Phan Girl

Oh, do you know what this is about??? Hold on...
I should be put in the naughty corner for leaving poor borderland sitting alone on the interwebz, no updates on school days, no updates on Life When You Can Do What Want All Day... (let's just debunk that one here & now: as yet, there have been zero days where I got to do nothing, while the kids were in school. Zero. My friend Louise said that day will come... when the last child walks down the aisle. Ha!) And, importantly, not recent shots of my kitty babies! Oh the sweetness of them... That Chloe is my lover girl. She stalks me and waits in my seat and sits on the counter to watch me wash dishes. Uh-oh... she's Phoenix with fur!

Anyway, instead of doing nothing, I'll be doing something later today.
It involves a GA cutie, let me show you his adorableness...

Phillip Phillips, at Centennial Olympic Park tonight! I may or may not be rushing the stage. I may or may not be holding a homemade "Phil Phan" poster. Want to get in the spirit of Phillip with me?
Maybe you know this one from the Olympics:
http://www.phillipphillips.com/splash/

Pay no mind to the dark-haired chick in the video. She may or may not know I'm his new girlfriend...

Introducing Pete & Chloe

Stop the presses! The Lear kids have pets now! Our new 2 lb babies are 3 months old, adopted from the Humane Society, and the perfect kitties for our family. We held a lot of kitties last weekend, and it was evident immediately if the kitty-personality would mesh with our busy crew. One orange tabby tried to crawl out the celing the minute he got a look at our octo-armed mass of squealing offspring. (He was adopted an hour later by a one-child family, with a tween-aged son. He was snoozing in the boy's arms when last we saw him.)

Chloe put her paw against the glass, up to Jadyn's hand, and the minute they handed her to us we knew she was the one. She loves being carried around, cuddled, passed from lap to lap... a sweet pea! Pete was the next one that we knew would be ours. Like Chloe, he purred immediately and was fine with being passed around. Our litmus test, the pass-around.

 Chloe is white with grey, Pete is grey

Sadly, I am not getting much done these past 2 (quiet) days. I watch the kitties and laugh at them playing... they are just so darling...
On cue: {awwww}

Tales of School

First day, check!
Good day, check!

Phoenix, aka Mr. PreK, ran off that bus this afternoon with his arms wide open. He detoured Dad and I got the prize.
"The bus driver had a horn he talked in, and he told us DON'T get off if it's not your stop!"

The girls both had good days, with familiar faces in their classes.
Equally important: the lunch-boxes all came home empty, except for a stray grape or two. Whew. Nothing like a thumbs up on the lunch. (OK, I stacked the deck. Pringles & Oreos for 1st day lunch treats. Such a cheater! Such a name-brand-first-day-cheater! You know they were all like "So, where's our afternoon snack of Pizza Rolls & Ruffles & whatever else the cool kids eat after school? Huh?" Me: "Well, umm, animal crackers and juice? huh? No?") You know they all ate all afternoon like 4 houses on fire. That school biz is hungry work. I think they're still eating now, all the way to bed.

Cole strolled in, off the middle school bus (of which we had NO drop-off time for) and was happy with his day. He couldn't find a few of his SEVEN classes, but was fine with asking teachers and wandering around until he found the rooms. The locker was good, lunch was good - "I ate with a new friend" - the bus was good, his hair was good. Middle school success, check. He would like to make some vending machine purchases in the near future, but that was the only bump in his day. Not enough change for extra chips.

Are you with me so far? Did you hear that 4 children had good days with no mishaps or drama? It is like magic in the forest! Phoenix (you know we were crossing our fingers & sitting on our thumbs that HE liked his class) reported that he played a while, took a nap, and ate all his lunch. The boy next to him may not have eaten. Another boy may have fallen asleep before him. Phoenix wasn't sure, as he himself was "under his tile" (= towel = nap blanket) and closed his eyes. I am all about the PreK news. All about The Boy and a Good Day.

He ran to me like this, at approximately 2:42pm:

And at around 2:52pm he said he had missed my hand, so he kissed my palm. Then he held it and sucked his thumb and all was right with the world.

School Day One, I love you. Be mine.

Tomorrow? Big borderland news! And photos! Can you stand it?

Been There

...and you know I got the pictures, baby.
It was country times for the kids, and a week of travel to eastern NC & back.
This post will be a lick & a promise. If you haven't heard that phrase, I apologize for any unfortunate implications.
An earlier generation of rural southerns used it often in the context of, say scrubbing down a stovetop & all the burners after dinner. The quick clean-up is a "lick & a promise" in lieu of deep cleaning. There now, we're squared away & I'll be back!

Tooth Fairy Forest - Debunked!

Ya'll get the prize for joining me in the Imaginary Forest!
Sadly (or happily!) the Tooth Fairy teeth-look-alikes were petals from nearby bushes...
They were the exact size and look of teeth, right? It was a little weird.
But they were just little petal buds of some kind. The kids didn't know what to think, and Jadyn got downright suspicious that they were actually teeth, so she walked away quickly. She's very leery of the magical beings, that girl.

So, Tooth Fairy Theory: debunked.
Unusual flower petal: Confirmed.
**************************************
Next week we are off again for another adventure. It's time to visit my Mom in NC, and she has Camp Lilliput ready for the grandkids. I got an excited text from her a few days ago, reporting that a nest of guinea chicks (pardon me, guinea *keets*) had just hatched, and she can't wait to show the kids. Ideal timing, guineas, nice work! Sometimes eggs hatch, other times eggs "catch" as Phoenix says.
"Mom, Mom, Gigee said the eggs catched, and we'll see baby chicks!"
So the kids are all a-flutter, just as the chicks will be when we walk through that garage door...
Isabella has already called dibs on naming them, which I am encouraging rather mildly. Never a good idea to name something that may be harvested and roasted, I always say. I learned that lesson from my Nanny (great-grandmother), who had a taste for rabbit stew. But that's another story. Or not.

