Danny's Comments

Part of our weekly school routine is the Thursday Packets that go home with each student. They are filled with a week's worth of work, as well as any other paper communication the school needs to send. Our instructions as parents are to review the enclosed, sign and date the envelope, and send it back with our student. There is also a line for "Parent's Comments," which I have never, ever used.

A few weeks ago, Danny mentioned to me, "You know, there's a compliments section on the Thursday packets. Why don't you write something?" I corrected him, saying it is a "comments" line, not "compliments." And I thought that was the end of it.

So when today's envelope came home, as I went to sign for the week, I burst out laughing when I noticed the below:

 Classic, lovable Danny.

Thankful

We have so  much to be thankful for, including a Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, friends, football (go Irish!!) and fun (and not a lot of photography). One snapshot I did capture, though, describes one of the things I'm grateful for these days. Laura is increasingly interested in what her older siblings are doing, and trying to keep up. The above photo shows the three of them watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which thankfully kept them busy for quite a while and allowed me to chill out a bit after my half marathon. Yes, we have plenty of "Mommy! Up!" moments, but I'm slowly getting some space.

I am so thankful for these three. Yes, they are loud, sometimes needy, occasionally annoying even, but always loving. They are healthy and happy, and we are blessed.

St. Clare

 One of the many rites of passage for Catholic school kids is the saints project, whereby you research and dress up as a saint. CKS does this in 4th grade, in conjunction with the All Saints Day Mass. Clare, fittingly, chose St. Clare of Assisi. Below are photos of her processing in, with the entire 4th grade (and Archbishop, who presides over this mass), and then her class.

Coming immediately on the heels of Halloween, most parents (and teachers) breathed a sigh of relief to have this completed, but it really was fun to see, too.

Halloween 2012

As Danny mournfully commented last night at bed, and again this morning, "Another Halloween has come...and gone." I take the level of his sorrow at its passing as an indication that he had a good time, as I'm pretty sure did they all.

For posterity, Danny was dressed as Harry Potter (we are currently reading the third of the 7-book series, and he is loving them). Clare went as Hermione, the main female character from the Harry Potter books. 

Once again the Francos joined us for the evening - it really wouldn't be the same without them. We adults had agreed to let the four big kids trick-or-treat by themselves, to their utter delight. I am pleased to report that they returned safe and sound, and we received only positive comments from the neighbors. They also returned with their biggest haul yet, which prompted me to suggest the old "sort and swap" that I so remember enjoying when I was a kid. This was a big hit!

Laura started out the trick-or-treating rather tentatively, but once she saw the first piece of candy her enthusiasm picked up.

I still managed to steer her home after just a few houses, where she holed up at the table in the playroom with her bag, likely marveling at her good luck and not wanting to jinx it by interacting with the adults.

Her good-natured attitude toward the costume was such a delightful surprise (compared with the knock-down fight she and I had early that morning regarding a jacket and hat). Here's hoping that next year I am equally successful in getting her into the shark costume.

My Three Tiggers

I was sorely tempted to dress Laura up as Hedwig the owl in order to have a complete trio of costumes this year. However, this was the one year when the heirloom Tigger costume would fit, so we stuck with tradition. Keep in mind that both Katy and Nicki wore this costume before my own kids (and we even loaned it to a neighbor one year, so it's held up quite well).

Here is Clare as Tigger in 2004:

Danny in 2007:

And Laura:

While I feared the worst, it turns out Laura was the easiest of the three to get into the costume. She kept patting her stuffed belly and pointing to her "hat." Terrific!

Annual Autumn Retreat

For the days leading up to the annual CKS auction this past spring, and then immediately afterward, both the Seymour and Franco kids were anxious to know if we had once again secured a weekend at a mountain home. Happily we had, with the added bonus of booking it when the kids had a three-day weekend. Last year's time flew by far too quickly, and we knew we'd enjoy an extra day. (Props to Tim and Luis, who worked until midnight and all night, respectively, in order to take the time off.)

