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For some reason, after we stepped into Seth's classroom, every picture I took looked like this:

I was hoping the screen was just messed up, but no such luck.  Having the POS camera mess up on your family vacation when there are four other cameras around is one thing.  Having it mess up on your son's first day of kindergarten is the LAST STRAW.  It didn't take Nathan long to convince me to put a little more money into a more substantial camera.  My dad has one like this, and it takes really good pictures.  I haven't played with it too much, but here's a self-portrait in our bathroom mirror:

Seth's first day of kindergarten!

Monday was Open House at Seth's school.  We met his teacher, who is new to the school, but from a local private school.  Two of my friends were so sad that she had left the school, so I'm sure we are going to love her.  She and the assistant made a great first impression on us.   Tuesday morning, we had a slight goose chase around town, trying to find a nap mat.  Wednesday Funigans sponsored a playdate for the kindergarteners.  We met a little boy in Seth's class at the pool over the weekend, and they became fast friends.  When we got home, we packed up his backpack so we would be ready in the morning!

I wasn't sad, or scared, just a little anxious wanting the first day to go all right.  We took our annual "first day" pictures on the deck.

He wanted one of his backpack.  (He told me last night that he had the best backpack in his class, because his was the only one with a picture on it.)

Amelia really, really wants to go to Seth's school, too.  Due to some construction issues, her school doesn't start until September 21st.  Marie told me last year that she uses the book, The Kissing Hand, on the first day of school.  I bought it from the book order last spring, and read it to Seth earlier in the week.  He was so sweet, he explained it to Amelia when she said she was going to miss him.  He is such a good big brother.  When we walked into class, we learned that they were doing The Kissing Hand for the first day, too.  It was perfect!

Seth's classroom is monkey themed (more than a little appropriate):

(This is the point where my camera decided to only take white, hazy pictures.  The rest of the pictures are from Ella Brooke's mom's FB page.)  The kids sat down to do their first project, to color a picture of anything they wanted.  Ella Brooke is one of Seth's girlfriends.  I think the seating is alphabetical, and hopefully they won't need to be separated.  When I asked Seth what he drew, he said "a rainbow, and me, and Ella Brooke".  That should give Mrs. G lots of insight into his little mind!

Then it was off to PE. Their "Encore" (computer lab, PE, music, art, etc) class is first thing each morning. While the kids were in the gym, Mrs. G held a meeting for the parents.

When the kids got back, it was time for the parents to go.  Seth was so busy coloring, he barely said "bye", forget about one last kiss and hug for mom and dad!  It made me kind of sad, but I'm glad he felt secure enough not to need us, and it made leaving a little bit easier.  We went to a "Tears and Cheers" breakfast held by the PTA, and then Nathan went to an appointment and back to work and I took Amelia to get a haircut.
 
The car rider line was pretty atrocious (and it will probably be worse today now that all the kids are at school), but I know a lot of the little ones will start riding the bus next week.  Seth is going to be a car rider this year, no matter how much he says he wants to ride the bus.  Seth said he had a great first day.  He wasn't exhausted when he got home, but he was content to be lazy for most of the afternoon.
 
Today he first asked me to walk him in, and then at last minute he asked to be dropped off.  Mrs. D (the assistant) was there to greet him...so fingers crossed that day 2 is going as well as day 1 did!

kids' weekend

I don't think anyone would be surprised if I said the kids had a great time and were spoiled rotten at Gram and Pops' house.  The highlight of the weekend started out with a trip to the "bird store" to see Gram's coworkers, a small purchase at Walmart, and some patience while Pops got things ready back at the house.  It ended with some....fish!  We haven't fished in the pond since the day after Lisa and Michael's wedding.  I think we will have to do it more often now.  Especially since someone is big enough to do it himself.  I hear he didn't touch a worm, or a fish...

...but he did reel it in all by himself.

