First Day Back For All

Today was the first day back to school!
It was the first day of third grade for our daughter, first day of first grade for our son, first day of teaching ESL at a new school for me and just the first day back for Daddy!
It was a stress-free day for me. I helped to prepare folders for the myriad new kindergarten students at my new school. Then looked through old files and moved some old files on. I have a lot to look forward to and a great deal to learn about this new area of teaching.
Our school theme is "Wild About the Creek!" The name of our school is Spring Creek Elementary. Perfect theme for me! I can surely get wild about things. We shall see how wild this year gets.
Of course I thought about the two little ones throughout the day. Couldn't wait to see them after school to see how their day went. Oh and Daddy too!
"Mama. The teacher said no tattling!" our son firmly told me just before dinner.
"Okay but there is a difference between tattling and telling, " I told him. "You have to tell if someone hits you or hurts you but you don't need to tell if you see someone with a toy in class or something like that."
"But what if it is a toy that can hurt ya?" he asked.
I was not about to go into these "what ifs" scenarios with him because he can drag them out.
"You know what I mean okay!" I told him.
"Mama do you know who is in my class?" our daughter began.
"I sure don't- who?" I asked.
She began her list. I just pretended to know them all.
"Really? They are in your class?" I entertained.
"Oh and Mama... you know that boy you tutored after-school last time?" she asked. "Well he said his mom misses you working with him."
"Oh okay. Wait- how did you see him?"
She didn't immediately respond.
"Well... I kinda saw him on the bus," she answered.
"But you don't ride the bus," I began to worry.
"I thought we were supposed to ride the bus so I got on the bus," she smiled. Knowing full well that I am about to start swelling.
"And how would you know what bus to get on?"
Come to find out she did think she was supposed to get on the bus- and it didn't help that she and her brother want to ride the bus so badly.
Luckily she got off the bus and Daddy was there to pick her and her brother up.
My heart rate went back down. But I am sure there were mix-ups all over the country with the first day back to school.
One day down... 179 more to go!

A Simple Subject for a Six-Year-Old

Daddy and I are just not great at having "serious" discussions with our kids. We have good intentions... believe me. But then that youngest one comes in.
We have started threatening our two about all this bickering they have been doing. I mean they have started hitting one another. When we no longer hear them having "heated fellowship" and we have not intervened yet, then some pushing is going on or hitting. It's like this is their last straw. And ten times out of ten we usually throw in a "when I was little..." when we fuss at them.
They were supposed to be cleaning their rooms yesterday. Then we heard them start up.
This was the second time in the last week so the Cosby family approach (being rational and calm) was out the window.
"LOOK! Y'all can't keep this up! Not in this house!" I told them.
Then my co-signer came in.
"That's right! You can't do that mess in here!" Daddy added.
They both tried to jump in to tell their sides.
"Nope. Both of you close your mouths!" I said.
"When I was a little girl, me and my brothers were not allowed to do this. We got our tails whipped if we would fight."
They were in disbelief.
I reassured them that, "Oh yes- your grandma and papa didn't play around back then. Don't let them two fool ya."
We let them take that thought in for a minute. Guess that was a little hard to digest since my parents are totally different with them. I don't think they have ever much popped them. It is sickening. The kids probably think we are making things up. Wish we could have recorded some of those beat down- drag downs.
"She's talkin' about back in da day," our son told his sister.
They think that we are so old. It could be something we did last year and it is "back in da day" for him.
"We keep telling you that you have to stick together and have each other's back. Can't be fighting each other," Daddy scolded them.
He was trying to take it in and really have them thinking with his next point.
"Now if, God forbid, something happens to (pointing at me) Mama and me, who would be left?"
Our sweet little eight-year-old, with a tear building up in her eye, pressed her lips together and pointed to her brother and her self.
Then her recently, turned six-year-old brother said, "You mean if y'all died? Then we would (laying back with his arms behind his head and now crossing his feet) go live with granmapapa."
He says their names together as if they are one entity.
No compassion for his parents. No worries. It was as simple as that.
"But you could get to go to heaven if you be nice to yo kids," he reassured us.

A Sign That I May Be Losing It!

