Nine, a Nerf Party, and a New School Year

It has been quite a week for the Morehouse Family! 

Our kids are off and running for their new school year! 

Jack, the new 4th grader....

Ivy, ready for grade 1...

Spoiled the babies with new Pottery barn lunch boxes and a new backpack too, for the girl.  You only start 1st grade once...

This picture is totally posed, but that's ok.

 Overall, they are off to a good start.  Things were shaky for a few days for our girl, who started the year feeling isolated because all of her good friends were placed in the other 1st grade classroom.  Then, she was seated next to a boy who was harassing her, taking her things, etc.  We had a sad, tired, overwhelmed little girl on our hands for a few nights.  The mama-hen in me wanted to storm the castle and demand that my baby be put in the other class, with her friends and without the unnamed boy-of-harassment.  But rationality won out and we ended up just contacting her teacher to be sure she was aware of what was going on with the boy.  He was moved to another table (where, Ivy reports, he began harassing another girl... sigh...) and things began to look up.  Friday night at Chipotle, in the throes of a pre-dinner blood sugar crash, another truth came out:  "Mama, its been ALLL week and she still hasn't taught us an INCH of reading!!"  Turns out we've been talking up first grade as the year she will learn to read, thinking that it would help our wishing-to-read girl be more patient.  And so she thought it would just.... happen. This week.  Poor baby.
This week is going much more smoothly. She is finding her equilibrium and adjusting expectations and I think she will be just fine. She even allowed as how she now knows how to "handle" unnamed boy-- she just lets him keep bothering her until he gets caught often enough that he "clips down to red" and has to sit somewhere else.  Ivy always has it figured out.

Our boy has handled his move to the self-contained classroom with confidence and aplomb.  In fact, he hasn't batted an eye.  He's met new kids who have joined the class from another school, and he's proudly reported his scores on the beginning of the year MAP tests (apparently chatting about score ranges is a thing in his new class).  We are looking forward to seeing where this year takes him!

In the meantime, the last week of August has glittered by, summer heat and humidity pairing with an autumn softness of light to create a lushness you can eat with a spoon.

Sidewalk gardens on Somerton-- in their glory right now.

 We complain of the heat right now but we are secretly soaking it up to savor during the cold months to come...

We took advantage of the no-homework-yet evenings with a few small outings-- hunting for Pokemon at snail hill (where all of the snails are gone now... sniff...) and a lovely jaunt to Horseshoe Lake.

After owning this "mechanic dog" for almost two full years, Ivy finally played with her.  So did about 8 other children at the park, who mobbed us for the chance to make this fluffy thing walk...

We went to feed the ducks and stayed to watch the (three, huge) snapping turtles.  Creepy guys, floating up to the surface.. scattering the ducks...  pretty cool to see.

 We celebrated Friday with a relaxing evening at the JCC pool.  Swimming and playing as a family, drip-drying with some Starbucks and chatting... can't beat it.   One silver lining of starting back to school so early-- two weeks into the year and we are still soaking up summer at the pool.

Our afternoon at the pool was just the start of a pretty rock'n'roll I spent Friday night relaxing and eating chocolate with some friends.... then Saturday night relaxing and watching Broadway in a loge box with my mom... 

So yeah. Can't complain.

Thank you WSC Auction for these great seats to Kinky Boots!  What a hoot!

Oh-- and we drove to Medina and brought home 15 chickens. 

Not all for us, never fear!

We just kept three.  The rest we delivered to a fellow Heights Chickeneer to be distributed from there.  But-- 15 chickens in a van WAS an experience!  And we couldn't pass up the deal-- some really great breeds for only $5 per chicken.  So, after a rough summer of tragic predator problems, we have resecured and restocked our coop for another round.  We have also managed to not take any pictures of our new ladies yet (!) so we will introduce you to Cochin, Brahma and Polish the second... soon.

We've been a little busy, you see.  Because on Sunday this boy turned nine.

He was a BIG fan of Ivy's gift to him- a 6 pack of root beer and some Mike and Ike's.  She's a pretty awesome sister.

 This year Jack's birthday fell on a Sunday so we decided to have both his family celebration and his party on one day.  Whew.  It was intense.

Family Brunch at 11.  A house full of breakfast meats, coffee cake, and some of my favorite people!  Amazing!

Our boy was thoroughly spoiled and ate up all the attention. This lucky boy, to have this family!  And this lucky family, to have this boy...

