First Day as a First Grader

Here is a proud first grader.

And her proud little sister.

The photo shoot with Eve didn't go too well:

We tried to take a pic with the whole family...

But then we gave up and just took a pic with three of us.

Confident first grader.

Proud papa!

Momma and Morgan.

Reluctant Eve:

Ten Year Vows

Dear Dan,

If I married you again, knowing what I do now, the vows would go something like this:

I want to be with you in your highs and lows.

I want to be the quiet hand that slips into your hand during the storm.

I want to be the deliriously screaming woman when we hear that you're accepted.

At a new school.

At a new job.

I want to have your babies and I want them to be big, fat babies... AFTER I give birth to them.

I want to build a mudroom with you and then roll my eyes when you actually get mud in it.

I want to laugh with you during totally inappropriate times.

Like during church hymns that say funny words.

And solemn TV shows.

I want to share a knowing look with you when our daughter knocks on our door because she's scared at night... and wants a sleepover with us.

I want to walk down every path of life with you.

The wedding aisle for starters.

Hospital halls... the sad ones AND happy ones.

I want to kiss you in front of our children and watch them make faces of disgust; secretly they'll like it.

I want to be the woman who forgives because I have been forgiven a hundred thousand more times than you.

I want to look fabulous for you, especially at forty. And make you smile at the new lines in my face because of all our life and laughter.

I want to flirt with you in public and pretend we just met. Even though we've been together a decade. Flirt, flirt, flirt.

And when we're older and tired, I want to ease gently into heaven with you and cause a new raucous with you there.

My Morgan

She's going to school in one week.

My Morgan.

The one who takes my red flowers...

...and wears them on her feet.

The one who loves to make me laugh.

And has no problem entertaining herself.

The one who doesn't know yet that she's very pretty and will break many a guy's heart.

My Morgan... The Loose Toothinator.

The one who is starting to wear pretty things in her hair and... *gasp* play eye shadow.

*sigh*

The one who my Eve wants to be like.

In one week there will be a first grader in my house.

Got Mud?

Oh wow... What a week!

After many a moon, we have come near the end of our mudroom renovation journey. This has been a huge project. I'm not going to lie to the bloggisphere that it was "so easy" or "only took a few hours."

However... by phasing out our remodeling, we were able to be easier on our budget, energy and our time. It's frustrating at times because we wanted to just get the project done. But we have small children who we love dearly and they come first.

A little flashback: We started back in January with a former galley laundry room. We moved the laundry room into an upstairs closet directly above its former location.

Here's the room before we did much to it:

We put in a slate tile floor. We bought the stocked slate at Home Depot.

And then for many months, we used a store bought bench we had on hand to be a placeholder for where our custom mudroom bench was going to be. Even though I knew that this room was going to be under construction all these months, I couldn't leave this room in "contruction zone" condition for the sake of the wee ones.

We dreamed a lot. We labeled places where we thought things should be.

And then we waited until we had another opportunity to work on it.

Five months later (*yawn*), we awoke from our parental stupor and decided to finish the mudroom before school starts.

We needed a bench and a back wall with hooks.

Dan began the task of building a bench. I'd like to give you step-by-step instructions as to how he did this, but I can't. Here's what I can tell you: He did a lot of measuring, cutting and sweating. A great big, fun puzzle.

Eve liked to help him:

After many days of taking his time and building something that looked like a mudroom bench, we saw this:

Can it be? Pinch me. It's here. We opted to keep one side taller for boots and the other side shelved to put our flats there.

We also wanted to have room to put our tushes on the bench and not be squished by coats hanging BEHIND the bench. We made the bench an ample 24" deep.

We also wanted the kids to be able to climb onto it, so we kept it about 20" tall.

Did I mention that the kids were sick? Poor things were crying at night and weary during the day. I let them watch TV to keep their mind off their sickness.

I wish, wish, wish I had more pics of Dan building the back of the mudroom bench.

Basically, we installed a 4' piece of plywood behind the bench.

