spiders.  Oh yeah, and we had only read about a quarter to a third of the book when I told them goodnight.  She finished reading it...

Really? 

Then later, I read the next 3 chapters to Aidan and Emory, and Alanna listened again.  After we finished, she took the book to her room and started reading (again) from where we'd left off.  When I came in after tucking Emory in, Alanna proceeded to act out a scene from the fair. 

I wasn't really sure how much she was understanding when she reads chapter books, but I guess she gets it. 

She is a conundrum.

Aidan is still coming along with his reading, and he can do more than he willingly lets on.  He doesn't have the same level of interest as Alanna (obviously), but he notices the difference in their skill levels, and he wants to do more.  Believe me, I have not pushed anyone in this house to read. 

And then there's Emory - who is sounding out words already - reading more than Alanna was at the same age.

I think I should be afraid - very afraid.  These kids are going to be smarter than me before long. 

So apparently Emory feels it is her duty to add to the authenticity of our haunted house.  It must have been, in her mind, a little too perfect looking - not dilapidated enough.  Over the course of the last two weeks little pieces of candy have gone missing here and there.  I always seem to catch her red-handed though - when the candy is still in her mouth. 

Yesterday, after our little date, I had gone upstairs for a few minutes with Taylor and Alanna.  Aidan was still at his party, so Emory was left alone downstairs.  When I came back down, she was running little laps in the kitchen (in her snow white dress.)  This was my first clue that she was up to something.  Then as she turned toward me, I noticed the area around her mouth was tinged...black.  Hmmm.

Me:  Emory, what are you eating?

Emory:  blank stare....long pause...."nothing"

Me:  Why do you have black stuff around your mouth?

Emory:  I'm not eating anything.  I don't know.

So I looked at Taylor who had come downstairs, and the haunted house sprang to mind.  So we inspected it, and sure enough, there was a large, round-ish, shiny, wet spot on the icing on the roof encompassing what was left of a candy corn.  Bingo.   She just wrapped her little mouth right around it and bit it off.  So dainty, she is.

So Taylor excused herself before Emory saw her laughing.  I couldn't help but just think it was hysterical, so I couldn't come up with anything to say.   It makes me laugh just thinking about it.  She is too much.   Very sneaky.

Saturday was a big day here - it was dreary and rainy - but we had a lot planned.  Aidan was invited to a birthday party at our neighbor's house.  This was a first....Aidan was invited, but not Alanna or Emory.  The little boy was allowed to invite 5 kids, and he only invited boys.  Well, Alanna was just crushed that Aidan would go to a birthday party and she wouldn't  Emory was a little offended at first, after all, the little boy is in her class at school.  But ultimately, she got over it.  Alanna, on the other hand, would just melt every time the subject came up.  So, I decided to make it a little bit special for the girls.  I don't intend for this to be a trend that will continue, but hopefully it served as a nice buffer for the reality of the fact that everyone will not be invited to every party forever.  When Alanna is the only one invited, I'm thinking we'll take Aidan bowling. 

SO, Saturday arrived and Aidan was pumped about his boy time with Daddy and the other kids at the party.  He waited very patiently for the festivities to begin at 1:00.  Meanwhile, the girls and I had a date with Aunt Maureen and Taylor M. to go on a Fancy-Nancy-style date.  That meant serious dress up!  So at 10:30 we started bedecking ourselves with dresses, "jewels," glitter and tiaras and polished our nails and added little heart appliques.  We had berry yogurt parfaits and pumpkin muffins for lunch, and then we left for our yet-to-be-revealed destination for the girls.  So we drove downtown and arrived at The Cupcake Shoppe.  It is such a cute little place...very feminine decor...just perfect for a fancy girls date.  We got a lot of looks...but what would I not do for my little lovebugs?  I tink most people thought it was cute.  Yes, I will wear a fancy dress, a dress-up tiara, jewelry that doesn't match,  and a feather boa downtown for my girls.  So, the girls picked their very own decadent cupcakes, and we enjoyed every last bit.   Between the five of us, we all got a different flavor - and not even on purpose.  Mint Condition (chocolate cake with mint frosting), Pretty in Pink (strawberry cake with strawberry frosting), Cookie Monster (vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream frosting rolled in crushed oreos), Black and White (chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream) and a Peanut Butter Cup (chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting).  YUM!  They even had, in honor of the state fair, chocolate bacon cupcakes.  I wasn't going there...it was definitely odd to see crumbled bacon on top of a cupcake!

