We Do Things

FTF: THE WAY THE KIDS GET ALONG

When we found out at the ultra-sound that The Boy was going to be The Boy and not The Sister, The Girl, then two, freaked out. Back in the day, The Girl was the Queen of all Tantrums. She could throw a fit like nobody's business. It is quite a hilarious memory.

Me, lying on the table with my big baby belly covered in that jelly, The Dad, sitting with The Girl on his lap, the tech announcing The Boy's gender, and The Girl screaming in anger, "But I wanted a sister! I don't want a brother!"

Yelling at the tech, "Change it to a GIRL!!!"

That poor tech, believing she had broken this little girl's heart. The Dad and I, much used to these outbursts laughing until tears came.

Finally, The Dad calmed her enough and we headed out to the car, The Girl still moaning and muttering angrily about boys.

I had a lightbulb moment and reminded her she'd never have to share her Polly Pockets now.

She decided a brother would be just fine.

Little did she know, she'd not only be sharing her Polly's in a few years, she'd be happily spending hours forcing him to play, "like a girl".

Those early years were not easy on The Girl. The Boy was a hair puller and a biter. He took most of his frustrations out on her.

She and I had numerous talks about what a bothersome pill he was.

Finally, one day, sitting in the hallway in front of her bedroom door, we had a break through. I explained to her that she was the one who taught him how to treat her. She was the one that could "fix" her brother. It would take patience and time, but she could do it.

Of course, the sibling battles haven't disappeared, but I can tell you that The Kids fight less than most siblings I know of. They have a connection that is solid.

They respect each other and admire each other.

The relationship they have extends itself to their cousins and all who is family. They just assume, this is the way it should be. And really? It is. They still manage to argue, but they work it out. They want to be close, so they make it so.

They annoy each other. They purposefully push buttons, especially The Little Brother amongst us.

They defend each other against all comers. If you piss off one, you've pissed off the other. And I feel sorry for you. I've been on that side of them. It's not pretty when they gang up.

They are more than siblings. They are friends.

It would be quite easy for The Girl, at 13, to blow her 10 year old brother off. Sometimes, she does. Mostly, she invites him in. Even, making sure her friends know. They are a package deal.

On this hike, I was encouraging The Boy to do "boy" things. Run in the creek, climb trees, pick up stuff, and explore.

The Girl kept a close eye on him the entire time, not fully trusting us grown ups to keep him safe.

As he crossed a particularly hazardous downed tree, she was berating me.

"I can't believe you're letting him climb that one Mother!"

She only calls me Mother when she disapproves of me.

The Dad and I are ever so glad to know that he has one more watchful eye on him as he negotiates his way through those thorny limbs of life.

For the record, I was never more than that far away from him. The other side was a fairly steep drop off, but the tree was covered with a ton of growth he would have had to fallen through to get there.

HALLOWEEN 2010

Another Halloween is on the books for The Family. This one was different from the past, as it was the first year The Kids went off in different directions.

The Boy off to the popular haunt to Trick or Treat with his gaggle of friends from school.

My personal favorite? The Travelocity Gnome.

The Girl had plans to Trick or Treat sans adults around our own neighborhood. I know, our neighborhood isn't the cool one? Don't worry, it shocks me too.

Well, you know how it goes, the best laid plans of mice and men...or teenage girls.

Just as The Girl feared she would be hitting the street with dear old mom (yes, isn't that a picture?) one of The Friends showed up and The Girl was spared the embarassment of TorT'ing with me.

So, the Two Zombies and Sherlock Holmes headed out to fulfill their dentist's wallet, um, to gather as much candy as kidly possible. I drew the long straw and got to stay home dealing with The Manic Dog and handing out candy.

This year was a transition to having two older kids for sure. The Carving of The Pumpkins was slightly different as well. Meaning I didn't even get off the couch this year.

Although, The Boy still hasn't learned that old Pumpkin goop lesson.

One of the most difficult things about Halloween, after finally settling on a costume is what to carve into your innocent pumpkin.

The Boy chose Kirby, which forced The Dad into shaving his pumpkin since The Boy couldn't stay in the lines. Really, do we want The Boy using the big knife again?

My answer is no.

You'll have to take my word that Kirby lit up really nicely. The picture makes him look like crap, but we had a ton of Trick or Treaters comment that we were "The house with the cool pumpkins"

I have to admit to being a tad concerned about The Girl's choice of carvings.

