We were back from all our travels over the summer, Jim had already started to spend more time on school stuff even though school had not "started" yet. So that left me and the kids to re-adjust to life in the slow lane. Where the highlight of the day may be to get dressed and actually LEAVE THE YARD! WEARING SHOES! Man I can not wait for the cooler weather so I won't have to scrub another black bottomed foot! YUCK!
That being said I knew I had to sign the kids up for at least a few summer activities before school started. They had already started circling me like a pack of wolves intermittently and with what seemed like a random but was more likely a well-thought-out plan of strikes. #1 would come in and whine/ask to do something totally inappropriate - shot down! #3 would re-attack at a slightly different angle. That seems like a good solid thinking on the part of the girls. "Mom will say yes if Ben asks." However he would need help to actually get the request out due to lack of sufficient prep work. Obvious set up - shot down! Finally #2 would blow a fuse thus ensuring that all further requests would not even be entertained. So you can see my desperation. If only just to separate them in order to keep the attacks at my sanity at a minimum.
Sooo, we got the girls enrolled in a British Challenge Soccer Camp and Ben was shuttled off to his school for a two week Underwater Creatures camp. So at least I would have 3 hours of relative productive time. Yeah ME!! Or at least that is how it looked on paper. I signed the girls up for this camp earlier in the summer. The day before I did it, I asked AGAIN if they were sure they wanted to do it. Enthusiastically, they said yes. However the morning the camp actually started I had a very hard time getting anyone out of bed much less suited up for an early morning on the pitch! Lucy grumbled that I had not even ASKED HER IF SHE WANTED TO PLAY BECAUSE SHE MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT! I type that in all caps because that is how she talks. She can be very troll-like. Lilly was on board with very little prodding. Ben was highly perturbed that HE was not going to soccer camp. "It's not FAIR!" Tell me about it buddy, tell me about it. The week went quickly, the girls survived and GASP had a good time!
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| Wacky Wednesday at soccer camp |
I will admit I was hoping that if I did it once I can say no thousands of more times and the children will be happy with their one memory of Sandwich Man. Sadly, that has not happened. It only increased their pleading. Sigh.
Oh well, let's not dwell on that, moving right along! I have been wanting to stack the girl's beds to make bunk beds. I had wanted to do it in Florida, but by the time I figured out how to do it, we were too close to move time so I decided to wait. Then we get here and in the rush to get the house somewhat organized I went with the familiar. Well one day I had just had it so I stacked them! Doesn't it look great!
It really freed up some much needed floor space too! However, there is ZERO head clearance if you are on the bottom bunk. I mean ZERO! Throw in the HUGE instability issue and you have a recipe for disaster. So I immediately took them down. I am hoping Daddy is coming to visit soon so he can give me some pointers on how to make this work. If not then we may have to say goodbye to these beds, as cute as they are, and pick up some bunk beds.
Jim, love of my life and best husband in the world, booked a hotel in NYC for the second weekend of the month for me and two friends!! I was soooo excited!! This is the first time since Lilly was born that I was going away on a trip that wasn't related to moving, or taking command or really anything to do with the Marine Corps! We stayed in Times Square in a great hotel that sure was in the middle of all the touristy things, but hey - we WERE tourist! We took a harbor cruise, saw the Lady Liberty, ate incredibly well, slept late (for me), saw Wicked, museum exhibits, running in Central Park, and basically did whatever we wanted for 4 days! It was heaven!! I am already putting the plan into motion for next year. I have decided that I need to do this at least once a year for the REST OF MY LIFE! Who is with me?
Ahh, well the after glow wore off pretty quickly though. I caught the train back to Rhode Island. Jim met me at the station, we drove home and then he and his parents took off for dinner in Newport. Leaving me with the kids, alone. Sigh, back to reality! Seriously, I knew that was going to happen, in fact I insisted they go or otherwise his parents would have spent their entire visit eating at home with my unruly children. The least Jim could do was spring for a nice dinner out in town.
We have taken up the habit of going to visit the Cliff Walk and at least one mansion every week or so. We are trying to put our family pass to work. I believe we will have time to visit every one before we leave. All of the "summer cottages" are really impressive, especially considering the time of when they were built. I can only imagine what some of the newer mansions that are being built today have in them when you look at all the "modern" conveniences of the older ones. Mind Blowing!
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| Jim and I on the Cliff Walk |
As the first day of school approached I kept seeing all these postings on facebook about how sad (sniff sniff) all the mothers were that summer was over and they had to send their precious babies off to school. I was feeling pretty bad because I could not wait to drop them off that first day! The kids were feeling it too. "Is today the first day of school Mommy?" "No, not today." Collective sigh.
Here we are outside the school on the first day! I had seen all these cute ideas on Pinterest that involved sidewalk chalk and fancy elaborate fonts and in the end, decided that I was not that good of a mother and printed these out for the kids to hold. Who am I kidding here, you know me, I was really just saving myself from having to type the grades in the caption box for the emails/facebook postings.
Of course Jamestown, in their infinite wisdom, had the first day of school on the Thursday before Labor day. Ben didn't have school on Friday so we had to find something for him to do because it "wasn't fair" that the girls were going to school and he wasn't. Wow! Really?! Ben, we need to talk. But have no fear, Thomas the Train was in town so we grabbed Ben's new best friends down the street and took a train ride.
Calling it a train ride is a being EXTREMELY kind. The ride was supposed to last thirty minutes and included some type of mystery story telling. Sounded really good on the website. However, that is not exactly what we got. The ride might have been fifteen minutes beginning to end. To be fair the railroad tracks are not located in the most scenic part of Newport and it doesn't circle the island so there wasn't much to work with in the first place. And since I am being fair, we were given a tiny booklet that was about a Thomas the Train mystery so it is our own fault for being disappointed I suppose. There is a Polar Express here in December, but based on our experience I believe we will pass.
So, there August is, all wrapped up and condensed for your reading pleasure. Hope you found it as entertaining to read as it was to live it!! Hold on to your hats, September is right around the corner!
