first day of school...

...was Monday and I had every intention of posting these great pictures on Monday and now I cannot believe it is already Friday. It's been just a bit busy around here. You know how when you go on vacation for a week and you say that you need a vacation to recover from your vacation? Well, multiply that feeling by three and that's about where I am this week. First of all, it rained for 2 days straight and we got something like 8 inches of rain. Which is great because we really need the rain, but do you know what two days of solid sheets of rain does? It makes your house dark and much cooler than normal. Which, let's face it, does not produce an environment conducive to doing anything but napping. And then there were the school days and the parent night at preschool and the Meet-The-Teacher day at preschool and the soccer practices and the 47 loads of post-vacation laundry and the 5 trips to the grocery store. Really. In the 6 days we've been home, I've gone to the grocery store 5 times. Once for emergency things the night we got home, once to stock up from being gone for 3 weeks, once to go back to get all of the things I forgot the first two times, once to get the things that the kids realized they still needed for school and once to get more baby food, yogurt and pudding because Ainsley is eating us out of house and home! Oh, and then there was the one day it took to put the music on my new early-birthday iPod. Yes, a whole afternoon to create playlists and make sure all my cd's were copied into the computer and listen to all those great old songs I forgot I had and figure out which new ones I needed to buy. Exhausting, I tell you. But I digress...

First up, Ryan P. Miller. Middleschooler.

Such a serious smile. I can't figure out if he's just tired from having to get up so early to get on the bus at 7:10 or if he didn't brush his teeth and he knows that if he shows his teeth, I'll see the cereal in his braces and give him the lecture about brushing his teeth, and really, the last thing a rising 6th grader needs on the first morning of middle school is to be lectured about his hygiene.

Ryan's first impression of middle school is, "Well, it's not exactly what I would call fun, but it's not exactly boring either." Middle school is a whole new world of class changes and dressing for gym and being held much more accountable than before. I think it's going to take him a little longer to adjust, but I think he'll be just fine.

Emily got up early to go with us to the bus stop.

Quite the fashionistas, aren't they?

And here's Emily, sporting her new HSM backpack. (Only 56 days until HSM 3 hits theaters, you know!)

Here's Emily's reaction to her first day of 4th grade:

Emily: That was the best first day of school ever!!

Me: That's what you said last year. And the year before, I think.

Emily: Well, scratch that. This was really the best first day!

She loves her teacher, has a few friends in her class, and she gets to see her other friends sometimes at lunch and recess. And she was named Outstanding Student of the Day on the first day in her computer class. She's had a bit more homework than last year and she has to read more, but I think that's a good thing.

Overall, I think it's been a good week. But I can't tell you how grateful I am for the 3 day weekend. Because I still have laundry to do. And another trip or two to the grocery store...

finally, a math problem i like

warm bath + cold beer + iPod + new magazine = Heaven

note to self

The next time you buy another box of your latest food obsession, Cracked Pepper Triscuits, (seriously, even though you say you won't buy another box, you know you will) also buy another tub of the Garden Vegetable cream cheese, but this time make sure you buy the lower fat variety so you don't have to feel as bad for eating half of the tub in one sitting. Thanks.

july pictures

Here are our pictures from July. And it's not even the middle of August yet! Aren't you impressed?

Don't be...I'm doing this instead of the cleaning and packing I need to be doing for our Summer Tour of the Midwest!

So posting will be light for the next few weeks, but then we'll be back to fill you in on all the crazy from our trip and Ainsley's surgery.

By the way, if you ever want to annoy me, here's what you can do...Fax my son's medical records to the new doctor's office, but leave the immunization record blank, so that while we're in the office waiting for shots that I had to practically drag him in for, we can be told that we can't get the shots until the office can verify his records to make sure he's getting all the shots he needs. And then when I call to let you know that the page you faxed over was blank, you can tell me that since it's been a year since he was a patient, all of his records are in "storage" and therefore not able to be faxed over while we're waiting. So then I have to drive home and get my copy of the records and then drive back again for the shots (all 4 of them!) so that he can start middle school. Seriously.

new friend

Jackson has a new friend. His name is Kirby. I've not had much experience with imaginary friends...I don't ever remember Ryan or Emily having one. So I was happy to oblige when Jack asked if Emily could sit somewhere else in the car so I could buckle Kirby in next to him on our way to Target. I held the door open as Kirby got out of the car, and we even waited once we got inside for Kirby to catch up. But when Jack walked over to the Starbucks counter and grabbed 2 vanillas (One for me and one for Kirby!), I had to put my foot down. I told him he and Kirby would have to share. And they did. Jack would take a drink and then squat down and hold the milk next to him so Kirby could take a drink. It was really quite sweet.

Anyway, I like Kirby a lot better than Jack's other brother, Emile. I met him the other day when I was giving Jack his bath. "Mom," he said, "my brother, Emile, is in the bath too. He's a rat." I tried to remain calm. After his bath, Jack made a little bed on the floor next to his for his rat brother, Emile, and I'm sure they talked and laughed and played cars into the night. We haven't seen much of Emile since Kirby showed up. And I'm okay with that. Because, really, I just don't like rats. Especially the ones I can't see.

i heart spam

Okay, seriously. If you're going to try to scam someone, you should at least make yourself seem a little credible by using proper grammar and not be like these ridiculous jokers posing as the IRS.

The following is an actual message I got today. Ridiculous.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Internal Revenue Service"
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 4:44 PM
Subject: You have get a Tax Refund on your Visa or MasterCard

You have get a Tax Refund on your Visa or MasterCard.

Complete the formular, and get your Tax Refund. (Your Refund Amount Is $620.50)

(Inserted here was a link I was supposed to click on to "complete the formular" and no doubt, actually give these morons my Visa or MasterCard number.)

Copyright © 2008 - Internal Revenue Service. All rights reserved. (Nice touch here, the little copyright thing. Wow, I almost fell for that one!!)

And the sad thing is that some people will probably actually fall for this. Please don't fall for this!

mama's little helper

We have to keep the pantry door closed all the time, because if we don't, Ainsley is right there, helping herself to all sorts of little treasures. Usually when this happens, I will find our paper plates strewn all over the kitchen floor. On more than one occasion I've had to clean half boxes of cereal from the floor (Grape Nuts & Berber carpet...not fun!) Sometimes she'll even help herself to the potatoes. But one day last week I watched as she walked in, looked around for a minute and came back out with a couple of napkins. Intrigued, I watched as she walked into the family room and began cleaning the ottoman and the coffee table.







She doesn't have my eyes, my hair or my nose, but my OCD? Check.