A Vacation for Five

Yesterday was our first full day of vacation. The boys are loving it, as are mommy and daddy mushroom. Friday was a driving day, and as far as such things go it was excellent. We had the truck rigged up so that we could power the iBook, and the boys could watch movies (mostly they slept). We had a leisurely stop for lunch, and I chased the boys around the rest area. I think one of the best parts of having children is the excuse to act foolish in public. So we arrived, 12 hours later, in relatively good spirits. Yesterday we went to the local park, and rode the mini train... twice. We played on the playgrounds (there are several, separated into age-appropriate play areas for toddlers, preschoolers, 6-9 year olds and so on, up to teens). We checked out the local pool, and promised to return. We went to a street fest in glorious downtown.
Today we had breakfast and playtime at an old friends' parents house, and then spent hours at the new pool where we lamented the lack of similar entertainment in Memphis. We had also been lamenting the way that Memphis is dying downtown, and you can't walk anywhere. Here downtown is thriving, being renovated and renewed. If you live in the older sections of town, you can walk to the parks, to the library, to the stores. What you can't easily walk to, the bus line take care of suitably well. Yes, I miss small town living. But now the boys are fast asleep after a hard day at play. Last night they didn't fall asleep until 1 am, and they woke up happy as can be by 8 am. Nice long naps after lots of play, fun with mom and dad, life doesn't get much better. All vacations should be so nice. Mom and Dad pick the place, the boys set the schedule. Why not? Really, who likes spending hours in museums so that in the end you can feel cultured? Tommorrow we are off to the lake. It's up in the air, literally, how long we'll get to stay. It may be too hot, too rainy... never know. But we've got high hopes. Daddy is envisioning nights by the fire, Mommy just wants to laze about on the beach. Some of the campsites have wireless... could be another update tommorrow.

Remembering to Breathe

Tomorrow is my interview with the admissions committee for my continuing adventure in education. I must say that going to school the second time (or now the third time) has been a much more fulfilling experience. I'm able to concentrate entirely on classes, and not on the parties planned for the weekend, or who's sleeping around with who. Maybe it's not as much fun... but definitely a more educational experience. Not that my social calander is empty, mind you. I've got playdates and doctor's appointments, upset tummies and school socials. Being a mother, if nothing else, teaches one amazing time management and organization skills. No longer is one allowed to be flighty or forgetful.

But I've gotten distracted... my point was that tommorrow decides my fate. I'm just trying to remember to breathe...

Couch Mushrooms

Today's post will be short, because I am very tired. Here are my darling couch mushrooms. We start them young... Actually, I try not to let them watch much TV, but it's so ungodly hot here that even when they want to play outside it's about two minutes before they are back inside, asking for water and saying it's too hot. Obviously I don't even think about taking the baby out.

We did some hot gardening work today. Kaj is really trying to be as helpful as possible. I wish I'd taken a picture of the boys when they were done helping with the mulching. They were like the 101 dalmations who rolled in the soot to look like labradors... black mulch dust from head to toe. But I was in too much of a hurry to get them in the tub... Here's a nice picture of one of the few Gazanias to survive my pitiful attempts at gardening.

Twenty-Eight and Feeling Great

Due to some sort of genetic abnormality (I'm sure), I Ioathe the part of my birthday where people ask me what I want. Even if I had just been thinking five minutes earlier how much I would like item X, when asked I can only stare blankly, as if I had temporarily forgotten the English language. The best I could do this year? A vacuum. I honestly asked for a new vacuum for my birthday. And I got one... a sexy red thing that looks more like a rocket than an implement for cleaning floors. Boy does it suck!

I suppose this reflects a return of my ability to think of things other than the baby. Good timing, since tomorrow I go back to work. Three months off made a nice little vacation, but I really can't say I'm looking forward to returning to the drudgery that is customer service. I can't express how determined I am to really finish school this time, and actually find a job that uses my education, and pays enough for it to matter whether I work or not.

One of the biggest disappointments in my life has been that not only did college not give me all the answers, it really didn't prepare me for real life either. When you are young, you think that college is going to provide you not only with all the knowledge you need to succeed in the business world, but also all the life experience to propel you into that mystical realm called 'adulthood'. As if when you receive your diploma, the Almighty will flip the cosmic switch in your brain from 'adolescent' to 'adult' settings. Well, if it happened for anyone else, it sure didn't happen for me. I'm still the same, hopelessly inept, impractical dreamer with maybe a bit more self-esteem.