Oh, it's a country life for me...
Sure never know what you'll see...
A frog leg, a rabbit haunch, fresh chicken on your dinner table
Daggone kids, and bless my heart, I wish it were a fable...

And with that I bid you good week!

The Tooth Fairy Forest

 Sometimes, if you cross just the right bridge, in just the right place

And pass by just the right fern-filled glade

You will step into The Tooth Fairy Forest

where life-size teeth are strewn down the path

and then you will know just what happens to all those lost teeth that She collects.

You saw it here first.

Vacation the First & Second & The End

Yes, yes, the title it is unclear. You'll understand momentarily. I should have titled it:
Vacation The End: Worst Photos Ever
After days of lovely weather, and many golden vacation shots depicting peace in the forest and love and goodwill toward all Learkind, this happened:

It was an enchanting visit to two picturesque towns: Cashiers, NC and Highlands, NC. When we arrived in Highlands, and I laid eyes on this gorgeous church, I whipped out my camera. Visions of a family shot in front of the gardens danced through my head. whirr-whirr-clunk What? No! whirr-whirr-clunk.
Shake, shake, exclaim, accuse, bemoan. The lens was jammed. Somewhere along the line, while I was frantically baiting hooks and warning of the dangers of flying hooks, *someone* got their paws on my camera, and allowed sand into the lens. Before you think "Phoenix, gotta be Phoenix" let me assure you, it was, in fact, The Ghost Child, He Who is Responsible for All Bad Things. Shoulder to shoulder in solidarity, I was assured that No Child of Mine Would Have Wrought Such a Curse Upon My Camera.
**************************************************
Fast forward to Vacation the Second.
Vacation the First ended, we were home for one day, and then Rick & I took off solo for an anniversary weekend in Charleston, SC. Thanks to a mutually-beneficial trade with our neighbor and friend Rachael, we got a vacation from our vacation.
But if you think I can share lovely vacation photos of the lovely city of Charles Town, let me assure you, it will not happen.
What did happen was this. My bff Google recommended a few home remedies for clearing the lens, and I tried them. We were relaxing on the patio of the fantastic Mills House hotel in the historic Holy City (I wondered all weekend *why* Charleston is called the Holy City.), and I fooled around with my lens remedies. Warning: Please don't try this at home. It is only successful when well-marinated by local brews on a kids-free vacation. You were warned.

 Nope, not it.

 Nope, not it.

 Oops, even worse.

 Wait! Look! It's clear! Yahooooo!

 Oh crud. It's back.

 But look! In the dark of night, you can't tell!

And this concludes all parts of all vacations. Having no reliable photography device was kind of freeing. We walked and roamed and enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was decided, yet again (we decide this every time we go there), that Charleston is the place for us. We honeymooned there 16 years ago, on the nearby Isle of Palms, and though Rick travels to Charleston every 2 months on business, I have only been back once. Charming Charleston... you were a much-needed break from real life...

Vacation the First: Part 2

After a full day of hiking...

 fishing...

 (And whoever said fishing is a relaxing, quiet activity never baited hooks for kids. Fishing with us resembles the activity level of a hot-dog eating contest: continual frenzy, squealing and lost bait! It was like a game show where the timer was always buzzing. Worm! Worm! I need a worm! Hurrrrry, he's catching my fiiiish!!! They cast their lines within inches of one another, adding quite the competitive edge. Those fish were ranged just below the water, watching the show.)

 and reading...

The sun began to set on our unplugged day. 

With no TV, and no computers, the end came slowly. The evening was punctuated with a few small squeals, and pointing fingers...

 A few last bounces and leg-crushers...

 And finally, silence.

 One small boy, down for the count.

 One big boy finds an empty spot...

 Softly, softly

 The day had permission...

to end.

Vacation the First: Part 1

Bad Creek Foothills

"Thanks for the life lesson!" she said with a cheery smile.
"That's what I'm here for!" I grinned back.
Ah, the simple joys of parenting. Such an easy task, isn't it? Almost never fraught with frustrations or challenges. Certainly not grounds for therapy or inner reflection.
Can you tell this is going to be a vacation post? No? Have you not vacationed with a pack of monkeys, yourself? Even my words will not be image enough. Some friends frequently call and tell me "how cute" these posts are, and I'm like "Seriously? Cute?! I was having such a hard day and it was all I could do to make it civil & fit for public consumption!" Spinning a yarn, yo. Even my rough days look like gold, kids, gold!
Vacation Part 1 was a family trip, to the lovely Lake Jocassee, located in the utmost corner of SC, right at the border of NC and the Nantahala National Forest. This was the Family Unplugged part, where there was no tv, computer, movies, or technology. What there WAS, in abundance, was the beautiful outdoors, and some stellar weather.
Please to see my golden photos:

The view from the lake house deck

Look who we brought along!

Cole...

What photo shoot is complete without the Kids Jumping Into Water segment?!
Jadyn...

Isabella...

Phoenix... fake out! He didn't get in that water all week.

Rick's survival guide to vacationing in the wilderness. Liquor and cigars. Hello watermelon!

Just 2 miles away (up, down and around the steep mountain drive), we had a nice hike along this trail. Suitable for children, to be sure.

We were on the lookout for wildlife, and luckily spotted only a box turtle. Whew! Recently spotted wildlife, by Rick's friend, and the lake house owner: 3 bears, and some wild boar - on the property!

Follow the blue marks to stay on the trail. Don't argue about who spotted the blue mark first.
You all know that I did.

Phoenix on moss.

 To be continued...