THE GREAT ADVENTURE

Today was the first day of kindergarten for DS#3. We had to wait all morning. DS started pacing around the couch right after breakfast (can we go now? Can we go now?)

A bus came, but not for DS#3. It was also the first day of preschool for my daughter. DS#3 looked on enviously as she boarded her bus. It didn't help that she was laughing non-stop and singing an obscure bus-song. At least he remembered the rule to stay on the sidewalk. Back into the house we went. Pace. Pace. Pace.

Finally, because I could not stand the pacing any longer I decided we would head to the bus stop 10 minutes early. We stepped out onto our porch to see the bus leaving the bus stop. DS#3 was devastated. I talked to the moms at the stop, it turns out the bus was traveling the route backwards and tomorrow it will be on the original time. Unfortunately, this meant that DS had to do the very uncool thing and have his mom take him to school. He glowered the entire way.

The kindergarten playground was utter chaos. No one knew where to line up (with 5 kindergarten teachers, no one knew which line they were supposed to be standing in). We missed our line by the fact that the crowd was blocking our view of it. I escorted DS into his kindergarten room. Apparently it is still cool to kiss mom good-bye. I made sure his bus number was pinned to his shirt. As I left the room I heard him yell "Teacher, I'm heeeeereeee!" I escaped as quickly as possible.

Now forward to mid-afternoon. DS#1 comes home from middle school. Half an hour DS#2 comes home from elementary school.......without DS#3. I asked him where on earth was my third-born? "I don't know Mom, he didn't get on the bus." Dear Daughter came home as I was frantically calling the school asking where my Angel-Boy was and did-they-lose-him? I had visions of him getting off at a wrong stop and being lost forever. The school radioed the buses and found DS#3 on a bus going in the opposite direction. He was able to tell the bus driver his name and my name. The driver called me and we arranged to meet back at the school.

I broke all speed limits getting to the school. The bus pulled in a few minutes later. DS#3 calmly got off the bus, turned around, and politely thanked the bus driver. The driver commented on how smart and sweet DS#3 was during their ride. As the bus pulled away, DS#3 remarked to me "Wow, that was a great adventure". We drove home and reunited DS#3 with his siblings. DS dropped his backpack on the floor, laid down on the couch and promptly fell asleep. Apparently Great Aventures wear little boys out.

As a side note, I am highly tempted to print DS's bus number in big black numbers on a white t-shirt, which I then would require him to wear every day for the rest of the year.

When It Rains It Pours

My daughter got her cast taken off today. She was so brave. No crying but she did keep her hands over her ears and repeatedly chastised Mr. Saw Man for operating his saw too loud. When she saw the skin on her newly bare leg, she thought it was "Yuck". Her skin is shedding after being covered for so long. My daughter does not like the feel of it.

We started the day at the fracture clinic of PCMC. We finished the day at our pediatricians office. DS#3 did not touch his pizza at dinner. DS#1 brought him to me and told me to look at his tongue. There were nasty canker sores all over it. Off we go to the ped. dr. office where DS#3 is diagnosed with Hand Foot And Mouth disease. What on earth is that? It sounds like something horses get. Apparently it is a virus that will last 3-5 days, is very contaigous, and affects kids under the age of 7. Once they have had it they will not get it again. The dr. also found an ear infection which DS#3 never complained of. This kid must have a high pain tolerance.

No sooner did we finish one medical dilemma (and resulting very big bill) that we found ourselves into another medical dilemma (and resulting semi-big bill). And the first day of kindergarten is a week away. I really wish we weren't on a first name basis with our pediatrician, orthopedist, cardiologist, pharmacist and ER. I like to fool myself by saying it is because my kids are just so darn cute. No, it really is because my kids are just so darn prone injury or illness. With 4 kids it seems like we are always dealing with someone's medical bills.

Here is hoping for a healthy school year. Please?

Bless This Home......

We've dealt with my daughter's broken leg (tramp slip, we got the lecture from our ped.dr, and the cast is purple), moving to a new house ("Mom I can't find ____insert anything here___), four new school registrations (and the headache of finding birth certs and immunization records in moving boxes), the changing of the utilities (not to be confused with The Changing Of The Guard but with nearly the same pomp and circumstance), the lost mailbox (honestly,we couldn't find it and the post office could not remember where they put it), receiving mail for 5 different adults whom I do not know (how many people lived in this house before we bought it? It had to have been all at the same time), and The Mosquitos (yes, its supposed to sound like a horror flick. The stories the locals tell....).

Now if all of that sounded negative, it wasn't meant to seem so. It was stressful, irritating, and, in the case of the mosiquitos, rather freaky. My sister and her husband came to see the house. We got to talking and the time passed so quickly that it was 10:00 when they left. Someone had left the porch light on and when they opened the front door to leave..............
THE MOSQUITOS!!!!! (can you just hear the scary soundtrack?) There was a huge cloud. We slammed the door and DH ran for the bug spray. My sis and her DH left in a cloud of noxious fumes. The next morning I could actually sweep all of the bugs of the porch. I hear the city has started spraying every two weeks......

There are so many things I love about this community. Our ward is very friendly. Today DH found out that one of his old mission zone leaders is in our ward. There are so many new people that there is a "New Member Orientation" every week to help them out. Everyone is outgoing and trying to learn all of the names. Our records were read in our ward today. The counselor in our bishopric introduced me as Karen (um, no) and misprounounced our last name. I think we will be correcting people for quite a while.

I love the views. The area behind our back yard is green space. That view will stay intact. I love watching storms come over the mountains from my bedroom window. My kids love watching the storms from my bedroom window. As soon as lightning is seen, a shout goes up and everybody runs into my room and jumps on my bed. I then ceremoniously open the blinds to start the show. Oohs and Ahhs abound.

This community has so much to offer. This week school starts. I'm signing the boys up for fall sports. A local grain mill is holding a free pancake breakfast and tour of their factory (I am surprised the kids want to see it). We'll start attending story time at the library. We've discovered the local farmer's market. DH and I are enjoying the nearby attractions for date night. Life is starting to get back to normal. Thank goodness for routines.

My daughter gets her purple cast off this week. She can hardly wait to start dancing again. Instead of driving 30 minutes to get to her dance studio, I can now drive there in 10. A bonus indeed.

Tonight, after family scripture study, my DH gave a school blessing to each of our children. I even had a blessing (my kids insisted it was only fair that I get one, too. They are so afraid I will miss them while they are all at school.) Then we knelt together while my husband blessed our house. It is now official. This is the place we call Home.