Piano Piano

Although I write in beautiful, golden silence (Abby at school, Ellie at preschool) my mind swirls with bits and pieces of the last two (three?) weeks since my last post and my eyes are drawn to the tornado of my house and I wonder. "What was I thinking?" Calm?  Order?  Not here.  Not here.

But I try.  I do try.  I do my dishes every day now.  (Usually.)  That's an improvement.  We always have clean clothes.  (Although by the time I get around to folding the various laundry piles throughout the house, I'm usually sorting the dirty ones from the clean.)  I purchased a paper sorter that hangs (hung) on the kitchen wall so all the papers that once found their final resting spot on the end of my counter - posing a continual fire hazard, as they occasionally slipped onto the stove burners - are now thrown away or given a home. ( I say hung, as Abby did rip it out off the wall whilst trying to access her school calendar, leaving nice dime-size holes where it hung for a few days.)  AND, I have started making lists!  The only thing (almost) Adam has ever requested of me in our marriage.  I have my Major/Minor project list for each room in our house done.  Now I have to finish lists for the Major/Minor outside projects, my daily cleaning schedule, my menu, my projects to work on with the girls, my self-improvement ideas, etc. etc.  So, "pian piano" as they say in Italy.  Slowly. Little by little.  I'll get there...(?)

As I try to grasp at something that sticks out from the last three weeks - some sort of constant or theme - I'd have to say it is the new bane of my existence: the school bus.  Sadly, I knew it eventually would come to this, but I've tried so hard to not let it happen this soon.  It only took us until week two to miss the bus in the morning for the first time.  And it's only happened 3 times since.  And really, for once being consistently late is not my fault.  Abby is such an eager, sweet doll to work with in the morning.

 This morning as we saw it nearing the house, all three girls went into a frenetic panic trying to find Abby's shoes, backpack and jacket.  Thankfully, the nice bus driver lady waited while we rammed Abby's feet into her half-dry sneakers that I washed last night (we couldn't find any others).  I sent her off without a jacket, as she tried telling me she needed a tissue and I told her to just get one at school.  Yeah.  I am the best mom.  Then there was last Wednesday when I fell asleep with Ellie and for some random reason woke up at 2:45.  Abby's bus passes at 2:35.  I ran downstairs in a total fog and felt relieved as I opened the front door to see the bus coming down the street.  As Abby hopped off, the bus driver (different not-so-nice man) proceeded to ask what had happened - not that he cared to know.  I was supposed to be waiting 10 minutes ago and she couldn't get in and he was about to take her back to school and now I'd made him 10 minutes late for his next route... That was a good day.

I since have made a point to leave my front door open just in case.  Well, then, last Friday I forgot they had early dismissal and would be dropped off 15 minutes early.  So, at 2:20 I heard someone knocking at the back door and looked out front to see the school bus.  Oh man.  So, as I opened the FRONT door, that was unlocked, I saw Abby running from the back of the house toward the bus shouting "She forgot again!  Like last time!"  I beckoned to my darling child to come in, not making eye contact with my new afternoon bus driver nemesis.  And so, the struggle continues.  We will overcome. We will.

In spite of the bus ordeals, semi-frequent time outs at school and addressing taking the Lord's name in vain - thank you, sweet 5-yr-old peers - Abby seems to be loving everything else about Kindergarten.  Especially when Mom gets to come be a lunch helper.  I think I might do that more often just to feel better about myself and gain reassurance that I truly am loved.

As for Ellie, she is officially a double preschooler!  On M/W, she goes to the Clearfield Community Center and T/Th she goes to the Four Moms Trade preschool, which ends up being at our house for music day once or twice a month.  (Photos are of her first day at each.)  She loves her new friends and existing in a world where she's one of the older ones and has some say in what they play and how things are.

Being home alone with Mom after preschool has been somewhat of an adjustment (for us both), as the lack of Abby's presence brings an almost eerie calm.  This, in turn has caused Ellie to develop a slight phobia of being alone and so just in time for Halloween, I have a new little shadow.  (Which isn't the worst thing in the world...)  This isn't to say Ellie doesn't share her sister's propensity to explore and create and make all sorts of messes when I've turned my back, but it's a whole lot easier addressing them without her usual parter in crime.  We try to get out as much as possible, but even then - she has a knack for getting lost at Target and after apple picking managed to take at least one bite out of nearly every apple, which she then left dispersed throughout the house.  She can be quite active when it suits her.

            

Adam enjoys his new job (I think).  When you have a golf outing the second day, how couldn't you?  He explained that he feels like a fireman - when his team is needed, they're really really needed.  As in, when a deal is going down.  Apparently they finished a 6-month deal the weekend before he started, so things are slow going for now.  Hey - I'll take it.

So that's us in a cracked nut shell.  We did have a couple of quick visits from my cousin Emily, her husband Todd and their two darling kids, as well as a fast and furious few days with my sister Candace.  'Thank heavens for visitors' will forever be one of my mottos.  So fun.  And now, here's to being back to the whirlwind of my life....

QFTD

Abby, interrupting a conversation between Adam and me: "Okay, guys.  You both sign in on this card.  Sign your names - not your real names, just your pretend ones, like 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'."

I told Ellie to get her shoes on so we could go get a brownie mix at the store.  Ellie: "I don't want to MIX brownies, I want to EAT brownies!"

Ellie: "Mom, can I please play Dinosaur Train and then go to school?  That's what my options for you are."

Me: "Eleanore, you have not picked up this mess like I told you to!" Ellie, hip cocked and lips pursed: "But I AM beautiful."

Ellie, lying next to Adam in attempts to sleep: "Dad, I'm double hungry."

Abby, handing me a tiny pumpkin eraser: "Here Mom.  This is your prize for being a good time-outer.  It's your first award."

Abby: "Do you know what terrified means?  It means you're afraid.  Like you're terrified of a fire in your town. Do you know what terrifido means? It starts with the same word.  It means you're mean and do not let anyone have a turn and you throw someone down on the hard floor and you're kickin' 'em and hittin' 'em and and and scratchin' 'em and PUNCHIN' em!  That's what terrifido means."

Ellie showed me a page of drawings: "This is an apple, this is a lemon, this is an orange, this is a container..."

Ellie: "This is the baby doll's bottle.  It's carmel."

While the girls played "babies" with the three eggplants harvested from the garden, Ellie's eggplant asked:  "Is your mom seven?" Abby's: "Oh no.  My mom's eight."

Ellie: "I want to call Nana for one more flavor.  For one more thing."

Abby, out of the blue after dinner: "Guys, I have the hiccups, so don't say funny things like 'hee hee hee look at me!'"

Abby, during one of our "we need to work on staying out of trouble at school" talks: "So, if I don't get a sad face for 300 years, I get a PRIZE??"

I asked Abby if she knew what self discipline means. Abby: "No. What's slef stepluplin?

We've been coming up with different phrases to use in place of "Oh my...". Abby:  "When I was going to say "oh my" and "oh my gosh," I actually stopped and started over and said "uh-oh!"  Ellie: "When I was going to say "oh my gosh" I stopped and started over and said "I want some more chicken."