Hey, Kevin!

My neighbor jokes with me that he feels like his name has been changed to "Hey Kevin." I didn't notice how often the boys say that to him until he pointed it out, but now that he mentioned it to me, I can see that they really do say it a lot.

They say it when they first see him as a way of saying "hello." They also say it any time they want to get his attention. They say it if he is talking to someone else, but need to tell him something. They really just begin most of their sentences to him with "Hey Kevin." Sometimes it is said as a sentence all on its own. Sometimes it is the beginning of a question. Sometimes it is followed by a lengthy sentence or explanation of some sort.

I now listen and watch as they talk to him and every time one of them says it, I see him smile to himself.

By the way, now that I have been made aware of it, I notice they do the same thing to me. I bet I do it too. I bet I say "Hey, Matt" and "Hey, Ben" and "Hey, Mitchell," and yes, even "Hey, Kevin" quite a bit as well. That must be where they got it and why I never noticed it before. Any else ever notice that from us when you're around us?

Tea and Ice Cream

Mitchell starts school a week later than Ben is beginning to get antsy at home now without his older brother. He keeps asking when his school starts and if his classroom is bigger than Ben's and if his teacher is cooler than Ben's and does he get to go all day too. He keeps Ben up at night discussing his plans for making friends and what he will do on the playground, but, most importantly, he talks about ice cream and tea parties.

Where did he get the idea there will be ice cream and tea at school this year? About a week ago, he received his very own piece of mail inviting him to an ice cream social in a nearby park to meet some kids and families from his school. His teacher will also be there and personally invited him! This letter has joined other precious items he is keeping in his backpack to take to school with him next week. When it isn't in his backpack, he carries it around "reading" it to us all over an over again and asking if we want to come with him to eat ice cream and make friends.

There is also a day next week at school where I have been invited to stay after drop off to have tea and coffee with the other moms. These are two separate events, but they are one and the same in Mitchell's mind. No amount of explaining on my part can convince him that we are not having an ice cream and tea party at the same time. He hears me but clearly isn't listening. He keeps asking me which I like better: ice cream or tea. "Which are you going to choose, mom?"

I love how excited he is getting. I love that he and Ben stay up at night talking about school and the best ways to make friends. I even overheard them talking about sharing their friends with each other the way they share all their toys. Just a few more days, Mitchell, and you too can put on your backpack every morning and explore life away from your mother! I love a chance to miss you!

Thump, Thump, Thump...

The rain ruined Ben's first drop off of first grade. I won't go so far as to say it ruined his first day of school, as he has not finished it yet, but the day he has been looking forward to for weeks now got rained on; not just sprinkled either - DUMPED on!

He woke up excited, ate breakfast excited, got dressed excited, even walked to school under his umbrella excited. It all started to get less exciting though when the pouring rain forced all kids, parents, and siblings all into one room with one door leading to it. It got a little crazy. I think Ben was picturing himself showing up to a sunny schoolyard where he would be able to run around a bit before I dropped him at the door, where he'd give me a quick hug and blow me a kiss before following his teacher neatly and orderly through the door and up to his classroom.

When he joined the chaos and other clearly nervous kids in the wet, humid, and crowded hallway, he squeezed my hand extra tightly and said quietly, "Mom, it hurts a little bit right here" with his other hand over his heart.

With a little lump in my throat, I explained to him that he was just getting a little nervous because it wasn't quite as orderly as he so loves it and that was just his heart thump thumping a little too hard. I assured him the feeling would go away once he got up to his classroom and away from the chaos. He squeezed my hand again and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I do feel a little nervous and can't wait to find my teacher and my class!"

It continues to amaze me how alike Ben and I are sometimes. I remember quite vividly my first day of first grade and the uncomfortable thump thump thump of my heart.

I can't wait to pick him up in a couple hours to hear how the rest of the day went for him. Milestones are tough sometimes (for kids and moms) and growing up requires a lot of courage for kids, even if it is just the courage to face a crowd of strangers and fight the discomfort that comes with being a new kid in a new place surrounded by chaos. I am "all grown up" already and just the thought of being in Ben's place today makes me a little sweaty...

Just Make It Stop!

Last night, I woke to the sound of a loud, high-pitched beeping every 20 seconds or so. I followed the sound out into the hallway to find the carbon monoxide detector acting up. In my sleepy state, all my efforts to stop the noise only made it worse until it was finally a constant, high-pitched screech. I panicked at this point and just tried to muffle the sound by hugging it close to my body and completely covering it while I shouted for Matt to help me.

I'm not sure how he slept through the original beeping which seemed so loud to me, but by the time the thing was a constant beep and I was shouting for it to just stop, he came to my rescue. He wordlessly took the shrieking thing from me and marched it downstairs. I heard the front door open, then shut, then he came shuffling back into bed.