If we were better parents we would probably be looking into some alchohol testing or drug testing or something for her. Instead we just relished in the happiness her pumpkin brought to others. It was a hit. As a matter of fact it's still oozing on our front porch if you all would like to come on by and see it in person. Can't wait to hose that off my porch.

Besides, as parents we can only worry so much and currently I'm too busy watching my back. Zombies in The House are a serious issue. Especially when they're wearing purple vans and combat boots.

It's coming for you...

 

FTF: WE ARE OFFICIALLY OLD NOW.

One of my most Favourite Things is The Girl. I am pathetically and miserably in love with every thing about her.

We're not quite sure how it happened, but it did. No matter what we did to slow it all down.

The Girl is now 13. An actual teenager.

She is now a South Park and  Charlie The Unicorn loving dork.

I know it is usual for a "Mommy" blogger to post about how wonderful their child is on that child's birthday. In my usual fashion of trying to stand apart from the norm, I shall innumerate the problems this child has.

Like her abnormal powers of persuasion to get her own way. She recently got my entire family on me about not passing down my old Rebel to her. Yes, because every 13 year old should have a $600 SLR.

Guess what we gave her for her birthday?  We will never be able to top this one.

She has been taking tons of pictures however. She is an artistic soul.

Which leads me to her other problem. She is the messiest, most hoarding person in this family. She used to save the tags off her new clothes so she would remember the clothes.

We finally broke her of that habit, but remember when I tried the Mexican stand off over the room cleaning?

Also, she has learned a new language and is constantly speaking it in the house. In front of The Boy even. Luckily, we are all well schooled in the fine language of Sarcasm.

Her new saying is "Your Face!" Such as,

"The Girl, go clean your room."

"Your face needs to clean my room!"

Etcetera...

She also has this lovely new habit that gets her busted more times than not. She will pretend to be rude to us upon being given a command. It seems to be joking, but sometimes, it feels like she might just be pushing to see where the line is.

She used to be so perfect.

Don't even get me started on this group of girls she's chosen as her clique. They are loud, obnoxious, think themselves hilarious, and over all annoying. They are also the most loyal bunch I've ever come across in the Jr. High set.

They remind me a little too much of my own Jr. High friends.

And Lord knows how absolutely immature I was in Jr. High.

For her party this year, she decided to take her group to see the local theater's production of Little Shop of Horrors.

The Girls had a great time and the play was wonderfully done.  The Girl is turning into a drama geek.

She has one horrid habit that gets me every single time. One area of her life that she refuses to listen to me or her father.

She keeps having these darn birthdays...

13 years has gone by so quickly.

We have loved every single moment. Even her most annoying ones.

She is stubborn, headstrong, independent, funny, loving, and absolutely amazing.

IF YOU GIVE THE GIRL A CAMERA

The other night, we were having a spectacular cloud-filled sunset.

We hear The Girl's door open and a voice asking, "Mother may I use your camera to get a picture of the spectacular sunset?"

Having not played "Mother May I" for years, I vaguely recalled the correct answer to be, "Yes, you may."

The Girl spent the next 20 minutes or so capturing the evening.

She captured The Bunnies, doing their thing and trying to figure out why there was a human in the yard who didn't have food for them.

Please ignore the disgusting patio. We are learning that rabbits are not very neat creatures. Which is why they're in the backyard in the first place.

As a side note, Nova, our new bunny has settled right in. She can't stand us, but at least she and Annie are no longer tearing each other apart.

The Turtles got their portraits taken as well.

Dribble is such a people turtle. He loves us all and comes to hang out with us whenever he can.

Annie decides to catch some dinner while The Girl keeps Nova in hiding. Yes, she now sits in the tub of food to prevent Nova from sneaking bites of the good stuff. I've really come to love this Evil Bunny.

And the piece de resistance. We call it Hummingbird.

The Girl has talents that are only starting to show themselves.

Couldn't be more proud.

EVERYONE OUT OF THE POOL NOW.

I'm sure you all heard my yell of joy, in case you missed it though, The Kids are back in school!

We made the decision to send The Boy back to real school because he missed the social interaction and I missed the freedom.

I like my freedom.

I like my kids.

As we were rushing out the door to get my 8th grader to school, yes I know, only one more year until I have a high schooler, thank you very much, The Girl paused and asked me if we were doing pictures today.

I looked at her and said, you never take school pictures on the first day of school, that would be silly.

Then, The Dad came running out of The House with my camera and The Boy.

Apparently, I had almost forgotten to take Back To School pictures.

So, we now have an 8th grader and a 5th grader in The House. A 5th grader who refused to buy new clothes for school and chose purple Vans for his shoes.

