"A Change is as Good as a Rest." (Especially when you have colorful cheerios.)

You know how they say, "A change is as good as a rest"? I'm going to hold onto that, because the kids' first full week out of school hasn't exactly been restful. But it has been good, in a change-of-routine kind of way.

Conner got invited to spend the week at the University of Notre Dame, Olivia's been in dance camp, and Sean-Peter has been attached to me at the hip. Albeit in a good way.

Notre Dame

Conner's good friend John Paul invited him to go with his family on their annual trip to Notre Dame, his mom's alma mater. They stay in the dorms and gallivant around the area. I'll just show you the email I received from his mom last night (it was to me and another friend's mom):

"Thanks for letting your boys join us on our annual ND trip! They both have been wonderful!

Here are some highlights:
*Monday...arrived on campus, unloaded gear and went to Steak n Shake for lunch with my parents.

Walked around campus.

Went to discount merchandise store.

Ordered pizza in for dinner.

Went snack shopping at Meijer.

Took grotto run and lit candles.

*Tuesday...slept in a bit

Visited Golden Dome Admin Bldg - met Fr. Jenkins, UND President!!

Went to Lake.

PB&J plus pizza leftovers for lunch.

Played volleyball.

Met Tony Rice (1988 Nat'l Championship QB for ND).

Met Kathy Sullivan (author and web site master of www.praynd.com

Went to South Dining Hall for dinner.

Late night campus/sports complex tour and grotto run.

*Wednesday - slept in.

College Football Hall of Fame tour.

South Bend Chocolate Company.

PB&J/Snacks/Cheesecake/Brownie lunch.

Played Volleyball.

Went swimming at Knute Rockne Memorial pool.

Dinner at Hacienda.

Late night grotto run and went to Hesburgh Library - 13th floor (nice Janitor let us in to small room that has great view of campus).

*Thursday - planning on getting up around 9am and packing up.

Krispy Kreme, discount merchandise store and RV Hall of Fame.

Then lunch on road returning home! :)

Hope the boys had fun! I know I enjoyed being here and all we did!! It was nice mix of hanging out and just being as well as activities to keep people interested in things.

We had nice dinner conversation about what people liked best and least about the trip too..."

Notre Dame President? Tony Rice? Cheesecake and brownie lunch?

And how organized is she?

Obviously this was an amazing opportunity for Conner. In addition to everything you read above, John Paul's older sister was visiting as a prospective student and they got to accompany her on the campus tour with that perspective.

It never would have occurred to me to visit a college campus with my middle schooler. Even if I had, it probably wouldn't have been Notre Dame! I'm wondering how much more encouraged he might be to go to college? (And to get his grades up? *Ahem*) Already we talk about it like it's a given: it's not whether you go; it's where you'll go. (And how are you going to pay for it?)

Conner's friend John Paul, an up-and-coming eighth grader himself, told me that even though his mom went to Notre Dame, and his grandpa went to Notre Dame, and his sister wants to go to Notre Dame... he has no intention of going there himself because it's too expensive. He's shooting for somewhere "more realistic", as he put it.

I tell you, it's kids thinking like that that give me hope for the next generation.

***

With Conner gone, and school out, I realize how many things I have been scheduling for times when I don't have to schlep kids around. With his sister at dance camp, and Conner in Indiana, Sean-Peter has been attached to my hip. And boy have we schlepped. I've plum worn him out.I found this scene when I turned around in the car at the end of the day, coming back from the commissary. He clutched his beloved Fruity Cheerios, aka "colorful cheerios", all the way through the store and all the way home. I buy these so I can pump myself up with self-righteousness and falsely justify, "At least I don't buy my kids Fruit Loops." And apparently they make a pretty good chin rest.

Dance Camp

Olivia's thoroughly enjoyed her week of dance camp. It's not a question of whether she'll take dance next year; rather, how many classes of dance she will take. Have you any idea how many options are out there for kids and dance? Ballet, tap, jazz... And that's just for her age, at this mom and pop studio. It can quickly take over your life if you let it -- and your pocketbook.

At the dance camp this week the girls got to choose an outfit from the costume closet and practice some modeling! The video is about 30 seconds long...

How cute is she?!

They also performed five different dance numbers that they learned this week: a rhythmic dance; baton; a scene and dance from "High School Musical" (my camera acted up right in the middle of that one); the Macarena; and a Hannah Montana number -- that Sean-Peter got into as well! It's a little over a minute long...

Sean-Peter's "solo" pops in about half-way through. You'll also see that Olivia is demonstrating quite clearly why they ask the girls not to wear underwear under their costumes for the dance recital itself.

In Which I Post a Thousand Photos and Video Clips

Mmm .... was that a break? I'm not sure. At least, I certainly don't feel like I've been on vacation, even if this blog has. Anyone miss me? Anyone? Anyone? (tap-tap) This thing on?

End-of-School

The kids' schools officially wrapped up this week last week, finally. Yes, in Ohio we go into June. The last week was full of all kinds of cuteness; just see if you don't just want to reach through the screen and gobble them up. This first video's about 2 minutes long: my favorite part is about a half a minute through when Sean-Peter finally spots me and waves like only a preschooler can. "He likes me! He really likes me!" (Name that movie.)

The second video is about 30 seconds long, and too "wonderful" for words. Sean-Peter's in red on the left.




The whole end-of-the-school thing kind of took away what whits I still had left about me, which isn't saying much. This was the first year I had three kids in three different schools, with three different schedules, and it proved almost more than I could keep together. It was like my allergies filled up my head and pushed out my with-it brain cells. And yes, I have been suffering: I love me some Ohio trees, but they definitely do not love me back.

Conner's last day of middle school was Thursday, so for some reason I just sort of had it in my head that the last day for Olivia and Peter was Thursday, too. If another mom had not mentioned that she'd gotten her kindergartner's schedule mixed up with her middle schooler's schedule (yay! I wasn't the only one) I honestly think my kids would have been standing outside waiting for their bus, me on the phone calling transportation like a dork wondering why they're not picking up the phone.

Actually, probably not. Olivia would almost certainly have straightened me out in time. "Um, mom? School is over?" (Thank you God for daughters.)

Anniversary

John and I celebrated our anniversary about a week before school let out. The night before (or was it the morning of?) John says to me, "So... what were you thinking we should do?" Kind of like, You haven't brought it up so I know you think I forgot, but I didn't. And I'm all like, I really wasn't trying to test you, honest! I'm just trying to keep my head above water, you know?

But we did take some time to go out, to Chili's for some Happy Hour margaritas. Because we're classy like that. Thank you God for sons old enough to babysit!And Happy 15 years to us (insert smiley face).

Meet Mr. Fluffy

I really can't neglect to mention some other excitement we've been having around here. Re: the newest additions to our family! Meet, "Mr. Fluffy".And his brother Darryl...
...and his other brother Darryl.

Yes, three chipmunks. (Although these could be three different photos of the same one. Who would know?) And those are just the ones we've kept. We've shooed out a fair number of the little guys that keep coming into our house, through the garage door the kids leave open as close as we can figure. Chipmunks are breeding like rabbits in our yard, I tell you what.

And the overflow finds its way into our home -- a couple by way of Huckster's mouth: he catches them and brings them by the back door. When we make him release them they scamper off, seemingly unharmed. Although one did succumb to internal injuries, apparently, a couple of days later.

I say apparently because it's not like we're taking them into the vet for checkups or anything. Having chipmunks for pets wasn't exactly something we set out to do, but it seems a better alternative to letting Huckster schlep them around in his mouth? We reckon we'll keep them until they're old enough to have some sense -- or big enough to get away. Because Huckster is just waiting ...Ornery little cuss.

Did you know chipmunks are omnivores? And they love craisins. They'll scamper out real quick-like for those.