Gram Amelia caught one, too!

sneakin' away

Last weekend Nathan and I were able to sneak away to North Myrtle without the kids.  (Thanks, Gram and Pops!)  Our weekend in a nutshell:

• I forgot our cell phone chargers, so we basically only had our phones on to check on the kids.  Oops.
• We probably had the smallest hotel room in N. Myrtle, but it had a nice balcony, and a great view:

• We saw the Avett Brothers at the House of Blues.  It was a great show.  I now have a huge crush on Scott Avett. 
• I met the cello player at the outlet mall the next day.  He was very nice and normal (he looks slightly possessed when he's playing).
• We slept until 8 AM Saturday. 
• We ate a huge breakfast, skipped lunch, and shared a steampot for two that night at Joe's Crab Shack.
• After dinner, we both had baby fever for about 3.2 seconds when we saw a newborn.  Don't worry, the sensation passed.
• We saw The Other Guys at the movie theater.  Had we gotten it from the redbox, I probably would have gone to the other room to read my book.  Yeah, it was that good.
• We went to play putt-putt at a dinosaur-themed place.  Nathan beat me by 2 strokes.  He won fair and square.
• The rest of the time, you could find me doing this, either with or without my book:

in the tank

Yes, another fishtank update.  We have all our original guppies, and two of the neons.  Amelia's fish appears to be the mommy of at least the first four babies.  We think baby#1 is a boy, based on the coloring.  Baby#3 and baby#4 are getting bigger.  Baby#5 appeared last week, and I call him "Cinco" (which makes sense, because as you see, all the other ones don't have names...).  And we have one baby snail, which may be the cutest thing I have ever seen, but then Lisa did get those puppies, and Brian did blow me kisses on skype last week, so we'll call it a three-way tie.  The algae eaters are psychotic, but they kind of protect the babies and the snails from the guppies, so I guess they're okay.

WAR

Over the weekend, I taught Seth how to play "War".  I have created a monster.  I figure my Grandpa Meek is smilin' up in heaven, either because the game has been passed down to the next generation, or because in the first two games, I may have fudged a war or two so Seth could win...I'll let you decide what that means about Grandpa's card playing...

Tanglewood pool--2010 edition

Yesterday we went to Tanglewood pool, because our pool isn't open on Mondays.  We usually make it over there at least one time each summer.  I think if the weather is okay, we'll go back next Monday.  Seth is finally tall enough (and a good enough swimmer) to play in the big pool.  He and Kaitlyn had a great time on the slides and the diving boards.

Amelia's float isn't approved at the pool, so we borrowed one that is, because she of course is not nearly as cautious as her brother was at that age.  She had a great time splashing around, and swam in the big pool (with the float) while her brother jumped the afternoon away.

our new nieces

Lisa and I have always said the other would have twins...this is either the easy way out or foreshadowing...

Now settled back in Columbia for their final year of seminary, Lisa and Michael wasted no time in bringing home these two cuties.  Meet Scarlet:

And Gray:

The girls are 11 week old lab mixes and they are just as sweet as can be.  We've seen them on skype;  I can't wait to meet them in person!  And I know two little kids who will just love to play fetch and tuggie and all those games pups like to play!

a book review

I am not part of a book club, and  this book has been bugging me all week.  My blog, so I'm venting.  There may be some spoilers, so if you really want to read the book (or see the movie) without knowing too much, please stop reading now.

Yes, I have more books than I can read this year.  Yes, I will always take more.  Sometimes, I'll go to Barnes & Noble's website and look at the top 100 list.  Eat, Pray, Love was a book I'd often see on the list, and it seemed to get rave reviews.  It has been used by many book clubs.  I usually LOVE book club selections.  I was given the book for my birthday, and I started reading it right away, on the off chance I had the opportunity to see it in the movie theater. 