This year we headed to Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia. This spot is so close to the North Carolina border that on the day we ventured to hike some trails, we crossed the state line about 5 minutes after leaving the house. Fortunately, we enjoyed paved roads the entire time. We traded lofty mountaintop views for a spot right on the lake, complete with a fabulous lawn that saw a lot of football playing, gymnastics and glow-stick glory. In fact, these activities topped the list when I asked Clare and Danny what were their favorite elements of the weekend.

On our first full day, we recalled enjoying a family-friendly hike last year and sought a similar experience. The nearby Jack Rabbit Trails seemed a good option, and we set out on what we thought would be a 3-mile hike. We took a small detour to get us down to the water, and thus it became a 4.1 mile walk that seemed significantly longer. Keep in mind it was a very hilly, tree root-studded trail (and I was pushing a stroller the entire time). Nevertheless, Danny and Gabrielle were intrepid and probably ran half of the way, if not more, eager to stay ahead of the pack and prove their mettle. Their elder sisters brought up a dragging rear, and I must commend the younger kids for not rubbing their noses in it too much!

The fearless hike leaders.

Looking for frogs and skipping rocks.

The next morning the kids asked what we had in store, and I could tell they were wary of any plans for further hiking. We adults had seen a corn maze that we thought would be a good bet, so we ventured out once again. We really had some beautiful weather, and it was glorious to spend time in the fresh air. We managed to solve the "FSI" puzzle as well as make our way out of the maze, enjoyed a hay ride, and the kids couldn't enough of the bed of corn kernels they could wallow in. After lunch we made a quick stop at Goats on the Roof, where there are, indeed, goats walking on the roof. Aside from the option to feed these goats, though, it's really an odd spot...

The bulk of our weekend revolved around football (GO IRISH), food, chilling out, and glow sticks. Deanna and I had both loaded up on them at Target's Dollar Spot, and we definitely got our money's worth. Something about the freedom of running around outside in the dark, unfettered by adults, really struck a chord with the kiddos.

So, I'm pretty sure this is a tradition for our two families. Next year I will work to find the Francos a bedroom that is not subject to the sounds of Laura's early morning wake-ups, and we have decided that we are bringing lots and lots of paper plates. Other than that, we've definitely got a winning formula.

Laura at a Glance

Laura gets a lot of flack for being a menace, strong-willed, etc. etc. But when I stop and think about it, she's a pretty accommodating kid. She spends hours in the car every day and is always more than willing to do so. She happily rides in the stroller every day. She willingly goes down for her naps and bedtime every single time. She even loves to have her diaper changed (in fact, I harbor not-so-secret hopes that she will potty train early and easily). For the most part, we ask her to adapt to our family lifestyle, and she does.

So what do her days look like? She wakes up early, which is annoying on weekends but works pretty well with our weekly carpool schedule. She greets me every morning by saying, "Breakfast! Dressed!" Laura really likes her meals and her clothes. She likes me to put a bow in her hair and a bib on her for meals, and these are all things she can now communicate verbally.

Sometimes she spends the morning with James, pictured below, and Misty, the Bergstroms' awesome nanny who is also my book club friend. We also attend music class with James, and another neighbor Emma. You can see why we are often asked if James and Laura are twins.

Other social occasions often involve Jane, the youngest of our carpool's family:

Laura asks to go outside every day, multiple times. Lately she is literally a tree hugger.

I used to joke that the only time Danny, as a toddler, was happy to play by himself was when he needed to poop. This is sometimes also true of Laura, but recently she has taken to spending time by herself in the playroom...with markers. This does not get old for her, and as they are washable I am more than happy to indulge her in this.

She asks several times a day where Danny, Clare, and Daddy are, and is definitely happy to see them when they return home. We both enjoy interacting with others, too, and running errands - I truly think she gets afflicted with cabin fever as much as I. Still, I think we're pretty comfortable in our time together. And as soon as I stop and think about what she was like a year ago, I realize yet again how quickly that time is flying by.