Melinda and Will and the girls helped us pass the hours between brunch and the party-- finishing up decorations, drinking beer, trying to stay cool in the fairly oppressive heat.  I have to say, this was one of the smoothest and easiest party preps I've ever done.   When do I have everything at the ready a full half hour before go time?  

Maybe I'm getting better at this, or maybe a Nerf party for 10 boys is just that much easier...

Here are some pictures from the adventure:

We hosted 9 very sweet boys, who morphed into fierce Nerf -warriors and then into hot sweaty messes over the course of the party....

But I'm pretty sure they enjoyed themselves.

The boys weren't the only ones who had fun.

These giant boxes (courtesy of our friend Tiffany-- thank you!) not only brought home chickens but also MADE the party.  They were towers, blockades, tunnels and hospitals. and the boys had tons of fun arranging and creating with them.

Preparing the teams.  Safety first!

But of course he needs THREE guns AND to wear his Harry Potter glasses as eye protection!

Presenting.... my least edible cake ever....  Decorated with foam nerf darts and actual cheese balls.  Yep. Decorating a Nerf cake is a challenge, yo!

 Some of the decorations and games...

Target practice range and supply area...

Tin Can challenge shooting range.

Goody bags (containing a stash of darts, safety glasses, and (tucked in later) a baggie of candy.  Simple and well- received.

 I can't be stopped with the silly food labels.  Jack told me, "Mom, you are SO weird."  Yes, my son,  Yes I am.  You better get used to it.  Nat laughed at me too, reminding me that the boys won't notice or care about all this.  I reminded HIM that this is SO not for the boys.  :)

Four rounds of Nerf Battle, complete with spray-painted line across the yard, one round of "spray the hot and sweaty boys with the hose," quick pizza and snacks and cake... and like that, a birthday was accomplished.

And, my boy is nine. Just like that.  Wasn't it only a moment ago that he was a little snuggle baby who only wanted to be held?  Now he is this tall boy, solid as can be, who pulls away from kisses even as he leans in for a subtle hug.  Somehow, so fast, he's in that in-between place.  No longer my little one, toying with being big, playing at sarcasm and pushing the limits.. but still just a child, so very young and new.  Him and his soft skin and perfect little self, holding his back so straight, twinkling his eyes at the world.  I can't handle how beautiful he is or how grown.  Damn those people, all their platitudes about my baby, all that "enjoy this! it goes so fast."  I hate it when people are right.   It went so fast. 

And-- nine will go fast too.  I can wax nostalgic for the tiny baby (the one who I wished would let me put him down!) -- but in the meantime I have this nine year old boy and he will only be nine for this one short year.  And so I will enjoy this! 

Jack at nine:  He is so funny!  He's come into his sense of humour but like most boys he has no idea when to stop with a joke.  He has yet to figure out how interact with his sister without harassing her-- but he loves her deeply.  He's a softie for animals and just adores our rabbit.  He does not like practicing piano but he is getting good!  He is so independent at things-- once we get him going!-- sitting down to practice on his own, finishing his homework without any help... he can unload the dishwasher, vacuum, and mop on his own, but he still needs lots of coaching to clean his room!  He is stoic now when he hurts himself, and he didn't cry once at his party... who is this child???

 He's reading Harry Potter-- voraciously.  600 pages in 3 days!  He wears his new Harry Potter glasses everywhere and is addicted to the newly-learned Harry Potter Clue game.  He's still a video-gamer when given the choice, currently loving King of Theives, Pokemon games, and something called Smashy Road.  He still plays Minecraft but really that is so "last year..."  He's active and agile and can't wait to start soccer soon.  He, of course, loves Nerf guns.  What he really loves is any activity he can get ALL of us to play.  Even as he tests independence, he craves together time and our focused attention-- and play.  I am certain he would stay on video games for 24 hours straight if we let him... and sometimes it is so easy to let him!  He seems happy and we can get all these things done!  But this nine year old big-little boy just wants to play games with his parents.  He is the sweetest thing.  He is so smart and capable and brave and adorable and I am just so proud of him.  I think nine is going to be pretty great.  Every year is pretty great with this kid...

Signing off for tonight,

One lucky mom

Summer's end...

Well, I have survived my first week back at work.  

All went remarkably smoothly, to tell the truth.  So, I know that I am destined to have 3 very complex students move into the district in October, to make up for it.  But I will take every week of "remarkably smooth" that I can get.

