Mama’s crackin’ the whip!

I told the kids we could go to the pool late this afternoon IF they help clean up the house. They sprang into action! I love having little kids who still LIKE to clean. Kayley would be like, “That’s all right, I don’t need to go to the pool today.” Haha!

Bring on Summer.

I love year round school. Really, I do. I love that my kids don’t get sick of being at home for three months at a stretch in the summertime, and I love having breaks during months where most kids are still at school. It makes for fun outings, when we can go somewhere like the zoo and not trip over a thousand other kids, like the craziness that occurs during spring break or the first couple weeks of summer. But sometimes, the school year really seems to drag on! My kids finally had their kindergarten graduation last Thursday, after what felt like the longest school year in history!

My kids started kindergarten last July, the week after Independence Day (aka the 4th of July!) and finished up on June 17th. Of course, they had lots of “track off” breaks throughout the year, but still – that’s a whole YEAR in school! I really think they went longer than necessary, because we started in another school, on a different track. The track they are on now didn’t begin kindergarten until the end of July, so I think they went for several weeks longer than their classmates. And now that they’re out “for summer,” I keep feeling like we have the whole summer stretching out ahead of us, but that isn’t the case at all. They start 1st grade at the end of July! The break is only five weeks. So, yeah. We’d better get it in gear and head to the pool at once!

I’m sure I’ll be ready for them to go back. Having a pair of 5-year-olds and a pair of 4-year-olds at home is a lot of work. And I am REALLY missing Kayley right now – she went to camp on Saturday for a month, and I spent pretty much the entire weekend trying to keep Pablo out of Paul’s way, while he used power tools. Pablo wants nothing more than to be right beside Paul whenever he’s at home, but right now, Paul is building ….(drumroll, please…) a massive DJ booth that matches the other stuff in our beautifully finished basement. That’s the curse of buying a house with a finished basement full of custom cabinetry. You can’t just throw some shelves up on the wall from Target! It has to blend in, which means Paul is spending lots of quality time in the garage, pretending to be a carpenter. And he can’t really watch Pablo while he’s using a table saw, y’know? Makes it hard for me to get anything done. Glad daddy’s back at work today!

Well. It’s 9:40 already. I guess I’d better get these kids organized if we’re going to do anything fun at all today. Summer’s waiting!

Purplicious.

Some of you know that Kayley’s been battling alopecia, and has been having a super rough time of things. A friend of mine from high school, Tony, works at an upscale salon in downtown Denver and agreed to work a little hair magic with Kayley to try to make things right. And he did such an outstanding job! I’m going to give him an amazing review on Yelp, too, but for now, here’s a plug. Need a fantastic stylist, who has decades of experience, and is a true artist with haircolor? Go see Anthony at Henry’s Salon. You won’t be disappointed. Tell him Laura and Kayley sent you!

It’s been 100% Kayley Perma-grin around here since last night. I’m sure today at school, all her little friends are oohing and ahhing over her awesomely purple hair. And, bonus, I’ve just been named Coolest Mom Ever. Yay! Seeing Kayley with a smile on her face again is the best part.

Introspection on this rainy day!

 

I’m feeling splendid, even though the rain is BEATING DOWN on my house right now, preventing me from venturing out to Costco. (Maybe I should be thanking the rain! Costco is not that much fun. But neither is being out of lunchbox snacks and salad greens.) I’m feeling pretty marvelous because it seems like a lot of things in my little world are coming together. I think this calls for a bulleted list!

• I may have found a church home for us where they’ll welcome Pablo with open arms. We tried a place on Sunday and the kids loved it. Pablo had one tiny issue, but the teacher there seemed positive that he could succeed and really enjoy being there with some precautions put into place. I’m optimistic that things may actually work out where this is concerned. I always crave more order and structure for my children, particularly for Pablo, and I think Sunday school would benefit all of them tremendously. Also, I think the whole, “We are all God’s children, and everyone is special and wonderful” atmosphere of, y’know, CHURCH, will be a good thing. Pablo’s had to deal with so much unkindness from people due to his disability, which SUCKS ASS. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this might be a really good thing.
• I’ve gotten back in touch with a friend of mine on Facebook who was a huge, major part of my life for many years. We “survived” small town life together, moved up to Denver together, and leaned on each other for years before going off and living our lives. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him for TEN YEARS until last week, and now we’ve been spending lots of time catching up. It makes me sad that we were absent from each other’s lives for so long, but I’m thrilled to be catching up now, and each time we have a little chat on Facebook, it brightens my whole day. There’s absolutely nothing like old friends, who have seen you at your best and worst, and who  knew you when you were going through puberty! Love. It.
• My husband and I are moving forward with major improvements to our house! It’s gorgeous as it is, but we’re really trying to make it our own. On the horizon: building a custom bed for the kids, additional built-in storage in the basement for our plethora of toys and games, and…::drumroll:: extending our DECK and putting a roof on it so we can spend more time enjoying our amazing backyard! I’m so grateful to have married that crazy enginerd, who meticulously designs things, agonizing over every minute detail that no one else would even notice. It’s going to be cool.
• Pablo is doing fantastic! We started a fish oil regimen a few weeks ago, and I really think it’s benefiting him. He’s all but stopped hitting himself, and the vocal tics have dropped off completely. We’ve had a few minor issues, but we’re starting to realize (duh) that Pablo is growing and maturing, and wants more than anything to just be a regular kid. It seems like whenever we have a huge blowup or tantrum, it’s because the kids around him are doing something he wants to do. Like line up and walk into school without having his aide grab him by the hand. Little things. He’s really blossoming, and we’re really enjoying him. Those weeks of hell always seem to result in big breakthroughs for him!
• Although I haven’t addressed it here or anywhere online, Kayley has been dealing with a huge healthl issue which has really affected her. I’ve been worried to death about her. A few days ago, we finally figured out the problem, and we’re on our way to a solution. She is positive and happy and optimistic that it’s all going to work out fine. She has been such a big, brave girl and I am just SO proud of her right now. Things aren’t 100% rosy, but where this area is concerned, it’s all good. 

And, it’s JUNE! How can it be June? It’s 55 degrees outside. I packed up all the winter clothes last week! We’re ready for summer weather, pretty please. The kids are graduating from kindergarten on the 18th and we’d like to eventually visit the beautiful pool in our neighborhood. So, get your act together, Mother Nature!

Lost a tooth! Then REALLY lost it.

In case you can’t decipher Mallory’s kindergartener handwriting, it says, “Dear Tooth Fairy: I swallowed my tooth. Woopsie! Love, Mallory”

Here is the big girl, minus her front bottom tooth. I know it’s hard to tell, since she already has a row of giant teeth growing behind her baby teeth. My children are apparently part shark – Pablo’s got the same thing going on…

And I thought it was kind of the tooth fairy to write her back:

Paul said the tooth fairy is LONG WINDED. I said, maybe she does a lot of writing in her spare time when she isn’t breaking into houses to steal teeth. You never know.

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