Granddad/Pop-Pop turns 97! Happy birthday!

So much stuff has happened since I last blogged, including a Davis family visit to a church (finally!), a bunch of cook-outs and visits from friends; I finished book one of Game of Thrones; Michelle our nanny got MRSA (!!!), so we had a bit of a panicky scramble trying to figure out childcare for this week (Lester ended up taking the week off); and lots of other interesting things to blog about.

But tonight the boys start soccer practice, so I know I'll want to blog about that tomorrow. Which means I HAD to get one very important thing down first. My Granddad turned 97 on Aug. 30th!! Isn't that a blessing?!

We all got together to celebrate him over Labor Day weekend. We had birthday brunch and the menu was off-the-chain. Grits, corned beef hash, eggs, waffles, pancakes, cinnamon apples (which I made and they were goooood), sausage, two kinds of bacon, coffee, orange juice and then...CAKE.

The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and eating everything under the sun. I loved seeing all my family together - even my brothers, who are usually MIA. And we all loved thinking about the blessings that my Granddad's near-century of living has brought. The older I get, the more I realize that family means everything. I'm grateful to have such a big and boisterous group of people who I love and who I know love me.

97 and still smiling!

Granddad and my sister Kadija.

Granddad doesn't move out of this chair, so we all had to pose for pics with him here.

Matty and Clair waiting for food.

Isn't Matty the cutest?

My boys love Auntie Hira!

My oldest nephew, Kalonji. Can't believe he'll be 13 in November.

My brother Rashad's daughter Nasya, Aminah, Kalonji, Kwahli and Russy.

Nasya, Matty, Aminah, Kalonji, Kwahli and Russy.

I love how Matty is looking at Dean. His little face cracks me up!

Kwahli and Alahna

My brother Rashad! So happy to see him!!

My Dad did most of the cooking. Everything was delicious!

Clair had on a pretty dress, but she spilled my whole cup of coffee over on herself and me. So we had to change her clothes. I had to walk around in coffee-stained clothes.

The Holmes Family.

My Mom put 97candles on Granddad's cake. It took three people to light it.

This is what it looked like all lit. Call the Fire Marshal! Seriously, after he blew out the candles, we all almost choked from the smoke. LOL.

Granddad is so special he had to have two cakes! Kadija and her family brought this one. Dean said, "How did trees get on a cake?" And Cary said, "They just grew!"

This man has been alive almost 100 years. He still eats any and everything he wants. He is healthy as a horse. And sharp as a tack. I said to him, "Let's do this again in another 97 years." He said, "I'll be here!"

My sister and me, doling out cake.

Clair was soooo tired, but not too tired to eat cake and ice cream.

Twins!

Dean and his Granddad. I hope Dean and Cary get to celebrate HIS 97th birthday!

My brother Haleem showed up -- late, of course. But he came!

Haleem and Cary!

And just because we were there  marveling at Granddad's 97 years, we had to pull out the photo albums. Such GEMS in here! I could look at these old photos all day.

That's my Granddad in 1973 giving my Dad a look that says, "Why won't you cut your hair?!"

That's my beautiful Grandma holding my Dad in her arms. Isn't she amazing?

My Dad!

That's my Grandma on the right and my Aunt Pearl. Aunt Pearl was a hot ticket, wasn't she?  I think my sister Tahira looks like her a little.

And just for good measure, that's my Mom (weighing in at 90 lbs.), holding me as a little baby, and kneeling next to me in my stroller. We're in front of my Grandma and Granddad's house -- the same spot where I took the picture of Matty with the hula hoop!

Anyway, it was quite a stroll down memory lane and quite a marvelous day. I'm so happy my kids got to be a part of their Pop-Pop's 97th birthday. I hope they'll get to be a part of his 100th!

Photos from first day of 3s class!

Unlike last year when I could barely get any information out of their teacher, Miss Michelle has already sent out an introductory email, letting us know what to expect this year and what the kids will be learning. In addition to being organized and clear, it was also full of exclamation points and smiley faces! My kind of pre-school teacher!

Also, she sent photos!! I think I love her!

Cary, Dean and Miss Michelle!

Cary doing his absolute favorite thing: reading.

Dean, manipulating some gadget. Also one of his favorite things!

Miss Mandy is the aide in the classroom. Clearly, she's taken a liking to my boy. Can you blame her?

Storytime!

Snack

Snack

And more snack.

