There are SOOO many things I love about my mom.
But the fact that she is so willing to work with my kids on anything they need help with is at the top of the list.
I honestly try not to abuse the system, but when your 7 year old tells you he would rather do homework with Nonnie because she is nicer…I oblige.
I really can’t believe that I almost have four kids who can all play in the same place at once. It is all too exciting. Now, I am crossing my fingers that Scout doesn’t grow out of the playground stage too fast.
It was a big day in our family today!!!
Pippi had her very first day in nursery.
Of all of my kids, I knew she would be the one to give me the least problems. She is such an independent, and a lover of exploring, I knew she would love that big room to do her thing.
The report back was glowing.
They said she was perfect, and that her only drawback was that she kept stealing everyone’s food.
Look how stinking cute she is!!!
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As I walked away from the window, I was so pleased with my good children. For one teeny tiny second, I thought to myself — maybe I have this whole mom thing under control.
In an attempt to stroke my ego a bit more, I checked in on my others in primary.
And one look at backwards Dash during singing time, and the glare he was giving me…brought me right back to reality.
If there is ever time, I love to snap a photo or two of my kids in their best looking garb.
Too bad that their behavior doesn’t always match their clothes.
We started out with oar boy, annoyed we were taking too long boy, crabby apple, and CTR fake smiler.
And ended up with cheesy smile, grab hands too hard boy, up and coming escape artist, CTR fake smiler.
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Truth be told, I love both — they are perfect representations of their personalities.
Pippi used to be so bratty to Nonnie. She would love her when she got her up in the morning, and gave her a big drink. Or when Nonnie would share her Shredded Wheat. But any other time of the day, she pretty much shined Nonnie on.
But she has recently come to her senses.
Somewhere along the way, Pippi realized that Nonnie butters her bread, dots her i’s, and completes her.
And since she realized that, whenever she sees Nonnie, she runs in for a hug and kiss — even if Nonnie is on the phone.
Pippi is obsessed with Dash.
If he cries, she dramatically falls to the ground, covers her mouth and fake cries.
If he jumps, she jumps.
If he sneezes, she fakes a sneeze.
And if he grabs his dayday, she grabs hers.
My mom owed the Tack-a-Lack some of her famous ribs.
Today was payday, and the recipient was happy.
And so were the recipient’s friends, who ate and hot tubbed at the same time.
Scout, Navy and Dash were in hog heaven with our new boats in the pool.
And Pippi was in hog heaven as she got to choose between two good-looking seniors who were fighting over her.
Her choice?
She was flirting like crazy with Mark, but always ended up in the arms of Nate.
When you first interview for jobs, there is the standard question, “Which three words best describe you?”
I always had a hard time with this question, and usually tried to throw in “disciplined” to try to get the job.
But now that I am older, I know without any doubt that one of my three words would be “adventurous”.
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And this girl was lacking a little adventure.
So I created one, that has been on my bucket list for a long time.
I went to the sporting goods store, and picked up two inflatable boats.
Micah and the kids filled them up, because the adventurous ones in the family were going to row from Doheny to Britni’s house.
(Excluded: Micah who is sure he is going to die from a shark attack, and there have been local beaches closed down to a local great white. And Pippi, who was going to be Micah’s co-pilot/photographer.)
(Sidenote: Between my Mom and Micah’s shark fears, I actually had a split second-thought. Before we went, I spent about an hour looking at Doheny Beach great white shark YouTube videos. I’ll be honest — because I had my kids with me, I actually made a call to Daddy John who frequents the Dana Point waters. He said he would not worry for one second — so we loaded up.)
We were all getting prepared.
Dash, by emptying his bladder before the adventure.
Pippi by getting all blocked up for some time in the sun.
It was going to be Bella, Dash and Navy in one boat.
Scout and I were going to be in the other boat.
We took off in calm waters, alongside the morning paddle boarders.
At some point, Dash jumped his ship to come into ours, so Bella and Navy were out there solo.
We were in open water, and felt good.
Although, the $39 boats were highly difficult to make any ground on.
And Bella was dominating. She would get twice as far as I would in the same amount of time.
I actually had to put Scout and Dash on the back as my “engines”.
And then, for whatever reason, everything went quiet at once….and I heard it.
Psssssssss.
Just the faintest little sound of a hole with air escaping.
No wonder Tristen was gliding across the top while I was getting deeper and deeper into the water.
Good thing it was a busy day at the harbor.
We flagged down the nicest guy, who towed us in.
At first, we didn’t want to die by shark attack.
And now, we certainly didn’t want to die by drowning.
But now, I am crossing my fingers that we all don’t die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
He finally got us into baby beach, where a huge paddle boarding contest was going on.
Nothing like a humiliating moment, caught by hundreds of spectators.
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So did I get the adventure bug out of me?
No way!
It just added a spark to my adventurous fire!
I got a text from a parent from school asking, “Did you let Navy bring home her ladybugs?”
I thought that was odd.
When Navy had her lunch bag from school, she asked if she could bring home her pet ladybugs.
I thought it was a great idea as long as they didn’t get out in the car.
But after the text, and when I got home, I looked in the bag to see over 100 ladybugs she had collected at school.
She was devastated that I made her leave them on our roses.
Good thing one flew onto her arm before she came in.
So, like the amazing mother that I am, I let her keep that one pet.
Whenever I am driving near DHHS during lunch time or right after school, I make a quick call to Ka to see if she can come out for a visit.
A lot of times I even entice her by telling her I have a teat or lunch for her.
This time a “treat” got her out.
And Ka said that Pippi is actually the best treat she ever gets.
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