The First Day of First Grade

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Today’s the day! Summer officially ended with a bang, well more like an alarm, this morning at 4:50 a.m. Oh, 4:50 a.m., I did not miss you one little bit. But it was worth it to get a run and some quiet time in before the insanity of the first school day morning of the year.

(Sidenote: Everyone watched the Spice Girls last night, right? Oh dear lord, I love me some Spice Girls. If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll remember at one point in high school I was in a Spice Girls tribute group that lip-synched to “Wannabe” in front of the entire school. Oh yes we did. Anyway, after the reunion performance at the Closing Ceremonies last night, I decided this morning’s run would be fueled by a Spice Girls Pandora station. If you never listen to one bit of advice I give you, you should listen to this one. DOWNLOAD THAT STATION RIGHT NOW HOLY CRAP. Spice up your life, people. Or just shake it shake it shake it. That was the longest spin off thought I think I’ve ever written. You’re welcome.)

There were backpacks to pack and lunches to make and hair to french braid (especially for this very important occasion). So far I haven’t heard from school, so I’m going to assume that means all is well with my little first grader.

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Although her brother is another story. Poor guy got pretty used to Lulu riding in the backseat with him during the 20 minute ride to daycare each day, so this morning, when I strapped him in my car without her (during the school year, Trent takes her in the a.m.) he started saying, questioningly, “Sissy? Sissy? Siiiissssyyyyy?!?!” and then proceeded to break down in tears. Ooof.

Tonight we have her first soccer practice, soon we start Daisies and there may be a cheerleading clinic this weekend. I already want to lay down and yell “I SURRENDER!” But I can do it. Yes. I can. Right? Right. Yes. Yes? Yes.

Happy first day of school!

Daredevil

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While spending time at the lake has always been fun for our little family, it can sometimes be, well, a bit boring. My parents have a pontoon boat, which is lovely, but slow and with the kids being so little, it’s hard to get them excited about putting around the lake at 2 miles an hour while they overheat in uncomfortable life jackets. Lulu is just now getting to an age where she likes being on the boat (mostly since she can now wear a skiing lifejacket which is lighter and way more comfortable…see here for an example of how uncomfortable it can be), but when it’s so hot outside, as it’s been this year, we pretty much all want to skip the boat all together.

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Enter, the newest lake toy, a jet ski! I’m as surprised as you are that my depression era parents sprung for a jet ski, but apparently my sister and her husband are very persuasive (thank goodness for siblings!) and convinced them it would be a good buy and a way to get people out at the lake more often. I was worried Lulu would be scared, since it’s loud and she’d never been on anything like it before…but holy moley, was I wrong. She LOVED IT. When she and Trent first went out, we could hear her laughing all the way from the other side of the lake. When I rode with the two of them (it’s a three seater), all she wanted was to do doughnuts over and over, while flying over our huge wake. She couldn’t get enough!

On their last time out on the water, Trent took our little underwater HD video camera with him and captured some video of the fun. They were going so fast the sound was horrible, but I think you can still tell how much fun they were having. Viva la jet ski!

The Flag Flies Low

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“Mommy, why is the flag so low,” she asked from the backseat. We were on our way to daycare and it had been a harried morning. I was flustered and confused, and at first, I didn’t know what she was asking.

“The flag, mommy, the American flag on that building. It’s really low.”

Sure enough, the office building on the side of the road had an American flag hanging at half mast. I’m sad to say it took me a moment to figure out exactly why. And then I remembered Colorado.

I haven’t written about the tragedy here or on social media, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t affected me. I haven’t wanted to trivialize it with a half-assed tweet or Facebook prayer. I, like most people, have been to a midnight movie showing. I’m not a huge Batman fan (I could never really get into the first movie after Heath Ledger died…it was just too sad for me to watch), so I’ve never been to one of their openings, but I’ve been to a Harry Potter film or two where it was pitch dark outside and people were dressed up in costumes. What happened in Colorado could have easily happened at one of those premieres where I sat in the dark, wanting to be transported to another time.

Even though I was sad and angry, I decided not to write about it online. I didn’t click on links to news stories and I didn’t watch clips on cable channels. Mostly because I knew the facts and I didn’t want to watch it played out over and over and over until it became entertainment instead of horror. We have a strict rule against cable news in our home (I cannot imagine that vitriol being spewed out at my children every day. Yesterday at the gym the TV in front of me was tuned to Shepherd Smith who transitioned easily and sickeningly from the shooting in Colorado to the Penn State ruling to who was going to be judging the next season of American Idol. News? Really? Makes me sick. And this doesn’t just apply to Fox News, I’m a disliker of all the cable “news” channels, including MSNBC and CNN. Blech.) so there was not really a way for Lulu to learn about this horrible event.

