On to the Big K (Kindergarten, that is)

Elena started Kindergarten yesterday. I don't suppose she's any different from other first day of school-ers. She woke up early with a smile, eager to get dressed, and had her shoes on before Lucas had gotten out of bed. This is saying a lot, for those of you who know how early Lucas gets up.

The little lady thought she was already too big for a parental accompaniment into class, but I insisted that I still have a few more years before she gets to play that card. After a few token pictures were taken, she kindly let me know she was fine and that I could now go.

I've tried very hard over the past (almost) six years to not rush the time or to wish away the precious early years. I refused to count the days until she would be in school. I thought it would make me more appreciative of the moments we spent together - easier to accept the marching on of time. Unfortunately, I think it made me more selfish. I want more time with her!!! She is so amazing and sweet and smart and all of the other wonderful qualities moms attribute to their children. I just want to keep her to myself, but I won't. I'll share her.

Today was the second day of school. Elena's enthusiasm to get up at 6:30 is already waned. She pulled the covers over her head and asked if it was almost summer vacation again. Poor thing has no idea what's in store...

Preschool Wrap-up

We finished preschool last week. Lucas had a great year and a great party to finish things off (thanks to a great home-room parent - the other mom in his class, not me). He loved his tattoos and the face paint. He has made such strides in his development and it is so fun to see him interact with his friends and teachers. He is such a sweet boy and is so aware of the needs of those around him. He has also come a long way in learning how to handle his emotions and communicate productively.

And after three years at St. Francis Pre-School, Elena is an official graduate and ready to go onto Kindergarten. I, on the other hand, am not ready for such a transition.

Sorry to the grandparents. I have a video of the "promotion ceremony" but I"m having trouble loading it. You will have to settle for a fuzzy picture (my camera battery was low and eventually gave out).

Another (Year) Bites the Dust

Since soccer ended about three months ago, an update on the rest of our 2010 may be needed. It's not that anything earth shattering happened, but I feel a little incomplete until this tiny corner of my mind's "to-do" clutter is cleaned out. It really was a great year (and yes, I realize we're almost 1/12 finished with the next one already) filled with a lot of fun memories. I figured today would be a good day to catch up since it's a snowday and I don't see us going anywhere in the immediate future.

I'll hit the highlights.

1. Halloween. Yes, I am that pathetically behind.

Lucas and Elena got into the tattoos and decorated his face. This wasn't part of his Halloween costume, but I thought it was cute. He is wearing skeleton pajamas if that helps it count.

My little Superhero. He looks intimidating, right? After Halloween we found Spiderman for 75% off. He's been having an identity crisis ever since.

I don't think Elena fully understood what she was for Halloween. She liked the costume Grandma sent her, and that was enough. She told everyone she was a poodle girl.

2. Pre-winter fun. Winter in West Virginia is ugly. Ugly. Until the snow comes. Then you can't get out for days because they plow the roads at a snail's pace. The greyness becomes a little depressing, so we try to get outside as much as possible. This is the middle of December and we got out to enjoy a little warming spell. Although, we go in our snow boots and winter clothes when it's colder too.

3. Jump ahead to the end of December. Elena's first toothfairy experience.

I can't handle loose teeth. Even my own grossed me out. Elena's wasn't much of an exception. The poor thing was so scared until the big moment when that little tooth, hanging by a little thread, finally surrendered to her wiggling and tugging. That night we found a little velvet pocket and tucked the tooth safely underneath her pillow. The tooth was safe, but the loot wasn't as lucky. The tooth fairy left Elena a shiny gold dollar coin. Lucas was a little too tempted by the treasure and stole it from her. That didn't go over well with Elena and it really didn't go over well with Lucas when I took the coin back and returned it to its rightful owner.


4. Christmas. This year we really didn't want to travel. We just wanted a quiet Christmas with as little activity as humanly possible. So we extended the invitation to family - If you want to see us, you need to come to us. Only Drew's parents took us up the offer. Drew had to work Christmas Day and the rest of the weekend, but he was able to come home here and there to get in some presents and food (He had 5 days off over New Year's instead). The kids were able to open presents in three shifts, so they were in Heaven. I made a meal sufficient to feed us for the next week. Drew caught up on rest and his Lost episodes during his break. All in all it was a great holiday.