Looks like it's going to be a fun, colorful, story-and-snack-filled year! I am so excited!

1st Day of 3s Class!

The boys started in the 3s class today!

There were no tears at drop-off -- for me or for them. There was no excitement at pick-up, mostly just a mix of  "Mommy, can we go to Abby and Maya's house?" and "Mommy, I didn't get to finish my peanut butter crackers!"

I'm thrilled the day was so uneventful. And, as I said before, I'm excited for the boys' growth this year. I think Miss Michelle will be just what they need. (Now, if only we can keep the confusion about Michelle the nanny and Miss Michelle the teacher to a minimum!)

As usual, my two can barely contain their excitement.

For comparison, here they are on last year's first day of school. Look how much more babyish they seem here.

The boys and their buddies, Avery and Marcus. I was hoping to get Penelope and Abby and Maya in the photo, but they wandered in fashionably late -- I guess it's a girl thing? Their friend Jeffery is in the 3/4s class this year, so I hope we get to see him a little bit.

Here they are after school let out. See? No tears! And this was Maya and Abby's first day of school EVER. Impressive!

It was also the first day of school for my big boy nephew Russy, who is in the FIRST GRADE. Lord. Look how big! I can't stand it.

And it was the first day for Kadija's kids, too! Kalonji is 12 and in the 7th grade. Alahna is 7 in the2nd grade; Aminah is 8 in the 3rd grade and Kwahli is 5 in kindergarten. I remember when all of them were teeny babies. Time goes so quickly.

Happy first day of school to all the babies and big-kids-who-will-always-be-babies-to-us!

Have a great year of learning and fun! We love you!

Back-to-school night and other snippets

The boys start in the 3s class on Monday and last night we went to back-to-school night.

This one was much better than last year's - easy-going, warm and familiar. But I knew it would be because I know the 3s teacher and really, really like her. Miss Michelle is all the things you want a pre-school teacher to be -- and as a bonus, she is a real fixture in our neighborhood, so we see her at the Red Canoe and at community clean-ups etc.  It makes me trust her investment in this community and the kids who live in it. So I think this will be a great year for Cary and Dean!

Dean squeezes his friend Marcus.

I love the green in the boys' new school sneakers. I don't love the green it cost to buy them.

Also, lots of their friends (including Marcus) from last year came back, and -- even better -- our friends Maya and Abby will be in their class this year! Yay!

Earlier in the summer, we all got together at Koco's for dinner. The kids played and had Popsicles. Yum!

 One of the things that Miss Michelle says she will be working on with the 3-year-olds this year is "responsibility." Everyone will have rotating "jobs" in the class. That makes my heart sing, because my boys need responsibility. One REALLY needs it.

Take a look at the difference in how the boys handle their clothes when they take them off at night to get into their pajamas.

This is what Dean does when he takes off his clothes.

This is what SOMEONE ELSE does when he takes off his clothes (after being badgered to stop reading and put.on.your. pajamas. right. NOW!) Note: I'm not saying his name so as not to embarrass him in the future. See what a good Mom I am?

In other fun bits, the boys continue to crack me up with the things they say and think.

Here are a few examples:

Cary (out-of-nowhere): Mommy, if Dean was in your tummy, how could you eat?!
#
 
Dean: Mommy, is your boss Tom?
Me: Yes.
Dean: Is he a train? Or a man?
Me: He's a man.
Dean: (looks disappointed; walks away)
{My poor son thought I got to work with Thomas the Train everyday.}
#

Boys, spying Brownie Bites on the kitchen counter (leftover from a board meeting):
Dean: Mommy, can we have brownies with breakfast?!
Me: Nooooo. No brownies with breakfast.
Dean: Can we have brownies after breakfast?
Me: Noooo. No brownies after breakfast either.
Dean: Pleeeease.
Me: Nooooooo.
Cary: Pleeeeease.
Me: Noooooo.
Dean: Hey! What if I give you five bucks?!
Cary: My cousin Herb drives a brownie!!
{I cracked up at my boys "quoting" Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. They were so cute, even using the "pigeon voice" we use when we read he book, I almost gave them a brownie. Almost.}
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Overheard from their bedroom:
Cary: Nooo, Big Bad Wolf! Why are you not being nice, Big Bad Wolf?
Dean: Ummm, because I want to come in!
Cary: OK. You can come in!
Dean: OK. Thank you!
{I love that my boys reimagined a peaceful ending to the Three Little Pigs!}
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This weekend, we're going to Dylan's 3rd birthday party (Happy birthday, Dylan!), and we'll meet our new soccer friends at a kick-off-the-season Pancake Breakfast at the school. In fact, I have to go this weekend to buy shin guards for them. Shin guards!