I have trouble thinking of myself as a married, twenty-eight year old mother of three. Sometimes I think I might go to sleep and wake up ten years ago, and all of this has been a dream. Ahhh... the things I would do differently. Like that particular pick-up soccer game during which I blew out my knee and spent basically a year in pain... I think I'd skip that, given the chance. I'd also go straight for the nursing degree, and leave out the six years of customer service. (though my short stint at the zoo was fun)

Anyway, here's the latest cute baby picture. Saul gets cuter every day. He's started to play. He regularly finds his fingers and gets them to his mouth, and he shows increasing interest in reaching out to grab toys or faces that get within his arms' reach... even pulled my hair the other day.

A Serious Honor

I have been entrusted with my father's transitional object, otherwise known as his blankie. His grandmother knit it for him when he was born. He's had with him his whole life, even took it to college. It has, predictably, begun to unravel. For some reason he has entrusted the intimidating honor of repairing his 'precious' to me. Apparently he thinks my mom might just throw the old thing out... he could be right, except that a debilitating disease called packratitis afflicts my family, it could also be called throwitoutophobia - fear of throwing anything away, ever. So whatever the reason, I now have in my possession a great treasure in need of repair.

It's a nice blankie. I hope I can do it justice.

Oynek and Hipponopomonuses

Children always learn some words a little wrong. At breakfast today Eli the endless eater asked for a second helping of 'your-gut', by which we knew that he wanted more peach yogurt. It reminded Daddy Mushroom that Kaj used to ask for 'oynek' to refer to the same. Then we were off and running, remembering the other funny pronunciations we've heard. Kaj preferred hipponopomonus, while Eli likes hoop-pomunus. Kaj is getting frickles on his nose. Eli worries about us, and tells us to be care-fee-ul. Someday he would like to ride in an our-plane or an hekolopter. Our dogs named Disney and Lyra by DM and I, have been re-named Dizzy and Leerla. And the best to date: Eli loves to eat phoney and slimy, even though his vegetarian mother strongly disapproves. (bologna and salami)

And now for something completely different...

Potty Time!

It's time to wean Eli from the diaper, and no one is quite as excited about that as I am. I hope the excitement holds. We've been going at it in fits and starts. I know that's all wrong... consistency is the key. Just try to be consistent with two perpetual motion machines, and one perpetual eating machine. So, I do my best. Eli is running about pant-less, and it's a bit like having a puppy. He's very cute, and every once in a while he makes a disgusting mess. Then there's the times when he tells me, "Mommy, I have to go potty," but he's already peeing by the time he says 'go'. Of course when he does make it to the potty, it's a major celebration complete with clapping, jumping, and even a little squealing. He really wants to be a big boy, complete with Spiderman undies like Kaj's. Unfortunately, if anything is on his bottom he goes with impunity. I've never seen a kid less concerned with wet pants. I don't remember Kaj being so hard to train. Then again I don't remember how painful childbirth is either, which probably explains why I was willing to do it three times in four years. When I get too tired of cleaning up messes I'll strap a diaper back on his bottom for a while until I can stand it again.

He is actually getting much better about avoiding accidents. It's just unfortunate that anytime we go out, or the entire week we were on vacation we had to put potty training on hold. It has helped somewhat to have older brother as a good example, but also hindered because we can't focus just on Eli. That, I imagine, is the plight of the middle child forever and always. Neither my husband or I would really know, since we are both oldest siblings.

Something funny about having three boys. Everyone asks if we're trying again for a girl. First of all, that's a great way to end up with a starring role in 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'. I really don't think that 'I want a girl' is a good reason to keep having more and more children. I wanted two things when we started our family: healthy, happy children, and more than one child. So far so good. For a while I wanted four children. Now that I have three... well, it's hard to say for certain in the aftermath of birth, because the very idea of getting pregnant again gives me the shudders, but I think three is company, four's a crowd.

Summertime Blues

Here's another cute picture of Eli being silly and trying on the baby's hat. He looks quite dashing, I think.









And here's one of the boys having fun at the park today.









It's hot and humid tonight (of course, that's like saying there's ice in Antartica). My garden looks absolutely pathetic. I am an uninspired gardener, and an apathetic housekeeper. I start ambitious projects, and never finish them. I'm sure that the neighborhood whatchacallit is a step away from calling the city. My yard will never be voted yard of the month, and my house... well, it looks like two whirlwind preschoolers have control. I'm almost sad about that. Actually, what is sad is how nice the house and yard can look when I have an afternoon to spend on it. I have to keep reminding myself that now, as the mother of three boys under five years old I need to lower my standards. An entire day can go by when all I accomplish is getting them dressed and fed, keeping their faces and butts clean, and maybe putting a load of laundry in or sweeping the floor. Getting them ready to go somewhere and actually leaving the house is a two hour adventure. With time frames like that, I somehow expect to have time to weed the garden, workout, read a book, wash the dogs? I suppose there are women out there who can do it all. I'm just not one of them. I keep saying, maybe when the baby is older. But really, how long can you go without vacuuming?

