Scattered

I have this jumble in my head of things that I want to remember, because I am so scatterbrained lately that I feel like I'll forget everything about this time of my life. Parents of teenagers keep telling me that these years of raising small children were the best of their lives. Being that I had mine so close together, this time is extra short for me, and so full of utter chaos that I am unable to stop and savor anything.

Adelyn starts school on Monday, FINALLY, and she's quite the charmer. On the first day of school for Bella & Riley, we went to Applebee's for dinner, which the kids think is the peak of culinary expertise. That's OK, they have a Weight Watchers menu, so it suits me quite well also. So here I am at Applebee's, yelling at Adelyn to behave or she won't get her ice cream (which is free on Tuesdays, though they did sneak in a one dollar price increase without me realizing it at first). Adelyn starts whining "I am have," over and over again and I didn't understand what she was saying. She was pronouncing it haave, which rhymes with Maeve, and if it weren't for Vincent, I wouldn't have understood what she was saying. Today she threw another three-ism at me - I told her that he time was up, and she insisted that no, her time was down. I know it sounds trite to chuckle at the musings of a confused three year old, but these are the moments that I would like to savor, these glimpses into Adelyn's three year old mind trying to make sense of the world around her. Sometimes I treat her like a child far older than three out of necessity - I make her brush her own teeth, I get angry if she can't, or won't, put on her own shoes, because I have so many other kids to care for. But she's still a baby in so many ways and I'm missing the last shadowy glimpses of that babyhood.

Speaking of babies, Catherine is no longer considered a baby in the true sense of the word, either. She is now walking almost exclusively, toddling around the house trying to unroll the toilet paper and pull all of the DVDs out of the armoire. She giggles and dances and nods fervently when I ask her if she's hungry or wants to go night-nights. She is an absolute doll. Even so, every time I go to the grocery store I can't believe that there will be no more jars of baby food. I suppose this is a good thing, being that Vincent and I saved just about every empty container at the end, in a pack rat sort of frenzy to ensure that, yes, if anyone ever needed a tiny jar or plastic lidded thing for an extra set of nails, we've got one. What we don't have is video tape of Catherine's first steps - the video camera stopped working right before our weeks at the beach, when she was only making one or two solitary attempts at stepping away from a supported stance. Today, of course, our new camera (used on eBay) arrived and I haven't yet taken it out of the box. I'll try to get to it before she actually starts running.

Catherine is so cute that Bella cannot keep her hands off of her. Ever. She is constantly trying to feed her, or pick her up, which is especially treacherous being that Catherine only ways about 10 lbs. less than Bella does. Bella is so tiny that I bought her an XS skirt (On sale at Target! Score!) and it literally fell down around her ankles without even touching her waist. I was out one night at bedtime and again the next morning (working maybe?) but on the following night, Bella marches into my bedroom, trailed by Vincent, wearing Catherine's sized 12-18 month pajamas. The were two-pieced, long sleeved, though on Bella they appeared to be 3/4 sleeves and Capri's. Still, as I looked incredulously at Vincent and advised him that those were Catherine's pajamas, he shrugged sheepishly and announced that she had worn them to bed the previous night.

Riley, on the other hand, is a first grader, in school all day. He has homework every night and eats in the cafeteria (though not the cafeteria food, as they don't serve cheese sandwiches every day). He can also sound out words independently, though he does tend to rush a guess first. I think this is so he doesn't look weak or stupid, which is amazing to me that a 6 year old would already be beaten down enough to think that way. He has refused to bring his dinosaur water bottle, the one that matches his lunch bag and backpack, into school anymore because, "I don't think any first graders drink from stuff like that Mom." OK Riley.

So, here we are. School is closed for the Jewish holiday, which I explained to the kids that we don't celebrate but don't worry the Jews aren't getting any presents today either. That and a lunchtime trip to the park near Vincent's work (and McDonald's) made for a pleasant day.

We are redecorating the living room - painting and everything because by God I really hate the color scheme that Vincent talked me into even though he swears that it was totally my idea. I got a comfy accent chair and ordered a sofa and loveseat that are being delivered on Saturday. The walls aren't painted yet but having the furniture here will help me to narrow down the six or so swatches I have on the windowsill. If it's totally done by Christmas I will be absolutely thrilled. Of course, I'll post pictures when that happens.

Weight Watchers tonight - and random leftovers for dinner. I don't really know what to do with myself at 3:30 when I am not preparing dinner. Which is exactly how I ended up blogging, I guess.