All in all, I think it was a big hit.  However, Alanna told Jason that all the hair styling and nail polishing was "too much work."  Next time, she wants to just dress up  and throw a tiara on...she's my kind of girl...low maintenance!  I love it!

Aidan had a great time at his party - a dinosaur theme.  They got to go on an "archaeological dig" at an "excavation site" on an empty lot in our neighborhood.  It was really cute.  Jason said when Aidan found his dinosaur hatching from an egg, Aidan wouldn't continue digging until Jason had reassured him that it wasn't a real dinosaur.  Too cute.

Ah, my little munchkins.  They are just growing too fast!    

Last weekend we decided to hit the pumpkin patch near the kids' school.  It was a simple patch - pumpkins arranged around cornstalks and a gigantic inflatable pumpkin to attract attention from the road.  Jason's parents, who were in town for a little over two weeks, accompanied us, though I think they would've preferred warmer weather for the jaunt.  They're are used to the warm Florida weather!  Jason and I were in heaven with the Fall crispness in the air though!  Anyhow, the deal was...the kids could choose the biggest pumpkin that they could carry.  It was the easiest way I could keep things on a reasonable even scale, and it seems like it would be a applicable for years to come.  It also made it a little more fun and drew out the process a little.  They tried their BEST to try to get some BIG pumpkins!  Very cute and good for some laughs.

So we came away with five cute pumpkins, but I have no ideas whose is whose at this point.  I hope the kids can't either!  We are hoping to carve one night this week - or at the latest Saturday morning.  Jason and I went to a pumpkin carving party in the neighborhood last night, and they set the bar pretty high.  I'm not sure we're gonna be "up to snuff."  They carved some really cool pumpkins! 

I will get some pictures up when I get some time.

We are really gearing up for Halloween now.  The kids are excited, and I think Jason and I are most excited about the fact that Aidan has changed his mind about reprising his role as a pumpkin for the 3rd year in a row.  Now, he says he wants to be soccer player...he said that last year, too.  And he ended up going as a pumpkin.  I'm hoping this year it will stick.  He is slow to adapt to change...so maybe the idea of it was enough for last year, and this year he'll actually do it.  A year is enough time, right?  We broke out our copy of The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything today.  I just love that story; it's so cute. 

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Linda Williams

This weekend, we broke out our gingerbread haunted house.  Jason got things started with the kids, while I got all the frosting mixed up.  Mostly, they just wanted to eat the decorations; I'm sure that's par for the course, though.  It took some convincing to get them to save the candy for the house.  Jason let them go to town on some frosting though.  Emory was pretty persistent in the frosting arena, she really pushed her way in to get her finger under the decorating tip whenever she could.  When I finally cut everyone off while I tried to use up some of the leftover frosting, Emory tried to frost her finger again.  When I reminded her that I just said we were done with the frosting, she responded with "Whatever!"  Say what????????   Then Jason gave everyone a small bowl with their own little palettes of frosting...I can't tell you how excited I was about that.  BUT...we were leaving to go on a date, so we didn't have to deal with the sugar high and subsequent CRASH.  So, whatever! 

I was all ready to take the kids somewhere fun today after scurrying around town while they were in preschool yesterday to get all my errands done.  Alas, Emory had a fever.  Rats.  She wasn't obviously sick, but she was SO TOUCHY...melting down about everything.  Sure enough - 101.5 when I checked her temperature.  Aidan and Alanna were at the door, shoes on, ready to hop in the car when I had to announce the change in plans.  They took it in stride though, and they actually told our neighbor that we had a fun day today.  Yay!  Fortunately, I had done some arts and crafts shopping at Michael's a few weeks ago after being inspired by a Parents Magazine article.  So...here is the project we did this morning...

