those crazy potters

The first day of Kindergarten

	This week my baby started kindergarten. "Moooooom," Terran giggles. "I'm not a baby, I'm a kid!" He lets loose a laugh that tells me he's pretty sure he just cracked the joke of the century. Then he stares at me, "You get it?"
Oh I get it, kiddo. You are growing up. You are no longer the infant I held in my arms, or the toddler I kept from falling. You have even outgrown the designation of preschooler. I get it, because you see, this school year will bring us quite a few changes in addition to the daily adventure of kindergarten.
	This year you will turn six. This means the end of going places and not having to pay for those "5 and under." It means the end of clothing in the little boys department - no more 5T or 5XL. This year you'll move into a size 6 to match your age. You're going to graduate to the BOYS section.
So when did you stop being little anyway? You came home after the first day of school and told me about your day. You told me about playing outside, drinking chocolate milk, and talking to some boys. "What did you talk to the boys about?" I asked. "Girls," you said and in the same breath pointed out the airplane flying overhead.

From the weather channel

Fair
97°F
Feels Like 113°F
UV Index: 3 Low
Dew Point: 79°F
Humidity: 56%
Visibility: Unlimited
Pressure: 29.84 inches and steady
Wind: From the West Southwest at 6 mph

As reported at Leesburg, VA Last Updated Friday, August 22, 2003, at 4:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time.

Little Brothers

Bobby had his speech eval. on Tuesday. It went well, in that he kept a good friendly attitude the entire time we were there. The entire office found him cute, which of course made him ham it up even more.

On the flip side of things, the therapist found him to be functioning about 2-6 months below level (depending on the area of testing), although he did have some random spikes. Like the fact that he can and has been "blowing" for about 2 months now or that he knows which way is right side up for a book. The end result is that he will be receiving speech therapy starting on Monday. She'll probably see him two times a week for a few weeks, then drop him back to one session and we'll do another eval in 3-4 months time. I don't anticipate him remaining in therapy in the same vein Terran has...so all is good.

Terran told me the other day that the "most fun thing about having a brother is how Bobby copies me." I'll enjoy that while I can as I know the days are numbered where both boys find delight in that game. The worst thing about having a little brother? "When he hits me."

Doh.

Guess we'll keep working on that one.

In the true spirit of boys will be boys,
Bobby tries to steal Terran's hat.

Fun is...

letting your dogs out one last time before you go to bed and realizing when letting them back in that they have both been sprayed by a skunk.

Bruce's Birthday

was yesterday.

Terran and I made him a german chocolate cake with that coconutty frosting he loves so much. T then decorated the top of the cake with a filled in necktie - using sprinkles, extra coconut and white frosting. Twas pretty cute, but I didn't think to snap a picture of it until after we'd already cut into later in the eve.

Bobby gave Bruce the birthday gift of finally figuring out how to climb down from the couch. Bruce even got the honor of watching him do it for the first time. Pretty good gift, if you ask me.

T made Bruce a bluebird plaque and gave him a wooden car kit that they will do together. He also made a card and a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game for us all to play. He kept prompting for a game of musical chairs, but somehow we managed to avoid that.

And for his big gifts, Bruce picked out the new Star Wars xbox game....um....can't remember the title. Basically a huge RPG though, seems fun. He also picked up some wireless doodad that allows him to play MP3s on our stereo. Obviously, I did not pick any of these out and there were no great surprises to be had. :)

Hot, hot, hot lately. 97 degrees yesterday at 6pm. A bit cooler today, but pretty humid so it feels just awful outside. Too bad Bruce has a date with the lawn this evening!

Six Months

Well gee whiz folks - the potters have had an online journal for six months already! It sure doesn't feel like that amount of time has gone by since we first got all this up and running. I'm a bit stunned, actually.

Lesse, what's been happening.

Last Saturday Terran received his Tony Stewart Fan Club membership items. He was so very excited and has worn his brand new Tony Stewart hat several times already. We went out to Summit-Point again on Sunday (the 88 wasn't racing) just to watch the races and had a good ol' time. Got to see a fair bit of action on the track and all 3 of my boys were just giddy about that. Need to buy one of those shade shelters though. Gets a bit hot if you're not lucky enough to position yourself with some cover.