Then we screwed 1 x 2s every foot or so to give it a finished look. I think it looks Cape Cod-ish but Dan says Craftsman.

It was so thrilling to see him install the hooks:

At the end of the week, we had a mudroom bench and the hook wall. Eve tested out their strength.

What can I say? She liked it.

Next project? Sew a cushion for the bench and add a few finishing touches.

DMV

Yesterday I went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my license. Nothing like a good visit to the DMV to make one see age.

DMV Personnel: "Is your information the same? Same address?"

Me: "Yep... same address."

DMV Personnel: "Same everything?"

Me: *gulp* "Well, my weight has changed a little since I had two babies."

I gave an awkward grin and the person across the counter gave me a dull look.

DMV Personnel: "And what IS your weight?"

I paused. Do I tell her how I'm fluctuating five pounds every month and that my REAL weight is probably right around the corner? Do I tell her that I would've worked out this week but BOTH my babies got sick and then I got stressed and ate cookies?

I fibbed two pounds and told her my weight.

Well, I didn't fib completely... I WAS that weight two months ago for about 24 hours after I had food poisoning.

My land, I have become a small person, fibbing over two pounds. Does it really make a difference in how you view yourself, Emily? C'mon, girl... pull yourself together.

Next I went to the cashier who machine-gunned instructions to me so quickly that I had to ask her to repeat it. She wanted me to go to "camera" and flung her arm in the general direction of the front of the room.

What I'm going to say next is no big surprise to anyone who has been to the DMV, but I will alert you anyway: The Department of Motor Vehicles does not care how you look in your license and will not let you retake your picture.

Which is why my eyes are half-lidded. The reason I'm not really smiling is because I have braces. So help me, I better not be wearing braces ten years from now when I get my next license.

I liked myself more before I went to the DMV.

I think I'll have a cookie.

*Don't even think about asking to see my pic. You know who you are.*

Sick Days

My babies are sick. The first born had a fever of 102 and was screaming from throat soreness. A doctor visit told us it wasn't strep, just a nasty virus.

And then the little one, who had been chewing on her older sister's water bottle, got the same thing. It was inevitable, the way she mimics Morgan.

I feel completely lost when my children get sick. First, I cancel all my plans with friends. And then I buy a ton of Gatorade and force vast amounts of liquid down their gullets. I bribe them with little toys to force them to drink. If I could administer an IV to them, I would. I'm a Nazi about clear liquids.

And then, when their little heads nod off to sleep, I cry quietly in the shower. It can't be helped. I hate to see them suffer. The other night, Dan told me this sweet conversation he had with Morgan as he tucked her in bed:

Dan: "I wish I had your sore throat instead of you, pumpkin."

Morgan: "I wish neither of us had it. Then we could play."

The whole house is topsy turvy when sickness makes its unwelcome visit. We rest at odd hours. We eat the most random food. I have a propensity to clean things in an effort to lessen the stay of the sickness. And then I eat cookies out of stress. It's a terrible habit.

But this morning, I embraced this bizarre week. I embraced the odd rest hours and vast amounts of television we've been watching. I came to terms with the fact that this is life.

I took the kids to the park. They were cranky and ornery. But eventually the wee one found joy in hucking mulch. And the older one found her smile when her bare skin made squeaking sounds on the slide.

The day probably won't be different from the other sick days, but maybe some good old-fashioned joy will overcome.

Flower Girl

How do I look, Mom?

Pretty as a picture, Eve.

As always.

My Morgan

This is my Morgan's desk. Isn't it adorable?

The little ceramic dog is one she painted with her Grandma.

A bulletin board with her treasured drawings.

And a keyboard that doesn't work whatsoever.

And if you come a little closer, you'll see a letter holder made out of Legos.

Legos, folks. She made desktop accessories out of Legos.

I think she's brilliant.

She's more than brilliant. She's cute and adorable and loving.

She's also rainbow-y, thanks to these new shoes.

I couldn't pass them up. Rainbow with gem fronts and sequins ALL over.

And it does me a heap of good to see how wonderful she is, because she has a little sister who wants to be just like her.