It's Just Another Manic Saturday?!

Funny... I'm sitting here, well into the third week of school the song School's Out For Summer! is on repeat in my mind.

Hmmm...Maybe the rigor of our back-to-school schedule is finally making an imprint on my brain.
Could the run around- and around- and around be pushing me to a new level?
Sanity.
Clarity.
--or breaking point? You decide.
Am I that much closer to teacher-mommy madness?!
OR
Maybe...
Just maybe...
I now have the third eye that only the wise possess.
Weekends are more desirable.
...much more special.
CRAVED
WANTED
Can I use the word LUSTED?
"I lusted for the weekend..."
Ewwww!
Naahhh...but you get it.

My brain knows that once Thursday hits, Friday is that much closer and the well wished for weekend isn't far from it.

Here we go.
"I long for the weekend."
"I crave the comforts of my cushy couch, fuzzy pj's and hugs from my guy and sweet daughters."
"During the school year weekends are precious."

Back to school messes really stink.

When the first week of school was behind us and my family and I began adjusting to all that was new...
...new nanny.
...new teachers.
...new students.
...new supplies to buy.
...new sneakers to tie and break in.
...new afterschool activities to join.
...new bedtime rituals.
...and the forgotten, but remembered longing for Daddy time.
WE LOOKED FORWARD TO THE WEEKEND.
BUT IN A FLASK IT WAS GONE.
Did I say flask?! I meant flash!

Saturday is now a continuation of the craziness.
It has been dubbed ERRAND DAY.
How did we let this happen?!
STUFF has gotten in the way of living life...
Oh, wait...It's part of life.

SPORTS.
DRY CLEANING.
GROCERY STORES.
CHEERLEADING.
YARD WORK.
CLEANING.
SLEEP OVERS.
PLAY DATES.

WOOOOOSH!!!!! Who stole my day?

I attempted to clean out my supply closet and it tried to eat me!!

SATURDAYS need an overhaul.

Weekends of the future should consist of:
SUNDAY 1 and SUNDAY 2
...turning Friday into an errand morning + end of the work week combo package.

Wouldn't this be lovely?
It's an election year.
QUICK!
Someone pass this on to the politician that you wish to hold office.

If you are a politician.
PAY ATTENTION!
Parents of two or more children across the country will vote you in!
Easy peezy...one two...threezy.

You can sound like a buffoon during the rest of your speech/campaign/debates as long as you make this magical, mystical promise.

My girls love indoor roller derby. A favorite Friday night special.

Longer weekends = A Content Country
This may sound corny, but stay with me...
= less stress on families who "juggle"
= less stress on children, allowing them time to be children and do homework and play sports
= kids who are more willing to learn in the classroom
= a nation of learners
= a productive/balanced future generation
= our nation on the up swing.
...followed by a decrease in the divorce rate.
...followed by a decrease in the need for divorce attorneys.
...followed by less parents having to juggle and fewer kids being shifted from home to home over the weekend...which, again = less stress all around!!
--The "folloewd by's" are me running on another of my tangents and a bit of wishful thinking.
But, hey. You get it.

Think of your own "followed by." Join in the Destruction of Errand Day fun!

Hell, Maybe I should run for office.
That was a cinch!

INSANITY?
NO.
CLARITY.

Grace created this after the first day of school. She even added lighting! Magic lives on beyond Summer. 

Sweet Nothings...

What could be better on a Summer morning than fresh fruit?...
...Fresh fruit dipped in chocolate!!

These images embody so many things to me.
Family.
Fun.
Summer.
Childhood.
Pure yumminess...
...Not to mention a spectacular moment in the front yard of the the little gray house.

It all started with strawberries.
My girlies finished the container off in a matter of minutes and were begging for more fruit to experiment with.
I sent them to the front lawn with a heart shaped bowl, because I love them and am a complete dork...
The heart overflowed with grapes.
...then Margo.
...then kiwi.
The kids topped the chocolaty, but nutritious feast off by eating all of our blueberries, then heading back for two more kiwi!
Who am I to deny my children fruit?!
I readily handed it over.
Our kitchen lies barren of fruit.
This is rare.
I wasn't sure what today would hold. - Thought that it would be a "do nothing kind of a day." One spent with hours of household chores and yard work and the kids begging me to bring them places.
Now I know not to be concerned.

Remind me to keep the car parked in the driveway more often.

Nothings turn into strawberry filled hearts and little girls begging to spend the whole day at home.

Photos were taken by "me" and edited using Instagram.

End of Summer Shuffle with the Back to School Blues

My house is being turned up side down room by room.
There are so many emotions to choose from. Pissed. Anxious. Annoyed. Stressed. Refreshed by Change...I'll go with Sarcasm and Humor.

This is what happens when:
A- I am home for too long.
B- Back to school mode begins to set in.
C- Friends visit from Germany.
D- I'm bored.
E- ALL OF THE ABOVE.

**Test takers go with your instincts or statistics. Scan-tron users everywhere know that ALL OF THE ABOVE is the accurate response 99.9% of the time.
Grab those #2 pencils and bubble away...
Swipe one from the 4 dozen that you just bought your child for back to school supplies.
--Or if you're me steal on of the 10 dozen that were purchased!!
That's what happens in the land of households with three or more children.
...and we wonder why #2's sell out across the country in August.

I can see the headlines already:
Due to lack of birth control in 2002-2005 the East Coast is now faced with a major pencil shortage crisis.
Will The Scantron System Ever Survive?
Can a New, More evolved system take it's place?

"I'm here with Woodrow Yellowby, President of the largest #2 pencil manufacturing company in the USA. Mr. Yellowby what are your thoughts?"
- Unfortunately the k-12 system may never fully recover. We will be forced to switch to green #5's.
Parents expect delays in writing and less cash in your pockets.
Psychologists be on alert. The sudden switch from yellow to green will be traumatic for daily users.

Boy, that was fun! Needless to say my house is still trashed and our supplies are 1/2 purchased.
My husband is under the impression that we can send our kids in with,"whatever the hell we want. If it says 5 we'll give them 2. Teacher's opinions don't matter...you know that."

I could have killed him.
You all know that I am a teacher...right?!
My guy was having "a moment."
I'll give him an inch due to wallet stress.

I'll admit, we teachers often go home knowing that our voices were unheard or ignored, after repeating several times, e-mailing and calling home...BUT COME ON HONEY!

Sorry for the "caps" outburst. I couldn't contain that one.

As a teacher there is no way that I'd ever think of sending our kids in with out ALL of their supplies.
Forget the being a teacher part.
I just couldn't do it.
The Weste. girls go to school prepared...
-Typically, over prepared.
-With everything neatly labeled in black sharpie.
-Often sporting cute designs around their names.

If they didn't I'd get "bad Mommy" looks or worse...Step on the wrong manicured toes and your children will experience play date shunning.
THE HORROR!
...and you thought that clicks ended in high school. HA!
I jest not.
Moms are political animals.
I know...I am one.

Can you tell that I'm bummed about Summer drawing to an end?
I'm having a ton of fun creatively complaining about it.
...and I'm taking you along for the ride.

MWUUA-A-A-A-AH!
Supplies will be taken care of even if that means ditching the hubby on our errand day.
Time to get back to my house.
My poor, poor house...

Addison's Room is in a state of chaos.
Upon entering the realm of double digits Addi has decided that the pink and purple horses and grassy field adorning her walls are no longer "her style."
This was ever so boldly made clear when Addison took a pencil and crossed them out on her wall! I gave a lecture on creativity- VS- vandalism.
Addi responded with several  knowing "ok", "yeah", "got it" head nods. This means that it went in one ear and out the other.
When I showed Jim the latest art on the wall his comment was,"What do you expect? You've taught her to draw on the walls since she was a baby."
POINT MADE...
NOTED...
...I laughed.
...Again, the hubby is right!
Addi's point..."She's not a baby anymore."
The horses have to graze elsewhere.

Mommy has fond memories of painting those horses with her.

Fa and her buddy Pinky will be missed.
The mural is now half sanded away.
--Addi says that "the horses look so much better now."
--Gee, thanks kid! (I said that one out loud.)
The furniture is all over the place, mainly pushed into the center of the room.
Everything decorative is currently crammed into her closet, in plastic bags or resting on our bar.
--The bar is now loaded with piggy banks, crystal castles, breakable knick knacks and porcelain dolls.
It's a pretty mess.
MY GOAL:
Get a fresh coat of paint on the walls with in 2 days.

I have blisters on the strangest places of my fingers from sanding all afternoon. There's more sanding to come...This isn't going to be easy.

---In Retrospect---
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let an energetic, eager, Addi finger paint the grass of her mural at age two.
---HOLY TEXTURE!! (in teany, tiny strokes)

I guess the back to school manicure is out of the question.
My fingernails have whittled down to mere stubs of their former selves.

---On a Positive Note---

Addison has the most spectacular, designer furniture and accessories that she created on her own.
My kid is pretty amazing.
We're so much alike.
Listen...
That's me tooting my own horn.
I laid out a tarp in the backyard.
Addi armed herself with 9 bottles of spray paint. (all hand picked at Lowes)

She and her friend Danielle attacked her dresser.
Next day...
Addi and Danielle, confident with their spraying skills, asked Gracie if she wanted to paint too.
Gracie was thrilled.
The three of them revamped her storage boxes.

Next on the list of pre-teen room decor will be a large canvass that I plan to give Addi. It'll be the finishing touch.
Jim says that he feels like he's entered a rough neighborhood in the ghetto.
Addi and Danielle say:
 "It's the coolest, most amazing stuff they've ever done!"
"The room is full of Addi's real personality."
"It's all unique now like her."
---Please note...Addi's best bud Danielle is a very sweet kid. I'm so glad that she's my daughter's "best-friend-sister."
---You know, this also means that she's my adopted fourth daughter! They are joined at the hip.
---I could have been stuck with an annoying child. FWWWEEW!!

Graffiti is "IN."

Next we have the Playroom.
There's this great shelving unit that has been hanging around in it's box.
Julia and I moved it into the playroom.
Now it hangs there...in the box.
...in the middle of the playroom.
...not much space to play right now.
MY GOAL:
Stay up super late tomorrow night and get it put together.
This will take COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE...maybe even a five hour energy drink. (I think that they're gross and scary...But I'm on a mission.)

Then I have Our Room.
I always have our room to do!
It's better to just close the door.
Onto The Kitchen.
I have to admit, it looks pretty good!
Repairing a few rowdy wallpaper patches is on my "must do" list.
There is no Honey Do list right now.
I have off of work while my husband suffers daily.
It's all me...with some kiddo help, hopefully.
I will manage to work it all in around the beach of course!!

My lovely, German buddies could be painting during their NY vacation!
But I know that they love me and will help.
...Right girls?

Night Rituals, Ageless Men and The Olympics!

Chloe fell asleep with Lightning on the kitchen floor. This was a favorite "hot spot" 2 yrs. ago.

Although well rested...
I find myself drained.
There is a menagerie of mushed up, swirling, twirling, somersaulting thoughts climbing through my weary mind.
-My guy and I had our bed all to ourselves last night.
I had wonderful, uninterrupted dreams...
...My hair turned silvery white (too much bleach)
...I grew three very large chins (could this be because I have 3 growing children?)
...My arms sagged abnormally low to my belly button, as I flapped them at my sides (I think they call these wings)
... I thought of my husband and that we were growing old together, IT WAS FAST AND CRUDE but we were old together.
THEN>
I LOOKED UP AT HIM>
He hadn't aged a day!
"Wait a minute...What's going on?!...This isn't right. What's happening here?... THIS ISN'T FAIR." 
His charming attempts to soothe his chair ridden wife were failures.
I didn't want to look at his youthful face let alone hear his unmarred voice.
I turned inward, away from him.

Then the alarm went off.

-Who can help me with this one? 
It's not a fear of getting older. I'm freaky. I enjoy the whole getting older thing. Maybe when I'm eighty I won't. Right now I am appreciative of all that I have and often romanticize what awaits. When I tell my husband that "I cherish the thought of rocking with him, on a porch, some very wrinkly day down the road."- I truly mean it. 
AH HA!!!
I've analyzed myself.
That's it.
The dream has been cracked!
This is why I love to write!!
It scared the crap out of me because he stayed frozen in youth while I moved on alone.
That's it...the alone thing.
Changing...alone. 
My husband being there but not experiencing all of life with me.

OKAY...SO THE DREAM WAS A NIGHTMARE.
But at least I saw it through to the end.
This, hasn't helped in the slightest.
Why couldn't I have had a pleasant night's sleep?!
Someone "up there" certainly is a prankster.
I can hear it now...
Sandman 1:"How are we gonna mess with this Mom tonight?!"
Sandman 2:"That's easy. Let her body rest while we play games inside her head."
Sandman 1:"Beautiful."

Grace and Chloe...Ummm...Being themselves!

-On average there are between 3 and 5 people in our bed.

POPULAR SLEEP STYLES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

One on each side of me, while one rests uncomfortably, on top of me. I have the honor of sweating beneath a child, her beloved "nigh night" and our comforter. This combination screams TWO things: 
1) Mommy is trapped.
2)Mommy is very sweaty.

OR

It goes kid, adult, kid, adult, kid.
Was that five?
1,2,3,4,5.
Yup...all there.

Chloe tired after dress up.

Here's another popular bed arrangement:
Mom.
Kid.
Kid.
Dad.
...and Kid 3 rests in fetal position at the foot of bed like a dog.
The dog is sleeping on our slippers and smelly shoes next to the bed.
-We've tried to put sleeping bags next to him for the girls. We did our best to convince them that it was way cooler to sleep on the floor next to us than be squished with us.
Our best has never been enough. If it were this next maneuver wouldn't be so popular with the 10 and under crowd.
For those wild and crazy nights. You know, the ones that have allotted minimal REM's, we have the Spinner with a kick.

This isn't a new shot to try while out for Ladies Night.

Grace and Addi love photo-booth sessions on the imac.

Nor is it a Judo move.
Moms?...Dads?...
Come on.
This one's popular with restless sleepers and lucid dreamers alike.
Mom and Dad rest comfortably until someone gets kicked in the head.
Damn it!
...then the thigh.
Ouch!
Tiny is on the move.
There she spins!
Watch out!
Incoming!
A leg crashes down on your significant other.
They yelp.
The kiddo groans.
She rolls, then is miraculously rotating 45 degrees south west.
Another blow has landed.
This time it's a swift kick to the rib cage.
A parent gets grumpy.
Kid is tossed overboard.
Did they land with the dog?
Did they wander back to their own bed?
Did I hear whimpering?
Wait...Did one of the kids say that we are mean?
No one cares. Mom and Dad have been beaten silly and are exhausted.
We'll do a head count in the morning.

The girls... being "the girls." 

Be on the lookout for Bed Maneuvers and  Synchronized Sleep Rituals during the next Olympics.
Don't miss the newest trend in night time water sports. The Sprinkler. This sport has been considered taboo for centuries. We are going public! 
Timing must be precise and consistent for a minimum of 3 consecutive nights. The bed sheets must be saturated with a liquid measure of 5ml. or more to count for placement.
Look for my family!
We're sure to bring in a gold medal for the USA.
(Sprinkler days are over, knock on wood... but we have a chance in the other categories.)

Note to Julia:
 Are you sure that you're going to miss all of this? Just kidding. We love you.

Summer Loveliness

I loooooove Summer?
Have I mentioned this before?
You know...
My girlies and I are beach bums.
The smell of sunblock is welcome in my house.
I spend the Winter months pining for the warmth of the sun and the bloom of flowers.
I savor every moment in my garden...the dirty nails, rough knees, hardening callouses all resulting in LOVELINESS.
Pops of color and natural, mix and match textures run rampant in my little patches of art-space...
...I mean garden!
Well...La dee da.
They really are one in the same. Art mimics life. Life is art.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything were this simple?

