Skating night is always a bit if a frenzy. No matter how on time we are, it’s a flurry of getting the right size skates, lacing, and scooting kids off to the right classes.
And then unlacing, and turning in skates, and somehow convincing kids to walk in a straight-ish line to the car so we can all get to bed at a sort-of reasonable hour.
In the wee hours, long before most of you get up, this household is already in full swing. This morning Neko decided to teach Shep and Ellery about dinosuars.
Since we moved into this house, all the kids’ clothes have been stored in our linen closet. This was a fantastic set-up. Think about when you have time to do laundry—when the kids are napping or sleeping. And then you have all this folded laundry, and a sleeping child where you need to put them away.
Which is why I removed all the shelves from our linen closet and installed hanging rods for clothes and baskets for socks and other things.
But now that the kids no longer nap, I can actually do laundry during waking hours. And I am growing weary of all the linens taking up our closet space and tripping over the vacuum cleaner every time I get something from the pantry.
So it’s time to move the kids’ clothes into their bedrooms. Thing is, when we built the house, we never put in closets. It was an added expense, and we weren’t ready to commit to where they were situated. We could build them now, but that’s a big investment, and I’m not sure the solution we pick now will be appropriate in their teen years. So in the meantime, we’ve picked up some Stuva from IKEA, and are creating a some space for clothes.
Just their height, this is a perfect system for the next space of time. Because in this house, you pick out your own clothes and get yourself dressed. Three kids is way too many to walk through that maneuver, especially in the wee hours of the morning. (But matching is clearly optional.)
As I assembled drawers, Neko demanded to help. And I’ll be, she put one together all by herself! I must get that kid woodworking bench up and running here soon…
Election Day is upon us. And, yes, I voted. And, no, I haven’t bothered to check on the election results. I’m not sure if I want to know.
With Election Day comes a day off school. I mulled over what to do with this wide open day. I contemplated play dates or laundry. But then I decided that I wanted my kidlets all to myself, as it happens so infrequently these days. I scooped them up in the car, leaving the laundry and the mess behind us.
Off to the museum we went. And we stayed all day. ALL DAY. I’ve never done that with my children…anywhere.
As I drove home, I marveled over several things.
1. We took with us no stroller, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, or special food. We walked in with nothing but our coats, chucked them in a locker, and went off to explore.
2. I’m at a museum with readers. Okay, early readers who make a lot of mistakes, but readers. They stop to look at plaques, finding the name of an animal or to see who this bone belongs to. We’re no longer whizzing through exhibits at light speed, but we’re stopping to look and actually learn. And when someone is getting too crazy on the antique street car, I can point to the sign that says, “No running or jumping on the street car.” See? I’m not the bad guy. Talk to the people that make the sign.
3. We made it through an entire IMAX documentary. The whole thing, people. Ellery was a little wiggly, but Neko and Shep were completely entranced. Everyone was so focused that I can actually tell you what the movie was about. Go ahead! Quiz me!
4. I took off my mom cap for most of the day. I was telling Neko tonight that it was kind of like hanging out with my friends. In the past, a trip to the museum is accompanied with much sighing, corralling, and ultimately an exit that involves tears. But today we talked and laughed and pointed at things. I think the kids were actually skipping as we left the building. It was downright fun.
I feel like one of those “it gets better” videos, but to all the mamas stuck in the trenches of diapers and time outs—it gets better. Suddenly they’re walking and talking and laughing and responsible for their own things, and you get to relax a bit and marvel at these amazing kids who sailed into your life.
Neko’s last soccer game was today. If they won the game, they moved on to the next round of the tournament, which meant more games today and tomorrow.
They lost.
Yay!
I mean, boo!
(But really, YAY!)
I am the worst kind of soccer parent.
It happened all of a sudden. I swear, just within the last week.
She got older.
I can’t explain it. It just is.
Maybe it was the new hoodie, which she wore, hood up, like so many teenagers these days.
Or how she scooped out her pumpkin tonight, impossibly long arms at work. Sleeves pushed up, never asking for help.
Or maybe her posture made that slight shift. Made her a bit taller, a bit straighter, a bit more sure of herself.
And just like that, she’s not so little anymore.
Despite the fact that everyone looks grouchy, they actually had a spectacular time in the corn maze. Neko grabbed the map and took the lead, as I nervously told Tom to make sure we knew where we were going. I am one of those people that could be stuck in a corn maze for weeks. Even with a map.
Neko grew tired of leadership halfway, and instead puttered on about the litter she found. “I can’t believe they just left it here in the middle of this field. And it’s even STYROFOAM!”
We passed on the whole picking experience, and went straight to the farm shop where the kids picked out absurdly big pumpkins. I have no idea how we’re going to carve them. (I’ll think about it tomorrow, Rhett!)
And then they all got what they declared their very first caramel apples. Is that possible? Have we really been that restrictive?
Okat, it might be possible. Dig in, kids.
Neko found a cat costume in the American Girl catalog about a week ago. And then she decided she wanted to be a cat herself. But then, quite suddenly, it occurred to her that she didn’t have any money saved to buy a costume for Chrissa.
Much sobbing and sadness followed.
And then a compromise—I would attempt to sew one in exchange for no complaining and five dollars for materials.
Neko’s cat costume will be a modified sweatsuit, so I decided to head that direction for Chrissa. If you don’t look too closely, it’s pretty impressive. And there really is a tail on the back.
Thank you internet for making this costume possible.