Lucas can't take a picture without sticking his tongue out. It is physically impossible for him.

Drew was really excited about his Christmas present for me. I will admit that it is the most comfortable t-shirt ever. I might consider living in it.

We always buy live Christmas trees. While living here we have always gone to a tree farm and cut down our own fresh tree. This year we didn't have any time, sadly, and got our tree at a local store. I know lots of people who had good luck buying from this same place, but we started sweeping up daily piles similar to this one starting a couple days after we brought it home. It was a gorgeous tree, and it had needles to spare because it still looked good at Christmas, but I just loved it's quirky tendency to shed needles every time someone looked at it funny.

Love her!

Joining in the tongue fun.

Reading the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve.

Elena was in the sweetest little Christmas production ever. Her school put on this amazing show and the Pre-schoolers were the first act. Lucas was in it too, but I didn't get a good picture of him.

5. The doctor is in. One of the benefits of being married to a surgeon is that he is getting really good at cutting things off our bodies. Elena had a little (well, getting bigger) wart ("bump") on her finger. Drew can't handle seeing growths without wanting to chop them off. So we went into the clinic one day, and after bribing Elena with some ice cream and lunch at her favorite spot (the hospital cafeteria) she was bump free. She was left with a cigarette sized burn on her finger where Drew had cauterized the place where the bump had been. I don't know why I felt like I had to explain this to everyone. I guess I was scared they would call CPS and accuse me of abusing her or something. A month later, the patient is all healed up.

Our exercise in organized sports

This year I was so excited that Elena was old enough to play soccer and that the deadline hadn't already lapsed by the time I went to sign her up. Oh how I wished she shared one shred of the excitement. She kept at it, and actually did a great job. Their team named themselves "The Seamonsters." Elena's favorite part of any sport is the end when the teams line up and give each other "fives."

The Seamonsters in all their glory.

Elena was pretty excited about her participation medal that she received. In fact, if you come to our house she'll more than likely show it to you.

This is how Lucas enjoys the soccer games. It was a bit cold, so he hid under his blanket almost the whole time we were there.

Love 'em!

A whole hand

That's right. Elena turned 5 last month. According to her, she is now old enough to pick whatever she wants to eat, lose her teeth, go to kindergarten, be the boss, and so many other wonderful big girl things. We go back and forth on the list quite often. I still can't convince her that five year-olds don't cry.

This five year-old does think it's pretty neat she gets to share October with her daddy's birthday. He's a whole hand plus a few more.

Let's Get Funky

This is a video that Elena's teacher and principal made. Elena's in the front row towards the left. Please don't blame me if you have this song in your head all day long.

Dum, Dum, Da-Dum

Wedding bells were ringing this summer. The happy couple (drum roll please): My baby brother and his adorable bride. I'm pretty excited to have another sister-in-law since I don't have any sisters of my own, but I don't think my excitement comes anywhere near Elena's excitement over being the flower girl. I don't even know if the bride's compares. You'll have to let me know, Wy.
The wedding was perfect. Seriously, perfect. Like from a movie perfect. The flower girl and ring bearer were especially adorable. We tied a couple of Lucas's little toy guys to the ring pillow to help hold his attention down the aisle. It worked. Thank goodness. Of course his shepherd/sister made sure he didn't miss a step and posed for her close-up the whole way down to the front.
I didn't get a lot of pictures (attn family: if you have pictures-please send/email them to me), but I get a few that paint the picture.

My favorite photo of the day. Lucas's ring bearer outfit lasted about 2.7 seconds after the "I-dos" and into the "soccer ball" shirt he changed.

We had a lot of fun spending time with the family! We love you, Uncle Trenton.

The best man and the flower girl.

The lone picture of Lucas. He liked the big dance floor. Not to dance, but to be swung around by Grandpa Lee. I think Grandpa enjoyed himself as well.

Speaking of the dance floor-I should mention that we practically had to tear Elena off of it around 11:00 pm. She would not stop. Maybe once, for the cake.

