Just Keep Swimming!

Today is the first full day of our vacation, and my kids haven't worn anything besides pajamas and bathing suits. The plane ride was fairly uneventful, which was pretty much awesome! Fred is enjoying his baby cage, and started blowing raspberries. The weather is making Maggie's hair even more curly and irresistible. I had s'mores pop tarts for breakfast. My brother slept in the bottom bunk, and Sam slept in the top bunk. Lucy is practically swimming on her own, with only a noodle to assist her.

If today is any indication, this is going to be an awesome vacation.

The Great Plane Compromise

My brother, my only sibling, is getting married next weekend.

In FLORIDA.

We are all very happy and excited for this big event, however it has sparked a bit of fear into my heart because it means that we will have to take all four of my children on an airplane. Fortunately for me and my anxiety, there are a few factors that make this a more manageable situation for me. Number one: my parents are coming with us. Obviously my brother is also their son, so attending his wedding is not only a joyous occasion for them, but it's also a huge help for us. We will have a nice 1:1 ratio on the plane, and during a lot of our trip since we are staying together. Number two: he lives and is getting married in Orlando. This means that my kids will be four of about six hundred and ninety-two kids on our flight. This greatly increases the chance that there will be some other kid more obnoxious than one of mine. Even though that is a little evil, I take comfort in this.

However, one thing that continues to give me panic attacks is my husband. You see, SOB travels for work on a fairly regular basis, and has become something of an airport sportsman. He gets a rush from arriving at his gate mere moments from takeoff. He delights in being the last person to board. I learned this the hard way when we flew to Savannah last month.

I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that arriving at the gate about half an hour before boarding begins is ideal. It gives you enough time to use the restroom, grab a snack and a drink, browse the magazines and then use the restroom again. Plus, we're going to be hauling four kids, four car seats, two strollers, two computers, my camera equipment, and any other carry on items with us. And we're travelling on a holiday weekend.

So when we began discussing what time we would leave the house the morning of our flight, things got a little heated.

After several moments of pointed debate, and a call into my parents (my dad is my ally in this situation) we agreed that we would leave our house at 9:26am for our 12:15pm flight out of Pittsburgh. Neither one of us were willing to budge another minute, but I think that will be early enough to keep me from needing a xanax.

But I still might need a beer.

And My Boys...

Gotta be fair!

Don't worry. He got glad again.

My Girls...

Early Morning Dew

The dreaded summer cold has got me in its vile clutches, even though it's not even really summer. I'm just glad it's this week instead of next week, when we'll be at my brother's wedding! Until I recover, I'm just going to sip some tea and post pictures, k?

Freddie Fridays

This is sad Freddie, just after getting his shots. Don't worry. He's all better now, and immune to polio, too!

First Date Jitters

Tonight SOB and I are going on a date! With another couple! Real, live adults, with no kids in sight! Not even Freddie! It's been since before we moved that we actually went out with other people over the age of five.

But even though I'm excited, I'm also nervous. The only couples we've ever been out with we've either known for a very long time, or been related to them. This whole making new friends thing can be tough, especially when taking care of my four kiddos eats up most of my time. Luckily, I met another mom at school, and we seemed to click. After a few playdates and one solo mom lunch date, we're making the leap to couples dating.

Finding good mom friends is so tough. You want to find one with kids in the same age range as yours, so that they can play together, but once you do there is no guarantee that you'll like the parents they're attached to. I've been really lucky in the past to meet some really cool ladies through things like swim class and pre-school, but I've also had a few experiences that weren't so warm and fuzzy. Like that one playgroup we were invited to, where Sam had a blast and I was completely ignored. Or the stroller strides meetings in suburban Atlanta where I was totally rejected for not having a luxury SUV. And since I spend the majority of my day socializing with the pre-K set, I tend to put some lofty expectations on my interactions with people who watched Fraggle Rock when it was on the first time. Mainly on myself, to not screw it up.

