Verbal Volley

An after-school conversation:

Me: What did you do today that was interesting?
Mer: Oh! We had Russian!
Me: Wonderful! Did you learn how to say anything in Russian?
Mer: Oh, of course. We learned how to say hello!
Me: Really? So...how do you say it?

LONG PAUSE

Mer: Mommy, do you know any Russian?
Me: Nope. None at all.
Mer: Well, in Russian, you say hello "mini bien hello."

I'm just sure you do.

Neither Here Nor There

I don't have much to say, but needed a therapeutic blog post. The truth is, I'm not doing so well with this whole kindergarten thing. I missed Mer too much today. So I took pictures of Madi. That's all.

What a Guy

I just have some great pictures of Chris that I feel need to be shared with the world. Maybe if I embarrass him enough, he'll do a blog post again some day. One picture of him being a Sherpa at the beach, where he carried more than one would have thought possible. Every day. Sometimes twice a day.


One picture of him being glamorous. Because Chris is nothing, if not glamorous. And one pic of him in his first triathlon last weekend. Because we're proud. Love you dear.

How to Be a Good Person

When Meredith gets an idea - or a plan, really - she cannot be dissuaded from that plan. Even if it takes weeks for us to give in and help her accomplish her goal. The most recent example of this has been her desire to sell something in the front yard, which she has been voicing since, oh, about March. She wasn't picky about the details - it could be her toys, it could be lemonade - or it could be fans, as was the case today. As it turned out, she wasn't even picky about the "selling" part.

Today, we decided it was time to let her set up her stand and do her thing. She made fans out of pink paper, so that people who were exercising could cool off, and she and her dad made Tang, so people could stay hydrated. When we asked her what the prices would be for these items, she declared that it would all be free, "because people don't usually have money in their pockets when they're exercising." Can't argue with that.

It was all fun and good. And hopefully she's got it out of her system.

And now I will preach: I remember reading one of those cheesy gift books sometime when I was in a doctor's office. It was a list of 50 things that make a good person, or something to that effect. One of them was "Always, always, always buy lemonade from children with lemonade stands." And let me say, this is a reliable axiom. What kind of a lame-o turns down free Tang from a four year old when she's desperate to have a "customer"? Thankfully, we met lots of good people, too! Now, go forth and be good people!

Growing Up in Memphis

Today I could not face the world for another minute until I had eaten a cheeseburger. And so we went where we always go, the Deli. The Young Avenue Deli, that is. On the way, we picked up Lea B. King, because kindergarten is only making Meredith want to see her friends more. Cause an additional 20 hours a week is, apparently, not enough.

A little back story: Lea B. King was born 2 days after Meredith, and they've known one another since they were about 3 months old. True love. We call her 'Lea B.' Whether she likes it or not. Cause that's how it is with nicknames that start when you're 3 months old.

Anyway, so we went to the Deli. While there, Meredith and Lea had a fab time thinking that they were playing all the video games on offer. They were not. It didn't matter. Now, one of the games is an Elvis pin ball game (we live in Memphis). The following discussion arose:

Lea: Elvis died from drugs. My daddy told me.
Meredith: What are jugs?
Lea: Chemicals.
Meredith: But what happened to Elvis?
Lea: He died from the drugs. He knew what they were, but he didn't know what they were doing to him.

Another sad story from Memphis. God bless Memphis, Meredith, and Lea B.

Requisite Spaghetti Face Picture

Every kid's gotta have this pic, right?

And poor Madi has been neglected, so she deserves her spaghetti face pic. I'm not sure when I last did a monthly birthday post. But we won't miss 18 months, I promise.

Meredith Conquers Kindergarten

Okay, maybe 'conquers' is a little strong. But it IS fun to watch her take it all in stride. Last week they went for one day - it was a staggered entry, so there were only 5 or so kids in class each day. This Monday was the first real day. She's doing a great job, despite rising about 1-2 hours earlier than had previously been her custom.

The locker was a surprise, and a really big deal. I can't blame her. Pretty cool.

Tyler was at her table the first day. He wasn't too sure about me flashing the camera in his face, but was kind enough to throw a peace sign anyway.

Sweet little fake smile. That one up top with the locker is the real deal. This one is more "mom, for the love, enough pictures already."


Mer with her bros, Walt and Adam, on the steps of Peabody Elementary. Ready or not, here they come.

Goodbye, Symbolic Summer

Summertime.

The summer is ending. And a little bit of Mer's childhood is ending. But it's not the end. At all. And what is a school year if not a chance to have a new start?

So here's a toast to the end of summer. The last two weeks have been crazy and have cured a few parents I know of most of the melancholy associated with Kindergarten.

Welcome to our driveway artists colony/sauna. Today it's 120% humidity and a heat index of 135.

It's not that the kids have been bad during this time of in-between-child-care and endless playdates. But the moms are positively worn out with the coordination of childcare in the midst of changing schedules, new routines, and sick kids. So we toast you summer. You were great. And we recognize that it'll still be hot for about 12 weeks. But we also salute you, symbolic fall. Routine, schedule, and some day...cooler weather. Here's to you.

Extra water for the tomatoes, since the head index is 172 today.

Meet Adam the human water balloon target. Luckily, one rule of the game was that you lost all of your points if you actually hit the person.

Poor Mer would actually have won this athletic event, except she did hit Adam in the leg with the balloon near the end. And I'm pretty sure she meant to. SHE was the one who wanted to have an all out war?! Poor Mer, my foot.

Go Fish

Seems that Mer shares my love of card games. Before you know it, I'll be teaching her how to shoot the moon and avoid drowning in the river. For now, we'll settle for differentiating between 6's and 9's.