I'm reading this book right now. I don't love it as much as The Help, but it's a nice, light read. The fact that I can actually put it down is a good thing--I'm not sleep deprived and the house isn't a hot mess. Jamie appreciates that the laundry is relatively caught up! But it's entertaining enough to keep me engaged. At this point, I'd give it 2 3/4 stars.

Quiet

Much quieter day today! Cassie actually napped during naptime (yes, I checked). I replaced the blinds in the breakfast nook today (Chase broke one last night) and need to pick up one more set for the back door. Matching 6+ year old white blinds is IMPOSSIBLE. I actually like the new ones better than the old ones but replacing all of the blinds in the house is out of the question. I can think of so many things I'd rather spend that money on (shoes, bags, clothes, countertops, new floors). Honestly--I wouldn't do white again, I'd do some sort of woven, dirt and handprint hiding thing. At this point in my life, I'm all about masking the messes in my house. And for every magazine article that extolls the virtues of the color white b/c it is bleachable, I've got 10 handprints or coffee stains or worse to deal with!

I sense a disaster in the making w/Chase knocking down Cassie for hugs. Must go before we wind up at the ER...

Holy SHIT!

So while I was updating the blog and getting caught up on Facebook and generally enjoying my quiet afternoon today, Cassie was upstairs not napping. She was hiding in my bathroom because she made a mess in her pull up (she sleeps in a pull up) and tried to clean it up "herself."

She was messier than the pictures...it was EVERYWHERE! She's got a rip-roaring eczema flare right now, not sure if it was the poop bath or something else. Seriously--never a dull moment around here...

Short Trip

Jamie had a work event at Lake of the Ozarks this weekend, so the kids and I tagged along. It was a super short trip, as we didn't get there until 2pm on Saturday, but we had a ton of fun while we were there.

Cassie fell asleep as we pulled into the hotel and our room wasn't ready anyway, so Chase and I headed to the outlet mall and Jamie stayed in the air conditioned car with Cassie. Despite the fact that he scored two pair of shorts and a new pair of Crocs, Chase was a rather whiney shopping companion. I deposited him back at the car with his father and tried to shop in peace, but didn't find anything I liked. So we headed back to the hotel, checked in, and headed back out for dinner with the over 80 crowd.

We ate at Baxter's, which overlooks the lake. I highly recommend the encrusted grouper & swordfish sandwich. Following dinner, we made like true tourists and boarded a cruise on the Tom Sawyer. I believe I rode this paddlewheel boat when I was about Cassie's age. It was HOT, but the kids loved it!

A storm blew in while we were on the lake, fortunately we made it to the car before the skies opened up on us. The storm blew away our plans for go-carts and ice cream after the boat ride. We settled for a documentary about the current military situation in Afghanistan on the History channel back in our hotel room, which Chase loved!  

Sunday morning, Cassie woke us up EARLY--right as a nearby transformer blew, darkening the entire block on which our hotel sat. No power, no running water, and a smoke detector bleeting every 60 seconds. I got ready in record time and we headed out for an early breakfast. Jamie stayed at the Lake for work and the kids and I headed home.  We took a detour through the Governor's Mansion and State Capitol on our way home. The kids LOVED it and it was a nice way to recover some fun after the disasterous morning. Chase was completely AWED by the Capitol. He told me, "Mom, you need to run for President so you can work here." That earned him a quick lesson about the difference between our state capitol and our nation's capitol and the difference between the President and a Governor.  It's nice to know he's enthusiastic about my future in politics though...

Great Book

I'm in the middle of a great book about highly educated women who opt out of the work force to stay at home with their kids. Since it seems like I've got more friends working these days than not, it is a great reminder why I'm home...

"He's My Best Friend!"

Every so often, a sort of perfect parenting moment happens and I think I may not be totally screwing up my kids. Today in the midst of a tickle war, while I tickling her brother, Cassie shrieked "Mom! Stop! Stop tickling Chase! He's my brother! Stop tickling him! He's my BEST FRIEND!" I, of course, stopped immediately and asked her to repeat what she said. Cassie has never withheld affection from me, but she's often coy with her daddy and her brother. And yet, there she is calling her brother her BFF.

Last night I was relaying something else cute the kids did and said to my husband, "You know, I may not be so bad at this parenting thing after all." Jamie, in his infinate wisdom, replied, "Really Christi, it's HARD to screw them up too much. Look at me. I raised myself. Dad was at work all the time, and Mom was locked in the bathroom. I turned out fine." His assement is largely true. MIL is bi-polar and doesn't like her meds, so she did spend most of his childhood hiding from life in general.

My response was, "Well, you turned out alright, but I bet if you had a sibling, it would be a hot mess!" He agreed.

So I will soldier on. The house is clean, the family fed, laundry caught up, dog (and mom) walked. I've got a stack of library books to get to and a baby blanket to finish crocheting....

School Days!

Thursday was the kids' first day of school. I realize it is the middle of July, but that's when our district goes back. I'm really going to miss our mid-summer return next year when the district changes to a more "normal" schedule.

Chase started 3rd grade & Cassie had her first day of preschool. Both LOVED it! 2 mornings a week isn't enough for Cass, she wants to go EVERY DAY like her brother. She was thrilled to tag along to her IEP meeting this morning with me, just because it was in a preschool building! As for the IEP--she'll be receiving 30 minutes of speech per week. She's missing a few consonants, and while Chase and I easily translate for her, hopefully she won't need us translating for too much longer!

Chase's teacher is out on maternity leave, so he'll have a sub for the rest of the quarter. I hope he likes the sub as much as his classroom teacher! He is thrilled to have some of his friends in his class, and came home on the first day happy that he'd made a new friend!