Anniversary Dinner

For our anniversary last night, we went to Wacky Wednesday at the pool where we enjoyed Hutch pizza and wine.

And it was perfect.

Anniversary

Fourteen years today and going strong........

And please, for the love of god, save me the emails about how young we look. We're painfully aware.

Swim Meet Monday

So tonight was another swim meet. It was tough. Neither Tim nor Morrigan was swimming the 100 meter medley so we were there for only two events. Morrigan swam the 25 meter free and Tim the 50 meter free. Morrigan took 13 seconds off her time but failed to place. But she took it well especially since she beat her friend from the opposing team. And while she might not be the fastest swimmer, doesn't she look happy and relaxed?

Poor Tim had another goggle malfunction. Everything started off great.

But then he ended up like this, taking of large amounts of water.

But he finished and added two points to the team score. Go team McK!

I think we had a breakthrough with Maggie Pie tonight. As she watched the 6 and under division, she commented to me, "These girls are really slow." No sh*t Maggie! They are your competition. This is why I have been pushing you to be on swim team all year! And then there was the massive meltdown about not getting to go out for celebratory donuts with Daddy. We may have reached the proper ratio of carrot and stick here people.

Sunday at the Lake

Is there anything better than a day at the lake? Even an intermittently rainy day is just about as good as it gets. We swam, fished, boated, went water skiing, went out on the canoe and just generally had a good time.  As it will be many, many years before we are lake house owners ourselves, I will remain eternally grateful for friends like Karen and Damon for inviting us out!

Happy 4th of July!

Two out of three kids chez the Big Top are still out this morning after yesterday's jam packed 4th of July. And yes, it is 7:40am but my kids really don't sleep in. 

We skipped swim team yesterday since it looked like the water was checking in at about 69 degrees. Yeah, we wanted to give it a few hours to warm up. But we were there later so my kids could eat heroic numbers of cookies from the buffet.

And get after it in the soda and jewel dives. Morrigan, who drinks no soda, still participated with plans to sell her winnings. At a price higher than that of the Hutch. Good luck.

Maggie's improved swimming skills meant a marked decrease in tears after the jewel dive coupled with an increase in the number of crappy toys we had to take home. At least none were "Billy Bob teeth" this time.

For the first time I actually took part in the beer dive and found out I suck at it, gathering zero beers. Luck for me, Tim excels and got enough for the both of us!

After the pool, we went to Elmwood Park for  Tea Party protest. Eion carried his sign and politely told passers by "No Cap and Trade!" When he heard the speakers talk about it, he got all excited and held up his sign. 

While it lacked the spontaneous feeling of the April 15th rally, there were plenty of people there and I was glad we were there.

When we left the rally, we went to a big 4th of July party hosted by friends Vicky and Glenn who have an amazing house well situated to watch the fireworks. They had a bluegrass band and barbecue. There were piles of kids and our lot had a ball.

We did lose Eion at one point but eventually found him in the basement where he and a few friends found a cache of legos. Naturally, he was also rocking moist pants. You would think he would be just a little embarrassed, especially considering his new nickname is "Pee-on." But sadly, he didn't seem to care.

There was one little boy who suffered a small cut on the head. Maggie came urgently to get Tim, letting him know it was very important. Tim ended up using dermabond on his head. While it wasn't a major crisis, the girls were duly impressed with their father, the hero.

This was the first year we've seen the Roanoke fireworks. We've always been out of town or in bed by the time they start. It was a good show and the kids tolerated staying up late as well as could be expected. Certainly worth keeping them out.

Cocktails on Friday

Friday night was our Cocktail Club, hosted by Tom & Kirsten. The joy of scheduling in the summer meant that it was only a week after last month's gathering. But no worries! The hosts invite the core group and then are free to invite whomever they want. So while there was some overlap, they weren't identical parties.

We were graced with a beautiful night  and it was an awesome party. And happy to report one major difference from the week before was that there was no struggling around here the next day!

Kick Ass!

We found out that Eion got into the city preschool program which means, among other things, that we will be saving $2,200 a year in tuition and he will be at the same school as Maggie, saving me the horror of having three kids at three different schools. And his friend John Paul got in too. Today is an awesome day!

A Well Dressed Protest

While cleaning up this afternoon, Morrigan found this dress in the closet, which I had bought in duplicate for the girls. She said, "I bet this is for the 4th of July!" and wondered aloud what our plans were.