Some Thoughts on Sports

World Cup Disappointment

I've been watching as many of the World Cup games as I can. Since I refuse to pay for TV there have not been that many games, soccer being the under-appreciated game that it is in the US. I did get to watch the final games, Germany's resounding win over Portugal, and the Italian triumph over France. And up until the final minutes of the final game, it was a satisfying tournament. If you haven't heard, then you probably don't care. But it was in those final minutes that Zinedine Zidane brought home to me exactly why I don't want my boys to idolize sports figures. After some comment by an Italian player (apparently known for being nasty) Zidane turned around and head-butted the player in the chest. I thought I was shocked and disappointed then. This morning I read that not only has he been welcomed home as a hero (not terribly suprising, a country generally protects its' own) but he has also been awarded the Golden Boot by FIFA. Disturbing. Here we are, holding up a man as an example to children around the world and rewarding him as top player in the world. He attacked another player. It is really depressing, the people we hold up as examples. I want my boys to play sports. I want them to play well, maybe even good enough for scholarships. I just hope there are better men to show them. DM never fought on the court. Goodness knows he gets pushed around enough. One night he came home with his shorts half ripped off. Some hack tried to stop him by grabbing his shorts. But that's church leagues... anyone can play. You'd hope that the pros could be a little more in control.

Late Night

This is a picture from a year ago on our trip to the windy city, of Kaj and Eli. And here...


is the adorable baby mushroom, Saul. Saul seems to be feeling ill tonight. He's very fussy, which is why I'm still awake posting on my blog at 1 in the morning. Forgive me if I ramble.

Kaj and Eli are enjoying their summer. It's been pretty nice weather. We keep getting nice, cool weather blowing in from the north so temperatures haven't hit the ungodly highs we usually get. By this I mean that it's only been in the low nineties, with relatively low humidity. All through the summer, I dream of winter. Then it arrives, and I'm depressed by the grayness of Memphis.

In a few weeks I'll be returning to the Midwest. Ten years since high school. Can't say I miss it. I'm not going to the reunion. Only one person I care about will be there, and I've already arranged to meet her away from the 'party'. I'm really not bitter, though I'm sure I sound like I am. I just really don't care what happened to any of the people with whom I went to school (with the exception of one). I was one of those unfortunate girls in high school, too smart and independent for popularity. I spent all four miserable years certain that I was the only one with body odors, facial blemishes, an extra five pounds, and frizzy hair. I have since accepted all of these things about myself, but it was one of those journeys of self-discovery that I'd rather not repeat.

We'll be taking Saul on his first camping trip that week. There are so many things I want to teach my boys, and an appreciation for 'the great outdoors' is one. When they are older, I want to take them on the AT. I watched a PBS show once about people doing the whole AT, and while I thought they were pretty nuts I also remembered how amazing it was backpacking in the Andes. It was only for a week, but it was one of the best experiences of my life. I'll have to scan in some pictures, and tell the full story sometime.

Daddy Mushroom is going fishing tomorrow. He's fully embracing his inner redneck. He recently got a big ol' F-250 Diesel on lifts (which means that the runner to step into the truck is above my waist, and Eli can pretty much stand up under the truck). Some have even said he's trading in his 'furriner' accent from a southern one. I know I'm losing my Midwestern perfect diction for a nice little twang. My 'I' sounds like 'ah'... at least a little bit. But no worries, they haven't got me wearing makeup or shouting 'hallelujah' in the choir yet.

Ah... the baby has fallen asleep at long last. Off to bed with me.

First Laugh

Baby Saul just laughed for the first time. What a wonderful sound!

My Independence Day

I was decidedly un-American tonight. I skipped the fire works completely. I never liked them much, and the baby and Eli were frightened of the noise. In typical Eli fashion, he cried and begged to go out to see the fireworks then once he was out he cried at the noise and ran for the door again. Funny kid.

My marathon training should have begun this week. Unfortunately, I have been a slacker. Tomorrow I will start, and be more regular about it. Not that I haven't said that before.

I'm waiting impatiently for word about nursing school. Realistically it's far too soon, since the applications were due July 1 and it's been a holiday. I shouldn't expect anything for weeks. It's hard to wait when so much of my future hinges on the decision of people I've never met.