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as much as i have enjoyed this blog for over a year, i've decided to make a change.

you can now view our family updates at


www.thecounts.weebly.com

Ungrateful Heathens

i love music. all forms of music.

i started playing the piano when i was four, as a second to my dad playing the fiddle. i continue to play it poorly decades later.

my piano was one of the first things ryan surprised me with after moving to ste. genevieve. yesterday evening i was feeling nostalgic and decided to tickle the ivories. ellie jumped up on the bench with me and assisted while i played from a few music books.

within a matter of minutes i could hear my son screaming, "mom, i can't hear the tv"!

i turned my head to see my husband even shut the doors to the kitchen to block me out. jerks.

when will a mom ever be appreciated?! do i really have to wait until my kids move out?

----

today the school bus drove right past the house while all four of us were sitting on the front porch. we sat completely stunned not knowing what to do.

while i hunted down the phone to call the school, i heard yelling. the driver had turned around, parked and warren was giving her a piece of his mind. i'm sure she got an earful all the way to the school parking lot. poor thing.

First Day

warren had an amazing first day of school. yet, that could be my perception. he went back today, so i assume it wasn't too miserable.

i was able to take off work at 3 so i could be home when the bus arrived. was pretty careless considering fridays are somewhat busy at the newspaper, but i was caught up with my tasks and truly wanted to be there for him (okay, maybe it was just for me). his bus arrived around 320 and this time he was sitting up front. seemed pretty happy to see us and he even received a "super" sticker for his first day of school.

his teacher has supplied a custom folder with clear sleeves that houses a calendar on the back. each day she will adhere a sticker to the day of the week completed to let parents know how their child behaved. i'm guessing every child received a "super" their first day.

he said after the bus arrived he had to sit in the gymnasium until his teacher's name was called then they went to the classroom. he couldn't tell me the student's names that sit at his table and didn't seem too impressed with lunch.

"mom, five kids brought their lunch today. i need a lunch box".

"no, you don't".

his favorite part of the day was story time. his teacher read 'the kissing hand' and 'froggy goes to school'. he said they all got into trouble while listing to 'froggy...' because froggy had a dream that he went to his first day of school in only his underpants. warren said they started chanting "froggy's in his underpants, froggy's in his underpants" - his teacher didn't find that too humorous.

he said he didn't take a nap because the teacher said he didn't have to. i was not pleased. then warren clarified they had to lay down and 'rest' - they didn't have to close their eyes. i tried to explain to warren how important it would be to close his eyes. he would feel better and have more energy at afternoon recess. i don't think he fell for it.

he had colored a picture of a bear going to school for the first day and at least had his colors where they belonged. we were also instructed to provide afternoon snacks for this week. other than that, no notes or red flags informing us our child was the devil incarnate.

i was a happy mom.

we kept busy over the weekend working in the yard and bagging a year's worth of aluminum cans to take to recycling in return for a small pittance. although we sprayed, we all looked as if we had the chicken pox from the mosquito bites (i'm starting to get REALLY anxious for fall). ryan grilled fish, cabbage and brats for dinner and then we celebrated terri's birthday.

the weekend passed far too quickly and this morning i don't think anyone was anxious to get ready to take on the world.

ellie was confused walking to the car because 'war-war' wasn't with us. made me a bit sad, so tomorrow i think i'll let her watch him get on the bus.

i'm certain i'll have an update by week's end. that is, unless something out of the ordinary occurs... oh, how i hope he has a "super" week :)

Start of the 13 Year Sentence

wed.
i decided to keep warren home with me to spend some quality time. not sure how much of that we accomplished, but still it was a nice day. mom and her friend came over early and we picked bushels of apples at my editor's house. warren wasn't too cooperative since he thought it would be more fun to juggle...

he and i attempted and succeeded at a dutch apple pie! it's fantastic! i love to bake but cannot. everything i create looks like compost, but tastes pretty good. therefore, i was elated something actually worked. and no, i can't make a crust, so thank you, pillsbury.

we did laundry, watched the original 1976 bad news bears (my first time), warren napped and off i went to pick up ellie.

then it was snacks, baths, clean clothes and loading up the car with warren's school supplies for open house. we had to stand in line until they opened the doors and it was a complete mad house. wall to wall people and and the cacophony! warren led us to his classroom and he found his seat, cubby and folder. of course he just wanted to play but by 615 the presentation was to begin, so he had to sit still. we brought ellie with us (we weren't supposed to) because i wanted something to focus on. she certainly kept me busy while ryan was able to take in all the teacher was saying. we felt pretty comfortable with things and were home by 7.
warren was pretty disappointed he had to go to preschool thurs., but as his last day i thought perhaps his teachers would have something special for him.


