Vacation part 2

I feel like I should give a positive spin to the dreaded spring vacation. Maybe the bliss is already overtaking the drama. Oh well, here we go again.

We took a little spin south to la la land to check out the sights. The eldest is studying prehistoric times in school and the youngest is 5, so we thought the Tar Pits would be a fun yet slightly educational trip. My husband grew up in the area and has wonderful memories of the giant sloth and the wonderful museum that goes along with all that tar. It was a lot of fun. Who doesn't want to look at bones from a giant prehistoric beast. We also hit the famous Farmer's Market. Great food and colorful people.
The next day brought a yummy Easter Brunch and an exciting visit to the Petersen Auto Museum, Griffith Park Observatory, and sight seeing on Melrose. The auto museum was definitely a favorite for all.
The next day we meandered over to the coast for our trip up highway one. What a great way to come home. A little beach play and some great seafood in Malibu.

It was a whirlwind 3 day adventure packed with sights, sounds, and smells. It may not have been the adventure I had planned- but it was definitely memorable. And maybe in a few days (weeks) we will be able to laugh at the stressful parts.

Vacation

me- "Honey, let's take a little vacation over spring break."
my husband- "You told me to remind you that never again would you take our blessed children anywhere for an extended visit."
me- "Don't be ridiculous. I never said such a thing. This will be great. We will combine a little learning with a little fun and the kids will have a wonderful time. I am so excited and my hopes are set on their highest bar."
my husband- "Yes dear" (he is wise beyond his years)

Can you see where this is going? The problem with setting the expectation bar so high- it hurts to fall that far. I think the same hormone that allows for one to love the screaming baby kicks in about a week and a half after our family vacations causing me to forget the pain and remember the bliss. Or perhaps, in some cases create the bliss in my foggy mommy brain. So even though our vacation ended like this:

me- "Remind me of this moment if I ever mention that I would like to leave the house again."
my husband- "Yes dear" (see- no I told you so- he is a smart one)

I know come summer I will start to google vacation areas and it will all begin again.

One year later.

I don't know if spring is the reason, but I am suddenly filled with a burst of creative energies. I am gardening and writing and generally feeling as though I can do anything. Not a bad way to feel at all! I decided to take advantage of this burst and try the blogging world again. I set up a poetry blog too. Part of all this energy is due to my two amazing children growing up. It seems like this year, the year of the tiger, is the one where my children decide it is ok to do their own thing. My eldest is on a mission to ride as many miles as he can on his bike a day and my youngest is an arts and crafts fiend. They are "momming" me less and less and working out their differences themselves.
Am I totally sick if I admit there is a little sad mixed in with the joy of having my ME time back.
Maybe I will revisit that at another time.
So spring it is. Now off to the garden.

The joys of having a preteen...

I can already hear many of you laughing at the title of this post. No sarcasm was intended. Oh sure there is the other side: the moodiness, the sullenness, the not wanting to share everything in his life with his mother who loves him oh so very muchness, but those are items for a different post.

This morning I woke a little late. (That may happen when one is awakened in the middle portion of the night and not able to fall asleep again until really it would be better to just get up.) I had a moment of panic: breakfast, lunches, homework check, ahhhh! But then I heard a rattling in the kitchen. Curious I went to investigate and found Constant making muffins, oatmeal, and eggs. He was showered and dressed. Most importantly, he had the water on for my coffee. AMAZING!!!! He ate, I ate (yummy muffins go very well with coffee), he got off to school, I read the paper. My faith in the future of the world has truly been restored. I love my preteen!

Imagination...

As far as imagination goes, 4 seems to be the age it all comes together. Old enough to track and remember storyline... young enough not to care that others may be puzzling about what you could possibly be up to. I am envious of Busy Bee's total immersion into the worlds he creates. We are all always cast in his play and though we play along, there is always one toe left in the dreaded "real world". I watch with joy as he changes to fit whatever fantasy is playing out in his world. I try to remember when the line between fantasy and reality became so straight for Constant. I think it was gradual, as the reality of school and friendships moved to the front and becoming a Jaguar leaping through the forest became a slightly embarrassing story his mom told at family gatherings.
Busy starts kindergarten in the fall. I plan on enjoying this summer's adventures to the fullest, hoping to add to the slightly embarrassing stories I tell. Remind me to tell you the one about the snail and his trail.

Yeah Spring!!!

We are very fortunate in our neck of the woods to be enjoying some lovely spring weather. But with nice weather comes certain responsibilities: namely, the garden. Last week Cityman announced Saturday we would have the family project of clearing out the weeds (where did they come from?) and turning the soil for the new seedlings (which he is so lovingly starting in pods in the kitchen). Right now my family consists of myself, Cityman - who has a BROKEN ankle, 12 year old Constant Comet - who would rather be riding his bike, playing lego, or pretty much doing anything other than helping his mom pull prehistorically gigantic weeds, and 4 year old Busy Bee - who loves to help mom with anything, but is well... 4.
Fast forward: the garden is weeded and turned, I am finally able to move again (when did I get old?), Cityman is planning where his adorable little seedlings will go, Constant managed to help move the crazy amount of weeds to the green waste in time for Friday's take away, and Busy organized snail races that ended with a somber funeral for the looser (who knew snails were so competitive).
Now it's time for the rest of the yard...

Thanks for the reminder smalltownmom!