Before and After

I would have posted these last night - but 'last night' became 'this morning' before we were finished and I was pooped!

This is the fewest pumpkins we've ever carved because we lost a couple to a serious case of premature pumpkin funk that oozed all over our dining room table long before we got a chance to carve them.

Each Halloween we try to carve pumpkins of characters that were important in our lives during the year. For several months I scour the internet for pumpkin stencils and templates. In the past, finding pumpkin stencils of favorite characters on the internet was relatively easy. That changed last year when Corporate America decided that people sharing trademarked character pumpkin stencils was a criminal offense and all the major pumpkin websites were forced to pull their stencils or forced to close.

This year's gallery contains Sonic the Hedgehog (their favorite video game character), 2 different Transformer icons carved by Tonester (Decepticon and Autobot - their favorite cartoon to watch with Tonester), Snoopy (Rascal's bday theme) and Jeff Gordon's #24 logo (Domino's bday theme).

I hope it doesn't rain for the Halloween parade at school and tonight's trick or treating!!

Wordless Wednesday

Level I - Redux

I missed the sign ups a few weeks back for our usual Saturday morning swim lessons and our usual spots have been filled. With Tonester's new PM work schedule - twice weekly evening swim lessons seemed like a great time filler.

At the end of the last session, Domino was "promoted" to level 2 and Rascal remained in level 1. You can imagine the drama that created. Domino 's been in level 1 for almost 3 years (off and on) and he's seen his friends advance levels while he has stayed behind. He's been talking about his new level 2 status for weeks. He's so proud of himself! Finally! Level 2!!

Tonight was our first evening swimming lesson. It took about 10 minutes for the level 2 instructor to look at Domino's complete inability to get his head wet and decide he was not level 2 material. I knew it was coming. I could see it from across the pool. Other kids were wildly bobbing up and down, sinking down to the bottom of the pool together - and there's Domino barely getting his face into the water. The teacher was trying to explain to Domino and sadly - Domino actually thought he was doing a good job.

So - the teacher pushed him across the pool to the level 1 group with a "Here - this kid belongs with you".

The heartbreak!! (His and mine). He cried at the side of the pool at his "failure" (his words, not mine) and another lifeguard did his best to cheer him up. Rascal kept trying to ask him what happened and that just upset Domino further. I wanted to scoop him up out of the pool and tell him he was doing great, no matter what level he was in, but I knew this was something he was going to have to handle on his own.

And it sucked.

After the lesson was over I had 2 freezing cold and wet boys to deal with - one who was sobbing uncontrollably, the other who kept saying "Why did they move Domino to level 1 Mom? Why? Why? Why?"

In the fall, the recreation department covers the pool with a big tent similar to a fumigation tent. The tent fits around the perimeter of the pool with just a little extra space for walking. All of the bleacher seating is gone and the dozens of parents in attendance are forced to jockey for a few plastic chairs with minimal head room. The ground is sopping wet and the humidity inside the tent causes the ceiling to drip water everywhere.

In the warmer months, both kids hop out of the pool and head straight for the warm outdoor showers. I am able to get one kid dried and dressed while the other stays cozy in the shower until I am ready for them. The circus tent over the pool doesn't include the showers so getting both kids warm and dry simultaneously poses a serious challenge. Why in the world don't they have any "family dressing rooms"?! I can't bring my 2 boys into the changing area in the women's locker room, and I certainly am not comfortable in the men's changing area. What's a mom of 2 young boys supposed to do?

Trying to get the kids dressed proved to be more of a challenge than I was expecting. I wrapped a shivering Rascal up in a towel and plopped him on to the wet seat and instructed him to hold all our stuff. I then attempted to change and console Domino poolside with people walking around us. He was uncooperative and clingy, 2 of my least favorite characteristics in a 6 year old. I wanted to be gentle and loving, supportive and encouraging - but by god when that kid told me that he needed goggles and that's why he couldn't do level 2, the same kid that has refused the 4 different styles of goggles I have bought for him - I really just wanted to wring his neck. The more I tried to help him get his wet feet into his pants, the more they seemed to get stuck inside the lining and caught inside, frustrating us both further.

In the struggle to get Domino's pants on I toppled over backwards onto my butt and got soaking wet from the cement. As a bonus for those around me, the pants I chose to wear today are cut horribly wrong for my figure and I was flashing everyone my derriere in the process. Meanwhile, Rascal is shivering and people are having to walk over us to both leave from our class and come in for the next. By the time I was ready to get Rascal dry, I was ready to give up the "modesty towel" and just strip him down and dress him in front of everyone. We were quite the floor show.

