Cupid at ten.

Do you remember when you just started to discover the opposite sex? Did you get giggly? Kick people? Run from the room screaming? Practice your dance moves? Try out new (lower) voices? In our house, it's all of that. And more. And I assume it's going to get worse -- a lot worse -- before it gets better.

It seems that every boy in Paul's class has discovered girls at the same time. And every girl in Paul's class is completely uninterested. Trust me, I think this is a very good thing. But it is funny to watch the boys trying to play cool and acting so goofy. I was at the school at lunchtime a few weeks ago and asked one of the girls why they sit at a separate table from the boys. The answer: "Well, look at them." And you know what? The girls were totally right. The boys were doing every goofy thing in the 10-year old boy's arsenal of goofy things.

I guess what I'm trying to say is be yourself and enjoy a Happy Valentine's Day with the people who truly love you for being you. And don't hurry to be more mature. Especially you, Paul. Stay a young boy for as long as possible.

(Also, yay for Arcade Fire!)

Thursday afternoon.

Incidentally, Paul's report on Greece was a big hit and Maggie had a pretty good day at nursery school, despite being dragged away from the festivities at the "big-kid school".

This. That. The Other.

We've had two weekends in a row of school extravaganzas...the school year must be (at long last) coming to an end!

First, Cheverly Weekday Nursery's Truck Touch, in which the children touch the trucks and honk the horns and eat the hot dogs and hamburgers and cookies and...and...and... Liz and I whrrled the event, which was pretty cool. You can follow the story here.

This past Saturday, Paul's school hosted its Annual Fun Day, which was -- for many a dad -- more fun than usual, due to the presence of the Redskins cheerleaders (Redskinettes? I dunno.) They were giving mini cheerleading camps, and Maggie was right in the mix. There were a lot of very attentive dads once they figured out what was going on...and some of them didn't even have kids doing the mini camp.

Paul was at both of these events, but he, in what seems to be 2nd grader mode (judging by his friends) was extraordinarily free range, visiting us only for infusions of tickets. He came home with a lot of crap from both events. Have you ever noticed that attending school fairs is much like taking a day trip to NYC? You come with money, but 30 minutes later it's all gone and you have no recollection of where it went. Maybe I need to get to New York more often and school fairs less often...

I think Paul has taken stories of hell to heart during religious studies at school. He really gets the detail. Not sure what this has to do with anything, but there it is.

Playland on 450!

Spring break...too wet and cold to go to the carnival. Also, they never seem to actually be open. Hmmm. We had to settle for playland at IKEA, which was a huge success, because Paul & Maggie got coupons for free ice cream from the nice playland ladies. They were that good.

The best-laid plans have run amok.

Okay, maybe not the best-laid plans, but this week is not turning out quite the way I thought it would. Tonight, Paul is having an MRI -- we're trying to find out why this kid has so many bad, bad headaches. In fact, he's had some level of headache for the past four days. Miserable for everyone. Everyone.

Anyhow, since I'm not sure what the rest of the week holds, I thought I'd post this hint for something fun to do this Saturday now. Mayorga is a cool place and they have really good local coffee. And the band is not too shabby, either.

Also, in case you're curious, I'm posting graphic design/web-related stuff I'm doing on the old pricklygirl site. You can also reminisce about the old days, if you're so-inclined.

Sigh. School.

Paul started school on Tuesday... School seems fine, except that I've already learned that Paul is having difficulty focusing in 2nd grade (when asked, he told me that he's having a really hard time not thinking about the pool...I can't blame him.) Also, when checking through his work yesterday, I came across "wiski" (known to grown-ups as "whiskey") as his "w" word. How, you may ask, did I know what he was trying to spell? I asked. He told me it's "something that Daddy likes to drink." He's wrong. Mommy likes to drink whiskey. Daddy likes beer.

But my real problem? Maggie starts preschool in 30 minutes. She's excited but nervous, as evidenced by the increase in crying jags, potty accidents and an unwillingness to eat breakfast. I know she'll have a great time and she's certainly ready for it, but I can't believe she's already this big! This was my 6 lb. baby. Now she's going to school? How in the world did that happen?

There should be some magic wand that will, whenever you want, take you back to when your children were tiny babies and you spent the days (and nights) holding their little sleeping bodies on your chest while listening to them breathe and counting their fingers and toes over and over to make sure everything was there. When your kids are that small, it's impossible to soak up all the details you're going to want to remember when they're going off to nursery school, or second grade, or college.

I bet you're wondering where I've been...

I did not fall off the face of the Earth.

I did not fall asleep in a ditch somewhere.

The children did not win (though it's been close...)

I've been busy...

First, we spent a lovely weekend at Lake Gaston, Virginia with our best friends. The prettiest member of several Cheverly bands that you know and love and her very kind parents opened their house to all of us for the weekend. By "opened their house" I mean fed us, housed us and took us on the boat. Repeatedly. At all hours of the day and night. (Actually, I slept through that...)

