Shhhh… don’t say it too loudly, but I’m starting to appreciate being able to go for a stroll in the late evening and have the air be balmy and not bracing or biting. The warm summer night thing might be growing on me.
Adjustments going fine, most of the time. We’ve had some tear-sodden incidents this week as we miss friends and our old ward (holy crap, do we miss our old ward!) but overall, it’s okay- I even got an “I guess I like it here- EXCEPT FOR THE ZEKE PART!” from Jeffrey. (Zeke is his BFF back on the west coast)
Super shhhhhh…. my dad ordered Jeffrey a set of bagpipes from Scotland for his birthday. Should I send out a letter to the neighbors now??
Abbs got a big-girl haircut yesterday- a chin-length bob with no bangs. She looks cute, so very serious, and probably more like a grad-student than I do:
She taught a friend of mine how to play chess the other day. A grown-up friend. Yes, she did. And yes, my daughter was the only kindergartner to be admitted to the chess club. This girl is gonna do important stuff. I hope I’m cut out to be a good enough mama for her. Okay, stepping away from the edge of that rabbit hole now…
I got called to Primary. To teach Bean’s class. First time ever… I said no.
First Tuesday of every month, the Lego store has a free builder workshop. Maybe you already knew that– everyone else in the greater DC area seemed to, because we waited in line for nearly AN HOUR for the kids to get in the store, collect their little bucket of pieces, and build a small great white shark. I think if I factor in the time we stood around, parking, driving, and annoyance, I paid $30 for those free Lego. But dude. The kids had a freaking ball. Yes, that is my ten-year old, gleefully waiting for his free Lego, who is now FIVE FEET FIVE INCHES TALL!
Also? Tyson’s Corner Mall? What a damn madhouse!
Somehow or other, we hit a Temporal Causality Loop yesterday, because we made it home using the 495 (that’s the “beltway”) and 66 at 6:30 in the evening, and hit no traffic. That will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. But let it stand that it did, in fact, happen. Once.
I made homemade Nutter Butter cookies last night. Prepare for a food-gasm. If you like peanut butter, that is. I can’t eat them, but the looks on the faces of those who can tell the tale.
Got all three kids registered for school. Jeffrey starts middle school. Trying not to geek out about that, or imagine my own hellish middle school years. Here’s hoping a giant redheaded kid who plays the bagpipes is considered cool in at least one circle.
Bean is actually doing a million times better than I imagined. It seems he has his bucket of issues that he packs with him wherever he goes, but otherwise, everyone else can just go pound sand. He’s fine. He’s the child I’m least worried about, ironically enough, after 8 solid years of worrying myself nauseated. Is that the parenting payoff?
Hair update: Back to shampooing with conditioner, per my curly girl experiment of many years ago. It’s helping exponentially. I do think the length is simply unsustainable in this humidity, and I might have to hide the scissors from me, not just Bean, to keep from hacking it off. I’ve already snipped some bad tangles from underneath rather than deal. That should be fun growing out! “Who does your hair, dear?” “ME! Why do you ask?” says the crazy woman…
I’ve got a massive pile of flat, broken-down, perfectly-usable moving boxes if you know anyone in the Tri-State area that stands in need. Storage is tight in Townhouse City.
My ward seems, cautiously, to be quite lovely. There’s the normal cast of characters that pop up everywhere, but so far, folks have been quite nice. Scads more diversity here, and I’m happy to report Bean has stopped remarking (loudly, or at all) on the varying differences in people.
Went to a barbecue last weekend at a new friend’s house, and they had the best slip-n-slide ever. The kids spent the entire day doing this:
That doesn’t suck. Glad July is over and we’re almost to the ‘bers.
Dandelion Mama 
That Slip and Slide looks FUN!!
I laughed out loud at your comment about teaching primary. I don’t care who you are or who your kids are….you should NEVER teach your own child’s primary class! Smart move on your part!! Not only do you need the break from your child, but your child will learn more spiritually from another teacher simply because that teacher is not YOU – and I don’t mean You Tracey – but the child’s parent in general. I did this one time and one time ONLY and will NEVER do it again! My son was the worst student I had, simply because he thought he could get away with stuff because I was his mom….not so, buddy boy, Not so!
It warms my heart to read your posts and hear that things are going so well for you. I hope this trend sticks around for a bit 🙂
1. Tyson’s Corner stresses me out. It’s just too big, too much traffic, too many people. You are brave.
2. That slip-n-slide is awesome!
I love, love, love Tysons. It’s my happy place. (When i got back from Afghanistan, I used to just wander up and down the aisles so I could be around people.) Once you get used to the idea of going back, I’ll take you to Coastal Flats there (aka home of food ambrosia).
Oh Karen- I liked it! I wandered around the FOUNTAIN PEN STORE! while the kids stood in line. Any mall that is so stocked to the hilt that it can support a fountain pen store is okay with me. Wanna get dinner next week?
So happy that things are working out. Love Abby’s haircut – it does make her look older. Jeffrey’s taller than I am! You should post video of him learning to play the bagpipes. And it’s fantastic that you don’t need to worry so constantly about Bean and his adjustment.
As for the occasional tears and missing friends ferociously, that is normal. Based on my experience, it is better to acknowledge and shed the tears at times than to try to bottle it up under the guise of “just needing more time to adjust.” That’s a slippery slope toward depression…
I, too, think that is the best slip-n-slide ever. Yay for happy moments!
The haircut is adorable! My older daughter (9) has a wedged bob, no bangs and it made her look older when she first got it too. I shampoo with conditioner and LOVE the curly girl routine. It helps both me and my younger daughter immensely :-).
Abby looks so beautiful and so grown-up – is she going into K or 1st grade?
First grade. Can you believe it? She has been iive-blogged since I took the pregnancy test.
Ahh Tyson’s…fond memories. Come school starting it slows down dramatically. In the winter I used to walk there over and over, laps (it is huge, so it doesn’t take much to get in 10000 steps, I can live to say).
You sound lighter in your blogs…hope that means life is going well, all things considered.
We only got to do it a few times, but wow, I miss sitting and visiting with you. Thinking you should hop a plane to Bulgaria (no biggie!).
Be looking for decorating advice as soon as our stuff makes it our way…
Love you!
Love the slip and slide!
I have followed your blog for a long time, but never commented. I admire you in many ways.
I had to say that I totally laughed out loud at your Primary calling part too. We moved a year ago and that is exactly what happened to me–asked to be the Primary teacher for my special needs child, and it was also my first time saying no. 🙂
As for Abb being the only kindergartener to be in the chess club, she’s the only kidergartener to weld a tricycle-thingy. NO FEAR. Glass ceilings will shatter under her proverbial war-hammer.
I’m going to read her your reply, Kent! We miss all of you! Who else is going to weld with my girl?
The good traffic was fortunate, but it’s not unheard of in the summertime. Word to the wise: don’t go anywhere the week after Labor Day. Traffic. Hell.
I have also followed your blog for awhile and never commented. But, I wanted to let you know that there is a Lego store at Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, and they do the same free Lego night, and it seems that the crowds a a bit less there. Just a random thought…I take my kids there on occasion. Thank you for your always honesty. It’s very refreshing. I love to read about you and your family.
Thank you, Jana. And thanks for delurking. Always good to hear from folks for the first time. 🙂