Life around here is never dull.

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

The Girl has never been afraid to make a statement.

Sometimes, like the bob cut she got during her solitary season of swim team, she does regret them.

Therefore, when she decided that she wanted to cut all her hair off and go very short for summer, The Dad and I were not discouraging, but it did take me a few days to call and make the hair appointment.

The Good Friends Family Mom turned me on to a nice young lady (yeah, she's in her 20's so she's young to me) who will come to The House and cut hair. Not only that, but she charges like half as much as we had been paying. And, she's totally cool.

So, the night before her last day as a 7th Grader, this is what happened.

 

We started here. All the hair she had grown out since her bad bob. Bobs really should be banned on anyone over the age of 4.

 

After the Locks of Love cut. While she didn't have quite 10", she could still donate it and they will sell it if they can't use it.

Ready for the shocker?

I promise she has not had at least four birthdays since last I've updated you all on her.

 

Yeah, she loves it.

 

It still looks good all these days after.

Except she's already talking about it growing back.

The good part about short hair, no tangles.

The bad part, it gets kind of boring. No updos either.

Honor Society

Now that The Girl is in Jr. High, she is becoming this gorgeous, mature, responsible person. Make it stop! She is growing way too quickly. People tell you that time flies, when your kids are little, they fail to warn you about how quickly it flies when they're not so little anymore. We are only 2 1/2 months away from having an 8th grader, which is only a year and 2 1/2 months away from having a high schooler.

Does anyone have a slow down machine?

This year has given us a young lady who barely needs parents. She has taken on school like it's a bothersome flea. Swiping away subject after subject. Her biggest complaint is that school is, well school, and therefore something that must be tolerated. With all As, except for PE, because really? PE is so not her thing. She did manage a B+ there though.

She was inducted in to Honor Society this month, a gift from her father for sure. My brains never leaned towards the academic, more towards the emotional and creative side of life. As the lone non-genius in my family, I have learned the art of faking it. They all think I follow their nerdy discussions, in reality, I'm just bobbing my head and learning a lot from all of them along the way.

 

I mean, who is this young lady? How is it that our time with her being a daily fixture in our house is dwindling to six short years? Six? It seems slightly unfair considering how quickly time is flying by this year.

 

All the inductees had to stand at the podium and share where they did their service hours. I panicked, public speaking is not my dear friend. The Girl? She just got up there and in a clear, strong voice, shared where she volunteered. No nerves at all. Fearless.

Then, she received her medal and was an official member of the Honor Society. Her first year of Jr. High.

 

Oh, and that beautiful backdrop? The set for the play she was in later in the month. No fear.

We could not possibly be prouder of the person she is.

She is simply amazing.

GUMBALL

I was not the only one who had great luck on our thrifting expedition last month.

The Boy found himself an honest to goodness real gumball machine, not made out of plastic.

It has added some drama to The House.

To say the least.

The Boy protected his interests before he left for a sleep over the other weekend.

 

He seriously underestimated The Girl though.

 

She's a rebel.

I CAN FINALLY FACE IT AGAIN.

For some reason, I fail to remember, we have decided that The Kids should host a New Year's Eve party at our house every year for their friends.

 

I faintly recall reasoning that The Girl and her friends are entering those iffy teen years and we wanted them to start thinking of our house every New Year's and not going "out".

The Boy, of course couldn't be left out.

 

I think that someday, he and his friends will also be teens.

 

It was very, very loud at our house that night. Loud.

 

And weird. Very, very, very weird.

After a while, I quit even asking and just took pictures.

 

It was so loud that at 12:15, The Dad and I sent every single child off to bed.

It was almost quiet.

At 3 a.m., I went into The Room that held All of The Girls and yelled, "You can go to sleep, or go home, your choice." Then I went back to bed.

I'm pretty sure they all stayed because the donuts were all eaten the next morning.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

I'm off to the audiologist now.

ONE ON ONE TIME IS IMPORTANT

The Dad and The Girl headed out for some Daddy/Daughter time. They went to The Dad's old haunts in and around Hollywood. The Girl swears now, to never do drugs or become a prostitute.

I think that trip was well worth the gas money.

 

They enjoyed a fine lunch.

I can't tell you how rare this look of pure joy is these days. It almost makes me forget about her yelling at me because I'm stupid. Not that she would ever say it out loud, but she conveys her message fairly well.

 

The Dad drove her by the Nickelodeon Animation Studios. This made her day.

She now wants to become an Anime animator.

Even though she is adamantly opposed to taking animation classes.

Sigh.