I was not a fan of this book.  Granted, it wasn't the most serene week at my house, but this lady's self-indulgence rubbed me the wrong way.  When she was around my age, she decided, "Hey, I don't want to be married anymore."  It was a bitter divorce (it seems like it took her husband a bit by surprise), and when it's all said and done, she's terribly depressed and has already moved on to another "serious" relationship.  To heal her soul, she plans a year-long journey.  I just don't get it lady.  You wanted the divorce.  You have a hottie boyfriend.  You have a job that pays you to travel around the world.  But you need to take this year for yourself?  Oh wait, and you know ahead of time that your publisher is going to pay you to write a book about it? 

The book is split into three sections:  Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Indonesia (Love...although she says she is there to find "balance").  Each section has 36 chapters.  There is no rhythm in any section.  I would like one chapter and dislike the next.  Topics would range from an anecdote from her past, an encyclopedic description of her current location, an event or conversation you could actually picture, lots of similes and metaphors, and some sassy tough girl talk.  It was so choppy.  I really didn't enjoy the India section.  She paid a whole lot of money to complain about meditating, in my opinion.  She made a big deal about not mentioning her guru's name, privacy of the ashram, etc...guess what?   It took me about three clicks on the Internet to figure it out, based on the information she gave in the book.  (Don't worry, I don't care to tell).  I liked the people she met in Bali the best, so at least the last third of the book was a little more enjoyable. 

Hopefully she's happier with all the dollar bills that are now in her bank account.  I kind of feel like I did after reading the Gosselin's book with all it's scripture and faith references, and within months, they were getting divorced and their shenanigans are all over the news.  I feel slightly used that they benefited from my reading their books.  I don't think I need to see the film.  If I do, it will be from the redbox. 

a lousy few days

Between the two parties Saturday, Amelia refused to nap, did something naughty in her room, and the cap over our front door fell off.  Lovely.  Sunday we skipped church, I took the kids to run a couple quick errands (one of them Staples...forgot it was tax-free weekend...lovely).  We went to the pool, the kids were crazy, and I was suddenly completely over looking for the quarter.  I have found, with Seth at least, when I get exasperated, the end is in sight, it just doesn't feel that way at the time.  I literally locked myself in Seth's room and read a book until I could relax a little bit.  Seth was FINE during the day, but he was waking twice a night with bad dreams, and between that and the "I know too much/worst case scenarios" I was dreaming, I was getting worn pretty thin. 

Monday morning we had plans for a playdate at the Children's Museum.  I had considered stopping at the courthouse to send him through the metal detector, just on the off chance I missed the coin.  But right before we left, Seth did his thing, and then I did my thing and found...a PENNY!  For crying out loud, I wouldn't have been so worked up about a penny!  So we're ecstatic, and we have a fun four hours at the Children's Museum.  When we got home, I shocked the bathroom with Chlorox.  That night, I was giving Amelia a bath, and I found a bug in her hair.  I combed her hair after bath, and found another one, googled it, and yep, it was head lice.  Seriously?  So I throw Seth in the shower, check him, and he's got eight in his hair.  Gross!

Tuesday morning, I start scalding their bed linens.  The pediatrician called in this new prescription shampoo that is not neurotoxic.  $90.  Lovely.  I bag up the stuffed animals, fluff pillows in the dryer, vacuum their rooms, change all the beds.  I strip our bed, take the comforter to the dry cleaners, and make an appointment to have our furniture cleaned professionally.  (The last two things needed to be done anyways, this just hastened things along.)  I was supposed to put 8oz of shampoo on Seth, and 24 oz on Amelia.  Really?  I split one bottle between the two of them, and it was dripping down their heads.  Mark my words, Amelia is going to drop a small fortune on her hair.  She loved the "spa treatment" (getting her hair rinsed out in the kitchen sink).

Post-treatment, I had to take Seth to the dentist.  He had a tiny cavity on the chewing surface of a molar.  While he's numb, he chews the heck out of his lip, and has the biggest fat lip I've ever seen.  Lovely.  Later in the day, Amelia was running in the kitchen, tripped, and bit her upper lip.  At that point, I had to take a couple deep breaths and acknowledge that this just hasn't been my month.