thurs.
warren got beat up at preschool. what a way to end a 3+ year experience.
i can actually say he wasn't at fault. he passed a kid sitting in time-out and the kid kicked him, punched him and knocked him down. warren had a bloody lip but didn't act too miserable.

ryan prepared a fantastic meal, i finished all of the paperwork for school and warren completed his homework assignment. ellie was a pain to be around - extremely cranky - for i've refused to let her take an after school nap; makes bedtime a nightmare, literally. plus she refuses to eat meat now. only fruit and cheese: slices, crumbles, shredded, with macaroni, etc. how the kid goes to the bathroom i have no idea. it felt like a long evening, but warren was bathed and in bed at 8... we were in bed by 9 and i was asleep by 930.

but i didn't sleep. i was up off and on all night. i just couldn't shake the worry about his first day. sometimes being a grown up isn't easy.


fri.
up at 615... good grief. we have always risen at 7. how things will change in our household. i'm proud to say, warren was up first.

then he spent 10 min. heaving in the bathroom. a kid after my own heart :) kidding! he was perfectly fine - nothing came up. i think it was just sinus drainage. he didn't complain about an upset stomach, headache or anything - so i guess he didn't get the 'nervous gene' after all. lucky guy.

ryan was already preparing breakfast for him. warren said a month ago he had to have bacon and eggs his first day. his dad didn't let him down. we instructed warren that everyday now he must wash his face, fingernails, brush his teeth and hair. by the time i made it into the bathroom the hand towel was soaking wet. forgot to tell him to use a washcloth... nice.

we had picked out his clothes the night before and when he started to put on his shirt, ryan noticed an ink tag still attached. great.

he wore his backpack for over 30 minutes after he picked out a different shirt, his sister spilled his glass of milk all over her and had to be changed. super.

the bus was to arrive at 725. we sat on the front porch until 740. our neighbor came out to send him off as well. was very thoughtful and wonderful. ellie rolled around in the dirt before we could catch her but i wasn't in the mood to change her again. when the bus arrived, ryan rushed him so i didn't get my hugs and kisses :( he tried to get in on the driver's side, which was pretty funny and we watched him walk ALL THE WAY to the back of the bus. how silly.

took ellie to preschool in her dirty dress sniffling the whole way. was starting to hit me. daily i would take ellie to the baby room, then come down the ramp to have warren waiting for me with hugs, kisses, 'i love you' and "can i have gum when i get home?" today he wasn't there for me.

i know it's completely selfish to be so emotional. at least warren didn't see me cry. next week will be easier and by sept. it will feel as if this is how it has always been. change and the uncertainty of newness can be frightening for so many people. how thankful i am my son doesn't give a hoot about any of that. he was giddy all morning.

how ironic this time next year we'll be praying school starts even sooner to get him out of the house! :)

good luck on your first day, son!