But there it was. The flag. I didn’t want to lie to her. I couldn’t lie to her. So I told her the truth. I told her that when something sad happens in our country we fly the flag low as a sign of support. I told her something really sad had happened last week and people were hurt and killed.

“Mommy, people die sometimes. That’s part of life.”

“Yes, honey, but these people were innocent and were killed by a man who had a gun, so the country is sad.”

“Why did he kill them?”

“I don’t know. Nobody knows. Some people think he is sick in his brain and some people think he’s just a bad person, but we don’t know yet.”

“Where did he kill them?”

We talked about how it happened in Colorado and she asked if it was near her friends or family. I told her it was close, but they were okay. She was quiet for a minute.

“Mommy, sometimes when I hear sad things, I want to cry.”

“Me too, baby.”

And then she turned to her brother and started reading him a book. She didn’t mention Colorado again. I have no idea if I said the right thing or the wrong one. I have no idea what will stick with her and what she’ll forget.

I mean, how do you explain the unexplainable?

A Week of Firsts

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It has been a week of firsts here at Crazybananas headquarters, especially for our number one gal, Miss Lulu. It’s funny, because with an 18 month old in the house, it can sometimes be easy to miss out in the changes in Lu. I mean, her brother becomes a completely different person every few days, but her personality and demeanor are pretty well set. However, the last few weeks have just been one big thing after another and I find myself looking at her and wondering where my baby/toddler/preschooler/kindergartener went?!

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Within a one week time span, Lulu rode her first two wheeler with assistance (see photo above for the cute dude providing said assistance) and….

1. Rode on her first merry go round! Remember when merry go rounds were at every playground? Well, they are pretty much outlawed now since they tend to lead to injury. Lu, Tate and I went to an old playground in my hometown and lo and behold, they still had a merry go round! In fact, it was the same merry go round from when I was a kid. Lu promptly ran over and jumped on with three little boys who were spinning it at fast as they could, and then jumping on. Lu was in heaven! That is, until, one of the little boys ran over to me and said, “Um, your daughter is bleeding.” Oh, that cursed merry go round! It was just a small scrape, and she got right back on. She’s big now, after all.

2. Made her first dinner! For her birthday last month, one of Lulu’s awesome great-aunts gave her a chef’s hat and apron, which she has been dying to try out. I finally (and nervously) let her work the stove, and she made Tate and I a lovely dinner of pasta with marinara sauce. It was quite yummy and there were no major injuries.

3. Cried at her first breakup scene in a movie! I won’t spoil you with the movie we were watching (it rhymes with Mice Cool Fusical Blue), but at one point the main couple break up and sing a super sad song about it. I looked over and Lulu’s eyes were filled with tears. I caught her glance and she immediately hid under the blankets, embarrassed about crying. I, of course, then started crying too and told her that I cry in movies all the time and I would never, ever make fun of her for that. Then we snuggled and stuffed ourselves with popcorn. I see many a rom-com movie night in my future!

4. She lost her first tooth! Not only did she lose her tooth, but she helped pull it out. Lu and her crazy dad pulled it out together, and Lu insisted on watching in the mirror. She’s a six year old sadist! There was a lot of blood, which freaked her out, but she quickly got amped up with excitement and the prospect of ice cream after the deed was done. She wrapped her her tooth in her new box for the tooth fairy (bought on Etsy, here) and hid it under a pillow on the middle of her floor, so it would be easier for the tooth fairy to find. The tooth fairy was very grateful, I hear.

Meet Rainbow

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There were quite a few items on Lucy’s birthday list that we just couldn’t provide for our little 6-year-old queen (note to self: when you take your kid to Disney World for a birthday they will expect NOTHING LESS for the rest of their lives). Even though we weren’t able to get to Florida this year, we did want to do something special for our little girl. And when I say we, I should specify, I mean the husband. The result was the newest member of our family, Rainbow the beta fish.

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Rainbow seems to be adjusting well to our crazy home, except for those moments when the lights in his tank seem to be making him lose his little fishy mind. Oh, and I should mention that in our house, you must refer to Rainbow in the feminine. Lucy knows he’s a boy (boy betas are way more common than females as pets), but she just decided he is now a girl. Poor little dude. He just wants to swim in circles and instead he’s become the world’s first drag queen fish.

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I figure since I’m doing a family pet update, I should let you all know how the Professor is doing. Molly is getting pretty darn old, and it’s started to show. She can’t hear very well and her eyes are cloudy. Most days she just wants to lay by the steps, getting up a few times to eat or go the bathroom. She still barks like crazy at any type of delivery person and will lose her marbles if she sees you have food, so I think we still have a few good years left. She also tolerates our household terror, and for that, we will always love that puppy.

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