Here we go again

First of all, the fun stuff: Natalie had her first day of school yesterday and had a great time! She has a few familiar faces in her classroom and her teacher seems to be very nice.


Natalie in front of her very own cubby. She marched up to her teacher and said "good morning" and then promptly posed for Mrs. MacIssac to admire her back to school attire.
Apparently asking her to show off her lunch pail sparked the attitude.
Then today I took Brady to school and at the last minute he asked me to walk him to his classroom. "Of course" I said, even though I've been up all night coughing and am wearing one-step-up-from-pajamas and have no makeup on. But I did brush my hair. And my teeth. So I quickly escort him in and he gives me the double wave: the first one "thanks for dropping me off, I'll see you later" and then the second "Leave, mom. Now!". So I walked off and halfway down the hall his teacher runs after me asking if we can talk real quick. Oh.
It appears that the struggles of having a child on the fringe are back. I am actually prepared for this, as I was told that 1st grade is infinitely harder than Kindergarten and that Brady's struggles might be magnified this year. We're a week into school and he's struggling. But maybe this means he'll get some extra help sooner. I just wish there was more I could do for him. I hate to hear that he's putting his head down when confronted with a challenge, or that he has no confidence in the skills he already possesses. It's like the teacher and I have to prove to Brady that he is capable, he doesn't believe it himself.
Somedays I wish I had a magic wand.

Peaceful morning

At 8:30 I was supposed to be running in the Bellingham Bay 15k. But then I got this job thing, and I didn't think it would be too wise to request my 2nd day of work off.

Larry's mom took the kids last night and there wasn't much time last night to savor the peace (I got home an hour before the kids normally go to bed) but this morning was so... quiet. It made it very hard to leave the silence and go to work, knowing that it would all be over by the time I arrived home this evening. Ah, well.
We finally took part in the Greek Festival in town, basically food, food, and nothing but food. And some piped in music. But we certainly enjoyed the food! And my paparazzi hand wasn't quick enough to snap a photo of this man sitting in front of us; he had the biggest noggin I've ever seen! He was wearing a baseball cap and the back seam was split from trying to stretch over this guys head! Reminds me of one of my favorite movies So I Married An Axe Murderer.

Natalie had insisted that she didn't like her kabob. But changed her mind once her dad tried to help her eat it!

My schweet photography skillz: that's Brady leaping of the stairs.
And I have to say, working at a bank that is inside of a grocery store doesn't disappoint in the people-watching department. Someone makes me silently snicker everyday. God I love the general public.

This handsome fella kept "trolling" in front of my car.

These cool old planes were buzzing around today.

P.S. I just looked up "my" finish time for the 15K today (my good friend Roxie, who just happened to have also finished her first half-ironman triathlon used my bib #) was a very impressive 1:28:40. I think that's a personal best for me! (in my dreams!)

1st grade? meh.

Brady has gotten to the age (who am I kidding, he's always been at this age) where he isn't too interested in having his picture taken, especially if it might even come close to being embarrassing. But I refuse to relent, and snapped away.

Dropping him off was kind of chaotic. Jen and I wished aloud that we would have liked to have known that our children's supply list was indeed for them (unlike Kindergarten where everything went into a community pot).

Brady sat right down and began working immediately... when we said goodbye, Larry and I both got a quick peck and a very quiet "love you".
I was greeted with "Can I go play at Will's house today?" when I picked him up. I think this year will be OK :)

First Grade

It's midnight and I can't sleep over Brady's big day in the morning. His backpack is prepared, he has a special treat in his lunch sack, his awesome hot pink-skateboarding-flaming-t-rex shirt is laid out and he got to bed early.
Now if I could get some sleep!
We took the kids out to Lake Padden today. B and I rode around the lake on our bikes (he didn't have to walk up one hill this time! Neither did I!!) while Natalie and Lar practiced riding her bike without training wheels (not successful). Then I took off before anyone could stop me and half-ran around the lake again. I haven't been feeling top-notch, so the second time around was not so successful. And I wasn't wearing the proper ummm....supportive garment. Gravity is cruel enough on it's own, I don't need to exasperate the problem!
We had some dinner and took the kids to see "SHORTS", the movie about the rainbow wishing rock. Perfect for a almost 7 year old boy. Very cute. Then home to roast marshmallows on the BBQ, baths, and bed!
Stay tuned for photos of Brady's first day!

Birthday gifts and other things.

My gifts are at the bottom of this post, so you'll have some anticipation as you scroll to the end...
Tracy was a trooper today and hung out with me all day, the kids were all kinds of spaz as we tried to shop at the farmers market. They tamed a bit when we went to Cenex and they got to look at all the rodents and birds. We made the mistake of going to Costco (apparently the way Canadians celebrate Labor day is to mill around a Costco parking lot and also stand 6 inches behind you in the checkout line). We didn't find what we were looking for at Cenex, so we headed north to the Laurel Farm store. They had what we wanted, as well as 7 kittens for the kids to love on and a herd of Buffalo to taunt.
Mommy and Auntie needed Starbucks stat afterwards, so we continued north to Lynden and discovered that the corn maze opened yesterday. We decided that would be a fun way to burn some energy off but the moment we stepped out of the car, the rains started. Man, it rained. But we persevered, because we really didn't have the energy to entertain the children any other way. But Tracy and I have similar navigational skills: poor. We wandered around for about 45 minutes before retreated to the entrance we kept coming across. Except the only way we found the entrance was through a blocked path. That's when Natalie declared Tracy and me "NOT A GENIUS."

Brady is on cloud 9 because Josh got stuck sitting between him and Natalie on the way home. I wonder how Josh feels about it?
Playing hide and seek, since we obviously weren't finding our way through the maze.

Brady's new favorite pose. "I did a #2 on her head!"

Birthday present #1: if you're in a race, call me. I'll be your #1 fan!

Birthday present #2:

Alcohol

I was going to write a post tonight about my fun evening out for my birthday, but I think I need to wait until morning :)

The beginning of the birthdays

Jack's grandpa made these cut-outs for his birthday. And can I point out that Natalie and Jack are only 6 months apart?
The ball pit just dumped about half of the balls on top of the kids, it's what they had been waiting for all evening! Waiting for cake...

The big-front-teeth years are just around the corner...

The birthday boy, Brady, and Brady's idol, Will. He lives down the street and is a 2nd grader. Brady thinks he's awesome.

Riley and Natalie "we really look like we're jumping down the falls!" (I hadn't figured out my shutter speed etc. yet for inside Jungle Playland so it's a bit blurry).

September is ca-razy around here with the birthdays. Jack is first up. He turned 4 today and had a super cool party at Jungle Playland.

The kids had a great time, but I have to tell ya: after spending the entire afternoon lazing on my back deck with a book in my hand it was really tough to switch gears.

And I have to put in a PSA regarding Amy at the Argyle salon... she is a miracle worker. Natalie left here today with a muffin-top for a hair style, and returned my beautiful little girl with a pixie bob, they way she was intended to be!