Tales From My House: Summertime, and the living is easy!

In reality, there isn't much difference in our house between the seasons. The kids aren't in school yet, so while the temperatures change, our schedule is pretty static year-round. You will be pleased to know that Kara has stopped swearing (and hitting). She isn't quite her former sunny self, but overall has been much more pleasant. Jack has taken over her role as "the difficult one." (Personally, I think it is okay to label children, so long as: 1) they don't know about it and 2) you are willing to change/modify labels as necessary.) We have been doing a lot of activities with the local Mom's Club. Jack has managed to embarrass me at several of these.

Here's an example, on Tuesday we were at a friend's house swimming. Everyone was sitting around eating lunch, when Jack approached the hostess and asked her "why do you have a big tummy?" I politely tried to shoo him away, but he would not be deterred. Instead, he said loudly, "Mommy, I can't go play, I have to ask her something... Ms. Jane, is there a baby in your tummy?" Of course, there is no baby in her tummy. In his defense, it has been baby central around here lately, with several friends being pregnant, and Jack really likes babies. And, it did provide us with a good conversation on the way home (appropriate versus inappropriate conversation, which did not go so well. Hopefully, they at least learned not to ask people if there are babies in their tummies.) Jack was a roll that day, we had to leave early because he refused to follow the playground rules, which consisted of "don't climb the slide."

The next day, we went to the Fire Department. The kids loved it! They got to climb on the fire equipment and learned some good safety information. There was one temper tantrum when I tried to move Jack in the group picture, but we all enjoyed the experience. When we got home, they spent the day pretending to be firemen, which was very cute. There were some minor squabbles. At one point, I went in to check on them and asked Jack what was going on, he ran up to me and slapped my arm. Hard; it left a red mark. So, it became nap time and he was off to his room. I often wonder why the kids are never good at the same time. There is always one (or two) who are "going through a stage." They are like Siths, there is a master (worst behaved), an apprentice (middle), and a Jedi trying to maintain high standards amid the chaos. They seem to rotate through these roles. I am glad they are never all Masters, but I would like some time with just Jedis.

Okay, I am digressing. Other fun stuff--the kids all got haircuts. I took them all to the Hair Cuttery (same place we went after last year's hair-cutting incident). We got there shortly after opening and the place was empty. One woman took Anna, the other Kara. I asked them to cut their hair to shoulder-length. That meant two different things to the two different people, but it's okay. We also went back to the Natural History Museum to visit the dinosaurs (again). On the way home, I had another fun conversation with Jack after Thomas noticed that he and Jack were dressed alike in jean shorts and gray baseball shirts:

Me: Jack, you and Daddy are twins today!

Jack: No! Anna is my twin.

Me: But, Anna's a girl

Jack: Yes, but we are both 4

Me: Daddy's not 4?

Jack <laughing>: No!

Me: How old is Daddy?

Jack: I don't know. Daddy, how old are you?

Me: Is he as old as the dinosaurs?

Jack: Nooo! <pause> But, grandpa is.

On a positive note, the kids have been playing really nicely together lately. They have been very good about including everyone and have found games they can all enjoy. It has been a lot of fun for me to see their imaginations at work. They love to build stuff and can be very creative. I also love that they are developing more sophisticated senses of humor. It is so fun to hear them try and make up jokes and to make each other (and Thomas and me) laugh. Sometimes, I just look at them and can't believe how big they are. It is certainly a fun ride we are on!