"Simple Monkey and a pat on the bottom"

Well, Gabe patted his preschool teacher on the bottom today. I guess it's time to have a talk with him about personal space and boundaries. There was another incident already this morning, before he got to school, involving Gabe, his dear friend Maddisson, and HIS bottom. Enough said.
Laurie came over with her three kiddos today - we'd been planning lunch because Gavin and Maddi had their annual physicals and it was right up the street. So after a nice restful three hours of sleep, I was up and at 'em this morning, picking up stuff for lunch and then racing back here in between Zachy's preschool pick up and drop off to try to clean up the disaster that IS when Mommy has been sick for a couple of days. We had a yummy lunch, despite the "Bottom" episode (seriously: what is wrong with my child????) and strawberries with fresh cream for dessert. A nice little pick-me-up.
While I was making some pizza dough for dinner, the boys were playing happily (NOTE TO SELF: it actually happens!) in the living room with some stuffed animals and Gabe's ever present SpiderMan costume, when I heard, "Come on, Simple Monkey." I had to poke my head in. "Zach, what is your name?" (He has this really cute stuffed orangutan John bought him, which he was tailoring his identity to, I assume.) "Simple Monkey!" he replied. Just as I thought. Wow, what a day.

Yesterday the boys sang in the choir at church - it was a rainy day, so they were up there in their froggy/bumblebee boots, and did a great job. Zachy looked so tiny up there, but he sang his heart out on the chorus (the only part either of them knew) and gave a wonderful, flourishing bow at the end.

After church Jake had a paintball game against another church, which I haven't heard about yet, but he was decked out in his camo (for church!) and looked prepared to kick some serious paintballs.

Katy babysat for me last night while I had my occassional lounge shift, which she was looking forward to because tee shirts at Hot Topic (how she manages to find ones that are from Christian bands is beyond me, but I'm glad she does!) run at twenty bucks a pop, so all her money that was saved up in gone - oh, except for ten dollars in quarters.
And working until twelve thirty put the cold I've been dealing with into overdrive so now I am actually sick. Darn it.

Gabe weighs 50 pounds - I remember weighing 50 pounds (um, two decades - yes, decades- ago, but still, I remember). Seeing my children experience life that I remember experiencing is really strange.

Of course, one could argue that me actually remembering ANYTHING is strange. The other day as I was preparing for John and I to go away for one (very precious) night, I went down to Main Street to pick up some gourmet munchies to enjoy in front of the fireplace, et cetera. "Butters" is this lovely looking wine and cheese shop, which I have never been in to, since it didn't have carts the size of our van, with as many seats for my boys. I parked across the street and skipped over to the store, feeling very posh as I set about choosing which cheese wheel and baguette I wanted, selecting some delicious chocolate almonds (dusted with cocoa, and from SPAIN), to go into the picnic basket also. My purchase made, I left the store and got into someone else's van. Not just one of those "oops, I almost grabbed the handle of someone else's vehicle" moments. Oh, no. I got all the way in , sat down,and wondered who had placed the pipe cleaner stars on my rear view mirror. My getaway was quick, but I must've looked like a complete nut as I giggled my way across the street.



Our sixth anniversary was a few weeks ago (which is what we were celebrating with our night away in Meredith) and I am very proud of us. It feels like an accomplishment, and I am glad that when we eloped, we meant what we said.



My mind is drawing a blank, which is why I need to blog on a regular basis. The last few weeks have been a rough patch for me, and most of my routines have been battles that I may or may not win, depending on the day. But progress is my goal, and I want to keep going the way I have been. So I'll be back soon.