After finally getting everyone dried and dressed (and me wet and exposed) we headed out and home where I had to whip up dinner, supervise homework, console a broken heart and distract a preschooler.

There's just not enough of me to go around.

Through The Eyes of Five

For my longtime readers (Mom!) you might remember a post I did last year that included a series of photos taken by Rascal. I give him the camera every now and then and let him go wild taking pictures of everything around him. He really loves doing it. I don't give him the camera often enough.

Usually his photos are of things that I don't notice or don't find intriguing - but for some reason when taken by a 5 year old those things can be quite interesting. He loves to take pictures of door knobs, light fixtures, toys and the requisite extreme close-up self portrait.

I gave him the camera a few days ago and after deleting his new favorite photo subject (piles of dog poop - no lie - I was gagging just looking at the pictures) these are some of his latest "masterpieces".

I don't know if Rascal enjoys the results of the photos as much as the taking process - but I certainly get a kick out of what sparks his interest.

New Gig - Day 2.5

Just when I thought I was getting more comfortable with the idea of Tonester's new schedule - he announced this morning that next week (and possibly longer) he will actually be going in at 4PM and getting off at 1AM. Which means he'll be sleeping in the mornings and won't be able to take spend time with the boys before school.

Rascal might benefit from this new schedule - he'll have all day to hang with Dad before work, but Tonester will have to leave for work at the same time I have to leave to pick up Domino from school. Domino will really only see Tonester on Monday and Friday evenings, and Saturday and Sunday mornings.

So that sucks. Big time.

You know what else sucks? I have been freaking out about that check I wrote to the curb paint people. What if my generosity bites me in the butt and they steal my checking account info and my identity?! I haven't told Tonester about it yet because I know he'll flip out on me. No good deed goes unpunished these days.

Wow. I'm cranky. I think I need to go back to bed and try a "do over" of this day.

New Gig - Day 2

Last night was Tonester's first night in his new position and new schedule. Even though I have been really apprehensive about this huge change to our lives - he's seems really excited. And that's a good thing.

He got home from work last night after 11PM. I had (of course) fallen asleep on the couch about 3 hours earlier. He was full of energy and enthusiasm. I was full of cotton mouth and contact lenses that were glued to my corneas. I gave him a kiss good night and politely excused myself to bed - asking him to save his stories for me until the morning.

5:55AM my alarm went off. It was the test. Would he get up and get the kids ready for school as promised? I snoozed the alarm. 5 minutes later HIS alarm clock went off. (Yes, we have 2 alarm clocks - long story.) Anyhoo - his alarm went off. He snoozed it. About 4 minutes later mine went off again. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and I snoozed it again. 5 minutes later - his alarm clock went off again.

And you know what? He got up! He showered, got the kids up and made breakfast. I also got up and showered and made the kids lunches. It was the first real "team effort" we've had in getting the kids ready in the morning. On his mornings off he has usually slept until the last possible moment, took the longest shower possible, used the full 2 minute cycle on the sonic care tooth brush (how often can I say the same in the morning??) and then waltzed out and barked orders when we didn't meet his ideal morning timeline.

Today was pleasantly different. He and I worked together. He didn't get offended when I pointed out that Domino needed 2 juice boxes and 1 cracker snack (instead of the reverse) in his lunch box and I let him dress Domino in long sweatpants knowing full well it was going to be 85+ today. I picked my battles and he picked his.

We drove the boys together to their respective schools and then enjoyed a nice breakfast where I heard all about his exciting night before and I tried to learn all of his new co-workers names, then we headed out to pick up Rascal from preschool, got a speeding ticket on the way home (him, not me!) and then he headed out to work for the day and I headed back out to pick Domino up from school.

Rascal has asked me about 4 or 5 times when Dad will be home. I think the last time instead of asking he said "I won't see Dad again until tomorrow morning, right?" - so he's starting to get it.

While I was typing this post, a lovely couple came and knocked on my door. They explained they live in the neighborhood and are facing foreclosure on their home. They asked if they could paint my address numbers on the curb for $20. As my mom might say "There but for the grace of God go I" so I wrote them a check and wished them well.

As stressed as I was about this new transition for my family, I am incredibly thankful for the roof over our heads, the caring husband I have and my 2 resilient boys. So far, so good.

Birthday (Big) Boy

Happy Birthday Tonester.




May you always be a kid at heart.