Dear Jaya

(click to enlarge letter)

We knew it would eventually happen. Niamh's bestie, Jaya, had a fever and couldn't go to school today. Niamh was worried, but I think I was worried-er. Niamh won't hang out with anyone but Jaya. The cute little girls in her class invite her to play tag in the morning before the bell rings, but Niamh sits alone on the bench and says, "I'm waiting for Jaya."
I wasn't sure Niamh could handle school without her other half. Niamh said it would be ok because she would hang out with Riley and Hara. OK, we had a plan, we were good. We got to school, I personally asked Riley and Hara to please watch out for Niamh today because her buddy was sick, and Niamh started looking a bit nervous, like it was hitting her all of a sudden that she had never done anything at school without Jaya. Can I tell you that even their art work is hung on the wall side-by-side, like the teachers know that is the way they would want it to be displayed.
After school, I asked Niamh how her day went. I purposely did not ask how it went "without Jaya" because I wanted to hear her real answer. She said she had a "bad day" and she "made a lot of mistakes because Jaya wasn't there." Oy gevalt!
I told her even worse news later on...Jaya STILL has a fever and will not be at school tomorrow either!
So, Niamh wrote her this letter. It is so sweet, so from the heart, and actually spelled by Niamh. Two months ago, if you asked Niamh to come up with a word that started with the letter "f", she would say "boat". Now, she is kind of spelling! I LOVE JOHN STANFORD ELEMENTARY!
Anyhow, I'm sure this is not the easiest letter to read, so I have decoded it for you by putting slash marks in between words.

(Click to enlarge letter)

(the squigglies on each letter are the best)

It reads: Jaya, I went to school. I had a bad day. I wish you were there. Jaya, I was lonely. I hope you feel better. Love, Niamh

Pumpkins

This first photo is what the Pumpkin Patch looked like last Halloween. Ok, so I waited until October 30 to go to the pumpkin patch last year. Needless to say, we were disappointed.

This year, I planned a bit farther ahead, though I was really holding out for a beautiful Fall day to hit the dirt. That didn't happen, so we hit the mud instead.

A much better selection. I'm getting better at this "organized mom" gig.

 

In a rare show of aggression, Finn flashed his bare chest at the Llamas and goats. I bet they were scared.

Let the mess begin!

Ta Dah!

Eye On The Prize

I think that both my kids are destined to be IV drug users. They just sat through their flu shots without flinching.

Of course, when the nurse asked who wanted to be first, Niamh said in her best supportive big sister voice, "Finn, you can get to be first! Go ahead!" I said, "Oh, No, Niamh. First Born, First Immunized. Have a seat."  I just told them to stare at the plate of Tootsie Pops that they would earn after their shots. That was it, easy as pie. They were even being funny with the nurse. We were out of there in 10 minutes with Tootsie Pops in mouth.

Don't worry, Friends, the below photos do not represent any known side effects of the Seasonal Flu Vaccine. These kids were like this before we went to the clinic.

As I'm Typing....

As I'm typing, Niamh is sitting next to me singing "Mama, if you weren't here, I could make all my own decisions, until Daddy got here. I could watch tv, I could have all your money, I could have all your clothes, I could have all your shoes, I could eat all the cookies, and most important, I could have your iPhone."
I'm sure she'd miss me, once she took posession of everything I own.

They're Alive!

Remember when you thought that your toys came to life while you were sleeping? That they could really see and hear you? That they really had feelings? When I got to a certain age I stopped undressing in front of my Teddy Bear...weird, I know. I asked my mom to return the Cabbage Patch doll she bought me because I didn't want that same Teddy Bear to get jealous. There is a photo, somewhere in the archives, of me at a Cabbage Patch slumber party. I am sitting on the end of a long line of 7 year old girls holding their Cabbage Patch Dolls. I am the only one without a Cabbage Patch doll, but Teddy represented the classic loved toys that those brats threw aside for a doll that came with a birth certificate. That was the same party where I woke up in the middle of the night with vomit in my hair and in my Little House on the Prarie sleeping bag. But I digress......

Finn called me in to his room tonight after he had been "lights out" for about half an hour. The real reason he called me in was because he had boogers on his fingers and he wanted to wash his hands. So, after some soap and water, I put him back in bed and he noticed the arrangement of his toys on the floor next to his bed. See photo below.

He asked me to "move his helicopter so that the train doesn't crash it tonight."

So I moved it like this.

Then he said, "No, now my truck won't be able to back up."

This is how we left things arranged so that all his vehicles could drive around while he was asleep, all construction with the diggers could continue on schedule, and the rescue helicopter would be ready in case one of the Lego People fell off the shelf in the middle of the night.

Then, since we were up late taking photos, he wanted to take a self portrait.