Which leads me to the title of this post.

So tonight, while we're out dining with our new friends, I'm counting on you internets, to send me positive vibes. So that I don't talk too much or bring up an uncomfortable subject or get spinach stuck in my teeth or fart or something horrible like that.

Please?

The West Virginina School System is Trying to Kill Me

Last August I was still fairly enchanted with our mountain home. The summer was kind of a blur, and I was looking forward to school starting so that I could explore a little without three kids in tow. Then I made the discovery that while my children would be attending the same school, their classes would meet at different times, and my schedule got turned on its ear. Luckily, thanks to a combination of carpooling and babysitting, I managed to make it through this year with my sanity intact, barely.

Through the winter, we had to decide if Sam and Lucy were going to stay at their private school or attend the public school. If they stayed at their current school, Sam would go all day but Lucy would still only be going for half a day, which would mean another year of insanity. However pre-K is now mandatory for 4 year old kids in WV, so the other option is that they could both go to the public school.

After weighing all of our options, we decided to give the public school a try. I dug out birth certificates and vaccination records and got up super early to stand in line (on a cold, rainy day no less) to sign them up. Done deal, I thought. Next year they would be going to the same school at the same times, and life would finally start to settle down.

WRONG!

Apparently, the new pre-K program isn't fully operational. Even though the district knows how many kids would be enrolling in the program, they didn't create enough spaces for all of them. So there was a lottery. And Lucy totally did not win. She's number 24 on the wait list. Which means that next year not only will the kids be on different schedules, but they'll be at totally different schools!

This, coupled with the endless, relentless rain we've been having makes me want to grab my kids and run for the border. North or south, I don't freaking care anymore. As long as it's not here.

Just to keep you (and me) from jumping off of the bridge.

Le Dance

Yesterday the my two oldest children performed in their first ever dance recital. It was a joyous occasion, marked by several servings of ice cream and lots of sequins.

I won't lie: I totally cried when my kids came out. Especially Lucy. She had been having a lot of trouble in dance class, and every time they would rehearse their routine she would start wailing in the middle of it. Because us parents aren't allowed in the studio until the end of class, I could never really figure out why she would freak out. Lucy, being my darling, overly dramatic child, doesn't do anything halfway, including throw a fit. Her screams during the routine were so loud and intense that the other children would get startled and stop dancing. Last week, after enduring almost two months of mid-dance tantrums, the owner/instructor and I talked, and decided that if Lucy couldn't get it together by the dress rehearsal, she wouldn't dance in the recital. It wasn't fair for the other kids or their families.

Luckily, after being permitted to observe her, I discovered the issue. At one point during the dance the kids are sitting and they're supposed to flutter kick their feet. Lucy, however, was pounding her heels into the wooden floor, and then crying when it hurt. Then when the rest of the class would continue dancing without her, she would get even more upset and the screaming would begin.

It took several days of working with her at home, but she made it through the dress rehearsal without piercing any eardrums!

Which means that the next day, she got to perform for reals!

She's all the way on the end. I was so proud of her (and Sam, too) that I couldn't help but weep a little. She's growing up so fast that I occasionally forget that she's only three. She's had some tough times recently, but yesterday was a good day.

Yesterday was a really good day.

Freddie, Month Two

Dear Freddie-Buddy -

How do you like your new nickname? It was given to you by your sister Maggie, who was confused by the fact that I often call you Buddy, but everyone else calls you Freddie, so she combined the two. And now we all call you that, in our best Maggie voice, so it actually sounds more like Fweddie-Buddie. Cute, right? Just like you!

This month has been a fun one. You had your first holiday and attended your first wedding! And you are all smiles for your mama these days. My favorite game to play with you is the one where I lay you in the gymni, and then put my head right up in between all of the hanging toys. Your eyes wander all over the place, and when you see the toys you look interested, but when you see me you light up like a christmas tree. It's totally awesome.

