Mixed Feelings

So, if you know anything about this day

you'll know how excited Caleb was for his first day of Kindergarten. And, naturally, I was so excited and so proud - just feeding off of his excitement. I cried later. And the day before. And the night before. But never in front of him. He was too excited!!

So, today when I dropped the boy who used to wink at me like this

for his last day as a Kindergartner, I cried a little inside. Outside I was so proud and so excited as he clapped his hands and proclaimed that "after today, I am a first grader, and in just a few years, I'll be in college." Gasp. So, I cried at home. Alone. Where has the time gone?

So, hug your babies, cuddle with your toddlers, read to your children that book you've read to them 3,000 times already this week. It goes by so fast. You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back.

Caleb receiving his awards and Kindergarten certificate.

Calling My Bluff

A couple of weeks ago, at the end of a fun, but very exhausting weekend out of town, I learned a lesson...be ready to show your cards when called on a bluff. It went something like this:

The four of us returned home late afternoon. Greg and I unpacked the car, and actually unpacked (something that if ever, rarely, happens). We tend to be the kind that have to take days weeks to unpack. Greg even went a moon-walk size leap further and vacuumed out the car! Needless to say, we were tired. We decided on a very nutritious dinner for the kids (popcorn, deli meat, grapes, cheese), and attempted to get them in bed at a decent, if not slightly early, time.

Greg and I then cleaned up the kitchen from the meal we had just slaved over for the kids, folded laundry and put it up stacked it in laundry baskets (I mean, really, did you think I was that good?!), started another load, and decided to have our dinner on the couch. We had some leftover Costco chicken salad (amazing) and wheat thins. Upon the first crunch of our cracker and us selecting a show to watch, out emerged two children from their respective rooms. "We're hungry" (did I mention that when we did feed them that five star meal, I made sure and asked them eight times if they were full or wanted anything else) were the next words out. This as they are eyeing my dinner.

At first I said what any good parent would say, "No, it's bedtime. You boys need to get in bed, we have an early morning tomorrow and you both are going to be exhausted."

"But I'm starving." followed right after with "yeah, we staaaahhhhving".

Several looks back and forth between Greg and I, all the while the vultures are eyeing my crackers, and I out of my mouth come the words (directed at Greg), "we have some broccoli in the fridge"; then to the boys "you want some broccoli? If you are hungry, you may have broccoli."

Glee spread across my children's face while shock spread across ours.

"Yay! Yay! We want broccoli!"

So, as not to go against my word...

The boys ate an entire head of broccoli, smiling the entire time, and proclaiming their new found love for the vegetable.