DSCN2026

Whew!  It's been busy with Aidan and Alanna's birthday this week, and the trip to the beach the week before....so here's the scoop:

The week of Labor Day we all head to the Outerbanks with my family...including our Aunt Janet and Barb.  It is always so much fun for all of us, and the kids do better and better each year with the change of routing and lack of regular sleep.  It was a stormy week at the beach, so we had to take advantage of any chances we had to get to the beach, despite the "No Swimming" signs - we weren't going past our ankles anyway.  Well, except for Jason, who up to this point had no interest in going into the ocean since I've known him, was strongly compelled to try boogie boarding.  So the first day, he grabbed a board from the house and ran into the ocean.  Seriously?  He takes 10 minutes to get in up to his waist at the pool, and the ocean was so cold, I wouldn't even go in...which is unusual.  He bounded into the water...with a huge grin, no less.  Well, it was a junior size boogie board, so it didn't go so great.  The next day, we went and got Jason his very own boogie board - adult size and all.  Well, you know what that did...rain from that point on day after day...and if it wasn't raining, the no swimming sign were up because it was super windy and the ocean was really rough.  Oh well, there's always next year - he is prepared! 

Anyway, we still had fun - Jason took the kids to the aquarium one morning, and I got to go to the movies with all the girls.  One day, Aidan got to go bowling with his favorite aunts and uncle, and I took the girls to paint pottery with Nana and Grandad.  Everyone was so happy!  We had a birthday party at the beach with my family as well, and the kids were unbelievably spoiled.  On the bright side, they had lots of fun new things to keep them busy with the dreary, windy weather.  We learned to play "Guess Who" and "Rummikub Jr."  Nice easy mornings are nothing to sneeze at.  :)  Oh , Aidan got a super cute scooter, and Alanna has been living her dream in her head to toe Ariel ensemble from the Disney store.  I mean it is just something else, and she is in heaven when she wears it.   (Oh, and another mom at preschool informed me that there is an Ariel wig...seriously????) 

Thanks to all her peeps who pulled it all together...

By Friday, we finally got a nice...actually GORGEOUS day.  We still weren't allowed to swim and the ocean was coming in pretty far, so there wasn't much room to play, but we had a fantastic day.  As always, we were all sad to have to go home.  But this year, Emory did MUCH better, no one was sick (more than a  very minor sniffly deal), and we got to stay the WHOLE time!

So...we got back from the beach,  I got a serious bug that put me completely out of commission for about 24 hours...then Jason got it...and then the seemingly inevitable did NOT happen.  Hallelujah!  I had way too much to do this week to get ready for the party to have 3 sick kids!!!  ha ha!  Wednesday was Aidan and Alanna's superstar...errr..starfish day at school.  So they got to bring in a birthday snack...and they wanted banana chocolate chip muffins.  (Score one for mommmy...they are actually healthy muffins...until I added the chocolate chips, anyway...but at least I had some solace in the fact that I knew I wasn't sending in complete junk....it tasted like junk...but it wasn't)  In fact, i've been asked to make more several times.  So...that's on my list. I digress.  We also had a teeny celebration at home on Wednesday since it was their actual birthday - some streamers, a banner and balloons.  Nothing big.  I did let them  pick their favorite dinners - Aidan asked for pizza, and Alanna wanted Star Soup.  No problem-o. 

Then it was time to get ready for the party for school friends and neighbors.  The kids wanted a garden party, so that wasn't too hard to pull together.  We could do girly and boy-ish things - flowers, butterflies, worms, bugs...a good gender-neutral theme.  AND, they wanted dirt cake!  Awesome!  I didn't have to make one of those crazy Wilton cakes that requires hours of frosting - outlining, piping a gazillion stars, etc.  So I found a supercute oversize teacup planter at Walmart (hissssssss), and we were all set.  The kids had PB&J or PB&H for lunch - but I cut them into flowers and butterflies.  Grown-ups had garbage bread....yum!  But the BIG excitement was.....Trish Miller.  She came to our house!  The kids were so excited!  She was fantastic and totally worth it.  The kids were enraptured the whole time, which left me free to get last minute stuff ready for lunch.  Alanna was particularly in heaven.  Aidan was super pumped to have friends over and have a party, but most importantly...cake. Come on, it's Aidan.  Who are we kidding?  lol.

It was a fabulous time, and I'm so glad it all went off without a hitch.  It was a great birthday, if I do say so myself.  We are so lucky to have such great family, friends and neighbors. 

All parents know (and sometimes wonder how) kids from the same family, built from the same genetic foundations, can be ever-so-different.  We fully understand that...in fact, Maureen, Doug and I fully characterize that same phenomenon.  It is amazing how distinct the personalities are in our house, and yet we get thrown for a loop every once in a while.  Last year, Aidan jumped right in at school...he was the social butterfly, whereas Alanna held back for much of the year in terms of engaging with her peers.  She had friends she preferred to play with, but she really like to do art work or do her own thing on the playground.  Aidan has always tended to jump right in at parties...and Alanna not so much.  Emory, though a force to be reckoned with in many ways, gets very timid in large groups. 

At "Meet the Teacher" last Friday, Aidan clammed up for whatever reason, and Alanna was the one who warmed up and interacted.  Aidan said he had a good day today, but that he was "being shy."   It's always interesting to see how they will change things up. 

I hope never to pigeon-hole our children as "the sweet one" or "the smart one" or "the wild one" or "the artistic one" or "the shy one" or what have you.  I hope that Jason and I succeed at sending messages to them that leave it wide open as to who our children are going to be...not leaving them feeling "labeled" and left to live up to any seeming expectations.  Although anyone who knows me knows what I think my kids' personalities are like, I try not to say too much in front of the kids.  I've slipped now and then, to be sure, but I hope not too much.  

Regardless, I am constantly amazed by the depth of love I have for my children  (...no matter which one of them is driving me batty at any given moment.)  I hope one day they will have the opportunity to know how profound a parent's love is for their children.  It's been eye-opening for me, to say the least. 

It's hard to believe that all our kids are in school now! Aidan and Alanna have been so excited to start back the last few weeks.  Emory was excited, but became obviously distressed about the upcoming change in her routine a few days ago.  She started having fits about anything that wasn't just right in her mind.  When we went to meet the teacher, Emory had no interest in talking to the other kids or parents, but she did smile and give the teachers a hug.  Thank GOODNESS we had the same teachers as last year for Aidan and Alanna.  I think that made a huge difference.  I was very worried that this was going to be a difficult transition for her. 

So this morning, Aidan and Alanna came downstairs dressed and ready to go.  Emory was still in her pajamas upstairs and wasn't being entirely cooperative about getting ready.  But we got through it with minimal frustration.  Then we had some breakfast and hit the road.  We dropped Aidan and Alanna at their class first. They wanted to bring muffins to their teachers, and Alanna made a card for one of them also.  They went right in with smiles on their faces. 
Then we headed to Emory's class, and I really wasn't sure how things would go.  Fortunately we bumped into a favorite friend of hers, who tickled her and got her smiling.  We meandered the rest of the way down the hall, and said good morning to the teachers.  Emory handed over the letter she had made (and some muffins), and she was all smiles as we said goodbye to each other. 

What a huge relief! 

So I got to hang out child-free with a some friends for a few minutes in the parking lot to chat, and then I went to get a haircut that was LONG overdue.  I chopped off several inches, and yes I had warned the kids that I was going to do this.  When I got back to school, I was picking up lunchboxes and papers and Alanna saw me through the window.  when I waved at her, she could not figure out who I was.  I'm not sure when she figured it out either.  Their teacher said that Aidan and Alanna both had a great day.  They said they had fun, and they were certainly happy when they came out.  Then we went to get Emory, who also had a great day according to the teacher.  As we were walking out she said "Mommy school is FUN!" 

I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed their first day of school!  I can't believe Emory has joined the ranks!  It was so strange to drive off alone knowing I had 4 hours to do whatever I wanted or needed to do. 

Late this afternoon we had trial classes back where we used to do gym classes.  Aidan went into the Beginner Boys Gymnastics class, and the girls tried a ballet/tap combo class.  They really enjoyed themselves, and I got a kick out of watching them.  It makes for a very busy Monday, but I hope it will all turn out okay.  Emory completely melted down after the class, and she couldn't really pull herself back together.  I threw her in the bath, and we sang and rocked in the rocking chair in her room for a little while.  She finally settled down, and she was very happy to get in bed at 6:30.  It was a long, fun, but stressful day for a little girl who likes routines and got a lot of new stuff thrown at her today. 

