Back to School

photo by Aaron Harmon



"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

-Tom Hanks as Joe Fox in You've Got Mail

I love back to school time. It always feels like the right time to try to do better, to start anew. I loved the energy of being back on campus, where everyone's excited/nervous/dreading the first day. I still love this time of year when the mornings are just a little cool, and you can sense fall all around.

Now that I'm a teacher's wife, it is a little more bittersweet. No more cuddling in bed with no plans at all for the weekday. I think Stinky is adjusting to his dad not being here with him all day, too. Poor little man asked if Dad would be at home when we left the park today.

"I Made It" Monday: Family Puppets

I love craft blogs. Someday, I hope to have one of my own. For now, "I Made It" Mondays is a good place to start.

These cuties were a gift for my friend's son on his birthday. I made each puppet to look like a family member, and embroidered the faces so that no pieces can be bitten off by little ones!

I can't make them see...

The Wal-Mart back to school commercials make me want to cry. Not just because they make me think about past Wal-Mart experiences. They start with a mother saying "I can't show them how curious he is" or "I can't be there to tell them how smart she is" or some other sentimental load of crap that is meant to evoke exactly the response it's getting from me. Once she's done ripping my heart out / musing about her wonderful child, she comforts herself with the knowledge that she can support them materialistically. At this point, I no longer want to cry, but turn off the TV instead.

The reason it makes me want to cry is that it is exactly how I feel about Stinky right now. I just wish everyone who witnesses one of his miserably store/church/park/any public place tantrums could understand what an awesome kid he is. I know this isn't a unique feeling, but it's all new to me, so hear me out.

Today at the farmer's market, he helped me pick out peaches and apples and put them in our bags. He said "please" to all the dog owners before petting their dogs. He danced and filled in words to "Singing in the Rain" while we waited in line. He wowed an older couple with his knowledge of commands and hand signals, which he used to get Jackson the Cocker Spaniel to sit. Then, he laid down in the middle of the street at the market (a closed block, thankfully), and screamed bloody murder because I wouldn't buy him juice, attracting more attention with this single moment of toddler-ism than the many intelligent, sweet, and charming things he had done not half an hour before.

The circumstances repeated themselves at the beach we went to later. We climbed up a very steep hill, because he wanted to join the big boys who were exploring an exposed roots system. He threw rocks in the water and waved to kayakers, thrilled when they waved back. He told strangers about his "buuts!" (a pair of galoshes), and "Kied!" his faithful dog. These boots allowed him to explore the water more closely ,and he enjoyed finding rocks, picking off the seaweed, and pointing to the gulls. Then he wanted to sit in the water, and screamed and hit me when I wouldn't let him. I felt all eyes on me, and had the sudden urge to tell everyone if they insisted on watching, they'd have to pay for tickets.

So it continues, at the grocery store, at Target, at church...... You see, I can't make people see how loving and tender he is with family. I can't show them how he is curious about any kind of animal and is so helpful and kind to babies. I can't make them understand that my child loves music almost more than life itself and amazes me everyday with all the new things he's learning. I can't show them how he walks away from a fight, choosing to find a new toy rather than argue over the one another child wanted. The won't know that he loves to "walk down the lane, with a happy refrain! (kick, kick!)" And buying him school supplies won't make it any better, you commercial creeps.

So what can I do?

I hate you, Wal-Mart.

Long time no blog!

It was derby weekend, and it found our family screaming from the sidelines for the Dockyard Derby Dames.
This picture has nothing to do with anything but the fact that my hair looks really good. Try-outs for DYDD are October 5, and I'm really getting excited to give it another go. I feel much more prepared this time around.
The bout theme was Toga Party, and since Stinky has no team shirt to wear, he got toga-ed up. (anyone want to guess how long that wrestling match lasted?). Fabric Choice came down to Pirates or Finding Nemo, and we decided the Orange Pirates supported Fianna and the Mollys equally (a good thing since they were playing against eachother).

Earlier in the day, Stinky enjoyed a birthday party at Gymboree, where he loved climbing and dancing- as you can tell by the expression on his blurry little face here.
Oh, and that morning he brought me a broken toy. Wouldn't have been any big deal, until he said "Damn!" Yup, folks, mother of the year, right here. Interesting that it's this toy, since I'm totally screwed.

World's Best Husband Says:

WBH said to me the other night "I think rich people have more divorces because they can afford to get mad about dumber things. See, when you're broke like us, I can't afford to get mad about the fact that my wife doesn't clear out the timer on the microwave. I'm more worried about having something to put in the microwave."

It should be noted that things are not this bad, but it did make me laugh, even as he pointed out his pet peeve with me.

Oh, Karma....

You know when times are bad, how much little things can mean so much?

Earlier this week, I picked up an issue of Self magazine. As I was perusing the pages I saw the (admittedly lovely) face of a woman with whom I competed at a state pageant. She later went on to become another state's titleholder, and compete on a reality series. She also happens to be a bigot from my experience, a reported liar, and on the reality show, she was once referred to as a 'dirty pirate whore.'

I really don't like this woman. I don't wish her any ill, except in the reality-show genre, where her true nature seemed to come out anyway. However, I couldn't help taking notice of what the ad was for. Then I laughed my butt off.

"American Laser Centers is America's number one choice in for hair removal......"

Milestone

Stinky put together two words today. Oh yes he did, my big smart boy. What were these gems, you may ask? These precious utterances?

"See Boobs."

That's my son, folks. I had just gotten out of the shower, and joined him briefly on the couch in my towel. Stinky promptly hopped on my lap, ripped open the towel, and declared "See Boobs!"

This sentence was followed later today by "See Bubba" and "See Gamma". Those were sweet. Nonetheless, it will forever be known that "See Boobs!" was my son's first word combination, apart from repeating a curse word combo after throwing up all over me one day. That doesn't really count, because he was repeating it directly, and if I'm being honest when I say it, it usually sounds like one word. Now to keep him from repeating the experience in the grocery store (Again)

By the way, if anybody ever asks, Stinky doesn't use that swear word combo. He's telling the dog to sit. That's right, he said sit.