September 1: our quotidian is OK with me

Today was absolutely a standard day at home: it's punctuated with good moments and bad. I don't chose to remember the bad moments, but it is worth knowing they exist, often sandwiched between the good moments.

playing beads

And, in the case of our day today, the bad moments are the causes of our good moments. Case in point: a bumpy, late morning led to 90 minutes of sincerely diligent work.

interesting way to practice the piano

I spoke frankly with the kids about our fall schedule, and how it's suddenly so busy (in the best of ways), and that we're really going to have to do consistent work in the small pieces of time we have. I pointed out that the best time for school work is before 9 a.m. 

energy to spare 

(also, dressed to head out the door at 8 a.m. today...the rest of us, not so much)

My fear is that we'll lose our time for read-alouds. Those require so much energy from me, to maintain the patience to read cheerfully while being bombarded by interruptions. I wish I could withstand the constant volley of words, but it really drains my cognitive reserves.

this girl ate lunch, though

I also realized around 4:30, after I came home from a meeting, that I'd not exactly fed the kids lunch. Much. Meltdown.

August 31: aerial silks

Field trip to the local aerial silks gym. The kids had been looking forward to this all month, perhaps because there are silks at their gym, but they rarely get to use them. (Funny: the instructor of this clinic asked if anyone had done silks before. Peter made the "kinda-sorta" hand gesture. She pounced on this: either you have or you haven't. There isn't "kind of.")

Peter might look like he's showing off here,

 but I've stretched with him, and this isn't anything. 

If he wants to warm up his muscles, he's got to go deep.

Lucy had hurt her foot the night before, and was literally hopping or crawling around, so she'd planned to sit out this field trip. After ten minutes, she changed her mind. While she couldn't do everything, she was able to have some fun. (Pouting not optional.)

(this pose didn't hurt her foot, I guess)

The coaches were able to get the kids into some pretty impressive-looking positions. They weren't allowed to climb very high, but they could hang and twist. It was an interesting experience from a parenting perspective: Peter tried to pay attention to the instructions, but his small feet made it difficult for him to climb. Also (and probably more importantly), he so very much wanted to be the BEST at this that he opted to brute-force climb the silks, like he'd climb the rope at the gym. Unsurprisingly, he said it hurt his hands. 

Lucy didn't pay quite as much to directions as she should have, and was very preoccupied with her foot, so her attempts were..interesting. 

And Thomas toughed this trip out. He struggled to climb high, as body awareness isn't in his skill set right now. but he kept a positive attitude and accepted coaching. He was partnered with an older girl, and she very patiently helped him as much as she could. Really, though, I didn't expect much from him of tiny little feet and a sport that involves complicated wrapping of fabric and climbing upon said tiny feet. 

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These little girls played while the bigger kids climbed. Mary and Daphni are great at entertaining themselves, and, luckily for Mary, Daphni is pretty tolerant of her 3-year-old playmate. They have a lot of fun together, even if that fun involves running in the parking lot. 

"but what about socialization?" they say

(Yes, definitely hard to socialize in a mixed-age group of 25 children.)

We followed up our field trip with a Trader Joe's picnic at the one park in SLO that reminds me of the seasons. Here, the trees are starting to change to yellow. September must be around the corner.

August 30: Nature day in the trees

Almost like a scene from Caps for Sale

I hosted nature group this week, choosing a sweet little spot in some low-growing live oaks. I'd hoped the trees would invite climbing and provide shade, and they definitely did that. Younger kids were able to scramble up the low branches, and older kids could climb quite high.

Older kids opted to take the 2 mile hike out to a small cave. Peter went off with his friend, alone. It tested my boundaries, but I trusted the two of them together, even if they did return with full water bottles.

(Really, the only danger were rattlesnakes, coyotes, and bobcats. The mountain lions don't prefer the daytime hours. So, you know, no big deal.)

Lucy made the hike out to the cave as well, although she went with a larger group that included adults. I don't think she's quite ready to make that type of hike herself, based only on her reaction when she sees an earwig.

Thomas spent most of his time with another friend and a set of walkie-talkies. Lots of little-boy play with sticks (still not effectively banned, you see), ninja moves, and exploration. No tears, so I can only call it a success.

