This Minivan Life

All three kids were playing upstairs while I made dinner tonight. The boys were loud, but Grace was quiet. Ever since she learned to climb up and down the stairs unassisted she’s been unstoppable. She insists on following her brothers everywhere… whether that be upstairs, at the park, up in the treehouse, or to the bus stop, she’s no longer content to sit with mom. So the kids were playing upstairs, but after a few minutes of not hearing Grace I started to worry. Silence from a kid is rarely a good thing… unless they’re sleeping. I yelled up to Michael: A: Hey what is Grace doing? M: Splashing in the toilet. No hesitation, no concern, no attempt to stop her*. He knew she was in the toilet and just let it happen… I’m glad I cleaned the bathrooms today. *Within 5 seconds of the conversation I ran upstairs and stopped the fun toilet splashing. For the record, we don’t encourage toilet play at our house….

I was pretty excited to leave the dentist.  I hate going to the dentist. No offense meant to dentists out there, but I hate everything about it. The face touching, the horrible spinny brush, the “bubblegum” flavored muck they put on your teeth, the water sucker, the entire experience, from waiting forever in a waiting room, to that gritty feeling in your mouth when you’re done. Oh and the people (dentists and hygienists) that talk to you while their hands are in your mouth… like you can respond! So… I’ve put off visiting the dentist for… a good long while. And I’ve put off taking the kids to the dentist… for a good long while too. I took them today. All three of them. When I called to make the boys an appointment, the receptionist helpfully added an appointment for Grace… because she has 6.5 teeth and needs to see a dentist. I was dreading this appointment, and seriously questioning my sanity. Why would I book appointments for all THREE kids at the same time

Do you ever have those moments with your kids when you just have to stand back and ask yourself how they got hurt… again? Zach has had a recent string of facial injuries. As we all know facial injuries result in two things: A LOT of screaming A LOT of blood The first one resulted in his top teeth puncturing his face… right below his bottom lip. It was beautiful. It healed quickly, but then he picked off the scab… and now he has a scar. How did his teeth come through his face you might ask? Oh well that’s easy, he was jumping off the couch upstairs and hit his face on the chair next to it. Nice… The second injury was an accidental tongue piercing. That was the result of… well I’m not entirely sure, but it happened about five days after the first one. We were at the park, there was a lot of screaming and a lot of blood. He insisted on wearing his bike helmet on the playground and he was running around. My guess is he tripped and fell… because he was running in

Michael started school on Monday and Zach started on Tuesday. Zach as just excited, if not more excited than Michael. Michael was headed to a new school with new kids, but Zach headed back to his same school with his same friends. He loves school, he loves not being the little brother, he loves the kids, the toys, the teacher, and the freedom. He kept telling me he was excited, but a little bit nervous for school. He didn't even say goodbye when it came time for me to leave. He keeps saying he wishes school is every day. He was so little when he started last year  , now he looks so big! Zach will not take a serious picture, he decided he wanted to get "all the Zach faces".  He helped Grace walk into his school, he really wants her to go to school with him... maybe next year.

Michael was stoked for the first day of school. He was ready weeks ago, and it finally arrived. He woke up EARLY, and was dressed and ready before my alarm even went off.  He is attending a new school this year, which means NO uniforms and the bus! He loves both these things! He looks so much bigger than he did last year when he started kindergarten , and huge compared to his two years of preschool ( 4's , 3's ) We are in for a great year!  He was not thrilled that Zach was up and taking pictures with him. And he looks so much like Brian in this angry picture!  Zach was king of the world once Michael left. He was silly and happy. I think they were ready for a little bit of space from each other.  Zach and Grace played in the sink for the bit, took quiet naps, and NO ONE FOUGHT!  Zach as ready when it was time to get Michael from the bus, he was so excited to get him!  We can see the bus from Michael's room, and Zach spent some time waiting for him

Grace doesn't love the pool. She's in and out in the bath, but she LOVES the sink. She starts out with her hands in the water, and ends up sitting in the sink. I love that she gets so much joy from something so simple!

Zach still has asthma... we don't love this.  We've been pretty lucky lately, but all of a sudden he was struggling. He was up at night, and by morning, it was clear he needed to go in- our breathing treatments weren't working.  He got two treatments, and a whole slew of prescriptions.   By the end he was singing... between catching his breath, but he was NOT pleased when we first arrived.  We had to wake him up every few hours to administer breathing treatments, even after the oral steroids were started. By the end of the weekend, he was over it. He is such a trooper through all of it... I think the shows help. I'm so impressed with the way he handles his asthma, I think I'd be terrified, but he is a trooper!

Facepaint was one of the last items on our summer bucket list. Clearly I need more practice... and black... what faceprint kit doesn't include black? Even though it was ugly the kids loved it!  We also went to the pool a few more times. Zach and Michael love the pool, but Grace prefers to sit on the side and eat snacks or wait to go. I think she is excited that school has started and our pool days are fewer and further between now.  The boys also had a few lego days with Brian. Zach loves the guys and can be entertained with a lego figure for hours, but Michael has started to learn how to build the sets. This is a big step, and one that Brian is working on. They are both really strong willed and neither of them complies to the other's preferences... luckily we have years of legos ahead of us to figure it out!

Grammy and Poppy came to stay and take care of the kids while Brian and I headed to Boston. They all survived. Thank you! We know they are a LOT to handle! While they were here, Grace took a liking to Grammy. And let's be honest, as the only granddaughter, Grammy has a soft spot for Grace. The day we got home, she preferred Grammy to me, and still wants to FaceTime when she gets the chance. Looking at pictures of Grammy make her smile, let's just say she LOVES her Grammy. And she learned to walk for Grammy.   Best buddies. Thanks Grammy and Poppy!

On our last day we decided to head to Harvard. We soon found out that: 1. Harvard is snooty, and 2. We aren't smart enough for Harvard. Sorry kids, we're not paying for this school (like we could...).   Harvard Yard.  Brian found a fish and chips place in Cambridge that had great reviews. It was really yummy... but he failed to mention how FAR it was... like 3 miles away. We walked a LOT during our trip, but not always when we had a meter running. We walked quickly, ate super fast, and RAN part of the way back.  Delicious fish and chips and clam chowder. Finding the local places was so fun! I'm jealous that these places are so common back east!  We decided to go for a longer stroll through Boston Common. It was beautiful and the weather was so different from Texas.  We walked along the Charles River, so many sail boats.  We stumbled into this outdoor market... I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. Brian reminded me that I couldn't take any of it back on an