Today, as planned, the kids and I headed to Carter's to take advantage of tax-free shopping for their Fall and Winter wardrobe.  The last few times, I have taken them with me, and it has gone fairly smoothly.  I had asked mom to join me earlier in the week, but then told her that it wasn't really necessary if she was busy.  Well, thank goodness she decided to come anyway.  Emory was in rare form today.  It started off pretty mild...you know, the old "I'm gonna pretend I'm a noodle" routine while I was trying to try a few things on her to be sure I was getting the right size once I started to really shop.   Then she would hang all over me while I was trying to sort outfits etc...not too big a deal.  But it really started going downhill when they asked if we could go to their friends' house after shopping, and I said we wouldn't have time to go today.  Aidan and Emory started wailing in protest...it was...lovely...yes, lovely.  I'm sure the other shoppers loved listening to the beautiful sound of my children screeching.  So I FINALLY got all the shopping done, and we paid and went outside to wait while our friends finished up. 

At this point, Emory decided she was tired of walking and wanted me to carry her to the car...up three (small) sets of stairs, with three gigantic bags of clothes.  Right...not happening.  She proceeded to scream at me that I needed to put the bags on my shoulder like my purse and carry her.  Yeah, again...not happening.  She tried to calm down and ask nicely, and I tried reasoning with her...but she was too far gone.  I'm sure she was hungry since it was past our  usual lunchtime, which didn't help.  She sat down where she was with no intention of moving.  So, we started to walk out without her, which usually gets her to come around.   She did...temporarily anyway...and not without plenty of screaming.  When we got to the steps, she insisted that I carry her because she was tired of walking...and by insisting, I mean she screamed and cried at me.  If I tried to hold her hand, she sat down and screamed again.  I got her up the first section of stairs while Mom headed up with Alanna, and Aidan hung back with me, waiting at the top of the steps.  Emory sat on the first landing screaming at the top of her lungs, and I forged ahead to the top telling her I was going to the car.  This prompted Aidan to start screaming because he didn't want her to be left behind.  Sweet, I know, but really???  Emory continued to scream about being carried... not sure exactly how it went...but something like this...a little sampling...

E:  MOMMY, I'M TIRED OF WALKING.  YOU NEED TO CARRY ME!!!
Me:  Do you think I'm going to carry someone who is screaming at me?
E:  MOMMY, I WANT YOU TO CARRY ME .  I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, AND YOU AREN'T LISTENING TO ME!!!
Me:  You're right.  I don't listen to people who are screaming at me.
E:  MOMMY!  I WANT YOU TO CARRY ME!  I'M TIRED OF WALKING!  CARRY ME!

As a side note:  I kept my composure quite well throughout this...thank God for being in public!!  lol

Finally I gave Mom the keys to the car and my bags...she took over Alanna and Aidan and I went to address Emory.  She thought she was getting to be carried and was none too pleased when I took each of her hands and sort of dragged her up the steps...trying not to scrape her legs/knees while she went all noodle-y.  At last, on the sidewalk at the top, she walked (mostly) to the car.  I had to wrestle her into her car seat, which she fought with every ounce of her being.  Every time I got one arm in a strap, the other came out.  It was like trying to secure an octopus.  She was screaming at the top of her lungs fighting me, and  I FINALLY got her in only to have her figure out she can undo the chest buckle.  So she unbuckled the chest strap 3 or 4 times.  While I was re-buckling her, she tried to hit me several times, and then it was like she morphed into a little tiger, and she was growling at me and trying to bite me.  She had her teeth bared at me and everything.  Fortunately for me and my arm, she was strapped in and could only reach so far with that little neck of hers.  I had to stifle my laughter...she was just ...out there....completely out of control.   Then , she screamed:

YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!!!!!!!!! 

Which is pretty funny, because I really didn't say too much to her, and I didn't raise my voice at all...and we all know who WAS giving her a headache.   Then I got into my seat, turned on a song that usually calms her down, and a shoe whipped into the front seat. 

It's a good thing she missed....

Well, by the time we got home (less than 10 minutes), she had calmed down...she had a few minor relapses, but nothing major.  She was very touchy all day though...lots of mini tantrums today.  But we made it to the end...and heck...she's got some super cute outfits for  the next season...they all do!  Yay!

Oh, and she lost her beloved Dark Red Lightning McQueen for the rest of the day.  That just about pushed her over the edge every time she asked if she could have it back, and I said "no."  Is it evil that I sort of smiled inside (just a teeny, tiny bit) when I told her she couldn't have him until tomorrow?

And...tomorrow is another day.