Open House, 1 of...42?

42...assuming we have 3 kids and none of them fail a grade or drop out of school....hmmm. ANYWHO.

open house was really fun. it's SO easy to get caught up in the excitement and school spirit. we stopped on the way so that charlie could pick out a plant for his new teacher. *suckup* ;) meredith went along with us, always a welcome addition to whatever we're doing. we ran into several friends and familiar faces. some of the staff are family friends. a lot of the kids i recognize from the photo studio days. it's SUCH a positive, upbeat place. everyone there seems so excited, and truly happy to be meeting you and your child.







this photo is pretty special to me...when adam and i were preparing our dossier for the adoption, we were allowed to include a photo of the school that our child would one day attend. we drove up here and took a picture of the primary school, since it would be the first one. it seemed so...vague, so far into the future. at that point, even traveling to Ethiopia felt like forever away. and here we are.



ms. holcomb, charlie's teacher, graduated from college with my sister a couple of years ago. it's her first year with her own classroom. i think she's a perfect match for him. i told her he can be...spirited, and she laughed and promised that it would be fine. we agreed to not believe everything CF tells us about the other. ;)




as soon as we entered the room, charlie bolted for the rug and began coloring. he explored the toys and games, the reading corner, and didn't seem nervous at all. (feigned shock) he even stayed in the classroom while i checked out the cafeteria, looked at bus schedules, and of course, bought some cute LCPS t-shirts. he is really, really going to love it.














all that said, i did involuntarily choke up several times during the hour or so we were there. i don't know WHY really. i never really understood what was so emotional about it. school is awesome, kids love it, parents love it, it's all good, right? now i get it. it means your baby is no baby. simple as that. and so, it begins. :)

school prep and no princess.

it must be confessed.

mallory, my beautiful daughter, hates dresses. she hates hairbows. she hates tights. she is okay with skirts and tees, most shoes, although she prefers converse or boots, and she loves jackets.
if i ever DO manage to get her (little bit of) hair into a ponytail, it borders on torture. i have to first put charlie's hair up in a little puff ball, fuss over how amazingly cute it is, and run him to the mirror for a show. he plays along beautifully. after seeing this display, she will SOMETIMES allow me to wrestle the hair band into her (ahem) long, flowing locks. it always leads to screaming and pulling of the ponytail. at that point i go for distraction. if she forgets about it, we're golden. if not, out it comes. i mean, i have a heart, right?
here's a sad picture taken by a mean, mean, mama.



mal and i in happier times. ;)





here's the dress i bought her today. it was on clearance for around ten bucks, and i felt good about getting her a little something since CF was getting school clothes.she LITERALLY ran screaming away from it as i pulled it out of the bag. *faceplam*



cute, right? surely someone will want it one day!

that's okay. mal can be a tough gal if she wants to be. they make super cute boots and jeans and rocker tees for babies. so, anyone coming to her upcoming birthday party, be warned. :)



charlie is getting excited to begin Pre-K...in 6 days. *panic*
me, on the other hand...i AM really happy. i know he will love it. i know it is the beginning of a LONG journey that will have lots of ups and downs. i just remember walking through the airport with that baby boy, sweating next to me in the Ergo, so protective of every little bit of him. that never changes, and it's so scary to picture him...in a lunch line, a classroom, a bathroom, interacting and doing things on his own and saying things that i won't ever hear. it's a GOOD THING. it's also really, really hard. even so, i am bursting with excitement to hear all about that first day...and all the days after that. :)

shopping today was minimal. he's going to a lottery funded Pre-K, so they don't ask for supplies, which is awesome. okay, i really wanted to buy pencil boxes, and Kleenex, and crayons. (next year). i'm not ever a fan of anything with "characters" on it, but he really loved this dragon backpack from the How To Train Your Dragon movie. it was minimally tacky, so i said sure. we got a nap mat (can't wait to hear how THAT goes)...and a lunchbox. we bought some new hair goo and i combed out a long summer of pool fun. he looks so handsome.



he came home and wanted to rest on his new mat. he lay there and repeated his teacher's name so he can remember it. mallory ran around the living room with his new backpack strapped to her. i just laughed at them, with a lump in my throat, because it's all going by so fast. soon, they will both be running out the door, weighed down with books and personal problems. maybe charlie will drive them both, or drive them ALL. *gulp* i can't focus on that, though. let's just get the boy and his punk rock little sis into this new routine.

what are we doing tonight?

that used to be THE friday night question. i remember speeding down 92 from work, marlboro out the window, Queen's greatest hits blasting, headed toward Adam's house, feeling total freedom, without even realizing that's what it was. once there, we'd hang out a while, unwind, sit on the porch with the roommates, until someone asked the inevitable question:

"what are we doing tonight?"

the question would be met with multiple voices telling of movie releases, food cravings, local parties, live music, no cover charges, ect. usually we'd call more friends and include them in whatever plan was being hatched. there were lots of dinners at Manhattan's, splitting bottles of Asti with the girls while the guys ate fried mushrooms and talked sports. lots of nights spent dancing and laughing at karaoke. some spent at Lot One, our residence, on the porch playing crazy games and talking all night long. i think the thing that is the strangest to look back on, is that i had no idea. i was so carefree, and didn't even realize it enough to enjoy it. youth is truly wasted on the young.

not that i would go back. these days when we ask each other the question "what are we doing tonight?" it's with a hint of trepidation, subliminally willing the other person to respond with "hmmm, nothing i guess, we could watch a movie?"...*sigh of relief*...in the old days the question was asked with a tone of urgency, a NEED for the response to be filled with adventure and night air and connections. so much has changed.