And why, you may ask, did we go all the way down to the VA/NC border?

So that Things 1&2 could see their very first WILCO show!!!!!!!!! They had a great time. We all had a great time (even though the crowd, as Jeff Tweedy mentioned repeatedly, smelled very nice...but not like the pine trees surrounding the amphitheater. You know, concert nice.) Cary, North Carolina, has a great concert venue -- the Koka Booth Amphitheater. If you ever have an opportunity to see a show there, do it. The band was great, and Bon Iver, the opener, was really cool. I want to see them again.

On the drive between Lake Gaston and Cary, we went to Raleigh, which has a great comic book store. Any comic book store that employs nerds willing to find the perfect comic book for a three-year old girl is tops in my book. They had one copy of a Barbie comic book and we all made a big deal about it being rare in in plastic. Maggie was thrilled. The boy needed no help in the store... there was also a good used bookstore and lots of coffee shops. Fun, fun, fun. (But not as cool as Richmond, where we stopped on the way down to the lake.)

So we had a terrific long weekend with great people and I got more sleep than I have in months. Fantastic. And then...

JURY DUTY.
Okay, I'm one of those people who think that jury duty is a good thing. I've been called several times, but was never put on a trial. Until this week. All I'm going to say: Do not do drugs. Do not use guns. If you have to use drugs, do not use guns at the same time. We'll all be alot better off if you just take my advice.

Monday night, after a quick yummy dinner at Eat First, we went to see Grizzly Bear at the 6th & I Synagogue in DC. A band I'd never heard of, Violens, opened (but I will seek them out!) It was the most polite show I've ever attended, and we were probably the only people there who had to get home to a babysitter (thanks, Abby!) Also, Charles said that every guy in the restroom while he was there washed their hands. Impressive fans, Grizzly Bear.

My jury duty ended early (plea deal) and I went to a little coffee place in Upper Marlboro that I've driven past so many times: More than Coffee! They make an incredibly good black bean and corn salad -- warm, tossed with oil and lots of cumin, and served over lettuce. (And really good soy cappuccino...) So after a relaxing lunch and a stop to buy school supplies for the boy, we got to spend Tuesday afternoon at the pool. You know those days when the cold water is especially welcome because you've been laying in the hot sun? Yeah. And we ended last night with a fantastic vegan meal made by some new friends and shared with some old ones.

So. In less than a week, four bands. Three states. The pool. Lots of great friends and food. Civic duty. Not a bad way to wind down summer...

Trying to Have a "Smart" Conversation Goes Nowhere

We went out last night to celebrate the birthday of a the coolest girl in the band, and returning to the Chev, I tried to strike up a conversation with MasterP about the recent discovery of water on Mars. (Note: I am overcompensating for days of partial parental neglect due to overwork, so I'm really trying to pull out all the good mommy stops. I feel like Homer Simpson when he started paying attention to the kids... and they asked him to stop.)

The conversation:

Me: Did you hear that they got a thimbleful of water from Mars?

Charles: Really?

Me: Yeah, the NASA scientist said that the champagne was flowing in the lab. (See how I can work champagne into so many conversations? It's a gift...)

MasterP: Does that mean that there are little green martian men on Mars? I'm going to go and get one and come back and scare people with it!

LaMag: I'M going to go get a PINK one and she'll be a princess named Strawberry Shortcake!!!

MasterP: MAGGIE!!!! You can't have a pink martian. They're GREEN. The pink ones are from someplace else. Pfeh.

LaMag: MMMOOOMMMMMYYYYYY! Paul is mean and he says I can't have a pink martian and I want a PINK one!

At this time, the headache that I'd been battling all day returned. With great vengeance.

A Tale of Summertime Woe

If you have a school-age child, you may be spending part of your summer getting your kid to do workbooks in preparation for the coming year. Or, if your school-age child is like mine, you may be spending your summer in a circle of useless, endless negotiation about the aforementioned workbooks. You may be hearing a lot about what summer is supposed to be, and how you're "ruining my life" and how they "really hadn't put work in the plan for today." Sound familiar? If not, I envy you. Oh, how I envy you.

Until today, that is. This morning, MasterP (pretty much) voluntarily did his work without (too much) complaining. I was as surprised as you! He even asked me to take pictures so that we could remember this day. There were some conversational gems...

Working on sight-recognition words (the text was a little smudged so he missed one or two that he normally would get):
"Not quite. It's 'could'."
"Oh yeah. 'Could.' That's a classic."

The conversation after he finished:
"Mom? Mom, would you say this was the best I ever did workbooks, an average time or worse than usual?"
"Hmmm. Well, it was pretty good."
"Mom. I really need to know your full answer here."

What do you suppose he has up his sleeve? A survey?