Naturally, I told them, the picnic at the Club comes first. Then we are headed to Elmwood Park for a gathering of the Roanoke Valley Tea Party from 5-7pm. They were psyched. The girls immediately started planning their protest signs. But the best was yet to come....we were going to a party AT NIGHT to watch the fireworks! "You know what this means don't you?" Maggie asked Morrigan. "There will be teenagers there!" Ah picnics and protests and teenagers, oh my!

For my in town readers, we would love for you to join us at the protest on July 4th. Not to get all political on you, but I will, both the Cap and Trade and Healthcare legislation is alarming. Did you know that Cap and Trade includes language that would prevent you from selling your home unless it met as of yet undetermined environmental government standards? Or that Cap and Trade has provisions to give ongoing monthly payments, via direct deposit, to low income homes to make up for the increased energy costs the bill itself will cause? And as for nationalized healthcare, the disasters that are Britain and Canada's state run systems should be incentive enough to fight against such a travesty in the United States. Let your voice be heard before it is too late! 

It's Not Bernard, It's Ethan

My son has decided to change his middle name from Bernard to Ethan. I have no earthly idea why this change is necessary but I sympathize with the boy. Clearly, as his middle name is Bernard, there was a battle lost.....

Bittersweet

Yesterday's swim meet was really bittersweet. Morrigan looked way better than she did at the start of the season, cut 8 seconds off her 50 Free time, and yet she didn't place in the Free and was disqualified again for Breast. 

Certainly, we are forever appreciative of her friend Katherine, who also DQed, for helping her rally. 
Maggie & Eion were well behaved and left me free to have fun taking pictures of the swimmers. I received more than one comment with the implication that the telephoto lens was some sort of compensation. See if you get any pictures of your kids.....

Eion happily played legos the whole night. Which seemed like a great thing until we went to leave and I realized that he was so intent on playing that he decided going to use the bathroom was just too troublesome. So he got to ride home naked causing Maggie's friend Luke to comment, "Do you have to do this all the time?" Sadly, we do.

Sunday Morning

Actually it does appear that it is almost Sunday afternoon but in all honesty people, I am struggling today, a fact not at all aided by my son's incessant ray gun firing or my daughter's rendition of a Brittany Spears song on the kazoo. Or by my darling husband rolling his eyes when I told the kids to eat because we aren't getting lunch at the pool. Just because I didn't mention that dinner there was a certainty.....

Friday we played poker which was not at all a repeat of last month's success. We lasted about as many minutes as I have pictures. Fun anyway and on the bright side, we were in bed nice and early!

Saturday morning we went to pick up Morrigan at camp. As anticipated, she had a great time and was planning on returning next summer for a longer stay.

Maybe between now and then we can work on the use of a hairbrush. Hers appears to have taken the entire week off. 

That night we had our Cocktail Club which directly led to my diminished capacity today. It was a great party and had lots of people I don't see nearly enough in attendance. And I was feeling it as is clearly evidenced by my mile wide smile. 

In general, if you can see each and every one of my teeth, I probably should step away from the cocktails. Oh, and I was in a snap happy mood. Most of the pictures I think will be headed for deletion but a few fun ones will make the cut.

Now I am off to the pool where if all the stars align, I will nap in the shade and maybe read a magazine.

Letters From Camp

Morrigan has already used all the self addressed stamped envelopes I sent with her. The notes are short, sweet and generally lacking detail. One we received Tuesday read:

Dear Mom & Dad, I am having a great time. I made some new friends. Please write back. Love your daughter forever, Morrigan

Great close, I think. The longest arrived yesterday and had the most info:

Dear Mom & Dad, I got your letters. My mates are Lia, Madison and Leanne. Archery was full but I got to go to arts and crafts instead. I have been swimming and I miss Midnight, Jack, Maggie, Eion, Daddy, and you. I am looking forward to seeing you. Love, Morrigan

I think it is terrific that I rank behind the entire family, including the cats.

