I Love The Smell Of Boogers In The Morning.

Dadam: Ruby, go brush your teeth. Your breath is stinky.

Ruby: You're probably just smelling my boogers.

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Later that same day...

Momlissa: Ruby, what do you want for lunch today?

Ruby: A booger sandwich.

Momlissa: What?!

Ruby: You don't have to eat it, just me.

It's a Good Thing I Have Healthy Self-Esteem.

Some observations my children have recently made about me:

A few weeks ago we painted the white trim on our house. A couple of days ago:
Cecilia, looking intently at my hair: "Mom, you still have a lot of paint in your hair."
Momlissa: "That's not paint."

As I was getting ready to leave for my grad school orientation:
Cecilia: "I didn't know people over 30 could go to college."

While talking to Ruby at a barbecue:
Ruby: "You have smelly breath, but that's okay!"

Not To Put Too Fine A Point On It.

We've had some complaints about our lack of posting these days (sorry, Mom), so here's a second item for today. Hopefully they'll tide you over for a while.

I really shouldn't be telling this one, because I only got it secondhand, but here's my impression of it. Last week Ruby called Grandma K------ on the phone to chat. Most of you know that my mom and dad live in a beautiful patch of country in rural Wisconsin, and animal sightings are quite common - deer, sandhill cranes, wild turkeys, coyotes. Well, Grandma K. was telling Ruby about the trouble they've been having lately with raccoons in their garden. The conversation went something like this:

Grandma: Every time it looks like the corn is going to be ready, we'll come out and a raccoon will have pulled it down off the stalk.

Ruby: Oh!

Grandma: What a naughty raccoon!

Ruby: Yeah . . . what a dumbass.

At this point Grandma asked for a clarification.

Grandma: What did you say?

Ruby [sheepishly]: Um . . . a bad word?

Momlissa said she's never heard Grandma laugh so hard in all the time she's known her.

Huh?!

Cecilia came home with her spelling pre-test on Monday, and managed to get all the words right on her first try. This year, like last year, the teacher offers an alternate spelling list that is more challenging for those students who are especially good spellers; kids who get everything right on the pre-test are given this list.

I thought the alternate lists were hard last year in first grade, so you can imagine my surprise when Cecilia brought these words home:

caterpillar
chrysalis
scales
proboscis
antennae
monarch
spinneret
cremaster
cycle
tarsi

I don't even know what some of those words mean. Anyway, we practice with her over the course of the week in preparation for the Friday test, and that little shit spelled every single word right this morning. It's only Wednesday and she's only 7. I'm pretty sure she's been smarter than me since she was at least 4...

Preschool Report.

From Ruby last night:

Today at school one of the kids stepped on Miss Shirley's toe. I don't know who it was. It was probably some other kid. Or it could have been me, I don't know. . . .

Pre-K

Ruby just finished day 3 of preschool, and I have to say there is nothing I enjoy more than hearing Ruby recap her day as we walk home. Who she sat by, what they ate for breakfast, what she learned, and a wide variety of Ruby observations. Yesterday (Sunday) she told me it was hard not having school for two days, and this morning she was dressed and ready (with backpack on) a good 45 minutes before we needed to leave. And to top it all off, she is required to wear a uniform which is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Her love for school won't last forever, so I'm going to enjoy this excitement for all it's worth.

Here are the pictures of her first day, and a little sideways video to illustrate her enthusiasm.

UFO Sighting.

On Wednesday night this week, Grandpa K------ was lucky enough to see both the international space station and the space shuttle when they flew over Wisconsin. A little while ago Ruby talked to him on the phone, and I told her to ask him what he had seen in the sky. They talked for a little while, and when they were done I asked her, "Well? What did he see?"

Her response? "A SPACE SHOVEL!"

Rubester's First Day.

Ruby had her first day of preschool today, and it apparently went great. I was in meetings all afternoon, and when I got back to my desk Ruby had left me a voicemail message that ran as follows:

Hi, Daddy . . . I'm done with school . . . I love you, Daddy . . . I'm done with school, and I love you . . . I'm done with school . . . Bye, Daddy, I love you . . .

I also had an email waiting for me from our receptionist, who said Ruby was "very professional" when she called and asked for me (although Ruby apparently also said "love you" to the receptionist before hanging up, which does not actually strike me as all that professional).

Back to School

Just a few pictures to show off our big girl on her first day back at school. Hard to believe she's already a second-grader... (This pose was entirely her idea, by the way.)

And with the other little monster on the way back from the bus stop (her first day is tomorrow, so more pictures will follow):

Odds & Ends

Our summer is rapidly coming to an end as the three girls all head back to school (and for one of us it's been a long, long time). We have Cecilia's open house tonight, two days of grad school orientation already complete, and Ruby is so excited to go to big-girl school that she could burst. I think we're all ready.

At the beginning of summer I remember feeling a little nervous about how this was all going to go, and I'm happy to report that it was a success. I can also report that it might very well be the busiest summer of my adult life. There were trips out-of-town and trips to the park and appointments and lessons and swimming and play dates and birthday parties and weekend visits from loved ones and triathlons and bike rides and slip'n'slides and gardening and Valleyfair and a proper vacation to the Black Hills. This summer was FULL (and my list didn't include the cleaning and organizing that got shoved in here and there, too).

I'm ready for school to start, but I'm also going to be sad next week when we walk Cecilia to the bus on her first day. Because, as busy and hectic as our summer has been, I ended almost each and every day by telling Dadam how great the girls are, or how much I love them, or what special kids I think they are (he had a hunch anyway :) ).

I'm glad we were able to make this little adventure work, and I'm grateful to my husband for letting his three girls live a life of leisure for the summer. It was a magical summer for me. I might even try and do it again next year...