July 24, 2007

It's been a crazy week! It seems like everytime I get online I am interrupted by fighting kids, a barking dog or the general chaos which seems to define our lives lately!

Friday night, we all attended the Harry Potter Party at our local Barnes and Nobles. Andrew registered for his copy of the book at least a month ago and has been anticipating the arrival of this book all summer. I took all 5 children to take part in the first hour of the party and Thomas was coming an hour later. I was going to leave at 10 with the little ones and Thomas was going to stay with Andrew and Amanda.

As luck would have it, we weren't the only ones eagerly waiting for the final book! We arrived at 9:15 and there was no parking available near the bookstore. We had to park in another shopping area and walk to the store....where we then stood in line for a half an hour just to get in! We were all really surprised by the turnout! By the time that we were allowed into the store, the line outside snaked across the street and into a neighboring shopping center! I didn't have my cell phone and couldn't call Thomas to have him come and pick up the littles ones and I had no idea if he was outside waiting or had seen the lines and had simply turned around and gone home. Zoe was sound asleep in her buggy, but by 10.30pm Aidan was totally wild. I ran into someone that I knew and she let me use her cell phone. It turns out that Thomas was standing in line outside waiting to get in but the store was at capacity. The store manager opened the doors so that we could speak to each other but it became clear that in order to simplify things I needed to stay put. He took Aidan and Alex home...but Zoe stayed with me because he didn't have a car seat for her and didn't know where I had parked to take the van. It wasn't a problem because we found a quiet corner of the store and settled in for the rest of the wait.

At midnight we were forced out though. We ended up behind some happy, noisy fans and Zoe woke up crying. So at 1am, I was standing outside of the Barnes and Noble with my 12 and 11 year olds and was carrying my 1 year old.

The end result though?


Andrew was so excited that he couldn't contain his joy when they handed the book over to him. He ran from the bookstore waving his copy of the book in the air. Once in the van, he began reading....and he didn't stop until he fell asleep at around 4 in the morning. He woke up and read for the rest of the day...until he finished the book. He admitted to me that he had cried...not for the characters who had died, but because the series had come to an end. "It is over..."

Sunday, we got the kids off to German Camp. It was a last minute decision to send them, but I'm glad that we decided to do it. Camp check-in was from 1-3pm and we arrived at about 1:10. Since we among the first to get there, all of our kids were able to pick out the beds that they wanted this year.


Amanda got in a room with some girls that she knew from last year. She has called me every night to say "goodnight" and is having a great time meeting new friends. This year has been much better for her there than last year. She is also just mellowing out a lot. I have really noticed a change in her over the last month. She is keeping her room clean, has taken on a lot of responsibility helping with Aidan and Zoe and is just a lot easier to talk to.

Alex began clowning around the minute we got in the door. I couldn't get a serious picture out of him. I also could barely get him to come and and say good-bye to us. He was so excited to be back. This year, he is separated from Andrew and is in a room with other 8 year old boys. I was relieved...because I think that Alex needs the chance to make friends his own age and Andrew needs the opportunity to branch out.

Andrew was mortified that I took this picture. As he was unpacking (and I was helping), one of his roomates came in the room. Apparently, my presence "humiliated him" (his words, not mine) and he almost refused to say good-bye to me because he was so angry. sigh. The ups and downs of parenting tweens!

We all met in the main meeting room for a final good-bye and then they ran off. By 1.30, Thomas and I had headed back out to the car and were on our own....celebrating our *freedom*.

Within hours, Zoe was vomiting and both Aidan and Zoe developed gunky noses and fevers!

I think the joke was on us!

Aidan has rallied and is busy working on his new hobby, skateboarding, but Zoe is still under the weather. Thomas has had to sleep in his office for the last two nights because she just wakes up crying throughout the night.

Aidan got a skateboard the day that the others left. He has surprised us all with his progress in the last two days:


Mommy, watch my tricks.





I wish I could put some cohesive thoughts into my blog .... lately, I feel like my brain has just fallen completely out of my head! I ran into a former student a few nights ago when was on my own at Barnes and Nobles. She was studying chemistry when I was teaching the bio labs and worked as one of my TA's. She has since gone on to work in several professional jobs and we talked about how she was juggling her marriage, children and career.....I felt like I couldn't even string a sentence together...

It's really no wonder. It has taken me nearly 2 hours to type this blog entry. I have stopped several times to clean up diet coke that Aidan spilled on the carpet, take care of a crying Zoe who fell asleep and then woke up to....spill my next diet coke on the carpet (sigh!) and right now.....I am staring at fruit loops straws that Aidan and Zoe have crumbled onto the carpet. I know it's time for me to get off of the computer and refocus 100% on them.

I'm just soooo desperate for a tiny window of time each day where I can focus 100% on myself. By the time the day is over, I'm too tired to sit and read or write. I miss being able to catch up on my emails, read a book or even spend time writing.[/quote]