Solid

The third day of school, there was an elementary open house. We got to meet the teachers, see the classrooms, etc. Eliza is officially in the Middle school, her open house is at the end of this week. Mairyn & Grant both have 'new to the school' teachers. They feel special. In Mairyn's classroom, there were a couple of getting to know you worksheets that the kids had filled out. This was Mairyn's worksheet.

I think it's safe to say that she feels comfortable in the new class.

"Mairyn is 9!" or

"How I'm just one year from having two children in double digits." Bring on the paper bags & lamaze breathing, when did this happen?

How did my little Mairyn-berry turn into a big berry?



I made Mairyn a card for her birthday. She really likes it and may or may not have been carrying it around for the last 2 days.



Mairyn has a thing for pie. Don't ask me why. Or make me rhyme anymore.

Oh great, Mairyn is 8!

Definition of : Mairyn
Comes from: Irish-Gaelic
Meaning: Wished for child

My sweet Mairyn-berry. My precocious progeny. Ever curious and honest child, you are my beloved angel baby and always will be!

From the backseat . . .

When we drive to school, there is a lot of scenery. The kids have spotted a heron's nest on top of the bridge trestles and proclaim, "NEST!" every time we pass it. Just Wednesday, when Jacqui & I were driving back from Idaho Falls, I had put on a Dora DVD for her since no older kids were in the car to protest! ;) And suddenly, roused out of her hypnotic state, she shouts, "NEST!" then resumes Dora watching.

Well, on the route to school, there are lots of farms. Hey, this is Idaho. Corn fields, plowed wheat, horses and cows. A few days ago, the kids asked why that farm had so many cows. I told them that they probably raised the cattle.

"What do the do with them?" they asked.

I asked them what they though the farmers did and they rattled off: selling the milk and maybe selling the cows to make into meat and hamburgers. Ok, that's probably it.

So this morning, we go over the bridge, "NEST!" and past all the farms and finally past the cows.

Mairyn pipes up, "Hey Mommy, that cow is standing up on another cow!"

"Really?"

"Yes, it's two hooves are on the back of the other cow who is standing on all four hooves and it's jumping! I didn't know cows could jump!"

"Really?"

I couldn't talk. I was just busting up inside, trying to contain it. Mairyn was being just so honest and straightforward, like she always is. But sometimes, she can tell when she's being impertinent. Not this time. She quieted down and just kept wondering to herself, "What were they doing?" Oh honey, welcome to country life!!

First Day of School

All I can say is, "IT'S ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME!!!" I have had kids home 24/7 since their last day of school on April 9th. Yes, I know the date. We left Cairo on the 12th.

The kids began at the Jefferson Montessori school at 8:30 am sharp. We were there at 8:25 am. Spencer called at about 7am to say hi to them on the first day of school and wish them luck. I have to say, I had my alarm set for 7am; my mobile rings at 6:55am.

me: "uggghhh hullo?"
Spencer (nice & perky): "Hi hon! How's it going? I wanted to talk to the kids before they left for school."

None of the kids were up yet, but they needed to be anyway. He talked, I woke up, eating and dressing ensued. Then the first day of school pictures. Eliza & Mairyn were pretty compliant. Grant, on the other hand, was VERY excited, to say the least. We got at least one good one.

I dropped them off and Jacqueline wanted to know where her class was! She was very irked until we got back in the car, I offered to turn on Dora and all was right in the universe. Since I don't have a laundry room, or washer & dryer, for that matter, I went down to the local Magic Suds. I commandeered 6 washers for the task. Jacqueline was very helpful and it all seemed to be falling back into place. Helping do the laundry was one of Jacqueline's favorite tasks. But all summer, we were either at a hotel or just throwing in a quick load when we could mooch some time at someone's house we were visiting. It was a very frustrating summer. Anyway, all went well. The kids love their teachers and I love having a bit of a life back.

Meetings

Today was a day of meetings. We were at the school by 9:30 am to meet with the kid's teachers. Turns out, there is another Mairyn in the class. Except she spells it 'Marin'. Go figure! We try to choose unique (but not too wild) names; and this is one of those reasons why. So I asked the teacher if the other little girl could go by her last name's initial. Because, really, these kids are in elementary, Mairyn P. Ha-ha! Mairyn you p! But guess what? That little girl's last name in Peterson. Greeaaat. The teacher suggested they just go by their last names; but c'mon, Mairyn Penrod just is too much on the playground. I think we've settled on going by Mairyn K. Her middle name is Kathleen; Mairyn Kathleen is quite a mouthful all at once, but I sometimes playfully call her Mairyn K. So, that's pretty much settled.

We rushed home to get the upstairs in order for our next meeting. My Visiting Teachers were paying their first visit. Very nice ladies and their combined total of kids came with; 4 1/2 to be exact. The other gal is very pregnant. All under the age of 5. Fortunately, I don't have anything out yet that can be broken or messed up. And if I did, Grant already broke it.

Later in the afternoon, my Hometeachers came. But, I am unique. The bishop thought that I might feel uncomfortable with two men visiting every month or when I needed help, so he assigned me this nice married couple. Hey, I actually have a chance at getting cookies from my VTs & HTs! At each visit, each companionship (of course) asked if there was anything they could do, just call. I told them I'm really in a holding pattern right now. Not much more can be done upstairs until the downstairs is done. It's like one of those 9 square puzzles that you get from a cheap arcade game. You have to rearrange the squares to make the complete picture, with only one extra space. And that's how my house is right now. The computer is displaced to the kitchen because the girls are sleeping in what will become my office, towels are still in boxes because they are being displaced by the girl's clothing which is in the hall closet which will become the linen closet, and so on and so forth.

The last meeting we had today was an old friend to me, but a new experience for the kids. Artichokes. Mairyn picked one up by the stem and asked if we could buy one. Ooo-kay, let's try it. And it was a hit. We actually had a great dinner, but it's not one that can be a regular. Menu: Fresh corn on the cob, watermelon, ripe peaches, & artichoke. And it was fast. I'm going to make it as often as I can before the wonderful summer produce disappears.

Whackity-whack

Eliza has been bugging me all summer to get her hair chopped off. I kept waffling about the whole thing, she has gorgeous hair. Thicker and more luscious than I could ever dream of having. She had a thicker ponytail at three years old than I have ever. Ever! So I told her that she had to grow it just a bit longer so that it would qualify for the Locks of Love donation program. She had one half inch to go. 3/4ths to an inch to be safe. Then I heard about the Pantene donation requirements. They only require 8 inches. Ah-ha! So I arranged with my hairdresser friend to have it cut. It was sad to see it go. But this is the second time Eliza has donated to a hair program. She did it two years ago as well. As did Mairyn. She lost a whopping 12 inches the last time we did it. We've been keeping Mairyn's hair a bit shorter in the interim, so she was far from qualifying. But she wanted to get a haircut, too. Who am I to stand in the way of an easier hairstyle? Really, it will be easier for the girls to maintain their own hair; washing, drying, brushing, etc. And they said they felt a lot cooler!!

Happy Birthday, Mairyn!

Mairyn turned 7 today! She said it was the best birthday of her life. After dinner, I pulled out a gift from Grandma and she said,

"Oh, it's still my birthday? I thought it was already another day!"

Mairyn's plan for the b-day went as follows: go swimming, go to the Build-a-Bear Workshop, play at the playground and go out for dinner and get sung Happy Birthday by the waiters.

Well, we followed it pretty well. The kids got up and went swimming this morning. Then we got dressed and found a Build-a-Bear Store. She has had her stuffed animal picked out since she spotted it in April. She got a pink Unicorn with a little "unicorn sound" in it. I really don't know how to describe it. Anyway, we were running a bit late (I had a little college get together that day) and so we decided to eat at the mall. The birthday girl picked and we had Burger King. Then we dashed to the Lake Fairfax park for a great afternoon of (me) catching up with old friends while Mairyn & co. played on the playground, blew bubbles, threw the frisbee and tossed the baseball around. After everyone being thoroughly worn out, we headed back to the hotel for a few hours then went to dinner with another great friend, Pam. We knew her from when we used to live here in VA. Mairyn picked Red Robin (burgers again?) for her restaurant and then proceeded to order the spaghetti. Ooo-kay, it's your birthday. She loved it and then the waiter all came and sang their own version of Happy Birthday. It was actually not that annoying. I find most restaurant versions of Happy Birthday irritating. This one they yelled a big announcement that, "Someone has a special day today! It's Mairyn's birthday!" Then they clapped and did this great chant. (And the most of the tables around us joined in. I was surprised.) Mairyn had her dream birthday. It was loud, sparkly, and extravagent (in her words.) Happy 7th Birthday, my Mairyn-berry!



p.s.
it wore Grant out, so the day must have been a success!

Missing: Mairyn's front tooth

Mairyn is a tooth losing machine. She lost her first tooth (her bottom left) back in March. Then last Thursday night, she comes to me and says,

"Mommy, I think this tooth is a little loose."

Pointing to the right bottom tooth, she grabs my hand with the other and shows me. It's barely hanging on. Yeah, I think it's loose Mairyn. That one practically falls out in my hand and we put it out in a cup for the Tooth Fairy. **

Then Saturday afternoon, Mairyn says again that she thinks another tooth is loose. The top tooth is quite wiggly. So we give it a couple wiggles and out comes the other one. She is now left with three holes in her mouth and a pronounced lisp. It's very cute! We kept asking her to say, "Sister Susie sitting on a thistle." She didn't get that it sounded different. Thoe thoe adorable! She has discovered that she can clench her teeth AND drink through a straw in her spaces!

