twas the night before school

Twas the night before school started and all through the house,
Not a boy was stirring because the Melatonin knocked them out.
The backpacks were tossed by the door without care,
With hopes that no homework tomorrow they would bear.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
With the memories of sleeping late still stuck in their heads.
And Mom at the counter, and Dad on a trip,
Both prayed hard that all boys will flourish.

When out of the folders that came home from open house,
Came such a stack of papers Mom was forced to fill out.
She found her favorite pen and a comfortable seat
Because filling them all out would be quite a feat.

Names, grades, parents, and allergies,
Phone numbers, addresses, and who to call in emergencies.
Not so bad if it was just one,
But the three copies ruined the fun.

But she made it through every single last page,
Even though her wrist cramped like someone twice her age.
She let the dog in and locked all the doors,
Then prepped for breakfast so they'd be sure to want more.

She then climbed the stairs with the dog right behind,
And checked on each boy with kisses to remind
That these years are short, though days are long for the parentals,
And someday she would look back and be quite sentimental.

She collapsed into bed and gave a big sigh,
And drifted to sleep to a fan turned on high.
But when the alarm rang, she wiped off her drool,
And said, "GET UP SLEEPYHEADS!!!  IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!"

don't make me come up there!

My man and I were fumbling with an attempt at hooking up a television antenna on our roof(something we're absolutely not qualified to do) between dinner and bedtime last night.

Mistake number one.

At first, the boys were just playing in the yard, screaming and laughing and having a sword fight with the weapons they were awarded as party favors at a birthday party earlier in the day.  Cut a pool noodle in thirds, stick a two-foot PVC pipe in the end, and ta-da, you have hours of entertainment for boys.

It started to get dark outside and we hollered to the troops to get PJ's on and brush teeth (as we were balancing a large television on the edge of a mantle, while managing marital harmony over a wire that was too short to reach where it needed to go).

I'm sure you can imagine that we were not able to actually follow through and reinforce our instructions until we finished the project-that-we-should-not-have-started-until-AFTER-the-kids-were-in-bed.

As instructed, the little angels trotted up the stairs and did exactly as they were instructed to do.

N.O.T.

We heard squealing, yelling, running, stomping, thwacking, giggling, whining, thumping, hollering, and screaming.

My beloved and I returned fire with threats of what would happen when we got up there if they didn't knock it off and do what we told them to.

Suddenly we heard the ruckus silence and drawers opening and closing and water running.

N.O.T.

This is why threatening does not work with parenting.  We were stuck to the problem television and they knew it.  They called our bluff and continued on with the wild rumpus.

We finally man-handled the wires and finished our project.  I headed immediately upstairs to man-handle my children, but was met with this:

To which I busted out laughing and went and got their dad. 

And the camera.

I don't even know what to say about the snake skin tucked into The Hunter's pajama pants.  There are no words, so I will just stop here.

the far side of the moon

That's where I have been.  I've been living life to the full, working hard to keep my priorities straight and make the important things in my life important.  Writing and blogging, although I love them, have fallen off the radar this summer because I want to chill work on my tan take lots of naps make the most of each day with my kids.

I'm sure you all have your hands on your hips in disbelief that I would announce such big news of our adoption and then go dark for weeks on end.  But I'm sure you'll also realize that mountain towns get about 45 days of summer (okay, maybe 50) and we are soaking it up.

In less than three weeks, my mornings will surely look like this:


Well, minus my man cooking breakfast because that is just not his gift and we have all accepted that.  He does bring coffee to my bedside in the mornings though which is key to my day.

Anyhoo, we are still on the adoption paper chase and are waiting on the federal government to issue our I-797, which is will be the last major piece to our dossier to China.  We would be thrilled if we could have it all wrapped up and submitted within the first month of school.

Our boys have been asking what we will name our new sister, and instead of answering them, we have asked them what they think we should name her.  They all have their favorites, but one fairly lively discussion was brought to a gut-busting halt when our comedian Rufus chimed in, "I think we should name her Mrs. Nesbit!"

Exhibit A that my kids have overdosed on Toy Story:


So, until further notice, our daughter waiting in China is lovingly referred to in this family as Mrs. Nesbit.

I will try to be back soon.  But I can't make any promises.