I pushed my luck, though. I offered him a bribe -- I mean incentive -- to complete additional pages each day. He ran (and I can hear the lovely strains of Lego xBox now). I knew I was going too far.

Annals of Bad Parenting

Paul and Maggie have been left to their own devices more than I'd like this week. I've had a nasty flu thingy since last Friday when Charles had to talk me down from insane hysteria...this is always the first sign that I'm going to get sick. We should have known, because it took a lot of talking down. And -- testament to Charles -- he actually missed a local solo coffee house performance by the Jerry guy from Dark Star Orchestra just to help me regain some sense of sanity. That's love. So a week later, I'm hacking away and have developed a weird rash, which makes me think I've got the leprosy. Oh. And Maggie has pinkeye. And Charles is in Atlanta. Working. How's your summer going? Good? Good. I'm glad.

Anyhoo, back to what I was saying... P&M have been left to their own devices a lot over the past week. They've been remarkably good -- not too much screaming, not too many messes, a lot less fighting than I expected. Now I'm beginning to figure out why...

Paul has been teaching Maggie how to play Star Wars xBox games.

So at least it's been educational. How long do you think it will take for her to win? Personally, I think he has a year, max.

(Note: When you're a three-year-old girl, a princess crown and a tongue hanging out really improve your gaming skills. And it's interesting that, even with eyes red and crusted over with puss, a hacking cough and green sludge coming out of her nose, la Mag still demands to be dressed as a princess first thing in the morning. What a chick.)

(Note 2, for any teachers who may be reading this: Paul and I did actually do flash cards yesterday. And he's been reading stories and writing reports for me. I'm not totally bad. Thanks for reading that. I really do feel better.)

Why I haven't posted.

We've been having too much fun. Sorry.

Between a baby calf eating Paul's shirt at South Mountain Creamery (Paul seemed to really enjoy that. Huh.), days spent poolside, visits to Clagett Farm, our bi-weekly Cheverly Community Market, and Maggie trying to eat things bigger than her head (I think there's some words of wisdom that I should have told her, but I forgot. Whoops.) the blogging thing has been an afterthought. At best. I have been good about taking pictures though...

Summer vacation preview

Things 1 & 2 don't have school today (cancellations as a result of yesterday's big storms), so P is practicing his summer schedule: sleep late, breakfast, pick a Beatles record (more on that in a moment), lay on the couch and play guitar until it's time to head to the pool. He has these things all figured out.

Actual conversation:
Mom, why do records sound so awesome?
Um, I don't know.
It's like a miracle.
Okay.
Do you want to listen to Rubber Soul or Meet the Beatles?
How about Rubber Soul?
Awesome choice, mom. You're pretty smart.

So. There you have it. At least to the seven and under set, I am pretty smart. Actually, the boy is smarter, but he doesn't need to know that. Yet.

Phew. What a weekend.

You know those weeks when Monday comes and you're glad? This is one of those weeks. Not that the weekend wasn't a lot of fun. It was. Perhaps too much fun, as the boy started the day by having a total, utter, complete meltdown in the parking lot in front of his school. His last words to me this morning: "I can't make myself have a good day, mom! You have to give me a good day or else I'm going to have a terrible day today and it will be all your fault." I think he was a teeny bit overstimulated as a result of TMA (too many activities) between Friday afternoon and Monday morning:

Friday

*Unscheduled (but happy) playdate with two of his best friends, during which he asked the lovely nine-year old english girl to be his girlfriend and was unceremoniously shot down.

* Trip to Burger King for dinner. Not because he likes the food, but because Iron Man toys are included in kids' meals right now.

Saturday

* Date with mom at the grocery store (I am nothing if not exciting), got to choose donuts for himself and la Mag.

* Truck Touch for Cheverly Weekday Nursery and Mother's Day Out, which meant four (!) hours of racing around and honking horns interspersed with hot dogs, sugar and watching his dad and Kelly perform, all while trying to be on relatively good behavior because every teacher he's ever had made an appearance in the parking lot.

* Dinner in DC with Grandma. Got to eat tortillas and ice cream. And lemonade.

Sunday

* Early morning date with mom, including Starbucks (though I have been informed that he doesn't really like coffee) for chocoalte milk and a donut, and a trip to Target for clothes (because all of his clothes are either too small or full of holes), a Speed Racer toy and a new toothbrush (to combat the past two days)

* Haircut (see above -- he needed it) and shower

* Man time. A viewing of Iron Man with dad, Erik and Tom. I assume there were snacks.

* Lawn care time with dad. Paul actually got to use the push mower.

* Dinner (tried to hide and play xBox instead, but we're on to that one.)

* Shower under duress, because he managed to get filthy in the few hours after the last shower.

So, somehow, this morning everything fell apart. I felt sort of sorry for him, but really. He had to go.

I hope he's having a good day.