is this thing on?

summer is over and the kids are back in school. nothing has been recorded for posterity but much has been accomplished. i'm proud of our summer. i normally have a nervous breakdown in july because of stress and too much togetherness and heat but we stayed busy enough but laid back enough and the kids were independent enough that i held it together. enjoyed myself even. families are forever and all that good stuff.

i plan on getting the last 4 months recorded but here is this week:

athena blythe's school did a bingo reading challenge with a kindle fire as the big prize. the final square she needed to check off was to read instructions for a science experiment. thomas helped her put together a mininature volcano.

the kids started school on monday. athena blythe is in 2nd grade. 

this is our bus stop crew. we're only missing 3 kids. the yearbook always has a first day of school picture section full of submissions from parents. i'm determined to get athena blythe in the yearbook as much as possible this year. for a book that costs $54234, my kid better be featured on every dang page. 

this is the last year of the big kids together at the middle school. reagan is in 8th. scarlett is in 7th. they are both taking theater classes. reagan is not excited about it but i think he'll come around. i don't think he realizes all his puppet shows that he puts on are actually theatrical productions. 

herschel was pretty disappointed that his school wasn't starting yet. i picked up a puzzle for him and we had our own school time that morning. i've figured out that all of my kids just want their own alone time with mom or dad. i recall sitting close to either one of my parents and imagining what it would be like to be an only child. bliss. it would be bliss. i probably wouldn't have had to wear those hand me down from my aunt jean shorts that were secured with a cloth diaper safety pin that was shaped like a pastel duck, that's for sure. but i also probably wouldn't have been forced to develop this sparkling personality to help people see past my duck safety pin. 

only child adventures continued for the next few days. hersch is not a strong bike rider because our house is at the mid point of a hill and more than a few of our neighbors are less than neighborly speeders. did i tell you about the time i confronted the parent of one particularly obnoxious speeder after the son flew down the hill going about 50 while all the kids were waiting for the bus? i never lost my cool but the guy is a raging, chronic nincompoop. he defended his son's flouting of the law and if he just happens to find a bunch of bleached spots on his lawn and remnants of water balloons, i don't know who it was. my favorite part of motherhood is how fearless you become. 

if you have to indulge your child with some lunchables because they still have woefully underdeveloped kid taste buds, go for the nachos pack. i don't mind finishing off tiny tortilla chips and gas station style nacho cheese. it's way better than those watery ham slices and rubbery cheese squares that are probably more useful being thrown at a certain neighbor's house in hopes of attracting all the neighborhood cats and dogs. 

in typical athena blythe industrious fashion, she smuggled home some of the celery from her school lunch into her empty uncrustables bag so that she could make bumps on a log for her after school snack. "celery only tastes good with peanut butter and chocolate chips."

later i found a small bite taken out of each celery stick and the peanut butter and chocolate chips licked away.

that was our first week. i haven't received any emails about behavior or antics. most of our activities haven't spiraled out of control yet, so i'm enjoying this brief reprieve for the time being.