May
24
Preschool Graduation, Now and Then
by Leslie
As the students filed into the sanctuary for their preschool graduation, the mom sitting in front of me turned around and nodded toward Jackson sleeping in his infant carrier, “I remember when Lucy was the one in the car seat.” Her older daughter had been in Julia’s preschool class and her youngest was standing on stage with Lucy.
“Those four years went fast.”
Now, half my kids are through preschool.
Lucy, the 2013 graduate.
Julia, 2009.
Yes, that’s the same dress, same shoes. It won’t be long until Phoebe will be stepping into them.
I wrote about Julia’s last day of preschool four years ago. I re-read it this morning and realized I could have written it for Lucy today. I hope you’ll read it, too.
May
23
Summer vacation is nearly here! Today is Lucy’s last day of preschool and tomorrow is Julia’s last day of third grade. And damn, you guys, I’m excited to have them home all day for a while. I’m looking forward to slowing down and doing a little more of want we want to and less of what we have to.
Yesterday at breakfast, I asked the girls what they wanted to do this summer and we made a list. Last night, I turned that list into this.
I got the idea to display it like that from The Buente Family’s Summer To-Do List. I especially love the check boxes to show our progress. It’s the perfect antidote to “I’m bored” or “We never do anything.” And I’m hoping it’ll keep me from letting the summer slip by, so when August arrives I’m not panicking and trying to jam everything into the last few weeks, turning our Want To activities into Have To activities and our relaxing summer into a hectic and torturous quest for fun that leaves us exhausted for the return to school.
But I don’t want to think about the return to school right now. We’re ready for the summer!
May
22
The Sign-Up Sheet
by Leslie
This has been hanging in the living room for a few weeks now.
It says:
Regester today!
Join the most awsomist club envented. Join Julia Grimmett to fun, feasts, fests, and gifts, and a whole lot more!
Your child will be particeapating in something with violence, not too much – violence, challenges, worthiness and coolness. This is probably for someone that is so awsome, wich is everybody in this family, that you can see it even if they don’t say anything. This club is ruled by Julia and if you choose to particapate, you must see her imedietly. Grownups, if you participate, will be in a different group.
This is just stuff you really needed to know.
Sensirly,
Julia G.
I cannot bring myself to take it down. I love it too much.
May
21
The D Word
by Leslie
I left the keys in the ignition of Dave’s car in the start position yesterday, apparently. I don’t remember doing this, but it was an easy way to add some adventure to our morning today. We got to search for his keys AND find a dead battery! Like a treasure hunt, but without the fun.
That’s not what I even really wanted to tell you, though. It’s what I had to tell you, because when I do stupid things, it makes me feel better to laugh about them and Dave’s not laughing, yet. He’s jump starting the car from the lawn tractor.
Anyway, this is what I wanted to tell you.
Thanks to a generous gift and gentle encouragement from a beautiful friend, I’m giving cloth diapering a try.
Doesn’t Jackson look dapper in his diaper?
My mom used cloth diapers when I was a baby, and it wasn’t until after Lucy came that I really understood that it was something people still did. I thought it was an “olden days” sort of thing, like making all your own bread. Sure, it’s fun to make your own bread, but it’s not convenient to do every day. It may not even save you money. But so far, cloth diapering seems sort of simple. I keep wondering if there’s some key element I’m missing. I’ve seen so many articles and videos about it and was even invited to a cloth diaper party once to “try and figure it all out!” Of course, I didn’t really read those articles or watch the videos and I didn’t go to that party, but the knowledge of their existence was enough to place a shroud of mystery over the whole thing. Plus, I don’t know many people who do it, but some that don’t have suggested that it’s complicated and time-consuming.
My experience so far is that it’s less work than when Lucy started wearing underwear, but still had a lot of accidents.
I’m going to try it a while before I decide to invest in the next size diaper.
I’d love to hear about your diapering experiences. Do you use disposables or cloth or a combination of the two? What brands do you use? And what about baby wipes? Can you believe it took me until child number four to ask these questions?
May
19
Three Things That Happened Today
by Leslie
1. Julia and Lucy had a piano recital.
They were just as proud of the number of cookies they ate at the post-recital reception as they were of their performances.
2. I pulled the world’s largest splinter out of the heel of Lucy’s foot.
Look at that thing! And it was straight up in there. We both screamed when it came out.
3. Bee swallowed a penny. Again.
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