Kangatopia

The girls and I started reading Eloise last night. Have you read this book? I just wish we had cracked it open sooner. It is pretty gosh-darned hilarious. I haven’t been consistently reading to the kids every night, so we’ve worked 15 minutes minimum into our routine for story time. Last night Bear opted to read in his room, but I think tonight over dinner we are going to discuss books that we would all enjoy… maybe Harry Potter? Bear surprises me in that he loves to read books about World War II. He hasn’t been so enamored lately of novels. I’ve talked to him about the HP books before but he seemed only mildly interested – interested in the way a child is who is trying to make a parent happy, but could take or leave it.

Monkey turned 7 a month ago, and we still haven’t gotten around to having her birthday party. I’m feeling kind of guilty about that, but she hasn’t mentioned it. What she doesn’t realize is that not complaining about not having the party she was promised is exactly why one hasn’t been organized. Her lack of complaints is also one of the things I love so much about her. A friend suggested that I organize a surprise party for her, and that sounds like a great idea – so now I just have to figure out some options. One of the primary reasons why the birthday party hasn’t happened has a lot to do with indecision on the best location.

Halloween is fast approaching and not one of the kids has a costume sorted out, and I’m kind of hopeful I get it together to do Halloween type activities with them before it’s next Halloween. I love Halloween. Unlike Easter, it is not a chore at all. The girls have chosen more traditional, less Disney inspired, costumes this year. Monkey wants to be Dorothy (and you know, she is going to look pretty damn cute with pigtails tied up in blue grosgrain ribbon – that is, if we can put the costume together), and Winston has a hankering for Little Red Riding Hood. I think they both are looking forward to carrying a basket. Bear wants to be something scary, dark and threatening – I get the impression from watching him and his friends discuss this topic that this is a pretty standard boy thing. Long gone are the days when he wanted to be Winnie the Pooh for Halloween, or a Power Ranger.

Let’s see… what else? Bear and Monkey brought home their report cards last week, and Bear received all As with a low A in math. Monkey, who has been practicing her addition and subtraction skills at home almost non-stop, received what I think is a B (the grading system is different for her than my son) in math, and an A in everything else. Winston has been recommended for tutoring. However, she is the youngest in her class and I’ve decided to not let this keep me up at night.

I haven’t been reading anything more respectable than bestselling vampire novels. I think I need to do something to keep myself from treading water too long in the shallow end of the pool, but that would require the ability and time to care about how my brain needs a few more synapses to make a few more connections. I am weaning myself off of diet soda and onto green tea. I’m also carrying around vitamins in my car so that I remember to take them on the way to work. I discovered much to my dismay late last week that I am gaining weight. I haven’t had as much time to ride my bike, and I’ve been a little really lax on my diet. I woke up this morning with a decision to pull of that together, and stop messing around – as my sister once put it, ‘I have given myself a talking to’. My 20 year high school reunion is looming in the ever lessening distance. I am already friends with a significant portion of the people I can remember from my graduating class on Facebook, and it’s occurred to me that all this self-criticism is directly related to how happy and successful all of my classmates appear. I guess all change sticks better if it happens incrementally and slowly.

Now! On to pictures!

Winston kicking back at breakfast before her big milestone day:

This is Winston walking out of school on her very first day as a Kindergartener:

Yes, I did dress them up in twin outfits that look a little like school uniforms:

My three fledglings. Bear is a sage 5th grader, Monkey a wacky 1st grader and of course, sweet pea Winston on the day she stepped out of the nursery, though in truth this is an ongoing process:

My beautiful (inside), beautiful (and out) Monkey [I think all my kids are amazingly wonderful - as I would as their mother, but I love this picture of Monkey]: