Random Stuff

• It kind of stinks when you come to find that the people who you thought were older than you are actually the same age as you...and that you probably look "that old," too.  I suppose what is more important is how old I am on the inside, right?
• I had to take Everly to the doctor's office this morning.  Turns out that there is nothing wrong, but she was devastated when she found out that she couldn't get a shot...To the point that the doctor asked if she had her flu shot yet, in hopes that we could find some shot to give her. 
• Cortlan's sleep study came back abnormal.  We meet with the surgeon who recommended the study on Monday to go over it, but the preliminary results that I have received indicate sleep apnea and the surgery that he went in for in December is once again recommended.  We will know more on Monday.
• I am forced to wonder if there are any jobs that are low-stress these days.  I can tell you that teaching sure isn't one of them.
• Cortlan has been learning how to spell many words.  The latest:  b-u-t-t.  The funny thing is the look he got on his face the first time he spelled it for me, and that he has only spelled it and hasn't actually said it.  It could be worse.
• There is something about February that makes it seem like the longest month of the year.  And there is something about it that makes me yearn for the beach.  
• I am a big fan of dance parties in the kitchen while I am cooking.  And my kids laughing.

The coming of another milestone

Cortlan is in Kindergarten.  For many moms, Kindergarten is the big milestone.  They watch their children get on the bus on the first day and try to hide the tear or two (or many) trickling down their cheeks.  Things will never be the same, they think.

Maybe it is because Cortlan never got on a bus or maybe it is because we have continued the same routine that we had for most of his life, but Kindergarten didn't affect me in that way.  I never thought that Kindergarten would be the milestone that made me feel that there was no going back.  No.  The milestone that I anticipated would make me feel that way? When my babies loose their baby teeth.

And yesterday, at our dentist appointment, the news came - Cortlan has his first loose teeth.  Two of them.  And it won't be long before they are gone.  The baby face has already significantly changed, but will now change even more.  The little teeth with the spaces between them that mark his youth will soon be replaced with a gap and shortly thereafter filled with much larger pearly whites.  To me, this marks the change from a little guy to a boy.  And it will be those same teeth that he has when he is a man. 

Really? He only gets to keep those little teeth for six short years?

They grow too fast.

Mr. Yucky

Every day for the past week, she asked me if they came. She is persistent. She has a good memory. And she doesn't let things go easily. Yesterday, when I went to the mailbox, she said, "Mommy, make sure you let me know if the Mr. Yucky stickers came, ok?!" Even I was excited (relieved?) when I saw the self-addressed envelope had returned to us, full of "Mr. Yucky" stickers.

This all began a couple of weeks ago, when Everly learned about safety at school; part of the lesson concerned safety at home and in dealing with household chemicals. Clearly, the discussion involved Mr. Yuck stickers, as Everly was suddenly determined that we needed to have some, and she clearly conveyed that on the way home from school. I told her that I would look into it, and I came to find that you can send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to an address at Penn State and they would send some to you for free. For days, Everly asked if I had done so. And then, for days after I did, she asked if the stickers had come yet. I explained to her the process of how the mail works and the likelihood that it would be a while before we got them. That gave me a day or two reprieve.

When she saw they came, she was thrilled. She no sooner got her coat off before she was at work.

We are all feeling much safer now.

The Haircut

She jumped up and down in excitement when she found out that today would be the day she could get her haircut.

And she is thrilled with the results.

Groundhog Day

Usually, Groundhog Day falls during the week and we catch the prediction at some point in the day.  This year, with Groundhog Day on a Saturday, it was a little more exciting.  The kids got to watch the big event and were so pumped.  (Phil had made a visit to their school earlier in the year with one of the members of the Inner Circle.  Everly has been sleeping with the stuffed replica they gave all of the students ever since...they even got "gold coins" commemorating the experience, so this was a pretty big deal.)

Groundhog Day on a Saturday also meant a great excuse for a play date.  Square pancakes and a fun snowman craft (who knew that Phil wouldn't see his shadow!) bookended by kids playing nicely by themselves and adult conversation that was scarcely interrupted made for a perfect morning.

Getting ready to make the snowmen.

The kids enjoyed the challenge of getting the rice into the socks.  Not all of it made it in.

 

Next up was dressing the snowman.

So proud!

Of course, no snowman would be complete without some buttons!

 

The finished products!