Back...Yuck!

Back to school....I hate it. I know, you just did an audible gasp. Don't get me wrong when I was little I loved it. The smell of new crayons, the excitement of what hot, fall/winter outfit I'm going to wear even though it's a blazing 90 degrees outside. The way the school smelled when meeting my teacher. Sitting in my desk, with my very own chair. The way the classroom was decorated. I loved it all.

Now... on top of the 3 hours of practicing instruments I get to do without hardly playing a note myself, 2 1/2 hours of reading, and reading tutor runs, music lessons, kids jobs, my house hold "duties", and some "bonding fun time", all of which I love, we then add, homework, fall activities & sports, school schedules, homework, preschool and the list goes on forever, and only some of that do I love. I feel like a chicken running around with it's head cut off. Then only to have teachers tell you that there's a lot of work that needs to be done to get to grade level. Ugh! I should defiantly not have gone to Back to School Night. I want to crawl under the covers and not surface for a long time. I wish I could be one of those "hands off" mother's. At time's I look at them and find myself daydreaming about how wonderful that would be. Then I think of an episode of My Family when the school counselor tells Susan {the mother} to release her "super parent" and that.... "maybe you'd be wiser to adopt a more hands off approach...to ignore them." They get enrolled in a parenting class and she goes crazy trying to act as if she's "chill" with what they are doing or not doing.

I love having my kids home with me, knowing what's going on, being able to head to the dinosaur museum on a hot day, or spend the day making a reading tent and having a read-a-thon equipped with treats. Or sitting and drawing on the sidewalk, and making the worlds longest hopscotch. I am ready for a holiday and it's only a week into school. I want to call the schools and say we have a rare flu that is going to last until May. I know I'm a crazy mom. Most that I've spoken with have started the conversations this last week with, "Aren't you glad schools back?" I want to scream back "NO!! ...." My darling psychologist husband would say I'm a control freak, but he already knows that I know that. So yes the kids are back to school, and I'm going to enjoy the moments I do get with them, because there aren't enough. {and learn, never go to a back to school night or a parent teacher conference, again!}

{1st day of school 2011}

A First

Josie had her very first piano recital ever! And she did awesome! She played on a 9 foot Steinway Grand Piano, that had the small price tag of $138,000!!! Needless to say I was holding my breath the entire time! She has an amazing piano teacher, who totally gets Josie. She also got an award after for completing the YouTube 50 challenge. They had a sheet of 50 different videos they had to watch and answer questions. Some of the videos were pretty amazing. One of our favorite was this video from Japan. It's a commercial for a wooden phone. {only in Japan} The question she had to answer was "How do you think they were able to make the pieces of wood sound different pitches and go different tempos?

She also wanted to share the video of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

A Promise Finally Met!

I promised the kids I would take them camping this summer. I have been reminded of this promise often. Finally, we did it! And a couple of weeks to spare. We traveled up the canyon without a reserved campsite, hoping we would find something available. When we arrived at the base of the canyon, we were met by a Ranger who said the campsite was full, but that we could try a more "primitive campsite". Oh my, taking Craig camping was tricky enough when I promised a bathroom and water, now the only thing available was a "primitive campsite". I couldn't go back on my word, and all the work of getting ready. So up we drove. As we got to the campground that was "full", we saw an adorable older couple who were the campground hosts. So we pulled up and asked by any chance if anything was available. YES! One single campsite was left. And what a campsite it was. The next day we asked one of them, when we need to schedule and what campsite was the best. He thought out of all 70 something sites, ours was the best! And I full heartily agree. It was awesome! So Jan. 1st we will be on the computer clicking away!

Yes, we brought the bike.

I don't know how we fit it in but it was a must!

He did it!

Mr. Can Do

Mornings at the Manning house start very early to my chagrin. I am most defiantly a night person. My children are all {with the large exception of Josie} EARLY risers. Like 5:30 a.m. risers!! I have found over the years that they {all except Josie} do better first thing in the morning. Well okay side note, and also a note for protection to whomever might enter this house at this insane hour, whatever time Abby wakes up give her a half an hour to sit. Don’t ask her if she’s hungry don’t tell her to straighten her room, unload the dishwasher, or even tell her you love her or give her a kiss good morning. Your life would be endangered. However after that she is very delightful and productive.

Last Friday morning as I laid in bed and thought it’s 6 o’clock and no one is up yet. Oh I jinxed myself. Next thing I know, McKay is pulling out his guitar. So up I get. Josie’s piano teacher came, and I’m still running around in my pj’s, and it’s 8:45. Practicing for two kids is done by this point and we’re half way through jobs, and another has just been dropped off for tutoring, ten min late. I sit down for JoJo’s lesson, and before I can take a breath Kimball is telling me something that is life and death for him. I quietly tell him, without hearing a word, to “talk to dad about it”. Next thing I know Craig comes to tell me he’s taking Kimball to work with him, he doesn’t really have a choice. I was beyond confused at this statement but trying not to interrupt the lesson, he said he’d call me a little later. Later never came so I called him and asked him what happened. Apparently Kimball’s life and death emergency was to tell me that it was time for HIS lesson. When I sent him to Craig, Kimball told him “Dad, I need to go to guitar lessons, I haven’t gone for a really long time, and it’s my turn. I have my guitar in the back of your jeep and we need to leave right now.” Craig had tried to kindly explain that he was on his way to work and that when he got back they would work something out. Kimball wouldn’t take no for an answer. He kept telling him he already placed his guitar in the jeep and it was now time for him to go to lessons. Craig had office work he needed to get done so he put Kimball on a computer next to him. Kimball spent a couple of hours playing PBS Kids, and having everyone bring him food. Not a lesson but heaven for a little boy.

Later on my sweet neighbor let Kimball borrow their “two wheeler” that has pedals. Kimball was so excited. He’s been cruising around last summer and this on his Kazam balancing bike, which he loves but was ready for more. Craig helped him drive it home. We were sitting on her grass in the shade and the next thing we heard was “BRAKES ON, BRAKES ON, BRAKES ON!” and screaming. Neither of us heard a crash or crying so I figured it was okay. Five minutes later Josie appeared on the deck, and said Kimball had had a crash. So up I got. When I got home everyone was shaken up except for Kimball. He was ready to get back out there. The story went like this: I just took him up to the stop sign {which is up a hill} and back and on the way home, he just kept picking up speed and I couldn’t catch up with him. He hit your car and went over the handlebars, the bikes fine but your car has some scratches on it. My anxiety hit. Is it bad? Yeah, a couple of pretty deep scratches.

And it does, bummer. But everyone was okay and the bike was fine. So we’re all good. I was worried that Kimball would be scared to get back on, so I loaded him, Josie, the bike, and the easy roller {yes the easy roller, Josie is still in her Peter Pan phase that will never end, and wont even ride her Groovy Girl bike with training wheels. Can you say Polar Opposites?!} into the car and headed to the park. I have never in my life met a more “can do” attitude. I am grateful, as long as it doesn’t kill me first.