(Mary spent her time either eating snacks or antagonizing her little friend. Because: three year old.)

I happened to see that it was "National Toasted Marshmallow Night," and as I take all of my best ideas from random calendars published in small-market newspapers, I knew we had to celebrate. Fire pit and leftover birthday party marshmallows!

August 29: Monday's bringing it

This Monday started off in solid Monday fashion, with everyone forgetting how to behave during the week. Kevin ran out the door with "I'm running late, I'll probably miss the bus, see you later" over his shoulder. Thomas came into the bed and anagonized Mary just by his existence. Everyone started a board game on the FLOOR where ANNA CRAWLS and then complained that she was there. Breakfast was somewhat late. 

So: time to make cookies.

This was that moment when you think "is this recipe turning out, or did I just waste a pound of butter?" (Spoiler alert: these made some great shortbread cookies. Round 1 were chocolate dipped. Round 2 might be jam filled.)

Later, after some school work, the big kids returned to playing games. Here, they're playing a Chumash stick dice game. Players toss the sticks onto ground and win points depending upon how many designed stick faces show. Peter asked if it could go on forever. "No, it won't," I assured him. "Actually, it doesn't ever have to end. It could go on forever," he replied. Obviously he's a probabilist's son with a developed sense of the difference between "possible" and "probable."

Lucy has requested a fishtail braid for months, a request I have put off because her hair isn't long enough. It's still not quite long enough, but with my patience and her low expectations, I was able to give her one. Every time I braid my daughter's hair I think of the times I'd ask my mother to style my hair and the times she'd refuse. (And when she did style my hair, I'd always take it out. There might be a causal relationship here.) For some reason, I have equated French braiding Lucy's hair with Six Sigma mothering.

The big kids and Mary headed off to gym, leaving Anna and me behind. Typically, I spend this time trolling YouTube videos for fishtail braid how-tos (and other matters of dubious educational quality), but today I decided to get out for a walk. Anna has been sleeping like a coked-up howler monkey (read: not good), but I had a suspicion she could be coaxed into a nap if the conditions were right.

Like this view while cruising in the stroller! Technically she missed out on the view, as she had fallen into a beautiful sleep, but I didn't mind the views or listening to a podcast without interruption. Getting out and seeing the beautiful area we live is vital to remembering why we live here. I can walk ten minutes and find the bay, the sand dunes, and the hint of ocean air.

I wanted to explore around this grove of eucalyptus trees, but as I'd stopped pushing the stroller, Anna woke up, For the first time in a few years, I had the thrill of carrying the baby while pushing her stroller. Living the dream! 

August 28: Scenes from Bedtime

overheard bathroom banter:

"Peter, yoou look like Justin Beaver"

"Who is Justin Beaver?"

"A singer who is really rude."

Came in to find Mary investigating and identifying the dinosaurs on her pajamas. True fact: all parents are amateur, if accidental, paleontologists. 

August 27: Village Life Day at La Purisima Mission (but NOT THE WATERPARK)

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August 26: my baby is cuter than yours

I made the kids some souped-up chocolate milk drinks before gymnastics: chocolate, yes, but also nutritional powder and protein powder.

Oh, and sugar.

Later, after enduring a trip to Target with me, Anna and I hung out at the gym. Somewhere along the way our Kindle was lost. Knowing me, it was lost. My brain says it was stolen. Actually, my brain says that I had it, but then convinced myself I didn't, and then convinced myself I did again. The facts remain: unless it's in a very unexpected place in the car (possible; unlikely); or the kids have put it somewhere (more possible; less unlikely), it's missing.

The upshot is that I changed my Amazon password for the first time in half a decade. And that old password? It ranks "very weak" on the password testers, so probably good to have changed. Now it's only marginally more difficult for hackers to spend hundreds of dollars on whatever hackers buy on Amazon. I'd buy gift cards or chocolate.

The lost Kindle is just one more in a series of ways All Of Our Technology Is Dying All Around Us, my future autobiographical novel/very accurate description of the past few days in our household. I'm currently convinced this laptop will explode in my lap. If it requires electricity and has a microprocessor, it is probably doomed.