Political Tirade

I saw this link on Facebook and decided to post it here as well. Government safety nets (medicaid, food stamps, welfare, etc.) and this health care reform insanity are two areas that I have significant interest in. I pay taxes and I'm married to a doctor. This letter, although I don't know the authenticity or if ever made it to the White House, sums up my thoughts pretty well. Read on:

Dr. Roger Starner Jones' short two-paragraph letter to the White House accurately puts the blame on a "Culture Crisis" instead of a "Health Care Crisis."
It's worth a quick read:

Dear Mr. President:
During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one pack of cigarettes every day, eats only at fast-food take-outs, and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer. And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care?
I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture" a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me". Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.
Respectfully, ROGER STARNER JONES, MD

I try to avoid being judgemental at every turn, but I feel if I am going to be paying for safety nets and their abuse then I reserve the right to judge on how people spend their (my) money and how they approach their own health. Don't get me wrong, I understand their place, purpose and the help that they give many people. It's just my opinion that if you are going to use these services it should be because you truly can't afford another option - not so you can, as the lady in the ER demonstrates, spend your money on luxuries like tattoos or cable TV. When I see people pay for their cart full of soda, chips and candy with food stamps I get a little frustrated. When Drew gets medicaid/care patients who smoke $5/pack cigarettes and then expect me to pay for their neck dissection and tounge removal I get a little frustrated.

Blah. Rant over.

Preschool times two

For six hours each week I will be a free lady. I pay for this privilege in the form of a tuition check to St. Francis preschool, but it is worth it. Every dollar. Since this will be Elena's third year in preschool, I figured she was ready for a five day (8-1) program and Lucas will be going two mornings a week.
Don't get me wrong, I miss these guys when they're not around but it is so nice to get a few things done (or nothing) while they're having fun with other kids and their fantastic teachers. Elena is doing great so far, and I think/hope Lucas is adjusting to his new found structure. Elena was a little nervous about making new friends since all of her friends from the last two years went on to Kindergarten, but her fears were quelled when she met some of the new girls. Lucas has accepted the fact that his army of little guys cannot come with him to school, but they will instead wait patiently in the car until he comes back.
Here are pictures from the first day (complete with Elena's pillow pet for nap time) and as you can see Lucas (recovering from a run in with the brick walkway in front of our house) was oh-so excited to go to school. The third picture is usually what Lucas looks like upon his return from school. From the looks of it, I think he has an OK time.

Stuck in the past

This summer's trip home was so fun it still brings smiles to my face. Now that the kids are old enough to entertain themselves, life has become a lot more enjoyable and vacationing a lot more relaxing. The majority of the kids' time was spent jumping on the trampoline, swimming, riding bikes, going to the park, you name it-we tried to do it. My parents transformed their backyard into a little oasis for the kids, and they even tried to keep them contained by putting in a temproary fence. (Nice try, Dad)

To West Virginia's credit, it is sure a lot easier to go down a Slip n' Slide when you actually have a hill.

Summer, I will be sad to see you go.

It's amazing how life kind of works its own kinks out. After we left Indiana, my dad, mom, me and the kids headed to North Dakota. It was about Beloit, WI when we ran into car problems. A strange rattle we heard in Indiana turned out to be a big clunk in Wisconsin. If you have ever tried to find a mechanic on a holiday (Sunday and the Fourth of July) in the middle of nowhere - you'll understand the mild stress and tension hovering over us. We were stuck there for a couple of days, but it turned out to be one of the best parts of our vacation.

We found a hotel with a pool, the town had a beautiful park, and grandpa couldn't sneak away to go to work while we were stuck. The kids were great, we just played and had fun, and eventually we made it to our destination.

The rest of our trip was smooth. We got up to Minot and spent a few days with the great grandmas. It was fun to see them and spend time with my cousins' kids, whatever that relation is. The pictures above were taken at my Grandma Elaine's house. The trees they're climbing were the ones we climbed as kids. My grandpa would chase us down so no one would get hurt. Now that he's gone, the torch has been passed to my generation as we were all out back telling the kids to get down and be careful. The circle of life I guess.

(the next couple of entries will continue to be a vacation log. more for my purposes than yours. Remember-patience is a virtue.)

The Fourth - Just the beginning

Drew was done with his Martinsburgh rotation for three whole days before the kids and I left for three weeks. Nice, I know. We did get to have a day in Indiana to spend together with his family. The Swindell family 4th of July is not one to be missed. The three "Fs" were in full force this year. Food, Family and FIREWORKS.

This is the stash of fireworks that Drew's Uncle Mark brings to the party. He puts on such a great show cars stop on the road.