The local waters and oceans of the South Shore have been blissful.
It amazes me that the entire family can spend three hours wave jumping with out realizing that time has passed so quickly.
Maybe this is a sign that we should stop wishing for a Hawaiian vacation and just move there!

Just imagine...
Walking out of the classroom or office, popping on a bathing suit or better yet already having it on under your clothes...
...hopping into the car.
...grabbing the kids.
...driving a few minutes to a local shore.
...throw the boards into the water and GO!
...temperature of 80.
EVERY DAY!!!!
ALL YEAR ROUND!!!


I'd happily settle for it!
Sounds rough doesn't it?!

The above mentioned niceties are many of the reasons why I love Long Island.
I can travel North or South and plant myself in the sand, on a beautiful shore.
My girls are fish.
They are self taught divers, flippers, tumblers and back flippers.
It comes as second nature.
It makes me so happy to watch them play in the surf, build a sand creature or boogie board with friends and family.

These are my childhood beaches.
My mother and her friends splashed in these same waters with me as a little girl.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are with my Mom at the beach.
...floating around on the huge green and white inflatable chair for hours.
...swim lessons (including never ending laps)
...wearing my Mom's very fashionable, floppy hats and visors.
...collecting shells, drift wood and beach glass.
--Taking pleasure, knowing that my Mom would surely turn them into something decorative in the future.

As a mother I am compelled to pass this joy on.
A tradition of warm, fuzzy beach memories to be cherished by a new generation of young women.
--My little ladies.

Is it silly of me to sit here at midnight by the light of my daughter's fish tank and get weepy?

I am.
I feel a little silly but there's another tear.
We parents are so blessed to be able to share such a great wealth of gifts with our children...
Here I go again. We are so lucky. So very lucky.

The next time I butt heads with one of my stubborn little ladies (-which has been happening often lately. I attribute this to the fact that we are alike. ) I will make a point to think of this moment and
 "let it slide."
Maybe even take another ride to the shore.
It's so easy to get caught up in "all that is beach."

The Hunger Games and "Crashing"

I've been trying to regain the habit of getting up early in the morning. I desperately need to continue my "teacher schedule" rather than become a creature of the night. I'm fighting this urge with every cell of my body.
In reality I am a night owl.

The Mission: Go to Bed by 11:30 with the hubby.
Status: Failure


Here's how it went down...


Addi unexpectedly stayed up late. Since she's hit the double digits she insists on doing more "grown up" things. I think that this is really cool. I'm impressed by her efforts to make her bed, clean her room unprompted (yes, you read correctly...no nagging), allow me uninterrupted sleep into the late morning hours ( 9:00 am...This is amazing!) and be kinder to her younger sisters (this too, is awesome!). She wants a degree of separation between herself and her younger siblings.
I get it.
I only wish that there were more hours in the evening so that Jim and I could afford some alone time.
We three curled up on the couch and watched some late night tv while sucking on ice pops.
There's nothing sweeter than a late night sugar free pop! ...or three!!
We assumed that Addi would pass out like so many nights before.
Her determination kept her up.
--Late nights with Mom and Dad can be checked off of the Addison Bucket List.
Jim turned in and I was left with my peppy ten year old.
I was drained... ready to hit the pillows.
Why wasn't she?