warren and ellie waiting for the school bus

warren's first day of kindergarten

Blessings

our weekend plans were pretty flexible. we knew we would go school shopping for warren and partake in ste. gen's annual jour de fete celebration around ryan's work schedule.
ryan worked this morning for 5 hours and we decided to endure shopping today. we drove 40 min. to the nearest 'metropolis' for goods and first stopped at applebee's for lunch. wasn't too shabby. the tough part was sorting through 800 items on a menu to choose only one. i'm still not certain i made the right decision :)
next was jcpenney's to purchase clothes and shoes for warren. he didn't have much input in the clothes dept., thankfully, but deciding on a pair of shoes was a nightmare. he wanted spiderman... we told him he was too old. ellie wanted out of her stroller and once removed threw all the shoes she could reach on the floor. meanwhile, warren picked out the most hideous pair of sketchers i had ever seen. was not easy convincing him they weren't 'his style' (no, he didn't buy that). we finally compromised on some brown sketchers, but good night nurse was it painful.
following our experience at penny's was aldi's for discount groceries. we prepared ourselves by getting two carts to entrap the kids and it wasn't as bad as we had anticipated.
home we went with a cooler full of frozen foods, boxes of canned goods and the kids eating fresh grapes as if it were an addiction.
we got a call from ryan's stepdad that he and his friends were coming down to jour de fete and we told them to park at the house and we would visit when they finished their shopping/sight seeing.
groceries were unloaded, put up and veggies washed, diced and prepared for upcoming meals. by the time we were able to sit down, company arrived. we had a great visit while fighting off mosquitos and dodging croquet balls.
after they left we came inside to relax and get the kids to nap when the phone rang. it was ryan's dad. he never calls. something was wrong (of course i always think that every time the phone rings).
sure enough grandpa was in critical condition in the emergency room. something concerning his intestines and blockage. talk was sending him to st. louis for surgery.
(you must understand, ryan's paternal grandparents are THE MOST important people in his life. yes, he loves me and his kids, but his grandparents are and shall always be what makes him 'him'. they helped raise him, mold him and introduced him to a life of love only few have ever seen. this was really frightening.)
we called my parents quickly to see if they could keep the kids so we could make it to the hospital before they had to send him off. mom was asleep but dad didn't mind us bringing them over. had to wake mom up once we got there, but made it to the hospital right after grandpa got out of surgery.
apparently there was blockage and he couldn't go to the bathroom. they were able to remove the mass of liquid and he was like a brand new man! they are sending him to st. louis tonight to finish the surgery properly and i just wanted everyone to keep him in your thoughts. all will be well, but for a brief moment we were concerned. i'm amazed at how stubborn a person gets when he ages. grandma finally told him this morning that either she and their daughter was taking him to the emergency room or she was calling 911! guess we know who wears the pants in that family :) we feel so blessed grandpa is well and will be back to normal soon.

you never know when we'll need him again if our car breaks down :D

Inflation

i'm certain most people i converse with have to hear me complain about the cost of gasoline these days. i'll even throw in (for good measure) the cost of milk, beef, electricity and natural gas. i wonder how so many others make ends meet when we find ourselves struggle at times. but those expensive items have nothing on what we had to deal with last night...

warren lost his first tooth.

he seems awfully young to lose a tooth, yet it wobbled for weeks and he actually pulled it out himself! thankfully we can see his 'adult' tooth about to break through, therefore it was probably time.

we had never had a serious discussion regarding the tooth fairy, so we had to explain about placing his tooth under his pillow; she would come and exchange it for money; yada, yada, yada.

warren informed us that his friend bobby just lost her first tooth. the tooth fairy left her $5.00.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? SERIOUSLY.

i know i'm old... but i received dimes for small teeth and quarters for the large ones. $5.00 for a baby tooth? i was stunned. he still has a mouthful that will fall out too? what is the going rate for top incisors? good grief.

my son received a $1.00 bill from his dad.

guess i'll go to the bank and get a loan :)

Finally, Family Fun

after our unpleasant trip home from columbia last week, we promised the kids something fun before school started. we contemplated a jaunt to grant's farm, yet weren't too sure about gas prices, and the like. after visiting with our good friends, will & laura, we decided to stay over at their house one night and take both families the next day to st. louis.
we had the most amazing time! i'm probably the only 33 yr. old, life-long missouri resident who had never been. i think i was more excited than the kids! the threat of rain was looming, yet we were able to at least view the majority of the park before getting drenched. i simply cannot share how wonderful the park was! www.grantsfarm.com the tram ride, history lesson, the adorable rescued animals and very happy kids. what more could one want? afterwards it was lunch at chuck e. cheeses... and OUR car made it home. ha!

yesterday terri called me on the way to the airport (flying to sacramento for a bday weekend with her son) and noticed st. louis news vans at the american legion hall in town. she called the office to see if we knew what was going on. of course the editor took off early, the sports editor/photographer/reporter is in nebraska covering baseball, therefore it was up to me and my co-worker to seek out the information. we were able to find out a 16 ft. alum. fishing boat capsized with presumably 2 men in the mississippi. the boat had been recovered. we were sent out with cameras and notepads hoping to uncover the mystery. as horrible as the situation was, it was exciting to be lois lane for an afternoon :) although television newscasters aren't celebrities, per se, i was a bit giddy hearing betsy bruce tell the sheriff she was 'going live at 5 o'clock'. i. am. a. dork.

warren and judah enjoying the view from the tram

rare cattle

will and judah feeding the famished baby goats

warren and caleb

i tried to capture the regal beauty of the american bald eagle. guess this guy wasn't too pleased... he lifted his feathers to go #2 for me...

caleb, judah, ellie and warren trying to keep dry
recovered boat (on ramp) found at the ste. genevieve marina