But after the mounds of laundry were finished, and I was finally able to do our "normal" laundry again, things have brightened up.  I caught the lice early.  I found out Wednesday that Kelly Ripa had the same thing happening at her house, but for some reason, that doesn't make me feel any better.  I met the new principal at Seth's school.  We ran errands yesterday morning, then headed out to the pool.  We're settling back in again.

The wonderful GI doctor called us yesterday to check in on Seth.  When I told him I could cancel the follow-up appointment because he passed a penny, he said, "It was only a penny?  It looked so big!  It looked like....ship treasure!"  I hope we never need to see a gastroenterologist again, but if we do, I want to see him!

Plan B? Party.

So what to do with a weekend when the kids planned to be at the grandparents and you planned to be relaxing in the mountains?  Friday afternoon, we were invited to a pool party with a handful of Seth's former (and hopefully future) classmates.  Their pool is smaller, shallower, and swim-at-your-own risk.  It also doesn't have a snack shack, so the mommies all obliged when the ice cream truck stopped by.

Thursday I un-regretted to two birthday parties taking place on Saturday.  In the morning, we walked over to Nickolas's house.  He had a pool/swingset/slip-n-slide/trampoline party.  This was at the beginning of the party.  You do NOT want to know what this water looked like two hours later.

Nickolas is one of those kids that could name all the dinosaurs before he could speak in complete sentences.  Lately, he has been on a Star Wars Wii kick, so he had a dinosaur cake with Star Wars accessories.  :)

Even annoying little sisters were allowed to come along (quote from Seth:  "How come when we go to Nickolas's house, he plays with Amelia more than he plays with me?")

We came home, didn't nap like we should (more on that later), and then went to Mason's birthday party, which was at the local tae kwon do facility.  Here the kids are learning some new moves:

Mason got to cut his cake with a sword!

rated E for everyone

Boxing is so easy, even a 2-year-old can do it!

memorable anniversary

Wednesday was our ninth anniversary.  Before kids, we tried to plan a weekend away to celebrate.  After kids, we just tried to go out to dinner near our anniversary, although last year, we did go to Las Vegas near our anniversary.   Originally, we were going to go to the mountains this weekend, without the kids, so Nathan could do a triathlon.  Which then became an aquathon.  Which he decided not to do, and we just changed the city we were going to visit.  We had all the logistics worked out.  And then came Wednesday morning.  I was showing Amelia pictures from the aquarium.  Seth was cleaning his room.  We had already been to the grocery store and were waiting for Marie and the boys to come over for a pool day.  And then Seth says,

"Mom, I made a mistake."

Okay.  "Show me your mistake."

"I swallowed a money"

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  "What kind of money?"

I dump out his bank, and he points to a quarter.

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  Call the pediatrician.

"Oh, it'll be fine, it'll pass through."  Have you lost your everlovin' mind, lady?

Five minutes later, Seth's in pain.  Call back pediatrician. 

"How soon can you be here?"  Five minutes (hurray for moving to the doctor close to home!)

Call Nathan, Marie, and my mom, in that order.

At doctor's office...Seth's breath sounds assessed, sent to an outpatient facility in town for an x-ray.

Call Nathan, Marie, and my mom, in that order.

While waiting at outpatient facility, second guess myself for not going straight to the ER.

Get x-ray taken by really nice lady who allows me and Amelia in the back room with her, see this:

OMG.  OMG.  OMG.  Get told we are being sent "somewhere".  (I told them exactly which somewhere I'd be going.)

 

Call Nathan, plan for him to take Amelia to Marie (who is waiting for us at our house). 

Get told that Seth has a 3pm appointment where I wanted him to go (which at least lets us bypass the ER).

Meet Nathan, make plans for him to come home early, head home.

Let Marie supervise all the kids while I clean up, pack an overnight bag, some toys for Seth, and take a shower.

At 2pm, Seth starts feeling better.  Uh-oh.