**Our Method for the Tooth Fairy**
We put our teeth in a cup of water. It came from my dad. I'm still not completely sure why, but I like it. You ALWAYS have change to plunk in the glass.

Tickled Pink!

For the last 2 summers, I've heard the same plea.

"Mommy, can I get my ears pierced? Pleeeeeeaase?"

I said that was okay and I take Eliza to Clair's Boutique in the mall. And every time, we would walk away from the mall un-pierced. Until today. Eliza got some earrings for her 8th birthday and so has been anxious to wear them. (btw, she's almost 9 1/2. this is how long it's taken.) I was in no way pressuring her to get them done. I answered truthfully when asked whether or not it was going to hurt. A quick pinch, but then it will be all done. Eliza has been working up her courage since we got back and decided that today was the day. Although it almost wasn't. We got there and I could see her excitement deflating fast. We walked in, hemmed and hawed and then let her think, left the store, walked around and then Mairyn pipes up,

"I'm ready. Let's go get my ears pierced."

Oh, okay. That was unexpected. We kind of had an unspoken 8 year old line you had to cross before getting your ears pierced, but Eliza and Mairyn have done a lot of things at the same time. And Mairyn usually takes the plunge first and then Eliza. Alright, we acquiesced to her request. So Mairyn hopped up on the chair, picked out her studs and did it. Not even a tear shed. Then it was Eliza's turn. She wanted to hold my hand and then, once it was over, was quite surprised by herself and said,

"Oh, that didn't even hurt. Just a pinch."

And all day the two of them have been beside themselves with amazement and giddy excitement that they have pierced ears. Many a conversation has been had about what kinds of earrings will be purchased once their studs come out and again, how painless it really was.

A conversation at the mall . .

Me: Thanks for the maps and information. They'll come in handy.
Information desk lady: You're very welcome. Oh, your children are so beautiful.
Me: Why, thank you very much.
Info desk lady: And how is it that none of them got your gorgeous red hair?
Mairyn: Because she dyes it!!

Thank you, Mairyn, no, really; Thank. You.


** Although the lady did say that it looked very natural and never would have guessed that I color it. That's the look I was going for! ;) Then again, what else would she say when your child outs you to a perfect stranger?

A springy picture I took this last week. I want to know what kind of tree this is and does it do well in Idaho?

A confession . . .

I am in love. I never fell out of it, I'm just deep in it right now. The saying goes that mothers are biased, that may be true. I'm not trying to brag about my kids, I just want to proclaim a few facts! I am so in love with being a Mom right now. I could just eat them. (Yes, all mothers are cannibals.) Mairyn is such a riot. The other day she said,

"Mommy, if we're driving you crazy, what kind of car do you have? Sophie D.'s mom has a Paseo. It says so on the side."

Grant is starting to read. Eliza is just so . . . Eliza, articulate and patient. And Jacqueline is pulling out new vocabulary left and right. She'll insert new words like "now" at the beginning of a sentence like, "Now the water is cold!" When did my pipsqueak learn that? This is quite a comfort to me at this time. I am up to my eyeballs in moving minutia and packing peripherals (hello, alliterate much?). We are down to t-minus 13 days and I am pretty much annoyed and harried every moment. So when my children choose to shine and bring me a little bit of happiness, it gives me the perspective I need to continue on. And to remind me why I do it all.

Overheard

I walked in on the kids watching T.V. this afternoon.

me: "What are you watching?"
Eliza: "Animal Miracles!"
me: "Why?"
Eliza: "Because, it's these animals that do these awesome things! Like this dog hunted down a man that wanted to kill a woman."
me: "What? I think it's time to turn this off."
Eliza: "But these dogs are so awesome!"
Mairyn: "But getting killed is not awesome."

True 'dat, Mairyn. Getting killed is not awesome.

Playtime

The girls plowed right back into school with class plays only one week apart. Each class in the school does one ensemble play a year. Eliza & Mairyn had their's back to back. The plays usually reflect a main focus of study. For Eliza's class, the play centered on the Roman myth Remus & Romulus. They have been studying ancient Rome & Greece. In March, they are doing their residential trip to stay in Alexandria for 3 days. Eliza's part of the play was the adult Remus. She was great! (of course, what else would I say, I'm her mother.) The audience actually reacted and responded when her character was killed. I'm saying that b/c there were other deaths & they weren't that sympathetic.

Mairyn's class had been studying clothing and textiles through the ages. So their play was a spoof on the UK What not to Wear. Mairyn was Susanna. A main part, finally. I know that every mother believes that their child should be up in the middle of the stage in the spotlight. But really, my kids have been relegated to Villager #4 and Chorus person for the whole of their school experience. I think the stinger is, though, that my children know everyone's lines, something they inherited from me. I will post about that next. This one is for the girls! So Mairyn does a smashing job, really brillant! (come ON, how can I send my kids to a British school and NOT be allowed to used expressions like that!) They even had a dance number where they were partnered with a boy! They were both so cute!