Get prepared for lots of soccer photos to come!

Does anyone have a spare zillion dollars to loan me? Thanks.

Remember the Year of Austerity?

Yeah, neither do I.

In the last month, here are some things that have popped up:

Lester needed work done on his car, which has close to 150,000 miles on it.  $$

The ceiling in the boys room collapsed. Yes, collapsed. We had to get it fixed with the quickness before the whole slab of plaster fell in on our sleeping darlings. $$$

Dean thought it would be an interesting experiment to see what would happen if he flushed a toy zebra down the toilet. The plumber snaked, vacuumed, tried to break it up, etc. Nothing worked. By the time he finished banging incessantly, we had to buy a new toilet. $$

Our oven has stopped working. Just doesn't come on for some reason. We have to call a repairman this week. I'm sure he'll say we need a new stove, because why wouldn't he. (projected $$$)

The railing outside the house, leading up to our porch, is wobbling - badly. This is dangerous, not to mention an insurance infraction. (projected $$)

The boys outgrew the sneakers we bought them at the BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER. And Clair's toes are hanging off of her little jellies - and the sandals we bought her at the BEGINNING OF SUMMER. We had to buy all of them new shoes. And coats for the winter. Clair still has a lot of hand-me-downs (thank goodness) but somehow mostly dresses and tops. So we had to buy her pants. The boys still have some of Russy's old clothes, but somehow mostly pants, so we had to buy them tops. We went to the mall on Saturday. We left absolutely broke.
$$$$

In addition to soccer, which starts in September for C & D, we have to figure out which activities to enroll all the kids in this fall and winter.

Here are our plans:
Music class for Clair - Sunday mornings
Tumbling class for all kids - Thursday evenings (which will mean crazy rushing after work)
Swim class for all kids - sometime starting in the winter

Can you say "mo' money, mo' money, mo' money?"
$$$$$$$$$

In other news, I'm back to my foolproof financial savings plan of playing the lottery. I'll let you know how that turns out.

One more reason why potty-training stinks

Cary and Dean have handled potty training fairly well, I think.

After the initial bumps and fits and starts, they slowly got the hang of understanding when an "event" was about to happen, and taking themselves to a potty or a toilet to handle said event.

They were doing so well that we long ago moved the potty chairs from the living room. And just recently, the boys stopped using the little cushiony seat that sat atop the toilet.

Like big boys, they march upstairs when they have to go, scoot themselves up on the toilet, and handle all their events. (We still have to help with the clean-up after major events. But minor events they handle like old hands!) They are dry all day long, and I honestly can't remember when we had an accident -- even when we're out of the house for long periods and they have to wait to get to a bathroom.

All good, right?

Wrong!

The problem now is that they -- like most people -- have to pee first thing in the morning. And we have taught them that peeing in their overnight Pull-Up is not a good idea. THIS, they listen to.

So what happens? They wake up at RIDICULOUS times of the morning to pee. At first, my boys who used to sleep till 7 or even 7:30 started waking up at 6:30. Then it was 6. This morning, it was 5:35. Ay. Em.

And you know there is no way a 3-year-old can be awake without the entire world knowing about it. So we always wake up. I guess it would be irresponsible of us if we just let them wander alone through the house to hang out in the bathroom at 5 a.m., so I suppose they are doing the right thing by announcing that they have to go.

But dang!

Five-thirty A.M.? Really?

We even left one potty seat in their bedroom so they might use that one for overnight and wee-hours of-the-morning peeing. But they complained that it was too dark in their room to see the potty, which is why they just HAD to come get us to take them to the bathroom instead.

So we bought a little night-light. Problem solved, right? Plllbbbbt. What do they do now? Go in the potty, then come in our rooms to tell us that they've gone.

Why? Why? Why?!!

I was never a morning person, and becoming a parent has not changed that about me. Six a.m. wake-up times feel like death sentences to me. Five-thirty feels like a condemnation to hell.

Here's hoping they'll get the hang of this potty-in-the-room thing until they're old enough to get up out of their beds, take themselves to the bathroom, handle their events and go right. back. to. bed.
All without waking us up. 

Hmmm... what age would that be exactly?