Your uncle Danny came all the way from Florida this month just to meet you. Although his other nephew (Sam) looks a little more like him, I don't think he holds it against you.

You are still my little bean, despite being 12 pounds and 6 ounces at your two month check up. Although my biceps are getting pretty ripped from carrying your car seat around. You still love to be swaddled at night, which puts you in the running for 'longest swaddle baby' against Maggie. You might win, though, because I've discovered dozens of new types of blankets thanks to the internets.

You are still waking a few times each night, although sometimes it's only once. It's funny how history becomes hazy with time, because I totally thought your sisters were sleeping through the night by two months, but when I went back and read their two month entries, I saw that you are right on par with them. Thank god, because I was starting to think that maybe you'd be like Sammy in the sleep department, still waking 2+ times a night until you were nine months old. Please try and take after the girls, ok darling boy?

But as long as you keep smiling (and winking) at me, you can do pretty much anything you want. At least until you turn 16.

I love you so much little boy. I don't think I could even try to love you more.

Mama

Tongue Tied

When Sammy was little he received speech therapy every other friday for a whole year. The main attribution for his speech delay was fluid in his ears, which made it hard for him to hear clearly, therefore he never truly learned what things sounded like. The doctor told us he was hearing things as though he always had water in his ears. Here is a video of him when he was 2.5, singing to his cousin, and you can hear how his speech is kind of muted. After getting ear tubes, though, his hearing issued were corrected and a big improvement was noticed in his speech. In fact, here is another video of him singing the same thing one year later. He wasn't perfect, but he was on par with normal kids, and most people could understand him.

But he was only three then. Now he's five and a half, and kids at school are starting to point out that he sometimes says 'bideo' instead of 'video'. When he says his name, the S sound gets lost and people can't understand him. When we went to his kindergarten registration last month, he actually failed the speech screening. That only means that he needs therapy, so I think that marking his sheet with a big 'FAIL' was a little bit of overkill. But the therapist explained to me that the type of lisp he has isn't something that he'll be able to grow out of, it requires treatment to correct.

Because we all know that kids can sometimes be mean, we decided to seek out treatment for him for the remaining months before kindergarten begins. Unfortunately, we'll have to pay out of pocket for services. But hopefully by the time summer is over, he'll be able to clearly speak his own name so that his new friends won't call him Dan or Stan. I think it'll be money well spent.

My Mother's Day Gift

From Fred, with love!

Freddie Fridays

He's no longer afraid of the big camera, so I can show you just how lovely my boy's smile is!

Love, Marriage and Georgia

So the wedding went well. The bride was lovely, as expected. And her groom was delighted in her loveliness.

My girls were lovely, as well.

Lucy, in particular, really held it together well. Until she didn't. But it was 8pm by then, and we called it a day. We literally had to drag her out, kicking and screaming, but when it mattered she was a peach!

I made it through the day in my dress without any major incidents, i.e. no nipple slips. Freddie did dribble a little milk on my dress, but I just held my flowers in front of my left boob and no one noticed!

The next morning, SOB, Freddie and I headed south to Savannah, where we had tea...

And met Paula Dean...

Or a reasonable facsimile of her.

And walked and walked and walked. Seriously, I pushed Fred over at least eight miles of Savannah sidewalk. Which hopefully made up for the meal we ate a Paula Dean's! SOB had a conference, so during the day when he was stuck inside a stoopid convention center I hit the streets with babe and camera.

Freddie was an exceptional travelling companion. He was an angel on the planes, slept well at the hotel and was generally sweet and adorable. Just about everyone I encountered on the street had something sweet to say about him.

I haven't been back to Georgia since we left the ATL. Even though I was rather disenchanted with the south when we left, this trip reminded me of why I wanted to live there in the first place. It was hard to leave, and if three of my kids weren't here waiting for me I may have accidentally missed my plane. But home we came, relaxed and happy, and already looking forward to our next trip back.

Savannah

We had an amazing time, both at the wedding and in Savannah. More to follow.