Dancers

Olivia's dance recital coincided with the last week of school. Truly, if you had a daughter who loathed getting all dressed up and frilly (as I reportedly did as a child) you should just skip the whole dance experience altogether. Because the recital is all about dressing up and getting all frilly, makeup and all. It's the culmination of a year of hard work (for both the girls and the parents). And if I had a daughter who resisted the whole point, well... That would just be pointless.

And Olivia does love to dress up -- you might recall I once caught her sneaking makeup to school? Dressing up and wearing makeup? Well, it must feel like a slice of heaven to her. I swear, sometimes I just don't know how I got a daughter like her, this mother who doesn't own makeup less than three years old and habitually goes around in jeans and t-shirts and roots that need to be done. (Don't look too closely at the anniversary picture above, please.)

But got her I did, and oh is it fun.














Dramatic at times, yes, but oh so much fun. (The video's about 17 seconds long.)



















(After Olivia saw the above photo on the left, she wanted to take a "serious" one. The attempt on the right was the best she could muster.)

"So Long"

And now to finally bid you adieu (especially if you watched all the videos) (and if you did, thank you; you made my effort worthwhile), I will "Say So Long" and leave you with some more preschool cuteness. Just see if you don't wish you had one of your own. Be patient for a few seconds for it to start. (Sean-Peter's still in red on the left. Video's about a minute long.)

Punky Knobster

So I come across these cute knobs at the base thrift store and I immediately think of Sean-Peter. Like any typical four-year-old boy, he loves balls, and the current knobs on his old dresser had seen better days.

And do you know how expensive these things are at regular retail? I got about a dozen of these for $3.00, almost as much as you would pay for a single one at Tar-zhay.
I made a point of putting them on his dresser when Peter wasn't around, as they're just the kind of thing he likes to get his hands on: Observing how something is put together only serves to encourage him to take it apart. And really, he doesn't need any extra encouragement to take anything else apart around here.

Question: Why don't we buy crap stuff from Wal-Mart?
Answer: After five minutes alone with Peter, it turns to trash.

That same incentive does not seem to exist, however, when he observes the coming together of a meal: no amount of encouragement entices him to touch a piece of raw fruit or vegetable. He has no problem keeping his hands off of those.

But lo and behold, looky here. Doesn't there seem to be something amiss?
There were ten knobs there, last I looked. (Focus on the empty holes and not the dinged up paint, mkay?)

I put those darn knobs on as tight as I could get them without stripping the screws. I was so sure that Peter wouldn't be able to get them loose.

I was so, so wrong.

John found the vents pulled up in all of the bedrooms. He went investigating after hearing some odd clunkity-clunk noises echoing through the whole upstairs. The knobs, such enticing balls they were, were dropped into the nether regions of our ventilation shafts. We can't reach them.

Our central air has been off for several days with the mild temperatures we've been having. Anyone happen to know what dangers can come from foreign objects being thrown into the ventilation shafts? Where they end up? (What happens when you turn the fan back on?)

That little punk. Next time I'm going to come home with little plastic apples or peaches. It'll serve him right.

We Done Got Us Some Grill

First this.

Then this.Conner's was a bit more expensive. Thank you, tax return.

Spring Dancing

The sun came out!
Finally giving Olivia the chance she'd been waiting for to wear her new "mint julep" summer dress. That I got from Goodwill for a whopping $2.19. I love me some Goodwill.

And now for your viewing pleasure, and a little-girl fix for those of you who only have boys (ahem)...

The first video is of her ballet class and is a minute long. Olivia is on the far left. I love her mom and pop dance studio: it's such a hole in the wall and the instructor still uses her old albums. As in good old-fashioned records. On a record player. And they sometimes skip. It's like a dance lesson and a flashback into the seventies all rolled into one.




The second video shows the girls practicing their tap dance recital number. It's about two minutes long and Olivia is second from the left...

I just have to point out that this is a beginners' tap class and they still have five more rehearsals until the recital! Luckily, you might say. But just see if you don't think they look so cute you wish you could reach through the screen and gobble them all up.