The Luckiest Girl Ever

And by luckiest girl ever, I mean me. Any regular reader would laugh if I were to use the word "perfect" but I, by the grace of Tim, do lead a fairly charmed existence. While the Best Husband Ever is working 50+ hours this week dealing with The Public, a group I like to avoid at all costs, I got to take Maggie & Eion to the pool, where I was freed from cooking lunch (and dinner and lunch again today,) and where I read more of Atlas Shrugged. [Excellent book by the way.] And when I mentioned that our Club bill was likely to be heroic this month, he just said to do whatever makes my life easier. Thank you Timmy.

Blast From the Past

At the preschool the kids all went to, they ask for a disposable camera every year which they return at the close of the school year, presumably full of darling shots of your child. I've found that mostly, you get pictures that look as though they were taken by the kids: grainy, out of focus and of questionable content. On Eion's this year I got many, many pictures of what looks like a sponge. And experiences like that may explain why I never got around to developing Maggie's camera from the 06-07 school year. But when I took E's in this week, I brought Mag's as well. 

I won't lie and say I was close to tears, but I was definitely touched. It is so easy to forget how little they were. When I looked through these, it seems like so long ago and she looks so sweet.

And holy crap does she look like a little Tim in a dress here:

But before I get too misty eyed and nostalgic, I remember that she was three and what most three year olds are is difficult and irrational. I greatly prefer now but I do love the trip down memory lane.

Vacation

So while I realize that in practice it is Morrigan who is on vacation, I can't shake the feeling that I am too. Let me tell you, caring for two kids rather than three is a m-fing vacation. You have enough hands to hold on to all kids rather than just two while entrusting the third not to dart into traffic, which, incidentally, is not a well laid trust. Everything is easier. Not that I don't miss  her....

Yesterday I took the kids to see Night at the Museum. I wanted to see Up but was overruled. And as this was about making the non-campers feel special, I didn't fight it. Things were going swimmingly, albeit aided by a healthy dose of popcorn, sprite and skittles, when I looked over and saw Eion sobbing "I don't want this tv anymore!" There was a battle onscreen and it had scared him. After relocating to my lap, he made it through but I was surprised that battle boy was so adversely affected. This is a child who lives for conflict. He constantly is at war with people, real and imagined. He seems no worse for wear today - I hear him "cho-ing the robots" right now.

After the movie, I took E to get his hair trimmed. My hairdresser doesn't really take appointments for little ones, you just call and she tells you when she can fit you in. Every other place we've taken his problematic hair didn't work out - I think we all remember his last haircut - so she is the only one I trust with him. E behaved and chatted up Cyndy the entire time. Mostly about how although he wears pull ups to bed, he is still a big boy. At least now he can see:

When she discovered that Cyndy couldn't fit her in too, Maggie was inconsolable. Maybe it was just that I had such an easy day , maybe I'm just a sucker, but I loaded them up and drove a mile up the road to Cost Cutters where she got a trim too. All this and it was still easier than a normal day. 

Of course two haircut locations meant double the treats which was the absolute last thing they needed. When Eion asked to be excused from dinner, I told him, "But all you ate was one piece of broccoli." "No" he said, "I ate two." Better luck for nutrition today.

Off to Camp Alleghany

Today we took Morrigan to West Virginia for her first time at sleep away camp. While we might have felt some apprehension, Tim even skipped his nap before a night shift to accompany us on the drive, she felt none at all. When we asked who she would miss the most, we were informed, "I won't miss any of you people." I see.

We were a bit early so we had some time before we went into the camp proper. Morrigan promptly made friends with the first girl she saw. I overheard them talking....

Morrigan: I wanted to come for three weeks but my parents were afraid.

Hannah (rolling eyes): Parents!

They ferried us across the river on a platform that was attached with pulleys to a guide rope and pushed along with large stick by the drivers. As we approached, the counselors sang a welcome song. Seriously, it was downright picturesque.

When we exited the boat, Morrigan promptly ran off and found a guide to her tent. The rest of the family was left to check in without her. I was growing suspicious that she was going to be just fine. Being Morrigan, she bought a souvenir teddy bear within minutes. She is my spender after all....

We toured the facilities and met her tent's counsellor. Morrigan immediately told her how this was going to be the Best Week Ever and next year she intended to come for a longer stay. 

Morrigan's response to camp was about what I expected. I was a little taken aback at how upset Maggie was that we had to leave. her. Eion just insisted that when he got older he was going to be a girl and he would go to this camp. [We're hoping he'll just settle for a different camp instead.] 