Lately I have been so busy and school is not back in yet. I mean it's not as if I am not used to being busy but today I got a wake up call! A sign to let me know to slow down, take the S off my chest and cape off as well and just chill!
So I'm doing laundry, dusting, and trying to sit down at the computer every now and again to finish some homework. I keep a check on the time because I needed to be somewhere with the kids soon. Well they are dressed and actually sitting quietly in the living room. Seeing this makes me feel like I am really behind- even though the clock says I have time.
I run to jump in the shower, grabbing undies out of the stack of laundry on the way.
Minutes later I am out, drying off then rushing to put my undies on.
I hear a rip. I attempt to pull them up again. This time I don't hear a rip but they won't go up.
Okay at this point I am losing it. It's like a silent movie. I can't be heard but someone watching could clearly make out what I was saying, "OH MY GOD, NO!!"
Did they shrink that much in the dryer? Some say not to dry your undies.
I knew what it was... I needed to lose some weight.
I stood there in disbelief. Then sat down to take it all in.
As my heart rate went down and the sweating started to dissipate, the rational side stepped back in.
I looked at the green, sherbet-colored undies. I saw Little Mermaid. She seemed to be laughing at me. This was a sign that I may be losing it.

Freeze Pops and Cookie Dough

Usually when our son comes up smiling and saying, "Mama... can I tell you sumptin'?"
He really wants to ask me something. And ten times out of ten it is something he knows I will probably say no to. But my hat goes off to him for his approach.
Well he loves freeze pops and his sister loves cookie dough. I've often told them that they were going to turn into a freeze pop and cookie dough. They like the idea very much.
"I know you really don't want to tell me something- you want to ask me something so out with it," I told him.
"Well, we want to know if we can have a freeze pop and cookie dough?"
So he was designated as the spokesperson. Usually people do send in the smaller one to do the asking or the dirty work.
He kept looking toward the hallway. I already knew his sister was around one of those corners listening.
"Have you already had a freeze pop and cookie dough?"
Whenever he begins with "well" I know the answer.
"Well," he began. By this time he is not making eye contact. "I think she (pointing out at the hallway) had one cookie dough and I had a little freeze pop."
How can you have a little freeze pop?
"Ummm... no. Not this time," I told him.
He walked away slowly with his head down.
"Keep your head up Buddy!" I told him with a smile.
I could hear his sister waiting in the wings.
"I told you that you shoulda waited 'till she was on the computer or you shoulda just asked Daddy," she tried to whisper to him.
"But Daddy is asweep."
"Duh! I know that!"she told him.
About five minutes later he was back. This time alone. He had come up with his own idea.
"Mama. You gone let the devil win!"
These were new skills.
"What?" I asked him.
"The devil is tempting me to eat some freeze pops."
Oh the look was serious. He had his game face on.
"No. If you give into that temptation then you will lose and it will be you gettin' a spankin' not the devil. He will leave you short every time Buddy."
"Okay. I'm gone pway about it then."
He didn't come back.

The Brown Sack

Daddy has done a great job of recording the kids over the past eight years. We were not able to record our daughter's intro into the world but he did begin recording her soon after that. I wished someone had recorded it so he could be seen and heard saying,
"Man! It looks like they are hooking up cable!" When they were finally giving me an epidural. And you could see me rolling my eyes at him. He was so excited by that for some reason.
Well as I said, the kids were watching it for the umpteenth time while we were busy doing other things (NO! Not that). So they kept coming to us asking questions about things in the video. Most of the time we, of course, just smiled and patiently answered their questions. But every parent gets a question from their child that they aren't prepared for.
So they are watching and get to our son's birth. This recording is long and somewhat hilarious now- it wasn't when I was in labor six years ago though. Then my epidural did not work so I was on EDGE! I didn't want to be on video and you could tell at a certain point in the video because Daddy was several feel away. He was narrating but it was a whisper. He didn't want to wake the dragon. But I mean come on, I had been in labor more than ten hours and just a little note- our son was nine pounds and eleven ounces. Did I mention my epidural did not work?
So I am in the bed acting like Sybil while Daddy- Dude was laughing with the midwive and other staff. He had let his beard grow out too and if you can picture this: he has a bushy, beard and he is wearing those scrubs- not over his face but over his bald head (the loose fitting cap). He looked like he was part of the Taliban actually.
So I heard the part of the video where our son make his intro- crying of course. Then I heard the kids talking but I really wasn't focused enough to hear what they were discussing. Then I hear little feet. Our son comes running in to ask me, "Mama! What was the brown sack that was on me after they cut me from you?"
I'm thinking, "What is he talkin' about?"
Then I hear snickering from Dude.
"You know Mama that brown sack on me by my privates." He began to walk back into the living room and told me to come see.
Well I figure out what he was talking about but I didn't want to deal with it. It was a teachable moment I know but I figured I would get back to it later.
"Did she (referring to his sister) have a big sack like that when she was boring?" he added.
I lost my breath for a minute.
"It's borN not boring," I told him. That's all I said at that moment. Left it for another conversation... later.