i am not saying i want to fully commit to hermit life. everyone who knows me well, knows that will never do. i still love a good night out, some recklessness (carefully executed). but tonight, on a friday evening, making BLTs and chatting over the kids squealing and chasing each other through the house, felt perfect. for a couple of years, i have struggled with giving in to letting nights like this be enough. maybe i was afraid of getting old, sitting still. i'm glad that it's getting easier...this friday night i'm on my couch, doing laundry that i probably WON'T finish, browsing netflix options and thinking about the carrot cake in the kitchen. oh, and blogging. ;)

of course, i am aware that within a couple of months i will get stir crazy and anxiously ask the question with a different intent. that's the beauty of giving in to growing up...you can handle the answer no matter what it is, and still have a fabulous time.

round hole, square peg? or something.

so, i have titled three different posts tonight. forcing myself back to blogging like i used to is proving to be a task.

first i thought, oh, i'll post about how i'm potty training mallory and how i wish i had SOME clue how the nannies in Et did it so efficiently. i'll write about the differences in him when he was her age. nah...

oh, i could write about turning 30. how it's been over a month and i'm sort of over it. a lot of my favorite people are over 30. although i do see some differences in my face that i'm not thrilled with. nah, who cares?

i guess i could write about my relationships and how i feel like some of them are being well maintained while others suffer and fade. and how i am okay with it...sometimes it's just a natural progression. i imagine things will change with some of them, and then again, maybe not. i am so grateful for the people i know are always true and positive. but no, who cares about all that drama?

oh, ok, i'll post about the pregnancy. oh, dear god, no. i'm already one of THOSE women who doesn't stop whining or bragging, or both. i will refrain from that topic SOMETIMES. ;)

OOH....i know. lindsay lohan? mel gibson? no. the Governor primary? snooze. how much i like ke$ha's new song? embarrassing.

so, in closing, while yeah....i'm blogging, it's not the same. posts use to write themselves in my head all day long and all i had to do at night was type it out. so much more fun. but i'll keep forcing it, and i hope it doesn't annoy my 6 remaining readers. i think it will come back to me...i think...

;)

what'd i miss?

so, i went back through some of my old posts. what in the world happened? i feel like someone else wrote some of it. i feel so much more...chickenshit now about what i write. what is that? maybe i was a little TOO out there? i read the comments and wonder how in the world i stopped communicating with some of these amazing women. there are SO many new babies...mostly GIRLS...that i need to catch up on. so, i'd like to update my blogroll...who's new and fabulous? (by fabulous i mean honest and relatable and flawed like the rest of us) the CHS forum is long gone, and so i'd love to "meet" some more families that you guys are reading about. send me links!

ramblings of july.

things are simultaneously hectic and calm here, somehow. we manage to keep busy, while still carving out pajama days filled with movies and blankets on the floor and various horrible food items. this pregnancy (the surprise one, yes) is sucking my will to live some days. i'm moody, overly sensitive, hungry, full, restless, blah...adam is being good...he's currently at the store getting me fruit. several kinds. siiiiigh. i know, it's a rough life.

we are excited for the baby though. people seem a little shocked at the idea of another one, but i don't care. we are making my office into a nursery...kinda symbolic, seeing as i once had a need for a computer, files, shelves...and now i just need space to store all these youngins. ;)

adam and i are also slowly working on some house projects. we got the basement pretty much finished, and our roommate mike is living down there comfortably. it's pretty awesome. we have a schedule made of what's happening next around here and when to start them so we can stay organized. my garden didn't get as big as i thought it would. it's so HOT, and i'm so TIRED, and i wish i had committed more, but i didn't. we have had some awesome squash, peppers, and tomatoes though, and that's not a bad start.

the kids are so...wow. so big. some days we have a blast, laughing, making up little games, dancing....some days, they have me on the verge of madness. (again with the hormones). charlie starts school in 2 weeks, and i can't believe it. i know he will love it. i am hoping his teacher has her wits about her. ;) he's a handful, but such a charmer. other than today when we stomped off and called me Medusa. nice.

mallory jessica will be 2 years old next month. she's not a big talker. i'm not worried, as she is obviously vastly intelligent and beautiful. she says a new word almost every day, and that girl is COUNTRY. tonight she said "my ball", but it came out sounding like "mah baww"...lawd help. that is a stubborn one, too. but again, she won't be taking any crap, and i love that.

adam's still traveling and it can be hard some weeks. sometimes on monday i feel as if thursday will never get here. but we keep our routine going and it always comes, and my quiet weeknights are always enjoyed. i could not function at ALL without our nanny, Meredith. that girl is an angel from heaven. thanks to her, i can get up, get ready for work, work all day and never worry about whether the kids are having a good day. she's amazing.

work. work is really good. i enjoy it a lot. jessie and i basically hit the town and sell yellow page ads. some are long time customers that we renew, and some are new ones that we work ourselves. it's a lot of fun meeting people, and only once has anyone been totally rude. **dontgototiremasterthomastongacoughcough** it's nice to get out and work and still have a flexible schedule for the kids. and for all the doctor's appointments i have coming up.

if #3 is a girl, she will be Piper. we're still at it over boys' names, so feel free to name our kid. ;)

if i can remember how to blog properly...i will keep trying. didn't i use to be a little better at this? sheesh. :/

here are a couple of photos of my goofball kids: