Good, productive day

Today was a good day. Today was a productive day. I don't believe that those two can't go together because when I'm productive, I feel good. When I feel good, generally, I'm productive. Today, it was a blessing of both.

Today is the last day of summer for my boys. Tomorrow Drew starts first grade. Josh begins his journey into Middle School. Shortly thereafter, my baby Ben will start his introduction to education outside the home at Noah's Ark. All three of my boys will be in "school" (in one form or another) for the first time ever this year. I think I need a tissue.

Last night I apparently had too much caffeine and was unable to fall asleep (besides having tunnel vision working on the MOPS blog so that it's up-to-date). Midnight rolled around and I hear a little miserable, teething toddler on the monitor let out a cry. I sat still waiting to see if it was just a whine in his sleep or if it was going to be an all-nighter. (I was praying for the whine/sleep.) He quickly went back to sleep so I was like, it's time to at least give it a shot.

Off went the computer. Andy went to sleep and within 8-10 minutes, snoring. I'm an EXTREMELY light sleeper. I mean, I hear my dog jump out of the chair onto the carpet if she gets too hot in her blanket. I hear every peep from the monitor that Ben makes throughout the night. I hear the ice maker from the kitchen as it's being productive. I hear it all. However, just because I hear it, doesn't mean that I can sleep through it. So, I lay there for about twenty-five minutes trying to fall asleep and realized I was fighting a losing battle. I moved my issues to the couch.

The couch really wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a dog that felt the need to lay directly on whatever body part seems to be near her.... leg, arm, etc. which makes me very hot and very uncomfortable. 1:30 a.m. I'm feeling a little sleepy but then another whine comes from the monitor. It's enough to make you jump and stay awake because you secretly realize that you're screwed and will be getting up anyway. However, again, he immediately goes back to sleep. Me, not so much. I say forget it and try to go back to the bedroom. Luckily, the snoring has stopped but still I lay.

I play backgammon on my phone for a while. Finally, I felt a yawn coming on about 2:40 am so I put the phone down and attempt sleep. And, the last time for the night the little guy lets out a yelp it's 2:43 am. He went back to sleep again. This time, for the night. I looked at the clock for the last time about ten after 3.

My alarm went off at 6:15 am.

Can I tell you how badly that sucked?

It sucked.

Bad.

Badder than bad.

It was epic the amount of suck that alarm going off at 6:15 had.

I shut it off.

It was merely a practice run for a regular school day and frankly, we weren't going to school so at that very moment, I didn't care.

However, at 7am, Ben woke up anyway so my snooze button really only gave me a short reprieve. Booo!

I figure if I'm up, lets wake up the troops. I called Josh on his phone. He answered. "Get Drew and come down. Happy day before school!"

They both came down. I made cinnamon rolls and pigs-in-blankets per Josh's request. Drew wanted pancakes but that will be Wednesday. I started dinner in the crock pot because I knew what a busy day it was going to be.

I grabbed a shower. Ben fussed. The boys watched television. The boys got dressed and off we went.

First stop, Payless Shoe Source. We bought some new tennis shoes for Benji. Size 6 1/2. The little pitter-patter of his bare feet on the floor just makes me smile. Seriously, I sit here and can just hear him walking as if he has flippers on his little feet. It's so cute. we pull up to the strip mall and step out and I feel like we've entered some sort of B-horror flick. It's the plague of grasshoppers. Not little bugs but GIGANTIC 3" long grasshoppers. These things are RIDICULOUS! They're EVERYWHERE! They're on the side of the building. They're on the signs. After we left Payless, they were ON MY WINDSHIELD! Creepy!

Then we went to get some cashola.

From there we went to get my car washed (it was LONG overdue). I like one particular car wash in the area because they give you the $12 wash for $10, you don't have to get out of your car and they have microfiber spinning brushes. They REALLY get your car clean. I need that to feel good about my car. The only bad part is that then it shows up the three door dings and one scratch I have on my car pretty bad! Oh well. Maybe I should get 'em fixed, huh? One day. (Yeah, I know, not a chance.) The boys just love sitting in the car when you're driving through as all the stuff squirts everywhere. Ben slept through the entire thing wearing his new shoes.

Then we went to get the boys hair cut. BOYS as in plural. So, yes, Benji got his FIRST REAL HAIRCUT today! I drove to the Cool Cuts for Kids but it wasn't there. I called another store and was given the new location so went there. $18.95 for a kid's cut now. YIKES! Insane! Seriously? They went up $4 a cut? It used to be $15 for a hair cut for a kid. Now it's $20? Yikes! Benji sat in the fire truck. He was a complete wiggle worm. She did a great job. Yes, I kept the curls. I did get about an inch taken off, however so he would look spiffy for his start at preschool.

From there we hit McDonald's as a treat for their "last lunch" and came home. Benji even ate a couple of nuggets! Once we were done with lunch, we freshened up a bit and then headed to Fort Worth Christian. Today was also "Meet the Teacher." Drew got Mrs. Hendley's first grade class. We've heard great things about her and look forward to a blessed new year. Our neighbors' daughter who entered Kindergarten got Mrs. Powell who was Drew's teacher last year. We're keeping it all in our little carpool family!

Ben fell asleep on the drive home. Dad called about half-way home. He wanted to come pick up the boys and take them out for a back-to-school treat. I said sure. He was on his way.

We pulled into the garage and I carried a sleepy toddler upstairs for his one good nap of the day. I prayed he'd stay asleep and that it would be a good one.

I brought in Drew's school supplies that needed to be labeled and used our Mabel's Labels on them and stored them in Drew's backpack for school tomorrow.

Shortly thereafter, my dad then came by and picked up the boys. They went to get an ice cream at Carvel. He said he thought Drew ate more sprinkles than ice cream. He dropped them back off and left for home to take a nap through the afternoon so he could stay up for the Rangers' game. (It started at 9pm tonight... go Rangers!)

I worked on more MOPS website stuff, cleaned the kitchen, filled out some paperwork, did three loads (which consisted of all) of the laundry, picked up the playroom and the living room. I picked up my bathroom, too.

Ben woke up. We all played around. Then it was time for Josh to get ready for grass drills (football). I headed out the door with all three boys about 5:35 p.m. Dropped Josh off and talked to Andy on the phone. He was en route to the school to help out with football.

While he was there, we learned that Drew isn't going to be on the same t-ball team again. The split-up, get together, drama with kid sports I just will never understand. Stacking rec teams at 6-7 year olds I don't really understand. Letting the boys stay together and playing upon their strengths, I DO get.

I make Josh and Andy their dinner plates and leave them sitting on the kitchen island and proceed to clean up the kitchen. I send Drew upstairs for a bath. I call upstairs to make sure he's finished and then shortly thereafter follow Ben up the stairs for his bath. While I bathe Ben, Drew cleans his room, puts on his jammies, brushes his teeth and gets his clothes ready for tomorrow. Ben gets out of the bath, into his jammies and his teeth brushed and then we go to Drew's room for story time. We are reading The Boxcar Children. Book #1. This is the story that sets it all... it's a great series for young children. I'm just so excited that Drew is young enough to enjoy it, old enough to read it himself and doesn't have to be entertained with a zillion pictures but lets the words paint his pictures for him. There are some simple silhouettes salt and peppered throughout the book but pictures are used sparingly, at best, and I like it that way. Drew and Ben played in the Legos box quietly while I read. Every now and then I'd stop and ask Drew about what was going on in the story to a) make sure he was even listening and b) make sure he was following the storyline. I got him to work on foreshadowing without him even knowing. We're going to read two chapters a night. I figure have dinner ready early enough that we can enjoy time together with no electronics (they're banned in this house during the week) and get through the entire Boxcar series (I own it) one book at a time.

Once our two chapters were finished, Ben helped me put all the Legos back in the container that was then pushed back beneath Drew's bed. Drew grabbed Ben for a hug and said his bedtime prayer. I gave him a big hug and turned off his light. Benji followed me through the bathroom that joins their bedrooms and we grabbed Elmo and he, too, was ready to climb inside. He sorted his blankets around a couple of times and then rolled over. Mind you, he let his music box play for the better part of an hour, but he never cried to get up.

Andy and Josh got in a little later than expected from football practice so he and Josh ate together. It's funny, everyone eats well with you give them healthy choices. I know if I hadn't filled half their plates with fresh veggies, they'd have both gone for filling their plates with chips. Making a conscious effort to help your family eat well by not offering anything bad from which to choose -- smart -- and duly noted!

Josh generally has a hard time going to sleep the night before school. Nerves. I think after running an hour and a half of grass drills in 105 heat, getting a full belly and a nice relaxing shower, he'll sleep just fine. Now, what time he'll wake up is a WHOLE other story!

I'm excited about tomorrow. I need to get my camera batteries charged. It's going to be a busy day.

A new school year! Lots of change.

Bring it! I'm ready!