But the emotional response most unexpected was my own and Tim's. We are sure she is going to have an excellent time. She has a great positive attitude and the camp seems awesome. Tim is ready to sign up to go himself! But we had this unexplainable mixture of apprehension, pride, and sadness I can't quite put into words. We'll just comfort ourselves with the knowledge that she seems like she is going to have a damn good time!

Holy Mother of God

So there I am, feeling great about my kids. Morrigan got into Plato, Maggie finally faced her fears and went into the lap lanes portion of the pool, Eion didn't make me want to kill him at all today. And then they became fetish child pornographers.  We'll start from the beginning.....

In prep for camp, we went to Target today and I decided to buy a cheap digital camera for Morrigan to take to sleep away camp. It is not terribly expensive and preferable, to me at least, to a disposable camera. So we get home and I show Morrigan how to use the camera. As it is a new toy, she was anxious to try it out. And the kids are happily snapping pics as I cleaned up the kitchen. 

When I went to review the pictures, I saw allot of what I expected, this:

Then we arrived at the portion of the photo session which was them taking pictures of one another's bare backsides. I call them all into the kitchen and start fussing them out for doing such a thing and made them view each inappropriate pic as I deleted them. [Rest assured, they are all gone and the memory card has been reformatted.] But then it got worse. First were the pictures of Eion, which when I showed it as an example of what we weren't to do, E yelled out, "Look, it's my crank!" Then more bottoms and underwear. Then the pictures of them using the potty! So my children are not just pornographers but fetish child pornographers. 

Needless to say, it was right to bed for the lot of them. And I think my extensive, loud, nay bordering on yelling, lecture was effective as when I went to give the girls a hug and kiss good night, Maggie said in tears, "I don't deserve a hug or kiss." They did get hugs and kisses but I told them their tv was in major peril.

Still Employed

Actual exchange with Eion this evening:

Eion: Mommy, I love you.

Me: I love you too E.

Eion: I'm not going to fire you. 

Me: Well thanks E. I appreciate your faith in me.

Eion: You're welcome.

The Best Idea Ever

We tend to be a little bit behind on the tech curve. We're still rocking a 32 inch, non-flat screen tv, no bluray player, and I can barely text. Seriously, when I get a text, I can read it but then I can never find it again. I need a 12 year old to help me out. But back on point, Tim found an app today that makes me want to buy a GPS which is really a tough sell since I go practically nowhere. The Tomtom GPS can speak to you in the voice of Homer Simpson. (Click here to listen.) This might qualify as the Best Idea Ever.

Woohoo!

June this year is the month of waiting for letters from the city. We are still waiting to see if E gets into the city preschool (go catboy go!) but we did get a bit of mail today. Morrigan was chosen for the Plato (gifted) program! So forgive me as I brag just a little shameless bit here. We were very happy and asked her how she wanted to celebrate. She wanted to buy books. I love my girl.

Adding to the Hall of Fame

Tonight was the second swim meet of the year. It was a home meet which made my life so much easier since I could ply the kids with gear from the hutch and they, mercifully, serve drinks. Morrigan placed second bronze for the 50 meter freestyle and she was psyched that she beat one girl. She gave me a high five since she didn't come in last. Set the bar low people - it is awesome!

She was disqualified for breast stroke but took that very well. Then she spent the rest of the meet reading. 
Mags and E were really good. Surprisingly, Eion was better than Maggie. Wow! But they were both well behaved overall. I felt bad that I had to shut Maggie down for ice cream after the meet but our deal was treats for the swimmers. Non swimmers, no treats. 

We got home late - past 9pm. Keep your fingers crossed that the girls survive Lifetime Sports Camp tomorrow.

Cocktails and Croquet

Last night we went to friends Kate & Rob's for cocktails, a cookout and croquet. There was perfect weather and excellent company. Most of us had never played but luckily for us, Webb was the president of the croquet club (team?) at Middlebury and was able to bring us up to speed. 

My skills at croquet were similar to my prowess at all other athletic endeavours (read: not very good) but the game was much more fun than I expected. While I am a constant fan of the cocktail party, I love when people add an activity to make the night more interesting and this one was great - no one, save Webb, was  much good at it and you could keep your drink with you the whole time. Perfect. 

The Hall of Fame

Do you think Morrigan is excited about her swimming ribbon?