One week in and it feels a little bit like we never left last year.  Settling back into the routine, and adjusting to it all... with the exception of the 5am wakeup.  That is just brutal.

I am happy with my classroom arrangement and decor this year:

Starting back SO early in August, plus the fact that my kids were still on vacation this week, meant that things had a bit of a summery vibe in spite of my return to work.  We managed to fit in quite a bit of summering into our evening and weekend hours!

We have tried to keep up with "learning time" this summer (with fair-to-middling success) and I think reading lessons with Ivy are paying off.  I am excited to see reading start to "click" for her in first grade!

Tuesday night:  Neighborhood movie and "candy toss"-- a makeup for a the rained out event on July 4th.  SO cute.  I just love where we live.

After the children finished grabbing candy from the street, we watched "Cheaper by the Dozen" and munched on cheese puffs and enjoyed a beautiful summer night. I happily stayed up past my bedtime so my little party girl could watch the whole movie (Jack returned home partway through so he could read Harry Potter-- I do love it when that boy is into a book!)

Wednesday: Kids spent the afternoon with their Gram and it was a scrumptious evening when we went to pick them up... it totally called for a sunset Edgewater visit.

I love the quiet sunset beach. ..

 The kids spent a long time having long jump competitions.  We marked their jumps with seagull feathers.

 Thursday:  "Meet the teacher" at Boulevard.  Ivy is a bit sad that three of her besties are in the other first grade class.  Her new teacher took so much time getting to know Ivy, showing her the classroom, enlisting her help with organizing the writing center... you could just see Ivy warming up to the new school year, as she spoke.  What a terrific teacher!

We lingered on the playground til almost 8, catching up with some Boulevard "regulars" as the kids climbed and played.

 Friday:  A visit from our friend Donna-- and her dog Cheyenne!  Jack and Ivy are just so crazy about little dogs!  We ended up taking a walk to the park-- for the dogs!-- where Jack and Donna played Pokemon together for quite a while.  I love the way he'll just strike up a quick, easy conversation with anyone, as long as its about this game...

Saturday: Kite Fest at Edgewater!  A glorious summer day.  Hot, but without that oppressive humidity that has been keeping us down. 

 We picnicked and then had a grand time alternating flying and watching kites, until Jack's new handmade sled kite got tangled on the string of a giant stationary box kite, snapped, and flew away over the lake.  Whereupon all happiness that had come before evaporated in the deep sadness of a disappointed boy.  Ivy decided to be sad in solidarity.  Supportive and sweet, yes, but all the woe really put a damper on the day...

So we decided we had no recourse but to drive over to another beach and make everyone swim.  

Beaching fixes everything.

 Ivy and Jack started the visit by playing Pokemon up at the playground, and Nat and I went for a swim on our own. The lake was indescribably perfect, the water the best temperature its been all summer, clear and calm.  It was so relaxing, bobbing around  out there with our devoted spaniel watching us from a rock.  Finally the kids made it to the beach and we got them in the water too and much splashing and jumping was done and it wasn't relaxing anymore but it was just right!

We could've stayed there all day but we had to head out-- so we could get to our next fun event:  A cookout with our Hiram family to celebrate summer's end.

Just a great crop of kids, these 10.  All between the ages of 3 and 9, they play so well together.  Epic games of "hostage," "mermaid," and even "cops and robbers" went on in the yard as we sat and drank beers with our wonderful friends.  Not sure this is what we all pictured for our futures back in the day at Hiram... but I am pretty pleased with how it has turned out.

Tomorrow my little ones will head back to their "real world" of school and they will be tired little ones for sure ( we've been very lax on bedtimes.  Mountain time + Olympics + a hefty dose of lazy parents = late nights for the kids!). I am still in shock that my boy is in 4th grade... Fourth grade!  This is the real deal for him!  His memories of childhood, his formative educational experiences... its all happening.  How did we get here so fast?  Isn't he my baby, my little soft faced one who loves to be held and nurse ad study the world?  And my little girl.  The one losing her front tooth and ready to take on the world with her attitude.  How is she this fully formed person, so independent and emotional.  Wasn't it moments ago that we spent the summer curled up napping, my tiny baby and I?

But more on that later.  Tune in for "first day pics" and nostalgia later this week.

In the meantime, here is a screenshot of Jack with a Rattata.