Bobby's newest trick is to climb up on the coffee table. This is made even worse by the fact that I have no carpeting in my entire house and the particular room in which he's mastering his climbing skills is floored in wonderful terracotta tile. We play the "No, get down" game repeatedly.

Okay, it's almost midnight and my brain is ceasing to function. More tomorrow.

The cutting of the teeth

Two weeks ago Bobby only had 4 teeth. He now has 8 that are visible and at least 3 more that I can feel getting ready to pop through.

It's been a Very Rough Week in Bobby land. :)

Geek in Training?

So yesterday Terran wanted to go visit a website he heard about on tv but when we sat down to the computer together nothing worked.

"What's wrong, Mommy?"

"Hmmm....I don't know T. I think our internet connection is down."

Moments later Bruce walked in the door, home from work. Terran went running to meet him.

"Daddy! Daddy! Something's wrong with the network!"

So in honor of Terran's geekdom, here's a list of his favorite sites to visit online:

Nick Jr.
CyberChase
Playhouse Disney
Noggin

Bobby's favorite place

The Window Seat.

Bobby will stand up here for a Very Long Time. Now there are probably several reasons he likes it so much. He gets to look out the window. He feels taller than his brother. The dogs don't bother him as much. But we've pretty much come to the conclusion that there's only one reason he stays up there as long as he does.

He can't get down.

Yes, the poor child has yet to learn how to climb down stairs, or get off the couch or the bed. Primarily this is due to his absolute denial to face backwards or get on his tummy and do the belly scoot. He thinks he should face forward like everyone else in the house. And I've no plans to start making everyone lead by example - can you imagine Bruce going down the stairs backwards? Sure, Terran might think it fun for the first ten times or so, but even he would begin to revolt.

I think my youngest child is just a forward thinker.

(Pun only half intended.)

I really hate it when

Someone knocks on my door and asks, "Is your mom or dad home?"

Yeah, no kidding. And I *never* know what to say. Usually I respond with a lame and relatively monotone, "This is my house, how can I help you." And I've often thought about some elaborate response, something like "Hmmm... Well, it's 4pm here. That's noon in Alaska. I'm guessing they're still at work. Want me to call and find out?"

But I'm a big chicken I guess. So I'm looking for witty comebacks that aren't necessarily over the top. I've had two suggestions thus far:

*I AM* the mom - this one I like. Simple and direct.
My mom and dad are dead - Oof. Nope. Can't say that. Hard enough to type it. Don't wish it. Why think it. (Although it would probably have the desired affect.)

There's a second half to this rant I won't go into right now. You know, the part about not believing I look young enough to merit guardians. But we'll save that for another day.

Almost Forgot

We went out to Summit Point to see the #88 race last Sunday. Bruce crews so it was just the kids and I spectating (we were later joined by the family of the driver). Both boys had a blast. Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze and a few clouds in the sky so it wasn't as hot as it could have been. The #88 didn't finish due to a flat tire, but we had a good time anyway!

Bobby wears his ear protection like a champ!

Quick Update

Need to update more often I think...

Bruce is in Vegas this week for the BlackHat/DefCon conferences. He's speaking at both, as he's done the last few years. It's also the unofficial annual Shmoo gathering, so he gets to see lots of friends and in general have a good time.

Kids are doing well. Terran spent a week in Tennis Academy and learned a fair bit. He's hoping to convince his grandmother to "play" tennis with him the next time we see her. He's yet to volley the ball back and forth though so I'm not sure how much playing will actually get done. :)

Terran taking a swing - it's a bit blurry

Bobby is running around like a one-year-old should. He has been referred for an early speech evaluation - which will happen Aug. 19. He doesn't have any words yet, and while I'm not exactly worried (he is, after all, only 15 months old) - due to our experiences with Terran I'm all for getting Bobby into the system early. If it turns out he doesn't need any speech services then no harm done.

What else. I drove Bruce's mustang the other night...and loved it. A lot. And that's all I have to say about that. :P