Growing Pains

My pain, not theirs.  I am having pains watching them grow up.  When they were little I wholeheartedly celebrated every milestone.  Walking? Yes!! Talking? Yes!!! Potty trained?  Oh, heck yeah! Done with little bitty baby clothes?  Donate those suckers.  Outgrew the baby carseat?  Sell it on craigslist.  Outgrew pretty dresses?  Pass them to the neighbor.  All that beautiful artwork you made me with hand-prints on it?  Recycled when they weren't looking.  I am not sentimental.  I loved seeing them get bigger and didn't feel the need to hold onto objects from their babyhood.  It was exciting enough just to watch them grow up.

All of a sudden it isn't as exciting anymore.  I'm turning into one of those women who kept saying to the poor sleep deprived new mothers, "Treasure this, it goes so fast."  I've refrained from saying it in my out loud voice, but my inner voice screeches it.

Today Sam was reading these books:

 

I remember the first set I bought when Ethan was four.  He knew all his letter sounds and letter names so I decided he was ready for the next step.  We drove out to a homeschool supply store, and on the advice of the cashier/homeschooler, we picked up some early reader books, called BOB books.  Ethan sat in the backseat and sounded his way through the first one on the ride home.  Over the next month or so he read all of the dozen little paperbacks that came in the set.  He was well on his way to reading and I was feeling a little less scared by the notion of homeschooling.

A couple years later I sat down with the same books and started to teach Libby to read.  Her process was much different than her brother's, but learn to read she did.

Last year I started teaching Grace to read and I bought a new set of trusty BOB books.  The first set had become hopelessly scattered and lost due to a few years, a move, and life with four children.  The new set was just like the old set, so we started to learn to read again.

This year Sam is five. (Only Ethan started learning to read at four.  He may have been highly motivated or maybe I had more energy then.  It's hard to know for sure.)  We pulled out the BOB books and Sam started reading.  The first story is about a person named Sam.  My Sam was hooked.

Today this happened:

He read the very last book in the blue box of BOB books.  My heart broke a little bit.  I put the last book back in the box with the others.  I can't seem to throw it in my donate box, the one I happily threw the boys' blessing outfits and all their first shoes into.  My emotions are all wrapped up in those books.  I put them back on my shelf, knowing that I no longer need them or have any use for them, but I can't seem to part with them.  Somehow this is the item that breaks my heat to part with.  Maybe it's because I'm finally starting to realize just how big my kids are now.  I spent so much time laboring over these little books with my little children.  So much of our tears and joys were invested in this first step to reading.  These little paperbacks are weighted down with emotions and memories.  My inner screecher is happily yelling, "I told you so! They grow so fast.  You better hold onto these books forever and ever.  Hold onto their childhood!"  I've reached that point.  I'm going to start telling women with new babies, who are sleep deprived and hormonal, "Treasure this, they grow up so fast."

All Hallow's Eve

I love when Halloween falls on a Saturday.  It just makes the day perfect.

We all got up early and cleaned the church building.  Okay, everyone else cleaned, I just wandered around aimlessly. By the time we got there everything was mostly claimed and/or done.  Michael took the kids home and I wogged (this is a real word; I don't care what the squiggly red line says) home.

After I took a much-needed shower we carved some pumpkins.  One year Grace and Sam are going to want to carve their own pumpkins.  Right now they are content to dictate designs, scoop a few guts, and wield a knife for a few moments.  Then they walk off while Michael and I finish their pumpkins.

Sam is hiding, as he should be.  He instructed Michael he wanted the girl vampire from Hotel Transylvania.  He scooped out about two seeds and then wandered off and left the rest to Michael.  Grace did a little bit of the carving on her pumpkin but struggled to cut curved lines.

All lit up!

After the necessary clean up, we ate lunch and then had the most important part of the day: My birthday!  The kids gave me cards they pilfered from my closet.  The girls gave me sculpy creations and chocolate.  Sam gave me a card and Ethan gave me...his love? Michael gave me flowers and an arm strap for my phone so I can take it wogging and not have to put my phone in my brocket (spell check does not like me today).

Excruciating hours later, the kids finally got to their favorite part of the day.  We put on our costumes, made a brief appearance at the church party just long enough to eat dinner, and then headed back home.  It was time to hit the neighbors up for candy.

My niece Isabelle joined us.  We had Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley.  I was honored to take the three most powerful witches and wizards in history trick-or-treating.

Sam vacillated until that very evening on his costume decision.  At the 11th hour he finally settled on Batman.  Thank goodness we have a well-stocked bin of hand-me-down costumes from all the older cousins.

Grace knew exactly what she wanted to be for weeks.  Say hello to Pippi Longstocking.  Her costume made me so happy.  Watching her run around the neighborhood with her braids bobbing up and down was the most adorable thing (and yes, there is a wire coat hanger in her hair).

Watch out...

 for...

those spells!

And Batman is a true gentleman.  Did you ever doubt it?

Long Awaited Resolution

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had a lot of older siblings who played basketball.  One day she was attending yet another game when she realized she had a few coins in her pocket.  Oh joyous discovery!  She could buy some M&M's!  Hoorah!  She took her little self down to the concession stand and purchased a bright yellow bag of peanut M&M's.  Little drops of chocolate heaven where hers.  Upon tearing the paper package open, something amazing happened.  There were words printed inside it.  She had won!  Alas, not the ten thousand dollars that was advertised on the wrapper front, but she did win another package of M&M's.  Happy day!  She flew back down to the concession stand to claim her bounty.  The non-athletic teen who got stuck working concessions briefly explained she could not have another bag of candy from him.  Instead she would have to follow the directions on the wrapper and mail in to claim her prize.

The little girl carefully folded the wrapper up.  The next day she painstakingly followed the directions on the wrapper.  She carefully printed her name and address on a notecard and put it in an envelope with the wrapper.  Then she walked to the local post office and dropped it in the mail.  Then the waiting began.  Every day she checked the mail, hoping for a package of chocolaty goodness.  Each day crawled by and there was still no prize.  Eventually she became interested in other things and ceased to look for her beloved prize which never came.  She eventually forgot her disappointment and was able to move on with her life.

One day, close to thirty years later, her children asked her if she had ever won anything as a child.  The long forgotten image of tearing open a yellow paper candy package rushed back to her.  After sharing her heartbreaking story, her children teasingly told her to contact the company and see if they would fulfill their once broken promise.  The matronly woman laughed and said maybe she would.

Then, one day, when the children weren't begging for her attention, she decided to see what would happen if she did tell the chocolate company her sad story.  She wrote a brief email and thought no more of it.  Two days later she received an email apologizing for her "childhood disappointment".  Then a week later she received a coupon in the mail.

I can now afford to buy THREE bags of M&M's!  My childhood disappointment has finally been satisfied.  Oh sweet chocolaty denouement.

Heartbreak

Sometimes life gives you an unexpected joy.  Then, just a few months later, you make a little shelf for your treasure, it gets bumped, and your joy comes crashing down.

Ethan's kindle screen shattered at a strategic point and is now a frozen screen.  Amazon was not willing to repair it but offered me a few bucks off a $300 model.  I did not take them up on their oh-so-generous offer.

Ethan is back to saving and hoping.

Family Photos

Once every five years of so, we actually take some family photos.  We were planning on having someone take them for us, but once again it was just easier to grab a tripod, Michael's camera, and have Michael take them.