I survived the first week with all of the kids home.

Actually, it wasn't bad at all. I'm starting to realize how lucky I am that Andrew and Amanda are a little older and can help out more. I've been able to clean up, study, or work on the final revisions of the second edition of the book that I'm submitting in less than 2 weeks (gaaaaah!) while Amanda and Andrew take the little ones in the backyard (or out front) to play. Amanda and her friends all want to be able to play mother's helper when they come over too. I eagerly hand over a few dollars so that they can walk to the store later and get themselves a treat in exchange for their help with the little ones or chores around the house. Saturday, Amanda and her friend watched Zoe and Aidan for a few hours, cleaned the bathrooms, carried down the laundry and helped with some other things. In exchange for their hard work, I let the little girl spend the night and then and gave them a few dollars to spend at the mall the next day. I dropped them off and let them shop for a couple of hours and they were thrilled.

I know that I'm really lucky that Amanda wants to help out so much with the babysitting. I have a few friends with daughters the same age and they are much less willing to help out their moms. It's easy to blow off her messy room and some of the little stuff because she is such a big help in other ways.

Andrew has hardly been around all week. He and his two best friends rotate in and out of our homes, but really, they spend a lot of time outside on bike rides, walking and just "hanging out". Everyday he gets up and says he wants to do something as a family, but then whatever I suggest gets knocked down. He's eager for me to take them on our first adventure, but the weather has been so weird here that I haven't planned anything. Thomas and I suggested a fun family activity for today, but after all of his whining that we don't do enough as a familiy anymore, he said "Oh, I can't. I have plans.".

plans. My 13 year old has plans to hang out with his friends. He's growing up. It's so strange to realize that his friends now play a much bigger role in his life than I do....it isn't that I'm not important...I'm just not at the center anymore. I never thought that would happen, but it has.

Alex has been so busy since school got out that I've rarely seen him as well. The boys in our neighborhood are all his age. They all head out the door as soon as they get up and get dressed and have to be dragged in for lunch and dinner. It's how summer should be, and I'm happy for him. Again though, I have this feeling that I play such a minor role anymore. :huh: I know it's not true, but the contrast between the older children and the little ones is huge.

Even Aidan has decided that he is growing up. He refuses to hold my hand anymore. "I'm not little anymore, mom." He also keeps running out the door after Alex. I'm constantly chasing after him and sometimes I don't realize that he's left until he's been gone a good 10 or 15 minutes. I get busy with Zoe or I am in the shower or am making dinner and I turn around and he's gone. I know our neighbors are apalled. He is very small (not even on the growth curve). Many people guess his age at 3 instead of 4 1/2. Zoe is almost as tall as he is and she weighs as much as he does. Yesterday, I let Aidan play in the cul-de-sac with Alex and I checked on them a few times. I guess I just kind of gave up :huh: . One of my neighbors let me know that since I wasn't outside with him, she had sat on her back porch and watched him for me. whatevah! I mentioned that this is a tough summer for me with him because he just wants to play with all of the boys. I told her that I'm constantly running after him and that I had come out several times to watch him...but that I also felt comfortable because his 9 year old brother was with him. I mentioned that he is 4 1/2. She was surprised...she thought he was much younger. I'm even considering putting him in an afternoon daycare program here because I just can't chase him all afternoon. I don't know what to do.

I understand his frustration. All of the boys run to one of the empty lots on the pond. They build tee-pees, fish, and play ball. Half of our neighbors have bought trampolines and you can see and hear the kids jumping and laughing. Other neighbors have put up huge...massive aboveground pools. I can't imagine what they spent on these. If the weather ever warms up, I know these will be a hit too. Even with the economy what it is, it's all about having bigger, better, more!

How do you hold a 4 1/2 year old back? How do I say no all of the time? I can't sit outside in a neighbor's yard. I can't spend my afternoon standing around empty lots so that he can play there. The other little girl in our neighborhood who is just a few months older than he is has free run of the neighborhood. She is allowed everywhere. It's just a tough call.

Zoe is just....Zoe. Cute, cute, cute....and she knows it. She gets so much attention that I know she realizes that she runs the show here! The challenge with her is going to be reigning it all in someday. She is so spoiled. No one else is allowed to sit with me or on my lap or she throws herself to the floor and hides her face. If they don't move and let her come sit on my lap, she runs to the stairs (while giving me a dirty look) and then lays herself flat on the bottom stair and hides her face again. She loves going on walks and loves playing outside. She is back to wanting to go with me everywhere I go.

"Mommy, mit; Momy, mit; Mommy mit, mit, mit!"

I had my 38th (ACK!) birthday last week.

My digital camera is still missing in action (I got a new one for my bday but it hasn't arrived yet) and so I had to use a disposable camera for pics. It made me realize that I can never go back. I can't stand not being able to see the picture to retake it if it's bad. Half of my film ended up being unusable because it was blurry or too dark. We only got a few good pictures of our traditional Space Aliens bday celebration:


Ummm, Yah....keep walking, Kris. sigh.


Alex with a big smile on his face. Mom, where are the tokens? Lets go play!


Dude...you need a haircut!


Is my hair frizzy? Do I have split ends? How long will it take for my bangs to grow out?


coke, coke! (um, no....MILK!)


Impish little grin!

I'd say that things are going pretty well right now...with the exception of a trip to the ER for Aidan, things have been calm. I also have begun to realize how much I truly feel a part of the community here. Last week, I hung out with other moms at soccer, met with a friend for coffee one night, went with another friend to Bounce Depot so the kids could run off some steam during a cold, rainy day and have had multiple conversations with neighbors. Things feel...as they should be here right now. Wow...it only took 7 years, eh?[/quote]