I asked him how he got it to stop, and he said, "I didn't. I just chucked it out the front door." He was asleep moments later.

Well, as I sit here in my living room today with the windows open, I can hear a faint beeping coming from the yard somewhere. I suppose we want our yard to be as free from harmful carbon monoxide as our house though, right?

When I Grow Up

Ben takes a very realistic and cautious approach to the question: what do you want to be when you grow up? He usually answers something along the lines of "I'm not sure yet. We'll just have to wait and see."

Mitchell, however, is all over the place with that question. Lately though, he has set his sites quite high. He has decided that he would like to be an astronaut surgeon. Not a surgeon who only operates on astronauts, but an astronaut who also performs surgery in space. He'd also like to have a space dog to accompany him on his life-saving space missions.

Although this astronaut surgeon idea keeps coming back to him, he occasionally sees something that will change his mind for a day. A couple days ago, we had some men here cutting a tree down after the storm. Mitchell took one look at that truck and all the controls the man up in the bucket was using as he zoomed around in it with a saw on the end of a large pole and decided he might like to be a tree trimmer when he grows up.

He has also had garbage truck phases where he'd like to be the guy riding on the back of the truck and operating the "smusher." Our gardeners ride quite large mowing machines as well, which has gotten Mitchell thinking about a career riding a lawn mower.

At what point does the idea of being a garbage man stop sounding appealing to a young boy? When does riding a lawn mower become a chore and not exciting? Perhaps once he actually starts mowing and helping out more with garbage I suppose. But if trying things out is the way to eliminate them as an eventual career, how will we ever move on from astronaut surgeon?

Let's Get It Started!

Remember how I told you I have a soundtrack for my life? Well, today, it is yet another annoying song. This time by the Black Eyed Peas:

Let's get it started in HAH!

Let's get it started in here!

That's just a snippet of that oh-so-annoying song, but it has been running through my head all day since we stopped by Ben's adorable school (K-3) this morning to drop off some paperwork. I intended to stop in, drop it off, and then take off before any of my three kids could do any damage to any students' artwork or projects or flood the drinking fountain.

Well, the staff had other plans for us. After dropping off the paperwork, the lady in the office took us on a school tour (the second we have had since arriving here; I couldn't say "no" when the boys were just as excited to do it the second time as the first.) She then searched the school for Ben's teacher. After finally locating her, the teacher then insisted on showing Ben his new classroom (which we had just seen with office lady) and chatting with Ben about anything and everything under the sun.

Plenty of stickers later, I finally forced the visit to an end, only to find the boys wanted to stay and play at the school playground! They were pretending they were at school and on recess and having lunch and sitting at desks. Ben made me be Ms. Jinks (his new teacher) and pretend to give stickers for good behavior.

What a refreshing change from last year where I basically had to show up the first day blind - no idea who his teacher was or where to be or what was expected of us. I am so glad we stopped in today. I guess when you pay your teachers and administrative staff as much as those at our school get paid, you go the extra mile.

This visit this morning has only made Ben and Mitchell more ready for school to start. I remember feeling the same way by the end of summer when I was a kid: let's just get school started! Ben especially thrives under the kind of structure and schedule that school provides not only during school, but for the rest of our day, and Mitchell can get excited about just about anything!

Now, more than yesterday even, we all feel that in regards to school beginning next week, "let's get it started in HAH!" (is that really what the BEP say, or is that just what we say? anyone actually know the lyrics?)

Just Can't Get Enough

I try to be intentional about noticing and commenting on my boys' good behaviors and attitudes. I rarely say to them,"Mitchell, you're such a good boy." Rather, I find something that I love about him specifically and find an appropriate time to mention it. I love catching them working on something I have been reminding them about for some time (for forever it sometimes feels like!)

It is so fun to see how they respond to the specificity of my praises though. If I ever use a lame generality such as "you are so good," they sometimes barely even seem to hear it. If I tell Ben I have noticed what a good job he has been doing rinsing his own dishes and putting them in the dishwasher without me asking him to, his face lights up and he says, "Thanks, mom! What else have you noticed?"

If I mention to Mitchell that I appreciate him sitting and eating like a gentleman rather than with his feet on the table and food in both fists, he actually hears me and asks, "Did you see me do that without you even telling me?"

I sometimes bust out with random, "I love you because..." and I always come up with something that is so very "them" that they smile and ask for more.

If I tell Ben why I think he is special because he has made me proud for some reason, Mitchell will always jump in with "Why do you think I'm special, mom?" It isn't too difficult to come up with something for each one, but I think it is funny how neither big boy wants to be left out when it comes to why I love them, why I think they are special, why I am proud of them, and what I appreciate about them.

They just can't get enough of it!