3:00, arrive at our appointment.  Wait less than two minutes to be called back.    

Get seen first by an attending. He is a very nice man from South America. I have never met him before, but he gives us VIP treatment. He asks Seth, "What do you think you are? How you say it....saving pig?" He walks us over the x-ray. All the technicians come out when they see his name on the board. Missy lets me back in the tech area.

Dang it! Quarter is on the move. No wonder he feels better. Having it scoped out is no longer an option.  Meet with attending again.   He says the quarter was already in Seth's small intestine, and he's happy about that.  He says there is a less than 5% chance that it will cause an obstruction, and that it should pass in the next 3-10 days.  I wasn't told this earlier, but there is a very real risk of causing a tear in the esophagus when removing foreign bodies, especially coins, so this is the better option.  And now we wait...and because there is a risk of a "hang-up" along the way, the doctor advises me against going out of town for the weekend.  Plus, I have to make sure the money reappears.  That's not very nice to ask the grandparents to do. 

So...Seth feels fine, even though I'm pumping him full of fiber and encouraging rowdy pool behavior, hoping he'll swallow some pool water.  So far, no luck, still stuck.

quick trip to Atlanta

Friday the kids and I headed south to Atlanta.  It was a long drive, but the kids slept through the toughest part, and woke up when we arrived at Stephanie's.  Once we got settled, we went over to the pool for about an hour.  It was a nice way to relax after the drive.

Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium.  Bryan and his girlfriend met us there, too.  The kids explored the aquarium for four hours.  It was a lot of fun.

The picture of the three of us was taken in my favorite room in the aquarium. 

We watched parts of two different programs in the big tank.  During the first, they fed the whale sharks.  During the second, the diver was using some sort of microphone to talk to the audience.  Amazing!

The real reason we went to Atlanta was to finally meet Madeleine.  Maddie was born during H1N1 season, and being nurses, Stephanie and I agreed that if our hospitals weren't allowing any children to visit, I should not bring the kids down, for safety's sake.  Then we had a ridiculously busy spring, and next thing you know, it was a month until school starts.  I'm glad we went...as you can see, the girls really liked each other!

another year older...

Last Thursday was my birthday.  I wasn't feeling too great that morning, but the kids wanted me to open presents right away. 

Seth saw a pair of pajamas with tea cups on them at Target.  When Nathan went to purchase them, he couldn't find them.  Nathan called me in a panic, and I told him to talk with Seth about some of the other options.  While on the phone, Seth seemed more interested in jumping across his puzzles than having a conversation.  I asked him if it was a good phone call, and he said, "No.  Daddy says we have to squirt you with a water gun on your birthday."   OR, I got WATERMELON pj's for my birthday:

The kids and I went to the pool for a couple of hours, I did some laundry, and when Nathan got home, we ate an early dinner at the Olive Garden (we are now 4/4 for the kids being really good there).  Nathan bought me pink lemonade cake squares from Deweys, which were absolutely delicious!

Nathan and I were then among the last dozen people to see Eclipse in the movie theater.  You know the movie is never as good as the book, but it was still a good movie, and it was nice to see a grown-up movie in the theater!

July 28th's lesson:

Shelving weight limit, approximately 30 lbs.

We have white wire shelves in all our closets.  They were here when we bought the house.  You may remember that I repaired the kitchen shelves while I was nesting with Amelia.  Well, she got "stuck" trying to get the chocolate milk powder last week:

Flash forward three hours.  During quiet time, I hear a feeble "Mom I need to show you something."  Seth had decided to rearrange his closet.  He has a nice shelving arrangement in his closet...four short shelves in one corner, two long shelves going across the remainder of the closet.  Well, he decided to hang his costumes off the top rack, not the bottom.  He jumped to hook the hanger, then landed on the bottom side shelf and ripped it out of the wall.  Oops.  Since he was honest about it, he didn't get in trouble, and it will only take a little work to fix up the wall.  I might move the shelf to Amelia's closet, instead!