I had done my Mama best to exhaust them today.
I suppose three out of four isn't such a bad tally.
Yes, that was a four count for tonight.
-Best buddy Stephie slept over.
She and Gracie happily climbed the ladder to the top bunk, snuggled up with one another, requested  bedtime glasses of water and for the shining, pink star light to be illuminated.
One... two... three...
Done.
I gave the pendant light a gentle tap and its patterns graced the ceiling in delicate swirls.
I heard Oooos and ahhhhs from above as I climbed up and gave bedtime smooches.
Chloe was passed out on the living room floor. I cradled her, carrying her off to bed.
--Fold back the blanket,
--roll her in gently,
--tuck and position the favorite nigh-night under her hand.
That was a cinch!
Addison can be tricky.
She is the queen of psyching herself out and scaring the crap out of her self while deep in thought.
Her favorite way to fall asleep is curled up with Jim and I.
Second fave would be beside me in her bed while we read together.
Tonight was one of those nights.
...I can't sleep Mom.
...I don't want to read alone.
...Can you please read and snuggle with me tonight?

Believe me I had every intention of going to sleep early...
Instead I stayed up reading until 2 am.
I don't know when Addi drifted to sleep, book sprawled across her chest.
I was submerged in the second book of The Hunger Games. I read book one, sporatically over three days and was now at the half way point of Catching Fire, after one day.
I do this sometimes.
Dive in and don't come up for air until it is imperative.
This is my relationship with art, with work, my family, sleep...
-You name it.
Intense?
Sometimes.
No big deal.
I like it this way.
--Keeps things from getting dull.

So here I am...
...five hours of sleep later.

I'm downing my second cup of coffee. This will come in handy today.
I am rallying the troops for a breakfast excursion.
I bombed the first mission but succeeded when it came to getting my butt out of bed.
I'm that much closer to total mission completion!

Today's journey will include a picnic breakfast somewhere...
I'm leaving that up to the girls.
My plan is to stay out until at least 7 pm.
...So of course an afternoon at the beach will be "a must."

I want my girlies crashed out early tonight!
I'll be making more coffee later to keep myself from crashing before Jim gets home.

**All photos in today's blog were captured by me.**

11 AM, FRIDAY...

11 am Friday:


Addison: Look Daddy, look... It's Cloud Kingdom! 


SCRATCH, SCRATCH...
HUH? (as he looks out of the airplane window)


TAP...TAP...TAP.


Jim: What?


Addison: (pointing out of the window with a lean) See the clouds??


Jim: (with a far lean inward toward Addi) Uh huh.


Addison: It's called Cloud Kingdom. It's like James and the Giant Peach. (she looks toward Jim than at me seated across the aisle)


I thoroughly enjoy a good read and am overjoyed to hear this endearing remark. My heart was a ball of mush until reality kicked in...literally.


Addison: Do you know... STOP KICKING MY SEAT!!  Do you know that book? STOP KICKING MY SEAT!


Me: Yes. 


Jim: (laughs and listens)


Addison: It's just like this place in James and the...  
STOP KICKING MY SEAT!! (she continues)
Did you know that my friends and I read that book?


Me: Yes, in school right?


Addison: Yeah...There were these people and creatures with big eyes and...
STOP> KICKING> MY SEAT!!


I turn and look through the crack between the seats and spy Miss Grace. I shoot her a "Mama look" and return to Addi's interrupted story.


Grace: I'm not kicking any seats. (very innocently)


Me: Okay.


Addison: It's just like... It's like the part... OH NO! Now I forgot thanks to my stupid sister. 


I ignore the "stupid" name calling. The kid has been annoyed enough.


I hear girlie giggles from behind us. The flight continues. The kicking has stopped and Cloud Mountain has now been spotted outside Chloe's window. 


Chloe: Wow! look at that!


Grace: Whoa! They are sooo close! 


Addison: It's a cloud mountain now! 
STOP KICKING MY SEAT!! Gracie!! StOPP!!


Dad steps in from his row.


Jim: Hey. Do you want me to separate you two? (pointing at grace and Chloe)


I laugh. --Like we have that ability on a plane?!
Jim swings back around and looks my way, slyly covering his smile.


Chloe: I want you to know, I didn't kick any seats.


Grace and Chloe quiet down. Addi gives a gruff "HMMMPFF."


The flight attendant chimes in. "Due to mild turbulance the Captain has asked that you please return your seats to an upright position...etcetera...etcetera...


...as my seat is kicked.


Florida here we come. This is bound to be interesting!